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HHSM-500-2015-RFP-0118
Amendment 0001 Responses to Solicitation Questions and Solicitation amendments
Amendment Number 1 is issued to transmit Industry Questions and Government Responses. As a result of the attached questions and answers, there are no changes to the Statement of Work or Schedule of Deliverables.
1) This amendment changes the proposal due date listed in Section L.13 (page 118) of the solicitation to align with the due date of June 9, 2015 by 2:00pm.
2) The last change deletes the “719” language pertaining to the business proposal submission in Section L.15 of the solicitation (page 127).
The date and time of proposal submissions remains unchanged, due to CMS on or no later than 2:00 PM local time, Baltimore, MD, on Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
END OF AMENDMENT
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Solicitation Questions and Answers (included below)
Attachment 1: Solicitation Questions and Responses Proposal Instruction Questions:
QUESTION SUBMISSION
| Section and Title |
| Page Number |
| Question |
| Answers |
| Section C. Statement of Work/Services; I. Background; A. Purpose |
| 11 |
| Do the requirements listed in this SOW include training for Home Health services? This service is not specifically listed in the SOW but is listed in the requirements for the technical proposal on page 120 of the RFP. |
| Yes, the requirements listed in this SOW will include Home Health provider training. It is not specifically spelled out in the SOW,but it is included in the mandates of the IMPACT Act of 2014 and is one of the Post-Acute Care programs that training for this contract will be based on. |
| B. Technical Considerations, Part A, Number 1 |
| 12 |
| What venue locations are the on-site conferences held at? Do they duplicate locations every year (allowing for multi-year contracts)? |
| We would prefer to have venue locations for on-site training in a central location for the convenience of all of our participants. Chicago is an example of a central location, but another state in the vicinity could also suffice if costs are lower. If turnout is good at the chosen central location, it could possibly be repeated for several of the PAC settings. The period of performance is a 12 month base year with options. Multi-year contracts will not be used. |
| C.1.B Background/Technical Considerations |
| 12 |
| The RFP refers to PAC and other related programs. Can CMS define what is meant by other related programs? |
| Other related programs refer to things such as the IMPACT Act and the effect it has on the PAC program. |
| B. Technical Considerations, Part A, Number 5 |
| 12 |
| What, if any, logistical arrangements for training events are expected to be managed by other vendors? Do these vendors have pre-existing agreements for any on-site or printing services? |
| See Task 6. Communications.It will be the responsibility of the contractor to either handle the logistics themselves or sub-contract out to vendors, as noted in the SOW. Stipulations for printing services over a certain amount of copies is also delineated in the SOW.(See Task 8) |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 16 |
| Task 2: Kickoff Meeting mentions that the Contractor will provide a list and timeline of all deliverables necessary to ensure completion of the activities described in the SOW. The timeline will be in the form of a draft Microsoft Project worksheet(s). Q: Is this different from the Project Management Plan or is this part of the PMP? |
| This is a part of the Project Management Plan. |
| II. Requirements; Task 2. Kickoff Meeting |
| 16 |
| For pricing purposes, will the kickoff meeting arranged by the COR be held onsite at CMS or will it be done via teleconference? |
| The KickOff meeting will be held onsite at a CMS location in Baltimore, MD. |
| II. Requirements; Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.1 |
| 18 |
| For pricing purposes can CMS provide an estimate of the number and format of training materials that are required to be developed in Task 5 for each PAC service? |
| It is the contractor's responsibility to quote to CMS what it would cost them to provide training, in different venues for each of the settings listed in the SOW. The format of training materials should be decided by the Sr. Instructional Designer and approved by the COR for each training event. As noted in the SOW, some will be Train the Trainer formats of which CMS will inform the contractor as the need arises. The audience (number) will vary according to format; however, on site training usually attracts anywhere from 200-1200 participants for each event; much of this depends on the program being trained on (NH, LTCH, IRF, etc.) |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.1 |
| 18 |
| For pricing purposes can CMS provide an estimate of the number of in person training events that the contractor is required to attend for each PAC service? |
| Per the SOW, Task 6, 6.2, for the maximum number of trainings. The PAC programs referred to would be LTCH, IRF, NH, Hospice, Home Health, and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). |
| 19 |
| This section states, "Have prior approval of COR (during last weekly status call or via email)." What does this mean? Have prior approval before developing the training materials? |
| Yes, this means the COR will approve the venue, delivery method, training style, etc., that the Instruction Designer has proposed for that particular training event prior to actual development of the training materials and also to insure that all SME produced and other pertinent content materials have been received prior to development of the actual training materials. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.2 |
| 19 |
| For pricing purposes, how many new training materials does CMS anticipate each year? |
| The training materials for this contract will be in flux, as the IMPACT Act was just passed in 2014 and we are in the beginning stages of making statutory changes which will require provider training. See Task 6.2 for types of trainings that will assist you in determining the amount of materials required. Trainings may include not only new material but can also include materials that were previously presented ; the contractor would be revising/updating these previously presented materials. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.2.1 |
| 19 |
| For pricing purposes, how many new training events does CMS anticipate per year, how many participants per training event does CMS anticipate, and where will the events be held? |
| Regarding SOW Task 5.2.1, the events for State RAI Coordinator training events mentioned will be sponsored by another CMS Group; however, the training materials we develop will be shared with that group for them to use. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.2.2 |
| 19 |
| For pricing purposes, how many training materials from subject matter expert and program lead input does CMS anticipate each year? |
| Much of this will depend on the progress of the statutory requirements of the IMPACT Act being met for each program. We expect training input/materials from each PAC program. See Task 6.2 for number of trainings. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.4 |
| 19 |
| For pricing purposes, how many training materials for trainers and end-users for all PAC and other related programs does CMS anticipate each year? |
| Training materials for training events vary according to subject matter and the material being covered. Trainings can go anywhere from a 1-2 hour web-based training or Utube event to a week-long national training event. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.5 |
| 19 |
| For pricing purposes, how many training materials for all PAC and other related programs, particularly training that is required as a result of the changes in the patient/resident assessments that will occur as CMS implements the various assessment-related requirements under the IMPACT ACT does CMS anticipate per year? |
| Please reference statutory requirements of the IMPACT Act. The first statutory requirements for quality measures are due October 2016; however, before a rule is published, training must be held for providers. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.6 |
| 20 |
| For pricing purposes, how many training materials for new CMS initiatives relating to all PAC and other related programs to be completed during the course of the contract does CMS anticipate each year? |
| Please see Task 6.2 for the number of trainings. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.8.1 |
| 20 |
| For pricing purposes, how many in-person training sessions does CMS anticipate each year? |
| Please see Task 6.2 in the SOW. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 20 |
| Task 5.7.1, Report(s) will be sent to COR, a maximum of one (1) per quarter, of new, innovative training venues. Does CMS mean training modalities? |
| It would include new training modalities. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 20 |
| Under Task 5, Deliverable #11: Report of review, research, and identified training needs. What is the frequency for this deliverable? |
| Task 5.7.1 indicates quarterly. |
| Task 5. Development and Delivery of Training Materials; Subtask 5.8.2 |
| 20 |
| For pricing purposes, how many training session attendees does CMS anticipate each year? |
| Depending on the PAC program, attendees could range anywhere from 200-1200 per on-site training. |
| Task 6. Communications; Subtask 6.1.2 |
| 21 |
| Will registration be open to only pre-approved attendees or is it open to the industry public? Further, will registration for events be handled solely through the web or will mailed, called and/or on-site registrations be allowed? |
| Registration is usually not only for pre-approved attendees, except for RAI State coordinator-type trainings, where after we train the coordinators they will in turn train their providers. Registration options that the contractor has can be presented to the COR and both the COR and contractor will decide which is best for the setting in question. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 21 |
| Under Task 6: Communication, Communications with external stakeholders, other Government agencies, and SMEs must be approved by COR/Program Lead prior to contact. Does this mean for every instance of contact with a stakeholder, other Government agencies, and SMEs, or just first-time contact? |
| This would mean the initial contact regarding the development of each training event. Open communication between the COR and the contractor is key for this contract. It is in the best interest of the COR to insure that the best subject matter contacts are being used and there is not duplication of effort that could happen if another agency or component of CMS has already developed similar materials or trainings that could be used in the development of these PAC training materials. |
| Task 6. Communications; Subtask 6.2 |
| 21 |
| Define “Per PAC program per contract year.” How many PAC programs are there? |
| PAC programs presently include IRF, LTCH, Hospice, Home Health, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Nursing Homes. |
| Task 6. Communications; Subtask 6.3.1 |
| 21 |
| The content of subtask 6.3.1 appears to have been cut off. Can the entire statement under this subtask please be provided? |
| Task 6.3.1." Expert presenters must be subject matter experts in their field and can be from CMS." |
| Task 6. Communications; Subtask 6.6 |
| 22 |
| Pricing of recording sessions, web products and other streaming products are often set by duration, quality and number of attendees. Can you specify a typical training session duration and attendee size? |
| Web trainings are usually no longer than 90-120 minutes per training segment. Updates on a particular item can be shorter. For example, Section M of the MDS was a 40 minute video and captured an audience of 4,400 people. This was a short training on only one segment of the MDS, but it will give you some information for pricing purposes. We typiclly include several areas of related training grouped together which would make the web trainings longer than the Section M training was. |
| Task 8. Printed Materials |
| 23 |
| Will prospective attendee lists be provided or will the contractor be required to generate marketing materials to develop an attendee list? |
| Attendee lists will be provided to the contractor by CMS for the targeted providers; however, advertising will be expected to capture any stakeholders/the public who are interested in viewing or participating in the training. CMS will provide guidance on the targeted audience for each training request. |
| Task 8. Printed Materials |
| 23 |
| Can you give an example of some typical printed materials and the specifications in regards to color, size, and quantity? |
| Most materials are electronic; however, for on-site trainings, a small amount of copies of the presentation are usually provided (usually no more than 250 copies, as we like to request participants to either print their own copies or bring their tablets to download the materials during the training. Downloading materials at the meeting site is particularly advantageous when there are an abundance of materials. Typical printed materials would be PowerPoint slides and agendas. If there are manuals that are revised or new, we usually have them posted on our cms.gov website for attendees to download. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 25 |
| The RFP states that the Project Director needs to be PMP certified or an MBA. Does the same criteria apply to the project manager? Can the project manager have an MBA instead of the PMP certification? |
| It is stated in the solicitation that “At least one of the Project Managers must be PMP certified.” This is if there are two PMs. If there would happen to be four PM’s, two would need to be PMP certified. The Project Director’s role is not the same as the PMs and, therefore, the PD can have an MBA or be PMP certified. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 25 |
| The RFP states the Sr. Instructional designer shall have a BA or Master’s degree in Instructional Design, can this person be an RN with a Master’s in education or another person with an EdD degree? |
| The Sr. Instructional Designer must have an undergrad or Masters degree in Instructional Design. |
| C.II.A Requirements/Tasks to be Performed |
| 25 |
| Key personnel requirements indicate that one Project Director and two Project Managers are required at nearly full-time effort each year of the contract. Can two PDs share the total responsibility? Can more than two PMs share the total responsibility? |
| Two Project Directors can share the total responsibility as long as extra effort in collaborating is not required. Roles for each PD should be specific. More than two Project Managers could possibly share the total responsibility, if each Project Manager was specifically assigned to a particular PAC program so the expertise in that program would stay with one PM. |
| Section F. Deliverables or Performance; F.4 Items To Be Furnished and Delivery Schedule |
| 36 |
| The Delivery schedule indicates a kick-off meeting within 30 days after award, however, it anticipates kick-off meetings in each of the option years. Does CMS wish to have annual kick-off meetings? If so, will they be 30 days after exercise of the option year? |
| Yes, that is what is anticipated; however, the SOW indicates the KickOff meeting within 20 days after award. Because the work generated by the IMPACT Act is new to us with different statutory deadlines, we feel it is best to re-group at the beginning of each year to synthesize our plans for the requirements for the coming year. |
| Section G. Contract Administration; G.9 Subcontract/Consultant Consent |
| 52 |
| In section L.15 it indicates Offeror must submit a Subcontracting Plan but G.9 does not provide the small business subcontracting goals. Are there small business subcontracting goals? If not what does CMS wish to see in the Subcontracting Plan? |
| Please refer to attachment J.6 Small Business Subcontracting Plan Sample. Attachment J.6 was posted to FBO on 5/19/15. |
| Section J. List of Attachments |
| 95 |
| Section J has a list of attachments but they were not provided. Could CMS please provide these? |
| The J attachments were posted to FedBizOps on 5/19/15. |
| Section L. Instructions, Conditions, Notices to Offerors or Quoters ; L.12 Proposal Delivery |
| 117 |
| Can CMS confirm the proposal due date? There is a discrepancy between the proposal due date referenced on page 117 (June 9, 2015) and the due date referenced on page 118 (May 1, 2015). |
| The proposal due date is June 9, 2015. The date discrepancy on page 118 will be corrected in an amendment |
| Section L. Instructions, Conditions, Notices to Offerors or Quoters ; L.14 Technical Proposal Instructions |
| 119 |
| It states that “Level of effort per project task or activity must be included in the Management Plan and Project timeline under Tab 3 of the Technical Proposal. Tab 3 is “past Performance and Post-Acute Care Organizational Training Experience. Please validate that the referenced Level of Effort should be supplied in Tab 4. |
| Level of Effort shall be supplied under Tab 4 |
| Section L. Instructions, Conditions, Notices to Offerors or Quoters ; L.14 Technical Proposal Instructions |
| 119 |
| This section states that a “project timeline” should be included, yet the description on page 125-126 does not explicitly state this as a part of the relevant tab. Could you please clarify whether CMS wants something in addition to the WBS? Critical path, Gantt chart, key milestones, and activity interdependency? If so, could CMS provide additional instruction about what it wants as a project timeline? |
| The Microsoft Project deliverable is a timeline in itself and along with viewing in Gantt view, a timeline view is also available. |
| Section L. Instructions, Conditions, Notices to Offerors or Quoters ; L.14.1 Technical Proposal Contents |
| 120 |
| Can the Communications plan required in Tab 1 be included in the attachment as supporting documentation or must it count towards the 25 pages allowed in the technical proposal? |
| The Communications plan required in Tab 1 will be counted in the 25 page limit allowed for the proposal. |
| Section L. Instructions, Conditions, Notices to Offerors or Quoters ; L.15 Business Proposal Instructions |
| 128 |
| Can CMS provide a copy of Form 719 on which the Offeror shall summarize total costs for the project? |
| 719 forms are no longer being used by CMS. Please submit costs according to the proposal instructions. |
N/A
| Are the firms that developed the quality measures and tools conflicted out of responding to this RFP? |
| No. |
| N/A |
| 122 |
| This section states, "Include who will attend physically at the events, broken down by training venue." Can you provide the number of training events that you anticipate happening in the base year and what training venues you anticipate these events occurring at? |
| See Task 6.2 of the SOW for number of training events expected each year. The training venues will depend on the training material to be presented and the targeted audience. The training venue is usually suggested by the Instructional Designer and discussed with the COR to determine what the best venue would be. At times, the COR will have already decided the venue for the training, e.g., on-site training for national training conferences. |
