MAHILA ARTHIK VIKAS MAHAMANDAL

Tender : Procurement of Consulting Services for Conducting Baseline survey for Nav- Tejaswini Project [Mavim/Navtej/Pre-proj/P1]

CLARIFICATION

Sr. No. RFP Document

Reference(s) Clarification
Content of RFP requiring Clarification(s) Points of Clarification
(Section & Page
Number(s))
1 3.4 Evaluation Solid experience with managing baseline – What is the meaning of Development projects means projects
Criteria survey and impact assessment surveys for development projects? undertaken in human development sector
livelihood and rural development projects,
Mandatory
with a minimum five (5) years of experience
Criterion 1
in conducting surveys, of which a minimum
of 3 projects in the past five years should
have been with development projects.

2 Section V Targeting and target groups: The project's - How to identify the TG, The sample size 2,200 HH which includes
direct target whether will get database? both sample and control. It will be 50-
I. Project
50% each in composition.
Background groups are the women members of existing - What should be the break-up
viable SHGs and their families who of above TG? Do you have
participated in the previous Tejaswini. certain guidelines for sample
proportion?
By profession, the target beneficiaries are
1) marginal farmers,
2) livestock/fisheries micro
entrepreneurs,
3) producers of non farm products,
4) workers in service sectors and
5) agricultural labourers.
3 estimated that the sample size would be How 2,200 sample size is Yes, need to stick to this sample size
approximately 2,200 households, including arrived? Do we need to stick to
beneficiary and control households. same sample size overall?

4 The project will work across the 34 rural
districts of Maharashtra, in the
blocks/talukas/villages where MAVIM have
organized SHGs, Village Organizations (VOs)
and Community Managed Resources Centres
(CMRCs).
How sample size to be Will be finalised by service provider in
distributed? Do you have certain mutual consultation with client.
guidelines or Agency needs to
suggest?
Should we take same sample size
across districts or Stratified? If
we have to take stratified then
we need to have district wise
universe data for beneficiary and
control households.

5 Are there any marks provided Marks will be given as per marking system
for using Survey Solutions given in criteria & sub criteria of Tender
Software? We have our own document (ITC 23.1)
software

6 Have asked to submit ORIGINAL Since it is an online submission, no hard

proposal and COPY of the same. copy is required. Please refer to 18.3 and
Does it apply in case of online 18.4 of Proposal Data Sheet
submission as well?

7 Clause 33 of GTC states “ Subject GCC are provisions in the Standard

to additional provisions, if any,
set forth in the SCC, the
Consultants’ liability under this
Contract shall be provided by the
Applicable Law.” Reading this
along with SCC, it states the
Client to define additional
provision for the consultants
liability and legal department of
Client may consider standard
Bidding Document. Special Conditions of
Contract will provide modifications at the
time of contract negotiations. The
purpose of providing the template of
contract conditions is to inform the
bidders about the provisions. SCC will be
finalized after contract negotiations.
 clause on limitation of liability.
In this regards we would like to
seek clarity on the capping of
Consultant’s liability. We would
like to propose to cap
Consultant’s liability to the
extent of amount paid by Client
to the Consultant under this
Agreement arising out of any
default committed by the
Consultant under this
Agreement

8 ITC 23.1 Criteria, sub-criteria, and point Could you clarify the marking In clause VI- Staffing of TOR, qualifying
system for the evaluation of Technical system for Supervisors? criteria for Supervisor are given according
Proposals. – Page No. 45 to those criteria evaluation will be made.
Please specify the designation of
‘Supervisor– 10 Marks (Each position will be other staffs. Other staff refers to Data Checkers and
evaluated for 10 marks and the average will Data Analysts (Ref ToR staffing)
be taken)
Other staff – 10 Marks’ Enumerators CVs are not require. But
Submitting enumerator’s CV in
the enumerators should comply to the
proposal would be difficult, since
educational requirements and
most of the enumerators are
experience indicated in ToR.
freelancers and they work with
different organisations and it
would be difficult to provide
Enumerator’s CVs in the
proposal.

9 Form TECH-2A. Financial Capacity of the
Consultant – Page No. 56
‘Evidence of financing dedicated for the
implementation of the consulting services as
attested by an authorized representative of
the Consultant’
Please clarify what evidence /
format would you require as a
part of this declaration.
Audited financial statements and tax
returns qualify for this requirement. Only
when the Consultant is required to pre-
finance major part of expenditures before
the advance from the Client, evidence of
dedicated financing for the

10 Theory of Change - The diagrammatic
representation of the Theory of Change is
presented below ….
Page No. 76
11 III. Baseline survey Methodology, Table 1:
Choice of methods for analysis
Page No.77 Col 3 Qualitative, secondrow
Level of satisfaction with services fr….
12 V. Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing
(CAPI)
Page No. 79 / Page No. 80
1. The Service Provider is required to
use the CAPI software. It highly
suggested to useSurvey Solutions,
developed by the World Bank. If the
Service Provider chooses to use
other CAPI platforms, this should be
clearly specified in the technical
proposal.
2. One Programmer/ IT specialist
……The data management system
would also be organized in such a
way as to deliver partial datasets on
a regular basis to MAVIM and
provide real time access to Service
Provider and MAVIM.
implementation is required. The text of
TECH 2A is may please be referred.
Theory of Change diagrammatic Theory of Change matrix is available in
representation is not available, the TOR document
please share the same.
Seems to be an incomplete Level of satisfaction experienced by
sentence. Request you to please clients for the business activities.
clarify
We understand that survey It is optional to use Survey Solutions
agency can use their own CAPI developed by any agency. The Consultancy
software and it is not mandatory company can also use other CAPI
to use Survey Solutions. Please platforms this has to be indicated in the
confirm. technical proposal.
In our organisation we are using
CSPRO / Confirmit / STG No. There is no need to upload the data to
software for CAPI programme MAVIM server.
and data get uploaded to our On Weekly basis
secure server.
Please confirm if one needs to
upload data to server
maintained by Client (MAVIM)
for this survey?
Please specify your requirement
of real time access to survey
dataset.
13 VII. Pre-testing, enumerator training, and
pilot
Page No. 81
The enumerator training and the pilot
should be conducted concurrently. The
Service Provider is responsible for devising
the training schedule ………..
In our regular survey we provide Yes, agreed upon.
a gap of about 3-4 days between
CAPI pilot and enumerators
training, to provide us adequate
time to finalize the CAPI
software before initiating the
survey. Please suggest if we can
alter this schedule without any
impact on overall project
timeline.

14 VII. Pre-testing, enumerator training, and There is a mention of Business
pilot dev. Expert here. Since the team
composition is already provided
in RFP, kindly please clarify
Page No. 81 about this position.
The position of Business Dev. Expert is
quoted as an example and may not be
necessarily included in the team
composition.

The pre-testing team should include all the

supervisors and a few local experts (i.e.
business development experts for example)

15 GCC 18.1 (insert payment schedule) Payment schedule could be finalised

during negotiations.
There is a mention of payment
Page No 119 schedule here. However not
given in the RFP. Can the agency
propose payment terms?
16 3.5.3.1 Historical Financial Performance What documentation do we TECH 4 when the past related
provide in Form Tech 4 – which assignments are claimed for experience,
is ‘Experience of the consultant’ besides the details in the format, attach
Page No.50 for this particular requirement? copies of contracts/letter of award of
contracts.
Requirement -
Submission of evidence to the Consultant’s
financial capacity to mobilize and sustain
the Services

In the last column of the table, that is,

documentation required, it is mentioned as
Form Tech 2A, 2B and 4.

17 3.5.3.2 Financial Resources What documentation do we TECH 4 -When the past related
provide in Form Tech 4 – which assignments are claimed for experience,
is ‘Experience of the consultant’ besides the details in the format, attach
Page No.50 for this particular requirement? copies of contracts/letter of award of
Requirement - contracts.
The Consultant must demonstrate access to,
or availability of, financial resources such as
liquid assets, unencumbered real assets,
lines of credit, and other financial means.

In the last column of the table, that is,

documentation required, it is mentioned as
Form Tech 2A, 2B and 4.

18 IV. The Scope of Services The scope of the survey The sample will be HouseHold (HH) and
mentions baseline survey at not the CMRC
Page No. 78
CMRC level, please confirm the
sample
19 Section II, 19 Bid specifies that all members of
Clause 6, Point the joint venture or Association
6.4 must satisfy the legal, financial,
litigation, eligibility and other
requirements set out in this RFP.
In case of Joint Venture or association
each associate member is required to be
submit all document / Form set out in this
tender document.

We understand that documents

that needs to be shared by each
associate of association are-Tech
1, Tech 2A and Tech 2B. Pls
specify if any other documents
are required to be shared by each
entity that associates to form a
Joint Venture.

20 Section II, 30 If required in the PDS, the In case board resolution is submitted, it
Clause 18, Point authorized representative of the has to specifically authorise the
18.2 Consultant signing the person/position who will be submitting
“ORIGINAL” of the Technical and the technical and financial proposals on
the Financial Proposals shall behalf of the organization.
provide within the Technical
Proposal an authorization in the
form of a written power of
attorney demonstrating that the
person signing has been duly
authorized to sign the
“ORIGINAL” on behalf of the
Consultant, and its Associates

We understand that in case a

board resolution is submitted,
power of attorney is not required
to be submitted. Request to
approve the same.
21 Section II, 25 To give prospective Consultants No extension is proposed at present.
Clause 10, Point reasonable time in which to take
10.3 an Addendum into account in
preparing their Proposals, the
Client may extend the deadline
for the submission of Proposals
at its sole discretion.

We request to consider extending

the last date of bid submission by
at least 7 days to allow us to
develop a comprehensive
proposal and allow sufficient time
to consider pre bid clarifications
22 Section II, 30 The “ORIGINAL” and each Since it is an online submission, no hard
Clause 18, Point “COPY” of the Technical Proposal copy is required. Please refer to 18.3 and
18.4 shall be placed in a sealed 18.4 of Proposal Data Sheet
envelope/parcel clearly marked
“TECHNICAL PROPOSAL”.
Similarly, the “ORIGINAL” and
each “COPY” of the Financial
Proposal shall be placed in a
separate sealed envelope/parcel
clearly marked “FINANCIAL
PROPOSAL”.

We understand that submission of

proposal can be done online
through e-procurement portal
and hard copy submission of
proposal is not required in that
case.
23 Section III, ITC 42 The Completed bid comprising Proposal has to be submitted online
18.3 of certificates/ documents through online website.
should be scanned and uploaded
on the portal of the E-
Procurement system of Govt. of
Maharashtra (GoM) i.e. Tenders
Maharashtra
https://mahatenders.gov.in/nicg
ep/app

We would also request you to

share an email address to be used
for submission of proposal in case
there is some problem in
submission through e-
procurement portal within
timeline.

24 Form Tech 2A 56 Evidence of financing dedicated
for the implementation of the
consulting services as attested
by an authorized representative
of the Consultant.
Request you to clarify what type
of document is required for the
same.
Audited financial statements and tax
returns qualify for this requirement. Only
when the Consultant is required to pre-
finance major part of expenditures before
the advance from the Client, evidence of
dedicated financing for the
implementation is required. The text of
TECH 2A is may please be referred.
25 Section 5, Clause 82 The total duration of the Timeframe of services as 4 months is kept
IX assignment is approximate 4 as it is.
months including the review and
feedback on the survey
methodology, the training of the
field staff, the pre-testing of the
questionnaire, the data
collection and submission, data
codebook, and the submission of
the final report with a variable
library, the sample distribution,
and the summary statistics.

Since the sample size is large, we

request you to extend the time
duration of the assignment to at-
least 6 months. In case that’s
possible, we will develop
workplan and resource
mobilization accordingly.

26 Part 2- Section 86 PART 2: GCC are provisions in the Standard

VII and Section
CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT
VIII
AND CONTRACT.
We understand that these
documents neednot be filled and
submitted at proposal submission
stage. Pls clarify
Bidding Document. Special Conditions of
Contract will provide modifications at the
time of contract negotiations. The
purpose of providing the template of
contract conditions is to inform the
bidders about the provisions. SCC will be
finalized after contract negotiations.
27 General NA Payment Milestones- Request Payment schedule could be finalised
clarification on payment during negotiations.
milestones across engagement
period according to project
deliverables

28 General- NA It is requested to limit GCC are provisions in the Standard

Limitation of consultant’s liability to 1X of the Bidding Document. Special Conditions of
Liability total contract value. This is as per Contract will provide modifications at the
GFR and the guidelines issued by time of contract negotiations. The
Meity. It is also the normal purpose of providing the template of
industry practice. A suggestive contract conditions is to inform the
clause for inclusion in RFP in line bidders about the provisions. SCC will be
with above is given below for finalized after contract negotiations.
your kind consideration:
Purchaser/Client agrees that
Consultants total liability for all
claims connected with the
services or this agreement
(including but not limited to
negligence), whether in contract,
tort, statute, indemnities or
otherwise, is limited to one time
the professional fees paid /
payable for the services.
Purchaser/Client agrees that
Consultant will not be liable for
(i) loss or corruption of data from
your systems, (ii) loss of profit,
goodwill, business opportunity,
anticipated savings or benefits or
(iii) indirect or consequential loss.
29 Section 5, Clause 80 We would also request to Standard Force Majeure clauses will
VI Staffing include a clause regarding apply.
current COVID-19 pandemic
force majeure condition
considering its impact. A
suggestive clause for inclusion in
RFP in line with above is given
below for your kind
consideration:
If there are any circumstances
that reasonably restricts travel or
physical presence of our
personnel at your office /
location, then without prejudice
to your payment obligations, you
shall allow such personnel to
work from home or other remote
location till the time such
reasonable restrictions exist. Any
delay / default in performing our
obligations arising from such
restrictions, shall not be
attributable to us and shall not be
considered a breach of contract
on our part and no consequent
damages / penalties etc. arising
therefrom would be imposed on
us under the Contract.
30 Form Tech - 2B 57 The Consultant, or a related No changes are permitted.
company or entity or affiliate,
has been involved in any
proceeding, litigation,
arbitration, action, claim,
investigation or dispute within
the past five (5) years the
process or outcome of which the
Client could reasonably interpret
may impact or have the potential
to impact the financial or
operational condition of the
Consultant in a manner that may
adversely affect the Consultant’s
ability to satisfy any of its
obligations under the Contract:
No

It is requested to remove the

words in bold (or a related
company or entity or affiliate).
The confirmation should be given
only by the bidding entity.

31 Section V, Clause 80 Apart from the given resources, It is up to the bidder to propose
VI: Staffing We request to consider adding additional resources with or without
an additional resource for financial cost.
evaluation as Team Leader to
ensure quality control of the
engagement.
32 As per section D No.18, the Since it is an online submission, no hard
Consultant understands that the copy is required. Please refer to 18.3 and
hard copies of the Technical and 18.4 of Proposal Data Sheet
Financial proposals also need to
be submitted along with online
submission through e-
procurement system (section D,
ITC 18.3 PDS). But, the ToR is
silent on the number of hard
copies to be submitted. Kindly
confirm

33 It is understood from the ToR Copies of contracts or Letters of award of

that the Consultant needs to contracts to be submitted.
submit work orders as
documentary evidence for
similar projects/surveys in the
past five years. Kindly clarify.

34 As per section IV, qualification The experience should be within the

and eligibility criteria, No 3.4, overall domain of livelihood and rural
the eligible consultant needs to development projects.
have “Solid experience with
managing baseline survey and
impact assessment surveys for
livelihood and rural
development projects, with a
minimum five (5) years of
experience in conducting
surveys, of which a minimum of
3 projects in the past five years
should have been with
development projects”.So, the
Consultant understands that the
3 development projects should
 be from any domain/sector.
Kindly confirm

35 The Consultant understands All documents should be signed by the

from Form Tech 2A of page 56 authorised representative who is
which specifies “evidence of authorise to sign all documents.
financing dedicated for the
implementation of the
consulting services as attested
by an authorized representative
of the Consultant” that we need
to give documentary evidence of
annual turnover from
consultancy services duly
attested from authorized
representative (C.A). Kindly
clarify

36 Looking at the extensive scope of Timeframe of services as 4 months is kept

work and the sample coverage, as it is.
the Consultant would request to
kindly give relaxation or extend
the timeframe of services as 4
months duration would not
suffice the objective of the study.
Kindly confirm

37 The Consultant would also No extension is proposed at present.

request to kindly give extension
in the last date of submission of
the bid / tender looking at the
Covid-19 pandemic crisis across
country and specific to the state.