2021-R-008 - Offeror Questions and Responses - Final.xlsx

XLSX spreadsheet 39 KB Posted Oct 16, 2020

Attached to: Website Development
Solicitation number: 2021-R-008
Issued by: United States Senate

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File	Type	Posted
2021-R-008 Amendment 001.pdf	PDF	Oct 16, 2020
2021-R-008 - Offeror Questions and Responses 10.13.20.xlsx	XLSX spreadsheet	Oct 13, 2020
2021-R-008 - Offeror Questions and Responses.xlsx	XLSX spreadsheet	Oct 7, 2020
2021-R-008 Website Development.pdf	PDF	Sep 18, 2020
Web Dev Attachments.zip	ZIP file	Sep 18, 2020

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Q&A

Question Number	Question	Response	Additional Response
1	What percent of the sites are Drupal vs Wordpress?	The WordPress enterprise platform is new to the Senate - there are no Office websites built on it at this time. Currently there are approximately 40 Senate websites built on Drupal.
2	What is the reasoning for requesting that vendors propose either a Drupal or Wordpress CMS for this site?	The Drupal and Wordpress platforms are provided by the Senate, thus Contractors are not expected to propose a platform. The objective of a shared platform is to simplify and make uniform both the user experience with the CMS, and enterprise platform support.
3	Our firm has developed over 100 websites (including sub-sites) for a Federal Government Agency using a more robust and secure CMS than Drupal or Wordpress. As both a cybersecurity and web development services provider, we highly recommend that the U.S. Senate accepts alternative CMS options proposed by vendors, considering the significant security vulnerabilities within both Drupal and Wordpress platforms. Will the U.S. Senate accept proposals from vendors who propose alternative CMS options (other than Drupal or Wordpress)?	At this time, no, there are no other CMS options for website proposals under this Solicitiation. The Drupal and Wordpress platforms are provided by the Senate, thus Contractors are not expected to propose a platform. The objective of a shared platform is to simplify and make uniform both the user experience with the CMS, and enterprise platform support. The Senate reserves the right to add platforms on an enterprise basis as technologies evolve.
4	Will payments [for work completed] be disbursed on a monthly basis or as a one-time lump sum payment?	All contract line items (CLINs) are to invoiced monthly in arrears of the services provided. Payments will be made as invoices for services rendered are received.
5	Once the website is built and successfully delivered to the Senate Offices, do the timelines & quotes include maintenance/support requests only or do they also include new requirements / functionalities as well?	Requests for Website Maintenance & End-user Support (5 hours or less), Extended Maintenance Requests (6-30 hours), as well as requests deemed to be Substantive Website Revisions (30 hours or more), can be made by an Office with an existing Task Order with purchased Maintenance & End-user Support hours. Substantive Website Revisions may, at the discretion of the Senate, be required to go through the TOPR (Task Order Proposal Request) process.
6	What are the expectations, desired outcomes and method of delivery for trainings? What are the senate procedures around this?	Training and documentation requirements will be detailed in the Office's Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR).
7	Confirming that all images and backups will be hosted on Senate premises (internally) and not on Contractor cloud.	Confirmed.
8	Is there an expectation to have at least one Contractor on-site at all times? If so, must the resource be a US resource only? We have both onshore and offshore remote teams… Can the day-to-day work (implementation or maintenance/support) be done remotely?	There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors. For eligibility guidelines, please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation.
9	Being Indian company, can we participate in this RFP?	Please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation. There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors.
10	Please confirm that any requested presentation/demo will be done online remotely.	All demos and presentations can be done online remotely.
11	Please confirm if implementation of the solution can be done from offshore remotely?	Please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation. There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors.
12	Is the Senate looking for someone to maintain your current solution or interested in looking for a new solution from the ground up?	No, the Senate is only seeking website design and development and maintenance services. The Senate is providing the Drupal and Wordpress platforms, thus Contractors are not expected to propose a platform. The objective of a shared platform is to simplify and make uniform both the user experience with the CMS, and enterprise platform support. The Senate reserves the right to add platforms on an enterprise basis as technologies evolve.
13	Is there a set aside for this opportunity?	No.
14	Is the Government able to address the method of getting newer technical capabilities besides Wordpress or Drupal [accepted]? It seems that this limits your ability to reach your desired audience. Or, is there a means to deliver these are ongoing improvements? These two specified applications while doable will not keep the Government abreast with technical innovations that are a couple years old.	Contractors can propose new CMS platforms to the Senate in writing to the COR. The Senate reserves the right to accept or reject additional platforms as needed.
15	Social media in today’s environment goes well beyond just Facebook and Youtube – the integration of SM to all platforms – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Linkedin is critical. Is the Government looking for an exact view to just those two platforms or one that includes current trends?	Social media applications are considered 3rd party applications. As such, all 3rd party applications in use on Senate websites must be approved by the Committee on Rules and Administration, and are subject to agreement within Senate website user data custody, confidentiality and security regulations. Contractors may submit requests for consideration of additional 3rd party applications to the COR, who will submit those requests to the Rules Committee.
16	Is the Government willing to consider making this a SDVOSB set aside based on the rule of two where two qualified vendors express interest?	The Senate does not offer set asides.
17	Is there an incumbent on all or any of the current work related to this effort? If so, can you please identify that Contractor and Contract number?	This Solicitation is for a new website development contract vehicle, there are no incumbents.
18	Reference B.7: May the vendor offer multiple labor categories and rates under each CLIN (e.g., Drupal Web Developer Sr., Drupal Web Developer Jr., WordPress Developer, Graphic Designer Sr. etc…)? If this is not allowable as a CLIN, please confirm that such service may be offered as an option under subsequent TOPRs.	Yes, an Offeror may propose separate pricing tables for labor categories and rates under each CLIN for both Wordpress and Drupal.
19	Reference C.3 Paragraph 2 (page 5 of 53) & J-001: During the course of this Contract, may the vendor submit alternative Content Management System platforms (other than Drupal or WordPress) for SAA consideration? If so, what is the process to do so?	Contractors can propose new CMS platforms to the Senate in writing to the COR. The Senate reserves the right to accept or reject additional platforms as needed.
20	How many Senate Office websites currently exist?	There are approximately 140 Member and Committee Offices with external websites on the senate.gov domain.
21	How many new websites are typically requested in a given year?	Under the current (expiring) Website Development contract, approximately 100 website rebuilds have been requested per year, however, historical data is not reliably predictive and estimates for the volume of work per year may not be able to be practically assessed for the new contract.
22	What percentage of websites are in Drupal?	Currently there are approximately 40 Senate Websites built on Drupal.
23	What percentage of websites are in WordPress?	The WordPress enterprise platform is new to the Senate - there are no Office websites built on it at this time.
24	Can you provide any details on how hosting is configured currently?	All Senate-approved versions of Drupal and Wordpress can be hosted. The hosting configuration is proprietary information. Please refer to the Web Development Guide (J-001) for further information.
25	Please define the email solution used for newsletters.	Newsletter services are provided by multiple master licensers (MLA), as well as a subset of Contractors holding Constituent Systems and Service (CSS) contracts. Newsletter request data will be integrated by the Senate Enterprise Platform Support (EPS) team to those Contractors and licensers designated by the Office.
26	Please describe how completed WordPress or Drupal websites are delivered to the team that hosts Senate Office websites.	Access will be provided to the CMS through VPN, as well as direct file system access via FTP/SCP. Performance of any and all design and development work must be done on the Senate platform.	The SAA will provide Contractors with an official build of their selected CMS that includes all of the plug-ins, content types, and other configurations required to build a Senate website. Contractors are not expected to provide custom website programming or plug-in development. The staging and production environments for each new Office website will be fully installed and configured by the SAA upon a project award.

27	Do the WordPress and Drupal starter sites exist in an open source git repository for additional review?	No, there are no starter WordPress or Drupal sites for review, and the SAA will not be providing them in the future.
28	Please describe the environments or cloud vendors used to host Senate Office websites.	Both the CMS and the websites themselves will be hosted by Senate Enterprise Platform Support and Services (EPS). Currently, hosting of both are on-premise, not in the cloud.
29	Please provide a list of approved WordPress and Drupal plugins.	At present these are pre-approved plug-ins, any other will need to be approved by SAA EPS:

WordPress Plugins

•	Advanced Custom Fields
•	Contact Form 7
•	Custom Post Type UI
•	Custom Post Type Widgets
•	Ele Custom Skin
•	Elementor
•	Elementor - Header, Footer & Blocks
•	Elementor Pro
•	Essential Addons for Elementor
•	Ocean Extra
•	PDF Generator Addon for Elementor Page Builder
•	UpdraftPlus - Backup/Restore
•	WP All Import Pro
•	Yoast SEO

Drupal Approved Modules

•	Admin Toolbar
•	Block Class
•	Chaos Tool Suite
•	dropzonejs
•	Embed
•	Entity Browser
•	Entity Embed
•	Field Formatter Class
•	Field Group
•	File (Entity) Browser
•	Image Hover Effects
•	Libraries API
•	Metatag
•	Pathauto
•	Rebuild Cache Access
•	Redirect
•	Smart Trim
•	TagClouds
•	Token
•	Token Headers
•	Twitter_Feed
•	Video Embed Field
•	Views Bootstrap
•	Views Bulk Operations
•	Views field formatter
•	Webform
•	Youtube Channel

	Drupal Approved Modules (continued):
•	Image Hover Effects
•	Libraries API
•	Metatag
•	Pathauto
•	Rebuild Cache Access
•	Redirect
•	Smart Trim
•	TagClouds
•	Token
•	Token Headers
•	Twitter_Feed
•	Video Embed Field
•	Views Bootstrap
•	Views Bulk Operations
•	Views field formatter
•	Webform
•	Youtube Channel
	30	What expected levels of communication or support are expected of the Contract outside business hours 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays?	While support is not expected to occur outside working business day hours, the Senate has released a Solicitation Amendment (001) that will require eight (8) post-launch emergency support hours be included with the design and development of a site.
	31	Will Contractors be provided access for installing code into production environments?	No.
	32	Are House.gov websites to be supported by the awarded Contractors?	No. At this time, this Solicitation is only for the United States Senate.
	33	"The SAA will provide Contractors with an official build of their selected CMS that includes all of the plugins, content types, and other configurations required to build a Senate website." Can you provide an inventory of what is included in the official builds of WordPress and Drupal?	Only the core CMS will be provided initially. There are pre-approved plug-ins available for deployment upon request. (See the WordPress plugins and Drupal 8 modules list above). Contractors may submit requests for consideration of additional plug-ins to the COR, who will respond with a decision.
	34	"The SAA will provide Contractors with an official build of their selected CMS that includes all of the plugins, content types, and other configurations required to build a Senate website." If a Senate Office requests a content type, plug-in, functionality, etc. that is not part of the official builds, how is that handled?	Contractors may submit requests for additional plug-ins for consideration to the COR, who will respond with a decision. Additional plug-ins requested by an Office's Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) will be reviewed and determined prior to presenting the Task Order proposal to the Office for award consideration.
	35	Which search applications are used for Senate Office websites internal search boxes?	Search native to WordPress and Drupal; currently Searchblox, and in the future, Cloud-based search will be available.
	36	C.3.11.3.1 mentions "Attachment J-011, Senate Software Supported List,” but has not been provided as RFP source materials. Instead, Attachment J-011 was provided as “Senate Security Background Clearance Documentation.” (H.10.1)	The reference to the Senate Software Supported List was included in the Solicitation in error, and the reference will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.)
	37	Please provide the "Senate Software Supported List" attachment.	The reference to the Senate Software Supported List was included in the Solicitation in error, and the reference will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.)
	38	The Solicitation mentions a “SAA-provided WordPress or Drupal build” in several pages (such as Section C.3 on page 5). Can you please provide as much detail as possible as to what is included in these SAA-provided builds, given that this has an impact on the tools a Contractor will be able to use to build the websites for this Solicitation? Please indicate any plugins, modules, theme(s), templates, CMS version, and any modifications a Contractor should be aware of.	See the pre-approved WordPress plug-ins list and Drupal 8 and above modules list above.

Only the core CMS will be provided initially.

39	Do you release this RFP each year?	Please refer to the second paragraph under Section B.3, Contract Type.
40	What vendors are currently providing these services and are they eligible to continue their services?	This Solicitation is for a new website development contract vehicle, there are no incumbents.
41	Are you happy with your current website vendors or are you seeking three new vendors?	This Solicitation is for a new website development contract vehicle, there are no incumbents.
42	Who performs user support and website maintenance on the Senators’ websites that have already been designed and developed?	Please refer to Section C.3.6, Website Maintenance and End-User Support.
43	What is your anticipated annual budget for this work?	Under the current (expiring) Website Development contract, approximately 100 website rebuilds have been requested per year, however, the development environment under this Solicitation is different from that of the current contract and substantial contract line items (CLINs) have been removed. Therefore, historical data is not reliably predictive and estimates for the volume of work per year may not be able to be practically assessed for the new contract. The frequency of Task Order requests and requirements established therein are at the discretion and funding limitations of the Offices. Please refer to Section B.8 of the Solictation for individual IDIQ Contract ceiling amount.
44	What do you consider website “defects”?	See Section E.1.4 “Defect,” is a website malfunction in which the entire website or parts/components of the website are not functioning properly due to programmer error, improper installation of a website component, or the result of changes made directly or indirectly to the website by the Contractor. Additionally reference Section C.3.5.1.
45	Do you anticipate needing any on-site work, or is all off-site acceptable?	There is no expectation of a Contractor being on site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors. See Sections H.10 and F.2 of the Solicitation.
46	Is this open to vendors outside of the U.S.?	Please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation. There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors.
47	Page 8, C.3.4 - What accessibility guidelines is Senate.gov targeting? (ex. WCAG 2.0 AA)	Please refer to Sections C.3.4 in general and C.3.4.9 specifically.

Additionally, the extent of 508 compliance is at the discretion of the requesting Senate Office and will be detailed in the Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR).

Both WordPress and Drupal have the ability to be 508-compliant but it would be up to the Contractor to take the necessary steps to implement.

In summary, the Senate-provided tools will not limit the Contractor’s ability to make a website compliant, but the onus is on the Contractor to ensure compliance in the content and elements they generate.

If additional tools are required, please refer to Section C.3.11.2 for the process for requesting additional tools. Key Examples:

Alt attributes for images: Both Drupal and WordPress provide tools to add an Alt attribute when uploading images, which provides an alternative description of the image for the visually impaired. It would be the Contractor’s responsibility to take this crucial step when adding assets to the website.

ARIA attributes: Both Drupal and WordPress provide tools that allow for the inclusion of aria-attributes. (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/ARIA) which communicate user interface information to assistive technology like screen readers. The Contractor should keep this in mind when creating new website elements.

48	Page 49, L.7.2.1 - We have strong capabilities and expertise in both Drupal and Wordpress. Each CMS requires different level technical skill - can Offerors propose two cost volumes, one for Drupal technical expertise and one for Wordpress expertise?	Yes, an Offeror may propose separate pricing tables comprised of labor categories and rates for both Wordpress and Drupal under each CLIN.
49	Page 5, C.3 - How many sites are within the “Senate.gov domain”?	Approximately one-hundred and forty (140) would potentially fall under this Contract, depending on Office needs.
50	General - What are the hosting environment requirements for the websites supported under this IDIQ?	The SAA will host all websites supported under this IDIQ.
51	General - How many new website builds do you expect to come out under this IDIQ each year?	Under the current Website Development contract, approximately 100 website rebuilds have been requested per year, however, historical data is not reliably predictive and estimates for the volume of work per year may not be able to be practically assessed for the new contract.
52	General - What has been the average cost of a Senate Office website over the last year? (or range)	The average cost of Senate websites under the current (expiring) Website Development contract are not applicable to the costs for website work under this Solicitation. Substantial contract line items (CLINs) have been removed and the development environment has changed.
53	General - Will all Senate Office websites be built and maintained via this IDIQ?	Senate Offices may choose to have their sites built under this IDIQ Contract or under extensions of the existing website contracts.
54	General - How many companies do you expect to have on this IDIQ?	Please refer to Section B.3 of this Solicitation which states in part: "The SAA may elect to award multiple IDIQ contracts for the same or similar services to three (3) or more sources under this Solicitation. However, the SAA retains the right to award fewer than three (3) awards should it be determined in its best interest."
55	General - May the IDIQ contract-holders elect to bid on some Task Orders, but not others?	Yes, Task Order proposals are submitted at the discretion of the Contractors.
56	Our operational model relies, in part, on sub-contracting with European offshore technical resources to support software development efforts for our clients. Given that there is no specific prohibition found in the RFP or related attachments regarding this matter, will the Senate SAA accept a solution provided by a US-based Federal Contractor that has a European (Switzerland) based sub-contractor to perform software development on this IDIQ Task Orders?	Please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor [or Subcontractor] personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor [or Subcontractor] staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation. There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors [and Subcontractors].
57	For staffing purposes, based on past experience, what is the volume of work requests coming from Senate Offices in a given month?	The volume of work requests per month is affected by numerous factors, to include Senate calendars, elections, budgets, and funding schedules. Moreover, the development environment existing under this Solicitation is different from that of the current (expiring) website contract and substantial contract line items (CLINs) have been removed. Therefore, historical data is not reliably predictive and estimates for the volume of work per month may not be able to be practically assessed for the new contract.
58	Can you share with us the percentage of requests that fall under Web Maintenance & Support vs. those that fall under Substantive Website Revision?	The historical percentage delineation of Website Maintenance & Support vs. Substantive Website Revision under the existing (expiring) website contract is not functionally predictive for the new contract since the development environment under this Solicitation is different from that of the existing contract and substantial contract line items (CLINs) have been removed. Therefore, the percentage delineation of requests are not reliably translatable.
59	Do vendors need to have both Drupal and Wordpress Experience? Or experience with either Drupal or Wordpress?	Vendors can have experience with either or both platforms. Offices requesting services under this IDIQ Contract may state a requirement for, and choose to award based off their particular preference, as shall be detailed in the Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR).
60	Can you share with us the technical architecture the Drupal sites are based upon? For example; are they based on platforms such as Open Public, or Acquia SiteFactory?	Access the CMS through VPN in combination with possible direct file system access via FTP/SCP. Performance of any and all design and development work must be completed using the Senate CMS, platform, and environment.
61	What version of Drupal are the websites based upon?	Drupal 8.x
62	What version of Wordpress are the websites based upon?	The latest version (at current WordPress 5.5).
63	Is there a pattern library to reference when creating common design elements or following guidelines such as this one: "Search results shall be cleanly formatted, presenting the site visitor with results that are distinctly separated and/or grouped by content type"?	No, there is no existing pattern library and the Senate has no plans to implement one.
64	Search Engine Optimization: is scope limited to on-page optimization based on keyword research? or is it as extensive as full SEO campaigns that take place over a period of months?	The Senate follows industry standards but relies on the Offices for guidance and scheduling.
65	"C.3.7.1 In the event that the Senate Office requests the Contractor to provide additional Website Maintenance and End-user Support task(s) that, in their entirety, require more than five (5) hours, but fewer than thirty (30) cumulative hours, the Contractor shall prepare and submit a written proposal to the Office POC (and copy the COR) that details the Office’s request and uses the rates in B.7.1, CLIN 002 (and successors), and the Contractor’s best estimate of the total number of hours required to complete the task(s) under the Firm-Fixed Price or Labor-Hour Task Order." QUESTION: Please clarify. Does this assume that all other maintenance requests will be under five hours?	Maintenance requests requiring less than five (5) hours simply do not require a written proposal and may be completed using purchased Maintenance & End-user Support hours. The Senate cannot anticipate the length and time needed for requested maintenance requests and will be at the discretion of the requesting Office.
66	C.3.10 Substantive Website Revisions - Is there a separate budget for any substantive website revisions? Or does the substantive website revision fall under B.8 - maximum ceiling of each IDIQ contract is $5,637,600?	Substantive website revisions are included in each IDIQ contract ceiling of $5,637,600.
67	Please clarify – Are Task orders for 50 States or 100 individual Senators' websites design, maintenance, and training?	Task Orders may be issued for any of the 100 Senators and 40 Committees/Caucuses electing to utilize web design services under this Contract.
68	"Under B.3 Contract Type: The SAA may elect to award multiple IDIQ contracts for the same or similar services to three (3) or more sources under this Solicitation." "B.8 CONTRACT CEILING AND GUARANTEED MINIMUM - The maximum ceiling of each IDIQ contract is $5,637,600." "Under B.3 the SAA may elect to award multiple IDIQ contracts for the same or similar services to three (3) or more sources under this Solicitation." Can you clarify if each Offeror (potential 3 + award winners) be awarded the max contract ceiling (B.8)? or will the combined Offerors share the maximum ceiling of $5,637,600?	The contract ceiling is the aggregated maximum total per individual IDIQ Contract for the duration of the full multi-year Contract term (base + 5 option years) regardless of the number of Contract-holders under the base IDIQ Contract. However, there is no guarantee of aggregate Task Order award totals in the amount of the contract ceiling for any individual IDIQ Contract-holder. That would only occur in the event that the Contract-holder received all Task Order awards for the full multi-year Contract term.
69	Is there any objection or problem for a Canadian web development company to put in a response to this solicitation?	Please refer to Section H.10 and Section H.10.2.1 specifically: "Contractor personnel are required to be citizens of the United States of America (U.S.) or meet the eligibility requirements for Government of the United States employee compensation as specified in Public Law 111-117, Section 704." For those meeting these requirements as stated, Contractor staff performing work must pass the standard background checks as noted in Section H.10.2.2 and Attachment J-011 of this Solicitation. There is no expectation of a Contractor being on-site. Remote access will be provided to all approved Contractors.
70	Based on our understanding, the vendors selected for this RFP will “win” the opportunity to be on the “approved vendor” list for Senators and Senate Committees to use for website builds and redesigns. Is that an accurate understanding?	Yes, IDIQ Contract-holders will be eligible for award of Senate Offices' Task Order Proposal Requests (TOPRs) for website design, development, maintenance, and training services.
71	If a vendor is “selected” for this RFP, there is no financial commitment of work as a result. Is that correct?	Correct, all work is awarded on a competitive basis at the Task Order level and there is no guarantee of award of any work to any Contract-holder outside of the competitive Task Order selection process.
72	If a vendor is “selected” for his RFP, the vendor must then compete against the other “approved vendors” when a TOPR is issued by the SAA to address a Senator’s or Senate Committee’s request for web design services. It is upon the award of the Task Order that funds will be secured for the selected vendor. Is that correct?	Yes, Task Order award will include funding to the selected Contractor for the Office-approved proposal amount.
74	Are all “approved vendors” required to bid on all TOPRs?	No, Task Order proposals are submitted at the discretion of the Contractors.
75	Will you share historical data for the years 2015-2020 on how many Senators and Senate Committees have requested web design services by year?	Under the current (expiring) Website Development contract, approximately 100 website rebuilds have been requested per year. However, the development environment existing under this Solicitation is different from that of the current contract and substantial contract line items (CLINs) have been removed. Therefore, historical data is not reliably predictive and estimates for the volume of work may not be able to be practically assessed for the new contract.
76	With the upcoming election, is it safe to assume that any “new” (1st time elected) Senators will require web design services?	Yes, all new (freshman) Senators will require a website under the new IDIQ Contract.
77	Per document J-010, is it supposed to be our understanding that no individual TOPR for a website build or redesign will be greater than $40,000?	Attachment J-010, Contractor Office Budget Acknowledgement, was included in the Solicitation in error and will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.)
78	To clarify the above question - regardless of hourly costs, number of website pages, number of web site sections, and complexity of requirements - is the expectation that no website build for a Senator or Senate Committee will exceed $40,000?	Attachment J-010, Contractor Office Budget Acknowledgement, was included in the Solicitation in error and will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.)
79	Per Section I.19(a) on page 38, other organizations are eligible to leverage this Contract including the House of Representatives. Can you provide historical data on the quantity of non-Senator and non-Senate Committee TOPRs that have been serviced by an agreement like this?	None. Other Congressional organizations have not leveraged the Senate website design and development contracts and are not expected to under this IDIQ Contract.
80	For the 2019 election, there were 6 new senators, did all of them have a new website built?	Yes.
81	Is it reasonable to expect there will be significant activity in November after the election and that the expectation will be that websites are live when the new Senators come to Washington in January? If not, can you provide typical timing for work associated for incoming Senators?	In accordance with Senate Rules, only duly sworn-in Senators may utilize or commit payments from any official Senate Office funding source. Therefore, Task Order Proposal Requests (TOPRs) will only be distributed for Offices of duly-sworn in Senators. Thereupon, new Senate Offices will only be able to commence the website design process once they are in office (generally January). Based on the current website contract, the heaviest activity typically occurs during February and March following an election year once the new Senators are settled in.
83	What is the typical amount of time passed from the submission of a TOPR by a Senator/Senate Committee to the SAA to the award of the contract to an approved vendor?	Depending on timely responses from all parties involved, the minimum amount of time is twenty-one (21) days.
84	What is the typical amount of time passed from the point of the award to an approved vendor to the launch of a new website?	Senate Offices will state their desired launch date as part of the requirements provided in the Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) and will choose to award based on respondent's answers to their requirements. Historically, the typical timeline from Task Order award to launch date is 3-6 months.
85	Will [vendors] have access to Web Analytics on current usage of properties? Will it be by Senator? Will [vendors] have access to data on all properties? What tool houses the web analytics data?	WebTrends data will be on a per Office basis on the WebTrends platform. Data will be made available only to the Contractor who has designed/developed a Senate Office site.
86	Are Senate Offices and Committees actively adopting or planning to adopt the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS)?	No.
87	Please provide a list of the versions of WordPress and Drupal that are available for selection.	Currently Drupal 8.x and WordPress 5.5x. These will be updated as newer versions are made available.
88	Please provide a list of all plug-ins for WordPress that are available for use in the buildout of web sites.	Currently the below list reflects the list of plug-ins that have been pre-approved, any other will need to be approved by the SAA: • Advanced Custom Fields

• Contact Form 7

• Custom Post Type UI

• Custom Post Type Widgets

• Ele Custom Skin

• Elementor

• Elementor - Header, Footer & Blocks

• Elementor Pro

• Essential Addons for Elementor

• Ocean Extra

• PDF Generator Addon for Elementor Page Builder

• UpdraftPlus - Backup/Restore

• WP All Import Pro

• Yoast SEO

89	If in the event, the recommended experience requires a plug-in that is NOT currently available, is there a process to get said plug-in approved and available for use?	Contractors may submit requests for additional plug-ins for consideration to the COR, who will respond with a decision. Additional plug-ins requested by an Office's Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) will be reviewed and determined prior to presenting the Task Order proposal to the Office for award consideration.
90	If a Senator or Senate Committee requests updates to an existing site, are there any other technologies outside of WordPress and Drupal that we would be required to support?	No.
91	If another [Government entity] leverages this Contract, will they be required to use WordPress and/or Drupal?	Any organization or entity leveraging this IDIQ Contract would be required to abide by the requirements established therein. However, at this time, this IDIQ Contract is only for use by the United States Senate.
92	Are the provided technology solutions guaranteed to be section 508 compliant or will customization be expected to ensure compliance?	The extent of 508-compliance is at the discretion of the requesting Office. Both WordPress and Drupal have the ability to be 508-compliant but it would be up to the Contractor to implement appropriately.
93	If another [Government entity] leverages this contract, will all elements that are provided by the SAA for senate.gov (hosting, CMS setup, etc.) be provided by the other [Government entity] as well?	Any organization or entity leveraging this IDIQ Contract would be required to abide by the requirements established therein. However, at this time, this IDIQ Contract is only for use by the United States Senate.
94	For load testing, can you provide the standard protocols that you leverage to ensure volume can be supported?	Please see Section C.3.5.7, Post-Production Monitoring Period.
95	On page 16 of 2021-R-008, it indicates that J-011 is the “Senate Software Supported List”; however, in the provided documents, J-011 is “Senate Security Background Clearance Documentation”. Can we be provided with the “Senate Software Supported List”?	The reference to this Senate Software Supported List was included in the Solicitation in error and the reference will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.)
96	Can training videos be produced and supplied as “documentation” for training purposes?	It at the Office's discretion whether they find video documentation acceptable. All requirements will be detailed in the Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) and Offices will choose to award based on respondent's answers to their requirements. As long as the details are made clear in the TOPR response, the Office can make an informed decision.
97	May we assume a base level of familiarity with the CMS platforms (WordPress/Drupal) and that our training will primarily cover the administration of this specific site setup?	Offerors can expect some staff-familiarity with the CMS platforms. Contract-holders should be prepared to train Senate staff on any Senate Office-requested items, with proposals leveraging the specific Training CLINs.
98	Could you clarify the stated $40,000 in the document J-010 Contractor Office Budget Acknowledgement.pdf? We need clarification between that amount and the one listed within your RFP on page 4 (B.8) for $5.6m.	Attachment J-010, Contractor Office Budget Acknowledgement, was included in the Solicitation in error and will be removed. (See Solicitation Amendment 001.) There will not be any limitation on the awarded amount of any Task Order. Requirements for all Task Orders are at the discretion and funding limitations of the requesting Office. The contract ceiling, by contrast, is the aggregated maximum total per individual IDIQ Contract-holder for the duration of the full multi-year Contract term (base + 5 option years) regardless of the number of Contract-holders under the base IDIQ Contract. However, there is no guarantee of aggregate Task Order award totals in the amount of the contract ceiling for the full multi-year Contract term for any individual IDIQ Contract-holder. That would only occur in the event that the Contract-holder received all Task Order awards.
99	C.3.6.4 - 15 minute response time on issues. Does this mean resolution work needs to commence within 15 minutes or solely that it has been responded and acknowledged to within 15 minutes?	Human acknowledgement (vs. automated response) of the reported issue must be provided within fifteen (15) minutes.
100	Is there an incumbent for this Contract? If yes, are they allowed to bid on this Solicitation?	This Solicitation is for a new website development contract vehicle, there are no incumbents.
101	Please share the details of the incumbent if available.	This Solicitation is for a new website development contract vehicle, there are no incumbents.
102	Are references of teaming partners/subcontractors acceptable?	Yes, references of teaming partners/subcontractors will be considered and evaluated. However, in order to fully satisfy the stated Past Performance requirements, the prime Contractor must supply five (5) of its own recently awarded active and relevant contracts that are less than three (3) years old. References of teaming partners/subcontractors will not satisfy the stated requirements for the prime Contractor, but will be considered independently for acceptance.
103	What types of positions/labor categories are required for this project?	Labor categories/positions shall be supplied and specified by the Offeror and should be detailed under Technical and Management Approach (L.7.1.2.1), Qualifications and Resumes of Proposed Staff (L.7.1.3), and Price Proposal (L.7.2.1), as applicable.
104	Can you please share the job description for all the required positions?	Offerors shall supply and specify the labor categories/positions required for completion of all work identified in Section C and provide adequate support and justification for all proposed staffing/rates.
105	How many resumes per category are required to be submitted with the proposal?	Offerors shall supply and specify all proposed labor categories and appropriately document the qualifications of any proposed staff.
106	On page 48 (L.7.1.4) of the RFP, it states to have 5 past performances. We are very fluent in the requirements, but currently have 3 past performances to submit. Would those 3 be acceptable for the criteria?	Five (5) past performance references are required to fully satisfy the stated requirements described in Section L.7.1.4. All submitted references will be considered and evaluated.
107	C.3.4.7 - Can you clarify what you mean by search ranking relevancy. Are you looking for something outside of the default search capability of Drupal or Wordpress?	Relevancy would be at the Office's direction (e.g. perhaps they want certain materials to always appear at the top of a search for 'agriculture', etc). The Contractor may propose a new tool/plug-in to extend the utility of the WordPress and/or Drupal search by submitting a request to the COR and it will be at the SAA's discretion to extend the utility of the WP and Drupal search results if deemed appropriate. However if this is the case, an approved tool/plugin will be provided to Contractors with the site build. Contractors will NOT be required to research, develop, or install any tool on their own.
108	Per J-001: Design Mock-ups: "All new and replacement website projects shall include a design approval phase. The Contractor will supply clickable, responsive mockups of the home page and at least one sub-page, and any other mockups requested by the Office."

"Design elements such as colour palettes, button shapes, curves, shadows, fonts, etc. shall be approved by the Office point of contact (“POC”) before web development can continue."

If these are part of project requirements and under the hourly budget, is there a reason why they were broken out? This is pretty standard to development and deployment.	This was not included in J-001 to distinguish it from the requirement in C.3.4.11 - they are the same requirement.
	109	Question about CMS and the use of Drupal or WordPress, is there any information that will be added to the site that might be considered confidential? And confidential at a Government level? If so, we would highly not recommend either CMS, they are pretty old and open technology that is easily hacked.	These are for externally facing Senate websites - no confidential information will be posted by Offices on these sites.
	110	Social Media Integration - Guidelines presented seem to be for the poster and nothing to do with integration. It would be up to you to supply the 3rd party accounts. Vendors can not be responsible for Facebook, Twitter or YouTube safety in regards to Senate standards - they are opt in systems and have nothing to do with the vendor. Why is this a requirement of a vendor?	The social media integration section of J-001 details which applications are currently approved by the Senate, and the process by which Offices may request the inclusion of additional applications. Technical requirements of the Contractor are limited to the integration of those applications, on behalf of the Office.
	111	Does the SAA expect that each requested website will have a custom look and architecture or can the sites be contained within a general US Senate branded template to help keep the sites around the expected $40,000 maximum budget?	The "look" and architecture of each requested website will be determined by each Office. There is no Senate template, nor is there a specific/targeted budget for each website.
	112	Is the Sample Requirements Questionnaire on attachment J-007 close to the final that will be used for Task Order Proposal Requests? The features listed in the questionnaire would help scope a general price estimate within the expected budget.	Yes, but the Senate reserves the right to update it as needed going forward. There is no specific/targeted budget for each website.
	113	Due to restrictions on user data collection, is it safe to expect that there will be no need for monthly or quarterly user analytical reports?	WebTrends data will be available on a per Office basis. Data will be made available only to the Contractor who has designed/developed, or provides end-user support to, a Senate Office site, at the discretion of the Office.
	114	Can we use the native WordPress JSON API to build a separate front-end hosted inside the Senate?	Not at this time. Elementor is the approved page builder. Others will be evaluated and approved/denied on a case-by-case basis.

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EPS INPUT REQUIRED

115	Are we able to upload and use both WordPress parent & child themes?	Yes.
116	What caching options will be available to WordPress sites?	Internal caching & clearing can be done within the app via a plugin for this function.

External view caching and cache clearing is with Akamai.

117	General - Is there a specific template that is used for the Senator office websites? Or is it expected that each task order will have unique requirements based on the office needs?	The "look" of each requested website will be determined by each Office. There is no Senate template.
118	General - Do you expect some IDIQ holders to only work with Senators from only one political party?	No.

File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated Oct 16, 2020.