QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1
IN RESPONSE TO THE USAID BEP REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)-2015-02 FOR
PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY TO THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION,
TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE (MCTI), BUSINESS REGISTRY AGENCY (BRA) AND CITY OF BELGRADE (COB)
1.
What is the exact period of performance - 5 or 6 months? There is a slight inconsistency related to the period of performance.
This inconsistency is due to the mistake. The anticipated duration of performance of all tasks is six months.
This error will be correct in an Amendment 1 to the RFP.
2.
Is it possible to reconsider the deadlines for certain deliverables in the Section Deliverables Schedule, page 12?
Explanation:
 Organizational and business processes diagnostics deadline is determined for October 25, 2015. Based on our experience in detailed mapping of the existing situation in processing administrative procedures in public institutions, we believe that app. 10 days of performance is not enough. Diagnostics of organizational and business processes is the most important and the most demanding task, especially if we take into account the mindset and work approach of public officials and complexity of the subject. It is of huge importance to have enough dedicated time to prepare relevant submission forms for each beneficiary, define approach, initiate contacts and develop relations with relevant public employees and assist them in providing information for accurate and complete diagnostics, as the important basis for the recommendations preparation and other planned tasks;
Please suggest your own schedule for this activity, but consult Amendment 1 for revised Deliverables
Schedule. Please note that all tasks have to be finished within the set timeframe (six months).
 The deadline for 21 weekly tables tracking processing submitted applications by all agencies involved is set for December 30, 2015. However, only filled 11-12 excel sheets per beneficiary could be provided by that date, while the rest could be sent only after each week expiry.
Twenty one weekly tables can be submitted within the period of performance of the contract, i.e. the last one should be delivered one week after the end of the contract.
 The deadline for 5 monthly reports on performance of the construction permitting processes in general and by different public agencies involved is January 31, 2016. We suppose this is just a technical omit since the report can be produced only after the period expiry.
The deadline for the delivery six monthly reports is the end of the project, i.e. these reports should be delivered successively on a monthly basis throughout the life of the contract.
3.
The RfP indicates that one Project Administrator should be engaged per one beneficiary (MCTI, CoB and
BRA). Are variations possible, such as:
 to engage one Project Administrator in providing full support to 2 beneficiaries (with relevant level of efforts not exceeding 21 days of monthly engagement, with established responsibility for each beneficiary, and all within the period of performance prescribed by the USAID BEP)?
 to engage 2-3 Project Administrators in providing support to all beneficiaries as a team (with exact division of the responsibilities where one would be authorized as a lead in each beneficiary).
Please note that a pool of three administrators is considered to be a minimum for the requested support.
However, you are entitled to arrange their working schedule as deem necessary.

4.
What is exact page limit for the Technical Proposal ? I n Section 3 - Proposal Submission and Preparation
Information, it is specified that “the technical proposal must not be longer than 15 pages in length”.
However, the next section 3.2 indicates a bit longer Technical Proposal as individual parts should be: a)
Part 1 - between 5 and 15 pages long; b) Part 2: between 2 and 5 pages long, c) Part 3: between 2 and 7 pages long .
The optimal number of pages for the technical proposal is 15 pages. The RFP also specifies “Pages submitted that exceed 20 pages will not be reviewed”. It does not include CVs of experts and cost proposal.
Please disregard the page limits per sections of the Technical proposals as per 3.2. of RFP, and instead adhere to the following page limits: under Part 1: Technical Approach, Methodology and Draft Detailed
Work Plan. This part shall be between 5 and 10 pages long, but may not exceed 10 pages. Part 3:
Corporate Capabilities, Experience, and Past Performance. This part shall be between 2 and 5 pages long, but may not exceed 5 pages. Please see Amendment 1 for corrections.
5.
In the Cost Proposal, there are budget lines Salaries and Wages (gross 1 - net plus taxes and contributions
on behalf of employees) and Fringe Benefits (taxes and contributions on salaries on behalf of employer).
Could you elaborate more on these budget lines?
This question is not relevant any more, as according to the Amendment 1 the budget breakdown template USAID BEP RFP_Subcontracting_Budget Form was substituted with Level of effort (LOE) format.