19-250-SOL-00033_Questions_and_Gov't_Responses.xlsx
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- Attached to
- HRSA Technical Assistance IDIQ
- Solicitation number
- 19-250-SOL-00033
About this file
This is a presolicitation notice for an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide technical assistance services to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The selected contractors will support HRSA programs, grantees, and staff through a range of technical assistance activities in response to specific program needs. Services will be procured under full and open competition according to FAR Part 15 with negotiations. The period of performance is one base year plus four option years. The North American Industry Classification System code is 541611 with a $15 million size standard. Interested parties should monitor the FedBizOpps website for the anticipated February 8, 2019 solicitation release and any subsequent amendments. Questions may be directed to the specified contact.
Vendor Questions and Government Responses
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Sheet1
| # | Question | Section of RFP | Page # | Government Response |
| 1 | Is the contractor requirement ‘30’ or ‘15’ business days from the EDTO? | Section J Attachment F 1.4.1 | pg. 4 of 20 | 30 days |
| 2 | Is HRSA requiring that all clinical consultants be credentialed for site visits? | Section J Attachment F 1.4.1 (3rd Bullet) | Pg. 5 of 20 | Yes. |
| 3 | Is the consultant requirement ‘5’ or ‘2’ years to determine potential conflict of interest within same state? | Section J Attachment F 1.4.1 (5th Bullet) | Pg. 5 of 20 | 2 years. Please see the revised Attachment F. |
| 4 | Task 1.2 states that the contractor shall convene monthly meetings with the COR; Section V Schedule of Deliverables Task 1.3 states that the Contractor will meet with the COR bi-weekly. Please confirm expected schedule. | Section J Attachment F 1.2 and Sections V Task 1.3 | Pg. 3 of 20 and 19 of 20 | The contractor shall convene bi-weekly meetings. Please see the revised attachment. |
| 5 | Does HRSA expect Contractor to complete internal investigation on Adverse feedback prior to reporting to COR? | Section J Attachment F 4.1 | Pg. 16 of 20 | HRSA expects the contractor to alert the COR of all Adverse feedback when discovery is made; and, to report the findings that are yielded from the internal investigation(s). |
| 6 | Can HRSA confirm if the consultant honorarium should be disbursed only after the consultant report has been approved and/or 45 business days after site visit end date? Whichever comes first? | Section J Attachment F 6.2 | Pg. 17 of 20 | HRSA will disburse funds once the report has been approved. The final report should be approved within 45 days to receive funds. |
| 7 | Task 1.2 states that the contractor shall provide meeting minutes within 5 business days; Section V Schedule of Deliverables Task 1.4 states that the Contractor will provide the meeting minutes within 3 business days. Please confirm expected schedule. | Section J Attachment F 1.2 and Sections V Task 1.4 | Pp. 3 of 20; 19 of 20 | HRSA expects meeting minutes within 5 business days. Please see the revised attachment. |
| 8 | For Cohort 1, Hypotheticals 1 & 2, the requirements in Section L do not appear to align with the requirements in Attachments F & G. Please clarify. | Sect. L for Volume II, a-j; Section J, Attachments F & G | pp. 50-51 of 108; F: 3-8 (of 20); G: 2-9 (of 14) | Unable to respond to due to a lack of specificity. |
| 9 | Regarding Hypothetical 1 under Task 3.2.2. Section J Attachment F it states that the consultant will ‘spend another 2 days in combined site visit preparation…, however under Hypothetical 1 Section L.5 p. 50 Volume II Cohort Technical Proposal for Health Centers, Health Professionals and HIV/AIDs item A, it states that consultant will spend another 3 days in site visit preparation. Can HRSA please confirm the number of days allotted to consultant, excluding team leader, for travel, site visit preparation, document review, report writing and pre and post site visit conference calls? | Section J Attachment F Task 3.2.2; Section L.5 | Pg. 13 of 20; Pg. 50 of 108 | 2 days shall be allotted. Please see the updated attachment. |
| 10 | Is the intent here to provide TA and training on establishing and implementing for rural and frontier health systems; or is the intent to actually provide and establish the systems? | Section J, Attachment A-SOW: 3 – TA Types and Methods, item k | p. 17 of 35 | The vendor must employ communication methods that support working with stakeholders located in rural or frontier areas including but not limited to videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communication. |
Additionally, the vendor should be able to provide TA on the uses of information technology tools and health-delivery methods, such as, electronic health records, telehealth and telemedicine, telecommunications technologies, and other methods as determined by HRSA. A distant site (consultant) telehealth provider would exist, but the rural health care provider seeking to connect may be new to telehealth
| 11 | Can offeror use cross references between Volume I and Volume II; e.g., in Volume I, refer to section in Volume II (to save pages)? | L.1.3 | p. 41 of 108 | Yes |
| 12 | Should the report format be finalized and approved by COR within 30 business or calendar days from EDTO? | Section J Attachment F 1.6.3 | pg. 8 of 20 | Per the attachment, "report formats shall be finalized and approved by COR within sixty (60) days from EDTO." |
| 13 | Option Items 4,5, and 6 indicate three (2) days on-site visits for a total of 4 days for consultant and 5 days for team leads (1 or 2 consultant teams). Please confirm whether 2 or 3 days. | Section J Attachment F Optional Tasks | Pg. 18 of 20 | The correct amounts are three (3) days on site for a total of 5 days, 6 days for the team lead. Please see the updated attachment. |
| 14 | With the exception of Tasks 1.1 and 4.1, all tasks in the schedule of deliverables do not correspond with the respective tasks in Hypothetical 1. | Section J Attachment F V. Schedule of Deliverables | Pg. 19,20 of 20. | Please see the updated attachment. |
| 15 | Task 3.1.2 states the Contractor shall forward the report electronically to the Bureau/Office staff within 20 calendar days of the site visit end date. V Schedule of deliverables Task 3.2 states the TA site visit report is due within 20 days of the site visit. Please confirm. | Section J Attachment F Task 3.1.2;Section J Attachment F V. Schedule of Deliverables | Pg. 13 of 20; pg. 19 of 20 | The report is due within 20 calendar days of the site visit end date. Please see the updated attachment. |
| 16 | Which Bureaus/Offices are required for each cohort? | Section J, Attachmt. D And Consultant Expertise Lists | pp. 1-3 of 3; No page #s on Consultant Lists | All cohorts are HRSA-wide and any HRSA Bureau or Office may issue a task order against any of the cohorts. The cohort distinctions arise from subject matter expertise. |
| 17 | Please confirm that bidders have the option to respond to one or both hypotheticals per cohort. If a bidder does not respond to both hypotheticals, please confirm that they will still be eligible for consideration as an awardee for these future potential task orders. | General | NA | Offerors must respond to both hypotheticals per cohort for each cohort they are submitting an offer for. Offerors that do not respond to both hypotheticals may be determined to be deficient. |
| 18 | Can the government confirm that an offeror should submit one (1) business proposal per cohort, which includes two (2) hypothetical proposal budgets that correspond to the chosen cohort? | L.1.12 | 43 | Offerors shall submit one (1) single volume IV Business Proposal per cohort, to include business proposals for all hypotheticals in that cohort. |
| 19 | Is a contractor allowed to bid on more than one proposal? For example, can a bidder submit a prime proposal, as well as be named as a subcontractor on a partner’s proposal? | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| 20 | Can the government confirm that a bidder should submit 3 references (along with questionnaires) as well as all of the contractors’ available CPARS reports? | L.6 | 68 | Offerors shall submit up to three (3) past performance references and shall submit all available CPARS reports for those past performance references. |
| 21 | Should bidders discuss their capabilities in addressing the unique issues inherent in each HRSA program or only in the selected technical cohort? | L.4.1 | 45 | It is up to the business decision of each Offeror to determine what unique issues to discuss. |
| 22 | Can the government confirm that if either hypothetical proposals’ total proposed budget is greater than $700,000, a subcontracting plan is needed? | L.7.4. | 70 | Offerors shall submit an HHS Small Busienss Subcontracting Plan (Section J Attachment O) as part of its business proposal for any proposals, including proposals for Hypotheticals, where the proposal exceeds $700,000.00. |
| 23 | Can the government provide further information on evaluation criteria? (I.e., points vs. color coding, weight, etc.) for the full IDIQ and for individual hypothetical proposals? How much weight will individual hypothetical proposals be given in the overall IDIQ proposal scoring? | M.3 | 74 | Please see the updated section M. |
| 24 | Can the government confirm if each hypothetical proposal is 40 pages in total (so two hypothetical proposals in the same Technical Cohort = 80 pages for that Technical Cohort) or if Volume II as a whole is capped at 40 (so each hypothetical proposal must not exceed 20 pages) pages per technical cohort? Currently the language in the RFTOP is unclear. | L.1 | 43, 48 | The page limit for Volume II, as a whole, has been increased to 80 pages. It is up to the business judgment of each offeror to determine how to allocate pages for each hypothetical. Please see the updated Section L.1. |
| 25 | Is a subcontracting plan required under the IDIQ Technical Proposal (Volume 1)? If yes, should we just include percentages, since we won’t know the overall value of the projects until the task orders are issued? Or is this requirement only applicable at the task order stage? | L.7.4 | 70 | The HHS Small Business Subcontracting Plan shall be a part of Volume IV, the Business Proposal. Percentages are acceptable. The Subcontracting Plan shall be applicable for the entirety of the IDIQ. |
| 26 | Are there any portions of Section L that are not required at the IDIQ stage but will be required at the task order stage? | L | 41-73 | Section L contains the Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors for the proposal and award of the HRSA TA IDIQ. Future Task Orders will be competed amoungst awarded IDIQ contractors as delineated under Section G.6 and will be separate solicitations. |
| 27 | The general instructions reference a transmittal letter should be included with the proposal to state any exceptions to the terms and conditions. Are there any other requirements regarding what should be included in the letter? Will this letter count against any page limitations for the IDIQ technical volume? Can you confirm the letter should be included in Volume 1? | L.1.7 | 42 | It is up to the business decision of each Offeror to determine what shall be discussed in the transmittal letter beyond what is stated in Section L. The letter will not count against the page limitation. A transmittal letter should be included in all volumes where is it appropriate to do so. |
| 28 | Will the Table of Contents count against the page limitations? Should a TOC be included in all four volumes? | L.1.2 | 41 | Table of contents shall not count against the page limitation and page numbers should reflect this status. Offerors may include a table of contents for each volume. |
| 29 | Factor 4 – Personnel states that offerors must include resumes and commitment letters for all proposed personnel, including a sample of 50 staff or experts. Do internal staff need to provide commitment letters? Can the government confirm that they would like to see 50 staff resumes at 2 pages each? | L.4.4 | 47 | Internal staff do not need to provide commitment letters. Please see section L.4.2 detailing the resume/CV page limit. |
| 30 | Can the government confirm that the hypothetical proposal volume is limited to 40 pages for both hypothetical technical proposals under a single cohort? Or does each hypothetical technical proposal have a 40 page limit? | L.1.13 | 43 | Please see the response to question 24. |
| 31 | Can the government clarify how long our offer should remain firm? Section L.1 states 90 days, while section L.7.3 states 180 days. | L.1/L.7.3 | 43/70 | 180 Days |
| 32 | If we are only competing for one Technical Cohort, do we have to include personnel in all areas listed on page 78 in our Volume I IDIQ Technical Proposal? Or do we only include personnel relevant to the specific Technical Cohort we are submitting for? | M.5.4. Personnel | 78 | It is up to the Offeror's business judgment as to whether to address all listed areas under M.5 Personnel. However, Offeror's are free to only include personnel it believes are relevant to the specific Technical Cohort it is submitting a proposal for. |
| 33 | For each Technical Cohort, are we required to respond to both hypotheticals? | L.5 and M.7 | Pages 56-61 and pages 85-93 | Please see the response to question 17. |
| 34 | Do we need to provide information for subsections a. and b. for all 50 staff/expert consultants identified in subsection d.? Or, do we select just a sample of proposed personnel to provide for subsection a. and b. | Section L.4.4. Factor 4 | Page 47 and page 78 | It is up to the Offeror's business judgment as to whether to provide information for all 50 staff/expert consultants or a sampling. |
| 35 | Is it permissible to respond to subsections a., b., c., and d. as addendums or appendices so as not to use any of the 40-page allotment for Volume II? | Section L.4.4. Factor 4 | Page 47 and page 78 | Curriculum Vitae or Resumes and commitment letters may be included as an appendix. |
| 36 | If CPARS are available for a given contract, do we still need to request a questionnaire be completed? | Section L.6 Volume III Past Performance and Certifications and Representations Proposal | Page 68 and page 108 | Offerors shall submit three (3) past performance references. The availability of a CPARS rating has no bearing and it is up to the Offeror's business judgment as to who shall be chosen as a reference. |
| 37 | Resumes: Are we limited to submitting 50 resumes? Should resumes be included for the subcontractors as well as the prime? | L.4. Factor 4. Personnel | 47 | The minimum number of resumes/CVs required is 50 for staff or expert consultants. Subcontractors may be included in this count. |
| 38 | Please confirm proposal cover pages and Tables of contents are not included in the volume page limits. | L.1 General Instructions | 43 | Cover pages and Tables of Contents are not included in volume page limits. |
| 39 | What is the purpose of the Consultant Lists/tables presented between Attachment B and Attachment D? And how should offerors respond to them. | Section J. Attachment C (?) | unnumbered; PDF pg. 41-60 | Attachment B provides a description and minimum requirements of the various labor categories, along with areas of expertise that the labor categories are expected to address. Attachment C provides a list of areas of expertise that consultants may need experience in, and attachment D is a breakdown of each Bureau and Office's programs. |
| 40 | Task 6 appears very similar to the HRSA Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health RFP (19-250-SOL-00045). Is this an oversight, or will separate and/or similar COE services be procured separately under the IDIQ. | Section J. Attachment A | 22 | COE services may be procured via the HRSA TA IDIQ vehicle during the projected period of performance of 1 base year and 4 option years. |
| 41 | For purposes of proposal evaluation, how will Section and or Volumes be weighted? Or should we assume all Volumes/Sections will be weighted evenly? | Section M. | 74 | Please see the response to question 23. |
| 42 | Can the Government please provide specific guidance on the type of information subcontractors are required to submit in support of the business proposal? | L.7 Volume IV Business Proposal | 68-71 | Appropriate subcontractor information should be included so that a offerors proposal can be fully evaluated. |
| 43 | If the Contractor has a Commercial Small Business Subcontracting Plan approved by a Government Contracting Officer, will HRSA accept the approved Commercial plan in lieu of an Individual Small Business Subcontracting Plan? | L.7.4 Subcontracting Plan | 70 | No. |
| 44 | Under 4. Personnel, it states "A copy of all subcontractor agreements shall be provided for approval in accordance with FAR Clause 52.244-2 Subcontracts (AUG 1998)." in the last paragraph of this section. Since we are in the proposal phase, subcontract agreements are not yet negotiated, will the government accept a draft subcontract agreement that will be presented to each subcontractor upon award of an IDIQ contract? | M.6, M.7; Under the Personnel Section of Each Hypothetical | 81, 84, 88, 92 | Yes |
| 45 | #14 on page 43 states, “The Offeror’s proposal must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP. In addition, it must contain a statement to the effect that it is firm for a period of at least 90 days from the date of receipt by the Government.” Letter b on Page 70 states, “The Offeror must stipulate that the proposal is predicated upon the terms and conditions of this RFP. In addition, the proposal must contain a statement to the effect that it is firm for a period of at least 180 days from the date of receipt by the Government.” Please confirm which number of days is correct. | L.1.14 and L.7.3.b | 43, 70 | Please see the answer to question 31. |
| 46 | Do the hypothetical cost/price proposals need to be priced on a task-by-task basis? | L.7.5 | 71 | Yes. |
| 47 | “The business proposal shall be submitted with Excel-compatible formatted content with formulas preserved as an appendix. The Excel-compatible content does not need to meet the font, margin, and paper requirements.” Can the government please clarify what is meant by the underlined language? | L.1 General Instructions, #2, 2nd paragraph | 41 | Offerors shall submit a file in a format that is compatible with excel with the formulas preserved, in addition to the .PDF of the business proposal. In that file, formulas should be preserved so that changes to input boxes will cause changes in output boxes. An Excel file that is merely numbers without input or outpout boxes would be a file that does not preserve formulas. |
| 48 | Would the Government please consider extending the due date? | Cover letter | 1 | The deadline for submission of proposals will be extended to May 8, 2019, at 2:00 PM, via amendment 0001. Please see updated Section L.1. |
| 49 | Will the govt. please provide the specific evaluation points assigned for each major section within Volumes I and II? | M | 74-108 | Please see the response to question 23. |
| 50 | Will any RFTOPs be set-aside for 8(a) businesses? | G.6 | 16 | No. |
| 51 | Will any RFTOPs be set-aside for small businesses in the NAICS 541611 code? | K.2(a)(1)- K.2(a)(3) | 32 | No. |
| 52 | Will teaming be allowed at the RFTOP level; i.e., can we add subs after IDIQ award to respond to a RFTOP? | G.6 | 16 | Changes to subcontracts would be governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). |
| 53 | If awarded one Cohort, can we bid on RFTOPs from other two Cohorts? | G.6 | 16 | Offerors may only submit task order proposals for those cohorts that they are a part of. |
| 54 | Please provide a clarification about the number of resumes allowed. Can the sample list of 50 resumes be separate from the proposed core staff/personnel resumes; i.e., more than 50 resumes are allowed? | L.4 & M.5.4 | 44 & 78 | 50 resumes/CVs are the required minimum. The 50 resumes/CVs should provide evidence of the offeror's ability to respond to the tasks, various expertise, and appropriate staffing mix. |
| 55 | Will the govt. please consider increasing the page limit for Volume 1 to 50 pages? The SOW alone is 35 pages which does not include the requirements for the other four major sections. | L.4.2 | 44 | The Volume 1 page limit will be increased to 45 pages. Please see the updated Section L.1. |
| 56 | Please consider extending the due date for this proposal, given its complexity. | Cover letter | NA | Please see answer to question 48 |
| 57 | Given the short timeline for submitting this proposal, would HRSA consider requiring bidders to respond to only one of the two hypothetical projects within each cohort rather than both? | L | 42 of 108 | Please see answer to question 17 |
| 58 | Section L.1.14 instructs Offerors to include a statement indicating that their proposal is firm for a period of at least 90 days from the date of receipt by the Government. However, Section L.7.3(b) requests this same information for a period of at least 180 days. Please clarify the number of days Offerors need to indicate as the period of validity for their proposal. | L.1.14 and L.7.3(b) | 43 of 108, 70 of 108 | Please see answer to question 31. |
| 59 | The IDIQ Technical Proposal has a page limit of 30 pages. It is very difficult to address the five Factors/sections, 12 Tasks, and 41 Subtasks within this page limit. Would HRSA consider increasing the page limit to 40 pages? | L1 | 43 of 108 | Please see the response to question 55. |
| 60 | The Past Performance and Certifications Representations Proposal has a page limit of 25 pages. Please consider removing the page limit. | L1 | 43 of 108 | The page limit for Volume III shall remain at 25 pages. |
| 61 | The Business Proposal has a page limit of 25 pages. Please consider removing the page limit to accommodate all requested information, including spreadsheets and budget assumptions. | L1 | 43 of 108 | The page limit for Volume IV shall be increased to 35 pages. |
| 62 | Factor 2d (p. 45) requires bidders to discuss “how future task orders may be organized, staffed, and managed” in the Technical Approach section of Volume 1. Factor 3b (p. 46) requires that bidders discuss “how the Offeror will adequately staff, organize, and manage future task orders” in the Management and Staffing Plan section of the proposal. These requirements are nearly identical. Do bidders need to address this in both sections of the proposal? | L.4 | 45-46 of 108 | Please see updated section L.4. |
| 63 | Factor 3c (p. 46) asks bidders to address “how the Offeror’s management and staffing plan will enable it to start projects within 14 days of task order award” in the Management and Staffing plan section of the proposal. Factor 5a requires that the same be addressed in the Organizational Experience section. Do bidders need to address this in both sections of the proposal? | L4 | 46-48 of 108 | Please see the updated section L.4. |
| 64 | A discussion of the offeror’s quality assurance system is required in the Management and Staffing Plan section of the proposal (see Factor 3j, p. 46) and in the Organizational Experience section (see Factor 5g & h, p. 48). Do bidders need to address this in both sections of the proposal? | L4 | 46-48 of 108 | Yes |
| 65 | Factor 4 asks bidders to submit “Curriculum Vitae or Resumes and commitment letters for all proposed personnel, including a sample of fifty (50) staff or expert consultants…” Are commitment letters required for proposed staff from the bidder’s organization (as opposed to partner organizations or consultants)? | L4 | 47 of 108 | Please see the response to question 29. |
| 66 | Section L states that Volume III of the proposal, Past Performance and Certifications and Representations, will contain “CPARS ratings for contracts with federal agencies.” How many CPARS ratings should be included? | L6 | 68 of 108 | Please see the response to question 20. |
| 67 | Can the offeror submit more than three (3) past performance references, or should it be exactly three? | L6 | 68 of 108 | HRSA will only consider up to three (3) past performance references that it receives. |
| 68 | If we do not have a CPARS rating for relevant current or completed contracts, may we include a description of these projects in Volume III? | L6 | 68 of 108 | Yes. |
| 69 | The RFP provides the evaluation criteria for the Volume I Technical Proposal and the Volume II Hypothetical Proposals, but does not provide points for each volume, proposal section, or proposal subsection. Is this an oversight? Please clarify how proposals will be scored. | M | 74 of 108 | Please see the response to question 23. |
| 70 | Hypothetical 1 and Hypothetical 2 for the Health Centers, Health Professions and HIV/AIDS Cohort both require bidders to name 50 staff or expert consultants in the proposal and to provide their “names, educational preparation, number of years of experience, types of professional experience, and technical accomplishments.” Due to the page limit, it will be difficult to include this information for all 50 staff/consultants within the main body of the hypothetical proposal. Can bidders refer reviewers to the Resumes in the Appendix for this information, rather than including it in the main body of the proposal? | Section M6 | 81 of 108 | Yes. |
| 71 | Hypothetical 1 for the Maternal and Child Health Technical Cohort requires bidders to name 30 staff or expert consultants in the proposal and to provide their “names, educational preparation, number of years of experience, types of professional experience, and technical accomplishments.” Due to the page limit, it will be difficult to include this information for all 30 staff/consultants within the main body of the hypothetical technical proposal. Can bidders refer reviewers to the Resumes in the Appendix for this information, rather than including this information for all consultants in the main body of the proposal? | M7 | 86 of 108 | Yes. |
| 72 | For Task 2b, Webinars, how many webinars will the contractor be required to plan and deliver each year? | Section J, Attachment A | 4 of 35 | The contractor shall plan and deliver webinars as indicated in the individual task orders. Please see the updated Attachment A. |
| 73 | The TA IDIQ Statement of Work includes some tasks such as webinars and curated e-mails that are noted as required of all task orders, but are not included in the SOW for the hypothetical tasks. In the hypothetical task proposals, should they be discussed and/or budgeted for, even if not included as part of those hypothetical task SOWs? | Section J, Attachment A | 4-5 of 35 | Per Attachment A, webinars and curated emails shall be "completed at the standards indicated at the Task Order level." |
| 74 | Please clarify how Task 6, HRSA Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, differs from the recently released RFP for the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, RFP #19-250-SOL-00045? | Section J, Attachment A | 22 of 35 | Please see the answer to question 40 |
| 75 | Task 9b(2) states: “The contractor and contractor shall sign and enter into an agreement to abstain from and abolish any Conflict of Interest (COI).” Please clarify what is meant by “The contractor and contractor…” | Section J, Attachment A | 29 of 35 | Please see updated Section J, Attachment A |
| 76 | Item 9 is headed “MCHB Technical Assistance Site Visit.” Much of the information in this section is specific to HIV and Ryan White programs. Did HRSA intend to include other guidance specific to MCHB in this section? | Section J, Attachment E | 4 of 10 | No, this is a sample site vist description only. From Section J, Attachment E: The site visit descriptions below are the types of site visits that may be issued under this IDIQ contract. Site visit details will be specified in task orders and may deviate from the descriptions below. Note: The Contracting Officer reserves the right to modify the site visit details throughout the contract period of performance and any Bureau may choose from the below Site Visits. |
| 77 | Page 10 of Section J, Attachment F, refers to On-Site Compliance Assessment (OSCA). Is this equivalent to the Operational Site Visit (OSV) described on page 1 of Section J, Attachment E? | Section J, Attachment F | 10 of 20 | Yes, On-Site Compliance Assessment is the global, literal term for this event; however, BPHC uses the term Operational Site Visit (OSV). OSV and OSCA are used throughout BPHC's hypothetical based on our terminology and OSCA are of the same type of site visit as an OSV. Please see the updated Attachment F. |
| 78 | Can HRSA provide a copy or link to the GAO report referenced in Hypothetical 2 for Health Centers, Health Professions, and HIV/AIDS TA cohort? | Section J, Attachment G | 1 of 14 | The SOW and existing supporting documents are the basis of the requirements. The GAO solely dictates the need for site visits and compliance monitoring of grants. The GAO report is not instrumental to frame a response. |
| 79 | Task 3 of Hypothetical 1, Health Centers, Health Professions, and HIV/AIDS TA, lists the number and types of site visits to be conducted (i.e., 166 comprehensive site visits, 88 TA site visits, etc.). Please clarify whether this number of site visits will be conducted over the full, four-year period of performance, or whether this number will be conducted annually. | Section J, Attachment G | 3 of 14 | The number and type of site visits are to be conducted over a 12 month period of time, annually. |
| 80 | The TATS as well as other approved tracking tools are mentioned throughout the Hypothetical. Should we assume we will use TATS? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 1-18 of 18 | For the purpose of responding, you may assume you will be using TATS. |
| 81 | Can HRSA provide an estimate for the amount of time expected for contractor staff to complete orientation training on MCHB programs and regulations? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 2 of 18 | It is expected that 10-15 hours of orientation training will need to be completed. |
| 82 | Can we assume in this hypothetical describing the various site visits that sub-recipients and local implementing agencies represent the same types of entities? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 3 of 18 | Yes |
| 83 | The table on page 4 “shows the number of site visits for the one-year time period.” Does MCHB expect 50 site visits in the first year only, or 50 site visits per year? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 4 of 18 | MCHB expects up to 50 site visits per year; individual task orders may have less. Site visit details will be specified in individual task orders and may deviate from the numbers in the hypothetical. |
| 84 | Task 5 of Hypothetical 1, Maternal and Child Health TA, indicates that the contractor will conduct 24 in-person visits. Are these site visits in addition to the site visits required in Task 3? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 8 of 18 | Yes, they are in addition to Task 3's visits. |
| 85 | Task 6.1 calls for 4 webinars to begin 90 days after the start of the contract, and continuing quarterly. However, IDIQ-wide guidance in Attachment A, Section III.2.b. states that 2 webinar topics will be selected. What is the correct number of webinars and topics for MCH TA Hypothetical 1? Is this the total number of webinars over the life of the contract, or per year? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 and Section J, Attachment A | Attach. H, p. 9 of 18 and Attach. A. p. 4 of 35 | For MCH TA Hypothetical 1, the correct number is 4 webinars per year. |
For MCH Hypothetical 2, there are 3 webinars for hypothetical task 3.7, 9 webinars for task 5.6, and 12 webinars for task 7.
| 86 | Task 6.2.b. requires the Contractor to determine each month whether there are any events or resources that shall be sent to awardees, and if so, to send an e-blast. Is this in addition to the quarterly newsletter described in Task 6.2.? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 10 of 18 | For months with a quarterly newsletter, this information may be incorporated into the newsletter. For remaining months, it will be issued separately as a stand-alone e-blast. |
| 87 | For the purposes of budgeting, how many supporting materials should be assumed for the Universal TA tasks webinars? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 10 of 18 | An average of 2-3, with the assumption that this is an average across the webinars. |
| 88 | Are supporting materials for MCH Hypothetical Task 1 the same as those included in the 6 resource materials discussed under “Resource Materials such as Issue Briefs/Toolkits/Checklists”? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 10 of 18 | There is not a direct link of topics between materials developed for the resource materials such as issue briefs/toolkits/checklists task, and any other tasks. There may be overlap but it is not to be assumed. |
| 89 | Does MCHB expect the 5 Communities of Practice groups described in Task 6.4 to continue through the full 5 years of the contract? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 11 of 18 | Each year of the contract shall have 5 Communities of Practice; the topics may change each year or there may be continuity of some topics depending on need and prioritization. This determination shall be informed by the priority scans required in Task 4. |
| 90 | Is it expected that data collection and data visualization will occur through the online collaboration portal? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 11 of 18 | No |
| 91 | Under Task 10 starting on page 13 of 18, can HRSA please confirm that these instances of TA are included within the 50 instances of TA required in Year 1 under Task 3; for example, please confirm that the 3 engagements referred to in “3 Awardee/Model Developer Dialogues” on page 14 of 18 is included within the 50 instances of TA required in Year 1 under Task 3? | Section J, Attachment H Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 1 | 13 of 18 | No, they are separate tasks. The 50 instances of TA required under task 3 shall be the provision of direct TA to an awardee. Awardee/Model Developer Dialogues are separate as described in Task 10. The reference to Task 3 only refers to the types of site visits that may be utilized to convene the dialogues. |
| 92 | Task 4.1, What level of access will we/do we have to the data required for the analysis? Will we be able to export this data and use our analysis tools? Or do we need to use these data on HRSA servers? If required to use on HRSA servers, what data analysis tools does HRSA have available for the contractor to use? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 4 of 15 | MCHB will provide the contractor with access to grantee progress reports for qualitative analysis, as needed. The contractor may use their own qualitative analysis tools. |
Discretionary Grants Information System (DGIS) data is available publically online (https://mchdata.hrsa.gov/dgisreports/). MCHB will also provide quantitative DGIS data in Microsoft Excel files, as needed, that can be analyzed using the contractor’s software.
Qualitative and quantitative analyses do not need to take place on HRSA servers.
| 93 | Task 4.2, Will OMB clearance be required for this data collection to occur? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 4 of 15 | OMB clearance is not required for this task. Existing data will be used. |
| 94 | Can HRSA please confirm whether Tasks 7 and 8 starting on page 7 of 15 involve the development of novel collaboration space and tools or rather the modification and updating of existing collaboration space and tools. For example, under Task 8 #2, is the expectation that the under interface will connect with an existing tool or new tools? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 7 of 15 | Task 7 involves the development of TA training webinars. Task 8 involves updating and maintaining existing online tools located on the MCHB workforce and research public websites (which are stored on HRSA servers) and may involve the development of new online tools of engagement. |
| 95 | Task 8, Will the tools that are developed be required to go through the EPL process and also obtain an Authority to Operate? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 8 of 15 | Contractors are required to comply with FedRAMP regulations. |
| 96 | Task 9, Will the TA Tracking tool be required to go through the EPL process and also obtain an Authority to Operate? Can the contractor host this tool in its cloud hosting environment? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 9 of 15 | Contractors are required to comply with FedRAMP regulations. |
| 97 | Task 11, Will the TA Tracking tool be required to go through the EPL process and also obtain an Authority to Operate? Does the government know if this system will be considered FISMA Low or Moderate? Can the contractor host this tool in our cloud hosting environment? | Section J, Attachment I Maternal and Child Health Hypothetical 2 | 11 of 15 | Contractors are required to comply with FedRAMP regulations. |
| 98 | Section L, Factor 3, makes reference to “the government-furnished TA Tracking System (TATS).” Can the government provide more information on what this tracking system is or where to find additional information? | L.5 | 47 | HRSA implemented an enterprise electronic handbook (EHB) which is ideintifed as the grant recipient's official grant file. Within EHB is the TATS module. |
| 99 | Will each volume be reviewed by the same review committee? | Section L.1.8 | 42 of 108 | Unable to respond to due to a lack of specificity. |
| 100 | How will Volumes and Factors be scored? Will each volume (e.g., Volume I) and each factor (e.g., Technical Approach) be given a weighted score based on varying levels of importance? | Section L.4 | 42-67 of 108 | Please see the response to question 23. |
| 101 | Can current projects be utilized for past performance evaluation? | Section L.6 | 68 of 108 | Yes. |
| 102 | Is HRSA’s TA Tracking System (TATS) required for particular offices or bureaus or is it required for all task orders regardless of the office or bureau? | Section J, Attachment A | 2 of 108? | All eventual awardees are expected to be able to use TATS. |
| 103 | What are the unloaded labor category ceiling rates? Is it HRSA-determined or determined by the offeror? | Section B.2.2 | 2-4 of 108 | Unloaded ceiling rates are to be proposed by offerors. |
| 104 | For the purposes of this proposal response to Volume I and Volume II, does the offerer determine which budget to submit (i.e. cost reimbursable, firm-fixed, a combination or firm-fixed-price incentive)? | Section B.2.1 | 2 of 108 | The contract type for all hypotheticals is firm fixed price. |
| 105 | What does “Excel compatible formatted content with formulas preserved as an appendix” mean? | Section L | 41 of 108 | Please see response to question 47 |
| 106 | Is it allowable to be the prime on one proposal and a subcontractor on others? | N/A | N?A | Yes |
| 107 | Does the term “Offeror” refer only to Prime contractors, or is it inclusive of Subcontractors, as well? | Sections A-M; Section J Attachments | Multiple | The term Offeror refers to the prime contractor who is submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation. |
| 108 | The Solicitation states: "Curriculum Vitae or Resumes and commitment letters for all proposed personnel, including a sample of fifty (50) staff or expert consultants who can address the various type of technical and consultative assistance that may be required in future task orders"; Please confirm that the government requires commitment letters for the sample of fifty (50) staff or expert consultants. | Section L, Factor 4 - Personnel | 47 | Please see the response to question 29. |
| 109 | Please clarify what is required for unloaded ceiling rates. Is intent to depict fully burdened rates exclusive of fee? | SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS, B.2 Compensation, 2. Unloaded Labor Category Ceiling Rates | 2 | Unloaded labor category ceiling rates are the base pay ceiling rates without other costs applied. |
| 110 | Should offerors assume contractor site for Labor Category Ceiling Rates? | SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS, B.2 Compensation, 2. Unloaded Labor Category Ceiling Rates | 2 | It is up to the business judgment of an Offeror to determine how they will determine their Labor Category Ceiling Rates. |
| 111 | The Solicitation states: "Consultant fees or other payments to consultants required in the performance of this contract shall not exceed the daily rate of $750/day, exclusive of travel costs. Consultant fees or other payments over the daily rate shall receive written approval by the Contracting Officer." Please confirm that this limitation does not pertain to Subcontractor labor support. | B.3 Cost Reimbursable Task Order/Direct Costs (C.) | 4 | This limitation pertains to payments to consultants. |
| 112 | The Solicitation states: "Consultant fees or other payments to consultants required in the performance of this contract shall not exceed the daily rate of $750/day, exclusive of travel costs. Consultant fees or other payments over the daily rate shall receive written approval by the Contracting Officer." Is eight (8) hours assumed for the daily rate (of $750/day)? | B.3 Cost Reimbursable Task Order/Direct Costs (C.) | 4 | Yes. |
| 113 | For Cost Reimbursable effort, are Subcontractors required to provide sealed bid and/or Certified Cost and Price Data as part of Volume IV Business Proposal? | SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES, 52.215-12 Subcontractor Certified Cost or Pricing Data | 20 | Submission of certified cost and price data is required. |
| 114 | Does the Government require subcontractors to complete the Representations and Certifications form? | SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS | 31 | No. |
| 115 | Can HHS specify the number of anticipated awardees under this IDIQ? | B.2.1 | 2 | The number of anticipated awardees is unknown as this time. |
| 116 | Section L.1.3 specifies that we should cross-reference information, including volume and page number, rather than repeating. Additionally, Section L.1.8 specifies that each volume should be able to be evaluated on its own. Can HHS confirm that we can cross-reference between volumes, even if this means repeating information (such as CVs) in our overall proposal? | L.1.3 | 41 | Offerors may choose to cross reference across volumes. Note that appendices and other attachments do not count against the page limit. |
| 117 | Can the 50 required staff or expert consultants cover more than one area of expertise? | L.4, Factor 4, d. | 47 | The expectation is to identify a robust and diverse pool of experts. Staff and experts may share common skills, but offerors should demonstrate technical capacity to perform the number of tasks specified within the hypotheticals. |
| 118 | Can the 50 required staff or expert consultants for the hypothetical overlap with the 50 required staff for the overall technical and/or the other hypotheticals? | M.6.1 Hypothetical 1 | 81 | The expectation is to identify a robust and diverse pool of experts. Staff and experts may share common skills, but offerors should demonstrate technical capacity to perform the number of tasks specified within the hypotheticals. |
| 119 | By responding for specific HRSA programs are we only eligible for task orders that are released under these specific programs (a. health centers, health professions and HIV/AIDS, b. Maternal and Child Health, and c. Rural Health)? | Section L | 42 | Please see the response to question 53. |
| 120 | May graphics, flow charts, organizational charts, or drawings be included in an appendix to the technical volume to ensure they do not count toward the technical volume page limit? | Section L – Instructions | 41 | It is up to the business judgment of an Offeror to determine where to place graphics, flow charts, organizational charts, or drawings. |
| 121 | Please confirm a cover letter included with the technical and business volumes will not count toward the page limits. | Section L – Instructions | 41 | Please see the response to question 27. |
| 122 | Are CPARS ratings for projects which are currently active but have completed at least their first year allowable? | Section L.6 – Instructions | 68 | Yes. |
| 123 | Would HRSA consider granting a two week extension on the proposal due date of April 30, 2019? | Cover letter | 1 | Please see the response to question 48. |
| 124 | Based on the number of labor categories (44 under section B on pages 3-4) that offers are required to provide and the details on page 71. Would HRSA consider removing the 25 page limit for the business volume in order to allow offerors to be fully responsive to the requirements? | L.7 Volume IV Business Proposal | 68 | Please see the response to question 61. |
| 125 | May past performance questionnaires be returned to HRSA in Word format, as opposed to PDF to help clients providing references complete the forms with ease? | L.6 Volume III Past Performance and Certifications and Representations Proposal | 68 | No. |
| 126 | Please clarify the proposal validity period. Is the validity period 90 or 180 days from government receipt? | L.1#14; L.7.3.b | 43; 70 | Please see the response to question 31. |
| 127 | Given the complexity of the solicitation response, please extend the submission deadline to May 9, 2019 1400 EDT. | L.1 General Instructions, #16 | 43 | Please see the response to question 48. |
| 128 | 1. Please accept projects completed within the last 5 years. |
2. Please confirm if subcontractors' past performance will be considered in this solicitation response.
| 3. Please also confirm if CPARS ratings may be submitted for prime offerors and their subcontractors for contracts being considered for in the past performance volume as opposed to a, all contracts for which CPARS ratings are available, and b, having clients who have completed CPARS ratings also complete a past performance questionnaire. Our federal clients who have been diligent to complete CPARS ratings that completing past performance questionnaires is burdensome and we risk not being able to acquire their support if past performance questionnaires are required when CPARS ratings are available. | L. 6, Volume III Past Performance and Certifications and Representations Proposal | 68 | Please refer to Section L.6 Volume III Past Perfromance and Certifications and Representatiosn Proposal. | ||
| 129 | If offerors and their subcontractors have completed their annual SAM.gov registrations, please advise if they are still required to complete Section K. | L. 6, Volume III Past Performance and Certifications and Representations Proposal | 68 | Section K will still need to be completed. | |
| 130 | Please confirm if awarded contracts will only allow firms to respond to IDIQ task orders associated with the hypothetical responses they submit. In other words, if a firm only submits responses to the Rural Health hypotheticals, will it only be eligible to support Rural Health task orders if awarded an IDIQ? | M.4, Technical Proposals | 74 | Please see the response to question 53. | |
| 131 | Please confirm that Volume II must include responses to both Hypotheticals within a cohort. | L.1. # 11, and 12 | 42 and 43 of 108 | Please see the response to question 17. | |
| 132 | The RFP is complex and submission requirements of letters of commitment from a large number of consultants is quite time-consuming. Please consider an extension to allow a 60-day response time. | Cover Letterm, 3rd paragraph | Cover letter | Please see the response to question 48. | |
| 133 | The RFP states that Volume II Cohort Hypothetical Technical Proposals are 40 pages per submission. Does this refer to 40 pages per cohort or 40 pages per Hypothetical? | L1 #13 | 43 of 108 | Please see the response to question 24. | |
| 134 | The RFP requests offerors to explain plans on developing, monitoring, reviewing, and adding new expertise to the consultant pool. Will the government provide a roster of preferred consultants that have been vetted and shown results that the offerors may add to their list of consultants? | L4, Factor 3, #e | 46 of 108 | No. | |
| 135 | Please explain what you are expecting from offerors who have not used TATS under Factor 3n that states: “A statement of understanding on the required use of the government furnished TATS.” | Factor 3n | 47 of 108 | Per Attachment A, "HRSA will provide contractor staff with online training on the required use of TATS and will explain the contractor roles and responsibilities for using the system. Training on the TATS and details of its use will be provided to contractor staff after the award of a task order is made." | |
| 136 | The first Technical Cohort addresses BPHC, BHW, and HAB programs. There is no instance where HSB is included. Is HSB included in Cohort 1 or was this inclusion in error? | M.6.2 Hypothetical 2, Technical approach, paragraph 1 | 82 of 108 | Please see the response to question 16. | |
| 137 | Task 6 in the SOW indicates that the contractor shall operate the COE for Behavioral Health and its established T/TA program. HRSA issued a separate RFP for the same COE on March 8, and revised March 29. Please explain the overlap. If the COE is intended for this IDIQ contract, in which Technical Cohort and Hypothetical does it reside? | Section J, Attachment A, Task 6 | 22-23 of 35 | Please see the response to questions 16 and 40. | |
| 138 | The SOW Background information provided for Cohort 1, Hypothetical 1 references only the BPHC and its programs, as do the tables provided for Task 3. Yet Section L references days for both BPHC and HAB. Please confirm whether Hypothetical 1 is devoted exclusively to BPHC. If not, please explain what work will be completed for HAB and how will this be coordinated with Hypothetical 2. | Section J, Attachment F, Hypothetical 1; Section L, Hypothetical 1 | 1 of 20; 15 of 20; 51 of 108 | Hypothetical 1 and 2 both describe the specifications and assumptions for the Health Centers, Health Professions,a nd HIV/AIDS Technical Cohort. Where specific bureau reference is identified assume the activity is for the respective bureau. Other activities without a specific reference is applied to all bureaus. Use these details to develop the response. | |
| 139 | The SOW for Cohort 1, Hypothetical 2 states that the principal recipients of the TA and site visit monitoring activities are Ryan White Program grant recipients (Background Information). Section L, Hypothetical 2 indicates 500 days for BPHC and 480 days for HAB. Please confirm whether Hypothetical 2 is devoted exclusively to HAB. If not, please explain what work will be completed for BPHC and how this will be coordinated with Hypothetical 1. | Section J, Attachment G; Hypothetical 2 Background; Section L, Hypothetical 2 | 1-2 of 14; 54 of 108 | See the response to question 138. | |
| 140 | Task 2 of Cohort 1, Hypothetical 2 requires 20 orientation sessions. Are these sessions exclusively for reviewers and staff? Are the sessions exclusively for training reviewers on how to conduct site visits? Are the sessions on 20 different topics or the same topic but repeated as new reviewers are recruited? Are these 20 different trainings for grantees? | Section J Attachment G; Cohort 1, Hypothetical 2 | 2-3 of 14 | Orientation sessions are provided to the contractor staff and depending on topic area provided to HRSA staff and grant recipients. The sessions are not exclusively for training reviewers on how to conduct site visits but may also include updates to statutory requirements and programmatic expectations. Yes these are 20 distinct training session (events). |
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