Procurement number : 18/000538

The information was added 8/24/2018 by Susanne Berggren

Sida has, due to the questions, decided to extend the last date to tender until October 21 and also to extend the last date to submit questions until October 7.

Last date for asking questions 9/4/2018  

Question 18

The Terms of Reference (2.2.2 and 2.4) calls for a timeline of the planned operationalization of all 5 program inputs by month and year. May we organize our timeline quarterly instead?

Yes

Question 17

Could Sida please give more details and provide the justification for the preregistration requirements (sections 4.6.3, 7.1.1):
a) Is it the proof of registration as an economic/NGO entity that is required or do you require evidence of registration/licenses for distribution and sales of commodities and drugs?
b) For the regional programme(s) – is it sufficient for the eligibility that the national implementer of the regional program is preregistered?

a) Under Section 2.1.1 in the ToR it states clearly that suppliers are expected to have ongoing activities in the specified countries in order to avoid long start-up times. Therefore, suppliers (alone or as a member of a consortium) must have permission to implement the full scope of work, which includes the sale of devices and commodities. It is not necessary for all products to have been registered in all countries at the time of tender submission. This is implicit in section 2.2.2 of the ToR (“Commodity and device purchasing through subcontractors, registration (if necessary), quality assurance and importation of products”). However, it must also be clear from the CVs that the proposed Senior Management Team, as a whole, has the necessary experience in registering products, purchasing and distributing SRH commodities and devices in the specified countries/regions. Please see also Section 6 and 7 in the Draft Contract, Appendix 1, 7.2.1 in the Tender Documents and answers to previous questions.

b) Yes, it is sufficient for the eligibility that the national implementer of the regional program is preregistered.

Question 16

We would kindly request for an extension of the deadline for submitting the Tender, until September 17. This would give Sida an opportunity to receive more qualitative tenders. Would that be possible?

Sida has decided to extend the last date to tender two weeks, i.e. until September 16 and also extend the last date to submit questions until September 4.

Question 15

4. For Component C, would SIDA consider adding Tanzania to the list of compliant countries?

Yes, Tanzania is one of the eligible countries in component C. See also answer to a previous question.

Question 14

Section 3.2 Tender Format details the language and submission format requirements, but does not provide guidance around technical proposal page limits. Please clarify any document submission requirements.

The page limit for the technical proposal excluding annexes is strongly suggested not to exceed 40 pages.

Question 13

The Terms of reference of the tender requires the selected supplier to socially market medical abortion products. Could you please clarify SIDA’s position towards potential suppliers who have agreed to the terms and conditions of the Mexico City policy are bound to flow these conditions down to their local partners/affiliates?

Potential suppliers that have agreed to the terms and condition of the Mexico City Policy/Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance would be excluded from the tender evaluation, as they would not meet the requirements of the terms of reference as the would not be able to socially market medical abortion products.

With regards to subcontractors of the potential supplier that have signed the Mexico City Policy/Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance, this will be assessed as part of the evaluation of the proposals. The supplier must describe in the technical proposal how it will meet the requirements of the terms of references. If a supplier can describe how it will socially market medical abortion products in a given country via some subcontractors and the other required sexual and reproductive health commodities via others, this may be an acceptable set up. However, the risk of such a setup, including cost-effectiveness, must be analyzed and described.

Question 12

The geographical scope of the programme is clearly defined by SIDA in the terms of reference. However, could you please clarify whether a potential supplier who currently doesn’t have a presence in Mozambique for example, would be excluded from SIDA’s evaluation or would it simply influence the total score under the geographic scope criteria?

The supplier must have Proof of registration/permission to operate in each proposed programme country in all the required countries listed in Section B including Mozambique, the selected countries included in section A, but not for the proposed countries in Option C until if and when the Option is invoked.

Since the funding is limited, it is expected that the supplier will already have ongoing activities in these countries. Start-up costs and time for establishing offices and permits for these programs will therefore not be covered. Please see answers to previous questions.

Question 11

Given that Option C is ‘optional’, we are wondering how to interpret Sida’s request for information along these lines. How should we incorporate information on commodities, budgets, registrations, etc?

The tenderer shall calculate the total price of the programme (incl. the Option) and in addition a separate budget for the Option must be presented, please see Section 5.1 Fees, costs and tender price in the Tender Documents and Budget template, Appendix 8.

Proof of registration/permission to operate in the Countries to be included must not be provided until it is decided if and when the Option is invoked. Please see Section 6 Registration/Permission to Operate and Section 14 Amendment and Expansions in the Draft Contract, Appendix 1 and Section 7.1.1 Additional requirements in the Tender Documents. See also 4.3 regarding Supplementary documentation and Appendix 3 Terms of Reference.

Detailed information regarding commodities and devices etc can be provided if and when the Option is invoked, such as information in the Matrix that must be updated if new products are added during the contract period. Please see Section 7 Requirements for the purchase of Medical Products and Devices the Draft Contract Appendix 1.

Question 10

In some sections of the ToR, option C (south/east Africa) is suggested to be a three-year program; in others, it says two years. Which is correct?

Option C is a two-year program that, if invoked, spans 2020-2022 which includes reporting periods after the 2-year activity period.

Question 9

Components A and B require proof of registration from tenderers for countries proposed. Is it compliant for consortium partners, companies as described in 4.7 (access to other companies’ capacity), and / or subcontractors to meet the current registration requirement instead of the lead tenderer while the lead tenderer is in the process of registering?

Yes, but it must be clearly described and proof thereof submitted upon request, please see the Tender Documents in particular Section 4.

Question 8

Section 7.2.1 The Senior Management team provides guidance on the Senior Management Team. The second bullet states “Other members of the Management Team must have at least 3 years of experience within their area of responsibility and clear reference thereof in the CV.” Can SIDA please clarify what roles are considered Senior Management Team and what roles are Management Team?

The senior management team includes: Regional program managers, Country program managers, Financial managers, HR manager, Medical/QA managers, Monitoring and Evaluation manager, and Sales and Marketing managers. In section 7.2.1, it is specified that the regional and country managers (of the Senior management team) must have at least 5 years of experience and it is specified that the other members of the [senior] managing team, that is the Financial managers, HR manager, Medical/QA managers, Monitoring and Evaluation manager, and Sales and Marketing managers, must have at least 3 years of experience.

Question 7

Could SIDA list all WCA countries that would be counting towards the 10 to 15 under component A?

The 15 eligible countries in the WCA region are listed in footnote 8 on page 6 in the Terms of Reference, Appendix 3.

Question 6

The budget notes suggest a separate tab for annual budget a 3-month budget. To what 3-month period does this refer?

The 3-month budget is only for year one, and refers to payments required in advance from the awarded supplier (if required). These advance payments may be made after signature of contract. Please see the Draft Contract, Appendix 1 Section 5 Invoicing and Payment.

Question 5

The budget parameters suggest (for West/Central Africa) that no 1 country should take up more than 20% of the budget. However, our structure is such that regional offices cover several countries. We would therefore place budget in the 3 regional offices to be used across 10-12 countries. Will this be an acceptable way to structure the budget?

To structure the budget along three regional offices would be acceptable. However, the budget must indicate what proportion of the budget of the regional offices is allocated to what country, as well as what proportion of the budget is allocated to pooled regional functions. The narrative proposal should also indicate how the pooled regional functions (both human and financial resources) are distributed across the countries that the regional offices cover.

Question 4

Sida has asked for proof of registration / ability to operate in each country. Would an attestation suffice or does Sida really require this kind of documentation? Such certifications can be quite long.

Please see Section 6 Registration/Permission to Operate in the Draft Contract, Appendix 1;
Proof of registration/permission to operate in each proposed programme country must be supplied before signing of Contract (except for 3-7 countries in East Africa, which can be supplied if and when the Option is invoked).

Please also see Section 4.6.3 Tenderer's technical and professional ability and 7.1.1 Additional requirements in the Tender Documents;
The tenderer must for the purpose of executing the Contract, upon request before award of contract, provide evidence/documents of the following:
• Permission for the Supplier to operate/proof of registration in each proposed programme country must be supplied (except for 3-7 countries in East Africa, which can be supplied if and when the Option is invoked).
See also 4.3 regarding Supplementary documentation and Appendix 3 Terms of Reference.

Question 3

Is a policy / procurement manual required during submission process or only if the Supplier is awarded the Contract? This is a lengthy document.

The Tenderer/Supplier may form Consortium or/and use subcontractors, please see the Tender Documents in particular sections; 4.2, 4.3, 4.6.4, 4.6.5, 4.7, and 4.8. For instance, a policy/manual is not required to be submitted in the Tender but Tenderers who use subcontractors to perform assignments, must describe in the tender how the tenderer can utilise the resources of the subcontractor that are needed to perform the possible contract. For example, shall the respective company's/subcontractor’s name and registration number be provided and its role shall also be stated in the tender. The tenderer is responsible for the subcontractor's work as theirs. Any new subcontractors during the Contract period must be presented and approved by Sida in writing.

Question 2

We understand from the TOR that we are free to use our own budget template as long as the basic requirements are met. Is this correct?

The total budget/tender price shall be specified in Appendix 8 Budget template, or a similar form with the requested content. The tender price will be evaluated according to the attached Appendix 8 Budget template and Section 5.1 Fees, costs and tender price in the Tender Documents.

Question 1

We note that Tanzania is not included in the list of countries in Option C. However, we believe it is a country that has been included in past regional funding by Sida (along with Mozambique, DRC, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya). We are wondering if this is a purposeful omission or whether Tanzania may be included in a response.

Tanzania should be included, thus instead the first paragraph under Option C on page 7 of the Terms of Reference (ToR), Appendix 3 should read: In addition to the above components, Sida will potentially fund an optional regional program in three to seven countries in Eastern and Southern Africa10 from 2020 to 2022. Footnote 10 on page 7 of the ToR should read: Mozambique, DRC, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.

In addition, the following should be deleted from paragraph three under option C in the ToR: “for these three countries.” The paragraph should read:
For all three geographic components (A, B and C), 100% sub-regional coverage is not necessary in these countries. Regardless, justification for the regions/provinces/districts to be supported should be included. Since the funding is limited, it is expected that the supplier will already have ongoing activities in these countries. Start-up costs and time for establishing offices and permits for these programs will therefore not be covered.

Furthermore, the correct wording under Section 6 Registration/Permission to Operate in the Draft Contract, Appendix 1 is;
Proof of registration/permission to operate in each proposed programme country must be supplied before signing of Contract (except for 3-7 countries in East Africa, which can be supplied if and when the Option is invoked).

The correct wording under Section 7.1 Implementation, Organisation and Methods, bullet three in the Tender Documents, is:
• Three to seven countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Finally, under 7.1.1 the first bullet, in the Tender Documents the correct wording is;
Permission for the Supplier to operate/proof of registration in each proposed programme country must be supplied (except for 3-7 countries in East Africa, which can be supplied if and when the Option is invoked).

Contract Document

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