SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Afghanistan Performance Monitoring Support Project
- Notice Date
- 7/10/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AFG_PMS
- Archive Date
- 7/27/2013
- Point of Contact
- Monica Brown, Phone: 2024820932
- E-Mail Address
-
monica.brown@trade.gov
(monica.brown@trade.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This notice is for market research and planning purpose only and does not obligate the Government to any contractual agreement. This is not a request for proposal. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses, nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted, nor will respondents be notified of the review of the information received. The information obtained from this Request for Information (RFI) will be utilized as market research for consideration in development of the Acquisition Strategy and Acquisition Plan for this requirement. The Government will not reimburse interested sources for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice. Information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a contract. The Department of Commerce (Department) supports the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's (GIRoA) efforts to develop its private sector as cited in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. The Iraq and Afghanistan Investment & Reconstruction Task Force leads the Department's efforts for commercial development in Afghanistan. One element of the Task Force's core mission is to develop the Afghan private sector. The Task Force achieves this objective through Department-funded technical assistance and capacity building programs in diverse strategic sectors, e.g., carpets, marble, construction and information and communications technology. These programs help build the organizational and human capacity of the private sector, and are implemented mainly through third-party vendors, but also by Task Force staff. Because of the drawdown of military forces and the security restrictions on Chief of Mission (COM) personnel in Afghanistan, the principle of accountability for the use of public resources is fundamental to Embassy Kabul's management processes. A variety of approaches may be employed to accomplish this requirement, including the use of third party monitors (TPMs). This policy is applicable to all civilian Agencies/Sections administering assistance and development funds under COM authority. The Task Force requires the services of a contractor to act as Technical Oversight Representative (TOR) for the COR on two Department-funded programs (the Programs): Program Name Afghanistan Marble Industry Center of Excellence Afghanistan Business Development The main objective of the Afghanistan Performance Monitoring Support Project is to provide the Task Force with accurate, and verified information on the progress of two technical programs within its portfolio in an environment in which COM personnel will not be able to travel off-compound sufficiently to perform this function. For this Project, "accurate information" means that the Contractor shall, ensure that the Task Force receives data that reflects the reality in the field without bias or distortion. In addition, "verified information" refers to the role the Contractor will play in corroborating information that the Task Force's other implementing partners provide through their normal reporting functions. In addition to verification, the Contractor will in some cases be required to assess the quality of activity implementation. The Contractor shall perform the following tasks: Task 1 - Kick-off meeting a. Participate in a contract implementation meeting at Department offices b. Produce a plan detailing a Performance Monitoring Schedule. Task 2 - Performance Monitoring The events under the Programs for which the Department needs assistance are as follows Start Date Program Event Location Length of Time 7/22/13 ABDP Agribusiness Training Kabul, Afghanistan 1 day 8/5/13 ABDP Mining Training Kabul, Afghanistan 1 day 9/7/13 ABDP Agribusiness Tour New Delhi, India 2 days 10/21/13 ABDP Construction Training Kabul, Afghanistan 1 day 10/28/13 ABDP Mining Training Kabul, Afghanistan 1 day 11/4/13 AMICOE Trade Show Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 days 1/30/14 AMICOE Trade Show Jaipur, India 2 days 3/27/14 AMICOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 3/31/14 AMICOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 4/7/14 AMICOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 4/10/14 AMICOOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 4/14/14 AMICOOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 4/21/14 AMICOOE Processor Training Herat, Afghanistan 1 day 5/21/14 AMICOE Trade Show Carrara, Italy 2 days 6/23/14 AMICOE Quarry Training Kabul, Afghanistan 1 day For each event shown above the Contractor shall perform the following tasks: a. Attend each of the above-described events. b. Monitor the contractor's performance as related to the requirements of this Contract. c. Review on-site logs, if any, maintained by the Contractor. d. Provide timestamp-photos that demonstrate project implementation associated with the time and location of a particular verification visit. e. Provide a report detailing the observations made during a verification visit. f. Serve as the technical contact through which the Program contractor can relay questions and problems of a technical nature to the COR during any of the above-described events. g. Review the reports, memorandums and other data prepared by the contractor pursuant to the terms of the contract. h. In the event of contractor delay or failure to perform during any above-described event, determine the cause, and make recommendation(s) for appropriate corrective and/or preventive measures to the Site Manager. Task 3 - Peformance Monitoring Reports: The Contractor must submit performance reports summarizing progress of the verification and monitoring activities in process during each above-described event in relation to the requirements of the contract, indicating any problems encountered, and proposing remedial actions as appropriate. Reports must also provide supporting information to substantiate the verification and monitoring activities conducted. This additional information may include, but is not limited to, time-, date-, and GPS-stamped photographs of relevant tangible outputs taken during site visits; standardized event monitoring reports; and summary statistics of interviews with Program beneficiaries. The mix of supporting information will vary by Program and event and must reflect the mix of verification and monitoring methods that the Contractor implements. Task 4 - Contract Closeout a. Final Report: The Contractor must provide to the COR a concise, final report no later than 45 days after the last above-described event. The final report shall include, but not be limited to, the following items: • Basic identifying information, such as program name, award number, approval date, etc.; • The principal implementing partner; • A summary of activities used to implement this Contract and major outputs; • Lessons learned from the Project, so that they can be applied to other Department programs, including a follow-on program in Afghanistan and similar programs in conflict affected environments; • A summary of performance indicators used and an assessment of their relative usefulness for performance management and reporting; and • Names and contact point of individuals who were directly involved in various phases of the Project (planning, achieving, and assessing and learning) and who would be good sources of additional information. b. Meet with Task Force Program Manager and COR The Contractor shall comply with all GIRoA and U.S. Government civilian/ military agency policies and orders (COM/FRAG) as they relate to contracting with private security contractors. Contractor must assure that Contractor or any of Contractor's subcontractors do not use unlicensed private security contractors. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing all life-support and security services required for its personnel deployed to project locations except when it is expressly stated in individual task orders that such facilities and services are to be provided by other means. The Contractor responsibilities include all life support, communications, and transportation of materials, personnel, and equipment to work sites unless otherwise specified in the task orders. In addition, the Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining the security of its personnel, materials, and equipment. The Department anticipates that Contractor personnel will primarily be working in Afghanistan, with the potential of additional work performed in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. The Contractor will have discretion on where to locate its personnel to best perform its obligations under the Contract. For all personnel deploying into the theater of operation, the contractor is authorized to conduct contractor-performed theater admission processing. The period of performance for this Contract shall be 12 months from the date of the award.
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