Amendment 001 Q-A.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 19 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 75H70425Q00019sol
About this file
This document is an Amendment 001 Q&A spreadsheet for Request for Quote (RFQ) #75H70425Q00019 for the Indian Health Service (IHS) to provide immunization training in Indigenous communities. The solicitation seeks a contractor to deliver in-person and virtual training programs designed to increase immunization confidence and reduce infectious disease risks, targeting healthcare professionals across IHS facilities. Key requirements include training approximately 100 healthcare professionals annually, establishing 5 Communities of Practice, conducting quarterly training sessions in the first contract year, and developing multimedia learning resources and training packages.
The contract is a fixed-price purchase order with a cost-reimbursable component for travel, starting within 2 weeks of award (anticipated in 2025). The submission is unrestricted and open to all qualified vendors, with a 25-page maximum proposal limit and 5-page maximum CVs. Targeted participants include Medical Assistants, Health Technicians, Public Health Aides, Immunization Coordinators, Nurses, MDs, and community workers. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) should be MDs, PhDs, Public Health workers, and Nurses with experience in immunization assurance. The IHS will assist with recruitment, introductions, and regional relationship establishment, but the contractor is primarily responsible for developing curriculum, surveys, and training materials.
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Sheet1
| Questions for RFQ #75H70425Q00019 Provider training to Increase Immunization Assurance in Indigenous communities | ||
| Item No. | Question | Answer |
| 1 | Can you confirm the expected number of in-person versus virtual training sessions to be delivered under the contract? | Depending on the size of the service unit, planning and pre-date scheduling about 20 people per session. |
| 2 | Are there predefined training dates or deadlines we should plan around, especially for pilot implementations? | The training should take place the first year of the contract, quarterly. |
| 3 | Will the contractor be expected to directly facilitate training sessions live, or may pre-recorded modules with facilitated discussion be acceptable? | Live sessions are prefered and then using those recording to share modules and trainings. |
| 4 | Which specific IHS or tribal health facilities are targeted for training and pilot implementation? | All, starting at the one you are most familiar with working with. |
| 5 | Will IHS assist with participant recruitment, or is that the sole responsibility of the contractor? | The I.H.S can help with the recrutiment. |
| 6 | Are there any platforms required (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Zoom) for virtual delivery, or can the contractor propose their own? | Teams and Zoom work well with the I.H.S and tribes. |
| 7 | Will IHS provide access to existing toolkits, branding materials, or prior training content? | No |
| 8 | Is there a preferred format or system for collecting and reporting pre-/post-training data? | Team Channel surveys, sign in sheets, evaluation of each training,and interaction with staff. |
| 9 | Are there any IRB or data-sharing compliance considerations we need to follow for evaluation activities? | No |
| 10 | Will the government sponsor required background checks and HSPD-12 credentialing, or must those costs be covered by the contractor? | Since the training will be for the staff and not patients, there will be no direct patient interaction, and training will take place at time and location applicable to the staff, lunch time, and after work. I.H.S will work with the contractor with planning the training. No access to computer system is needed. |
| 11 | Is there a current incumbent performing this work, and if so, can you share their name and what their yearly pricing was? | This is a new requirement issued from IHS's headquarters office. |
| 12 | Will IHS facilitate introductions to tribal or facility leaders to support community engagement and implementation? | Yes |
| 13 | What accreditation is expected of medical and academic subject matter experts who will deliver the training? | SME will be MDs, PhD,Public Health workers, and Nurses who have worked in increasing immunization assurance, identifying gaps in services, and can complete process mapping to improve immunization services. If you have available CMEs and accrediation, that will work not a requirement. |
| 14 | Is the focus on IHS facilities? Are Tribal and Urban Indian Organizations that are IHS-funded also included? | I.H.S facilities |
| 15 | Can you define “Inter-Regional” as it pertains to the CoP? Are regions already defined for CoPs (will they be IHS regions)? | Community of Practice will be based on regions, area office, and service units. Approach may differ IHS to IHS depending on location. I.H.S will help establish relationship with regions. |
| 16 | How many CoP will there be? | 5 at the minimium. |
| 17 | Is there a preference for which regions we will be working with? Have contacts already been established? | This is an overall contract for all the I.H.S. Preference will be based on established relationship and strengthen relations at the service unit and area level. |
| 18 | When is the start date? | Whithin 2 weeks of contract award date |
| 19 | Is there an allocated budget amount? We noticed that in the previous issuance it was $999,134.00. Is this also applicable to this issuance? | A budget amount is not provided for this solicitation. We encourage you to provide your best offer. |
| 20 | What is the maximum number of pages for the submission? Can you clarify if there are a maximum number of pages for the following sections: Technical Capability, Key Personnel, Relevant Past Performance? | 25 max pages for the submission. CVs are a separate submission, 5 pages max. |
| 21 | What is the correct title for the submission? Provider training to Increase Immunization Assurance in Indigenous communities or Immunization Confidence in Indigenous Communities? | Immunization Confidence in Indigenous Communities. |
| 22 | Could you clarify a point regarding the sam.gov notice for "Provide In Person and Virtual Training - Immunization"? | Both training are applicable, we would prefer in person. |
| 23 | This solicitation is marked as “Unrestricted,” but there are references in multiple documents to a size standard of $24M. | The solicitation is "Unrestricted", references to a size standard will not be applicable. |
| 24 | Can you clarify if this opportunity is open to all qualified vendors regardless of size, or if there is a small business size standard for vendors? | Open to all. |
| 25 | Is there any incumbent/recompete or this is a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past. | This is a new requirement issued from IHS's headquarters office. |
| 26 | The posting's Submittal Instructions, under B. Key Personnel explains that "resumes are limited to three (5) pages each". Can you confirm the resume length, 3 or 5 pages? | 5 pages max per one CV. |
| 27 | Under this same section, it is explained "This submission shall be limited to a total of 25 pages or less". Is the 25 page limit applied to the page length for the proposal or is the 25 page limit applied to the key personnel section? | 25 page limit. |
| 28 | In addition to providing the overall 'D. Price' as a separate attachment, is a detailed budget also required? | Yes |
| 29 | The solicitation is marked as “Unrestricted,” but this paragraph states that the size standard is $24M. Is this opportunity open to all qualified vendors regardless of size, or is there a small business size standard for vendors? | The solicitation is "Unrestricted", references to a size standard will not be applicable. |
| 30 | On the Price Table, should the total amount for CLINs 1001 and 2001 be only the fixed-price contract amount without estimated travel costs since there is a separate cost-reimbursable CLIN for travel? | Include travel in the budget, and all costs. |
| 31 | Please clarify what information is being requested for the “Key personnel narrative . . . limited to one (1) page each.” | 5 pages max per one CV. |
| 32 | Are resumes limited to 3 or 5 pages each? | 5 |
| 33 | Is there an anticipated award date for the contract? | 2025 |
| 34 | Please clarify what travel is required that the offeror should estimate and include in the cost-reimbursable contract line-item number for travel, if any. | Travel to the service units or area office to conduct training and gap analysis. Hotel, food, and transportation. |
| 35 | This section refers to quotations being evaluated in accordance with “relative weights set forth in the solicitation.” What are the relative weights of the evaluation factors? | Past work with tribal communities, familiarity working with the I.H.S. |
| 36 | Please quantify the travel requirements by destination (city and state) and number of trips per year per person. | 4-5 trips per year, depending on training. |
| 37 | Please clarify if the Inter-Regional Community of Practice is larger than the Immunization Communication Community of Practice | This is an overall recommendation to establish community of practices at the service unit and area office for stakeholders to sustain the Teams after training. |
| 38 | Are there any other required activities for the Inter-Regional Community of Practice? | Community of Practice will be based on regions, area office, and service units. Approach may differ IHS to IHS depending on location. I.H.S will help establish relationship with regions. Sustainability and champion development. |
| 39 | Who makes up “participating” facilities? | The contractor and the I.H.S |
| 40 | What is the number of anticipated participants? | Depending on the size of the service unit, planning and pre-date scheduling about 20 people per session and buyin. |
| 41 | What is the eligibility for participation? | Medical Assistants, Health Technicians, Public Health Aides, Immunization Coordinators, Nurses, MDs, and community workers. |
| 42 | What is the medium and format for deliverable 6? | Handouts, electronically, teleconference, meetings, webinar setting. |
| 43 | Is any travel required for deliverable 6? | Yes |
| 44 | Can the Government clarify the total number of healthcare professionals expected to be trained during both the base and option years? | N= 100 per year |
| 45 | What is the Government’s definition of “training completed”? Is this based on attendance, completion of all curriculum components, achievement of certification, or another measure? | Yes, training completed encompasses attendance number, cirriculum completion components, and certificate achievements. |
| 46 | There appear to be discrepancies between the pricing tables in the “Posting - SOW_Immunization.pdf” and “Posting - Combined Synopsis - Immunization - II.pdf.” Can the Government please confirm which pricing structure should be used in proposal submissions? | Both pricing structures will need to be completed and submitted. |
| 47 | The SOW references a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract with milestone-based deliverables but also includes a cost-reimbursable CLIN for travel. Would the Government consider modifying the contract structure to Cost Reimbursable for all tasks because they are variable in scope, particularly for tasks involving facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and curriculum development? | No. |
| 48 | Given that responses to these and other offeror questions may materially impact the technical and pricing strategy, we respectfully request a two-week extension to the proposal submission deadline following release of the official Q&A responses. | 7 pm CST on 04/22/2025 |
| 49 | Which three health facilities will participate in the pilot, and are they already selected? | Selection has not been determined at this time. |
| 50 | Is the contractor responsible for identifying and securing participation from academic and medical SMEs, or will IHS provide introductions or support? | Contractor, I.H.S can support introductions. |
| 51 | Is there an existing training package or curriculum that should be built upon, or is this effort expected to start from scratch? | There is not an existing training |
| 52 | What are the expectations for Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation? Will the contractor be responsible for managing this process? | Please reference the SOW for expectations. Contractor will not be responsible for managing this process. |
| 53 | What are the expectations of the participants in the focus groups? How often are they set to meet, and where will these meetings take place? | Provider focus group will provide insight of strengths, barriers, and opportunities for improvement. N=5, 1 per site. |
| 54 | Are training sessions expected to be delivered live, asynchronously, or as a hybrid? | in person, and hybrid |
| 55 | Is the IHS currently utilizing an internal Learning Management System (LMS) for similar contracts? If so, will the contractor be working to create content that is released on it? If not, is the agency looking to have a contractor supply one (through either the procurement of a turnkey solution or by creating a custom solution)? | Unknown at this time. |
| 56 | How many webinars/modules is expected to be included in the immunization training package? | in person, and hybrid, based on the need. |
| 57 | Will the government provide a standardized pre/post survey instrument or does the contractor develop it? | The contractor shall provide and develop the survey instrument. |
| 58 | What specific metrics are expected to be reported quarterly—can we confirm that the bullets provided are exhaustive? | Number of people trained, Community of Practice established, site process plans- challenges,strengths, and barrier report, and then the cirriculum |
| 59 | What is the anticipated duration for each of the trainings? Will it be instructor led or self-paced? | The duration of each site visit may vary between 1-4 days. Training days should not exceed 8 hours, interactive planning and training. |
| 60 | Section 2.10 states “contractor travel is required under this contract/agreement.” Travel is not mentioned in 4. Objectives and Tasks. Please clarify where IHS anticipates contractor travel will be needed. | Include travel in your budget, and all cost in your quote. |
| 61 | For the “multimedia learning resource” in task 2, does IHS have an existing or preferred LMS to build the resource? | This is a new requirement issued from IHS's headquarters office. There currently is not an existing or preferred LMS to build the resource. |
| 62 | Will the LMS be a contract budget line item, or provided by IHS? | No |
| 63 | Is the “multimedia learning resource” in task 2 synonymous with the “toolkit for health professionals” (deliverable 4), the “Health Worker and health provider Package” (deliverable 3), both, or neither? | They are related to both. |
| 64 | The purpose states, “The contractor must ensure that accredited medical and academic subject matter experts deliver training to effectively communicate and teach the most current information on infectious diseases and immunizations.” Please clarify what accrediting bodies IHS prefers to have for medical and academic SMEs. Will IHS provide any SMEs or should SMEs be a contract budget line item? | SME will be MDs, PhD,Public Health workers, and Nurses who have worked in increasing immunization assurance, identifying gaps in services, and can complete process mapping to improve immunization services. If you have available CMEs and accrediation, that will work not a requirement. I.H.S will have a team to meet with the contractor for SOW and planning. |
| 65 | Regarding objective 2, please confirm whether IHS requires in-person or virtual training and if virtual, synchronous or asynchronous (i.e. pre-recorded) training. | In person preferred and hybrid teaching style. |
| 66 | Is the Cost Table listed on page 3 the only budget document required, or do you need a more detailed cost breakdown? | Both pricing structures will need to be completed and submitted as a part of your budget quote submittal. |
| 67 | Is there a budget range for the work? | Yes, there is a budget but we are not providing that information. |
| 68 | Please confirm the requirements are no more than three resumes, five pages each. Is the 25 page submission requirement in this section applicable to only the key personnel submission, or is it inclusive of the technical capability statement? | 25 submission max, and CV 5 pages max for applicable staff. |
| 69 | Is there an incumbent for this work and if so who is that? | This is a new requirement issued from IHS's headquarters office. |
| 70 | Based on 13 C.F.R. 125.2(g), does the Government consider the subcontractor’s past performance as part of the evaluation process? | Yes, based on 13 C.F.R. 125.2(g), the Government does consider the subcontractor’s past performance as part of the evaluation process. |
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