RFP_15-233-SOL-00110_Amendment_000005.pdf

(x)

15-233-SOL-00110

x x

3 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

DAM

Rockville MD 20857 12501 Ardennes Avenue Twinbrook Place, Suite 400

DHHS/PSC/AMS/DAM

06/23/2015000005

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12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

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The above referenced Request for Proposal (RFP) is amended as follows:

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15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

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Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.: RFP: 15-233-SOL-00110

AMENDMENT NO.: 000005

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 23, 2015

ISSUED BY:

Program Support Center Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 12501 Ardennes Avenue Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20857

Point of Contact: Shanelle Jackson, Contract Specialist

NAME AND ADDRESS OF RESPONDENTS: To All Responders

The above numbered Solicitation is amended as set forth below.

DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT

PURPOSE: To clarify the Solicitation requirements by amending Section L.1 and responding to questions submitted under the Solicitation. Unless specifically noted, all specifications remain unchanged.

A. Amendment:

1. Section L. 1 General Instructions paragraph 3 revised as follows:

The proposal must be submitted no later than July 14, 2015 at 12:00pm Eastern Time. The Offeror shall submit one (1) electronic copy of the written technical, past performance and business proposal to the Government. The proposal should be emailed to the Contract Specialist, Shanelle Jackson, at PSCacquisitions@psc.gov.

B. Questions:

1. For the Business proposal, do subcontractors need to submit anything other than a Letter of

Commitment?

Response: No, letters of commitment are sufficient.

2. The RFP does not indicate where the past performance information should be provided.

Should it be placed in an Appendix?

Response: Past performance information should be provided with each technical proposal submitted. As indicated by the RFP, past performance information will not be included in the page count specified for each technical proposal submission.

mailto:PSCacquisitions@psc.gov

3. Does PSC want rates schedules (sections B.2 and B.3) for our subcontractors?

Response: No, rate schedules for Sections B.2 and B.3 are for prime contractors only.

4. The directions about exactly how many copies of the proposal should be delivered are somewhat confusing. If we are responding to Technical Area 1 only, should we deliver 1 electronic copy of both technical (including past performance) and business proposals, 6 CDs (3 with the technical proposal and past performance references + 3 with the business proposal), and 1 hard copy (of both technical/past performance and business proposals)?

Page 105 – Are electronic copies are the proposal to be submitted both via email and CD/DVD in addition to 1 hard copy? Would you consider electronic submissions via email only?

Response: Yes, one electronic copy of the proposal shall be submitted in addition to 6) technical and (6) business CDs per technical area in hard copy.

5. What documents and forms are required from subcontractors, other than the letter of intent?

Response: See the answer to question 1 above.

6. Section I.5.2. – “352.231.70 Salary Rate Limitation,” does this limit the direct cost that can be billed to the contract on an hourly basis? Or just limit the direct cost that can be charged to the contract on an annual basis per employee? (As seems to be described at the DHHS guidance website found at: http://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/salary-rate-limitation/index.html.) If there is a cap of direct cost on an hourly basis, what is the number of hours to use as the denominator?

Response: The Salary Rate Limitation clause limits the direct cost that can be charged to the Contract on an annual basis per employee.

7. Section L.2.A. – If the Offeror is responding to both Technical Area #1 and #2, should the

Offeror submit two business proposals or one combined business proposal? If the latter, should the Offeror include separate Labor Rate Category tables and therefore separate files for Attachment J.3: Pricing Scenario.

Response: The Offeror should submit one combined business proposal.

8. Section L.2.A. – What items are required for the Business Proposal from the Offeror’s

Subcontractors besides a Letter of Intent (e.g. Labor Category Rate Tables, SF-LLL, Accounting System Evaluation, etc.)?

9. Section L.2.A.1.d – In lieu of completing the Representations and Certifications, will the government allow contractors to certify that they are registered in SAM and all certifications are up to date?

Response: The certifications in SAM do not cover all the Representations and Certifications included in Section K of this RFP.

10. Is there a section A? The RFP that was distributed started on Page 2 with ‘Section B’.

Response: Yes, see Amendment 00001 for page 1, Section A, SF 33.

11. Does an Offeror need to meet the small business goals for both technical areas separately, or does it count if we meet goals for the two areas combined?

Response: Yes, if the Offeror intents to submit proposals for both technical areas they must meet the small business goals for both technical areas separately. Goals may need to be revisited if the Offeror does not receive award in both technical areas.

12. Does an Offeror need to submit separate business volumes for each technical area or one business volume covering both technical areas?

Response: See the answer to question 7 above.

13. Please confirm that the only business volume requirement for proposed subcontractors is to submit a letter of intent.

14. The provided link to the HHS model subcontracting plan is broken. Can an updated link be provided? http://www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/subcontractplan.html

Response: The HHS model subcontracting plan can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/asfr/ogapa/osbdu/Small%20Business/subcontractplan.html.

15. Pages 113 and 118 of the IDIQ solicitation document state: "For contracts that do not have performance information available through PPIRS, offerors are requested to provide the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment J.2) directly to their reference. The reference should complete the questionnaire and submit information directly back to the Government via email to Shanelle.Jackson@psc.hhs.gov by the close date of this solicitation." If PPIRS information is present for a given past performance reference, is the submission of a Past Performance Questionnaire still required?

Response: No, if past performance information is available through PPIRS, the Offeror is not required to submit the Past Performance Questionnaire.

http://www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/subcontractplan.html http://www.hhs.gov/asfr/ogapa/osbdu/Small%20Business/subcontractplan.html

16. To clarify the following instructions: ”Offerors shall submit three (3) CD/DVDs with the business proposal, three (3) CD/DVDs with the technical/past performance proposal, three

(3) CD/DVDs with the second technical/past performance proposal if responding to both technical areas, and one (1) hard copy of the proposal.” Should offerers submit BOTH electronically to PSCacquisitions@psc.gov, and also physically the CDs and hard copy of the proposals as instructed?

Response: Yes, both the technical and business proposals shall be sent to PSCacquisitions@psc.hhs.gov.

17. Do you plan on awarding either of the sample tasks as specified in the RFP?

Response: There are no sample tasks associated with this RFP.

18. On page 2, the RFP indicates “The rates specified above are ceiling rates for the prime contractor and shall not be exceeded (these ceilings do not apply to subcontractors or consultants).” Does this mean that we are not required to submit pricing information for subcontractors?

Response: Pricing shall only be submitted for the Prime Contractor.

19. If a small business is submitting a proposal both as a prime contractor and as a subcontractor to a larger business, can the same past performance questionnaire be submitted for both?

Response: Yes

20. In addition to a letter of intent, are proposed subcontractors required to submit any financial or labor rate information for this proposal?

Response: No, the only thing required for subcontractors is a letter of commitment.

21. Please confirm that the proposals should be emailed to PSCacquisitions@psc.gov to Shanelle Jackson’s attention and should NOT be emailed to Shanelle.Jackson@psc.hhs.gov.

Response: Proposals shall be emailed to PSCacquisitions@psc.gov.

22. Please provide any and all FAR clause that will be associated with both the Task Order Contract and any individuals Task Orders that will be required in their performance

Response: The FAR clauses associated with this IDIQ can be found in Section I of this RFP.

23. If the Contractor's Accounting System has only been reviewed and certified by an independent CPA firm, and a Government Agency Review is required will the HHS sponsor the review.

Response: Yes.

mailto:PSCacquisitions@psc.hhs.gov mailto:Shanelle.Jackson@psc.hhs.gov

24. "When submitting two technical proposals, each technical proposal should be in and independent document complete unto itself." If a Contractor is submitting a proposal for both technical areas is it necessary to submit Section K, and the Attachments associated with Section J?

Response: No, the Offeror is only required to submit one copy of these documents.

25. Please clarify what is meant by “Government Furnished Property ", since Section C.5 reads in part "The Contractor shall provide all equipment necessary for performance of this contract." Are we to assume that the Contractor must provide any computer/laptops, phones copiers, necessary to perform on any Task and the Government will only provide an office space?

Response: As indicated in the RFP, The Government may provide Government property to the Contractor for use in the performance of task orders on a case by case basis.

26. Are separate subcontracting plans needed for each Technical Area, or may we submit a single plan for the IDIQ, inclusive of both Technical Areas?

Response: Yes, if the Offeror intents to submit proposals for both technical areas they must meet the subcontracting for both technical areas separately. Goals may need to be revisited if the Offeror does not receive award in both technical areas.

27. Upon award, will the subcontracting plan accepted as part of the IDIQ submission be the governing plan, or will subcontracting plans be required with each individual task order proposal?

Response: The subcontracting plan will be accepted as part of the IDIQ submission.

28. RFP, p.107 requires submission of a subcontracting plan with the IDIQ proposal. Since this is an IDIQ with $0 value; and since the subcontracting opportunity dollars are unknown until the issuance of task orders, may offerors express percentage goals in the plan, but use TBD for the dollar goals?

Response: Yes, goals should be submitted as percentages not dollars.

29. Several references are made to the “fixed fee ceiling” (pages 4, 106). Could the Government offer guidance as to what is meant by this?

Response: The reference to fixed fee ceiling is the maximum fixed fee allowed under this

IDIQ.

30. P. 110 “In addition, Offers should include three samples of work (preferably empirical studies) relevant to the purpose and goals of the task order contract.” Does ASPE have a preference whether the samples include final reports, publications, power point slides, executive summaries?

Response: Samples of work should include substantive product examples, such as technical reports and publications produced as deliverables from a grant or contract funded by the federal government or other sources.

31. Section L.2.A. – If the Offeror is responding to both Technical Area #1 and #2, should the Offeror submit two business proposals or one combined business proposal? If the latter, should the Offeror include separate Labor Rate Category tables and therefore separate files for Attachment J.3: Pricing Scenario.

Response: Response: If the Offeror is responding to both Technical Area #1 and #2, the Offeror should submit two business proposals.

32. Section L.2.B. – A relatively large cadre of Class I and II personnel is required to address the scope and breadth of the topic areas in this IDIQ. However, the government has allocated only 7 pages to the Personnel section which must include bios of all proposed staff. Is it possible for the government to increase the allocated number of pages for the Personnel section (thereby increasing the overall page limit of the proposal) and/or allow proposers to include bios of proposed Class III-VI staff in an appendix rather than in the body of the technical proposal?

Response: Response: Offerors should not exceed 7 single-spaced pages; however, resumes may be included in an appendix.

33. Section L.2.B. – The Corporate Qualifications and Experience section must include “an annotated list of pertinent papers, projects, reports, and conferences.” May this list be included as an appendix to the Technical Proposal, or must it be part of the seven-page Corporate Qualifications and Experience section?

Response: Response: The list may be included in an appendix to the proposal and will not be included in the page count.

34. Is an executive summary required? If so, does it count against the 45-page limit?

Response: An executive summary is not required. If included, it would count against the requisite page limit.

35. Can the government please give provide and idea of how the contract vehicle ceiling will be divided between the two technical areas outlined in the RFP

Response: Offerors should provide ceiling rates for both technical areas if applicable.

36. In the first Bullet for this requirement, the RFP requires “an estimate of the percent of time they would be available during the initial 12 month period”. Given that Offerors do not yet know what task orders they may be awarded, the exact nature of task orders that may be awarded, or the personnel experience that will be required during the initial 12 months, an estimate of the percent of time available cannot be reliably computed. We suggest this requirement be deleted. If the Government will not delete it, please provide guidance regarding how such an estimate should be calculated.

Response: The government is interested in knowing whether an Offeror has the capacity to carry out work above and beyond an offeror’s planned obligations.

37. Technical Area 1, section C, Corporate Qualifications and Experience asks for three samples of work relevant to the purpose and goals of the task order contract. Should the three samples of work included be in addition to the examples provided in the proposal narrative?

Response: Yes

38. RFP section C.1 Purpose of the Contract states that the IDIQ contract will be used as a means of providing services to ASPE, AHRQ and ONC, and specifically to the office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP) within ASPE. The Statement of Work in Section C.3 .1 indicates that the work under Technical Area I will support DALTCP.

Our question is, will the work under Technical Area II be focused in support of DALTCP as well?

Response: The work under Technical Area II will support projects for DALTCP, AHRQ and

ONC.

39. For Technical Area 1 (page 112 of the RFP), it is noted that “a maximum of five past performance references shall be submitted for contracts within the past three years.” Is this for projects completed within the past three years? Or does it include projects awarded in the past three years which are ongoing? Please clarify.

Response: This is for projects completed within the past three years (past performance).

40. The RFP does not indicate where the past performance information should be provided.

Should it be placed in an Appendix?

Response: Past performance references may be included as an appendix.

41. For Technical Area 1, past performance information is limited to five (5) references. Is this for the prime contractor only? Are subcontractors allowed to provide past performance references, and if so, how many? Please advise.

Response: Past performance references are for the prime contractor only.

42. What is the expected award date of the IDIQ?

Response: The anticipated award date is February 1, 2016.

43. Does PCS anticipate that some task orders issued under this IDIQ will be small-business set asides?

Response: No

44. Technical Area 2 is new technical area/domain. Based on the RFP, it appears that ONC and

AHRQ may start using this IDIQ for securing contracted research services related to Health IT. Will this IDIQ also be used by other offices outside of DALTC, including the Office of Health Policy, Office of Science and Data Policy, and Office of Human of Services Policy (and each affiliated Division)? Can PSC elaborate on the criteria that will be used to determine whether a task order will be issued through the Program Support Center IDIQ Task Order Contract (solicitation 14233SOL00009) as opposed to this contracting vehicle for Technical Area 2?

Response: Technical area #2 in this ID/IQ has been written specifically for DALTCP, AHRQ and ONC; however, any ASPE office may use this ID/IQ vehicle, if desired. The Contracting Officer Technical Representative (not PSC) chooses the desired ID/IQ vehicle for a project prior to issuance of a RFP.

45. Section M.1.e, page 125 states, “Proposed staff have demonstrated competence and education/experience in conducting policy development and analysis; demonstration and evaluation design; program assessment and evaluation; and/or data infrastructure development and modeling related to disability, aging, and long-term care issues.” Should this sentence read “Proposed staff have demonstrated competence and education/experience in conducting policy development and analysis; demonstration and evaluation design;

program assessment and evaluation; and/or data infrastructure development and modeling related to disability, aging, mental health, substance use disorder, and long-term care issues”, as it does elsewhere in the RFP?

46. The following 2 topics are included in the list of items to be covered in Section (C):

• The Offeror should demonstrate the ability to staff and start a delivery order within as little as two weeks after issuance. Specifically, the Offeror should document that sufficient on-board staff capacity and subject matter knowledge exists in order to minimize time and dollars spent for startup and new learning. Of particular interest is experience in responding to similar requests from other sponsors.

• The Offeror should describe the organization’s approach for ensuring accurate and timely products.

However, they seem better suited to Section (D). In which section should they be covered?

Response: Section (C)

47. The following evaluation criteria are described for Section (C) (pp. 124-125):

• “… organizational capacity to start work quickly and complete projects within short time frames.”

• “…corporate commitment to quality control [and] specific methods for producing accurate and timely products.”

• “…managing and coordinating projects that require involvement of subcontractors and/or consultants.”

However, these criteria seem better suited to Section (D). Should they be addressed in

Section (C) or (D)?

Response: Section (C)

14. The directions about exactly how many copies of the proposal should be delivered are somewhat confusing. If we are responding to Technical Area 1 only, should we deliver 1 electronic copy of both technical (including past performance) and business proposals, 6 CDs (3 with the technical proposal and past performance references + 3 with the business proposal), and 1 hard copy (of both technical/past performance and business proposals)?

Response: Yes.

15. Page 105 – Are electronic copies are the proposal to be submitted both via email and

CD/DVD in addition to 1 hard copy? Would you consider electronic submissions via email only?

Response: Yes, proposals shall be submitted via email, as CD/DVDs, and a hard copy. Email submission only will not be accepted.

48. The instruction suggest that the proposal response should start with the two selected topics from the list of 12 policy and data issues identified. Can the proposal begin with a broader understanding of the issues facing ASPE, AHRQ and ONC going forward (that could include the list of 12 policy and data issues) as part of an introduction to the proposal or would you prefer we follow the outline provided and start with the selected topic areas?

Response: In order to establish uniformity among the technical proposals, offeror’s should follow the instructions as specified.

49. Page 111 - “Provides written assurance from proposed consultants that they have agreed to provide consultation to the offeror during the contract period” – Do the letters of intent count against the page count for this section?

Response: Consultant letters of intent may be included as an appendix.

50. Can letters of support from groups we have worked with in the past be included in an appendix along with letters of commitment from our subcontractors or should we only include letters from subcontractors?

Response: Include only letters of commitment from subcontractors.

51. Offeror notes a gap in the experience levels of the Labor Class definitions between Class II

(minimum 5 years of experience) and Class I (minimum 10 years of experience). Will the Government consider expanding the Labor Class Definitions in order to provide more gradations of Labor Classes?

52. Please clarify the anticipated start date for development of rates for Sections B.2 and B.3.

53. To clarify the following instructions: “Specifically, Offerors should choose two topics from the following list and identify and discuss three (3) policy research questions and/or data activities within these topics (i.e., six questions and/or data activities in total) that will be of significant interest to senior HHS policy officials.” Does this mean that the offeror needs to include a total of 6 research questions and/or data activities per topic; therefore a total of 12?

Response: (3) policy research questions per topic (2); total of (6)

54. To clarify the following instructions: “Offerors will expand on the discussion introduced in the previous section by proposing follow-up work based on two of the six policy research questions and/or data activities. The proposed work must be from two separate domain areas and demonstrate the Offeror’s expertise related to two of the requirements of the ID/IQ task order contract (i.e., policy research and planning, development, and analysis; pilot demonstration, program implementation, and evaluation; program implementation, management, and evaluation; and information dissemination activities).” Does this mean, for instance, that if the offeror was to select Topics X and Y that they would select one area in Topic X and one area in Topic Y as previously expanded upon in Section 1A to suggest follow up work on?

Response: Yes. The instructions on page 109, Section1B in parentheses include : (i.e.

policy development, policy analysis, program demonstration/evaluation design, program assessment and evaluation, modeling, and data development)

55. To clarify the following instructions: “Specifically, Offerors should choose two topics from the following list and identify and discuss three (3) policy research questions and/or data activities within these topics (i.e., six questions and/or data activities in total) that will be of significant interest to senior HHS policy officials.” Does this mean that the offeror needs to include a total of 6 research questions and/or data activities per topic; therefore a total of 12?

Response: (3) policy research questions per topic (2); total of (6)

56. To clarify the following instructions: “Offerors will expand on the discussion introduced in the previous section by proposing follow-up work based on two of the six policy research questions and/or data activities. The proposed work must be from two separate domain areas and demonstrate the Offeror’s expertise related to two of the requirements of the ID/IQ task order contract (i.e., policy research and planning, development, and analysis; pilot demonstration, program.

Response: Correct. See page 114, Section 2B – (i.e., policy research and planning, development, and analysis; pilot demonstration, program implementation, and evaluation;

program implementation, management, and evaluation; and information dissemination activities).

57. Do you plan on awarding either of the sample tasks as specified in the RFP?

Response: There are no identified plans to do so at this time.

58. RFP, pp. 110 and 115, in the paragraph following the bullet list, please clarify what qualifies as samples of work in the following statement: “In addition, Offerors should include three samples of work relevant to the purpose and goals of the task order contract.” Does this refer to project or technical reports, project abstracts, publications, or something else?

Response: Samples of work should include substantive product examples, such as technical reports and publications produced as deliverables from a grant or contract funded by the federal government or other sources.

59. RFP, p. 110 and 115, requires bidders is to “provide a discussion of directly relevant technical and substantive experience, including an annotated list of pertinent papers, projects, reports, and conferences.” Is there a particular format that ASPE requires for annotated summaries? Since this is part of the page-limited proposal, we are not sure how much information we can include in the annotation.

Response: There is no particular format that ASPE requires for annotated summaries;

however, the length should be limited to a paragraph or two, spanning one-third page at most. The annotated summaries can be included in an appendix and are therefore not subject to page limitations.

60. Are separate subcontracting plans needed for each Technical Area, or may we submit a single plan for the IDIQ, inclusive of both Technical Areas?

Response: Separate subcontracting plans should be submitted for each Technical Area.

61. Upon award, will the subcontracting plan accepted as part of the IDIQ submission be the governing plan, or will subcontracting plans be required with each individual task order proposal?

Response: Subcontracting plans will be required with each individual task order proposal.

62. Given the commitment of many likely bidders to participate in AcademyHealth’s Annual

Research Meeting, and given the conference’s close proximity to the current proposal due date, as well as the requirement of advance shipping of proposal CDs/DVDs and hardcopies (RFP, L.1 General Instructions, p.105), will the Government consider extending the due date by up to 1 week?

Response: Please see the Amendment to Section L.1 General Instructions above.

63. For purposes of calculating the hourly rates, when does the Government intend to award the IDIQ contracts?

64. In the text, is it acceptable for tables, exhibits, charts, and other visual elements to be set in a

10-point serif font?

Response: Yes, it is acceptable for tables, exhibits, and charts to be set in 10 point serif font.

65. Is there an incumbent(s) for this IDIQ or for the proposed scope of work? If so, we ask the government to provide the vendor name(s), contract number(s), and dates of performance.

Response: No.

66. Does the government envision any option years or periods for the IDIQ beyond the stated performance period of five years? If so, what are the length and/or number of option periods the government envisions?

67. Page 105 of the IDIQ solicitation document states: "Offeror shall submit one (1) electronic copy of the written technical, past performance and business proposal to the Government.

The proposal should be emailed to the Contract Specialist, Shanelle Jackson, at PSCacquisitions@psc.gov." This same page also states: "Offerors shall submit three (3) CD/DVDs with the business proposal, three (3) CD/DVDs with the technical/past performance proposal, three (3) CD/DVDs with the second technical/past performance proposal if responding to both technical areas, and one (1) hard copy of the proposal." May offerors submit only the electronic copy of all proposal volumes to the stated email address, in lieu of submitting CD/DVD and hard copy volumes?

Response: No. Offerors should submit CD/DVD and hard copy volumes as specified.

68. The instructions for the technical proposal state in part, “(t)he text must be set in a serif font….” Is Times New Roman an acceptable font for the technical proposal? If not, we ask for clarification of the exact permissible font(s) for the technical proposal.

Response: Yes, Times New Roman is an acceptable font for the technical proposal.

69. May offerors use no smaller than nine (9) point size text in proposal tables and graphics?

Response: Offeror’s may use no smaller than 10 point font in the proposal tables and graphics.

70. May offerors submit an “Executive Summary” in their price and/or technical proposals that is also excluded from any page count requirements?

71. This proposed IDIQ vehicle appears to be very similar in scope, content, and terms and conditions to the one recently solicited and awarded for the HHS PSC IDIQ Task Order Contacts. Is there a possibility that this subject solicitation might be cancelled, given the apparent redundancy? We ask this question in the understanding that there is a significant cost to offerors in preparing a given RFP submission, and offerors might prefer to forgo this cost if a solicitation cancellation is possible or imminent.

72. Can the font size be different for headers and graphics/tables? For example, could smaller font be used in tables and graphics?

Response: A 10 point font may be used in tables and graphics.

73. What is the FIPS 199 security categorization level for this system?

Response: This will be addressed at the task order level.

74. Will the contractor be required to submit a Privacy Impact Assessment?

75. Will the contractor be expected to participate in a certification and accreditation (C&A) effort? If so, what is the expected level of involvement from the contractor? Are there any ongoing C&A activities that should be included in the proposed budget scenarios?

76. Regarding RFP, p.113, in the first paragraph of section (A), what is meant by “data activities”?

Response: ONC is committed to addressing a variety of data issues related to health IT. For a comprehensive list, review ONC’s draft interoperability roadmap and review the short and long-term goals for the framework beginning on page 34, including but not limited to data http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/nationwide-interoperability-roadmap-draft-version-1.0.pdf portability on the top of page 34, common clinical data set and data collection referenced in A1 and A2, big data referred to in A2, etc.

77. Regarding RFP, p. 115, in the fifth bullet, what does “health IT technical infrastructure” specifically refer to? Please provide one joint AHRQ and ONC response to this question at your earliest convenience and I will pass this onto PSC.

Response: Please see ONC’s draft interoperability roadmap as all the issues outlined in the roadmap are a top priority for ONC.

78. Regarding RFP, p. 113, in the first paragraph of section (A), what is meant by “data activities”?

Response: Within this context, 'data activities' refers to technical and organizational aspects of how data are stored, categorized, transferred, and standardized in order to promote use and interoperability of electronic data.

79. Regarding RFP, p. 115, in the fifth bullet, what does “health IT technical infrastructure” specifically refer to?

Response: The technical infrastructure associated with health information systems.

http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/nationwide-interoperability-roadmap-draft-version-1.0.pdf