Atch J.8 - Questions-Answers - 07-22-2024.xlsx
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- Attached to
- Housing Insecurity Research Support for the AHS
- Solicitation number
- 86614624Q00001
About this file
This document contains the Questions and Answers (Q&A) related to Solicitation 86614624Q00001 for Housing Insecurity Research Support for the American Housing Survey (AHS) issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The key details are:
- This is a re-procurement to continue research support on housing insecurity using the AHS, with the previous contract number 86614619C00008 awarded to 2M Research Services LLC.
- The contractor shall generate an updated literature review, convene an expert roundtable, develop analysis plans, analyze AHS public use data, and produce interim and final reports.
- 508 compliance is required for certain deliverables. Travel is not required, and government engagement will vary by task.
- The contractor may use SAS, Stata, or R for the analysis. The proposal submission due date has been extended to July 26, 2024.
- This is a small business set-aside under NAICS code 541720 with a $28M size standard.
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Questions & Comments
| Questions and Comments | ||||||
| 86614624Q00001 - Housing Insecurity Research Support for the AHS | ||||||
| Section | Section Title | Reference | Topic | Page # | Question | Answer |
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.0.a | Editorial Standards | 19-20 | Can the government confirm that only the following three deliverables need to be 508-compliant, as recommended at the end of Section 5.0.b. Editorial Standards for Written Reports/Briefs: |
- 5.2 Generate an Updated Literature Review on Housing Insecurity,
- 5.6 Produce Interim Report,
- 5.7 Generate Final Report? Confirmed. Per Section C.5.0.a., only Tasks 5.2, 5.6, and 5.7 require Section 508 compliance. Note that the Analysis Plans described in Tasks 5.4.1 and 5.4.2, which are to be included in the technical appendix to the Interim and Final Reports, must also be in full compliance when they are submitted as part of these reports.
See amended solicitation Section C.5.0.a. Editorial Standards.
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.1 | Project Management | 20 | How much travel should the contractors anticipate, if any? | No travel is required per Section C. Travel, if required, would be a cost reimbursement CLIN detailed in Section C.5.0. Per C.1.11, this is a fixed-price contract, and all travel costs are included in the fixed unit price. |
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.1 | Project Management | 20 | How engaged would HUD staff be in this work? Are staff available for collaboration, meetings, thought partnership, etc. or is the expectation that the contractors work independently? | Government engagement will vary by task in accordance with Section C, Performance Work Statement (PWS). In general, the Government will provide guidance as needed, with specific tasks outlining the expected level of interaction and support. |
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.1.2 | Management Plan | 21-22 | States, “An organization chart with key personnel roles and names, including subcontractors and teaming Partners”. L.7.1 Factor 1: Technical Approach – Volume I (page 97) Section (c) (1): States, “Key positions/roles and responsibilities (position/role and not individuals to be named to such position/role)”. Please clarify if key personnel names are or are not to be included in the organization chart. | Key personnel names should be included in Volume III (Business Price Proposal) as specified in L.12 and L.8(b), but should not be included in Volume I (Technical Approach). In Volume I, only the key positions/roles and responsibilities should be detailed without naming individuals. |
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.3 | Convene an Expert Roundtable on Housing Insecurity | 24 | Deliverable 5.31 indicates that HUD will provide input on the selection of experts prior to the contractor drafting the list. Have the participants already been identified by HUD? What role do you envision the contractor having in identifying and recruiting participants? | Per Section C.5.3.1, HUD will provide input on the selection of experts. Participants have not been identified by the Government. |
The body of Section C.5.3.1 has been amended to state, "The Contractor shall identify the leading experts on Housing Insecurity Research and Measurement, with guidance from HUD," to clarify contractor requirements.
See amended solicitation Section C.5.3.1.
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.3 | Convene an Expert Roundtable on Housing Insecurity | 24 | Do you anticipate bringing together the expert panel more than once? | Per Section C.5.3.3, the Expert Panel will conviene only once. |
| Section C | Performance Work Statement | C.5.4 | Develop Analysis Plans for Year 1 and Year 2 of the Contract | 26 | Is use of SAS required, or would an alternative statistical programming language like Stata, R, or SPSS be allowed? | The Contractor may use SAS, STATA, or R for this requirement. SPSS does not allow for replicate-based variance estimation, which is the variance estimation method used for the AHS. |
The body of Section C.5.5.1 has been amended to state, “The Contractor shall write code in SAS, STATA, or R for the analysis of the PUF of the 2023 AHS data. Currently, SAS is the primary programming language used by both HUD and the United States Census Bureau. The Contractor shall ensure that HUD can functionally replicate the results of the analysis as outlined in Tasks 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7.”
All relevant language in regard to SAS coding has been amended to reflect the broader inclusion of coding languages.
Section C Performance Work Statement C.5.4.2 Generate Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2 27 The solicitation states: “Timely: The Contractor shall submit the draft Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2 (Option Year) (A014) no later than twenty-nine (29) weeks after contract award, and the final Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2 (Option Year) (A015) two (2) weeks after receipt of HUD comments, submitted by thirty-one (31) weeks after contract award.” If the government required one week for review and the contractor has two weeks after receipt of HUD comments, then the Final Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2 (Option Year) (A015) can only be submitted after 32 weeks of contract award. Section C.5.4.2 has been amended to state that the Final Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2 (Option Year) (A015) is due 32 weeks after contract award, allowing two (2) weeks after receipt of HUD comments and a one-week review period.
See amended solicitation Section C.5.4.2. Generate Analysis Plan for Contract Year 2, C.6.0 Deliverables & 7.0 Performance Requirement Summary (PRS).
Section C Performance Work Statement C.5.5.1 Develop Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Code for the Analysis of AHS Public Use Data 27-28 Task 5.5.1 is to perform initial analysis of AHS PUF data. In the previous study, only internal use files (IUF) were used. Is the goal to replicate the index using PUF? Will the previous SAS code/files be provided to the contractor? The goal is not to replicate the index using PUF. Offerors may choose to replicate the index using the PUF as part of analysis however, the goal is not merely to replicate the index produced with the IUF from the previous contract. Per Section C, Vision Statement, the contract aims to "Advance research on the measurement and indexing of housing insecurity through updating prior related work, developing housing insecurity indexes with 2023 AHS data, and recommending questions for future iterations of the housing insecurity module."
Code and relevant files from the previous contract may be provided to the contractor upon request, subject to approval for release by the Census Disclosure Review Board.
See amended solicitation Section H.2(1)d.
| Section G | Contract Administration Data | G.1 | Invoice Submissions | 49 | Is there an anticipated budget for this scope of work? | The Government will not disclose the anticipated budget. Offerors should submit proposals based on the solicitation's requirements and scope. |
| Section G | Contract Administration Data | G.5 | HUDAR 2452.237-70 KEY PERSONNEL | 53 | Can the government confirm that only the project manager, senior technical staff, and alternate project manager are key personnel (and not the technical staff)? | Confirmed. However, please note the inclusion the Deputy Research Position as Key Personnel as a result solicitation amendment. The Contractor is not required to have a "Deupty Research Director". |
See amended solicitation Section G.5 & G.6.
Section G Contract Administration Data G.6 Key Personnel and Other Personnel Minimum Experience and Education Requirements 54 We are envisioning a close partnership with a subcontractor. Would it be allowable to have co-Research Directors or other key personnel? Yes, the Government has made an allowance for the type of role described by amending the solicitation to include the position of "Deputy Research Director." The Contractor is not required to have a "Deupty Research Director".
See amended solicitation Sections G.5 and G.6.
Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors L.12.a Quote Submission 106 Would it be possible to extend the submission date to July 31, 2024? Proposal submission due date extended to Friday, July 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM (Eastern)
See amended solicitation SF-1449 Box 8 & Section L.12.a.
Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors L.12.a Quote Submission 106 Can the government confirm the due date for proposal submission? Section L.12. indicates that proposals are due July 19, but box 8 of the SF-1449 form provides a due date of July 25. Proposal submission due date extended to Friday, July 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM (Eastern)
See amended solicitation SF-1449 Box 8 & Section L.12.a.
Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors L.12.a Quote Submission 106 We also request that the due date be extended by approximately 2 weeks to August 13, 2024. Proposal submission due date extended to Friday, July 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM (Eastern)
See amended solicitation SF-1449 Box 8 & Section L.12.a.
| N/A | N/A | N/A | General Inquiry | N/A | Is this a brand new contract, or is there (was there) an incumbent performing these services? If not brand new, could you please provide the current/previous contract number? | This is a re-procurement, intended to continue a line of research support on housing insecurity using the American Housing Survey (AHS). The previous contract, number 86614619C00008, was issued on 09/30/2019 with a 12-month base period of performance and one 12-month option year through 09/29/2021 for Housing Insecurity Research (HIR) Support for the AHS. | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A | General Inquiry | N/A | Is there a current vendor performing similar services listed within the Solicitation, or is this the first iteration of these services? | |||
| If there is, could you kindly provide me with the current contract # and vendor? | This is not the first iteration of these services. The previous contract number was 86614619C0008 and was awarded to 2M Research Services LLC. |
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