36C77619R0010-0002000.docx

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) 09-09-2019

HI19-57

00776 Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence

OH

44131

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C77619R0010 09-03-2019

X X

X The purpose of this amendment is twofold:

1. To answer questions asked pertaining to solicitation 36C77619R0010. See continuation pages for answers to questions.

2. To correct an administrative error in page numbering of Attachment A1 - HFS IDIQ Performance Work Statement. See Attachment A1 - HFS IDIQ Performance Work Statement - Amendment 0002.

POC:

Contract Specialist: Robert Blasko | robert.blasko@va.gov Contracting Officer: Charles E. Holmes, Jr. | charles.holmes@va.gov Charles E. Holmes, Jr.

Contracting Officer

CONTINUATION PAGE

1. Question: Will the Veterans Administration provide the necessary Outline for each Case Study required by each agencies mentioned in the PWS? Such as: Abstract or Axiom, Hypothesis, Methodologies, Historical Data Formation, Results/Interpretations, Resource/Surveys, Context Analysis, References/Citations of Materials, Dissertation Acknowledgements, and etc...pertaining to the case studies.

Government Response: HFE uses Common Industry Format (CIF) and traditional peer-reviewed journal submissions as the baseline for each study.

2. Question: Is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If so, can the government provide the contract number and contract value?

Government Response: No current contractor.

3. Question: Does the government wish for applicants to complete Attachment C (Attachment C – Functional Point Alignment – Human Factors Services)? If so, do you prefer the response to be in the Technical Volume or the Pricing Volume?

Government Response: Attachment C provides the definitions for how Functional Points are calculated (size x complexity) across the various deliverables in the PWS. It is for potential Offerors reference when estimating their price for providing “300” Functional Points in Task Order 1, with an option for an additional “30” Functional Points. Each CLIN in the IDIQ should refer to the Nominal Descriptions for each category in Attachment C.

4. Question: For the subject RFP is there an incumbent that is currently performing the work? And if so how long have they been the incumbent?

Government Response: See Government Response pertaining to question #2.

5. Question: RFP states to provide resumes of key personnel. Are the resumes limited to one page as in the IDIQ response? Do the resumes count against the 10 page limit?

Government Response: Yes, resumes are limited to a one (1) page response. No, Resumes do not count towards the page limit.

6. Question: The last page of Attachment A1 is numbered 43/46. Please confirm there are no other pages associated with this document.

Government Response: This is an administrative error, a corrected Attachment A1 is attached to this amendment.

7. Question: Which labor categories are considered key personnel at the IDIQ level

Government Response: The Government understands that numerous resources will be used to perform the tasks, and that “Key” personnel should be associated to the senior leads of the individual ‘study’ efforts.

8. Question: Does the government anticipate the potential of OCI for any contemplated work that would preclude an offeror from performing work later in the development lifecycle

Government Response: Assuming the Contractor has other relationships with ‘Developers’, HFE will not align resources that would review their own work, and we maintain an ‘arms-length’ relationship to development contractors. In the event of potential OCI, a contractor maybe required to submit an OCI mitigation plan for future work.

9. Question: Service Contract Act Applicability references a "Statement of Objectives." Please clarify which document this refers to.

Government Response: The “Statement of Objectives” refers to the Performance Work Statements (Attachments A1 and A2).

10. Question: What is the Place of Performance for Task Order 1?

Government Response: Contractor facilities.

11. Question: Section 5.0 states that Clinical Study Packages are required for "taskings focused on clinical process analysis and redesign." For each task, please confirm the government will select either a "study package" or a "clinical study package" based on the scenario, but that both deliverables would not be required for the same project

Government Response: When an individual tasking focuses on clinical process analysis and redesign, the deliverable will be a ‘Clinical Study Package’. Other efforts will provide a ‘Study Package’. Efforts will only produce one or the other deliverable and are separated only for purposes of fiscal authority based on appropriation law.

12. Question: Will the government lower the threshold of a Major Sucontractor [sic] to 10%?

Government Response: No

13. Question: Will the government waive the requirement to evaluate past performance of only major subcontractors

Government Response: No

14. Question: Given the indefinite nature of the IDIQ contract, please confirm a major subcontractor will be evaluated for Task Order 1?

Government Response: See section E for basis of award for task order 1.

15. Question: With respect to the Task Order pricing approach, the instructions say “The Offeror’s price proposal for each task identified in this PWS”. Is the Government referring to Attachment A2, Section 5.1 (one fixed price or enterprise engagement) or 5.1.1 (one fixed price for each 3rd level task)?

Government Response: Pricing is based upon the ‘Enterprise Engagement’ scoping of 300 Functional Points in the Task Order, although the Offeror must price out the other CLINS, ranging from 10-300 Functional Points in the IDIQ.

16. Question: Would the Government consider a reasonable extension to the due date; e.g. to Sept. 20th, 2019?

Government Response: Due to time required for proposal evaluations and fiscal requirements, we cannot grant an extension on due date.

17. Question: For the Part I, Volume III - Price Factor (Base IDIQ Contract), offerors are required to provide an Excel spreadsheet with all Labor Categories and Rates for the entire 5-year IDIQ. Does the Government have a spreadsheet format it desires to see completed or can the offerors provide their own Excel spreadsheet?

Government Response: Offerors shall provide their own Excel spreadsheet, but must delineate each years Labor Categories and Rates.

18. Question: In addition to the above Excel spreadsheet with LCATs and rates, it appears the Government wants offerors to fill out the "IDIQ Price Schedule" although this is not stated in Section E.1. Please clarify.

Government Response: The IDIQ Price Schedule in Section E.1 shall be completed by offerors as part of their proposal.

19. Question: Offerors are required to propose LCATs and rates to complete all TO 1 work, and to provide a BOE for each deliverable/task in accordance with the Task Order 1 PWS. Section 5.1 of the PWS refers to IDIQ CLIN 1001. We believe Section 5.1/CLIN 1001 is inclusive of all tasks under 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4; excepting section 5.5 which is an optional task. Is this a correct reading of the PWS?

Government Response: CLIN 1001 is inclusive of all tasks (5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4), with 300 Functional Points aligned throughout. PWS 5.5 is an optional task for an additional 30 Functional Points.

20. Question: For CLINS 1001-5006, does the Government intend Offerors include function point pricing in both the IDIQ and Task Order 1 Price Volumes?

Government Response: The Offeror should indicate Functional Point pricing for each CLIN in the IDIQ. Task Order 1 is set as CLIN 1001, at 300 Functional Points.

21. Question: Is this a new requirement? If not, who is the incumbent?

Government Response: This is a new requirement.

22. Question: Are all labor categories listed in the PWS considered Key Personnel?

Government Response: See Government Response pertaining to question #7.

23. Question: How many FTEs per labor category are expected/estimated for:

Government Response: This is dependent on each Offeror’s approach given this procurement is a performance based service acquisition. Please reference the Nominal Descriptions of each activity, for which the Contractor shall be responsible for providing a total of 300 Functional Points of effort in Task Order 1.

24. Question: The solicitation states that labor categories are up to offeror, but some indication of the expected scope and nature of the work would enable a more accurate specification. Please clarify.

Government Response: The HFE team supports numerous and ever-changing Health Information Systems as detailed in Section 3.0 of the PWS and seeks a responsive Contractor to partner with. Refer to Government Response pertaining to question #7.

25. Question: Can you project the expected number, scope, and nature of the studies required, especially for TO1?

Government Response: The volume of studies is dependent on the emergent needs of the customers HFE supports, and the unique size and complexity of each study. Offerors should estimate efforts according to the Nominal Descriptions for each activity, for which the Contractor shall be responsible for providing a total of 300 Functional Points of effort in Task Order 1.

26. Question: The place of performance states Washington D.C. and Nashville. Can you clarify where work will be performed in Nashville?

Government Response: The place of performance is contractor’s facilities. Washing D.C. and Nashville locations are expected as travel locations. HFE operates the Informatics Research and Design Center (IRDC) usability lab in Nashville, TN on West End Ave. near Vanderbilt University.

27. Question: Will the government provide any pricing worksheets?

Government Response: See Government Response pertaining to question #17.

28. Question: Although resumes do not count towards the technical page limit, is there a page limit for individual resumes?

Government Response: One (1) page limit on Resumes.

29. Question: What is the projected award date?

Government Response: Projected award date is September 27, 2019.

30. Question: What is the projected start date?

Government Response: Projected start date is September 30, 2019.

31. Question: What is the period of performance for Task Order 1?

Government Response: The Period of Performance is 12 months from effective date of award for Task Order 1.

32. Question: According to Part D. (Pg 45 of the solicitation), the coversheet shall include “the description of their planned subcontracting effort. Specifically, what specific information should the contractor provide regarding the “subcontracting effort”?

Government Response: Contractor’s shall provide the subcontractor(s) Point of Contact information (name, address, phone number, email address) and describe how the work effort will be allocated with each subcontractor(s) for tasks required.

33. Question: Is there a maximum number of past performance references that can be included from subcontractors?

Government Response: There is a limit of no more than three (3) subcontractor past performance references.

34. Question: Under 5.1.1 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN: The Contractor shall expeditiously undergo sufficient background checks and complete required training in order to be granted access to VA’s network and key resources used and managed by the HFE team within three (3) business days of receiving the notice of award. Is three days sufficient to get a PIV and get access to the VA Network as is stated?

Government Response: Three business days is the requirement on the Contractor to perform “background checks and complete required training” in order to receive timely PIV and Network access.

35. Question: Will performance of task orders under this IDIQ represent a significant Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) for the vendor that would likely prevent the vendor from performing software development work in support of the projects and programs identified with Section 1.0 Background of the PWS (e.g. EHRM, ConnectedCare, CIDMO, or the other VA administrations and program offices listed in Section 1.0 of the PWS.)

Government Response: See Government Response pertaining to question #8.

36. Question: Following the IDIQ awards, is it the Government's intention that each vendor must submit proposals in response to every Task Order solicitation, or will be vendors be able to selectively respond based on their areas of expertise and/or Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) considerations?

Government Response: Each Task Order will be competed among the IDIQ holders and it is up to an IDIQ holder to respond for a request for quote, with the exception of an order issued without fair opportunity in order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

37. Question: As a result of a thorough review of the solicitation document, we are requesting that the due for this requirement is extended 5 days.

Government Response: See Government Response pertaining to question #16.

See attached document: Attachment A1 - HFS IDIQ Performance Work Statement - Amendment 0002.