SPECIFIC PROCUREMENT NOTICE (SPN) Country Mozambique City Maputo Agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Buyer The Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II (GDC) Project Name Connectivity and Rural Transport Procurement Title Recruitment of firm to conduct Institutional Gender and Social Inclusion Assessment of the Mozambican Transport Sector Procurement Reference number RFP/MOZ/2023/QCBS/CDF/08 Type of Procurement Consultant Services (Firms) Publication date October 09, 2023 Submission deadline November 14, 2023, at 5:00 pm – UTC+02:00 1) The United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”), and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) executed a Grant Agreement on April 20, 2022, as amended or otherwise modified (the “CDF Agreement”) that sets forth the general terms and conditions on which MCC will provide funding not to exceed US$14,900,000 under the authority of Section 609(g) of the United States Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended (the “Act”), which activities will facilitate the development and implementation of a Millennium Challenge Compact to be entered by the United States of America, acting through MCC, and the Government to help facilitate poverty reduction through economic growth in Mozambique (the “Compact”);. 2) The proposed Compact has identified Zambezia, a highly impoverished province, as a target area for investment. In Zambezia, we will work to promote inclusive economic growth, climate and coastal resilience, and improved quality/access to public services and infrastructure through the following three projects: Connectivity and Rural Transport • Improve road transport by providing climate-smart, sustainable, and cost-effective road transport connectivity, enabling increased economic activities and improved access to basic social services. • Significant reform to the Road Maintenance system – from collections to allocations, distribution, and execution. Promoting Reform and Investment in Agriculture Project • Fiscal reforms to improve the business enabling environment with a specific focus on tax reform to catalyze greater private investment in inclusive commercial agriculture. • Agriculture grant facility to incentivize private investment by commercial aggregators, processors, and value chain improvement. Integrated Climate Management and Coastal Development • Improved livelihoods of coastal communities, fisheries promotion, marine economies, and community-led management practices. • Conservation, reforestation, marine research, and blue carbon credits 3) Subject to the terms and conditions of the Compact, the CDF Agreement, related agreements, and the availability of funds, the Government intends to use a portion of the funds to finance the services of the Consultant for Institutional Gender and Social Inclusion Assessment of the Mozambican Transport Sector (“Consultant”), to assess the gender and social inclusion integration of national institutions as well as conduct a governance assessment at the Zambezia district level, exploring women and youth’s participation in transport planning. 4) MCC requires that all beneficiaries of MCC Funding, including the MCA Entity and any applicants, Bidders, Suppliers, contractors, Subcontractors, consultants, and sub-consultants under any MCC-funded contracts, observe the highest standards of ethics during the procurement and execution of such contracts. MCC’s Policy on Preventing, Detecting and Remediating Fraud and Corruption in MCC Operations (“MCC’s AFC Policy”) is applicable to all procurements and contracts involving MCC Funding and can be found on the MCC website at: https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/policy-fraud-and-corruption . 5) This Request for Proposal, the RFP, follows the General Procurement Notice that appeared in dgMarket and UNDB Online on April 26, 2023. 6) GDC now invites proposals from legally constituted consulting firms and other organizations to conduct an Institutional Gender and Social Inclusion Assessment of the Mozambican Transport Sector (“Proposals”). More details on these services are provided in the Terms of Reference in Section V of the RFP. 7) This RFP is open to all eligible entities (“Consultants”) who wish to respond. Subject to restrictions noted in the RFP, consultants may associate with other consultants to enhance their capacity to successfully carry out the assignment. 8) A Consultant will be selected under the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (“QCBS”) method, an evaluation procedure that is described in sections of the RFP in accordance with the “MCC Program Procurement Guidelines” provided on the MCC website (www.mcc.gov/ppg). The selection process, as described, will include a review and verification of qualifications and past performance, including a reference check, prior to the contract award. 9) The RFP includes the following Sections: PART 1 – SELECTION PROCEDURES Section I Instructions to Consultants (“ITC”) This section provides information to help prospective Consultants prepare their Proposals and describes the procedures for the submission, opening, and evaluation of Proposals and on the award of Contracts. Section II Proposal Data Sheet (“PDS”) This section sets out the particular requirements for the specific procurement and supplements the information included in Section I, Instructions to Consultants. Section III Qualification and Evaluation Criteria This section describes the criteria and requirements to be used to evaluate the Proposals and select the Consultant to perform the Contract. Section IV A Technical Proposal Forms This section contains the Technical Proposal Forms which are to be completed by the prospective Consultants and submitted in a separate envelope as part of their Proposals. Section IV B Financial Proposal Forms This section contains the Financial Proposal Forms which are to be completed by the prospective Consultants and submitted in a separate envelope as part of their Proposals. Section V Terms of Reference This Section includes the detailed Terms of Reference that describe the nature, tasks, and duties of the consulting services to be procured. PART 2 – CONTRACT DOCUMENTS Section VI General Conditions of Contract (“GCC”) This section contains the form of Contract proposed to be entered into between the MCA Entity and Consultant. Section VII Special Conditions of Contract (“SCC”) This section contains the form of those clauses of the Contract that supplement the GCC and that are to be completed by the MCA Entity for each procurement of consulting services. Section VIII Contract Forms and Annexes This section contains forms and annexes to be sent to the successful Consultant. 10) Please note that a Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on October 24, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. – UTC +02:00 as described in the Proposal Data Sheet (“PDS”), Section II of the RFP. Attendance at the Pre-Proposal Conference is not mandatory but is strongly advised for all interested Consultants or their representatives. 11) The complete RFP can be downloaded through the following link: https://ln5.sync.com/dl/51bcdbdb0#ebem2gti-cy9pq6sp-7g9wbgjh-h3tuhwb2 .Consultants interested in submitting a Proposal, must express their interest by filling out the online registration form via the link https://forms.office.com/r/67GZYJsbJm .This will ensure they receive any updates regarding this RFP. 12) The proposals (Technical and Financial) shall be submitted in the manner specified in the PDS ITC 17 no later than November 14, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. – UTC +02:00. Only electronic proposals submitted via the File Request Link (FRL) will be accepted. Please note that only electronic Proposals shall be accepted. Late Proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances. 13) Contact: Attn: Interim Procurement Agent (IPA), The Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II (GDC) E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] Yours sincerely, Higino Francisco de Marrule National Coordinator Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II, Mozambique DISCLAIMER: THIS NOTICE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. FOR UPDATES ON THIS SOLICITATION PLEASE FOLLOW THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE LINK PROVIDED. THIS PROCUREMENT IS NOT CONDUCTED UNDER THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS, IS NOT ADMINISTERED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, AND THE RESULTING AWARD WILL BE MADE BY THE COUNTRY INDICATED IN THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PROCUREMENT PLEASE CONTRACT THE PERSON NAMED IN THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT.