RFP_Amendment_N02DA-17-1199.pdf

NSN 7540 - 01 - 152 – 8070 STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

PREVIOUS EDITION UNUSABLE Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48CFR) 53.243

OMB No. 0990-0115

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

1 11

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

01 See Block 16C

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

National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Station Support and Simiplified Acquisition Branch 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 3150 Rockville, Maryland 20852

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

To All Potential Offerors

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

N02DA-17-1199

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

July 14, 2017

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

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 Offer 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 Item 8 and 15, and returning 1 copies of the amendment; (b) 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 ACKNOWLEDG- MENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR 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 telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hours and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

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 data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, 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.)

PURPOSE: To modify the RFP and to respond to formal questions submitted in response to the solicitation. All other terms and conditions of the RFP remain unchanged.

Proposal Due Date: 12:00 p.m. (Eastern) on July 31, 2017 (UNCHANGED)

Note: The offeror should acknowledge on the cover page or first page of its business and technical proposals receipt of the RFP and this Amendment.

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)

Brian O’Laughlin, Contracting Officer

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

BY

(Signature of Contracting Officer) olaughlinb Typewritten Text 7/13/2017

Request for Proposal Amendment No. 01

N02DA-17-1199 Page 2 of 11

Amendment to Request for Proposal (RFP) No. N02DA-1199

1) Article C.2.a is hereby amended to read as follows:

a. Technical Progress Report

1. In addition to the required reports set forth elsewhere in this Schedule, the preparation and submission of regularly recurring Technical Progress Reports will be required in any contract resulting from this solicitation. These reports will require descriptive information about the activities undertaken during the reporting period and will require information about planned activities for future reporting periods. The frequency and specific content of these reports will be determined prior to contract award. The Contractor shall include the applicable PubMed Central or NIH

Manuscript Submission reference number when citing publications that arise from its

NIH funded research.

For proposal preparation purposes only, it is estimated that in addition to the required electronic version(s), hard copies of the following reports will be required:

a. Weekly Progress Report : a weekly production progress report listing all NIDA

Notes content currently in process, with appropriate status markers and projected posting dates.

b. Monthly Progress Report : monthly estimate of the funds remaining and projected costs to the end of the current contract year (these reports will be required biweekly during the last 3 months of the contract year).

c. Quarterly Progress Report : a quarterly resume and analysis of traffic to the NIDA

Notes Website and other appropriate indicators of reader response during the past quarter.

d. Annual Progress Report : an annual summary of all deliverables and contract expenditures to be presented at the end of each contract year (if option periods are exercised).

e. Final Progress report: a final summary of all contract expenditures and deliverables, which should include the total number of postings.

f. Summary of Salient Results: The Contractor will be required to prepare and submit, with the final report, a summary (not to exceed 200 words) of salient results achieved during the performance of the contract. This report will be required on or before the expiration date of the contract.

N02DA-17-1199 Page 3 of 11

2) The following are hereby removed from Article C.2.b.1:

b. IT Security Plan (IT-SP)

c. IT Risk Assessment (IT-RA)

d. FIPS 199 Assessment

e. IT Security Certification and Accreditation (IT-SC&A)

f. Report of New and Departing Employees

h. Vulnerability Scanning Reports

NOTE: Information Security and Physical Access Reporting Requirements, Roster of Employees

Requiring Suitability Investigations, and Contractor - Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement(s) are still applicable and included

3) Article F.2.a is hereby amended to read as follows:

a. The items specified below as described in the REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Article in SECTION C of this contract will be required to be delivered F.o.b. Destination as set forth in FAR 52.247-35, F.o.b. DESTINATION, WITHIN CONSIGNEES PREMISES

(APRIL 1984), and in accordance with and by the date(s) specified below:

Item Description Quantity Delivery Schedule

(1) Weekly Progress

Report

1 electronic copy - Contracting

Officer's Representative

(COR)

Within 3 calendar days after the end of each reporting period.

(2) Monthly Progress

Report

2 hard copies - COR

1 electronic copy - COR

Within 10 business days after the end of each reporting period.

(3) Quarterly Progress

Report

2 hard copies - COR

1 electronic copy - COR

1 hard copy - Contracting

Officer (CO)

Within 10 business days after the end of each reporting period.

N02DA-17-1199 Page 4 of 11

Item Description Quantity Delivery Schedule

(4) Annual Progress

Report

2 hard copies - COR

1 electronic copy - COR

1 hard copy - CO

Within 30 business days after the end of each contract year (if

Option Period(s) are exercised) except the final contract period when the final report is due. An annual report is not due when the final report is due.

(5) Final Report 2 hard copies – COR

1 electronic copy –COR

1 hard copy - CO

On or before the expiration of the contract.

(6) Transfer of

Government Files and Materials to

NIDA

All hard copies and electronic copies - COR

No later than 7 days before the contract expiration date.

(7) Roster of Employees

Requiring Suitability

Investigations

1 electronic copy - COR

1 electronic copy - CO

1 hard copy - CO

Within 14 calendar days of the contract award date.

(8) Non-Disclosure

Agreements

1 electronic copy - COR

1 electronic copy - CO

1 hard copy - CO

Prior to performance of any work under the contract.

(9) Section 508 Annual

Report(s)

1 electronic copy - COR

1 electronic copy - CO

1 hard copy - CO

Annually on the contract anniversary date (if Option

Period(s) are exercised).

(10) Information Security

Training Report

1 electronic copy - COR

1 electronic copy - CO

1 hard copy - CO

Due with the first monthly progress report after award and with any staff changes.

4) There following are hereby removed from Article H.8.

B. Standard for Security Configurations

C. Standard for Encryption Language

Note: Information and Physical Access Security, HHS-Controlled Facilities and Information

Systems Security, Security Requirements For Federal Information Technology Resources, HHSAR

352.239-72, (January 2010), Additional NIH Requirements, Information Security Training, Personnel

Security Responsibilities, and Loss and/or Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) -

Notification of Data Breach are applicable and remain included.

N02DA-17-1199 Page 5 of 11

5) The following is hereby included in Article H.

CONTRACTOR'S USE OF LIBRARY RESOURCES AT NIH

The Contractor is authorized to use library resources at NIH in the same manner as NIH staff. The Contractor's approved use of these resources is limited to performing the requirements of this contract. The Contractor shall not use library resources at NIH in a manner that exceeds the Fair Use limitations codified in 17 U.S.C. sec. 107 of the Copyright

Act. Contractors shall not share access to library resources at NIH with, perform searches for, or provide results to, non-NIH users, i.e. collaborators at other universities or research centers.

6) Section J, is modified to add the NIDA Supplemental Billing Instructions (see attached)

7) Section A(3) of the Statement of Work is amended to read as follows:

(3) Under the direction of the COR, provide content for and technical management of the

NIDA Notes Website (https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes), including:

a. the home page, which features buttons with the names of four topic areas

(“treatment,” “basic science,” “public health,” “prevention”) with hyperlinks to the complete list of posts in each area; a constantly updating list of the titles of all posts with a hyperlink to each post and a thumbprint icon designating its topic area; a constantly updated revolving slideshow of 4 graphics from recent posts with hyperlinks to the posts; a button that takes readers to a page where they can subscribe to NIDA Notes; and an “additional materials” section that features graphics from several NIDA Notes posts or other NIDA or NIDA

Notes Web materials, with hyperlinks to the posts,

b. a separate page for each post,

c. a separate page for each topic area (“treatment,” “basic science,” “public health,” “prevention”) that features an up-to-date list of all articles in that area,

d. a page for subscribing to NIDA Notes, and

e. a page that describes the mission of NIDA Notes.

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: Will travel to conferences in addition to the RAG group meetings, such as the annual ARM, INRC, NADCP, APA and ASA be reimbursed?

https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes

N02DA-17-1199 Page 6 of 11

ANSWER 1: Travel costs for scientific and professional meetings will not be reimbursed.

QUESTION 2: How many additional trips to headquarters, beyond convening the RAG group should be planned?

ANSWER 2: When estimating additional trips to headquarters, the contractor should project a staff meeting at headquarters every other week. Not all staff members, however, need to attend every meeting. Only those staff members directly engaged in current content provision and active initiatives need to attend. One or two staff members may attend three (3) NIDA National Advisory Council meetings at headquarters per year.

QUESTION 3: For Task 11 regarding the Readers Advisory Group (RAG), approximately how many RAG conference calls a year will be held and will the subcontractor be responsible for the honoraria for the RAG members for calls and in-person meetings as well as travel expenses and arrangements?

ANSWER 3: Two (2) RAG meetings per year will be held at NIDA headquarters, with some members possibly participating by telephone. No other conference calls are anticipated. RAG members do not receive honoraria. Mileage costs will be reimbursed to all current members that are in the Washington DC metropolitan area or Baltimore, except those members who participates by telephone. Contractor will be responsible for scheduling, securing a meeting place at NIDA headquarters, preparing meeting materials such as Powerpoint slides and handouts, and taking minutes.

QUESTION 4: Is there an incumbent for this contract/services?

ANSWER 4: The incumbent contractor for this contract/services is IQ Solutions, Inc.

QUESTION 5: What is the value of the incumbent's current contract?

ANSWER 5: The value of the current contract is $2,944,859.00.

QUESTION 6: Is the incumbent eligible to bid under the proposed Small Business Set-Aside size standard of 1,000?

ANSWER 6: All small business vendors that qualify under NAICS 519130 are eligible to apply.

QUESTION 7: It appears there has not been a publication for some time. Is the preference to refresh or completely revamp what was previously named NIDA Notes?

ANSWER 7: The most recent article was posted in June of 2017. There is no preference to refresh or completely revamp the publication.

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QUESTION 8: With respect to Task 6 of the Statement of Work, what format will the articles be provided to the NIDA Webmaster.

ANSWER 8: The text of the articles should be submitted in the Microsoft Word format, and other types of content have been submitted in various formats such as MP3 and MP4.

QUESTION 9: Is the Contractor expected to identify, edit, and summarize content or will the content be directed by the Contracting Officer?

ANSWER 9: The Contractor will be responsible for identifying new research reports in the scientific literature that are appropriate for coverage in NIDA Notes. The Contractor will propose coverage of these topics to the NIDA Notes Editorial Board and obtain input from the Board. The Contractor will forward the proposal and Board members’ responses to the Contracting Officer Representative who will decide whether to cover the report.

The Contractor will be responsible for producing an article, animation, slideshow, or video on the report that meets NIDA Notes quality and audience-appropriateness standards, as determined by the COR.

QUESTION 10: If Contractor is expected to identify/edit/summarize content, by what means will it be provided?

ANSWER 10: The contractor will be responsible for identifying research reports that are potential NIDA Notes material. Sources for such reports include the Pubmed database, the NIDA Notes Editorial Board, the NIDA Press team, and contacts and meetings at NIDA.

QUESTION 11: With regards to tagging NIDA Notes publications, is there a taxonomy in place to leverage existing and future information or are you asking the Contractor to create a tag with the approval of the COR?

ANSWER 11: Key word tags for each article reflect its category (basic science, public health, prevention, treatment) and its subject matter (e.g., drug, population, brain region, co-occurring illness, type of intervention, etc.). A key word list is established, but the list is anticipated to grow as NIDA Notes addresses new topics.

QUESTION 12: Does NIDA Notes currently have a list of subscribers?

ANSWER 12: There is a list of approximately 18,000 subscribers to email updates, which are sent out about every 6 weeks.

QUESTION 13: Is List Management included in the Contractor’s duties?

ANSWER 13: No, List Management is not included in the Contractor’s duties. Additions and deletions are registered automatically through the website. Occasionally a request will come in by other means, which is forwarded to Mail Chimp.

N02DA-17-1199 Page 8 of 11

QUESTION 14: Are NIDA graphics personnel available to provide services electronically for this contract or should we plan to include these services as well within the contract?

ANSWER 14: Graphics will be provided by the Contractor.

QUESTION 15: With regards to Task 10 of the Statement of Work, will the Contractor be given administrative access to the CMS to manage the functionality and/or develop enhancements?

ANSWER 15: No.

QUESTION 16: The RFP states that several other reports including an IT Security Plan, IT

Risk Assessment, FIPS 199 Assessment, IT Security Certification and Accreditation, Vulnerability Scanning Reports, and Section 508 Annual Report are required (pages 6-8, pages

10-11). Since the hosting of the website does not fall within the scope of the work of this contract, would the government consider removing or revising this list of deliverables?

ANSWER 16: See Amendments to Article C, Article F, and Article H.

QUESTION 17: Are NIDA Notes expected to be web-friendly or are they more of a clinical review format?

ANSWER 17: NIDA Notes must be web friendly. To see current posts, go to: https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes.

QUESTION 18: If NIDA Notes must be web-friendly, what is the platform currently in use and is it the preferred platform going forward?

ANSWER 18: The current web platform is Drupal 7. NIDA plans to transition to Drupal

8 in approximately one year, and the Contractor will be required to maintain compatibility.

QUESTION 19: With regards to the monthly emails, what is NIDA Notes’ current email technology? Does NIDA Notes have marketing automation, or is NIDA Notes looking to implement one?

ANSWER 19: Currently, Mail Chimp is used to send out NIDA Notes eBlasts.

QUESTION 20: Are the multimedia communications to be CMS quality or internal education quality?

ANSWER 20: CMS quality should be used for posting on the web and distributing to the

NIDA Notes audience.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes

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QUESTION 21: Currently the NIDA Notes content is located within the http://www.drugabuse.gov website. Task 10 states “The Contractor will use Drupal 7 to manage the functionality of the NIDA Notes Website during the first contract year, and will transition to

Drupal 8 when NIDA does…” Could you clarify the role the Contractor will play with regard to website hosting, development, and maintenance? It is unclear exactly what the scope of this activity may be and is important in understanding the overall role the Contractor will have in the overall technical management of the NIDA Notes website as indicated in Section A Specific

Requirement 3.

ANSWER 21: The Contractor will not host the website. The Contractor will work with the COR to identify ways to improve the website features and functions. Actual implementation of new features and improvements will be performed by the NIDA

Webmaster.

QUESTION 22: For Specific Requirement 6 and Task 10, will contractor perform the analytics or will the NIDA webmaster perform the analytics and share the results with the contractor?

ANSWER 22: NIDA will provide the contractor access to NIDA Notes user data. The

Contractor will analyze the data for insights that can be used to further NIDA Notes’ readership and other objectives.

QUESTION 23: For Specific Requirement 5 and Task 10, will contractor utilize a pre-existing email template or design a new email template in MailChimp or another email marketing service?

ANSWER 23: The current MailChimp template is functioning acceptably.

QUESTION 24: Will the contractor be responsible for ensuring that the NIDA Notes website itself is 508 compliant or would the contractor be responsible for providing 508-compliant materials for posting on the NIH-owned/maintained website?

ANSWER 24: The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that all NIDA Notes content meets 508 requirements.

QUESTION 25: With regards to Task 10 of the Statement of Work, will the Contractor be given access to the site analytics?

ANSWER 25: Yes.

QUESTION 26: With regards to Task 11 of the Statement of Work, would the Government please provide the per diem amount that RAG members are given per meeting?

ANSWER 26: Currently, RAG members do not receive a per diem.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/

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QUESTION 27: With regards to Task 11 of the Statement of Work, would the Government please provide city and state of where the current RAG members are located.

ANSWER 27: All current RAG members but one are located in the Washington, D.C.

metropolitan area. One member is located in Providence, RI, and attends meetings by telephone.

QUESTION 28: With regards to Task 11 of the Statement of Work, how much time is estimated for each RAG meeting?

ANSWER 28: RAG meetings last two to three hours.

QUESTION 29: With regards to Task 13 of the Statement of Work, would the Government provide additional details about what is entailed in the $4,000.00 CEU models?

ANSWER 29: For proposal planning purposes, the current contract collaborates with an organization to create the CEUs, coordinates with the accrediting organizations, posts the

CEUs on its website, and provides reports on usage. The NIDA Notes team provides input to the organization on topic selection as well as substantive editing of storyboards and the final product.

QUESTION 30: Can the Government identify which organizations will be collaborators?

ANSWER 30: The current collaborator is the Institute for Research, Education, &

Treatment in the Addictions.

QUESTION 31: If partnering with other organizations, will the Contractor be responsible for the production of the multimedia content?

ANSWER 31: The Contractor is not responsible for producing the multimedia content of the partnership CEUs. However, NIDA Notes utilizes videos, animations, and slideshows independently of the partnership.

QUESTION 32: Task 8 is missing. Is there content that we should have or was the numbering incorrect?

ANSWER 32: The numbering is incorrect. There is no Task 8.

QUESTION 33: For Task 13 regarding NIDA Notes CEU Modules, is the accreditation cost for the 2 continuing educations modules per year included in the estimated cost of approximately

$4,000 apiece?

ANSWER 33: Yes, accreditation costs are included in the $4,000.00.

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QUESTION 34: What were the minimum number of reports delivered under the current and previous contracts?

ANSWER 33: The number of reports has fluctuated with the type of reports produced.

For example, review articles covering multiple research studies and animations have taken more time to produce than reports on single research studies and researcher interviews. The minimum number for the current contract has been approximately 30-35 reports, but under the new contract, the Contractor should submit 52 reports.