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Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Learning & Leadership Pathway Development Request for Quote#: 36C77622Q0459
| # |
| Question |
| Reference |
| Page(s) |
| Answer |
| 1 |
| CLINs 0004 - 0016 in the Supplies/Services table have a quantity listed as TBD. To ensure all offerors are pricing the same quantity, can the government update the quantity for each CLIN listed? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document |
| 1-4 |
| Updated information regarding CLINs 0004-0016 can be found on pages 8-11 of this document. |
| 2 |
| Should the offeror submit all required signed documents (e.g., Representations and Certifications, FAR Provisions) as a standalone volume or part of the price volume? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Instructions to Quoters |
| 5-9 |
| Required signed documents can be included in the price volume. |
| 3 |
| Can the government confirm that past performance can be submitted by the prime and major subcontractors that will perform at least 20% of the work? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Instructions to Quoters, Past Performance |
| 11 |
| Yes. |
| 4 |
| For new corporate entities, can the government confirm if the offeror can use experience from personnel in addition to corporate experience? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Instructions to Quoters, Past Performance |
| 11 |
| Yes. |
| 5 |
| Can the government confirm that Technical, Price and Past Performance should be submitted as three separate volumes? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Instructions to Quoters |
| 11 |
| The submission should include 3 volumes: One volume for technical, one volume for price, and one volume for past performance. |
| 6 |
| Can the government clarify where they would like the offeror to include a statement regarding their terms and conditions (e.g., Price volume)? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Instructions to Quoters |
| 12 |
| This information can be included in the price volume. |
| 7 |
| To allow offeror’s time to update their response following the release of answers to questions, would the government provide a brief extension? |
| General |
| N/A |
| No. |
| 8 |
| The Combined Synopsis -Solicitation states Place of Performance as TBD while the Performance Work Statement (PWS) notes the work should be performed primarily at Contractor facilities and VA Central Office and on location at some VA and Defense Health Agency (DHA) Facilities. Please clarify whether work will be performed on Contractor/Remote site or the specific government location. |
| PWS, Place of Performance |
| 6 |
| Place of performance will be at the contractor’s site or virtual location. No requirement to be at a specific government location |
| 9 |
| It states Pricing will only be evaluated by the total of all line item prices. Please confirm no Basis of Estimate will be required in support of these FPP Line Items? |
| Combined Synopsis-Solicitation Document, Evaluation Factors |
No, a Basis of Estimate is not required.
| 10 |
| The government has provided travel estimates in section 4.6. However there does not seem to be a CLIN for the proposed travel price. Please confirm if these estimates will be part of the evaluated price, or simply a Cost Reimbursable line-item post award? |
| PWS 4.6 Travel |
| 6 |
| No travel is anticipated, but if the need would arise it would be a cost reimbursement situation. |
| 11 |
| The PWS indicates that the offeror should provide a statement about actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest relating to the services provided under this effort. Can the government specify which proposal volume this statement should be included as part of? |
| PWS, 4.8 Non-Disclosure Agreements and Conflicts of Interest |
| 8 |
| This information can be included in the technical volume. |
| 12 |
| To help inform level of effort (LOE), can the government estimate how many stakeholder interviews they anticipate as part of this task? |
| PWS, 5.2.1 Comprehensive Nursing Plan |
| 10 |
| It will depend how much effort the contractor feels are needed to understand the need to establish the KPIs. However, we feel this would consist of discussions/interviews with 12-15 different individuals at likely 30-60 minutes each. |
| 13 |
| The document entitled "So2_Combined Synopsis Solicitation ONS Workforce.docx" contains the following text in the "Instruction to Quoters" section (page 11 of 12): "The Offeror shall provide a minimum of one (1) and maximum of three (3), example(s) of your organizations key performance indicators (KPIs) developed for the same or similar services." Is the requirement for KPIs specific to what we have developed for similar services, or are you looking for KPIs developed within our corporate environments, similar to a corporate quality management plan? Can the Government clarify what the requirement is and how it differs from past performance examples? |
Instructions to Quoters (I) Technical Volume
It is similar to past performance except we want you to focus on the development and subsequent implementation of KPIs
| 14 |
| Q(a) Can the Government confirm whether travel is Firm Fixed Priced which requires travel costs to be proposed in each line item quantity pricing as Travel paragraph states, " To the extent practicable, the Contractor shall price all travel on a fixed-price basis." Q(b) Or based on this language which states, "The Government will reimburse the cost of travel required in conjunction with performance of tasks under this contract. Specific Government direction to attend meetings or gather information shall be reimbursed on a cost-reimbursable basis only," can the Government include a travel line with a ceiling number in the Price Schedule, which is recommended in order to fairly evaluate all price quotes. As written, travel requirements in the PWS may lead to wide variation in bidder travel pricing. |
Paragraph 4.6, Travel
6 & 7
Travel is not anticipated to be needed as part of this effort, but if the need does arise it will be cost reimbursement therefore no reason to bid out travel costs.
| 15 |
| Deliverable’s acceptance - Formal acceptance and rejection of deliverables in 4.2 is unclear. It states, "found to be unacceptable or not meeting the intent of the task" is ambiguous. Additionally, the line items in RFQ are quantity of EA; therefore, invoice payment is predicated on Government acceptance of the deliverable (in comparison to invoicing for monthly services). Q(a). Can the Government better define the criteria for acceptance of services including deliverables such as formal acceptance of deliverables shall be based on including all elements in the deliverable as outlined in the PWS for each under "Deliverables" section; Or Q(b) Can the Government consider amending the line items in the Price Schedule to unit price that allows for monthly invoicing of services and deliverables (MO versus EA). As a SDVOSB, performing the scope of work without the ability to invoice until deliverables are completed and accepted is a risk factor. |
Paragraph 4.2, Formal acceptance and rejection of deliverables
For the items listed as "EA", billing will be done when the task is complete and accepted by the government.
| 16 |
| Q. If the Government's response to Q2 is travel shall be proposed on a Firm Fixed Price basis and included in line-item pricing in Price Schedule, can the Government confirm that any requirement to travel to VISNs or VAMCs located in the US and its territories that are outside the Mandatory Travel and Optional Travel Tables on Page 7 shall be negotiated to give the Contractor an opportunity to review travel estimates initially proposed. Pricing travel contingencies that include traveling throughout the US and possibility of other sites as needed, as stated in 4.6, would require these risks to be included in travel pricing; and therefore, could be overstated. |
Paragraph 4.6, Travel
6 & 7
Not Applicable based on answer to Question 14.
| 17 |
| Paragraph 4.7 estimates the GFE that will be provided and references Item 2 - "Tooling described in BRAMP Appendix D will be provided by VA as needed." This paragraph also includes a requirement for, "the Contractor is responsible for the knowledge and experience required to use the tooling." Q. In order to understand the knowledge and experience needed, will the Government provide Appendix D with RFQ? |
Paragraph 4.7, Government Furnished Property
7 & 8
This was left in the PWS erroneously. BRAMP is not applicable to this acquisition and the line has been removed from the PWS. An updated PWS will be posted.
| 18 |
| This paragraph states the following "The Contractor shall be required to sign a Business associate Agreement (BAA) when handling VA-sensitive information." Q. Can the Government provide the BAA at the RFQ phase so that Quoters can review? |
Paragraph 5.2, Nursing Environmental Scan
Example attached (VHA 1605.05 Business Associate Agreement)
| 19 |
| Under bullet 2 of this paragraph, it requires support for implementation of discrete components (e.g. creation of new job descriptions). To our knowledge, creating new job descriptions is an inherently governmental function. Q. Therefore, can the Government confirm the activities the Contractor will perform for "supporting" this activity so it can be managed in delivery and priced accordingly for RFQ? |
Paragraph 5.2.5, Operational Planning
Correct, while the creation itself is a government function we are looking for the contractor to assist us in developing items such as a job description that we can be a model for the nation
| 20 |
| Q. Can the Offeror submit the two Key Personnel, Health Systems Counsel SME and Federal Government Change Management Executive SME resumes with the RFQ as additional documents? |
Paragraph 6.1, Key Personnel
Yes.
0004 will result in one comprehensive nursing plan that includes all 18 VISNs, much of the scan has been accomplished.
0005 there will be up to 18 archetypes, but may be less if there are trends or duplicates 0006 will result in one comprehensive list with a prioritized set of recommendations
| 0007 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Focus Area Identification – Prioritized set of focus areas for the strategic plan, mapped to the archetypes of VISNs (PWS Reference 5.2.3) there will be up to 18 archetypes, but may be less if there are trends or duplicates |
| Line Item |
| Description |
| Quantity |
| 0008 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Nursing Roadmap – Strategic plan for core focus areas and high-level implementation roadmap, with milestones, owners, and clear next steps (PWS Reference 5.2.4) |
| One roadmap that outlines milestones, owners, and actions for the overarching next 8-10 years |
| 0009 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Operational Planning – Operational Nursing Plan (PWS Reference 5.2.5) |
| One tactical plan with short, medium, and long term strategies identified (and an expectation of identified progress in all 3) |
| 0010 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – Collection of best practices critical to nursing leadership structure and development pathways (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| One collection of multiple best practices or two collections: one for leadership structure and one for development pathways |
| 0011 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – List of factors predictive of good leaders (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| One list |
| 0012 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – Mapping of current nursing leadership structures and critical roles across VISNs (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| One map |
| 0013 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Nursing Model Changes – White paper showing synthesis of structures and key roles correlated with positive impact on priority outcomes (PWS Reference 5.3.2) |
| One white paper |
| 0014 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Nursing Model Changes – List of potential adjustments needed to align with identified structures and key roles, by VISN with archetypes for VAMCs (PWS Reference 5.3.2) |
| One list |
| 0015 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Business Case – Business case for likely investment, with resources required by VISN, and clear articulation of impact on outcomes and financials (PWS Reference 5.3.3) |
| Four business cases, one for each strategic goal |
| 0016 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Business Case – Implementation roadmap with sequencing of VISNs and defined owners for each implementation step (PWS Reference 5.3.3) |
| One roadmap |
| Line Item |
| Description |
| Quantity |
| Unit of Measure |
| Unit Price |
| Total Price |
| 0004 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Comprehensive Nursing Plan (PWS Reference 5.2.1) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0005 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Pain Points – Archetypes of performance by VISN on four (4) pillars (PWS Reference 5.2.2) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0006 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Pain Points – Comprehensive list of the pain points across each of the four pillars (by each of the 18 VISNs) and a set of prioritized recommendations (in the form of an analysis) based on the existing strategic plan – that can be operationalized VISN and enterprise wide (PWS Reference 5.2.2) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0007 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Focus Area Identification – Prioritized set of focus areas for the strategic plan, mapped to the archetypes of VISNs (PWS Reference 5.2.3) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0008 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Nursing Roadmap – Strategic plan for core focus areas and high-level implementation roadmap, with milestones, owners, and clear next steps (PWS Reference 5.2.4) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0009 |
| Nursing Environmental Scan; Operational Planning – Operational Nursing Plan (PWS Reference 5.2.5) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0010 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – Collection of best practices critical to nursing leadership structure and development pathways (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0011 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – List of factors predictive of good leaders (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0012 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Current State – Mapping of current nursing leadership structures and critical roles across VISNs (PWS Reference 5.3.1) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0013 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Nursing Model Changes – White paper showing synthesis of structures and key roles correlated with positive impact on priority outcomes (PWS Reference 5.3.2) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0014 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Nursing Model Changes – List of potential adjustments needed to align with identified structures and key roles, by VISN with archetypes for VAMCs (PWS Reference 5.3.2) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0015 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Business Case – Business case for likely investment, with resources required by VISN, and clear articulation of impact on outcomes and financials (PWS Reference 5.3.3) |
| 12 |
| EA |
| 0016 |
| Strengthening Nursing Leadership Model; Business Case – Implementation roadmap with sequencing of VISNs and defined owners for each implementation step (PWS Reference 5.3.3) |
| 12 |
| EA |
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