RFP ED-99-R-0035 Amendment 0002 Issued August 23, 1999 Responses to Clarification Questions submitted as of COB 8/19/99 1. When is the estimated start date of the contract? RESPONSE: The estimated start date for this contract will be late November 1999. 2. We understand that the Base Year of the contract covers the initial 40 weeks of work, through approval of the OMB clearance package. ED's estimated level of effort for this period is 5,300 total labor hours. Option Year One, with an estimated level of effort of 3,750 total hours, begins in Week 21 with Task 4.1 (selection of respondents and making initial contacts), and overlaps with the Base Year. Are these understandings correct? If so, is there some flexibility for reallocating the level of effort from the large number of person hours for the 40 weeks of the Base Year to the option years? RESPONSE: The Base Period is expected to be approximately 10 months long. It includes the work of Tasks 1, 2, and 3. The contractor is not to undertake any other work (including Task 4) unless and until the Department notifies the contractor that it is picking up the first option year. The last deliverable listed in the Schedule of Deliverables/Milestones for the Base Period is the revised OMB package, due in week 20, i.e. approximately five months after award. However, as Task 3.2 states, that task also includes: "The Contractor shall also make changes to the clearance package as appropriate to respond to comments from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB throughout the clearance process, which is estimated to take five months (40 weeks after effective date of award)." In other words, work on this task will continue intermittently between the time that the revised package is submitted and the base period ends (week 40), and the work will vary depending on the amount and complexity of the comments received from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB. At some point during the five months of the OMB clearance process, the Department will notify the Contractor as to whether the Department is going to pick up the option, or the contract is going to conclude at the end of the base period. Although the Department reserves the right to make this notification at any point up to and including 60 days before contract expiration, it is probable that the Department will provide this notification during the early part of the OMB clearance period. If the Department decides to pick up the option, the Contractor shall upon notification begin to implement the tasks for the First Option Year, in accordance with the revised design and Schedule of Deliverables developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include work to be done during the OMB clearance period. While it is expected that the revised Schedule of Deliverables will include the work described in Task 4 and scheduled to begin in week 26 of the project, it is possible that the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the Department approves. In no case, however, shall the Contractor undertake any of the work described in Task 4 until after the Department notifies the Contractor that it is picking up the option. In the event that notification is not made until after week 26, the Schedule of Deliverables will be modified to reflect the new timeline. Offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. Offerors are also free to propose changes to the level of effort (overall or for specific tasks or contract periods); the estimates provided are intended as guidelines. However, if offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant. 3. For how many years will the Middle School Coordinator grants be funded? Pages 2 and 11 of the Grant Announcement RFP Attachment C) indicates that the grants will be funded for one year with options for two additional years. Page 1 of the Statement of Work indicates that the grants will be for three to five years. Please clarify, as the number of years may have implications for the length of the data collection effort. As indicated in the Deliverables/Milestones Chart on page 10 of the Statement of Work, data collection appears to be required in each of the four option years of the evaluation. Does this mean that data collection is expected to extend beyond the term of the grants? RESPONSE: The correct grant period is a maximum of three years (one year with two additional option years). The "three to five years" mentioned in the SOW is an error. However, it is possible that the Department may make additional grants in future years. The description of the requirements in the RFP is intended to be general enough to allow offerors to exercise creativity and draw on their expertise to make recommendations for the type of design or designs they feel would be most appropriate to obtain the desired information about the effectiveness of the Middle School Coordinator Initiative. Although not required, one possible design element would be to continue to collect data from districts to examine implementation and outcomes after grant funding ends. The Deliverables/Milestones chart for the option years is intended to indicate that the contractor shall carry out whatever tasks are specified in the final design and Schedule of Deliverables approved by the Department at the end of the Base Period, including any data collection activities scheduled for option years 3 and 4. However, the primary reason the SOW includes option years beyond the 3-year grant period is to allow time for data analysis and reporting. 4. Please clarify whether all those participating in the oral interview (page 70) must be proposed on the contract, or if a Corporate Officer will be permitted to speak. RESPONSE: The personnel participating in the oral interview must be Key Personnel included in the offeror's proposal. No Corporate Officers will be permitted to speak unless they are included in the proposal as Key Personnel. 5. What is the anticipated award date of this contract? RESPONSE: The anticipated award date for this contract is late November 1999. 6. There is some confusion regarding the expected duration of the grant period. Page 1 of Attachment A, Statement of Work states that "Grants will be from three to five years, and are scheduled to be awarded in September 1999." Page 2 of Attachment C, Information and Application Procedures for Fiscal Year 1999 states that "Projects will be funded for one year with options for two additional years-contingent upon substantial progress". Please clarify the expected duration for the grant program. RESPONSE: The correct grant period is a maximum of three years (one year with two additional option years). The "three to five years" mentioned in the SOW is an error. However, it is possible that the Department may make additional grants in future years. The description of the requirements in the RFP is intended to be general enough to allow offerors to exercise creativity and draw on their expertise to make recommendations for the type of design or designs they feel would be most appropriate to obtain the desired information about the effectiveness of the Middle School Coordinator Initiative. Although not required, one possible design element would be to continue to collect data from districts to examine implementation and outcomes after grant funding ends. The Deliverables/Milestones chart for the option years is intended to indicate that the contractor shall carry out whatever tasks are specified in the final design and Schedule of Deliverables approved by the Department at the end of the Base Period, including any data collection activities scheduled for option years 3 and 4. However, the primary reason the SOW includes option years beyond the 3-year grant period is to allow time for data analysis and reporting. 7. On Page 2 of Attachment C, it states that "...an estimated 300 awards, each ranging from $55,000 to $275,000, will be made." Could you please tell us (1) how many awards are planned and (2) what is the distribution of award amounts? RESPONSE: No information is currently available regarding the number of awards or the distribution of award amounts. Offerors should use the estimates provided in the original grant announcement (300 grants and a range of $55,000 to $275,000) as a basis for their planning. 8. Page 10 of Attachment A shows a chart summarizing the deliverables for Phase II. However, the chart lists Phase II (Option Year 1) tasks as being implemented in Year 1 (Base Period) of the contract. Please clarify the project timeline. RESPONSE: The Base Period is expected to be approximately 10 months long. It includes the work of Tasks 1, 2, and 3. The contractor is not to undertake any other work (including Task 4) unless and until the Department notifies the contractor that it is picking up the first option year. The last deliverable listed in the Schedule of Deliverables/Milestones for the Base Period is the revised OMB package, due in week 20, i.e. approximately five months after award. However, as Task 3.2 states, that task also includes: "The Contractor shall also make changes to the clearance package as appropriate to respond to comments from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB throughout the clearance process, which is estimated to take five months (40 weeks after effective date of award)." In other words, work on this task will continue intermittently between the time that the revised package is submitted and the base period ends (week 40), and the work will vary depending on the amount and complexity of the comments received from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB. At some point during the five months of the OMB clearance process, the Department will notify the Contractor as to whether the Department is going to pick up the option, or the contract is going to conclude at the end of the base period. Although the Department reserves the right to make this notification at any point up to and including 60 days before contract expiration, it is probable that the Department will provide this notification during the early part of the OMB clearance period. If the Department decides to pick up the option, the Contractor shall upon notification begin to implement the tasks for the First Option Year, in accordance with the revised design and Schedule of Deliverables developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include work to be done during the OMB clearance period. While it is expected that the revised Schedule of Deliverables will include the work described in Task 4 and scheduled to begin in week 26 of the project, it is possible that the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the Department approves. In no case, however, shall the Contractor undertake any of the work described in Task 4 until after the Department notifies the Contractor that it is picking up the option. In the event that notification is not made until after week 26, the Schedule of Deliverables will be modified to reflect the new timeline. Offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. Offerors are also free to propose changes to the level of effort (overall or for specific tasks or contract periods); the estimates provided are intended as guidelines. However, if offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant. 9. General Instruction No. 1, on page 55 of the RFP, requires that we include a table of contents. Does the table of contents count toward the 100-page limit? Does other front matter (e.g., title page and transmittal letter) count toward the 100-page limit? RESPONSE: In calculating the 100-page limit for the proposal, offerors may omit the title page, transmittal letter, and table of contents, as well as appendix pages. The intent of the instruction is to limit the text to 100 pages. (Also see the response to the question on page numbering.) 10. General Instruction No. 1, on page 55 of the RFP, states that all appendix pages, resumes, and tables are to be page-numbered. Are offerors to number such pages consecutively from the last page of the proposal body (i.e., should the first page of the first appendix be page 101) or can such pages be numbered separately from the proposal body? RESPONSE: The purpose of the instruction on page numbering is to ensure ease of reference for proposal reviewers. In looking for a resume or chart, it is much easier for a reader to locate pg. 115 than Appendix C-4 or Figure 3a or John Doe-2. Sequential numbering for text and appendices is therefore strongly preferred. Please make the first page of the text pg. 1, and the first page of the appendices pg. 101. If the table of contents is longer than two pages, please paginate it also (for ease of reference), but please use separate numbering such as small roman numerals (to avoid confusion about the length of the text). Offerors do not need to paginate the title page or transmittal letter. 11. Section L.12.A.1, on page 62 of the RFP, states that offerors are to provide the "name of the contracting activity" and the "program title or product name". What is the difference between the two? RESPONSE: The name of the contracting activity is the name of the organization that the offeror did the work for i.e., Department of Labor. The program title or product name would be the title of the contract i.e., Study of Middle School Coordinator Initiative. 12. We understand that clarification questions are permitted until August 27th. Can we expect that responses to these questions will be available in time to incorporate information into our proposal which is due September 3rd? RESPONSE: Yes responses to the questions will be available in time to incorporate information into the offeror's proposal. Also the closing date is being changed to September 7, 1999. 13. Please clarify whether Phase I is intended to overlap with Phase II or if Phase I is contained within the first 12 months and Phase II begins at 13 months after award. The SOW, pg. 5, states that Phase II, Option Year One activities begin at 26 weeks after award. Phase I ends with the expected OMB clearance at 40 weeks. In Section H, pg. 19, the RFP states that the period of performance for Option Year One is 13 months after award to 24 months after award, with Option Years Two through Four also extending for 12 months each. RESPONSE: The Base Period is expected to be approximately 10 months long. It includes the work of Tasks 1, 2, and 3. The contractor is not to undertake any other work (including Task 4) unless and until the Department notifies the contractor that it is picking up the first option year. The last deliverable listed in the Schedule of Deliverables/Milestones for the Base Period is the revised OMB package, due in week 20, i.e. approximately five months after award. However, as Task 3.2 states, that task also includes: "The Contractor shall also make changes to the clearance package as appropriate to respond to comments from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB throughout the clearance process, which is estimated to take five months (40 weeks after effective date of award)." In other words, work on this task will continue intermittently between the time that the revised package is submitted and the base period ends (week 40), and the work will vary depending on the amount and complexity of the comments received from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB. At some point during the five months of the OMB clearance process, the Department will notify the Contractor as to whether the Department is going to pick up the option, or the contract is going to conclude at the end of the base period. Although the Department reserves the right to make this notification at any point up to and including 60 days before contract expiration, it is probable that the Department will provide this notification during the early part of the OMB clearance period. If the Department decides to pick up the option, the Contractor shall upon notification begin to implement the tasks for the First Option Year, in accordance with the revised design and Schedule of Deliverables developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include work to be done during the OMB clearance period. While it is expected that the revised Schedule of Deliverables will include the work described in Task 4 and scheduled to begin in week 26 of the project, it is possible that the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the Department approves. In no case, however, shall the Contractor undertake any of the work described in Task 4 until after the Department notifies the Contractor that it is picking up the option. In the event that notification is not made until after week 26, the Schedule of Deliverables will be modified to reflect the new timeline. Offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. Offerors are also free to propose changes to the level of effort (overall or for specific tasks or contract periods); the estimates provided are intended as guidelines. However, if offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant. 14. Since the activities in Option Years one through four will be defined during the base period, we assume that for our proposal we should identify a potential design and base our description of the activities and our cost proposal on the assumption of that design. Does ED have any guidance for us regarding the assumptions we should make for that portion of the cost proposal? If each bidder provides a different design and sets up assumptions for their cost proposal, how will ED evaluate the estimated costs? RESPONSE: That is absolutely correct. ED recognizes that certain designs involve more costs than others, and also may provide different benefits. To give an obvious example, on-site data collection requiring travel will be more expensive than data collection by telephone or mail, but will also provide very different data--which may or may not be necessary or desirable, depending on the information that is being sought. In terms of guidance, offerors need to be sure that the technical proposal includes a thorough explanation of the reasons why the offeror is proposing the design elements they have chosen, and that both the technical and cost proposals provide enough information to allow ED to determine the connection between technical choices and their corresponding costs (for example, if certain activities are very labor-intensive but are also likely to provide more useful information than less expensive options, it would be helpful for the technical proposal to explain this and the cost proposal to reference the explanation). Offerors may also wish to describe more than one option for carrying out certain tasks, or designate certain activities as suggested but optional (with separate cost information) depending on costs or other considerations. Obviously, the Department's resources are not unlimited, but neither does ED intend to simply select the lowest bidder regardless of technical quality. ED is looking for a design that is technically feasible, likely to result in the types of information desired about the Initiative, and of reasonable cost. Offerors proposing very simple (but more inexpensive) designs would need to convince the Department that they are likely to provide the range and quality of information needed, while proposals with very elaborate designs would need to provide a compelling technical justification for their correspondingly high cost. While the use of different designs by offerors will make it more difficult to compare costs, the Department will be considering the relative technical benefit of the various designs. In terms of their likelihood of resulting in the information desired, and will be able to compare the relative costs of varying approaches that appear likely to lead to similar outcomes. 15. How many grantees were awarded the Safe and Drug Free Middle School Coordinator Initiative Award? How many of these do you anticipate will be included in the sample? RESPONSE: No information is currently available regarding the number of awards or the distribution of award amounts. Offerors should use the estimate provided in the original grant announcement (300 grants) as a basis for their planning. The description of the requirements in the RFP is a starting point, to allow offerors to exercise creativity and draw on their expertise to make recommendations for the type of design or designs they feel would be most appropriate to obtain the desired information about the effectiveness of the Middle School Coordinator Initiative. Section L states that offerors are to include in their technical proposal a description of preliminary plans for data collection and for site selection or sampling. It is up to the offeror to propose whether or not to include all grantees in the study, or whether to focus on a sample of these grantees, and if so, how that sample should be chosen (including estimated sample size), in order to provide the type of information desired. 16. If Phase II Task 4 is scheduled to take place during weeks 26-41 (during the interim period from 20 to 40 weeks when the OMB package is being reviewed by Federal staff), why is Task 4 considered optional? RESPONSE: The Base period is expected to be approximately 10 months long. It includes the work of tasks 1, 2, and 3. The contractor is not to undertake any other work (including Task 4) unless and until the Department notifies the contractor that it is picking up the First Option Year. If the Department decides to pick up the option, the Contractor shall upon notification begin to implement the tasks for the first option year, in accordance with the revised design and Schedule of Deliverables developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include work to be done during the OMB clearance period. While it is expected that the revised Schedule of Deliverables will include the work described in Task 4 and scheduled to begin in week 26 of the project, it is possible that the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the Department approves. In no case, however, shall the Contractor undertake any of the work described in Task 4 until after the Department notifies the Contractor that it is picking up the option. In the event that notification is not made until after week 26, the Schedule of Deliverables will be modified to reflect the new timeline. 17. The RFP states that data collection will begin after 41 weeks. Assuming that the contract will be awarded by October 1, 1999, this means that data collection would begin in July. Since school is not in session in July, will data collection be postponed? RESPONSE: The contract is currently scheduled for award in late November 1999 which would place initial data collection in late August or early September. Moreover, offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. (If offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant.) Finally, the study data collection plan will be carried out in accordance with the revised design developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. 18. Will the entire study, including the option years take place over 48 months or 60 months? RESPONSE: The total duration of the contract shall not exceed 60 months. However, it is possible that the duration may be shorter. This would occur for one of two reasons-- (1) it is possible that the revised study design and schedule of deliverable to be proposed by the contractor and approved by the Department under Task 2.7 will require less than 60 months to accomplish (including time for data analysis and reporting); or (2) the Department may decline to pick up some or all of the option years of the contract. 19. Will all base line data from the grantees be given to the contractor upon award of the contract? In what form will it be provided? RESPONSE: It is the Department's intention to provide all baseline data to the contractor as soon as practicable after the award of the contract. The form will depend on what grantees provide to the Department. These arrangements will be discussed at the initial meeting between the Department and the contractor (Task 1.0). 20. Task 3, which discusses the OMB clearance package, refers to Task 1.8. There is no task 1.8 in the RFP. Did ED mean to refer to task 2.5 instead? RESPONSE: This is a drafting error. The reference should be to Task 2.5. 21. Why does the timeline indicate that Option Year 1 activities will take place in the first calendar year of the contract? RESPONSE: As previously stated, the Base Period is expected to be approximately 10 months long. It includes the work of Tasks 1, 2, and 3. The contractor is not to undertake any other work (including Task 4) unless and until the Department notifies the contractor that it is picking up the first option year. At some point during the five months of the OMB clearance process, the Department will notify the contractor as to whether the Department is going to pick up the option, or the contract is going to conclude at the end of the base period, it is probable that the Department will provide this notification during the early part of the OMB clearance period. If the Department decides to pick up the option, the contractor shall upon notification begin to implement the tasks for the first option year, in accordance with the revised design and Schedule of Deliverable developed and approved under Task 2.7, which may include work to be done during the OMB clearance period. While it is expected that the revised Schedule of Deliverables will include the work described in Task 4 and scheduled to begin in week 26 of the project, it is possible that the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the revised schedule will include different activities or a different timeline, depending on what the Contractor proposes and the Department approves. In no case, however, shall the Contractor undertake any of the work described in Task 4 until the Department notifies the Contractor that it is picking up the option. In the event that notification is not made until after week 26, the Schedule of Deliverables will be modified to reflect the new timeline. Offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. However, if offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant. 22. The SOW makes no mention of the notice that is published in the Federal Register giving the public 60 days to provide comments on the proposed study. The OMB package must be submitted after this period as it includes comments made by the public and the agency's response. Where in the timeline do you anticipate the 60-day time limit being published? RESPONSE: As Task 3.2 states, that task includes: "The Contractor shall also make changes to the clearance packages as appropriate to respond to comments from federal reviewers, the public, an OMB throughout the clearance process, which is estimated to take five months (40 weeks after effective date of award)." In other words, the time period for this task will include both of the required public comment periods, and the work of this task will include responses to the comments received from federal reviewers, the public, and OMB. 23. Will there be time allotted for evaluating pilot study data prior to OMB submission, given that it is normally included in the OMB package? RESPONSE: As Section L states, the tasks specified in the Statement of Work are a starting point. Offerors are free to include in their proposals suggested changes to the Schedule of Deliverables. However, if offerors propose such changes, they should include an explanation or justification, particularly if the changes are significant.