Amendment 0002 Posting - ESSIN Solicitation Clarification Questions Responses 7-21-11.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 ORDER ID 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

Supplementary Page

PAGE 2 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

Description of Modification/Amendment:

The purpose of Amendment 0002 is to issue the clarification questions and responses, in accordance with solicitation clause L.13 311-6 CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS (APRIL 1998).

All other solicitation terms and conditions remain unchanged. END OF AMENDMENT 0002.

Supplementary Page

PAGE 3 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

PAGE 2 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

Education Statistics Services Institute Network Contract (ESSIN) Clarification Questions & Responses Solicitation Number: ED-IES-11-R-0058 July 21, 2011

Education Statistics Services Institute Network Contract (ESSIN) Clarification Questions & Responses

1. For Task Order 16, is the Government’s estimated level of effort (0.33 person years) meant to cover all tasks or just tasks 1 and 2?

This is meant to cover Tasks 1 and 2 for the work described in the PWS for task 2012-16. Offerors are directed to reread Task 3 which provides the terms of Additional Expert Help Task work that may be necessary during the contract year. When the additional work is determined, the estimated level of effort will be included in the PWS developed for the additional work.

2. For the Past Performance Report, can descriptions of expertise in different educational areas include work that occurred outside of the previous three years?

If offerors feel a need to provide additional information, the information should be in brief paragraph form, no more than 10 lines and should cover no more than two years outside the immediate three previous years.

3. For the Past Performance Report, should the complete list of grants and contracts be limited to projects where the offeror is the prime contractor or include projects where the offeror has subcontracted to a prime whose ultimate client is the Department of Education?

Offerors may list grants and contracts that include both the offeror as prime and projects where the offeror has subcontracted to a prime.

PAGE 3 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

4. Should the Small Business Subcontracting Plan be submitted as a separate document or as part of the Business Proposal?

Attachment F should be included in the Business proposal. The Small Business Subcontracting Plan should include the total amounts of each small business subcontractor value and percentage of the total small business subcontracting dollars in the Business Proposal.

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan should be described in Qualitative terms without cost information in the Technical proposal.

5. In the event that an offeror is bidding as a prime contractor for a Task Order in one group and as a subcontractor for a Task Order in the other group, can the same 3 external references be used?

Yes

6. Will NCES share the answers to all questions asked across tasks?

All questions received by the deadline of July 15th and answers provided by the Government will be posted as an amendment to the Solicitation.

7. “Our small business does a number of different and distinct Research/Analytic projects under one large umbrella contract. In each of these projects there are different government leaders.

Under the ESSIN-Category B past performance criteria, can we consider each of these projects a separate and distinct past performance for sake of meeting the 4 past performance requirements? Each project would be evaluated by a different government leader and dollar values and period of performances would be broken out and specific for each project.”

Yes, you may consider each of the 4 projects as separate and ask each government leader to evaluate his/her project.

8. Can you clarify the description of Subtask 3 b18? Can you provide more detail as to what is required under this task?

The writer didn’t identify the specific task in question (i.e. Task 2012-1, Task 2012-2, Task 2012-3, Task 2012-4 . . . Task 2012-14. . . Task 2012-16).

Without this information it is difficult to answer the question as written.

PAGE 4 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

There are two tasks 2012-4 and 2012-14 each with a Subtask identified as 3.b.18. Task 2012-4, 3.b.18 Review Analytic/Descriptive Reports and Task 2012-14, 3.b.18 Provide technical and content support for reviewing deliverables, handoffs, or milestones from the multiple NAEL contractors or the NAEP Quality Assurance contractor. Even though the writer did not specifically identify the task, the Government believes the information provided in Task 2012-4 and 2012-14 is sufficient for offerors to develop a response. There is no additional information that can further clarify the description of either subtask.

9. Page 12 notes that there are 25 hours assigned to transition. How should that be reflected in the list of Tasks?

Even though the writer didn’t identify the specific task, we assume you are referring to Task 2012-4 since this is the only task in the Transition chart (page 12) with 25 hours. In the offeror’s response the writer should include in the Technical Proposal a section titled STARTUP-TRANSITION.

The offeror should identify the work that will be done and the number of hours each staff person will need. In this case a total of 25 hours for the contractor’s staff. In the Cost Proposal, the writer should show the hourly rate and the total cost for each member of the contractor’s staff proposed for this work.

10. Is a subcontractor also required to submit 4 write ups of previous work?

Assuming the subcontractor is operating under the Prime, the Prime is responsible for submitting the required number of write ups of previous work. The Prime could also submit evaluations of the subcontractor performing 25% or more of the work to further highlight that organization.

If the Prime and subcontractor are partners and are submitting an offeror as a Joint Ventures organization, then each organization must submit previous performance evaluations. These are bound separately, per the Instructions to Offerors.

PAGE 5 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

11. Are multiple tasks under the current ESSI contract considered ONE or MORE Past Performance Reports?

It depends on the Past Performance Reports that were submitted. If one Past Performance Report was submitted for all task orders, then that is one Past Performance Report. If a Past Performance Report was submitted for each task order, then you have multiple Past Performance Reports.

12. For the Past Performance Report, can descriptions of expertise in different educational areas include work that occurred outside of the previous three years?

If offerors feel a need to provide additional information, the information should be in brief paragraph form, no more than 10 lines and should cover no more than two years outside the immediate three previous years.

Offerors are reminded to keep the page limitations in mind when deciding to submit additional performance information.

13. Are tables and graphics bound by font size and double space requirements, or can they be a smaller font size and single space?

Information included in tables can be single spaced, no less that 11 pt font size.

14. Please clarify if the cover pages and tables of content are not included in page.

The cover page and Tables of Content are not included in the total page count.

15. We would like to confirm that we are required to submit distinct proposals for each task order we are responding to.

For example, if we are responding to Tasks 1 and 5 the following shall be submitted to the Department of Education:

Email:

1 Email containing the following for Task Order 1:

1 Business Proposal 1 Technical Proposal

PAGE 6 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

1 Past Performance Reports

1 Section K Certifications

And

1 Email containing the following for Task Order 5:

1 Business Proposal 1 Technical Proposal 1 Past Performance Reports 1 Section K Certifications Likewise for Hardcopies with the following Breakdown:

1 Original Business Proposal (Task 1) with the Section K Certifications in the same binder 1 Technical Proposal (Task 1) 1 Past Performance Reports 5 Copies of the Business Proposal with the Section K Certifications in the same binder 5 Copies of the Technical Proposal 5 Copies of the Past Performance Reports 5 Copies of the Section K Certifications And 1 Original Business Proposal (Task 5) with the Section K Certifications in the same binder 1 Technical Proposal (Task 5) 1 Past Performance Reports 5 Copies of the Business Proposal with the Section K Certifications in the same binder 5 Copies of the Technical Proposal 5 Copies of the Past Performance Reports 5 Copies of the Section K Certifications

Yes, a separate proposal is to be submitted for each task order you are responding to.

16. Please confirm the government does indeed want 1 original and 5 copies of the past performance volume.

Yes, the Past Performance Report requirement is to submit 1 original and 5 copies. There was a typo in the Instructions.

17. Please confirm the government wants the completed Past Performance

Reference Forms on the same day as the proposal due date. There is conflicting guidance that states these forms are due on the proposal due date and also 10 days after the proposal due date.

The Past Performance Information form (Attachment E) must arrive no later than 10 days after the offeror submits the response package.

PAGE 7 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

18. In addition to the Past Performance Report, the "Past Performance Information” form (Attachment E) should be used to collect past performance information from three (3) references. Consideration of the offeror’s reputation in terms of quality, problem resolution, cost control, timeliness, business relations and customer service will be evaluated. Please submit 3 references Please confirm the government wants 3 Past Performance Information forms out of the 4 Required past performance citations in the past performance report. Attachment E) per offeror and not per technical proposal.

See answer #16. Three (3) past performance forms must be email to Natasha Boyce no later than 10 days after the proposal due date. They do not have to be the same references included in the Past Performance Report.

19. Please confirm the government anticipates the same 3 past performance submissions per each task order the offeror responds to.

The offeror is to submit 3 Past Performance Information forms (Attachment E) per offeror and not per task. The government would like to see past performance submissions that are similar size, scope, complexity and are the most relevant to the work proposed in the tasks on which the offeror is bidding. Past Performance Reports must be submitted per task.

20. We would like to confirm if the suggested percentage of small business participation (37.3%) in Category A is per task order or total award value to a large business?

The suggested percentage of small business participation (37.3%) in Category A is per task order award.

21. Dates Provided:

• October 1, 2011-December 31, 2011

• January 1, 2012-December 31, 2013

• January 1, 2013-December 31, 2014

• January 1, 2014-December 31, 2015

• January 1, 2015-December 31, 2016

Please confirm the dates should be:

THE FOLLOWING DATES ARE CORRECT:

• October 1, 2011-December 31, 2011

• January 1, 2012-December 31, 2012

PAGE 8 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

• January 1, 2013-December 31, 2013

• January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014

• January 1, 2015-December 31, 2015

• January 1, 2016-December 31, 2016

22. The “Price Schedule” Attachment does not allow for the addition of our indirect rate for Fringe to our burdened labor rates. Can we alter the document to include Fringe?

Yes.

23. Under “Instructions to the Offerors,” BUSINESS PROPOSAL , the RFP states “The Department anticipates awarding task orders under a Multiple Award IDIQ contract through a full and open competition,” but then continues with a statement of “Pricing information for five years should be provided for each Task Order.”

In true IDIQ fashion, is Education requesting the offerors provide labor rates for each labor category listed in the “Staffing” section of the RFP then have each task order proposal tied back to the labor rates proposed?

Yes, the offeror should provide 5 years of labor rates for each labor category listed in the “Staffing” Section of the RFP. The offeror should then have each task order proposal include the pertinent labor categories tied back to the labor rates proposed for the specific task work identified in the PWS.

OR

Are the offerors to submit rates only for the labor categories listed within the Task Order they are proposing? If only for the Task Order, will the offeror need to develop new rates for every new task order that is released under this IDIQ contract?

With the information provided in the first part of the question, the offeror should not have to develop new rates for every new task order. The offeror will need to develop a new Cost Proposal in response to every new PWS and prior to the issuance of a new task order.

24. The RFP list three different IDIQ contract types (FFP, FFP/LOE and Cost

Reimbursable) for the various task orders. Are the offeror’s allowed to apply different fees to each of the contract types or must all contract types have the same fee applied?

PAGE 9 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

Some fees may be based on risk and other business factors. Based on its experience, the offeror has to determine the appropriate fees and when those must be applied.

25. The RFP states “Cost Reimbursable Task Orders: The Contractor’s proposal shall include the total not-to-exceed amount, authorized hours of labor by labor classification and authorized dollar amounts for labor, materials, and materials overhead. The Government shall pay the contractor, upon submission of proper invoices, for reasonable costs incurred in performance of the tasks,” and then states within the PWS for Task Order 7- Pricing Schedule, “The contractor shall submit to the Government a monthly invoice for staff hours and related expenses that were expended for the preparation of the specific deliverables.”

Question: Although this is a Cost Reimbursable Task Order, is it the Government’s intent to pay invoices on a monthly basis or does reimbursement depend on the completion and submission of certain deliverables?

The Government intends to pay invoices on a monthly basis. When the invoice, with the required documentation is submitted, the Task Leader and COR will sign off approval and recommend payment. Some monthly invoices may be for staff hours only; some other monthly invoices may include staff hours, materials and the deliverable. If there are questions about the invoice, the Task Leader and COR will ask the CS or CO to ask the contractor to provide additional information to support or further explain the monthly charges. In addition to other information, the monthly report should include the work completed during the month, staff conducting the work and deliverables submitted. This report will send an early signal to the Task Leader of costs that may be reflected in the invoice.

26. Task 5 -- Ongoing Data Requests - Over the year, the number, kind, and complexity of requests for data products cannot be predicted. NCES anticipates a need for two (2) weeks of a Task Leader, one (1) month of a midlevel analyst 3’s time, and one-third (1.33) FTE of Junior Analyst for 25 data requests per year.

Please clarify the government anticipates .33 FTEs of junior Analyst support vs.

1.33

You are referring to Task 2012-11, Task 5, page 8. The correct answer is .33 FTEs of Junior Analyst support.

PAGE 10 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

27. Reference PWS, Task Order Number 13-2012, Section V Assumptions, NCES lists two-fifths (0.2) of a Web Applications Developer… Does NCES want two-fifths (0.4) or one-fifth (0.2)? i.e. Is does the total level of effort equate to 6 Full Time Employees (FTEs) or 6.0 FTEs

This is a typographical error. The Government anticipates one-fifth or (0.2) of a Web Applications Developer. The total level of effort equates to 6 Full Time Employees (FTEs)

28. Paragraph B. 6 301-17 PROVISION FOR PRICING AND PAYMENT (APRIL 1997), subparagraph (a) states “The total not-to-exceed amount of this contract is $21,044,498”; is this amount for the base year of the contract or for the five year contract period?

In the ESSIN Solicitation released on July 6, 2011, $21,044,498 is the amount for this first round of competition in the base year. The Government anticipates releasing additional Performance Work Statements fall 2011, for which members of the ESSIN will submit Technical and Cost proposals (Round 2) to begin work on January 1, 2012. Upon evaluation and contract award, the amount of the base year is expected to increase.

29. Considering the page limitation for the technical proposal and the relatively large number of subtasks and associated deliverables, can we treat the schedule of deliverables as an appendix so it will not be counted against the 20-page limit?

Yes, you may treat the schedule of deliverables as an appendix that will not be counted as a part of the offeror’s response in the page limit.

30 . We understand that the required font size for the proposal is 12pt. Can we use a smaller font size in tables or graphics?

Font size in tables or graphics should be no less than 11 pt.

31. Considering that one small business contractor might want to bid on more than one task orders, is it possible to extend the proposal deadline for one or two weeks?

No.

PAGE 11 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

32. In Attachment B (Pricing Schedule), there is a column named "Grade."

What does it mean?

In this instance Grade is akin to the Wage Grade system under which Federal Employees operate to determine salaries.

33. The Attachment B (Pricing Schedule) requires an unloaded hourly rate for each labor category. If one firm has more than one staff member in a certain labor category, should we propose a single reconciled hourly rate (unloaded) for that labor category? If so, are there any specific instructions about it?

The Pricing Schedule asks for both the Loaded and Unloaded labor rates, among other items. The offeror should provide both the loaded and unloaded labor rates (as well as the other requested information) for all appropriate labor categories. Provide all staff rates. If there is more than one staff in each labor category provide, identify each staff as I, II, III, etc.

34. We assume that our proposed unloaded hour rate for each labor category is not required to be tied to that of any specific staff member proposed. Is this assumption correct?

It may not be necessary to tie a proposed unloaded hourly rate to a specific staff member; however appropriate hourly labor rates (both loaded and unloaded) must be provided for all labor categories.

35. We understand that in Category B, the small business prime contractor should incur 51% or more of the total proposed labor cost while its large business subcontractor (if any) should incur 49% or less of the total proposed labor cost for each task order. Is "labor cost" measured by the dollar amount or by the sheer number of labor hours (regardless of the level of position)? In other words, can a large business subcontractor incur more than 49% of the proposed total labor cost in terms of dollar amount?

No, a large business subcontractor may not incur more than 49% of the proposed total labor costs in terms of dollar amount.

PAGE 12 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

36. On page 107 of Attachment A we have a multi-part question. What is the distinction between a Midlevel Analyst 2 and 3?

There is only one description on the bottom of the page for a midlevel analyst.

Middle of that page, under Task 5 it says “and one-third (1.33) FTE of Junior Analyst for 25 data requests per year.”

Is it 0.33 or 1.33?

This is Task 2012-11, Task 5. The correct answer is 0.33

Are all of the hours listed here for all staff per each request or total for all 25 requests?

The hours listed are the total for all 25 requests.

37. We would appreciate clarification of the page limit for the Technical Proposal for Task Order Number 12-2012. On page 78 of 83, the RFP states:

“The Technical Proposal for each PWS … shall be no more than 20 double-spaced pages, or no longer than the PWS for the task the offeror is bidding on (whichever is longer), excluding staffing charts and schedules of deliverables.”

Is the page limit for the Technical Proposal for Task Order Number 12-2012 limited to 40 pages (the total page length of Task Order Number 12-2012 in the PWS) with our proposed delivery schedule and staffing chart outside the 40-page limit.....or is it limited to 24 pages (the page length of the Task Order Number 12- 2012 in the PWS excluding the PWS schedule of deliverables)?

The Technical Proposal for Task Order #2012-12 is limited to 40 pages, excluding delivery schedule and staffing chart.

38. The page limit specifications for Technical Proposals on page 78 of the RFP do not mention appendices. Do appendices count against the total page limit?

No. Appendices don’t count against the total page limit.

PAGE 13 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

39. The Facilities, Equipment, and Place of Performance subsection on page 9 of the

PWS states that the contractor must "provide a secure environment for working with and maintaining confidential data files and other related work" and that the "NCES data must be used and maintained on machines that are not networked into a company's general network." Within the same subsection on page 10 or the PWS, the instructions read, "Staff who work in remote offices will need their computer systems firewalled from the parent company networks."

Are we correct in assuming that these security requirements apply only to staff working with confidential data files, related materials, and/or restricted-use data, and not to staff working on other aspects of the ESSIN tasks, for instances expert technical consultants who will be advising on more conceptual aspects of the work?

Yes, the security requirements apply only to staff working with confidential data files, related materials, and/or restricted-use data.

40. In the RFP, under Section L. 16 314-1 Past Performance Report on page 72, the instructions state that offerors are to provide information on four recent contracts.

However, in the RFP, under Instructions to Offerors on page 76, the Past Performance Report subsection instructions direct offerors to complete three Past Performance Report forms.

Please clarify the number of contract references to be included in the Past Performance Report per offeror.

Per the clause, the offeror shall submit information about its most recent four contracts, completed in the last three years or currently in process which are of similar size, scope, complexity or, in any way are relevant to the effort required by this solicitation. In addition, the offeror shall direct three references to send the Past Performance forms to Natasha Boyce directly.

41. In the RFP, under Instructions to Offerors on page 74, the instructions state that the original and five copies of the Past Performance Report are to be submitted.

However, within the same instruction section under the Past Performance Report subsection on page 75, the instructions state that four copies are to be submitted.

Please specify the correct number of Past Performance Reports to be submitted per task order.

Offerors must submit an original and five (5) copies of the Technical proposal

(s) an original and five (5) copies of the Business proposal and an original and five (5) copies of your Past Performance report electronically. Offerors must submit the Technical proposal and Past Performance Reports electronically in

PAGE 14 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

PDF format and the Price and Cost proposal electronically as an Excel Workbook.

42. Please clarify that the threshold for categorizing a subcontractor as “major” and thereby having that subcontractor submit a separate Past Performance Report is that the subcontractor’s share of the work is 25 percent of the total task order amount, not the total contract amount.

Major, as defined here (L.18 314-1, pg 73 Instructions to Offerors) and in the remainder of sections L and M regarding past performance, is any subcontractor that is subcontracted for a minimum of 25% of the total contract amount.

43. In Task Order Number 12-2012, Tasks 3 and 6 call for a review of the assessments, including the assessment items, materials, and procedures. Will the reviews require the evaluation of the alignment of items with their respective frameworks or other tasks that typically require a high level of content-area expertise?

This work does involve comparison of the individual items and the test as a whole against the assessment framework. There is an examination of whether the assembled assessment has the targeted proportion of items in various domains, for example that the percentage of items in the physical science domain of the science assessment matches the targeted percentage for physical science items in the assessment framework. It is also necessary for reviewers to evaluate whether items identified as measuring a certain skill or addressing a specific domain do measure that skill or address that domain.

However, it is not necessary for the reviewers to be content area experts, per

se. That is, the reviewers do not need to be experts in the area of science assessment, for example.

44. RFP Page 74 "Instructions to Offerors" states that "Proposals are due by 12:00 noon, EST on August 8, 2011. You must submit an original and five (5) copies of your technical proposal (s) and an original and five (5) copies of your business proposal (s) and an original and five (5) copies of your past performance report to:

U.S. Department of Education Office of the Chief Financial Officer ATTN: Natasha Boyce 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202-4230

PAGE 15 OF ED-IES-11-R-0058/0002

Offerors must submit the technical proposal and Past Performance Report electronically in PDF format and the price and cost proposals electronically as an EXCEL WORKBOOK to Natasha.Boyce@ed.gov. Please send the technical and business proposals and past performance report for each task order in separate emails."

45. Shall we submit our proposals electronically or in hard copy?

You must follow the instructions and submit the original and five (5) copies as instructed and submit the technical proposal electronically in PDF format and the price and cost proposals electronically as an Excel Workbook.

46. Are all Key Personnel (per H.7) resumes required for proposal submission?

Yes, resumes for Key Personnel are required to be submitted with the offeror’s proposal submission

47. Will the Government allow 8 point font for tables, charts, figures, and graphs?

This question has already been answered. Please refer to that answer.

48. On page 73 of 83 of the Solicitation, the Government states the Contractor Performance Information “completed forms from references are due 10 calendar days after the date proposals are due under this solicitation.”

However, on page 76 of 83, the Government states, “Completed forms from references are due on the same day as Technical & Business Proposals under the solicitation”. Will the Government please clarify the date of submission for completed reference forms?

49. In Section L.16, A-E, the Government asks for 4 contracts, completed in the last 3 years, to be cited and sent references for each citation. However on page 76 of 83 of the Solicitation, the Government states that 3 references are to be used to collect information. Will the Government please clarify?

US Dept of Education, 550 12th St SW - 7th Floor Washington DC 20202-4230