91990024R0009 All Questions with Responses.xlsx
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- Attached to
- Department of Education National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Data Collection Team Solicitation
- Solicitation number
- 91990024R0009
About this file
This document is a set of questions and answers related to a federal contract solicitation for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Data Collection Team. The solicitation, numbered 91990024R0009, is seeking to award two separate contracts: one for the NAEP Support & Service Center (Task 7) and one for NAEP Data Collection (Task 8). The anticipated award date is November 2024, with a one-year base period and four one-year option periods.
The key details covered in the questions and answers include: the scope of work for the 2024-2029 period, requirements related to the High School Transcript Study, the National Indian Education Study, small business participation goals and requirements, pricing and cost structure, and potential organizational conflicts of interest. The document also provides clarification on the relationship between the current NAEP Technical Support Contract and the upcoming Data Collection Team contracts.
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Sheet1
| Number | Questions | Technical/ | ||||
| Business | Reference to RFP | Page # | Response | |||
| 001 | The SOO, under "Overview of Work" states, "The work to be covered under this SOO begins with the award of the contracts in 2024 with completion of the 2024 assessments and ends in 2029 with development work for the 2030 assessments and beyond." An award date of November 2024 occurs during the data collection period for the 2025 LTT. Please clarify which data collection activities are included in the "completion of the 2024 assessments;" specifically, please provide the data collections for which this contract is responsible in the 2024-25 school year. | Technical | Attachment A, SOO | Page xiv | 2025 Field Test is the responsibility of the awardee. |
LTT ages 9, 13, 17 will be awarded seperately by the Contracting Office.
| 002 | The High School Transcript Study (HSTS) is mentioned in the introduction, but not included as a subtask within task 8. Additionally, in responses to questions for solicitation 91990024R0002, the government specified "High School Transcript Study (HSTS) should be considered part of the core work and should be budgeted accordingly." Is this study a component of the task 8 contract? If yes, please provide the SOO for this effort within task 8 so that we may include the appropriate work scope in our technical and business proposals. | Technical | Attachment A, SOO | Page v | No, this section is an overview of NAEP. The requirments for Tasks 7 and Task 8 can be found within the SOO under their task number and outlined in the scope of each task. It is also important to note that while solicitation 91990024R0002 is part of NAEP it is a different set of contracts and is not reflected in this solicitation for award. |
| 003 | On page v, the National Indian Education Study (NIES) is listed as an optional task under the set of operational components of NAEP. In Exhibit C, it is listed among the contracts not included in this coalition. In the introduction to task 7 on page 3, it is noted that TUDA coordinators require support for the NIES. Please claify whether the NIES is part of the task 7 contract. Specifically, is the task 7 contractor expected to provide support to TUDA coordinators for the NIES? | Technical | Attachment A, SOO | Page v, Exhibit C, page 3 | No, this section is an overview of NAEP as a whole not the individual tasks. The requirments for Tasks 7 can be found within the SOO under task 7. Specifically for NIES, TUDA Coordinator support is not expected. |
| 004 | On page v, the National Indian Education Study (NIES) is listed as an optional task under the set of operational components of NAEP. In Exhibit C, it is listed among the contracts not included in this coalition. Please claify whether the NIES is part of the task 8 contract. Specifically, is the NIES an optional study to be conducted in task 8? If so, please provide the SOO for this effort within task 8 so that we may include the appropriate work scope in our technical and business proposals. | Technical | Attachment A, SOO | Page v, Exhibit C | No, this section is an overview of NAEP as a whole not the individual tasks. The requirments for Tasks 8 can be found within the SOO under task 8. page 61 and outlined in the scope of the task. |
| 005 | Is the numbering of task 8.2.3 "Targeted Special Studies" correct, or should this be numbered 8.3? | Technical | Attachment A, SOO | Page 67 | This is an error and will be corrected to reflect the correct 8.3 subtask in an amendment to the SOO. |
| 006 | For printing quantities of 25,000 or more, will the task 8 contract be required to use the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) for printing? If so, should those costs be built into the task 8 budget or will those costs be handled separately by NCES outside of the task 8 contract? | Business | Attachment A, SOO | N/A | No, there will be no contract requirement to use the GPO for NAEP printing. |
| 007 | Will information regarding current/prior NAEP state/TUDA coordinator salary reimbursement costs and current/prior NAEP state/TUDA coordinator travel costs be available to all task 7 bidders so that they can better estimate costs? | Business | General | N/A | The current/prior NAEP state coordinator salary reimbursement and travel costs are not included in the NAEP Support and Service Center contracts. Historically costs for TUDA coordinator travel has ranged from $1,500 to 2,500 per person depending on location and activity requirements. |
| 008 | Will the government allow shipping costs be a cost-reimburseable expense on this contract? | Business | Business Proposal | Page 84 | The Department recommends if the contractor would like costs to be covered the offerors account for those prices into their proposals. |
| 009 | Are small businesses that are utilized at a Tier II or Tier III level (i.e. offeror --> subcontractor --> subcontractor's subcontractor = Tier II) count towards the following goals 37% small business, 5% small disadvantaged business, 5% women-owned small business, 3% HUBZone small business, and 3% service-disabled veteran-owned small business? | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection |
| Factor 6. Substantive Small Business Participation Criteria | Multiple citations | Immeditate next tier small business subcontractors count towards the small business subcontacting goals. |
| 010 | Please clarify if the offeror should include large and small business subcontractor, consultant, and/or contractor pricing in its proposal submission? |
Pg. 73: “The breakdown shall distinguish prime contractor prices from subcontractor/consultant prices, so that the Department can easily identify which subcontractors/consultants are involved in which tasks and to what extent. The breakdown shall include any other prices. If subcontractors or consultants are proposed, a separate detailed price breakdown (by task/subtask) should be submitted for each proposed subcontractor/consultant – or the detailed breakdown of subcontractor/consultant prices can be included in the master breakdown if feasible. The detailed subcontractor/consultant price breakdown(s) may be broken down in separate Excel documents if needed, but their price should be included in the overall master breakdown of the prime offeror.”
Pg. 74: “price proposed to be performed by each small business concern in comparison to the total subcontracted amount (including large and small businesses) for each period of performance as well as providing an overall amount of the entire period of performance of this contract.”
Pg. 70: “Offerors must state the work to be performed by a small business(es), the name of the small business(es), the socio economic status of each small business concern, and the percentage of work proposed to be performed by each small business concern in comparison to the total subcontracted amount (including large and small businesses) for each period of performance as well as providing an overall percentage of the entire period of performance of this contract, but NO PRICE INFORMATION SHALL BE PROVIDED.”
| Pg. 23 states the following: “H.19 307-12 CONSENT TO SUBCONTRACT (AUGUST 1998) Consent is hereby given to the contractor to subcontract with TBD in the amount stated in its final proposal revision.” | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection | Page 70 | The Department encourages offerors to include all applicable contract costs in their proposal. The business proposal pricing submission should include both small and large business subcontractors who have subcontracting agreements directly with the prime. | ||
| 011 | Is the offeror required to complete the Time Commitments table for all named subcontractor staff or solely consultants? | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection | Page 29 X (23) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting | Please refer to 91990024R0009 solicitation document page 83 which states, "proposal includes adequate time commitments for proposed key personnel." | |
| 012 | If a Tier II small business subcontractor holds multiple socioeconomic statuses, can the offeror count both classifications separately towards the small business subcontracting goals? |
Ex: Would a Tier II HUBZone, WOSB subcontractor count towards the overall small business goal, HUBZone small business, and women-owned small business goals? Or would we only be allowed to select one of those categories? Technical 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection Subcontractor and Consultant Information. A list of primary subcontractors and consultants (name of company, website address (if applicable), and DUNS number) along with one of the following labels for each: “Not Small,” “Small Business," “Small Disadvantaged Business,” “Woman-Owned Small Business,” “HUBZone Small Business,” or “Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.” Yes, all small business dollars count once in the Small Business category and can count multiple times in the subcategories.
Note: This is not double/triple counting, but ensures credit is given to all socioeconomic categories represented by the small business
| 013 | Are small business concerns required to be registered with the 541720 NAICS code in order to count towards the Subcontracting Small Business Goals outlined in the table on pg. 75? | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection | Page 1 Number 10 | To represent itself as a small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business concern, a concern must meet the appropriate definition (see FAR 2.101 and 19.001). For subcontracting purposes, a concern is small if it does not exceed the size standard for the NAICS code that the prime contractor determines best describes the product or service being acquired by the subcontract |
| 014 | So that we may properly document participants, what is the definition of a primary subcontractor as referred to in this subsection: the name, website address (if applicable),and UEI number of the offeror; and a list of primary subcontractors and consultants | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection | Page 67 IV. Volume I - Technical Proposal Overview | The definition of a primary sub-contractor is the immediate next tier to the prime that will be utilized for support of work and have a sub-contract agreement directly with the prime. |
| 015 | In FAR 52.219-9(d)(9) and then in FAR 19.702(a) it states that if an Offeror plans to utilize a subcontractor that exceeds $750,000, then the Offeror will require subcontractors to "adopt a subcontracting plan that complies with the requirements of this clause." Based on this, are subcontractors' subcontracting plans' goals separate from the Offeror's subcontracting plans' goals or would the subcontractors' small business utilization count towards the Offeror's small business utilization? In other words, are both the Offeror and subcontractor required to submit a small business subcontracting plan and independently meet the Subcontracting Business Goals outlined in the table on pg. 75? | Technical | 91990024R0009- NAEP Data Collection | Pages 74-75 | The government will only require the primary offeror to submit a small business subcontracting plan for utilization. However, the primary contractor may require sub-contracts with large businesses to submit an individual separate plan directly to them. |
| 016 | Please confirm that publication references cited in the technical proposal can be included as an appendix and excluded from the page limits. | Technical | Section L, Instructions to Offerors, IV. Volume I—Technical Proposal Overview | Page 67 | Yes, the publication references cited in the technical proposal |
can be included as an appendix.
017 Please confirm that a technical proposal submittal letter and technical proposal table of contents are excluded from the page limits. Technical Section L, Instructions to Offerors, IV. Volume I—Technical Proposal Overview Page 67 Yes, the technical proposal submittal letter and technical proposal table of contents are excluded from page limits.
| 018 | For Task 8: Data Collection, please confirm that the Service Contract Labor Standards is not applicable to this solicitation. If it is, what is the wage determination number and date applicable to this solicitation? | Business | K.10, Offeror Representations and Certifications, k (3) (i) | 53 | This is considered a professional services contract and is exempt from the Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) Act and wage determination is not applicable. |
| 019 | Would the government consider alternative suggestions for key personnel roles or provide descriptions for the labor categories listed for Task 8? | Technical | H.14 3452.243-70 KEY PERSONNEL (OCT 2023) | 23 | The listed labor categories are meant to be examples, and the Department encourages offerors to propose their key personnel roles, labor categories, and performance plan. |
| 020 | Please confirm that only personnel listed as key from the offeror, subcontractors, and consultants are to be included in Attachment E. | Business | RFP, Contractor Personnel Listing, Attachment E | 75 | This is correct, only key personnel proposed by the offeror must be included in Attachment E. |
| 021 | Please confirm that subcontractors to the prime contractor for each task are not included in the teaming agreement required as part of the team volume submission. | Business | II. General Proposal Instructions—Proposal Submission Overview | 66 | Correct, subcontractors are not included in the teaming agreements.Teaming agreements are between only the prime contract holders. |
| 022 | We understand from the government response to questions that HSTS should be part of the core work and should be budgeted accordingly, and that tasks for HSTS are completed within Task 8: Data Collection. Is it correct to assume that our business proposal should include HSTS costs in Year 1 to complete 2024 HSTS work and Years 4 and 5 to complete 2028 HSTS work? | Technical | Statement of Objectives, 1. Procurement Overview | v | 2024 HSTS will not be included in the award of this contract but will be awarded separately. |
2028 HSTS work is not included in the core work for Task 8 and will be awarded through a separate contract.
023 Was it the government's intention for Subtask 8.2.3 Targeted Special Studies to apply to all of Task 8, meaning that this is the cost of Targeted Special Studies for Task 8 and not just a subtask and special study only as part of 8.2 Materials, Distribution, and Processing?
| Technical and Business | Statement of Objectives, 8.2.3 – Targeted Special Studies | 69 | Yes, it was intended to be for all of Task 8. | ||
| 024 | Will companies that perform work for Procurement of Research Evaluation and Statistics Task Orders (PRESTO) Task Order: NAEP Technical Support Contract (Task Order 91990023F0350) as either a prime contractor or subcontractor be precluded from submitting an offer under the NAEP Data Collection Team solicitation? The Task Order awardee and their subcontractors have existing duties to monitor or evaluate the awardee performing the NAEP 2019-24 Sampling/Data Collection (SDC) Contract and will thus have an impaired objectivity organizational conflict of interest (OCI). | Technical | H.2 3452.209-71 CONFLICT OF INTEREST (MAR 2011), page 15 and K.9 3452.209-70 CONFLICT OF INTEREST CERTIFICATION | 55 | The Department will appropriately investigate and determine proper steps concerning any potential or actual OCI in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Education Department Acquisition Regulation. Furthermore, each offeror/team member responding to this solicitation is required to acknowledge and certify to the conditions within solicitation provision EDAR 3452.209-70 Conflict of interest cdertification( MAR 2011). |
| 025 | Will offerors be prohibited from proposing as team members for the NAEP Data Collection Team solicitation those companies that perform work for PRESTO Task Order 91990023F0350 as a prime contractor or subcontractor? Such companies would have an impaired objectivity OCI for the same reason stated above, which will extend to their proposed NAEP Data Collection teaming partners. | Technical | H.2 3452.209-71 CONFLICT OF INTEREST (MAR 2011), page 15 and K.9 3452.209-70 CONFLICT OF INTEREST CERTIFICATION | 55 | The Department will appropriately investigate and determine proper steps concerning any potential or actual OCI in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Education Department Acquisition Regulation. Furthermore, each offeror/team member responding to this solicitation is required to acknowledge and certify to the conditions within solicitation provision EDAR 3452.209-70 Conflict of interest cdertification( MAR 2011). |
| 026 | Offerors who perform work either as a prime contractor or a subcontractor for PRESTO Task Order 91990023F0350 have access to trade secrets and nonpublic or proprietary information of competitors who are competing under this NAEP Data Collection Solicitation and will have “unequal access to information” OCI. Will they be excluded from being considered for award? |
If such offerors will not be excluded, will NCES:
- Require an organizational firewall for the prime contractor and subcontractor performance under Task Order 91990023F0350, rather than merely firewalling individual employees who had access to information?
- Require certification submitted in their proposal that no staff (current or former) being bid on the NAEP Data Collection Team solicitation are proposed on the contract?
- Require certification submitted in their proposal that no information gleaned from the work performed under the PRESTO Task Order 91990023F0350 was shared with staff and/or contributed in any way in the development of the technical proposal?
| Technical | H.2 3452.209-71 CONFLICT OF INTEREST (MAR 2011), page 15 and K.9 3452.209-70 CONFLICT OF INTEREST CERTIFICATION | 55 | The Department will appropriately investigate and determine proper steps concerning any potential or actual OCI in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Education Department Acquisition Regulation. Furthermore, each offeror/team member responding to this solicitation is required to acknowledge and certify to the conditions within solicitation provision EDAR 3452.209-70 Conflict of interest cdertification( MAR 2011). |
| 027 | In response to question number 014 under solicitation 91990024R0002, NAEP Design & Coordination Team, the Government stated, “To be eligible a team must apply to all tasks either as the sole member or partnered team member with one or two other team members who can fulfill all 3 tasks.” |
The SF-1449 for the NAEP Data Collection Team says, “This solicitation is for the Data Collection Team and the intent is to award 2 separate contracts, for Task 7- NAEP Support & Service Center (CLINs 0001-0005), Task 8- Data Collection (CLINs 0006-0010).” Please confirm that the same response to the Design & Coordination Team question applies to the Data Collection Team. That is, can the same contractor serve as the prime for the Task 7 contract and the prime for the Task 8 contract? Technical I. Instructions to Offerors 62 The same contractor can be prime for both contracts for Task 7 (CLINs 0001-0005) and Task 8 (0006-0010) that we intend to award in result of this solicitation.
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