1333ND24RNB480016-ADIIS Draft RFP Questions-Government Responses-202405302.pdf

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ID Question Related Document/Section Response

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The Government states "The summary of information of any prior experience should be included as an attachment to Factor 1. There is a limit of one (1) page per experience cited in the 5-page narrative. The attachment will be excluded from the page limitation for Factor 1."

Does this mean that the 5-page narrative limit is for answering Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions 1 to 4 and counting the (1) page per experience attachment to Factor 1 the total page has a limit of 8-pages?

RFP-+1333ND24RNB480016-4-12-24-Final- Draft+ - Phase 1-Volume I Submission Contents

The limit is 5 pages for the narrative response to the 5 questions, and up to one page per project used as experience for the summary of information. The total limitation is 8 pages, but is dependent on how many projects are used for cited experience.

Would the Government consider time-and-materials task orders to allow for greater flexibility in solutions? Introduction, Page 1, RFP No

Would the Government consider single award due to the risk of fixed-price task orders and the specialized knowledge need to respond? Number of Offerors, Page 9, RFP

No, This will be multiple IDIQ contract awards. Each task order will be competed among the IDIQ contract holders.

Page 1 states: "The Government anticipates awarding multiple indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts with a five-year ordering period". To allow for greater flexibility at the Task Order level, will the Government consider issuing a mix of Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Labor Hour (LH) orders? Draft RFP - I. INTRODUCTION: (Page 1) No

Page 14 states: "A ceiling value of $TBD million per contract award will apply but the ceiling value for the IDIQ will remain capped at $TBD million." Does the Government have an update on ceiling values for each contract award or for the total IDIQ? Draft RFP - On-Ramp Procedures (Page 14) Yes, $70 Million

What software does NIST have available that NIST prefers the contractor use to execute tasks like website design, graphic design, marketing materials? SOW - Task 2. Marketing Support (Page 4)

NIST does not make software available to contractors to use, and contractors must provide their own software and/or licenses for use.

7 Will all IDIQ awardees be allowed to bid on all Task Orders? Draft RFP - II. REQUIREMENTS: (Page 13) Yes

Does the Government require creation of marketing materials to be placed in paid media channels? Would support be needed for paid marketing on social, print, and/or broadcast channels? SOW - Task 2. Marketing Support (Page 4)

NIST may elect to have contracted organizations utilize paid media channels for informational and educational purposes, and may involve multiple channels.

Does the Government have baseline information about MEP, Technology Partnerships Office, OAM, and BPEP brand awareness it can share? SOW - Task 2. Marketing Support (Page 4)

Yes, you can go to the NIST website to learn about the programs.

Will the Government add price realism in addition to prices being fair and reasonable? Price realism will help keep offerors from bidding unrealistically low rates, which will drive numerous vacancies.

Draft RFP - Advisory Down-Select Process (Page 12, Basis for Award)

No. The IDIQ is establishing ceiling rates for each contract, however task order competitions will allow for further discounts.

Will the Government consider including a low/high price range for each labor category? This will ensure that fully burdened rates are fair, reasonable, and realistic.

Draft RFP - Advisory Down-Select Process (Page 12, Basis for Award, Factor 5)

No. However, Offerors could use open-source websites to clarify its own assumptions if their rates provided are fair and reasonable, such as the GSA CALC tool.

The RFP and Phase 2 scenario are focused on marketing communications and support including developing marketing strategies, plans and materials. However, a few of the Phase 1 Factor 1 Experience Questions are focused on the offeror’s experience developing and/or learning management-related roadmaps. What percentage of the work is related to training, learning management roadmaps, developing training, etc.? What percent is related to marketing communications including planning, developing strategies, materials, etc.? Factor 1 Experience Questions Page 4 of the RFP

N/A for the IDIQ completion maybe address at the Task Order level .

We understand a total price to compare is not established for the complete range of services in the RFP. Do you have any generic metrics you can share that would help evaluate the amount of work and required capacity for each of the 6 tasks? RFP/SOW general question No, the Government cannot provide metrics.

https://buy.gsa.gov/pricing/qr/mas?page=1&page_size=20&histogram=12&experience_range=0,45&price__gte=15&price__lte=500&ordering=current_price&acceptsDataDisclosure=true&sort=asc&price_range=15,500 https://buy.gsa.gov/pricing/qr/mas?page=1&page_size=20&histogram=12&experience_range=0,45&price__gte=15&price__lte=500&ordering=current_price&acceptsDataDisclosure=true&sort=asc&price_range=15,500 https://buy.gsa.gov/pricing/qr/mas?page=1&page_size=20&histogram=12&experience_range=0,45&price__gte=15&price__lte=500&ordering=current_price&acceptsDataDisclosure=true&sort=asc&price_range=15,500

Percentage of Subcontractor Value in Relation to the Prime Contract Value (if applicable) – If offer is a subcontractor, is this the percentage of the offerors contract value as total contract value of the Primes’ Contract? If it is not known, can we respond as Not Applicable?

Summary of Information, Draft RFP, page 5 of 29.

Yes, if the offeror is claiming experience as a subcontractor, then the Government is asking for the percentage of the offerors subcontract compared to the total contract value of the prime contract. If it is unknown then state not applicable.

15 Does the skill set for the scenario are to match the LCaTS identified by NIST?

FACTOR 2 - Scenario for Marketing and Communication Support Services, Draft RFP, page 5 of 29.

The skill sets for Factor 2, should be unique to completing the marketing communications analysis, which may extend beyond the definition provided in the labor categories document

What is the expected percentage of on-site support and which LCaTs are more likely expected to required on-site support?

Price Volume (Excel) (LCAT rate card), Draft RFP, page 10 of 29. None

For the five questions listed on page 4, is the intent for the vendor to provide their specific capabilities to address the questions and "reference" past performance examples, but not provide any specific contract details as part of that 5 page limit? And instead, those contract details would be the addendum referenced in the "Summary of Information" on Page 5 of the RFP? Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions (Page 4)

Offerors are permitted to include pieces of that summary information in the 5-page narrative response at their discretion, perhaps it provides emphasis to the response. The contract details required in the Summary of Information will still be required, even if the Offeror included some of that information in their narrative. Factor 1 is focused on experience, which is separate from past performance .

When responding to Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions, should the vendor provide a narrative that encompasses the range of a company's corporate experience related to that question to include up to three specific contract references or answer the five questions using a specific contract that would be referenced in the Summary of Information attachment? Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions (Page 4)

The offeror may choose to incorporate the contract experience in any way it chooses as long as it adequately addresses the questions and the experience falls within the limitations for the number of references.

When responding to all five questions on Page 4, is the intent that the vendor should only be referencing no more than 3 prior experiences/projects/contracts?

For example, when addressing question #1, a vendor may have performed this on a dozen projects, but should only reference no more than 3 contracts? Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions (Page 4)

Yes, the offerors should only identify 3 prior projects/experiences when preparing responses for all five questions.

For Phase 2 submission, the proposal instructions state "The offeror does not need to submit anything additional for this factor." in regards to Past Performance. Is that because the materials submitted in Phase 1 serve as the Past Performance? FACTOR 4: Past Performance (Page 7)

Yes, the material included in phase 1 will serve as information required for past performance.

The RFP instructions on page 9 state that the Government intends to provide no more than 5 offerors with an advisory notification to proceed. How many total awards does the Government estimate to make since this is a multiple award IDIQ? Number of Offerors (Page 9)

The number of offerors that will receive advisory notification to proceed will depended on the number of highly qualified vendors. The number of IDIQ awards will depend on the number of proposals received and their relative merits.

The Advisory Down-Select Process indicates that offerors rated most highly for Phase 1 will be advised to proceed to Phase 2 of the proposal submission process.

Please clarify the relative rating and evaluation factor that will be used to rate Phase 1 submissions.

RFP document, pg. 9, Section: Advisory Notifications

Phase 1 is comprised of one factor only - Factor 1 - Demonstrated Prior Experience. The RFP has been updated.

The Government is going to evaluate each factor and assign it a level of confidence. YES

While past performance should be relevant to the SOW, can you provide any additional guidance on the level of similarity expected to MEP projects for a strong evaluation in this factor? RFP document, pg. 4 Factor 1 Prior Experience There is no additional information provided at this time.

Is there an incumbent or is this a new requirement? If this is a new requirement, how has marketing, branding and strategic communications been performed or NIST IIS and its four program areas?

Yes, three incumbent contractors Stone & Associates - 1333ND19DNB480015, Battra LLC - 1333ND19DNB480016, and Nexight Group -

1333ND19DNB480017.

25 How much of a factor is manufacturing experience?

RFP- 1333ND24RNB480016-4-13-24-Final- Draft, 1333ND24RNB480016-IDIQ SOW for

ADIIS-4.1.24

Please read the instructions and evaluation criteria for Factor 1 in its entirety.

Number of prior experiences: is this limited to 3 projects total across all questions, or limited to 3 projects per question? 3 projects total for phase 1

Recent and relevant experience: can you please define a timeline for "recent" in this context?

Projects completed within the past 3 years (from the date of the solicitation release) may instill higher confidence, however experience from projects completed beyond 3 years may still be considered. YES

Is NIST seeking individual firms for this work, or are teams (teaming agreements) preferable?

NIST has no preference other than to find capable partners who can complete the scope of the IDIQ.

Does NIST anticipate making separate awards for the evaluation task? If so, would the current technical submission requirements apply for the Prior Experience Questions in national marketing and branding?

See SOW/Page 5/Task k and RFP Instructions/ Factor 1, Pages 4 and 5, Experience Questions #4 and #5

No task orders will be issued directly from the award of the IDIQ contracts. All future task orders will be competed to the IDIQ pool of contractors.

If NIST plans to have the evaluation task 5 in the SOW as separate awards, how would Phase 2 be impacted? For instance, could firms propose how they would evaluate these types of tasks?

RFP Instructions/Scenarios Background, Pages 5-

There is no separate evaluation or award of IDIQs occurring beyond that which are listed in the RFP. This RFP intends to result in the award of multiple IDIQ contracts and does not contemplate the award of a task order in addition to the IDIQ contracts.

Can the Government clarify the "full and open procurement competition" language in conjunction with 100% small business set aside? RFP P. 1, Introduction

This is a 100% small business set-aside. Only small business can submit proposals.

32 Are these new requirements? RFP Overarching No

Does each prior experience need to answer the five questions or can offerors merge experience across the three projects under each question response?

RFP Factor 1 Prior Experience Questions (P. 4) + Summary of Information

The offeror may choose to incorporate the contract experience in any way it chooses as long as it adequately addresses the questions and the experience falls within the limitations for the number of references. The five questions can be answered across the submission of three prior experiences. It is not necessary for each prior experience to stand for all five questions.

What type of training needs does the Government anticipate? Do these all fall under the marketing and communications realm? SOW P.6, Deliverables

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

35 Are there any current or preferred marketing/communication platforms used?

SOW P. 4, Task 2k "marketing automation and marketing tools"

NIST has previously employed a performance standard of Adobe Creative Cloud products, Microsoft Office products, and other formats as needed. Drupal is used for web applications as well.

36 Will there be a separate Other Direct Cost (ODC) budget for printing needs? SOW P.5, Task 6f ODC will be identified in each task order.

37 To what degree is the Government open to innovative approaches / solutions?

The requirement supports the NIST Innovation and Industry Services (IIS) Office. Offerors are invited to showcase their innovative approaches/solutions in response to all factors.

Can the Government clarify whether it is open to a contractor with greater private sector experience than federal? Yes, this section has been revised. See page 11 in the RFP. YES

In evaluating "best value," to what degree does the Government prefer experience over has indicated that this opportunity is Total Small Business Set-Aside and that it is open to innovative approaches and strategies? RFP-4-13-24-Final-Draft+

Please see RFQ page 11 for the descending order of importance as it relates to the factors in this requirement the Government will use to determine the best value.

Can the Government clarify what (if anything)--aside from documenting any assumptions made in developing its proposal--should the offerors include in the Business Volume?

RFP-4-13-24-Final-Draft+

The RFP states what information is required in the Business Volume

With respect to the Price Volume, can the Government clarify how it would like offerors to calculate "a proposed ceiling fully burdened labor rate for each 'year' of the IDIQ"?

RFP-4-13-24-Final-Draft+

You have to determine the fully burdened labor rate for each labor category for each option year.

Offerors are required to submit a completed Pricing for Labor Categories and Labor Definitions excel document, where each row and column is complete with fully burdened labor rates for each option period and labor category.

The Government stated that “Failure to propose a rate for each listed Labor Category in the Pricing Template Spreadsheet Attachment may render the offeror’s price proposal inadequate and preclude the offeror from further consideration for award.” Can the Government clarify whether offerors must propose rates for every labor category, including those labor categories for which they do not intend to respond to in the RFP? For instance, proposing a rate of $0 /

hr. for those labor categories that the vendor does not intend to staff.

RFP-4-13-24-Final-Draft+

The Government is looking for offerors that can provide services for all of the requirements identified in the statement of work. If an offeror does not meet all the requirements in the statement of work may not be among the highly rated offerors.

Offerors are required to submit a completed Pricing for Labor Categories and Labor Definitions excel document, where each row and column is complete with fully burdened labor rates for each option period and labor category. Failure to propose a rate for each listed Labor Category in the Pricing Template Spreadsheet Attachment may render the offeror’s price proposal inadequate and preclude the offeror from further consideration for award

What is the expected level of effort or estimated number of hours required for each potential task order category (e.g., Research and Strategy Development Initiatives, Marketing Support, MEP Center and Manufacturing USA Institute Support, etc.)?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5

That is not material to the RFP. The question you are asking is related to task orders.

Can the Government provide additional details on the specific research methodologies or data collection methods that would be preferred or acceptable for the research tasks mentioned in Task 1?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 1 No

Are there any specific branding guidelines, style guides, or existing brand assets that the vendor should be aware of for the marketing and branding tasks mentioned in Task 3?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 2 No

For Task 3 (MEP Center and Manufacturing USA Institute Support), is there a preferred approach or methodology for board development, training, and consulting activities?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 3 No

Are there any existing strategic plans, program documents, or past evaluation reports that the vendor should review to understand the current state and future direction of the MEP and Manufacturing USA programs? IDIQ SOW for ADIIS

To understand the understand IIS, you can go to https://www.nist.gov/adiis

Are there any specific event logistics or planning requirements for the meetings and event support tasks mentioned in Section 5, Task 6?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 6

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

Are there any preferred tools, platforms, or technologies that should be used for the systems and platform development and deployment support mentioned in Section 5, Task 6?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 6

For IIS Meeting and Event Support we utilize Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat PDF and other formats as needed. The task reflected in this question has been moved to Section 5, Task 4. Yes

Are there any specific evaluation methodologies or assessment frameworks that should be used for the program evaluation and client impact analysis tasks mentioned in Section 5, Task 5?

IDIQ SOW for ADIIS Section 5, Task 5

There are no specific evaluation methodologies or assessment frameworks that are to be used for the program evaluation and client impact analysis tasks mentioned in Section 5, Task 5.

Can you provide more information on the expected duration of the contract, the anticipated number of task orders, and the overall budget range for this procurement?

The ceiling potential is $70 Million. The period of performance will be 5 years. The number of task orders will be dependent on the budget NIST receives.

Will the Government provide an estimate of the overall level of effort anticipated in the first year, to provide a basis for pricing more advantageous to the Government? Price Volume / p. 10 No

If no actual, apparent, or potential conflicts of interest are identified, should a Quoter still submit a Conflict of Interest plan, and, if so, will the Government evaluate it? FAR Provisions / p. 23

This provision has been deleted from the RFP. CAR 1352.209-70 Potential Organizational Conflict Of Interest

(APR 2010) YES

Will the Government please confirm that, when submitting Prior Experience performed under a BPA or IDIQ comprising several task orders, that all task orders associated with the project may be included as a single example? Factor 1 / p. 4

No, the offeror can only identify 3 projects/experience.

Offerors cannot identify the BPA or IDIQ and list all the task orders as a single example.

Will the Government please confirm that a cover page, table of contents, and table of acronyms may be included without counting against the page limit for the Phase 1 submission? Factor 1 / p. 4

Yes, a cover page, table of contents, and table of acronyms will not be included in the page limit. Anything else will be included in the page limit such as excutive summaries. See page 9, 6. Exclusions.

Will the Government please confirm that, pursuant to 13 CFR 125.11, a Quoter who is a member of a joint venture under the SBA Mentor-Protégé program may submit Prior Experience it performed as part of that joint venture when submitting as a Prime Quoter for this BPA, and that the Prior Experience will be given full and equal consideration as would equivalent experience as a sole prime? Factor 1 / p. 4

13 CFR 125.11 refers to Past Performance. Factor 1 is for experience, not past performance. Past performance is evaluated under Factor 4. The Government's confidence may be increased if elements from the offeror's experience were done as a prime contractor. YES

When submitting a Prior Experience project with an available CPAR report, may a Quoter include a copy of the relevant report for the Government's convenience as an attachment, without counting against the page limit for the submission? Factor 1 / p. 4 No

Can the Government share what number or percentage of quoters are expected to be most highly rated after Phase 1? Advisory Notifications / p. 9

RFQ Page 9, Number of Offerors: The Government intends to provide no more than 5 offerors with an advisory notification to proceed but reserves the right to notify more offerors.

59 Can the Government share how many awards it intends to make? Evaluation Criteria / p. 10 The number of IDIQ awards will depend on the number of proposals received and their relative merits.

Will Government / Federal Government prior experience be rated more favorably than other past performance? Factor 1 / p. 4

No, Federal Government prior experience may instill higher confidence, as does experience supporting public-private partnerships.

Does the Government anticipate a particular labor category for the Project Director Key Personnel? Labor Categories and Labor Definitions Yes, Project Director is the labor category

We note that the Project Director Key Personnel Position requires 20 years' experience. In our experience this is extraordinarily high, and similar contracts often require 10 for a commensurate role. Will the Government consider lowering the experience requirement for this Key Personnel role? Labor Categories and Labor Definitions

Yes, the Government has lowered the number of years of experience to 15 years. YES

The Phase I and II proposal content seem to focus on Task 2 in the SOW. Where is the offeror to discuss information on its ability to fulfill Tasks 1, 4 and 5, which are more related to research and evaluation? RFP - General

The Offeror is in control of its response to the evaluation factors listed in the RFP, and to the evaluate criteria for each factor.

How does the offeror's ability to fulfill Tasks 1, 4, and 5 factor into proposal evaluation? RFP - General

The Offeror is in control of its response to the evaluation factors listed in the RFP, and to the evaluate criteria for each factor.

A 4 page limit for staff approach seems quite limited given the number of staff positions you anticipate requiring for the IDIQ? Could you consider increasing the page limit for this area. RFP - Factor 3

Factor 3 remains unchanged. Please review Factor 3's instructions in its entirety as it does not refer to a staff approach.

If offerors are not required to submit Past Performance information in Phase II, how will this section be judged? RFP - Factor 4

The RFP has been updated to provide clarity to the past performance evaluations. The Government intends to provide a confidence assessment for Factor 4. YES

67 What specifically should be included in the Phase 2 Business Volume? RFP - Business Volume The RFP states what information is required in the Business Volume

There is often greater objectivity and less bias involved when you have a research firm that isn't involved in implementing marketing and support, and hence evaluating your programs and campaigns without a vested interest? Are you open to working with companies that would perform only marketing (tasks 2 ,3, and 6) and companies that would perform only research (tasks 1, 4 and 6) for the IDIQ, or do firms need to do both? RFP - Non-specific

The Government is looking for offerors that can provide services for all of the requirements identified in the statement of work. If an offeror does not meet all the requirements in the statement of work it may not be among the most highly rated offerors.

Further, Offerors are required to submit a completed Pricing for Labor Categories and Labor Definitions excel document, where each row and column is complete with fully burdened labor rates for each option period and labor category. Failure to propose a rate for each listed Labor Category in the Pricing Template Spreadsheet Attachment may render the offeror’s price proposal inadequate and preclude the offeror from further consideration for award.

How many marketing plans are to be analyzed? Can you please describe the focus of these marketing plans? RFP - page 6 of 29, Item 1

There is no set or specific number of marketing plans to be analyzed. The marketing plans represent prior NIST IIS program marketing, communications and branding plans to market, communicate and brand programs and initiatives.

If you receive two or more proposals from WOSB, would you set this procurement aside under the SBA's WOSB Program, given that WOSB are historically under-represented in contracting under this NAICS? RFP-General No

Do you prefer firm-fixed-prices for project deliverables or hourly rates per personnel or team? RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Price Volume

The RFP will require fully burdened labor rates for each labor category

Can you describe the type of scenes, events or settings that will be recorded for video and photography?

RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Technical Volume

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

Will there be any In-person interviews or recorded video demonstrations with audio?

RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Technical Volume Yes

What are the post-production deliverables needed for video, audio and photography?

RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Technical Volume

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

75 Which earned and paid media channels do you prefer to use?

RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Technical Volume

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

Would you prefer a firm-fixed-price for media rates that are inclusive of contractor fees? RFP Draft - Phase 2 Submission Price Volume All Labor rates are to be fully burdened

What marketing automation tools are currently in place, and what improvements are being considered? STATEMENT OF WORK

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

In general, how does NIST measure the effectiveness of its marketing strategies and outreach activities? STATEMENT OF WORK

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

What are the specific metrics used to evaluate the performance of MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA Institutes? STATEMENT OF WORK

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

What are the key messages NIST wants to convey through its CHIPS + Science Act related outreach? STATEMENT OF WORK

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

What are the current challenges in deploying marketing strategies across the MEP and Manufacturing USA networks? STATEMENT OF WORK

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

Will NIST consider additional Q&A rounds following issuing the final RFP and upon the conclusion of Phase I evaluations? RFP Question & Answer Process:

RFP pg. 2/3: "The Government does not intend to allow for an additional round of questions, after responses are provided during the Draft RFP phase, such as when the Final RFP is released"

Are key personnel to be provided for both the FACTOR 2 scenario response and the FACTOR 3: IDIQ Technical Approach and Capabilities? The instructions state only one resume is required for Factor 3, can that resume also be included in the scenario response for Factor 2? If so, would this resume need to be included twice? Phase 2 - Volume II Submission Contents

The instructions for both factors remain unchanged. Factor 2 does not require a resume in any way. Element 5 of Factor 2 states: "Describe the skill sets and experience of the personnel required to complete the marketing communications analyses.

Factor 3 requires a single resume for its proposed key personnel.

This sections indicates that for award , offerors must propose the following electronic and information technology (EIT):

XX 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications XX 1194.24 Video and multimedia products

Does NIST desire any specific third-party tools or off-the-shelf-solutions to satisfy these EIT requirements?

What types of EIT tools, products, and applications are anticipated for this requirement and are any brand-name products or tools specifically desired?

Similarly, where in the proposal submission instructions are these proposed EIT to be communicated? RFP CAR 1352.201-72

No, offerors must be able to ensure that all media will be 508 compliant

Can you provide further details on the specific tasks and objectives outlined in the scope of work? (such as website URLs, event names etc.) (Is Photography stock imagery or an on-site photographer need?) Task 2. Marketing Support

The inforamtion is not applicable at the IDIQ level. This will be addressed in each indvidaul task order.

86 Which entities will require new branding? Task 2. Marketing Support

It is not known at this time which entities will require new branding, but the IDIQ contract is designed to allow for flexibility for any such branding needs to be accommodated.

Can you provide guidance on the process for modifying task orders, including changes in scope, schedule, or budget? General

If a task order requires a change, the Government will issue a modification.

Are there specific training methodologies that are preferred over others? Can we use a mix of methodologies to achieve our goals?

Task 4. Deployment and Execution of Strategic Plans

The Offeror is in control of its submission, including proposed training methodologies and a mix of those.

Can you provide further details or examples on the types of skills that may be targeted during training? This can help us figure out which approaches/methods are best.

Task 4. Deployment and Execution of Strategic Plans

It depends on the requirements that would be identified in task orders statement of works

In regards to partnership development, will we be responsible for finding partners or just the development of the partnership?

Task 4. Deployment and Execution of Strategic Plans

Typically it is the Government's responsibility to find the partners. The Government is looking for contractors to provide the development support.

What is the correct RFP number? IIS IDIQ cites 1333ND24RNB480016 and section (ii) cites RFP number 1333ND24QNB480178 Instructions - Section I - (ii) 1333ND24RNB480016 YES

Can you provide what you mean and what are their specific evaluation KPI's for "innovative techniques for this award?

Instructions - Section I - (iiI)

The reference to "innovative procurement techniques for this award in order to maximize competition" is not connected with KPIs or any evaluative component of this requirement.

Please refer page 1 Innovative Procurement Techniques. YES

Will Phase 2 have two or three weeks of notification?

"The Phase 2 written submission due date will be approximately three (2) weeks from the date of the advisory notification." Instructions - Page 9 Phase 2 Instructions

Offerors will have approximately two or three weeks after advisory notification to submit phase 2 proposals. This will be clarified with an actual due date after the advisory down-select process is completed. YES

In response to Factor 3,we recommend that NIST structure the IDIQ response in a way that separates each work stream. This will allow specialized agencies/firms to bid based on their capabilities and bring about offerors with strong experience in the tasks presented for NIST's benefit. (For instance, separating out marketing and communication requirements into a separate submission then the Final Draft RFP

The Government is looking for offerors that can provide services for all of the requirements identified in the statement of work. If an offeror does not meet all the requirements in the statement of work it may not be among the most highly rated offerors.

Further, Offerors are required to submit a completed Pricing for Labor Categories and Labor Definitions excel document, where each row and column is complete with fully burdened labor rates for each option period and labor category. Failure to propose a rate for each listed Labor Category in the Pricing Template Spreadsheet Attachment may render the offeror’s price proposal inadequate and preclude the offeror from further consideration for award

95 Does NIST have a cap of how many firms will be moved to Phase 2? General No

Would NIST consider extending the page count for Phase 2-Scenario to 10 pages? Final Draft RFP

The Government has considered it, and the page count remains unchanged.

97 Is past performance required to be within a certain time period from RFP drop? Final Draft RFP

Projects completed within the past 3 years (from the date of the solicitation release) may instill higher confidence, however experience from projects completed beyond 3 years may still be considered. YES

Will the contractor be required to work on more than one task order at a time, or will the task orders be completed in a predetermined sequence?

Yes. However the offeror is responsible for how many task orders it proposes to and should consider how many they can manage simultaneously.

99 Will a total task list be issued? If so, at what phase of evaluation? No

Of the 6 Task Categories listed, is there an estimated workload breakdown per category related to total workload? No

Under Phase 1 Factor 1: Demonstrated Prior Experience: The last sentence reads:

“The Government’s confidence level in the offeror may be increased if elements of the offeror’s prior experience included work with or supporting public-private partnerships.” Can you elaborate to clarify this statement?

The RFP has been revised. See Page 11.

These statements are worded to recognize their potential impact, and the government's preference of them, but that each is not a limiting factor nor a mandatory submission requirement. YES

ADIIS Draft Q&A