MODIFICATION
R -- Graphic Design Services
- Notice Date
- 6/13/2007
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541430
— Graphic Design Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20894, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 07-121SB
- Response Due
- 6/13/2007
- Archive Date
- 6/28/2007
- Point of Contact
- Sally Boakye, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-496-6546, Fax 301-402-0642, - Patricia Gibbons, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-496-6546, Fax 301-402-0642,
- E-Mail Address
-
boakyes@mail.nih.gov, pg28y@nih.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The purpose of this amendment is to answer questions received. Q1. Is there any specific requirement for proposal response format? A1. NO. Q2. What are the required staffing levels? Is it ad hoc or more full-time work? A2. THERE ARE NO REQUIRED STAFFING LEVELS. IT WILL BE AD HOC. Q3. Is there an incumbent contractor or a contractor already producing promotional materials, exhibits, Newsline, and the other products mentioned in the solicitation for NLM? If so, what is the name of that contractor and what is the approximate dollar value of the contract? A3. THERE IS NOT AN INCUMBENT CONTRACTOR ALREADY PRODUCING ALL OF THE PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THE SOLICITATION. Q4. The solicitation mentions that cost is one of the evaluation factors. However, there is no information regarding what kind of cost information bidders should provide. With that in mind, what cost information should bidders provide, and how will NLM evaluate cost? If you can provide us with more information about how many different products and their lengths NLM will need designed and produced, we can develop a budget for the entire contract. For example, how many different posters and CD labels will be required under Task 1, and what are the other print materials under that task (type, length, etc.)? We realize it may not be possible for NLM to estimate the quantities at this time, but bidders could base their costs on uniform assumptions that NLM provides. Or as an alternative, we can provide hourly rates for particular types of work (e.g., design, production, proofreading, etc.). A4. WE WOULD LIKE COST INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF HOURLY RATES FOR SPECIFIC TASKS (E.G. DESIGN, PRODUCTION, CONSULTING, PROOFREADING). Q5. Are foreign-language translation services for promotional materials for MedlinePlus en Espa?ol and/or for other NLM products required under this contract? A5. NO Q6. Please clarify the format and submission requirements for the cost proposal. A6. NO SPECIFIC FORMAT IS REQUIRED. Q7. For the resume required under the Personal Merit technical evaluation criteria, should this be the Project Manager resume? A7. THE PROJECT MANAGER AND/OR DESIGN TEAM SHOULD SUBMIT A RESUME.(S). Q8. Under the Personal Merit technical evaluation criteria, would the Government accept a detailed professional/education summary and references instead of a resume? A8. YES. A PROFESSIONAL/EDUCATION SUMMARY AND REFERENCES WOULD BE FINE. Q9. Do you have additional information pertaining to the exhibitions (i.e., locations, timeframes, size of rented space) I ask because the pricing ranges widely for exhibition displays from low to very high, depending on many factors. A9. WE ARE LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF EXPERIENCE IN EXHIBIT PRODUCTION AND DESIGN. COST INFORMATION SHOULD BE IN THE FORM OF HOURLY RATES AS MENTIONED ABOVE. Q10. Is there any specific guidelines or formats to follow when submitting an electronic response to this solicitation? Would pdf file suffice? A10. NO. Q11. The solicitation indicates that "cost/price" will be an evaluation factor but there is no specific project description that describes a level of effort and project specifications that can be priced. Will you do your evaluation based on GSA labor prices under the AIMS Schedule 541-4F for Commercial Art and Graphic Design Services (Small Business Set-Aside)? A11. AGAIN, WE WOULD LIKE COST INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF HOURLY RAES FOR SPECIFIC TASKS AS MENTIONED ABOVE. Q12. Under the Technical evaluation criteria, it says "A writing sample (not to exceed 500 words) to be included." Should this sample be text from a project we designed and provided content development services? Or is this a limitation on the proposal text? A12. THIS SHOULD BE TEXT FROM A PROJECT YOU DESIGNED AND PROVIDED CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Q13. Is there a limit to the number of pages in the proposal? A13. NO LIMIT, HOWEVER IF OVER 10 PAGES PLEASE MAIL. Q14. Is there a file size limit to the PDF submission that will be sent by email? A14. NO LIMIT. BUT YOU MIGHT SEND IN PARTS IF SIZE IS QUESTIONABLE. Q15. Is a cost proposal required, or is the totality of a response to focus on existing capabilities and past performance qualifications? If a cost proposal is required ? other than costs associated with our proposed labor, are we required to cost out the actual production of designed products (without knowling exactly what the products are and the quantity to be produced, this cannot be done)? A15. RESPONSE SHOULD FOCUS ON CAPABILITIES, PAST PERFORMANCE AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH HOURLY RATES MENTIONED EARLIER. Q16. Are you, in essence, really only looking for one person to do all 4 tasks (you only ask for one resume)? A16. IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, CONSULTING SERVICES, ETC, THEN RESUMES FOR OTHER KEY PERSONNEL WOULD BE REQUIRED. Q17. Please clarify the requirement for a writing sample under the Technical Merit evaluation criteria. A17. A WRITING SAMPLE COULD INCLUDE A BROCHURE, OR ANOTHER PROMOTIONAL PIECE, DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED FOR A CLIENT. Q18. Is there any sort of media relations or third party outreach involved with the contract? A18. NO. Q19. Is the contracted organization responsible for promotions? A19. NO. Q20. Does the contracted organization have to figure out the target audience of the ads, and perform other basic PR functions for the campaign? A20. NO. TARGET AUDIENCES ARE DETERMINED BY NLM?S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS. Q21. Does this include the development and design of Websites, if so, how many? A21. POTENTIALLY IT COULD INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN OF WEBSITES. Q22. Task 1 refers to other print materials, do you have an estimate on the number of other items? A22. NO. OTHER PRINT MATERIALS ON AN AD HOC BASIS. Q23. Task 3 refers to the Quarterly Magazine, will there be a new design every quarter or will the contractor design a template to be used throughout the year? A23. LIKE A NEWSPAPER, THE LAYOUT WILL BE EXPECTED TO CHANGE WITH EACH ISSUE ? BUT A TEMPLATE WOULD BE ANTICIPATED AS WELL. Q24. Task 4 is for the design of promotion materials. Is this the design of custom promotional materials or just the design of art work? Do you have an estimate of the number of items to be designed? A24. THIS REFERS TO THE DESIGN OF PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS AS THE NEED FOR THEM ARISES. WE DO NOT HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF ITEMS NEEDED AT PRESENT. Q25. Do you have an outline of what you want the selected contractor to perform? A25. NO. Q26.Can you clarify the Story Board requirement in the solicitation? A26.A STORYBOARD SUMMARIZES THE CONTENT TO A RADIO, TV, OR PRINT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. Q27. In the section labeled Evaluation Factors, Item A, it states that a writing sample (limited to 500 words) is to be included. Is this writing sample separate from the actual proposal, or is the proposal considered the writing sample (and is not to exceed 500 words)? A27. THIS WRITING SAMPLE IS SEPARATE FROM THE ACTUAL PROPOSAL. Q28. In the Contractor Qualifications section, it states that the contractor must be able to work with production and fulfillment houses. Is the contractor expected to have its own fulfillment house, or is the contractor expected to work with NIH?s established fulfillment house? And if the contractor is expected to have its own fulfillment house, what volume of orders can be anticipated? A28. THE CONTRACTOR IS NOT EXPECTED TO HAVE A FULFILLMENT HOUSE. Q29. Are you expecting firm price quotes for each of the four tasks under Deliverables? A29. NO. Q30. Is there an existing Communications/Outreach Plan in place that is driving these campaigns? If so, can they be provided to the prospective respondents? A30. NO. Q31. Is there a Media or PR Plan in place that will drive paid and earned media efforts? If so, can they be provided to the prospective respondents? A31. NO. Q32. You?ve asked for contractor experience in developing ?content management templates and libraries to be used in the development of online templates for national publication and use by remote offices.? Does this mean templates that will reside online and can be downloaded to create various PRINTED materials, or are the final products online only? A32. TEMPLATES THAT RESIDE ONLINE AND CAN BE DOWNLOADED TO CREATE VARIOUS PRINTED MATERIALS. Q33. Would POP displays be used in doctor?s offices? Where else? By specialty items, are you referring to other promotional items such as pens, notepads, mugs, etc.? A33. YES TO BOTH QUESTIONS. Q34. Is there a specific trade show/banner vendor you plan to use or will we be responsible for researching and selecting the trade show vendor? A34. WE DO NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC TRADE SHOW/BANNER VENDOR WE PLAN TO USE. WE WOULD LOOK TO YOUR RECOMMENDATION OR SELECT ONE OURSELVES. Q35. Does ?order fulfillment? management involve managing the production, printing & delivery to distribution centers of materials designed? Is there a component of on-going order fulfillment to store and distribute materials to end users? A35. ORDER FULFILLMENT MANAGEMENT INVOLVES THE PRODUCTION, PRINTING (SOMETIMES) AND DELIVERY TO DISTRIBUTION/FULFILLMENT HOUSE. Q36. Please explain what kind of writing samples should be submitted? Does this proposal include writing text for all materials or will NLM supply content? A36. SEE RESPONSE TO QUESTION 17. NLM WILL USUALLY SUPPLY/APPROVE THE TEXT. Q37.Does NLM have a style guide for its overall branding? A37. YES. Q38.Have any specific measures been determined to evaluate the success of the print materials after distribution? A38. NO. Q39.Will the Information RX, Medline Plus and Genetic Home Reference sites undergo rewriting and relaunch in conjunction with this promotional work? A39. POTENTIALLY. Q40.When will this work commence? A41. WORK UNDER THIS CONTRACT WILL BEGIN A WEEK AFTER IT IS APPROVED. Q42.Task 1: Are there more than one posters to be designed? What will storyboards be used for? What are the other pieces to be designed? Are some of the additional print materials still to be determined? A42. PRINT MATERIALS ARE STILL TO BE DETERMINED. THEY WILL INCLUDE POSTERS, BROCHURES, MAGAZINE LAYOUT, PRINT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS, ETC. Q43.Task 2: What are the pieces to be designed? Are the materials in this task the same as the ones mentioned in Task 1 [ie, bookmark, beta and CD labels, posters, business cards, storyboards, stationery]? A43. YES. Q44.Task 3: How many pages are in the newsletter? Is it a complete redesign? Are there elements of the previous publication that you feel are appropriate to carry through to the new design? A44. WILL BE A COMPLETE REDESIGN. NUMBER OF PAGES STILL TBA BY WRITERS. Q45.Task 4: What are the pieces to be designed? Have these other NLM outreach activities already been determined or will these be ongoing as the contract proceeds? A45. ONGOING AS THE CONTRACT PROCEEDS. AS PIECES NEED TO BE DESIGNED, NLM WILL REQUEST AN ESTIMATE FROM CONTRACTOR. Q46.The solicitation says selection is based on an evaluation of proposals against technical factors and price. How do you want this priced? A46. PRICE IS BASED ON HOURLY RATES MENTIONED EARLIER. Q47. Is there a specific format for the response? A47. NO. Q48. How much of the effort does NIH feel is javascripting and applications development? A48.UNKNOWN. Q49. What is meant by ?tight deadlines?? A49. SOMETIMES A PROMOTIONAL PIECE MAY BE REQUIRED WITHIN A SHORT TURNAROUND TIME ? WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO. Q50. Do we need to have specific experience working with NIH NLM, or just experience in similar functional and technical environments? It states this in factor 3. What percentage of the 25 points is associated with this direct experience? A50. EXPERIENCE IN SIMILAR FUNCTIONAL AND TECHICAL ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE MOST IMPORTANT TO PROPOSAL EVALUATORS. Q51. What size trade show booth has been used in the past? Does the booth include video? Is there a need for furniture in the booth or exhibits? Are you planning on expanding the size of your booth for the next show? How many times a year do you use this exhibit? Do you have a need for a booth that expands and/or contracts in size from show to show? A51. TRADE SHOW BOOTHS ARE TYPICALLY 10X10 AND DO INCLUDE VIDEO. WE HAVE A VARIETY OF BOOTHS TO ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENT CONFERENCE SIZES. Q52. In the Technical Merit section, the proposal requests a 500 word writing sample. Is there a specific topic, reading level, language, and audience the sample is written for? A52. NO. Q53. Will research be supplied to the contractor to write the NLM quarterly magazine? Or will the contractors conduct their own research? A53. THE MAGAZINE CONTENT WILL BE SUPPLIED TO CONTRACTOR BY NLM OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS. Q54. Will the quarterly magazine need to be written in another language? If yes, what languages? A54. NOT AT THIS TIME. Q55. Should the Contractor include printing and fabrication budgets of all materials in the proposal? A55. NO. Q56. Will the Contractor be responsible for storage of the exhibit booths? A56. NO. Q57. Will the Contractor be responsible for hosting websites? A57. NO. Q58.Will the Contractor be responsible for the marketing of the campaign and materials to media outlets? A58. NO. Q59. Please clarify why contractor must have experience in managing a large contract with multiple task orders, allocating task order budgets from the overall budget and balancing the program needs with the availability of funds. Please explain how this requirement relates to any unique aspects of the statement of work. A59. THIS ORDER WILL INVOLVE THE DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN, AND MANAGEMENT (INCLUDING CONSULTING SERVICES) FOR MULTIPLE TASKS REQUIRING A BUDGETING PLAN AND EXPERIENCE. NLM WOULD LIKE EVIDENCE OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA. Q60. What is the government?s estimate for the number of labor hours by labor category to be expended per year in performance of this activity? Please provide a breakdown by function/labor category (project management, graphic design, writer/editor, etc.). What is the government?s estimate of other direct costs to be expended per year in performance of this activity? Please provide a breakdown by category (travel, supplies, purchased items, etc.) or provide uniform cost assumptions for estimating other direct costs. A60. WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN COST ESTIMATE BASED ON HOURLY RATES FOR A SAMPLING OF PRODUCTS TYPICALLY PRODUCED BY YOUR COMPANY. Q61. Please describe what work is anticipated to be performed at sites other than the contractor?s facility. A61. WORK MAY REQUIRE MEETINGS WITH NLM COMMUNICATIONS STAFF AT THE NLM IN BETHESDA, MD. Q62. For costing purposes, please indicate the proportion of the level of effort (labor category/hours) that is to be performed at sites other than the contractor?s facility. A62. NONE. Q63. Please provide representative examples of tasks requiring ?tight deadlines? that the contractor ?will often be required? to perform. A63. THE NLM MAY HAVE THE NEED TO PRODUCE A PRINT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT PROMOTING ONE OF OUR CONSUMER WEB SITES FOR INSERTION IN A MAGAZINE WITH A SHORT LEAD TIME. WE WOULD HOPE THAT THE CONTRACTOR WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP IN PRODUCTION IN A TIMELY FASHION. Q64. Under ?Contractor Qualifications,? the contractor is required to have ?extensive experience developing strategic identities?.? In this context, the word ?extensive? is vague, subjective, and open to interpretation. Please consider deleting this language from Contractor Qualifications or quantifying extensive. Additionally, please demonstrate how this requirement is reasonably related to the requirements of the statement of work. A64. NLM IS SEEKING TO SECURE THE SERVICES OF A VENDOR THAT HAS EXPERIENCE, NOT LIMITED EXPERIENCE, BUT EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING STRATEGIC IDENTITIES ? AS THIS IS A TASK THAT NLM IS SEEKING FROM A VENDOR FOR VARIOUS PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS THAT MAY BE FORTHCOMING. Q65. Under evaluation factor Technical Merit, please describe the writing sample (e.g., subject matter, content, format, style, etc.) that the agency is seeking. Additionally, please describe how and on what factors/basis writing samples will be evaluated. A65. NLM IS LOOKING FOR THE VENDOR TO PRESENT A WRITING SAMPLE IN A CREATIVE FASHION INDICATIVE OF CLARITY OF APPROACH, NOT INFLUENCED BY A PRECONCEIVED FORMAT. NO SPECIFIC FORMAT HAS BEEN REQUESTED. Q66. Are the three factors under Technical Merit, listed in relative order of importance or are they equal? A66. TECHNICAL MERIT IS 50 POINTS; PERSONAL MERIT IS 25 POINTS; AND, ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY, ETC. IS 25 POINTS. Q67. Under evaluation factor Personal Merit, please explain the use of the term ?Personal.? Would it be more appropriate to retitle this factor ?Proposed Personnel?? If not, please clarify the agency?s use of the term ?Personal? in ?Personal Merit.? Additionally, please clarify why only a single resume is requested, rather than multiple resumes. A67. IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE PRINCIPAL DESIGNER, PLEASE SUBMIT RESUMES FOR ALL PRINCIPALS. OTHERWISE, ONE RESUME WILL SUFFICE. ?PERSONAL? IS MEANT TO RECOGNIZE THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE COMPANY ? WHAT THEY PERSONALLY BRING TO THE COMPANY?S PRODUCT ? AS OPPOSED TO THE ?ORGANIZATIONAL? EXPERIENCE. Q68. Under evaluation factor C, Organizational capability, experience, and commitment, please describe the subject matter that the offeror is to be familiar with. A68. THE OFFEROR SHOULD PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF FAMILIARITY IN DESIGNING, DEVELOPING AND COMPLETING PROJECTS/TASKS AS SUGGESTED IN THE STATEMENT OF WORK (I.E, PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, MAGAZINE LAYOUT, EXHIBIT DESIGN, ETC.) Q69. Is this a new requirement, or an extension to an existing requirement? A69. NEW REQUIRMENT Q70. Is there a pre-bid meeting? A70. NO Q71. What is the budget for this project? A71. THE INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT COST ESTIMATE WILL NOT BE PROVIDED. Q72. When is the award posting date and how will we know which firm was selected? A72. AN AWARD WILL BE MADE AFTER TECHNICAL REVIEWS OF SUBMISSIONS ARE CONDUCTED. EACH UNSUCCESSFUL OFFEROR WILL BE NOTIFIED. Q73. Is a DC office required to respond to this request? Can a Florida based firm respond to this project? A73. ALL CAPABLE SMALL BUSINESSES MAY RESPOND. Q74. Is a GSA schedule required to bid? If so, is there a preferred vehicle? A74. NO Q75. Is the contract Fixed Price or T&M? A75. THE RESULTANT ORDER WILL BE FIXED PRICE Q76. How many contracts will be awarded? A76. ONE Q77. Do you require a separate Technical and Price proposal? A77. YES Q78. Do you also need a hard copy of the proposal? (If yes, how many?) A78. IF OVER 10 PAGES, PLEASE MAIL FIVE (5) HARD COPIES OF RESPONSE. Q79. In the evaluation factors opening paragraph, it states that the selection of an offeror will be based on both technical factors and cost/price. However, the following paragraph only lists Technical Merit, Personal Merit and Organizational Capability as evaluation criteria. A79. WHILE NOT ALWAYS S AN EVALUATION CRITERIA, COST IS CONSIDERED IN ALL GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT.
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