Answers for RFQ 36C24426Q0880.docx

1. Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing this or a substantially similar requirement for VISN 4? If so, will the Government identify the incumbent contract number and total contract value?

Answer: Current Contract Number: 36C24422P0047 Contract Total: $708,780.00

2. What are the current actual utilization figures — registered users, average monthly active users, and average attendance per live class?

Answer: Currently, we have 5,414 accounts on the platform.

See PWS section 3.0 Scope for more information.

3. Section 3.0 states the platform must support up to 5,000 users. Is 5,000 a licensing ceiling the platform must be capable of supporting, or the Government's estimate of expected enrolled or active users? If the Government has historical utilization data, such as unique users per month and average class attendance, would it be released to all quoters?

Answer: See PWS section 3.0 Scope for more information.

Platform Security and Compliance

4. PWS §4.1 requires the platform to store and encrypt user information (name, email, password). Will the Government require an Authority to Operate (ATO), a VA Directive 6500 security assessment, FedRAMP authorization, or completion of the VA Assessment and Authorization process for the contractor-hosted platform? If a lesser review applies, please identify it.

Answer: The platform will not require ATO, FedRAMP, TRM approval, or a full VA Directive 6500 security authorization from Contractor.

5. Will the Government require a Section 508 Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR/VPAT) for the platform, and if so, against which standard?

Answer: See PWS section 7.0 Contractor Responsibilities for more information.

6. PWS §5.0 states no PHI or ePHI will be transferred. Will VA handle user registration and eligibility verification, or is the contractor responsible for enrollment and verifying that users are VISN 4 Veterans, caregivers, or staff?

Answer: See PWS section 5.0 Security Requirements for more information.

Instructor Credentials

7. PWS §4.3 lists "iRest Yoga Nidra." Does the Government require instructors certified specifically by the Integrative Restoration Institute (iRest), or will other evidence-based trauma-sensitive yoga nidra training satisfy this requirement?

Answer: See PWS section 4.4 Staffing and Instruction Requirements.

8. PWS §4.4 requires instructors "trained and certified in trauma-sensitive practices." Will the Government identify which certifications it considers acceptable, or will it evaluate credentials submitted by the offeror?

Answer: See PWS section 4.4 Staffing and Instruction Requirements.

Performance and Scheduling

9. PWS §4.2 requires a minimum of 5 live classes per weekday and 2 per weekend day. Will the Government accept a phased ramp to the full schedule during the first 30–60 days of the base period, and if so, what minimum schedule is required at start of performance?

Answer: See PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

10. Do recorded or on-demand sessions referenced in PWS §7.0 count toward the daily live-class minimums in PWS §4.2, or are those minimums live-only?

Answer: See PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

11. PWS §4.2 requires "class sizes conducive to personalized interaction." Does the Government have a maximum participant-per-class threshold?

Answer: See PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

Pricing

12. The requirement is priced as a firm-fixed monthly subscription for a capacity of "up to 5,000 users." Is 5,000 a firm ceiling, and will pricing be evaluated on that stated capacity regardless of actual utilization?

Answer: Please see PWS section 3.0 Scope.

13. Given that all services are performed virtually, which Service Contract Act wage determination applies — the determination for the contractor's place of business, or a VISN 4 locality determination?

Answer: Please review page 1 of the SF1449, block 20.

14. Question 6.1 (Technical Submission Package): Section E.1 (Technical Content) instructs offerors to "attach a separate .pdf file with the technical specifications of the offered item". Since this procurement is for a commercial subscription service (Online Fitness Platform) rather than a physical commodity or product, will the Government confirm that a single, unified 20-page Technical Proposal addressing the PWS satisfies this instruction? Or is a standalone technical spec sheet required in addition to the proposal?

Answer: Please review instructions to offerors and evaluation.

15. Question 6.2 (Invoicing and Holiday Price Realism): PWS §4.2 explicitly excludes federal holidays from the required live class delivery schedules. Will the Government confirm that Firm-Fixed-Price monthly invoices submitted under Section B.3 are to be billed as a consistent, flat monthly subscription rate? Please confirm that payments will not be pro-rated or decremented during months containing federal holidays.

Answer: Pricing is as shown in the schedule at a flat monthly rate to perform the services as shown in the PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

16. Question 6.3 (Evaluation of Past Performance): Section E.2 states that past performance examples should be reflective of the contractor submitting the quote. To support small businesses and newly formed SDVOSBs, will the Government evaluate the relevant past performance of the company’s key personnel, founders, and principal SMEs with equal weight if the corporate entity itself lacks three distinct historical prime contracts of identical scale?

Answer: The government will evaluate the quotes in accordance with terms and conditions of the solicitation.

17. PAST PERFORMANCE FROM A TEAMING PARTNER

The instructions require three examples of similarly scoped work, and state that "previous work examples shall be work reflected of the contractor submitting the quote." Where a quoter proposes a teaming partner or subcontractor who will perform a defined portion of the requirement, will the Government consider past performance examples from that partner, provided the quote clearly identifies whose contract each example is and what portion of this requirement that entity will perform?

Answer: The government will evaluate the quotes in accordance with terms and conditions of the solicitation.

18. LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING AND PLATFORM LICENSING

VAAR 852.219-75 limits payment to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs or VOSBs to 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government. The PWS describes a subscription to a virtual platform together with live instruction. For purposes of that calculation, will the Government treat a license fee paid for a commercially available software platform as an other direct cost that may be excluded under 13 CFR 125.6, or as an amount paid to a non-certified firm that counts against the 50 percent limit?

Answer: This requirement is being procured as a commercial service. See 13 CFR 125.6(a)(1)

19. Day and Night Scheduling: Are there specific time periods that the VA considers “day” and “night” for purposes of the required live class schedule? Should all scheduled class times be based on Eastern Time?

Answer: See PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

20. Wellness Modalities: Section 4.3 identifies multiple required wellness modalities, including yoga, meditation, Tai Chi/Qi Gong, Pilates/Barre, HIIT, resistance training, aerobics, back-care classes, pre-/post-natal yoga, and Veteran-specific offerings. Is there a minimum frequency with which each modality must be offered—for example, weekly or monthly—or may the contractor use a rotating schedule while ensuring all required modalities remain available?

Answer: See PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements and section 4.3 Wellness Modalities

21. Virtual Platform: May the contractor utilize a commercially available, secure, browser-based third-party technology platform to deliver the required services, provided all PWS requirements are satisfied, or is the contractor expected to own and operate a proprietary wellness platform? Additionally, are there specific VA technology/security certifications or authorizations required beyond the encryption, secure-login, anonymized-reporting, and no-PHI requirements identified in the PWS?

Answer: A proprietary contractor-owned platform is not required.

Contractors may use a secure, commercial, browser-based platform, provided all PWS requirements are met such as encrypted authentication, password protection, no PHI/ePHI transfer and anonymized reporting.

No additional VA-specific cybersecurity authorizations are required because the platform does not store or process VA PHI or VA-owned data. Contractor is responsible for ensuring all system security practices satisfy PWS Section 5.0 Security requirements.

22. Recorded/On-Demand Content: The PWS requires recorded/on-demand content in addition to live classes. Is there a minimum number of recorded classes, minimum number of hours of content, or required frequency for updating the on-demand library?

Answer: No. Please see PWS section 4.2 Class Requirements.

23. Monthly Utilization Reports: Does VISN 4 have a required format or reporting template for the monthly anonymized utilization reports? If so, can the required data fields or a sample template be provided?

Answer: A monthly utilization report is provided by current vendor that includes copies of the newsletters distributed to registered users during the reporting period, utilization data to include new accounts established during the reporting period, classes offered, classes attended, on demand utilization, most popular offerings, etc,. Please see PWS section 5.0 Security Requirements.

24. Staffing at Time of Quote: Does the VA require instructors proposed for performance to be currently employed or under contract with the offeror at the time the quotation is submitted, or may an offeror propose qualified personnel who will be hired or engaged contingent upon contract award? If contingent staffing is acceptable, are instructor resumes/certifications required with the quotation, or may final instructor credentials be provided prior to commencement of performance?

Answer: Please see QASP section 6.0 QASP Performance Requirements Summary Table.

25. Veteran-only and Women-Veteran-only classes “Please clarify the minimum frequency required for Veteran-only and Women-Veteran-only classes and how the Government will calculate the QASP requirement of 95% availability per month.”

Answer: Contractor must provide Veteran-only and Women-Veteran-only classes on a recurring basis, at the minimum monthly.

For QASP calculation of 95% availability per month, availability will be measured by whether Contractor schedule the required number of designated special-population classes for the month and whether at 95% of those scheduled sessions were delivered without cancellation(except federal holidays). See QASP section 6.0 QASP Performance Requirements Summary Table.