RFQ Number: RFQ no. L4G-RFQ-L4G00001
Issuance Date: August 11, 2016
Deadline for Offers: August 25, 2016
Description: RFQ for Translation Services
For: Mali Livestock for Growth (L4G)
Funded By:  United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
Contract No. AID-688-C-14-00004
Implemented By:  AECOM International Development
Introduction:  The Mali L4G Project is a USAID program implemented by AECOM International in Mali. The key goal of the USAID Mali Livestock for Growth (L4G) program is to improve the quality of livestock, expand market access and incentives, and include poorer households in livestock value chain development. As part of project activities, L4G requires the purchase of translation services to assist with the translation of materials from French to English and vice-versa.
The purpose of this RFQ is to solicit quotations from eligible suppliers for as-needed, ad hoc purchases of translation services. As a result of this RFQ, the Mali L4G Project anticipates issuing a blanket purchase agreement (BPA)—or possibly multiple BPAs—to establish specific pricing levels and parameters for ordering these commodities/services.  The Supplier shall furnish the supplies/services described in any purchase orders issued by AECOM under this BPA.  AECOM is only obligated to pay for supplies/services ordered through purchase orders issued under this BPA and delivered by the Supplier in accordance with the terms/conditions of this BPA.
Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by AECOM in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFQ.  Failure to adhere with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.
Offer Deadline and Protocol:  Offers must be received no later than 17.00 local Malian time on August 25, 2016 by email or by hard copy delivery to the Mali L4G office.  Any emailed offers must be emailed to emma.bauer@aecom.com. Any hard copy deliveries must be stamped and signed by the offeror’s authorized representative and delivered to the L4G Office located at Hamdallaye ACI 2000 pres de la Mairie C IV – Rue 431, Porte 61-Bamako, Mali.
Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ.  Offers received after this time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of AECOM.
Questions:  Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted to emma.bauer@aecom.com.
Only the written answers issued by AECOM will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation.  Any verbal information received from employees of AECOM or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.
Specifications:  Section 3 contains the technical specifications of the items that may be ordered under the BPA.
At this time, specific quantities to be purchased under any BPA resulting from this RFQ are unknown.  Specific quantities will depend on the needs of L4G. Individual purchase orders will be issued under the BPA agreement, as the need arises for additional commodities/services.
Quotations:  The per-unit pricing in quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed-price, all-inclusive basis, including delivery and all other costs.  Pricing must be presented in West African CFA franc. Offers must remain valid for not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the offer deadline.  Offerors are requested to provide quotations on official letterhead or quotation format; in the event this is not possible, offerors may complete the table in Section 3.
In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:
Organizations responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their official registration or business license.
Individuals responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their identification card.
Eligibility:  By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government.  AECOM will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.
Evaluation and Award:  The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, and meets or exceeds the minimum required technical specifications, and is judged to be the best value based on a lowest-price, technically-acceptable basis.
Shortlisted candidates will be required to take a test as part of the review process.
Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration.  AECOM reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.
Best-offer quotations are requested.  It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations.  However, AECOM reserves the right to conduct any of the following:
AECOM may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award.
While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, AECOM may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of L4G.
AECOM may cancel this RFQ at any time.
AECOM may reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of AECOM.
Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the L4G Project for consideration, as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners.  AECOM, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.
Terms and Conditions:  This is a Request for Quotations only.  Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way obligate AECOM, the L4G Project, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer.
This solicitation is subject to AECOM’ standard terms and conditions.  Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request.  Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:
AECOM’ standard payment terms are net 45 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables.  Payment for purchase orders issued under any BPA resulting from this RFQ will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the corresponding BPA award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
Any award resulting from this RFQ will be in the form of a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA).  The L4G Project anticipates issuing a BPA (or multiple BPAs) under which specific purchase orders can be issued—on an as-needed basis—at the pricing levels established in the BPA.  When the need arises for the commodities/services described in the BPA, the L4G Project will issue a purchase order to the BPA-holder.  If there are multiple BPA-holders as a result of this RFQ, the purchase order will be issued to the BPA-holder that presents the best value for that specific order, based on price and delivery time. Any BPA issued as a result of this RFQ will have a minimum duration of at least 12 months.  The Supplier shall furnish the supplies/services described in any purchase orders issued by the L4G  Project under the BPA.  The L4G Project is only obligated to pay for supplies/services to the extent purchase orders are issued under any BPA resulting from this RFQ.
United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall pass to AECOM following delivery and acceptance of the goods by AECOM.  Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to AECOM.