Attachment 3- Question and Answer_12319826Q5007 - 82426.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 32 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 12319826Q5007
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document addressing inquiries from potential offerors regarding the 2024 & 2025 Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach solicitation (12319826Q5007). The Q&A clarifies technical requirements, deliverable expectations, pricing, and proposal submission guidelines for this USDA Food and Nutrition Service contract.
Key clarifications include: the quotation submission deadline has been extended to August 31, 2026; Section 8.0 of the PWS (Schedule of Deliverables) was incorrectly referenced in evaluation criteria, and key personnel should demonstrate expertise with "relevant and similarly complex past projects"; the final 2024/2025 report is due July 31, 2027, though FNA remains open to reconsidering this date if unforeseen delays occur; Optional Tasks 7 and 8 will be evaluated at FNA's discretion and should be priced in the initial quotation as part of the total evaluated price; SAS code and data files will only be provided to the selected contractor post-award; and interactive online graphics should be delivered as deployable files in a format compatible with FNA's website, with HTML files being the historical standard. The contract is Firm Fixed Price, and Order Level Materials should be priced separately outside of task CLINs with supporting documentation. Proposal submission requirements specify that the technical volume shall not exceed 12 pages (using 12-point Times New Roman font) excluding appendices for cover pages, table of contents, cover letters, organizational charts, resumes, letters of commitment, Quality Control Plans, references, and evaluation matrices. Price proposals must include the offeror's TIN, UEI, and completed pricing sheet with all CLINs, but payment schedules are not required. No security clearances or AI-based evaluation methods are required for this procurement.
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Question List
| Attachment 3: | |
| Question and Answer Format |
| Question # | RFQ Part & Section Reference | RFQ Page# | Question | |
| 1 | RFQ, Submission of Questions and Quotations | 11 | If answers to questions are not available on or before August 21, 2026, would FNA consider extending the due date for the quotations to one week after responses to the questions are published? | FNA will extend the deadline to August 31. |
| 2 | RFQ, Technical and Management Approach | 16 | The RFQ states that FNA will evaluate resumes to ensure experience "exceeds the minimum stated in Section 8.0 of the PWS." However, Section 8 of the PWS is the deliverable schedule. Can FNA clarify? | This text was included in error, please see revised language: "Experience: Documented expertise with relevant and similarly complex past projects." |
| 3 | General | Does FNA anticipate awarding the Optional Tasks at the same time as the other Tasks? | FNA may award the Optional Tasks at the same as the other tasks, but this will be at FNA's discretion. | |
| 4 | General | Does FNA have additional methodology reports detailing the methodology used in past analyses beyond what is cited in the PWS? If so, can this be shared with all contractors? | See newly attached 2020 Recommendations Memo. Note that FNA accepted the recommendation to use "Method 3" detailed in the memo for subsequent years. This information, along with additional subsequent updates to the methods are described in Chapter 6 and Appendix A of the 2021 WIC Eligibility Estimates report, available here: https://www.fna.usda.gov/research/wic/eer/2021 | |
| 5 | PWS, Schedule of Deliverables | Section 8 of the PWS includes the schedule of deliverables and has a due date for the final version of the 2024/2025 report of July 31, 2027. Is this due date flexible depending upon the the award date or data source availability? Can the contractor propose an alternative date within the 18-month contract period for the final report? | FNA expects an on-time award date by the end of September. The July 31, 2027 due date is consistent with past report cycles, however FNA is open to reconsidering this date if there are unforeseen delays in the publication of necessary Census data or any other delays outside of the contractor's control. The 18-month period of peformance extends beyond the report deadline because we expect work on Optional Task 7 is likely to require more than usual 12-month period of performance from past report cycles, however findings from Optional Task 7 will not be included in the report due in July. | |
| 6 | General | Can FNA supply the previous contractor's SAS and/or R code and the associated datafiles prior to the quotation submission deadline? | Any data files including analytic code and data documentation will be supplied to the selected contractor once the award is made. Please see the provided 2020 Recommendations Memo and the publicly available descriptions of the methodology from recent published reports for more information on the analysis. | |
| 7 | General | Will any further detailed guidance on data sources (e.g., survey identifiers for ACS and Vital Statistics, question IDs or variables) be provided? | Please see response to Question 6. | |
| 8 | PWS, Optional Task 7 & Appendix A | Will the current contractor be expected to conduct the interviews with WIC directors from each of the 32 ITOs or will the interviews will be conducted under a separate contract (WIC Tribal Organizations and U.S. Territories Study)? | The contractor for the WIC Tribal Organizations and U.S. Territories Study will be responsible for interviewing all 32 ITO WIC directors to collect the information described in the interview questions provided in Appendix A, Chapter 3. The winning contractor for the 2024/2025 Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach contract will use this information to develop preliminary reach metrics. As explained in Optional Task 7 in the PWS, this contractor is then responsible to solicit ITO feedback on the preliminary reach metrics developed under Optional Task 7 of this contract. | |
| 9 | PWS, Optional Task 7, Deliverable Schedule, & Appendix A | An expected deliverable for Optional Task 7 is reach metics. Is FNA's expectation to also collect the reach estimates as part of this contract? | Yes, from the PWS: "The contractor shall produce preliminary program reach estimates for ITOs and collect feedback on the estimates from the ITOs." | |
| 10 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 15 | The RFQ specifies that the cover page shall not exceed one page, the executive summary shall not exceed two pages, and the technical cability shall not exceed twelve pages. Would FNA be amenable to vendors including an evaluation matrix / index at the beginning of the proposal, outside of the page count, that maps proposal text to the evaluation requirements? | An evaluation matrix/index may be provided as an appendix at the end of the proposal and not be counted against the page limit. |
| 11 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 15 | Please confirm that offerors can include a table of contents and cover letter outside the 15-page limit. | Yes, a cover letter and table of contents will not count against the page limit. |
| 12 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 15 | The RFQ specifies that the technical capability shall not exceed twelve pages. Could references be excluded from the page count? | Yes, references can be provided as an appendix and not count against the page limit. |
| 13 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 15 | The RFQ specifies that the technical capability shall not exceed twelve pages. Could resumes, letters of commitment and statements of availability, and the schedule of deliverables with due dates be included in appendices? | Yes, these can all be provided as appendices and not count against the page limit. |
| 14 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 15 | The RFQ specifies that the technical capability shall not exceed twelve pages. Could the Quality Control Plan be included in an appendix? | Yes, the quality control plan may be included as an appendix and not count against the page limit. |
| 15 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 16 | The RFQ specifies that, in Volume I, "The Offeror's staffing plan shall specifically address the Offeror's approach to staffing positions requiring appropriate security clearances and certification levels." Are any security clearances or certification levels required for project staff on this solicitation? | No security clearances or certification levels are required for this project. |
| 16 | RFQ: Instructions to Offerors: Technical and Management Approach (Volume I) | RFQ pp. 16 | The RFQ specifies that "The Government will evaluate the expertise proposed for key personnel and higher ratings will be assigned to resumes that demonstrate: Experience: Years of experience and project complexity that exceed the minimum stated in Section 8.0 of the PWS..." Section 8 of the PWS specifies the Schedule of Deliverables. Could FNA please clarify the experience requirements needed for Key Personnel? | Please see response to Question 2. |
| 17 | RFQ: Evaluation Criteria and Method | RFQ pp. 12 | Will AI be used to evaluate this proposal. If so, what tool/model? | No. |
| 18 | PWS: Task 6: Interactive Online Graphics of Report Results | PWS pp. 9 | Can FNA provide further details regarding the requirements for making web-based deliverables compatible with the FNA website? | The contractor delivers deployable files to FNA and FNA posts the files to the FNA website. FNA does not require a specific platform/tool, but does require data visualizations that can be embedded or otherwise displayed on the FNA website. Past iterations of the graphics currently available on the FNA website were provided as HTML files that the FNA web team then embedded onto the study landing page. The contractor will work with the FNA web team to ensure compatibility of the final data visualizations with the FNA website. |
| 19 | PWS: Task 4. Data and Code | PWS, pp. 8 | Can FNA share what programming language(s) the WIC Eligibles 2023 data cleaning and data analysis code was delivered in? | All data cleaning and analysis code for the 2023 WIC Eligibility Estimates were delivered in SAS. |
| 20 | PWS: OPTIONAL - Task 8: County and Congressional District-Level Estimates | PWS, pp. 10 | Can FNA provide documentation describing the methdology used to develop county level estimates under the WIC Eligibles 2023 contract? If documentation is not available, can FNA describe the method for mapping from zip codes to counties? | The 2023 county-level estimates are based on the 5-year ACS (2019–2023) and use the edit provided by IPUMS. For counties not identified in the ACS data, the study team mapped Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) codes to identify each individual county of residence. |
| 21 | RFQ: Order Level Materials | RFQ, pp. 1-2 | The RFP indicates that Order Level Materials (OLMs) should not be included in the CLINs for pricing. How should they be included in the pricing sheet? Will OLMs be time & materials? | Order‑Level Materials (OLMs) should not be priced within any CLINs. Instead, list OLMs in a separate OLM section of your pricing submission. For each OLM, provide a description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, extended price, source/vendor, and supporting documentation. The contract is Firm‑Fixed‑Price, so OLMs are not time‑and‑materials; they are simply identified and supported as materials at the order level. |
| 22 | Section 7. Tasks. Task 4. Data and Code | 9 | The data and code deliverables, deliberables 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3, are associated with the draft, revised, and final report (deliverables 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8). Would the government consider also including deliverables for data and code associated with the draft, revised, and final Brief CY 2024 Report (deliverables 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3)? | The list of deliverables in the PWS are considered the minimum requirements. As stated in the PWS, offerors may propose additional deliverables for consideration that they believe are of value to the government. |
| 23 | Section 6. Requirements Common to All Tasks | 5 | For planning and pricing purposes, should offerors assume that FNA will accept contractor deliverables and authorize payment upon approving the deliverable, regardless of the timing of subsequent USDA clearance and publication activities? | In general, all non-public facing deliverables are approved and authorized for payment upon acceptance by the COR after review. Public facing deliverables, such as final reports and interactive graphics, may require additional time for FNA review prior to authorizing for payment dependent on USDA clearance requirements at the time of delivery. |
| 24 | Section 7. Tasks. Task 3: Main Report | 8 | Should offerors consider the main body of the 2024/2025 report as equally weighing the 2024 and 2025 results? Or could the short CY2024 report serve as the main presentation of key national-level results, with the 2024/2025 providing all tabulations for both years but focusing on the 2025 results? | Specific details about the structure of the report can be finalized in consultation with the COR after the award. However, for general planning, FNA expects the CY 2024 brief report will serve as the main presentation of the key national-level results and the combined final 2024/2025 report will focus key findings primarily on 2025 results but include all tabulations for both years and highlight key comparisons between the two years where relevant. |
| 25 | Section 7. Tasks | 5 | Does the government require 3 or 5 weeks of review for the Draft, Revised, and Final brief CY 2024 report? | 3 weeks each for review of the draft, revised, and final versions of the brief CY 2024 report. |
| 26 | Section 8. Schedule of Deliverables | 12 | For planning and pricing purposes, should offerors assume that the July 31, 2027, date for the final report is for a 508-compliant version of the report? | Offerors may propose alternative deliverable dates. However, given the extended 5 week review report for all version of the report, July 31 is acceptable for the pre-508 version of the report if time does not allow the final 508-compliant version by then. |
| 27 | FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors | p.14 of 20 | The RFQ states Volume 1 - Technical Capability must use 12-point Times New Roman font. May we use a smaller font for text within tables, charts, graphs, and other graphics? | Yes |
| 28 | FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors | p.14-16 of 20 | Please confirm which items are excluded from the 15-page Volume 1 - Technical Capability limit: (a) the cover page and table of contents; (b) an organizational chart placed in an appendix; and (c) the two-page key personnel resumes, letters of commitment, and statements of availability. | All of the items listed can be excluded from the page limit for the technical proposal. |
| 29 | FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors | p.16 of 20 | Are signed letters of commitment required for key personnel who are current employees of the prime contractor? | No. |
| 30 | Instructions - Key Personnel / PWS Sec. 8 | Solic. p.16; Attach 5 | The Volume 1 instructions reference minimum key personnel experience 'stated in Section 8.0 of the PWS,' but Section 8 of the PWS (Attachment 5) is the Schedule of Deliverables and does not state key personnel minimums. Please confirm the required key personnel labor categories and their minimum qualifications, and where they are defined. | Please see response to Question 2. |
| 31 | PWS Task 6 - Interactive Online Graphics | Attach 5, p.13 (RFQ p.9 of 30) | Regarding the interactive online graphics: (a) is there a preferred file format or platform (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, embedded HTML/JavaScript); (b) will the awardee be responsible for hosting the graphics or for providing a link/embed code for USDA to publish and host; and (c) will FNA provide the current graphics source files and any platform, hosting, content-management-system, or Section 508 toolset constraints offerors must design to? | The contractor delivers deployable files to FNA and FNA posts the files to the FNA website. FNA does not require a specific platform/tool, but does require data visualizations that can be embedded or otherwise displayed on the FNA website. Past iterations of the graphics currently available on the FNA website were provided as HTML files that the FNA web team then embedded onto the study landing page. The contractor will work with the FNA web team to ensure compatibility of the final data visualizations with the FNA website. All files associated with the current published graphics will be provided to the contractor after award. |
| 32 | PWS Sec. 3 - Scope | Attach 5, p.3 | PWS Section 3 states estimates will be based on the current methodology recommended in the 2020 recommendation memo, provided to offerors upon request. Will FNA provide the 2020 recommendation memo and the 2021-2023 methodological refinement documentation to all offerors, and by what date prior to the August 28 closing? | Please see response to Question 4. |
| 33 | PWS Sec. 4 - Gov't Furnished Items | Attach 5, p.9 | PWS Section 4 states FNA will provide administrative data and prior contract deliverables 'as needed' (10 business days per request). Will the WIC PC 2024 data (and 2026 if available), the prior ITO Analysis Plan, and prior-report SAS/R code be made available to all offerors before award, or only to the awardee after award? | These files will only be available to the awardee after award. |
| 34 | PWS Sec. 3 - Required Estimates | Attach 5, p.4 | The PWS notes CY2025 estimates depend on WIC PC 2026 characteristics data being available in time. What assumption should offerors make regarding CY2025 feasibility, and which vintages of CPS-ASEC, ACS 5-year, and FNS-798 data should be assumed available during the 18-month period of performance? | To clarify, CY2025 national and state level eligibility estimates are expected regardless of the availability of WIC PC 2026 data. The availability of WIC PC 2026 data only impacts which year is used for the county and congressional district level estimates (see footnote at the bottom of page 10 of the PWS for clarity). CPS-ASEC and ACS data are published on a regular annual cycle, offerors are encouraged to find more information on Census.gov if needed. FNS-798 data are published on the FNA website generally on about a 3 month lag (i.e., April 2026 data were published in July 2026). |
| 35 | Price (Vol 3) / Attach 2 CLINs 0007-0008 | Solic. p.17; Attach 2 | Attachment 2 lists Optional Task 7 (ITO Estimates) and Optional Task 8 (County & Congressional District Estimates) as separate CLINs. Should offerors price these optional CLINs in the initial quotation, and will they be included in the total evaluated price used for the HRTA best-value determination? | Yes, offerors should price these optional CLINs in the initial quotation and these CLINs will be included in the total evaluated price used for the HRTA best-value determination. |
| 36 | Price (Vol 3) | Solic. p.1, p.17 | Page 1 states pricing must be offered against the contractor's current schedule contract. Please confirm all proposed labor categories must map to the offeror's GSA MAS Schedule, and clarify whether labor categories not on the offeror's Schedule may be proposed. | Offerors are not required to map labor categories to a GSA MAS Schedule. This RFQ is conducted under FAR Part 12 commercial procedures, and “current schedule contract” refers to the offeror’s commercial price list or commercial catalog. Offerors may propose any commercial labor categories they normally use, as long as pricing aligns with their established commercial rates. |
| 37 | PWS Task 2 / Task 7 - Independent Expert | Attach 5, p.4, p.13 | PWS Task 2 states the independent experts proposed by offerors will factor into the technical evaluation, and the tribal appendix names experts who informed a prior contract deliverable. Please confirm what qualifies as an acceptable 'independent expert,' and whether consultants who supported the prior/incumbent WIC eligibility or WIC in the Territories and Tribes contracts are eligible to serve as an offeror's independent expert. | Consultants who supported related prior/incumbent contracts are still eligible to serve as independent experts on this contract. The intent is that these experts provide independent expertise as a third party outside of the entities covered in this contract. |
| 38 | PWS Task 7 - ITO Estimates / separate contract | Attach 5, p.12 | The PWS references a separate, currently active 'WIC in the Territories and Tribes' contract that collects the data needed to develop ITO reach metrics. If that data-collection contract is held by a different contractor, please describe how and when its data outputs and the prior ITO Analysis Plan will be furnished to the awardee of this contract, so that all offerors can perform Optional Task 7 on an equal and timely basis. | The prior ITO Analysis Plan was already provided as Appendix A in the PWS -- which includes a high level timeline for that data collection. FNA expects relevant data from that project to be available by early CY 2027. |
| 39 | Price (Vol 3) | Solic. p.17 | Can you please confirm that the only requirements for the Price Proposal (Volume 3) are to submit the bidders Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Unique Employer Identification Number (UEI), and a completed Attachment 2 pricing sheet? | No. In addition to providing the TIN, UEI, and completed Attachment 2 pricing sheet, offerors must also include any quantity or prompt‑payment discounts and ensure pricing is provided for all CLINs (including optional tasks). The Government will evaluate the total price for the base period and the potential FAR 52.217‑8 extension period, so complete pricing is required for a compliant Volume 3 Price Proposal. |
| 40 | Price (Vol 3) / Attach 2 | Solic. p.17; Attach 2 | Attachment 2 Pricing Sheet states " the Government would like to request a Payment Schedule which includes each task and their sub-task", but the requirement is not listed in the Price Volume instructions on page 17. Can you please confirm if a payment schedule is required to be submitted as part of the Price Proposal (Volume 3)? | No. A payment schedule is not required as part of the Price Proposal (Volume 3). Although Attachment 2 requests a payment schedule, this requirement is not included in the Price Volume instructions on page 17. Therefore, offerors are only required to submit their TIN, UEI, and a completed Attachment 2 pricing sheet as specified in the solicitation. |
| 41 | Price (Vol 3) / Attach 2 | Solic. p.17; Attach 2 | Can you please confirm that any proposed subcontractor/consultant costs should be listed under CLIN 0009 Travel/ODCs within the provide Attachment 2 Pricing Sheet? | No. Subcontractor or consultant costs should not automatically be listed under CLIN 0009. CLIN 0009 is reserved for Travel and Other Direct Costs. Subcontractor labor should be priced in the applicable task CLINs, and any subcontractor‑provided ODCs or materials should follow the OLM requirements and be listed separately as OLMs, consistent with the solicitation instructions. |
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