SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Local Development Loan Funding in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Notice Date
- 2/19/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541990
— -- All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD), Division of Procurement, UNB 4th Floor 200 Third Street, Parkersburg, WV, 26101-5312
- ZIP Code
- 26101-5312
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-04-033
- Response Due
- 2/24/2004
- Archive Date
- 2/20/2005
- Point of Contact
- Becky Thompson, Contract Specialist, Phone (304) 480-7079, Fax (304) 480-7203, - Susie Daugherty, Contracting Officer, Phone (304) 480-7138, Fax (304) 480-7203,
- E-Mail Address
-
procurement@bpd.treas.gov, procurement@bpd.treas.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number RFQ-04-033 is issued as a request for quotation. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-18. The NAICS code for this solicitation is 541990 and the size standard is $6.0 Million. The Inter-American Foundation, through the Bureau of Public Debt, has a requirement for a Local Development Financing Fund.    There has been a tremendous increase in amounts and types of funding available to large micro-credit organizations?outfits providing small, short-term loans generally neither accompanied by technical assistance nor part of larger development or community-based plans.    There are other non-governmental organizations, however, that provide loans to social and micro-enterprises as a component of comprehensive development strategies.    Such organizations, while often more effective participants in the development process, cannot gain access to higher levels of loan funding on advantageous terms.    While the IAF has statutory authority to make loans, it has never done so and lacks the administrative infrastructure to do so now.    Accordingly, the IAF plans to partner with an organization (the Operating Partner) that has a history of successful community-level development loan funding in Latin America and the Caribbean.    The IAF will work with the Operating Partner to create a facility (the Facility) to provide loans to selected organizations (Eligible Institutions, or EIs).    The Facility would primarily fund EIs in Central America, but could also be active in other parts of the region.    Further, the IAF plans to arrange the partnership in such a way as to attract and facilitate the participation of other donors, including possibly offering attractive options for more risk-averse funders.    This arrangement would, in addition to creating enormous leverage and supporting programs worthwhile in their own right, significantly lower IAF costs, develop multiple tiers of participation on the part of donors and investors, and bring the local poor into banking systems.    The IAF envisions entering a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the selected Operating Partner.    The MOU will cover the broad objectives of collaboration and the geographic areas where the pilot effort would occur.    The IAF and the Operating Partner would then enter a cooperative agreement providing $100,000 to $500,000 to initiate operations in a particular country or countries.    The IAF seeks a contractor (the Contractor) to find and evaluate a potential Operating Partner and potential donors, and negotiate the terms of the partnership agreement for this pilot project.    The objectives of the project are to:    1) Define the scope of operation of the Facility, 2) Identify the Operating Partner, 3) Define the type of financing and structure of the Facility, 4) Identify other funders, and 5) Negotiate and document the Facility.      Methodology:    The project will proceed in five phases.    Phase 1: The Contractor will define the types of EIs eligible for receiving loans from the Facility. These parameters should exclude any organizations that have adequate sources of capital and those that are too small and are not ready for loans from the Facility.    The IAF plans to focus the work of the Facility in Central America, with a view toward expanding to other parts of Latin America if the pilot project is successful.      Phase 2:    The IAF has identified a potentially attractive Operating Partner to manage the Facility.    The Contractor will conduct research on this potential Operating Partner in order to determine whether it is appropriate.    This research will include at least the following: Reputation of the organization and its founders, their ethical standards and the source of their capital; Capacity to manage the Facility; Criteria for choosing EIs to receive loans and their willingness to adapt their standards to IAF requirements; Criteria for selecting credit recipients, including development and business criteria; Credit approval process; and Policy for dealing with bad loans and capacity to take action in the event of default.    <BR> <BR> If this potential Operating Partner proves not to be a suitable choice, the Contractor will work with the IAF to identify and evaluate another candidate.    Phase 3:    The Contractor will define the structure and type of financing the Facility will use. The Contractor will also work with the IAF and other funders to define their role in the Facility.    Phase 4:    <BR> The Contractor will design a number of different ways in which potential funders can participate in the Facility.    The design could include some risk protection from the IAF to entice more risk-averse entities or individuals to participate.    The Contractor will prepare a presentation for potential funders, and will seek funders whose objectives match with the goals of this IAF-sponsored Facility.    The Contractor will work with the IAF to contact these potential funders to determine their interest in the Facility.    The Contractor will negotiate and prepare agreements with any interested funders.      Phase 5:    The Contractor will work with the IAF to negotiate a final agreement with the Operating Partner and other funders.    The Contractor will also work with the IAF to prepare the documents needed to finalize the agreements with the Operating Partner and other funders, and help the IAF to finalize the Facility through a cooperative agreement.    <BR> Deliverables-Phase 1. The Contractor will provide a written report that defines the types of EIs which should be eligible for receiving loans and key criteria for selecting those EIs, including development and financial criteria.    Phase 2. The Contractor will report on results of research into the suitability of the potential Operating Partner.    If the potential Operating Partner is not suitable for the purposes of this project then the Contractor will conduct a search for another potential Operating Partner to manage the Facility.    The Contractor will then report findings and recommendations to the IAF.      Phase 3.    The Contractor will produce a report analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the possible structures of the Facility.    The Contractor will work with the IAF to decide on the best option.    The Contractor will negotiate an MOU with the Operating Partner reflecting the appropriate structure.    Phase 4. The Contractor will prepare a report on different ways in which potential funders can participate in the Facility.    The Contractor will prepare a presentation for potential funders in cooperation with the IAF.    The Contractor will develop a list of potential funders, work with the IAF to develop relationships with those funders, and negotiate agreements with those that are interested in contributing to the Facility.    Phase 5. The Contractor will prepare the documents needed to finalize the necessary agreements with the Operating Partner and other funders, and help the IAF to finalize the Facility through the MOU and a cooperative agreement.    <BR> The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors--Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items with their offer. The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items; 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-19, Child Labor--Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52-232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Other than Central Contractor Registration; Addendum to 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors?Commercial Items.    In addition to the items specified herein, the following information is necessary to enable proper evaluation of offers in response to this solicitation:    (a) Contractor Ability and Experience and (b) Contractor Reputation.    52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items-The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.    The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:    (1) Contractor Ability and Experience:    The proposal shall describe, in no more than two single-spaced pages, the contractor?s demonstrated ability to perform the tasks described herein and the contractor?s experience in the subject area.    Ability to perform the tasks will be evaluated based upon the extent of contractor?s demonstrated ability and the relevance of that ability to complete the required tasks.    Experience will be evaluated based upon its quantity, breadth, and relevance to the required tasks. The successful bidder will have been employed in the area of overseas development with public organizations.    Sociological factors must figure prominently in candidate?s experience: task requires extensive personal meetings with tiny groups of remote villagers who lack any experience with financial matters.    Moreover, the IAF conducts its financial activities as an adjunct to community development and the promotion of democratic practices at the local level.    Consequently, an understanding of how economic development interacts with and supports these phenomena is utterly essential. (2) Contractor Reputation:    The contractor shall be highly esteemed by experts in field of socially responsible mutual funds and environmentally oriented development in rural areas.    The contractor shall submit one or more letters of recommendation from experts in each of the fields listed above, and shall have had direct working experience with those experts submitting recommendations.    To download 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, visit our website at: http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/oa/oaprocr.htm. See numbered note 1. Interested contractors capable of providing services per the above requirement and having an acceptable past performance record are encouraged to submit an offer. Offers must be received at the Bureau of the Public Debt, 200 Third Street, UNB 4th Floor, Parkersburg, WV 26101 by 2:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, February 24, 2004. Offers may be faxed to 304-480-7203. Offerors must call 304-480-7079 to confirm receipt of faxed offers. For information regarding this solicitation contract Becky Thompson at 304-480-7079 or Susan Daugherty at 304-480-7138. Interested offerors may register at http://www.fedbizopps.gov to receive notification when any amendments are issued and available for downloading. Please note that the General Services Administration provides the notification service as a convenience and does not guarantee that all persons on the mailing list will receive notifications. Therefore, we recommend that you monitor the FedBizOpps site for all information relevant to desired acquisitions. If the Internet option is not available to you, you may receive a hard copy of any amendments (via U.S. Mail) by faxing your request to (304) 480-7203 or e-mailing your request to procurement@bpd.treas.gov. <BR>
- Record
- SN00525371-W 20040221/040219223058 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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