Special_Notice_-_Vendor_Questions.pdf

Number Question from Industry Response from FRTIB

When in September will the “Invitation to Participate” be released?

The Advisory Multi-Step is planned to be released mid-September. The anticipated Solicitation release date is in December.

What information will be expected in the response from participants?

Details will be provided for the Advisory Multi- Step and Solicitation at the time of each release respectively.

Will the response be in the form of a white paper, Invitation to Bid Response, or other?

Details will be provided for the Advisory Multi- Step and Solicitation at the time of each release respectively.

What will be the page length limitation on the response?

Details will be provided for the Advisory Multi- Step and Solicitation at the time of each release

What will the process be for selecting firms to participate in the Advisory Multi Step Process? Teleperformance would certainly want to be involved in this process.

The Advisory Multi-Step process is a voluntary submission and is entirely independent of the subsequent source selection process for the acquisition. The outcome of the Advisory Multi- Step process does not preclude any interested Offeror from submitting a proposal for the subsequent solicitation. The intent is to save the Agency and interested parties both time and money in the development and evaluation of proposals. (Note: Interested parties determined to be non-viable may opt to respond despite the Agency’s determination.)

Has FRTIB determined the ‘type’ of contract this will eventually become – with respect to either Fixed Price vs. Cost Plus Type?

Undetermined at this time.

The depth and breadth of the RKSA opportunity is very broad, and may contain elements from over 15 NAICS codes. Most likely there will be enough opportunity to establish a Small Business Set Aside for a portion of the work as has been successfully done in the past. Will the Government accept and evaluate SBSA responses during the Advisory multi-step process, where the Small Business might provide a viable solution for some component of the solution that might be set aside for Small Business?

As a non-appropriated funded Agency, the FRTIB does not specifically participate in the SBA set-aside program.

Past communications and discussions suggest the FRTIB is open to the conducting of recordkeeping operations by vendors on their own platforms. If this is the case, will the FRTIB allow such vendors to comingle TSP participants and beneficiaries on a single platform or require the establishment of a separate and distinct instance for its plans?

After release of the solicitation and before development of proposals, the Agency will hold exchanges (discussions) and possibly conduct site visits with prospective Offerors. These interactions will be aimed at promoting the exchange of vital information between the parties toward improving the Offeror’s understanding of the Agency’s requirements and current operations, and the Agency’s understanding of the Offerors’ capabilities as

It is expected that this procurement will likely encourage established retirement service providers to consider bidding on this opportunity. Many of the most likely candidates for bidding on this procurement are also asset managers, which would see this as an opportunity to offer their proprietary assets to TSP participants and beneficiaries, despite the FRTIB’s current restriction to any outside funds. This possibility raises the A. For this procurement, will the FRTIB consider allowing service providers who are also asset managers to bid?

FRTIB will consider any service provider that can fulfill the objectives of the SOO.

B. If the answer to A is yes, will the FRTIB allow the service provider’s proprietary funds to be offered to Plan participants and beneficiaries, either directly on the platform, or through a mutual fund window?

While Investment Management and Annuity Services are currently Out of Scope, FRTIB is open to all potential solutions for the purpose of this soliciation and will take into consideration its current arrangements and Strategic Objectives.

C. If the answer to A is yes, will the FRTIB require restrictions on the vendor’s service representatives from offering their proprietary funds to participants and beneficiaries?

Participant Financial Education is defined as educating participants to drive better and smarter financial decisions to achieve their targeted retirement outcomes. Restrictions on offerings and rules of engagement may be

D. Will the FRTIB require 3rd parties with an agnostic view on investments to conduct all planning and advice sessions with participants and beneficiaries?

Participant Financial Education is defined as educating participants to drive better and smarter financial decisions to achieve their targeted retirement outcomes. Restrictions on offerings and rules of engagement may be

Does the FRTIB expect to have in place a functioning Mutual Fund Window at the time of this procurement, or does it expect the vendor awarded this contract to implement such a window within the scope of this

FRTIB does not currently have a functioning Mutual Fund Window. FRTIB is open to all potential solutions for the purpose of this soliciation and will take into consideration its current arrangements and Strategic Objectives.

Is it the expectation of the FRTIB that offeror proposals should consist of completely dedicated resources including not only service and operations personnel, but technical and architectural resources? Will the FRTIB allow for some form of a “shared services” model that is common among commercial recordkeepers?

FRTIB is open to all potential solutions for the purpose of this soliciation and will take into consideration its current arrangements and Strategic Objectives.

Does the FRTIB expect to have in place a functioning Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) at the time of this procurement, or does it expect the vendor awarded this contract to implement such a mechanism within the scope of this program?

At this time, the FRTIB does not expect the vendor to implement an ESB or other service oriented architecture technologies within the scope of this acquisition. After release of the solicitation and before development of proposals, the Agency will hold exchanges (discussions) and possibly conduct site visits with prospective Offerors. These interactions will be aimed at promoting the exchange of vital information between the parties toward improving the Offeror’s understanding of the Agency’s requirements and current operations, and the Agency’s understanding of the Offerors’

How will the responding companies be notified if there solution is determined to be viable or non-viable? i.e., will the notification process be conducted via a meeting, or via a

The Agency will not publish the resultant viable and non-viable determinations. Each interested party will be notified by the Agency of their determination.

According to your timeline, the Advisory multi-step process will begin approximately a year prior to the end of the Discussion with Offeror(s) period. During that time, there could be several changes made with regards to the members selected to deliver the proposed solution. That said, will the decision on whether the Contractor’s submission is viable or not be based primarily upon the solution provided vs. the team identified to implement the solution?

The Advisory Multi-Step process is a voluntary submission and is entirely independent of the subsequent source selection process for the acquisition. The outcome of the Advisory Multi- Step process does not preclude any interested Offeror from submitting a proposal for the subsequent solicitation. The intent is to save the Agency and interested parties both time and money in the development and evaluation of proposals. (Note: Interested parties determined to be non-viable may opt to respond despite the Agency’s determination.) Details regarding the Solicitation will be released in December 2017.

Will you provide anticipated guidelines for the percent and category of socioeconomic participation goals expected in the RFP.

FRTIB does not adhere to the SBA

We have found on similar procurements that having offerors present their core approaches and corporate qualifications can simplify and speed the procurement process. This permits the FRTIB to hear directly from the offeror in the offeror’s words, and enables an effective and rapid determination of the offeror’s viability to perform the work. Will the FRTIB consider basing the Advisory viability determination on an oral presentation by the offeror? Will any other element of the PBA approach involve oral presentations?

The Advisory Multi-Step will not be done orally.

The Advisory Multi-Step process is a voluntary submission and is entirely independent of the subsequent source selection process for the acquisition. The outcome of the Advisory Multi- Step process does not preclude any interested Offeror from submitting a proposal for the subsequent solicitation. The intent is to save the Agency and interested parties both time and money in the development and evaluation of proposals. (Note: Interested parties determined to be non-viable may opt to respond despite the Agency’s determination.)

The attachment provides very good information on the overall roles and responsibilities of the successful offeror and the FRTIB. In order to propose innovative approaches, will the offeror be provided the opportunity to a more detailed roles and responsibilities description?

After release of the solicitation and before development of proposals, the Agency will hold exchanges (discussions) and possibly conduct site visits with prospective Offerors. These interactions will be aimed at promoting the exchange of vital information between the parties toward improving the Offeror’s understanding of the Agency’s requirements and current operations, and the Agency’s understanding of the Offerors’ capabilities as

Alternative and creative approaches are often difficult for the evaluating organization to effectively score, rank, and ultimately determine the awardee. Will FRTIB provide their method of evaluation as part of the procurement package?

Yes.

Alternative approaches proposed in response to a set of objectives often must be measured differently. Although we’d be expecting the FRTIB to provide how they will measure performance with respect to the stated objectives, will the FRTIB permit the offeror the flexibility to propose additional performance requirements?

After release of the solicitation and before development of proposals, the Agency will hold exchanges (discussions) and possibly conduct site visits with prospective Offerors. These interactions will be aimed at promoting the exchange of vital information between the parties toward improving the Offeror’s understanding of the Agency’s requirements and current operations, and the Agency’s understanding of the Offerors’ capabilities as outlined in FAR 15.201(b). As a performance based acquisition, the FRTIB expects Offerors to propose performance measures as part of their

Will the notification from the Advisory “down-select” process be provided a detailed description of the strengths and weaknesses so that they can objectively evaluate their ability to and probability of successfully completing the procurement process?

Vendors with an assessment of "non-viable" will be provided a brief explanation of the assessment.

How will FRTIB handle offerors teaming with other providers within the Multi-Step Advisory approach? For example, if an offeror is advised that they are non-viable, but they add additional members to their team to address their weaknesses, will the “score” from the advisory step follow them into the Solicitation phase?

The Advisory Multi-Step process is a voluntary submission and is entirely independent of the subsequent source selection process for the acquisition. The outcome of the Advisory Multi- Step process does not preclude any interested Offeror from submitting a proposal for the subsequent solicitation. The intent is to save the Agency and interested parties both time and money in the development and evaluation of proposals. (Note: Interested parties determined to be non-viable may opt to respond despite the Agency’s determination.) There is no score in the advisory step. It is a pre-solicitation assessment that is intended to assist vendor's in making their decision to bid in view of their qualification to perform the work. It is non-binding assessment.

How will the FRTIB evaluate offerors proposals with respect to the SOO?

Evaluation factors for the Final SOO will be posted at a later date.

Will the FRTIB provide the Terms & Conditions of the resulting contract or a Master Services Agreement as an element of the procurement approach?

Undetermined at this time.

Will the FRTIB provide objectives related to the transition of recordkeeping services away from the current provider and to the new service provider? These objectives would include elements such as the desired timeframe for accomplishing the transition, timeframes for providing new or enhanced services, how CyberSecurity controls are established and maintained, or how to deal with existing infrastructure.

After release of the solicitation and before development of proposals, the Agency will hold exchanges (discussions) and possibly conduct site visits with prospective Offerors. These interactions will be aimed at promoting the exchange of vital information between the parties toward improving the Offeror’s understanding of the Agency’s requirements and current operations, and the Agency’s understanding of the Offerors’ capabilities as outlined in FAR 15.201(b). These exchanges will inform the objectives in the Final SOO.

Will the FRTIB provide in this library the “volumemetrics” associated with recordkeeping? For example, numbers of transactions per day/week/month/year, characterizations of those transactions, etc.

FRTIB will make certain types of work volumes available through a solication library during the appropriate Phase.

Will this library be provided electronically?

(i.e. will the library be provided via a secure website, will the offeror be able to download the library’s contents).

The library will be available electronically.

Initially, the Library will contain background information for vendors to use in the advisory step. After release of the solicitation, the Library will be expanded to contain additional proprietary information and will be accessible via NDAs. No decision has been made yet as to whether or not material can be downloaded.

With respect to the volumemetrics in the library, will the offeror be able to summarize and analyze the data provided?

The Offeror can use its own methods and tools to analyze the information in the Library.

Will the offerors be provided the ability to “take-over” existing FRTIB service delivery sites, or will they be expected to provide their own service delivery sites (e.g. call center)?

FRTIB is seeking solutions where the Offer provides all the means of service delivery including assets, staff, and service delivery sites (faciltiies). FRTIB is open to evaluating all potential solutions that enable this outcome at the approriate time.

Will the FRTIB provide an outline of the information requested in the Performance Work Statement? (Explanation, a PWS may consist of several elements, a SOW/WBS/WBS dictionary that describes WHAT needs to be done, an approach that describes HOW the offeror will perform the “whats”, performance standards and Service Level Agreements that describe acceptable levels of performance, and a quality plan that describes how the desired level of quality will

Details will be provided for the Advisory Multi- Step and Solicitation at the time of each release respectively.

The government has indicated a pre-solicitation phase which will include being invited to participate in the advisory multi-step process. PwC kindly requests inclusion in the pre-solicitation phase.

The FRTIB will announce on www.FBO.gov the first step advisory process. All vendors are welcome to participate although this is not mandatory for participation in the ensuing solicitation phase.

On Page 1 (section 2) of the "Defined Contribution Recordkeeping Defined" document, the government states, "excerpted from Section 3 of the Statement of Objectives." Can the government further expand on the Statement of Objectives and/or where they are provided?

The Statement of Objectives will be released at the beginning of the solicitation phase.

In the FRTIB Strategic Plan for FY 2017-2021, the government references the current IT architecture and the current recordkeeping system, OmniPlus. Does the government expect the Defined Contribution Managed Services Provider (DCMSP) to operate and maintain the current platform and/or transition to a new recordkeeping system?

It is FRTIB's intent to transition from the current platform to the successful offeror's solution.

Will the government be willing to release a list of respondents to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Recordkeeping RFI (dated March 21, 2017) and has the government determined preferred Recordkeeping Platforms, Solutions, or Providers?

FRTIB will not release the list of respondents to the RFI. The FRTIB is pursuing a performance-based acquisition starting with a Statement of Objectives because we are open to solutions proposed by industry that meet the Agency's objectives.

Is this effort intended to address Goal A in the FRTIB Strategic Plan for FY 2017-2021? If so, what are the target milestones and dates?

Yes, this effort addresses Goal A in the FRTIB Strategic Plan. The Agency's current target Milestone is Calendar 2021.

Is the DCMSP expected to absorb (partially or otherwise) functions currently supported through the ExPRESS and TESS contracts?

The DCMSP is expected to absorb all of the functions outlined in the ExPRESS solicitation and many of the functions currently supported by the TESS contract.

36 Who is the current Custodial Bank? State Street

Recordkeeping for this procurement refers to the people, processes, and technology needed to deliver all of the in-scope TSP operational services.

1. Who is providing current record keeping services?

Recordkeeping services currently fall under the TESS contract with services provided by SAIC.

2. How many FTEs are currently working? This information is not applicable, as the scope of services needed is different than what is currently being offered.

3. What are the current processes and technologies being used?

The solicitation library will contain information on processes and current technologies used.

Participant Correspondence - Includes call centers, voice-response systems, Web access, excludes congressional inquiries and correspondence regarding decisions for which the FRTIB is required by law to retain final authority.

1. What types of enquiries are received? This information will be made available in the solication library during the appropriate Phase.

2. Are call center agents required to be bilingual (English & Spanish)?

There are no bilingual constraints at this time.

3. Please provide call volume per week/month/year?

FRTIB will make certain types of work volumes available through a solication library at the appropriate Phase.

4. What are the hours of operation? FRTIB is open to all potential solutions for the purpose of this soliciation

Recordkeeping - Includes maintaining plan records; payroll processing; processing participants’ investment elections, contributions, and distributions; and issuing account statements to participants.

1. Does the Recordkeeping involve electronic as well as hard copy records?

Yes, both

2. How many records are maintained per week/month/year?

FRTIB will make certain types of work volumes available through a solication library during the appropriate Phase.

What are the required qualifications to bid on this solicitation when it becomes available?

Qualified vendors shall be able to provide the services specified in the Draft Statement of Objectives which will be posted as part of the Advisory Multi-Step announcement.

Is there a projected budget for this solicitation?

The Agency has created an Independent Cost Estimate which is not releasable to industry.

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