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Consultant Support to the Development of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program Solicitation: 95332420Q0007 1. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with ... Consultant Support to the Development of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program Solicitation: 95332420Q0007 1. 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; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is 95332420Q0007 and is issued as a Request for Quotations (RFQ). This solicitation document incorporates all mandatory commercial item provisions and clauses that are in effect through the most recent Federal Acquisition Regulation amendments which can be found at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html. 2. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. Government corporation whose mission is to provide assistance that will support economic growth and poverty reduction in carefully selected countries that demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizenry. For more information on the MCC, please visit www.mcc.gov. 3. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT AND IS NOT FOR INDIVIDUALS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT DIRECT WITH MCC. PLEASE VISIT http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Defined FOR INFORMATION REGARDING INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. Note: MCC will assist the consultant in coordinating with an Independent Contractor Engagement Services Provider for payroll, travel, international travel insurance, etc.; therefore, a DUNS number and registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) is not required. 4. Description of Services: MCC is seeking a part-time independent consultant to support the development of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program. The consultant would be based in Solomon Islands (preferred) or in the in South Pacific region. Under this Statement of Work (SOW), the consultant would provide logistical, operational, and relationship-management support for MCC’s efforts to develop the Solomon Islands Threshold Program, including an on-the-ground presence in Honiara, Solomon Islands. 5. The North American Industrial Classification Systems (NAICS) code is 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services) and the small business size standard is $16.5 million. 6. FAR Clauses 52.212-1 through 52.212-5 apply to this procurement. The exact text and wording of clauses and provisions may be obtained from the Internet at http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html. The Government contemplates award of a time-and-materials order resulting from this solicitation. NOTE: An Addendum to FAR clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions –Commercial Items (Alt I) is attached. Please note that the FAR clauses referenced in this solicitation are provided for informational purposes only. The clauses will not apply directly to the independent consultant, but may apply indirectly by virtue of flow-down requirements from the “Independent Contractor Engagement Services Provider” referenced in Item 3, who is the prime contractor on a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with MCC for payroll and accounting services. 7. This combined synopsis and solicitation notice is a request for competitive quotations. Therefore, all quotations received prior to the RFQ close date/time will be considered. 8. The Government will award an order to the responsible independent consultant(s) whose quote conforming to this notice represents the best value in terms of technical criteria, past performance and price. All non-price factors (technical criteria and past performance) are more important than price. If options are included, quotes will be evaluated by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. This includes options under FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, which applies to this solicitation. Evaluation of options under FAR 52.217-8 will be accomplished by using the price(s) offered for the last option period to determine the price for a 6-month option, which will be added to the base and other option periods to arrive at the total price. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). 9. Quote Submission. The independent consultant shall submit the following documents: Technical: 1) Cover letter that addresses each of the evaluation factors listed in Section 10; and 2) Curriculum Vitae (5 page maximum). Past Performance: Three professional references, including contact information and a description of the work performed for/with the individual (NOTE: MCC reserves the right to contact references). References must be for relevant work performed within the past three (3) years. Price: Bio-Data Form which includes the independent consultant’s proposed rate and salary history (see Attachment 2). NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT COMBINE YOUR SUBMISSION INTO ONE (1) DOCUMENT. EACH OF THE THREE (3) DOCUMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED AS SEPARATE ATTACHMENTS IN ONE (1) EMAIL. 10. Evaluation Factors. Only quotes which meet the mandatory technical evaluation criteria will be considered. Candidates with preferred qualifications will be given additional consideration. a) Technical Qualifications of Consultant: Mandatory Requirements: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in international development, economics, public administration, public health, international trade, business administration, law, civil engineering, or other fields relevant to the program. A minimum of seven (7) years of work experience related to economic development, program design and management, budgeting, analysis and reporting, which includes experience collaborating with government agencies and international organizations, local or international NGO’s and/or foreign investors. Substantial knowledge of the Solomon Islands development context, including GoSI national development policies and priorities, constraints to economic growth, and current socioeconomic trends. Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate to a wide variety of audiences both in writing and orally. Experience in researching and preparing effective communications and reports assessing and describing program/project progress. Demonstrated working knowledge of MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Fluency in English. Maintain a responsible and flexible attitude and be capable of managing a variety of tasks with minimal supervision. Regionally based (Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand or other South Pacific nation). Preferred: Advanced degree in the area of international development, economics, public administration, public health, international trade, business administration, law, environmental studies, civil engineering, or other fields relevant to the program. Working knowledge of Solomons Pijin. Based in the Solomon Islands. b) Past Performance: MCC will evaluate the relevance of the Consultant’s professional references to the work to be performed under the resulting task order. c) Price: The Government will examine the proposed rate for fairness and reasonableness. 11. Evaluation Methodology. The Government will perform a comparative analysis of quotes and will assess the advantages and disadvantages of each quote in relation to the Evaluation Factors (Section 10). Multiple awards may be made from this notice and all quotes will be retained and may be utilized for requirements for a period of 12 months after the RFQ deadline. 12. Question Deadline. Independent Consultants must submit their questions in response to this notice by 11:00 am Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, January 2, 2020. Questions submitted in response to this notice shall include the solicitation number (95332420Q0007) and title: “Consultant Support to the Development of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program” in the subject line and must be submitted via email to pembertonwe@mcc.gov and naranjoj@mcc.gov. 13. Quotation Submission Deadline. Independent Consultants must submit their quotations in response to this notice by 11:00 am Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Quotations submitted in response to this notice shall include the solicitation number (95332420Q0007) and title “Consultant Support to the Development of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program” in the subject line and must be submitted via email to pembertonwe@mcc.gov and naranjoj@mcc.gov. The maximum file size is 10MB. 14. MCC does not accept responsibility for delays in transmission or receipt of any submission. Independent Consultants are responsible for submitting their package so as to reach the designated Government office by the closing date and time specified above. Submissions received after the closing date and time will not be considered, unless there is acceptable evidence to establish that it was indeed received by the Government installation prior to the time and date specified in this announcement. Receipt of submissions in response to this announcement does not constitute an award commitment. The U.S. Government will not reimburse any costs incurred in the preparation of a submission. Any submission is at the sole risk and expense of the Independent Consultant. 15. MCC 52.213-70 Exclusion of Quotes and Pre-Award Communications with Offerors (JUNE 2019): At any time prior to award, including upon receipt of quotes, the Government may exclude a quote from further consideration for reasons such as (but not limited to): non-compliance with instructions related to this solicitation; the quote is not among the most highly rated; or the quote is not likely to be selected for award. The Government need not notify a Quoter that its quote has been excluded from further consideration nor need it provide the Quoter with a pre-award debriefing. However, the Quoter will be provided post-award notification and if requested, a brief explanation of the basis for the award decision. After receipt of quotes, the Government will conduct an evaluation. The Government intends to evaluate quotes and issue a contract without communications with offerors. However, during the evaluation process, the Government may, solely at its discretion, communicate with a Quoter for any purpose, such as to gain a better understanding of the quote. As a result of such communication, the Government may allow Quoters to submit quote revisions. If quote revisions are allowed, the Government may, solely at its discretion, impose non-common due dates for the revisions. In other words, the Government may elect to have a quote revision date for a Quoter that is different than the quote revision date for another Quoter(s). The Government need not conduct communications with all Quoters. Rather, the Government may, at its discretion, conduct communications with one or only some Quoters. Furthermore, the Government need not permit all Quoters to submit quote revisions. Rather, the Government may, at its discretion, seek quote revisions from only one or only some Quoters. 16. MCC 52.204-71 Notice of MCC Electronic Mail Filters (JUNE 2019): Offerors and other interested parties are hereby notified that the Millennium Challenge Corporation utilizes electronic mail filters for security purposes that may block certain messages from unknown or suspicious senders and certain potentially malicious file types. As such, the following information and guidance is provided: 1. General Inquiries, Questions, and/or Submission of Quotes/Proposals. As unrecognized or unknown senders may be blocked by MCC’s email security measures, Offerors and interested parties are advised of the following: Offerors and interested parties must conform to any submission instructions included in this solicitation or notice, including referencing any solicitation or notice number(s) identified in the subject line of any communications regarding it to minimize the chance that the message will be identified as spam or as a suspicious message. MCC considers Offerors and interested parties responsible for confirming with MCC personnel that messages containing such communications, including general inquiries about MCC solicitations, questions regarding MCC solicitations, and electronic submissions of quotes or proposals have been received. As a general practice, MCC acknowledges receipt of inquiries about a solicitation, questions about a solicitation, or submission of quotes/proposals in writing, so if such an acknowledgement has not been received, then the offeror or interested party should contact MCC directly for confirmation of receipt. This verification should be completed by contacting MCC personnel identified directly in this solicitation or notice regarding the inquiry, question, or quote/proposal via telephone number if a confirmation of receipt or acknowledgement is not returned by MCC personnel. As such, Offerors and interested parties, if submitting questions or quotes/proposals that are time-sensitive, must provide sufficient time to contact MCC and verify receipt prior to any quotation/proposal/question due date. 2. Blocked and Unacceptable File Types. Offerors and interested parties are advised that due to current cybersecurity threats, MCC currently blocks attachments containing extensions that run programs. These include any files that contain or are executables, macros, and other extensions that present a threat. As such the Offeror must not use any of these file extensions and remove all macros from Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel) or their inquiry, question, or quote/proposal will be blocked, preventing receipt of the message by MCC and potentially preventing the Offeror from being considered for award. The following are examples of file types that are blocked, however this list is not exhaustive or fully-inclusive as additional, similar file types may be blocked in the future: .vbs (Microsoft visual basic scripting) .vbe (VBScript Encoded Script File) .scr (script) .reg (registration file) .jar (java file extension) .exe (executable) .docm (word with macros) .xlsm (excel with macros) .pptm (powerpoint with macros) .app (executable) .ani (animation files) .ace (data compression archive file format used by WinAce) .ico (image file format) .js (java script) .zip (compression file) 17. There are no additional contract requirements(s) necessary for this acquisition other than those consistent with customary commercial practices. 18. Attachments: (1) Attachment 1: Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-4, (Alt I) (2) Attachment 2: MCC Bio-Data Form (3) Attachment 3: Statement of Work