SOURCES SOUGHT
C -- Alternatives Analysis and Conceptual Design Services for the Lower Prut Irrigation Initiative: Millennium Challenge Account - Moldova
- Notice Date
- 6/5/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC, Washington DC, 875 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia, 20005
- ZIP Code
- 20005
- Solicitation Number
- MCC-13-RFI-0104
- Archive Date
- 6/27/2013
- Point of Contact
- Jennifer M. Crouse, Phone: 2025213593
- E-Mail Address
-
crousejm@mcc.gov
(crousejm@mcc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- DESCRIPTION THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is seeking information from interested firms for an extremely time sensitive, integrated and technically specific project in Moldova. MCC is issuing this request for information to ascertain whether there are qualified small businesses positioned to perform this scope of work at the highest level of technical expertise and within the required time frame. The firm should be a small business with a core competence in developing solutions for integrated water use management, particularly including agriculture, for river systems. The firm should specialize in analyzing and designing irrigation systems and providing land and water use analysis working in an interdisciplinary manner employing economists, agronomists, soil scientists, community organizers, and environmental and land use specialists. This is NOT a solicitation or pre-solicitation and this notice does not guarantee that a solicitation will be posted in the future or as an obligation on the part of the MCC. At this time, no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. BACKGROUND The Millennium Challenge Corporation ("MCC") is a U.S. government corporation whose mission is to reduce poverty through economic growth in countries that are committed to good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. MCC provides large grants to qualified, selected countries in the form of Compacts, which are pre-designed to fund specific projects addressing key constraints to economic growth in the country. The Moldova Compact, which must be implemented in its entirety between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2015, is comprised of two projects: the rehabilitation of the M2 road, and the Transition to High Value Agriculture (TVHA). THVA is in turn made up of four separate but closely inter-related sub-activities: access to agricultural finance (AAF), growing high value sales (GHS), irrigation sector reform (ISRA), and centralized irrigation system rehabilitation (CISRA). The CISRA project has encountered serious challenges with feasibility and detailed design, which have been largely addressed but which have resulted in problematic delays. In one region of the country, it will not be possible to carry out the original plan to rehabilitate two very large existing systems, for reasons at once environmental, financial, technical and temporal. MCC with Moldovan implementing entity MCA has identified a way forward which brings an integrated agricultural, irrigated and non-irrigated, and non-agricultural land use approach to addressing the economic and environmental challenges of the area. Capitalizing on this opportunity requires that a highly and very specifically qualified firm be contracted immediately to begin this rapid mid-stream correction activity. MCC wishes to learn if there are any firms which are positioned to provide the needed expertise with the urgency required by the Compact's fixed 5-year schedule. OBJECTIVE The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to receive prospective contractors' capabilities to provide professional engineering, cost-benefit analysis, environmental and outreach/planning services under the Moldova Compact. The contractor must demonstrate the qualifications listed below: • Be a registered small business. • Specialize in the development and implementation of irrigation, land and water use projects that combine excellence in cutting edge irrigation technologies with responsible environmental stewardship and community engagement, with the goal of supporting sustainable and economically viable agricultural land use. • Demonstrated experience working with the MCC model, including extensive time in Moldova and working with MCA implementing entity and contractors. • Demonstrated ability to provide integrated teams and solutions with a particular emphasis on overcoming silos and successfully managing multi-sector teams toward outcomes as described above. • Experience in providing alternatives analysis and designs for river sourced, pump irrigation systems (IS) similar to conditions in Moldova including, but not limited to, pressurized central irrigation systems (CIS). • Ability to mobilize the team leader to Moldova within two (2) weeks of the RFI posting date for an initial deployment that may range from two (2) to (4) weeks. • Ability to mobilize the appropriate specialists within two (2) weeks of contract signing based on an aggressive implementation schedule to be produced by the firm as part of a project proposal before award. The team will be expected to be fully available to meet deadlines for a very aggressive first phase during the months of July-October 2013. • Ability to mobilize an integrated team of agricultural-development specialists, all of whom have demonstrated experience relevant to conditions in Moldova, who between them have the following specializations: irrigation engineer; drainage engineer; agronomist/soil-scientist; wetlands specialist; agricultural economist, specialist(s) in community planning, visioning and leadership; and land use specialist. In order to demonstrate that the team can perform as a high powered, integrated entity, the team leader should have demonstrated experience working with any specialists who are not employees of the selected firm. • Ability to mobilize an agricultural economist with demonstrated hands-on experience in working on MCC ERR models for irrigation systems relevant to Moldova irrigation. • Demonstrated, relevant, hands-on experience in GIS mapping for agriculture development or irrigation infrastructure projects. • Demonstrated ability of finding detailed design alternatives for cost-effective irrigation infrastructure in developing countries to assure sustainable irrigation in conditions similar and/or relevant to Moldova. • Significant experience working internationally, especially on donor funded development projects. • Experience conducting due diligence and community outreach with Water User Associations (WUAs) or WUA-like entities such as in Moldova. The proposed team leader must demonstrate qualifications listed below and have successful prior experience including: • At a minimum, a PhD in irrigation engineering with specialization in water resources planning, natural resources and environmental assessment and monitoring. • At least 15 years in the design of irrigation systems and management of irrigation projects including work in developing countries with conditions similar to Moldova. • Be a senior, full time employee of the firm, preferably a principal, who can commit to the project through August 31, 2015. • Experience working under the specific conditions of MCC Compacts, having familiarity with the dynamics of MCA/contractor relations and management challenges. • Experience in hydrological modeling, consumption use estimation, and computer assisted design (CAD) applications for detailed design of irrigation systems, and management of irrigation systems. • Have experience with river fed irrigation systems and alternative analysis in Moldova SUBMITTAL INFORMATION Respondents are requested to provide, as part of their responses: (a) current capability and capacity to perform the work, including experience working in Moldova (b) corporate experience and management capabilities, including a statement of the firm's professional approach to multi-sector project management (c) published materials such as journal articles, reviews or brochures attesting to the firm's specialization in integrated, multi-sector irrigation projects; (d) CV of the proposed team leader indicating areas of required expertise; (e) CVs of at least four identified team members reflecting the necessary specializations and description of prior engagement with the firm, one of whom must be an agricultural economist. Please furnish your cage code and business size (Woman-owned, Small Business, Large Business, Disadvantaged Business, Hub zone, etc.) in your response to this sources sought announcement. In the event that two (2) or more qualified small businesses express an interest in this effort, the Government reserves the right to restrict any potential solicitation to a small business set-aside. MCC invites all questions and comments with regards to this RFI. Please Note: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any contractor responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the contractor's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be issued. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/MCC/MCCMCC/MCCMCC01/MCC-13-RFI-0104/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Moldova & United States, United States
- Record
- SN03080277-W 20130607/130606000601-ec9cded0d20e2caa9fc4a16a7502ed98 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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