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1333ND24RNB170013
Amendment A002
Questions and Answers:
| Question # |
| Section Reference |
| Page |
| Industry Questions |
| 1 |
| III. Period of Performance |
| 6 |
| What date does NIST anticipate making an award? Sometime in the 4th quarter. |
| 2 |
| III. Period of Performance |
| 6 |
| Does NIST have a target go live date? – No, TBD. |
| 3 |
| III. Period of Performance |
| 6 |
| If the go live date is anticipated to be after the award date because of contract requirements to migrate data and/or obtain security clearances to access and process NIST data, does NIST foresee any potential overlap in the operation of the incumbent system? There is no incumbent system/contractor. |
| 4 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 1 & 2 |
| 6 |
| Are the proposed suite of tools intended exclusively for access by HR Specialists, or is there a need for accessibility by non-HR Specialist NIST employees as well? – Access shall be granted to all NIST employees. |
| 5 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 1 |
| 6 |
| NIST currently has 3,725 employees. Does NIST currently have 2,000+ vacant positions or any specific plan for a significant increase in employee population size? – The requirement is to be able to import historical records in addition to having records for all current staff, up to 6,000 unique employee profiles. |
| 6 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 5 |
| 6 |
| For the Single-Sign On capability, does the NIST OKTA identity provider include a unique data element that can be linked to the employee's identity in NFC such as Social Security Number or HR Connect employee ID? – Vendor needs to provide an MFA strategy. |
| 7 |
| IV. Requirement, paragraph 6, IT Security |
| 9 |
| Will NIST go through the authorization process to issue an Authority to Operate (ATO) before customer data can be processed in the system? – Yes. |
| 8 |
| IV. Requirement, paragraph 6, IT Security |
| 9 |
| What level of clearance is necessary for vendor staff to obtain access to NIST data and systems? – Moderate. |
| 9 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 7 |
| 11 |
| At what point after issuing the award will NIST provide the incumbent data and what type of format? - TBD |
| 10 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 7 |
| 11 |
| Is there a specific date when NIST's access to the incumbent system will be terminated? - TBD |
| 11 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 9 |
| 12 |
| Is it a requirement for this contract to support benefit enrollments for new hires? – Yes. |
| 12 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 9 |
| 12 |
| Is it a requirement for this contract to support benefit enrollments for open season? – Yes. |
| 13 |
| IV. Requirements, paragraph 9 |
| 12 |
| Is it a requirement for this contract to support benefit enrollments for qualifying life events? – Yes. |
| 14 |
| Instructions to Offerors |
| 19 |
| NIST specifies that vendors must provide a technical approach. Is there a preference regarding whether cost or price-related information should be included within the technical approach? Alternatively, does the government prefer that cost and price details be presented in a separate document? Cost or price-related information shall be submitted as separate document from Technical proposal. |
| 15 |
| Instructions to Offerors, item 18 |
| 20 |
| Regarding the cost for the one-time historical data transfer mentioned in paragraph 6, when specifying that the cost should be "separately documented," does this refer to a distinct section within the proposal? Or does it imply a separate document or file outside of the main proposal, such as a technical proposal versus a price proposal? It should be presented as a distinct section/cost within the Price proposal. |
| 16 |
| Addendum - Evaluation/Basis of Award |
| 22 |
| Please confirm that the basis of award for evaluating proposals is primarily focused on technical acceptability alongside the lowest price, in accordance with the "technically acceptable, lowest price (LPTA)" criteria stated in the solicitation? Confirmed. |
Are there any specific technologies, frameworks, or programming languages that the agency prefers or has existing infrastructure to support? This information would help us align our solution design for optimal compatibility. NIST is looking to procure a retirement benefits software application that currently exists, and the vendor will host the application.
