Amendment_1.pdf

“Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Grantee Compliance Reviews and

Administrative Support”

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO. 13-233-SOL-00405

AMENDMENT NO.: 01

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 28, 2013

DUE DATE: July 11, 2013 3:00 p.m. Eastern

ISSUED BY:

Division of Acquisition Management

Strategic Acquisitions Service

Program Support Center

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

12501 Ardennes Ave.

Suite 400

Rockville, MD 20857

Point of Contact: Korriise LaRoche, Contract Specialist

DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT

PURPOSE: To respond to questions submitted under this solicitation (Part I). Unless specifically noted, all specifications remain unchanged.

Part I: Responses to Questions Received Under the solicitation:

1. Who are the 16 selected grantees?

The 16 grantees have not been selected yet. The grantees will be selected by the end of

November 2013. ACF and the contractor will have discussions about the selection process beginning at the kick-off meeting with the successful contractor.

2. Who are the sub-grantees and how many are subject to review this year?

The sub-grantees that will be reviewed will be decided after the selection of the 16 grantees.

Normally, at least 3 sub-grantees will be included for every State grantee and there are usually no sub-grantees for Tribal or Territory grantees.

3. Where will the reviews be performed (e.g. at the grantee level, the sub-grantee level, or both)?

The reviews will be performed at the grantee level and the sub-grantee level. For state grantees that partner with other state agencies (such as to provide weatherization assistance with LIHEAP funds), we also include the partner state agency and a sample of their subgrantees, if any. The site visits are conducted at the grantee’s offices to enable the review team to examine documents, systems, and meet with all relevant and critical staff.

4. Who is the incumbent performing this task?

The incumbent contractor is the National Association for State Community Services

Programs.

5. Request for Proposal (RFP) section 2.4, Task 1.3 (page 5) states that the contractor shall submit progress reports to the COR each month that include “a detailed description of the status of work progress for each of the tasks in this Statement of

Work, including explanations of any issues, concerns, or challenges faced or anticipated in completing work timely and on budget. These reports shall serve as supporting documents for each payment request (invoice).” Since these are FFP invoices, would the

Government please confirm these reports will not include actual labor hours expended?

The number of hours expended per task is not required. Since this contract will be a FFP contract, payments shall be divided equally in twelve (12) payments.

6. RFP section 10.3 (page 44) references a page count for the technical proposal; however, no page count is given. Would the Government please clarify whether there is a page limit for the technical proposal?

There is not a page limit for the technical proposal.

7. RFP section 10.3, subsection 4, Personnel Qualifications and Experience (page 46) requires offerors to include individuals’ registrations on their resumes. Would the

Government please clarify what it means by registrations?

Registrations include professional licenses, certificates, and any other required professional credentials.

8. RFP section 10.3 (bottom of page 46) lists 5 factors that seem out of place. Please clarify the intent of including the factors here.

These factors are the evaluation factors. They are part of the technical proposal instructions.

Please make sure that these factors are addressed in your technical proposal.

9. RFP section 10.4 (page 47) states that contractors should propose a Quality Assurance

Surveillance Plan (QASP). Is this the same as the Quality Control Plan required under the management approach (reference on page 45, section (c))? If they are not the same, please clarify the difference. In addition, if they are not the same, would the QASP be included as part of the Technical Appendix?

The Quality Control Plan on page 45, section (c) as described under that section asks for the management approach to project management, contractor’s staff supervision, communication between contractor and HHS/ACF, contract administration, etc. The Quality Assurance

Surveillance Plan refers to the general quality measures of the service to be delivered to the government. The QASP can be included as part of the Technical Appendix.

10. RFP section 10.5 (page 47), second paragraph, indicates that offerors should provide “a maximum of three (3) performance references.” However, the fifth paragraph in that section states that Past Performance Questionnaires should be completed “by at least three separate customers.” Would the Government please clarify whether the requirement is at least three references or a maximum of three references?

The requirement is three (3) references.

11. RFP section 10.6 (page 48) states that contractors should propose a small disadvantaged business participation plan. Would this be included as part of the technical appendix?

Yes, this shall be included as part of the technical appendix.

12. RFP section 10.6 (page 49) requests “cost information” to support proposed costs.

Would the Government allow offerors to propose costs based on their GSA Schedule rates instead?

Please provide all supporting documentation as outlined in Section 10.6 of the RFP.

13. RFP section 11.4 (page 52) lists five evaluation criteria, numbered 1-4 and 6. Should they be numbered consecutively (1-5)? Additionally, section 11.10 provides evaluation criteria for Past Performance. Is Past Performance included as part of the evaluation criteria?

Yes, the criteria should be numbered 1-5. Yes, past performance will be evaluated.

14. Would the small business subcontracting plan be included as part of the technical appendix?

Please see the answer to question no. 11.

15. Does the Government have specific formats that offerors should follow for the small business subcontracting plan and the small disadvantaged business participation plan?

Please see http://www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/subcontractplan.html.

16. Is there an incumbent for this work?

Please see the answer to question no. 4.

17. Is the Contractor you are seeking, that will be responsible for providing a team of qualified staff (to include, but not limited to, auditors and financial management analysts) to assist OCS in conducting on-site compliance reviews of grantee programs under the LIHEAP block grant, required to meet the provision shown below as was stated in the second paragraph of the posted solicitation?

“Offerors will only be considered from States, Territories, Indian Tribes and Tribal

Organizations, public agencies, and private nonprofit organizations as authorized by the

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (Title XXVI of Public Law 97-35, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621) in Section 2609A.”

The LIHEAP statute requires that “eligible applicants for this proposal are from “States, Territories, Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations, public agencies, and private nonprofit organizations”, as authorized by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (Title

XXVI of Public Law 97-35, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621) in Section 2609A [42 U.S.C. §

8628a(a)]. This means that for a proposal to be eligible for consideration, it must be from one of these approved entities or be a joint proposal between such an entity and a small business or private organization. If the proposal is from one prime bidder, and a portion of the work will be subcontracted to another entity/entities including small businesses or private organizations, then the proposal must adequately describe the intended subcontract arrangement(s), including key personnel and division of responsibility for tasks. Any http://www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/subcontractplan.html subcontract agreement(s) may be included in the proposal to further support this arrangement.

18. In (2) Project Management of the Workplan Section, under (a) Organization Background, the following is stated:

“Describe the overall structure and history of the organization. Include an organizational chart of relevant function units and staff. If multiple offices are involved in the project, describe how the home office and branch offices will interact with each other and with OCS staff. Include a description of the involvement of any proposed subcontractors in this project (See Item 3.2.6, Subcontractors) and oversight plan for such subcontractors.” Please direct us to Item 3.2.6, Subcontractors.

Item 3.2.6 does not exist. “(See Item 3.2.6, Subcontractors)” has been omitted.

19. Will all fees for this contract be paid out of the amounts reserved by the Secretary, of the amounts appropriated under section 2602(b)?

All fees and costs that the bidder anticipates incurring for the services under this contract must be included in the cost proposal. The final negotiated contract award amount will cover all approved costs and fees, and be paid from the LIHEAP T&TA funds (section 2609A of the authorizing act; 42 U.S.C. § 8628a(a)).

20. Is this contract expected to exceed the base year?

No, this contract is for a period of twelve (12) months.

21. Please confirm that proposals should be submitted to Korriise LaRoche at korriise.laroche@psc.hhs.gov.

Yes, proposals shall be submitted to Korriise.laroche@psc.hhs.gov

22. Page 1 of the solicitation states that the award will be Firm Fixed Price. However, instruction for the Business Proposal (p. 49 of the RFP) states that the “proposal should include all supporting cost information including the Offeror’s latest Negotiated

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, payroll journals or payroll certification, written offers of employment, employment agreements or contracts and any additional information necessary to verify proposed costs,” which is generally consistent with a Time and

Materials award. Would the Government please clarify whether it intends to award this contract as Fixed Price or Time and Materials? Would the government also please clarify what documentation the Offeror should submit to support its quoted price?

This contract will be awarded as a Firm Fixed Price contract. Please submit all supporting documentation as required in Section 10.6 of the RFP.

23. With regard to question 8, RFP section 10.6 (page 49) states the following: "The business proposal should include all supporting cost information including the

Offeror’s latest Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, payroll journals or payroll certification, written offers of employment, employment agreements or contracts and any additional information necessary to verify proposed costs. Offerors are required to provide detailed narrative to explain how their costs were derived."

mailto:korriise.laroche@psc.hhs.gov mailto:Korriise.laroche@psc.hhs.gov

Instead of requiring offerors to provide the above documentation to support their pricing, would the Government accept pricing based on the offeror’s awarded General

Services Administration (GSA) FABS Schedule rates?

Please see the answer to question no. 22.