QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AD130525
SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
1. How many outbound campaign calls were made during the last marketing campaign?
ANSWER: The Division chose to strike the RFP Requirement of a marketing campaign from Section 6.1.
Please see separate VendorNet attachment, Amendment 1: Revision 1 for RFP AD130525. Proposers
must download Amendment 1, Revisions 1, 2, 3, & 4 and include it with their Proposals.
2. Does the qualified call center staff have to have a physical location in Wisconsin or can it be domiciled in
another state?
ANSWER: The qualified call center staff may be domiciled in another state.
3. Can a vendor’s turnkey solution for new worker training and WHEAP include a tablet enablement in
place of the DES mobile computing laboratory?
ANSWER: No, tablet enablement may not replace the DES Mobile Computing Laboratory. (Ref. Section
5.2, Mobile Computing Lab).
4. Please confirm operating hours for call center services. What are the needs and requirements for
operating afterhours or for emergency overflow.
ANSWER: The Home Energy Plus Information Call Center operates Monday through Friday, 7:55 a.m.
Central Standard Time (CST) until 5:05 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). A voice messaging system is
required to collect information from callers that are unable to reach a direct staff person to talk to, or
during non-operating business hours. The local agencies and/or Grantees are required to have
emergency services in place to serve the general public. The winning proposer will not be required to
establish/provide staffing or procedures during non-operating hours. (Ref. Amendment 1, Revision1&4)
5. Do calls to the Home Energy Plus Information Call Center require translation? If so, how many
languages?
ANSWER: Section 6.1 is amended to require translation services for Spanish and Hmong callers. The
capability for additional languages is desired. ( Ref. Amendment 1, Revision 1 & 4)
6. Will the Personally Identifiable Information reside in the tracking database? Or, will the contractor be
required to store the PII?
ANSWER: Yes, the Contractor will be required to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII).The
Contractor shall store the PII for five years. (Ref. Amendment 1, Revision 4)
1
RFP AD130525 Q&A
7. Do you have call volumes by month by time of day?
ANSWER: Below is a chart of call volumes by month for the previous twelve months. At this time, DES
does not collect call volumes by time of day. Typically, peak months include October, November, and
April. (Ref. Amendment 1, Revision 1).
Month and Year
September 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
Total Calls
Call Volume
(Quantity)
2,251
8,774
6,773
3,604
3,871
2,657
3,327
4,274
2,213
1,955
2,174
2,221
44,094
8. Conference registration fees: will attendees register through the tracking database and associated
website? Or, will the contractor be responsible for accepting payments through its own vehicle?
ANSWER: Attendees register for the Home Energy Plus Training Event Conference via the tracking
database and associated website, however, payment is not accepted through the website. The
Contractor will be responsible for accepting payment through its own vehicle for this Conference only.
The attendees may request the Contractor invoice their employer for the registration fee(s).The
Contractor is not responsible for collecting registration fees for other trainings or events.
9. Cost Proposal: Can the contractor exceed the price in row 78 if the approved costs are greater than
those estimated in the RFP response? Please clarify section 7.3 with respect to the elements of the Cost
Proposal that are fixed. Please relate this response to section 8.1.1.
ANSWER: The Contractor cannot exceed the cost in row 78 for either Total Year 1 or Total Year 2 or for
personnel hourly rates. Price increase requests and inflationary adjustments of personnel hourly rates
may be considered for Total Year 3 and Total Year 4. (Ref. Amendment 1, Revision 2 & 3, 7.3 Fixed Price
Period and 7.4 Inflationary Adjustments).
10. What did DES spend on the services listed in the RFP in the past?
ANSWER: DES spent about $248,000 in 2011-2012 and about $300,000 in 2012-2013 for the services
listed in this RFP AD130525.
-2-
RFP AD130525 Q&A
11. The RFP refers to current Third Party vendors that are being used and are to be continued to be used in
this contract. Who are the vendors?
ANSWER: For all RFP third party references, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC) is the
vendor.
12. Is the Third Party vendor’s fee for service outside of this RFP (does DES contract with them separately)
or is the proposer expected to contract with them?
ANSWER: WECC contracts with DES separately. The winning proposer will not be responsible for any
contract or payment with WECC. (Section 1.2.3.4)
13. When does DES expect the successful proposer to begin work?
ANSWER: The winning proposer shall plan to enter into a contract with DES as soon after awarding the
contract as possible. The transition of the activities from WECC to the winning proposer must be
complete by February 28, 2014.
-3-