REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS #03457

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS #03457 Assessment of Responsibility as a U.S. Government Prime Contractor in support of ELIZABETH GLASER PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION 1140 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC Firm Deadline: 14 March 2014, 11:59 pm Eastern Time The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, a non-profit organization, is the world leader in the fight to eliminate pediatric AIDS. Our mission is to prevent pediatric HIV infection and to eliminate pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. For more information, please visit BACKGROUND The Foundation is now 25 years old. For the first 15 years of its existence, the Foundation was very successful in attracting unrestricted funding for its core research and U.S. advocacy programs. Ten years ago, with the debut of the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Foundation decided to broaden its work to help prevent and treat AIDS in Africa, where the need was greatest. The Foundation has successfully competed for numerous prime cooperative agreements (both multi-country/global awards and bilateral awards) awarded by USAID and CDC, which now make up the vast majority of the Foundation s revenue. Currently, the Foundation has U.S. Government cooperative agreements to operate programs in 12 countries in sub-saharan Africa, as well as a global cooperative agreement to provide specialized technical assistance anywhere in the world. The Foundation also holds three small sub-contracts under three USAID projects. Overall expenses managed in 2013 was approximately $120 million. The Foundation is audited annually by an independent accounting firm in accordance with the Single Audit Act (OMB Circular A-133). PURPOSE As part of prudent financial management, the Foundation is assessing its revenue portfolio and, among other options, is analyzing whether it is in its best interests to bid on, and subsequently manage if successful, a prime U.S. Government contract for work that is directly in line with its mission and past performance on cooperative agreements. For the most immediate opportunity, the consultant may assume that the specific potential opportunity for the Foundation to bid on will be a 2014 USAID RFP for a costreimbursement contract in the health sector in one African country. However, there may be other contracts of interest to the Foundation that arise in the future.

2 SCOPE OF WORK/DELIVERABLES The scope of work and deliverables for this engagement are: 1. Perform a mock pre-award prime contractor responsibility survey in accordance with FAR 9.1 standards, including but not limited to application of SF-1407, Pre-Award Survey of Prospective Contractor Financial Capability, and SF- 1408, Pre-Award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System. Complete all forms and any other documents the Government would use in its assessment. Prepare written conclusions and recommendations to the Foundation, supported by well-organized data and business experience, that includes whether USAID would likely judge the Foundation eligible for a complete contract, partial (or lower value) contract, or no contract. Identify the specific deficits and/or risk areas apparent in undertaking a prime contractor role for the first time. 2. Beyond the FAR and AIDAR, identify any other applicable laws or regulations that would pertain to the Foundation, or to this potential new contract, that do not otherwise apply to us now given our current position and sources of funding (including the Cost Accounting Standards). 3. Furnish a cost/business proposal checklist for a typical USAID prime contractor proposal, containing a list of all of the likely cost items that would be needed from the prime and subcontractors, with particular attention to (a) costs that are unique to contracts compared to cooperative agreements, such as DBA insurance; and (b) the unique business plans/documentation required by contracts, such as a small/disadvantaged business plan, evidence of responsibility, biographical data sheets, etc. 4. Furnish a set of procedures for the Foundation to use in the future to assess the responsibility of its prospective subcontractors both U.S. organizations and local African organizations to manage USAID funds. 5. Prepare and deliver a briefing, with ample time for questions and answers, on at least two occasions, to Senior Leadership Team and other senior staff in the Foundation s headquarters (Washington, DC office) addressing: a. summary of the results of items 1-2; and b. comparison of the key differences between managing cooperative agreements and contracts. The differences should not be limited to financial considerations alone, but should also include i. organizational implications, such as a country program office approach versus a project office approach or changes needed at headquarters ii. project management differences, including differences in responsibility for program design and implementation, new project management approaches that may be required to meet contracting requirements, staff time allocations across projects, advance

3 LOGISTICS approvals, client (versus donor) relations, deliverables, monitoring iii. project structure implications, include how project staffing of a contract can be different than staffing for a cooperative agreement; identify typical/unique contract positions; iv. risk management practices especially for contracts; v. cultural changes needed at different levels of the organization to effectively manage a contract in an environment designed for USG cooperative agreements c. Examples of lessons learned from other NGOs funded primarily by cooperative agreements and unrestricted funds that have become prime contractors, or tried to become prime contractors. The contractor is required to perform most of the work at the Foundation s headquarters in Washington, DC. The Foundation will make temporary office space available, as well as telephone, photocopier, and internet access. The contractor must provide all computers or other devices that it requires to perform the work. KEY CONTRACT TERMS The Foundation intends to award a fixed price contract. All deliverables provided to the Foundation must be furnished for the use of the Foundation without royalty or any additional fees. All Materials will be owned exclusively by the Foundation. Contractor will not use or allow the use of the Materials for any purpose other than Contractor s performance of the Contract without the prior written consent of the Foundation. Under this short-term contract, the Foundation will pay 25% of the fixed fee upon execution of the contract, with the remainder payable upon successful completion of the scope of work. If any offeror wishes to take exception to any of the proposed terms and conditions, they should include such information in their proposal, along with the rationale.

4 EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS All proposals will be evaluated against the following Evaluation Criteria. Each proposal must contain the items listed in the Submission Requirements column in the following chart. Please submit your Submission Requirements in the order that they appear below. Evaluation Criteria Submission Requirements Weight 1. Contractor s proposed management plan 2. Qualifications and relevant experience of proposed consultant(s) 3. Timeframe of implementation 1. A maximum 3-page written description explaining the contractor s proposed process, intermediate milestones, and communications plan to meet our needs efficiently 2. CVs of proposed individual(s) to work on this project and at least 3 references (with organization, position, and telephone information) per individual. The references should include work from similar past projects. Also include one or more examples of prior similar work (client names may be redacted). Specifically indicate the prior work done performing pre-award surveys in accordance with FAR 9.1 standards; and experience with USAID contracts. 3. Estimated number of business days to complete all work (we value speed with quality) 20% 25% 20% 4. Total fixed price 4. Total firm fixed price bid. 35% Total 100% PROPOSED TIMELINE 25 February 2014 Release of RFP 4 March 2014 Deadline for Submission of Technical Inquiries to Doug Horner, Vice President, Awards, Compliance & International Operations, dhorner[at]pedaids.org. No phone calls please. 4 March 2014 Deadline for Submission of Contractual Inquiries to Cathy Colbert, Senior Awards & Compliance Officer, ccolbert[at]pedaids.org. No phone calls please. 6 March 2014 Industry questions and our answers are posted on EGPAF website at 14 March 2014, 11:59 pm Eastern Time Completed proposals must be delivered electronically to Cathy Colbert with a cc to Doug Horner.

5 By early April, we expect to select a proposal and execute a contract and have work begin. Please note it is our best intent to comply with the above timeline but unavoidable delays may occur. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION All proposals and communications must be identified by the unique RFP# reflected on the first page of this document. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in non-consideration of your proposal. Any proposal not addressing each of the foregoing items could be considered nonresponsive. Late proposals will be rejected without being considered. This RFP is not an offer to enter into agreement with any party, but rather a request to receive proposals from persons interested in providing the services outlined below. Such proposals shall be considered and treated by the Foundation as offers to enter into an agreement. The Foundation reserves the right to reject all proposals, in whole or in part, and/or enter into negotiations with any party. The Foundation shall not be obligated for the payment of any sums whatsoever to any recipient of this RFP until and unless a written contract between the parties is executed. Equal Opportunity Notice. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and represents that all qualified bidders will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. ETHICAL BEHAVIOR As a core value to help achieve our mission, the Foundation embraces a culture of honesty, integrity, and ethical business practices and expects its business partners to do the same. Specifically, our procurement processes are fair and open and allow all vendors/consultants equal opportunity to win our business. We will not tolerate fraud or corruption, including kickbacks, bribes, undisclosed familial or close personal relationships between vendors and Foundation employees, or other unethical practices. If you experience of suspect unethical behavior by a Foundation employee, please contact Doug Horner, Vice President, Awards, Compliance & International Operations, at dhorner[at]pedaids.org or the Foundation s Ethics Hotline at Any consultant who attempts to engage, or engages, in corrupt practices with the Foundation will have their proposal disqualified and will not be considered for future work.