NCI Response to Questions - AMEND 3.pdf

Ramp-on: Response to Solicitation Questions (Round 2) From Industry NCI Response

Question Number

Solicitation Reference Background Question NCI Response

1 Attachment 10. Section 2:

Organizational Information, 2.2 Past Performance Information

NPCR performance documentation

For past performance supporting information, is it correct that we provide FY 2017 and 2018 documentation? Is FY 2019 required?

Please submit past performance information in accordance with Sections L and M of the solicitation. Past performance information must be recent defined as "completed during the past three years and 1 contract or grant currently being performed…". There is no requirement to provide past performance information for each of the past three years.

2 Attachment 10. 1. General Instructions / Assumptions a. The period of performance (p. 9)

Fiscal year terms What is the Period of Performance based on - state or federal fiscal year?

The period of performance is not based on federal or state fiscal years. As stated in paragraph 1(a.) on page 9, "The Government objective is to ensure the Base Period end date remains April 30, 2021 to align with the SEER Program contract cycle." The SEER program cycle runs May 1 - April 30.

3 Attachment 10. Section 3.9 Draft Subcontract Agreements (p. 8)

Subcontractor Draft Agreement

Should the subcontractor draft agreement (unsigned) be written by the Prime Contractor or by the subcontractor? Would a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) be sufficient for this item?

The Government will not give instructions stating which party should write the draft subcontract. Prime contractors are responsible for ensuring the draft subcontracts are written in accordance with the instructions provided in the solicitation. A draft MOA would not be sufficient in accordance with the solicitation. This response is specific to subcontracts not including IMS. For IMS, please see the revision to Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi .

4 Attachment 10. Section 3.14 Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs. Instructions.2- Cost Element Instructions/Assumptions h- Subcontract Costs Budget Narrative/Supporting Documentation – ii Separate Budget Narrative for each proposed Subcontractor (p.14)

Subcontractor Budget Narrative

Should the subcontractor budget narrative be written by the Prime Contractor or by the subcontractor?

The Government will not give instructions stating which party should write the Subcontractor Cost Budget Narrative. Prime contractors are responsible for ensuring the Subcontractor Cost Budget Narrative is written in accordance with the instructions provided in the solicitation. This response is specific to subcontracts not including IMS. For IMS, please see the revision to Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi .

5 Attachment 05. 3.8 Subcontractor Technical Proposal (p.10)

Subcontractor Technical Proposal

Should the subcontractor create their own separate technical proposal? Would this be written by the subcontractor or the Prime Contractor?

The Government will not give instructions stating who should create and write the Subcontractor's Technical Proposal. Prime contractors are responsible for ensuring the Subcontractor's Technical Proposal is created and written in accordance with the instructions provided in the solicitation. This response is specific to subcontracts not including IMS. For IMS, please see the revision to Attachment 5, Section 3.8.

6 Attachment 10. Section 3.14 Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs. Instructions.2- Cost Element Instructions/Assumptions h- Subcontract Costs Budget Narrative/Supporting Documentation (p.14)

Definition of subcontractor

Would a vendor that provides abstracting and other cancer registry services for the Prime Contractor be considered a ‘subcontractor’ under this contract?

When all other elements of the definitions for "Subcontract" and "Contract" are applicable; Yes, a vendor that provides abstracting and other cancer registry services for the Prime Contractor will be considered a "subcontractor" under this IDIQ contract. However, please see Amendment 1, Question/Response #38 regarding "Purchased Services" as Other Direct Costs. Prime contractors are responsible for determining the appropriate cost classification.

7 Solicitation – Section L – b.

Technical Proposal Instructions.

1. Technical Approach – c.

Personnel – 4. Additional Personnel (p. 77)

Subcontractor personnel

Should the staff of the subcontract/vendor company be listed specifically by name in this section or by title/job duty as discussed in the SOW? Would this be done by the Prime Contractor or by the subcontractor?

Yes, in this section, list names, title, and proposed duties. The Government will not give instructions stating who this would be done by. This response is specific to subcontracts not including IMS. For IMS, please see the revision to Attachment 5, Section 3.8.

8 Attachment 13: Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data

Conflict with State Law

State law requires competitive bidding. Can we add language to the form that would protect us from violating State law?

It is not clear how completing the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data (FAR 15.406-2) would cause any state to violate State laws that require competitive bidding. If this question is related to the subcontract with IMS you may edit the form to indicate the use of SEER*DMS as a mandatory qualification criterion.

9 Previous Q&A #36 Indirect costs as part of Contractor share

Please clarify. Does your response mean that we can apply the total indirect costs to our 20% share requirement?

Offerors should determine the best approach to meeting the 20% cost-share commitment. Providing State/University/Other funding to cover the Government/NCI-Share of indirect costs is just one acceptable method.

10 Pre-proposal Conference & Attachment 7

Human Subjects During the pre-proposal conference it was stated that a Public Health Surveillance project is deemed not ‘research. They also stated "when thinking about your registry operations, which is really task order one core infrastructure, we determine that that does not involve human subjects research. On Attachment 7:a. #4. Title of Application of Activity

– do we enter the title of the solicitation here OR something else? If something else, what would that be? b. #6. – do we mark the ‘Exemption Status’ or the applicable ‘assurance’ section? i. If ‘Exemption Status’ is applicable (and this is not research), then do we still include ALL of the human subjects sections, including the planned enrollment report?

It is the responsibility of each Offeror to correctly complete the forms given the solicitation instructions. The following is provided as guidance only, each Offerors individual organizational situation may vary. For Attachment 7, Item #4 enter: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. For Item #6 select "this assurance is on file…" and provide the Assurance Identification No., expiration date, and IRB Registration No. For Item #7, select "This activity contains multiple projects...". For Item #8, offerors may make reference to the revised Common Rule indicating that Core Infrastructure is "public health surveillance", however other projects not covered by the Common Rule exemption will be reviewed and approved (as indicated in block 7).

11 Pre-Solicitation Notice – Amendment 3

Period of Performance clarification

Pre-Solicitation Notice – Amendment 3 states that the ramp-on base contracts will be awarded on or about 11/05/2020 for a period of performance of 8 years, HOWEVER, based upon the dates (11/01/2020 – 04/30/2028) within Attachment 14 & 16, the period of performance will be 7 ½ years. Will the period of performance be 7 ½ year instead of the original planned 8 years?

"Pre-solicitation Notices" are used to provide industry an advanced notice that a solicitation is forthcoming.

The information contained within these notices is what the NCI 'anticipated' at the time. Once the actual Solicitation is issued, the Solicitation and Solicitation Amendments take precedent. Attachment 10, 3.15, Section 1. General Instructions / Assumptions, item a. (page. 9) clearly indicates the period of performance.

12 Attachment 10 – Amendment. 1

– Page 8 – 3.14 – f.

Period of Performance consistency

It states, ‘All references totals or amounts must assume a full eight-year period of performance’. Shouldn’t this read 7 ½ year period of performance?

Revised to state "assume a full period of performance inclusive of all option periods. "

13 Solicitation – Page 80 Human subjects It states ‘‘…. must address if this contract will be for research involving human subjects – will this contract be for research involving human subjects and thus ALL human subjects, including planned enrollment report must be included in the proposal? If this is the case, how does one know the ‘planned enrollment’ without the task orders being issued to them?

Attachment 9: Planned Enrollment Report must be submitted with the proposal. Solicitation Section L, b "Technical Proposal Instructions", item 3(d), page 85 "Use of form entitled, "Planned Enrollment Report" is revised to state: "For the purposes of responding to this RFP, the dates of inclusion for the Planned Enrollment Report should include all cases diagnosed between January 1st to December 31st of the most recent completed year." Also, reference Note 2 on Solicitation page 84.

14 eCPS – electronic Submission site instructions

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials document

The ‘how to submit an electronic proposal’ instructions lists the inclusion of a ‘PHS Human Subject and Clinical Trials’ document. Is this the same as the Planned Enrollment Report document that is required as a part of the submission? If not, is the ‘PHS Human Subject and Clinical Trials’ document required and if so, where can it be located?

The eCPS site states to "Upload the Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information Form as required by the solicitation". Solicitation Attachment 03 "Delivery of Proposal Using eCPS" does not require the PHS Human Subject and Clinical Trials" document. The "Planned Enrollment Report" is included as Solicitation Attachment 09 and should be submitted as part of the Technical Proposal (see Attachment 5, Section 5.8).

15 beta.SAM.gov posting Classification Code – need applicable indirect rate clarification

If the Classification Code is ‘A-Research and Development’ but it was stated in the pre-proposal conference call that this is not research, please clarify if this project would fall under the ‘research’ OR ‘other sponsored activity’ category when applying/including the indirect rate of our institution within the budget.

Pursuant to the definition at 42 CFR Part 52h "SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEW OF RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT PROJECTS" this is a Research and Development contract. The classification code is 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).

The reference in the pre-proposal conference (slide 10) that "public health surveillance activities" are "deemed not to be research" for Core Infrastructure/Registry Operations is specific to the applicability of Human Subjects Provisions under the definition of 'research' provided at 45 CFR 46.102(l)(2) POLICY FOR

PROTECTION OF HUMAN RESEARCH SUBJECTS.

16 Attachment 5 Seems repetitive:

Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches

Sections 3 & 4 BOTH state to include ‘Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches’. Are we to include ‘Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches’ in BOTH sections? Seems repetitive to include the same information in two different places with the same attachment.

Offerors do not need to repeat the entire Resume, CV, or Biosketch. However, since the personnel proposed for Sections 3&4 may differ, Offerors must provide a reference to the proposal page where the Resume, CV, or Biosketch can be found. (ex. Section 4.5 may list "Jane Smith" and state "see resume in Section 3.7, page ##).

17 Attachment 5 Typically, the NIH only wants the Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches of Senior/Key Personnel on a project.

Do we include ‘Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches’ for ALL personnel on the project OR for Senior/Key Personnel only?

See response to question #36 of this document.

For named Non-Key Personnel a table consolidating staff qualifications, years of service and certifications would be acceptable. The Offeror may use any table format with the appropriate information given the same format is consistently used for all named Non-Key Personnel.

A Resume, CV, or Biosketch must be submitted for each proposed Key Personnel.

18 Attachment 14 – Historical Actual Costs Tab

Need clarification as to what to include.

Historical Actual Costs tab – if we have not had a ‘SEER’ contract funded project before do we leave this tab blank OR do we complete this using budget information from our current CDC funded state registry?

The term 'cost' refers to Registry operating expenditures. The term 'funding' refers to money provided to the Registry from various sources. The "Historical Actual Costs" tab requires a summary of actual costs to operate the registry each of the last two 'Registry Fiscal Years' regardless of funding source. This information may be used to assist the NCI in determining cost reasonableness/realism.

19 Attachment 14 – Instructions page 2 vs. Attachment 6

Hours vs. Percent of Effort – clarification needed

Attachment 14 – instructions page states that we have the option to use the Labor-Salary worksheet if we track labor on a percent of effort basis HOWEVER Attachment 6 lists labor in ‘hours’. Are we to figure the labor in ‘hours’ for Attachment 6, even though Attachment 14 allows us to figure labor as a percent of effort (so essentially, we would end up figuring the ‘hours’ anyway, when Attachment 14 allows us to figure labor as a percent of effort)? Please clarify.

This is intentional. Attachment 6 must be completed using labor hours. Attachment 14 should be consistent with how your organization tracks labor, either by percent of effort or hourly basis.

20 Attachment 14 – Instructions

Our institution grants salary increases on September 1 for all employees.

This states ‘Increases for the to be named or hired are not eligible for increases in the first period’. Does the ‘first period’ mean the ‘Base Period’ (11/01/2020 – 04/30/2021) OR ‘Option Period 1’? If this is for ‘Option Period 1’ (which would be May 1, 2021 – April 30, 2022), does this mean that we could not give salary increases effective September 1, 2021, following what our institution guidelines?

The first period is the Base Period.

21 Attachment 14 Typically excel spreadsheets, provided by an agency as a required document, come with detailed instructions with exactly what is required/needed.

Where are detailed instructions on how to complete each of the tabs within this excel spreadsheet located?

Solicitation, Attachment 10 "Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs" beginning on page 9 and additional instructions within each spreadsheet Tab.

22 Solicitation – Page 102 Subcontractor clarification

Are subcontractors required to be a part of the project to carry out the SOW? Page 102 of the solicitation states ‘if’ subcontractors are proposed….

The only required subcontract is with Information Management Services, Inc. (IMS) for SEER*DMS as stated in Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi.

23 Amendment 16 – Amendment. 1

– HHS Subcontracting Plan

Typically subcontracts are NOT required for a project.

Are we required to include at least one subcontractor from EACH category (i.e. Small Business; Small Disadvantage Business; Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business; HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses)?

No. The intent of the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is to establish Goals.

24 Amendment 16 – Amendment. 1

– HHS Subcontracting Plan – page 2 of template – 1. Type of Plan

Completion of template

‘Individual’ is pre-checked within the template – does ‘individual’ apply to this project and thus should remain checked?

Individual refers to the type of subcontracting plan and should remain checked. FAR 19.7 gives definitions of different types of Subcontracting Plans (i.e. Individual or Master).

25 Solicitation – Page 5 – Article B.

3. Provisions Applicable to Direct Costs

Allowable Costs This states ‘This article will prohibit or restrict the use of contract funds, unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer’. How do we know/where can we find what items on this unallowable list that are ‘approved by the Contracting Officer’ or not so we know whether or not we can include them in the budget?

The Contracting Officer may have exchanges with Offerors after receipt of the Offeror's proposal (see FAR 15.306). During this time, the Contracting Officer may approve costs proposed that are listed in Article B.3 as "Unallowable". For example, if the Offeror proposes use of a Subcontract the Contracting Officer will review the Subcontract information submitted and approve/disapprove this cost prior to award of the associated Task Order. It is the Offerors/Contractors responsibility to obtain this approval in writing prior to incurring any "unallowable" cost. FAR Part 31 provides more information on allowable/unallowable costs.

26 Our state has a verbal agreement to move the state cancer registry out of the public health department and under the university School of Public Health. A written contract is in progress. Must the contract be in place between the university and the state before we would be eligible for SEER OR will the letter of support and MOU be sufficient for our application?

A letter of support with MOU would be sufficient if it documents that the university will be the designated agent to collect data for the specified region prior to the start of this SEER contract on November 1, 2020.

Given the completive nature of this acquisition, all business proposal information including labor rates, indirect rates, financial capability, etc. must be submitted using the university’s information as the organization ultimately receiving the contract.

27 Task Area 7 SEER*DMS migration For the budget, is it reasonable to assume that the SEER*DMS migration will not take place during year 1?

Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi was revised in Amendment 1 to state "assume data migration in contract year 2 (Option 1)".

28 Task Area 7 SEER*DMS migration Is it reasonable to budget for the SEER*DMS migration in year 2?

Yes.

29 Our institution applies Indirect costs to the modified total direct costs, not to the whole value of a subcontract

For subcontracts, are indirect costs applied only to MTDC (i.e. the first $25,000 of subcontracts)?

Yes.

30 Attachment 10 page 12 Travel.

Year 1 is short (Nov 1 2020 - Apr 30, 2021) and it’s not clear which meetings will take place during year 1

For budgeting travel in the short year 1: which of the following meetings will take place during the year 1 project period

- SEER Program meeting?

- SEER QI forum?

- SEER*DMS users group meeting?

Between November 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021 the following meetings are expected to occur: (1) The Annual SEER Principal Investigators and Registry Managers Meeting and (2) The Annual NCRA/SEER Advanced Topics Meeting.

31 Attachment 10 page 12 SEER Quality Improvement Experts Meeting

This meeting is referred to as an “annual” meeting. It is unclear how there might be two trips per year if the meeting is only annual. Will there be 2 trips every year, i.e. the meeting is not annual but is twice yearly? Or are there just 2 trips (total) over the 8-year period?

Attachment 10 was revised from "annual" to "two occurrences each year".

32 Attachment 10, page 9. General Instructions 1c.

Clarifying #61 in the first round of questions: are we to assume that the total budget (SEER plus cost share contribution) would be sufficient to sustain the SEER registry program if all NPCR funds were removed?

The intent of Attachment 10, Section 3.15, item 1.c. is to remind Offerors not to include any and all costs associated with registry operations, but only those costs associated directly with the NCI Statement of Work.

For example, designing a new public facing registry website might be a valid cost of registry operations, but it is not a direct requirement or cost to the SEER contract.

This is a distinct topic from receiving CDC/NPCR funding that may be for valid registry operations purposes required by both CDC/NPCR and NCI/SEER. In this case, the Offeror is required to follow appropriate cost allocation principles as outlined in FAR Part 31.

While NCI and CDC are committed to working together to ensure that the scopes of work for each agency can be performed, each agency works with their respective contractors on budgets.

33 Attachment 20 Cost share Is the cost share amount (20%) based on total costs (direct + indirect costs), or only on direct costs?

Total cost.

34 Solicitation, Section L. 2c – Business Proposal Instructions, #5 – Small Business Contracting Plan

Is the HHS subcontracting plan required if the only planned subcontract is with IMS for SEER*DMS (less than $700,000)?

Yes. The $700,000 threshold is the total cost of the prime contract. The intent of the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is to establish Goals. Note: Attachment 10, Section 3.14.h requires justification for all Other Direct Costs (not just Subcontracts) that are not set-aside for small businesses.

35 ARTICLE G.2. KEY PERSONNEL,

HHSAR 352.237-75 (December 2015) (Page 23) and SECTION M -

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR

AWARD - 8. Technical Evaluation Factors - c. Personnel - i. Core Infrastructure - b.-d. (page 110).

What is the definition of "Key Personnel"? Does it include only leaders and management, or does it also include other personnel necessary to completing the statement of work?

Minimum Key Personnel shall include (1) the Principal Investigator (PI)/Program Director and (2) the Registry Operations Supervisor/Registry Director/Registry Manager. However, Offerors may propose additional Key Personnel within specific task areas of the contract that are deemed by the Offeror to be "essential to work performance" (ex. Data Quality Manager/Lead). The NCI does not interpret "essential" to include each Abstractor and Editor. Note: pursuant to Article G.2 “prior to the contractor voluntarily diverting any [key personnel] … the contractor shall [obtain] the written consent of the Contracting Officer.”

36 SECTION L.2.b.1. Technical Approach - c. Personnel - 5.

Resumes (Page 77). Attachment 05 - Additional Technical Proposal Instructions - Section 3 & Section 4 - Attachments & Appendices (Pages 1-2, 9 & 12).

Due to the restrictive page limits for resumes, can we utilize a table that consolidates staff qualifications, years of service and certifications, instead of individual resumes, CVs and biosketches?

For named Non-Key Personnel a table consolidating staff qualifications, years of service and certifications would be acceptable. The Offeror may use any table format with the appropriate information given the same format is consistently used for all named Non-Key Personnel.

A Resume, CV, or Biosketch must be submitted for each proposed Key Personnel.

37 NCI Response to Question #26 The NCI response seems to indicate that only one year of data is to be used for Attachment 09 - Planned Enrollment Report.

The Contract Period is from 11/01/2020 - 04/30/2028 which timeframe includes 8 years of completed data. It seems the Planned Enrollment should also be for 8 years. So, does NCI intend that the years of diagnosis reported should be for 2018-2025? Could the NCI please state the precise year range required?

No. Data Submission requirements are clearly detailed in Task Order 1 - Core Infrastructure - Statement of Work section 3.2. The requirement is for “the Contractor to submit data to the NCI twice a year on each resident cancer cases diagnosed from 2000 forward…”. These data submissions occur twice a year until the contract expires or is otherwise terminated. As stated in 3.2.h, “at contract termination or otherwise, the contractor shall promptly submit all data, both complete and in progress, to the government". The NCI acknowledges that in certain cases where a contract is not renewed the last data submission may be incomplete.

The requirement for Attachment 9 - Planned Enrollment Report is to include all cases diagnosed between January 1st to December 31st of the most recent completed year.

38 Solicitation Section J Attachment

On the Total Cost Summary tab there is a line item for Patient Care Costs, the formula in the cell is calculating the subcontract costs. We do not need patient care costs; can we change it and correct the formula?

Yes. As stated on the Attachment 14 instructions tab, "To ensure mathematical accuracy the spreadsheet contains formulas to the maximum extent practicable. Do not overwrite the formulas with hardcoded numbers. However, you may edit the formulas as necessary to fit your circumstances. You are responsible for ensuring all numbers are accurate and complete prior to proposal submission."

39 Solicitation Section J Attachment

Current salary documentation we are required to include in our proposal on 2/24/19 will not reflect what salaries will be as of 4/1/20.

Can we inflate current salaries to account for merit increases planned for 4/1/20?

Yes. In this scenario, the initial Business Proposal shall clearly indicate that the proposed salaries were inflated and describe the method. In the Final Proposal Revision (prior to contract award) the Offeror will have an opportunity to revise the proposed labor rates and provide supporting salary documentation to reflect the actual increases.

40 NCI Response to Question # 29 Can the 100 pages be double-sided to provide 200 sides of information?

No. The proposals are due in electronic format only.

41 Attachment 10 - Additional Business Proposal Instructions - Section 4 - 2nd paragraph - (Page 18)

Is NCI only going to pay a total of $1,000.00 for all Research Support Task orders awarded to an offeror?

No, the NCI intends to pay a fair and reasonable amount for each Research Support Task Order awarded to an Offeror. The $1,000.00 amount covers a single Programmatic Meeting. As stated in Attachment 10 Section 4 "At time of the Base Contract award, the Government does not anticipate making any Task Order awards for Research Support Task Areas as a result of this Solicitation. The process for competing for these future Task Orders is described in Solicitation Section L.1.d."

42 NCI Response to Question # 20 Does each registry have to separately obtain subcontract documents from IMS and work with them individually? This seems a wasteful exercise since taxpayer dollars are already being used to pay IMS by NCI. Why doesn’t' NCI include these additional costs in IMS' main contract. This would result in greater bargaining power for the government and save taxpayers' money.

Each Offeror is required to separately obtain draft subcontract documents from IMS that encompass the system interconnectivity, data access, confidentiality, and data security protocols for the Registry’s instance of SEER*DMS housed at the IMS Computer Center. Please visit https://www.imsweb.com/nci-seer-ramp-on.html for more information.

These subcontracts require agreement between the Offeror and IMS. Therefore, each Offeror must ensure that its organizational institution agrees to the verbiage, terms, and conditions contained in the agreement or to negotiate with IMS any recommended changes. The NCI is not in a position to negotiate these terms on behalf of every potential Offeror given the variety of organizational policies, regulations and state laws.

However, given the significance of SEER*DMS to this contract, it is prudent for the NCI to ensure an agreement is achievable between the Offeror and IMS prior to making a contract award.

The NCI has negotiated the fixed costs of these subcontracts with IMS as outlined in Attachment 10.

Note: The NCI has established a separate contract directly with IMS for data migration, system customization, training, or technical support. Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi has been revised for clarity.

43 NCI Response to Question #54 The use of long acknowledgements by funding agencies adds extensive text to publications.

Will the contractor be allowed a shortened version of the publishing acknowledgement, such as: “The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution to this study from central cancer registries supported through the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program.”

The NCI is investigating this concern. For the time being, the NCI does not believe this has any bearing on proposal submission.

44 Attachment 05 - Additional Technical Proposal Instructions and Attachment 10 - Additional Business Proposal Instructions - Submission, Formatting and Page Limitations - (Page 3 in each document)

The formatting needs to be in size 12 font, but can tables be in smaller font?

No, font size must be 12 points for tables.

45 Attachment 6 Why is there not a ‘Base Period’ column on Attachment 6? Is it because Attachment 6 is the ‘Technical Proposal Cost Information/Summary of Labor and Direct Costs’ and the ‘Base Period’ (11/01/2020 – 04/30/2021) will have no ‘technical’ work performed during this time frame? Please confirm.

For Attachment 6, use the "Year 1" column for the Base Period.

46 Attachment 10 – Page 3 The Part numbering at the top of page 3, within the table, is out of sequence – 3.10; 3.11; 3.13; 3.12; 3.13;

3.14. Please correct the number sequence and issue

and amendment for Attachment 10.

Attachment 10 has been revised accordingly.

47 Attachment 10 – Page 2 – Section 3 – Core Infrastructure

Part 3.6 Supporting Quotations (within the table) is NOT listed/included on page 7 under ‘Attachments’. As a result of this, it throws off the whole numbering sequence throughout the remaining portion of this section, causing the Part numbers in the table on page 2 to not match up with the ‘instructions’ for the sections

Attachment 10 has been revised accordingly.

on page 7. The table and the instructions for the table need to match up to assure that everything required is prepared in the correct sequence AND ‘Supporting Quotations’ needs to be added to the attachment instructions on page 7. Please correct and issue an amendment for Attachment 10.

48 Attachment 5 – Page 9 – Section 3 – 3.7 Resumes, CVs, NIH Biosketches

Is it allowed to include a biosketch for someone who will not have any effort on the project and thus they will be in more of a consulting role (but not an actual consultant) on the project OR should we not include their biosketch?

Do not include any voluntary services or associated biosketches within your proposal. Please review Federal Regulations on voluntary services.

49 We have reached out to the local hospitals in our area and to the state registry. We have not been assigned as the delegation of authority to collect cancer data on behalf of the hospitals and did not get a response from the state registry. Are we out because of the above?

There is not enough information to answer this question. Please review Solicitaiton Section M.4 MANDATORY

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA.

50 Indirect costs We don’t see a restriction on indirect costs. Can we assume that the Federally Negotiated Rate applies?

Attachment 10 "Additional Business Proposal Instructions", Section 2.7 requires submission of the Offerors "most current Negotiated Indirect Rate Agreement".

51 TASK AREA 7 – ANCILLARY

STUDIES AND ADDITIONAL

PROJECTS.

Do you require the contractor to be affiliated with universities for the purpose of conducting studies or research?

No.

52 TASK AREA 7 – ANCILLARY

STUDIES AND ADDITIONAL

PROJECTS.

What personnel do you require for the contractor such as CTRs, Epidemiologist, statisticians, etc.?

Ancillary studies will generally require a sub-set of the labor categories required for Core Infrastructure.

53 IMS Subcontract Clarification Added clarifying language to Attachment 10, Section 3.15.2.h.vi "SEER*DMS Subcontract". Added link to https://www.imsweb.com/nci-seer-ramp-on.html. Revised Attachment 5, Section 3.8 to state "a Subcontractor Technical Proposal is not required for the IMS Subcontract…"

54 SEER*DMS Attachment 5, Section 3.1 Technical Approach is revised to include item p. “Describe the Offeror’s understanding of SEER*DMS migration (see Attachment 34) and SEER*DMS Workstation Guidelines (see Attachment 33)." Amended Attachment 33 - Workstation Guidelines. Added Attachment 34 - DMS Migration Phases.

55 Attachment 14 - Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs, Historical Actual Costs

Minor revision to Attachment 14 - Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs, Historical Actual Costs Tab.

Changed the heading "FY 2018" to "Registry Fiscal Year 2018" for clarity.

56 Amendment 1 - Response to question #40 - Research Support Only Labor Categories

The following was added to Attachment 10, Section 4 "If you are responding to Section 4 “Research Support” only, please include a Labor Rate Table for the full period of performance for the potential labor categories available to complete the “Research Support” Task Areas. A full cost estimate is not required."