EPSCoR_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

EPSCoR Request for Proposal NSFDACS17P1022

Prospective Contractor Questions and National Science Foundation Answers

February 13, 2017

1. Does NSF anticipate that the contractor would submit deliverables to the ETT and COR simultaneously for review, or is the contractor required to submit deliverables first to the ETT and afterwards to the COR? If the latter, how long should the contractor allow for ETT review of evaluation deliverables, and how long should the contractor allow for COR review of deliverables revised in response to ETT feedback?

Answer: Submit deliverables to the COR first for a minimum of one week to review. After

COR instruction, submit deliverables to ETT for a minimum of one week to review.

2. Page 12 of the SOW states that “the contractor shall not have direct access to the RII Track-1

EPSCoR Reporting Core database nor the RII Track-2 Data Outcome Portal. EPSCoR will provide the contractor with these data.” We interpret this text to mean that the contractor would have to request specific variables, cases, or other subsets of these data from NSF. Is this correct?

Answer: The contractor would have to request and NSF would determine whether the data are truly needed to complete the tasks and also determine what data will be provided.

3. Will the successful bidder be given access to the E-jacket system and have full access to past and current EPSCoR proposals (including declined proposals), annual and final reports?

Answer: Relevant allowable access will be determined depending on the level of access needed to address the evaluation questions.

4. Will the successful bidder be given access to NCSES raw/restricted data and other relevant

NSF restricted data?

Answer: Relevant allowable access will be determined depending on the level of access needed to address the evaluation questions.

5. Does an 8a Prime have to have 51% of the total budget? If that is the case, can two 8a firms split the share to make up 51% or more of the total budget (with one of the 8a firms being the prime)?

Answer: The EPSCoR procurement is set-aside for all small business concerns. The prime contractor alone must perform at least 51% of all work that falls under the contract, regardless of their small business designation. In your example, the prime 8(a) firm would perform 51% of the work and their subcontractor 8(a) firm would perform 49% of the work.

6. Who is the incumbent?

Answer: This requirement is not a follow-on to an existing contract. Certain aspects of the

EPSCoR program was conducted under a separate contract and a full evaluation report was created at conclusion. A link to the evaluation report is identified as a footnote in the Statement of Work.

7. Is the incumbent eligible to bid on this?

See response to question #6.

8. One person is supposed to have a PhD in an "evaluation related field." What are the required fields?

Answer: This is not an exhaustive list regarding evaluation experience for the Ph.D personnel but some examples include:

- Any Social and/or Behavioral Science

- Public Policy, Public Affairs, Public Administration

- Organizational Development

- Performance Management

- Organizational Performance

9. How about someone with a Ph.D. in a core science and engineering discipline, but with a long career history and publication record in S&T and programmatic evaluations?

Answer: NSF’s considers the Ph.D background as noted in question #9 as acceptable.

10. Is this contract set aside for a woman-owned business, or for a small business in general?

Answer: The EPSCoR procurement is set-aside of all small business concerns. No evaluation preference would be given specifically to Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small

Business.