Amendment_Four_6-22-2018.pdf

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 or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUISITION NUMBER 5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

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.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER 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

NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation data, 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)

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.

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

Previous edition unusable

1. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1: Paragraph 1, Background and Task

Order Statement of Work, you state that there are 11 Research Centers of Regional

Excellence (RCREs). In the last paragraph, you state that CGH will invite 2 researchers from each RCRE to the 2019 Conference (2 researchers x 11 centers = 22 researchers) but you then state that “the total number of non-federal invited investigators is twenty-one.” Please confirm the number of sponsored, non-federal investigators that should be expected.

Answer: Please use 21 as the number of supported travelers. Please see question 30, Amendment 2 which states, 10 domestic, 11 international Africa.

2. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1:

a. Will all of the sponsored, non-federal investigators be traveling from non-U.S.

locations? Or will there be a mix of foreign and domestic within the sponsored group?

b. In order to provide a firm fixed price estimate, please provide the city of origin for all travelers.

Answer: Please see question 1 above, which was also answered under question 30, Amendment 2. 10 domestic, 11 international Africa.

3. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1: Item 5 states that the contractor shall reimburse sponsored travelers “within fourteen days after the conference has occurred.”

Does this mean reimbursement transactions must be completed within the fourteen-day timeline, or underway within the fourteen days?

Answer: Sponsored travelers should have reimbursement in process within 14 days.

4. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1:

a. Please confirm that the contractor does not need to account for charges for the space in Building 31 (often charged to a government CAN).

b. Will the contractor be expected to pay for any A/V beyond what is routinely provided in Building 31.? If so, please list the type of equipment the contractor is required to reserve.

Answer: a. Correct b. No

5. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1: Please confirm that the conference agenda will be created and formatted (graphics, style, etc.) by NCI and the contractor is responsible only for printing the final version.

Answer: The content of the agenda will be provided by NCI. All assumptions for the response should be noted in the technical response and budget.

6. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1: Please clarify the number of pages for the final agenda and the participant list the contractor will print.

a. By “3 pages double-sided” does this mean a total of 6 printed pages per copy of the agenda?

b. Please provide the same information for the participant list.

Answer: Contractor should list assumptions of pages for each document in their technical response and budget.

7. Question: Attachment 6, Sample Task Order 1: Please provide the estimated start and end times of the 3-day conference.

Answer: Contractor should list assumptions of hours in their technical response and budget. Assume within normal business hours.

8. Question: Attachment 7, Sample Task Order 2: Page 3 outlines 5 study questions. Page 4, bullet 4 references six questions. Please verify that there are only 5 questions or provide the sixth question.

Answer: Please use the 5 questions listed in the Sample Task Order 2, page 3.

9. Question: Attachment 7, Sample Task order 2. Please confirm that the Sample Task

Order 2 should address only the approach to Phase 1, excluding a description of the implementation of the plan in Phase 2.

Answer: Sample Task Order 2 is a request for a feasibility study for an evaluation (Phase

1).

10. Question: Attachment 8, Sample Task Order 3:

a. Does “funded during fiscal years 2010-2017” refer to grants competed/awarded and funded during those years or any grants that were actively receiving funding during those years, even if the initial competing award was prior to that time?

b. Should analyses include grants where NCI is not the primary/admin on the grant?

Answer: Any grants funded by NCI during that time period are subject to the analysis.

11. Question: Attachment 8, Sample Task Order 3:

Does “emphasis on grants conducted with international collaborators” mean grants should be limited to those that collaborate internationally, or that those grants that are conducted with international collaborators will be identified and a focus of attention in the analysis?

Answer: This portfolio analysis shall include NCI’s extramural cervical cancer grants portfolio funded during fiscal years 2010-2017, with an emphasis on grants conducted with international collaborators.

12. Question: Attachment 8, Sample Task Order 3: Are collaborators limited to PI’s/Co-PI’s and investigators/Co-investigators, or do they include additional categories of Key

Personnel?

Answer: Contractor should list assumptions in their technical response and budget.

13. Question: Attachment 8, Sample Task Order 3:

a. Can you confirm that NCI will provide access to NCI-specific information for grants such as the Common Scientific Outline Code and scientific topic areas

(Research Topics [SICs], and Cancer Type [Disease Sites] or is the contractor required to code grants for this information?

b. Will the contractor be expected to retrieve this information from the public NCI

Funded Research Portfolio database on the NCI website or will NCI provide access to an internal NCI database?

Answer: a. The contractor will not code the grants.

b. The contractor shall develop search parameters to locate and identify relevant grant awards in NIH’s grants management database. The contractor shall review grant abstracts to determine their relevance to the overall portfolio.

14. Question: Sample Task Order 1

a. How many of the participants are domestic? International? For pricing purposes, please provide departure countries for the 21 travelers.

b. Please confirm that, per the sample task, a technical approach is not needed for the Task Order.

c. The contract type is stated as firm fixed price. Please confirm that travel should be priced as firm fixed price.

d. Does the registration website need to be bi or multi-lingual?

e. Will the printed materials simply be handed out at the meeting or should we price folders?

Answer:

a. Please see questions 1 and 2 of this Amendment, which is also answered in question 30, amendment 2 (10 domestic, 11 international Africa).

b. Each sample task order (STO) response should include a technical and budget proposal (page limits apply to the technical proposals only).

c. STO responses should include assumptions that were made in the determination of the technical and budget responses.

d. English website can be assumed in the STO.

e. STO responses should include assumptions that were made in the determination of the technical and budget responses.

15. Question: Please clarify that we should include past performance in the IDIQ and each of the Sample Task Order technical responses (per evaluation criteria C) and in the business proposal.

Answer: The IDIQ Technical Proposal as well as the Sample Task Orders Technical

Proposal will be evaluated against all of the evaluation criteria listed on pages 93 and 94 in the solicitation. As for the specific question above, the Offeror should document the

“Organizational Experience and Support Capabilities” in all technical proposals. The

Technical proposal(s) shall contain past performance references; whereas, the Business proposal(s) shall contain all past performance information.

16. Question: Can the government provide an estimate of the frequency of Task 3 type projects such as once, every six months, or at some other frequency?

Answer: This is an IDIQ contract; therefore, the Government cannot predetermine, above a specified minimum, the precise quantities of services that the Government will require during the contract period.

17. Question: Please confirm that the NDA form (Attachment 21) is to be submitted only after award.

Answer: NDAs should be submitted with each, actual task order response, as appropriate, after the Base IDIQ contract is awarded. Therefore, please document in your business proposal, your understanding and compliance with the NDA on any future, real task orders issued.

18. Question: On page 90, #7 Qualifications of the Offeror, there are items a. General

Experience through item e. Pertinent Grants. Should these items be included as part of the technical proposal or the business proposal? As much of this includes performance history, it seems these items would be part of the technical proposal. Can the

Government please clarify if section #7 Qualifications of the Offeror should be part of the technical proposal.

Answer: This answer is a correction from Amendment 2 and provides further clarification. This section is under the Business Proposal Instructions of the solicitation;

therefore, this documentation should be a part of the Business Proposal.

19. Question: On page 91, #8 Subcontractors, the Government requests specific information related to any subcontractors, including a commitment letter. Should this information fall in the business proposal or the technical proposal? Given that the requested information does not include any pricing details, it seems to make sense that it should be part of the technical proposal? Can the Government please clarify if section #8 Subcontractors be part of the technical proposal?

Answer: This answer is a correction from Amendment 2 and provides further clarification. This section is under the Business Proposal Instructions of the solicitation;

therefore, this documentation should be a part of the Business Proposal.

20. Question: Will inclusion of either a compliance matrix (1 page) and a 1 page of a non-disclosure be considered in the 20 page limitation for the Tech Approach or will the government not include either or both of these documents in the 20 page Technical

Approach page count?”

Answer: The answer to this question from Amendment 2 is being clarified under this

Amendment. Please note on page 80 of the solicitation the page limitation section states, “Total page count does not include: Title and Back Page; Table of Contents, Resumes, Appendixes &Attachments; and Section Dividers that do not contain information other than title of Section.

21. Question: Sample Task Order 1 Questions:

a) Has a conference room in building 31 been reserved?

b) What are proposed dates of the meeting?

c) What time will the meeting begin and end each day (if more than one day)?

d) Are the remaining 59 attendees local, non-local, or combination? If any are non-local, will the contractor need to secure additional rooms at the hotel?

e) Can supported travelers be reimbursed for airfare expenses or should the contractor purchase tickets directly?

f) How many sponsored travelers are international? From which countries?

g) Will any other information be on the website besides a registration form?

h) Is the contractor responsible for creating artwork for the website, agenda, and participant list?

i) Are there any other printing requirements other than the agenda and participant list?

Will the government provide folders for the meeting materials or are folders not needed?

j) Will name badges be needed?

k) What is the Task Period of Performance, or length of time of the Task Order? (This is critical information for determining labor estimates).

Answer: a) The NCI COR will reserve the conference room.; b) The meeting will take place during a 3-day span during the Fall of 2018; c) The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.;

d) The offeror is not being asked to take care of any other attendees except those listed in the TO.; e) All expenses must be in compliance with GSA travel regulations. Provide assumptions for the technical response and budget.; f) There will be 11 international travelers from Africa.; g) Meeting information logistics. Provide assumptions for technical response and budget.; h) The content and NCI logo will be provided. Provide assumptions for technical response and budget.; i) NCI will provide folders if they are necessary. Provide assumptions for technical response and budget.; j) Yes, provide assumptions for technical response and budget.; k) The Task Order will be for an estimated 6 months.

Please note, NCI is looking for innovative and creative proposals. Per page 92 of the solicitation:

Selection of an offeror for contract award will be based on an evaluation of proposals against three factors. The factors in order of importance are: technical, cost, and past performance. Although technical factors are of paramount consideration in the award of the contract, past performance and cost/price are also important to the overall contract award decision. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost. The Government intends to make an award to that offeror whose proposal provides the best overall value to the Government.

Accordingly, the offeror may make any assumption not listed in the solicitation or the amendments. All assumptions made in the technical and business proposals should be detailed in the responses. The proposed costs must be in support of the offerors technical proposal and will be evaluated against the COST/PRICE EVALUATION criteria on page 92 of the solicitation.

22. The deadline for the receipt of questions has ended. The government will attempt to answer any remaining questions but cannot guarantee a response.

Purpose: To answer offerors' questions.

National Cancer Institute Frederick, MD 21701