MCTA - Amendment 00002.doc

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

PAGE OF PAGES

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

00002

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

07/10/2008

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

FORMTEXT

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PGO)

Office of Director

2920 Brandywine Road, Rm 3000

Atlanta, GA 30341-5539

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PGO)

Office of Director

2920 Brandywine Road, Rm 3000

Atlanta, GA 30341-5539

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

X

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

2008-N-10241 9B. DATED (See Item 11) 04/30/2008

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (See Item 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers 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 Items 8 and 15, and returning 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 ACKNOWLEGMENT

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.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A.

THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN

B.

THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C.

THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D.

OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor

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

a. The purpose of this amendment is provide clarifications and responses to certain questions asked by the offerors for which a response was provided in Amendment 00001 to the solicitation and for which follow-up questions have been received.

b. Sample Task Order 2, at Attachment J5 to the solicitation, is amended to include a narrative description for Similar Experience as follows:

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

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

16A. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BY ___________________________________________

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

PREVIOUS EDITION UNUSABLE

30-105 Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Similar Experience: Offerors are to describe their ability to manage and provide technical assistance through experience(s) similar to the sample task orders. Offerors are to describe their ability to track and gather information and develop materials and documents for presentation to senior management. This factor will be evaluated for the extent of involvement and ability in work similar to that of the sample task order.

c. Section L, para.L.7, is revised to delete (e) Resumes (Curriculum Vitae) for labor categories specified at Attachment J1, as one of the documents to be included as part of the Business Proposal.

d. For the sample Request for Task Order Proposals, ODCs may be listed as a separate line item.

Follow-up Questions for Sol No. 2008-N-10241 Set 16

ANS: No. Section L, para. L.5 refers to the technical proposal. No data available to specify magnitude of workload for the 20 tasks listed in the PWS. Available historical workload data is provided at Attachment J3 to the solicitation.

ANS: Yes.

ANS: No.

ANS: Minimum essential qualifications are already provided at Attachment J2 to the solicitation. Resumes are required for the individuals proposed to perform the required tasks identified in the Statement of Work.

ANS: See para.b above.

Set 17

Q158: Amendment 1, item e, Revised Technical Approach Instructions reads "The offeror's staffing will be compared for a proper mix of hours and classifications against an independent Government estimate." It is difficult to propose hours against the current requirements provided in the RFP Performance Work Statement without further knowledge of the specific work and deliverables to be completed. Do these instructions apply to the RFTPs or the IDIQ Performance Work Statement or the IDIQ Performance Work Statement?

ANS: The IDIQ Performance Work Statement.

Q159: In Amendment 1, there are several answers that instruct the offeror to provide resumes in the Business volume; however, the Technical Proposal instructions in the RFP (Section L.5) make several references about resumes and curriculum vitae. Are we to provide resumes in both the Business volume and the Technical Proposal volume?

ANS: Curriculum vitaes in response to the Technical Proposal part should be submitted in Volume 1, Technical Proposal.

Q160: The answer to Q143 states that all other direct costs should be included in our proposed labor hour rate. Based on the Performance Work Statement requirements, ODCs under this contract could include meeting space for convening groups of individuals, audiovisual equipment, domestic or international travel to engage grantees or CDC partners during assessments or technical assistance projects, conference call expenses, printing of materials, as well as many other unknown expenses. These total costs for ODC expenses could vary from task order to tasks order and it is impossible to estimate at this time how much ODC expense may be incurred in future task orders. Therefore, it is impossible to incorporate other direct cost allowances into loaded labor hourly rates. Will CDC re-consider this position and allow ODCs to be included in firm fixed price task orders?

ANS: Yes. A separate line item for ODCs that are not well defined may be included in the response to the Sample Task Order Request for Proposals.

Q161: The answer to Q14 states that the offeror is not allowed to propose multiple levels of labor rates for each category to allow for separate rates for junior, mid-level and senior staff that may be working under this contract. We are concerned that this approach may not allow us to provide the most cost-efficient service to the government as we will need to ensure our rates allow for senior level staff to provide services to the government. Will CDC allow the offeror to discount rates when bidding on RFTPs so that we can present a cost-efficient bid on future work? Or will CDC re-consider the previous answer and allow the offeror to bid multiple levels of rates for each category?

ANS: Attachment J2 provides the minimum experience levels and qualifications required for each labor category. While each task order may require variations in the proficiency levels, for the purpose of proposal submission and evaluation, hourly rates provided should be based on the information provided at Attachment J2.

Q162: In order to allow a “level playing field” for all offerors, can CDC provide narratives of expectations for proficiency levels for each of the categories of labor included in the RFP that can be used in preparing proposed hourly rates? This will enable each offeror to propose the same level of proficiency for the rates.

ANS: No. See above response at Q161.

Q163: In Amendment 1, there are several answers that state we must provide loaded labor rates by category for pricing of the RFTPs. Does CDC also want us to provide a full cost estimate to include loaded rates (including estimated ODCs) times proposed hours and a total cost for the task order? ANS: See para. c, page 2 of the amendment. Do these loaded rates need to be the same rates proposed for these categories as included in our price proposal for the RFP?

ANS: No.

Q164: Q74 state documentation showing how rates were derived to be presented in the Business Proposal. Please provide additional instruction on what pieces of documentation are required.

ANS: Reference para. d, fourth paragraph and para. f of Amendment 0001, Completeness. Offerors are responsible for reading the solicitation entirely and responding accordingly.

Set 18

Q165: Regarding the travel, materials and other direct costs (ODCs) required to accurately estimate the cost of the 2 sample tasks under Solicitation Number 2008-N-10241, we request clarification of the government’s answer to Q143, in Amendment 1. The question and answer provided are as follows:

Q143: Please clarify: will the government allow "Other direct costs (ODCs)" in their firm fixed priced task orders?

A: No. Loaded hourly rates should include all associated costs in performance of the contract.

Our concern is that the CDC is asking contractors to factor ODC costs into their rates. However, all tasks are going to have different ODC requirements. Additionally, without knowing what the historical ODC costs are in relationship to the labor costs, we can’t possibly determine an accurate percentage to use in loading our final rates.

This puts us, and any other bidder, at a disadvantage in competition against firms that have incumbent contractors on their teams, since those teams will have access to this information.

We request that the government allow ODC’s to be bid separately on the RFTPs, and that historical ODC costs and labor costs be provided to all of the bidders.

ANS: Correction: "Other direct costs (ODCs)" may be quoted in subsequent firm fixed priced task orders. For purposes of submitting a proposal in response to the solicitation, the offerors are required to provide loaded hourly labor rates. The supporting data to be furnished should specify all costs associated with performance based on those tasks identified in the statement of work. After award, each task order proposal will be evaluated in accordance with information provided in Section H, para. H.13. Each task order proposal may be different in regards to required tasks, categories of labor, on-site versus off-site, etc. On the previous procurement, a total of 4 awards were made and numerous task orders (in excess of 150) were issued amongst the contractors. There is no cumulative historical data for ODCs or labor costs that are available to provide to the offerors.

Set 19 Q166: Is it mandatory that bidders have a SBA Certified 8(a) letter? I am self-certified as 8(a) based on the eligibility requirements.

ANS: Please refer to Amendment 0001 which was issued on 2 July 2008. Evidence of SBA certification as an 8(a) vendor is required.

Q167: Since there will be multiple awards, can I alone, as a self-certified 8(a) designated vendor, bid only on the Technical Writing, Project Manager and limited hours on Management Analyst categories for off-site/remote work?

ANS: Vendors must respond to the solicitation in total. Multiple awards will be made for the total requirement.

Q168: And in Attachment 3, the position for Management/ Analyst Consultant is 40,040 hours. Is this a misprint? That would be over 200 hours per week in subsequent option years.

ANS: Attachment 3 references the total number of hours that may be utilized for a particular period. The hours specified may require more than one person to accomplish a particular task order.

Set 20 Q170: Please provide clarification to Question 130 regarding percentage of staff that has to be in place by award of the IDIQ vehicle; staff listed being contingent; and whether staff can be added as task orders are issued.

ANS: In addition to statement provided in Amendment 00001 responding to the above questions, the contractor must be prepared to respond within the timeframes identified in each request for task order proposal. For purposes of response to the solicitation, offerors must provide resumes for those personnel planned to perform the tasks identified in the statement of work.

Q171: Please provide clarification to Questions 75 and 95 regarding key personnel.

ANS: Key personnel are those personnel considered to be essential to work performance. Section H, para. H.17, last sentence referring to key personnel as “on-site managers and inspectors or similar positions of responsibility”, is hereby deleted.

Q172: Please provide clarification to Q. 101 regarding fully loaded labor rates.

ANS: Fully loaded labor rates must include all applicable fringes.

ITEM 10A.