RFP 283-25-0642 Questions - Answers.pdf

RFP 283-25-0642

Questions & Answers

1. Question: With the multiple holidays between issuance of the solicitation and the early 3

January 2025 due date, we would respectfully request a 2-week extension of the proposal due date. Also, we assume that it may take HHS at least a week to get Q&A responses to industry which would be December 19th and we assume an amendment would accompany the Q&A to accommodate any changes. And the proposal also requires extensive response content, up to 60 pages for Technical Proposal with various plans/sections required and extensive Business Proposal content requirements. So given the holidays, Q&A, and proposal rigor impacts – we do please request you issue a 2-week extension at the earliest possible time. Answer: Due to the time constraint on awarding the new contract, we are not able to extend the due date. The due date remains January 3, 2025.

2. Question: L3e. Please confirm only the Project Director is considered key personnel and the resume for that individual is the only resume required. Answer: Per M.2.a., Technical Evaluation Criteria, resumes of all proposed staff are required. The PD is not the only Key Personnel, the Offeror is to provide names and resumes for all individuals under L3.e.1-3.

3. Question: L3e2. Please confirm names are not required for “Other Professionals” and that a list of positions, qualifications, and estimated time commitment is sufficient. Answer: That is not correct, L3.e2 is under the Key Personnel section and names and resume are required.

4. Question: L4k. Given our customer’s time commitments, we respectfully request the Government accept CPARs and/or previously completed PPQs in lieu of Attachment 10. Answer:

Attachment 10 is the Contractor Past Performance Form. Per the instructions, Attachment 10 should be submitted. However, if the Offeror has a finalized CPARS that can be attached to the proposal in lieu of Attachment 10.

5. Question: Please confirm the location for performance. Will it be Government site or Contractor site? Answer: Contractor’s site.

6. Question: One of the deliverables mentioned in the PWS under Task 3.2 is a Technical Review Summary Report. Could you provide a blank template of the Technical Review Summary Report?

This will help us examine the level of effort required to complete this deliverable. Answer: The Technical Review Summary Report fee of $300 is included in PWS. See Assumption Chart under 3.2.

7. Question: Under Task 3.3 of the PWS, written notes are required capturing reviewers’ comments and discussions, as well as compiling the reviewers’ technical reviews. Could you please provide the average page length of:

a) The notes capturing the reviewers’ comments? Answer: This is dependent on the evaluation criteria and number of evaluation factors and sub-factors.

b) The compiled section of comments? Answer: The Technical Review Summary Report fee of $300 is included in PWS. See Assumption Chart under 3.3.

8. Question: For the aforementioned notes, would a series of bullets suffice, or would a narrative summary also be needed? Answer: A series of bullets is acceptable.

9. Question: On average, how long after the initial meeting do the reconvenes take place? Is it a few days following the meeting or could the period span weeks? Answer: The reconvene period can span weeks.

10. Question: Can the in-person meetings held in the Washington DC metropolitan area be attended virtually by the writers (e.g., via Zoom)? Answer: No, the writers will need to attend the in-person meeting. See budget assumptions under Task 10.4

11. Question: Will any of the meetings or reconvenes be held concurrently or are they all sequential? Answer: The meetings or reconvenes can be held concurrently depending on the peer/objective review meeting schedule. The 12 IDIQ meetings will run concurrently for 5 (five) days. See Assumption Chart under Task 4.1.

12. Question: With the exception of the Technical Review Summary Report, the notes, and the compiled reviews, will the writers be responsible for any other editing, copyediting, or proofreading of any other documents? Answer: No.

13. Question: What would be an example of performance that “exceeds standards by a substantial margin” in tasks that are measured by submission time and 90% error rate? Answer:

Deliverables submitted ahead of due date and 100% error free.

14. Question: Will the existing Reviewer and Technical Writer Database hosted at SAMHSA be shared during the handover process from the incumbent companies? Answer: Yes.

15. Question: Over the past 2 years, which of the Core Disciplines have Peer Reviewers most frequently been needed for? Answer: Please assume all Core Disciplines are required to meet SAMHSA’s technical review needs under the Peer Review Process.

16. Question: PWS: Does the Government expect a similar level of effort for the tasks that were performed under the incumbent contracts? Answer: Offerors are to determine the level of effort to propose based on the PWS.

17. Question: RFP, L.4.k.: Would the government consider past performance directly related to this work older than 5 years, so as not to unduly favor the incumbent contractors? Answer: If an Offeror doesn’t have similar experience within the last 3 years as mentioned in L.4.k, then they can provide older experience, no older than 8 years.

18. Question: RFP, L.4.k.a.: Is the government asking for the 3 most recent chronological contracts from the prime offeror, in addition to any and all current/ongoing contracts? Typically, offerors are able to select the contracts they want to include in their proposals, but this requirement is very specific. Answer: That is correct. Per L.4.k, the government is asking for last three (3) contracts and subcontracts completed during the past THREE (3) years and ALL CONTRACTS currently in process that are similar in nature to the solicitation work scope.

19. Question: RFP, SF 33: Due to the timing of this RFP, would the government consider extending the due date by two weeks to January 17 to accommodate the upcoming federal holidays?

Answer: Due to the time constraint on awarding the new contract, we are not able to extend the due date. The due date remains January 3, 2025.

20. Question: RFP, L.3.5.e.: Are resumes and/or payroll records required for non-key personnel?

Answer: Per M.2.a., Technical Evaluation Criteria, resumes of all proposed staff are required. Per L.4.b.1., Payroll documentation must be provided for all proposed personnel.

21. Question: PWS, 3.2: Could you provide a blank template of the Technical Review Summary Report? This will help us examine the level of effort required to complete this deliverable.

Answer: See response to question no. 6.

22. Question: PWS, 3.3: Per the PWS, written notes are required capturing reviewers’ comments and discussions, as well as compiling the reviewers’ technical reviews. Could you please provide the average page length of:

a) The notes capturing the reviewers’ comments? Answer: See response to question no. 7.

b) The compiled section of comments? Answer: See response to question no. 7.

23. Question: PWS, 3.3: For the aforementioned notes, would a series of bullets suffice, or would a narrative summary also be needed? Answer: See response to question no. 8.

24. Question: PWS, 3.3: On average, how long after the initial meeting do the reconvenes take place? Is it a few days following the meeting or could the period span weeks? Answer: See response to question no. 9.

25. Question: PWS, 10.4: Can the in-person meetings held in the Washington DC metropolitan area be attended virtually by the writers (e.g., via Zoom)? Answer: See response to question no. 10.

26. Question: PWS, 10.4: Will any of the meetings or reconvenes be held concurrently, or are they all sequential? Answer: See response to question no. 11.

27. Question: PWS, 10.4: With the exception of the Technical Review Summary Report, the notes, and the compiled reviews, will the writers be responsible for any other editing, copyediting, or proofreading of any other documents? Answer: See response to question no. 12.

28. Question: Which staff need to be onsite? Answer: See response to question no. 5.

29. Question: Attachment 11 & Attachment 12: Attachment 11 Breakdown Estimated Costs and

Labor Hours requires a “Detailed Cost Breakdown by Task by Year” that lists 6 different categories of Other Direct Costs (ODCs). However, the pricing template Attachment 12 only has yearly tabs for Labor and for “Other IT”. The Attachment 12 has no way to capture the ODCs cited in Attachment 11 for Reproduction, Telephone, and Travel. Please clarify how to submit costs for ODCs in our pricing. Answer: Attachment 11 is the instructions for the excel worksheet format that is required for the business proposal. Attachment 12 is the IT Total Cost Estimate worksheet used to capture the IT related costs. The ODC’s should be captured on the excel worksheets required that you would create for the business proposal. If you have more than 6 categories of ODC’s, please adjust your excel spreadsheet to reflect all ODC’s.

30. Question: Attachment 11: Cost Plus Award Fee Contract Type. Attachment 11 references a Base Fee and Award Fee, however, Attachment 12 only references Fixed Fee. Additionally, Award Fee is also cited in the RFP Section B.2. ESTIMATED COST, BASE FEE, AWARD FEE, AND OPTIONS.

Please clarify if pricing should be submitted as Fixed Fee or Cost-Plus Award Fee. Answer:

Pricing should be submitted as a Cost-Plus-Award-Fee type contract.

31. Question: RFP & Attachment 6, L.3: Is the page limit for the Technical Volume 60 pages, per the RFP, or 100 pages, per Attachment 6? Answer: The page limit for the Technical Volume is 60 pages per the RFP.

32. Question: SF33, Item 9: Due to the holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years) along with many personnel having already scheduled vacation for this time period prior to the solicitation release date of December 5, 2024, it is very challenging for industry to provide a complete and thorough response in such a short timeframe by January 3, 2024. Can this due date be extended to January 17, 2025? Answer: Due to the time constraint on awarding the new contract, we are not able to extend the due date. The due date remains January 3, 2025.

33. Question: Pricing Sheet: How many IT staff currently support the project and what are their Labor Categories/roles on the project? Answer: Offerors are to determine the level of effort to propose based on the PWS.

34. Question: Pricing Sheet: What kind of hardware and software was procured? Answer: The Offeror is to determine the appropriate hardware and software to propose based on the PWS.

35. Question: Pricing Sheet: Is Cloud hosting part of the scope? Answer: No, the Offeror is to propose an appropriate approach for honorarium payments.

36. Question: PWS, Task 1.2: Is the contractor responsible for obtaining ATO? When is the next ATO certification due? Answer: Obtaining an ATO will depend on the Offeror’s approach for honorarium payments.

37. Question: PWS, Task 1.2: What kind of IT systems support is expected to be provided by the contractor? i.e. Is system O&M and DME type work part of this contract scope? Answer: Yes.

38. Question: PWS, Task 2, Task 4.2: Please clarify the estimated number of applications anticipated.

The Performance Works Statement (PWS) states approximately 2,000 applications but the Quality Assurances Surveillance Plan states approximately 3,000 applications. Answer:

Approximately 2,000 applications. The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan has been revised.

39. Question: PWS, QASP, Task 3.2: Please clarify who will make the determination about workload urgency under Task 3.2 and Task 3.3 for when technical writers split the due dates for the summary reports from 10 days to 20 days? Answer: The Contracting Officer’s Representative

(COR).

40. Question: Can the font size for any tables, graphs, figures, graphics, etc. be placed in 10 pt. font?

Answer: Yes, the font size can be NO smaller than the size of Times Roman 8pt for Exhibits and Graphics.

41. Question: Is there an incumbent currently performing this work? If so, please provide the name of the contractor and the contract number. Answer: There are 2 contractors currently performing this work as this is a consolidated project. RIVA Solutions, Inc. whose contract number is 75S20319C00003 and Weris, Inc. whose contract number is 75S20319C00002.

42. Question: What is the estimated period of performance start date? Answer: March 1, 2025.

43. Question: Can the government please provide historical workload data for all positions?

Answer: Please see budget assumptions for anticipated workload in the PWS.

44. Question: Reference: Government Furnished Property/Equipment: Will the government be providing all equipment necessary, to include computers, workstations, etc. for contractor personnel to accomplish these tasks? Answer: The Government will provide laptops only to Program Analysts, Payment Processors (if needed), Closeout Specialists, and Contract Technical Assistant.

45. Question: Can the government please provide all updates in red or a highlighted font within the amended solicitation to clearly demonstrate the exact changes made? Answer: We will not be providing an amended solicitation.

46. Question: Can the government please ensure that all questions provided to the government are responded to? We understand that some may appear to be duplicates between vendors, however this help ensures all questions are accounted for. Answer: The government has ensured that all questions provided to the government from all offerors are responded to.

Please note that there may be duplicate or triplicate version of some questions due to this request.

47. Question: Can the proposal volumes be submitted in PDF format? Answer: Please refer to Attachment 6: Packaging and Delivery of Proposals via eCPS, B for the format for the technical and business proposal. The technical proposal must be in pdf format and the business proposal must be in pdf and excel format.

48. Question: Per the formal recommendation through the “Guidance for CPARS” manual, in addition to lessen the burden on Offerors' clients, will the Government consider "not requiring" Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) for those contracts that have a recent Contractor

Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)? In essence, will the Government accept a CPARs in lieu of a PPQ? Answer: Attachment 10 is the Contractor Past Performance Form. Per the instructions, Attachment 10 should be submitted. However, if the Offeror has a finalized CPARS that can be attached to the proposal in lieu of Attachment 10.

49. Question: In order to best reference in our proposal response, can the government please confirm the official contract title for this procurement? Answer: Grant and Contract Review Support

(GCRS).

50. Question: Reference: RFP Page 18 of 86, “G.2. KEY PERSONNEL HHSAR 352.237-75”: Can the government please clarify the positions deemed Key Personnel? Answer: The offeror is to identify the Key Personnel positions.

51. Question: In order to effectively respond to the solicitation, can the government please provide a one-week extension once the Q/As are posted? Answer: Due to the time constraint on awarding the new contract, we are not able to extend the due date. The due date remains January 3, 2025.

52. Question: In the RFP Section H.3 Privacy Act can you confirm the System Notice number. Answer:

The correct System Number is 09-90-1601.