S14 Attachment 7 - QA (86615625Q00007)_Amendment 0002.pdf

Attachment 2 Solicitation 86615625Q00007, A00002

(242) Industry Data and Credit Analysis

Questions and Answers

Q1 Is there an overarching Solicitation that should perhaps accompany this notice?

We don’t see one attached in SAM.gov, and so whilst we do see a 2024 SOW, it’s not clear what HUD expects by way of a fully performing and compliant response package.

A1 Solicitation 86615625Q00007 should have seven (7) documents. An Amendment will be issued to attach Solicitation 86615625Q00007.

Q2 Attachment 2 – Labor Category. This seems like an unusual ask, in the context of the solution being a web based COTS subscription item. Please would you clarify your Office’s expectations with respect to the relevance of this sheet in the context of the above referenced solicitation?

A2 The difference is Attachment 2 is a table for quantity of labor hours. Attachment 3 is table for cost for the labor hours.

Q3 Attachment 3 – Price Breakdown. Similar to above, the Pricing matrix feels at odds with a COTS subscription. Please confirm that the correct spreadsheet has been uploaded to SAM, and if so, please advise how best for us to provide our pricing since our Solution doesn’t naturally fit within the parameters provided.

A3 The difference is Attachment 2 is a table for quantity of labor hours. Attachment 3 is table for cost for the labor hours.

Q4 Attachment 4 - Past Performance. The criteria included on this form appears to be away from the 1.2 Scope described in the Statement of work:

Attachment 4: “______ is pursuing a HUD bid that seeks to conduct research to:

1) contextualize Missing Middle Housing, 2) describe financing of these developments, and 3) document the policy levers available to local, state, and federal governments to spur development and increase the affordability of this housing type. The work includes conducting a literature scan, convening an expert panel, and developing case studies through in-person interviews.”

Vs,.

SOW 1.2 Scope: “The purpose of this action is to purchase a commercially available subscription located on the contractor’s platform. The subscription service shall provide online reports and materials covering the American healthcare sector. This will include, but is not limited to, rating agency reports, sector commentary, benchmarks, and industry outlooks. The subscription shall allow 30 HUD users to download reports with for analytical purposes.

Please advise what HUD’s expectations are with respect to this particular deliverable therefore. May we choose to provide Attachment 5 – Past Performance instead, that being more applicable to our solution offering? Or does HUD require that we furnish Attachment 4 too. Please advise.

A4 An updated Attachment 4 – Past Performance Survey is uploaded as part of Amendment A00001. Both Attachments 4 and 5 are required to respond to the Evaluation Factor Past Performance.

Q5 Attachment 6 NDA. As incumbent, are we still expected to provide the attached NDA? And, if an additional / renewed NDA is a requirement, may Moody’s put forward our own version of agreement for HUD’s consideration in lieu of the form provided?

A5 Yes, Attachment 6 is required because this is a Solicitation for a new Contract.

Q6 In what format do you prefer the data feeds to be delivered (e.g., API, FTP)?

A6 HUD can accept the data in a variety of formats. Data via API, FTP, or XLS files would suffice. Most information related to this solicitation would be expected to be in individual reports.

Q7 What specific early warning indicators (e.g., probability of default) are you interested in for assessing credit deterioration? Are there particular thresholds or benchmarks that you would like to monitor?

A7 Probability of default and loss given default would be key indicators of interest.

Q8 How do you plan to utilize the early warning indicators in your decision-making processes? Are there specific scenarios or analyses where these indicators will be critical?

A8 See A7.

Q9 Is there is an incumbent contractor currently providing these services? If so, could you share any insights on their performance or the reasons for seeking a new proposal?

A9 Yes, the current contract ends in 2026 that is the reason for a new solicitation for Industry Data and Credit Analysis services.

Q10 The contractor’s offering consists of a subscription based COTS web-based portal, pricing for which does not render across Labor Category breakdowns, but instead is priced based on user count. The Labor Category breakdown would therefore be inapplicable to our offering.

A10 Noted. The purpose of Attachment 2 & 3 is to help compare prices at the number of labor hours and the cost of labor hours. The Attachments must be filled in to be considered compliant. See General Instructions, B. Proposal Preparation Instructions.

Q11 The contractor offering is a COTS web-based subscription, with no labor rates attendant to it. It is not possible therefore for us to present our pricing using the matrix presented. Please advise how we might best present our pricing therefore, given the matrix presented does not work for COTS web-based subscription products.

A11 Please present your pricing in an Excel document with the following columns:

Line Item, Description, Type, Qty, Unit of Issue, Per Month, Qty x Monthly Price.

The purpose of Attachment 2 & 3 is to help compare prices at the number of labor hours and the cost of labor hours. The Attachments must be filled in to be considered compliant. See General Instructions, B. Proposal Preparation Instructions.

Q12 The solicitation states that the subscription service is to include “rating agency reports.” Can reports discussing ratings and performance American Acute Care (Hospital) Organizations that are written by credit experts as opposed to a rating agency itself satisfy this criteria?

A12 No.

Q13 Which if any ratings and analyses to be provided under this contract are expected to cover individual American Acute Care (Hospital) Organizations as opposed to the sector as a whole?

A13 The question was not clear, but the services are used to evaluate a hospital's financial stability, quality of care, and operational performance.

Q14 What data and information if any will be provided to the awardee on individual American Acute Care (Hospital) Organizations by HUD and/or the hospitals in support of the awardee’s performance of the contract?

A14 None.

Q15 Does the incumbent’s contract include a socioeconomic participation component similar to Factor D of this contract?

A15 No.

Q16 Sam.gov Deadline: The Sam.gov notice still shows a due date of September 29th.

Will the due date on the SAM.gov notice be updated to reflect last week’s amended deadline of October 1st?

A16 When Amendment 0002 is issued the date in SAM will reflect the extension due date from Amendment 0001, Oct. 1, 2025.

Q17 HUDAR 2452.237-82, CUI: The newly issued Solicitation contains HUDAR 2452.237-82, which relates to CUI. This represents a departure from the existing contract, which does not involve CUI or have any CUI requirements embedded within it. Please would you advise what CUI, if any, HUD may now expect to need to share, as part of the revised requirements? Unless something’s changed, it’s Moody’s preference that this be removed from the current iteration of the solicitation. Otherwise, we will need to take exception to it, as we will not be able to receive any CUI on renewal of contract.

A17 It is required for HUD to put this clause in a Solicitation. The Attachments must be filled in to be considered compliant. See General Instructions, B. Proposal Preparation Instructions.