RFP__ED-FSA-14-R-0028_Amendment_0001.pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

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

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

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 items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of 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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your 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.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

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

Check One 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.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

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

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

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

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

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

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Dega Hussen, Contracting Officer

/s/ Sep 03, 2014

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Attachment to RFP #ED-FSA-14-R-0028 Amendment #1

Nbr.

RFP Section/Page/

Paragraph Offerors’ Questions Government’s Clarification

Global Clarification applicable to all RFP documents:

School has the right to submit a case for its GE programs in which multiple loan-level challenges may be included.

1 General a) How many concurrent users should the system support? Concurrent user meaning the amount of users that can be logged in at once.

b) How long in person hours, does it take to resolve an average data challenge of low, medium, and high complexity?

a) Based on the current eCDR Appeals system statistics, there are over 3,700 active users in more than 6,000 schools who participate in the Title IV programs and have the potential to receive metrics that may have associated loan-level challenges submitted in a case. Each school may have 2 or more staff members that will work these cases in addition to approximately 100 data managers and 25 FSA staff personnel.

Government anticipates that DCAS will accommodate this initial user population; however, it shall be the selected contractor’s responsibility to monitor usage volumes and to proactively manage capacity planning in order to optimize performance.

b) Based on the current eCDR Appeals system statistics, three (3) complexity levels for loan-level challenges per school case are as follows:

Low: half an hour to 1 hour to resolve (60%), Medium: from one hour to 3 hours (30%) High: from 3 hours to 80 hours (10%)

2 General Is the to-be system expected to perform any calculations related to Cohort default rates? Or is the scope limited to managing components of the related calculation rules and related challenges?

No, DCAS will not perform any calculations. Calculations will be done within NSLDS, and NSLDS will manage all calculation rules. There will need to be bi-directional communications between DCAS and NSLDS. DCAS will be expected to manage any challenge related business rules within the case processing workflow.

3 General Would the Government please identify the various types of work the successful offeror would be conflicted out of, when awarded this contract.

Determination on whether there is an organization conflict of interest (apparent or potential) is the sole responsibility of the Offeror.

4 General Will historic information on data challenges need to be migrated to the new solution(s)?

There is no historic information; however, Government anticipates that data migration plan for key data elements (from eCDR Appeals system) will be determined during the Requirements phase. Refer to Attachment C for the Data Migration Plan Definition, Activities and Acceptance Criteria.

5 General As many deliverable are due shortly after award, can the Department provide and estimated award date?

Government intends to make an award decision prior to the end of the fiscal year.

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Nbr.

RFP Section/Page/

Paragraph Offerors’ Questions Government’s Clarification

6 RFP, Section 2, Page 31, Paragraph D

Please specify any requirements for the number of and/or roles played by key personnel.

Offeror determines the roles and responsibilities of key personnel, and the specific roles to be designated as key personnel. Government has articulated its requirements with regard to experience, education, and qualifications in the SOO.

7 RFP, Section 2, Page 30, Paragraph E

Correction of email address for Ms. Linda Simpson as being linda.simpson@ed.gov.

8 RFP Section 2, Page 30, Paragraph F

Will the Department grant a submittal deadline extension? In order to execute award prior to the end of fiscal year, deadline can only be extended to no later than 1pm (eastern) on Monday, September 8, 2014.

9 RFP, Section 2, Pages 30-33

Please confirm oral presentations are not anticipated as part of the evaluation.

Confirmed.

10 RFP, Section 2, Page 32, Paragraph G

Is there a font size requirement for figures and graphics? 12 point font.

11 RFP, Section 3, Pages 43-45, Paragraphs II & III

a) We noticed 3 different clauses (EDAR 3452.209-71, EDAR 3452.209-70, and ED 307-17a) all dealing with conflicts of interest but with different requirements that could force offerors vendors to provide multiple, inconsistent certifications….can we assume FSA will amend the solicitation to apply these clauses consistently? If so, we assume that FSA would use EDAR 3452.209-70 since that allows the greatest flexibility of response. If “personal” conflicts of interest are applicable for this solicitation would the Government please identify which situations under this solicitation would give rise to a personal conflict of interest or identify the products, property, or services that could give rise to a personal conflict of interest?

b) Would the Government please consider removing from the first sentence, third line, “or personal” as we do not believe it is applicable for this solicitation.

a) Determination of whether there is an organization conflict of interest (apparent or potential) is the sole responsibility of the Offerror.

Therefore once a determination is reached, the Offeror may either complete and sign the certification or submit COI mitigation plan for the Government’s consideration.

b) No amendment will made to these EDAR clauses.

12 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Please describe and/or provide examples for what is meant by “Monthly Analytical & Technical Services per processed data challenge”.

Services shall include data analysts who will research, process, and complete all challenges within the school case in an effective and efficient manner as well as technical/helpdesk personnel who will analyze trends, manage forecasts, optimize workflow performance, and provide customer support and training to all users.

13 Attachment D: Pricing Template

a) For evaluation purposes only, total number of labor hours is estimated at approximately 47,360 (NTE) from the requirements to implementation phases. Did the Government provide this figure only as

a) Offerors may distribute the total number of labor hours as it deems appropriate among proposed labor categories in each CLIN phase.

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RFP Section/Page/

Paragraph Offerors’ Questions Government’s Clarification guidance to bidders for preparing their quote, allowing bidders to propose whatever labor hours they think are required based on the SOO? What “periods” do the 47,350 (NTE) labor hours cover (Base Period, Option Period 1, and/or Option Period 2)? In other words, are offerors not to exceed the 47,350 (NTE) labor hours for all three (3) periods combined, or are offerors not to exceed the 47,350 (NTE) labor hours for each individual period?

b) Given that requirements are not fully defined, will all vendors price proposals be evaluated on 47,360 hours regardless of the possible opportunities that may be later discovered during the requirements phase that may alter this overall effort?

b) As stated in the Note section of this attachment, the estimated total number of hours will be used for evaluation purposes only. However, Offeror may propose an alternative estimate in a separate pricing template for the Government’s consideration.

14 Attachment D: Pricing Template

On CLINs 0006 through 0010, can the Department provide information regarding:

a) Number challenges processed over a year period (at a loan level) and the number staff used to support these challenges?

b) Month over month historical volumes to help identify any seasonal trends that help the vendor understand the volume tiers presented?

a) Refer back to the SOO’s Executive Summary/Overview paragraph for the number of institutional challenges processed annually. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to determine its staffing complement including number of personnel required to process a school case.

b) Anticipated seasonal volume trends are as follows:

iCDR and pCDR draft season: from March through May iCDR and pCDR official season: from October through December Draft Debt-to-Earning season: from September through January Draft Rates season on loan level challenges: from August through

October Disclosures: from February through May

15 Attachment D: Pricing Template

In Attachment_D_Pricing_Template.xls, the formula in cell E35 is intended to sum the labor hours in the base year, but includes a range that goes beyond the base year and causes a circular reference. May we revise that formula to correctly calculate the sum of labor hours for the base year?

Refer to corrected Pricing Template (Attachment D) incorporated in this amendment.

16 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Several CLIN numbers (particularly 0003) appear on multiple lines within the same time period (base period or option year). We assume that FSA will issue a revised pricing template with updated CLIN numbering. Can FSA confirm this assumption?

Refer to corrected Pricing Template (Attachment D) incorporated in this amendment.

17 Attachment A: SOO, Pages 3-4, Goal Paragraph

a) Does “contracted staffing” refer to agents required to execute the resolution process or technical support personnel to assist with the operations and maintenance of the technology solution and other process based support? Would the Government please describe the

a) Government has articulated its requirements with regard to experience, education, and qualifications in the SOO. With regard to categories, refer to Government’s response to Question #12.

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RFP Section/Page/

Paragraph Offerors’ Questions Government’s Clarification categories of technical assistance provided to FSA staff, schools and data managers that is currently delivered that they would want to see carried forward under the new contract?

b) Would the Government provide an estimate of the number of staff?

Would the Government provide an estimate of the size of the analytic support staff that would be required to support 300,000+ challenges?

c) What is the anticipated mix of contractor vs. government? How much of this staff should be contractor-provided (vs. government-provided)?

b) No estimates can be provided. Refer to Government’s responses to Questions #1 and #14.

c) Refer to Government’s response to Question #1 as well as the SOO’s Executive Summary/Goal paragraph.

18 Attachment A: SOO, Page 5, Performance Objectives

a) Is there a seasonal pattern to the number of cases/month or /week?

b) Can FSA provide the approximate quantities of cases per month over a typical annual period?

c) How long do most challenges take to complete, after they’ve been submitted by an institution?

d) How many challenges would most Case Response Preparers be able to handle per week?

a - c) Refer to Government’s responses to Questions #1 and #14.

d) Weekly challenges processed per case response preparer would be determined by the Offeror’s staffing complement including personnel education, experience, and qualifications within its proposed solution.

19 Attachment A: SOO, Page 5, Performance Objectives Table, Scalability

a) Roughly how many system users are expected per institution? How many users are expected overall in 2014, and for the next five years?

b) Does this imply large numbers of records, large numbers of files/attachments, or both? Roughly how many?

c) Are there any trend projections that FSA can share with us?

a-b) Government anticipates no less than two (2) users per institution who will have the right to submit a case once in DCAS on all challengeable data that require records and files being requested from data managers and/or institutions as well as processed and closed by DCAS data analysts and technical personnel prior to approval from FSA staff.

c) Refer to Government’s response to Question #14.

20 Attachment A: SOO, Page 7, Performance Objectives Table, Compliance (bullet 2)

For respondents that are proposing cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, we understand that FSA requires Cloud Service Provider to hold a FedRAMP certified Authority to Operate (ATO) at the time of response to this RFP. Can FSA please confirm our understanding?

Confirmed.

21 Attachment A: SOO, Page 8, Assumptions and Constraints Paragraph

Would the Government please describe the type and frequency of analytical activities referred to in the solicitation’s PWS objectives?

Refer to Government’s response to Question #12. At present, there is no frequency information on analytical activities to provide.

22 Attachment A: SOO, Page 8, Place and Period

SOO states the base period of performance is to conclude on Feb. 28th 2015.

What deliverables are expected by this date? Is this the targeted date for an

Please refer to the Note section of the corrected DCAS Lifecycle Management Methodology (Attachment C) for guidance on which

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RFP Section/Page/

Paragraph Offerors’ Questions Government’s Clarification of Performance Paragraph initial system implementation? If so, is there a sub-set of scope targeted for this initial date?

deliverables to propose. Implementation dates are stated in the Goal paragraph of the SOO. As for any sub-set scope, refer to the Performance Objectives and Scope of Services paragraph of the SOO.

23 Attachment A: SOO, Page 9, Scope of Services Paragraph (Number 8a)

Government states that “No charge for any solution improvement and/or enhancement that costs $3,000 or less or requires 100 hours or less to complete, whichever is greater.” This implies that the offeror’s average system development labor rate is $30 per hour. Since the average system development labor rate may be different than that, we assume that FSA will change this statement to remove the reference to the number of labor hours and that a number of labor hours will be negotiated post-award. Can FSA confirm this assumption?

This assumption would be incorrect. Government’s requirement indicates any improvements/enhancements falling within the stated thresholds shall be part of the O&M monthly services cost rather than at additional cost.

Any improvements/enhancements exceeding the stated thresholds will be managed under a change order request and executed via contract modification at a negotiated price.

24 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Does FSA envision that the “Option Period 2” Fixed Labor Hour Contract Line Item Numbers correlate with system enhancements that perhaps have to do with newly tracked metrics (e.g., college scorecard)?

Yes, Government anticipates such a scenario.

25 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Regarding the specific price per challenge: What is FSA’s definition of a “challenge”? In other words, if one school submits a file with 100 challenge elements is the fee based on the 100 elements or is that file considered one

(1) single challenge?

Refer to corrected Pricing Template (Attachment D) incorporated in this amendment.

26 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Are CLINs 0006 through 0010 defined as billable items upon receipt of a challenge, the closing of the challenge case or any open challenge during the billing period? Can the Department further clarify the billing unit definition?

Closing of a school case in which multiple challenges may be incorporated.

27 Attachment D: Pricing Template

Given the significant uncertainty around volume and complexity associated with Gainful Employment challenges, will the department give consideration and modify CLINs 0006 and 0010 to Time and Material to allow the vendor and the Department to access the true level of effort and risk associated with this new challenge type?

Corrected Pricing Template (Attachment D) shows the re-numbered CLINs for the option periods 1 and 2. Changes are in bold text.

Government does not intend to change the contract type for these contract line item numbers.

1) Extend submission deadline to NLT 1pm (eastern) on Monday, September 8, 2014;

2) Respond to Offerors' questions;

3) Incorporate corrected Attachements C (DCAS LMM WBS Template) & D (Pricing Template); and 4) Incorporate new Attachment E (FSA Subcontracting Goals).

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