EDIES17R0027_Amendment0001.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

Attachment Page

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U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

State and Local Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Solicitation #ED-IES-17-R-0027

Clarification Questions and Answers

Clarification Questions U.S. Department of Education Responses Technical proposal formatting and page limit Is it acceptable to use single-spacing for bullets, tables, figures, and graphics? These would take up a large amount of space if prepared with double spacing (for example, organization charts, timelines, staff commitment tables, GANTT charts, and the complete list of ED projects) which would reduce the information that bidders can provide to ED about important features of their technical approach.

It is acceptable to use single-spacing for bullets, tables, figures, and graphics. It is acceptable to use font smaller than 12 point in tables, figures, and graphics. However, the font in tables, figures, and graphics must be 10 point or larger.

Is it acceptable to use a smaller font for tables, figures, and graphics in the technical proposal?

Some figures, tables, and graphics are not amenable to 12 point font or would take up a large amount of space if prepared in 12 point font (for example, organization charts, timelines, staff commitment tables, GANTT charts, and the complete list of ED projects) which would reduce the information that bidders can provide to ED about important features of their technical approach.

Please verify whether single spacing or fonts smaller than 12 point are permissible in figures and tables.

Please clarify whether the cover sheet and table of contents are included in the page limit.

The cover sheet and table of contents are not included in the 50-page limit for the technical proposal. We assume the cover sheet and table of contents are not included in the 50-page limit for the technical proposal. Could ED confirm that this is the case?

Is it acceptable for the cover sheet and table of contents to be single-spaced?

The cover sheet and table of contents may be single-spaced.

Please verify that the list of current and recently completed contracts with ED does not count towards the page limit.

The complete list of offeror contracts or grants with the U.S. Department of Education that are current or ended after 3/15/2014 may be included in an appendix that is not included in the 50-page limit.

On page 90, the instructions call for bidders to submit a complete list of contracts or grants with

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the Department of Education (ED) that are current or ended after March 15, 2014. This list will take up a substantial amount of space for firms that have many contracts and/or grants with ED. Is it acceptable to include this list in an appendix that is not included in the 50-page limit?

Can the complete list of all contracts and grants with ED be included in an appendix rather than part of the body of Volume I?

Past performance references Please confirm that we should submit three past performance references across all subcontractors (so, three references if there are four proposed subcontractors), as opposed to three past performance references for each subcontractor (which would yield 12 past performance references if there are four proposed subcontractors).

Subcontractor reviews may be included in the past performance reviews that offerors submit. Please note that offerors are not limited to submitting three relevant past performance references.

Subcontractor financial information The RFP requires all subcontractors to submit indirect cost rate agreements. Kindly confirm that subcontractors who may wish to keep certain financial information confidential from the prime contractor may submit sealed bids directly to IES.

Confidential subcontractor information may be submitted directly to the Contracting Officer by proposed subcontractors. However, all prime contractors must include sufficient subcontract supporting cost information and data, for a cost realism analysis to be performed.

Organizational capability and resources Could ED please clarify the "Short abstracts of current work" that are referenced in this section?

Should these be included as part of the Past Performance information? If so, can they be included in an appendix? Also, could ED confirm the required capabilities for vendors in this section, including "documented experience and success with evaluating achievement levels in large-scale assessments of reading and mathematics..."?

The short abstracts of current work relevant to this solicitation should appear in the Organizational Capacity and Resources section within the 50-page limit of the technical proposal. These short abstracts should demonstrate corporate experience relevant to this solicitation. In a supporting appendix, the offeror can provide exemplars of prior or current work conducting research and evaluation studies and conveying the content of the work and its findings to a policy audience.

Applicable prior corporate experience should demonstrate sufficient and relevant organizational capacity and resources. It should include documented experience and success with conducting studies of relevant special education issues; managing, designing, and conducting studies using large-scale, nationally representative data collection; convening and leading panels of experts; and presenting objective information on

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technical subjects in well-written, accessible reports and presentations for use in informing decisions made by state and national policymakers.

Technical Working Group "The RFP states that there will be one meeting of the TWG in the “base contract.” Under Task 9 – Convene TWG to discuss findings for report #1, the RFP states that the contractor shall convene the second TWG meeting within 28 months after the contract award. Please clarify if the “base contract” refers to the base period of months 1-42 or a different period of performance since more than one TWG meeting is required per the RFP."

There will be one meeting of the TWG during the base period under Task 2 to obtain feedback on the contractor’s plans for study design, instrumentation, and data collection and analysis, including what constructs they plan to assess to address the policy relevant research questions, and whether there are existing measures available to address those constructs. There will be a second meeting of the TWG during the base period under Task 9 to obtain feedback on the preliminary findings from the first round of data collection.

Can Advisory Board members and TWG members overlap?

If the option periods are exercised, the contractor will convene advisory panel(s) under Task 15 (in Option #1) and Task 18 (in Option #2) to advise ED on emerging issues relevant to IDEA. The members of the advisory panel(s) and the Technical Working Group (TWG) under Tasks 2, 9, and 19 may overlap if appropriate.

Business proposal formatting Please clarify what part of the business proposal should be delivered in a Word document.

Offerors must submit the narrative description of the costs in Word and PDF format. Offerors must also submit the cost information in an Excel Workbook.

Washington DC 20065