Amendment_01_DOL-ETA-16-R-00105.pdf

(x)

DOL-ETA-16-R-00105

x x 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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY 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.

x

Washington DC 20210

ETA OCM NATIONAL

Room N-4643 200 Constitution Ave, NW Office of Contracts Management US Department of Labor

06/29/2016000001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

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: (a) By completing

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

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

06/29/2016

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

1) Amendment 01 to the RFP is for the purpose of providing answers to all RFC questions received.

2) The due date for proposals is extended to August 05, 2016, Noon.

3) Offerors are highly encouraged to review the revised RFP carefully in response to the answers to the RFC questions provided here in Amendment 01.

FOB: Destination

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Evon M. Pollack

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

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

RFP #: DOL-ETA-16-R-00105 Amendment # 01

Question 1

Is there an individual contract not-to-exceed ceiling associated with this bid?

Answer 1

In your business proposal, the Government is requiring the contractor to fill in Section B.2 – Price/Cost Schedule, and offer the ceiling price for each of the five years. This allows the Government to compare offeror’s prices in obtaining the Best Value (Section M).

Question 2

One of the key staff positions - Senior Facilitator - does not have a corresponding line item in the Pricing Table. Could you please clarify where these hours should be assigned in the Pricing Table?

Answer 2

The Senior Facilitator staff position has been deleted from this solicitation. Section H.6 is amended to remove Senior Facilitator from Key Personnel.

Question 3

For Factor 3 of the technical approach: Staff experience and Qualifications: This section has a 10 page limit that appears to primarily consist of Key Personnel resumes (two pages per resume -five key staff). The instructions also request a staffing chart along with organization structure information as it pertains to proposed staff and subcontract partners. Question - Can the key personnel resumes be included as attachments to provide additional space to describe the staffing plan and qualifications?

Answer 3

There are only 4 Key Personnel Positions. The Senior Facilitator position is not a requirement of this Multi-Industry contract. Resumes should not be included as attachments and are no longer required to be 2 pages long. Resumes and Letters of Commitment do not count against the page limit. The ten page limit for Factor 3 stands.

Question 4

Can we include partner (employers, industry associations, community colleges, etc.) letters of commitment if they are not a funded subcontractor? (as attachments not counted toward page limits?)

Answer 4

Yes.

Question 5

Could you please clarify Lines 9 and 10 of the Pricing Table? The instructions appear to indicate that any funds allocated to these line items must correspond to a reduction in certain labor hours described in Lines 1 - 8. If this indication is accurate, could you also please clarify which labor hours the Department is referring to?

From the RFP:

Line 9 * Industry Trade Partners Fees can substitute for certain labor hours.

Line 10 ** Subcontracts to Employers can substitute for certain Labor

Categories Allowable for up to 60% of all costs.

a) Is it possible to expand the number of hours for certain positions by transferring funds from the Industry Trade Partner fees or Employer Subcontractor line items?

Answer 5a

No. These are two distinct line items.

“Industry Trade Partner Fees” are referring to labor costs that an applicant will need to subcontract to complete, such as a consultant fee.

“Subcontracts to Employers” refer to those subcontracts made with employers to start or expand apprenticeship programs.

It should be noted that each single industry contract comes with $500,000 that the offeror will provide to employers to start or expand apprenticeship programs. The $500,000 will incentivize the development of apprenticeships, and it is expected that the contractor will gain commitments from employers of hiring and training 200 apprentices annually in exchange for the incentive funds.

Note: Section B.2 on page 7, the foot-note “Subcontracts to Employers can Substitute for Certain Labor Categories – Allowable for up to 60% of up to all costs” has been deleted.

b) Are bidders free to adjust or modify the number of hours in the Pricing Table that are assigned to each labor category?

Answer 5b

Yes, Vendors can adjust the Number of hours for each Labor Category, as long as the adjusted total number of hours for each year is less than or equal to 6,755.

Question 6 The position of “Senior Facilitator” does not appear on the Pricing Table on page 4 but is mentioned as one of the “Key Personnel” on p 28. Is a “Senior Facilitator” required and if so what are the estimated labor hours? How does this affect the total number of estimated labor hours?

Answer 6

Senior Facilitator is not a required position for this contract.

Question 7

Please provide additional information on “Industry Trade Partner Fees” under Special Items on the Pricing Table on page 4. Are there specific activities the Department wishes to see implemented? What are allowable costs?

Answer 7

“Industry Trade Partner Fees” are referring to labor costs that an applicant will need to subcontract to complete, such as a consultant fee.

Question 8

Section 4 “Support Sectors of Excellence in Apprenticeship (SEAs) in “Part F – Deliveries or Performance Chart” on page 20 indicates that the contractor must “secure one full time equivalent Subject Matter Expert (SME) for chosen industries that is available to provide technical assistance.” Is the Department requiring a full time equivalent SME for each industry proposed or does the single SME position have to be divided among industries and the estimated labor hours (1,930) in the Pricing Table shared?

Answer 8

The hours allotted to the SME position cannot exceed 1,930 hours no matter how many SMEs will be utilized. It is up to the Contractor to decide how many SMEs will be appropriate to successfully carry out the contract requirements. If one SME is familiar with the multiple industries then the 1,930 hours may be allotted to that one SME. If two separate SMEs will be necessary for two separate industries, then the total number of hours between them both cannot exceed 1,930 hours.

Question 9

The process for registering new apprenticeship programs varies among states with State Apprenticeship Agencies and in some cases exceeds the 12 months required to enroll apprentices as specified in the solicitation. Will the Department be able to help expedite the process of approval in order for the contractor to meet the deliverables in the contract?

Answer 9

The Department of Labor has taken steps to ensure the timely processing and approval of newly registered apprenticeship programs. For those programs that would be registered with a State Apprenticeship Agency the Department will consider those programs on a case by case basis to ensure that the Contractor can fulfill the required tasks under the contract.

Question 10

While the RFP refers to promoting Inclusion and Diversity in Apprenticeship in the General Program Requirements (pg. 11) and has under the Task 3, pg. 13, “to provide technical assistance to 10 local programs to on-board and support completion by underrepresented populations”, our concern is that the rest of the Tasks/Deliverables do not have tasks or deliverables around diversity and inclusion. Diversity and Inclusion has been a strong priority of the DOL/OA that has been reflected throughout previous solicitations. The sponsors and employers served under Tasks 2, 4, 5 and 6 would lose out if they are not also provided support for their efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in their apprenticeship programs. We request that tasks to support diversity and inclusion be added to Tasks 2, 4, 5 and 6 and that the instructions for the Technical Approach for these tasks reflect this addition.

Answer 10

Diversity and Inclusion is a strong priority for DOL and OA and is reflected within this solicitation. The language will remain as written.

Support to increase diversity and underrepresented populations will be covered under a different contract. See our website for further details:

www.doleta.gov/oa/grants.cfm#PartnershipsInvestments

Question 11

Does our company need to be registered in SAM in order to be eligible to submit a proposal?

How long does this process take and is there a cost?

Answer 11

See Section L.4.1 - VENDOR FULL REGISTRATION IN THE SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMNET (SAM) of the RFP – “In performing the market research for this procurement, it was noted that many of the eligible organizations for this procurement are registered in the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) as grantees (only). In order to be awarded a Government contract, an organization must be fully registered in SAM. Full registration in SAM includes the REPS & CERTS section of SAM. Interested offerors, who not fully registered in SAM, should update their SAM applications to include contracts as well in order to ensure that the company is eligible for award in this procurement. A Vendor who submits a Response to this Solicitation, must be fully registered in SAM by the time of the estimated contract award, August 2016.”

Question 12

Can education be received through business entities as well as educational institutions?

Answer 12

If this question is in reference to the Related Training Instruction (RTI) component of registered apprenticeship programs, RTI may be provided by a community college, technical school, apprenticeship training school or by the business, itself.

http://www.doleta.gov/oa/grants.cfm#PartnershipsInvestments

Question 13

Under what circumstances can an extension of time to submit a proposal be granted?

Answer 13

No individual extensions will be granted.

Question 14

Are winning proposals from the last round of solicitations available to potential bidders?

Answer 14

This is a new requirement, there are no previous proposals.

Question 15

On page 52, instructions specify that Factor 3 Staff Experience is comprised of 10 pages to include resumes for 5 key personnel x 2 pages per key personnel = 10 pages. However, on page 60, the instructions ask for detailed information for Factor 3 Staff Experience that includes substantial narrative elements, including a discussion of qualifications of all individuals, a list of all tasks that each individual is assigned, and a personnel chart. Question: Does the application require a 10-page narrative plus 10 additional pages of resume? How would one answer the narrative questions on 10 pages if 10 pages of resumes are requested?

Answer 15

See answer to Question 3

NOTE:

* Section L.5.4, Factor 3 - Staff Experience and Qualifications has been changed to “4 Key Personnel” (Also see revised Section H.6 – Key Personnel)

* Section L.5.4, Factor 3 Staff Experience and Qualifications, the Format has been changed to “Written” and Page Limit to “10 page limit”

* Section L.5.5, the recipient for the past performance questionnaires (if the offeror do not have the requisite five (5) PPIRS-SR reports) has been changed from Trumbore.clyde@dol.gov to chiu.dave@dol.gov.

mailto:Trumbore.clyde@dol.gov mailto:chiu.dave@dol.gov