HHS0014612v2_HHSC Response to Solicitation Questions.pdf

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 1 of 10

Solicitation Title: Take Charge Texas Support Services

Solicitation Number: HHS0014612v2

HHSC Response to Solicitation Questions

Question

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

1.

Article II, Scope of

Work; Section 2.3, Phase 1, Transition, What is the As-Is State for the Transition

Process?

Refer to Section 2.3 (Phase I – Transition) and

Section 3.7 (Procurement Library) of the RFO.

2.

General

During the 60-day Transition Phase, what level of access will the Contractor have to the incumbent vendor and existing project materials (architecture docs, code repositories, test cases, SOPs) to complete knowledge transfer as required in the Transition Plan and Readiness

Assessment?

During the Transition Phase, both the incumbent service provider and Contractor will be in active contract periods. The incumbent service provider is responsible for outlining the communication plan as part of the turnover plan. The Contractor will have access to communicate directly with the incumbent service provider and existing project materials to allow for the transfer of knowledge.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 2 of 10

Question

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

3.

General

For the Operations Phase, can HHSC provide an estimated percentage split of effort between: (a) break-fix/defect resolution, (b) regular maintenance

(patches, upgrades, security), and (c) enhancements/modernization work?

HHSC estimates about 50% of time for defect resolution, 25% for regular maintenance, and

25% for enhancements and modernization.

4.

General

Can all Contractor staff perform services remotely from within the contiguous

United States, or are there any requirements for onsite presence

(kickoff, workshops, production releases, DR tests, etc.) at HHSC/DSHS or Texas

Data Center locations?

Yes, all work can be done remotely from within the contiguous United States.

5.

General

Is HHSC expecting only one Sprint Team at a time, or should Respondents plan for multiple concurrent Sprint Teams to handle the anticipated workload?

Refer to Section 2.4.1.1 (Sprint Team

Composition) of the RFO.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 3 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

6.

Solicitation Package

Reference: Section

3.5.2, page # 37

Question Topic:

Solicitation Response

Composition / Page

Limits

Do the Article VI documents (company information, affirmations, certifications, financial reports, HUB Subcontracting

Plan) count toward the 100-page limit, or are they considered separate attachments that do not count toward the

Narrative/Technical Proposal page limit?

The 100-page limit stated in Section 3.5.2 (Page

Limit and Supporting Documentation) of the

RFO refers only to the narrative and technical proposal which is Article V (Narrative/Technical

Proposal).

7. Solicitation Package

Reference: Section 3.5, page # 37

Question Topic:

Proposal Page Limit

Do resumes count toward the 100-page limit for the narrative and technical proposal, or are they excluded?

Yes, resumes count toward page limit.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 4 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

8. Solicitation Package

Reference: Section 3.6, page # 39

Question Topic:

Solicitation Response

Submission and

Delivery

To confirm compliance, should respondents submit the proposal as three primary files:

a. The combined

Narrative/Technical Proposal (Article V),

b. The combined Required

Respondent Information (Article VI, Sections 6.1 through 6.8), and

c. The Cost Proposal or

Does HHSC require each subsection of

Article VI (including Exhibits) to be uploaded as separate, standalone documents?

Refer to Section 3.6.2 (Submission Option) of the RFO.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 5 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

9. Solicitation Package

Reference: Section

3.6.3, page # 40

Question Topic:

Submission Checklist /

Section 6.1 - 6.8

For the Article VI exhibits (Exhibits A, E, G, Q, M, N, H, etc.), should these be included inside the single “Required

Respondent Information” file, or does

HHSC expect each Exhibit to be submitted as its own file, provided they are clearly labeled?

Refer to Section 3.6.2 (Submission Option) of the RFO.

10. Solicitation Package

Reference: Section 6.3, page # 49

Question Topic:

References

Respondent shall provide a minimum of three (3) references from similar contracts or projects performed, preferably for state and/or local government, within the last five (5) years. Is the Offeror allowed to provide

Federal and Commercial clients as references in order to be responsive?

Please clarify.

Yes, federal and commercial clients are allowed for references.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 6 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

11. General Please share the historical monthly volumes (last 12–24 months) of Incidents and Service Requests for TCT, broken down by priority

(critical/high/medium/low) and by type

(incident vs enhancement vs informational request). This will help us size the sprint team and support capacity appropriately.

Refer to Addendum No. 3 to the Solicitation.

12. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic:

Submission Due Date

Extension

Can the HHSC consider extending the submission due date by two weeks? This extension would allow us to provide a more comprehensive and robust proposal and identify qualified and experienced resources.

Refer to Addendum No. 2 to the Solicitation.

13. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic:

Offshore resource allowed

Are offshore resources outside the USA allowed to work on any portion of this contract?

Refer to Addendum No. 3 to the Solicitation.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 7 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

14. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic: Budget for this contract

Has the HHSC determined a budget for this contract? If so, could you please share the budget amount?

A disclosure of internal budget details for this procurement will not be provided.

15. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic: Place of

Performance

What is the place of performance for this work?

Refer to Addendum No. 3 to the Solicitation.

16. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic: Remote

Work

Is remote work allowed? Refer to Addendum No. 3 to the Solicitation.

17. General I was unable to attend the pre-proposal conference and would appreciate it if you could share the recording at your earliest convenience.

Refer to Addendum No. 1 to the Solicitation.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 8 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

18. General Who is the incumbent vendor that the winning bidder will be transitioning away from?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.

19. General How many staff does the incumbent have assigned to working with your agency?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.

20. General Are you happy with this size of staffing or have there been issues of over/under-capacity during the prior contract period that you wish addressed/remedied in this contract period?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.

21. General Our firm submitted a response last year to RFO HHS0014612. Are vendors that previously responded to RFO

HHS0014612 still eligible to submit a proposal under RFO HHS0014612v2, provided all current requirements are met?

This Solicitation is open to all qualified vendors.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 9 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

22. General On the Texas SmartBuy ESBD, the posting for RFO HHS0014612 shows a status of “No Award.” Does this indicate that no vendor was selected under the original RFO, and is this the reason for issuing RFO HHS0014612v2?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.

23. General Last year, in order to submit our response to RFO HHS0014612, we registered for access to the HHS Online Bid Room. For

RFO HHS0014612v2, can we continue using the same Online Bid Room credentials, or is a new registration with different credentials required?

Yes, the Respondent may continue using the same Online Bid Room credentials.

24. General Could HHSC please confirm the incumbent vendor’s name, the anticipated end date of their current contract, and what role (if any) the incumbent vendor is expected to play during any transition period under this

RFO?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.

RFO No. HHS0014612v2 Page 10 of 10

Reference Vendor Question HHSC Response

25. Solicitation Package

Reference: N/A

Question Topic: General

Can HHSC please clarify the reason for cancelling the previous Take Charge

Texas (TCT) solicitation, and what changes or expectations led to the issuance of this revised solicitation?

The requested information is not necessary to respond to the Solicitation.