MODIFICATION
R -- Request for Information - US Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative
- Notice Date
- 3/5/2014
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- Contracting Office
- Interior Business Center, AQDDivision 4/Branch 17301 West Mansfield AvenueLakewoodCO80235-2230
- ZIP Code
- 80235-2230
- Solicitation Number
- D14PS00220
- Response Due
- 3/7/2014
- Archive Date
- 4/6/2014
- Point of Contact
- Anthony Jasper
- E-Mail Address
-
anthony_jasper@ibc.doi.gov
(anthony_jasper@ibc.doi.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI) United States Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (USEITI) Background: The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard that promotes transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sectors. It has a robust yet flexible methodology for disclosing and reconciling company payments and government revenues. EITI implementation has two core components: -Transparency: oil, gas and mining companies disclose their payments to the government, and the government discloses its receipts. The figures will be reconciled by an Independent Administrator (e.g. Contractor), and published in annual EITI Reports alongside contextual and other information about the extractive sector. - Accountability: a multi-stakeholder group (MSG) with representatives from government, companies and civil society was established and will oversee the process and communicate the findings of the EITI Report, and promote the integration of EITI into broader transparency efforts in that country. Seven requirements for implementing countries are set out in the EITI Standard1. Additional information is available online at: www.eiti.org The Secretary of the Department of the Interior is the senior U.S. government official responsible for the implementation of USEITI. The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) within the Department of the Interior coordinates the efforts to convene the MSG and manages the day-to-day implementation of USEITI. ONRR, in coordination with the MSG, is responsible for managing the USEITI Independent Administrator contract. To learn more about our ongoing efforts to implement USEITI and to view the U.S. Candidacy Application please visit: www.doi.gov/eiti Purpose: This RFI offers the opportunity for interested companies to provide recommendations on approaches for how the U.S. can issue its first USEITI report in compliance with EITI requirements and successfully become an EITI compliant country. Based on the EITI requirement listed below, please describe how your company is qualified to fulfill the EITI requirements. Requirements: - Conduct a review of the work the MSG has completed to establish the scope of the USEITI reporting process, the reporting templates, data collection procedures, and the schedule for publishing the USEITI Report. It is imperative that the scope of USEITI reporting is clearly defined, in line with the EITI Standard and with the MSG's agreed objectives and expectations for the USEITI process. - Distribute the reporting templates to reporting companies and government agencies, and collect the completed forms, data files, and associated supporting documentation, as well as any contextual or other information requested to be collected directly from the participating reporting entities. - Reconcile the information disclosed by the reporting entities, identifying any discrepancies (including offsetting discrepancies) in accordance with the agreed scope, and prepare an initial reconciliation report based on the reported unadjusted data. - Prepare contextual information about the extractive industries including but not limited to: a description of the applicable legal framework and fiscal regime; an overview of the industry overview that includes information about its economic and other contributions, leases held, the nature and scope of contracts, and relevant information about beneficial ownership; production data from federal and state lands; state revenue data; and revenue allocations and the sustainability of revenues at the federal and state levels. - Publish and make public the final USEITI report on a website established for this purpose. Questions regarding the vendor and their product: (Vendors should address each question, in their responses.) - Do you have experience in any aspect of EITI reporting in any other country? Provide a link or an electronic sample of your work. - Do you have experience submitting timely annual reports regarding financial performance, reconciliation of revenues, or other similarly related issues that are comprehensive, understandable, and made widely available and accessible to the public? Provide a link or an electronic sample of your work. - What are best practices for producing a fully compliant EITI report or similar report? - Have you recently, within the past 24 months prepared a scoping or feasibility study such as an environmental impact assessment, economic assessment, regulatory assessment, or other multi-faceted analysis for an extractive industry such as oil, gas, mining, or other resources? Provide a link or an electronic sample of your work. - Do you have experience documenting the government's policy on disclosure of contracts and licenses that govern the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals which would include identifying relevant laws, regulations, and financial systems that govern the extractive sector? Provide a link or an electronic sample of your work. - Do you have any contracts or other financial interests with any oil, gas, or mining company that may generate revenues from Federal lands and waters? If so, explain how you might handle the conflict of interest should your company seek to perform USEITI work. - What mechanisms would you use to ensure independence and non-partisan approaches to reconciling and reporting? - Do you have experience working with multi-stakeholder or multi-sectoral bodies or committees with diverse interests who will be integral to conducting USEITI work? Provide examples. - Do you have experience managing, analyzing, and translating complex and often dry financial data into easily understandable, compelling, and usable formats for the public? The public may include the general public, non-profits, community groups, local governments, state governments, and small to large companies. - Do you have experience designing and developing user-facing websites that explain complex information in engaging ways? Provide examples. - Do you have experience developing lightweight web applications that use modern, standards- compliant technologies to share and visualize data? Provide examples. - Do you have experience using and contributing to open source code and frameworks? We are most interested in those that relate to data wrangling, user-facing interaction and visualization. Provide examples. - Please provide any additional information you think is relevant to developing the USEITI report. Timeline goals: - Anticipated contract award date is July 31, 2014. - Issue the first USEITI report in December 2015 based on 2013 data in accordance with the EITI Standard. The following are DOI's responses to eight (8)questions that have been submitted by interested contractors. Question #1: Based on our experience and understanding, we recognize that at this stage of United States Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (USEITI) implementation, the Department of the Interior (DOI) must both develop the foundational reporting mechanisms for later reconciliation and validation by an independent third party. Based on the nature of the questions we wanted to discern whether the Request for Information (RFI) is intended to identify firms qualified to: 1) design and develop an approach and solution for initial USEITI reporting; 2) conduct independent third party reconciliation an validation of USEITI reporting; or 3) both. Please clarify the intent of the RFI in this regard. DOI Response: DOI is seeking to learn more about the capability and capacity of firms to support the implementation of USEITI based on Requirements outlined in the RFI. Question #2: Sub-national reporting, including reconciliation of revenue distributions to state and tribal governments, is an EITI requirement that the USEITI seeks to address through an adaptive implementation request in its Candidacy Application. To what extent is the respondent to the Request for Information (RFI) expected to address experience and capabilities in working with state and tribal authorities in reconciliation of revenues obtained from the federal collection of taxes and royalties that are distributed to sub-national entities? DOI Response: Please refer to the Adapted Implementation section on page 14 of the U.S. Candidacy Application. http://www.doi.gov/eiti/upload/USEITI-Candidacy-Application-MSG-Approved-2.pdf As it relates to expected experience and capabilities working with states and tribes, the offeror may include any relevant information per the last bullet in the RFI Requirement Section which reads Please provide any additional information you think is relevant to developing the USEITI report. Question #3: USEITI identifies that it seeks a response to the RFI relating to best practices for producing a fully compliant EITI report or similar report (un-numbered RFI Question 3). Recognizing that the complexity of USEITI reconciliation substantially exceeds most international EITI reconciliations (to-date), please address the extent to which USEITI would consider a pilot project that is used to define templates, data requests and protocols for extraction of both government and industry data, and which could be relied on to inform and refine an efficient and effective project-wide data collection effort. In particular, please respond to this request with respect to any Initial USEITI Report timelines or deadlines that will drive contracting and deliverables in this project. DOI Response: DOI fully understands that there will be refinements to reporting templates and data requests, and overall process improvements made to the protocols used to implement USEITI, especially for subsequent reports. Please see EITI Requirement 7 of the EITI Standard. http://eiti.org/files/English_EITI%20STANDARD_11July_0.pdf DOI plans to publish the first USEITI report in December 2015. Please see the proposed 2014 Workplan timeline that is available online at: http://www.doi.gov/eiti/FACA/upload/USEITI-MSG-2014-HL-Timeline-12122013.pdf Proposed initial report timelines or deadlines that will drive contracting will be published in the formal request for proposal/quote. Question #4: USEITI seeks RFI responses relating to various characteristics of information systems, including user-facing websites, web applications providing sharing and visualization of data, open source coding/frameworks, and interactive data wrangling and visualization (un-numbered RFI Questions 10 through 12). Please provide additional description of the intended capabilities of such systems, particularly with respect to Geographic Information System (GIS) frameworks and functionality. Additionally, identify in your response the extent to which USEITI intends to provide a user interface for these data systems that will be dynamic in user definition of data selection (e.g., geographic areas, resource types, multiple time periods, identification of individual industry firms, revenue-source programs, etc.), extraction/ download protocols, and updating (e.g., periodicity related to federal fiscal year revenue cycles). DOI Response: DOI has not made any decisions relating to the various characteristics of the user facing website and information systems that will be required to support implementing USEITI. DOI is seeking to understand the capability and capacity of offerors to design and/or support such an innovative solution that might meet the technical requirements of USEITI. Question #5: Please provide any information that has been developed by USEITI relating to assessment or description of the anticipated level of effort required to perform the reconciliation of federal government revenues pursuant to a materiality definition identified for the USEITIs Initial Report (e.g., number of hours (level of effort), number of companies to be reconciled, number of lines of data requiring reconciliation, etc.). This question relates a proper understanding of the specific Requirement to prepare an initial reconciliation report based on the reported unadjusted data by the vendor, and the preparation of a Response to the RFI relating to a vendors capabilities in assessing financial performance and reconciliation of revenues. DOI Response: DOI has not made a firm determination on the level of effort, number of hours, or number of lines that will be required to perform the reconciliation of the first USEITI report. Scope and materiality were discussed at several MSG Advisory Committee Meetings. Draft meeting summaries of those discussions can be found online at: http://www.doi.gov/eiti/FACA/msg-meeting-minutes.cfm Please also refer to the Scope and Materiality Section set forth on page 12 in the U.S. Candidacy Application which outlines the decisions made on scope and materiality to date. http://www.doi.gov/eiti/upload/USEITI-Candidacy-Application-MSG-Approved-2.pdf Question #6: Has USEITI established a budget or range of expected contract services costs associated with the Independent Administrator solicitation (i.e., DOI Solicitation Number: D14PS00220)? If so, please provide such budget or cost estimates. DOI Response: DOIs estimated cost for the IA solicitation can be found in the U.S. Candidacy Application Annex 2: Country Workplan. http://www.doi.gov/eiti/upload/USEITI-Candidacy-Application-MSG-Approved-2.pdf Question #7: With respect to the required response to (un-numbered) RFI Question 7, please provide additional information with respect to USEITIs requirements and expectations that an Independent Administrator who is providing reconciliations and recommendations under a USEITI engagement be compliant with AICPA and GAGAS (Yellow Book) Independence Rules for nonaudit services, including (but not limited to) Financial Statements, Corporate Finance (consulting or advisory), Information Technology Services, Business Risk Consulting, and Internal Control Monitoring. DOI Response: To the extent that the IA will be expected to be compliant with International Accounting Standards please see Requirement 5 of the EITI Standard. http://eiti.org/files/English_EITI%20STANDARD_11July_0.pdf Question #8: Are there applicable restrictions related to the use of IT development resources that are located offshore in foreign countries? In responding to this question please address any security restrictions and sub-contracting considerations that must be satisfied with respect to the USEITI reconciliation project activities of an Independent Administrator. DOI Response: DOI is interested in learning more about how offerors might employ the use of various IT development resources. Security restrictions have not yet been determined. Subcontracting restrictions will follow the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Contractor response may include the following: - Company name and address with point of contact, email and phone number. - DUNS number. - Socioeconomic Status e.g., small business, veteran owned small business, woman owned small business, large business, etc. - Specific and relevant information related to the requirements of this project that will enable the Government to determine the capabilities of the company. - Vendor responses shall not exceed a total of ten (10) pages, singles-spaced, 1 inch margins, and font size Times New Roman 12. Response Instructions - Submit response electronically no later than 12:00 pm (MST) on March 7, 2014. Questions regarding this RFI will be accepted until February 28, 2013, close of business. All questions must be directed to Anthony Jasper at 303-969-5750, or electronically at anthony_jasper@ibc.doi.gov. - Disclaimer: This RFI is being published as a means for the Government to obtain relevant market information to use in developing an acquisition strategy. Responses to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or purse the requirement. - We anticipate utilizing NAICS code 541211 for this acquisition. 1 http://eiti.org/document/standard
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