9531BM21Q0011 Questions and Answers.pdf

9531BM21Q0011A0001

IT Research Subscription Questions

9531BM21Q0011

Q1: In order to further demonstrate “recent performance similar to the NTSB’s requirement in size, scope, and complexity” shall Contractor’s references be for clients leveraging

FEDLINK?

A1: It is at the discretion of the Offeror which of their references demonstrate performance similar to the NTSB in size, scope, and complexity.

Q2: Section C, Statement of Work, Item 3 indicates that the electronic resource shall “provide unlimited access to dedicated, full-time IT subject matter experts solely for Research activities.”

a. Please confirm that each proposed license-holder requires individual, independent, unlimited access to subject matter expert (analyst) inquiries.

A2a: Each license holder shall have access to a pool of full-time IT subject matter experts.

b. In order to demonstrate sufficient coverage for NTSB’s needs, shall Contractors indicate the total number of analysts, as well as the number of analysts solely dedicated to producing government research?

A2b: Including the number of analysts is not a requirement as described in the solicitation. It is each Offeror’s discretion what information shall be included in their quotations. The NTSB may determine that a technical quote that includes a high number of analysts dedicated to producing Government research demonstrates superior technical merit and therefore provides the best value, considering the evaluation factors in the solicitation.

Q3: Section C, Statement of Work, Item 3 indicates that the electronic resource shall provide access to “an IT Research database, toolkits and metrics that are timely and relevant to the staff. Metrics must have been collected from many sources. Vendor shall specify details surrounding the data collection including geography, number of responses and amount of IT spend represented.”

a. Shall Respondents indicate the total volume of available IT-focused research documents (excluding tweets, blogs, other social media feeds, and individual charts/figures), and certify that they publish at least 4,500 IT-focused research documents each year?

A3a : Per Section L of the solicitation, Offerors shall describe the number of research documents (excluding miscellaneous items such as social media, blogs, and images/charts/figures) published in each of the past three years (calendar years 2018, 2019, and 2020). The solicitation does not state a minimum required quantity of research documents.

b. Shall Respondents offer Government-specific metrics and guidance, including IT Resource Distributions, IT Spending per Employee, and IT Spending Percent Change annually?

A3b : The required guidance/metrics are described in the SOW.

Q4: Evaluation Criteria 4 indicates a need for an IT Executive subscription that provides “peer to peer connections.”

a. Shall Contractors indicate the number of government peers to which NTSB will have access?

A4a : It is at the discretion of the Offeror what information is relevant/beneficial to include in their quotations above the minimum requirements as described in the solicitation. The NTSB may determine that a technical quote that includes access to a high number of Government peers demonstrates superior technical merit and therefore provides the best value, considering the evaluation factors in the solicitation.

b. It is critical for government clients to have a private forum to make such peer connections free from vendor or marketer participation influencing the conversation. As such, shall Contractors certify that they provide a private portal reserved solely for IT end-user clients and Contractor Subject Matter Experts only (i.e. no IT vendors), to ensure it remains a valuable space for trusted insight from peers, and not a space for vendors to push their solutions?

A4b: A private portal for end-user clients and Contractor SMEs is not a requirement in the SOW.

Q5: In Volume II: Business Section of the RFQ, the RFQ states that Offerors shall ask their references to complete the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment D). Will NTSB please confirm that the Past Performance Questionnaire on the PDF page 43 of the RFQ is the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment D) referenced in the RFQ?

A5: Correct, the Past Performance Questionnaire referenced in Section L as Attachment D is the same as page 43 of the RFQ. Section L and page 43 have been updated so that the attachment numbers are consistent throughout the RFQ document.

Q6: Is there an incumbent contractor currently providing these services? If yes, please provide us with any contract details.

A6: This is a new requirement; therefore, there is no incumbent contractor providing these services.

Q7: The Government has stated that offerors must offer a program that is completely objective and made objectivity the most important review factor. The objectivity and transparency of research is indeed paramount to building a true partnership. In this regard, please consider that the industry has historically performed, separate and apart from the provider’s subject services, and by different, siloed personnel, commissioned research for various companies not impinging on the provider’s objectivity, and which commissioned research is not included in the provider’s licensed databases. Given this, can the Government please confirm that offering consulting services of this type would not impact objectivity as long as the offeror demonstrates processes for maintain objectivity?

A7: Confirmed

Q8: On page 35, the Government makes several mentions to the term "Ignition Guide" which is a known Gartner, Inc. product. Could the Government please remove these mentions and provide a functional definition for the tool it requires?

A8: The language in Section 3.0 of the Statement of Work has been updated to remove all references to the term “Ignition Guide” and a functional definition of the required tool has been provided.

Q9: Can the Government please confirm that it requires the ability to change subscriptions from one NTSB user to another at no additional cost during the life of the engagement?

A9: Confirmed.

Q10: The Government has stated that it requires access to Analysts. To ensure that it will be able to get access in a timely manner, does the Government require that offerors demonstrate an Analyst to client organization ratio of 5:1 or less to ensure that the Government can interact with SMEs as much as needed?

A10 : The Statement of Work does not specify that Offerors demonstrate a minimum analyst to client organization ratio. The NTSB may determine that a quote with a low analyst to client ratio demonstrates superior technical merit and therefore provides the best value, considering the evaluation factors in the solicitation.

Q11: Does the Government require transparency in the benchmark studies? For example, does NTSB require the research methodologies, documents with scores, weightings, data and methods of the benchmarking studies?

A11: Yes.

Q12: Does NTSB require access to these SMEs to be restricted to paid subscription service license holders only, or will NTSB benefit from all NTSB staff (including non-license holders) able to attend these meetings at no additional cost?

A12: At a minimum, access to SMEs shall be provided to license holders.

Q13: As change can be iterative, does the Government require that offerors allow for multiple interactions with the same SME during the engagement? For example, multiple inquiries with a specific Analyst as the Government works to overcome a specific challenge.

A13: Per the Statement of Work, the Government requires access to dedicated, full-time IT SMEs.

Access to the same SME during the engagement is not a requirement.

Q14: Can the Government please confirm that offerors must provide all users direct, unlimited, and unmetered Analyst and research access? Rather than a junior level team access approach that requires users to engage Analysts through the CIO or puts a “per report” limit on the amount of content users can access?

A14: Confirmed.

Q15: Does the Government require the ability for non-license holders to be able to join Analyst Inquiries to drive consensus?

A15: This is not a requirement.

Q16: Can the Government please confirm that all Analysts must be full-time employees of the offeror?

A16: Confirmed.