36C10X24R0052 ATTACHMENT E-Government Responses to Questions.pdf

36C10X24R0052 ATTACHMENT E - Government Responses to Questions

Question Number RFP Reference Question Government Response

E.4 AAR 852.273-74

Award Without Exchanges, Page 54 of

Will the government please confirm that it is permissible for an SDVOSB prime to have a large business subcontractor?

An Offeror may use a subcontractor of its choice so long as the Prime performs in accordance with the terms spelled out in FAR 52.219-14 - Limitations on Subcontracting. Proposals should demonstrate how the Level of Effort is broken out to reflect the Prime is performing the preponderance of the work at no less than 51%. A Large Subcontractor would be allowable within the limits of 52.219-14.

2 General Is it possible to extend the July 1 response date? See Amendment 1

3 General Will questions from bidders be posted and/or will there be a bidders’ conference?

Questions from all vendors are posted via amendment to the solicitation with Government responses. At this time, no bidders conference is being considered.

4 General

Are there current programs or resources, e.g.

existing templates or formats that the career path guides and competency models, in place that VHA would like integrated into the solution? If so, how are these accessed. What resources would we have access to in building the competencies for each of the positions?

Yes, there are specific formats that will need to be integrated into the solution. They will be accessed via email. Access to the career advisors will be available to work through, the business should have I/O psychologist on their staff that are familiar with the mosaic model.

5 General

Are there specific software or platforms preferred for the electronic versions of the deliverables? Any existing systems, technology platforms, etc. that the comprehensive web-based solution need to integrate with, and what are the key features required?

Fed Ramp certified cloud based tool/application is required. There is no integration with other systems required at this time. The cloud based tool/application will need to host assessments for each PD/functional statement created, career path guide, competency model, individual development plan template and customized development plans.

7 General

Comprehensive Web-Based Solution to supports career advising - will it require online chat services for virtual meetings between advisor and employee? No

8 General Should the proposal include time/cost/resources for all 400+ occupations or just the initial 8-10? It is estimated that the 400+ quantity will be spread over the Base Period and Option Periods.

9 General Can you describe more the roles of the Career Path Development Team?

The career path development team consists of career advisors that will work with the contractor in creating the documents required and will be the facilitator for working with employees.

10 General

Are there specific metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the success of the training and development programs?

Yes, for example - number of PDs/Functional Statements created, #IDP initiative, #of development plans initiated, progress of IDP.

11 General Any security clearance needed?

Fed Ramp Certification for the cloud based system; All Contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information.

12 General Who provides the maintenance on the deliverables? Contractor and Career Path Development team.

13 PWS Section 2, Background

How many total employees does the VHA anticipate will require access to the web-based solution? Is there a specific target or range for the number of licenses needed? It is estimated to be 489,000 employees in total.

14 PWS Section 6.3, Task

Can the VHA provide an estimate of the number of employees in each of the 10 occupational series identified for Phase 1? This will help size the initial scope.

The work is done by PD/Functional Statement; not employee unless building a development plan for a specific employee.

15 PWS Section 6.3, Task

What is the timeline for completing Phase 1 (the initial 10 occupational series)? Is there a specific deadline or target date?

Within the first few months of the contract in order to conduct the pilot with the first 10 and then in order to complete the 400 through the remainder of the Base Period and Option Periods.

16 PWS Section 6.3, Task

How will the additional 5 occupational series be determined for Phase 1, and when will that decision be made?

It will be made by the time the contract is awarded.

17 PWS Section 6.5, Task

What are the VHA's expectations for the timeline and rollout of Phase 2? Is there a target date for completing pathways and assessments for all 400+ occupations?

Within the 3 year total contract period as noted in Question 15, conducting a pilot with the first 10 completed within the first few months of award.

18 PWS Section 6.8, Task

Are there any specific requirements or preferences for the technology platform or architecture of the web-based solution (e.g., cloud-based, FedRAMP compliance, compatibility with existing VHA systems)? Cloud-based, FedRAMP certified, no compatibility requirements at this time.

19 PWS Section 6.8, Task

How many users does the VHA anticipate will need to access the system concurrently during peak usage?

It is estimated between50-100k

20 PWS Section 6.8, Task

What are the VHA's requirements for ongoing maintenance, updates, and support of the web-based solution after initial implementation? Contractor and Career Path Development team will share responsibility. There will be a schedule provided for reviewing and updating PDs and Functional Statements throughout the contract.

21 PWS Section 6.8, Task

Are there any specific data privacy, security, or accessibility requirements that need to be considered in the design of the web-based solution?

508 compliant; Please see IT Security section of the solicitation

22 PWS Section 6.8, Task

Will the Contractor be responsible for hosting the web-based solution, or will it be hosted on VHA infrastructure?

Contractor will be responsible.

23 PWS Section 2, Background

Are there any existing career path frameworks, competency models, or assessment tools used by the VHA that the Contractor should integrate or align with?

The career path development team will provide templates for the competency model, career path guide, development plans. The career path development team will work with the contractor to create an IDP template and assessments for each PD based on the career path guide/competency model.

RFP 6.2 Task 2 Pg 14 At a minimum, the CPMP shall include the Contractor’s plan for managing the project, risk, quality, scope, change management, and detailed schedule.

Does ILEAD have a change control board (CCB) under which this project will fall? We have a CCB but this project will not go through them.

RFP 6.3 Task 3 Pg 15 Creating Individual Development Plan templates using Microsoft products. How many IDP templates are to be created? one

RFP 6.6 Task 6 Pg 17 Sessions for consulting shall be provided during Consulting Sessions (Deliverable

6) virtually as noted above (Question 25)

How many sessions are to be provided on 28th of the month as mentioned the deliverables table?

What is the maximum number of attendees per session?

No set number of sessions, depends on need. Unable to confirm the exact number, if it were a webinar or training, it could be 200 employees otherwise, most times it will be 1 per session

RFP 8.2 QASP Pg 20 MAS: Responding within 2 days of request for consulting services. IDP to be created within the first month.

Can the Government please clarify if an IDP needs to be created within one month of concluding a specific instance of consulting services session? Yes

RFP METHODS OF

SURVEILLANCE /

CUSTOMER

SUPPORT PG 22

Customer problems are resolved within the same business day; no more than 5 incidents spent by Government personnel in providing corrective feedback onunacceptable customer service/professionalis m

Would the Government please consider replacing "are resolved" with "are responded to" in the first sentence? Yes (updated PWS)

29 RFP GFE/GFI Pg 23 "Not Applicable"

Wouldn't ILEAD provide a lot of information to be used by the Contractor for Task 3 and Task 5?

If so, shouldn't the GFI make a reference to it instead of being not applicable? Yes (updated PWS)

RFP Security Requirements Pg 24 - The Contractor will not use VHA-provided equipment, nor access the network. The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

Can the Government please confirm if these statements are accurate?

Yes, the govt will connect to the contractors web-based solution. The contractors web-based application will not be integrated with VHA systems and computers will not be provided to the contractor. Contractor will conduct work on their web-based application for the PDs, functional statements and IDP + give copies to the VHA career management team. All interaction with contractor will be completed via TEAMS and email using Microsoft tools.

31 RFP Sec 3 Objectives Pg 13-14

In the Objectives section of the SOW the government states that the objective is "to develop assessments (hiring and development), career path guides, and competency models in a format to assist eight to ten occupations in their career path development" later on it states, "additional completion of remaining occupations" (400 plus occupations). Can the government please confirm how many occupations we are responsible for developing guides/models?

416 career path guides, models, skills assessments and assist hiring assessments where needed through the base and option years. The first 10 are to be piloted for success before moving forward with the remaining

RFP Sec 6, Applicable Documents Pg 17 Deliverables Task 8 Technology Solution

In the Deliverables section of the technology solution the RFP states "Upload deliverables to the Career Path Management Program SharePoint Website", can the government please confirm if they accept a SharePoint-based solution for this Task, representing the "comprehensive web-based solution"?

No, SharePoint will not be acceptable as the long term solution. A required cloud-based solution is needed to support career path guides, assessments, IDPs, and for reporting.

RFP Proposal Content Pg 56 Page Limitation Table

Can the government please confirm that the 7 additional pages for examples, illustrations, models relevant to approach can be embedded in the broader Volume 1

The 7 additional Pages must be clearly separate from other content. May be separate file or noted as appendix, and labeled as illustrations and models to be able to identify they are part of additional pages. An appendix is acceptable also so noted. Table revised.

34 RFP Proposal Content Pg 57-58 In the page limits table it says 7 pages for Volume

2 Experience, not including resumes or cover then in description of volumes it says recent examples and narratives should not exceed 5 pages. Can the government please confirm the page limit for this volume? See revised text updated to 7 pages.

RFP Pg 58 Proposal Content - The contracts/orders may be past or current as long as the performance did not end more than 3 years prior to the due date for the submission of the proposal, and the contracts/orders may have been with Federal, State and/or City agencies and commercial customers and the Offeror acted as the Prime Contractor (51% or greater performance).

References are required for Prime and any teaming partners;

included in the 2 to 3 references for the entire team.

Can the government please confirm that each of the teaming partners should have at least one past performance where they acted as the Prime contractor?

Please see revised section that is clarified. Total should be no more than three references combined for PRIME and Teaming Partner(s). There is no requirement other than that which is stated regarding Teaming Partners.

RFP Pg 25 Key Personnel - Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.

The I/O psychology degree is not the only academic training that prepares professionals for enhancing career progression assessment and employee well-being. Successful professionals that focus their careers on this human capital area often possess academic degrees in human resources, social sciences, organizational leadership and/or business administration. Will the government consider similar academic degrees in human resources, beyond the more narrow focus on I/O psychology, for this key personnel position?

added "or similar degree" - career management team will consider either as long as they have the experience.

Updated PWS with x degree or equivalent along with the "or similar degree"

RFP Pg 64 b) Factor Evaluation - Price Evaluation

In the Price Evaluation, the RFP states "Contractors may be requested to identify/verify labor categories, number of hours, and labor rates in its price proposal for performance of each task, as submitted on Attachment A – PRICE SCHEDULE in comparison to their IDIQ contract rates." Could the government provide an IDIQ contract rates document for submission?

The Government is asking for this information to gauge the Level of Effort proposed by offerors and requesting rates for each category proposed. The level of effort and categories provided in Attachment A - Pricing Sheet are an estimation only and Offerors should not construe this to be the only solution nor what is being requested, nor parrot the provided figures back in proposals.

Attachment A should be completed as instructed within the document with hours and rates, as must the Price Schedule on the Form 1449. The Price Schedule references is not referring to an IDIQ Schedule of Rates.

See revision on Amendment 1.

38 Attachment A Can the Government please confirm that adding additional Labor Categories (LCATs) not listed in the SOW is permissible?

The categories and rates shown in Attachment A are only a Government Estimation and Offerors should propose their own solutions with rates and categories that represent their own best solution.

RFP Pg 58 Sec 2 - The Offeror should submit no more than 3, references of relevant contracts/orders within the past 3 years. The contracts/orders may be past or current as long as the performance did not end more than 3 years prior to the due date for the submission of the proposal, and the contracts/orders may have been with Federal, State and/or City agencies and commercial customers and the Offeror acted as the Prime Contractor (51% or greater performance).

Will the Government please revise the past performance requirements to comply with the SBA’s final rule on the topic, which allows for the use of Past Performance as a subcontractor by a small business in pursuit of a Prime Federal contract. Reference 87 FR 43731, regarding 13 CFR 125: To address first-tier small business subcontractors, section 868 amended section 8(d)(17) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C.

637(d)(17), which previously discussed a pilot program, to provide past performance ratings for small business subcontractors. Under section 868, small business concerns may obtain past performance ratings for performance as a first-tier subcontractor on a prime contract that included a subcontracting plan. The final rule requires the prime contractor on the prime contract to provide a rating of the small business' past performance with respect to that prime contract to the small business within 15 calendar days of the request. If the small business elects to use the past performance rating, the contracting officer shall consider the past performance rating when evaluating the small business' offer on a prime contract.

See revision in Volume III Past Performance in Amendment 1 to allow both prime and/or subcontractor role references.

40 Attachment A Would the Government please clarify the units on the Pricing Sheet. Are offerors required to provide the hours per month except for Tasks 1 and 2 which are on a "each" per task basis? If so, should Offerors correct the formulas provided or will the Government correct the formulas?

Task 1 and 2 are Not Separately Price both as noted on the Schedule Attachment A (not priced) line items. The SF1449 Price Schedule is revised for consi2stency to Attachment A. Offeror may to propose a price for the Base Period, though if so, hours, rates and labor categories should be included on Attachment A. Offeror, if pricing these items, may alter Attachment a (using similar format) and the pricing schedule and attachments according to conform with the overall respective formats.

Tasks 1 and 2 are Base Period Only Tasks. and noted on the Price Schedule and Task area of the PWS.

41 Attachment A Does the 12 noted in quantity column indicate “months”? If so, we assume you would like to listed as an all-inclusive monthly fee? Or does the “12” relate to the quantity of career pathway docs.

12 Months QTY means 12 months of service at the level of effort required for the task. For Firm-Fixed Price awards, it is common that proposed total price for the entire period is broken out into 12 equal payments. The Price Schedule Tab should reflect the Quantity of 12 Months at the Unit Price (Monthly Price) times the quantity to arrive at the total price by line (all calculations should be even 2 decimal place calculations).

42 General Is there a guideline for the number of additional career pathways VHA would like to have completed in the Base Year and in each of the Option Years? Is the desire to have all 400 complete by a specified timeframe? See response to questions 15 & 17

43 General

Regarding Usage. A fixed priced contract is specified.

a. The # annual users has a large determinant on cost and support requirements. Is there a forecast for # users per year, e.g. XX% of all employees?

b. Page 28 Section 7 specifies Liquidated Damages in the event of a data breach. Forecast usage would also allow better cost estimate for purposes of obtaining an insurance quote to cover this expense.

a. See Attachment A-Pricing Sheet, Tab Labeled Labor Categories and Hours. This is a Government estimation only and all Offers should derive their own best solution versus parroting the tab values. B. This is a task to be priced, it is part of general contract terms, conditions and proposals. The Government does not provide estimates on this type of contractual language. The # of annual users will grow from 100k to 489k users throughout the life of this contract.

44 General

4. For the FedRamp requirement,

a. Must this be in place at the time of Award or can the plan describe working towards it with completion before Web-Based services are due?

b. Will the Career Services system need to exchange information with other FedRAMP compliant system(s)?

c. What level of FedRamp is required: High, Moderate, Low?

FedRamp must be in place at the time of award. The career management team only uses SharePoint at this time. All documents will be uploaded or created by the contractor to their cloud-based application. All levels are acceptable.

45 General Would VHA consider meeting ISO 20071 compliancy as an alternative to FedRamp? No

46 General-Deliverables Deliverable 2. Is there a preferred format for the CPMP beyond the general description provided?

See Task 2, Contractor Project Management Plan; no preferred format.

47 General NAICS code. Must this code (541611) be in effect at the time of proposal submission, or can we indicate that this is in progress thru SAM?

Offerors are required to be registered in the required NAICS at www.sam.gov at the time of proposal submission, and if SDVOSB/VOSB, certified via SBA VetCert at time of offer.

48 General Much of the RFP speaks to Career Development Consulting, which is often the precursor that leads to the work we typically do in our digital competency platform. Am I reading this correctly? I just want to ensure that we understand fully.

See 6.8 Task 8: Technology Solution. We will use vendor's web-based platform to create, store and manage documents and assessments. The documents and assessments will also be located on our SharePoint site.

49 General Would answering a single section on the RFP be allowable? For example, if we were to focus solely on Section 8, would that be acceptable?

This RFP is seeking a response for the entire performance of the RFP. You may consider a teaming arrangement with other vendors as subcontractor.

50 Attachment A

The Government’s Price/Cost Schedule (RFP, page 7, section B.2) requests a price for the Unite Price and Amount for the Kick-Off Meeting, however the Pricing Sheet indicates this task is NSP. Can the Government clarify if the Kick-Off Meeting should be priced? See response to Question 40.

51 Attachment A Total Hours per PoP

Can the Government clarify the rationale behind the substantial variance in the LOE estimations between each of the periods of performance? The Base Period is estimated to be 1,567 hours;

Option Period 1 increases significantly to an estimate of 11,653; and Option Period 2 reduces to an estimate of 7,653. base year funding is less than option years.

52 RFP - PWS Subtasks for Task 3 and Task 5

Task 3 and Task 5 are the same descriptions and deliverables. Is the contractor to assume that there may be 10 additional job series to perform consulting and development support services during Base Y1 and each additional option year?

Task 3 to be completed as a pilot. Task 5 is the remaining 400+ job series to be completed in base and option years.

53 RFP - PWS Subtasks for Task 3 and Task 5

Is it the Government’s intent that these tasks have the same subtasks? Is that due to the fact that the Government is using Task 5 as the option to award additional Occupation Series documents? See response to question 52

PWS Page 15 Task 3(A) * The deliverable table on page 19 of 86 states for Tasks 3 and 5 that delivery is expected the 5th day of EACH month.

The deliverable table on page 19 of 86 states for Tasks 3 and 5 that delivery is expected the 5th day of EACH month. This can be interpreted to mean that on the 5th day of each month the contractor must deliver qty 10 Phase 1 Occupation Documents. Does VHA mean that deliverables will only be delivered on the 5th day of the month? So if a deliverable is ready on the 10th day of the month, the contractor must wait until the 5th day of the month to deliver the documents? Please clarify.

No, deliverables can be provided as soon as they are complete which is preferred.

PWS; page 26 - I/O Psychologist:

“Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.

On page 26 of 86 Job Descriptions of Key Personnel, for the I/O Psychologist it states, the I/O must have experience in the career specialist field for all VHA occupations. Does the requirement mean that the I/O must be a VHA former employee or contractor? Please elaborate more on this requirement and why it would be needed

No, it simply means this position requires experience with the occupations, which is not necessarily tied to being a VA/VHA employee.

PWS ; page 26 - I/O Psychologist:

“Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.

For the I/O Psychologist it states, the I/O must have experience in the career specialist field for all VHA occupations. I/O Psychologists are skilled at working across many kinds of occupations and industries. This requirement seems to limit highly qualified candidates if they do not have specific VHA occupation experience OR specific experience across the full range of VHA medical and non-medical occupations.

VHA occupations include a wide range of medical and non-medical staff – supporting the need for a skilled I/O that can work across many industries.

Would the Government consider removing the portion of the requirement that is specific to VHA occupations? (such as - “Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise for career abilities, skills, and competencies.”)

This is a VHA requirement that involves career paths for VHA employees and familiarity with the subject and career paths typical for VHA. The Career Field advisor and I/Os that work across many career fields will be considered as most federal govt. agencies follow Title 5 and OPM Mosaic Model. Title 38 is specific to VA but career advisors and I/O can be considered that have medical staff experience outside of VHA.

PWS ; page 26 - I/O Psychologist:

“Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.

On page 26 of 86 Job Descriptions of Key Personnel, for the I/O Psychologist it states, the I/O must have experience in the career specialist field for all VHA occupations. Would the Government accept experience in healthcare occupations? Yes, see Question 56 response

PWS ; page 26 - I/O Psychologist:

“Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.

On page 26 of 86 Job Descriptions of Key Personnel, for the I/O Psychologist it states, the I/O must have “Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.” Given the requirement of “expertise,” the minimum years of experience (listed as 2 years) seems low.

Can the Government clarify if 2 years is the correct minimum number of years of experience?

It is correct. The education and at least 2 years’ experience is sufficient.

59 RFP Page 56 Volume Table -Volume IV

On page 26 of 86 Job Descriptions of Key Personnel, for the I/O Psychologist it states, the I/O must have “Experience in Career Specialist field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations.” Given the requirement of “expertise,” the minimum years of experience (listed as 2 years) seems low.

Can the Government clarify if 2 years is the correct minimum number of years of experience? See response to question 58

60 RFP Page 56 The cover page, table of contents, and/or a glossary of abbreviations or acronyms will not be included in the page count of any Volume.

A glossary of acronyms/abbreviations is not required, however do not assume that all acronyms are known if not spelled out within the same document in which the acronym(s) occur.

RFP Page 56 - Volume 1 – 15 pages max (cover not counted in limit); 7 additional pages for examples, illustrations, models relevant to approach

On page 57 of the RFP, Sub-Factor B – Management Approach, the Government requests a Staffing Plan that shall not exceed 5 pages and is specified that the Staffing Plan does not count toward the narrative page limits. Can the Government include this requirement and specification that the Staffing Plan does not count toward the page limits within the Volume Table on page 56?

See response to questions 33-35 - The Staffing Plan does not count toward total volume page count. It is requested as a separate document.

Page 56-58 - Experience in the Volume Table on page 56 cites page limitations of 7 pages;

Factor 2- Experience cites “recent examples and narratives of work (not to exceed 5 pages total)”

Can the Government clarify if the narrative of the Experience Volume is limited to 5 pages (from page 58) or 7 pages (from page 56)? See responses to questions 33-36

RFP Pg 61/62 Proposals will be evaluated using a tiered approach

The Government has listed that a tiered approach will be used for evaluations, however the solicitation was released as an SDVOSB set-aside.

Given that VOSB and other Small Businesses would not qualify for an award (as the SF1449 identifies this procurement as 100% SDVOSB set-aside) and all Offerors shall be SDVOSB, will the Government remove the language for the Tiered Approach?

The solicitation is a total SDVOSB set-aside and is in accordance with and under the authority granted in Public Law 109-461, wherein VA is authorized to set aside contracts and/or award sole source contracts, to SDVOSB and VOSB firms. The tiered approach satisfies the set-aside requirement, however allows for small business participation should no qualified responses are received by Tier 1 (SDVOSB) or Tier 2 (VOSB), which in that event then Small Businesses may be considered for award as Prime. You may submit a stand-alone proposal/quote if so desired. Tier 2 will not be considered unless Tier 1 does not result in a qualified response. Tier 3 (Small Businesses) will be considered for award only if Tiers 1 and 2 do not result in qualified responses.

64 General Is this existing work? If so, who is the incumbent contractor and what is the contract number. New work; VHA staff currently doing it.

65 General Is any travel or other ODCs required? If so, please add appropriate CLIN with a provided amount from the Government. None required

66 General Are there any specific computer software programs that the contractor needs to purchase to support the VA's desired configuration of materials?

None is required other than cloud-based application, see

6.8 Task 8: Technology Solution

67 General

Considering that the questions are due by June 18th, can the Government extend the proposal deadline to July 19th or later? This extension would provide ample time for the Government to respond to the questions and for the offerors to interpret the answers to questions and incorporate them into their proposals. See Amendment 1

68 General SharePoint is mentioned extensively in the RFP.

Does this technological solution specified in section 6.8 need to integrate, connect, interact with, or be interoperable with any other systems?

VHA employees currently use SharePoint to complete the work. The work will be moved to the cloud-based application and the application will not connect to any other systems during this contract timeframe.

69 B.3 (Page 13)

Bottom of page, first bullet, the bullet end with the word “too” seems to have cut off the remainder of the sentence during document conversion. Can the government please revise this bullet to complete the sentence? removed the too from the PWS, page 13

70 B.3 (Page 13)

In the Background, the PWS states that CPD features flagship legacy programs like Technical Career Field (TCF) and Graduate healthcare Administrative Training Programs (GHATP) along with web-based, Training Management System (TMS), virtual, and in-person development opportunities. Are the legacy programs being replaced with the work done in this solicitation or is the work augmenting those legacy programs?

Augmenting legacy programs; and vendor may support those programs when needed, see Section 6.6 TASK 6 Consulting Services for Career Development Programs

71 B (pages 13-14)

Objectives outline 5 specific occupation series and lists that five additional to be completed for a total of 10. In Phase 2, Deliverable 5, it states that these 10 occupations must be completed by the end of the contract, which we are interpreting as the respective period of performance. However, the deliverable table shows that 10 occupations must be completed per month for Tasks 3, 5, and 7, which would result in 360 occupations over the life of the contract. Is the frequency in the deliverable table meant to provide status updates on the 10 occupations, or does it require completion of 10 occupations each month? If it requires completion of 10 occupations per month, has the government identified the 5 GS series per month to be revised, with an additional 5 per month to be added based on guidance provided by the COR for a total of 120 occupations per year?

Task 3 to be completed as a pilot. Task 5 is the remaining 400+ job series to be completed in base and option years. Deliverable table is for updates.

Occupations will be determined in priority order after the pilot is complete with the first 10. The requirement is to complete occupations as quickly as possible through the base + option years.

72 B (pages 13-14)

Referring to question above (71). If it requires completion of 10 occupations per month, has the government identified the 5 GS series per month to be revised, with an additional 5 per month to be added based on guidance provided by the COR for a total of 120 occupations per year?

The requirement is to complete the 400+ occupations over the base + 2 year period. The series will be provided to the contractor after the pilot is completed for the first 10.

73 B (Objectives) (Page 14)

Top of page, first bullet. Please confirm that the contractor is not required to complete the stated objective of completing the remaining 400 plus occupations in the VA and is only required to address those occupations, plus 5 additional TDB, identified in Section 6.

The contractor will work to complete 400+ occupations over the base + option years if exercised as quickly as possible. See Amendment 1

74 B (paragraph 6.3) (Task 3) (Page 15)

In Phase 1, bullet points A, B, C, and D, can the VHA expand on what is meant "provided by the VA." Is the VHA going to provide the vendor current or drafted documents to work from?

Yes, the career development team will provide the templates for the career path guides, competency models, skill assessments and IDP for the contractor to create in their cloud based application.

75 B (paragraph 6.7) (Task 7) (Page 17)

6.7 involves converting completed documents from the tasks outlined in the PWS to appropriate Microsoft formats for SharePoint integration.

However, the PWS tasks specify that these should already be created as Microsoft deliverables.

What, if any, additional actions are necessary to meet this deliverable? Are there other items that need conversion?

The career path guides, competency models, skill assessments and IDP will be housed on our SharePoint site for employees to view and use as well as in the contractors cloud based application. No other conversion should be needed.

76 B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Does the contractor or the government coordinate with the responsible IT official to facilitate assessment and authorization for the web-based solution, deliverable 8? Both parties will work with IT in a partnership.

77 B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Will the government issue IT credentials or IT equipment to facilitate the requirement to upload deliverables to the Career Path Management Program SharePoint Website, or will the contractor provide the materials to the COR or designee to facilitate this action?

The contractor will send via email and the career development team will upload to SharePoint.

78 B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Solicitation references that the solution should be hosted in a “secure and compliant infrastructure”.

Have specific security and compliance requirements been identified? For example, a need for an ATO, FedRAMP environment, or OMB control number? Solicitation requires FedRamp, any level

79 B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Based on the requirements, the proposed technology solution should be priced as an ODC.

However, Pages 24 Section 15 states ODCs are not applicable and the Pricing Template Attachment shows annual pricing as a unit. Can the Government please clarify the intent?

See RFP Amendment 1 and Attachment A Pricing Sheet Amendment 1

B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Regarding the requirement for a Comprehensive Web-Based Solution (Deliverable 8) for career advising, assessment, and development and the scope of requirements specified in 6.8, Task 8, would the Government consider collaborating with the awardee post-award to evaluate and select the best technology solution, instead of specifying it in the proposal, to ensure it meets functionality requirements, secure infrastructure, configurability, and integration with VA systems?

The contractor needs to have a cloud-based tool with FedRamp certification.

81 B (paragraph 6.8) (Task 8) (page 17)

Is the Government open to a COTS or custom solution?

Custom solution as it will need to generate specific documents and assessments specified in PWS and by PD/functional statement.

Section 7 (pages 18 - 19)

For the Deliverable Table, can the Government please review and validate the table is correct in terms of CLIN, PWS Task, and Quantity for the specified period of performance for the stated Quantity? Correct; see response to question #71

Section 8.2 (page 20)

For the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS), can the Government please review, correct, or validate the statement for the first requirement is correct as written, "Complete 10 occupations to include, career path guide, competency model and assessment / 2 per month". Of note, as the RFP / PWS is written, it is challenging for industry to understand the work requirement and to develop an accurate WBS. See response to question #71

B (paragraph 19) (Page 26)

Key Personnel. The I/O Psychologist education and experience seem to be low for this requirement. Normally, an I/O Psychologist working at this level would require an MS degree at a minimum, and five or more years’ experience.

Please verify the government only requires a BS/BA degree and two years’ experience. See RFP Amendment 1

B (paragraph 19) (Page 26)

Key Personnel. The I/O Psychologist description requires very specific experience across all VHA occupations: "Experience in Career Specialist Field providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies for all VHA occupations." It is not realistic to assume that an I/O Psychologist will have expertise related to every single VHA occupation (Title 38 Title V, and Hybrid). Would the government consider revising this description to be less specific, such as: "Experience providing formal career assessment expertise specifically for career abilities, skills, and competencies across a broad range of healthcare and non-healthcare occupations." See RFP Amendment 1

Section 9 (page 23)

RFP states that GFE will not be applicable.

However, throughout the document there are multiple references to the VA See RFP Amendment 1

E.4 (Proposal Content) (page 56)

Can the Government clarify the requirement for Volume III (Past Performance) because the Page Limitation states, "Listing of Past Performance References, PPQs if applicable". In other words, what does the Government require the Offeror to submit in this Volume?

There is not a limitation placed here as it is dependent on how Past Performance is submitted (i.e. PPQ may be sent to offeror to send in, or the reference should be sent to the POCs noted with info tied back to who it is for (it happens sometimes references do not include proper reference to the company it is providing the reference for). You may submit a listing of references we may expect PPQ from or CPARS references or other documentation of such, though at least list what references are expected to submit a PPQ if that is your method or list CPARS if that is your method or other method.

Factor 3 (page 58)

For Past Performance, can the Government confirm that if an offeror has a CPAR available for a past performance, that a Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) is not needed in addition to the CPAR? Furthermore, should the offeror include a copy of the CPAR as a PDF in an appendix, or simply make reference within the applicable past performance that a "CPAR is available"?

This is an either, or choice, or both. However, PPQ is not needed if CPARS is available. That said, Contractor should ensure all formulas and calculations are correct at submission.

Pricing Sheet

The pricing sheet has a large difference in hours for the base period compared to the option years, which does not comport to the deliverables stated in the PWS for Section 6. Specific Tasks. Can to government either revise the PWS to either align the work for this area to the pricing sheet, or revise the pricing sheet to show LOE for the tasks specified?

See Attachment A - Pricing Sheet - Amendment 1.

Contractor is responsible to ensure all formulas and calculations are correct in any submission. The hours are estimations only and any changes a contractor may make could impact formula-based calculations.

Pricing Sheet

For Option Period 2, the Pricing Sheet does not add CLIN 2006 (Task 6) into the total hours. Can the Government please correct the pricing sheet / formula?

See Attachment A - Pricing Sheet - Amendment 1.

Contractor is responsible to ensure all formulas and calculations are correct in any submission. The hours are estimations only and any changes a contractor may make could impact formula-based calculations.

Pricing Sheet

There is a major discrepancy between the estimated hours between the Base Year and Option Years. Can the Government please provide an adjusted LOE in the pricing sheet, or more accurately depict the volume of work within the PWS? See response to question #51

Pricing Sheet

Please confirm that the LCATs listed in Attachment A are not mandatory and that the offeror can adjust proposed LCATs (other than key personnel), if deemed necessary.

This is already stated in the Attachment A Pricing Sheet, though to clarify, it is an ESTIMATE ONLY and offerors should not assume this is a required solution or one that should be regurgitated or parroted back as the solution.

Offerors should create their own solution to the required effort.

Attachment B

Can the Government please confirm that the "Rules of Behavior" is provided for informational purposes only and there is no requirement to include signed copies by proposed key personnel or other supporting employees and/or subcontractors within the solicitation response?

The Rules of Behavior apply to anyone working on a Government Provided System and otherwise stated in the IT Security section. Signed forms will be mandatory prior to any employee working on such systems as required by IT Security Language in the solicitation and resultant award.

General

Are there incumbents performing this work? Can the government provide the names and contact information?

There are only VHA employees currently conducting this work. There was no contractor in place before this Solicitation.

Objectives PG 13 - Additional completion of remaining occupations (400 plus occupations for 470,000 employees).

Implement an application tool that supports career path guides, competency models (OPM Mosaic), individual assessments for each occupation and an individual development plan.

How will the government assign the remaining 400 occupations? Has the agency identified its mission-critical series, and will this information be provided to the vendor?

Has the agency identified its mission-critical series, and will this information be provided to the vendor? See response to question #71

A. Creating 10 PD/Functional Statement Assessments provided by VA using Microsoft products. 1. Review proficiency level definitions.

2. Determine behavioral descriptions. 3.

Determine a list of 5 proficiency levels with descriptions to use for assessments. 4. Draft assessments based on competencies and functional statements. 5. Determine gaps in occupations vs employees. Has the government completed a competency assessment for current employees? If so, will this information be shared with the vendor?

Yes, sample templates will be provided of PDs already completed in or process.

Page 15 F. Creating 10 Competency Models for VA-provided occupations/functional statements by Microsoft products for WMC. 1. Meet OPM Mosaic requirements.

2. Meet VHA certification and hiring requirements.

Can the government elaborate on what it means by VHA certification and hiring requirements for the competency models?

VHA has hiring requirements and certification requirements for their PDs, functional statements. The career path guides, competency models, development plans must follow those requirements in place.

6.5 TASK 5: Develop

Career Path Guides, Competency Models, Assessments, and Individual Development Plan templates PG 16 - The Contractor shall provide Phase 2 Occupation Series Documents (Deliverable 5) consulting and development support services to conduct additional occupation research and reviews, create career path guides, competency models, development plans and develop assessments (hiring and development) all

The language speaks about developing hiring assessments. Can the government expound on the requirements for the hiring assessments?

The contractor will support both the development and maintenance for hiring assessments and skill assessments where and when needed for the PDs and functional statements created.

to be used with the new IDP template the Contractorcreates if the original 10 occupations are completed before contract end date

Pg 16 - D. Creating 10 Employee Aspired Occupation Development Plans provided by VA using Microsoft products.

1. Create training plan for lateral or vertical interest position for employees to enhance skill sets and develop new competencies.

Will the government provide the series for the lateral or vertical interest positions? Yes and templates of current development plans.

6.6 TASK 6

Consulting Services for Career Development Programs: PG 17 - Through virtual means (i.e. email, TEAMs, Zoom), the Contractor shall provide Subject Matter Expert Level Consulting services for Career Development Programs inclusive of, but not limited to career path development, GHAPT, TCF, Career Centers and Clinical program to strategize, create, maintain, or evaluate the programs. Sessions for consulting shall be provided during Consulting Sessions (Deliverable 6) virtually as noted above.

How many consulting sessions are expected to be completed on a monthly basis?

There is not a set number, as assistance is needed in these areas, the contractor will be called upon to assist.

6.8 Task 8:

Technology Solution - A Contractor shall provide a Comprehensive Web- Based Solution (Deliverable 8) that supports career advising, assessment, and development.

Personalized and configured for the VA.

Individual users will have private accounts where they can access

Does this tool currently exist? Does the government expect vendor to create & develop and maintain? Is the Comprehensive Web-Based Solution preferred or required to be hosted on the VA network?

No; the contractor will need to already have a FedRamp Certified web-based tool that the govt can begin using immediately. It will not be hosted on the VA network.

their personalized career development plan. The technology solution is to be hosted in a secure and compliant infrastructure.

Configurable online career planning and pathway systems (web-based software) with developmentally appropriate content for all employees. Career management and program database, analytics, and reporting that includes.

Research-based career assessments measure interests, skills confidence, and work values. Electronic portfolio and resume development tools.

Individual learning plan development.

Integration solutions for content and data sources such as learning management systems, case management systems, localized occupational data, and career ladder information, and more.

Career guidance curriculum.

Professional development for career counselors, and advisors. Career program database management, analytics, and reporting and needs assessment for career programming. Upload deliverables to the Career Path Management Program SharePoint Website.

Security Requirements Pg 24

The Contractor will not use VHA-provided equipment, nor access the network. The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required. See response to question #30

102 Appendix A:

Definitions Pg 30

The list does not include definitions for WMC and CDP. Please clarify these acronyms

Workforce Management & Consulting; Career Development Program/Plan

Pricing Sheet-Base Period

Please take note of the following: On the pricing sheet, there are 1567 hours allocated for the Base Year and six LCATs designated for the twelve months. Is the government expecting the five LCATs to be considered full-time?

See Attachment A - Pricing Sheet - Amendment 1.

Contractor is responsible to ensure all formulas and calculations are correct in any submission. The hours are estimations only and any changes a contractor may make could impact formula-based calculations.

Deliverable 6 - Consulting Sessions -

OPTION PERIOD 2

Consulting Sessions- How many are estimated to be needed on a per-month basis? See response to question #99

105 RFP, Task 3 E Pg 15;

Task 4, Pg16 & Appendix A Definitions, pg. 30

The RFP mentions WMC in several places under competency models and USA Job Announcements. Question: Could the Government define WMC and how it is used at

VHA?

Workforce Management & Consulting. It is the organization that manages competencies and hiring assessments.

General Question PWS, 3. Objectives, pgs. 13 and 14 - The PWS states “Completion of 0201- Human Resource, 0649 Medical Instrument Technician, 0185 Social Worker, 1035 Public Affairs, 0341 Administrative Officer occupation series and five additional occupations in written format and/or using SharePoint too”; and “Additional completion of remaining occupations”

Question: Can the Government provide details on what aspects of the materials and subject matters have been developed and which subject matter will be completed under this solicitation?

The govt has suggested templates for career path, competency, development plan, assessments and IDP templates for the PDs and functional statements. The contractor will develop all 400+. 10 for the pilot and then the remaining 400 throughout the contract base and option periods based on the suggested template with possible changes/enhancements.

Objective; pg.14

The last sentence "Implement…