MODIFICATION
R -- Assessment and Recommendations for USAID Performance-Based Services Contracts (PBSC) and Related Professional Services
- Notice Date
- 10/7/2003
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Minerals Management Service GovWorks (Franchise) 381 Elden Street, MS 2510 Herndon VA 20170
- ZIP Code
- 20170
- Solicitation Number
- 74141
- Response Due
- 10/16/2003
- Archive Date
- 10/6/2004
- Point of Contact
- Mathew A. Ridolfi Contract Specialist 7037871813 Mathew.Ridolfi@mms.gov;
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Point of Contact above, or if none listed, contact the IDEAS EC HELP DESK for assistance
(EC_helpdesk@NBC.GOV)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Amendment 0002: RFQ 74141 dated September 12, 2003 is hereby changed as follows: 1.The turnover plan requirement is revised as follows: PROPOSAL PREPARATION, Page 2 of 6, 1. Technical Proposal, Item 3. Management Plan, Sub-item, turnover plan. DELETE "turnover plan" EVALUATION/AWARD, Page 4 of 6, paragraph D, Management Plan: effectiveness and efficiency. DELETE the words: "and the proposed turnover plan is feasible". 2. The following Organizational Conflict of Interest clause is added. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (a) It is the policy of the Federal Government to avoid contract awards which could create potential conflict of interest. Such a situation could occur in this instance when the Contractor or any Subcontractors have business, financial, real property, mineral rights, or other interests, as well as professional activities that create conflicting roles which could potentially bias a Contractor's judgment or result in unfair competitive advantage to the Contractor and thus impede the Government's objective of obtaining impartial, technically sound, and objective performance of the contract. (b) Any request for waiver from the terms of this contract provision shall be directed in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a full description and justification of the required waiver. (c) The Contractor, or any of his officers or representatives, shall not involve himself in any situation during performance of this contract which may result in conflicts as contemplated in Paragraph (a) above. Failure to comply with this provision may be cause for termination of this contract for default. (d) The Contractor must disclose any interest which may develop after contract award which may result in his placement in a conflicting role with his performance of this agreement. Failure to comply with this provision may be cause for termination of this contract for default. (e) The Contractor shall include this clause, including this paragraph in all subcontracts and consultant agreements; however, subcontractors and consultants shall be directed to send any requests for waiver to the Contractor who shall then inform the Contracting Officer as described in (a) above. 3. The Technical Proposal requirement (Page 2 of 6 of the RFQ package, Proposal Preparation, Paragraph 1. Technical Proposal), is revised as follows: "One original and three copies of the technical proposal must be submitted and must not exceed 15 pages in length, excluding copies of relevant resumes and illustrative sample requested under Item #2 below. The technical proposals must not contain any pricing data." 4. Reference Page 3 of 6, Section 2. Cost Proposal, paragraph c -- Delete the "82 hours per Pilot", as there will not be individual ceilings. The Level of Effort should now read "Consultation: 246 hours total." 5. The Proposal Preparation instructions are revised as follows: "One original and three copies of the technical proposal must be submitted and must not exceed 15 pages in length, excluding copies of relevant resumes and illustrative sample requested under Item #2 below. The technical proposals must not contain any pricing data." This revised language will be incorporated into the Proposal Preparation, Paragraph 1. Technical Proposal, Page 2 of 6 of the RFQ package. 6. The SOW is hereby revised as follows: SOW Section II.B Assessment and Recommendations Report The first and sixth bullets are modified as follows: -A summary of the types of contracts and services procured by USAID over the past three years. -Information and lessons learned relating to successful use of PBSC by other agencies. procuring similarly challenging technical support services over the past three years. 7. The due date for proposals is hereby extended from October 10, 2003 to October 16, 2003. 8. The North American Industrial Classification Code for this project will be 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. 9. Questions received from offeror's are hereby anawered below. 10. By way of this Amendment there are no other changes to this solicitation. RFQ NO. 74141 SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS/RESPONSES Q1. Does US AID currently use Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreements? This type of contract would allow the agency to establish terms and conditions for various types of services, and the issuance of results oriented, performance based task orders as the scope of work and deliverables can be fully defined. Yes, USAID currently issues IDIQ contracts. However, an IDIQ contract will not be used for this procurement. Q2. US AID estimated level of effort for CLIN 0002, Three Pilot Requirements, is 82 hours per pilot. What is the basis of this estimate? Based on the activities required in the scope of work for this portion of the contract, a significant amount of effort is required. The estimate was prepared based on the requirements in the Statement of Work (SOW). Please note that the contractor will not be responsible for generating the actual documents or the final product.(PWS, QASP, etc.) The three Pillar Bureau pilot teams will be composed of the Contracting Officer and Program Officer(s), and they will be responsible for generating the initial draft and re-writes to incorporate the recommendations provided by the contractor. Also, please see the response for Question #33 below. Q3. US AID has a good guideline, "The Sourcebook" for issuing results-oriented assistance instruments. Have the practices in that guideline been used for procurement contracts, and with what success? No. The relationship between USAID and its recipients is much different than that between the agency and its contractors, and the relevant instruments reflect that. Q4.Is this a new initiative? If not is there an incumbent and who is it? There is no incumbent for services to develop an assessment or assist 3 specific pilot teams in developing and soliciting their requirements using PBSC methodology. Q5. Page 3, Scope, Period of Performance: does this time line include the assessment and pilot activities? Yes; however, the assessment deliverables are due earlier. Please see the additional clarification provided for Question #26 below. Q6. Page 4, Pilot Performance - Based Services Contracts: Where are these Pillar Bureaus located? Is the Offeror expected to work at the Pillar site? The Pillar Bureaus are located at the Headquarters, Washington DC. The contractor will not perform at the Pillar site; however, the Contractor will be expected to attend meetings with the Pillar Bureaus on-site as necessary and in accordance with their proposed technical approach. Q7. Page 5, 1.) A brief summary of consulting hours used per month, tracked by pilot requirement. Please explain what is meant by "tracked by pilot requirement". During the course of this contract, 3 pilot requirements or solicitations will be developed, one for each Pillar Bureau. This summary will indicate how many hours were spent on each Pillar Bureau pilot requirement. Q8. Page 5, "At the conclusion of each pilot" - what determines the conclusion? Conclusion of each pilot is the contract award of each pilot requirement, as well as the Post Award Conference if scheduled by the Pillar Bureau Contracting Officer. Q9. Are subcontractors to the Offeror barred from participating on any of the pilots? Please see the organizational conflict of interest clause which has been incorporated into the RFQ. Q10. To be successful, must a bidder have experience working with USAID and its bureaus? No. Q11. Must the successful bidder's office be located in the Washington D.C. area? No. However, the successful offeror must be able to attend meetings with the Pillar Bureau Teams in Washington, D.C. as necessary and in accordance with their proposed technical approach. Q12. Will the work be done primarily in the Washington D.C. area? See above response for Question #6. Q13. Must the individuals assigned to work the projects live in the Washington D.C. area? No. See above response for Question #11. Q14. SOW, page 3, II. SCOPE, A. Statement of Objectives, 1) "detailed assessment of the various contracts instruments...". B. Assessment and Recommendations Report. line 5, "Contractor may review as necessary all relevant contract data...". line 6, "...agency's current application of PBSC concepts in current awards; line 7, "representative sampling of typical USAID requirements"; and line 11, "supplemental information". Can USAID quantify the number and range in general terms the contract instruments, all relevant contract data, the current awards in which the PBSC methods are applied and supplemental information pertinent to the assessment and/or expected to be assessed under CLIN 0001? The amount of information to be reviewed will ultimately be determined by the contractor. It can be assumed that there are a limited number of bona fide PBSC contracts currently active, possibly no more than 8-10. In general, the contract types used by USAID are discussed in the SOW. The range of development and commercial services procured by USAID include work in these major areas (as discussed athttp://www.usaid.gov/our_work/): Agriculture, Democracy/Governance, Economic Growth and Trade, Environment, Global Health Issues including HIV work, and Humanitarian Assistance. Several contracts representing major programs from each of these areas might be useful to review in developing an understanding of the types of services USAID normally acquires. Some amount of "supplemental information" is available via the public website above, and as outlined in the SOW, but other information would include a limited amount of contract data reports relevant to statistics regarding types of contract awards, amounts, etc., or information gathered from discussions with the CTO or other USAID personnel (technical officers) as necessary. Q15. SOW, page 2, I. BACKGROUND Third paragraph. "...USAID also procures a limited amount of commercial services...". Are commercial services contracts part of the assessment? Yes. Q16. SOW, page 2, I. BACKGROUND. Fourth paragraph. "...exploring PBSC implications for use in issuing grants may also merit review." Is applying PBSC methodology to grants a part of the assessment? Yes. Currently, the USAID Sourcebook mentioned above (located at http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/sourcebook/usgov/define.html) already discusses award of results-oriented assistance instruments (grants or cooperative agreements). The statement in the SOW asks that the contractor identify those procedures in the PBSC arena that could be practicably used for assistance awards. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive review, and is not the focus of this contract. Q17. Proposal Preparation. 1. Technical Proposal, page 2 of 6, Note at the top of the page. "Resumes, past performance and all other evaluated information is to be included in the fifteen (15) page limit." Directions for 2. Corporate/Personnel Experience section, specifically Item 2.c. calls for "Illustrated PWS with corresponding QASP developed by the offerors" submitted as part of the proposal. Can the PWS and QASP be included as an attachment to the proposal to preclude offerors exceed the 15 page limit for the Technical Proposal? The Proposal Preparation instructions are revised as follows: "One original and three copies of the technical proposal must be submitted and must not exceed 15 pages in length, excluding copies of relevant resumes and illustrative sample requested under Item #2 below. The technical proposals must not contain any pricing data." This revised language will be incorporated into the Proposal Preparation, Paragraph 1. Technical Proposal, Page 2 of 6 of the RFQ package. Q18. Proposal Preparation. 1. Technical Proposal, page 2 of 6, Item 3. Management Plan, sub-item, turnover plan. What are the turnover objectives/expectations desired within the context of the two (2) tasks? For the Assessment (CLIN 0001) is the point of turnover the on-site presentation of the Final Assessment Report to the CTO and agency management staff? And for the Three (3) Pilots, is the point of turnover the briefing thirty (30) days after each Pilot award? What are the desired outcomes for each task that constitutes adequate turnover of the contractor's tasking to USAID? The turnover plan refers to how the contractor will retain/replace employees. The requirement for addressing a turnover plan is deleted. See the solicitation amendment. Q19. Proposal Preparation. 3. Assumptions, Conditions, or Exceptions, page 3 of 6, line 1. "Offerors must submit, under separate cover, all (if any) assumptions, conditions or exceptions..." Can assumptions, conditions or exception (if any) be addressed separately but attached to the Cost Proposal The Assumptions, Conditions, or Exceptions should be separate from both the Technical and Cost Proposal. Q20. The RFP requires a sample Performance Work Statement, including a QASP. We assume this also includes a Performance Evaluation/Incentive Plan. Given this requirement, and the other requirements for proposal submission, the 15-page limitation seems overly restrictive. The sample PWS and QASP could approach or even exceed 15 pages in itself. We would therefore request that the 15-page limitation not include the sample PWS. Please see the response to Question #17 above. Q21. Is the LOE for the "Assessment" (CLIN 0001) included in the 246 LOE indicated for the "Consultation"? No. Q22. Does the 246 hours apply only to CLIN 0002? If so, what is the LOE for CLIN 0001, or are we to propose an effort and FP for that task? CLIIN 1 is fixed price. Please note that the "assessment" called for in CLIN 001 could involve a wide range of effort depending on the number and type of contract instruments and services USAID wants considered- which are unknown. Yes, the 246 hours apply only to CLIN 0002. Offerors must propose a fixed price for CLIN 0001. Please see the response to Question #14. Q23. In your contract specifications, it is stated, Place of Performance U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20523. Does this mean that in order to fulfill the contract, I must be in Wash DC on Pennsylvania Avenue? Can it mean that I do the work from my office in another state, and communicate by phone, fax and e-mail as needed? For purposes of the cost proposal, should I budget for any trips to Wash DC, to meet with the contract manager before beginning the contract, or for any other reason? Please see the responses for Questions #6 and #11. The Offeror's cost proposal should reflect those costs necessary to perform the contract in accordance with their proposed technical approach as submitted. As a minimum, the contractor must present the Assessment Report to USAID Management in person. Q24. Will the successful offeror be working on site at USAID or is the expectation for the successful offeror to be working from their own facility? If a combination of on-site and off-site is expected, what is the ratio between the two? The successful offeror will not work on-site at USAID; they will attend meetings on-site with the Pillar Bureau Teams in Washington, D.C. as necessary and in accordance with their proposed technical approach. Please note the SOW requirement to provide an on-site presentation of the final assessment report. Q25. If the work in on-site, where will the successful offeror report for work? Will a desk, phone, and computer be provided? See response for Question #24 and 36. Q26. An estimated level of effort of 82 hours per pilot is provided in the instructions, but there apparently is no estimate of effort for the assessment (FFP) portion. The period of performance is stated in the Contract Specific Information as being from Oct 2003 to Oct 2004. Is it reasonable to assume that the desired effort is for a full year for the FFP assessment and an additional 82 hours per pilot for the T&M portion? No. In accordance with the Technical Proposal requirements of the RFQ, the offeror must submit a plan with significant milestones and dates to accomplish the objectives of the SOW. As outlined in Section III. DELIVERABLES, the draft assessment report for CLIN 0001 will be due 90 days after the date of this contract award. It is anticipated that the CTO will provide comments on the report within 2 weeks. The Final report is due within one week of receiving those comments, and the Formal Presentation to AID Management 2 weeks after that submission. For CLIN 0002, the LOE will be utilized for the pilot activities which will end with the contract award of each pilot requirement (no later than September 30, 2004), with a Post-Award Conference (if one is scheduled) to occur no later than October 31, 2004. A total ceiling of 246 hours for pilot consulting services is provided under CLIN 002, on a Time and Materials basis. The 82 estimated hours per pilot is not a ceiling per pilot. Q27. Is the cost proposal to be included in the 15 page limitation, or is the cost proposal in addition to the 15 page limitation? The cost proposal is not included in the 15 page limitation. The limitation applies to the technical proposal only. The cost proposal length is unlimited. Q28. SOW II.B prescribes the required data for the Phase 1 Assessment and Recommendations Report. Since this is a FFP CLIN, will the Government please establish boundaries by quantifying two of the required elements by placing time durations on the first and sixth bullets, as recommended below? -A summary of the types of contracts and services procured by USAID for the past three years. -Information and lessons learned relating to successful use of PBSC by other agencies procuring similarly challenging technical support services over the past three years. The proposed time limit of 3 years is acceptable. The SOW has been changed to reflect that. Q29. Proposal Preparation Instruction 1.2.c requires bidders to submit an illustrative sample PWS relevant to the SOW and a QSAP. USAID has provided potential bidders with a SOW, and the PWS will essentially be a restatement of the information in the SOW. Due to the page limitations, will the Government please eliminate the requirement for a PWS and accept the QSAP only, or allow additional pages for the PWS? The page limitations have been clarified. Please see the response to Question #17 above. The illustrative sample PWS and QSAP should not be a restatement of the information in the SOW, it must be a sample developed by the offeror within the last thee years for professional services similar to those USAID typically procures and as described in the SOW. Please see SOW Proposal Preparation, Section 1. Technical Proposal. Q30. Does the title page, transmittal letter, table of contents, and section tab dividers count in the 15 page limitation? No. Question 31. Proposal Preparation Instructions 2.a requires bidders to submit three copies of the Cost Proposal. How many copies of the Technical Proposal are required? One original and three hard copies. The Proposal Preparation Instructions will be modified to reflect that. Q 32. Does the Government envision the contractor performing CLIN's 0001 and 0002 in parallel or in series? Please see the response to Question #26 above. As stated in the technical proposal requirements, the offeror will propose the accomplishment of significant milestones and dates. As indicated in the SOW, CLIN 0002 target dates for solicitation issuance and contract award must be met, April 2004 and September 2004, respectively. Q33. Proposal Preparation Instructions 2.c identifies the Level of Effort (LOE) as 82 hours per pilot for a total of 246 hours spread over a 1-year period. SOW II.C subdivides the LOE into two subtasks consisting of the following for each of the three pilots: Requirements. Providing informal training, recommendations, document reviews, guidance and support necessary to each team generating the documents required through all phases of the procurement through contract award: development of the PWS, solicitation, evaluation of offers, and award; plus providing assistance as required in presenting the PBSC methodology during the Pre-Proposal and Post-Award conferences. Based on our experience, the LOE of 82 hours per pilot appears sufficient for the Requirements subtask, but falls short of our estimates for the second subtask. Is the 246 hour LOE provided as a sample representative for cost evaluation purposes only? Offerors should use the proposed LOE of 246 hours for cost evaluation purposes; however, if it is the opinion of the Offeror that additional hours are necessary to successfully perform the activities described herein for CLIN 0002, the offeror should separately outline those additional hours as they would be utilized by task, as well as the rationale for the additional hours. Q34. Will the Government either add more pages for resumes, or limit the resume submission to the Task Lead or Principal Consultant? Proposal Preparation Instruction 1.2.b requires bidders to submit resumes for the consultant/team proposed. This requirement, along with the 15 page limitation and all of the other information required appears to indicate that the Government envisions a single person performing all of the work. However, some of the work identified requires a senior person, while other work can be done by less expensive labor categories which may reduce the price to the Government. Please see the response to Question #17 above. Q36. The Proposal Preparation document identifies the place of performance as on-site at USAID in Washington, DC. Please provide the answer to the following two questions. Can the work be split between the USAID/Government site and contractor site? What facilities and GFE will be provided to the contractor at the USAID/Government site. See above response for Question #6. No facilities or GFE will be provided to the contractor at the USAID site.
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