Combined Synopsis questions and answers PEER REVIEW SUPPORT SERVICES FINAL 3 JULY 2023.pdf

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation: Peer review support solicitation Questions & Answers: 75N96023Q00068

3 July 2023

1. QUESTION: We see that you are requesting a 5‐year term. Do you have a start date in mind? If is helpful for you to know, we can turn around a contract in just a couple of days.

ANSWER: The Government intent is to award the contract as soon as possible after completing the evaluation process.

2. Q U E S T I O N : The RFQ states that “the two journals in the program must each be supported separately.” We want to understand whether this means that we should not have any of the same staff working on one journal working also working on the other journal. If so, we certainly can accommodate that. Would you want a single point of contact for EHP and JHP together, or one for each journal?

A N S W E R : The “supported separately” requirement is not intended to create any kind of firewall or barrier between the journals, but rather to make it clear that each journal will have different requirements that a blanket approach may not suit. The government is not specifying how this contract should be staffed; that is a determination for the contractor. That point also applies to the point of contact – in determining how they wish to staff the contract the contractor should recommend what they feel is the best approach for communicating with the government.

3. QUESTION: The RFQ does not appear to address two services that our publishing clients often request. They both relate to the final steps in the peer review process:

a. When the journal Editor‐in‐Chief makes the decision to accept, reject, or return a manuscript for revision, there are two options in the peer review workflow. The first option is that the Editor‐in‐Chief reviews the decision letter and sends it to the author. Alternatively, the Editor‐in‐Chief reviews the decision letter but does not send it. In this case, the editorial associate reviews the letter to ensure that reviewers provided appropriate comments in their reviews and that the correct instructions for the next steps are added to the decision letter before sending. Would you be able to let us know the workflow you would like us to quote on for the journals? ANSWER: Historically for our program editors send decision letters themselves. However, with the addition of the new JHP journal, which will be overseen by a new editorial board, some processes may change. Ideally the contractor will have some flexibility here, and could support a different workflow for each journal.

b. The second step which we would like to inquire about is related to accepted papers. Once a paper is accepted, the author must prepare files (according to the publisher’s specific instructions) for production to process and publish. We would like to know whether the editorial associate will be responsible for obtaining these final files from the authors and forwarding them to production. If not, would you be able to let us know what steps you would want us to assume in our quote after a paper is accepted? ANSWER: The work described in this scenario is not included in the contract language because it is not a task the contractor is expected to perform.

4. QUESTION: According to the RFQ, “The contractor will not have access to the NIEHS network or email accounts.” When we do not have access to a client's email accounts, we typically set up journal inboxes for peer review‐related correspondence by creating an email address using the CONTRACTOR domain. A sample address could be XXXX.CONTRACTOR.COM. Or they could be journal specific. Would this be acceptable, or do you have another idea in mind? ANSWER: Email aliases managed by the contractor are acceptable. In this case the contractor is expected to maintain an archive of sent and received messages, and should be prepared to turn them over to the government either by request during the life of the contract, or at contract closeout.

mailto:EHPeditorialoffice@kwglobal.com

5. QUESTION: Our organization has an existing Master Services Agreement (MSA) that covers many FAR and other requirements. Do you require us to address any specific requirements in our proposal?

ANSWER: The Government adheres to the FAR and supplemental HHSAR provisions/clauses only which have been included in the solicitation.

End of Q&A posting