Attachment 6 Q and A 5112020.xlsx

Attachment 6 - Q&A HE1254-20-R-0009 - SURVEY SOFTWARE - Attachment 6 - Questions and Answers

Question # Question Answer

1 What is the approved or anticipated budget for this contract? We cannot disclose this information.

2 Who is the current incumbent? For this requirement (Survey Sofware), there is no incumbent.

Is this a new requirement or is there an incumbent? If there is an incumbent, please share any relevant contract information. Yes, this a new requirement. See answer, for question #2 above.

3 Would you consider an extension until May 19 or later? We have had a key employee with out connectivity for a few days and could use some more time to sort some of these details out. At this time, we will not be extending the current due date of 15 May 2020.

4 Page 23 Performance Work Statement , 1.2 Background , states "In the past DoDEA has used various survey software for this purpose."

a. What are the names of the various survey software that the DoDEA has used in the past?

b. Specifically, what challenges did the DoDEA have in using various survey software or what did DoDEA not like about those survey software, leading up to this solicitation? a) DoDEA has used MR Interview, SurveyMonkey and NoviSurvey at various points in the past. B) DoDEA is not undertaking this procurement due to any specific challenges with the software but more due to changes in Cyber Security and procurement requirements.

5 Performance of Work Statement on page 23, 1.3 Scope of Work states, "DoDEA expects to make award for approximately 20 subscriptions." a. Can you please confirm that 20 subscriptions means that 20 people from DoDEA will need access to the survey software to create surveys for surveyees?

b. If this is not defined as 20 people, is this 20 organizations? Our Survey software is licensed on quantity of responses, not a limit on identified email addresses / people or Organizations assigned. a. Yes, this is correct. B) Our best approximation of response volumes for all surveys we intend to administer is approximately 25,000 responses per year.

6 What is the number of surveys that the DoDEA anticipates creating per month or annually? Our best approximation of response volumes for all surveys we intend to administer is approximately 25,000 responses per year.

7 What is the anticipated number of responses per each survey? Surveys range in purpose from collecting feedback from small workgroups to large, organization-wide surveys. Response volumes for any specific survey range from 5 to more than 2500 respondents.

9 Does the government want ‘question’ randomization ? While this might be a nice feature to have, it is not a requirement for DoDEA at this time.

11 For 2.11 #19 is it the intention to print the completed survey results? The requirement is to print the blank survey (e.g. to circulate for feedback).

12 Is it the intention of the government to create the surveys and questions itself ? Yes

13 Is it the intention of the government to have 2.1.1 features live at the start of the contract on day 1? Yes. All requirements must be met for the duration of the contract.

15 2.3 Objective 3 states labor category hour reporting, but the requested “Technical Support'' indicates 12 months of ‘system based support’ which is not based on ‘hours’. Would the government clarify this ‘labor reporting’ when hours will not be tracked i.e. such as our system when it is a Cloud based SaaS solution? If there are no hours to report, just indicate "0".

16 In the RFP it was mentioned there were many software suppliers with the purpose to consolidate and centralize this service. Could you list some of the past software providers? DoDEA could not locate this language in the RFP. Therefore, at this time, we cannot provide a response to the question.

17 PWS, 2.1.1 has 27 functionality requirements listed. During the evaluation is the expectation that 100% of these 27 items has to be met at a minimum or is there a minimum % expectation for these 27 items? The functionalities listed in PWS section 2.1.1 are required, not desired or optional features. During the evaluation, DoDEA's task is to determine whether the offeror meets all of the required functionalities. Any offeror that does not meet the required functionalities is not able to be considered.

18 PWS 2.1.2, minimum of one or more of these features. For the 30 items will consideration be given if the cloud-based software has > 80% of these features? The features in 2.1.2 are desired rather than required functionalities. Meeting more of these features at the time of evaluation will provide more value to DoDEA. Each additional functionality will provide additional value to the government.

19 TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 3 - Technical Requirements, 3.1.7, Section mentions cybersecurity management closely mirror the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. Would consideration be given if your software has a plan and schedule in place to meet this requirement within the first 6 months of contract award? For the software that DoDEA is looking to purchase, a FEDRAMP Certification is not required.

20 3.1.7, Section mentions cybersecurity management closely mirror the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. Would consideration be given if your software has a plan and schedule in place to meet this requirement within the first 6 months of contract award? Don't require, expedites our security review.

21 Do you have data that you need to bring into the survey platform? If so, what type of data/content will you be bringing over and what will the volume be? DoDEA does not anticipate a need for this at present.

22 Do you need the Survey platform to be ready for use on the date of award or is there a time period after award for the Survey platform to be ready for use? The platform must be ready to use by the start date of the contract.

23 Can you please list out the security requirements for the Survey platform? The security requirements are detailed in Technical Exhibit #3 and the DoDEA Cloud Questionnaire (attachment 3).

24 Does the Survey platform require FedRamp if so what level? No, the platform must meet the security requirements detailed in the RFP (Technical exhibit #3 and the DoDEA Cloud Questionnaire - attachment #3). If the platform is available on FedRamp, it may expedite DoDEA's IA/Cyber Security review.

25 Can you please confirm the number of key/functional contractor employee roles required for this contract? Key personnel are not required. From DoDEA's perspective, we just need someone to provide us access/licenses/the software and the support as detailed in the RFP.

26 Should we price per user of the Survey Platform or annual subscription? Either pricing model is acceptable.

27 What does Mobile alerts mean? Does it mean text messages or mobile app push notification? Either text messages or mobile app push notifications would be sufficient to meet that portion of desired function 2.1.2 #2.

28 How does DoDEA plan to send out the surveys to participants? – Email or Text? What is the anticipated monthly volume of e-mail (if surveys are sent through email)? What is the anticipated monthly volume of texts (if surveys are sent through text)? DoDEA primarily intends to send surveys to participants by email rather than text. We estimate between 10,000 and 30,000 messages annually if the platform provides response tracking and requires messages to be sent through the platform to take advantage of those features and sends individual reminders to participants. Currently we typically send the survey links from email addresses provided by our IT team and would anticipate continuing to do that for some surveys.

29 Does DoDEA expect us to send reminders to non-respondents? What will be the frequency of such reminders? Average percentage of non-respondents for a particular survey, based on historical data? DoDEA desires the functionality stated in 2.1.2 #9 (desired, not required function) that the platform would provide features for tracking respondents. In this case, DoDEA staff would anticipate sending the reminders by using tools provided by the platform.

30 Is this requirement for a Commercial Item off the Shelf (COTS) solution? Yes. This language was missing from the PWS and has been amended.

31 Is there a need to support multiple languages? If so, can you provide the list? Not at this time.

32 What are the survey applications currently in use? DoDEA has used MR Interview, SurveyMonkey and NoviSurvey at various points in the past.

33 Is there a specific technology the vendor is required to use? No, any technology that meets the listed requirements will be considered.

34 How does the agency envision distribution of the surveys, e.g. via embedding in the application?Will these surveys be identity based or anonymous? DoDEA primarily intends to send surveys to participants by email. Most surveys are anonymous, but some ask participants to provide contact information.

35 Who are the participants? The primary participants are DoDEA staff, but we would need to be able to support other types of respondents (including external respondents) as well.

36 Who are the users of the systems these surveys will be integrated? Primarily DoDEA staff who would be utilizing aggregate survey data to improve their programs.

37 Does the application need to support role based surveys and question banks? DoDEA anticipates being able to create role-based surveys by utilizing the required features requested (e.g. the functionalities categorized as "Survey Logic and Routing"). DoDEA does not require separation of question banks by role.

38 Would the agency provide rules for custom workflow and if it is the case, would the agency require the vendor to develop a custom application tailored for agency needs? DoDEA does not anticipate this need at this time.

39 Can you elaborate on section 3.7 Optical Character Resolution (OCR) Requirement. Define two digital OCR copies are these copies just canned documents or...? Digital copies mean electronic copies. It's just a format.