P02 MR SS QnA Attachment.docx

Sources Sought Notice 36C10B25Q0459 Amendment 0001

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question: When are questions due? When are responses due? The day of the week does not align with the dates provided.

Answer: Confirmed that there is an error in day of the week listed in relation to the date provided. The intent is the actual dates rather than the names for the days for the week. Questions were due July 28, 2025, noon Eastern. Final responses due July 31, 2025, noon Eastern.

Question: Can you confirm the anticipated Request for Proposal (RFP)/Request for Quotation (RFQ) release date and award date for this contract? Understanding the projected timeline helps us align onboarding schedules and availability of key staff.

Answer: If the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decides to release a solicitation and pursue an award for the effort, the award would likely be made in September.

Question: What contract type is the Government leaning towards (Firm-Fixed Price (FFP), Time and Materials, etc.)?

Answer: If VA decides to release a solicitation and pursue an award for the effort, this will be identified in the solicitation.

Question: How much of training delivery will be virtual and how much will be in-person?

Answer: The Government encourages the contractor to maximize its use of teleconferencing and video conferencing for grantee training. There may be up to two separate onsite training sessions where grant organizations send representative staff to participate.

Question: Will the Government be using a Best Value or Lowest Price Technically Acceptable approach to evaluate proposals?

Answer: If VA decides to release a solicitation and pursue an award for the effort, this will be identified in the solicitation.

Question: Will there be an industry day or pre-solicitation conference for this opportunity? These sessions are useful for clarifying scope, site conditions, and government expectations.

Answer: The Government does not anticipate any other pre-solicitation communications with industry beyond the activities of this Sources Sought Notice. However, the Government reserves the right to take any additional steps it deems necessary to complete its market research efforts.

Question: Will the Government provide feedback on the capability statements submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice?

Answer: No. However, the Sources Sought Notice was submitted to the System for Award Management and GSA eBuy websites; the Government will ‘close the loop’ with industry to inform industry on how the Government intends to proceed with the acquisition.

Question: What are the current pain points identified by grantees related to the Data Collection Tool (DCT) training or reporting process?

Answer: Grantee challenges in the reporting process vary depending on their staffing skillsets, ability to retain trained staff, and previous experience participating in a federal grant program.

Question: What tools does VA currently use for data analytics and visualization? Beyond Power BI, are Tableau, R, Python, or other BI tools acceptable?

Answer: VA uses Power BI for the grantee and VA program dashboards.

Question: How likely is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-aside for this opportunity?

Answer: This will depend on the results of the Sources Sought Notice.

Question: Is the Government considering a single award or multiple awards for this effort?

Answer: If VA decides to release a solicitation and pursue an award for the effort, this will be identified in the solicitation.

Question: What are the expectations for cloud hosting or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) compliance of any proposed tools?

Answer: The Staff Sargent Parker Gordon Fox (SSG Fox) Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SPGP) data collection tool and data analytics platform will reside in VA’s Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) environment and are only authorized to reside in the VAEC environment.

Question: What key personnel roles are expected? Additionally, will resumes or letters of commitment be required for these positions?

Answer: The Government does not intend to identify Key Personnel.

Question: The RFI references the FedBizOpps (FBO) system, which has been sunset and replaced by SAM.gov. Will the Government be updating references to align with the current SAM.gov procurement system, and are there any specific SAM.gov requirements or functionalities that vendors should be aware of related to this procurement?

Answer: Question #7 of the Sources Sought Notice incorrectly referenced FBO. Question 7 is revised to read: Indicate the likelihood of your company responding to a solicitation should this effort be released. Note: Small businesses should include intent and ability to meet set-aside requirements for performance of this effort, if applicable.

The Sources Sought Notice was submitted to the System for Award Management and GSA eBuy websites; the Government will ‘close the loop’ with industry.

Question: Could the government provide an estimate of how many new grantees are expected to be onboarded annually to help vendors assess the level of effort required?

Answer: Historically, the approximate number of new grantees being onboarded annually was 3-13. In addition, all grantees that participated the previous year must renew their application for the following year, which is a less involved process. Historically, the approximate number of grantees renewing their applications annually was 80-95. All onboarding on new grantees and renewals for existing grantees occur between July and September. Please refer to the SSG Fox SPGP Website for the current list of grantees here: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/index.asp

Question: Given the sensitive nature of veteran mental health and suicide risk data, could the government clarify the specific security requirements for the DCT environment, including whether FedRAMP certification is required, what Authority to Operate (ATO) documentation exists, and any Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) considerations that would affect the implementation of enhancements to the system?

Answer: Per the Draft Performance Work Statement, the Data Collection Tool operates in VA’s Enterprise Cloud environment and achieved an Authority to Operate in June of 2025 for a 2-year period. In the event that VA issues a solicitation and awards this requirement, the selected contractor would not be responsible for managing the FedRAMP certification process. However, the selected contractor shall support any renewal of an ATO or PIA that may be required in the future.

Question: What database architecture and platform is currently being utilized to collect and store all DCT data?

Answer: Data is initially collected in Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server within the DCT Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) platform. It is exported via API to MongoDB in the production environment. It is then transformed using PySpark prior to being ingested into Power BI for additional data transformations and data analytics reporting. SSG Fox SPGP is migrating from MongoDB to DocumentDB, a cloud-native NoSQL document database.

Question: Will the preferred hosting environment be VA cloud infrastructure (e.g., VAEC/Amazon Web Services/Azure), on-premises, hybrid, or is a recommendation from the contractor requested?

Answer: Per the Draft Performance Work Statement, the Data Collection Tool operates in VA’s Enterprise Cloud environment. All data resides in the VAEC environment which is the approved environment for the ATO already in place.

Question: Will the vendor have direct access to production/live data, or will sanitized/test datasets be provided for development and testing?

Answer: In the event that VA issues a solicitation and awards this requirement, the Government anticipates that the selected contractor would have access to production data which is de-identified. Test data also exists in the pre-production environment.

Question: Is there a current incumbent for this work and if so, can the government provide details on the relevant contract number(s)?

Answer: Currently, there is not a commercial vendor performing this effort. This effort is being transitioned from VA’s Federally Funded Research and Development Center contractor.

Question: Will the government confirm that MITRE Corporation, who performed the Analysis of Alternatives concerning functional prototypes for data collection tools and processes for grantees and then performed the subsequent configuration of the Behavioral Health Lab (BHL) Touch platform, is not eligible to bid on this opportunity given the inherent organizational conflict of interest this prior work presents?

Answer: The MITRE Corporation operates a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, and as such, does not compete with the private sector in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 35.017.

Question: Can the government provide any information on the anticipated level of effort for this requirement?

Answer: It is anticipated that the Vendor propose the level of effort that would be required. In addition, question #6 of the Sources Sought Notice asked interested vendors to provide commercially available list pricing to meet the Government’s requirements. If commercially available list pricing is not available, provide a Rough Order of Magnitude, including, as applicable, estimated quantities, unit pricing, and any additional anticipated costs to meet the Government’s minimum requirements.

Question: The PWS estimates a need for two travel trips per period of performance for in-person conference attendance, however the specific destination for the travel is not yet known and the PWS states “Travel costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government as a separate line item”. Without a specific travel CLIN it will be extremely hard for Vendors to accurately price this requirement and for the government to fairly evaluate submitted costs. Would the government consider removing this language and including a separate travel CLIN with a lump sum amount for travel to ensure a fair and equal evaluation?

Answer: Currently, the Government does not anticipate a separate line item for travel. VA will also consider the results of this Sources Sought Notice when determining the structure of travel.

Question: What is the current size and number of grantees expected to receive technical assistance and training during the base year and each option period?

Answer: The previous year, the number of grantees to receive technical assistance and training was 93. The total number of grantees anticipated to be participating in the program during the base year will be approximately 95, and the technical assistance and training provided by the selected contractor should support all grantees. Please refer to the SSG Fox SPGP Website for the current list of grantees here: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/index.asp

Question: Will grantees be geographically dispersed, and is there any expectation of in-person training beyond the two annual conferences?

Answer: The current list of SSG Fox SPGP Grantees including the geographic area covered can be found on the SSG Fox SPGP public website (https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/index.asp). Beyond the two annual conferences, training is expected to be virtual.

Question: What platform is currently used for online training materials, and will the Contractor be expected to work within a specific LMS (Learning Management System)?

Answer: Online training materials for the selected Contractor to use in providing training to the grantees are available through the DCT onboarding application. When training materials are required to be modified or new training materials are created, they will be uploaded to the DCT onboarding application as Adobe or Microsoft formatted files. Aside from the anticipated two in-person training conferences per year, all other training activities will be carried out by the selected Contractor virtually.

Question: Can the government provide an example of the “weekly office hours” format and expected participation (e.g., number of grantees per session, length of session, delivery method -)?

Answer: Weekly office hour participation is voluntary and the number of grantees who attend varies week to week, depending on the need. Weekly office hours are one hour long via a video conferencing session.

Question: Are there any constraints or limitations on making changes to the existing DCT architecture, particularly around integration with VA business intelligence tools?

Answer: The Data Collection Tool architecture is only approved for operating in the VA’s Enterprise Cloud environment and within the VA Power BI Enterprise environment.

Question: Are there any other visualization tools /system other than Power BI that will need to be utilized?

Answer: At this time, VA only anticipates Power BI.

Question: Will there be a knowledge transfer or transition period with the outgoing vendor (if applicable), and what support will be provided to ensure continuity?

Answer: In the event that VA issues a solicitation and awards this requirement, the Government anticipates a transition period would occur upon receiving the award through December 2025.

Question: Is the Contractor expected to provide transition-out support at the end of the PoP or option periods?

Answer: In the event that VA issues a solicitation and awards this requirement, the Government would structure any perspective contract/order to allow for transition. The PWS is revised to include the following paragraph at the end of task 5.2: Prior to the end of the final period of performance, if the follow-on effort is awarded to a Contractor other than the incumbent, the Contractor shall support the transition of this effort to the incoming Contractor. The Contractor shall provide knowledge transfer and transition of the technical assistance and training effort.