SOLICITATION NOTICE
H -- FHA Testing
- Notice Date
- 9/3/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Procurement and Contracts (OPC), Administrative Support Division, NCA, 451 Seventh Street, S.W. Room 5256, Washington, DC, 20410
- ZIP Code
- 20410
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-Q3QACCA0021-B
- Point of Contact
- Timiko Wilkins , Contract Specialist, Phone 202-708-1772,
- E-Mail Address
-
Timiko_D._Wilkins@hud.gov
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, Subpart 13.106 and Subpart 13.5 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-15. This is a full and open competition. Description of Work to be performed: In December 1999, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published a Rule establishing a set of eligibility requirements for appraisers seeking placement on the FHA Roster. The regulation stipulated that, in order to be placed on the FHA Roster of Appraisers, appraisers must be licensed or certified in the state in which they operate and a pass a HUD/FHA examination on appraisal methods and reporting. Only appraisers listed on the Roster are permitted to provide appraisal services for properties secured by FHA-insured mortgages. As part of FHA requirements, Single Family Program Development (SFPD) has established and developed (2) examinations. A national provider will administer the exams and the cost paid by the user. The following are the tests to be administered: 1.) FHA Appraiser Examination certifies appraisers' knowledge of HUD Handbook 4150.2 Valuation Analysis for Home Mortgage Insurance. This examination is mandatory for placement on the FHA Roster of HUD-approved appraisers; and 2.) The Federal Housing Administration seeks to improve its certification process through a comprehensive examination "Qualifying Examination for 203 (K) Consultants" that will provide an objective measure of the 203 (K) consultant's knowledge and competence. Passing the examination with a satisfactory score must be achieved before the 203 (K) consultant can receive HUD approval and provide services in that capacity. SFPD has developed examination questions and examination standards for the FHA exams. HUD/SFPD is soliciting testing companies with the capability to administer the FHA Exams on a national level. The total cost of the testing fee is to be paid by the examination applicants. The testing/examination fee to the applicant and capabilities of each provider will be considered in choosing an individual company or companies to administer FHA Exams. HUD/FHA will deliver examinations to the Contractor and the Contractor shall administer the examinations. The examination format is multiple-choice questions. HUD must be able to change FHA Exam questions at any time, with a reasonable amount of notice from HUD to the Contractor. Broad revisions are expected annually. The Contractor shall be required to submit/transmit the examination results electronically to SFPD on a daily basis. FHA Exam candidates must be afforded the opportunity to obtain additional copies of Official Score Reports (examination results) for a nominal fee to be determined by the National Test Administrator. The Contractor shall be able to provide examination results to examinees at conclusion of examination. The Contractor is not required to incur any unnecessary expense for advertising. The contractor will provide a list of the test sites, locations, and testing times. HUD will make this information available, via the HUD web, to any/all persons interested in taking the test. SFPD is seeking a vendor to be a National Test Administrator (NTA). The NTA will administer examinations provided by SFPD to applicants. The primary objective is to provide an appraisal certification examination to appraisers in the fifty (50) States and Territories of the United States. Scope of Services: The Contractor shall furnish all necessary qualified personnel and services necessary to accomplish the tasks as delineated below. In addition, the Contractor shall have the capability to administer examinations through a nationwide network of testing centers located in the fifty (50) States and Territories of the United States. The Contractor selected shall have a minimum of two (2) years experience (documented in the proposal submission) providing multi-state testing administration. The proposal must also state the location of all testing centers and schedule available to appraiser candidates taking the examination over the entire contract period. HUD anticipates each FHA Exam to consist of approximately fifty (50) questions. The Contractor shall quote the fees(s) under the assumption that they are the sole examination administrator. All fee rates to be charged will remain in effect for each one-year period (from date of contract award for 12 months for base year and each of two one year options). The estimated number of applicants to be tested annually is between 1000 and 4000. The FHA Exams are mandatory and the preceding information is based upon data currently available to HUD, which HUD deems reliable. However, HUD does not make any guarantee concerning the annual number of applicants who will take the exam. Tasks: The Contractor shall provide the following: 1. Provide National Network of Testing Centers: The Contractor shall have the capabilities to administer examinations to applicants on a nationwide network of computerized test centers, determined by the contractor, in the fifty (50) States and Territories of the United States. 2. Electronically Transmit FHA Exam Results. 3. Report Examinee Pass/Fail Statistics to HUD. The Contractor shall provide to HUD all FHA Exam pass/fail statistics monthly, as well as statistical information regarding examinee performance on all examination questions. 4. Develop Procedures for Resolving Customers Service Issues: The Contractor shall develop written procedures for resolving customer services issues. This activity will include: Provision for a complaint/issue at each Test Center, Forwarding each complaint/issue to a centralized location, Issue tracking, Response/resolution time estimates. Deliverables: Final acceptance of all deliverables will be subject to a quality review performed by the Government Technical Representative (GTR) and/or Government Technical Monitor (GTM). Each deliverable shall be submitted by electronic mail to SFPD: www.HUD.gov. The contract shall provide a work plan with a detailed schedule of tasks and deliverables in addition to the following: 1.) Final Project/Work Plan, due 10 work days after award of contract; 2.) Report of all testing issues (Pass/fail, Examinee demographic information, etc), due on a monthly basis; 3.) List of applicants passed/failed, due on same day as examination administration. Place of Performance is provided by the contractor. The Contractor shall identify testing centers and provide tests for applicants, in these centers, throughout the fifty (50) States and Territories of the United States. For this effort, HUD will: 1.) Provide to the Contractor any all changes in the FHA Exam format via the HUD web site www.HUD.gov that would result in a revision to testing material; 2.)Announce the locations of Testing Centers by placing such announcement on the SFPD web site. 3.) Actively promote the FHA Exams and include site and schedule information on all HUD web sites. The announcements by HUD will be in addition to the advertising of the FHA Exam provider. Solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offeorors - Commercial Items, is hereby incorporated by reference. The Government will award an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with firm fixed price line items using Simplified Acquisition Procedures, FAR part 13, resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to this solicitation and presents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered (see below). The Government does not guarantee a minimum or maximum quantity. The contractor shall receive payment from the examination fees paid by the examinee. Factors for evaluation will be the following: 1. Frequency of Examination Availability, Dates and Times, 2. Capability to administer the testing on a national basis (50 states and US territories), 3. Name and location of testing centers, 4. Frequency and duration of test advertising methodology, 5. Registration methods to be used for all applicants, 6. Reasonableness of proposed testing fee to be paid by applicants taking the examination, 7. Reasonableness of proposed additional fee to be paid by the applicants retaking the test, 8. Computers with the following specifications: PC Workstation between 256 and 512 mb memory, Network Interface Card, CD Read/Writer, mid-range processor between 2.4 and 2.8 gig, adequate monitor. 9.Ability to provide test results to the applicant within 24 hours of completion of the test.Period of performance is from date of award for a 12-month base period with two (2) 12-month options. FAR 52.213-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, must be completed and included with any and all offers submitted in response to this solicitation. FAR Clauses 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options, 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of Contract are hereby incorporated by reference. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items is hereby incorporated by reference. All referenced FAR clauses may be copied at www.arnet.gov/far. Companies wishing to respond to this solicitation must provide this office with the following submitted on your company letterhead or your standard company proposal form, for the requested items showing solicitation number on all documents: 1.) Technical Quote in response to the information outlined above and evaluation factors 2.) Price Quote providing the following line item prices: CLIN 0001: Examination Price (price per examination) x 4,000 exams (4,000 is an estimate to be used for evaluation purposes only) - unit price and extended price; CLIN 0002: Additional fee(s) for any appraiser re-taking the examination; CLIN 0003: Any additional fee(s) per examination. Offeror shall provide quote for base year and two option years. 3.) Draft Management Work Plan describing the contractor's approach to accomplishing the work described in this solicitation. 4.) FAR 52.213-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items signed and completed included the firm's Tax Identification Number and Dun and Bradstreet Number (DUNS). Services under this RFQ must comply with Section 508 Accessibility Standards. All quotes are to be express mailed or hand delivered to the following address no later than September 12, 2003 at 2pm eastern standard time to the following address: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Room 5256, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington DC 20410, Attn: Timiko D. Wilkins (telephone: 202-708-1772 x7145). Please submit all inquiries regarding this request for quote to the following email address: timiko_d._wilkins@hud.gov
- Record
- SN00423493-W 20030905/030903213237 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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