Request for Quotations (RFQ) – Services

Note: This is a revised version of the same RFQ posted on April 30th. Please read below for

revisions.

DAI, implementer of the USAID-funded Feed the Future Rwanda Nguriza Nshore Project, invites qualified vendors to submit quotations/bids for Consultancy services as outlined below.

1. RFQ No. BREQ-20-00004

2. Issue Date April 30, 2020

3. Title Public Relations and Media Consulting

4. Issuing Office &

Contact Information

DAI Global, LLC

Feed the Future Rwanda Nguriza Nshore Project

M. Peace Plaza, 10th Floor, Block B

Email: NgurizaNshore_Procurement@dai.com

5. Site Visit N/A

6. Deadline and Email

for Receipt of

Questions

Questions are due by 5:00 pm local Kigali, Rwanda time on May 7th,

2020 to NgurizaNshore_Procurement@dai.com

7. Deadline and Email

for Receipt of

Bids/quotations

Bids/quotations are due by 5:00 pm local Kigali, Rwanda time on

May 14th, 2020 to NgurizaNshore_Responses@dai.com

8. Anticipated Award

Type

DAI anticipates issuing a Blanket Purchase Order (BPA).

Issuance of this RFQ in no way obligates DAI to award a subcontract

or purchase order and offerors will not be reimbursed for any costs

associated with the preparation of their bid.

9. Basis for Award An award will be made to the responsible bidder whose bid is

responsive to the terms of the RFQ and is most advantageous to

DAI, considering price or/and other factors included in the RFQ. To

be considered for award, bidders must meet the requirements

identified in Section 14, “Determination of Responsibility”. No

discussions or negotiations are permitted with bidders, and

therefore bidders shall submit their best and final price.

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1. Request for Quotations (RFQ) - Services

10. General Instructions to Offerors

• Late offers will be rejected except under extraordinary circumstances at DAI’s discretion.

• Offerors shall submit bids/quotations electronically to NgurizaNshore_Responses@dai.com and using the subject line “Quote for RFQ-BREQ-20-00004 Public Relations and Media Consulting.”

• Offerors shall confirm in writing that the Offeror fully understands that their bids/quotations must be valid for a period of 90 days.

• Offerors shall complete a Price Schedule. Value Added Tax (VAT) shall be included on a separate line.

• Price should include all costs.

11. Questions Regarding the RFQ

Each Offeror is responsible for reading very carefully and understanding fully the terms and conditions of this RFQ. All communications regarding this solicitation are to be made solely through the Issuing Office and must be submitted via email or in writing delivered to the Issuing Office no later than the date specified above. All questions received will be compiled and answered in writing and distributed to all interested Offerors.

12. Scope of Work Requirements for Technical Acceptability

See Attachment C for details on the scope of work

13. Determination of Responsibility

DAI will not enter into any type of agreement with an Offeror prior to ensuring the Offeror’s responsibility. When assessing an Offeror’s responsibility, the following factors are taken into consideration: 1. Provide copies of the required business licenses to operate

in Rwanda. 2. Ability to comply with required or proposed delivery or

performance schedules. 3. Have a satisfactory past performance record. 4. Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. 5. Be qualified and eligible to perform work under applicable

laws and regulations.

14. Geographic Code • Under the authorized geographic code for its contract DAI may only procure goods and services from the following countries.

• Geographic Code 935: Goods and services from any area or country including the cooperating country, but excluding Prohibited Countries.

• DAI must verify the source, nationality and origin, of goods and services and ensure (to the fullest extent possible) that

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DAI does not procure any services from prohibited countries listed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as sanctioned countries. The current list of countries under comprehensive sanctions include: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. DAI is prohibited from facilitating any transaction by a third party if that transaction would be prohibited if performed by DAI.

• By submitting a bid in response to this RFQ, Offerors confirm that they are not violating the Source and Nationality requirements and that the services comply with the Geographic Code and the exclusions for prohibited countries.

15. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)

All U.S. and foreign organizations which receive first-tier subcontracts/ purchase orders with a value of $30,000 and above are required to obtain a DUNS number prior to signing of the agreement. Organizations are exempt from this requirement if the gross income received from all sources in the previous tax year was under $300,000. DAI requires that Offerors sign the self-certification statement if the Offeror claims exemption for this reason. For those required to obtain a DUNS number, you may request Attachment C: Instructions for Obtaining a DUNS Number. For those not required to obtain a DUNS number, you may request Attachment D: Self-Certification for Exemption from DUNS Requirement

16. Compliance with Terms and Conditions

Offerors shall be aware of the general terms and conditions for an award resulting from this RFQ. The selected Offeror shall comply with all Representations and Certifications of Compliance listed in Attachment B.

17. Procurement Ethics By submitting an offer, offerors certify that they have not/will not attempt to bribe or make any payments to DAI employees in return for preference, nor have any payments with Terrorists, or groups supporting Terrorists, been attempted. Any such practice constitutes an unethical, illegal, and corrupt practice and either the Offeror or the DAI staff may report violations to the Toll-Free Ethics and Compliance Anonymous Hotline at +1 855-603-6987, via the DAI website, or via email to FPI_hotline@dai.com.

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1.1 Attachment A: Unit Price Schedule, including certification of price

Item

Number

Service & Description Unit Quantity Unit Price

(without

VAT)

RWF

Unit Price

(with VAT)

RWF

Note: For the purpose of this RFQ, only unit prices are required and hence bidders are

required to provide a quote for 1 unit for each service/goods item. The unit price must be

good for 12 months.

Period of Performance: 12 months

We, the undersigned, provide the attached bid in accordance RFQ-BREQ-20-00004

dated __April 30, 2020_______. Our attached bid is for the total price of

_________N/A____________ (figure and in words).

I certify a validity period of 90 days for the prices provided in the attached Price

Schedule/Bill of Quantities. Our bid shall be binding upon us subject to the modifications

resulting from any discussions.

We understand that DAI is not bound to accept any bid/quotation it receives.

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Authorized Signature:

Name and Title of Signatory:

Name of Firm/Consultant:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Company Seal/Stamp:

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1.2 Attachment B: Representations and Certifications of Compliance

1. Federal Excluded Parties List - The Bidder Select is not presently debarred, suspended, or

determined ineligible for an award of a contract by any Federal agency.

2. Executive Compensation Certification- FAR 52.204-10 requires DAI, as prime contractor of U.S.

federal government contracts, to report compensation levels of the five most highly compensated

subcontractor executives to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Sub-Award

Report System (FSRS)

3. Executive Order on Terrorism Financing- The Contractor is reminded that U.S. Executive Orders

and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals

and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the

Contractor/Recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. Recipients may

not engage with, or provide resources or support to, individuals and organizations associated with

terrorism. No support or resources may be provided to individuals or entities that appear on the

Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked persons List maintained by the US Treasury (online at

www.SAM.gov) or the United Nations Security Designation List (online at:

http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml). This provision must be included

in all subcontracts/sub awards issued under this Contract.

4. Trafficking of Persons – The Contractor may not traffic in persons (as defined in the Protocol to

Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking of persons, especially Women and Children,

supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime), procure commercial

sex, and use forced labor during the period of this award.

5. Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payment to Influence Certain Federal Transactions – The

Bidder certifies that it currently is and will remain in compliance with FAR 52.203-11, Certification

and Disclosure Regarding Payment to Influence Certain Federal Transactions.

6. Organizational Conflict of Interest – The Bidder certifies that will comply FAR Part 9.5,

Organizational Conflict of Interest. The Bidder certifies that is not aware of any information bearing

on the existence of any potential organizational conflict of interest. The Bidder further certifies that

if the Bidder becomes aware of information bearing on whether a potential conflict may exist, that

Bidder shall immediately provide DAII with a disclosure statement describing this information.

7. Business Size and Classification(s) – The Bidder certifies that is has accurately and completely

identified its business size and classification(s) herein in accordance with the definitions and

requirements set forth in FAR Part 19, Small Business Programs.

8. Prohibition of Segregated Facilities - The Bidder certifies that it is compliant with FAR 52.222-21,

Prohibition of Segregated Facilities.

9. Equal Opportunity – The Bidder certifies that it does not discriminate against any employee or

applicant for employment because of age, sex, religion, handicap, race, creed, color or national

origin.

10. Labor Laws – The Bidder certifies that it is in compliance with all labor laws..

11. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) – The Bidder certifies that it is familiar with the Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and is in not in violation of any certifications required in the applicable

clauses of the FAR, including but not limited to certifications regarding lobbying, kickbacks, equal

employment opportunity, affirmation action, and payments to influence Federal transactions.

12. Employee Compliance – The Bidder warrants that it will require all employees, entities and

individuals providing services in connection with the performance of an DAI Purchase Order to

comply with the provisions of the resulting Purchase Order and with all Federal, State, and local laws

and regulations in connection with the work associated therein.

By submitting a bid, offerors agree to fully comply with the terms and conditions above and all

applicable U.S. federal government clauses included herein, and will be asked to sign these

Representations and Certifications upon award.

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1.3 Attachment C: Detailed Scope of Work

PROJECT BACKGROUND The purpose of Rwanda Nguriza Nshore (“Lend so that I may invest”), a $14.9 million program funded by Feed the Future through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is to drive rural economic growth through facilitating the emergence of a dynamic agribusiness sector. Herein after the project will be referred to as Nguriza Nshore. By alleviating constraints to investment and increasing access to financing, Nguriza Nshore will facilitate the creation and growth of small to medium agribusinesses, as an entry point for broader growth, to provide productive employment for rural populations and reduce poverty. By working with financial institutions, investors, public and private sector business development service providers, and a variety of Government of Rwanda ministries and initiatives, Nguriza Nshore will be the catalyst that strengthens and improves existing public-private platforms that support investment from international, local, bank and non-bank sources, creating a better-functioning finance and investment ecosystem.

OBJECTIVES In line with the key objectives outlined above, Nguriza Nshore aims to raise awareness of the type of work the project is doing utilizing traditional media and social media. In addition, Nguriza Nshore aims to launch broader discussions on key themes linked to project activities and goals such as: what makes Rwanda an investment destination, the difference between private capital and debt financing, current policies that intersect with the project’s work etc. A main way Nguriza Nshore does this is by hosting a number of key events each year and also regularly participating in local and international conference and summits. Nguriza Nshore is seeking a public relations (PR) and media consultant or firm, hereinafter referred to as the Contractor, who can help the project amplify the work they do and spark other relevant dialogues by maximizing the project’s exposure on traditional media and social media. Please note that the Contractor may be a firm or an individual consultant. This support will typically intersect with events, conferences, and summits as well as other significant times when it makes sense for Nguriza Nshore to engage with other local and international conversations. TASKS In collaboration with the Nguriza Nshore Communications Manager, the Contractor will support the project to amplify its work on traditional media and social media as well as launch broader discussions on key themes linked to project activities and goals. Nguriza Nshore will engage the expertise and support of the Contractor particularly at events which the project hosts and conferences/summits the project attends. The projected frequency of this type of support is more or less 6-10 times per year. For the sake of this RFP, the Contractor will be supporting Nguriza Nshore in an upcoming event the project is hosting to launch a new policy that has been developed in Rwanda. The Contractor will assist the project before, during, and after the one-day event to amplify the event and surrounding themes on social media and traditional media. It is essential that the message about the policy and event reaches a broad audience in Rwanda (private and public sector, urban and rural locations, English and Kinyarwanda speaking) utilizing media outlets and social media. The Contractor will

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assist the project to do build-up media exposure prior to the event including putting out stories about beneficiaries of the policy on different platforms. The Contractor will also amplify the event on the day-of using both traditional media and social media and continue to create traction surrounding the event and related themes in the weeks after the event. In this proposal, the Contractor will propose the strategy and approach he/she intends to use to assist Nguriza Nshore attain these goals. It is also essential that the Contractor ensure that the correct messaging about the project and its donor is given to relevant media houses and that accurate messaging is presented in any written, audio, or visual media. The Contractor should also assist Nguriza Nshore to frame stories and news content in an engaging way that will be picked up by key media firms and personnel. DELIVERABLES The proposal must include a detailed description of how the Contractor will attain each deliverable:

Task

1. Build-up traditional and social media exposure in the days prior to the event

2. Amplify the event itself on traditional media outlets (both digital and print), ensuring correct messaging about the event, the project, and the donor

3. Amplify the one-day event itself on social media channels ensuring correct messaging about the event, the project, and the donor

4. Invite relevant media to a press conference the project is hosting and ensure they are present and prepped

5. Continue dialogues around key themes from the event and the project following the close of the event utilizing traditional and social media

6. Submit a media report after the event with statistics on Nguriza Nshore’s reach on social media, including relevant hashtags used before, during, and after the event as well as features in traditional media

1.3.1 Bid evaluation criteria

Criteria Sub-criteria Maximum Points

Technical Approach

Technical know-how – Does the offeror clearly explain,

understand and respond to the objectives of the Scope of

Work?

30 points

Subtotal Points – Technical Approach 30 points

Management Approach

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Personnel Qualifications – Does the proposed Contractor have

necessary experience and capabilities to fulfill the scope of

work?

20 points

Subtotal Points – Management 20 points

Corporate Capabilities and Past Performance

Background and Experience – Does the offeror have a good

track record in doing similar PR and media consulting work in

Rwanda with proven success?

20 points

Examples of previous PR and media consulting work – Does the

offeror’s examples of previous PR and media consulting work

done, and outcomes achieved demonstrate the offeror’s ability

to successfully support Nguriza Nshore in this regard?

30 points

Subtotal Points – Corporate Capabilities 50 points

Total Points 100 points

Minimum technical pass mark 70 points

1.4 Contractor Qualifications

The Consultant or Firm should have the following minimum qualifications:

• At least 5 years of PR and media experience; • Previous experience supporting organizations and firms with PR and media exposure

in Rwanda; • Previous experience using social media to amplify events and related key messaging

in Rwanda; • Proven experience ensuring accurate messaging about sensitive topics, donors etc.; • An established network with key media firms and personnel; • Excellent interpersonal skills, especially with key Nguriza Nshore partners; • Excellent English writing and oral skills; • Excellent organizational and time management skills.

1.5 Performance Period

The expected performance period is 12 months. The policy event date is TBD (to be

determined) due to current global situation. Similar events are to occur more or less 6-10

times per year.

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The Contractor should be available to work full-time during the day of the event and available

at least half-time during the rest of the performance period.

1.6 Application

• Applications should contain the following:

1. A brief technical proposal of maximum two pages which details the offeror’s approach to the technical scope of work, and past experience that will set the consultancy firm or individual up for timely success to complete the scope of work

2. Previous Work Samples: Three (3) examples of past PR and media Contractor work completed for other organizations, projects, or firms in Rwanda, for which the proposed Contractor is the sole author and

designer

3. Attachment A: Completed unit price schedule

4. Attachment D: Completed table of past experience offering similar PR and media Contractor support

• Applications must contain all of the above contents; incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Please send all bids/quotations electronically to NgurizaNshore_Responses@dai.com before 5 pm CAT on May 14th, 2020 using email line “Quote for RFQ-BREQ-20-00004 Public Relations and Media Consulting.” All questions are due by 5pm CAT on May 7th, as specified in this RFQ.

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1.7 ATTACHMENT D: Summary of Relevant Work Experience

Include projects that best illustrate your experience relevant to this (RFQ) or similar activities, sorted by decreasing order of completion date. Projects should have been undertaken in the past three years (i.e. April 2017 – April 2020). Projects undertaken in the past five years may be taken into consideration at the discretion of the evaluation panel.

Item # Project Title,

Description of Work

Location Client Name/Tel

# /Email

Cost in

Rwandan

Francs

Start

Date

End

Date

Completed

on Schedule

(Yes/No)

Subcontractor

or Prime

Contractor?

1

2

3

4

5

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1.8 ATTACHMENT E: Bid Checklist

Bidder: __________________________________________________________________

Does your bid include the following?

Technical proposal responding to the scope of work (Attachment C)

Three (3) examples of past PR and media consulting work

Completed Price Schedule (Attachment A)

Summary of Relevant Experience and Past Performance (use form in Attachment D)

-end of RFQ