AG-3198-S-17-0017_National_Hunger_Clearinghouse_Answers.pdf

Questions for AG-3198-S-17-0017

1. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Key Personnel

a. Question: Do the three key personnel positions have to be three full time, or can they be more than three people, with some working part-time on this contract, as long as they equal three full time equivalent positions?

Answer: The three key personnel should be full-time. Staffing needs beyond those positions is at the discretion of the Contractor.

2. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Key Personnel

a. Question: What are the responsibilities of the Communications Manager? Will they be also be directly answering Hunger Hotline phone calls?

Answer: The Communications Manager’s responsibilities are outlined in Task 5 of the PWS, which has been updated. The Communications Manager should be capable of providing customer service to callers at the level of the other hotline staff, in case additional staffing is needed at any time.

3. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 2

a. Question: Under the current contract, the National Hunger Hotline has live operators available Mondays through Friday (five days a week), from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, (12 hours per day), meaning live operators are available 60 hours per week. If, under a new contract, the hotline had live operators under the new required hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and the number of employees answering the phone remain fixed (at three people during most of the year, as in the current contract, or two people during most of the year in the new contract if one of the three employees is focused on communications) in order to meet the extended hours, then most times during the day, fewer live operators would be available at any given time than under the current contract.

Has FNS considered that expanding the hotline’s live operation by three hours per day (to cover hours in which the hotline currently receives few calls), would make it more difficult to for any contractor to meet the RFP’s goal of answering 80% of calls within 20 seconds, especially during the busiest times of the day?

Answer: Please refer to answer for 3b.

b. Question: The new RFP requires the hotline to have live operators every day except federal holidays. Does that mean that the hotline is required to have live operators available on Saturdays and Sundays? If that answer to that is yes, that means the number of hours the hotline would need to be staffed by a live operator would be 105 hours per week, 75% more hour than the hours in the current contract, and there would very few hours in which more than one live operator was available. Has FNS considered that if the hotline were to be staffed live by only two employees (if the third employee were to work full-time on communications), that would require each employee to work over 50 hours per week? Has FNS considered that, if this is the case, it would be even more difficult to meet the goal of answering 80% of all calls in 20 seconds?

Answer: The Contractor is required to provide live phone coverage in English and Spanish for all customers in all U.S. Time Zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, and Hawaiian- Aleutian) from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding Federal holidays). The Contractor is also required to setup an automated message for customers who call the Hotline after operating hours. Task 2 of the PWS has been updated to reflect these requirements.

4. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 2

a. Question: What information will Clearinghouse staff be expected to provide to SNAP

Information Hotline callers? Will the new callers be expected to receive the same type of assistance as callers receive currently to the National Hunger Hotline?

Answer: USDA shall provide the Contractor with the training required to respond to calls forwarded to the National Hunger Hotline regarding SNAP. The training will provide broad knowledge about SNAP. For the most part, the Contractor is expected to connect callers with their respective SNAP State Hotline, where they will receive technical assistance.

5. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 2

a. Question: The current contract requires the hotline to answer 12,000 calls per year. The RFP requires the new contract to handle 60,000 calls annually, a 400% increase in call volume. Even if three full-time employees staffed the hotline that would mean each employee would be expected to handle 20,000 calls per year, equaling approximately 394 per week, equaling approximately 10 per hour. If only two employees staff the hotline (because the third was performing full-time communications work) that would mean that every hotline employee would handle 30,000 calls her year, equaling 576 per week, equaling 16 per hour, or just under four minutes per call. Those numbers don’t even take into account time for staff breaks, filling out paperwork, entering data into the database, sending mailings, etc. Given that, under the new contract, contractor employees will also be responsible for mailing materials, has FNS considered that increasing the call volume by such a great amount – but providing the same level of staffing and budget to the contractor

– would likely reduce the average call time for the current average of 4.5 minutes to far less, making it more difficult for each caller to receive fully adequate information?

Answer: The Contractor is expected to provide the level of staffing that is needed to satisfy the requirements of the Contract. Furthermore, for the most part, the Contractor is expected to connect callers with SNAP-related inquiries to their respective SNAP State Hotline, where they will receive technical assistance. Providing callers with basic information regarding SNAP is considered to be food assistance, and is therefore within the scope of the legislation.

6. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 3

a. Question: Aside from the public informing the Clearinghouse staff regarding changes in agencies listed in the database and agencies entering their own information, will someone be in charge of growing and updating the database?

Answer: The Contractor shall be responsible for updating the database as new information becomes available, but it not expected to assume the full burden of quality control for the information in the database.

7. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 3

a. Question: Will FNS already have an established automated texting services established for the Clearinghouse to use or will the contractor need to provide the technology and service with which to do so?

Answer: The Contractor shall provide the technology and/or service for the automated texting services.

8. Reference for question: Work Performance Statement: Task 5

a. Question: Is the Clearinghouse team still responsible for conducting one hunger educational activity and two promotional activities monthly as we are under the current contract?

Answer: The Contractor is not required to conduct one hunger education activity and two promotional activities monthly. USDA wants to provide the Contractor with the flexibility to suggest creative solutions to increase awareness about the Clearinghouse, so long as they do not conflict with the other requirements in the PWS. Please see Task 5 of the PWS, which has been updated to provide clarity about the requirements.

9. Reference for question: Request for Proposal: II Contract Clauses: Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires

a. Question: Can the key personnel be paid a different amount than outlined?

Answer: Yes, the provision is only for reference and does not imply a minimum or maximum rate.

10. Reference for question: 3.0 Objectives/Scope of Work

a. Question: Is support for and promotion of the Summer Food Service Program part of this contract or is there separate funding available for this purpose?

Answer: Yes, the Contractor is expected to provide the public with information about the Summer Food Service Program, along with all other USDA food assistance programs, in accordance with the tasks in the PWS. Collection of data from State Agencies for the Summer Food Service Program is now managed by the FNS Office of Information Technology. No additional funding is provided for SFSP.

b. Question: Does the USDA database need to be accessed directly on the USDA website? Or is it possible for us to build an API between our existing database and USDA in order to provide users with the most robust information possible?

Answer: Yes, the USDA Clearinghouse database shall be hosted exclusively by USDA. Task 2 of the PWS states that the Contractor can, “[use] the Clearinghouse Database and other reliable sources identified by USDA and the Contractor” to provide customers with food/nutrition assistance and self-help information. Therefore, your existing database can be used to provide the public with information without connecting it to the Clearinghouse Database through an API or any other means.

2. Reference for question: Task 2 – Operate the National Hunger Hotline

a. Question: What is the expectation for how the contractor will respond to the 50,000 calls coming from the SNAP Toll-Free Information Hotline? Is the contractor expected to provide detailed information about how to apply for SNAP? Make a referral to a state-wide SNAP office or private benefits service? Send an application by e-mail or regular mail? What level of expertise is the contractor expected to have vis-à-vis SNAP?

Answer: USDA shall provide the Contractor with the training required to respond to calls from the SNAP Toll-Free Information Hotline, which will include broad knowledge about SNAP. For the most part, the Contractor is expected to connect callers with their respective SNAP State Hotline, where they will receive technical assistance. The Contractor shall not e-mail or mail SNAP applications to callers, but the Contractor shall e-mail or mail SNAP informational materials to callers, upon request.

b. Question: Can the USDA confirm that out of the 60,000 calls we can expect each year that

50,000 of them will be SNAP-related and only 10,000 will be NHC-related? Is this based on 2016 actuals?

Answer: The estimates of both the National Hunger Clearinghouse calls and SNAP-related calls are based on historical data, but are subject to change according to public usage of the hotline.

All calls fall within the scope of the legislation.

c. Question: Along with owning the rights to the toll-free numbers, does the USDA assume the cost? Or, is the contractor expected to absorb the cost as a part of the total NHC budget?

Answer: USDA is responsible for maintaining ownership of the toll-free number, and any costs therein. The Contractor shall assume the costs required to operate the number (i.e. phone service).

3. Reference for question: Task 3 – Operate the Texting Service

a. Question: The USDA does not currently have a texting service for the National Hunger Clearinghouse, but the Summer Food Service Program does. Since a texting service is included as part of the NHC contract going forward, does the USDA plan use to the SFSP texting number for NHC all year round or will the contractor be expected to establish a separate texting service?

Answer: The USDA does not have a texting service for the National Hunger Clearinghouse. In the past, as authorized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), USDA has partnered with an organization to share information about its Summer Food Service Program informational texting service, for the public benefit. That agreement does not exist at this time. The Contractor is expected to establish a separate texting service, on behalf of USDA, to which USDA shall own the rights.