Questions and Answers_Final_86615720R00014.docx.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

RFQ86615720R00014

LOAN DATA SUBSCRIPTION AND DATABASE SERVICES

Q1. Please confirm that references in Items Numbers 0001 – 0045AC referring to “section 4.1 of the Statement of Work (SOW),” “section 4.2 of the Statement of Work (SOW),” etc. are referring to the sections in Attachment A Section IV Description of Services beginning on page

7. We assume that section 4.1 refers to “1. Market Trend Data Subscription” on p. 7, section 4.2 refers to “2. Loan Limit & HPI Subscription” beginning on p. 7 and so on through “10. Real Estate Analysis Suite (REAS)” on p. 14. Is this assumption correct?

A1. Your assumption is correct.

Q2. We assume that offerors should complete the first page of the Standard Form 1449 and return it as part of the Price Proposal. Is this assumption correct?

A2. Yes, this assumption is correct. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 44,

(b) Submission of Offers, 2nd paragraph.

Q3. The second paragraph in “Schedule of Services” states, “The pricing sheet for the Firm Fixed Price

(FFP) line items are under (d) Any contract documents, exhibits or attachments, Attachment B Pricing Sheet.” This section is confusingly worded and it isn’t clear what (d) represents. Can the Government clarify this paragraph?

A3. The pricing sheet for the Firm Fixed Price (FFP) line items are under Section IV -Attachments, See Attachment B Pricing Sheet. Please refer to the solicitation, Pg.43.

Q4. We assume that the signature and date in the offeror’s Cover Letter are sufficient to meet the requirement for the offer to be signed and dated. Is this assumption correct?

A4. Yes, this assumption is correct. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 51,

(b) Cover Letter, 1st paragraph.

Q5. We assume that offerors may include the statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation as part of the Cover Letter. Is this assumption correct?

A5. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q6. In the “Limitation on Size” paragraph, the minimum font size is described as “12 pitch”. There is a difference between “pitch” and “point” as used to describe font sizes in Microsoft Word. Pitch refers to characters per inch, so the larger the pitch, the smaller the font size. “12 pitch” would be the same as a “10 point” font size in Word. What minimum point size font should offerors use?

A6. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 49, Limitation on Size, 1st paragraph.

Q7. May offerors use a 10 point font size for tables that are included in the body of the text?

A7. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 49, Limitation on Size, 1st paragraph.

Q8. We assume that the Government requires one CD for each volume, for two CDs in total. Is this assumption correct?

A8. Yes, this assumption is correct. See solicitation page 156, Letter E, 1st paragraph.

Q9. We assume that the offeror may provide the virus-free certification and required information as part of its Cover Letter. Is this assumption correct?

A9. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q10. We assume that the offeror may provide the certification that the hard paper copies and electronic copies are exactly the same as part of its Cover Letter. Is this assumption correct?

A10. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q11. We assume that the Cover Letter is excluded from the page counts of either volume and can be inserted into each binder. Is this assumption correct?

A11. No, this assumption is incorrect. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 51,

(b) Cover Letter, 1st paragraph.

Q12. For Price Proposal – Volume 2, to facilitate submission of required information other than the pricing schedule, may offerors submit a Microsoft Word document (with identical PDF version) in addition to the pricing schedule Excel file (with identical PDF version)?

A12. No. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 49, Technical and Price Proposal Submission.

Q13. The RFP states that the price proposal shall contain, “A narrative discussion that supports the pricing proposed for this effort. This shall include a discussion of the associated cost and historical data for each task outlined in the Statement of Work.” Please explain what is meant by “historical data” and how the offeror should respond.

A13. Historical data may be considered data from similar previous services performed. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 51, Part II – Proposal Format.

Q14. We assume that offerors do not need to include the entire requirement text from the SOW as part of the Proposal Matrix, but can provide section numbers or other sufficient text to identify the requirement being addressed. Is this assumption correct?

A14. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q15. Both the Technical Approach and Management Plan ask for project schedules. We assume we can provide this detailed schedule as a Chart that is excluded from the page count. Is this assumption correct?

A15. No, it will be included in the page count.

Q16. The RFP makes several references to Past Performance and/or Previous Experience. The solicitation materials included two attachments for Past Performance Information and Past Performance Survey. However, the proposal instructions do not state how this information should be provided to the Government. We assume offerors are required to fill out Attachment C Past Performance Info and return it as part of Volume 1 – Technical Proposal. Is this assumption correct?

A16. The Attachment C Past Performance Information Sheet and Attachment D Past Performance Survey shall be returned to the Contract Specialist no later than the solicitation closing date and time, March 13, 2020 @ 11AM EST. The Past Performance surveys shall be completed and submitted by your references via email to the Contract Specialist, Rachel Wilson at Rachel.N.Wilson@hud.gov.

Q17. We assume that Attachment C Past Performance Info does not count against any page limits. Is this assumption correct?

A17. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q18. How many rows on Attachment C are offerors required to fill in?

A18. Offerors should fill in the number of rows that are applicable to their experience.

Q19. How many Past Performance Surveys are required?

A19. There is only one (1) Past Performance Survey. See Attachment D.

Q20. Where should the Past Performance Surveys be sent and what is the submission deadline?

A20. Past Performance Surveys should be returned via email to the Contracting Specialist, Rachel Wilson at Rachel.N.Wilson@hud.gov . The submission deadline is Friday, March 13, 2020 @ 11AM EST.

Q21. Is the contractor required to use attachment C and D in their original formats? Please note that attachment C has very narrow columns and attachment D is not a fillable PDF that allows for data entry in the form. If the Government does require these forms to be used, can the Government provide editable versions?

A21. Yes, the contractor is required to use attachment C and D in their original formats. The government will provide the editable versions.

Q22. Several FAR Clauses with a yes/no response are referenced starting on page 54 and ending on Page

57. We assume these should be submitted with the contractor’s response as part of the Price Proposal volume. Is this assumption correct?

A22. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 51, Part II – Proposal Format.

Q23. The evaluation criteria for the technical approach include,” Whether the proposal demonstrates logical and feasible methods for meeting the requirements described in Statement of Work Tasks 5.1 through 5.6….” We assume the reference to Tasks 5.1 through 5.6 should be Tasks 4.1 through 4.10 to be consistent with other solicitation references. Is this assumption correct?

A23. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q24. The evaluation criteria for the technical approach includes (twice), “Whether the proposed labor mix and level of effort is based upon reasonable assumptions and is consistent with the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work and the proposed technical approach.” We assume that these assumptions can be included as part of the narrative discussion in Volume 2. Is this assumption correct?

A24. Yes, this assumption is correct.

Q25. We assume that the offeror should include its response to Section (b) of the Representations and Certifications in its Price Volume. Is this assumption correct?

mailto:Rachel.N.Wilson@hud.gov mailto:Rachel.N.Wilson@hud.gov

A25. Please refer to the instructions provided in the solicitation, Pg. 51, Part II – Proposal Format.

Q26. The format and numbering of this document are confusing. Under Section IV Description of Services, for instance, there are items numbered 1 through 10 on pages 7 through 14. There is then a schedule of deliverables, with no new section number, that contains Item 1 on page 15 but another set of Items 1 through 9 on pages 17 through 21. Since the RFP requires offerors to address SOW Tasks 4.1 through 4.10, can the Government clarify if addressing items 1 through 10 on pages 7 through 14 is sufficient?

A26. Yes, this is sufficient.

Q27. In the other nine sections, “Part C Software” specifies the number of licenses required and “Part D Passwords and Site Locations specifies the number of passwords and the location where they are required.

Should the information in Section D here be moved to Section C and should Section D be updated to specify the number of passwords and the location?

A27. No, it should not be moved.

Q28. Given the extensive response requirements, past performance questionnaires that require time for respondents to complete, and the consideration and inclusion of answers to the questions submitted, may an extension of two weeks (due date of March 20th) be granted?

A28. No. The Government will extend the solicitation due date to Friday, March 13, 2020 @ 11:00AM

EST.

Q29. Given the brief response time, is there any flexibility on the medium of proposal submission? For example, would email transmission by the due date and a hard copy of the proposal response mailed and postmarked by the due date be considered?

A29. No, there is no flexibility on the medium of proposal submission.

Q30. Could partial awards be made on one CLIN line item or one product? Or will this solicitation be a single award? Or are multiple awards more likely to be made on more than one product for each contractor awarded?

A30. No, partial awards cannot be made on one CLIN line item or one product. This will be a single award. This is not a multiple award contract. Please reference solicitation, paragraph 4, pg.49.

Q31. Through which medium are past performance forms to be submitted (e.g. email, hard copy, mail; by offeror or reference)?

A31. Past performance forms should be submitted by reference via email to Rachel.N.Wilson@hud.gov.

Q32. How many past performance forms are required/suggested?

A32. See Attachments C and Attachment D.

Q33. Will equal/similar/superior products to the brand-name products listed in the PWS (e.g. LLMA, REAS, True Standings) be equally considered?

A33. Yes, they will.

Q34. In lieu of labor rates, will fixed product rates be considered that include sufficient training and customer support?

A34. Yes, they will.

Q35. For the required internet accessible site platform, what (if any) additional compliance requirements are there if the platform is cloud-based?

A35. There are no additional requirements.

Q36. Could you please share more details regarding the data elements included in the Real Estate Analytics Suite (REAS), including Market Trends, Listing Trends, Rental Trends and Cash Investor Trends?

A36. Loan performance servicing data and the databases through a website accessible through the Internet.

Q37. Could you please share more details regarding the data elements included in the Property Analytics?

A37. Loan performance servicing data and the databases through a website accessible through the Internet.

Q38. Could you please share more details regarding the data elements included in the Supplemental Loan Analytics?

A38. Loan performance servicing data and the databases through a website accessible through the Internet.