Kinshasa ()

FABS-Activity

USAID Forest and Biodiversity Support Activity (FABS)

Request for Proposal

Date of Issuance: 2 November 2022
Closing Date for Questions: 11 November 2022, 5pm Kinshasa Time
Closing Date for Submission of Proposal: 25 November 2022, 5pm Kinshasa Time
Subject: ARD Inc. Requests for Proposal No.03 entitled “Climate Finance and Carbon Market Assessment and Support Program”

Dear Sir/Madam,

You are kindly invited to submit a technical and financial proposal relating to ARD Inc. Requests for Proposal No.03 entitled “Climate Finance and Carbon Market Assessment and Support Program”

• ARD, Inc. is the locally registered name of Tetra Tech ARD.
• ARD, Inc. intends to issue a Fixed Price subcontract for this work.
• Costs incurred by respondents for the preparation of a proposal and the negotiation of contract are not reimbursable.
• ARD Inc is not bound to accept any of the proposals submitted.
• ARD Inc reserves the right to accept an offerors proposal without further discussion.
• ARD Inc will only evaluate proposals from registered, qualified firms to execute and implement the work under this project.
• Offerors are required to obtain DBA Insurance prior to commencement of any services. See section 3. Financial Proposal for more information.
• The Offers must be able to complete all the items stated in the Statement of Work in Attachment A.
• Note to RFP Offeror - ARD Inc reserves the right to order in phases or by activities that are most advantages to ARD Inc.
• Authorized USAID Geographic Code- All goods and services offered under this solicitation or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 935 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, (North) Sudan, Syria.
• Offerors MUST NOT provide any goods and/or services that utilize telecommunications and video surveillance products from the following companies: Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, in compliance with FAR 52.204-25.
• If applicable, FAR 52.223-99 (Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols) will be incorporated into any award(s) issued under this solicitation

Please note that in submitting a response to this RFP, the Offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the Offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented – in writing with full explanation – to ARD Inc for consideration as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. ARD Inc, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.

Questions

All questions and inquiries related to this request must be submitted prior to the Closing Date for questions shown above for this RFP. All “Offerors” must submit their questions to ARD Inc via the below email address: FABS.Subcontracts@FABS-Activity.org.

The subject line should have: "Questions on RFP 003, Climate Finance and Carbon Market Assessment and Support Program

In compliance with standard procedure, all inquiries and comments will be shared with the rest of the Offerors along with ARD Inc’s response. Questions received after the closing date for questions may not be answered.

Proposal Submittal requirements

• Proposals shall be submitted via email to the address above.
• The Subject line of the email should read: “Proposal for RFP 003 - Climate Finance and Carbon Market Assessment and Support Program
• Proposals received after the exact time specified for receipts of offer shall be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of ARD Inc.                                               

Respondents shall receive an email acknowledging that their Proposal has been received upon its submission.

Proposal Instructions and Required Format

It is requested that Offerors organize their Technical and Financial Proposals as noted below. This request is made to facilitate ARD Inc’s review of the submitted material thus enabling a rapid decision and contracting process.

The Offeror shall submit its best price offer/proposal to complete the Statement of Work (SOW) in Attachment A and shall contain the following information detailed in Sections 1 thru 4 below:

1. Proposal Cover Letter:

The proposal cover letter should be signed by an authorized representative.

2. Proposition Technique :

The technical proposal must be written in English or French. There should be a maximum of 11 type-written pages, excluding Attachments/supporting documents. Desired Format - Type: Times New Roman, Font Size 11, Margins: 1” all around.

The technical proposal shall address the subjects outlined below:

A. Firm Information

• Provide the name, address and copy of your firm’s business registration.
• Provide the primary contact information for this project.
• If you intend to subcontract any portion of the requested work to other firms or institutions, provide the above information for each partner and the percentage of the work that they will be performing.
• Please describe your firm’s management structure, list all owners.

B. Corporate Capabilities and Past Performance

• Proof of registration in operating country.
• Summary of Corporate Capabilities.
• Summary of relevant past experience your firm has had in performing work similar to that described in Attachment A. Statement of Work.
• Performance references for similar projects.

For each project, please include the name of the client and his or her contact information (current and most recent information required, within the last three years). It is ARD Inc’s intention to contact some of these clients for testimonials regarding your firm’s performance in these areas:
* The quality of the work performed by the Offeror,
* The timeliness of the effort performed by the Offeror, and
* Whether the Client would use Offeror’s services should they have similar needs in the future?

C. Technical Approach

Please submit a detailed technical write-up of the proposed implementation strategy and management for this specific project detailed in Attachment A. The description must include the below elements:

1. Concept (2 pages) - The Offeror is required to demonstrate their understanding of the scope of work presented in Attachment A and their approach to achieving the objective of the Scope of Work presented in Attachment A. This should include discussion of how the Offeror will implement all Tasks, as well as any foreseen challenges and mitigation strategies.

2. Methodology (4 pages) - The Offeror is required to present their methodology to achieve the objectives of the assessment of carbon market and climate finance opportunities, as well as the development of the criteria to develop a technical assistance program, reflecting the stated requirements and tasks outlined in the Scope of Work (SOW). This must include, at a minimum, (i) a step-wise, narrative description of      the work to be undertaken (ii) a timeline (submitted as an attachment) that outlines the major steps of implementation and completion of deliverables that matches the timeline presented in the SOW.

In the description of methods, the Offeror should be sure to address:

• Demonstrate an understanding of existing projects and initiatives in the area of climate finance or carbon credits as a revenue stream to incentivize conservation, sustainable natural resource management activities, and other lower-emissions practices
• Approach to establish a technical assistance program (if validated by the Activity) to support supports organizations (participants) to access carbon markets and to use carbon financing to deliver effective, sustainable, and private-sector led climate mitigation in Central Africa
• Approach to ensure consultation with stakeholders to ensure stakeholder ownership of subcontract outcomes including through webinars.

3. Management Approach (2 pages) - The Offeror is required to describe how it proposes to manage implementation of the subcontract (if awarded). The management approach should include:

• Please submit a detailed technical write-up of the proposed implementation strategy and management for this specific project detailed in Attachment A
• Description of how the Offeror will maintain integrity and consistency in delivery of the services.
• Identify the Key Personnel that would be working on this project assuming an award. This should include a 2-page statement about their capabilities and experience in Climate and Carbon Finance that incentivize conservation, sustainable natural resource management activities, and other lower-emissions practices. Key Personnel CVs should be provided in an Annex.
• Implementation Timeline (Does not count against page limit) – Offeror should include a Microsoft Excel-based timeline (Gantt chart) as an Annex to illustrate the implementation of the activities required in the Scope of Work in Attachment A.

3. Financial Proposal

The Offeror’s proposed Financial proposal must represent its best price offer in response to the solicitation, and shall contain the following components A through D:

A. Detailed Budget. The Offeror must use the budget template in Attachment B, Tabs B.1 and B.2 as summarized below:
Attachment B.1 –Budget for Core Activities
Expected Core Activities from the SOW in Attachment A:

• 3.1 Assessment of carbon market and climate finance opportunities in Central Africa
• 3.2 Development of support materials for engagement in carbon markets and access to climate finance
• 3.3 Design of Climate Finance Support Program (CFSP) and receive technical assistance and ongoing support.
• 3.4 Program intake
• 3.6 Evaluation and Reporting

Personnel: Please note that all labor rates should be inclusive of salary, all taxes, fringe, indirect and fee (if applicable).

Attachment B.2 – Price Schedule for Technical Assistance Offered
Please provide a price schedule in Tab B.2 of the Excel budget of all available relevant Technical Assistance your Firm offers for Activity 3.5. Provide Technical Assistance in the SOW.

B. Budget Narrative. A detailed narrative describing the basis on which the costs were derived should be provided to allow a complete analysis of the Offeror’s cost/price.

C. DBA Insurance: Please note, in accordance with USAID regulations, Offerors should budget for worker’s compensation insurance with USAID’s approved DBA insurance provider. For more information on DBA, please visit: Defense Base Act (starr.com)

NB: DBA will be required and will be reimbursed for the subcontract. The DBA costs will be added during the subcontract award process. Please do not include DBA costs in your proposal.

D. Tax Provision: The agreement under which this solicitation is financed does not permit the financing of any taxes, VAT, tariffs, duties, or other levies imposed by any laws in effect in the Cooperating Country.  No such Cooperating Country taxes, VAT, charges, tariffs, duties or levies will be paid under an order resulting from this RFP.

4. Required Certifications

Offeror shall submit the required signed certifications as indicated in Attachment D.

01. Cliquez ici pour télécharger le Document complet - format MS Word

02. Cliquez ici pour télécharger l'Annexe - Budget - MS Excel