Amendment 1 RFP-NIH-NIAAA-2020-3 Questions.pdf

RFP-NIH-NIAAA-2020-3 Questions and Answers Amendment 1

1. Who is the current contractor managing, editing, and publishing the ARCR?

Answer: The current contractor providing this work as part of a larger effort is ICF International under contract HHSN275201600310U.

2. What are the financial terms of the current contract?

Answer: The current contract has an overall value of $5,895,497. The journal-related work is only a portion of that value.

3. When Editorial Manager (EM) is transferred to contractor on 10/31/2020, will NIH add the EM license and related costs to the bid value or will the contractor have to negotiate a new license with the EM vendor?

Answer: The EM license shall be transferred to the Contractor during the transition period at the beginning of the new contract. Renewing the license in October 2020 and covering the associated costs shall be the responsibility of the Contractor.

4. What are the current costs and terms of the Editorial Manager license/contract?

Answer: The Editorial Manager subscription runs through October 31, 2020 on a 12-month term basis at a cost of $4,980.00.

5. Other than for the Contract Initiation Meeting, will the Managing Editor be required to travel for meetings with COR or Task Leaders?

Answer: The Managing Editor shall be required to travel to the in-person ARCR Editorial Board Meeting, which occurs as a satellite meeting to the annual Research Society on Alcoholism meeting. The Managing Editor shall facilitate and manage the in-person meeting.

6. In attachment Attachment 1 (“Packaging_Delivery.pdf”), it is given as Offerors shall provide electronic copies of the Technical Proposal and Cost Proposal by 2:00 PM ET, January 12, 2019.

a. Does it include all the documents and attachments in the proposal response?

Answer: Yes, it does include all documents and attachments. There was a typo in the instructions. The due date and time is 2:00 PM ET, January 13, 2020.

b. Are there any file size limitations on the attachments?

Answer: The Technical Proposal must not exceed 25 pages in length. All of the documents must be provided electronically in a format that does not exceed 20 MB. Zip files are allowed.

c. Are we required to mail any hard copies of the proposal and/or supporting documents?

Answer: No hard copies are necessary. Proposals and supporting documents should only be sent electronically.

7. Under Analysis, it is given that:

In addition to the other analyses included in this SOW, the Contractor shall provide experts as needed to identify and conduct analyses of performance metrics for journal content to determine scholarly impact.

What performance metrics are currently being tracked?

Answer: Monitoring performance metrics is not a current task on the existing contract; this task shall commence at the beginning of this new contract. Performance metrics that shall be tracked may include, but are not limited to, PubMed data, Altmetrics, and impact factor.

8. In Accessibility Conformance section (below) there is a reference to an attachment called “Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART)”. This document is not available. Please provide this.

Accessibility Conformance All documents required herein shall be submitted in electronic format. In addition, one hardcopy of each document shall be submitted to the COR.

Requirements for accessibility based on the Revised Section 508 Standards of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 749d) are determined to be relevant under this SOW for the Section 508 Criteria specified in the attached Accessibility Requirement Tool (ART).

Answer: A VPAT form version 2.0 or later, filled out to instructions, is considered to meet the HHS PAT requirement. The form can be downloaded here:

https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat. For additional information visit:

https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html.

9. In Editorial Advisory board section it is given that:

Administer an honorarium for each EAB member attending the two (2) EAB meetings as directed by the COR with concurrence of the Contracting Officer (CO). This includes obtaining all necessary documentation from the EAB members, paying for the honoraria, and distributing the honoraria.

a. Will the honorarium be remitted to the contractor for disbursement to the EAB member prior to the meetings?

Answer: Honoraria are correlated with EAB member attendance at meetings, so they shall be issued after each meeting. The Contractor shall pay the honoraria out of existing contract funds.

b. Are all EAB members expected be persons legally eligible to receive financial compensation within the US?

Answer: Yes.

c. Will taxes need to be withheld by the contractor for the honorarium paid?

Answer: Historically, taxes have not been withheld.

10. Are attachment 12 and 14 (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, OMB Form SF-LLL) the same document to be given both under Business and Informational attachments?

Answer: Only one form need be submitted with the Business Proposal.

https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html

11. What will be the input (format and size) for article development?

Answer: Approximately 6,000 words per article and 100 citations. Please check the ARCR website to see past articles for examples.

12. What are the final deliveries apart from publication ready PDF, web PDF, PMC XML, and

HTML?

Answer: Final deliverables are HTML and web PDF.

13. What is ARCR’s current operating procedure or workflow for article acquisition, review, formatting, and delivery?

Answer: Currently, the ARCR Editorial Advisory Board suggests article topics, editors, and reviewers. These recommendations are approved by ARCR staff. The Managing Editor shall facilitate the invitation of all identified authors and reviewers. Once authors have submitted their articles, they go through peer review and then copy editing. The Managing Editor shall manage and facilitate this entire process. The Contractor shall provide article copy editing and formatting, as well as delivery of all final web PDFs to the NIAAA website contractor and to PMC.

14. Please provide Attachment 4: Section K – Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors.

Answer: Please find the form at https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf.

15. Link for Attachment 5 HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template (http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html) states that the forms therein is valid only for contracts executed prior to January 1, 2018. Please provide the current HHS Section 508 PAT.

Answer: Please use the form found at https://www.hhs.gov/web/section- 508/contracting/index.html.

16. Is vendor responsible for Accessibility compliance of 3rd party products like Adobe PDF, Editorial Manager, Microsoft Word, etc if they are used in the delivery of services per this RFP?

Answer: The Contractor shall be responsible for accessibility compliance of final deliverables.

17. Attachment 3 – Statement of Work, Task 3.2, Concept Development and Review. Shall the contractor budget for obtaining a licensing agreement for Editorial Manager after the current licensing agreement expires on October 31, 2020? If so, can the government provide an estimated cost for uniform pricing purposes?

Answer: Yes; see above question #4.

18. Attachment 3 – Statement of Work, Task 3.4 Online Publication, page 6. While the SOW Background makes it clear that ARCR will transition to a continuous/rolling online publication format, Task 3.4 references creation of final article proofs and print-ready PDFs for publication.

Will the contractor be responsible for both online publication and preparation of printer files for https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/default.html https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/default.html https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/default.html https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/default.html https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html two printed issues annually? If so, will Government Printing Office (GPO) packages need to be created? Will the contractor be responsible for coordinating with a commercial printer?

Answer: The last ARCR print issue is covered by the current contract. The Contractor shall be responsible for creation of final article proofs, HTMLs, and web PDFs.

19. Attachment 3 – Statement of Work, Task 3.6, Promotional and Marketing Activities. Will the contract need to budget for the subscription of GovDelivery under this contract? If so, can the government provide an estimated cost to help inform for uniform pricing purposes?

Answer: The NIAAA GovDelivery subscription is maintained by another NIAAA contract and is outside the scope of this contract.

20. Will the Government consider providing uniform other direct cost (ODC) assumptions across all task areas to ensure consistency between offerors’ pricing?

Answer: The only ODC assumption provided is that the Editorial Manager subscription is $4,980 per year. Other ODCs must be determined by the offeror based on their understanding of the effort required.

21. Can you provide us with a copy of Attachment 4: Section K – Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors (per Item 2 on page 37 of the RFP)?

Answer: Please find the form at https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf.

22. Do we need to attach a response/form related to Attachment 5: Summary of Related Activities with our Technical Proposal? If so, we assume this is not part of the page limit and may be included as an appendix, correct?

Answer: Please provide the Summary of Related Activities as an attachment to the Business Proposal.

23. Do we need to attach a response/form related to Attachment 6: HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template with our Technical Proposal? If so, we assume this is not part of the page limit and may be included as an appendix, correct?

Answer: Please include it as an Attachment to the Technical Proposal. It will not be counted as part of the page limit.

a. The link included in the RFP for Attachment 6: HHS Section 508 Product Assessment

Templates states “The forms on this page should only be used for contracts executed before January 1, 2018.” Can you provide the link for the current form?

Answer: Please use the form found at https://www.hhs.gov/web/section- 508/contracting/index.html.

24. The link provided for Attachment 8: Small Business Subcontracting Plan directs you to a page with multiple contract attachments and none of them are titled “Small Business Subcontracting https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/SAP/sectionk_june2017.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/contracting/index.html

Plan”. Which attachment(s) should be included in our Business Proposal response?

Answer: The form is titled “HHS Subcontracting plan Template” found at https://oamp.od.nih.gov/DGS/DGS-workform-information/attachment-files.

25. For Attachment 9: Breakdown of Proposed Estimated Costs (plus fee) w/Excel Spreadsheet is it acceptable to just submit the provided Excel Spreadsheet or should we also submit the table listed below?

Answer: It will be considered acceptable to submit the provided Excel Spreadsheet.

26. Do we need to attach a response/form related to the attachments listed below? If so, we assume these are not part of the page limit and may be included as an appendix to the Business Proposal, correct?

https://oamp.od.nih.gov/DGS/DGS-workform-information/attachment-files https://oamp.od.nih.gov/DGS/DGS-workform-information/attachment-files

Answer: Those attachments are informational for the offeror. Only the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities need be submitted, as listed under Attachment 12.

27. The link for Attachment 12 and Attachment 14 is the same. Is this correct or was another link meant to be included?

Answer: The link for Attachment 12 is the only form that needs to be submitted.

28. Does our response to the Information Security Requirements section count towards the page limit?

Answer: Yes.

29. May we include our schedule for the completion of work in an appendix (and not count it toward the page limit)?

Answer: Past performance shall be included as a component of the Technical Proposal and not as an appendix (limited to 25 pages). Past performance shall be limited as stipulated on page 47 of the RFP.

30. Should we organize our Technical Proposal response according to the order and instructions on RFP pages 59-61 or by the instructions on RFP pages 79-80?

Answer: Technical Proposals shall include information to appropriately assess the Contractor’s technical approach and management approach to the tasks outlined in the SOW and personnel qualifications and organizational experience as stipulated in the RFP. Each proposal will be evaluated and scored by the evaluation factors listed on pages 78-81.

31. Should we address the following requirement in our Technical Proposal or in the Business Proposal:

Answer: This factor should be addressed in the Technical Proposal.

32. Will providing original graphics and photographs be an ongoing task throughout the project? For example, will each article require original artwork, each Journal volume?

a. “Provide graphics and photographs for use on the ARCR website as requested by the COR and Task Leaders. Artwork shall include high-quality photographs, logos, and data-rich information designs (static or interactive), as relevant to the website content and design. Graphics and photographs shall be originals produced by the Contractor (or subcontractor[s]) rather than purchased stock photos or graphics, to the extent feasible.”

Answer: Original graphics and photographs shall be provided as needed. However, authors typically provide their own graphics and slight modifications may be made to them by the Contractor to facilitate publication (as requested). The Contractor shall provide original graphics for approximately four (4) articles each year as requested by the COR or Task Leaders.

33. In the Technical Proposal, do we need to write to the mandatory training, role-based training, and training records detailed under Item 2 on page 20 of the RFP and under Item L on page 55?

Answer: This training information does not need to be written about in the Technical Proposal;

this was included in the RFP for informational purposes for the Contractor.

34. Under Item 4 on page 44 of the RFP, is the following intended to refer to the Business Proposal and not Technical Proposal?

“The technical proposal must include direct cost and resources information, such as labor-hours and categories and applicable rates, materials, subcontracts, travel, etc., and associated costs so that the offeror’s understanding of the project may be evaluated”

Answer: This was referring to the Technical Proposal. The number of labor-hours, associated categories and applicable rates, materials, subcontracts, travel, etc. shall be provided within the Technical Proposal so that it can be demonstrated that the offeror has an understanding of the requirement.

35. Under “Past Performance Information” on page 47 of the RFP, can the three contracts be ongoing, or must they have been already completed/finished by the time of submission?

Answer: Offerors shall submit a list of the last 3 contracts completed during the past 2 years AND THE LAST 3 CONTRACTS AWARDED currently being performed that are similar in nature to the solicitation work scope.

36. Do we include the Qualifications of the Offeror (page 76 of RFP) in the Technical Proposal or Business Proposal and, if so, does it count toward the page limit?

Answer: The Qualifications of the Offeror should be addressed in the Technical Proposal and will count toward the page limit.

37. Task 3.9 – Government Furnished Equipment (GFE): The government indicates that “The Contractor shall store all documents and data stemming from this contract on an NIAAA file share location specified by the COR or Task Leaders.” Since some work may be conducted in a matrixed environment for expediency, and there is no PII or other sensitive information involved, can this be clarified to mean only working review documents need to be stored on the NIAAA file share location, as well as final products/data?

Answer: All final products and data need to transferred to the NIAAA file share location specified by the COR or Task Leaders. Working review documents may be managed on Contractor equipment or third-party products as needed.

38. Task 3.7 – ARCR Website Content: The RFP indicates that “The overall web development/management support contract for all NIAAA websites, including the ARCR website, is currently held by IQ Solutions, Inc.” Can the Government please clarify whether the ARCR Contractor will be provided with access to the existing development environment, or whether this will not be necessary; as well as whether implementation of page designs or other Drupal development recommendations will continue to be handled by IQ Solutions under separate contract?

Answer: This will not be necessary.