Questions_and_Answers_5.13.15_Cut_Off.pdf

NIH Wide Business and Professional Support Services

Questions and Answers

Questions Ref Answer

Must offers bid on all of the 8 services as indicated in Article B.1, or can they bid on individual services?

(Attachment 4, Section 5 “Firms shall indicate below which services the propose to offer,” shows check boxes for the 8 services). B.1

See amendment 1. The check boxes are removed.

Offerors shall bid on all 8 services.

How is reporting organized in an IDIQ environment? Do all IDIQ awardees submit all these reports regardless of whether or not they have won a TO award? Or is it per TO award, or as a summary of all TO awards being performed by that awardee? C.2

See amendment 1. Reporting is only necessary if the awardee has won a TO, and will be determined by the TO CO. Copies of TO reporting shall be submitted to the TO COR/CO and Master IDIQ

CO/COR.

Are the weekly meetings referred to in RFP Article F.2. DELIVERIES only required if the contractor has received a task order award? F.2 Yes

4 Does task 3.3 require a specific weekly meeting with the COR and/or COTR? F.2.A

See amendment 1, updated F.2. Weekly meetings could be required by the TO CO.

5 Are the “technical areas” referred to in this section the same as the 8 services referred to in Article B.1? G.3.C.1 Yes.

Are proposals evaluated more or less favorably for submitting to multiple technical areas? How is the government going to align these proposals to technical areas G.3.C.1

See amendment 1, Section M. Offerors are expected to propose on all 8 technical areas.

Does the instruction in Attachment 1 to submit proposal by disk (CD or DVD) override the instruction in Section

L.1.a.c.a to submit using paper media? l.1.a.c.a

See amendment 1, Section L. All submission instructions are located in Section J, Attachment 1.

What is the meaning of paragraph (4) on page 34 of the RFP, “Unless otherwise specified in the solicitation, the offeror may propose to provide any item or combination of items?” Please clarify this requirement. l.1.a.c.b.4 See amendment 1. This text is removed.

What contract type(s) will be permitted for task orders? Section L.1.c.2 indicates fixed price level of effort, while section L.2.a.1 indicates fixed price, T&M, and Labor Hour. L.1.c.2/L.2.a.1

See amendment 1. The government intends to award multiple year multiple award IDIQ contracts for TM and LH completion task orders.

10 Does the first sentence in this paragraph refer to the IDIQ vehicle awards or to the TO awards? l.2.a.1

The first sentence in this paragraph refer to the IDIQ vehicle awards

11 Does reference to labor-hours apply to the IDIQ proposal or individual Task Orders? l.2.a.4 Reference to labor-hours apply to the Task Orders

Should companies provide three past performance examples for each SOW technical area they propose on, or only 3 past performances for all technical areas combined? If only 3 past performances are required overall, how will the government evaluate offeror’s past performance against each of the 8 technical areas? L.2.a.11

Only 3 past performance references are necessary.

Offerors are encouraged to display past performance in 8 eight areas, but past performance is an unrated evaluation factor.

Technical Proposal Instructions states, “a detailed work plan must be submitted indicating how each aspect of the statement of work is to be accomplished.” The statement of work describes general areas in which specific task orders will be issued. May we describe a general approach to the area, which will be further detailed in response to a specific task order? l.2.b

See amendment 1. The technical instruction are updated.

Does the government require the key personnel identification for each SOW technical area? How many personnel should be considered key at IDIQ level? L.2.b.1.b

Yes. At least one key personnel should be identified for each technical area. If qualified, key personnel may be listed for multiple technical areas.

In the absence of specific task orders, how would the government like us to demonstrate availability of a representative sample of the staff to support each SOW technical area? L.2.b.1.b

Please provide resumes for staff and commitment letters and resumes for subcontractors.

Technical Proposal Instructions, Are these instructions applicable to the IDIQ proposal or for specific TORFPs?

For example, do we propose specific personnel in the IDIQ proposal? L.2.b.1.b

Yes. You should propose specific personnel in the

IDIQ proposal and again on the TORFPs.

RFP-NIH-OD-2015057

Since this RFP is for award of an IDIQ contract, and the amount of work to be awarded to any specific contractor cannot be specified, would NIH accept data on labor rates of personnel in lieu of an estimate of total cost? L.2.c.3.1.a.6 Yes. See amendment 1.

This paragraph states that offerors “must submit, with your proposal, certified cost or pricing data”. FAR 15.403-

1 provides multiple examples of when Certified Cost or Pricing Data shall not be obtained, and FAR 15.403-4 (a)

(1) states that the contracting officer shall obtain certified cost or pricing data only if the contracting officer concludes that none of the exceptions in 15.403-1(b) applies. Because NIH believes multiple awards will be issued, it is our opinion that adequate price competition will take place through this acquisition, thereby obviating the need for Certified Cost or Pricing Data. As such, we recommend requiring Other than Certified Cost or Pricing Data, which will put much less of a burden on the Offerors than what would be required when submitting the exhaustive amount of information required by Certified Cost or Pricing Data. L.2.c.3.1.c

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

Is this section applicable to IDIQ and/or TORFP responses? If applicable to the IDIQ do we do this for all/each of the technical areas? L.2.c.10

It is applicable to the IDIQ and should be done for all technical areas.

How do subparagraphs b-e relate to the past performance evidence the offeror is required to submit (Section

L.2.a.11)? L.2.c.10.b-e See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Evaluation of Options, states that “the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement.” How will this be done for an IDIQ with no estimated hours? M.2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Please elaborate on what systems these enhancements relate to or is it for any system in NIH. Does this exclude any new systems development work? M.3.I.G This is for any NIH system.

23 Are resumes excluded from the 35 page limit for the technical proposal? M.3.II

Resumes are excluded from the page limit, but individual resumes are limited to 5 pages each.

24 How will the Government evaluate the proposed rates? Attch 2.7

The proposed rates will be evaluated for reasonableness.

25 The next to last sentence indicates these services are for OLAO. Should this be changed to include all of NIH? Attch 3.1 Yes. See amendment 1.

26 Should this be changed to reflect and entire NIH scope? Attch 3.1.4 Yes. See amendment 1.

Quality Control states that “one copy of the contractor’s quality control plan will be provided to the Contracting

Officer and Task Order Project Officer as part of the proposal submission.” Is it intended that we include our quality control plan in the IDIQ proposal, or only in subsequent task order proposals? Attch 4.2

See amendment 1. This is only required at the TO level.

Past Performance Data requires that references for 3 contracts be submitted to the contract specialist. Should these references are to be provided via email to the contract specialist by the proposal due date, and should they also be included in the business proposal? Attch 4.4.2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

29 As this a Task Order Based IDIQ for all of NIH, is the Performance Table an example? Attch 4.6 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Labor Rates requests labor rates for Year 1 and Year 2. Year 2 has five more labor categories than Year 1. Please confirm that this is intentional. Attch 4.7 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Labor Rates requests labor rates for Year 1 and Year 2. Page 11, Article F.1 – Period of Performance, states that the period of performance is a year with two option years. Should we provide rates for three years? If so, should the Year 3 labor categories be the same as for Year 1 or Year 2? Attch 4.7 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

32 How many awards does the government expect to make by SOW technical area? General

See amendment 1. Offerors shall propose on all 8 technical areas.

Should NIH choose to issue more than one type of task order (e.g. FFP, T&M, LH), please indicate which box(es) on Form NIH-2043 offerors should mark in response to the type of contract proposed. General Other.

34 Does the government anticipate dividing awards among large businesses and small businesses? General

This requirement was not set aside. The government expects full and open competition.

What information is to be included in the cover page of the technical proposal and pricing proposal? The RFP presents conflicting information on Page 40 (I. COVER PAGE), Page 46 (2. Proposal Cover Sheet), and Page 47 (1 –

General Instructions). General See amendment 1. These sections are revised.

Given the government’s intent to award an IDIQ, it’s unclear how offerors are to complete Attachment 5 since

NIH has not provided specific tasks for offerors to price. Therefore, we are unable to complete Attachment 5 as provided. Specifically, we cannot generate estimates of hours, material costs, and travel costs. Are offerors required to complete this Attachment as part of the business proposal submittal? Attch 5 See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Given the government’s intent to award an IDIQ, it’s unclear how offerors are to complete Attachment 10 since

NIH has not provided specific tasks for offerors to price. Therefore, we are unable to complete Attachment 10 as provided. Specifically, we cannot generate estimates of hours, material costs, and travel costs. Are offerors required to complete this Attachment as part of the business proposal submittal? Attch 10 See amendment 1. This attachment is removed.

Attachment 10 states that “An electronic spreadsheet is available to assist you in the preparation of your business proposal. It is in EXCEL format and has instructions for use and submission. Prior to using this spreadsheet discuss it with the cognizant Contract Specialist responsible for the RFP of interest to you.” Should the spreadsheet be completed in lieu of the table shown in Attachment 10, or in addition to it? We are unable to complete the spreadsheet as provided. Specifically, we cannot generate estimates of hours, material costs, and travel costs. Are offerors required to complete this Attachment as part of the business proposal submittal? Attch 10 See amendment 1. This attachment is removed.

According to M.1, the Past Performance is included in the technical factor. However, on page 43, it states that the Past Performance is to be included in the business proposal. Is this accurate See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The RFP requires the Technical Proposal not exceed 35 page, including attachments. However, the attachments required for the technical proposal will exceed several pages. Will the government consider the Technical

Proposal not exceed 35 pages, excluding Resumes and Attachments?

Cover Page, Box 7, “This solicitation has a required total page limitation of not to exceed

35 pages for the technical proposal.” Technical

Proposal Attachments, Page 30 Attachment 1, Packaging and Delivery of the Proposal, Number of Copies See amendment 1. This section is revised.

41 The attachment is not included in the RFP. Can the government please provide?

Article C.2., Reporting Requirements.

References Information and Physical Access

Security in Section H. See amendment 1. This section is revised.

42 Please confirm Attachment 4, Section 3, should be titled, Program Management.

Attachment 4, Sections 2 and 3, Section Title.

Both sections are titled, Quality Control and

Assurance. See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Did the government intend to provide a link to a specific Wage Rate Determination form? Links to, or copies of, all other forms listed in Section J were provided, but no link or copy of the Wage Determination form was provided. Section J; pg. 30 See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Does the government intend to limit past performance references to work within the past three years that is still being performed? Did the government intend to mean work within the past three years, or work that is currently being performed?

Section L; pg. 43 vs.

Att. 4, Section 4; pg. 2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

45 What instructions can the government provide for completing the Performance Metrics table in Section 6? Attachment 4; pg. 3 See amendment 1. This table is removed.

46 Can the government clarify what contract type(s) will be employed?

Section L; pg. 37 vs.

Section L; pg. 40

The government intends to award multiple year multiple award IDIQ contracts for TM and LH completion task orders.

Can the government provide additional guidance on the specific information required in the work plan given that we are not responding to a task order RFP and so no work is required at this time? Section L; pg. 44 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

48 Please explain the form and content of this requirement in light of the lack of specific task detail. Section L; pg. 49 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Does this requirement apply at this phase - establishment of the IDIQ contract - or does it apply to responses to individual task orders? Section L; pg. 53 Both.

50 Can you provide additional information on past and anticipated requirements for Supply Chain Management? Attachment 3 (SOW, Section 3.5); pg. 6 No.

51 Can the government provide additional information on the nature of the Principal Investigator role? Section L; pg. 45 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

52 Would the government consider a legible font size smaller than 10 points for graphics? Attachment 1; pg. 60; III.A.2 No.

Is Past Performance Information to be included with the Business Proposal as instructed in L.2.a.11.a, submitted by email to chase.lucas@nih.gov, or both. If submitted by email, should the email submission be limited to section L.2.a.10.d, Pertinent Contracts? Attachment 4; pg 2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

54 Does the government intend offerors to propose the maximum order value, or will this be negotiated? Section I.4; pg 27 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

55 How does the government intend to evaluate the offeror's proposed key personnel? Section M; pg 60 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The zip code specified for Hand Delivery or Express Service in the preceding table is 20892. For Courier Delivery, is the zip code 20852 or 20892? Attachment 1; pg.60 For courier delivery the zip code is 20852

57 Does the government intend that Option 2 would be exercised 12 months after the start of Option 1? Section F.1; pg. 11 Yes. See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Does OLAO have an estimated number of candidates it intends to train and certify in Lean Six Sigma?

Additionally, does OLAO have a current Lean Six Sigma deployment strategy that it prefers to follow and if so, can this strategy be shared? Attachment 3; pg 4 No and no.

59 Can you please define “similar in nature” (e.g., of the same size, scope, and complexity)? Section L.2.a.11. ; pg. 43 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

What is the relative weight of the Past Performance Factor in comparison to the overall Technical Factor (since it is part of the Technical factor)? Also, in assessing the performance risk with regard to overall past performance, is there a risk scale that will be used (e.g., High, Medium, Low)? If so, what are the ratings on the scale and what are the thresholds for each rating? Sections M.3 and M.4; pgs. 59-60 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Are all contract personnel required to be onsite at the HHS location identified from 8am-6pm M-F, or can some personnel work at the contractor’s facilities? Will this vary from task order to task order? Attachment 1; pg. 2 This will vary from TO to TO.

is risk management support specific to the workforce planning activity, or is this is intended to be enterprise, program, project, or some other risk management support services? Attachment 3; pg. 6 Specific to workforce planning

Please clarify what types of tracking, monitoring, and coordination are required (e.g. project tracking and monitoring, financial tracking and monitoring). Attachment 3; pg. 6 General budgetary tracking

64 Is there a page limit for the three past performance cites? No

65 Are past performance from relevant non-profit organizations acceptable? Yes. See amendment 1. This section is revised.

66 Is the Key Personnel – Program Manager expected to be on site at the NIH offices? This will vary from TO to TO.

The small business target is 35% - is there any target percentage allocations of small business subcontracting by socio-economic category – Women-owned, HUBXZone, VOSB, SDVOSB? No.

68 What is the timing for the submission of the Section 508 Annual Report? Annual.

The RFP states that the ceiling for the contract is $30.75M. If there are multiple awardees, will each awardee’s ceiling be $30.75M or will $30.75M be the maximum for task orders across all awardees? The ceiling will be $30.75M per contract.

The RFP states that the contract will be fixed-price level of effort; however, it later states that tasks may be time and materials, fixed price or cost plus. Could you confirm the contract type and pricing requirements?

The government intends to award multiple year multiple award IDIQ contracts for TM and LH completion task orders.

Please clarify the pricing requirements. The requirements in Section 2.c indicate that a cost build by cost element is required in the format provided in Attachment 10. To do this offerors must be able to estimate labor and other resource requirements based on a specific scope of work. However, the Statement of Work is not specific enough to provide any such estimate. Attachment 4 requires the proposal of fixed labor rates. Are offerors required only to propose fixed labor rates? If so, will the Government provide labor category descriptions with minimum requirements for offerors to estimate labor rates against? Also, what is the basis for pricing these rates, is the Government still requiring a cost build in some other format than the cost build by cost element?

Reference: Section 2.c paragraph 4 and

Attachment 4 Labor Rate Table See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Question: has the Government has determined that the services being acquired are not commercial services, and that this competition is unlikely to achieve adequate price competition such that an exception may be established for certified cost or pricing data? Reference: Section 2.c paragraph 4 (pg 50)

See amendment 1. The government determined that these are commercial services.

Question: the requirement specifies that subcontractors submit “a complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror's cost proposal”. Does this requirement apply to small businesses who are not in possession of an adequacy determination for their accounting systems, or minor subcontractors (i.e. contractors who do not attain the “major subcontract threshold of $650,000 as described in Section 2.a paragraph 11 (pg 43)? Reference: Section 2.c paragraph 11 (pg 58) See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Question: the referenced paragraph titled “Salary Rate Limitation in Fiscal Year 2014” refers to the salary rate limitation effective for the Federal Government’s fiscal 2014 ending in 30 September 2014. Please confirm that the salary rate limitation applicable to the Government’s current fiscal year is applicable to this solicitation. Reference Section 2.c paragraph 5 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

75 What is the contract classification level (Public Trust, Classified)? Public trust.

76 What is the level of security investigation required for contractor personnel to be eligible for this effort? Moderate.

Key personnel – Does the project manager role need to have contractual signing authority? Are there other profiles they would value seeing? No.

History/background – Is this a re-compete of a single contract? Consolidation of multiple contracts? Or broadening to new work? What is the situation that initiated the release of this RFP (need for new skills? New pricing? End of a contract period?) The government cannot elaborate.

Future priorities – What are the most critical priorities/programs/initiatives planned for design/implementation/roll-out in the period of performance? The government cannot elaborate.

80 Success factors - What are the attributes that are key for service providers to be successful working with OLAO? The government cannot elaborate.

81 Expected work distribution – What is the expected % distribution across the 8 tasks? Unknown.

Past performance – What type of past performance would be most valued by NIH (federal health, commercial health, other?) See Section L.

Business Proposal Attachments (Page 30) Attachment 10. Link to the external excel file source is broken, can someone please forward copy of the excel file referred in the RFP? See amendment 1. This section is removed.

84 First time I see a request to add pricing info in the Tech Vol. (?) See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Attachment 4 - Business Proposal Table of Content, Sections 2 & 3 are titled the same “Quality Control and

Assurance”. Please confirm/clarify. See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Page 51, Item 5, discusses salary limitations relative to FY14 funds. Has this salary limitation policy been updated for current year funds? See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Would the Government please confirm the expected minimum and maximum orders under this MA-IDIQ?

Sections B.2 and G.3.e. state conflicting values.

ARTICLE B.2. Prices/Costs; ARTICLE G.3.e. Fair

Opportunity See amendment 1. These sections are revised.

Because this will be a procurement for commercial services to be performed on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or Time

& Materials (T&M)/Labor Hour (LH) basis and not on a cost basis, will the Government please waive the requirement for offerors to provide certified cost and pricing data?

ARTICLE I.3. Additional Contract Clauses, 18.

FAR 52.242-4

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

Because this will be a procurement for professional services, the Service Contract Act will not apply. Will the

Government please remove the Wage Rate Determination?

Part III, SECTION J. Business Proposal

Attachments, Attachment 13 The Service Contract Act applies.

Each of these attachments require disclosure of direct pricing data, indirect cost builds, or certified cost and pricing data. Since this will be a commercial services procurement for work to be performed solely on a

FFP/T&M/LH basis, will the Government please remove these requirements or permit offeror to omit the submission of cost and pricing data if it can demonstrate that its prices are fair and reasonable?

Part III, SECTION J. Business Proposal

Attachments, Attachment 8 and 12;

Informational Attachments, Attachment 16

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

The RFP instructs offerors to include the representations and certifications listed in Section J – Attachments;

however, no representations and certifications are identified. Would the Government please provide the representations and certifications? Or, will the Government accepted a complete and current copy of offerors

SAM.gov representations and certifications as “Section K”?

PART IV, SECTION K. Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors See amendment 1. FAR 52.212-3 is added.

If an offeror has undergone a pre-award audit and had its system preliminarily determined to be acceptable, will the Government accept this evidence to demonstrate acceptability of a contractors’ accounting system?

SECTION L, 1.c.3. Type of Contract and Number of Awards See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) states, “A list of three contracts completed during the past three years and currently being performed that are similar in nature to the solicitation workscope.” Would the Government please confirm whether the past performance references should have been completed within the past three years or currently being performed?

SECTION L, 2.a.11.a, Past Performance

Information See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Will the Government please confirm whether any required Letters of Commitment are included in the 35-page limit for the Technical Proposal? SECTION L, 2.b.1.b.2, Additional Personnel

The letters of commitment are included in the 35 page limit.

Section M states that resumes shall be submitted for each person proposed; however, Section L states, “Resumes of all key personnel are required.” Would the Government please clarify whether resumes are required for all proposed personnel or only Key Personnel? SECTION M & SECTION L, 2.b.1.b.2, Resumes

See amendment 1. This section is revised. Resumes from key personnel are required. Key personnel are required for each technical area.

If the offeror qualifies for exceptions to provide cost or pricing data, Would the Government please confirm that it will not be deemed noncompliant for failure to include certified cost or pricing data, or to include any related certifications, in its bid to the Government?

SECTION L, 2.c.3.4., Requirements for Certified

Cost or Pricing Data and Data Other than

Certified Cost or Pricing Data, FAR Clause

52.215-20 (October 2010)

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

97 What information will the Government accept to determine the acceptability of offeror’s financial capacity? SECTION L, 2.c.10.d., Pertinent Contracts Annual Financial Report.

The RFP states that subcontractors shall provide a cost proposal to the Government. Since subcontractor labor will be billed at the prime awardee’s corresponding labor rate, will the Government please remove this requirement? SECTION L, 2.c.11., Subcontractors Yes. See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section M includes “Small Business Approach” as a Technical Evaluation Factor; however, there are no other requirements included for this factor under the Technical Proposal. Would the Government please clarify what is required for this evaluation factor? SECTION M, Criterion III See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Would the Government please confirm whether Attachment 6 is required to be submitted in the Technical

Proposal?

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ATTACHMENTS,

Attachment 6: Summary of Related Activities

See amendment 1. This attachment is moved to the business proposal.

Would the Government please confirm whether Attachment 7 is required to be submitted in the Technical

Proposal?

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ATTACHMENTS,

Attachment 7: HHS Section 508 Product

Assessment Template

See amendment 1. This attachment is moved to the business proposal.

Will the Government please confirm if this is a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule procurement?

The Request for Information (RFI) was released under MOBIS, but the RFP does not identify any GSA Schedule. N/A This is not a GSA Schedule procurement.

In lieu of providing certified cost and pricing data, will the Government please permit offerors to base pricing on its approved GSA Schedule pricing, which has already been determined to be fair and reasonable by the

Government? N/A

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

If this is a GSA Schedule procurement, under FAR 19.705-2(e), multiple subcontracting plans are not permitted as it would lead to double counting. Please confirm, if this is a GSA Schedule procurement, that the offeror’s approved GSA Schedule subcontracting plan will be acceptable. N/A This is not a GSA Schedule procurement.

Are the regularly recurring Technical Progress Reports referenced in Article C.2 Reporting Requirements

Technical Progress Reports on pages 6-8 expected to be produced at the Contract Level or at a funded Task

Order level? If produced at the Contract Level, how will costs associated with producing these reports be recovered by the contractor? If produced at the task order level, can the requirement be removed from the contract solicitation so that the task orders maintain flexibility? It can be expected that some task orders would want weekly meetings and reports while others want monthly.

Article C.2 Reporting Requirements

Technical Progress Reports These reports are only required at the TO level.

Is it expected that the roster for all employees across all task orders under this contract be maintained by the

Contract COR or will this be the responsibility of the Task Order level COR?

Roster of Employees Requiring Suitability

Investigations This will be the responsibility of the TO level COR.

This section states, "The contractor shall submit an annual Section 508 report in accordance with the schedule set forth in the ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY Article." As this does not appear to apply at the contract level, will the government please confirm that this requirement applies only to task orders with a component that specifies delivery of Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) and that costs associated with this Annual Reporting requirements will be at the task order level? Section 508 Annual Report Yes.

The table provided appears to be an example of deliverables that might be required at the Task Order level.

Would the government please confirm that these are provided as an example and that these are not to be provided at the Master Contract level? Article F.2 Deliveries See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Are the Technical Proposal Attachments listed in Section J on page 30 required as part of the technical proposal submission or are they samples for reference? If required for submission, would the government please confirm that they are excluded from the page count? Section J - List of Attachments See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Item 2 notes that, "It is anticipated that the award(s) from this solicitation will be a multiple-year Fixed-Price type

Level of Effort contract…" This appears to conflict with Section L - 2. Instructions to Offerors, item 1, on page 40, which notes, "It is contemplated that a multiple-year, fixed-price, T&M and labor hour contracts may be awarded." Would the government please clarify the type(s) of contract(s) and task orders that are anticipated?

Section L - c. Type of Contract and Number of

Awards

The government intends to award multiple year multiple award IDIQ contracts for TM and LH completion task orders.

The General Instructions "Authorized Official and Submission of Proposal" section on page 40 references printing requirements for proposal submission; however, "Packaging and Delivery of the Proposal" in Attachment 1 describes 1 CD or DVD. Would the government please confirm how offerors should make their submission of proposals?

Section L - 2. Authorized Official and

Submission of Proposal See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section L, sub-section a, item 4 on page 40 notes that, "The proposal must be prepared in two parts: a "Technical

Proposal" and a "Business Proposal." Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that the evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other."

However, several sections in the RFP appear to contradict this. Specifically, in the same section on page 40, the

RFP notes, "The technical proposal must include direct cost and resources information, such as labor-hours and categories and applicable rates..." Would the government please clarify its requirements and/or confirm that this information is not to be included in the Technical Proposal?

Section L.a.4. Separation of Technical and

Business Proposals See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section L, sub-section a, item 4 on page 40 notes that, "The proposal must be prepared in two parts: a "Technical

Proposal" and a "Business Proposal." Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that the evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other."

However, several sections in the RFP appear to contradict this. Specifically, Section L.c.10 on page 57 instructs offerors to include "Qualifications of the Offeror" as part of the Business Proposal. The information described for the qualifications of the offeror appears to be technical in nature. Would the government please clarify this requirement and confirm where offerors should provide the content? In addition, will the government please confirm that this content will not count against the page limit? Section L.c.10. Qualifications of the Offeror See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The "Approach" requirement in the SOW on page 44 requests that offerors "Discuss phasing of research and, if appropriate, include experimental design and possible or probable outcome of approaches proposed." Would the government please confirm this is not applicable for this solicitation? Statement of Work: Approach Yes. See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Article G.2. on page 13 indicates that the Program Manager is to be considered Key Personnel. Section L.b. item b.2 on page 46 indicates that "Resumes of all key personnel are required." Would the government please clarify whether "all key personnel" refers only to the Program Manager or if other key personnel are required? Section G.2. Key Personnel

See amendment 1. The offeror should provide key personnel for each technical task area.

Page 45 requests a schedule for completion of work. Considering the Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity nature of this contract and the wide variety of services anticipated under each task area, will the government consider removing the requirement for a schedule? Section L - Statement of Work 1-4 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section L.b.a.2 on page 44 instructs offerors to, "Discuss phasing of research and, if appropriate, include experimental design and possible or probable outcome of approaches proposed." It appears that this may refer to an R&D contract and may not be applicable to this RFP. Would the government please clarify this statement? Section L.b.a.2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section L.b.a.4 on page 45 instructs offerors to, "provide a schedule for completion of the work and delivery of items specified in the statement of work." Given that the SOW tasks and sub-tasks may be delivered in wide ranging schedules to meet unique customer needs, would the government please confirm that the inclusion of a schedule is not required? Section L.b.a.4 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Language in Section L, paragraph b (Personnel) on page 45 references a Principal Investigator. Is this intended to be the Program Manager? Section L b. Personnel See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section L.b. item b on page 45 indicates that "Special mention shall be made of direct technical supervisors and key technical personnel, and the approximate percentage of the total time each will be available for this program." Would the government please clarify this statement and whether or not key personnel, in addition to the Program Manager, are required? Section L b. Personnel

The offeror shall propose key personnel for each technical task area and provide estimates of their availability.

Section L.b on page 45 requires that offerors include "the approximate percentage of the total time each

[person] will be available for this program." Given the nature of the intended contract (IDIQ with possible multiple award) and its scope, it seems unlikely that estimates made by offerors would be accurate or appropriate. Would the government please clarify this requirement? Section L b. Personnel

The offeror shall propose key personnel for each technical task area and provide estimates of their availability.

Section L.b.2 on page 46 identifies five items for other consideration. These items include "equipment and unusual operating procedures established to protect personnel from hazards associated with this project." It appears that the five items may refer to an R&D contract and may not be applicable to this RFP. Would the government please clarify this requirement? Section L.b.2. Other Considerations See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The existing NIH-Wide Business and Professional Support Services contract, which includes the same task areas and scope of this RFP, is commercially based under FAR Part 12. However, this RFP includes multiple references to solicit a cost-based contract. FAR 15.403-1 states that certified cost or pricing data shall not be obtained to support prices based on adequate price competition or when a commercial item is being required. Since this action will involve both adequate price competition and the acquisition of commercial items, will the government please remove all requirements related to providing adequate cost or pricing data or will the government accept commercially priced proposals? Section L.2.c.

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

Section L.3.D on page 48 indicates that offerors, "must show the relationship between contract line item prices and the total contract price." Based on the requirement for offerors to provide pricing for labor categories only, would the government confirm that this requirement is not applicable? Section L.3.D See attachment 1. This section is revised.

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan described on page 52 is requested to be included in the Business proposal. However, the small business approach is a technical evaluation factor. Will the government consider the Small Business Subcontracting Plan as an attachment to the Technical Proposal that does not count toward page limits? Small Business Subcontracting Plan

No. The small business subcontracting plan shall remain a business attachment and small business approach should be briefly summarized in the technical proposal.

Section L.9.a.2 on page 55 instructs offerors to identify Government property in its possession which it proposes to use in the performance of the contract. The further specifications for doing so (items a-d) appear to be applicable at the task order level. Would the government please confirm that these requirements do not apply at the contract level and that such information will only be requested at the task order level? Section L.9.a.2 Yes. These requirements only apply on the TO level.

The "Subcontracting" section starting on page 57 does not appear relevant to this requirement. Will the government please consider removing this requirement? 11. Subcontracting See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section M: 3. Evaluation Factors Criterion 2 on page 60 states "Key Personnel will be reviewed and not scored and will be identified during negotiations and incorporated into the contract." Will the government please clarify this criterion, as other sections of the RFP require the identification of key personnel?

Section M: 3. Evaluation Factors for Award;

Criterion 2 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Section M.4 on page 60 presents two different scenarios for the evaluation of past performance. Would the government please clarify its approach to evaluate past performance? Section M: 4. Past Performance Factor See amendment 1. This section is revised.

The government stipulates a 35 page limit for the technical section. Given that the SOW requirements include 8 tasks with 62 discrete sub-tasks and multiple other requirements, would the government please consider a page limit of 50 or more pages for the Technical Proposal? attachment 1 page 3 No.

131 Would the government please confirm that resumes are excluded from page count restrictions? attachment 1 page 3 Yes.

The font size for graphics and tables is typically 8pt or less. Can the government confirm that smaller font is allowed for tables, charts, and graphics in the proposal?

Formatting, number of copies, and page limitations No.

Attachment 3, Section 2 sets for 11 separate requirements, many of which appear related to the management of the contract. However, requirements 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, and 2.11 seem to exceed the typical scope of contract management (ie, cataloging tasks in support of supply chain management, etc.) and may only be appropriate at the task order level. Would the government please confirm its requirements and whether a task order will be issued and funded in support of these requirements? 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.11 attachment 3, 307 See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Based on our delivery of work similar in size and scope, deadlines and schedules often require that work be performed outside of a "normal tour of duty" to meet client requirements. Would the government consider removing hours of operation to allow this stipulation on a Task Order basis to allow for variation in requirements and customer needs? attachment 3, page 2 No.

Page 11 under F.2 Deliveries states weekly meetings are required; however, the Statement of Work indicates that monthly meetings are the requirement. Would the government please clarify its requirements? attachment 3 page 3,2,4 See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Past performance references are requested in Attachment 4 to be emailed to Chase Lucas. Would the government please clarify the requirement for references? For example, are the references names and contact information for previous clients or is a past performance survey required? Past Performance Data See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Attachment 4; Section 5, Page 2 seems to indicate that offerors may propose to support selected tasks rather than all 8 tasks in the SOW. Would the government please confirm its requirement that offerors must propose support for all 8 tasks? Section 5

See amendment 1. Offerors are expected to propose on all 8 technical areas.

Page 3 of Attachment 4 provides a table of performance metrics that includes performance objectives and references to a performance work statement paragraph. The performance objectives do not appear to apply to the contract level (ie, conduct workshops with OLAO staff to assist in the development of the OLAO strategic plan) and the corresponding performance work statement references do not reflect numbering from the SOW.

Would the government please confirm that this table is not applicable to the RFP and/or clarify its performance metrics? Section 6 See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

The table in Attachment 4; Section 7, Pages 3-5 lists labor categories by year. However Year 1 labor categories do not match the number of labor categories available in Year 2, and Year 3 labor categories are missing. Can the government confirm that the categories listed in the Year 2 table are those anticipated for Years 1 and 3? Section 7 See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

Pages 3-5 of Attachment 4, Section 7 provide a maximum of 13 unique labor categories and the categories vary over years. This number seems limited as compared to other OLAO contract vehicles which provide a far greater number of labor categories. Given the broad range of services, 8 tasks and 62 discrete subtasks, would the government please consider the following labor categories across all years?

1101 AA Program Manager

1101 AB Assistant Program Manager

1101 AC Accounting Analyst

1101 AD Financial Manager

1101 AE Senior Cost Analyst

1101 AF Cost Analyst

1101 AG Project Manager

1101 AH Analyst

1101 Al Senior Procurement Specialist

1101 AJ Procurement Specialist

1101 AK Subject Matter Expert

1101 AL Policy Analyst

1101 AN Instructional Systems Designer

1101 AO Content Subject Matter Expert/Instructor

1101 AP Training Software Architect

1101 AQ Functional Specialist

1101 AR Logistics Specialist

1101 AS Business Process Reengineering Specialist

1101 AT Senior Systems Engineer

1101 AU Computer Systems Analyst

1101 AV Database Management Specialist See amendment 1. This attachment is revised.

141 Does the government anticipate a certain number of awards or is there a range on the number of awardees? all No.

Please clarify the contract period of performance

- Article B.2.b (Prices/Costs) states, “…will cover the contract period September 01, 2015 through August 31, 2018.”

- Article F.1 (Period of Performance) states, “The period of performance of this contract shall be from September

1, 2015 through August 31, 2018.”

- Section L (Instructions), subsection c (Type of Contract and Number of Awards) states, “…with a Period of

Performance of 09/10/2015 – 08/29/2018.”

Article B.2.b (Prices/Costs); Article F.1 (Period of

Performance); Section L (Instructions), subsection c (Type of Contract and Number of

Awards)

See amendment 1. These sections are revised.

These reports are due within thirty days of contract award. Can the government clarify and provide more information regarding the underlying system or systems upon which these reports should be based?

Article C.2 (Reporting Requirements), subsection b (IT Security Plan), subsection c (IT

Risk Assessment, subsection d (FIPS 199) These reports would be due 30 days from TO award.

The Deliverables Table identifies Tasks 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 that do not correspond to the SOW Task Areas;

will the government please clarify / correct the table to include the appropriate Task numbers?

Article F.2 (Deliverables)

See amendment 1. This sections is revised.

145 The link for Attachment 13 (Wage Rate Determination) is missing; will the government please provide.

Business Proposal Attachments, Attachment 13

(Wage Rate Determination) See amendment 1. This link is revised.

Please clarify the contract the award type(s).

- Section L (Instructions), subsection c (Type of Contract and Number of Awards) states, “It is anticipated that the award(s) from this solicitation will be a multiple-year Fixed Price type Level of Effort contract…”

- Section L (Instructions), 2 (Instructions), a. General Instructions, 1 (Contract Type and General Clauses) states, “It is contemplated that a multiple-year, fixed price, T&M, and Labor Hour contracts may be awarded.”

Section L (Instructions), subsection c (Type of

Contract and Number of Awards); Section L

(Instructions), 2 (Instructions), a. General

Instructions, 1 (Contract Type and General

Clauses The government intends to award multiple year multiple award IDIQ contracts for TM and LH completion task orders.

In subsection a, the government states, “Offerors may also submit past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the instant acquisition. For the purposes of this solicitation, a "major subcontract" is defined as any proposed subcontract effort at or greater than $650,000.” Is the government requirement that only offerors with subcontracts guaranteed $650,000 of work on this response can provide a part performance response; or, if an offerors subcontractor on this solicitation performed as a subcontractor for which a past performance reference is being provide must have performed as a subcontractor on the referenced past performance that was worth greater than $650,000?

11. Past Performance Information

See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Since there is no specific work or task order provided (only a non-exhaustive list of examples of the type of work to be performed), can the government clarify how it expects offerors to provide a schedule for completion of the work and delivery of items?

b. Technical Proposal Instructions, 4. Schedule

See amendment 1. This section is revised.

Since there is no specific work or task order provided (only a non-exhaustive list of examples of the type of work to be performed) and only 1 key personnel required, can the government clarify the need for names, titles, proposed duties, and commitment letters, etc.

b. Technical Proposal Instructions, b. Personnel,

1. Additional Personnel See amendment 1. Key personnel must be provided for all 8 technical task areas.

Why is Certified Cost or Pricing Data required?

FAR 15.403-3(b) states, "When adequate price competition exists... generally no additional information is necessary to determine the reasonableness of price." This requirement appears contradictory in that the FAR.

3. Certified Cost or Pricing Data

See amendment 1. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is no longer required.

According to M.1, “The major evaluation factors for this solicitation include technical (which encompasses experience and past performance factors)…” However, Instructions to Offerors, subsection 11. Past Performance

Information instructs that Past Performance Information be submitted as part of the Business Proposal. Section

M (Evaluation Factors), subsection 3 (Technical Evaluation Factors, 4. Past Performance Factor appears to identify Past Performance as a separate evaluation factor outside of the Technical Evaluation. Can the government please clarify the evaluation of Past Performance.

Section M (Evaluation Factors), Section 1

(General); Instructions to Offerors, subsection

11. Past Performance Information; Section M

(Evaluation Factors), subsection 3 (Technical

Evaluation Factors, Criterion 1 (Technical

Approach) See amendment 1. These sections are revised.

The government identifies evaluation criterion (from a to g) each worth 10 points. These criterion appear to correspond to the SOW Task Areas (Attachment 3); however, there is no criterion for Business Process

Improvement and Organizational Assessment (Task Area 2).