Vendor_Question_Responses_031516.doc

1. Has a contractor performed similar work to this for the government in the past?

If available, please provide the incumbent contract number.

Yes, the incumbent is TECHFIRST INC. Contract No. SS00-10-60104.

2. Can companies from Outside the USA apply for this?

(like for example, India or Canada)

You must be registered with the U.S. Small Business Administration as an 8(a) small business concern. If you are not, you are ineligible to participate. If you would like to participate in the, please contact the Small Business Administration at sba.gov

3. Must the vendor be physically present for meetings?

Yes. The requirement speaks to an onsite Contract Administrator. Please see page 5 of the Statement of Work.

4. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA?

(like, from India or Canada)

No. Please see page 1 of the Statement of Work indicating:

For the purposes of this contract, contractor shall provide services at SSA Headquarters located in Baltimore, MD, the Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Falls Church, Virginia, Crystal City/Arlington, VA and at other locations in the greater Baltimore/Washington D.C. Metro area. Additionally, services may be required at other SSA locations nationwide (see section B-1.3 as well as SSA’s website www.ssa.gov/org/).

5. Can we submit the proposals via email?

The solicitation request quotations in an electronic format. Please see Section E2 -2 pages 89-90 of the Body Document labeled (SSA-RFP-16-1005):

E2-2 ADDENDUM FAR PROVISION 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2015)

Instructions to Offerors

The following information provides the instructions to offerors for submitting a response to this solicitation:

Offerors must submit a signed and dated offer to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers shall be submitted via FedConnect at following address:

https://www.fedconnect.net

6. Are you planning on awarding to multiple contractors?

No.

7. Is it necessary to bid on all services? Could a contractor bid on just CART, or just one location?

Yes, it is necessary to provide a quotation for all services and service locations requested per the Statement of Work and the Body document labeled

SSA-RFP-16-1005. No, a vendor’s proposal on one service or one location will not be accepted.

8. For the 03/18/16 delivery in Baltimore. Do you need any specific number of copies and presentation (Binder, folder, sealed)?

Please see the response provided for question #5.

9. For the 03/18/16 are email submissions acceptable?

Please see the response provided for question #5.

10. Do you have a preferred submission format?

Please see SSA-RFP-16-1005 page 90 Section (4) Proposal Content.

11. Last day to submit questions?

Please see SSA-RFP-16-1005 page 89:

“ALL INQUIRIES MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN March 7, 2016 3:00 ET.

The Government will make every attempt to answer questions which will not automatically result in the extension of the proposal due date.”

12. Are you happy with your current Provider?

In accordance with the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), TECHFIRST INC., Contract No. SS00-10-60104 has at the minimum satisfactorily met each of the evaluation ratings.

13. Under SOW D. Page 9 - We see that VRI is a part of this contract. We noticed a solicitation that went out for SSA-VRI recently. Is this to support that contract or to leave the option open to SSA to utilize this vendor for VRI as well?

This is a standalone requirement to include VRI services.

14. Under SOW D. Page 9 - We see that VRS is a part of this contract too. Was that the intention?

Yes.

15. Will SSA build in a succession plan if a new vendor is chosen or have a transition plan?

No.

16. The offeror is to supply resumes and certifications for all personnel providing services (Section E2-2, (4)), yet the government instruction for the technical volume limits the total page count to twenty-five pages. In our experience, resumes alone for an effort of this scope could easily exceed the 25-page limit without even including proof of certification or a technical narrative. Please consider revising the page limit or eliminate resumes and certification letters from the page count for the technical volume so that offerors can submit robust yet concise technical volumes, while still providing supporting documents needed to ensure the offerors’ ability to meet the requirement effectively. In our experience with similar efforts from the government, it is unusual for resumes and certification letters for personnel to be included in the page count of a technical volume.

Resumes and proof of certification will not be included in the 25-page limit.

17. Will the government accept the following documents as demonstrated proof of certification? If not, please specify the type(s) of verification of certification that the government will accept.

INTERPRETERS:

· Copy of RID Wall Certificate

· Copy of current RID membership card

· Current verification letter from the RID member database (www.rid.org)

CART WRITERS:

· Copy of RPR/CCP/CBC/CRR Certificate

· Copy of membership card for NCRA

The government will accept certifications from the RID membership card and current verification letter from the RID member database (www.rid.org) as well as a copy of current membership card for NCRA.

18. Please provide historical usage data available for ASR Interpreting and ASR CART services per region for 2014 and 2015.

We’ve provided ASR Interpreting services in the following Regions:

Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City and Headquarters (Baltimore) We’ve provided ASR CART services in the following Regions:

Dallas, Headquarters (Baltimore) and Philadelphia

19. Is there any potential for overnight and/or weekend ASR requests for interpreting services or CART services for any of the regions? Historically, have there been any overnight and/or weekend ASR needs for any of these services in 2014 or 2015?

We have not provided overnight ASR interpreter services. We have provided weekend (Saturday/Sunday) ASR interpreter services in 2015 and 2016.

20. In the solicitation, the government asks for the completed fill-ins for Section E2-1 52.207-7 related to responsibility matters to be included in the bid. We believe this may be in error. The solicitation section related to responsibility matters is labeled as E1-2. Please clarify the instruction.

Please see solicitation section E1-2 52.209-7- Information Regarding Responsibility Matters. (JUL 2013).

21. The offerer is to provide a completed FAR Clause 52.212-3 in the bid. Please clarify whether this document is or is not included in the 25-page limit for the technical volume. If it is included, please advise offerers, whether the FAR Clause 52.212-3 needs to be included in its entirety, and whether this is still required if the offerer’s information is current in SAM. In our experience, completed FAR clauses are rarely included in the page count of a proposal.

This document is not included in the 25-page limit.

22. The offerer is to provide the completed fill-ins for the FAR Clause 52.207-7 in the bid. Please clarify whether this document is or is not included in the 25-page limit for the technical volume. In our experience, this document is rarely included in the page count of a proposal.

This document is not included in the 25-page limit.

23. If offerers will include a SF-1449 in their final submission, will the SF-1449 also be included in the page count for the technical volume?

This document is not included in the 25-page limit.