RFP 693JJ921R000008 Questions and Responses.pdf

RFP # 693JJ921R000008

Title: Small Business Behavioral Safety Research Support

Questions and NHTSA Response

1. Given the timing of existing project end-of-year closeouts and the Christmas/New Year holidays, we respectfully request a due date extension to Tuesday 1/12/2020.

NHTSA Response: NHTSA will extend the due date for proposal to January 5, 2021.

2. What is the Period of Performance for each period? For example, is the POP for Year 1 6/1/21 –

5/31/22?

NHTSA Response: The period of performance will be a base period of thirty-six (36) months with no more than two (2) twelve (12) month option periods for a total possible period of performance of sixty

(60) months. The anticipated award date is May 31, 2021.

3. Please clarify. On pages 18-19 of the RFP and in Attachment 3, NHTSA request for year 6 rates, and in the RFP it says it is just for six (6) months and it’s for November 1999 (page 18/75), but in

F.1.2 on page 27, it says the POP is for five (5) years.

NHTSA Response: The period of performance for the IDIQ contract will be five (5) years. The rates requested for B.6.6 is per FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999). This request is for the end of year five (5) through six (6) months. This period is not included in the contracts period of performance.

4. A twenty-five (25) page limit is mentioned on page 66 of the RFP. Is this page limit for the detailed hypothetical task response only, or for the entire technical proposal? We are reading it as twenty-five (25) pages for the hypothetical; meaning all supporting documentation (proposed staff, corporate experience, etc.) would be in addition to the hypothetical section. If this assumption is correct, please provide a page limit for the remainder (non-hypothetical) portion of the technical proposal.

NHTSA Response: The twenty-five (25) pages are to include the hypothetical task response and a brief discussion of staffing assignments. Corporate experience, resumes, and scheduling information are not included in the twenty-five (25) page limit and go in the appendix. Additional information may be included in the appendix, but only the factors listed in Section M.2 will be evaluated.

5. Should resumes be provided fro all project personnel believed to be necessary to meet contract requirements on only key personnel. Is there a resume page limit for the hypothetical task and/or the overall IDIQ proposal discussed in Section L.7.2 b and c in Response to Hypothetical Task

Order and Qualifications of Proposed Personnel

NHTSA Response: Resumes should be provided for all project personnel believed to be necessary to meet contract requirements. They should be limited to two (2) pages and focus on education and experience relevant to the individual’s role in the project.

6. Is a separate cost proposal expected for the hypothetical? If so, is it part of the business proposal or part of the response to the hypothetical? If part of the hypothetical, will it be included in the twenty-five (25) page limit?

NHTSA Response: The cost proposal for the hypothetical task should be included in the business proposal per sections L.7.2.b Response to Hypothetical Task Order and L.7.3 Business Management

Proposal.

7. For L.7.2.d, is ten (10) pages limit for each past performance, or ten (10) pages total for all three

(3) past performance?

NHTSA Response: The limit is ten (10) pages for similar projects completed over the past five (5) years (no number of projects is specified) to demonstrate experience in this type of project. In addition, three (3) references related to similar projects are required to demonstrate quality of work performed.

8. Where is the place of performance? Where will the contractor staff work, NHTSA facility or contractor’s location)?

NHTSA Response: The contractor staff will work at a contractor site; data collection work will likely occur in various locations based on the demands of each task order.

9. Can a smaller font size be used for tables, figures, and captions?

NHTSA Response: No.

10. Will individual “Lots” be awarded for this particular IDIQ?

a) If not, will successful Offeror receive a single IDIQ award allowing them to bid on all task order RFPs?

b) Assuming there are no official “Lots” - the RFP mentions four distinct research categories that future projects may be related to:

1. Field Data Collection

2. Crash & Injury Statistical Analyses

3. Program Evaluation

4. Human Factors/Technology Evaluation

For example, if a Offerors showed proficiency in three (3) out of four (4) of the above, would that Offeror be deemed unqualified? That is, is the expectation that the successful

Offeror be proficient in all four (4) areas?

NHTSA Response: No individual lots will be awarded as most planned work requires experience in field data collection, crash and injury statistical analyses, program evaluation, and human factors/technology. An Offeror proficient in three (3) of these four (4) task types could subcontract to fulfill the need for the remaining skill. However, the PI should adequately conversant in all areas in order to be capable of overseeing the accomplishment of the project.

11. Do the labor categories have Education and years of experience requirements?

NHTSA Response: No; however, resumes should demonstrate that each proposed staff member has a combination of education and experience to demonstrate their capability to fulfill the requirements of their assigned position.

12. Can the government tell us the historical number of research project that occur?

NHTSA Response: NHTSA estimates that five (5) research projects have been completed per fiscal year.

13. Can the government tell us the historical labor on each project?

NHTSA Response: No, NHTSA does not track the historic labor per project. Labor categories will be provided in task order RFPs for each future project.

14. Section L.7.2 regarding the technical proposal reads as if there are three (3) parts to the IDIQ

Technical Proposal: The hypothetical task order technical proposal, qualifications of proposed personnel, and corporate experience and past performance. Will the government accept other information in the technical proposal, such as an introduction to the team, management approach, and approach to meeting the IDIQ requirements or should that not be included?

NHTSA Response: The proposal will only be evaluated based on the factors listed in Section M.2; any additional information is not required per the RFP.

15. Does the Corporate Experience on projects have to be from the same contract? Or do they have to be different contracts? Or a mix?

NHTSA Response: Corporate Experience should reflect the Offeror’s full range of relevant experience. A single contract may demonstrate experience in multiple types of tasks (e.g., field data collection and program evaluation); however, limiting the amount of relevant work reported could underrepresent the Offeror’s level of experience.

16. Are the three (3) references required to come from the project(s) sited or can they be from other contracts? Can the references come from one project or contract?

NHTSA Response: The references should come from cited projects; they should come from three (3) different projects/contracts.

17. Can both prime and subcontractor past performance be submitted in response to the requirements for Corporate Experience and Past Performance?

NHTSA Response: Yes, but the Offeror will be evaluated on their ability to successfully accomplish the task and the Offeror’s past experience and performance.

18. [P 67 c]: Are all the listed labor categories considered to be “key” personnel? Are administrative staff included?

NHTSA Response: Not all listed labor categories are considered “key” personnel; key personnel are generally the PI, and others whose assigned tasks require advanced degrees and/or extensive experience, and upon whom the success of the project relies.

19. Can one individual satisfy more than one key personnel role?

NHTSA Response: Yes, so long as they are qualified for each role.

20. Is it allowable to include personnel authorized to work in the U.S., but currently based overseas?

NHTSA Response: Yes

21. L.7.2: Technical Proposal: “Identification of any research and literature review limitations.” We understand that research and literature are part of the scope of work for this project, to be delivered when completing task orders - what is expected to be included in the Technical

Proposal at this time?

NHTSA Response: The technical proposal is to provide a response to the hypothetical task as would be expected in response to an RFP for a Task Order under this IDIQ. The purpose of the hypothetical task is to allow Offerors to demonstrate their ability to address each part of the hypothetical task as described under L.7.2.b; the Hypothetical Task attachment explains what is required in the proposal.

Research and literature review limitations refers to any factors of the hypothetical task that could pose a barrier to completing the project as planned.

22. "In many instances, data collection procedures may require prior approval from the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) and an institutional review board (IRB)."

a) Is there a current OMB/IRB?

b) If yes, when does it expire?

c) If no, is the Contractor expected to complete the OMB/IRB approval process?

NHTSA Response: Research involving human subjects requires IRB approval; NHTSA-sponsored projects that collect data from more than nine (9) participants requires approval of an Information

Collection Request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork reduction act. As most projects envisioned under this IDIQ require collecting data from human subjects, Offerors should be familiar with processes for acquiring both IRB and OMB approval. The Contractor is responsible for acquiring IRB approval before collecting data from human subjects, and is responsible for developing and submitting to the COR(TO) a draft OMB Information Collection Request specific to the project to be submitted by NHTSA. As both OMB and IRB approval are required for each project

(task order), there is no current approval.

23. "In other cases, data will be available in hard copy only, which will require more extensive labor to organize"

a) Where are the current hard copies of data located?

b) Is there access control or security protocols we should be aware in order to come on-site and access the hard copy data?

NHTSA Response: Data type and availability will vary across Task Orders. Instances of the need to access hard copy data are increasingly rare, but may include State datasets, or data from other sources.

Requirements for protecting privacy will vary depending on the type of data involved; aggregated or deidentified data will require little or no security protocols while other datasets that include things like names or driver’s license numbers require more extensive security precautions.

24. "In some cases, the Contractor may need to collect data during the task order, such as seat belt observations or vehicle speeds ….Field Data Collection will require the Contractor to send staff to specific locations to collect the data underlying the research activity”

a) Can you advise of the potential location or historically where these field studies have taken place?

b) If you cannot provide specifics, can you specify rural or suburban; west or east coast?

NHTSA Response: NHTSA cannot provide specific locations; historically these have been carried out across the country in rural, suburban, and urban locations.

25. For the hypothetical task order, is there a “period of performance” that should be used by the small businesses who respond to the RFP? And, similarly, is there an "estimated level of effort" to complete the Hypothetical Task Order that should be considered or used by the small businesses who respond with a proposal?

NHTSA Response: Assume a forty (40) month period of performance.

26. In the hypothetical task order, is Requirement 4 intended to encompass actual collection of data and analysis of data – or does it only include development and reporting of the plan (and all of its elements)?

NHTSA Response: Because the task order is hypothetical, none of the work will be carried out;

Offerors are to provide a detailed plan for carrying out each of the requirements. However, do not include the time to carry out the evaluation in the forty (40) month period of performance.

27. In the hypothetical task order, what assumptions should be made about the Ped/Bike Flag device itself? For example, should it be assumed that this hypothetical device could be purchased "off-the-shelf" by the research team in any numbers needed to carry out data collection under

Requirement 3 and 4? Should a per-unit cost for the Ped/Bike Flag device be assumed and figured into the study costs? Should an installation cost per vehicle be included also? (And similarly should a per-vehicle cost for removal of the device be assumed?) Or should it be assumed that the Ped/Bike Flag device must be built from scratch (and that a sufficient number must be built -- etc.?) Please clarify what should be done in this regard.

NHTSA Response: Offerors shall Assume the Ped/Bike Flag is available on the market at a cost of

$150 and takes about an hour for a person with no special training (e.g., the vehicle owner) to install on any passenger vehicle; it can be removed in about thirty (30) minutes without causing damage to the vehicle. Keep in mind that the focus of the Hypothetical Task is the effect of the device on drivers’ behavior, not to provide insight as to the device’s installation, removal, design or functioning. This is a behavioral, not an engineering, project.

28. Page 67 of the RFP says that: “(The proposal need not describe a kickoff as these are similar across projects.)” However, other elements of the RFP refer to the kickoff meeting and imply that it has been conceptualized with enough detail to be able to calculate its cost. For example, page

71 requests that the cost of the kickoff meeting be specified. Presumably it would be acceptable

(even though not required) to describe the kickoff meeting briefly in order to support the cost calculations required on page 71. Could you confirm – or else clarify -- what you would like to see included about the kickoff meeting?

NHTSA Response: Page 67 indicates that the proposal need not discuss a kickoff for the Hypothetical

Task; the description under C.4 (pages 2-23) and page 71 refer to a kickoff for the base IDIQ Contract.

The kickoff meeting for the Base IDIQ Contract will be conducted with all award recipients with

NHTSA’s Office of Acquisition Management (OAM) and the program office.

29. Within the hypothetical task order description, what is meant by naturalistic? Instrumenting vehicles, letting participants drive wherever they want, and examining the event flags in the data?

Closed course with confederate pedestrians/bicyclists?

NHTSA Response: Naturalistic data collection involves instrumenting vehicles and documenting participants’ driving behavior over a period of time. Measures collected are determined based on the research questions. Data collected on a closed course would not be naturalistic.

30. If a cost proposal for the hypothetical task is required, does NHTSA prefer a cost overview of all four (4) requirements, or a detailed breakdown of costs for each requirement?

NHTSA Response: Please provide the cost proposal per hypothetical task/requirement.

31. In section M.5 of the RFP, offerors are instructed to complete the total price summary by specifically entering the estimated cost for each year, Years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 – along with an option to extend cost, and an overall total (as shown below, with list taken from M.5 in the

RFP). However, there are no ceiling prices given for the Base Period (Year 1) – nor for any other

Year of the possible award. (The RFP says that “The ceiling amount will be established at the time of award”). Page 3 of the RFP also says that: “The Ceiling Amounts established for each contract year comprises the total value of all Task Orders awarded during that contract year.” And it is understood that the task orders will not be issued until some future time. As far as we can see, no template (e.g., specifying a number of labor hours x labor category per year) is offered in the RFP for computing the costs for each Year. Is this information provided somewhere? (perhaps not in the RFP - but elsewhere in the bundle of documents, where we may have missed it)? If so, would it be possible to point out where it is provided/described? If not provided, what guidance can be given to small businesses who are responding to the RFP about how to provide these cost estimates?

ESTIMATED COST FOR YEAR 1 $____________________

ESTIMATED COST FOR YEAR 2 $____________________

ESTIMATED COST FOR YEAR 3 $____________________

ESTIMATED COST FOR YEAR 4 $____________________

ESTIMATED COST FOR YEAR 5 $____________________

ESTIMATED COST – OPTION TO EXTEND $

TOTAL $____________________

NHTSA Response: Disregard the requirement for M.5, Evaluation Price Calculation for the Business

Proposal. The ceiling amounts will be determined at the time of award of the IDIQ contract.

32. When bidding on future Task Orders, is the Prime required to do a certain percentage of the work? If so, what is that percentage?

NHTSA Response: Please review FAR 52.219-14, Limitations of Subcontracting. The prime will contribute at least 50%.

33. Are escalation rates permitted by the offeror?

NHTSA Response: Escalation rates can be included in the Offeror’s proposal and will be evaluated at the time of proposal submission and the approved escalation rate will be included in Section G of the awarded contract.

34. If the Offeror’s rates have not yet been audited by DCAA, what would be an acceptable substitute to the DCAA audit report? (Pg 71, L.7.3b)

NHTSA Response: If the Offeror does not have final indirect rates, the Offeror shall certify the proposed rates per FAR 42.703.

35. Other than the schedules listed on pages 8-19, will NHTSA provide a standard excel model/models for Offeror to use to transmit pricing?

NHTSA Response: Attachment J.3, Price Schedules, has been included with the RFP and NHTSA’s responses to the Offeror’s questions. Also, all RFP’s for Task Orders will include the appropriate excel spreadsheet template.

36. On page 7, B.5.9 a Document Designer/Graphic Artist is listed. However, this labor category is not listed on the budget pages, nor on page 67 in the list of staff. Please confirm whether or not a

Document Designer is needed.

NHTSA Response: Document Designer/Graphic Artist is required. Please include a Document

Designer/Graphic Artist in your proposal and in the proposed price schedules. Attachment J.3 Price

Schedules has been updated and attached with NHTSA’s responses to the Questions. Please include the Document Designer/Graphic Artist in L.7.2.c., Qualifications of Project Personnel of the Offeror’s technical proposal.

37. the Small Business Behavioral Safety Research Support be a multi-award contract? If so, how many companies will be awarded this contract?

NHTSA Response: The IDIQ will have multiple awards. The number of awards is not predetermined at this time and will be based on the quality of the proposals received for this RFP.

38. Is there a current incumbent?

NHTSA Response: NHTSA has a current small business IDIQ contract, the IDIQ is a multiple award.

39. Can the government clarify that the Past Performance Questionnaires at Attachment J.4 should be sent by the Offeror to the references by the proposal due date? Can the government also clarify that the references should complete and submit the questionnaires directly to NHTSA?

NHTSA Response: The past performance questionnaires can be submitted with the Offeror’s proposal or sent from the past performance evaluator directly to David Larson at david.larson@dot.gov or

NHTSAOAM@dot.gov

40. Can the government confirm that, in including additional labor categories, the offeror is free to add levels within the labor categories listed in the RFP? For example, for the category of

Statistician, would it be acceptable to add Junior Statistician and Senior Statistician?

NHTSA Response: The Offeror can include additional labor categories and add levels for the current

RFP labor categories. If the Offeror does include additional labor categories and/or levels please include a description of the category and/or level for Section B.5, Labor Categories and Descriptions.

41. What assumptions (if any) should offerors use to calculate travel and related costs?

NHTSA Response: For the hypothetical tasks, the Offeror shall provide the cost proposal based on the technical approach proposed by the Offeror.

42. Is the offeror responsible for completing column (G) on the pricing sheet?

NHTSA Response: The Offeror shall fill out the contract pricing sheet, which will include column

(G).

43. Please confirm that completed Past Performance Questionnaires from References should be included in the proposal package, along with the Technical and Business Management proposals and do not count against the page limit.

NHTSA Response: Past performance questionnaires can be included in the proposal package with the

Technical Proposal. Past performance questionnaires are not included in the page limit.

mailto:david.larson@dot.gov mailto:NHTSAOAM@dot.gov