Revised__Response_to_Questions_for_Solicitation_No._DOL-OPS-16-R-00026.xlsx
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- Solicitation number
- DOL-OPS-16-R-00026
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Amended to include revised questions and responses that was previously posted.
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Questions
| Questions: | DOL-OPS-16-R-00026 | |||||
| No. | Section | Page | RFP Language | Question | Response | |
| 1 | A.c | 4 | A.c: Volume I –Technical (including sub-factors). Not To Exceed (NTE) 60 pages, excluding resumes, covers, title pages, executive summaries, table of contents and supporting documentation. A.d: Each volume of the proposal shall consist of a Table of Contents, Summary Section and the Narrative discussion. | Section A.c states that executive summaries are not included in page count. Section A.d states that each volume shall have a Summary Section. Is it correct to assume that the Summary Section is the equivalent of the executive summary in section A.c and are excluded from page count? | Yes | |
| 2 | 1.6.1 | 13 | The quality control plan QCP shall be submitted with the contractor’s proposal at the time of submission. | As quality control plan can be lengthy, and Section L provides to clear indication of where it should be included in the proposal, may the QCP be attached as supporting documentation outside of page count? | No | |
| 3 | A.6 | 10 | General Question | What is the anticipated start date for delivering on-site classes? | To Be Determined | |
| 4 | 5.6.1 | 26 | The contractor will be responsible for managing travel by airline, bus, rental car, and rail travel for specified onsite participants | What specific travel system will the contractor use to book participant travel? | E2Solutions by CW Government Travel, Inc. | |
| 5 | 5.6.2 | 26 | The vendor shall be responsible for obtaining/maintaining logistical requirements for participants, including lodging and meals for JVSG participants who are attending training onsite, on a cost reimbursable basis. | Will the contractor be expected to provide three meals per day for all training participants? Will the contractor be responsible for ensuring all participants are on temporary duty status before providing meals during onsite training? | Yes. The contractor is expected to arrange meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and lodging for only JVSG participants who attend training onsite. There is no requirement for the contractor to ensure all participants are on temporary duty status. | |
| 6 | 5.6.2 | 26 | The vendor shall be responsible for obtaining/maintaining logistical requirements for participants, including lodging and meals for JVSG participants who are attending training onsite, on a cost reimbursable basis. | Will the contractor be expected to provide three meals per day for participants who are attending offsite training? | No | |
| 7 | 5.7.1 | 27 | Conducting up to 20 scheduled offsite training classes (for planning purposes, these classes will include the travel cost of the instructor, not the | |||
| travel costs of participants); | For off site classes, will the government provide the training facilities? Is the contractor responsible for participant meals during off site courses? | Not in most instances, the requester will have a site available. No | ||||
| 8 | 5.7.1 | 27 | Conducting National or Regional training conferences | Will the government please provide additional details on the contents and objectives of the national and regional training conferences? | These training conferences are for VETS' staff development. The contractor will support the National or Regional VETS’ Staff Training Conferences as reflected in VETS' annual training plan. | |
| 9 | Attach C | *Lodging and Meals for federal staff courses are not covered under the contract | When Federal staff participate in on site courses, will their lodging and meals not be covered? | Lodging and meals for federal staff courses are not covered under the contract. | ||
| 10 | 1.6.8 | 14 | Understanding the employment barriers and available resources for veterans with physical impairments, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other | |||
| military-service related injuries; | Should pricing for deliveries include the costs of providing special accommodations such as sign language interpreters, alternative materials for visually impaired, etc? | Yes. The contractor is responsible for ensuring special accomodations are provided as needed for disabled persons. | ||||
| 11 | A.d.(i) | 5 | A.d.(i) VOLUME 1 – TECHNICAL. Factor 2: Measuring Participant Competency and Knowledge Gain 2.1 The Offeror’s Proposal must describe or fully explain their ability to develop and apply one or more competency-based assessment approaches and tools to demonstrate that participants have obtained the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn. 2.2 The Offeror’s Proposal must describe or fully explain the proposed pre- and post-training assessments and they will ensure proper evaluation of students’ knowledge. Section 5.4.3 (p. 24) Measuring Participant Competency and Knowledge Gain states “The vendor shall develop and apply one or more competency-based assessment approaches and tools to demonstrate that participants have obtained the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn. The competency-based approach must include a pre-training assessment of participant knowledge, followed by a post-training assessment.” | Does one pre-training knowledge assessment and one post-training knowledge assessment per course meet the requirements of Factors 2.1 and 2.2? Or, is the Government expecting one or more competency-based assessment approaches, in addition to pre- and post-training knowledge assessments? | At a minimum, the evaluation of student knowledge attainment and competency must include at least one pre-test and one post-test to demonstrate participants have obtained the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn and apply. | |
| 12 | General Question | Will to government please provide the historical distribution of students by their home state? | No | |||
| 13 | Attachment D | Provide Facilities/Office Space for NVTI Staff | Is this request for pricing intended to reflect the office space costs for contractor personnel or government employees? If the request is for office space for government employees, please provide the approximate number of employees that must be accommodated. | The pricing should reflect office or facility space costs for contractor personnel. | ||
| 14 | Attachment D | Participant Selection (Part of Line Item 25) | The request for pricing for Participant Selection indicates that the item is Part of Line Item 25, however, line item 25 in pricing format spreadsheet is a header row under delivery of offsite training. Please clarify if participant selection should be priced separately on row 83 or if those costs are intended to be part of another line item, and if so, which line item they are to be included in. | The Offeror is authorized to add additional line items or leave line items at no cost as needed to give the government best value pricing. | ||
| 15 | Attachment D | General Question | For the delivery of offsite training, will the contractor be required to provide the training classrooms for these deliveries? | No | ||
| 16 | Attachment D | General Question | For the national conferences, will the contractor be required to provide the facilities for these events? If so, can the conferences occur in the main residential training location? | No | ||
| 17 | C | 38 | The RFP indicates that FAR 52.219-3 Notice of HUBZone Set-Aside or Sole-Source Award and 52.216-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set Aside are both applicable | Is this solicitation being set aside for HUBZone and/or Small Businesses? | No | |
| 18 | A d. (i) | 5 | Factor 1.1 indicates offerors must describe or fully explain how they will provide face to face classroom instruction in multiple locations | Is the contractor required to provide classrooms in multiple training locations to meet this requirement or will the government provide classrooms for off-site training? | The contractor is not required to provide training classrooms in multiple locations. | |
| 19 | PWS Part I | 12 | NVTI courses are currently accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities… | Will the courses to be delivered under the proposed effort be provided to the contractor as Government Furnished Information? If so, will those courses maintain their accreditation status when they transition to a new education provider? | Yes Unknown, the accreditiation provider makes that determination. | |
| 20 | PWS Part I | 13 | The contractor is responsible for conducting business between the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday thru Friday, except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to.. | Please clarify if the contractor will still be able to deliver scheduled classes in the event of a government shut down due to administrative closings or emergency situations that do not directly impact the locations for on-site or off-site training deliveries. | The contractor may not conduct work that requres government approval during a shutdown. | |
| 21 | PWS Part I | 14 | Paragraph 1.6.8.1 indicates the vendor shall possess or develop the certification to provide U.S. Department of Education-approved post-secondary course credit and offer continuing education unit (CEU) credits to participants who successfully complete NVTI courses. | Will providing evidence of credit recommendations from the American Council on Education's College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT) meet the requirement referenced in the PWS? | Any accrediation submission must U.S. Department of Education-approved post-secondary course credit and offer continuing education unit (CEU) credits requirements. | |
| 22 | Part 5, 5.1 | 22 | Distance learning courses made available via a public website | Can the government please define what it means by a "public website"? Will a website that requires user authentication / log in be considered a public website? | A "public website" is a website that is accessible to the general public.The "public website" may require user authentication/log in credentials for identified sections that relate to past participants or other identified personal only. | |
| 23 | Part 5, 5.2 | 22 | General Question | The PWS provides a list of existing eLearning courses that will be revised and must be delivered by the contractor. In order to estimate the level of effort required to update these courses will the government please provide the following information: |
--The length of each course --The format /development environment (e.g. HTML 5, Flash, Adobe) used to create each course --The interactivity level for each course --If the existing courses are hosted in a SCORM compliant learning management systems
| --Do the current courses meet all Section 508 accessibility requirements | Information is attached. | |||||
| 24 | Part 5, 5.5.2 | 25 | "The content of this information will be provided by and approved by the COR and a VETS subject matter expert" | Please confirm that the contents of the web-based resource repository will be provided to the contractor by the government and that the contractor is not responsible for creating or identifying the content to be contained in the resource repository. | The contractor will work with the Governement to determine the type of content to create the web-based repository. The contractor is expected to provide expert recommendations on the content for this site. | |
| 25 | Part 5, 5.6.1 | 26 | General Question | The PWS does not address provision of local ground transportation to/from the airport, bus, or rail station at either the participants origination point or the destination point where on-site/residential training is provided. Will the government reimburse the contractor for costs associated with local ground transportation for training participants? Are participant parking expenses and mileage to/from the airport at their home location an allowable expense that the contract reimburses directly to participants? | Travelor works with his or her employer for reimbursement from home to the airport and back. The contract currently provides ground transportation from the airport to the lodging as part of the rooming cost. The Government will reimburse according to the Federal Travel Regulations | |
| 26 | Part 5, 5.7.3 | 28 | The PWS indicates that the monthly financial report must include an accounting of labor hours expended, keyed to the tasks delineating in the work breakdown and staffing plan in the vendor's proposal. | The instructions to offerors do not require the labor hours information or staffing plan to be part of the proposal. Additionally, the government intends to award a firm-fixed price contract that does not require estimation of cost based on labor hours and labor categories. Will the government remove the requirement to provide detailed information on labor hours by task to be consistent with the anticipated contract type and proposal requirements? | No | |
| 27 | Attachment C | General Question | The lodging and meals information provided in attachment C suggests that approximately 22,000 hotel nights were required in each of the option years (e.g. 1440 participants in the Intensive Services class times 4 nights equals 5,760 room nights) or over 400 nights per week, which would require a very large capacity lodging arrangement. Can the government please clarify the average number of room nights per week historically required for the contract? | The information in the attachment is correct | ||
| 28 | Part I 1.6.14 | 16 | Other direct costs: This category includes travel, reproduction, and shipping expenses associated with training activities and visits to federal and state facilities. | The RFP specifies that reproduction & shipping costs are anticipated as other direct costs, however, there is no line item in Attachment D for ODCs to cover these costs for either on-site or off-site training courses. Will the government provide a CLIN and plug number to use for pricing ODCs under the contract? | The Offeror is authorized to add additional line items or leave line items at no cost as needed to give the government best value pricing. | |
| 29 | Part 3, 3.0 | 20 | "Classroom-based courses to the new grantee, including" | Since the RFP is for the award of a contract, should the term "new grantee" be replaced with "contractor"? | Yes. Please replace "grantee" with "contractor." | |
| 30 | Part 3, 3.0 | 20 | Government Furnished Items & Services | The items identified here are only for the classroom based training. Will the government also provide the existing on-line learning contents, associated code, and any electronic support materials? | Yes | |
| 31 | Part 5, 5.2 | 22 | Task 2: Revise Existing Training | The list of existing classroom offerings does not include the "Transition Assistance Program" course that is listed in attachment D. Will this course also be provided to the contractor and will revisions be required? | Yes, when and if this course needs revisions the current curriculum will be provided. | |
| 32 | Part 5, 5.2 | 22/23 | Task 2: Revise Existing Training | The list of existing distance learning courses provided in the PWS does not match the list of course descriptions provided in Attachment A. Can the government clarify if the following distance learning course titles listed in Attachment A are also to be updated/maintained: Competitive Grants Training, Federal Hiring, State Grants Training, USERRA 101 & 102, USERRA Investigators and USERRA VITAL? | The additional distance learning classes cited in Attachment A are to be maintained. | |
| 33 | Part 5, 5.6 | 26 | Task 6: Travel Support in accordance with the Joint Federal Travel Regulations | The JFTR applies to DOD while the rest of government uses the FTR. Can the government confirm that this contract will be governed by the JFTR rather than the more widely applicable FTR? | Federal Travel Regulations | |
| 34 | Exhibit 1 | 30 | "Zero deviation from standard. Must deliver 100% of scheduled Government approved courses." | There are several factors beyond the control of the contractor which may prohibit delivery of a scheduled course such as weather, natural disaster or other "Acts of God", inadequate attendance, or in the case of off site courses, last minute unavailability of training rooms or participants. Will the government please clarify that the anticipated 100% requirement does not include situations beyond the control of the contractor? | Adjustments to contracted expectations will be made in situations where a natural or man-made disaster clearly adversely affects the contractor's performance. | |
| 35 | A.5.1 | 6 | The Offeror’s Proposal must describe or fully explain how they will design, develop, and implement a web-based resource repository that supports current and former students and compliment’s other VETS resource sites. | This section requests that the web-based repository "compliments other VETS resource sites". Can the government provide additional detail on what this entails? Are there specific requirements the contractor should develop to in order to have this repository complement other VETS sites? | The phrase "complements other VETS resource sites" means the content of the contracted web-based resource repository should be consistent and go well the resources found on the www.veterans.gov and www.dol.gov/vets websites, and other identified websites. Content should be duplicated or contradict other VETS websites. | |
| 36 | 5.5 | 25 | The vendor shall maintain a database of all NVTI participants that facilitates rapid communication with past participants. | How many participants does the government anticipate will be loaded and tracked using this repository? Will past participants need to be loaded into the new repository? If so, how many participants? | The database includes current and former participants. To date 70,000 + Veterans' employment and training professionals have attended NVTI training. A data transfer of previous attendees will be provided. | |
| 37 | 5.5 | 25 | The vendor shall maintain a database of all NVTI participants that facilitates rapid communication with past participants. | How many courses does the government anticipate will be delivered and recorded through this repository? | Approximately 60 course annually. | |
| 38 | 5.4.3 | 24 | The vendor shall develop and apply one or more competency-based assessment approaches and tools | For existing courses, can the government clarify whether existing courses include assessments developed to accompany those courses? | Not all current courses have assessments, only very few. Of those that do exist, it is only a post assessment. | |
| 39 | 5.1, 5.4 | 22, 24 | 5.1 All online and distance learning courses will meet industry standards, and must be hosted virtually by the vendor and made available through a public website. 5.4 All distance learning and other virtual coursework must be hosted by the vendor and made available through a public website, and may be password protected, when | |||
| necessary | Is the public website required to be a government owned website? | No. | ||||
| 40 | n/a | n/a | General Question | Must this work be performed in Denver, Colorado? | No | |
| 41 | n/a | n/a | General Question | Given the number of questions and the impact the answers will have our Offerors responses, will the Government consider extended the due date for proposals to allow adequate time for Offerors to respond? | Yes. Amendment (3) will provide new due date for proposals. | |
| 42 | n/a | n/a | Solicitation paragraph (ii) Volume II – Past Performance on page 6 states: “The offeror shall submit past performance of at least three contracts for current relevancy (3 years)… Solicitation Attachment E – Past Performance Questionnaire page 1 paragraph 1 states: “The Offeror shall send the questionnaires for relevant project that are in progress or completed in the past five (5) years…” | Will the Government please clarify if past performance information should be provided on contracts that are active within 3 years or 5 years? | 3 Years | |
| 43 | n/a | n/a | Contract Clauses (11) and (14) on page 38? | Is this a full and open competition as stated on the SF 1449, or a set aside as stated in the Contract Clauses (11) and (14) on page 38? | Full and Open Competition | |
| 44 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Is there a specific city in which the on-site courses should be held, or is it the contractor’s discretion? | The Contractor’s discretion | |
| 45 | n/a | n/a | n/a | What is the estimated instructional time for each of the self-paced/online e-learning courses? | The following (3) are instructor led or monitored courses, all others are self-paced. |
USERRA Investigators 4 Days Instructor-led and monitored with feedback on case file examination, examples, best practices, law and policy exercises, writing examples and practical exercises USERRA VITAL 5 Days Instructor monitored, policy and regulations scenarios, principle and tool examination, information security policy and examples, drag and drop, quizzes and assessment Veterans' Benefits On-Line 2 Weeks Enrolled participants are provided instructor-led/monitored with feedback on benefit exploration, contacts and examples
| 46 | n/a | n/a | Clause “1.6.17.1 Rights in Data and Copyright” | Will the contracts staff consider amending the language in the clause “1.6.17.1 Rights in Data and Copyright” to allow more flexibility in ownership and use? (may be beneficial to DOL/VETS to amend to allow for more academic institution participation in the contract.) | No |
| 47 | n/a | n/a | n/a | When preparing our redacted versions, should we replace all mentions of our company name with the alpha numeric code you provide or should we simply blackline the redacted elements. | Replace all mentions of your company’s name with the alpha numeric code you provided |
| 48 | n/a | n/a | Stipulated in 1.6.16. | Does the government have a specified phase-in period or is the offeror to suggest the phase-in period timeline to facilitate completion of the requirements specified in 1.6.16? | The offeror is to propose the phase-in period timeline needed to facilitate completion of the requirements specified in 1.6.16? |
| 49 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Could the Government provide the average class size for each of the courses provided? | 25 |
| 50 | n/a | n/a | NVTI Proposed Price Form does not provide an area to include phase-in pricing for requirements stipulated in 1.6.16. | Can the government provide the revised the price spreadsheet to include this cost or is the offeror to provide this information separately? |
If the information is to be provided separately, is there a required format for submission?
| The offeror is authorized to modify Attachment D to include proposed line items for phase-in costs. | |||||
| 51 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Could the Government clarify if they anticipate 0 units for the Transition Assistant Program line item under “Delivery of On-Site Training”, 0 units for all line items under the “Delivery of Off-Site Training and Instructor Travel Costs” and “National and Regional Conferences”? If yes, are contractors required to provide a unit price for such line items? | Yes. The contractor is required to provide a unit price for such line items. |
| 52 | n/a | n/a | n/a | And, if yes, can the government please provide additional details on the National and Regional Conferences which can be used in order to estimate number of participants, equipment needed, etc.? For the off-site training, can the government please specify if the contractor is to include the cost of training space? | (2) to (4) days with an average of (10) to (25) participants using equipment as detailed in sections 1.1, 1.6.14, and thru ought the Attachments, PWS and Solicitiation. |
| 53 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Should contractors provide a unit number and unit price for the line items with no unit number information? i.e. core testing equipment and core testing development under “Update Training”, participant lodging and meals under “Participant Lodging, Meals, Breaks, Hospitality Room, etc.” | Unit Price for the line items with no unit number is required. Unit numbers should be estimated based on attachments provided wherever applicable. |
| 54 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Since the contractor is processing travel, should it be on a direct cost-reimbursable basis, rather than a unit price? And, how should the contractor include it in the price build up, if necessary? | Direct Cost Reimbursement of allowable travel expenses in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations is different from Travel Arrangement/Travel Coordinator Support and the Processing of Participant Travel Vouchers, POV and Baggage Reimbursement Support. See the General Program Facilitation and Administration Section for how the contractor could break down the minimum support services required. |
| 55 | n/a | n/a | The cover sheet for Solicitation Number DOL-OPS-16-R-00026 indicates that it is Unrestricted, and therefor does not have a particular size limit. The NAICS code listed (611430) suggests there is a size limit. | We are seeking clarification on if this opportunity is truly full and open, or if it is a small business set aside. | This opportunity is a full and open competition. |
Solicitation No. DOL-OPS-R-16-00023
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