Questions and Responses for 8a 5-6-2008.pdf

TAMS 2008 8(a) Set-Aside May 6, 2008

Questions for RFP 2008-N-10240 Business and Technical

Notice: The Question and Answer Period for RFP 2008-N-10240 is now over

Business Comments

1. Are RFTPs deliverable by email? Proposals shall be mailed to the address in section

L.10(d) in the RFP

2. What time are RFTPs due? See response to question #5 below

3. The IDIQ instructions (L.5 (c), pg. 59) indicate that cost information should be included only for the RFTPs.

What should offerors who are not bidding an RFTP submit?

Should cost information only be included with the actual RFTP submission?

Offerors shall respond to all three (3) of the Request for Task Order Proposal.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

4. Please confirm that a subcontracting plan is not required since this will be small business award (reference L.5.e, pg. 61).

A Subcontracting Plan is not required for the 8(a) set-aside RFP

5. Because we will not have had 45 days within which to respond to this solicitation, would CDC consider an extension of the due date from May 15, 2008 to May 30, 2008.

The RFP due date is changed to May 28, 2008 at 2:00pm EST to allow for extra time to complete the three task order proposals.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

6. Please describe CDC’s expectations for price analysis of all sub-contractors (reference L.5.C.4).

Please provide cost or pricing data and results of the price or cost analysis which will support a determination of price reasonableness for each RFTP in the business proposal of the RFTP.

7. Section G.2 (pg. 20) references negotiated indirect cost rates. In subsection a, there are requests for the type, rate, location, applicable to, and base. Should these rates be included in the proposal?

Yes, please include in the IDIQ RFP business proposal.

8. Section G.3 (pg. 20) references fixed fees associated with the award of this solicitation. Is there a limit on the fixed fee percentage?

The fee shall not exceed 10 percent of the contract’s estimated cost, excluding fee.

9. We have reviewed the presolicitation notices and applaud CDC for considering small businesses for a separate opportunity. Many of us have qualifications that fit within both the full and open and the 8(a) solicitations. We wanted to be sure that CDC would allow an 8(a) firm to submit proposals for both the full and open AND the 8(a) solicitations.

This scenario would not prevent 8(a) firms

Yes, offerors can submit proposals for RFP 2008- N-09699 and RFP 2008-N-10240 separately and independently of each other.

from the opportunity to be a prime contractor with CoCHP on policy and program assessments, demonstration projects and other consultation and T/A activities that might arise during the five-year life cycle of the IDIQ.

10. We respectfully request that you expand this solicitation to include Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses, not just 8a.

This procurement is set-aside for 8(a) business only.

11. What is the anticipated award date?

July 30, 2008

12. We are planning on partnering with another small business to submit a proposal in response to the above-noted announcement. Our partner will be the lead, is owned by an ethnic minority and they have submitted their Section 8(a) application. My question is whether we can apply, given that their application is in progress and has not yet been approved?

The firm must be certified by SBA in the 8(a) Business Development program by the initial date set for receipt of offers.

13. We request an extension until June 2 to mirror the extension of the Full and Open RFP of this procurement; and particularly because the small business portion of the procurement was released 10 days later than the full/open

See response to question #5 above.

14. For the task areas described, can we expect that RFTPs with these tasks as their primary focus solely be competed among set-aside ID/IQ small businesses contract awardees? Or will some be competed among large and/or small, and full/open/large ID/IQ contract awardees

All RFTPs will be competed among the awardees of the 8(a) set aside contract.

15. Section L.10(c), General Instructions, Page 65: “Your proposal must be prepared in three parts:….and three (3) RFTPs.” Must the offeror respond to all three RFTPs? In the Questions/Answers from the Market Industry Day of the related TAMS 2008 RFP (2008-N-109699), Q/A #10 cited, “It is not mandatory to respond to all task orders.” Is this applicable to RFP 208-N- 10240, as well

Also, it seems that the government is seeking the experience of one or very few contractors in particular for some of the RFTPs, indicating it is unreasonable for all offerors to submit bids for some specific RFTPs (e.g., RFTP #2, where contractors “…must demonstrate experience in use of cohort

See response to question #3 above.

Markov simulation models in estimating the long-term impact of HPV vaccination…”).

16. Section L.11, Systems Security, Page 66:

“Proposals must include a copy of the offeror’s systems security policies and practices.” Is this included in the 50-page limit of the technical bid or can it be considered an Appendix?

The system security policies and practices may be an Appendix to the technical proposal.

17. Given that (1) the RFP for the small business set-aside opportunity was released days after the full and open RFP and (2) the due date for the response to the full and open opportunity was extended by two weeks, will an extension be afforded the small business set-aside opportunity?

See response to question #5 above

18. L.5 Business Proposal Instruction requires that cost data and documentation of cost is required for Direct Labor, Fringe Benefits, Materials & Services, Travel, Other Direct Costs and Indirect Costs. For Subcontract Items, it stipulates that a price analyses should be completed, but it does not state if backup documentation of subcontractor cost is needed, please clarify.

Offerors must provide evidence that they have properly analyzed subcontractor proposals for technically adequacy and best value.

19. Section K.1 (a) (1) and (2) does not provide the NAICS code or small business size standard for this solicitation, please provide.

The NAICS code is 541690 and the size standard is $6.5 million.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

20. For this RFP which is restricted to 8a companies only, is a Subcontracting Plan required in the Business Proposal.

No. See response to question #4 above

21. Are offerors required to present an itemized budget breakdown as part of the RFTP technical proposals? Page 30, Section G.14.c.2 states that responses shall include a budget detailing the cost of each major subtask identified in the proposal. In addition, section L.5.c states that cost data will be evaluated in individual task order proposals according to the instructions provided in the RFP. However, the RFTP's only ask for a technical proposal and cost proposal breakdown (not as separate documents). Please clarify if the cost proposal breakdown should be submitted as part of the RFTP technical proposal or submitted as a separate document titled 'cost proposal'?

One response to the IDIQ RFP: one technical and one business. One response to each of the three RFTPs: one technical and one business. Total number: eight documents.

22. The complement full & open IDIQ (2008- N-9699) was released with a 45 day response period and has now been given an extension by 12 days to complete and submit the IDIQ technical proposal, business proposal and three task order proposals. However, this solicitation has been given only 31 days to respond to the IDIQ technical proposal, business proposal and three task order proposals. Will CDC consider giving the 8a applicants a similar time period to respond to this solicitation?

See response to question #5 above.

23. Is there a possibility that the due date to respond to the above-mentioned small business solicitation and three accompanying task orders will be amended…similar to the amended/extended due date given to the full and open RFP (i.e. Solicitation 2008- N-09699)?? If so, when will that amended due date be posted?

24. Is it necessary to reply to all three RFTPs? See response to question #3 above

25. Does it strengthen your proposal to reply to all three RFTPs?

Offerors must reply to all RFTPs in order to be considered for award.

26. Is this still a small business set-aside or is it now an open competition?

This RFP is an 8(a) set aside.

27. On page 60, #4 please provide clarification on whether we must provide subcontractor analysis for each of the RFTPs.

Yes. Offerors must provide evidence that they have properly analyzed subcontractor proposals for technically adequacy and best value

28. Is the cost data for each of the RFTPs a separate volume or should they be included in the business proposal volume. Are there two volumes – 1) technical which includes the proposal technical and 3 RFTP technical proposals and 2) the business which includes the business information and cost information for the three rftps or are there 8 volumes: 1) technical proposal

2) RFTP1 technical 3) RFTP 2 technical

4) RFTP 3 technical 5) business proposal

6) RFTP 1 cost proposal 7) RFTP 2 cost proposal and 8) RFTP 3 cost proposal.

Separate RFTP proposals are required.

See response to question #21.

29. What is required by the government for pricing from the subcontractor in both the basic business volume and the RFTPs?

See response to question #27 above.

30. Will there be an extension of the due date, similar to the companion large, recognizing that this solicitation requires 4 proposals – the basic and three RFTPs.

31. We are not a 8(A) competitive company, as we are fairly new, and not yet 2 years old to apply for certification. Can we work to provide response to this solicitation.

The firm must be certified by SBA in the 8(a) Business Development program by the initial date set for receipt of offers.

32. This email is to request the names of the 8(a) companies currently providing technical support to the Program under the expiring contract. Secondly, which of the firms are eligible to rebid under the NAICS Code 541690?

There is no expiring contract.

33. Please define “major sub-contractors Subcontractors who will be performing substantial technical requirements associated with any or all task orders.

34. Does the requirement for the 3 completed and all current contracts only include those relevant to the activities included in the statement of work? Our concern is that the requested list of past performance information may be extremely lengthy and burdensome for our subcontractors who are large firms.

Subcontractors are not required to submit past performance information.

35. What is the difference between information required for past performance (L.14, pg.

67) and that required for the corporate capability/experience (L6.(c) 3)? The latter requires lists (see a and b of this clause) that seems to include the same type of information required for past performance.

Past Performance will be requested only of offerors in the competitive range as a separate submission in the format per section L.14. Section L.6 (c)(3) is one of the technical evaluation criteria that must be addressed by all offerors responding to this

RFP.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

36. Also, are subcontractors required to respond to the requirements for corporate capability/experience (pg. 63)?

Yes.

Technical

1. What other information is required for sub-contractors who are NOT considered major sub-contractors?

Any information that would persuade a team of experts that these subcontractors can perform adequately.

2. Please provide clarification on Section L.

14 Past Performance Information (pg 68) regarding how contracts and subcontracts should be listed. Is it acceptable to move requirement number three (3) to the last requirement? Our concern is the

Past Performance will be requested only of offerors in the competitive range as a separate submission.

When that time comes, please submit information on three to five contracts.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008 description may become lengthy.

3. Section L.14, Past Performance Information, Page 67: Is the Past Performance Information included in the 50-page limit? Given that it will not be evaluated until after offerors are judged to be in the competitive range based on review of the business proposals and technical proposals (page 70), we encourage that it is not included in the page count.

See response to Technical question #2 above.

4. Section L.14(b), Past Performance Information, Page 67: “The offeror should include…and all contracts currently in process for both the offeror and all proposed major subcontractors.” (1) We request that CDC reconsider all contracts and instead, require all relevant contracts to minimize undue burden on both government and contractor. (2) Also, please define “major subcontractor.”

See response to Technical question #2 above.

5. Section M.3(i), Past Performance Evaluation, Page 70: “Past performance will be evaluated for only those offerors remaining in the competitive range after completion of the review of the business proposals and technical proposals.” Given this, should Past Performance be separately bound from the technical, business, and RFTP proposals?

See response to Technical question #2 above.

6. L.14(b) states that Past Performance information should be submitted for "all contracts currently in process for both the offeror and all proposed major subcontractors." This could result in the submission of 100+ contracts for past performance, will CDC consider reducing the number of required contracts?

See response to Technical question #2 above.

7. Can subcontractors not included in an IDIQ proposal be included in task order proposals?

Yes

8. Can organizational experience older than five years be included in response to L.6(c)3b, pg. 63?

No, we prefer to limit this to more recent experience in which current employees may have been involved.

9. Are responses to all three RFTPS required in order to be fully compliant with IDIQ response (reference L.10(c), pg. 65)?

Yes. The language within the RFTP does not apply to the full RFP. Three proposals are required in order to assess the potential of each offeror to

Note: Each attached RFTP states that “awardees are not required to submit a proposal in response to this requires for task proposal”, toward the end of the documents.

fulfill all RFP requirements.

10. Can offerors bid the same personnel on multiple RFTPS if their percent time is under 100 percent?

11. Section C.4 (1) (B) 2., discusses scientific publication support on page 6. This section references publications by “DCPC scientific staff.” Should this be

NCCDPHP?

A similar reference is made for the submission of abstracted information to DCPC for literature reviews (see pg. 7, C.4 (1) (B) 3). Should this be

NCCDPHP?

12. Section L.6, (c) 2a (pg. 63) references the required of a management plan. Does this section apply only to on-site employees?

There will not be any on-site performance under this RFP. The contractor will be expected to have the necessary facilities and equipment off site to conduct the work. CDC will not provide space or equipment.

13. We understand that RFTPS should be submitted separately. Should technical and cost proposals for RFTPS be separate as well?

Yes.

14. Is there a page limit for the response to

RFTP 3?

Yes. Maximum page limit is 35 single-spaced typewritten pages.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

15. Does the 15 page limit for RFTPS 1 and 2 exclude the letters of intent?

No.

16. Section C.4(B), SOW, Research Support, Page 6; also Section L.6 (C)1, Instructions, Scientific and Technical Approach, Page 63: Both of these sections reference responding to support to DCPC, specifically. Also, the RFTPs all relate to cancer research, prevention, and health promotion. We look forward to continuing to support DCPC under a new effort, and to expanding our support to CDC with other divisions and centers, as the Solicitation Synopsis indicated. Please clarify if work under this contract will be primarily for DCPC or will support a broader network of

The RFP is open to all NCCDPHP divisions and offices. The three RFTPs are for DCPC projects.

national centers and divisions, as highlighted in the Solicitation Synopsis.

17. First, that the government clarify the language to cite: “Work Quality, Final Product.” Second, we request that the 100% standard relate solely to the contractor having addressed 100% of all comments/requested revisions from the government from draft to final product.

Third, we request that the overall work quality standard be reduced to an acceptable quality level (AQL) of 98%.

Regarding the first and second requests, CDC has recognized that the contractor will not have met 100% work quality standards in draft materials/anything other than final products with its provision of comment periods/processes and subsequent contractor response to them.

Therefore, the 100% standard should apply to the final product only, and should reflect that we have responded to all inaccuracies that were identified from both contractor and government during this process.

Finally, regarding the third request, while we aim for perfection, we also aim for soundness and feasibility of our proposed solutions. We request the government consider using Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs), which are standard in government contracting, in place of a 100% standard. A 100% standard provides undue burden – and thus, cost -- on both contractor and the government to adhere to and monitor to that standard. As an AQL is an acceptable level, the probability of acceptance is still high (typically between 92.74% and 99.999996% for six sigma). We therefore recommend that 98% work quality be implemented as the standard criteria for work quality overall.

It is the opinion of the Government that the standard is clearly stated, work quality criteria is fair and required to meet government needs.

18. Section L.6, Technical Proposal Instructions, Page 62: Must figures and tables be in 12 point?

19. Section L.6, Technical Proposal Instructions, Page 62: Are the Executive Summary, Table of Contents, List of Figures, and Introduction included in the 50-page limit?

Yes.

20. Section L.6 (C)(1), Technical Proposal Instructions, Management Plan and

A Subcontracting Plan is not required for the 8(a) set-aside RFP

Personnel, Page 63: “Provide a Subcontracting Plan as well as a narrative summary of management practices…” We understand the provision of narrative summary discussing selection, evaluation, and monitoring of subcontractors.

However, our understanding is that a Subcontracting Plan is not required for small businesses (cited as such on Page 61(e) of this RFP). We request the deletion of the formal language, “Subcontracting Plan” in addressing this requirement.

21. Section L.12, EIT Accessibility, Page 67:

“Offerors must prepare an HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template..and provide additional detailed information necessary for determining applicable 508 standards conformance…” Are these included in the 50-page limit of the technical bid or can they be considered an Appendix?

They can be included in the Appendix.

22. RFTP 001, Medicare Atlas, Task 5, Page 4:

Task 5 requires a panel of three external scientific reviewers to review the draft protocol. Does CDC prefer an in-person review panel, or is teleconferencing sufficient? Will the contractor be responsible for paying travel and honoraria for reviewers

Teleconferencing is adequate and acceptable for the scientific review panel meeting.

The contractor is responsible for paying honoria for reviewers.

If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel, the contractor is responsible for all travel costs (including hotels and meals) and travel support for both the contractor's staff and for the panel reviewers. If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel and provides sufficient notice to the CDC Technical Monitor, the CDC Technical Monitor potentially could arrange and locate space at an Atlanta CDC facility for the panel meeting.

This meeting space would be at no charge to the contractor. If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel meeting and the meeting location is not at an Atlanta CDC facility location, the contractor would be responsible for the cost of the meeting space. The CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control would be responsible for paying for any travel by CDC staff to the meeting space.

The contractor is responsible for the cost of recording and transcription (if appropriate) of the panel meeting, so that the contractor can prepare summary minutes of the reviewer comments and the meeting.

23. What is the page limitation for Task Order

#3?

See response to Technical question #15

24. In Section L.9, page 72 it is explained that offerors may submit alternate proposals.

Does this apply to task orders released as part of this opportunity, and can additional information be provided for alternate proposals (e.g. limitations, guidelines for submission)?

In addition to an alternate proposal, the offeror must submit a proposal responding to the RFP requirements as well. This applies to the RFTP as well. Alternate proposals should include information which would provide a more beneficial, cost effective and technically superior approach to accomplishing the project objectives.

The same limitations apply to alternate proposals as regular proposals. An alternate proposal must be labeled as an alternate proposal so as to differentiate it from the basic proposal.

25. Under Management Support on Page 5 of the RFP, the SOW speaks to providing support for external peer reviews. Are these reviews grant reviews, manuscript reviews, or do they cover some other area?

These are primarily peer reviews of manuscripts and documents or Organizational Peer Reviews.

There will be no reviews of grants under these contracts.

26. Under Research Support on Page 6, B.1.a references databases containing cancer data, will the work under this contract not include other chronic disease datasets?

Likewise on Page 7 B.3.4. references submissions to DCPC, will this work not apply to other divisions in NCCDPHP?

All NCCDPHP offices are eligible to utilize this contract, therefore, this should be considered as all datasets.

27. Item F.1 Delivery Schedule provides instructions for submission of monthly reports, will electronic submission of monthly reports be acceptable?

Yes.

28. Are there any specific instructions for responding to the performance based matrix presented in Section C.5?

No. The performance based matrix is the standard by which the contractor’s performance will be judged for the IDIQ contract.

29. In the Task Order Proposals, are letters of intent included in the 15-page limit or should they be submitted as an appendix?

The technical proposal instructions state that only resumes and charts are excluded form the page count.

Letters of intent may be in the appendix.

30. How will the evaluation of the Task Order Proposals factor into the evaluation of the overall IDIQ proposal?

CDC will first evaluate the quality of the response to the IDIQ RFP to determine competitive range.

Then the RFTP proposals from offerors in the competitive range will be evaluated. Good performance on the Task Order proposals is important to ultimate success in being awarded the IDIQ contract.

31. Are these new task orders or follow-on'? If the RFTPs are follow-on's, who is the incumbent?

New task orders.

32. Are offerors required to respond to the No. This solicitation is for a performance based performance based matrix in the RFTP's or is this provided as additional information in response to section G.6 of the IDIQ PWS contract. The Performance Based Matrix (PBM) in the main RFP is the standard by which the contractor’s performance will be judged for the IDIQ contract. The PBM of each task order is the standard by which that task order’s performance is judged. The program office will either flow the PBM from the IDIQ contract to the task order if it is appropriate, or will create a separate PBM that fits the needs of the program office and the task order accordingly. In the case of task orders #1, #2 and #3, the program office has determined that the IDIQ PBM is appropriate.

The proposal response should address how you will meet the performance requirements. The Task Orders are not sample task orders but are actual task orders that will be awarded to successful bidders.

In Task Order 1, regular conference calls are required in Task 3, will a CDC bridge line be available or is the contractor expected to provide a conference call service?

If sufficient advance notice is provided by the contractor to the CDC Technical Monitor, the CDC Technical Monitor can arrange and pay the cost for the conference calls. There are two potential options for phone conference calls, as follows:

Option 1. Nortel Audio Conferencing: With this option, the CDC Technical Monitor would place the call from his regular desk phone, and can conference in up to five phone numbers.

Option 2. Instant Meeting (IM) Audio Conferencing: This is a conference call number that is assigned to the customer for use anywhere anytime. The number and pass codes remain the same. These have a 50 participant limit and CDC ITSO assumes the funding for their use.

Neither Option 1 nor Option 2 include "premiere" conference call features such as "tape recording" or transcription.

In Task Order 1, Task 5 requests the contractor convene a panel of 3 scientific experts, is the contractor expected to provide travel support and meeting space for this panel?

Teleconferencing is sufficient and acceptable for the scientific review panel meeting.

The contractor is responsible for paying honoria for reviewers.

If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel, the contractor is responsible for all travel costs (including hotels and meals) and travel support for both the contractor's staff and for the panel reviewers. If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel and provides sufficient notice to the CDC Technical Monitor, the CDC Technical Monitor potentially could arrange and locate space at an Atlanta CDC facility for the panel meeting.

This meeting space would be at no charge to the contractor. If the contractor proposes an in-person review panel meeting and the meeting location is not at an Atlanta CDC facility location, the contractor would be responsible for the cost of the meeting space. The CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control would be responsible for paying for any travel by CDC staff to the meeting space. The contractor is responsible for the cost of recording and transcription (if appropriate) of the panel meeting, so that the contractor can prepare summary minutes of the reviewer comments and the meeting.

33. In Task Order 2, what level of effort is associated with submitting to peer-reviewed journals?

This RFTP did not request the contractor to prepare or submit the findings of the project to a peer-reviewed journal (s). The application calls for the contractor to prepare and submit a full and comprehensive report of the project.

CDC staff will draft potential manuscript (s) and invite the contractor to be a co-author. If the contractor wishes to take the lead in drafting one of the potential manuscripts, the request will be discussed with CDC. A high level of effort will be associated with completion of the manuscript.

34. For Task Order 3, there are no instructions regarding page limitation or budget format, does CDC have additional instructions in these areas?

The technical proposal may not exceed 35 typewritten single spaced pages.

35. For Task Order 3, how many CD's and notebooks will the contractor be expected to provide in Task 7?

Ten copies of each.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

36. For Task Order 3, please clarify the scope of the clinical aspects, particularly treatment and mortality. Other than treatment effects in survivors, the scope seems to exclude treatment issues, but one area of the background seemed to imply that it was to be included. Please clarify.

Task Order 3 is a study of the experiences of young breast cancer survivors. We are seeking to learn about the psychosocial, treatment effects and informational needs of these women. With regard to the clinical aspects of this project, literature identified in this review should be primarily limited to studies of the effects of various breast cancer treatments on young women. These studies should minimally include those examining the effects of treatment on family planning (including impact of diagnosis on siblings), fertility issues, and treatment decision making among young breast cancer survivors. Studies of cancer mortality are beyond the scope of this project.

37. For Task Order 3, will the contractor have access to articles and electronic journals through CDC's library system?

Access to the CDC Library System will not be made available to contractors for this project. The contractor is expected to have its own access to articles and journals.

38. The Staffing and Management Evaluation Criteria for Task Order 3 states:

"Contractors are to provide information reflecting experience of assigned staff that is appropriate to the complexity, size and subject matter of the proposed work and should include 1) planning and conducting a large-scale survey and recruiting study participants through cancer registries or similar population-based recruitment activities, 2) expertise in behavioral research and survey design, and 3) working with CDC and state cancer registries or other similar large organizations on collaborative behavioral research." Since this Task Order focuses on a literature review and manuscript development, not survey, behavioral research, or cancer registry related activities, are these the correct evaluation criteria?

The evaluation criteria is revised as follows:

Staffing and management: Contractors are to provide information reflecting experience of assigned staff that is appropriate to the complexity, size and subject matter of the proposed work and should include: 1) planning and conducting a large-scale scientific literature review, including the publication of findings from these reviews; 2) expertise in areas of public health, particularly cancer prevention and/or control; and 3) working with CDC or similar large organizations on scientific literature reviews.

See Amendment 00001 dated May 6, 2008.

39. Will the CDC provide sources of data for Phase 1 of RFTP No. 2 (HPV Long-Term Impact Study)?

Yes, CDC will provide sources of data for this phase of the project.

40. Will the CDC provide access to the following required databases for RFTP No.

3: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CancerLit, EMBRASE and HAPI?

No. The contractor must have access to a major medical/research library with privileges to borrow materials, access e-journals and request unavailable materials via inter-library loan.