Solicitation No. ED-99-R-0036 Amendment 0001 The above solicitation is amended/clarified as follows: 1. This is a Full and Open Competition. All responsible offerors may submit a proposal which will be evaluated. Question 1 - Section 3.0, Task 3.5 (design initial training workshops), requests a Training Workshop Design Plan. Is this plan inside or outside the 50, double space page limit? Answer 1 - The Preliminary Training Workshop Design and Content, Scope and Sequence is inside the 50 double space page limit. Question 2 - Is the due date still August 23? Answer 2 - Yes, the closing date for this solicitation is still August 23, 1999. Question 3 - Is there a list of districts and/or schools by state which have been funded under the Middle School Drug Prevention and School safety Program Coordinators grant? If yes, how can it be obtained? Answer 3 - No, there is not a list at this time with a breakdown of states/district, ect. Question 4 - If the answer to Question 3 is NO, how many total sites will be funded? Answer 4 - We do not have the total numbers regarding who will be funded, at this time. Question 5 - Are the professional hours listed on page 55 (Section L) of the solicitation application considered to be the maximum number? Answer 5 - On Page 55, Section L.5 it states "These numbers are furnished for the offeror's information only and are NOT considered restrictive for proposal purposes." Question 6 - Are the professional hours listed based on direct costs, or do they include indirect costs as well? Answer 6 - Those hours listed are the governments estimate as to the hours required to complete the tasks. They are informational only, and do not include indirect costs. Question 7 - With regard to the "Preliminary Training Workshop Design" (Sub-task 3.5): Does the requirement that hte plan "include a description of each element and a rationale" refer to the best mode of training delivery, number of initial training workshops, dates of the initial training workshops, abd workshop locations? OR: Does it refer to the elements listed in Subtask 3.6? Answer 7 - It refers to the first part, Subtask 3.5. Question 8 - With regard to the Preliminary Training Workshop design (Sub-task 3.5) and the Content, Scope, and Sequence (Sub-task 3.6): Where are the Evaluation Criteria #3.2 and #3.3 located in the RFP document? Answer 8 - Evaluation Criteria #3.2 and #3.3 is a typo; it should read Parts "B" and "C" of the Evaluation Criteria. Question 9 - Is it correct that tables can be included in the technical proposal section without requiring a page number and will not have to be included in the 50-page count? Answer 9 - Yes, it is correct. Question 10 - Will reviewers be instructed to look at the appendices and charts? Answer 10 - Yes, they will. Question 11 - Will the appendices and charts be part of the proposal evaluation scoring system? Answer 11 - If the offeror refers to them in the narrative like "Our staff have extensive experience conducting training workshops for school personnel (See Appendix A)," then we would use Appendix A in the scoring. If there is no reference to an appendix or chart, then we cannot "hook" it to any allocation. Question 12 - How many new coordinators does ED anticipate will need to be trained in year two and in year three? Answer 12 - ED does not know at this point. Question 13 - Can we safely assume, other than minor modifications based upon preliminary evaluation data collected, that the Training Workshop design; Content, Scope, and Sequence; and Training Materials used for the new coordinators in years two and three are expected to be the same as those utilized in year one? Answer 13 - It depends on how successful and consistent the original training is with the needs of the coordinators. Question 14 - Please provide an estimate of the number of Coordinators that will be funded under the Middle School Coordinators initiative. Answer 14 - ED does not know at this time, these grants are still under review. Question 15 - Does the proposal imply the Government's intent to fund additional Middle School Coordinators in Years 2 and 3? If so, please provide an estimate of how many Coordinators will be added each yr. Answer 15 - ED does not know at this time how many Coordinators will be added each year. Ed does intend to hire additional coordinators in FY2000, however that number will depend on this year's final total. Question 16 - Will training take place in Washington, DC? Have the recipients of the Middle School Coordinators grants budgeted for a single or multiple trainings? Answer 16 - All trainings should not take place in Washington, and applications varied in the amount of training expenses budgeted. Question 17 - Please clarify the notion of "recruitment" referenced in 4.3 - it the training to be provided under this contract a requirement of all grantees or will the contractor be asked to market optional/voluntary training and recruit participants from amoung the grantees? Answer 17 - Training participation is required (2 weeks in year one, and 1 week in years two and three). Question 18 - Will the evaluation to be conducted under this contract be the primary evalution of the Middle School Coordinators initiative? If so, should the evalution design extend beyond just training and technical assistance? If not, how will this contractor be expected to interact with other evaluation contractor(s)? Answer 18 - Evaluation activities funded under this contract are limited to training and technical assistance. An evaluator for the entire program will be hired under a separate contract. The contractor hired under this solicitation will be expected to cooperate with the evaluation (share information), but will not be expected to conduct any evaluation ativities beyond those related to the training. Question 19 - What portion of the budget does SDFSP/ED wish to see focused on evaluation activites? Answer 19 - The evaluation budget should be sufficient so that adequate information can be collected and analyzed for program improvement. There is no predetermined amount. However, the emphasis of this initiative is on service provision. Question 20 - What are ED's assumptions or expectations regarding the Middle School Coordinators' access to technology that would enable them to utilize the proposed communications systems? Are they required to have computers, modems, internet access, and/or email? Answer 20 - All coordinators will have computers and internet access. Question 21 - Do government regulations preclude surveying more than 9 Middle School Coordinators? Answer 21 - No. However, OMB clearance is required to collect data from more than 9 individuals. Question 22 - In developing the budget should a fixed fee percentage plu the maximum amount of the incentive fee be included in the budget submission? Answer 22 - The incentive fee is not to be included in the offerors budget estimates. It is a separate pot of money; however, the offeror should list a total price for the tree year period of performance and a total price assuming "superior" work, as defined in the QASP, is atttained.