Questions_and_Answers_NIHAO2016056.pdf

NIHAO2016056

# Question RFP Reference Response

Under item a., please clarify the dates for the base year. It currently includes September 30, 2016 - September 29, 2016.

Page 8, Section F: Deliveries of

Performance, Article F.1. Period of

Performance, a.

The correct POP has been provided in the Amendment

On Page 8 under item b., the Option periods go through October

14 of each year, however in Attachments 02 and 03, the option years go through September 29 of each year. Should this be updated?

Page 8, Section F: Deliveries of

Performance, Article F.1. Period of

Performance, b., Page 83, Attachment 02: Proposal

Instructions, Section 5: Options, and Page 85, Attachment 03:

Additional Business Volume

Instructions, Section 4: Options

The correct POP has been provided in the Amendment

The RFP states, …"Offerors must submit an HHS Section 508

Product Assessment Template, in accordance with its completion instructions." Please clarify if this is only required from the successful offeror upon contract award. Alternatively, if it is required with the proposal response, please detail where this should be included in the Technical Proposal.

Page 14, Section H: Special

Contract Requirements, Article H.9

Electronic and Information

Technology Accessibility

The 508 Assessment shall be included in the business proposal. This form IS Not included in the page count.

Page 23, Clause 52.216-1 Type of Contract indicates the

Government is anticipating this contract will be issued as a Labor

Hour contract. The pricing template however indicates that this is a FFP LOE + ODC contract. Please confirm which is correct.

Page 23 & NBBTP Pricing

Template

Corrected

This section states that "The data submitted shall be at the level of detail described below," however, there is no additional information provided. Please provide any missing information.

Page 48, Section L: Instructions to

Offerors, C. Business Proposal

Instructions, item 3.b

This section has been removed

The numbering under technical criteria 2 skips from item 7 to item

9. Please clarify if this is missing item 8?

Page 54, Section M: Evaluation

Factors for Award, Technical

Criteria 2

This has been corrected

Responses to Questions and Answers

Under the past performance evaluation criteria, the RFP states that "past performance questionnaire included from at least three entities that they have provided similar facilities support service relative to the PWS." Then later, Section 4 states that "the evaluation will be based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror." Since there was no past performance questionnaire included with the solicitation, please confirm that only past performance references/contact information are required with the proposal.

Page 57, Section M: Evaluation

Factors for Award, Past

Performance and Page 82, Attachment 02: Proposal

Instructions, Section 4: Past

Performance.

Past Performance questionnaires will not be required.

Please note that all offerors shall address their past performance related to this requirement within their technical proposal

At the bottom of the red box, the instructions say to include the

Attachment "Packaging and Delivery of the Proposal," with the

SP. Should we assume that this is not required due to the proposal submission being completed via email?

Page 80, Attachment 02: Proposal

Instructions, red box

This is not requird and has been removed

The outline provided includes two Section 2 headings. Should these be combined, or are they considered separate sections with separate page limits?

Page 81/82, Attachment 02:

Proposal Instructions

Corrected

Item 1 under the first Section 2, and the first bullet under the second Section 2 both require a staffing plan and information regarding the proposed subcontractors, administrative and technical framework indicating clear lines of authority and responsibility, as well as the proposed organizational/ management structure for the project. Since this requirement is duplicated, please clarify which section this information should be included in.

Page 81/82, Attachment 02:

Proposal Instructions, Section 2:

Project Management, #1 and

Section 2: Key Personnel

Section headings have been corrected. Section "2" refers to all personnel, Section "3" refers to key personnel. Please provide the requested information for both sections as requested in RFP

Since the Government reserves the right to exercise the options to carry out the same work specified in the RFP, please clarify what information is requested in Section 5 for "Options should be presented as a separate part of the Technical Proposal and clearly identified as such." Should the offeror confirm that that the services specified in the RFP will be provided for each option year requested?

Page 83, Attachment 02: Proposal

Instructions, Section 5: Options

Services provided in the RFP will be the same for the Option

Years unless otherwise noted.

The requirement for this section ends with " including:" but does not list any information below. Please provide any missing information.

Page 83, Attachment 02: Proposal

Instructions, Section 6: Other

Considerations This has been deleted

The pricing template was previously provided in pdf format.

Please provide the Excel version in order for offerors to input pricing into the template and use the formulas provided to calculate our proposed price appropriately.

NBBTP Pricing Template

See attached

The pricing template provides units for the labor categories. Are these the number of hours each offeror shall use in their pricing?

NBBTP Pricing Template

These are estimated hours based on historical data. Offerors may use these hours as guidance when determining their costs or estimate their own hours to best determine how the requirements needs will be met

Would the government provide the rationale for the hours provided in the pricing template for the positions that are not shown full time equivalents, 2088 hours?

NBBTP Pricing Template

Hours were originally based on historicals which were 2088.

The government has decided to revise to 2080. Please note these hours are to be used as guidance. It is up to each offeror to decided how many hours and which labor categories they find applicable for completing the requirement

The pricing template includes "Other ODCs (Fellows Stipends, Medical, dental/health insurance, etc." two times, once under

ODC's Fellows and once under ODCs. Should both lines contain the same dollar amount or should they be different? If different, please provide guidance on what should be included in each amount.

NBBTP Pricing Template

Corrected

On page 81, there is mention of a Project Manager (PM), is this the same position as the Project Director?

Yes

Since FAR clause 52.222-41 is included, please provide the correct Wage Determination from the Department of Labor.

Attached

Please provide labor category descriptions and job requirements for all of the listed categories in the pricing template.

NBBTP Pricing Template

We would expect the offeror to provide that information in their business plan and technical proposals in the context of value, experience and cost to the government.

Can we propose other labor categories or make changes to the provided number of hours included in the pricing template?

NBBTP Pricing Template

Yes. The offeror may propose any labor category and hours they feel will help fulfill the requirement

Are all labor categories to be staffed at NIH in Bethesda, or can some of the labor categories be staffed at contractor facilities?

Some labor categories can be staffed off-site at the contractor's facility

Please provide an estimate or Not-To-Exceed figure to be used for travel so all offerors are proposing using the same amount.

NBBTP Pricing Template

The NTE shall be determined by each offeror based on the information given

Is there a content management system currently in place for the

NBBTP website maintenance?

page 64, PWS 3.1.7

The NBBTP website is maintained by a sub-contractor. The government does not directly oversee how the data/content is managed within that system.

Is the budget anticipated to be within the range for previous years?

Budget will be determined at time of award

What does NIH see as NBBTP priority areas for improvement going forward?

We would expect the offeror to provide those ideas in their technical proposal.

We received email notification of this RFP, was this notification sent to all responders to the RFI or just small businesses or organizations beyond those responding to the RFI?

This notification was only sent to Small Businesses who responded to the Small Business Sources Sought Notice

The incumbent holds International Association for Continuing

Education and Training accreditation. Is NIH looking for an organization that currently holds this accreditation or is applying for it?

IACET accreditation is not required.

Is NBBTP looking to maintain the 3 fellows per year or is there a desire to increase the number?

The maximum number of fellows per year is currently 3

Will past performance relevancy from work with other USG agencies be rated the same and equally as past performance with

NIH?

Yes

Will the government consider alternative titles and/or LOE’s for the Key

Personnel as “responsive” if these alternatives can be justified as increasing efficiency and/or creating cost savings for the government?

Yes

There are four (4) Key Personnel positions/titles on Pg. 54 of the RFP, but six (6) Key Personnel positions/titles listed on the “NBBTP_Pricing

Template.pdf.” Will the Government please reconcile this difference so the position titles and number of Key Personnel is the same in the PWS and on the “NBBTP Pricing Template.pdf”?

The pricing template references (4) key personnel positions has *asterisk next to the key personnel positions.

Will the government please clarify if the 2-3 page count indicated for resumes and CV’s of key personnel is intended to be the number of pages PER RESUME/CV or the total number of allowable pages for that required section? Does the 30 page maximum for Section 2 of the

Technical proposal include resumes/CVs?

Pg. 82

2-3pgs per resume

Attachment 02: Will the government please clarify where the statement "The Government is conducting this source selection in accordance with the competitive negotiation source selection procedures contained in FAR Part 15.” is required to appear in the

Technical proposal?

Pg. 81, Attachment 02

This Section is a disclaimer to industry stating that the source selection procedures will be in accordance with FAR

Part 15. Offerors will not need to include this in their proposal. Revised

Will the government please explain the task requiring annual updates of the NBBTP Certificate Program considering the PWS does not request, or define, the NBBTP Certificate Program.

Pg. 72, Item 5

The NIH does not anticipate conducting a Certificate program under this requirement. I suspect this language was form a previous PWS.

Offerors must provide a Small Business Subcontracting Plan AND that

Offerors do not have to provide this document due to the solicitation being a Total Small Business Set Aside. Will the government please confirm if a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is required?

Pg 49, Part 4 and Part 4a

A subcontracting plan is not required since this is a small business set-aside, However, if offerors due intend on partnering with other small businesses or large businesses, a small business utilization plan shall be included with the

Technical Proposal stating which work will be portioned out and should address the percentage of work that will be completed by the awardee of the contract and percentage of work that may be performed by other businesses.

How should Offerors include this information if it cannot be included on form NIH 2043?

NIH 2043

Revsied to:

" By signing the Cover Sheet the offeror agrees to the following statement: By submitting this proposal, the offeror, if selected for discussions, grants the contracting officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before award, any of those books, records, documents, or other records directly pertinent to the information requested or submitted."

1. Pg 84, Attachment 03 indicates Offerors are to use form NIH 2043 for the Business Proposal cover sheet. Section C, pg. 48 requires

Offerors to include nine data points on the Business Proposal cover sheet. However, form NIH 2043 does not allow Offerors to indicate two of the required nine data points listed in Section C, pg 48, specifically:

a. Proposed cost and/or price; and total;

b. “By submitting this proposal, the offeror, if selected for discussions, grants the contracting officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before award, any of those books, records, documents, or other records directly pertinent to the information requested or submitted.”

NIH 2043

a. Proposed cost and/or price; and total;

Proposed cost/price/total are to be included on a separate

Cost Proposal Sheet.

b. “By submitting this proposal, the offeror, if selected for discussions, grants the contracting officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before award, any of those books, records, documents, or other records directly pertinent to the information requested or submitted.”

Please note that this is a disclaimer. If an offeror is not in agreeance the company shall disclose in writing that they will not authorize the government to review their records.

Did the government intend for the Base Year performance period to be

September 30, 2016 through September 29, 2017 as indicated on page

8, or for the base year to run from September 30, 2016 - October 14, 2017 to align with the Option Year performance periods below?

Pg. 8, Article F.1 This Period of Performance was a typo. The correct POP has been provided in the Amendment

1. Also, did the government intend for any two option years to run simultaneously for the period of time from September 30-October 14 of a given option year? For example, Option Year 1 and Option Year 2 overlap from September 30-October 14, 2018 (shown below).

Option Option Period

Option Year I, Contract Year 2 September 30, 2017 through

October 14, 2018

Option Year II, Contract Year 3 September 30, 2018 through

October 14, 2019

Option Year III, Contract Year 4 September 30, 2019 through

October 14, 2020

Option Year IV, Contract Year 5 September 30, 2020 through

October 14, 2021

This Period of Performance was a typo. The correct POP has been provided in the Amendment

Offerors “...have to complete and INCLUDE as part of your BUSINESS

PROPOSAL, SECTION K: Which can be accessed electronically from the

Internet at the following address:

http://rcb.cancer.gov/rcb-internet/wkf/sectionk.pdf

H:\My Documents\Contract

Templates\Samples\RFP\Section K.pdf

../../../../Contract Templates/Samples/RFP/Section K.pdf ../../../../Contract Templates/Samples/RFP/Section K.pdf

The following changes have been made to the PWS:

Pg. 60 - Manage has been changed to Administer

Pg. 61, Administrative and Human Resources Support - "and the NIAID Contracting Officer before being offered to a candidate" has been added

Pg. 61, Training of NBBTP Fellows - "The IDP will be..." has been changed from modified to amended.

Pg. 62, 3.1.2 - "Contractor shall..." has been changed from manage to administer

Pg. 63, 3.1.4 - "and/or the Government Program Director" has been added

Pg. 64, 3.1.6 - "to attend professional meetings and" has been added

"All travel costs and per diem shall be in accordance with" has been added

Pg. 64, 3.1.7 - "The Contractor shall review and update the website as needed or when directed by the Government" has been revised.

Pg. 64, 3.1.8 - "Semiannual meetings with the COR, NIAID Contracting Officer and the Program Director shall be held within 2 weeks following the end of each six (6) month period. The purpose of these meetings is to review Contractor performance, review budget, and answer questions regarding operation of the NBBTP. The Contractor shall submit a quality control report at each semiannual meeting. The contractor shall record minutes of each meeting and provide them to the COR as an addendum to the

Semiannual Report (see below) within fifteen (15) days of the meeting. " has been revised.

Pg. 66, 3.3 #5 - "training" has been added

Pg. 66, 3.3 #9 - "COR" has been added

Pg. 68, Reports and Deliverables - 4.1 Monthly Reports has been deleted.

Pg. 68, Reports and Deliverables - 4.1 Semiannual, Section d) "Monthly Progress Reports will not be...." has been deleted

Pg. 68, Reports and Deliverables - 4.3 Annual Report - has been deleted

Pg. 68, Reports and Deliverables - Final Report, last sentence is deleted. "A monthly report will not be required...."

Pg. 70, Technical Progress Reports Table - Item 6 - 5.1.1 "Monthly Progress Report" has been deleted

Pg. 70, Technical Progress Reports Table - Item 6 - 5.1.3 "Annual" has been deleted.

Pg. 71, Evaluation of Developmental Assignments - PD has been spelled out

Pg. 73, Requirement Summary - Monthly Status Report has been deleted