36C10B22R0017 Questions and Answers.docx

36C10B22R0017 Questions and Answers

Q1. Can companies from outside the US apply for this?

A1. Yes

Q2. Will companies applying for outside the US be required to travel to the US for meetings?

A2. This would depend on the company’s ability to get remote access approved.

Q3. Can a company perform tasks (related to the RFP) outside the US?

A3. Per VA policy, remote connection to the VA is required to originate within the US.

Q4. Can proposals be submitted via e-mail?

A4. See Section E of RFP instructions.

Q5. Is this a brand new contract or is there (was there) an incumbent performing these services? If not brand new, could you please provide the current/previous contract number?

A5. This solicitation will result in a brand new contract. The current contract associated with the general scope of this solicitation is 36C10B21C0029.

Q6. Are there specific COTS products that the resulting contractor will be using or will each bidder be recommending their own software in their proposal? Or will selecting a software tool to help with the data quality/analytic tasks be a discussion in later phases of the effort?

A6. The offeror should be proposing a software solution to complete the tasks in the PWS whether it be a COTS solution or their own software solution.

Q7. In PWS 5.5, only 80% uptime is required, which is unusually low for any software system being used. Can you provide the rationale behind this uptime requirement?

A7. The Government primarily needs the system to be available at the beginning of the month for pulling mandatory reports. Outside of that, the system is being used to look at data retrospectively, so it’s not used for real time patient care.

Q8. Please clarify that CLIN 2 (and corresponding CLINs in option years) are for a Software License given the Section 5.2 deliverable refers to a “license” but the CLIN does not call out the license.

A8. See amendment 0001 which incorporates SLIN 0002AA for CIS/ARK Analytics SW Licenses into Section B Price Schedule.

Q9. In PWS 5.2, cost for Picis data access is included, though there is no separate CLIN for Picis data access. Should these costs be included in this CLIN?

A9. PWS Section 5.2 specifies “The Contractor shall have an existing interface agreement or read-only interface with Picis or the cost to establish such access shall be included in the proposal.”. The price for CLIN 0002 shall reflect all tasks, labor and supplies required for successful completion of the services detailed in PWS 5.2.

Q10. Section B.2.2.a calls for a perpetual software license, which is unusual and would be much more expensive, considering this solicitation calls for Picis data integration license, which is not perpetual? We assume the Government is looking for Software as a Service (SAAS) license given there is a line item for software license each contract year. Could you please clarify?

A10. Section B.2.2 of the standard Software License Clause states “unless otherwise stated in the Schedule of Supplies or PWS…” However, this effort is NOT for a perpetual license.

Q11. Please explain what type of support and resources the Government is requiring for support of ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION (A&A) and if the same level of support is required on each option year given this item is included for every option year.

A11. Please refer to Section 5.6 of the PWS for details on what is required of the contractor for Assessment and Authorization.

Q12. In PWS 6.2.2, the deliverable is a roster of employees. Can you provide rationale for the CLIN regarding this PWS deliverable?

A12. This is for a roster of the team; rather than a roster of all employees.