5. QA Summary RFP 202510143 BRFSS_Final.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 15 KB Posted
- Attached to
- (BRFSS) Data Collection and Management
- Solicitation number
- RFP - 10A - 202510143
- Issued by
- Maine
About this file
This is a Quality Assurance Summary document from the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services addressing clarifications and responses to bidder questions regarding RFP #202510143 for Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Data Collection and Management services. The RFP solicits proposals for conducting approximately 10,200 annual surveys using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) software, with a minimum of 150 landline and 700 cell phone surveys monthly distributed across Maine's 16 counties. Bidders must submit questions by January 30, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. local time, with final proposals due through the Vendor Self Service System by April 21, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. local time. The initial contract period runs from October 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028, with two optional renewal periods potentially extending through September 30, 2031. Key deliverables include survey design and programming, quality assurance procedures with 5% monthly verification of completed surveys, weekly completion summaries, monthly frequency reports, and quarterly stratum reports, with all data submitted to the Federal CDC and the Department.
Pricing will be based on fixed amounts covering 1,800 landline and 8,400 cell phone surveys annually, with the lowest cost proposal receiving full cost points in the evaluation. The cost proposal must cover both the 2027 and 2028 data collection cycles with an expected average survey length of 31 minutes. All Awardee personnel must be U.S. citizens or authorized to work in the United States, at least 18 years old, and physically located in the United States when working on the project. The incumbent vendor is Logit, U.S., Inc. Maine BRFSS is funded through a combination of federal, state, and other stakeholder funds. The QA document clarifies critical requirements including submission format specifications, file upload procedures allowing separation into multiple files due to size constraints, accessibility testing requirements within 21 calendar days of contract start, and personnel security clearances due to the sensitivity of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Additionally, the document specifies that approximately 18,000 advance letters were mailed in 2025, surveys are conducted in English only, and bidders must comply with MaineIT Policies and Standards including NIST 800-53 Rev 5 security controls and 99.9% monthly system uptime requirements.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 4. BRFSS Cost Proposal Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 2. BRFSS Technical Assessment Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 1. RFP 202510143 BRFSS Data Collection_Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| 3. BRFSS Proposed Services Response Form-Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| QA Summary RFP 202510143 BRFSS Additional Questions FINAL.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 5. QA Summary RFP 202510143 BRFSS_Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 3. BRFSS Proposed Services Response Form-Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| 4. BRFSS Cost Proposal Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 1. RFP 202510143 BRFSS Data Collection_Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| QA Summary RFP 202510143 BRFSS Additional Questions FINAL.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 2. BRFSS Technical Assessment Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 2. BRFSS Technical Assessment Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 3. BRFSS Proposed Services Response Form-Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| 4. BRFSS Cost Proposal Form-Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 1. RFP 202510143 BRFSS Data Collection_Final.docx | DOCX document |
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Text version
Sheet1
| Question | Answer |
| The State provided two documents, both called Appendix H Cost Proposal, page 18 states "Excel format preferred". Can the State please clarify that only one version of Appendix H is needed for submission and not both the word and excel versions? | Bidders must provide Appendix H (as a word or PDF document) and the Cost Proposal spreadsheet in an Excel format. |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel working on this project must be US citizens or authorized to work in the United States? | Confirmed |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel working on this project must be adults 18 years of age or older? | Confirmed |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel working on this project must be physically located in the United States when working on this project? | Confirmed |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel conducting surveys on this project must be physically located in the United States when completing these activities? | Confirmed |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel conducting surveys on this project must be adults 18 years of age or older? | Confirmed |
| Given the sensitivity of PHI and PII in the sample, can the State please confirm that all Awardee's Personnel conducting surveys on this project must be US citizens or authorized to work in the United States? | Confirmed |
| In order to provide the State with the most complete information, specifically regarding the security requirements, would the State be willing to allow respondents to submit a supplement in addition to the technical response? | No. Bidders must respond to all questions and instructions as defined in Part IV of the RFP in order to demonstrate the Bidder’s qualifications, experience, and ability to perform the requirements specified throughout the RFP. As also stated in Part IV of the RFP: “Bidders are not to provide additional attachments beyond those specified in the RFP for the purpose of extending their response. Additional materials not requested will not be considered part of the proposal and will not be evaluated.” |
| The solicitation states files are limited to 15 MB. The portal will only accept files up to 15000KB and only up to 5 files total, zipped or not. We anticipate our response being larger than the allowed 15000KB per file and/or potentially needing to upload more than 5 files. |
Is the State able to modify the amount of files allowed or the size of the files to accommodate submissions? How would the State prefer to receive files/ responses that are too large for the portal? The system will only allow files up to 15MB. Vendors must submit their submission files through VSS. As stated in the RFP, Part III. D.2.e., Bidders may separate their submissions into multiple files, as necessary, due to file size concerns.
Vendors may attach more than five (5) files, however, only five (5) files may be attached at one time. Vendors should upload the first five (5), then repeat the uploading process again for the next five (5) files. This is covered in the video Responding to Solicitations in VSS (Training Video - September 2025) located on the Vendor Self Service webpage.
| To confirm, the pricing provided will be for both 2027 and 2028 data collection cycles and renegotiated should the Department choose to exercise the contract renewal periods. Correct? | Correct. The cost proposal must cover the initial period of performance 10/1/2026 - 12/31/2028). | |
| To confirm, vendors should assume a total length of 31 minutes for both 2027 and 2028 data collection cycles. Correct? | Though Maine has not yet planned 2027 and 2028 BRFSS questionnaires, the goal will be an average total length of less than 30 minutes. 31 minutes is a reasonable expectation for the average length of the Maine BRFSS for the purpose of preparing a bid in response to the RFP. | |
| To confirm, Part A and Part B are two separate survey splits. | Parts A & B are separate survey versions, which are also commonly referred to as paths or splits. Each version contains the same core and some common optional modules and state-added questions. Part A & B may include differing optional modules or state-added questions. | |
| To confirm, Maine only mails to landline matched sample, not cell phone. | Advance Letters are to be sent to landline phone numbers from the Sample with an associated address. | |
| Can the Department provide either the total number of landline letters mailed in 2025 or an estimate for vendors to use for pricing? | Approximately 18,000 Advance Letters were mailed in 2025. | |
| We assume the costs of mailing letters should be included in the landline unit rate, correct? | The cost of printing, preparing, and mailing the Advance Letters will be the responsibility of the awarded Bidder. | |
| Is the Maine BRFSS conducted in English only? Or English and Spanish? If Spanish interviews are collected, can the Department provide an expected percentage of completed interviews in Spanish? | At this time, the expectation is for surveys to be conducted in English only. | |
| Part I, C.1.c, Application Deployment Certification Policy, is Accessibility Testing required for the CATI survey, and if so, at what point should the report be submitted, with the proposal, or after Accessibility Testing is complete? | Yes, Accessibility Testing is required for the CATI survey. The awarded Bidder must submit the report within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the start of the initial period of performance. | |
| Is "required information" under Part II, C.3. limited to the evidence requested on the Technical Assessment Form? | Yes, but subject to future MaineIT policy changes. | |
| Is an architectural diagram required if the proposed solution uses a third-party survey platform? | Yes. | |
| Can the State please clarify what is meant by, "Verify the validity of the call prior to conducting BRFSS survey?" | The awarded Bidder must ensure the number being called is in the BRFSS sample and the call is conducted by an interviewer trained for administering BRFSS surveys. | |
| Are disclosures required in cases where the Offeror is subject to contractual confidentiality or non-disclosure obligations that restrict the disclosure of specific terms? | Bidders may mark some portion of their proposal as confidential. If a Bidder marks some portion of their proposal as confidential then the Department will provide the Bidder with a reasonable opportunity to object to public disclosure of the proposal. The Department, however, provides no assurance regarding whether any portion of the proposal will ultimately be determined to be confidential and not publicly disclosed. | |
| Appendix E - Litigation Disclosure: Would the State accept a redacted or summary-level disclosure if Offeror is subject to contractual non-disclosure obligations? | Bidders may mark some portion of their proposal as confidential. If a Bidder marks some portion of their proposal as confidential then the Department will provide the Bidder with a reasonable opportunity to object to public disclosure of the proposal. The Department, however, provides no assurance regarding whether any portion of the proposal will ultimately be determined to be confidential and not publicly disclosed. | |
| State Forms & Templates - Service Contract (SC), Insurance Requirements: | ||
| Would the State accept alternative language requiring the Contractor to provide notice as soon as practicable upon receipt of notice from its insurer? | The awarded Bidder will be required to obtain and maintain, and submit to the Department prior to contract execution, insurance as outlined in the current State of Maine IT-Service Contract (IT-SC), Rider B-IT, Section 19. Insurance Requirements on a standard ACORD form (or the equivalent). | |
| What proportion of partial interviews will count toward the annual target of 10,200 interviews? | The 10,200 interview target is for fully completed interviews. Partial interviews are not included in the targeted number. | |
| Rider B, Section 1 - Time & Materials Documentation: | ||
| Does "rate of pay" refer to the fully burdened/billable labor rate proposed in the Cost Proposal, or to individual employee base salary or compensation information? | Fully burdened/billable rate for conducting the BRFSS deliverables. | |
| How many advance letters were sent in 2025? | Approximately 18,000 Advance Letters were mailed in 2025. | |
| Rider B, Section 1 - Time & Materials Documentation: | ||
| Please confirm whether redacted timekeeping records are acceptable to protect confidential personnel information. | Confirmed. | |
| The RFP mentions a Part A and Part B survey. Based on the RFP half the respondents will get Part A, and half will get Part B. It is assumed that the questionnaire is programmed as a dual path questionnaire that randomly selects respondent for either survey A or survey B. Is this the case? And if not, how is the current questionnaire administered for survey A and survey B? | The assumption that the questionnaire is programmed as dual path with random selection for the Part is correct. This is not required of the awarded Bidder, but this practice is commonly used and is an efficient means for conducting the BRFSS. Part A and Part B surveys are required to be conducted during each month of BRFSS data collection. | |
| a. Does the CDC provide the preprogrammed questionnaire for ME BRFSS? |
b. If so, if it is a dual path questionnaire is that programmed into the CDC questionnaire. a. The US CDC provides a Ci3 WinCATI programmed version of the yearly questionnaire's Core and Optional Modules. The awarded Bidder will be responsible to program each of Maine's two specific questionnaire versions.
b. Maine currently utilizes a dual path questionnaire, but does not utilize WinCATI.
| Is the source of funding for this project federal, state, or a combination of the two? | Maine BRFSS is funded through a combination of federal, state, and other stakeholder funds. |
| Part II, A.3.b.ii states “Mail the Department provided Advanced Letters monthly, to all available matched addresses provided quarterly, from the Federal CDC in the selected landline BRFSS Part A and Part B Survey Sample.” |
a. Does this mean that the Department will provide the total number of Advances Letters needed each month, or that a copy of the Advanced Letter will be provided to the awarded bidder and they will print the number of Advanced Letters needed each month?
b. Whether the Awarded Bidder prints the needed monthly Advances Letters or the Department provides them, it is assumed the inserting of the letter, the enveloped, and the postage will all be provided by the Awarded Bidder. Is this correct? a. The Department will provide one letter in electronic form.
b. The cost of printing, preparing, and mailing the Advance Letters will be the responsibility of the awarded Bidder.
Part II, A.3.a. states Part A and Part B survey question may be up to 200 questions in length.
a. What was the total number of questions in Part A and Part B of the 2025 questionnaire; and
b. The questionnaire being used for this year’s (2026) data collection? Including the cell phone introduction, but not the landline introduction, the paths included:
a. 2025; Part A - 174 questions, Part B - 193 questions
b. 2026; Part A - 169 questions, Part B - 194 questions Part II, A.5.d. states “Provide remote monitoring of staff who conduct BRFSS Surveys using unobtrusive electronic two-way audio and video technology.”
a. Does this statement mean that the awarded Bidder needs to have these capabilities internally, or that the awarded Bidder needs make these available to Department staff as well?
b. Also, there is no percentage of call indicated for this time of monitoring. Is there a specific percentage the awarded Bidder needs to achieve? a. The awarded Bidder is required to have and utilize unobtrusive electronic two-way audio and video technology. The awarded Bidder does not need to make these available to the Department.
b. The awarded Bidder is expected to follow BRFSS Protocol, which states: "Unless supervisory monitoring of 10% of all interviews is being routinely conducted, a 5% random sample of each month’s interviews must be called back to verify selected responses for quality assurance."
Who is the incumbent vendor conducting the ME BRFSS survey currently Logit, U.S., Inc.
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