Responses_to_Solicitation_Questions.pdf

1. Period of performance: base year (page 2 of SOW). May we run an additional cohort during the base year to pilot a more advanced curriculum with Native American students who participated in our summer program last year?

Yes.

Page 6 of the solicitation provides that “Respondents may, at their discretion, submit alternate proposals or proposals that deviate from the RFQ provided that a proposal for performance of work, as specified in the SOW, is also submitted….”

If submitting an alternate proposal that deviates from the SOW, the offeror shall include both a proposal that meets the requirements with the SOW and also the alternate proposal that deviates so that the Government may consider either option, depending on the best interests of the Government. This necessitates the technical volume of an offeror’s proposal to specifically address both options, and the business volume include quotes for both options. Please note – quotes must be for base period, option period one, and sum of both. If an alternate proposal in addition to a standard proposal is provided, the quote for base period, option period one, and sum shall be included for each of the proposals.

If an additional cohort is being considered to be done in the Base period, these students needs to have a more advanced curriculum with more hands-on experiences.

2. RE: Level of effort. Our proposed co-director has an EdD, not a PhD, but she is the liaison for Native Americans at her university and is a Native American with extensive experience with this population. Can she be a co-director?

The co-director can be an EdD or any other Doctorate in STEM. However, the person needs to have experience with the population intended for the AIAN program.

3. RE: background information and specific requirements (page 1 and 2 of SOW). May we educate a cohort of indigenous Mexican American high-school students from an impoverished and underserved area alongside the NA students with funding we have secured via other sources?

Tracking of expenses, funding requirements, and data for the two cohorts will remain completely separate, and this cohort of Mexican-American students will NOT be considered for NIH experience, but rather receive additional science laboratory experience via the external funders for this cohort.

If the Mexican American High-School Students are supported via other funding sources, they can be incorporated in the AIAN program. However, all the resources paid to the AIAN program cannot be used for the Mexican American High-School Students.

4. RE: the rights in data. Can we obtain permission to use some of these data for future applications for awards and/or publications? May we ask for the clause – 52.227-14 in this matter or obtain written permission for use?

Written permission from the Contracting Officer must be obtained prior to release or publication of any data from performance of the Contract. IRB approval will be needed.

5. RE: the rights in data. The tribal elder would like to know if their tribe will be identified and compared to other tribes? Or will they be referred to generically, e.g., Tribes of the…

Written permission from the Contracting Officer must be obtained prior to release or publication of any data from performance of the Contract. The Government will consider any sensitivities of publicizing information from Tribes. IRB approval will be needed.

6. The SOW is not intended as a residential program. However, if we are able to secure private funding for the residential portion, can we recruit students from outside our area?

The Statement of Work is written as a day program and does not contemplate residential options. Successful offeror(s) are free to use their own resources not provided under the contract, including for residential. The Government is not responsible or liable for activities not covered under the Statement of Work, including residential stay of any students.

Recruiting is permissible outside of the area as long as the requirements for the Statement of Work can be met. It is recommended that priority for this program are for students who are close to the Preparatory Summer Course location.

7. Is it acceptable to have two Principal Investigators?

Yes, it is acceptable although preference by the Government is for one named Principal Investigator while other “Co-Investigators” can be key personnel.

8. Grants allow for indirect costs, do contracts as well? If so at what percentage? If not, do we note the administrative costs with direct expenditures?

Under the fixed price cost model -indirect costs should be loaded within the direct costs, i.e., labor costs should include indirect costs within the total cost of labor. Or materials/supplies should include any applicable indirect costs to fully load the fixed cost of materials/supplies.

There should not be a separate line item for “indirect costs.”

9. Can we invite outside speakers and include costs in the budget, or are all speakers/presenters/faculty to be local?

The Statement of Work specifies requirements for some speakers for the summer one program (see Level of Effort and Key Personnel sections). Offerors may elect to include additional outside speakers in their proposal, including costs in their fixed-price proposal for those speakers– but this is a competitive requirement so offerors should be mindful of their proposed costs.

In the event that Offerors are unable to meet any specific requirement in terms of qualifications of staffing, Offerors should explain their proposed staff and how they are qualified to meet the requirements in the Statement of Work.

NOTE* - Fixed price proposal includes a fixed price for the base period, a separate fixed price for option period one, and a total of both periods. An explanation of those costs shall be included.

10. Can local transportation, ie. bus or van be included in the direct costs?

If the local transportation is needed in performance of the Statement of Work, then it may be included in direct costs.

11. Is the “curriculum” schedule noted in the request just for guidance or do we have to find speakers/presenters for those topics? Can we rearrange the schedule week to week? Can we add academic enrichment that is not specifically mentioned in the “curriculum”? Is NINDS going to provide syllabi or do we develop materials on our own? Can we add a public health research week instead of something else on the schedule?

The curriculum schedule is a guide. You will need to find your own speakers/presenters for each of the topics. You can rearrange the schedules to the needs of your program, like adding a public health research week. However, some topics are strongly encouraged to remain as part of the curriculum such as: Neuroscience/Human, Environmental Science (Encourage activities in the local environment), and Career Development activities. You can add any other topics not listed in the curriculum. However, your program needs to develop the materials and syllabus for all the topics and the length of the summer programs specified in the SOW shall not be adjusted.

12. Can the year 2 program, Option Period, be less structured and more individual research based?

Yes, the second-year program may be more individual research based with some days group meeting with the other students in the second-year program.

13. Do the spring and summer programs have to be back on location at the University or can we have transportation and accommodations for students to attend a regional meeting of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), for example?

The spring program should be in the university of the program or in the high school of the students because your program needs to do an activity (hands-on or lecture) with the students.

Going to the conference or regional meeting is not considered a hands-on activity.

14. Are the budgets for the Base and Option periods to be similar?

There is no requirement that the budgets for the base and option periods be similar. This is a competitive requirement and the Government will review costs for reasonableness and in accordance with “Evaluation of Quotes and Award Determination” on page 6 of the Statement of Work.

15. Should we use regular NIH grant forms for the Budget and Budget Justification, or do we just write all narrative and budget on plain double-spaced document pages? Is the title providing the title, or are we able to choose one specific to our effort? How detailed do you want the weekly program descriptions?

An NIH grant form or any alternate form is permissible as part of the business volume. Offeror’s proposals shall be in the format described under “Attachment 3 – Supplemental Proposal Instructions.”

Each program can have a subtitle for their program. The weekly programs should be fairly detailed.

16. Is there a maximum that one can pay high school counselors/teachers to be with students?

Medical/ graduate student chaperones?

Labor will be evaluated for reasonableness. There is not a pre-determined maximum.

17. Scope of contract – Does the budget need to include both the Base Period AND Option Period One budgets? Or, will that be a separate proposal the following year?

The budget should include the proposed fixed-price cost for the base period, a separate proposed fixed-price cost for option period, and a sum total of both periods.

18. Does the curriculum for the Option Period One need to be finalized? We were only focused on this first year but can modify for 2nd year.

2nd year curriculum needs to be roughly finalized.

19. Is there a specific form, like grant forms, budget pages etc?

Excel and pdf are the formats. There is not a specific form required. Sufficient detail to evaluate costs for reasonableness shall be provided. Line item costs may include, but are not limited to:

labor, materials, supplies, room rental fee, transportation, consultants, subcontracts, etc. See “Attachment 3 - Supplemental Proposal Instructions.”