Organization and Development and Engagement Support Services

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 22, 2017 2:42 pmTrack Changes The purpose of this amendment is to post vendor set question and answers and revised RFP. The last day to send additional questions is 4PM EST on June 23, 2017.

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 21, 2017 4:13 pmTrack Changes The purpose of this modification is to extend the response date to July 06, 2017 at 10AM EST. Questions and Answers and revised PWS will be posted by close of business 6/22/2017.

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 16, 2017 3:09 pmTrack Changes Organizational Development and Engagement Professional Support Services

VA118-17-R-2177

Questions and Answers

6/16/17





With the Solicitation released less than 24 hours prior to these questions and with responses due in 6 days, will the government consider extending the due date to allow a reasonable amount of time for proposers to consume the information contained in the solicitation, present questions, and receive answers?

Answer: At this time, the Government is not contemplating extending the due date.



Is this solicitation in essence addressing a staff augmentation requirement as the required location is on government site?

Answer: No.



 B.2  LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING-- MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE (JUN 2011) - The contractor is advised in performing contract administration functions, the CO may use the services of a support contractor(s) retained by VA to assist in assessing the contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirements specified in the clause.



Will the government allow prime contractors to receive credit for the work performed by similarly situated subcontractors and thus removing the percentage required that award amount to be spent on subcontractors in this case CVE SDVOSBs and VOSBs?  

Answer: No.



Ref (ii) VOLUME II PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR.  Offerors shall submit a list of up to three contracts for the prime contractor and up to three for any major subcontractor (including Federal, State, and local government and private) (prime contracts, task/delivery orders, and/or major subcontracts) in performance at any point during the three years immediately prior to the proposal submission date, which are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation. 



Will the government allow prime contractors to receive credit for the work performed by similarly situated subcontractors for combined past performance?  

Answer: Work performed by a major subcontractor may be submitted as part of the team s past performance but it will be considered against the subcontractor who performed the work, not the prime contractor.



Ref B.4 PRICE SCHEDULE CLIN 001A - The Contractor shall provide a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) In Accordance With (IAW) Performance Work Statement (PWS) Paragraph 5.1.1.

Due 5 days after award and updated monthly thereafter. If due date lands on a weekend or holiday, CPMP is due the following day



Will the contractor have access to those in the government who will be affected by the CPMP and be able to receive input into the CPMP from same in a timely manner for developing the CPMP?

Answer: The contractor will have access to those impacted by the CPMP, but the contractor should have his plan solidified with enough time to meet the required delivery date. 



Ref 5.1.3      TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING -The Contractor shall hold a technical kickoff meeting within 10 days after contract award. 



Is this travel (if not virtual) included in the travel contemplated in table 4.3 Travel?

Answer: No.



Will the government please share the labor hours or number of FTEs anticipated to support each task area? 

Answer: There is no estimate; Offerors shall propose their best technical approach in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Performance Work Statement and Evaluation Criteria.



Ref 5.3 COMMUNICATION AND EDITING SUPPORT

The Contractor shall provide online website content and print editorial services including proofreading, fact checking, informational editing, and layout designing. The Contractor shall develop and edit the following Communication Documentations to include Emails, Articles and Blogs, Brochures, Technical Documents, Website Content, Flyers and Posters, Advertisements, and Conference Materials. The Contractor shall also be required to deliver Educational/Informational Materials, Technical and Nontechnical Materials, Posters, Abstracts, Slide Decks, Monographs, Reports and Recommendations, White Papers, Guides, Scripts, and Content for Magazines and Newsletters.   Historically 40 - 60 documents need to be proofread, fact checked, information edited and layout design work monthly.  In addition, a minimum of 50 Promotional Mailings need to be produced annually.  Documents shall be required as needed.  VA anticipates final shall be delivered 3-5 business days after request.  The Contractor shall coordinate the delivery schedule for documents exceeding five days with the COR.



Questions:

Ref PWS 5.3 - Could you provide more context to the quantity of documents to be edited per month?  It is difficult to develop a realistic budget without knowing if the majority of the work is editing a webpage content (2 hours) or a technical report (200 pages). 

Answer: Web content, web articles, emails, training content,

Ref PWS 5.3 How items are to be mailed in each promotional mailing?

Answer: All electronic distribution

Ref PWS 5.3 What the size and weight of each item to be mailed?

Answer: All electronic. No manual mailing required

Ref PWS 5.3 Is the offer responsible for printing, packaging, and postage of promotional mailing items?

Answer: No, all items are distributed electronically.



Ref 5.6          WEBSITE CONTENT SUPPORT

The Contractor shall provide daily website content updates and content maintenance to include content update support, website content maintenance support, graphic design services and data/web metric analytics, on the VA hosted and managed OD&E intranet website.  The Contractor shall deliver a Website Metric Analytics Report documenting the data/web metric analytics results weekly.  The Contractor shall adhere to the use of current VA software applications/technologies to address this requirement, which may include WordPress and/or similar applications. 



Questions:

Ref PWS 5.6 Could you please estimate the number of pages to be updated and maintained each day?

Answer: 1 website and 1 social media page

Ref PWS 5.6 How many and what types of graphic design work per month? Answer: The graphics can be COTS i.e. iStock

Ref PWS 5.6 Is the contractor responsible for creating the content or will that be provided?

Answer: The contractor will create content and review content developed internally.



REF 5.8          Video Production (Optional Task)

The Contractor shall produce up to ten videos on the general topic of organizational development, each approximately 20 to 30 minutes long.  OD&E will decide the specific topic and the Contractor shall develop and deliver the Video Script, Production Schedule, and other details in collaboration with OD&E.  The Contractor shall perform the video shoot utilizing talents from VA and outside.  The Contractor shall perform editing, sound and color correction, captioning, and manage the complete production process including disseminating the videos within VA through email, website, and SharePoint.  The Contractor, with COR concurrence, shall also deliver the final Videos.  The Contractor shall provide any Software Licenses and Equipment necessary to support the video production activities.  This requirement may be partially exercised. VA anticipates delivery of the video(s) three to four months after exercised.  The Contractor shall coordinate the delivery schedule if video(s) are expected to exceed the three to four month time frame with the COR.



Questions:

Ref PWS 5.8 Is the contractor responsible for acquiring and paying the outside talent?

Answer: All talent will be internal to VA

Ref PWS 5.8 How many e-mail sends of video segment are to be sent per year?

Answer: Videos will be posted on internal VA intranet sites and YouTube

Ref PWS 5.8 What are the ten video production locations?

Answer: Local to DC with VA executives and staff

Ref PWS 5.8 The travel days allocation listed in Para 4.3 seems inadequate to support the video production needs.  Should the offeror include additional travel budget in their offer?

Answer: The travel identified in the paragraph 4.3 is adequate to meet VA s needs.



 Reference RFP # Volume I Technical Factor: 1) Offeror shall provide an approach to the management methodology that will be used for executing the overall effort including a proposed staffing approach (to include a breakout of labor categories and hours for each PWS Section/ sub-paragraphs), security clearance considerations   and PWS 6.5 Facility/Resource Provisions,



Can you please provide the Government Estimate of on-site Full-Time-Equivalents, the Labor Categories expected and the associated clearances required?

Answer: There is no estimate; Offerors shall propose their best technical approach in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Performance Work Statement and Evaluation Criteria.



Reference PWS 5.4 QUANTITATIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS SUPPORT, Can you please provide details on the geographic locations and demographics for the 8,000 personnel survey?

Answer: Federal OI&T personnel geographically disbursed



Reference PWS 5.4 QUANTITATIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS SUPPORT, Can the survey instrument be conducted using a Web Based (Not on VA Network) commercial-off-the-shelf (proprietary) survey instrument (ex. Survey Monkey)? 

Answer: Yes.



What are you expecting in the way of past performance?

Answer: Please refer to Section E.14 of the RFP.



Are teaming agreements encouraged? If yes, how do you like those documented?

Answer: Please refer to Section E.14 of the RFP.



Do you have a response template we might be able to use to ensure we provide all desired information?

Answer: There is no specific template required to respond. Please refer to Section E.14 of the RFP for proposal submission instructions.



We were reviewing the solicitation that was released yesterday for OI&T Building Capacity through Organization Development and Engagement. https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=201a470e9c101fe134c1fd49a120c90a. Is there a PWS available?

Answer: Click on the link in the middle under the word Solicitation 1 and it will open the solicitation. The PWS is incorporated into the solicitation.

The pre-solicitation AND FBO has the deadline date recorded as June 30, 2017 at 3:00P.M.; however the RFP published yesterday changed the deadline date to June 22, 2017 what is the official deadline?

Answer: June 30, 2017 is in reference to the pre-solicitation notice. Proposals are due 3PM EST on June 22, 2017.



This is a SDVOSB set-aside for the Prime, is there a requirement for major subcontractors all subcontractors to also be SDVOSB certified?

Answer: Please refer to VAAR Clause 852.219-10 VA NOTICE OF TOTAL SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE (JUL 2016) contained in the solicitation. While not all subcontractors must be VIP certified, to qualify for this procurement, the contractor and qualifying SDVOSB subcontractors are required to complete 50% of the work.



Confirm the prime must be SDVOSB certified AND listed in the VA Registry

Answer: Please refer to Section E.15 Basis of Award.



Ref section 5.8, what is the anticipated length of the videos? There are different costs depending on the length. As in, a 2 minute video is less expensive to make than a 10 minute video.

Answer: As referenced in Section 5.8 Video Production (Optional Task), the Contractor shall produce up to ten videos on the general topic of organizational development, each approximately 20 to 30 minutes long.

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 15, 2017 1:57 pmTrack Changes The purpose of this modification is to post part II Vendor set questions and answers.

6/15/2017

6/15/2017 Part II Set Vendor Questions and Answers

QUESTION: Is there any prior data associated with this initiative?

ANSWER: No

QUESTION: By qualitative are you suggesting focus groups or can we explore an array of qualitative approaches?

ANSWER: A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be forthcoming. Please continue to monitor FBO.

QUESTION: Is there an incumbent vendor?  Can you please release the name of the incumbent?

ANSWER: There is no incumbent vendor

QUESTION: Will vendor publish and disseminate research findings in both hard copy and digital?

ANSWER: No.  Publication will occur electronically and internally to OI&T only.

QUESTION: Are there existing SharePoint assets we can view?

ANSWER: No

QUESTION: What is the current process for content development, approval, and publishing?

ANSWER: A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be forthcoming. Please continue to monitor FBO.

QUESTION: What specific tasks have been designated for the industrial psychologist?

ANSWER: A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be forthcoming. Please continue to monitor FBO.

QUESTIONS: Can you provide more granularity on the video production requirements including place of performance?

ANSWER: Washington DC.       

QUESTION: Will all of the specific requirements associated with this activity appear in the solicitation statement of work?

ANSWER: Yes

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 15, 2017 11:18 amTrack Changes The purpose of this modification is to post vendor set questions and answers.

6/15/2017

Questions and Answers Presolicitation

QUESTION: My firm is a self-certified SDVOSB.  Are we required to be in VetBiz?  Or is self-certification acceptable? 

ANSWER: As required by the Vets First Contracting Program (Public Law 109-461), consideration for contract award is limited to SDVOSBs that are registered and verified in Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database (http://www.va.gov/OSDBU/index.asp) at time of submission of offer and at time of contract award. Accordingly, quotes submitted by SDVOSBs that do not meet the VIP verification requirements will not be considered.



QUESTION: Will the answers to questions submitted prior to solicitation release be shown on the solicitation, sent only to interested vendors, or sent only to the original sender?

ANSWER: Questions and answers regarding the presolicitation notice will be posted as a modification to the posted presolicitation notice. If time permits, answers will also be sent to the original vendor that sent in the questions. Finally, you may find that when the solicitation is posted that your question will be answered within the solicitation.



QUESTION: The pre-solicitation VA118-17-R-2177 is listed as a 100% service disabled veteran owned set aside. As a certified service disabled veteran small business can I form a joint venture and have controlling interests of the JV partnership at 51%or higher and bid on this opportunity as a JV partnership?

ANSWER: Thank you for the interest in the acquisition. Unfortunately, Contracting is not in a position to advise on this matter. Please consult your legal team for advice.



QUESTION: I am hoping to find out if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services or if this is a new requirement. If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the contract number?

ANSWER: This is a new requirement.



QUESTION: I would like to know where this work would be performed.

ANSWER: Efforts under this contract shall be performed at VA facilities located primarily at 470 L Enfant Plaza, Washington, DC 20024; 810 Vermont Avenue, Washington, DC 20420; and other VA locations in Washington, DC.



QUESTION: Is there the potential for some of the work to be done remotely?

ANSWER: Yes

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm Modified: Jun 14, 2017 4:35 pmTrack Changes The purpose of this modification is to correct the estimated date of award.

The estimated date of award for this action is July 25, 2017.

Added: Jun 13, 2017 4:14 pm The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) intends to issue a solicitation on or after June 15, 2017 for organizational development support, communication and editing support, quantitative data collection and analysis, qualitative data collection and analysis, website support, video production and SharePoint administration. In addition, the vendor shall develop and maintain educational materials for use and dissemination within Office of Information and Technology (OI&T). The vendor shall develop tools, assessments, and materials that educate the OI&T enterprise on employee engagement, change management, organization development, lessons, and the application of lessons from industrial psychology. Further, the vendor shall provide content to maintain the Organization Development and Engagement (OD&E) organizational website to include all website pages and its content, educational materials, change management materials, employee engagement materials and strategies, survey research, quantitative and qualitative data collection, data analysis, research analysis and evaluation, application of lessons from industrial psychology, organization development activities, and strategic communications for OD&E. Additionally, the vendor shall be responsible for the website content development, data analytics, survey development, SharePoint development and administration, tools design and development, research analysis and evaluation, and publication.

This solicitation will be issued as a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-aside on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be 12 months from the date of award with three, 12-month option periods to be exercised at the Government s discretion. There is also an optional task for 12 months which can be exercised at any time during the PoP for Video Production. The North American Industrial Classification for this effort is 541611. The estimated date of award for this action is June 30, 2017.

This notice does not in itself represent the issuance of a formal request for proposal/quote and is not intended to be taken as such. This notification shall close on June 15, 2017.

Questions/responses shall be submitted via e-mail to Contract Specialist, Keiahna Brewer, e-mail: Keiahna.Brewer@va.gov, with the subject line as the synopsis number, VA118-17-R-2177. The points of contact for this action are Keiahna Brewer, Contract Specialist, 732-440-9686 or Iris Farrell, Contracting Officer, 732-440-9661.