B08_Amend_1_Questions_And_Responses_0001.pdf

1. How frequently does NPS anticipate implementing the SEM program during this period of performance? Will it be conducted annually beginning in the first year of the contract? NPS anticipates awarding a task order annually starting within the first year of the IDIQ award.

2. Will the park units selected for the mock SEM program ultimately be the same units used for the full SEM implementation? Any of the NPS parks can be selected.

3. In the event that a sampling period needs to be extended due to low visitation, can the additional sampling days be non-consecutive, or must the extension be continuous? They could be non-consecutive but within the peak visitor month parameters (up to -10% of peak month) as called for in the implementation plan.

4. Does NPS have a preferred web platform for the online mail back survey? NPS does not have a preferred web platform but Qualtrics derived platform has been helpful for hosting the online survey.

5. Task 1 –Mock SEM Monitoring Program states, “assume up to 3 parks units will have a target of approximately 1600 questionnaires distributed onsite and 800 completed questions with up to 10 sites per park.” How is it determined which park units will have a target of 800 completed surveys compared to the standard 400? Thus far, these parks are driven by lower volumes of visitation or additional complexities for incept context. However, these contexts do seem to be dynamic and typically determined after initially connecting with parks initially derived from the sampling draw logic.

6. Is the onsite survey developed via this study to be used at all park units, or will different surveys be developed for different park units? The same survey is intended for use with slight contextual changes as needed across parks (e.g. recreation activity factor changes to those applicable).

7. How large/small might the survey instrument(s) be? Time to complete, or number of questions? OMB submissions have estimated six minutes for the intercept survey and 13 minutes for the mailback/online survey. These surveys are accompanying the responses to vendor questions for reference.

8. The Scientist, Planner 1, and Planner 2 labor categories are included on the Labor Rates tab but are not listed on the Education Requirements tab in the Price Schedule spreadsheet. Could NPS please clarify the required degree(s) and years of experience for these LCATs?

Scientist – MS -2 years Planner 1 – BS/BA- 1 year Planner 2 – BS/BA – 2 year

9. Can you please clarify the data collection modes (mail, on-site, internet) expected? The NPS sampling protocols deploy an onsite intercept survey complimented by a mailback/online survey (for post-experience questions). These two survey examples are provided for reference to accompany the question responses.

10. The solicitation states, "Proposal submissions shall include a work sample of research deliverables that demonstrate experience with the range of research pertinent to this solicitation. This proposal submission shall be accompanied by an overview of the quality control process performed by the offeror on the submitted research deliverable." Is NPS amenable to offerors referencing work samples from our proposed Key Personnel? Or must the work samples come from the prime offeror? Key Personnel must be employed by the prime.

11. Following the intercept survey and provision of the mailback survey, the JOTR SOW suggests an expectation of a mailed thank you postcard and mailed replacement questionnaire(s). Obtaining a mailing address during the intercept is likely more difficult than obtaining an email address. Is email an acceptable back-up measure to reduce refusals? NPS methods have historically requested a mailing address and phone number or email. Data has historically suggested that relying on email only as a reminder and in lieu of a physical remailing reduces the response rate for the study. That said, if a physical mailing address is not willingly given, recruitment of these respondents would continue per the scripted protocol.

12. Would the government consider converting this opportunity to a multi-award event? This

IDIQ will be awarded as a single award as stated in the solicitation. The type of work involved in this IDIQ is non-severable and therefore only one vendor will be awarded a contract.

13. Has the government considered using external data providers to help achieve study results?

This IDIQ for specific data needs is, at times, intended to use existing external/secondary data from providers. That said, there are contracting needs that have been determined to be unique to primary data collections in parks. The task orders have been determined to be two of these primary data collection needs in parks where the awarded contractor would ultimately be considered the data provider.

Page Limits for Volume I

1. Page 34 of 59 of the solicitation states that Volume I of the response has an 80-page limit, inclusive of the socioeconomic research deliverable/work sample included in Factor 1.

We respectfully request that the work sample be excluded from the 80-page limit. We do not feel that we can provide a complete response to all the requirements of Volume I and provide a sufficient work sample that adequately represents our capabilities in less than 80 pages. The NPS will allow both key personnel resumes (limited to one page per personnel) and the work sample to be excluded from the 80-page limit but limited to 150 pages for the sample.

1. Will the NPS consider excluding resumes from the 80-page limit for Volume I? We believe our team would be better able to communicate the depth and breadth of experience our team offers if resumes were excluded from the page limit. The NPS will allow key personnel resumes (limited to one page per personnel) to be excluded from the 80-page limit.

Project Experience for Volume I

2. Would the NPS accept projects completed by the prime firm’s key personnel but completed before they were employed by the prime? If Key Personnel were personally involved in a project while employed by a different company, and the project was performed within the last (3) three years, the proposal can include said projects. Additionally, Key Personnel must be employed by the prime contractor during the contract’s period of performance”

3. Would the NPS consider accepting project experience information for projects completed within the last seven years? A seven year timeframe requirement matches the previous solicitation. A five-year timeframe would more accurately match the previous solicitation and is what is required for this solicitation.

Key Personnel for Volume I and Volume II:

4. Page 30 of 59 of the solicitation describes the requirements for the qualifications of key personnel. Attachment I, Price Schedule also includes minimum experience and degree requirements.

5. Is a graduate degree in social sciences required for the Principal? We have removed the labor category “Principal” as it was interchangeable with the “Project Manager” labor category. Therefore, a Senior Project Manager requires a graduate degree, specifically a Masters of Science degree. All other labor categories that fall under Project Management does not require a graduate degree. Does NPS require that the prime contractor employ PhD social scientists on their staff? The Senior Social Scientist is a Key Personnel position and requires a PhD.

6. Can the NPS please clarify which roles are considered key personnel for this solicitation? There are some discrepancies across the following portions of the solicitation documents:

a. Solicitation, Page 13 of 59, Section 16: Solicitation updated to reflect correct roles

At a minimum, a Program Manager, Senior Project Advisors, Senior Project Manager and Task Managers shall be identified as key personnel

a. Solicitation, Page 21 of 59: Solicitation updated to reflect correct roles

Senior Project Manager, Senior Social Scientist, Social Science Specialist (x3), Economist, Statistician

b. Solicitation, Page 30 of 59: Solicitation updated to reflect correct roles

Principal, Senior Social Scientist, Social Science Specialists, Economist, Statistician

c. Solicitation, Page 41 of 59, Factor 2, Subfactor 2 Solicitation updated to reflect correct roles

Past Performance, Volume I:

7. Would the NPS accept Past Performance Questionnaires for projects completed by the prime firm’s key personnel but completed before they were employed by the prime? NPS will accept Past Performance Questionnaires for projects completed by the prime’s key personnel if they were personally involved in the project but completed before they were employed by the prime, if the project was performed within the last (3) three years. Additionally, Key Personnel must be employed by the prime contractor during the contract’s period of performance

Pricing for Attachment 1, Price Schedule:

8. There are some discrepancies across the Pricing spreadsheet's Labor Rates and Educational Requirements tabs. The Labor Rates tab does not include the following previously mentioned key personnel labor categories: Program Manager, Senior Project Advisors, Task Managers, Social Science Specialist

Could the NPS provide an updated Labor Rate spreadsheet with all required key personnel labor categories included? Updated Pricing schedule to reflect key personnel labor categories.

9. The Education Requirements tab does not include education requirements for the following labor categories included on the Labor Rates tab: Scientist, Planner 1, Planner 2, Program Manager, Senior Project Advisors, Task Managers, Social Science Specialist

Could the NPS provide an updated Education Requirements spreadsheet with complete education and experience requirements for all positions listed in the Labor Rates and including the required key personnel labor categories? An updated education requirements spreadsheet has been provided.

10. We understand that the NPS would like us to provide labor rates for the NPS-provided labor categories included in the price schedule spreadsheet and that consultants can also recommend additional labor categories and corresponding education requirements for consideration.

Are consultants required to provide a labor rate for all NPS-provided labor categories, or can consultants replace some of the NPS-provided labor categories included in the spreadsheet with other recommended labor categories? Consultants are not listed on the Price Schedule and proposals are required for each labor category identified. However, you may propose additional labor categories, to include Consultants, but you must explain why you’re proposing it and how they relate to the established labor categories.

11. Can consultants recommend alternative educational or experience requirements for some of the NPS-provided labor categories? NPS welcomes additions that would compliment and fully structure a team to be ready and able to assist socioeconomic research and analytic needs across the bureau.

Pricing for Attachment 1, Price Schedule, SEM Task Order:

12. In the “JOTR Task Order” tab of Attachment 1, Price Schedule, NPS states that “Hours are estimated, contractor may adjust hours/labor categories as appropriate.

Must provide rationale for changes.” The same statement is not included in the “MOCK SEM Task Order” tab of Attachment 1, Price Schedule.

Does this mean NPS prefers/requires that no changes be made to the hours, labor categories, and/or direct cost quantities included in the “MOCK SEM Task Order” tab of Attachment 1, Price Schedule? Changes are not allowed; however you may propose additional labor categories as long as you can explain how they relate to the established labor categories. Labor hour changes are not allowed. However, you may propose additional hours as long as you can explain why you choose alternate hours.

13. Can the NPS provide visitation statistics for the Year 3 SEM parks so we can estimate the number of parks that require supplemental sampling days? Should we assume extra sampling will be the responsibility of the Contractor or NPS staff?

Visitation data are available at STATS - Welcome to Visitor Use Statistics and can be queried and downloaded accordingly. Extra effort should be assumed to be the responsibility of the Contractor and not NPS staff.

14. Should we assume a 10-day sampling period for the three parks with targets of 1,600 questionnaires distributed onsite and sampling at 10 sites per park? The target for this distribution could be less sites but a longer sampling duration to achieve the target. The example of 10 sites exceeds most park contexts for necessary intercept locations that enables representation of visitation to the park unit within the sampling days.

https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/

15. Can NPS provide an example park-specific dashboard (see Task 2 of SEM Mock Task Order) to illustrate what has been produced in 2022 and 2023 SEM implementation years? We have not publicly released a park specific dashboard and would like to see how vendors describe and approach this effort.

16. Please clarify: Are Park Webex presentations required for Task 2 and Task 3 of the SEM Mock Task Order? The list of Deliverables on Page 6 of the SEM Mock Task Order includes “Task 3 - Park Webex presentations” but these are not mentioned in the Task 3 scope of work on Pages 4-5 of the SEM Mock Task Order. The list of Deliverables on Page 6 of the SEM Mock Task Order does not include Park Webex presentations for Task 2, but the scope of work for Task 2 on Page 4 of the SEM Mock Task Order does. The only presentation would be back to the program office regarding the national reporting needs. No park specific Webex presentation are requested back to any of the 24 parks.

1. On pdf page 9, the RFP states that Task Orders can be Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or Labor Hour based. On pdf page 12, the RFP states that Firm Fixed Price task order will be issued. Can the government clarify if both FFP and Labor Hour contracts will be issued or just FFP contracts? All task orders will be issued as Firm Fixed Price

2. On pdf page 12-13 of the RFP, a process is delineated in how the government will issue a written request for proposal under the contract and the contractor will respond with a proposal which the government will review. Given that this is a single award IDIQ, will the contractor be allowed to bill the government for preparation of those proposals? Proposal preparation costs are not directly billable to the Government.

3. On pdf page 32, the RFP states a page limit of 80 pages “to include resumes”. Since most RFPs exclude resumes from a page count, we want to verify that this language is correct and that resumes are to included in the page count. The resumes can be external from this page limit but should be limited to a page per key team member.

4. On pdf page 26 of the RFP, it states “Offerors shall include a narrative that demonstrates a comprehensive technical approach for conducting and reporting the range of research and analysis outlined in the study types.” Can the government clarify if this refers to the six “Task Types” defined on pdf page 4-5 of the RFP?

Offerors shall demonstrate a comprehensive technical approach for the Task Types outlined under 2. Description of Services, paragraph 3. Task Types.

5. On pdf page 27 of the RFP, it states “Proposal submissions shall include a work sample of research deliverables that demonstrates experience with the range of research pertinent to this solicitation.” On pdf page 32, the RFP also indicates that the socioeconomic research deliverable is to be included in the 80 page limit.

(“Volume I submission, inclusive of … the socioeconomic research deliverable requested in Factor 1, shall not exceed 80 pages to include resumes.” Research deliverables such as reports can often be in the 40-60 page range, if not more. Can the government clarify what it expects offerors to provide? For example, would a concise and clear 4-6 page description of the research project, with reference to full reports, be sufficient? The 80-page limit can exclude the work sample of research deliverables. Equally, the resumes can be external from this page limit but should be limited to a page per key team member. The work sample of research deliverables should be limited to 150 pages.

6. On pdf page 27, for factor 2 subfactor 1, it states the “The offeror shall provide experience information for up to three (3) projects performed by the prime contractor,” and on pdf page 29 factor 3 it states, the “offeror shall complete the included Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 4) for up to three (3) substantially complete projects performed by the prime contractor.”

7. Question 7a: Does the exclusion of work done by someone now employed by the prime contractor but who performed the work at a prior company that is not the prime contractor apply in this context? For example, if an employee worked on a relevant project at a previous company and is now part of the prime contractor's team, would their past work be excluded from consideration? If Key Personnel were personally involved in a project while employed by a different company, and the project was performed within the last (3) three years, the proposal can include said projects. Additionally, Key Personnel must be employed by the prime contractor during the contract’s period of performance”

8. Question 7b: Will the evaluation be based on whether the staff who performed the past work are still on the prime contractor team? For instance, if key personnel who contributed to past projects are no longer with the prime contractor, how will this impact the evaluation? The past projects are indications of the vendor’s ability to organize and deliver on projects, regardless of whether staff have remained.

9. Section 3.0, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure on Pdf pg 8 states : “Personnel working on any of the described tasks, at the Government’s request, will be required to sign formal non-disclosure and/or conflict of interest agreements to guarantee the protection and integrity of Government and/or Contractor information and documents.” Would the Government provide copies of the non-disclosure and conflict of interest agreements that contractor employees may need to sign? No need to do so with the proposal. Just that the awarded vendor team would be doing so as part of the process for the award.

10. In FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions to Implement Statues of Executive Orders – Commercial Items (JAN 2025), on pdf page 21, the Government has selected (b)(33) 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities and (b)(34) 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity. As these clauses are being removed from the FAR in accordance with EO 14173 and approved FAR deviations, would the Government remove the selection of these clauses from FAR 52.212-5? Updated this clause.

11. In FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions to Implement Statues of Executive Orders – Commercial Items (JAN 2025), on pdf page 23, the Government has selected (c)(1), 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards. However, based on the scope of work and the list of labor categories, this solicitation appears that it will not result in the award of a service contract vehicle. The principal purpose of the scope of work is not the furnishing of services through the extensive use of service employees; instead, the scope of work requires professional services performed essentially and substantially by bona-fide executive, professional, and administrative personnel who are not subject to the Service Contract Act. Would the Government remove FAR 52.222-41 from the selections under FAR 52.212-5 as it is not applicable to the work that will be performed? Updated this clause

12. Addendum 3.0, Additional Provisions Incorporated in Full Text (pdf pgs 33-36 and 41-56) includes additional provisions (52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters, 52.229-11 Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements – Notice and Representation, and 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items). Would the Government confirm that Offerors are to complete these additional representations and certifications, and if so, indicate if they are to be provided in Volume 2 section c? Please complete reps and certs as a part of the SF1449 package.

B08_Attch_2_Mock_SEM_TO_SOW.pdf.pdf

In attachment 2, the Task Order “Implementation of NPS Socioeconomic Monitoring Program NPS” lists “sample parks” for study. Is this an example of what a sample list might look like, or should the contractor assume that these are the final 24 units selected for sampling in 2026? With the tablet results being preliminary, they will be rolled up into final reporting via the more comprehensive draft and final reports per park and with the national results. The preliminary results are exactly that, preliminary. Once more comprehensively compiled, they will be part of the draft and final reporting processes.

a. Within this same task order, one of the sample units is the “World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.” Is that the same as the “Pearl Harbor National Memorial”? World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument and Pearl Harbor National Memorial are now essentially the same unit.

13. In attachment 2, the Task Order “Implementation of NPS Socioeconomic Monitoring Program NPS” lists deliverables on pages 6–7, including “Certified dataset from tablet survey” and “Certified formatted visitor survey dataset.” Within this context, does “certified” refer to SQL compliance, or does this mean something else? The certified dataset refers to the QA/QC process and proposed by the vendor and reviewed/approved by the NPS.

14. In attachment 2, the Task Order “Implementation of NPS Socioeconomic Monitoring Program NPS” refers to a “Technical report of preliminary results from tablet survey” in the “Task Item/Deliverable” table on page 6. This technical report is not referenced elsewhere in the Task Order. Is it meant to refer to the same deliverable as either (a) the “field reports for each park unit” (page 4), or (b) the “Park specific dashboards and presentations (24) that report preliminary results” (page 4)? If not, could you please explain the requirements of the technical report of preliminary results? With the tablet results being preliminary, they will be rolled up into final reporting via the more comprehensive draft and final reports per park and with the national results.

B08_Attch1_Price_Schedule_xlsx.slsx

15. The pricing spreadsheet’s “JOTR Task Order” includes the following headings above labor categories: “Otak”, “Sub-ITRR”, and “Sub-RRC”. The response instructions ask the bidders to fill in the sheet provided. Could the government clarify how bidders are expected to use these categories? This was an administrative error. This information has been removed.

16. Regarding the education requirements worksheet page, would the Government permit substitutions of years of experience for academic degrees in meeting the minimum requirements for a given labor category? For example.

Any combination of additional years of experience in the proposed field of expertise or full-time college level study in the particular field totaling four years would be an acceptable substitute for a Bachelor’s degree, six years would be an acceptable substitute for a Masters degree, and eight years would be an acceptable substitute for a PhD. The NPS WILL NOT accept substitutions for minimum educational requirements for a given labor category.

17. The RFP asks bidders to submit firm fixed price bids for each sample task order.

Does the government intend to award those task orders as part of the award process? The award of the Joshua Tree Visitor Survey Task Order is planned to be awarded in conjunction with this IDIQ contract.

B08_Attch_5_SB_Sub_Plan.pdf.pdf

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan provides a set of goals for the contractor to target.

However, the Plan references FY19 goals for NPS. Can the government provide updated goals for use by bidders or verify that bidders should be targeting FY10 goals? Goals are up to date to reflect current year goals.