Solicitation 75N97021R00019 Qs and As.pdf

1). What size images will be printed?

A. The statement of work does not request the printing of images. Requirements for fabricating NLM

Traveling Exhibition banners can be found on page 6 of the statement of work.

2). What graphic services will be needed for them? Like do we size them from a big image or make them smaller?

A. Please see the answer to question 1.

3). What kind of files will be provided for the images to start with?

A. The content packages provided to the Exhibition Designer will typically include .jpgs and .tiffs.

4). Are we going to print them and if yes what kind of substrate will you require?

A. Please see the answer to question 1.

5). Do you need any small samples for the material used to produce them?

A. Please see page 6 of the statement of work.

6). What kind of exhibition displays will be required. ‐ hanging from the ceiling or just or the wall or anything specific

A. Please see pages 5‐8 of the statement of work for the requirements for Exhibition Designer.

7). If need to be printed and installed will it be all done in Maryland or somewhere else.

A. Please see pages 5‐8 of the statement of work for the requirements for Exhibition Designer.

8). How long is this contract?

A. Please see section 5. Evaluation Criteria for Volume II – The Business Proposal of the solicitation on

Sam.gov.

9). Under section 4.A. Past Performance, it states, “Past Performance should consist of a minimum of three (3) and no more than five (5) examples of exhibition projects, developed since 2016 that are similar in scope and complexity to the National Library of Medicine’s exhibitions developed since 2016, which are described in the Statement of Work.”

For the past performance requirements, please confirm that the case studies requested should showcase our broad expertise and capabilities across exhibition and design projects and are therefore not confined simply to exhibit design. We are a seasoned exhibition and design firm with a breadth of experience and range of performance.

A. All proposals will be assessed using the technical evaluation criteria as stated in the solicitation.

10). The cost proposal template covers development of a template C.

A. Correct.

11). Please clarify on the No of hours that need to be considered in the price format.

A. Offerors are to provide number of hours to design and produce one Template C site.

12). Is the no of hours in the template being referred to required for one exhibition site?

13). Do we quote for one site in the format given?

14). How many websites are expected to be designed in a year?

A. Please see the statement of work page 2.

15). It is mentioned that Past Performance should consist of a minimum of three (3) and no more than five (5) examples of exhibition projects, developed since 2016 that are similar in scope and complexity to the National Library of Medicine’s exhibitions developed since 2016, which are described in the

Statement of Work.

We have experience with Federal, State and local organizations in Web design projects but we do not have experience is exhibition projects. Would we be considered eligible?

A. All proposals will be assessed using the technical evaluation criteria as stated in the solicitation.

16). Specific to the exhibit design and traveling exhibitions, is there a preferred method to present how the final exhibits will be displayed?

A. Please see the statement of work pages 1‐2 and 5‐6.

17). Will mockups, or images of each exhibit space be shared with the selected contractor prior to the design phase?

A. No.

18). Where does NLM anticipate housing the 508 compliant versions of each deliverable, will those be presented or be available for download on the accompanying website?

A. Please see the statement of work page 7.

19). Are there a set of existing brand guidelines that would need to be expanded on or will this brand start from the ground up?

A. The statement of work does not include “brand” or “branding.”

20). Does NLM require any text/formatting/page limit specifications for the technical proposal?

A. The requirements for the Technical Evaluation as stated in the solicitation is complete.

21). In other labor categories, an interpreter is listed as an optional personnel. Does NLM anticipate needing an English to Spanish interpreter for the exhibition design project?

A. The “Interpreter” labor category is optional. NLM does not anticipate needing English to Spanish interpretation as part of the Exhibition Design contract. Interpreter for this cost proposal template is understood to mean exhibition Interpreter—not a translator of English into another language.

22). Can an example of a past production schedule of exhibition design be shared?

A. Please see the statement of work page 4‐5 and page 11 for information about project management and project duration. The government does not have a prescribed production schedule.

23). The contract type has been identified as “Firm‐Fixed‐Price” however neither the statement of work (SOW) nor the Cost Proposal Template provides guidance for the estimated level of effort to perform the work. Can the government please provide one or more of the following that will provide the required information necessary for contractors to provide an appropriate business cost quote?

a. Please provide the estimated level of effort (hours) per position, or

b. Please provide the estimated total level of effort (hours), or

c. Please provide other budgetary guidance such as total estimated (not to exceed) cost, or

d. Optionally consider modifying the contract type to be “Time and Materials

Basis”.

A. The cost proposal template is optional. The offeror is free to provide a business proposal that is responsive to their business needs.

A firm‐fixed‐price contract is suitable for acquiring commercial items. The solicitation reasonably defines and details the requirements. Please see the Statement of Work, the Sample Tasks and associated scripts, and attachments.

24). For budgeting purposes, can the government please confirm that 1 FTE is equal to 1,880 hours?

25). The identified NAICS code, 541430 – Graphic Design Services, has a size standard of

$8M in annual receipts. Can the government allow a Small Business with greater size standard of $15m to compete and be awarded under this opportunity?

A. No.

26). Can the government please confirm the Web Design and Production Vendor will be using

NLM‐provided hardware and software for web‐related services and support?

A. Please see page 12 of the statement of work.