**Questions pertaining to Solicitation#TIRNO-08-R-00004 -- 3/11/2008**

\(1\) Section V, 1.0.b.0 (p. 68) notes that \"Acknowledgement of
Solicitation Amendments\" is required with the proposal submission. 
Regarding any possible amendments to the solicitation:\
\
(a) What is the timeframe during which the IRS would be able to issue an
amendment to this solicitation?

*There is no set timeframe for amendments. However, all amendments will
be posted to the FedBizOpps and IRS websites. We strongly advise vendors
to frequently check both websites for any changes to the solicitation.\
\
* (b) What is the best way to remain apprised of any such amendments?
For example, would they be posted both to the Procurement section of the
IRS website, and to FedBizOpps.gov?  Is there a way to set up an email
alert?

*As mentioned above, all amendments will be posted to both websites. The
FedBizOpps website is not within the purview of the IRS. However, we
strongly advise vendors to frequently check both websites for any
changes to the solicitation.\
*\
(2) Section V. 1.0.e (p. 69) says that \"Offerors are encouraged to
submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions or
commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation.
Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.\"  Regarding this
opportunity, would each offer be required to address the requirements of
the RFP in full, or just those components of the RFP that would make one
offer different from the other?

*If an offeror chooses to submit multiple offers for a particular award
group, it is advised that each offer addresses the requirements of the
RFP in full, to allow each proposal to be evaluated separately. The
offeror may include in any additional offers a cover sheet documenting
all changes from the primary offer.*

\(3\) Section 2.1(B) of the RFP (p. 77) states, under the heading
\"TEMPORARY ACCOUNT ACCESS\":

\"Offerors shall provide five (5) temporary account numbers and/or
passwords. The IRS will access the vendor\'s products/services during
the proposal evaluation phase to subjectively evaluate the system\'s
ease of use and for validation purposes.\"

Does this apply to a vendor proposing on only Award Group 1? If it does,
would we assume the IRS wants us to submit at the time of proposal 5
copies of the CD product that we propose to offer under the contract?

*Yes.*

(4).  In which volume should the following documents appear in the
response:

-   Section 3 (contract clauses)

-   Attachment B - VPAT templates

-   Attachment C -- QASP

*These documents should be part of the Volume II, Technical and Past
Performance Proposal; however, the page limitation for this volume is
not applicable to these documents.*

(5).  In Section 8.2.2.2 can you please provide a definition of
\"judicial interpretations\"?  Also, please differentiate judicial
interpretations from state court and federal court cases.

*Judicial interpretations are documents that explain how the judiciary
should interpret or has interpreted the law, based on a stated theory or
mode of thought. These include court cases, legal briefs, etc. as well
as scholarly articles on given subjects of law. *

(6).  Would you list out the Treasury offices or bureaus that may be
covered?

 

*The Treasury Departmental Office is the only non-IRS office covered by
this solicitation. Its employees include attorneys, economists, tax
professionals and financial professionals.*

(7).  Ultimately how will you respond to these questions - directly - or
through a posting on FedBizOpps?

*Questions and answers from all potential vendors will be posted on both
the FedBizOpps and IRS websites.*

\(8\) With respect to Award Groups I, II and III, are each of these
unique/distinct groups or is there overlap? If there is overlap what is
the overlap for each Award Group?

*We have an estimated 30,000 IRS and 500 Treasury users of the
electronic research services. There **is** an overlap of users among the
three award groups; however, we cannot quantify the overlap amount.*

\(9\) Are we correct in our understanding that, while the IRS may
contemplate multiple awards across the 3 Award Groups, a multiple award
will NOT be made within an Award Group?  For example, should the IRS
award a contract for Award Group 2, is our understanding correct that
such an Award Group 2 award would be made to a single vendor only, and
not multiple vendors?

*The IRS **does not** contemplate awarding multiple contracts within a
specific Award Group. Rather, we will evaluate each award group as a
separate entity which could result in awarding potentially three
contracts - one for each of the Award Groups. However, if a vendor can
clearly demonstrate their ability to provide more than one of the award
groups' services, the government will give consideration to this option
and may award a single contract to that vendor for administrative
efficiency. *

\(10\) Section 9.6.1 states: The IRS seeks flexibility in providing
access to the contractor's system. It is mandatory that the contractor
propose an enterprise solution for managing user access that will be
available no later than 90 days after contract award date. IRS will work
with the contractor in developing any automated solution.

Does the IRS expect the enterprise solution to be available regardless
of whether or not a user manually enters assigned credentials? "Section
7.5.7 states: It is highly desirable that a system access method be
provided that does not require individual user IDs or passwords".

*An enterprise solution for managing user access may or may not involve
user IDs and passwords. If the contractor proposes the use of user IDs
and passwords, then the proposed enterprise solution must address how
these are to be managed. If the contractor proposes an access method
that does not require user IDs and passwords, then the proposed
enterprise solution must address how access is to be facilitated.*

*The vendor shall fully describe how access is to be granted to their
system.*

\(11\) Section 9.6.2.1 states: It is mandatory that the contractor
provide IRS with the ability to create a report listing all users of the
system, which includes all field information that has been captured for
each user.

Can the report be an online screen that supports paging or if it needs
to be a report object (test, excel, pdf) that must be generated so it
can be given to other individuals? If it needs to be a document object,
what format is mandatory?

*The IRS will accept reports through either online access or as
delivered report objects. Any of the above formats are acceptable, but
we suggest that spreadsheet or database formats allow for easier
analysis of the data.*

\(12\) (Section 1194.21)(Section 1194.22) Voluntary Product
Accessibility Template

Was the VPAT for Section 1194.21, Software Applications and Operating
Systems -- Detail, accidentally omitted from the RFP, or did they
intentionally exclude it, meaning we're not required to fill it out?

*The VPAT for Section 1194.21 is referenced in sub-section (m) of the
VPAT for Section 1194.22. If this subsection applies to your product,
please complete the VPAT for 1194.21 (attached).*

\(13\) Volume II - technical and past performance proposal: Each
Offeror's Technical Proposal shall have a maximum number of 100 pages
that the Technical Evaluation Panel will evaluate. Is the 100 page limit
for Vol. II, Technical proposal, per award group? If a vendor bids for
1, 2 or 3 awards, are they limited to 100 pages per award group or
total, regardless of number of awards bid?

*The page limitation for the Technical Proposal is 100 pages for each of
the award groups for which the offeror has made a proposal. This means
that if a vendor makes a proposal for all 3 award groups, their
Technical Proposal could have a maximum of 300 pages.*

*However, the limitation **per award group** is still 100 pages. For
example, a vendor could **NOT** have 150 pages discussing one award
group and 50 pages on a second, to total 200.\
*

\(14\) Section 7.4.3 states: The product shall have proven and known
ability to provide LAN/WAN access.

Please provide clarification of requirement.

*IRS users must be able to access this product using our internal
network, which routes traffic through a firewall. The firewall presents
an IP address to the Internet that is not unique in its association to a
user. The vendor's product must be able to return any user requests to
the appropriate user without relying on the IP address presented.*

\(15\) Section 7.5.2 states: It is highly desirable that an Intranet
version of this product be available. If offered, the contractor shall
fully describe all system requirements for implementation of this
Intranet-based service, as well as any additional costs for the
Intranet-based service.

What is meant by an "Intranet version of this product"? 

Is this simply a request for the means to access the main research
website from within the IRS Intranet?

*An Intranet version of the product would be a version housed entirely
behind the IRS firewall.*

\(16\) Section 6.2.3 states: Additionally, the IRS or the Office of
Chief Counsel of the IRS may create new forms of guidance during the
term of this contract. Once such guidance is instituted and published,
it is expected that it will also be included at no additional cost.

This appears to be different than the terms of 6.3.2 because there is no
reference to space restrictions in this context. Because this provision
requires the vendor to include additional material on the CD, current
size of which is unavailable, can the IRS clarify the vendor's
responsibility under this RFP to add additional CDs if needed, add
additional content to the point it fills the CD, or to consult with the
IRS to determine what content best meets their needs?

*It is the vendor's responsibility to consult with the IRS COTR if CD
space limitations require the removal of some content to allow inclusion
of additional required content.*

\(17\) Section 6.3.1 states: It is highly desirable that at least one
Commercial Tax Service be provided. Commercial Tax Services are
commentaries on tax law and are generally categorized into two types:

-   Annotated tax services are organized by IRC section and are
    explanatory in nature.

-   Topical tax services are organized by broad topic or issue and are
    analytical in nature.

-   The contractor shall provide a listing of all the Commercial Tax
    Services offered in their proposal

For purposes of the RFP, the inclusion of a Commercial Tax Services is a
highly desirable feature.   If services are offered that consist of
topical tax services as stated in 6.3.1 but are not otherwise
commercially available or are a subset of a commercially available
service, will they be considered a commercial tax service and hence a
highly desirable feature for purposes of this proposal ?

*The vendor shall fully describe all offered content which is intended
to meet this requirement. As a highly desirable feature, it will be
evaluated based on how well it meets IRS needs as stated in the RFP.*

\(18\) Will questions and answers from all potential contractors be
posted?

*All questions and answers from all potential vendors will be posted on
both the FedBizOpps and IRS websites.*

\(19\) We understand that the Government intends to measure: 1.Service
Availability, 2. Content Availability, 3. Training, 4.
ID/Password Issuance, and 5.Customer/Technical support, in accordance
with the parameters set forth on pages 64 and 65 of the RFP.  It is our
understanding that the government will review
bidders\' Implementation/Operation plans submitted in response to
Section 9.1 and bidders\' responses to Section 2.0 Notification of
Changes to Content or Service for relevant information
regarding bidders\' ability to meet the government\'s measurement
standards.  If the government needs additional information to assess
bidders\' capability in this regard, the government will do so by
clarification.  Is our understanding correct?

 

*The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), Attachment 3, of the
RFP is provided as a guide to assist potential vendors in developing
adequate quality assurance methods to ensure successful contract
performance. This document may be revised after contract award to
incorporate the contractor's comments and recommendations to ensure a
successful partnership between the Government and the Contractor. The
main purpose of the QASP is to provide Government surveillance and
oversight of the Contractor's quality control efforts to assure that
they are timely, effective and are delivering the results specified in
the contract or task order. In addition to the information provided in a
vendor's Implementation/Operation plans and responses to Section 2.0
Notification of Changes to Content and Service, the Government will
evaluate all other pertinent information in the proposal as they relate
to the metrics stated in the QASP.*