Solicitation Amdt 0001-1605C3-24-R-00006.pdf

(x)

1605C3-24-R-00006 x x

1 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

Washington DC 20210

CAS

S-4307 200 Constitution Ave, NW Customer Acquisition Services US Department of Labor

01/25/20240001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

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

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

01/25/2024

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

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

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Elvis R. Colbert

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The purpose of the amendment to Solicitation 1605C3-24-R-00006 is as follows:

1.) Provide answers to questions received from the offerors.

The hour and date for the receipt of proposals remain at Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 3:00pm ET. Please email submissions to Nevaor E. Mitchner at mitchner.nevaor.e@dol.gov and Elvis R. Colbert at Colbert.Elvis.R@DOL.GOV.

Period of Performance: 03/29/2024 to 03/28/2029

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

TEL: EMAIL: 202-514-0613 COLBERT.ELVIS.R@DOL.GOV

DOL Actuarial Liability Services Question Title

Section Number

Question Detail Government Response

Past Performance E

Will you accept past performanc e evaluation from government entities from other countries.

Example will you accept past performanc e from the Government of Barbados, Trinidad etc.

The Government will evaluate past performance of 3 current or previous contracts for relevancy (3 years) based on how well the contractor performed on projects of similar dollar value, scope, and complexity. Contracts listed may include those entered with Government agencies or private sectors.

Task 4 - Project types

Part 5A, Task 4

Please describe specific types of projects that have been included in Task 4.

Past projects have included actuarial reports estimating the amount of federal black lung liability for self-insured coal mine operators, creating actuarial case reserves for FECA claimants, experience studies, and recommending model improvements, among other items. Task 4 is ad hoc, such that future projects may not necessarily be similar to past projects.

Timeline for Tasks 1-3

Technica l Exhibit 2, Contract Delivera ble Schedule

Has timeline shifted on Tasks 1 through 3 over the last several years?

The timeline for Tasks 1 through 3 has not shifted appreciably over the last several years.

Data issues and delays

Have there been any data issues or project delays over the last several years with respect to these reviews?

There have not been meaningful data issues or project delays over the past several years with respect to these reviews.

History of contracting these services

For how many years has the

DOL

contracted this type of services, and how many consulting firms have been hired

DOL has contracted for this type of service since 2011.There have been two firms.

over the years?

Small Business requirement

In how many cycles has the

DOL

restricted the respondents to Small Businesses?

The procurement of current requirements was restricted to small businesses four (4) times.

Exercising Options

In prior cycles, has the DOL exercised the option to extend the contract four years?

If not, can you provide some details?

Yes

Incumbent name

What is the name of the incumbent?

The incumbent is Christopher Gross Consulting, Inc. (dba Cognalysis).

Incumbent proposal

Is it expected that the incumbent will respond to this RFP?

It is not expected that the incumbent will respond to this RFP.

Work volume changes

Has the amount of work in each of the four tasks changed over time?

Yes

Hours for Tasks 1-3

Part 5A, Tasks 1-3

For Tasks 1 to t3, please provide an estimate of the number of consulting hours per year, either historical (based on the work done by the incumbent), or estimates?

Tasks 1 through 3 are billed on a fixed price basis. The DOL does not have an estimate of the number of consulting hours for these Tasks.

Documentati on Available

Please comment on the level of documentati on provided for the review of the models in Tasks 1 through 3 and processes to be used/revised

The models are predominately Excel files. The models are documented with Standard Operating Procedures and internal review checklists for DOL staff. The full models, input data, and draft actuarial reports documenting all assumptions will be provided to the consulting firm for review.

There is not currently a standardized process in place for the external review.

Data

Can you comment about data integrity, completenes s, and documentati on of the models used to estimate the

EEOICPA,

FECA and

BLBA

liabilities?

We want to have an idea of the amount of data work involved.

Data integrity has not generally been an issue as the data and systems are heavily audited. For the EEOICPA and FECA programs, the input data is provided at the claimant level showing historical annual payments for the past ten years or more, and is then aggregated for model input. The consulting firm should have the capability to work with datasets that are too large for Excel (i.e.

greater than 1M records).

Testing prior projections

Will there be data and other resources (maybe discussions with DOL staff) to reproduce, at least in part, the work performed by the incumbent and assess the validity of projections?

Yes. The DOL prefers the engagement to be collaborative in nature. It is anticipated that the review would not necessarily include recreating the incumbent's work but would be more focused on creating an independent view of the reasonableness the DOL's assumptions and calculations. All available supporting data and documentation will be provided to the external consultant.

Clarification for Programs 1.0

In section

1.0 of the solicitation, background information is given on four programs administere d by the OWCP: The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensati on Act

(LHWCA)

program is listed alongside the FECA, BLBA, and

EEOICPA;

however the

LHWCA

program is only referred to in this description and in the glossary, while the other three programs are the subject of the main tasks identified by OWCP.

Is this reference to the

LHWCA

program relevant to the listed tasks (maybe re:

task 4, which is not directly related to a program?), or is this reference not relevant to the proposed tasks? Can the Government

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) is described in section 1.0 for completeness of describing OWCP's program structure. The LHWCA program does not require an actuarial liability estimate and it is not currently anticipated that this contract will encompass work for the LHWCA program, unless OWCP requires assistance on ad hoc requests from the LHWCA program, which would fall under Task 4.

provide clarification

Clarification for Workload

Technica l Exhibit

Technical Exhibit 3 in the solicitation (Estimated Workload Data) indicates that the expected personnel are an Actuary and an Actuarial Analyst (2 total).

However, the exhibit only provides labor hour estimates for Task 4, which totals only 350 labor hours/year.

Should we assume this is the total expected labor for the effort, meaning that neither actuary is an FTE, or should we assume they are FTEs and fill in the missing hours accordingly

The 350 labor hours per year is the current estimate of the number of annual hours needed for Task 4.

Incumbent N/A

Is there any incumbent currently performing on this

Yes requirement

Incumbent N/A

If there is an incumbent currently performing on this requirement , is the scope of work of this requirement the same as that of the incumbent requirement

The scope of the work for this requirement is similar to the scope of work for the incumbent requirement.

Incumbent N/A

If there is an incumbent currently performing on this requirement , is the level of effort of this requirement the same as that of the incumbent requirement

The level of effort for this requirement is similar to the level of effort for the incumbent requirement.

Incumbent N/A

If there is an incumbent currently performing on this requirement , is the workload of this requirement the same as that of the incumbent requirement

The workload for this requirement is similar to the workload for the incumbent requirement.

Incumbent N/A

If there is an incumbent currently performing on this requirement , what is their associated task order number?

The vendor should submit a FOIA request to obtain this information.

Volume II Section 1 Detail

E.3 - Proposal Submissi on

The information requested for Volume II - Past Performanc e Section 1 - Contract Description s appear to be for Federal Government contracts.

Does the Department want just current Federal Government contracts or would you like this for State and/or local government s as well? If state/local government s are acceptable, some of this information may not be available.

Can you provide more guidance on what you are wanting in this section?

The Government will evaluate past performance of 3 current or previous contracts for relevancy (3 years) based on how well the contractor performed on projects of similar dollar value, scope, and complexity. Contracts listed may include those entered with Government agencies or private sectors.

Budget

What is the Department' s budget for this engagement

Access to information concerning the Government estimate shall be limited to Government personnel whose official duties require knowledge of the estimate. The Government’s estimate shall not be disclosed.

Prior Studies

When was the last study performed and is it possible to receive a copy of this study?

The studies are produced annually. The last studies were produced in September 2023. The EEOICPA study is available at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/public_reading_room/actuarial _report_fy23.pdf. The FECA and Black Lung studies are not publicly available but are of similar nature. Please note that the DOL writes the main actuarial report and the external actuary’s review is included as an appendix.

Prior Studies

Who performed the prior study and how long

The current incumbent is Christopher Gross Consulting, Inc. (dba Cognalysis). The incumbent performed the services requested in this solicitation from March 2016 through March 2024.

have they been performing the services requested in this solicitation?

Prior Studies

What were the yearly fees paid to the last firm for completing the tasks requested in this solicitation?

The vendor should submit a FOIA request to obtain this information.