USAID Middle East Regional Platform Institutional Support Services

To all interested contractors - The subject procurement has met some delays in being posted. USAID/Egypt is hoping to post the formal solicitation within the coming four weeks. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me_regionalaa@usaid.gov or rkoehring@usaid.gov. Thank you, Ralph Koehring Director, Office of Procurement USAID/Egypt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) USAID Middle East Regional Platform Request for Information Institutional Support Services Overview of the Requirement and the Purpose of the Notice The purpose of this Notice is to identify the availability of capable businesses, both large and small (e.g., 8(a), Hub-zone, women-owned, veteran-owned) able and willing to provide short and longer-term institutional support services for the USAID Middle East Regional Platform (MERP) located in Frankfurt, Germany. Additionally, USAID seeks to obtain industry questions and/or comments for this planned new activity. The principal focus of the work will be to provide support services for USAID's regional and bilateral programs in the Middle East, covering, but not limited to, Yemen, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, and Iraq. These services include (1) procurement, (2) recruitment and administrative support of personal services contracts (PSC) (3) financial management, and (4) administrative management/information technology support. Although the home offices of potential sources do not need to be based out of Frankfurt or the Middle East region, contractor personnel providing institutional support services must be located in Frankfurt, in close proximity to MERP and/or in relevant benefiting countries such as Yemen and Lebanon. Close proximity is defined as no more than one working day of direct air travel (in line with USG travel policies) each way from the point of origin to the destination country, and working hours no more than 1-2 hours' time difference for the majority of the fiscal year from Frankfurt and/or the countries being served. Contractors must have the ability to provide personnel with strong English language capacity; Arabic and French language capacity would be an additional benefit. Thorough experience with and understanding of USG acquisition and assistance regulations is required. Familiarity with the Middle East (particularly with implementation in focus countries) and with USAID's operating procedures would be a significant benefit. USAID intends to award one or more indefinite quantity contracts (IQC) for this new activity as defined by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 16.504. Given the nature of this award, the leadership of this project must foster a productive working relationship with multiple stakeholders, USAID Missions, and Washington offices worldwide. The Draft Statement of Work presents the current anticipated elements of the activity. The level of funding allocated for this project is expected to range between $9 million and $12 million over a five-year implementation period. Due to the procurement sensitive nature of potential activities described in the draft statement of work and information accessed during implementation, all contractors must be mindful of the high risk of organizational conflict of interest (OCI) under any possible award. Any solicitation issued as a result of the Request for Information will have an OCI Mitigation Plan requirement. This is not an invitation for bid, request for proposal or other solicitation; and in no way obligates the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to award a contract. Solicitation Number: SOL-263-15-000006 Agency: US Agency for International Development Requiring Office: USAID MERP Estimated Period of Performance: Five years Location: Worldwide Notice Type: Request for Information Posted Date: December 4, 2014 Response Due Date: January 11, 2015 Response Due Time: 9:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time NAICS Code: 541611 The solicitation of information from procurement support providers is for planning purposes only. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the United States Government to procure any services, nor does USAID intend to award a contract on the basis of its request for information or otherwise pay for the information solicited. No telephone calls will be accepted, and neither will responses to questions be provided with regards this Notice. Required Information for Submission: All submissions shall be submitted by the closing date and time noted on page 1 of this notice. Submission via email is required; no hard copy delivery will be accepted. E-mail submissions shall be sent to me_regionalaa@usaid.gov. Interested parties shall prepare their submission in English, and shall address the information requested below. All submissions must include Section I "Cover Page" and Section II "Capability Statement." Parties may also include Section III "Comments/Questions." Submissions shall use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper, single-spaced pages for all narrative documents and each page numbered consecutively. Interested parties must use Times New Roman font 11 or a similar size typeset. Note: Respondents need to be aware that USG official documents are required to be in English. I. Cover Page with Business Information (1 page) - Company: name, address, contact information - Point of Contact(s): name, title, phone number, address, e-mail address - Statement of self-certification of business size and socio-economic status of the Vendor - Statement of the Vendor's DUNS - Company source and origin information II. Capability Statements (10 Page Limit) Businesses having the skills and capabilities necessary to perform this work should submit a response of no more than ten (10) pages in length. This page limitation includes any attachments. The Government will not review any information, including attachments, in excess of the ten (10) pages, unless otherwise stated in this section. Organizations should provide clear and unambiguous evidence to substantiate their capability to fulfill any or all of the areas of work sought. Submissions must include the following: 1. Qualifications and Experience Summary that includes the following: - Consultant/firm/organization's qualifications in proposed areas; - List of up to five projects (completed within the last ten years) which demonstrate the offeror's in-house experience managing and implementing projects that contain all the functions listed under "Attachment I - Draft Scope of Work". Information for each project should include: o Scope of work o Total dollar value o Period of performance o Funder; - Experience/qualifications and structure of firm/organization's management team; - Experience/qualifications of key staff who will undertake proposed support services; and - Evidence of ability to provide strong English speakers and personnel with Arabic and French language skills. 2. Reference List and Information Sheet:0. - Three references with contact information from previous clients who can provide feedback on previous performance in the same or related institutional support service areas. III. Comments/Questions (if applicable) Comments and Questions not to exceed five (5) pages will be accepted from all interested parties regarding the Statement of Work; however the government will not be providing direct responses to the RFI. All comments and questions will serve to inform the government on current market trends and further refine the Scope of Work. Comments may include but are not limited to feedback on the Statement of Work requirements, recommendations on contract type, etc. Please note that any suggestions submitted may be used in any forthcoming solicitation, so please do not include any comments or questions in this section that are proprietary and you do not intend to be used as such. Responses to questions will be included in any forthcoming Solicitation posting. THE SUBMISSION OF THIS INFORMATION IS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO PROCURE ANY SERVICES, NOR DOES USAID INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION SOLICITED. NO TELEPHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED.