Amendment 1 BLSA Data Consulting Questions and Answers.pdf

Amendment 1:

Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) Data Science Consulting Services:

Questions and Answers -75N95023R00051

Q1. Article B.2 of the Part I Schedule indicates that the bid should be submitted on a fixed-price basis, divided into milestones represented by the monthly reports, the semi-annual report and the year-end report. On the other hand, the SOW provides estimates of man-hours for completion of the project, and refers to hourly billing. Given the nature of the project, and given bidders do not have access to the data prior to the beginning of the project, it is almost impossible to provide a fixed price quote. Would the NIH consider allowing the bidder to submit a proposal based on hourly rates instead of a fixed price?

A1. Offeror’s can propose an alternate contract type for our consideration.

Q2. Could you please confirm that the contractor will not be responsible for costs relating to the actual storage of data (e.g. servers, cloud storage fees, web hosting, etc.) and that this award only concerns the human resources aspect of the service (i.e. director and data scientists and their personal computers for the provision of the service)?

A2. Yes, the contractor will NOT be responsible for the cost of data storage. Preparing data and data pipelines for storage and accessible reuse however is an instrumental component of the contract.

Q3. The SOW mentions that the “contractor” will be required to travel to the National Institutes of Health every 6 months. Will only the director be required to travel, or will more team members be required to travel? Should the travel costs be included in the quote?

A3. Travel costs for the director and possibly one team member should be included in the quote.

Q4.Does the NIH anticipate that most work will be able to be performed mostly off-site (i.e. from the contractor’s premises)?

A4. Yes, the NIH expects that most work will be performed off-site at the contractor’s premises.

Q5. Where is the NIH BLSA data currently stored? Is it all available through the cloud or can some data only be accessed in-person?

A5. The BLSA data is currently stored on NIA IRP servers. The successful applicant will be provided access to these data.

Q6. Section 2 of the “Specific Requirements” of the SOW indicates that the contractor will implement mechanisms to share BLSA data in public repositories. Does the NHI have any preference as to a particular depositary (e.g. API Rest, Web Application or public platforms such as Google BigQuery)?

A6. Yes, we have already begun to establish relationships with a select few public repositories.

Q7. Does the data universe concerned by the BLSA contain only structured data? Or does it also contain unstructured data (images, PDF, videos, etc.)?

A7. Some of the BLSA data is imaging data from CT and MRI.

Q8. Has the NIH, in the context of the BLSA, maintained a defined format and/or methodology for data collection to date or has it changed over time? The context of this question is to understand whether we should expect to find neat tables and consistent data throughout the life of the study or whether there will be a need for standardization, compatibility and data cleaning work in order to put together something coherent that includes the data as a whole.

A8. There is general consistency of data collected since 2003, but as technology has changed so has some instrumentation and data capture procedures.

Q9.Does the NIH have a data catalog containing documentation of the content, purpose and/or restrictions of the different data sources to enable the correct interpretation of the different data sources? If so, will this be made available in the context of the bid process?

A9. Substantial documentation materials exist for most data collected in the BLSA. Most of these materials are accessible through the BLSA website.

Q10. Regarding the interaction with the NIH team and understanding that we will need to set meetings to define scopes, objectives, request data transfer and clarify doubts, what availability will the NIH team have to attend our concerns? Is there any restriction when requesting coordination and work meetings?

What is the preferred communication channel? Are virtual meetings well received by the work team?

A10. The NIA IRP team expects to be highly involved in this project and desires regular meetings that will occur largely remotely.

Q11. Data Other than Certified Cost or Pricing Data is being requested in the business proposal. Could you please let me know what that may include and if there is a template for it? (I didn’t see an explanation within the RFP – I was looking at page 65.)

A11. Information and supporting documentation (salary verification, indirect rate agreements, quotes, invoices, historical data, etc.) necessary for the contracting officer to determine a fair and reasonable price or to determine cost realism. Such data may include the identical types of data as certified cost or pricing data.

• The judgmental factors applied and the mathematical or other methods used in the estimate, including those used in projecting from known data; and

• The nature and amount of any contingencies included in the proposed price.

Q12. For the Small Business Subcontracting Plan

• In the User Guide for Subcontracting Plan Reviews, will we receive electronic notification to complete in SBCX, correct?

A12. The Small Business Subcontracting Plan is required for all other than small businesses. We have attached the HHS Subcontracting Plan Template to utilize as a template when entering information in the SBCX portal. The link to submit the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is below:

https://osdbu.hhs.gov/subcontracting/cb7e9584-8926-4f34-88a3-637d1c080431

• We are not planning on subcontracting, but, if I’m reading correctly, this would apply even to vendors from which we may order office supplies, is that correct?

Correct.

Q13. Is there a deliverable we need to prepare, for the Business Proposal, that addresses HUBZone Small Business Concerns (pg 68 of RFP)?

A13. The language on page 68, titled “HUBZone Small Business Concerns” applies to the price evaluation preference for Small Business concerns.

Q14. How do we submit our responses?

A14. Please submit all responses to michelle.cecilia@nih.gov by August 16, 2023 at 5:00 pm EST.

Q15. What documents do we need to submit in response to this solicitation?

A15. Please refer to the Section titled “Instructions to Offerors” for detailed instructions.

Subcontracting Plan Template (Rev. March 2022)

1. Type of Plan (check one):

Individual *Master (Addendum) *Commercial *When Master is checked, Individual must also be checked and submission must include both.

*If Commercial is checked, please stop here and attach a copy of your commercial plan.

For Informational Purposes:

Individual plan - all elements developed specifically for this contract and applicable for the full term of this contract.

Master plan - goals developed for this contract, all other elements standardized and approved by a lead agency Federal Official; must be renewed every three years and contractor must provide copy of lead agency approval.

Commercial products/service plan - goals are negotiated with the initial agency on a company-wide basis rather than for individual contracts; this plan applies to the entire production of commercial service or items or a portion thereof. The contractor sells commercial products and services customarily used for non-government purposes. The plan is effective during the offeror’s fiscal year.

2. Subcontracting Goal Data: (FAR19.702(a)(1-3) & FAR 52.219-9(d)(1)) Below indicate the dollar and percentage goals for Small Business (SB), Small Disadvantaged (SDB) including Alaska Native Corporations and Indian Tribes, Women-owned and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVOSB) Small Businesses and “Other than Small Business” (Other) as subcontractors. Indicate the base year and each option year, as specified in FAR 19.704. If any contract has more than four options, please attach additional sheets which illustrate dollar amounts and percentages.

PLEASE NOTE: Zero dollars is not an acceptable goal for the SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB or SDVOSB categories since this does not demonstrate a good faith effort throughout the period of performance of the contract.

% of Total Contract $ If required by CO

For Individual Plans complete a(1): (FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(i)) a(1). Total dollars planned to be subcontracted under this contract is:

For Individual Plan

$ =2b+2h

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base Period: $ Option Period 3: $

Option Period 1: $ Option Period 4: $

Option Period 2: $

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

b. Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes)- [Percentage of 2a.]: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(ii))

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base: $

OPT 1: $

OPT 2: $

OPT 3: $

OPT 4: $

and and and and and and

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

ATTACHMENT 14

c. Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to veteran-owned small business concerns- [Percentage of 2.a.]:

(FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(iii))

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base: $

OPT 1: $

OPT 2: $

OPT 3: $

OPT 4: $

and and and and and and

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

d. Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to service-disabled veteran-owned small business - [Percentage of 2.a.]: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(iv))

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base: $

OPT 1: $

OPT 2: $

OPT 3: $

OPT 4: $

and and and and and and

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

e. Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to HUBZone small business concerns - [Percentage of 2.a.]:

(FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(v))

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base: $

OPT 1: $

OPT 2: $

OPT 3: $

OPT 4: $

and and and and and and

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

f. Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes) - [Percentage of 2.a.]: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(2)(vi))

If your contract includes options, please include the break down here:

Base: $

OPT 1: $

OPT 2: $

OPT 3: $

OPT 4: $

and and and and and and

If options are applicable:

Base: %

OPT 1: %

OPT 2: %

OPT 3: %

OPT 4: %

4. Please describe your efforts to ensure that Small Businesses (incl. SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB) have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(8))

These efforts include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

a. Outreach efforts to obtain sources: (1) Contact minority and small business trade associations; (2) contact business development organizations and local chambers of commerce; (3) attend SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB and SDVOSB procurement conferences and trade fairs; (4) review sources from the System for Award Management ( http://www.sam.gov); (5) review sources from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Dynamic Small Business Search database (DSBS) http://dsbs.sba.gov/); and (6) Utilize newspaper and magazine ads to encourage new sources.

b. Internal efforts to guide and encourage purchasing personnel: (1) Conduct workshops, seminars and training programs;

(2) Establish, maintain, and utilize SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB and SDVOSB source lists, guides, and other data for soliciting subcontractors; and (3) Monitor activities to evaluate compliance with the subcontracting plan.

Efforts Described:

5. Flow Down Clause: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(8))

The contractor agrees to include the provisions under FAR 52.219‑8, “Utilization of Small Business Concerns,” in all acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold that offers further subcontracting opportunities. All subcontractors, except small business concerns, that receive subcontracts in excess of $700,000 ($1,500,000 for construction) must adopt and comply with a plan similar to the plan required by FAR 52.219‑9, “Small Business Subcontracting Plan.” Note: In accordance with FAR 52.212-5(e) and 52.244-6(c)(2) the contractor is not required to include flow-down clause FAR 52.219.-9 if it is subcontracting commercial items.

6. Reporting and Cooperation: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(10)); (FAR 19.704(a)(10))

The contractor gives assurance of 1) cooperation in any studies or surveys that may be required; 2) submission of periodic reports which illustrate compliance with the subcontracting plan; 3) submission of its Individual Subcontracting Report (ISR) and Summary Subcontract Report (SSR); and 4) subcontractors submission of ISRs and SSRs. ISRs and SSRs shall be submitted via the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) website https://esrs.symplicity.com/index? tab=signin&cck=1

Please refer to FAR Part 19.7 or contact the Contracting Officer for regulatory reporting requirements and other obligations you are accepting as part of your signing of this document and acceptance of any subsequent contract award that may be granted.

7. Record keeping: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(11))

FAR 52.219-9(d)(11) requires a list of the types of records your company will maintain to demonstrate the procedures adopted to comply with the requirements and goals in the subcontracting plan.

Contractor acknowledges and agrees to record keeping obligation expressed at FAR 52.219-9(d)(11). yes no

8. Assurances of Good Faith Effort, and the submission of explanations when failing to acquire as stated in Good Faith Effort: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(12-13))

Contractor hereby makes the following assurances:

(1) that contractor will make a good faith effort to acquire articles, equipment, supplies, services, or materials, or obtain the performance of construction work from the small business concerns that it used in preparing the bid or proposal, in the same or greater scope, amount, and quality used in preparing and submitting the bid or proposal yes no ; and

(2) that the Contractor will provide the Contracting Officer with a written explanation if the Contractor fails to acquire articles, equipment, supplies, services or materials or obtain the performance of construction work within 30 days of contract completion and as required under FAR 19.7. yes no

9. Assurances that the Contractor will not prohibit a subcontractor from discussing with the Contracting Officer any material matter pertaining to payment to or utilization of a subcontractor: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(14))

Contractor hereby makes the assurance that the Contractor will not prohibit a subcontractor from discussing with the Contracting Officer any material matter pertaining to payment to or utilization of a subcontractor. yes no

10. Assurances of Timely Payments to Subcontractors: (FAR 52.219-9(d)(15))

FAR 19.702 requires your company to establish and use procedures to ensure the timely payment of amounts due pursuant to the terms of your subcontracts with SB concerns, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB and SDVOSB concerns.

Your company has established and use such procedures yes no . Additionally, Contractor makes an assurance that Contractor will pay its small business subcontractors on time and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the underlying subcontract, and notify the contracting officer when the prime contractor makes either a reduced or an untimely payment to a small business subcontractor yes no .