Solicitation 693JJ324Q000068 Questions and Answers.pdf

Questions and Answers – Solicitation 693JJ324Q000068

Question Answer Is the allocated budget of $550K to cover the first year of the contract with provisions for budget increment in the following two years?

No, there is an allocated amount of 350k for the first year with provisions to increase to at least 550k total in the following 2 years.

Please elaborate on “just-in-time” technical support and assistance.

The contractor should be prepared to address needs and requests of the technical assistance recipients in a timely manner within the scope discussed by the COR and contractor.

For a firm that has been contributing in a subconsultant role, how will Factor 3: Past Performance be evaluated?

The government may check past performance on any subconsultants listed in the contractor’s price proposal.

Would the cover letter count towards the page limit?

No

Would providing technical support to the FHWA via this procurement likely preclude the firm/consultant from related DOT work in the future?

At this time FHWA does not anticipate that this work will create an organization conflict of interest for related future work. However, contractors must comply with RFQ section 4.8 and notify the CO if and when they become aware of a conflict of interest.

Can the government please confirm what font and font size to use for the response?

Font size minimum is 12 for text and 10 for tables. Font style shall be either Arial or Times New Roman.

Can the government please confirm what font size is acceptable for tables and figures in this response?

Font size minimum is 12 for text and 10 for tables. Font style shall be either Arial or Times New Roman.

Can the government please confirm if "life of the contract" refers to the base year or the combined base year and two option years?

Base plus all options (other than the additional support optional CLIN) is the life of the contract.

Page 4 states that “Quoters should not interpret this figure [$550,000] as a ceiling... The Government may select an offer for award with a price below, at, or exceeding this figure if it finds that the quoter provides the best value and funds are available.” The SOW includes may activities and deliverables that are described as optional, flexible, or to be fully scoped after award. Based on the suite of required and potential services requested, we believe the estimated price of $550,000 is significantly under-stated. Will FHWA reconsider the estimated price for this work?

This is not a ceiling, but an indication of the government’s available budget for this requirement. Please tailer your technical approach to the information provided in section 1.3.

The government desires expertise in "Information Technology and Webpage Development staff capable of updating existing webpages and evaluating success of outreach." Can the government please confirm what support for this task will involve? Particularly, can you confirm whether the required expertise is limited to working with HPA staff to incorporate updates, The government website is located on the drupal platform. No expertise in web design is needed.

Support will be for drafting text and graphics that the COR can publish on the website. The contractor will not need to interface with HPA staff.

Questions and Answers – Solicitation 693JJ324Q000068 assist with content and format improvements, and obtain tracking metrics?

Will the virtual and in-person workshops combine the State DOTs (and their localities and stakeholder cohorts) or will each State DOT (and its localities and stakeholder cohort) have its own set of virtual and in-person workshops?

The government anticipates that the virtual and in person workshops will combine the state DOTs and their localities and stakeholders. It may be needed to work directly with state DOTs without their cohorts through meetings other than the workshops. The scale of work will be determined by the COR in collaboration with the contractor based on available budget, best practices, and state DOT requests. Requirements may be modified in relation to emerging best practice and project budget.

Can the government confirm the meaning of "technical support"? Might we be responsible for developing the curriculum or meeting materials, such as presentation decks or talking points?

Yes.

Can the government confirm the meaning of "technical support"?

Yes. Will be determined by the COR based on identified needs by the state DOTs after award.

The SOW states "this option may be exercised more than once up to but not to exceed amount for this CLIN under the contract." Can the government please clarify the "not to exceed amount" for CLIN 00301? Is the “not to exceed amount” per exercised option or a total for all exercised options?

The not to exceed amount is the total for all times the option is exercised and should be based on 200 hours of work (calculated using a contractor proposed labor mix). For example: If the contractor proposes a NTE ceiling of 100k, the government can exercise this once for 50k and then a second time for an additional 50k.

Can the government confirm that the "price" column should list a price per month and the "total" column should list the not-to-exceed value?

Yes, that is correct. If the price is not estimated to be the same each month, the price column can be left blank.