RFP ED-99-R-0032, Document Receipt and Control Center
Amendment 0004
Issued August 20, 1999

This amendment transmits responses to questions received in reference to the
above RFP.  See below:

Question: 

1.  Section L.13, Page 46 of the solicitation requests that the  "Contractor
Performance Information" form attached to the solicitation  be sent to four
references to complete and mail to ED.  In which file was this located?  Are
references required for major subcontractors  as well as the prime?  Is a 20
percent subcontractor considered major?

Answer:  The location for the file is "ocfo.ed.gov/coninfo/99r0032.htm
Yes, references are required for both.  Section L.13 states, "Major, as
defines here and in the remainder of Section L and M regarding past
performance, is any subcontractor that is subcontracted for a minimum of 25%
of the total contract amount".

Question:

2.  Who is the incumbent on the Contract?  Will the incumbent be eligible to
bid on the contract as a subcontract or subcontract?

Answer:  Friday Systems Services, Inc. is the incumbent.  Yes, the incumbent
will be able to bid as a contractor.

Question:

3.  How many incumbent contractor employees are currently assigned to this
contract?  Is the number of staff increased for the peak periods of July and
January or is the number of staff the same throughout the year?

Answer:  There are approximately 21 staff on-site.  The audit staff is
increased during peak periods to handle the influx of audits.

Question:

4.  A"Work Plan" which includes a "Staffing Plan with Resumes and a 
"Quality Assurance Plan" is required in the Technical Proposal.   Section L
of the solicitation details five sections for Technical  Proposal and
indicates that all information to be evaluated must be in these five
sections.  Can the two "plans" and the resumes be attachments that are
referenced in these sections and still  be evaluated or do these plans need
to be incorporated into the text of the Technical Approach section, the
Management Plan section, or another section of the Technical Proposal?

Answer:  The Quality Control Plan can be included as an attachment to
Technical Approach section and the Work Plan included as an attachment to
the Staffing Section.

Question:

5.  Section L of the solicitation asks for costs by elements or tasks; yet
the proposed template for costs ask for costs by  hour for specified hours
and personnel for each period of performance.  Do we need both and, if so,
how many task are to be priced and what is the project level of effort for
each task (volume of data to be received, processed, and filed; volume of
requests to retrieve information, etc.)? Are cost buildups to support labor
rates required for the prime and major subcontractor?

Answer:  Contractors should cost by the project period and not by task,
e.g., Transition, Base Year, Option Year One, etc.

Question:

6.  Section L, Item C on Page 40 of the solicitation states ED to  provide
all needed equipment, but the contractor, should only list extras needed
with an explanation of why it is needed plus disclose the details of any
government-owned property held by contractor. If not requesting extra items,
is any of this necessary for the  proposal?  Section C, Page 6 of the
solicitation states: contractor to provide all equipment.  Section G.1 of
the solicitation states: Government to provide 22 cubicles and 22 computers.
 Please clarify which statement is correct and what information is needed to
cost proposal for equipment and supplies?

Answer:

The Department will provide all equipment, furniture, computer, supplies,
etc. during the performance period of the contract. The Contractor does not
have to propose costs for these items.

Question:

7.  Section L, Item E on Page 40-41 of the solicitation provides  a listing
of matters to be addressed in the cost proposal and by footnote requires the
information to be duplicated in the Technical Proposal.  These include
financial information, accounting procedures, and firm operating history
that is already requested in part in the Technical section.  Is the intent
to have this listing of offeror information prepared and provided in one 
section of both proposals?

Answer:  The contractor should provide the requested information in both the
Technical and Cost proposals; although in some cases the information may be
duplicated.

Question:

8.  Page 21 of the Statement of Work requires "A Work Plan" which includes
the staffing plan showing names and resumes of proposed  personnel.  Are
names and resumes to be provided for key personnel only or for the entire 24
people who may eventually be assigned to the project?  If all, are changes
in non-key personnel also  subject to ED approval?

Answer:  The contractor should provide resumes for all staff assigned to the
project.  However, only key personnel are subject to  Government approval.

Question:

9.  If subcontracting is included in the proposal, is a formal  subcontract
agreement required for the proposal, or will the certification included in
Section L.10 be sufficient?  Would this response change if the 8(a) prime
can demonstrate ability  to perform over 50 percent of the contract?

Answer:  No subcontracting plan is required.

Question:

10.  Section L.14, (c)(2) on Page 47 of the solicitation lists  information
that must be on the first page of the proposal. Can this information be on
the cover of each proposal (Technical, Business, Past Performance Report) or
should a Page 1 be added to each proposal containing?

Answer:  The offeror has the discretion to include the information on each
proposal (Technical, Business or Past Performance Report.

Question:

11.  Will the proposal due date be extended to allow time to incorporate ED
responses to questions into the Proposal?

Answer:  Amendment #0003 extended the due date for receipt of proposals to
August 27, 1999, 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

Question:

12.  Can the new contractor hire the incumbent's project personnel?

Answer:  The contractor shall staff appropriately in order to meet the
requirements set forth in the Statement of Work.