Attach17_QnA_Release.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 85 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- NIHOD201800024
About this file
This is a notice for multiple indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts to provide business and professional support services for the National Institutes of Health and other Department of Health and Human Services agencies. Services include financial analysis, business solutions, acquisition lifecycle support, business process improvement, organizational assessment, communication and training, program planning and management, supply chain management, asset management, policy development, system integration, and assistance developing centers of excellence. The follow-on contracts will utilize the same capabilities as the previous NIH Business and Professional Support Services contract. Proposals are due by August 16, 2018 and awards are anticipated to be made on September 14, 2018. The contracts have a maximum quantity of $45 million each and will utilize fixed price, labor hour, and time and materials task orders.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| NIHOD201800024_A0002.pdf | ||
| Attach02_NIHBPSS_II_SOW_(3_August_2018).pdf | ||
| Attach16_WD2015_4269.pdf | ||
| NIHOD201800024_A0001.pdf | ||
| Attach11_NIHBPSSII_SOP_08032018.pdf | ||
| Attach13_Nondisclosure.pdf | ||
| Attach03_Section_K.pdf | ||
| Attach15_Emp_sep_checklist.pdf | ||
| NIHBPSS_SOP_Updates_II.pdf | ||
| Reference_Response_Form.docx | DOCX document | |
| Sol_NIHOD201800024.pdf | ||
| Proposal_Intent_Response.pdf | ||
| NIHBPSS_Pricing_Spreadsheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| NIHBPSS_II_SOW_(5_June_2018).pdf |
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Sheet2
| Number | Location | Question | Response |
| 1 | Section L.2.a.3. | Reference: Instruction to Offerors, pp 73-74 |
p. 73 “Electronic copies (softcopy) must be submitted in a format other than ".PDF" that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and the ".doc" or ".docx" standard.”
On page 74, the instructions read:
1. Create one PDF file of your Technical Proposal, including all attachments. The Technical Proposal should be created in a PDF format that enables word searches to the maximum extent practicable. Forms and/or documents requiring signature(s) may be scanned, but must be merged into the Technical Proposal PDF file.
2. Create one PDF file of your Business Proposal, including all attachments: The Business Proposal should be created in a PDF format that enables word searches to the maximum extent practicable. Forms and/or documents requiring signature(s) may be scanned, but must be merged into the Business Proposal PDF file.
| Question: Please clarify which format should be used for submission of proposal files. | The Instructions to Offerors has been revised. Please review the revised language. | |
| 2 | SF1449 & | |
| Article I.4 | Block 10 on the SF1449 does not designate what type of acquisition this is. |
In Article I.4, the Notice of Total Business Aside (52.219-6) and Notice of Partial Small Business Set Aside (52.219—7) are checked
Please identify if it is a hybrid of both unrestricted and small business at the size standard so identified ($15M – NAICS 541990).
| If this procurement is not a hybrid, please identify whether it is unrestricted or being set-aside for small business. | This is a partial small business set-aside as described in Section L.1.b. FAR Clause 52.219-6 has been included in the solicitation because its prescription includes "multiple-award contracts when orders may be set aside for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3), as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F)." | |
| 3 | Article B.1 |
Article C.1.a The second paragraph in Article B.1 states that the contractor shall provide “all materials, personnel, facilities, support, and management necessary to meet the requirements in accordance with the Statement of Work.”
Likewise, similar language appears in Article C.1.a requiring the contractor to furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government…”
Is the work to be performed on-site (government facilities) or off-site (contractor provided facilities)?
If the work is determined at the task order level, should the pricing tables reflect both on-site and off-site rates?
| If yes, the pricing tables should reflect both sets of rates, will the government revise the pricing table or should the offeror revise the table to reflect both on-site and off-site labor rates? | Task orders may require/authorize performance at the Government site or contractor facilities as determined by the requiring activity. The rates proposed are intended to be ceiling rates, which may be lowered but not increased through competition at the task order level. As such, offerors may choose, but are not required, to provide on-site and off-site rates. In that case, the offeror may modify the table accordingly; however, the offeror will be evaluated on the basis of the more expensive rate per labor category. | ||
| 4 | Article B.1 | The last sentence of the 2nd paragraph states “This contract will be used primarily by NIH, but may also be used by other portions of DHHS and other Federal agencies.” |
| If a successful offeror has other customers interested in procuring services from this contract vehicle, can they be referred to the CO for possible use or are these services held for specific offices so identified by NIH? | Potential Federal agency customers may be referred to the Contracting Officer. | ||
| 5 | Article B.4 | This section discusses specific elements of cost with require written approval of the CO. |
| Does NIH want the Offeror to provide their G&A rate that will apply to all Other Direct Charges incurred on individual Task Orders issued under this contract? | No, the information in this Article may be supplemented at the Task Order Level. Please see FAR clause 52.212-4 alternate 1 for payment of ODCs under a commercial T&M Task order. Missing fill-ins have been added to the solicitation | ||
| 6 | Article C.2 | In the 2nd paragraph, it states that “one hardcopy of each report shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer.” However, in Article C.2.a.1 2nd paragraph, it states “For proposal preparation purposes only, it is estimated that in addition to the required electronic version(s) 0 hard copies of these reports will be required as follows:” |
| Please clarify whether NIH requires 1 or 0 hardcopies to the CO of reports. | Submission requirements will be supplemented at the Task order level. It is not anticipated that hardcopy reports will be required at the IDIQ level. | |
| 7 | Article C.2 HHS Security and Privacy Language for Information and IT Procurements |
And
Article H.10 HHS Security and Privacy Language for Information and IT Procurements 1. It seems that the only designated tasks which clearly discuss IT work are Tasks 8 and 9. Given that all the information contained within pages 6-11 and pages 22-47 pertains to Information and IT Procurements, is this procurement considered an Information and IT Procurement?
2. If it is considered to be an Information and IT Procurement, are all of the requirements contained in these two sections required of all Offerors regardless of which Tasks they submit bids for when a TORFP is issued?
3. Article H is missing Articles H.6, H.7, H.8, H.9, and H.10. Is this purposeful? If not, please provide missing paragraphs if this procurement is considered to be an Information and IT Procurement. The HHS SECURITY AND PRIVACY LANGUAGE FOR INFORMATION AND IT PROCUREMENTS INFORMATION AND/OR PHYSICAL SECURITY Section is only applicable to certain task orders. These reports are not required at the master IDIQ level; however, the Program Manager is a level 5 position sensitivity designation. The Article has been revised.
We are not able to recreate your issue with the missing Articles in H.
8 Article G.2 & Section C-2.4 The Program Manager is the only position listed as Key Personnel in Article G.2.
A description of this position and requirements are provided in Section 2.4 of the SOW.
The pricing table does not have a Program Manager listed.
| The contract requirements for the program manager are included in Section 2.4 & 2.5 of the Statement of Work. Generally speaking, the Program Manager has overall responsibility for managing the master IDIQ. Appendix A includes the labor categories at the task order level; therefore, the Program Manager is not included. The Government will not be direct billed for the Program Manager's effort under the master IDIQ. | |
| 9 | Article G.3.a. |
Article G.3.b. Article G.3.b. states “The Contracting Officer is authorized to issue orders and provide written confirmation of oral orders, if applicable, under the contract.”
| The only manner in which orders can be placed under this contract are: in writing, via facsimile (fax), and via electronic mail (e-mail) as represented by the checkmarks by each of these methods. Should “oral (oral orders will be confirmed in writing within _ days of issuance) be checked as well given Article G.3.b.? | Oral orders are not authorized under this contract. | ||
| 10 | Article G.4.c.1. | This paragraph states “All Contractors within a technical area will receive e-mail notification advising of the availability of each proposed task order requirement….” |
| This sentence implies that an Offeror does not need to propose in all Task Areas. Please clarify if an Offeror can choose which Task Areas they want to submit a proposal for or does an Offeror have to be able to fulfill all Task Areas? | Offerors must propose on all task areas to be considered for award. Please note that task areas 5 and 6 have been removed. Offerors must propose on the remaining 7 task areas to be considered for award. | |||
| 11 | Article H.9.b. | Are small business offerors that have subcontractors on their team required to submit subcontracting reports or are these reports required from large businesses to track compliance with their small business subcontracting plans? | Article H.9 is not applicable to small business concerns. | |
| 12 | Section L.2.b.1.a | Under the Technical Approach, SOW Section 3.2 Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment is not listed for providing a technical approach in the Offeror’s proposal. |
| Does NIH want the Offeror to include a technical work plan for Section 3.2 of the SOW in their proposal? | Yes, offerors should provide a plan for addressing Task Area 2. The appropriate sections have been revised. | ||
| 13 | Section L.2.a.3 | The table on page 72 lists an Appendix II as Summary of Related Activities but does not reference this anywhere in Technical Proposal Instructions (L.2.b). |
| Please provide additional information about what Appendix II should contain. | The summary of related activities has been removed. | |
| 14 | Section L.2.a.3 | |
| Section L.2.b.1 | The table on page 72 states that the Offeror is allowed 25 pages for Appendix I – CV which means that the Offeror is allowed to submit up to a maximum of 8 CVs (assuming that 3 pages are used for each of them). |
Also, section L.2.b.1 states that CVs shall be submitted “for each person proposed; not to exceed 3 pages per position. CVs are required for all key personnel.”
The ONLY Key personnel position identified in the RFP is the Program Manager. Given that no Task Order is provided to respond to, it is difficult to ascertain which positions will be deemed as Key at this time.
| Please clarify what positions NIH is seeking CVs for (e.g., just the Program Manager; one from each labor category; or another option)? | The Government is seeking CVs for the Program Manager, who is the only Key Personnel, and Project Managers for each of the Task Areas, who are not Key Personnel. A Project Manager may cover multiple task areas. No additional CVs should be provided. | ||
| 15 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | For proposed personnel who are not currently members of the offeror’s staff, a letter of commitment or other evidence of availability is required. |
| Are letters of commitment or other evidence of availability exempt from the page count? | Yes, letters of commitment are exempt from the page count. Please see the revised submission requirements in L.2.a.3. | |||
| 16 | N/A | Will the NIH consider allowing Offeror’s to provide a not to exceed 3-page Executive Summary that is outside of the current 25-page limit to the Technical Proposal? | No. | |
| 17 | Section L.1.c.2 | The first page of the proposal must show five definitive pieces of information. |
| 1) | Is this first page of the proposal exempt from the page count? | ||
| 2) | Is a table of contents exempt from the page count? | ||
| 3) | Is a cover page exempt from the page count? | The offeror may include a Table of Contents and cover page that are outside the page count. | |
| 18 | Section L.2.a.3 | This section of the RFP directs the font size that must be used for Offeror’s proposals and states “graphic resolution must be consistent with the purpose of the data presented.” |
| Please confirm the specification provided for graphics means that it must be legible. | Yes, the proposal must be legible. | |||
| 19 | N/A | Is there any incumbent on this contract? If Yes, please provide name of incumbent along with contract number. | Yes, there are incumbents. This information, along with other information that potential offerors may wish to consider, has been provided at the web address identified in Article B.2. | |
| 20 | N/A | Does the Government looking for Contractor, who has all the required experience and expertise? Will the government consider some experience but not all? | Offerors must propose on all task areas to be considered for award. | |
| 21 | SECTION L.2.c.8 - Past Performance Information | We assume that sub-contractor Past performance Questionnaires submitted by Prime, will also be considered for evaluation. Please confirm if our assumption is correct. | See the revisions to the past performance section. | |
| 22 | SECTION L.1.d. | Is there any defined number Small Business Awards out of 8-10 awards? | Please see section L.1.b for a complete explanation of the intended process for the partial set-aside. | |
| 23 | N/A | Will the task order issued, will be firm fixed price/ Time and Material? | Task orders may be firm-fixed-price, time and material, labor-hour, or some combination of the three. | |
| 24 | N/A | Will the government provide any estimate about the total amount of all the task orders that will be issued through this solicitation? | The Government cannot estimate the amount of work that will be issued against this contract; however, information regarding the previous contract has been provided at the web address provided in Article B.2. | |
| 25 | N/A | What will be typical ticket size of each of the task order? | See answers 19 and 24. Additional information will not be provided. | |
| 26 | Article I.4. - FAR Clause 52.212-5 | There are conflicting clauses within the RFP indicating that it is either a small business set aside in total or a partial small business set aside. Would you be able to clarify? | See question and answer 2. | |
| 27 | N/A | Can a company add additional team members and/or subcontractor(s) in the future for a yet undefined task order? Or must the work be completed solely by whoever is put forth in the original IDIQ response? | Yes, the contractor may supplement its team in response to task order requirements. | |
| 28 | Section L.2.a.3. | Section L.2.a.3., paragraph 2 states, “Electronic copies (softcopy) must be submitted in a format other than “.PDF” that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and the “.doc” or “.docx” standard.” (p. 71) but contradicting information is given on the following page, “Create one PDF file of your Technical Proposal, including all attachments.” (p.72) |
| What is the correct submission format? And must the Proposal Response be Section 508 compliant? | See question and answer 1. No. | |||
| 29 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.6 | What asset management technologies are currently in use at NIH in regards to the personal property program? | Task Area 6 has been removed from the Statement of Work. | |
| 30 | Section L.11.b.1.b. | Do you want a resume/CV for each of the 17 positions listed, or just for the one listed key personnel (Program Manager)? | See question and answer 14. | |
| 31 | Section J | Can you please provide an updated link for Attachment 13, None-Disclosure Agreement? | Yes. | |
| 32 | Section J | Can you please provide an updated link for Attachment 15, Employee Separation Checklist? | Yes. | |
| 33 | NIHBPSS SOW, Section C.3.5. | Is any of the support in Task Areas 5 intended to be “hands-on touch labor” to perform supply, warehousing and distribution or transportation operations, or if this is all professional services to perform project and program management, management consulting, data analysis, business process engineering, and related functions? | Task Area 5 has been removed from the Statement of Work. | |
| 34 | N/A | Do you anticipate the Labor Categories being SCA Wage (Determination)/Grade (WD) or will they be EXEMPT positions? | Yes. | |
| 35 | Section L.2.a.2.c.7. | For the total compensation plan (pg 83), can we submit the pricing spreadsheet to satisfy this requirement? | No, please see the requirements under Section L.2.c.7. | |
| 36 | N/A | Will the department only consider responses covering all task areas as responsive? OR may submissions cover some of the task areas and still be considered as responsive? | ||
| Is the department expecting substantial partnering so that all task areas are covered in a response submission? | See question and answer 10. | |||
| 37 | Section L.2.a.3. | Please confirm that that letters of commitment for personnel are not included as part of the Appendix I - CV 25 page limit. If they are not part of page count please confirm if they should be included as attachments of the end of Volume ! | See question and answer 15. | |
| 38 | Section L.2.a.3. | Please confirm that the prime offeror's subcontractor may submit CVs that qualify for the technical areas as part of CV section. | Yes, as long as the subcontractor is providing the Project Manager for one of the task areas. | |
| 39 | Section L.2.b.1.a | Please confirm if Task Area 2 will be an evaluated section of the proposal and if it should be responded to in the discussion. | See question and answer 12. | |
| 40 | Section L.2.c.10.c. | Please clarify with Task Order contract types the government plans on releasing. Based on the update, please adjust Section B1 or c. Business Proposal Instructions, c. Adequate Accounting System accordingly. | See question and answer 23 | |
| 41 | NIHBPSS SOW, Appendix A | Please confirm if the position in Appendix A should read Program Manager and not Project Manager. Clarification Also impacts proposal pricing sheet as it is noted as Project Manager. | See question and answer 8. | |
| 42 | Section L.2.a.3. Proposal Submission Information | In L.2.a.3. paragraph 2 (page 71), the solicitation states “Electronic copies (softcopy) must be submitted in a format other than '.PDF' that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and the '.doc' or '.docx' standard.” While on page 72 it states under “Creating and Naming Files,” that the Offeror should create PDF files for the Technical and Business Proposals. In which format does NIH want proposals to be submitted, .docx or .pdf? | See question and answer 1. | |
| 43 | Section L.2.a.3. Proposal Submission Information | Can the Cover Page, Cover Letter, and Table of Contents be excluded from the overall 25-page limit for the Technical Volume? | See question and answer 17. | |
| 44 | Section L.2.c.4.d.11 | Can the government confirm that the minimum Small Business Subcontracting goals stated in the Solicitation (Section L.2.c.4.d.11) are required to be met for each task order and are not expected to be represented in the IDIQ submission? | The small business subcontracting goals are expected to be maintained over the life of the contract. | |
| 45 | N/A | Can the government provide a sample task order? | No. | |
| 46 | NIHBPSS SOW, Section 3.1, Task Area 1, Bullet i. | Does "assistance for the full acquisition lifecycle" refer to support of vendor contracts within NIH as part of possible task orders on this IDIQ? What type of vendor contracts are anticipated (services, supplies, construction, research, etc.)? | Support of contracting offices may potentially be procured under this contract; however, individual requirements are determined at the task order level. | |
| 47 | NIHBPSS SOW, Section 3.5 Task Area 5 Bullet a. | What is meant by "Transportation Management"? Does this refer to fleet (i.e., vehicles) or couriers? | Task Area 5 has been removed from the Statement of Work. | |
| 48 | NIHBPSS SOW, Section 3.8 Task Area 8: | Personnel proficient in Oracle – does this mean Oracle RDBMS or will it include other Oracle products such as WebLogic? | The contractor should address Oracle products that are appropriate to the scope of the contract. | |
| 49 | ARTICLE G.2. KEY PERSONNEL, HHSAR 352.237-75 (December 2015) | Can you please define Key personnel for this proposal? | Key Personnel are defined in Article G.2. | |
| 50 | ARTICLE G.2. KEY PERSONNEL, HHSAR 352.237-75 (December 2015) | Is the Program Manager the only required key personnel? | Yes, please see Article G.2. | |
| 51 | Article I.4. - FAR Clause 52.212-5 | At the bottom of page 54, the government selected: (14) (i) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644) and (15) (i) 52.219-7, Notice of Partial Small Business Set-Aside (June 2003) (15 U.S.C. 644). Can the government clarify why they chose to select both? | See question and answer 2. | |
| 52 | SECTION J - LIST OF ATTACHMENTS | Can the Government please provide a hard copy (or valid web address) for Attachment 3: Section K-Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors? | Section K: FAR clause 52.212-3 has been provided and the solicitation language has been updated. | |
| 53 | Section J | Does the Attachment 4: Summary of Related Activities form need to be completed for only the key personnel in this proposal? Does the Attachment 4: Summary of Related Activities form need to be completed for the proposed personnel in this proposal? | The described document has been removed. | |
| 54 | Section J; Proposal Summary and Data Record, NIH-2043 | Since the Government intends on utilizing Fixed Price (FP), Labor Hour, and Time and Materials (T&M) type task orders, confirm that the contractor should select the Fixed Price" and "Other" options. | The described document has been removed. | |
| 55 | PART IV - SECTION K | Can the government clarify that you wish us to include all of section K from SAMS along with Section J of this solicitiation? | Section K: FAR clause 52.212-3 has been provided and the solicitation language has been updated. | |
| 56 | SECTION L.1. GENERAL INFORMATION | Can the Government please clarify that the instructions for the first page of the proposal are required for both volumes (Technical and Business)? | Yes | |
| 57 | Section L.2.a.3. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION | In the third paragraph it states, "All pages shall contain the phrase: "SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION" in addition to the FAR 3.104 propriety data notice." 3.104 doesn’t require the offeror to do anything specific, but FAR 52.215-1(e) (page 67 of the solicitation) instructs offerors to put a restrictive legend on any data in the proposal that the offeror doesn’t want disclosed for any purpose other than evaluation of the proposal. Can you please clarify how this phrase should be indicated and if any additional information is required (SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION). | Section L.2.a.3 has been revised. All pages shall contain the phrase: “Source Selection Information -- See FAR 2.101 and 3.104.” | |
| 58 | Section L.2.a.3. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION | The RFP states "All pages shall contain the phrase: "SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION" in addition to the FAR 3.104 propriety data notice." Does that include both the Technical and Business proposals? | ||
| Yes, it includes both volumes. | ||||
| 59 | Section L.2.a.3. - PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION | Please confirm that the abbreviations and proposal compliance matrix are excluded from the Volume I - Technical Proposal 25 page count | No, they are not excluded. | |
| 60 | SECTION L.11.b.1.b. | If it is 3 pages each for the Program Manager, could the government specify what additional resumes you are looking for sinc this is at an IDIQ level? | See question and answer 14. | |
| 61 | SECTION L.2.a.9 | Will the Government please clarify that offerors must include the "Certification of Filing and Payment of Taxes" in the Business Proposal? | Yes, please include it in the Business proposal. | |
| 62 | SECTION L.2.b.1.a. | Under Technical Approach, the Statement of Work 3.2 Task Area 2: Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment has not been included. Should a plan be included to discuss Task Area 2? | See question and answer 12. | |
| 63 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | Please clarify if the personnel CVs required in Appendix II should be of only those labor categories the offeror deems essential to managing the task areas of the BPA. | See question and answer 14. | |
| 64 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | Confirm that the Letter of Commitment is excluded from the three (3) page count maximum per CV requirement? | See question and answer 15. | |
| 65 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | Will the Government specify where the Letter of Commitment should be located? | See question and answer 15. | |
| 66 | SECTION L.2.b.2. | Section B.1.b.2 Other Considerations is included in the proposal instructions but appears to be omitted from the Table on pg 72. Where should offerors include this information in the Technical Proposal? | Whereever relevant | |
| 67 | SECTION L.2.c.1. | Offerors are required to provide basic cost elements (direct labor, fringe benefits, travel, materials, subcontracts, purchased partes, etc.) with the Business Proposal. Will the Government please confirm that this information shall be presented in Microsoft Excel with formulas included (page 71) or embedded into the Business Proposal PDF? | The requirement has been removed; however, where numerical tables are necessary in the Business proposal, the offeror may include in this the PDF with explanation and create a separate tab in excel, if it will facilitate evaluation. | |
| 68 | SECTION L.2.c.8 - Past Performance Information | The Government requests Offerors to provide Past Performmance Questionnaires as Attachment 5; however, Attachment 5 is listed as the NIHBPSSII Pricing Spreadsheet in Section J. Please confirm that Attachment 6, Reference Response Form is correct attachment to support the Past Performmance Questionnaires. | Yes, attachment 6 is the correct number. | |
| 69 | SECTION L.2.b.1.a. | Under Technical Approach, the Statement of Work 3.2 Task Area 2: Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment has not been included in the evaluation criteria. Confirm that Task Area 2: Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment should added as an evaluation factor. | See question and answer 12. | |
| 70 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | [NIHBPSS SOW] Section 2.4 mentions the contractor shall provide a Program Manager who will be responsible for overall performance of the BPA. However, Section L.11.b.1.b on pg 76 of the RFP doesn’t mention providing a CV for the Program Manager. Will the Government confirm if a resume for the BPA Program Manager is required in Appendix II? | The resulting awards will be indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contracts not blanket purchase agreements. See question and answer 14 regarding key personnel. | |
| 71 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.4 (Task Area 4) | Does the government expect the contractor to utilize the necessary project management, performance monitoring, and analytical tools/applications/systems in-house in order to perform this work, or will these tools/applications/systems be provided by the government for the contractor's use? If contractors are using the government-provided toolsets, will the government please identify these systems and related platforms? | For the purposes of the solicitation, we expect you to address, as necessary, in your plan. For performance purposes, it will be determined at the task order level. | |
| 72 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.4 (Task Area 4) | Will the government please provide examples of Task Area 4 activities related to evaluation services? | For the purposes of the solicitation, we expect you to address, as necessary, in your plan. For performance purposes, it will be determined at the task order level. | |
| 73 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.4 (Task Area 4) | Will the government please provide additional information on the NIH Succession Management Program (public URLs, description of the goals/purpose of this program, etc.)? | The SOW has been revised to reflect organizational succession management in general. | |
| 74 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.4 (Task Area 4) | Will the government please provide more information on the types of survey services the contractors are responsible to provide? What are the purposes of the surveys and who may be the recipients taking the surveys? | For the purposes of the solicitation, we expect you to address within the task area scope of work. For performance purposes, it will be determined at the task order level. | |
| 75 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.8 (Task Area 8) | Oracle proficiency is a requirement for this task. Will the government please clarify the Oracle product(s) that apply? | See question and answer 48. | |
| 76 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.8 (Task Area 8) | Will the government please provide examples of projects that would be performed within Task Area 8 that would supoprt workflow automation and organizational change? | Task Area 8 Projects would be in support of other task areas. | |
| 77 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.8 (Task Area 8) | Has the government selected a product/platform or the options for products/platforms as the technology solution for deploying that includes digitized process development, workflow automation, business intelligence and performance metrics? If yes, will the government please share their preferred technical solutions or options? | No. | |
| 78 | NIHBPSS II SOP | Per the SOP, in section 1.2, Labor Categories, at the task order level the government has defined the labor categories, since this is an IDIQ is it the government's intent for us to provide resumes for the identified personnel at the task order level? | See question and answer 14 regarding Key Personnel. | |
| 79 | NIHBPSS II SOP | In the NIHBPSS Statement of Work 3.2 (on page 3), example i states: "LSS refresher training at request of the COR." In the NIHBPSS Standard Operating Procedures, example i does not appear. Confirm that example i should be included in the NIHBPSS Standard Operating Procedures (make change) | The Government has revised. | |
| 80 | SF1449 | For consistency, can the Government please clarify the Size Standard provided in the Standard Form 1449, in Block 10, dated July 6, 2018? | The small business size standard is $15,000,000 | |
| 81 | SECTION L.2.c.8 - Past Performance Information | Will the Government accept Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) in lieu of Past Performance Questionnaires (Attachment 5)? | No. | |
| 82 | Section L.2.a.3. | Can the Government please consider increasing the page limits of the Technical Proposal granting offerors an additional 10 pages in order to adequately cover and address the requirements in the technical proposal instructions for the detailed work plan (including information regarding project organization, staffing, and management) and the newly added Task Area 9. | No. | |
| 83 | NIHBPSS SOW Section 3.8 (Task Area 8) | Can the Government please provide additional/ specific information regarding the Oracle (Products and Services) systems from Task 8? The SOW, page 6, section 3.8, just mentions Oracle; however, there is not any specific information regarding the products/services. Would this involve Oracle ERP? | See question and answer 48. | |
| 84 | N/A | Does the Government anticipate issuing Task Orders immediately following BPA award? | The Government intends to begin transitioning new task order requests to this vehicle immediately following award. | |
| 85 | N/A | Does the Government have a forecast for Task Orders and spending under this BPA that may be shared with vendors? | See question and answer 24. | |
| 86 | SECTION L.2.b.1.a. | [Technical Approach] excludes SOW Section 3.2 Task Area 2: Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment. Can the Government please confirm they do not want offerors to provide a plan for this section, or if that was inadvertently left out. | See question and answer 12. | |
| 87 | Section L.2.a.3, Proposal Submission Information | Would the government consider allowing Arial/Arial Narrow font style at no smaller than 10pt for tables, graphics, and call out boxes? | No. | |
| 88 | Section L.2.a.3, Proposal Submission Information | On page 71, the instructions say: “Electronic copies (softcopy) must be submitted in a format other than ".PDF" that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and the ".doc" or ".docx" standard.” However, page 72 provides instructions on creating PDF files for each volume. Will the Government please confirm that only PDF submissions are required for the technical and business volumes? | See question and answer 1. | |
| 89 | Section L.2.a.3 Proposal Submission Instructions | Please confirm headers, footers, and the document cover page can use Times New Roman in font size 10pt. | No. | |
| 90 | Section L.2.b.1.a, Technical Approach | SOW 3.2 (“Business Process Improvement and Organizational Assessment”) is not included in the Technical Approach subparagraph as one of the SOW tasks that offerors are to address in their responses. Would the Government please confirm if this was an oversight and that the Offeror should address SOW 3.2? | See question and answer 12. | |
| 91 | Section L. 2.b.1.b Personnel, Article G.3 Key Personnel | Article G.3 only references the Program Manager as a key person; however, the instructions states “Curriculum Vitae *CV) shall be submitted for each person proposed; not to exceed 3 pages per position. CVs are required for all key personnel”. Would the Government please confirm that the Program Manager is the only required key person? | See question and answer 14. | |
| 92 | Section L.2.c.11.f Subcontractor and L.2.c | As part of the Subcontractor’s Commitment letter, sub-element f states: “A complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror’s cost proposal”. Please confirm that this is different from the “Business Proposal”. | The Government has removed this requirement. | |
| 93 | Section L.2.a.3 Proposal Submission Instructions | The Volume 1 – Technical Proposal Appendix 1-CV is limited at 25 pages. Since each CV is limited to 3 pages/CV, will the Government please confirm that we may provide representative resumes for other staff in addition to the Key Person per Article G.3? | See question and answer 14. | |
| 94 | Section L.2.b.1.b Personnel, Article G.3 Key Personnel | Would you the Government clarify if the offeror can submit other personnel who are either considered key and non-key? | No, please submit CVs only for the positions requested in Section L. | |
| 95 | Section L.2.b.2 Other Considerations | Will the government consider excluding Other Considerations from the Volume I – Technical Proposal 25-page limit or increasing the page limits? | No. | |
| 96 | Section L.2.c.4.d.11 Small Business Subcontracting Plan | 33% for Small Business; 5% for Small Disadvantaged Business; 5% for Women-Owned Small Business; 3% for HUBZone Small Business; and 3% for Veteran-Owned Small Business and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. | ||
| Please clarify whether these small business subcontracting goals are a percentage of the Prime’s anticipated total contract value. | These are a percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars. Please review FAR 52.219-9 Alterate II referenced in the solicitation. | |||
| 97 | Section L.2.c.8 Past Performance Information | Please confirm that the Government considers a “major subcontract”, one who is identify in the Small Business Subcontracting Plan, as having an estimated subcontract value at over $1,000,000. As the solicitation is for an IDIQ with no Task Order value at this time, it is unclear how this $1M definition in L.2.c.8 is intended to be applied. | See the revised language. | |
| 98 | Section L.2.c.11.f Subcontractor and L.2.c | As part of the Subcontractor’s Commitment letter, sub-element f states: “A complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror’s cost proposal”. Please clarify what should be part of the Subcontractor’s cost proposal as some elements are inherently Prime related materials. | removed. | |
| 99 | Section L.2.c.11.f Subcontractor and L.2.c | As part of the Subcontractor’s Commitment letter, sub-element f states: “A complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror’s cost proposal”. Due to the proprietary information contained in the Subcontractor’s cost proposal, please provide cost proposal delivery instructions for the Subcontractors to email directly to the Government. | removed. | |
| 100 | SOW 2.12 Requirements | SOW 2.12 states “The contractor to perform cataloguing.” It appears the sentence is incomplete. Would the Government please provide additional information as to the requirements of this task, such as examples of the types of documents or materials that are to be catalogued? | Removed. | |
| 101 | SOP 1.4.2 (Task Area 2) and SOW 3.2 | What type of organizational inquiry (i.e., surveys, focus groups, leadership meetings) is conducted to identify, select, and integrate Lean Six Sigma projects into the strategic planning process? | This is determined at the task order level. | |
| 102 | SOP 1.4.2 (Task Area 2) and SOW 3.2 | What type of management controls are used to monitor both the progress and effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma projects? | The offeror may wish to address as a part of its technical approach. | |
| 103 | Section L.2.c.11.g Subcontractor and L.2.c | As part of the Subcontractor’s Commitment letter, sub-element g states: “Where labor rates are proposed for both the prime and subcontractor's in a given labor category, offerors shall indicate an anticipated proportion of the work attributable to each.” Since this is a Prime Offeror’s responsibility (not subcontractor), we recommend this requirement be removed. | The requirement has been removed. | |
| 104 | NIHBPSSII SOW Section 3.2, Task Area 2 | Regarding “Business Process Improvement & Organizational Assessment”- It was mentioned that Task Area 2 requires providing training for, and support certification in Lean Six Sigma. Is this a seasonal requirement under the contract, or will this be a regular activity that will require a FTE assigned to provide these services? | Please note that this is an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract. Individual requirements will be determined at the task order level. The Government will not speculate on types, number or nature of potential task orders. | |
| 105 | N/A | Are you anticipating multiple awards to multiple vendors for this opportunity? | Yes. | |
| 106 | N/A | Is it expected that contractors propose to all Task Areas in the response? | See question and answer 10. | |
| 107 | Article G.2 | Which labor categories are considered Key Personnel? | See question and answer 50. | |
| 108 | Section L.2.a.3 | |||
| Section L.2.b.1 | Are resumes for Key Personnel required for this submission, if so, for which labor categories? | See question and answer 14. | ||
| 109 | Article C.2. | Solicitation – Article C.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS (page 5) – The first line states “The fill-ins for this article will be determined at the task order level”. |
a. Would the Government please confirm that the reports/deliverables in Article C.2 are only required at the task order level?
b. Will the Government consider allowing the COR for each task order to define which reports/deliverables are relevant and required per the requirements of his/her respective task order?
| c. Since the reporting requirements differ between Article C.2 in the SOW and Article C.2 in the solicitation, would the Government please confirm that the requirements in the solicitation are what will be expected? | The SOW provides a more detailed explanation of what is in the solicitation. | ||
| 110 | Article C.2. | Solicitation – Article C.2 HHS SECURITY AND PRIVACY LANGUAGE FOR INFORMATION AND IT PROCUREMENTS (page 7) – It is our understanding that the following items are only required for system implementation task orders under BPSS. Would the government confirm that these artifacts are not required at the contract level, but rather will be defined at the task order level when applicable to avoid undue burden to the government and the contractor? | |
| a. | Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) | ||
| b. | SA&A Package Deliverables | ||
| c. | Contingency Plan and Contingency Plan Test and E-Authentication Questionnaire | ||
| d. | Position Sensitivity Designation and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 | ||
| e. | Contract Initiation and Expiration | ||
| f. | Contractor Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) | ||
| g. | Vulnerability Scanning Reports | ||
| h. | Government Access for Security Assessment | Yes, the identified reports are not required at the contract level, but at the task order level when applicable. | |
| 111 | Section L.1.d. | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Type of Contract and Number of Awards (page 69) Page 69 states that 8-10 awards are anticipated. In our experience, this creates burden on both contracting and program offices who have to evaluate a large number of proposals for each tack order while not achieving increased contract volume or reducing costs. | |
| a. Can the government confirm this includes both large business and small business awards? | Yes, this includes both large and small business awards. | ||
| 112 | SECTION J -Summary of Related Activities | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Personnel (page 76) and Section J List of Attachments - Summary of Related Activities Form (Attachment 4) – The solicitation asks for the “approximate percentage of the total time each will be available for this program” while the form requests commitment levels. |
a. Would the Government consider removing this requirement? The availability of proposed staff will depend on the task orders released and won. It is difficult to provide the percentage of a team member’s availability at the IDIQ level with any accuracy.
| b. The Summary of Related Activities Form appears to be specifically designed for use by research contracts and may not be helpful or applicable to have for an IDIQ contract. Will the Government consider removing the requirement of completing the Summary of Related Activities Form? | Removed. | |||
| 113 | Section L.2.c.1. | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Business Proposal Instructions (page 77) – The solicitation asks for “the amounts of the basic elements of the proposed cost or price. These elements will include, as applicable, direct labor, fringe benefits, travel, materials, subcontracts, purchased parts, shipping, indirect costs and rate, fee, and profit.” | ||
| a. Would the Government confirm that only the NIHBPSS Pricing Spreadsheet (Attachment 5) is required? | Yes. | |||
| 114 | Section L.2.c.7. | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Business Proposal Instructions – #7 Total Compensation Plan (page 81) – The solicitation states that “all Offerors as part of their Business Proposal will submit a ‘Total Compensation Plan’ (salaries and fringe benefits) for these professional employees for evaluation purposes.” | ||
| a. Would the Government please confirm that the Total Compensation Plan is not applicable to this IDIQ? | No. | |||
| 115 | Article C.2. | |||
| Article H.10.1 | Solicitation - Section C.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS (page 8) and Section H.10.1 INFORMATION SECURITY (page 30) – The solicitation states that “the contractor shall follow the HHS EPLC framework and methodology or and in accordance with the HHS Contract Closeout Guide (2012).” In our experience, the EPLC is applicable to large scale systems development and integration. Smaller implementations typically require a tailored version of the EPLC to meet the scale of the requirement. | |||
| a. Will the Government consider having those EPLC requirements relevant to the work being performed defined at the task order level? | The requirement is applicable at the task order level based on the task order requirements. | |||
| 116 | Section M.4 | Solicitation – Section M EVALUATION FACTORS - #4 Evaluation of Options (page 87) – The solicitation 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.” | ||
| a. Can the government confirm that only rates will be assessed for the pricing evaluation? | The Government will be evaluating the fully loaded labor rates. | |||
| 117 | L.2.c.11 | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Business Proposal - #11 Subcontractors (page 85) - The requirement specifies that subcontractors submit “a complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror's cost proposal”. | ||
| a. Would the Government please confirm that subcontractor cost proposals are not required or explain how they will be evaluated? | Removed. | |||
| 118 | SECTION L.2.b.1.b. - Personnel | Solicitation – Section M EVALUATION FACTORS - #5 Technical Evaluation Factors – Criterion II Key Personnel (page 88) - Criterion II of the evaluation factors suggest key personnel will be reviewed however only Project Manager role is specified. | ||
| a. Would the government confirm all personnel (key and non-key) will be evaluated? | See question and answer 14. | |||
| 119 | Section L.2.a.3 | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS - Would the government confirm that the cover page, table of contents and a page for information required in Section L.1.c.2 on page 65 are not included in the page count? | See question and answer 17. | |
| 120 | Section L.2.c.13. | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS – Business Proposal - #13 Travel Costs/Travel Policy (page 85) – The solicitation requires “one copy of the offeror’s (and any proposed subcontractor’s) written travel policy shall be included in the business proposal.” Typically prime/subcontractor relationships flow down requirements. | ||
| a. Would the Government please confirm that if subcontractors accept the prime’s travel policy that the subcontractor’s travel policy is not required? | Yes, if subcontractors accept the prime’s travel policy that the subcontractor’s travel policy is not required. | |||
| 121 | Section L.2.a.3 | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS - #3 Proposal Submission Information (page 71) – The second paragraph states “Electronic copies (softcopy) must be submitted in a format other than “.PDF” that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and the “.doc” or “.docx” standard.” | ||
| a. Would the Government please confirm that proposal documents can be submitted in PDF format? | See question and answer 1. | |||
| 122 | Section L.2.c.11 | Solicitation – Section L INSTRUCTIONS - #11 Subcontractors (page 85) – The solicitation states that the commitment letter from the subcontractor should detail the following: |
a. Willingness to perform as a subcontractor for specific duties (list duties).
b. What priority the work will be given and how it will relate to other work.
c. The amount of time and facilities available to this project.
d. Information on their cognizant field audit offices.
e. How rights to publications and patents are to be handled.
f. A complete cost proposal in the same format as the offeror's cost proposal.
g. Where labor rates are proposed for both the prime and subcontractor's in a given labor category, offerors shall indicate an anticipated proportion of the work attributable to each.
| QUESTION: Items “d” through “f” do not appear applicable to this requirement. Will the Government consider removing these requirements? | Removed. | ||
| 123 | Section M.5. | Solicitation Section M - TECHNICAL EVALUATION FACTORS – Page 87 states the following. Demonstrated understanding of the requirements as supported by the offeror's methodology/approaches, and scheduling. Special attention will be paid to: |
a) Plan to provide in depth financial analysis services;
b) Plan to provide expert communications, outreach, and training support;
c) Plan to provide program planning and management support, performance management, and analytics and studies support;
d) Plan to provide a full range of supply chain and transportation management support;
e) Plan to provide management of all aspects of the NIH personal property program (asset management) including developmental systems.
f) Plan to provide written policy development support and demonstrate experience with providing written policy development support;
g) Plan to ensure successful system integration of any new enhancements with all elements of NIH; and
h) Plan to ensure successful Center of Excellence (CoE) support.
QUESTION 1: Can the government confirm that successful offerors must provide a technical approach for delivering all of these services?
| QUESTION 2: Can the government confirm that successful offers must have related experience as a prime delivering all of these services? | Yes, no revise 5 and 6. Plans should demonstrate experience through historical reference | |||
| 124 | Section M.5. | Solicitation Section M - TECHNICAL EVALUATION FACTORS – Experience managing and executing similar initiatives is a key indicator of successful contract performance. Will the government include Related Experience as an Evaluation Criteria to assure the quality and capability of its vendors? | The Government expects that experience will be reflected in the offeror's proposed technical approach. | |
| 125 | Section L.1.b. | Question: Please clarify whether this request is a partial or total small business set-aside | See question and answer 2. | |
| 126 | Section L.1.b.1. | Reference: Solicitation, page 68, B.1, General. All NIH Business and Professional Support Services II task orders with an expected total value between $3,500 and $700,000 shall be set aside for small business concerns. Therefore, an anticipated 6 contracts are set aside for small business concerns from this solicitation. As stated in Section L.1, the Government reserves the right to vary the number of awards. |
and Reference, Solicitation, page 69, D.1. It is anticipated that 8 to 10 awards will be made from this solicitation and that the award(s) will be made on about 14 September 2018.
| Question: Is it the Government’s intent to still award 2-4 slots to Large Business Primes? | The anticipated 8-10 contract awards is inclusive of the 6 contracts set-aside for small business. | |||
| 127 | Article G.4. | Reference, Solicitation, Article G.4. Task Order Procedure, c. Competitive Ordering Process. All Contractors within a technical area will receive e-mail notification advising of the availability of each proposed task order requirement. All proposed task orders will incorporate all terms of this contract unless otherwise specified in the proposed task order. | ||
| Question: Is the government going to award some technical areas or all technical areas on awarded IDIQ contracts?" | See question and answer 10. | |||
| 128 | N/A | In addition to the proposal instructions stated in b. Technical Proposal Instructions, are there any other response sections the government would like to see as part of the overall response (e.g., Management Plan, Subcontractor Management Plan, Corporate Experience, etc)? | No. | |
| 129 | N/A | Section 5.0 defines Criterion I (Technical Approach) and Criterion II (Key Personnel) as sub factors in order of relative importance and Section 6 Technical Ratings defines adjectival ratings. In addition to the adjectival rating definitions, are there percentage ratings that will be used to evaluate (e.g., Technical approach 40%, Key Personnel 30%, etc)? | No. | |
| 130 | Section L.2.c.1. | In the Business Proposal Instructions, it states that, “The business proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the proposed cost or price of the work. This information shall include the amounts of the basic elements of the proposed cost or price. These elements will include, as applicable, direct labor, fringe benefits, travel, materials, subcontracts, purchased parts, shipping, indirect costs and rate, fee, and profit. |
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