B08.03 Answers to Questions - IWR VTN Maintenance and Content.docx

Q1: Is this a new or follow-on contract? If a follow-on, who is the incumbent and what is the contract #?

A1: There is an incumbent. Information can be found in the Federal Procurement Data System under contract no.: W912HQ20C0069.

Q2: What is the contract type? Labor Hour (LH) and Cost Reimbursable (CR) or Firm Fixed Price (FFP) for CLIN 0001 and Cost Reimbursable (CR) for CLIN 0002? Is G&A or Handling fee allowed on the Travel/ODCs?

A2: The CLIN structure was revised for additional clarity. Labor is Firm Fixed Price. After reconsideration of this requirement, travel is no longer required for this contract. ODCs are not anticipated for this requirement.

Q3: What GFP/GFE is provided?

A3: Yes. Government furnished computers will be provided for the Contractor to gain access to the USACE VPN. Updated on PWS.

Q4: What CFP/CFE, if any, is required to be provided by the contractor?

A4: Contractor Furnished Property/Equipment should be provided, as appropriate, to complete the mission. Webhosting is not required by the contractor.

Q5: Are you currently using a Content Management System (CMS)? If so, what is the CMS?

A5: Yes. The Value to the Nation (VTN) program website is on the Institute for Water Resources (IWR) public website that is managed through a CMS (or equivalent system), maintained by the Defense Media Agency (DMA).

Q6: Will we be provided with a login account to the CMS and if so, what level of access will we have?

A6: Yes. The awardee will receive access to the CMS (or equivalent) through DMA. This requires VPN access and the ability for the Contractor to acquire Common Access Card (CAC).

Q7: Is a knowledge of .NET, asp.NET or any other server/web software (other than HTML and CSS) needed and/or required to participate in this contract?

A7: No additional knowledge is needed. However, please, do note that all content posted shall be 508 compliant.

Q8: On page 4, sections 4 and 5 of the PWS they mention a 7-day response time and 21 day review cycle, but no context as to how much content is to be expected. Is there any historical data available? Please define the level of effort so we may propose against that level of effort.

A8: On the PWS (pages 3-4, Sections 4 and 5), the number of days expected for a turnaround time is dependent on the task. For Task 1, the Contractor is expected to make updates to the webpage NLT 21 calendar days after receiving the data. For Task 2, the Contractor is expected to provide a draft NLT 14 calendar days from receiving the request, with the final version posted online NLT 7 calendar days after receiving feedback/O.K. from the USACE Team.

As for the volume of work, this is also dependent on the Task. As for Task 1, data in the form of spreadsheet, already cleaned and processed, will be provided by business line (in the case of Value to the Nation – NED Benefits). The Contractor is expected to extrapolate relevant information to publish online with appropriate narrative, based on existing template. The dataset varies in size by business line, ranging from (1) rows - couple of hundred rows to a thousand or so rows: (2) column – about 20 or so columns. The Contractor is expected to extrapolate and publish data at the project-, district-, division-, and national-level.

Task 2 should be a comparatively minor undertaking. Using the updated data provided by the USACE Team to do Task 1, the Contractor will be responsible for creating a brochure (or the like) as a “marketing” material for easy distribution. At this time, these are expected to be one or two pages (front and back). Additionally, other minor requests throughout the year may come up (i.e., site traffic statistics). As for the 1- or 2-pager marketing material, the contractor could have an additional 14 calendar days (in addition to the 21 days to develop web content) for the respective business line; however, this would vary from timing of data availability. As for the ‘a la carte’ requests (site traffic data), Contractor is expected to provide a draft/response within 14 calendar days.

The key takeaway is that the Contractor and USACE Team must maintain close communication throughout the year to account for shifts in schedule, as a lot of the annual updates required depend on data availability.

Q9: What is the response time from the agency if an issue is found and needs corrected? Does the 21-day period of completion restart if an issue is found and needs to be addressed prior to publishing?

A9: This would depend on the nature of the issue/error, and thus, the level of work required for correction. Close communication between the USACE Team and Contractor is expected.

Q10: Please advise the frequency of updates required to the content of Value to the Nation narratives and Fast Facts – both NED benefit and Capital Stock estimates for online posting.

A10: The frequency of updates is once per year for each business line (FRM, Hydro, WS, Rec, Inland Nav, Great Lakes Nav, Coastal Nav) at each level (project, district, division, state, and national).

Q11: Are there limitations or requirements on software to be used for communication with agency staff?

A11: No. Email communication and/or Webex call are sufficient.

Q12: Is there a specific code base or hosting service (Wordpress, etc...) being used to host the site where specialized access is needed?

A12: No. The Value to the Nation (VTN) program website is on the Institute for Water Resources (IWR) public website that is managed through a CMS (or equivalent system), maintained by the Defense Media Agency (DMA). To access this, a VPN is required, and thus, a Common Access Card (CAC) is required.

Q13: Is there a specific VPN needed for access to maintain the site?

A13: Yes. VPN access is required to maintain the site, and thus, a CAC is required.

Q14: Is there a specific format required for draft delivery of brochures?

A14: There is a specific format drafted by the incumbent. However, format is open to new ideas. Brochures

Q15: Will we have access to a Test Site for QA work to the data before publishing in a Production Environment?

A15: No particular test site is used at this time.

Q16: Is there an expectation to modify the data as received in the Excel? Including but not limited to parsing, joining, or reformatting of values.

A16: There may be some modification needed. Data would need to be extrapolated to the format found on the VTN website; for VTN (Fast Facts (army.mil)); for Capital Stock (Capital Stock (army.mil)).