49100425Q0002 Q and A.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 14 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 49100425Q0002
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document for RFQ 49100425Q0002 regarding the NSF Regional Innovation Engines Program Evaluation. The document addresses nine questions covering budget, evaluation process, timeline, and scope details. Key details include an anticipated start date of April 16, 2025, confirmation that evaluation will follow an internal review process rather than NSF's grant review process, and clarification that nine Engines spanning 16 states should be used as the basis for pricing estimates.
The Q&A provides important technical details about data collection methods (administered via Qualtrics), deliverable expectations for the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) report (up to 15 updates), and confirmation of Other Direct Costs values, including a higher amount ($123,000) in Optional Year 3 for software renewal versus $23,000 in other years. The document also clarifies that while a second cohort of Engine awardees will be excluded from Phase I summative evaluation, they may be included in an update pending funding availability.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 49100425Q0002-0003 RFQ Amendment.pdf | ||
| 49100425Q0002-0002 RFQ Amendment.pdf | ||
| 49100425Q0002 Q and A Part 2.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 49100425Q0002-0001 RFQ Amendment.pdf | ||
| 49100425Q0002 RFQ.pdf | ||
| Attachment 1 - Section 508 Accessibility Requirements.pdf |
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Sheet1
| # | RFQ Section | RFQ Page Number | Question | Answer |
| 1 | N/A | N/A | Is there a funding amount (maximum) for the annual budget recommended at all? Can you share the funding amount for the current contract? | NSF will not be providing a recommended budget range or level of effort for this solicitation. |
The award ID for the prior requirement is 49100423P0029; information for this acquisition can be obtained through the SAM.gov Data Bank or FPDS.gov. However, the scope of these requirements is not equivalent and this is not a direct follow-on.
| 2 | N/A | N/A | Will this be evaluated via the typical NSF grant review process, or is it an internal review? | This acquisition will not follow the NSF grant review process. The evaluation will be an internal review process. The evaluation factors and their level of importance are established in provision 52.212-2. |
| 3 | N/A | N/A | What is the anticipated start date? | The anticipated start date is April 16, 2025. However, the acquisition may start sooner or later than this date dependent upon the time required to award the contract. |
| 4 | N/A | N/A | What is NSF’s estimated level of effort and anticipated budget range for this evaluation? | See Question #1. |
| 5 | III. Scope | 6 | On p. 6, the SOW indicates that “Presently, there are nine engines spanning 16 states.” However, publicly-available information indicates that there are 10 engines in the inaugural portfolio (see https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/regional-innovation-engines/portfolio). Can NSF confirm the number of current engines that will be included in the evaluation? | For pricing and planning purposes, nine Engines may be used as the basis for the estimates. |
| 6 | III. Scope | 6 | Can NSF confirm that Engine awardees from future cohorts are expected to be included in the evaluation (for example, awardees from the solicitation due February 2025)? If so, for budgeting purposes, can NSF provide an estimated number of awardees that offerors should assume in a second cohort? Given the timing of the phase I report (p. 12), would this second cohort be excluded from phase I, or should offerors assume an update to the phase I report would be an additional deliverable later in the contract? | The overall number of future NSF Engines awards has not been determined at this time. Please refer to the solicitation for the second cohort for any details or updates on that acquisition. |
The second cohort will be excluded from the Phase I summative evaluation but may be included in an update to the Phase I report as an additional deliverable pending availability of funds.
| 7 | Task 4 | 8 | The RFQ references “survey instruments used in the NSF Engines programmatic data collection.” How is this data collection administered and how will the data be shared with the contractor? Can NSF share the survey instruments? | Data collection is administered by NSF via Qualtrics. Pending background clearance of the contractor, NSF will either have Qualtrics accounts created for the contractor to access the survey instruments or raw data will be shared with the contractor. |
| 8 | Task 5 | 9 | On p. 9, the SOW indicates that “the Contractor shall deliver [the SEM] report up to fifteen times—anytime there is a change in the survey instruments and/or anytime additional NSF Engine award recipients are added to the program.” For budgeting purposes, can NSF clarify whether these deliverables are expected to be independent reports, or primarily updated/revised tables? Can NSF also indicate how the offerors should assume the potential 15 updates are distributed between changes in the survey instrument versus changes in the sample? | We anticipate these to be updated/revised reports. At this moment, we do not have an estimate of the breakdown between changes in the survey instrument vs changes in the sample. We anticipate that changes in the survey instrument would be subject to significant changes in our understanding of how latent variables relate to one another as specified from new findings in the academic literature. We anticipate changes in the sample will primarily be limited to the addition of new cohorts, pending availability of funds appropriated by Congress. |
| 9 | Pricing | 14 | Can NSF confirm the values for the Travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs)? Specifically, is the plug number for ODCs in Optional Year 3 ($123,000) supposed to differ from the other years ($23,000 per year)? | That is correct. The variance in anticipated ODCs for Option Year 3 is due to a planned renewal for software necessary for the performance of the requirement. |
&"Microsoft Sans Serif,Bold"CUI//SP-CONTRACT//FED ONLY 49100425Q0002
&"Microsoft Sans Serif,Bold"CUI//SP-CONTRACT//FED ONLY 49100425Q0002
CUI Contact: cui@nsf.gov
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