R499--Printing Services/Mail Outreach for MVP

Solicitation Questions 2

Question #

Section

Question

1

Q: When do you anticipate the modification will be released with answers to submitted questions?

A: The amendment with responses to the questions received by the 6/13 due date were posted on 6/17/2024. If the Contracting Officer deems that the late questions assist in clarifying the requirement, then the responses will be posted by amendment before the solicitation response due date.

2

Q: Do you anticipate providing a proposal due date extension?

A: Amendment 1 responded to questions and extended the due date from 7/2/2024 to 7/9/2024. Please review new amendments for changes.

3

Q: In the unlikely event of a data breach, the Liquidated Damages for Data Breach expense could pose a substantial risk to a small business. In addition to adherence to all of the VA security requirements, do you have any suggestions for how a small business would manage this expense?

A: No suggestions from this office. The language is required in all VA contracts which require contractor access to sensitive information. Historically, businesses of all sizes have been able to comply to the requirement as written.

4

Q: Is there a possibility to negotiate the amount of Liquidated Damages per affected individual for Data Breach?

A: No, the amount is set and may not be tailored.

5

1 (Summary)

Q: Can VA please confirm that the portion of unit price related to postage is a pass-through and this amount would be variable based on action by the United States Postal Service (USPS)?

A: The mailing unit prices may fluctuate annually based on USPS rate changes. The changes will be updated in the base contract by modification when USPS approves their rates for the period in question.

6

1 (Summary)

Q: Is an ATO that is a VA-F required?

A: MVP requires a VA-E ATO.

7

Volume II (B)

Q: For the redacted version of Volume II, can VA please confirm if it is acceptable to reference project and client names or if they should be changed to something nondescript such as "client" and "program"?

A: Please change any contractor identifying information to something nondescript. This would include any references to projects and client names. The verbiage client and program are acceptable.

8

I. General Instructions (G)

Q: Can VA please confirm the total number of pages for Volume I, II, III and IV combined cannot exceed 30 pages (inclusive of cover pages, table of contents, glossary, and appendices)?

A: This is a change from the original solicitation and Amendment 1. Only Volumes I, II (redacted and unredacted) and III shall meet the 30-page limitation. Volume IV will be considered part of the solicitation document and will not count against the page limit of the other three volumes.

9

I. General Instructions (G)

Q: Can VA please confirm Attachment 1 is not included in the page count?

A: Attachment 1 the Estimated Quantities and Price List is considered part of Volume IV; therefore, it should not be included in the 30-page limitation. Also, the signed solicitation, amendments and past performance surveys received do not fall under the page limitation.

10

Instructions to Offerors, Specific Instructions, Volume II and Volume III

Q: Assuming an offeror can request at least three past performance surveys for current or previous contracts similar in size, scope, and complexity to this solicitation, can VA please confirm no further information needs to be submitted under Volume III (Past Performance)?

A: If the information in the past performance surveys meet the size, scope, and complexity of the solicitation and sufficiently conveys the services performed without further support; then no additional information would be required. If the offeror feels additional information would be beneficial, then that may also be included in their offer.

11

I. General Instructions (G)

Q: Can VA please confirm there are no font type, size, spacing or margin requirements for any volumes?

A: To promote conformity amongst offers the acceptable font types will be Arial, Calibri and Times New Roman. The font size shall be either 11 or 12. The document may contain single or double spacing, while not exceeding the page limit. The margins shall be set to no more than 1 inch on all four sides.

12

Volume I

Q: In light of the government s Q&A and extended proposal deadline, can the government likewise extend the deadline to request an offeror code?

A: The deadline to request an offeror code will be extended to 7/9/2024. This amendment will also extend the solicitation response due date to 7/23/2024.

13

Pricing

Q: Item 36 instructs offerors to not price Task 5. If CLIN 010 is Task 5 there would be no appointment mailings in the estimated volume spreadsheet. Appointment mailing is referenced in items 32 (mail 2x per week) and 39 (appointment versioning), however, so they appear necessary to the program. After reviewing CLIN 010 again, it appears Task 4 is correct as originally stated, and the description contains an error. Can VA please confirm CLIN 010 should be labeled "Appointment Packet " and is Task 4?

A: YES. CLIN 010 should be priced as Task 4 an appointment letter without a Baseline Survey included in it.

14

Task 11

Q: Task 11 states contractor will destroy the original paper documents in alignment with VA regulation for secure destruction of PHI/PII. What are the applicable VA regulations/standards including the level of shredding required (i.e., level 6 shredding refers to the size of the crosscut paper as it comes out) or other destruction method?

A: Secure handling, a level 6 crosscut paper shredder or incineration along with a certification of destruction.

Q: Under the addendum 1 question 34 "Should postage estimates be included"? The answer was yes. Should this be included in the per piece price in the spreadsheet? Are you looking for a firm postage cost for 5 years?

A: Yes, the postage pricing shall be included in the per piece price of the spreadsheet. See question 5 above for USPS price change modifications.

Amendment 1 to add questions/answers and extend close date.

MVP Data and Printing support