RFQ questions and answers.docx

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service Training and Assistive Technology Program Technical Assistance and Data Collection, Q&A 7571MN26Q00039, July 16, 2026

a.Many of the AT Program deliverables rely on data collected through the Assistive Technology Reporting System (ATRS). What level of access will the contractor receive to ATRS? Specifically, will contractor access include:

i. programming or source code (if applicable);

ii. backend data and reporting tables;

iii. technical assistance tracking functionality comparable to the current NATADS system;

iv. administrative reporting tools; and

v. system configuration capabilities?

b.When during the period of performance will ATRS access be available to the contractor?

c.Will ATRS include all functionality currently available through NATADS? If not, which existing features or capabilities will not be available?

a. The contractor will receive role-based access necessary to perform the requirements in Section C and the deliverables in Section F, subject to completion of applicable security, privacy, and credentialing requirements. Access is expected to include production and non-production application access, approved administrative and reporting functions, backend data and reporting tables, data-export capabilities, system configuration functions, and access to Government-owned or Government-licensed source code and repositories to the extent the Government has rights and the access is necessary for performance. Access to third-party proprietary source code will remain subject to the applicable license terms. The contractor shall provide and maintain the required technical-assistance intake/tracking and day-to-day data-tracking functionality, whether those functions reside in ATRS, NATADS, or another COR-approved equivalent solution.

b. Available transition documentation and non-privileged access will be provided at or before the contract start date. Privileged access will be provided after required onboarding and security approvals. The contractor shall plan for an interim operating approach so that reporting and user-support functions are not interrupted while privileged access is being completed.

c. Offerors shall not assume that ATRS contains every function currently available in NATADS. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that all functions required by the solicitation remain available through ATRS, NATADS, or a COR-approved equivalent, including data collection, validation, day-to-day tracking, administrative reporting, technical support, and data exports.

a. Is the training and technical assistance to the AT Programs intended to be limited to reporting requirements, or does the scope also include ongoing support related to day-to-day data collection, data entry, and other programmatic reporting questions?

b. Does ACL anticipate another contractor will provide ATRS system maintenance, user support, and technical operations, or are those responsibilities expected under this contract?

a. The AT Program T/TA scope is not limited to annual reporting requirements. It includes ongoing support for day-to-day data collection, data entry, data validation, system navigation, interpretation of reporting requirements, correction of incomplete or inconsistent data, and other programmatic reporting questions described in Section C.

b. ACL may use Government personnel or other contractors for selected enterprise infrastructure, security, hosting, or platform-development functions. The contractor awarded this requirement will remain responsible for the user-facing support, training, data validation, operational coordination, and system-support duties assigned in the solicitation and shall coordinate with any Government-designated system or infrastructure provider. The existence of another support provider will not relieve the contractor of its responsibilities under this contract.

Currently, CATADA receives annual numerical and narrative data in CSV and accessible HTML formats that can be readily imported into the CATADA portal. What file format(s) will ATRS export for contractor use and public dissemination?

At a minimum, the AT reporting environment shall support machine-readable exports in CSV format and accessible HTML outputs suitable for public dissemination through CATADA.info or an equivalent platform. The Government may also require XLSX and/or JSON exports for analysis or system integration. The final file layout, naming conventions, schema, data dictionary, and validation rules will be approved by the COR during transition. The contractor is responsible for any transformation needed to produce the required public and Government-use outputs.

The RFQ identifies numerous percentage-based outcome measures (e.g., 75%, 80%, and 90% improvements). How does ACL envision calculating percentage increases and validating achievement of these outcomes over the period of performance?

Unless a measure expressly states otherwise, a target such as 75 percent or 80 percent means the percentage of eligible participating UCEDDs, AT Programs, or participants that demonstrate the defined improvement relative to an established baseline; it does not mean a uniform percentage increase in every raw score. Baselines may be established through initial self-assessments, prior-year performance data, administrative records, pre/post assessments, or other approved methods. Achievement will be validated through documented evidence such as training evaluations, completion records, system data, work products, corrective-action records, follow-up surveys, and other objective artifacts. The contractor shall report the calculation methodology, numerator, denominator, exclusions, limitations, and supporting evidence for each reported result.

b. Public transparency will be balanced through data minimization, aggregation, suppression of small cells where appropriate, role-based access controls, and Government review before public release. Personally identifiable information, controlled unclassified information, procurement-sensitive information, predecisional information, confidential commercial information, and grantee-specific risk or compliance information will not be publicly disclosed unless expressly approved by the Government and legally releasable. The contractor shall submit a dashboard data-governance and publication plan for COR approval before public release.

b. Public-facing content may include approved project and initiative descriptions, populations served, partners, outputs, outcomes, impact statements, promising practices, replicable models, and aggregate or individual UCEDD information that is already public or has been verified and approved for release. Non-public reporting data, PII, CUI, predecisional information, proprietary information, and unverified claims will be excluded. The public version shall use accessible and plain-language formats and shall include only the level of detail approved by the COR.

The highest first-year priorities are: (1) uninterrupted, secure, and accessible operation of the UCEDD and AT reporting and public-dissemination functions during the applicable reporting cycles; (2) an orderly transition of systems, data, websites, help-desk functions, and institutional knowledge; (3) establishment of the strategic plan, logic model, baseline measures, performance matrix, and dashboard; and (4) timely launch of responsive universal, targeted, and individualized T/TA.

Training and technical assistance and data-system/reporting support are interdependent and are both critical to successful performance. System continuity is an immediate operational dependency, but it does not reduce the importance of timely and effective T/TA or the outcome requirements in the Statement of Work.

The requirement is intended to address several related challenges and opportunities: inconsistent access to timely and specialized T/TA; the need to balance broadly applicable resources with individualized support for complex issues; inconsistent reporting quality, completeness, timeliness, and use of data beyond compliance; fragmented or outdated resource libraries and public information; limited mechanisms for peer exchange and dissemination of promising practices; the need for stronger evidence of program and network impact; the need for reliable, secure, and accessible reporting and public-facing systems; and the need for better coordination across UCEDDs, AT Programs, Federal partners, and other disability-system stakeholders.

Yes. The solicitation requires a tiered approach that includes universal, targeted, and individualized T/TA. Services shall be tailored based on the grantee's statutory responsibilities, organizational context, readiness, size, staffing, reporting needs, accessibility needs, performance risks, and complexity of the issue. The contractor shall also identify opportunities for common resources and peer learning so that individualized assistance is used efficiently for complex or high-priority needs.

The solicitation anticipates continuous improvement and modernization within the stated scope, including user testing, streamlined forms, improved guidance, reduced reporting burden, improved impact capture, code changes needed to align with approved OMB information collections, redesigned or updated websites, improved dashboards, and use of equivalent replacement solutions when necessary. No additional major modernization program beyond the requirements stated in the solicitation should be assumed for proposal purposes. Any material expansion outside the awarded scope will be addressed through a written contract modification.

The desired improvements are reflected in the outcomes in Section C.1. They include stronger UCEDD and AT Program leadership and operations; improved statutory, fiscal, and reporting compliance; improved data quality, timeliness, consistency, and use for decision-making; stronger strategic planning and evaluation; increased collaboration and peer exchange; modern and accessible dissemination and stakeholder engagement; greater adoption, adaptation, scalability, and sustainability of evidence-informed practices; increased meaningful participation of people with I/DD; improved ability to communicate program and network impact; and improved access to and acquisition of assistive technology devices and services

Yes. In addition to formal Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance, the Government considers the following outcomes important: plain-language and cognitively accessible content; consistent navigation and understandable forms; compatibility with commonly used assistive technologies; keyboard-only operation; accessible authentication and error handling; accessible multimedia, including captions, transcripts, and audio description when applicable; responsive design for mobile devices and lower-bandwidth environments; accessible help and support documentation; and usability testing that includes people with disabilities. Accessibility shall be integrated into design, development, content creation, testing, and acceptance rather than addressed only at the end of production.

Primary users include UCEDD directors, faculty, staff, trainees, and Consumer Advisory Committee members; AT Program directors, staff, lead agencies, implementing entities, and partners; ACL/OIDD and Office of Interagency Innovation staff; people with I/DD and other disabilities, family members, self-advocates, and AT users; DD Act partners and Independent Living partners; Federal, state, territorial, and local policymakers and program officials; researchers, educators, service providers, employers, and community partners; and members of the public seeking program information. Access levels will differ based on the user's role and the sensitivity of the information.

All material requirements will be evaluated as stated in Sections L and M. Offerors should pay particular attention to demonstrating an integrated and realistic approach for: continuity of mission-critical reporting and public-facing systems; delivery of tiered and individualized T/TA to both national networks; transition and data migration; management of subcontractors and specialized expertise; accessibility, security, and privacy by design; reliable staffing during peak reporting periods; and objective measurement of outcomes. A general statement of intent to comply, without a workable method, schedule, staffing approach, and risk controls, will not be sufficient.

Please just fill out the SF 1449.

Please submit certified cost and pricing data with the initial proposal utilizing Attachment J. 1.

Please provide a revised pricing structure if separate pricing is required.

Offerors shall separately price each optional task for the base period and each option period. Costs for an AT optional task shall not be included in the core UCEDD annual CLIN unless expressly identified in the revised pricing schedule. The Government may exercise one, more than one, all, or none of the AT optional task CLINs by written modification, subject to need and availability of funds.

The Government intends to make one integrated award covering the UCEDD requirement and the separately priced AT Program optional tasks. The Government does not intend to make separate awards for the UCEDD and AT portions under this solicitation. The Government may, however, elect not to exercise one or more optional AT task CLINs or may exercise them at different times by written modification.

For proposal development and evaluation, offerors shall price every AT Program optional task for the base period and each option period as if the task will be exercised for the full applicable performance period. This pricing assumption does not guarantee exercise. The Government may exercise any optional task by written modification and intends to provide at least 30 calendar days' advance notice when practicable. The Government is not prescribing a fixed labor mix or level of effort; offerors shall propose a realistic level of effort sufficient to meet the applicable task requirements, deliverables, service levels, and peak-period demands.

For each system, please provide the current hosting environment, technology stack, database platform, source-code ownership, approximate data volume, number of users, interfaces, and current authorization status. The RFQ requires reliable operation of multiple reporting and public dissemination environments but does not provide their current architectures.

The systems and functions within scope include: the UCEDD PPR/NIRS reporting environment; the UCEDD public-facing information management system; the UCEDD T/TA website and resource library; the T/TA Services Performance Dashboard; ATRS, NATADS, or an equivalent AT reporting system; the AT day-to-day data-tracking module; CATADA.info or an equivalent public-facing platform; the CATADA Catalogue of Initiatives; and the related databases, repositories, analytics, content-management, integration, and help-desk functions necessary to operate those environments.

Detailed security-sensitive architecture, credentials, configuration files, source-code repositories, and authorization artifacts will be provided to the awardee during transition to the extent available and to the extent the Government has the right to provide them. For proposal purposes, offerors shall assume: (1) authenticated user populations supporting 67 UCEDDs, 56 AT Programs, and ACL administrators, plus public users; (2) retention and migration of all available historical reporting and public-dissemination data; (3) an overall FIPS 199 Moderate system impact level; (4) responsibility for operations, maintenance, hosting, integration, analytics, content management, help-desk support, transition, and replacement when necessary; and (5) no mandatory incumbent technology stack. Offerors may propose an equivalent compliant architecture, subject to Government approval and completion of applicable A&A requirements.

The Government will facilitate reasonable transition assistance and will provide available Government-owned or Government-controlled documentation and artifacts, which may include system documentation, data dictionaries, source code to which the Government has rights, configuration information, content inventories, open-ticket information, security artifacts, and knowledge-transfer sessions. The successor shall not assume access to third-party proprietary materials beyond the Government's license rights.

For proposal purposes, offerors shall plan for up to 30 calendar days of structured knowledge transfer and a total transition period not to exceed 90 calendar days after contract start. No continuous incumbent staffing overlap is guaranteed beyond Government-directed transition activities. Transition costs shall be included in the proposal, and the successor remains responsible for uninterrupted performance of critical functions.

The successor contractor shall maintain continuity of the existing UCEDD PPR function beginning at contract start and shall assume full operational responsibility no later than 90 calendar days after September 30, 2026, or December 29, 2026, unless an earlier date is approved by the COR. The contractor shall submit its detailed transition and continuity plan within 10 business days after contract start. Any COR-approved transition period does not authorize an interruption of reporting, data access, user support, security monitoring, or required public-facing services.

For proposal purposes, offerors shall assume that the successor contractor is responsible for AT APR data-collection operations and user support beginning on the contract start date, including the October through December 2026 reporting cycle. The Government will facilitate transfer of available data, documentation, and access, but offerors shall not rely on a guaranteed incumbent operational overlap. The successor may use the existing authorized environment or a COR-approved interim equivalent to maintain continuity while completing the broader transition.

Available ATO, FedRAMP, assessment, privacy, and continuous-monitoring artifacts for existing systems will be provided to the awardee during transition, subject to security restrictions. An existing ATO may remain usable during transition only if the HHS/ACL Authorizing Official confirms that the authorization remains valid for the system boundary, hosting environment, operator, and planned changes. A change in hosting, system boundary, operator responsibilities, or material functionality may require an updated or new ATO. The contractor is responsible for supporting maintenance or renewal of the agency ATO for every system it operates. Any cloud service used must have the appropriate FedRAMP authorization or other written Government approval before use.

Operational continuity and authorization requirements must be satisfied through a phased transition. Existing systems may continue operating under an existing ATO or other written authorization approved by the HHS/ACL Authorizing Official. A new, materially changed, or rehosted system shall not process production Government information before the required authorization or written interim approval is issued. Offerors shall include all labor, independent assessment, documentation, scanning, testing, remediation, FedRAMP-related, and agency A&A costs necessary to meet the solicitation schedule. The allowance of up to one year to complete an ATO does not waive the requirement for authorization before production operation.

Please identify any required cloud provider, FedRAMP impact level, HHS enterprise services, approved development tools, or architecture constraints.

Offerors should propose a contractor-provided hosting solution using a cloud service with the appropriate FedRAMP authorization, unless the offeror proposes to maintain an existing authorized hosting arrangement during transition. No specific cloud provider or HHS/ACL cloud tenant is mandated by the solicitation. The proposed solution must meet the FIPS 199 Moderate requirements, HHS/ACL security and privacy requirements, Section 508 requirements, Continental United States data-residency requirements, encryption, logging, vulnerability management, incident reporting, records management, and other applicable architecture constraints in the solicitation. The final architecture, interconnections, tools, and hosting approach are subject to Government approval and ATO. The offeror shall include the associated hosting, licensing, security, and operations costs in its proposal.

No general-purpose GFE or GFP is anticipated. The Government will provide or authorize access to Government-owned data; available historical datasets; grantee and Federal contact information; Government-controlled domains and DNS information as applicable; existing content and templates; available source code, configuration, documentation, and A&A artifacts to which the Government has rights; and Government accounts or credentials needed for approved access. Any Government-furnished item will be documented during transition.

Unless expressly identified as Government-furnished, the contractor shall provide all facilities, computing equipment, cloud services, software licenses, development and collaboration tools, help-desk tools, analytics services, security tools, scanning services, accessibility-testing tools, certificates, and other resources needed for performance. Offerors shall clearly identify any proposed reliance on a Government-furnished item.

The Government is not providing additional standardized historical ticket or request volumes beyond the planning quantities in the solicitation. Offerors shall use the following common assumptions for staffing and cost development: 67 UCEDD PPR submissions annually; 56 AT APR submissions annually; up to 56 AT State Plans during an applicable three-year submission cycle; at least two Project Advisory Committee meetings annually; up to two AT grantee training meetings annually; quarterly UCEDD peer-learning forums; monthly UCEDD information-system office hours; one annual UCEDD director orientation; the semiannual training activities stated in Section F; and review/editing of hundreds of AT anecdotes, state improvement outcomes, or initiatives annually as stated in Section C.

Peak workload periods include the October-December AT APR cycle, the August-September AT State Plan cycle when applicable, the UCEDD PPR submission cycle established by ACL, and annual reporting and portfolio deadlines. Volumes for individualized T/TA, help-desk tickets, data-validation contacts, custom reports, site visits, and website updates vary by year. Offerors shall state their workload assumptions and demonstrate a scalable staffing and triage approach.

Unless the COR approves a different service level for a specific request, the following minimum targets apply during normal Federal business hours; critical system and security incidents require continuous response:

- General T/TA: acknowledge within 1 business day; substantive response, resolution, or agreed action plan within 10 business days.

• High-priority or urgent T/TA: acknowledge within 1 business day; begin action within 4 business day; provide a resolution, workaround, or COR-approved action plan within 5 business days.

• Reporting-system support during an open submission window: critical blocking issue acknowledged within 1 hour and workaround or service restoration within 4 hours; noncritical issue acknowledged within 1 business day and resolved or placed on an agreed action plan within 3 business days.

• General help-desk ticket: acknowledge within 1 business day; resolve or provide an action plan within 5 business days.

• Data-validation question: acknowledge within 2 business days; resolve or provide documented next steps within 5 business days.

• Website incident: critical public outage acknowledged within 1 hour and restored or mitigated within 4 hours; major functional issue acknowledged within 4 hours and resolved or mitigated within 1 business day; minor issue acknowledged within 1 business day and resolved within 5 business days.

• Security incident: report within 1 hour of discovery or suspicion. Remediate critical, high, medium, and low vulnerabilities within 15, 30, 60, and 180 calendar days, respectively, unless the Government directs a shorter timeframe.

• Accessibility defect: a defect that blocks access to a required function shall be acknowledged within 1 business day and remediated or mitigated within 5 business days; other material defects shall be remediated within 10 business days or under a COR-approved remediation plan.

Section M references key personnel “if applicable,” but the solicitation does not appear to designate specific mandatory key positions.

The solicitation does not designate mandatory key-personnel positions or Government-prescribed minimum qualifications. Offerors shall identify the personnel they consider key to their proposed approach and shall demonstrate that the proposed staffing is adequate for the integrated scope.

Resumes shall be submitted for proposed key personnel and for any individual whose qualifications are relied upon to demonstrate technical acceptability. Letters of commitment are required for proposed key personnel who are not current employees of the prime offeror, including key subcontractor personnel, or when availability is not otherwise established. Resumes and letters of commitment are not required for every proposed staff member. The Government may identify specific positions as key at award based on the successful proposal.

Please clarify which activities are expected to be virtual, hybrid, or in person.

For common proposal-planning purposes, offerors shall use the following assumptions unless the solicitation specifies a greater frequency:

- Routine project, Federal, advisory, training, office-hour, and peer-learning activities will be virtual.

• Project Advisory Committee: two virtual meetings per year, approximately two hours each, with up to 25 participants.

• AT Program grantee training meetings: up to two events per year, virtual or hybrid, up to one day each, with up to 75 participants.

• UCEDD director orientation: one virtual event annually, up to one day, with up to 10 participants.

• UCEDD peer-learning or cross-network events: at least quarterly, generally virtual, up to two hours, with up to 100 participants.

• Other training required by Section F: generally virtual and scheduled at the frequencies stated in the deliverables table.

• Federal coordination meetings: assume monthly virtual meetings of up to two hours, with up to 10 participants.

• Site visits: include a planning allowance for up to two domestic site visits per contract year, two contractor travelers, and up to two days on site per visit, only when requested and approved.

• National or regional in-person grantee meetings: include a planning allowance for up to two events per contract year, up to two days each, at locations to be determined, with up to 150 attendees.

Actual locations, attendance, and modality will be established through the COR-approved work plan. In-person travel and event costs require prior approval.

Offerors shall include reasonable and adequately supported ODCs for the virtual platforms, approved travel, meeting space, audiovisual support, registration support, printing, and other event services needed to perform the activities and planning assumptions stated in the solicitation and this Q&A. Costs shall be separately identified and are subject to allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and prior-approval requirements.

Routine project meetings, advisory committee meetings, technical working sessions, training sessions, office hours, and peer-learning events ordinarily will be treated as program meetings rather than conferences when they do not meet the HHS conference definition. Offerors shall not include food, beverages, entertainment, gifts, or discretionary conference costs. Any event that may constitute a conference, and any conference expense, requires the Contracting Officer's prior written approval under Section G.2.

The Government does not guarantee a fixed annual volume of ASL, CART, interpretation, translation, document remediation, plain-language, or accessible multimedia services. For proposal purposes, offerors shall assume that live captioning or CART will be available for public-facing live training and major meetings; ASL or oral interpretation will be provided when requested and approved; and all contractor-produced electronic content and multimedia will be delivered accessibly.

Offerors should propose supported unit rates or a reasonable ODC allowance for third-party communication-access services. The cost of correcting accessibility defects in contractor-produced deliverables, routine document accessibility, and compliance testing shall be included in the contractor's proposed labor and shall not be treated as an unplanned Government expense. The Government does not anticipate separately furnishing these services, although the COR may direct use of a Government-provided service when available.

Yes. Required ACRs, VPAT-based reports, and HHS Section 508 conformance checklists may be submitted as separate supporting attachments and will not count against the 20-page technical proposal limit. The technical narrative explaining the offeror's accessibility approach remains subject to the technical page limit. Section L will be amended to identify these accessibility documents as permitted attachments in addition to the listed Technical Appendices

Please clarify how HHS will distinguish differences in technical merit among proposals rated Acceptable and how the technical factor will be incorporated into the tradeoff decision.

Paragraph M.4 updated to remove highest technical score language, to now read “more factors rated as acceptable.”

Please also confirm whether Factor 3 is included within the 20-page technical limit.

Factor 3 shall be presented as a separate, clearly labeled section within the Technical Volume, following the Factor 1 technical subfactors. The Factor 3 narrative is included within the 20-page technical proposal limit. Required ACRs, VPAT-based reports, and HHS accessibility checklists shall be submitted as separate supporting attachments and will not count against the 20-page limit.

Language is updated in the attached solicitation

Language is updated in the attached solicitation

Hard copies are not required for every deliverable. Electronic submission is the default for reports, plans, dashboards, websites, datasets, security artifacts, system documentation, and other work products. A hard copy is required only when the Contracting Officer or COR specifically requests it in writing; the request will state the number of copies and delivery location. Section E.1.2 will be amended accordingly.

FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General, applies. The Government will receive unlimited rights in data first produced in performance of the contract, including custom-developed source code, configurations, data models, schemas, dashboards, documentation, training materials, website content, data dictionaries, and related technical materials, except to the extent an authorized restriction is identified and accepted in the contract. HHS also retains ownership and unrestricted access to Federal data collected, maintained, or hosted under the contract.

Offerors may propose proprietary, COTS, open-source, and SaaS components, provided that all license terms are disclosed; the components meet security, privacy, accessibility, records, and hosting requirements; and the solution provides sufficient data portability and transition capability. The Government does not require ownership of third-party COTS or SaaS source code, but it requires the licenses and technical rights needed for Government use and continued operation.

At closeout or transition, the contractor shall deliver, at no additional cost, all Government data in open and documented formats; source code and repositories for custom-developed components; build and deployment scripts; configurations; schemas and data models; APIs and interface documentation; credentials under Government control; testing artifacts; A&A and accessibility artifacts; content inventories; and operating, maintenance, and transition documentation. Any asserted restrictions in preexisting or commercial materials must be specifically identified in the proposal and marked in accordance with the applicable data-rights clause.

Proposal files shall be submitted in searchable PDF format, except that detailed cost workbooks and supporting schedules may be submitted in Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), and editable supporting narratives may also be submitted in Microsoft Word (.docx) when useful. Signed forms may be submitted as signed PDF files. Files shall not be password-protected or executable.

Each email shall be limited to 20 MB, including attachments. Multiple emails are permitted when necessary, provided every email is received by the proposal deadline and the subject line identifies the sequence, for example: '7571MN26Q00039 - Offeror Name - Proposal - Part 1 of 3.' File names shall use the convention '7571MN26Q00039_OfferorName_Volume-or-Attachment_Description' and should avoid special characters. Suggested volume names are Technical, Business, Past Performance, and Accessibility Attachments. Offerors shall not use external file-sharing links unless the Contracting Officer authorizes that method in writing before the submission deadline.