Invitation for bids - International Republican Institute - Servicii de Catering (Concurs prelungit)

Background:
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization dedicated to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide. Since 1983, IRI has worked to develop democratic institutions and ideals, carrying out a variety of international programs to promote freedom, self-government and the rule of law worldwide. IRI provides technical assistance in the areas of political party strengthening, developing civic institutions and open elections, promoting democratic governance and advancing the rule of law. IRI’s work in Moldova is geared toward civic education, building links between citizens and government, and developing the organizational and communications capacity of political parties. IRI’s programming seeks to strengthen the ability political leaders to organize themselves and effectively communicate and represent the Moldovan citizens. In order to achieve this, IRI hosts a range of events in Moldova—both in Chisinau and throughout the many regions of Moldova. IRI Moldova is seeking to contract with local vendors in Chisinau and/or in the surrounding regions of Moldova to provide catering and meal services for various programmatic activities across the country. This is primarily for events outside of hotels, such as offices or public spaces. Events will range in size from about 10 people to up to 200 people. Some events may require caterers to secure security clearance.

Period of Performance:
Date of contract signature to May 31, 2025, with an option to extend for another year until May 31, 2026.
Technical Bid:
IRI is seeking to contract with multiple vendors to provide catering and food management services for its trainings and events. This can include the creation and provision of meals, recruitment and deployment of waiters, and transportation of all necessary equipment to successfully make and deliver meals at events. As venues vary in available equipment and facilities, events may require differing levels of services. Interested bidders must present the technical bids outlining whether they can provide the following services. If a bidder is unable to provide a specific item, the bid should say that the bidder is unable to provide the item. This will not necessarily disqualify a bidder from being
considered. Bidders must be able to provide the following services on demand for varied group sizes and different audiences across Moldova.
CATERING SERVICES
- Coffee Break
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Waiters and general staff necessary to successfully provide catering service, if
requested
- Materials such as tables, chairs, dishware and silverware
Offerors should also have the following:
- Experience serving up to 200 participants with efficiency
- Ability to work outside of Chisinau
- Excellent food presentation
- Well-presented staff
- The necessary catering equipment
- High quality food and service
- Food must be provided on time based on event agendas
Additional contract terms and conditions:
- Offeror must agree to maintain the proposed prices for the duration of the contract.
The period of performance for the contract should be written for a period where prices can remain stable
- Offeror acknowledges that execution of the contract does not require IRI to utilize the services of the Offeror.
- The Offeror acknowledges that payments will be made for individual order placed by IRI upon satisfactory completion of each order
- Other terms and condition outlined in the enclosed agreement template. If the Offeror proposes to use Offeror’s agreement, IRI termination and payment terms mshould be incorporated in the proposed agreement. It is also highly recommended that a company demonstrate they can secure necessary security clearances for events involving high-level public officials in secure locations. If the Bidder is a U.S. organization/resident, or a foreign organization/resident which has income effectively connected with the conduct of activities in the U.S. or has an office or a place of business or a fiscal paying agent in the U.S., the technical bids must contain Bidder’s Taxpayer Identification Number. Price information should be presented as a firm-fixed Unit Price for each of the deliverables identified below and in the format of the table below. Pricing must be valid for at least 60 (sixty) calendar days after the due date for proposal submission. The proposed Unit Price should be fixed and inclusive of all costs to perform, including inspection services, transportation, taxes, import duties (if any), and other levies. If there are any additional fees not reflected in the table below, such pricing must be fully described in the bid. Bids must be submitted in MDL; payments under any resulting contract will be made in this currency.
Bidders shall provide proposals listing the unit cost of each item included in the tables below. The number of units is the maximum number of units available at the time of the bid submission.
• All costs must be in Moldovan lei (MDL). Bidders should provide two costs: one including value added tax (VAT) and one without VAT due to IRI Moldova tax exemption status.
• For catering services, Bidders that provide multiple menu options must list cost per person for each available menu.
Prices are fixed for the length of the contract and changes in prices are subject to reevaluation by IRI. If the prices in the bid are not expected to remain constant for 12 months, the bidder should indicate this in their bid.
Every cell in the price table below must be filled out for a bid to be considered complete. For services not available, please write None or N/A. If there are any additional fees not reflected in the table below, such pricing must be fully described in the bid. If there are additional addon options, vendors should include prices for those as well.

IFB Terms and Conditions:
1. Prospective Bidders are requested to review clauses incorporated by reference in the section “Notice Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference”. By submitting a bid, bidder agrees to comply with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and agreement to the services identified above, and will specifically identify any disagreement with or exceptions to the terms, conditions, and provisions.
2. IRI may reject any or all bids if such is within IRI’s interest.
3. The Bidder’s initial bid should contain the Bidder’s best offer.
4. IRI reserves the right to make multiple awards or partial awards if, after considering administrative burden, it is in IRI’s best interest to do so.
5. Discussions with Bidders following the receipt of a bid do not constitute a rejection or counteroffer by IRI.
6. IRI will hold all submissions as confidential and shall not be disclosed to third parties. IRI reserves the right to share bids internally, across divisions, for the purposes of evaluating the bids.
7. If IRI continues to require the goods and services and the price remains reasonable and within market norms, resulting contract may be renewed each year for up to 5 years with 30 days’ notice to the Contractor. Bidder must establish any price increase for each renewal year in the initial bid.
8. Bidders confirm that the prices in the bid/proposal/application/quote have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other bidder or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
9. By applying to this IFB, applicant is certifying that if it is awarded a contract, none of funds payable under the resulting contract will be used to (1) procure or obtain extend or renew a contract to procure or obtain; (2) enter into a contract (or
extend or renew a contract) to procure; or (3) obtain the equipment, services, or systems that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system in compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act. Covered telecommunications equipment and services mean any of the following:
i. Telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities).
ii. For the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities).
iii. Telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entities or using such equipment.
iv. Telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services produced or provided by an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of the National Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity owned or controlled by, or otherwise connected to, the government of a covered foreign country. (2 CFR 200.216).
10. Bidders agree to disclose as part of the bid submission:
a. Any close, familial, or financial relationships with IRI staff and agents. For
example, the bidder must disclose if a bidder’s mother conducts volunteer
trainings for IRI.
b. Any family or financial relationship with other bidders submitting bids. For
example, if the bidder’s father owns a company that is submitting another
bid, the bidder must state this.
c. Any other action that might be interpreted as potential conflict of interest.
Evaluation and Award Process:
1. IRI may contact any Bidder for clarification or additional information, but Bidders are
advised that IRI intends to evaluate the offers based on the written bids and reserves
the right to make decisions based solely on the information provided with the initial
bids. IRI may but is not obligated to conduct additional negotiations with the most
highly rated Bidders prior to award of a contract, and may at its sole discretion elect
to issue contracts to one or more Bidders.
2. Mathematical errors will be corrected in the following manner: If a discrepancy exists
between the total price proposed and the total price resulting from multiplying the
unit price by the corresponding amounts, then the unit price will prevail and the total
price will be corrected. If there were a discrepancy between the numbers written out
in words and the amounts in numbers, then the amount expressed in words will
prevail. If the Bidder does not accept the correction, the offer will be rejected.
3. IRI may determine that a bid is unacceptable if the prices proposed are materially
unbalanced between line items or sub-line items. Unbalanced pricing exists when,
despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line
items is significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the application of cost
or price analysis techniques. A bid may be rejected if IRI determines that the lack of
balance poses an unacceptable risk.
4. IRI will conduct a source selection based as follows:
IRI intends to make an award to the responsible Bidder based on the following
evaluation factors:
a) technical capabilities and terms of agreement – 30 percent
i. Ability to provide service in Chisinau and other regions – 10 Percent.
ii. Ability to offer 3 quality meals and coffee break – 10 Percent.
iii. Ability/flexibility to customize menus and service as needed- 10 Percent.
b) Quality of Past Performance / Reviews – 30 percent
c) Price – 40 percent
IRI intends to evaluate bids in accordance with these factors and make an award to
the responsible bidder whose proposal is most advantageous to the program.
5. If a cost realism analysis is performed, cost realism may be considered in evaluating
performance or price.
Submission Instructions:
Bids must be submitted via email to Nicoleta Craciun at ncraciun@iri.org with the subject
line “EURASIA2024MO04o” by the deadline - 06.05.2024
IRI Obligations
Issuance of this IFB does not constitute and award commitment on the part of IRI, nor does
it commit IRI to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a quotation.
Notice Listing Contract Clauses Incorporated by Reference
IRI is required to make the contractor subject to the clauses of the prime award. This contract
incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were
given in full text. Where “flow-down” to the contractor is appropriate and applicable,
references to “USAID” or ”Department of State” shall be interpreted to mean “IRI”,
“Recipient” to mean “Contractor”, and “Subrecipient” to mean “lower-tier subrecipients”.
Included by reference are 2 C.F.R. 200 and USAID Standard Provisions for Non-US Nongovernmental Organizations/US Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions.
Required Documents Checklist
1. Sample Contract Template (optional)
2. Proposals listing the unit cost of each item
3. Cater Menu options listing cost per person
4. Company Registration Document