REACTS Questions and Responses.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 21 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- ED-ESE-10-R-0017
About this file
Question and Answers from the pre-solicitation notice.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| ATTACHMENT A-REACTS PWS.DOCX | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT G_SECTIONL.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT C_MANPOWER UTILIZATION MATRIX.docx | DOCX document | |
| REACTS Questions - Round 2 xlsx.docx | DOCX document | |
| amendment0001.pdf | ||
| ATTACHMENT F_PERFORMANCE RISK ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT D_PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCE MATRIX.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT H_SECTIONM.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT G_SECTIONL.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT B_Award Fee Eval Plan.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT E_PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT_A-PWS.pdf | ||
| REACTSOLICIATION.pdf | ||
| ATTACHMENT C_MANPOWER UTILIZATION MATRIX.docx | DOCX document | |
| REACTS PWS.DOCX | DOCX document |
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Sheet1
| 1 | Beltwayweb LLC | How does the Office of Migrant Education currently handle communication with states? For example, are any newsletters currently being sent to stakeholders? Is there an issue tracking system? How is event coordination handled? | The Office of Migrant Education (OME) uses a variety of methods to communicate with States including a State Director listserv, migrant community listserv, MSIX listserv, presentations at annual conferences and meetings (e.g. OME conference, NASDME conference, NCES conference). There are currently no OME newsletters or issue tracking system. Event coordination is handled by OME staff and its logistics contractors. |
| 2 | Beltwayweb LLC | Will the contractor have the ability to access a current, non-production version of MSIX in preparation for our solution? If not, will they permitted to use their familiarity with the MSIX technology as part of their proposal? | No, the contractor will not have access to a non-production version of MSIX. Yes, the contractor may use their familiarity with MSIX as part of their proposal. |
| 3 | Beltwayweb LLC | Although the pre-solicitation states "Full and Open Competition", would the Department consider sole sourcing this contract provided they found a qualifying 8a vendor they desired to work with? | No, the Department will not consider sole sourcing to an 8A vendor. |
| 4 | Beltwayweb LLC | If the contractor discovered any technical limitations of the current MSIX system, should they compile this data and propose workarounds and / or system solutions to all stakeholders, or limit certain findings to specific members? | No. |
| 5 | Beltwayweb LLC | Will the contractor be given APIs to the existing MSIX system in order to facilitate the publishing of pertinent data to all stakeholders in a timely manner? (Ex. instance, aggregate student record data, record counts, etc.) If APIs will not be available, would the contractor be given the opportunity to develop their own as part of their solution? | No. Direct access to MSIX data is not necessary. The contractor's SME will be provided access to flat files containing the data needed to produce the analytical reports on the effectiveness of records exchange.. |
| 6 | Beltwayweb LLC | For states currently without software solutions to manage their migrant student population, and the subsequent reporting to MSIX, can the contractor offer a solution to them as part of this effort? | No, this is outside the scope of this requirement. |
| 7 | Beltwayweb LLC | Is there a compiled list of states and the current systems they have in place for migrant student management and MSIX reporting? And if so, may the contractors receive a copy? | Yes. This information can be provided. |
| 8 | Beltwayweb LLC | The REACTS_PWS document states that many State and local staff do not know that this tool exists for their use and/or the benefits of using MSIX. Can we assume that there is a designated Migrant Education Office in every state? If not, who would be regarded as the state and local staff? | Yes, there is a designated Migrant Education Program (MEP) office in each State that participates in the MEP. |
| 9 | Beltwayweb LLC | How does the existing MSIX listserv work and what does it mean ‘one-way’? Who developed and currently maintains this listserv? How many people are currently on the listserv and how many do you project to be on the listserv after the REACTS solution is in place? | The MSIX listserv is currently maintained by the Department of Education's EDUCATE contract. It is an implementation of L-Soft's open-source LISTSERV® 14.5. Currently, there are 294 subscribers. The number of subscribers could potentially increase to several thousand over the next few years. |
| 10 | Beltwayweb LLC | What qualifications does the Department feel makes someone a SME on records exchange? For example, does thorough knowledge of the MSIX technology qualify someone as a SME on records exchange? | Solely having knowledge of MSIX technology does not qualify someone as a SME on records exchange. In addition to knowledge of MSIX, the records exchange SME must have knowledge of how migrant records have been exchanged in the past (i.e. through the MSRTS), how student records are exchanged generally at the local level for all students, how to use the MSIX consolidated record and minimum data elements for successfully enrollment, grade or course placement, and accrual of secondary course credits for migrant students. |
| 11 | Beltwayweb LLC | How many states are currently in production and using MSIX? What is the schedule for getting the remaining state data into MSIX? | There are currently 24 States in production and using MSIX. The remaining States are expected to be live within the next 6-7 months. |
| 12 | Beltwayweb LLC | Is REACTS envisioned to assist every state, states once they are in production, states during test phase, etc? | REACTS is envisioned to assist States after they are in production with MSIX. |
| 13 | Beltwayweb LLC | Is there a projected date for publishing responses to the submitted questions? Will bidders have the opportunity to submit follow up questions based on the answers provided? | That information will be provided in the RFP package. |
| 14 | Education Service Center, Region 20 | It is listed as a pre-solicitation in the notice type. I am assuming that this means the document is posted solely for questions, and that an actual solicitation will be released when we can submit a proposal, correct? | Correct |
| 15 | Education Service Center, Region 20 | There are several vendors listed in the "Interested Vendors Tab." If we do not indicate interest in the pre-solicitation, does that mean we cannot submit a full proposal at a later date? | No, you do not have to be in the interested vendor's list to submit a full proposal later. |
| 16 | Education Service Center, Region 20 | Our organization is interested in applying for the REACTS contract that was posted Feb 2, 2010. We have never applied for a Federal contract. Do we have to be located in the DC area to apply? Is our first step to get on the Interested Vendors list? | Vendors do not have to be located in DC metro area to bid for this contract. This will be full and open, meaning any vendors can sumbit their bid. |
| 18 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Please describe the criteria that will be used to evaluate proposal responses and the weighting of the criteria in the evaluation process. | Please see the RFP package for full details for the evaluation criteria |
| 19 | Edvance Research, Inc. | What volume of requests for advice and information is expected under Task 1? | It is expected that the volume of email requests for information will not exceed 25 requests per day. |
| 20 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Is end-user support focused primarily on state-level users or other users responsible for implementing MSIX? How many state-level or other users are there? | End user support is primarily focused on State users and building State capacity to develop and administer an effective records exchange program. However, emailed questions may be sent to the REACTS Team by State or local personnel. |
| 21 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Is end-user support of local individuals who interact with MSIX daily to exchange records a requirement of Task 1? How many end-users are there? | No. |
| 22 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Is telephone support of users expected or desired? If so, what volume of telephone calls is anticipated? | No telephone support is required. |
| 23 | Edvance Research, Inc. | What other support mechanisms exist within the Migrant Program to support electronic record exchange? | The REACTS contractor will be the primary support for States to receive non-technical assistance in implementing records exchange. A MSIX Help Desk exists to assist States with questions regarding the use of the MSIX technology. |
| 24 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Are incentives and/or other funding provided to states/regions/districts that excel? | If funds are available, States may receive an annual grant to assist them with implementing records exchange. |
| 25 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Are there other channels of information from DOE or the MSIX contractor that need to be coordinated? | The REACTS contractor is expected to work closely with the COR to ensure that there is a coordinated approach to information dissimenation regarding the OME's records exchange initiative. It is expected that the REACTS contractor will be the primary source of non-technical information regarding migrant records exchange. |
| 26 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Who is ultimately accountable for the success of migrant records exchange? | The Office of Migrant Education and the Department of Education. |
| 27 | Edvance Research, Inc. | What is the anticipated annual budget to support REACTS? | We cannot disclose that information at this time. |
| 28 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Will the award fee for the REACTS contract be variable in that it will be based on vendor performance, perhaps measured via a QASP? | The Government will provide an award fee evaluation plan in the solicitation. |
| 29 | Edvance Research, Inc. | What evaluation criteria will the Government use to assess the effectiveness of vendor communication plans? How will the Government measure these evaluation criteria? | The evaluation criteria will be detailed in the Department's solicitation. |
| 30 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Can the Government be more specific about the scope and volume of distribution for the quarterly newsletter? What about posting newsletter articles on targeted organization websites, publications, etc? | The government will update the PWS with more specificity in response to this question. |
| 31 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Will the government be expanding on its goals for the proposed outreach program to migrant parents? What evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the outreach program? | The government will update the PWS with more specificity in response to this question. |
| 32 | Edvance Research, Inc. | To assist vendors in creating comparable pricing for the requested 2,200 annual hours of subject matter support, will the Government be providing a chart breaking down these 2,200 hours by labor category? | We encourage vendors to provide the best pratice in their proposal. The 2,200 hours is Government's estimate. |
| 33 | Edvance Research, Inc. | What is the overall estimated level of effort for this project? | We cannot disclose that information at this time. |
| 34 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Task 1: Provide expert advice and consultation, and Task 3: Provide subject matter expert technical assistance and support, have many similar elements. However, whereas Task 3 states that the contractor shall provide up to 2,200 hours per contract year of direct subject matter expertise, Task 1 has no such estimate attached to it. Can you please provide the same type of estimate for Task 1? | Yes. This information can be provided. |
| 35 | Edvance Research, Inc. | Task 3.2.4 Records Exchange Semi-Annual Survey states that the survey will be given to no more than 200 people. Approximately how many questions/survey items will be included in the survey? What is the targeted response rate required for the survey? How soon after the survey start date is the compilation of the results of the survey and the report of the results due as a deliverable? | The PWS will be updated to provide this additional information. |
| 36 | eSource Technologies | Will Deloitte be allowed to pursue the subject opportunity (i.e. is there a conflict of interest)? | There is no conflict of interest for Deloitte or any existing OME contractor. |
| 37 | ManageAdvantage | In Section 3.1, is the expert advice labor provided in Task 1 in addition to the 2200 hours provided in Task 3, and if so, is there an upward limit on the number hours of support required for Task 1? | Yes, it is in addition to Task 1 expert advice. The PWS will be updated to indicate the upward level of number of support hours. |
| 38 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have any responsibilities for maintaining an MSIX System Requirements Specification or similar requirements documents? | No. |
| 39 | ManageAdvantage | In Section 3.2.3 Records Exchange Listserv, it states, “The contractor shall manage and expand the existing one-way MSIX listserv.” Does this include maintenance of the listserv software and hardware and the help desk support for listserv issues? | This does not include software and hardware maintenance; however the contractor is expected to provide user maintenance functions for the listserv, but not a formal Help Desk. |
| 40 | ManageAdvantage | In Section 3.2.3, are the software, hardware, and internet services for the listserv Government Furnished? | Yes. |
| 41 | ManageAdvantage | In Section 3.2.4, the statement “Deliverables: Draft Survey – within 150 months ACA, Final Survey – within 180 days ACA and semi-annually thereafter” seems to have a typographical error in units. Should the Draft Survey be 150 days ACA? This is repeated in Section 4, Deliverable 16. | Yes. This information will be corrected in the PWS. |
| 42 | ManageAdvantage | What will be the relationship between the MSIX system operations, Help Desk, and Customer Service contractors and this contractor? | The REACTS contractor will have no formal relationship with the MSIX contractors; however, the REACTS contractor will be expected to attend MSIX weekly staff meetings in order to be kept abreast of MSIX issues that may have bearing on the advice and information the REACTS contractor will be providing to the States. |
| 43 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have access to the MSIX system for demonstrations, user interface and human factors analysis, and training of personnel? | Yes, on a scheduled basis. |
| 44 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have access to the MSIX system for validation and testing or analysis of user prototypes or test runs? | No. |
| 45 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have any responsibilities for assisting state and local organizations or the Department’s MSIX security administrators or system security personnel with compliance with FISMA, Federal Education Records and Privacy Act (FERPA)[2] or other privacy or security requirements or policies and procedures that have been or may need to be developed and implemented for controlling access to records in the MSIX system? | No. |
| 46 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have any responsibilities for updates to the OMB Information Collection documents, the Privacy Impact Assessments, or the Security Plans for the MSIX system? | No. |
| 47 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have any responsibilities for negotiating or updating existing agreements with states or LEA’s? | No. |
| 48 | ManageAdvantage | Will this contractor have access to Federal GSA pricing for travel and hotel accommodations? | This information is available on GSA.gov website in their per diem link. |
| 49 | MSEDD | Our company has been involved in data collection and reporting in migrant education for fifteen years and we currently provide services to twenty-six states. Many of these states are already uploading data to the MSIX. We are certainly interested in the forthcoming bid to provide REACTS services to meet mission requirements in response to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, Section 1308(b). Will there be minimum requirements for bidding companies such as size of company, number of years in business, etc. Also, when will the technical specifications be available? | No, there are no minimum requirements as described in the question. The Government is unclear what is meant by "technical specifications" in this context. |
| 50 | Unysis | The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) website contains a report titled U.S. Department of Education Active Contracts over $100,000.00. This report lists the following 2 contracts: Migrant Education Hotline contract and Migrant Student Record Exchange System. Will the new contract that the government expects to award on or about June 2010 replace either or both of the current contracts? | Neither. This is a new contract with no incumbent contractor. |
| 51 | Unysis | Assuming that the new contract is a replacement for either the Migrant Education Hotline contract or the Migrant Student Record Exchange System contract, or both; will the current contractors be conflicted out of the competition or will they be allowed to bid? | The contract is not a replacement and there are no conflicts of interest. |
| 52 | Unysis | Task 1 reads that within 30 days of contract award, the contractor shall establish and publicize a REACTS Team email address that State and local representatives can use to request technical assistance and/or advice on records exchange issues. How many requests should the contractor expect to receive per month? | The Government anticipates no more than 25 requests for information per day. |
| 53 | Unysis | Is there an existing REACTS Team email address that could be used to effect a seamless transition? | No. |
| 54 | Unysis | Is the contractor required to provide a toll free telephone number? | No. |
| 55 | Unysis | Does the government intend to provide office space for the contractor or should the contractor plan to provide their own office space? | No, the contractor must provide its own office space. |
| 56 | Unysis | If the contractor is required to provide their own office space, does the office space need to be in Washington, D.C. or can the space be located in the Washington, D.C. suburbs? | The contractor's office can be located in any State within the continental U.S. |
| 57 | Unysis | Task 3 reads: Given the limited subject matter expertise that exists regarding records exchange topics, the COR may, on occasion, suggest knowledgeable SMEs for consideration by the contractor. Does the government currently have anyone in mind that we should speak with regarding this opportunity? | No. |
| 58 | Novel | How many webinars per year do you expect to have? | No more than one per quarter (4). |
| 59 | Novel | Can we have people from the community contribute to the content of newsletters such as COE recruiters, parents, etc…? What level of security would they have to have to do so? | Yes. There would be no level of security needed; however the Government will require review of the newsletter content before publication. |
| 60 | Novel | Regarding the listserv, does “expand” mean the contractor can add its own listserv content or is that directed by ED? Can we implement a bi-directional listserv? | The contractor may propose to add its own listserv content and implement a monitored bi-directional listserv. |
| 61 | Novel | What types of video needs will you have? | None. |
| 62 | Novel | Direct mail for the newsletter can be very expensive if we are looking at sending copies to parents, recruiters, etc… Would it be your preference if an e-Newsletter is provided to everyone on the contact list from each state and a hard copy of the newsletter be provided by a written subscription? | An e-Newsletter is preferred, not direct mail. The e-Newsletter can be posted on an existing OME website. Costs for printed copies of the e-Newsletter (for special events, etc.) will be incurred by the Government outside this contract. |
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