NSDUH Questions and Answers for RFP 283-22-0568 _Amendment 1.docx

RFP No. 283-22-0568 Amendment 1

Questions and Answers for RFP 283-22-0568

1. Please confirm that a compliance matrix to aid evaluators can be included as part of the Table of Contents and not count toward the Technical Proposal 100-page limit.

Answer: The compliance matrix does count towards the page limit and should be included as part of the technical proposal. The page limit has been increased to 125 pages. Page 66 of the RFP has been revised to reflect this update.

2. Page 65 of the RFP requires person loading charts for each year of the proposed project with hours for each Task and each Optional Task. Given the expected length of that detailed information (approximately 20 pages), please confirm the loading charts can be provided in an appendix and not count toward the Technical Proposal 100-page limit.

Answer: The loading charts are to be included in the technical proposal and do count towards the page limit. The page limit has been increased to 125 pages. Page 66 of the RFP has been revised to reflect this update.

3. Page 68 of the RFP calls for resumes for key personnel, and page 80 of the RFP calls for resumes for all personnel. Please confirm that only resumes for key personnel are required.

Answer: Resumes are required for all proposed personnel. Resumes are not included in the page count. Page 67 and page 80 of the RFP have been revised to reflect this update.

4. Page 73, number 9 in the RFP states that separate submissions of proposals by subcontractors or collaborative partners is not permitted, and proposals submitted in that manner will not be accepted or further considered by the Government. Please confirm that separate sealed proposals from subcontractors are allowed.

Answer: Separate sealed proposals are permitted. Please follow the instructions on page 71 of the RFP for Subcontractor proposal submissions. Also, see attachment 21.

5. Page 74 of the RFP requests contracts as past performance references. Would the Agency also consider projects operating under Cooperative Agreements as Past Performance references?

Answer: Yes, as long as the contractor was responsible for at least 50% of the work being completed and it is of similar size and scope to the NSDUH requirement.

6. Page 74 of the RFP requires a Contractor Performance Information Form from each past performance reference. To relieve burden on our references, would it be acceptable to use a Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) as an alternative to the Contractor Performance Information Form?

Answer: Please submit the Contractor Performance Information Form as this form is required for submission with proposals.

7. Page 74 of the RFP requires a Contractor Performance Information Form 10 days after the due date of the proposal. Page 1 of Attachment 9 requires the Form on the due date of the proposal. Please confirm Contractor Performance Information Forms are due 10 days after the due date of the proposal.

Answer: The Contractor Performance Information Form will be accepted up to 10 days after the due date of the proposal.

8. Attachment 3_Wage Determination references the 2020 rates. RFP page 40 includes FAR 52.222-55, which states following Minimum Wages under EO 13658. Please confirm that we are to adhere to the rates in Attachment 3.

Answer: The values put in Attachment 3 are the most up to date on the current contract and are updated annually.

9. Page 1 of the Performance Work Statement includes Expert Consultant Meetings under the 2023 NSDUH Base Survey Task 1. The Expert Consultant task is included under the 2024 NSDUH, 2025 NSDUH, and 2027 NSDUH. It is not included under the PWS under the 2026 NSDUH. The deliverable schedule includes reports for expert consultant meetings under the 2026 NSDUH. Please confirm that we should include expert consultant meetings under the 2026 NSDUH as specified in the deliverable schedule and the other survey years.

Answer: SAMHSA confirms that we should include expert consultant meetings under the 2026 NSDUH as specified in the deliverable schedule and the other survey years.

10. Can you please provide us with the contract value for this opportunity?

Answer: The offeror is expected to use prior experience in this type of endeavor to estimate the cost and pricing.

11. Is there an incumbent?

Answer: Yes, the incumbent is RTI International.

12. Will there be any Socio-Economic considerations (WOSB, SB)?

Answer: This requirement will not be set aside. However, as outlined on page 75 of the RFP there will be subcontracting goals for this requirement.

13. Is there a Value for this solicitation?

Answer: The offeror is expected to use prior experience in this type of endeavor to estimate the cost and pricing.

14. Attachment 9 (page 2) says the technical proposal is limited to 60 pages while the Section L (page 66) says the technical proposal is limited to 100 pages. Could SAMHSA please clarify instructions?

Answer: The page limit for the technical proposal has been increased to 125 pages. Please see the revised copy of attachment 9.

15. The instructions note “For the purpose of this solicitation, a "major subcontract" is defined as a subcontract in excess of $750,000.” Please clarify if that is $750,000 over the entire period of performance, or for a single Survey Option (Base, Survey Option 1, 2, 3 or 4).

Answer: This is $750,000 over the entire period of performance.

16. Section L of the RFP Instructions identifies 1,100 Dell Latitude Laptops, 20 Lenovo ThinkPads and 30 BENQ DLP Projectors will be used in the 2022 and 2023 survey data collection. A new fleet will be purchased and deployed for the 2025 data collection.

*Please note that the Government Furnished Property (GFP) section on page 72 of the RFP has been updated to include that the GFP transferred is to be used under this contract during the 2023 and 2024 survey year data collections.

a. Please confirm that the Dell Latitude Laptops are the devices used by field staff to conduct both screener and person-level interviews?

Answer: The laptops are used for interviews. There are Samsung Galaxy tablets that are used for screening.

b. Please confirm that 20 ThinkPads are used to support field staff training.

Answer: We cannot confirm the current use of the ThinkPads.

c. Please identify any other government furnished property used for field data collection that will transfer, if any.

Answer: Samsung Galaxy Tablets will be furnished for NSDUH screening.

17. Regarding the Android devices, will these be provided with all necessary software to perform NSDUH tasks, and to secure data at rest and during transmission?

Answer: Yes.

a. Also, will the contractor be responsible for managing software and configuration policies on the Androids?

Answer: Yes.

b. Should we budget for data plans for the Android?

Answer: Yes.

18. Table 3.1, sample size by state by age group; Optional year’s totals differ from those shown in the Base Year. Please confirm the intention are the counts shown in the Base Year table?

Answer: Please refer to the updated PWS.

19. In Task 1 of the Base Survey (page 8), Optional Survey 1 (page 35), Optional Survey 2 (page 63), and Optional Survey 4 (page 115), SAMHSA describes the convening of Expert Consultant Meetings and Technical Expert Panel meetings. Please confirm that these meetings are not to be held in Optional Survey 3? In addition, both the Expert Consultant Meetings and the Technical Expert Panel are described as occurring “during this survey phase.” Does that refer to the survey year or is there a specific “phase” they occur in? Can you please explain the difference between the experts that participate in the Expert Consultant Meetings and the Technical Expert Panel?

Answer: Please refer to the updated PWS.

20. “Loading charts must be provided for each year of the project and provide hours for each Task and each Optional Task in the PWS.” Please confirm that the staff loading charts can be included as an appendix and not part of the page count.

Answer: The loading charts are included as part of the page count. The page count has been increased to 125 pages. Page 66 of the RFP has been revised to reflect this update.

21. The HHS Section 508 Product Accessibility Template provided in Attachment 17 is dated July 2007. The current Voluntary Product Accessibility Template Revised Section 508 Edition (Version 2.4) has replaced the version given in Attachment 17. Should we use the Version 2.4 VPAT or the version provided in Attachment 17?

Answer: Attachment 17 is the most up to date HHS approved form.

22. The date range that Optional Tasks 1 and 2 can be exercised does not match between the PWS and the RFP for the Optional Surveys. For example, the RFP page 6 says Optional Task 1.1 (CLIN0012) is exercisable between 10/1/2022 and 9/30/2023, but the PWS page 58 says 10/1/2024 and 9/30/2025. The PWS dates are more consistent with the dates for the base survey. Please confirm which dates are correct.

Answer: Please refer to the updated RFP.

23. Can you provide the proportion of household screeners completed by web, versus in-person since the introduction of web?

Answer: SAMHSA aims for 30% web vs 70% in-person (dependent on the COVID 19 pandemic).

24. Can you provide the proportion of interviews completed by web, versus in-person since the introduction of web?

Answer: SAMHSA aims for 30% web vs 70% in-person (dependent on the COVID 19 pandemic).

25. Have there been any comparisons between the web and in-person (ACASI) topline measures? If so, can you provide a short summary?

Answer: N/A – No comparisons done at this time. Future analysis based upon successive data collection will provide more information on mode effects.

26. Can the list of reference citations be excluded from the page count?

Answer: The above-mentioned attachments do not count towards the page count.

27. The main RFP contains no reference to cloud computing or storage. Attachment 1d (Part 1, Section III.B) has a general requirement “to migrate the system to SAMHSA’s environments (e.g. SAMHSA cloud, SAMHSA local data center, or other SAMHSA approved platforms) within the base year” with a possible exception for highly sensitive data. What is the cloud computing and services requirement for NSDUH?

Answer: N/A since NSDUH is under CIPSEA and cannot be uploaded to cloud services. This can be further discussed at the kickoff meeting.

28. The following link was included in the solicitation: http://archive.samhsa.gov/it/samhsa-technology-standards-external.pdf. However, the link is not a working link. Can the government please provide this document as a pdf attachment or provide a working link so that offerors may access the document directly?

Answer: The full document titled “SAMHSA-Technology-Standards-2019” is included for reference.

29. Please confirm that the Schedule can be included as an appendix. If it can’t be an appendix, can it be excluded from the page count?

Answer: The schedule is to be included in the technical proposal and not as an appendix. The technical proposal page limit has been increased to 125 pages.

30. Page 68 indicates resumes for all key personnel are required. Page 80 states that resumes are required for all staff. Please confirm which staff require resumes.

Answer: Resumes are required for all proposed personnel.