Consolidated Questions and Answers Amend 0001.pdf

Consolidated Questions and Answers – 49100424Q0097

1) Is there an incumbent for this requirement?

No, there is not an incumbent for this requirement.

2) Offerors encountered file download errors.

Prospective Offerors are encouraged to check using multiple different browsers, as the

Contracting Officer cannot independently troubleshoot SAM.gov download and access issues.

3) Interested companies do not possess a GSA MAS Schedule with NAICS Code 541611 identified.

Only prime offerors who hold an active GSA MAS Schedule Contract with NAICS Code

541611 identified, who are considered a small business under NAICS 541611, are eligible to receive a contract award. This acquisition follows standard limitations on subcontracting for Small Business Set-Asides. Subcontractors, as is standard under the GSA MAS

Schedule Contracts, should utilize the Prime Contractor GSA MAS Schedule rates for developing a price point.

4) The Section B schedule indicates FFP, however the instructions to offerors indicates Time and Materials.

This is intended to be a time and materials requirement. Offerors should include reference to the GSA Rates utilized to develop the total ceiling price proposal, to ensure that quotes are in compliance with the GSA MAS Schedule Contract of the offeror.

5) There are references to Key Personnel in the instructions to offerors, are Key Personnel required?

Key Personnel are not required, that portion of the RFQ has been amended, see

Amendment 0001

6) Will the government issue an extension?

The Date for Quotations has been extended until August 5, 2024. See Amendment 0001.

7) Are Past Performance Submissions required?

Offerors do not need to submit any Past Performance information. See Amendment 0001.

8) Is the provided email address for Jonathan Schmeelk correct?

Yes, the email address for Jonathan Schmeelk is jschmeel@nsf.gov.

9) What are the expected Payment Terms?

This is intended to be a Time and Materials requirement that would be invoiced for on a monthly basis.

10) "The Offeror will plan and host up to five (5) listening sessions for approximately 100

NSF staff each in December 2024. The Offeror will plan and host up to an additional three (3) listening sessions for approximately 100 NSF staff each between April and May

2025. The dates and times of these sessions will be determined in consultation with the

COR and will follow development of the engagement toolkit discussed under Task 3, and the subsequent revisions thereof." How long are the eight listening sessions for 100 NSF staff each over the course of the task order?

The sessions are expected to be approximately 60 to 90 minutes.

11) "The Offeror will plan and host up to six (6) listening sessions, each with approximately

35-50 members of outside communities of interest in January 2025. The Offeror will plan and host up to an additional six (6) listening sessions each with approximately 35-50 members of outside communities of interest between April and May 2025. The dates and times of these sessions will be determined in consultation with the COR and will follow development of the engagement toolkit discussed under Task 3, and the subsequent revisions thereof." How long are the twelve listening sessions for 35-50 members of outside communities of interest?

As above, between 60 and 90 minutes.

12) "The Offeror will work with the COR and technical points of contact to determine participants for each meeting, and will develop outreach materials to invite participants to the sessions. The Offeror will coordinate responses from participants and develop an attendee list for each session." Are there preferred communities to target for the six listening sessions for the external communities or should the Offeror prepare suggested groups?

The Government intends to reach out to communities outside of NSF, to include NSF Grant

Awardees and the Research Community in general. As noted, the specific groups will be identified in conjunction with NSF staff post-award. The Offeror does not need to suggest groups in the proposal.

13) "Up to four (4) of the total twelve (12) sessions will be held in locations outside the

Washington, DC metro area, though within the continental U.S." Approximately where would the four sessions be held outside of the Washington, DC metro area?

The Government has not further refined that. The sessions would all occur inside the

Continental United States (CONUS).

14) "Listening sessions will be in-person, virtual, and/or hybrid." Approximately how many of the listening sessions for NSF staff will be hybrid or in person?

As stated in Subtask 4.1, at least 3 of the initial 5 sessions and 2 of the following 3 sessions will be hybrid or virtual. Therefore, the Government intends for at least 3, and possibly up to all 8, will have an in-person component. This means that at least 5 and possibly up to all

8 will have a virtual component.

15) "The price volume does not have a page limit. No technical or past performance information shall be included in any part of Volume III. The price volume shall be submitted as a Microsoft Excel document." May offerors submit a brief Microsoft Word-based narrative to accompany the Excel pricing volume, in order to describe the overall pricing approach, assumptions, discounts, etc.?

Yes, however that information will not be evaluated for the purposes of technical merit.

16) How many rounds of review are anticipated for each deliverable?

The Government intends 1 round of review, in general.

17) "The Offeror will work with the COR and technical points of contact to develop one (1) to three (3) standardized surveys of three (3) to five (5) questions each for use at engagement events such as the listening sessions as an alternative mechanism to gather feedback..." Will NSF be able to grant the vendor administrative access to Qualtrics to create the survey(s) and manage the results or will the vendor need to coordinate with an

NSF employee?

The contractor employees will be provided access, following the access and badging process.

18) Which NSF office(s)/organization(s) is/are leading this effort?

Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management (BFA)

19) How comprehensive should the list of names of people working on this project be? Is it ok to submit only the names of the top contributors (senior consultants, project managers), or would you also need the names of the supportive/ administrative personnel?

There are no Key Personnel required for this project, so it is not necessary to provide names or resumes. Generally, it is not preferred to review resumes for technical proposals outside of Key Personnel, although the offeror may choose to provide that information if it is necessary to delineate the intended expertise to be provided. Individual resumes will not be approved by the Government.

20) Purpose, Government makes an initial mention of seeking support for the FY2022-2026

Strategic Plan. Following language reflects requirements towards the FY2026-2030

Strategic Plan. Will Government please clarify if the support sought is solely towards the next (FY2026-2030) Strategic Plan? Or are there also trailing needs for the FY2022-

2026 Strategic Plan included in this solicitation?

This has been amended in Amendment 0001.

21) The Pricing Volume directions ask that all labor categories and rates be identified. As noted in the question above, the Pricing Table has only one unit and one total amount for each CLIN. If multiple people (a team) are used, and at different rates, should we be using just a blended rate for the unit price?

This is intended to be a Time and Materials requirement, and offerors should utilize established GSA MAS Schedule Contract rates, with any discounts, in developing their price proposal and ceiling price.

22) Government states, "All tasks requiring computer processing work, such as survey data collection, shall be conducted at the Offeror's secure computer facility."

• Where can we find the relevant NSF definition of "secure computer facility"?

• Does Microsoft’s GCC (Government Community Cloud), meet NSF’s requirements for a “secure computer facility”?

The updated scope of work removes this language. Please refer to the contract terms and conditions for any requirements.

23) Where can we obtain the NSF's Implementation Policy for the Government Information

Security Reform Act as referenced in Subtask 1.5 to ensure compliance?

The updated scope of work removes this language. Please refer to the contract terms and conditions for any requirements.

24) Government states, “The scan shall include, but not be limited to scholarly literature, white and grey papers, government and industry reports, and internal NSF working papers related to the types of research funded by NSF (i.e., non-medical basic and use-inspired research and STEM education and training).”

• Will Government provide the papers for summarization?

The Government will provide the relevant internal NSF documents – White and

Grey papers, etc. The offeror would need to independently identify public literature, industry reports, etc. for summarization.

• If so, does Government have the responsibility of identifying the papers and reports, or the sources of the papers and reports?

The Government will provide the internal documents that are not publicly available.

• Will the offeror need a specific clearance to access or read the reports?

Offeror staff may need to go through security onboarding and badging process, which is at a public trust level, and does not require classification or clearance.

25) Can the government provide more details on the expected level of effort (e.g. estimated labor hours) for each of the major tasks outlined in the Statement of Work?

The Government does not prescribe set levels of effort, and it is left to the offeror to determine the appropriate level of effort to quote.

26) Does NSF have a preferred project management methodology or tools that should be used for this engagement?

No.

27) For the environmental scan in Task 2, are there specific databases, journals, or other sources NSF would like included in the literature review?

It is up to the offeror to determine the appropriate literature for this requirement, aside from internal NSF literature that will be provided.

28) Regarding the listening sessions in Task 4, will NSF be responsible for identifying and inviting participants, or is that expected to be handled by the contractor?

The Government will identify participants, and the contractor will handle scheduling and event planning tasks.

29) What are the anticipated locations for the external community listening sessions?

The Government has not yet defined specific locations.

30) For the surveys mentioned in Subtask 3.2, what is the anticipated sample size and target response rate?

The sample size corresponds with listening session attendees. The Government does not have a target response rate.

31) Does the government have an anticipated budget range for this project?

While the government does have internal cost/price estimates, this information will not be provided to offerors.

32) Can the government clarify the expected travel requirements and expected number of personnel to travel on the set travel budget, particularly for the listening sessions outside the DC area?

The Government expects all sessions will happen within CONUS, but has otherwise not further defined the session locations. The NSF events management federal and contractor staff will be involved in supporting events. The contractors for this requirement will not be responsible for securing venues, and instead will structure sessions contemporaneous to and in conjunction with events planned for other NSF activities.

33) Can the government provide any guidance on the expected staffing levels or full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel needed to successfully execute this project? Is there a minimum number of dedicated staff members NSF anticipates will be required to meet the timeline and deliverables outlined?

It is up to the offeror to quote appropriate staffing levels.

34) Can the government provide more detail on what is meant by "learning agenda" in the context of this project? How does the learning agenda differ from or complement the

Strategic Plan, and what specific elements or outcomes does NSF expect to see in the learning agenda that may not be covered in the Strategic Plan itself?

This refers to the requirements for a Learning Agenda as defined under OMB Circular A-

11, and offerors should understand those requirements in order to appropriately quote.

35) Per Quotation Content and Configuration, are the Cover Letter and signed SF1449 documents submitted within Volume I or Volume II?

Cover Letter and SF1449 should be submitted as part of Volume I.

36) Will cover pages and TOCs count against page count?

Tables of Content and Cover Pages will not count against the page limit, but also will not be utilized to evaluate technical merit.

37) For the font requirements mentioned, please confirm both TNR and Arial applicable fonts for this quotation.

Yes, Times New Roman and Arial are acceptable.

38) RFQ page 17 provides, in pertinent part, “The Quotation Reference Documents shall consist of relevant offeror business information, written confirmation of business size status, and other required representations or certification as delineated in the solicitation provisions.” Can you be more specific about the required content of Volume I? In other words, what is considered relevant offeror business information? Is there more required than one-sentence confirmation of small business size status? What other representations or certifications are considered delineated in the solicitation provisions?

Relevant business information constitutes information about the quoter’s business information (SAM.gov information such as UEI, etc.) as well as the quoter’s GSA MAS

Schedule information. Size standard is included to ensure that offerors are clearly aware of and clearly state their size status under NAICS 541611.

39) Under what conditions would an exception to the GSA requirement be made?

None.

40) Have any vendors been pre-identified for the RFQ? If yes, can they be identified to the offerors?

No vendors have been pre-identified for this RFQ.

41) What specific themes or programs would NSF like to prioritize in the engagement toolkit?

The engagement toolkit is not specific to programs, but rather to broadly engage on all of

NSF’s mission areas.

42) Under Task 2, Environmental Scan, there is mention of focus groups. Is this a desire of

NSF or a data collection option for the vendor?

The use of Focus Groups will be determined through discussion with the contractor to determine if there is mutual agreement on the benefit of this approach. The groups would likely be limited due to the short timeline for this deliverable.

43) Will the awardee have access to the NSF Qualtrics platform? If no, what is the process for the awardee to complete the survey analytics and provide the raw data for Subtask

3.3?

Yes, see the answer to Question 17.

44) Please clarify if the expectation is for five (5) sessions to cover a total of 100 NSF staff or five (5) sessions of 100 people each for a total of 500 people.

500 People total.

45) Are the 100 people in the April-May engagement activities expected to be the same as the people in the first round of engagement meetings?

Same population, not necessarily same specific attendees.

46) Will NSF leadership be expected to participate in both sets of listening sessions?

They will be invited to attend.

47) "The Offeror shall plan and host up to a total of eight (8) listening sessions for approximately 100 NSF staff each over the course of the task order" suggests that a total of 800 people will be part of the listening sessions. Is that the correct understanding? If no, what is the expectation for the potential total number of participants in the listening sessions?

Yes, that is the total number, though it is possible there will be duplicate attendance at multiple sessions.

48) Similar questions for the 12 listening sessions for the external community. Is this a total of 60 people?

This is a total of up to 600 people.

49) Is there a minimum number of total listening sessions expected in the project?

No, however we don’t expect substantial deviance from 8 sessions for NSF staff.

50) What is NSF’s expectation for a minimum total number of participants in:

a. Engagement sessions

b. Listening sessions

There is no expectation of a minimum number of participants.

51) How broad is the NSF vision of who makes up “external community”? Ex. institutions of higher education, professional societies, general public, etc.

a. Is there any other group that NSF specifically wants to include for "external community"? Industry?

b. Is there any group that NSF would exclude from the vision of “external community”?

The Government intends to reach out to communities outside of NSF to include NSF Grant

Awardees and the Research Community in general.

52) What feedback can vendors expect to receive if they are not selected?

This is a standard FAR part 8 procurement. As such, per FAR 8.405-2(d) “If an unsuccessful offeror requests information on an award that was based on factors other than price alone, a brief explanation of the basis for the award decision shall be provided.”

53) ATT A section III says the POP is no more than 12 months. However, the Document

49100424Q0097 has a base of 12 and a 3 month option period. Can the Government clarify what the Period of Performance and if it is with (or without) options?

The intent of the 3-month optional quantity is to permit a “surge” period to address ongoing requirements/needs. The base period of 12 months is currently expected to cover the preponderance of the requirement.

54) The Solicitation states the vendor must have a DUNS number to do business with NSF, however the Federal Government has removed the requirement to have a DUNS and replaced it was the UEID number.

This is an error in the automated clause generation and has been corrected in Amendment

0001. This is functionally a reference to requiring a SAM.gov registration to be appropriately set up in the NSF contract systems. All vendors with a valid SAM.gov registration should be able to register in Research.gov.

55) Table B.1 lists CLIN X001 as a firm fixed price CLIN for the contract period, and E.1

Volume III – Price Quotation states “The offeror shall propose pricing in support of the

SOW…” and “The offeror shall identify the labor categories with the actual title….”

Task 3.2 “The Offeror will work with the COR and technical points of contact to develop one (1) to three (3) standardized surveys of three (3) to five (5) questions…” In order to provide an accurate FFP quote and have fairness in evaluation, can the Government define the exact number of deliverables for each task?

This requirement is being solicited as Time and Material. See Amendment 0001

56) Subtask 4.2 references “the offeror will work with NSF event management to produce the session, including connection of conference room and online presence, display of slides and other visuals, and obtaining appropriate audio equipment.” Can the Government provide more details and clarification around what “Obtaining appropriate audio equipment” entails? Will this scope be to contact internal NSF IT or will the contractor be expected to purchase items?

The Government will provide audio-visual equipment, and the contractor will work with

NSF staff to ensure appropriate setup.

57) Tasks 5 and 6 are listed as Optional Tasks – Surge CLIN, but no such CLIN is listed in

B.1. Will the Government provide an additional CLIN in B.1 for these tasks to be accounted for?

These tasks are included in the 1001 CLIN as an optional surge capacity to cover additional required efforts.

58) Can the Government confirm all written deliverables will be provided electronically?

Yes.

59) RFQ states that main text should be "...minimum font size of 12", please clarify if there are differing formatting requirements for headers, footers, and figure descriptions.

In the interest of simplicity and efficiency, there are no additional specified formatting requirements. Offerors should take care not to abuse the quotation formatting in order to circumvent general page limitations.

60) Can the Government clarify if there are formatting requirements for margins and using landscape for certain graphics or charts?

See above.

61) Can the Government confirm if there is a preferred Excel template for the pricing volume?

There is no preferred template, however offerors should ensure that relevant information, such as ceiling prices and labor rates and labor hours, are provided.

62) Will there be a timeline extension if the comments made on the Environmental Scan by the COR push the due date to past the two-week limit as stated in Task 2 but limited by the February 7th timeline stated in the Notional Timeline?

The Government will negotiate changes if unexpected delays arise. The timelines are delineated as notional to permit these revisions as needed. As this is intended as a Time and Materials contract, it is expected that minimal contract changes will be necessary.

63) In Task 3, the Government states that the final version of the Engagement Toolkit will be due “... within two (2) weeks of receipt of comments and edits from the COR” yet in

Notional Timeline it has the Updated Engagement Toolkit and Final Engagement Toolkit scheduled to be due within a week of each other. Can the government clarify the deliverable expectations for the updated and final Engagement Toolkit?

The deliverable expectations are as assumed in the notional timeline. We expect revisions to the updated toolkit to be less extensive than the initial version.

64) In Attachment 1, Task 3. Support for Internal and External Community Engagement - can we assume they the government can connect us with community stakeholders, or that we'll need to recruit those stakeholders independently?

The Government will identify the external stakeholders. The contractor will be responsible for managing communications and connections on behalf of the NSF once the community stakeholders have been identified.

65) In Attachment 1, Task 4. Host Listening Sessions for NSF Staff and External

Communities of Interest - as the primary goal of the listening sessions is to solicit input, would the government be amenable to having smaller session sizes? With groups of 100, we believe it would be difficult to meaningfully gather and collate the input.

The Government would prefer to keep those sizes, and prefers to collect input from as many NSF staff as possible.

66) The solicitation requests up to 8 programmatic reports and then provides subject area examples including creating opportunities everywhere, and research infrastructure. Are the linked documents provided examples of the summary reports the government is requesting, or additional context/background information for the offeror?

They are additional context/background for the offeror.

67) Will the offeror be responsible for identifying and renting locations for the external listening sessions. If so, will a budget be provided to rent space for these sessions?

No, the offeror will not be responsible for identifying or renting locations.

68) Will the offeror be responsible for identifying participants to attend the external listening sessions or will the government identify those individuals?

No, see the answer to question 64.

69) Can the government please clarify if they intend to exercise Task 5 and 6 in the Base Year or Option Period? If these tasks are part of the base year, can the government add an addition CLIN for optional tasks in both the base and option periods.

The Surge tasks will only be exercised as an optional extension of the Period of

Performance.

70) Can the government please clarify if all listening sessions in the optional task are virtual or in person?

The sessions in the optional task are not strictly defined as either virtual or in person.

71) Can the government provide an estimate of the anticipated number of comments received on a similar FRN so the vendor can estimate the level of effort for subtask 3.4?

The Government estimates 400-500, however those are not guaranteed amounts. A prior similar FRN received less than half that amount, but we anticipate increased engagement and awareness, so increased the estimate for this requirement.

72) Can the government clarify the expected travel requirements and expected number of personnel to travel on the set travel budget, particularly for the listening sessions outside the DC area?

The Travel CLINs are noted as plug figures to avoid prejudicing the competition, and to ensure that all offerors are on an equal footing. There is no additional information regarding travel aside from the plug figure amount. All travel will be required to be approved in advance by the COR or the CO prior to expenditure of funds.

73) To enable commercial subcontractor(s) to propose pricing not offered on the offeror’s

GSA schedule, will the Government please allow Order-Level Materials (OLMS), open market items, or for the offeror to present subcontractor pricing as a separate ODC line item?

No, the only CLINs will be T&M Labor and Travel, no other ODCs will be expected or permitted.

74) For the internal listening sessions; will the offeror be required to provide facilitation services for the event or will NSF staff be facilitating those discussions?

Yes, that one of the main components of this requirement.

75) For the external listening sessions; will the offeror be required to provide facilitation services for the event or will NSF staff be facilitating those discussions?

Yes, that one of the main components of this requirement.

76) "For the external listening sessions the attachment states: ""The Offeror will work with

NSF event management to produce the session, including connection of conference room and online presence, display of slides and other visuals, and obtaining appropriate audio equipment." Will the offeror be required to find, secure, and pay for adequate conference space and A/V support or will that be the responsibility of NSF Event Management? If it is the responsibility of NSF event management, how much lead time do they require from initial request to the event?

The Government will provide audio-visual equipment, and the contractor will work with

NSF staff to ensure appropriate setup. There may be a lead time, however that will be determined during performance as part of ongoing setup activities.

77) Do you anticipate there will be a phase 2 (year 2) where an actual strategic plan will be developed, and a learning agenda defined?

No.

78) Do you see a role for a Generative AI tool to be used to facilitate or analyze stakeholder input?

While Qualtrics does contain a generative AI tool, the Government does not currently envision an expansion of that into other areas for this requirement.

79) Will stakeholder listening sessions be conducted concurrently or sequentially?

Sequentially.

80) How often do you anticipate onsite meetings at the NSF HQ?

Outside of listening sessions, extremely rare.

81) Has NSF used consultants in the past for strategic planning assistance, or was this done in house?

NSF had largely conducted these activities in house.

82) Other than the onsite engagements, is there an expectation for onsite personnel?

No.