DOL089RP20511Amendment0001.doc

RFP DOL089RP20497

I.

The above referenced solicitation is hereby modified to correct and extend the due date for submission of questions as follows:

CHANGE FROM:

03-10-2008

CHANGE TO:

03-14-2008

II.

The above referenced solicitation is hereby modified to post responses to questions concerning the solicitation as follows:

1. Question: An offeror asked for clarification on the correct number for this Solicitation.

Answer: Through clerical and publishing mistakes, this Solicitation has been issued at different times under two different numbers: DOL089RP20511 and DOL089RI20479. For clarification, DOL will proceed with the evaluation of proposals under the Solicitation No. DOL089RP20511, however, proposals referencing either number will be accepted.

2. Question: An offeror asked if they could submit the electronic copy of their proposal in PDF format rather than a Microsoft Word file.

Answer: Yes, DOL will accept electronic copies of proposals in the portable document format (PDF) on CD. E-mail copies will not be accepted.

3. Question: An offeror asked, with reference to Section J.5, Reimbursement of Other Costs (Other Direct Costs), why the government would not pay for any applicable indirect costs on other direct costs.

Answer: Section J.5. is amended to provide that the contractor may apply its negotiated indirect cost rate to Other Direct Costs (ODCs), but may not add profit or fee to such ODCs.

4. Question: An offeror referenced RFP Section H.1 and asked whether DOL would allow the contractor to publish reports produced under the contract, with prior DOL review and a disclaimer of any DOL responsibility for the contents of the publication.

Answer: As stated in Section H.1, the contractor will not be allowed to disseminate or publish information developed under the contract, except with prior written approval. To correct Section H.1, however, requests for such approval should be made to the COTR (not the contracting officer), who will grant or deny such approval. Approval may be conditioned on the insertion of an appropriate disclaimer.

5. Question: An offeror referenced RFP Section H.2 and asked whether there is a time-frame for approval of the public release of interim or draft reports.

Answer: It is expected, but not guaranteed, that any approval will be issued within 30 days of a request.

6. Question: An offeror referenced RFP Section H.6, which gives ownership of all data and copyright to the Government, and asked whether it conflicted with the incorporated clause at FAR 52.227-14, which grants a non-exclusive license to the Government.

Answer: Section H.6 and incorporated FAR Clause 52.227-14 are partly contradictory. Accordingly, Section H.6 is deleted.

7. Question: An offeror asked for a list of incumbent contractor(s) that previously/currently provide the required work for the “Applied Research Studies for the Employment Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Office of Policy and Research (OPR)” initiative.

Answer: Specific examples of applied research studies recently conducted by EBSA labor-hour contractors are annotated below. (A selected list of published research products is provided at Section J.8 of the original solicitation.)

· Actuarial Research Corporation (ARC) has produced an annual employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) file that supplements the Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics on health insurance with information from the more specialized Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS). The file, which includes information on employer offers, plan types and source of financing, is used by the health policy community, including the Congressional Budget Office and several Executive Branch agencies.

· Actuarial Research Corporation (ARC) has produced an annual, customized research file from the Form 5500 annual report that employee benefit plan sponsors submit in fulfillment of ERISA and Internal Revenue Code requirements. This research file serves as the primary source of national statistics on pension plan coverage, assets and other characteristics for the policy needs of the Administration, Congress and the policy community more generally. ARC has also produced annual “Private Pension Plan Bulletins” which report summary statistics of pension assets and participation based on this data and are available on EBSA’s website.

· RAND Corp./Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP have analyzed investment advice models in support of EBSA’s regulatory agenda. The contractor has also examined the effect fees have on plan balances at retirement and analyzed the impact of a fund’s fee structure on 401(k) participants’ portfolio allocation decisions.

· Policy Simulation Group (PSG) has developed and refined a pension policy simulation model, PENSIM. This model creates a “synthetic” cohort of individuals and projects their birth, schooling, work history, pension participation, retirement and death. The model stochastically assigns probabilities for these events, and calculates accumulated pension benefits at retirement. The model was used extensively in EBSA regulations regarding default investment and has been used by the Government Accountability Office and the Social Security Administration.

· RAND Corp. has conducted a series of studies on the effects of health insurance and pensions on labor force transitions of older workers. These studies were presented in May 2006 at a RAND-EBSA co-sponsored research conference, titled Are Baby Boomers Adequately Prepared for Retirement?

· RAND Corp. has pursued “Evaluation of Employer Strategies for Identifying Effective and Efficient Physicians.” This research uses cross-sectional claims data of health plans matched to individual physicians in order to evaluate the physician’s performance.

8. Question: An offeror asked if EBSA is able to make available a list of task orders funded during the past five years under the previous contract, to give bidders a better sense of the agency’s research priorities and the breadth of its interests.

Answer: As examples of the kinds of task orders recently awarded, here is a partial listing of task orders:

Actuarial Research Corporation:

1. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Insurance Coverage

2. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Insurance Coverage II

3. Employee Benefits Research File

4. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Benefits

5. Employee Benefits Research File - 2001 ERISA 5500

6. Employee Benefits Research File - Form 5500 Plan years 2002 & 2003

7. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Benefits - Projecting Employer Sponsored Insurance Adaptations

8. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Benefits - Profiling Pension and Health Coverage and Trends

9. Analysis of Employer Sponsored Benefits - Profiles and Projections

Policy Simulation Group

1. PENSIM Validation and Analysis

2. Consequences of the Annuitization Decision

3. PENSIM Completion, Validation, Analysis

4. Analysis of DB Pension Funding and Investment Decisions

5. PENSIM Projections of Retirement Income from Pensions

6. Investment Decisions of DC-Plan Participants and DB-Plan Sponsors

7. PENSIM Distribution and Refinement

8. Compare PENSIM to Another Pension Model

RAND Corporation

1. Retiree Health Insurance and Labor Force Participation of Older Workers

2. Long-Term Consequences of Pension Trends for Widowhood Resources

3. Work in the 21st Century

4. Retiree Health Insurance and Labor Force Participation of Older Workers

5. Work in the 21st Century

6. Family Decision Making When Two Workers Are Offered Group Coverage

7. An Evaluation of Employer Strategies For Identifying Efficient and Effective Health Providers and the Legal and Regulatory Implications of These Innovations

8. Health Insurance Transitions Among Adults Age 50 and Older

9. Financial Decisions in Retirement. What We Can Learn From International Comparisons

10. Are Baby Boomers Adequately Prepared For Retirement? The Role of Employer Benefit Designs and Trends

11. Paying Physicians for Excellence in Cost and Quality: Are the Methods Read for Prime Time?

12. Understanding the Effects of Health Insurance and Pensions on Labor Force Transitions of Older Workers

13. Mutual Fund Fees and Revenue Sharing in the Retirement Income Industry

14. Understanding the Economic Consequences of Shifting Trends in Population Health

15. Implications of Investment Fees for Returns and Risks in 401(k) Accounts

END OF AMENDMENT

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR AC-

KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

BY

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print)

(Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

(X)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

03-11-2008

OASAM Office of Procurement Services

U. S. Department of Labor

RM S4307

200 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington DC 20210

OASAM Office of Procurement Services

U. S. Department of Labor

RM S4307

200 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington DC 20210

To all Offerors/Bidders

DOL089RP20511(DOL089RI20479)

X 02/26/2008

THIS IS AMENDMENT 0001 TO SOLICITATION DOL089RP20511. THIS AMENDMENT IS ISSUED TO:

I. CORRECT AND EXTEND THE DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS FROM MARCH 10, 2008 TO MARCH 14, 2008;

II. POST RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE SOLICITATION.