A--Veterans in the Workforce

RFP VA777-11-RP-0168 Questions and Responses Are there any particular industries you want to target? No How would you define an eligible survey respondent? Any business employing substantial numbers of Veterans Can the Department of Veteran Affairs be identified as the sponsor of the research? Yes What survey length should be assumed for pricing? It should be comprehensive How many open-ended questions do you anticipate in the survey? The survey will have to be developed by the Contractor with input and approval from the Advisory Board Are you open to using any data collection mode the contractor chooses (e.g., phone, mail, online)? If not, please specify any preferred or required modes. This to will have to be developed by the Contractor with input and approval from the Advisory Board. Please clarify the contractor's responsibilities in convening an advisory board. Would the Department of Veteran Affairs help to identify potential members, particularly representatives from other Federal agencies and offices? Yes. VA will help to identify individuals and seek their participation. Please clarify expectations regarding the format and length of both the preliminary report and final report. There should be plain English and technical components. Length is less important than the comprehensive nature of the report. The solicitation did not provide guidelines for proposal submission, for example, the not to exceed page limit for technical and cost proposals, the proposal evaluation methods. Can you provide this information? The proposal should be brief but comprehensive. There are no formal page limits. Does the VA have a list of companies they would like to participate in the study and survey specifically or is the VA looking for the contractor to provide this information? The contractor should provide this information. Is there a not to exceed budget for this contract? If so, what is the not to exceed amount? There is no "not to exceed" amount. Regarding past performance, are three references within the proposal sufficient or is there a form references need to complete? Yes, relevant past performance references are all that is required. Will the VA make available to the selected contractor any studies the organization has related to Veterans, National Guard and Reserve members as employees? VA does not have definitive data about Veterans in the private sector workplace. Is there a deliverables and time frame document available for review? An example may be a listing of contractor deliverables (deliverable 1,2,3,4, etc...), due date for deliverables, and a payment schedule (10% of contract paid at 4 weeks into contract , 40% paid at 8 weeks into contract, etc...). Payment method will be determined at the time of award between the vendor and Government. Does this contract have an incumbant? If so, who? No. There is no incumbent. Is the Contractor responsible for the dissemination of the research to external organizations or will the contractor recommend a plan for dissemination and the Department Veteran Affair will proceed with the process? The contractor should begin the process during the contract period but should hand off both the materials and the plan for continuing dissemination at the conclusion of the contract." Conducting at least 100 surveys with employers is rather small. Is the VA willing to consider more? Yes How does the VA define small, mid-size and large? The definition of small businesses is well established. Large businesses might be defined by the contractor as Fortune 500 or Fortune 1000 companies or something equivalent. Mid-sized would be in-between. Does the VA want to be able to analyze the results by size of company? If possible. Which person within the companies is the VA interested in? A senior HR manager? Senior HR managers would be very appropriate as informants. Is the VA thinking of multiple people within the same company? Yes Among the employers to be studied in Project 1 and 2, can state and county government employers be included in this group? Yes, but public sector employers should not be the majority of those included Page 10 Program Development Requirements Project 1 and Project 2 states, "Potential contractors shall identify participating employees and document their willingness to participate in their proposals, and shall confirm participation during month 1". On page 11 Program Performance Evaluation section states, "ID 2 Confirm participation of employers for projects 1 and 2". Please clarify if potential contractors are to identify employees and employers to participate. Please clarify that the potential contractor is to identify and name specific individuals in the proposal response that are willing to participate in the study? It should say "employers" How many individuals are required to be on the advisory board? No specific number has been established. Page 15 Contractor Personnel Security Requirements section Item 8 states, " . . . the Contractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR". CSCA questions inquire about VA approved security and privacy training. Will the prime and any subcontractors be required to complete such training? And could you please provide or direct us to the appropriate site to review the VA approved security and privacy training. Response not available at this time. Please clarify the order of importance of the following evaluation factors identified in sections L.3 and M.1. Please provide the factor point allocation, if applicable. " SDVOSB/VOSB Prime " SDVOSB/VOSB Subs " Professional Qualifications of Proposed Staff " Relevant past performance and productivity in work place and mental health, and Veterans issues " Quality of the proposal Quality of the proposal is most important, followed by past performance and qualifications being equal. Please provide specific staff qualifications the government is seeking. Education, training, and experience in relevant methods as well as the subject matter area. Please provide further clarification and definition of what the government means by quality of the proposal. Quality includes, but is not limited to, demonstrating awareness of the relevant methods and issues, and providing evidence that the Contractor can complete the project in a timely and effective manner. Is there a page limit for the technical proposal? Please explain what sections are to be included in the technical proposal within any page limits. There are no page limits on the proposal What will the composition of the proposal evaluation committee be, i.e., will it be composed of internal personnel from VA or external personnel; what departments/agencies will be represented on the panel; etc.? VA staff Prior to the solicitation release did the government have discussions with any potential contractors regarding this project? If so, please name the organizations. The Contracting Office has had no discussion with any vendor. Is this project funded? If so, what is the government's budget for this effort both in dollars and hours? Magnitude of this project is between $500,000 and $1,000,000 Will the government please consider extending the due date to April 15, 2011? Not at this time.