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Question Response
| 1 |
| Attachment A, p. 3—Should the required email address for submission of technical assistance requests be an “ed.gov” address or can it be a contractor associated address? |
| It can be a contractor associated email address. |
| 2 |
| Who has final sign-off on emails responding to technical assistance requests; the Contractor or the OME COR? |
| The Contractor. |
| 3 |
| Attachment A, p. 3 “The contractor shall maintain original copies of all emails, and correspondence requesting information from the REACTS Team and provide them to OME promptly upon request.”—In what format/media should this be conveyed to the OME? |
| Electronically as .pdf files for non-electronic requests or in the original incoming electronic format (e.g. emails can be saved and presented as Outlook messages). |
| 4 |
| Attachment A, p. 3 “The contractor shall provide the log to the contracting officer’s representative (COR) monthly as an appendix to the contractor’s monthly report.”—In what format/media should the log be provided to the OME? |
| Microsoft Excel 2007 or lower |
| 5 |
| Attachment A, p. 4 “. . . onsite visits shall be determined on a first-come, first served basis and must be first approved by the COR before travel is incurred.”— Does a formal request process and travel approval form exist or should the contractor assume they need to provide a process and form? |
| The contractor shall develop the approval form. |
| 6 |
| The PWS refers to “the MSIX Project Manager” in several places—Is that position currently filled? If so, who is the current MSIX Project Manager and within what organization is that person? |
| Yes. The MSIX Project Manager is Jennifer K. Dozier who is employed by the ED Office of Migrant Education. |
| 7 |
| Attachment A, p. 4 list of deliverables “Communication Plan Products – produced, reviewed, and/or updated according to the WBS and semi-annually”— Since neither products or due dates are specified in the PWS, should the Offeror assume that these are to be proposed/provided in the Communications Plan and the WBS? |
| Yes. |
| 8 |
| Attachment A, p. 5 “The contractor shall continue to produce a draft newsletter for COR approval no later than 15 days before the end of each quarter and a final newsletter at the end of each quarter using a desktop publishing tool approved by the COR . . .”—Is “quarter” to be understood as contract quarter or calendar quarter? |
| Contract quarter. |
| 9 |
| The following questions refer to 3.2.4 Records Exchange Semi-Annual Survey (Attachment A, p. 5)— • The current MSIX listserv has close to 300 members; since this exceeds the 200 respondents required for the survey and does not include other stakeholders, does the OME have sampling techniques identified or should the Offeror propose technique(s)? If so, are there any requirements for development of the sample (e.g., representative of certain populations)? |
| The offeror shall propose the sampling techniques. The sample need not be stratified for different populations. |
| 10 |
| What is the due date for the survey report? (i.e., 180 days ACA) |
| Within 60 days after the survey is distributed. |
| 11 |
| In what format are the “results of the survey” to be delivered? (e.g., database, narrative report, Excel spreadsheet, etc.) |
| Narrative report with embedded tables or attached Excel spreadsheets as necessary. |
| 12 |
| Is there a minimally acceptable response rate for the survey? |
| The response rate shall be one that produces a 95% confidence level at +- 10% error rate. |
| 13 |
| If there is a minimum survey response rate, will follow-up procedures be expected and to what level? |
| The contractor shall propose follow-up procedures in their survey instrument. |
| 14 |
| Attachment A, p. 6 3.3.1 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)—“Creation of videos or webinars on records exchange topics” is identified as a type of expertise that will be required on the contract. Also, “informational videos” are mentioned under 3.2.1 Communications Plan. However, the response to question #61 in the original Questions and Responses indicates that no types of video are needed. Can this be clarified, please? |
| Informational videos are one type of media that the contractor may propose to provide information and outreach to parents; Alternatively, the contractor may propose webinars to provide the same information. The government may also specifically request the creation of a short video as a SME activity at some point in the duration of the multi-year contract although no videos are envisioned during the base year. The government will provide specific details regarding the content and format of the video if and when it is requested. |
| 15 |
| Attachment A, p. 6 3.4 Task 4: Present at National Conferences and Meetings— Are “Department-sponsored conferences or events” part of the “five such meetings per year”, or additional? What is the maximum number of trips to be budgeted? |
| They are included. A total of five trips should be planned for Task 4. |
| 16 |
| Attachment A, p. 8 3.6 Task 6: Phase-In and Phase-Out Periods” During the phase-in period, the contractor shall prepare to assume full responsibility for all areas of operation in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract.”— Which of the tasks, or portions of tasks, described in the PWS are currently under contract or currently being completed by OME staff? If under contract, who is the contractor(s)? |
| None of the tasks are currently under contract. OME staff currently manage the MSIX listserv, provide technical assistance on records exchange, develop and distribute communication materials, created the Minimum Data Element Guide and present at National and regional meetings. |
| 17 |
| Is subcontracting 23% eligible small business a requirement of the Department or a desirable goal? |
| It is the Department’s goal to meet SBA’s goal. |
| 18 |
| We are aware of some controversy over how the value of the small business contract is calculated (i.e., as a percentage of the value of all subcontracted work or as a percentage of the total contract value). Is there a FAR addressing this matter or can the Department clarify? |
| In the solicitation, we stated that the value of small business contract is calculated as a percentage of the total contract value |
| 19 |
| Would failure to meet the 23% level adversely affect or disqualify a proposal? |
| It will not disqualify a proposal but might be rated lower than other proposal that satisfies or exceed the small business goal. |
| 20 |
| Should Volume IV (Cost) document(s) be provided on CDs separate from Volumes I-III? |
| Yes. |
| 21 |
| Attachment G, p. L-10 calls for “professionally bound hard covers”. Would spiral or comb binding with vinyl covers be acceptable? |
| Yes. |
| 22 |
| If the Offeror will use “electronic projection” of a PowerPoint or PDF document for the oral presentation, is the presentation still limited to blue and/or black ink? (It is understood that the Offeror will provide the projector.) |
| No. |
| 23 |
| May the Offeror append additional information to the proposal such as technical information, tables/graphs, sample materials? |
| No. |
| 24 |
| Does the Department require a web-based delivery system for the MSIX system? |
| Yes. But, there is already a web-based MSIX system that is not part of this contract. |
| 25 |
| If not a requirement, would the Department entertain such a delivery system? |
| N/A |
| 26 |
| Does the Department have protocols or concern for non-response bias in the results of the annual survey? |
| No |
| 27 |
| Does “semi-annually” mean every six months or every other year? |
| Every six months. |
| 28 |
| H.14 307-8 Payment of Printing to be Performed by the Government Printing Office (GPO)—Does the Department require GPO for printed materials under this contract? |
| Yes. |
| 29 |
| We are a small business. I am assuming that we do not have to partner with other small businesses unless we need an additional skill set for the team. Therefore is section 4: partnering/subcontracting necessary for a firm like ours? |
Correct.
| 30 |
| Would you like to see the oral presentation (Volume II) as a separate binder or can it be delivered with the Volume I binder? |
| Separate binder |
| 31 |
| Is it mandatory that we post all proposed documents on a (our) website? |
| This was not Government intention; this has been removed from Section L. |
| 32 |
| Are all the attachments, for example the “Manpower Utilization Matrix”, items that we can create as an Appendix section in our Volume binders? |
| Yes |
| 33 |
| Regarding inflation rates for upcoming option years. We generally use 3% or the current inflation rate in accordance to government statistics. Will this suffice? |
| Government cannot answer this question at this time. |
| 34 |
| We have a lot of team members that will be presented in the proposal that have outside experience with MSIX but not as a firm. We intend to hire them if we are fortunate enough to win the award. How should this be noted as Past Performance? |
| Past performance doesn’t ask the reference to evaluate the firms experience related to MSIX but general performance and the ability to manage the project. Personnel related experience on the MSIX should be addressed on the personnel section and resumes. |
| 35 |
| Section I, I-9, 52.222-20 Walsh Healey Public Contracts Act (DEC 1996). We have reviewed the solicitation and the referenced Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 52.222-20 and 22.610. After completing this review it is our belief that the Walsh Healey Public Contract Act does not apply to this procurement. Will the Government amend the solicitation removing this provision? |
Concur and removed.
| 36 |
| Section L, Offerors shall provide a matrix of overhead and profit for the following ranges of projects. These ranges will be used in sole source negotiations if required during the performance of the contract. The ranges provided are all blank, will the Government provide the ranges and provide further instruction regarding what is suppose to be provided? |
This has been removed.
| 37 |
| Section L & M, The Government has provided two versions of Section L and Section M. Would the Government consider removing one set of these Sections (preferably leaving the formatted Section L and Section M? Otherwise conflicts from one version to the other could cause confusion. |
The Government will remove the version in the solicitation and leave formatted version which can be found under attachment G and H.
| 38 |
| In attachment H, section M, 3.3.1 Factor 1 - Technical capability (page M-3), it says there are four sub-factors (last sentence), but only two are listed. Could you please provide the additional sub-factors. |
Attachment H has been corrected to state there are only two sub-factors.
| 39 |
| Is the offer written assumed to be valid for 60 days? |
Yes
| 40 |
| Does the Government want the Program Manager to be located on Government premises full-time (based on L-22.1 (b) “on-site program manager”? |
No. The Program Manager should be located onsite at the contractor’s facilities.
| 41 |
| Attachment H at "Section M-3.3.2 Sub-factor 2 -- Personnel" (Page M-5) refers to resume evaluation as "based on the extent to which key personnel resumes meet or exceed the education and experience required by the labor qualifications in Section C. Could you provide the cite to Section C; we have not been able to locate it. |
The reference to Section C has been deleted. The text has been revised to read:
"based on the extent to which key personnel resumes meet or exceed the education and experience required by the labor qualifications identified by the contractor.
| 42 |
| Does the projected site visits of 2 days include the travel time to the state site or not? |
No, it does not include travel time.
| 43 |
| Section L states that the offeror must choose 3 projects from those identified in the Past Performance matrix and provide the questionnaire to the Government POC for completion. Can any of these three be provided by the subcontractors on the team? |
| Yes. |
| 44 |
| Section L – Can proposal submission be done solely electronically via email? |
Yes
| 45 |
| Section L – Does the Department want a table of contents for each volume? If so, we assume that the table of contents does not count against page limitations. Please let us know if this assumption is incorrect. |
Yes. Your assumption is correct.
| 46 |
| Section L – Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used. We assume that the glossary does not count against page limitations. Please let us know if this assumption is incorrect. |
Correct.
| 47 |
| Section L.22.2 (a) – The Technical Approach (within the Technical Volume) and the Management and Quality Control Plan sections seem to contain overlapping requirements For example: |
Section 1- Tech Approach – “Provide an organizational chart and proposed skills mix” Section 2- Management Plan – “Define the proposed organizational structure”
Based on the information above, and the associated page restrictions, will the Department be making any changes to minimize duplication?
It is the Government’s preferences to leave it in. One is asking for charts and one is asking for an explanation of their organizational structure.
| 48 |
| Section L.20 (e) indicates a 20-page limit for the Technical Approach with a 1-page Executive Summary. Is the Executive Summary to be included in the 20-page limit? |
No.
| 49 |
| Section L.22.2 (a) states “No cost or price information may be included in the technical volume”. Section L.22.2 (a)(3) requests a Manpower Utilization Matrix in the format provided as Attachment C. The Manpower Utilization Matrix provided in Attachment C includes price and cost information. How should this apparent conflict be resolved? |
The request for Manpower matrix has been moved to L.22.2(d)(11) under cost/price proposal.
| 50 |
| Section L.20 (e) indicates a 10-page limit for the Management and Quality Control Plan with a 1-page Executive Summary. Is the Executive Summary to be included in the 10-page limit? |
No.
| 51 |
| Section 3.6 of the PWS states “The contractor shall submit an initial Phase-In Plan with the technical proposal…”. The instructions for the technical proposal provided in Section L do not reference the Phase-In Plan. Is a Phase-In Plan a requirement to be addressed in the proposal? If so, in what section of the Technical Volume would the Plan be addressed or should it be included as an appendix? Additionally, is there a page limit for the Phase-In Plan? |
The Phase-In plan has been changed to reflect a draft and final with the draft plan due within 10 days ACA. There is no page limit.
| 52 |
| Section 3.2 of the PWS indicates that the vendor is expected to produce Spanish versions of outreach materials. Will the Department provide translation services to translate materials into Spanish, or is the vendor expected to provide the Spanish translations? |
The vendor shall provide the translation services.
| 53 |
| Sections L.20 and L.22.2 - What specific requirements, if any, are there for small businesses on this procurement? |
Small business (SB) – 37.3% 8(a)/small disadvantaged (SDB) – 5% Women-owned (WO) – 5% Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVO) – 3% Historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) – 3%
| 54 |
| Section M.3.3.1.2 calls for milestone and/or phasing charts to “illustrate a logical sequence of proposed events.” Where is the appropriate place for this to be addressed in the technical volume? |
In Section 1 – Technical Approach
| 55 |
| Section L.22.2 -- This section includes a requirement for sample tasks in the Orals Volume. Is this requirement still needed? Can the Department please provide specific information regarding the sample task requirements to be included in this section? |
The following reference to sample tasks should be ignored and will be removed:
Discuss the solutions to the sample tasks.
| 56 |
| Section M – Can the Department please clarify where the offeror should address the specific sub-factors related to our Past Performance? Section M includes sub-factors on the following: |
Technical Quality Time of Delivery of Services Reasonableness of Price, Costs, and Claims Reasonableness of its Business Behavior Concerns for the Customer’s Interests
Some of these can be addressed by the offeror in Attachment D, and by our customers in Appendix E &F (Timely Delivery of Services). However, we do not believe all of these factors can adequately be addressed by the various attachments. Would the Department consider allowing offerors to address these factors in the Past Performance Volume?
Yes, these sub-factors may be addressed in the Past Performance volume.
| 57 |
| Page 44 of the REACTS Solicitation, under section L-20, Section 4, Volume III, states “2 pages per reference (Maximum of 20 pages total)”. Does Attachment D count towards this page limit, or, is Attachment D a summary table that would appear at the beginning of Volume III? |
Attachment D will not count against page count.
| 58 |
| Do we have flexibility with the format for the project descriptions or are we bound by the table that appears in Attachment D. Can the Department please provide guidance on an appropriate format for the project write-ups? |
Yes, the table can be customized but use the attachment D as a guide for the format.
| 59 |
| Section L-8(j) states that “Offeror shall provide a proposal guarantee letter from the firm’s bonding company stating the firm’s bonding capabilities.” |
There does not seem to be a requirement to post a bond, so it is unclear what “bonding capabilities” are being referenced. In addition, we are not aware of services contracts such as this one generally requiring the posting of a bond, and request that the provision be clarified and/or removed.
This requirement is removed from the solicitation.
| 60 |
| Section L-22.2(d)(14) states that “Offerors shall provide a matrix of overhead and profit for the following ranges of projects,” however the table that follows is blank and no ranges are provided. |
Please clarify the Government’s position with regards to this requirement.
This requirement is removed since this is a firm fixed price contract.
| 61 |
| Section L-20(i)(4) requires the submission of an Executive Summary. |
As Technical and Cost volumes are evaluated separately, is the Executive Summary a requirement for both volumes?
No, executive summary is one document summarizing the key points from all of the volumes.
