IAC Questions and Government Responses_v2.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 29 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Inventor's Assistance Center (IAC) Services
- Solicitation number
- 1333BJ25R00150007
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document for solicitation 1333BJ25R00150007 for Inventor's Assistance Center (IAC) Services at the US Patent and Trademark Office. The document contains 54 questions and responses that clarify requirements for the solicitation.
Key details revealed include: The incumbent is Tuknik Government Services with a current contract value of $6.5M. The work requires approximately 15 part-time IAC Specialists and one full-time Program Manager, all of whom must have former Patent Examiner experience at the Primary Patent Examiner level with full signatory authority. The IAC receives an average of 1,551 calls monthly with 9-minute average call duration. The work is performed remotely, with USPTO providing laptops and monitors. Proposals are due February 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM EDT. The technical approach is limited to 10 pages. The contract includes staffing IAC information booths three times per year requiring 1-2 people for up to 8 hours per event. Operational hours are 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM ET. The contractor is not required to provide any equipment or software, as USPTO provides all necessary systems.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| IAC PWS_Rev1_28JAN2025.docx | DOCX document | |
| USPTO-Patents-ContactCenters-Survey_FINAL_IAC.pdf | ||
| 1333BJ25R00150007 0001.pdf | ||
| IAC QASP Rev - 01-28-2025.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3 - Pricing Matrix.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 4 - Past Performance Questionare.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 1 - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).pdf | ||
| Attachment 2a Alternate Worksite Safety Guidelines.pdf | ||
| Attachment 2 Alternate Worksite Agreement.docx | DOCX document | |
| 1333BJ25R00150007.pdf | ||
| Attachment 5 - Offerors Questions.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 2b Rules of the Road Updated 05-28-2021.pdf |
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Sheet1
| Question # | Document or Attachment, Page Number, Section | Questions | Answers | |
| 1 | General | Who holds the current contract? | The current contractor is Tuknik Government Services. Please note that this information is available in the public domain at USASpending.Gov. | |
| 2 | General | What was the contract value? | The total contract value is $6,539,152.64. Please note this information is also available in the public domain at USASpending.Gov. | |
| 3 | Main solicitation document-page 3, Section B | What are the total number of IAC Specialists does USPTO require for the contract? | The Government cannot tell offerors how many IAC specialists are required to meet all the PWS requirements. Offerors must provide their best solution based on the information presented in the PWS. Section 2.0 Task 1 of the PWS on page 46 of the solicitation identifies that in FY24 the IAC received on average 1,551 calls each month. | |
| 4 | Main solicitation document-page 3, Section B | Does USPTO only want offerors to propose one hourly rate for each IAC Specialist on the pricing sheet or a total based on the total number of specialists needed to perform the work. It's not clear how to price the work. | For CLINs 0001, 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001, and 5001 offerors must propose one hourly rate for each IAC employee. The hourly rate must be the same for each IAC employee. | |
| 5 | Main solicitation document-page 3, Section B | Can offerors add a line item for 1 Program Manager to the pricing sheet? | There are already CLINs for the Program Manager on the Attachment 3 - Pricing Matrix. They are CLINs 0001, 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001, and 5001, with the Program Manager identified for each of these six CLINs. On the SF1449 for these six CLINs this pricing is the total price for all IAC contractor employees and the Program Manager. | |
| 6 | Main solicitation document-page 3, Section B | What are the estimated number of people needed to staff an IAC booth under CLIN 0002 and it's corresponding Option Years? | The estimated number is one to two people to staff an IAC booth under CLIN 0002, and the corresponding option years. | |
| 7 | General | Does USPTO require the offeror to provide the technology infrastructure for the IAC or only the people to perform the work in the PWS? | No, the offeror is only required to provide staffing. | |
| 8 | Main solicitation document-page 30, Section PTO-41 #1 | USPTO makes reference to "software". Is this USPTO's software for the IAC or is offeror required to provide relevant software? | This is the USPTO's software. The Contractor will not be providing their own software for this awarded contract. | |
| 9 | Main solicitation document-page 31, Section Government Property | What specific equipment will USPTO provide each contract employee under this contract? | A laptop and monitor for each Contractor employee will be provided by the Government. Reference section 6.0 of the PWS on page 49 of the solicitation. | |
| 10 | Main solicitation document-page 31, Section Government Property | What specific equipment are offerors required to provide under this contract? | Offerors are not required to provide any of their own equipment under the next awarded contract. | |
| 11 | Main solicitation document-page 41, Section K | Are offerors required to include Representation & Certifications with our response? Is a summary sufficient or the entity information in Sam.gov? | Yes, offerors are required to complete the Representation & Certifications for provision 52.209-12 Certification Regarding Tax Matters. | |
| 12 | Main solicitation document-page 45, Performance Work Statement | What are the total number of IAC Specialists currently on the contract working through the current contract holder? Other than the Program Manager, are the contract employees under the same labor category? | The total number of IAC specialists on the current contract is approximately 15 part time Contractor employees, and one full time Program Manager. Yes, the Contractor employees are under the same labor category. | |
| 13 | Main solicitation document-page 45, Performance Work Statement | Can USPTO provide the education and experience requirements for the IAC specialists under this contract? (specific experience, years of experience, education) | IAC Specialists performing work under this contract must have former Patent Examiner experience at the level of a Primary Patent Examiner with full signatory authority. | |
| 14 | Main solicitation document-page 46, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance | With the signing of the recent EO for Return to In-Person Work, will that change the Place of Performance to onsite or remain remote? | The Government is not able to provide an answer to this question at this time due to the fact this EO was only signed on Inauguration Day January 20, 2025, and implementing guidance for contractor personnel has not yet been implemented. Please prepare your proposal in accordance with the contents of the Solicitation. If necessary, the Solicitation will be amended. | |
| 15 | Main solicitation document-page 46, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance | How often would the Program Manager be required to be onsite for meetings with the USPTO IAC team? Since the role is remote, does the government or offeror pay travel expense if the PM is outside of the Alexandria, VA campus? | The Government does not pay travel expenses for the Program Manager to travel to the Alexandria, Virginia campus. The Government does not pay travel expenses for any contractor employees to travel to the Alexandria, Virginia campus. The Government is not able to provide an exact number of times the Program Manager would be required to travel for in person meetings at the Alexandria, Virginia campus. | |
| 16 | Main solicitation document-page 46, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance | How long does it take to train the new IAC contract employees once they are onboarded? Do they start after badging is complete or can they work through the badging process? | The Government cannot provide a set time in terms of how long it will take to train Contractor employees. After clearing the sponsorship process, the Contractor employees may begin work after issuance of equipment. This may be completed during the badging process. | |
| 17 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance-Task 3 | Is the system described in this section where the offerors PM will extract the various quality level %'s for the monthly reporting? | Yes, metrics can be gathered using the system described in PWS Tasks three and four. The Government will be completing an amendment for the updates that were completed to PWS Tasks three and four. | |
| 18 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance-Task 4 | Will offerors Program Manager utilize the template samples provided in the solicitation for the monthly reporting requirements? | This will be completed post award, and can be discussed in the Kick Off Meeting. | |
| 19 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance-Task 5 | What are the number of individuals needed for the 3 separate one day booth presentations? Do the same amount need to be available for virtual as with onsite? | The estimated number is one to two people to staff an IAC booth under CLIN 0002, and the corresponding option years. Yes, the same number of people must be available for virtual and onsite. | |
| 20 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance-Task 5 | Are the 3 separate booth presentations over a one year period or over the course of the 5 year period of performance? | The IAC services booth presentations occurs three times each period of performance. This is why CLINs 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002, and 5002 must be completed with pricing on both the Attachment 3 - Pricing Matrix, and on the SF1449. | |
| 21 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Place of Performance-Task 5 | Is the offeror allowed to utilize any of our contract employees IAC Specialists working on the contract for the booths or does USPTO prefer this is staffed separately with different people? What is the approximate # of hours for the one day presentation? | The offeror shall staff the booth with IAC Specialists. Event staffing hours will vary but should not exceed 8 hours. | |
| 22 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Key Personnel | Can offeror add a line item for the labor category of Program Manager in the Price Proposal? | Please see the answer to question number five, as the answer to question number five also applies to this similar question. | |
| 23 | Main solicitation document-page 47, Performance Work Statement-Key Personnel | Does the awarded offeror absorb any of the incumbent staff (IAC reps and/or Program Manager) under the new contract? If so, what would be the number of people to come over to the new contract? | Whichever offeror is awarded this next contract is under no obligation to absorb any of Tuknik Government Services current employees. | |
| 24 | Main solicitation document-page 50, Performance Work Statement-Transition In Plan | As part of the Transition-In plan, is offeror to take over current incumbent employees? If so, are we allowed to weed out marginal performers to replace with better performers? | Whichever offeror is awarded this next contract is under no obligation to absorb any of Tuknik Government Services current employees. | |
| 25 | Main solicitation document-page 55, Performance Work Statement-Technical Approach | For the 8 page limit for the technical proposal, does the cover page, cover letter and table of contents part of the 8 pages or can those 3 pages be excluded from the 8 page limit? | Those three pages may be excluded from the eight page limit for evaluation Factor 1: Technical Approach. The Government has increased the page limit from eight pages to ten pages for Factor 1: Technical Approach. The updating of the page limits will be reflected in the Amendment. | |
| 26 | Main solicitation document-page 55, Performance Work Statement-Past Performance and Price | What are the page limits for the Past Performance and Price volumes? | There are no page limits for Past Performance. Pricing is only provided on Attachment 3 - Pricing Matrix, and the CLINs on the SF1449 which are found on pages three through seven of the solicitation. There would be no reasons for offerors to have any issues with page limits for their proposed pricing. | |
| 27 | Main solicitation document-page 55, Performance Work Statement-Section 2.2.2 Past Performance | Is offeror to send each questionnaire to current customers to complete? When does USPTO need to receive the completed PPQ's by? | Yes, offerors are required to send the past performance questionnaires for their current customers to complete and send back to both the Contracting Officer and the Contract Specialist. The completed past performance questionnaires are due by the proposal due date, which is February 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. | |
| 28 | Main solicitation document-page 55, Performance Work Statement-Section 2.2.2 Past Performance | If offeror has CPARS corresponding to the PPQ's, is offeror to submit the CPARS report in place of the PPQ? Or does USPTO require both the customer to complete the PPQ AND offeror submit the CPARS as part of this section? | The RFP states "If this work was performed under a government contract, provide your Contractor Performance Assessment Rating System (CPARs), otherwise fill out the separately attached Past Performance Questionnaire word document, which is Attachment 4." Therefore, for Government work, if you have the CPARS assessment please submit the CPARS report in lieu of the Past Performance Questionnaire, otherwise a Past Performance is required. | |
| 29 | Alternate Worksite Agreement | Is this completed by Key Personnel to be submitted with the proposal OR are is this from signed and submitted to USPTO once the team is transitioned onto the new contract? | This is not submitted with any of the proposal documents. This will be completed by the offeror that is awarded the next contract. | |
| 30 | Rules of the Road document | With the signing of the recent EO for Return to In-Person Work, will this document be revised? | The Government is not able to provide an answer to this question at this time due to the fact this EO was only signed on Inauguration Day January 20, 2025, and implementing guidance for contractor personnel has not yet been implemented. Please prepare your proposal in accordance with the contents of the Solicitation. If necessary, the Solicitation will be amended. | |
| 31 | Due Date | Would USPTO consider extending the due date since responses to questions are due back by 1/28? | No, the Government will not be extending the response due date for proposals. | |
| 32 | RFP pg. 55, Section 2.2.1 Factor 1 – Technical Approach requires the offeror to include an approach in response to the PWS (which has 9 sections and 5 distinct PWS task areas), compliance with physical and cybersecurity and all solicitation requirements, as well as staffing plan, continuity of operations plan, communications and employee issue management approaches, and key personnel resumes. All these requirements are limited to an 8 page response. | Would the government consider allowing Offerors at least 15-20 pages to respond to these requirements in a technical approach? | The Government will increase the page limit from eight pages to ten pages for Factor 1: Technical Approach. This page limit increase will be reflected in the Amendment. | |
| 33 | RFP pg. 47-48, Schedule B, CLIN 0002. CLIN 0002 references PWS Task 2 as a supporting task for this price. | Should this price also reference PWS Task 5 – USPTO Event Support? Please clarify and update the solicitation accordingly. | The Contractor shall answer questions of the same content and level of expertise as identified in the Performance Work Statement. | |
| 34 | RFP pg. 46, PWS 2.0(a), Task 1 states that there is no limit on the call talk time. | (a). So, that offerors may accurately develop a staffing plans and total hours for proposed personnel to support the call volumes, can the government provide an average of call talk times across a month period? This will greatly help in determining the required level of effort. (b) If no estimate on call talk time can be provided, please provide an estimate of the number of personnel supporting the services currently by function and labor category. | The average call talk time across a monthly period is 9 minutes. | |
| 35 | RFP pg. 46, PWS 2.0(a)-(c), Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3 do not state if there is after call work. However, these tasks do call out after call research and call documentation. | (a) So, that offerors may accurately develop a staffing plans and total hours for proposed personnel (level of effort) to support the call volumes/after call work, can the government provide the average length of after call work/documentation that is required by call across a month period? This will greatly help in determining the required level of effort. (b) If no estimate on after call work time can be provided, please provide an estimate of the number of personnel supporting the services currently by function and labor category. | The after call average length of time is 1 minute. | |
| 36 | RFP pg. 47, Task 3 reference a USPTO contact center management system-Cloud and Task 4 mentions that the system provides call statistics. | (a) | What software is used as the contact center management system? | |
| (b) | What ACD/IVR is currently in use at USPTO? | |||
| (c) | Will these systems be provided for use by the Offeror? Or, does the Offeror need to propose and implement an ACD/IVR? | a) Customer Interaction Platform - Contact Center. b) The Enterprise Contact Center. c) Yes, these systems are provided by the Government. Offerors do not need to propose or implement these platforms. | ||
| 37 | RFP pg. 48, 4.0(d) defines that the travel for contractor personnel PIV card is at the contractor’s expense. | Where does the contractor personnel need to go to obtain the PIV card? Is it the USPTO Alexandria, VA location or some other location? | The location is dependent on the IAC Specialists physical location. | |
| 38 | RFP pg. 50, Transition-in Plan. | (a) | Does the government have a required transition timeframe (e.g., 30 days, 60 days, or other)? | |
| (b) | Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing this work that the offeror would need to coordinate the transition-in with? If so, please provide name of contractor and contract number. | |||
| (c) | Are there any government employees currently performing this work that the contractor would be assuming their functions under the new contract? For example, do any government staff answer live calls from callers? And, will any government staff continue to answer calls under the new contract, this could affect the contractor staffing plan and proposed level of effort? | a) The required transition time frame is 60 days. Section 7.0 of the PWS has been updated to add this 60 day time frame. b) The incumbent contractor is Tuknik Government Services and the current contract number is 1333BJ20C0015001. c) There are no Government employees performing this work. | ||
| 39 | RFP pg. 49, Section 6.0, GFP/GFE/GFI section states that contractor staff are expected to remain current on relevant patent examining rules, policies and procedures and that USPTO will allow the contractor access to training materials. | (a) On average, how long does initial training take a new hire personnel to complete (e.g., 40 hours systems, policy, etc. training)? | ||
| (b) As training will affect how many agents are able to accept calls daily, how many and what type of “available in-person training offerings” does the USPTO offer contractor employees on an annual basis? And, approximately how long is each training offering? | a) The Government cannot provide a set time in terms of how long it will take to train Contractor employees. The length of training times will vary by topics, and the Government cannot state whether or not in person training will be required. After clearing the sponsorship process, the Contractor employees may begin work after issuance of equipment. This may be completed during the badging process. b) The Government provides the training materials and the Program Manager trains the IAC Specialists. | |||
| 40 | QASP (pg. 11), Section 8.5 Quality Assurance Standards and RFP pg. 46 Section 2.0(a), PWS Task 1. In these sections of RFP and QASP, USPTO refers to call volumes at 1500-2500 and 2500-3500 calls per month with different performance levels (AQLs/metrics) for each of the two defined call volume ranges. | What is expected of the contractor if the volume exceeds those numbers? Would performance levels be modified? Would the contractor be allowed to modify its staffing plan? | The QASP can be reassessed during contract performance, and changes may be completed upon mutual agreement of the parties. Staffing plan changes would require mutual agreement of the parties during contract performance. | |
| 41 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements. Primary Patent Examiner and other contractor staff. | We understand that the government intends for offerors to propose level of effort to support this contract. However, does the government have a minimum level of educations, years of work experience and skill set that it requires to support this contract? | IAC Specialists performing work under this contract must have former Patent Examiner experience at the level of a Primary Patent Examiner with full signatory authority. | |
| 42 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements. Contractor staff. | Do the Service Contract Labor Standards apply to this contract? Are any of the contractor staff referenced in the RFP considered wage determination positions? If so, what labor categories are considered wage determination? And, please provide the appropriate Department of Labor Wage Determination that applies. | The Service Contract Labor Standards do not apply to this contract, and none of the IAC Specialists fall under the DOL Labor Standards. | |
| 43 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements. Contractor staff. | Does the government consider the Patent Examiner a full time position? | Yes, the Patent Examiner is a full time position, however the Patent Examiner is not part of this contract. There are times an IAC Specialist may have to transfer an inquiry to a Patent Examiner. | |
| 44 | RFP pg. 47 Section 2.0, Task 5 - USPTO virtual or in-person events (booth). | Would the contractor be required to provide any booth marketing materials or only the staff to support events? | No, the contractor will not be required to provide marketing materials. All marketing material is provided by Government personnel. | |
| 45 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements, (b) Task 2 - research caller questions offline and follow up with caller within 24 business hours and sufficiently answer the question. | (a) What percentage of calls require offline research and follow up with the caller? (b) Can the government provide the monthly number of outbound calls that were made to follow up with the caller? | a) The percentage is dependent upon the knowledge base of each IAC Specialist, therefore there is no way the Government is able to provide an estimated percentage. b) The Government is not able to provide the monthly number of outbound calls that were made to follow up with the caller. | |
| 46 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements. Contractor staff. | Does the government require the Patent Examiner to have a specific technical skill set or degree (e.g., engineering, science related, or STEM focus)? If so, what level? | The Patent Examiner must have a bachelors degree in an engineering or science discipline. However, for purposes of this contract, IAC Specialists must have Primary Patent Examiner experience and full signatory authority for which there is no external equivalence. | |
| 47 | RFP pg. 46-47. Section 2.0 Specific Tasks/Requirements. Contractor staff. | Does the government require that the customer service representatives/agents answering the calls have a specific technical skill set or degree (e.g., engineering, science related, or STEM focus)? If so, what level? | IAC Specialists performing work under this contract must have former Patent Examiner experience at the level of a Primary Patent Examiner with full signatory authority. | |
| 48 | RFP pg. 48, 3.0 Key Personnel | What are the duty hours for the Program Manager, 8am – 5 pm ET, M-F excluding holidays? | The Program Manager shall work 8 hours within the IAC operational hours of 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM. The Program Manager shall ensure appropriate coverage of the Program Managers activities when the Program Manager is not available between the operational hours of 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM. This information has been updated in the PWS that will be attached separately with the amendment. | |
| 49 | RFP pg. 45, 1.1 Introduction | What are the duty hours for the Primary Patent Examiner position? | The Primary Patent Examiner is authorized to work a flexible work schedule and can work anytime between 4:30 AM to 11:59 PM. | |
| 50 | Section 2.0 A) Task 1 Page 46 of PWS | States "With no limit on length of call." Do you have an average call length from 2024? | The average call length from 2024 was 9 minutes. | |
| 51 | 1333BJ25R00150007, p. 55 | Do the eight (8) pages allowed for the technical volume include cover pages, cover letters, and tables of content? | The solicitation amendment will increase the page count to 10 pages for Factor 1: Technical Approach. The cover pages, cover letters, and table of contents do not count against the ten page limit. | |
| 52 | 1333BJ25R00150007, p 46 | May offerors receive a copy of the customer satisfaction survey questions? Will offerors be able to review the information tied to the surveys? Are the surveys conducted by IAC or a third party vendor? | Yes, a copy of the customer satisfaction survey questions is separately attached with the Amendment. Yes, during the contract performance, the Contractor is able to review survey results information. The surveys are conducted by a third party vendor. | |
| 53 | Pg. 48: 4.0 subsection d.) | What is the approximate anticipated cost to the contractor for the issuance of the PIV card? Is this mailed or does the contractor need to pick the PIV card up in person? | Contractors are not charged a fee for issuance of a PIV card. The PIV must be picked up in person at a facility typically within 50 miles of the individual's address. | |
| 54 | N/A | How many positions, including the Program Manager, are currently staffed under the predecessor contract? | The total number of IAC specialists on the current contract is approximately 15 part time Contractor employees, and one full time Program Manager. |
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