Amendment_Questions_and_Answers_08-14-19_.docx

Solicitation Number: 86614619Q00003 Housing Insecurity Research Support for AHS

Notice Type: Amendment to Solicitation 86614619Q00003

Synopsis: Questions & Answers to Housing Insecurity Research Support (HIRS)

Questions & Answers

1. Question: Is there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement.

Answer: No, there is no incumbent contractor, and this is a new requirement.

2. Question: If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the contract or task order number?

Answer: Please see question #1

3. Question: If the offeror is proposing to subcontract, does the limit of 5 past performances apply separately for the subcontractor or the offeror and subcontractor can jointly submit 5 past performances?

Answer: Please refer to Section L.9 Factor 1 Past Performance If the offeror is proposing to subcontract (or use joint ventures/ partners, or other entities other than the prime contractor to perform) more than 20% of the contract value, the offeror shall submit a separate chart and narrative described for past performance above, for the proposed subcontractor(s).

4. Question: “Offerors are not required to submit surveys for references where past performance is available in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).” Is a CPARS equivalent to PPIRS?

Answer: Section L.9 Yes, PPIRS information is retrieved from the inputting of data into CPARS.

5. Question: The management plan and Preparation of Progress Reports – should it be part of the proposal or is it a deliverable after contract award. It is not part of the criteria?

Answer: Section C 4.7 through 4.8 . The management plan and progress reports are deliverables and not a separate evaluation factor.

6. Question: Does the proposal itself need to be 508 compliant?

Answer: See Section C 8.2 508 Compliance

7. Question: Do bios / resumes of Key and Support Personnel count toward the page limit of 15?

Answer: Bios/Resumes of Key & Support Personnel are not requested nor required.

8. Question: On page 66 of the PWS, HUD states that “Offerors shall break down their total price to reflect labor categories, labor rates, number of hours, materials and any other costs that make up the bottom-line price.” What pricing information does the Offeror need to provide for subcontractors?

Answer: Section L.9, It is up to the offeror to provide pricing information for subcontractors.

9. Question: Can HUD clarify the meaning of "The number of proposals required is an original and 1 copy of Part I, and 1 copy of Part II"? Is submission of an electronic copy of each proposal volume sufficient?

Answer: Section L.8 (b) Proposal Content: Added “Submission of an electronic copy of each proposal volume is sufficient. Quotes in response to this solicitation are due via email.”

10. Question: In providing instructions to offerors and evaluation criteria (e.g., PWS pp. 65 and 66)), HUD indicates that the offeror should address the requirements in Performance Work Statement Tasks 5.1 through 5.4. This seems to exclude several important tasks—namely, 1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference, 1.11 Status Meetings, 4.7.1 Quality Control Plan, 4.8 Management Plan, and 4.9 Monthly Progress Reports. Would HUD like Offerors to address these other tasks in their technical proposal? If so, will they be evaluated as part of Factor 2 (Technical Approach)?

Answer: L.9 “The offeror shall submit a technical approach that demonstrates logical and feasible methods for meeting the requirements (including any Section 508 requirements) described in the Performance Work Statement Tasks 5.1 through 5.4 and meeting the performance objectives outlined within the solicitation”

Section C 1.10, 1.11, 4.7 through 9. Post Award Kickoff Conference, Status Meetings, Quality Control Plan, Management Plan and Monthly Progress Reports are deliverables due after award.

The Management Plan and Quality Control Plan are not a separate evaluation factors or part of Factor 2 (Technical Approach).

11. Question: Clarification questions are due one week prior to the current submission deadline. Will HUD extend the submission deadline to allow bidders sufficient time to adapt their proposals based on HUD’s responses to question?

Answer: Section L.7 (b) – Changed to read “Quotes in response to this Solicitation are due no later than via email no later than 2:00p.m. CT on August 26, 2019, to the following e-mail addresses: maria.r.hartsfield@hud.gov and leroy.h.white@hud.gov.

12. Question: Given the deadline for question submission, July 29, 2019 is less than 5 business days from quote submission (August 5, 2019), we respectfully request an extension of 10 business days (August 19, 2019) to allow HUD to answer questions and provide offerors time to adjust offers based on the answers.

Answer: See Question 11.

13. Question: Can HUD please provide the offerors with the Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) instrument to be used in the 2019 data collection?

Answer: Section C 8 Related Documents Yes, See Section C.8.1 Related Documents

– “2019 AHS Items Booklet DRAFT.” The Housing Insecurity Research Module begins on page 245 of the document.

There was one question that was corrected since this version of the instrument was printed.

HIMOVWR

How worried are you right now about being forced to move? Are you…

0. Very worried

0. Moderately worried

0. A little worried

0. Not at all worried

14. Question: Can HUD please confirm whether hard copies of deliverables are required (per 1.3a)? Can HUD clarify the specific deliverables, if any, for which hard copies are required?

Answer: Section C 5.4. One hard copy printout is required for the Final Interim Report and the Publication-ready Final Report.

15. Question: Can HUD please confirm that tables and graphics may be less than 12-point font?

Answer: Section C. 6 Deliverables

(i). If the tables and graphics are provided in an electronic file, no less than 8-point font will be accepted.

16. Question: On page 9 of the PWS, HUD states that “The Contractor shall make all required changes in support of clarity and presentation within five business days after receipt of the CORs comments.” Does the five-business day turn-around period apply to substantive revisions to major deliverables such as draft and final reports?

Answer: Section C.6 Deliverables

17. Question: Would HUD please share with Offerors a copy of the Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) being fielded with the 2019 AHS for the purposes of informing proposals?

Answer: See question 13.

18. Question: Would HUD please share with Offerors any report or summaries developed as part of HUD’s review of existing measures of housing insecurity or consultation with experts on developing a housing insecurity module?

Answer: Yes, See Section C 8.1 Supporting Documents for HIRS for AHS.

19. Question: On page 10 of the RFP, HUD states that “The literature review task and analyses of results and output that has been approved for public release by the Census Disclosure Review Board may be performed at the contractor’s facility.” Please clarify whether it will be necessary for the contractor to obtain Census Disclosure Review Board authorization to transfer output or aggregated or tabulated results from the analysis to contractor facilities for the purposes senior team members providing review/guidance on next steps in the analysis? If so, please describe the process and timeline for obtaining such authorization.

Answer: Section C 1.7 The contractor must obtain Census Disclosure Review Board authorization before transferring output or aggregated or tabulated results from the analysis to contractor facilities so senior team members can provide review/guidance on next steps in the analysis. https://www.census.gov/srd/sdc/wendy.drb.faq.pdf

20. Question: Who are the contractors working with HUD/Census on the 2019 AHS and HRIM?

Answer: There are no contractors working with HUD/Census on the 2019 AHS and the HIRM.

Question: Who are the contractors who have worked with HUD to develop the questions included in the HRIM and on any other research to date to develop a housing insecurity module?

Answer: None. This was an in-house development project.

21. Question: On page 16 of the PWS, HUD states that “The contractor shall…(2) propose a revised analysis plan based upon the literature review and their initial analysis of the 2019 AHS Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) data and 2019 Core AHS data.” Could HUD clarify whether there is an existing analysis plan that the contractor would revise? If so, will HUD share with Offerors a copy of that analysis plan for the purposes of informing proposals?

Answer: Section C 5.1 The analysis plan that is to be revised is the contractor’s analysis plan that they developed for their proposal. The contractor shall revise their plan for analysis based upon the literature review and their initial analysis of the 2019 AHS Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) data and 2019 AHS Core Data.

22. Question: On page xx of the PWS, HUD states that “The contractor shall obtain Census Special Sworn Status for all contractor personnel assigned to analyze internal use AHS data as part of the project.” What are HUD’s expectations for the level of effort and timeline required to obtain both Census Special Sworn Status and HUD Contractor IDs?

Answer: See question 19.

23. Question: Does the process to obtain Census Special Sworn Status and HUD Contractor IDs need to be completed at the HUD or Census offices in the Washington DC metropolitan area, or can it be completed at field offices located outside of the DC metro area?

Answer: Section C 1.3 Constraints Added: The Special Sworn Statement process can be completed remotely. They have to go to a police department to get fingerprinted, and submit the fingerprints plus a passport-type photo for the ID.

24. Question: For Task 5.2, how many rounds of HUD review and contractor revision does HUD envision on the Interim Report prior to the Interim Briefing and how many after the Interim Briefing?

Answer: Section C 5.2 Added: One round of review for the Interim Report. The contractor provides the Interim Report prior to the Interim Briefing, HUD provides comments, and the contractor provides a Final Interim Report that addresses the comments.

25. Question: Similarly, for Task 5.3, how many rounds of HUD review and contractor revision does HUD envision on the Final Report prior to versus after the Final Briefing?

Answer: Section C 5.3 Added: As documented in Section C 6 Deliverables, HUD requires two rounds of HUD review and contractor revision after the contractor delivers the Draft Final Report and gives the Final Briefing. HUD envisions the second draft final report to address all substantive comments. HUD envisions the publication-ready final report to address any remaining substantive comments after the submission of the second draft final report and all editorial comments.

26. Question: Can HUD please provide the offerors with the Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) instrument to be used in the 2019 data collection?

Answer: See question 13.

Added Section C 8.1 The following supporting documents for HIRS for AHS are as follows:

1. Items Booklet – “2019 AHS Items Booklet DRAFT”

2. The following documents, however, give background on stages of the development process.

Expert Roundtable Session Background Materials -

a. “Expert Roundtable Session Materials 1 of 4 Critiquing Proposed Definition of Housing Insecurity Aug 9, 2017”

0. “Expert Roundtable Session Materials 2 of 4 Measuring the Affordable Dimension of Housing Insecurity Aug 9, 2017”

0. “Expert Roundtable Session Materials 3 or 4 Measuring the Stable Occupancy Dimension of Housing Insecurity Aug 9, 2017”

0. “Expert Roundtable Session Materials 4 of 4 Measuring the Decent and Safe Dimension of Housing Insecurity Aug 9, 2017” Initial Module Proposal (Not Final Draft of Module) with justifications for and sources of survey questions. – “Initial Topical Housing Insecurity Module Proposal Oct 31, 2017” APPAM paper on Housing Insecurity Module development process – “Watson Carter 2018 Towards Implementation of a National Housing Insecurity Research Module APPAM” AAPOR presentation on Housing Insecurity Module cognitive testing results – “Virgile et al Housing Insecurity 2019 AAPOR Presentation FINAL 05092019”

Section L.8 PRICE: Added “In accordance with HUD Procurement Policies and Procedures 2210.3 Rev 1, Chg 1, dated March 2019, the contractor shall provide pricing/rates for both on-site and off-site performance.”