WSHS Q&A 1 - 33.pdf

Q1. Would the FDA consider providing a 2-week extension to respond to this important RFP?

A1. The Government does not anticipate extending the proposal deadline at this time.

Q2. Who is the incumbent and is the incumbent eligible to bid on this contract?

A2. The incumbent is Global Net Services, Inc. (GNSI) and GNSI is eligible to bid on this effort.

Q3. Reference page 39, SECTION C RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, RFP states “The offeror shall provide information about 3 – 5 projects …” Reference page 40, (B) CONTENTS OF VOLUMES I & II – FACTOR II – PAST PERFORMANCE second paragraph, the RFP states “A list of five (5) contracts/orders, similar in scope, duration, and price to the work described in the SOW. These should, but do not need to be, the same contracts/orders described for Relevant Experience.

“Does the government require 3-5 references or minimum 3 and maximum 5 references? Please clarify.

A3. The Government is requesting a minimum of 3 past performance questionnaires be submitted. The Government is also requesting that no more than 5 such past performance questionnaires be submitted.

Q4. In regards to the requirement for five Past Performances, does this include both prime and sub or should each provide five past performances?

A4. The past performance requirement is for the entire team, not each individual member.

However, at least one submission must pertain to the prime contractor.

Q5. On page 41 of the RFP, the instructions for section C - relevant experience list all of the data that should be included for each project for relevant experience. On page 42 of the RFP, the instructions indicate that the “offeror should provide one example…of corporate experience that demonstrates how the corporation responded when a project went off track.” Would you like to see one example OR one example for each project submitted in section C?

A5. One example for the entire proposal.

Q6. RFP SF1449 Continuation Sheet (Page 3). Question: The table reflects the original release of the RFP and does not include CLINS that need to be priced for Amendment #1, such as 4.1, 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, and 4.9. Can the government please clarify?

A6. The table was correctly updated with RFP Amendment 1.

Q7. RFP Section 3 Minimum and Maximum Quantities (Page 4). Question: The table reflects the original release of the RFP. Based on Amendment #1, the contract’s guaranteed minimum should be all FFP tasks plus the identified Labor Hour tasks (exclusive of the IDIQ 4.10 amounts).

A7. The minimum guaranteed amount remains unchanged.

Q8. RFP Section 3 Instructions for Proposal Submission (Page 36). Question: The requirement states “The offeror’s proposal shall be prepared on standard 8-1/2” by 11” paper, double-spaced, with 1” minimum margins”. We would like to confirm that the response indeed needs to be double spaced and not double sided pages.

A8. Offerors shall submit proposals in the format required in the RFP.

Q9. RFP Section B – PRICE (Page 43). Based on Amendment #1, tasks 4.1, 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, and

4.9 are no longer IDIQ. They are separately priced. What contract type will be used for these tasks?

A9. Amendment 1 stated that the contract type for tasks 4.1, 4.4, 4.5, 4.8 and 4.9 is Labor Hour.

For a description of the Labor Hour contract type please see FAR 16.6.

Q10. Reference 10-223-SOL-00188_RFP_Amendment_1.pdf, sections ii and iii, page 38.

Historically FDA proposals specify instructions for table of contents, list of tables and figures, graphics, tables, headers and footers, and resumes. As previous FDA proposals have specified, may we use the following instructions:

a. Use single spacing for text in Cover page, Table of contents, and List of tables and figures. These sections are excluded from the 60 page limit.

b. Use single spacing and 9pt Arial narrow font for text in graphics

c. Use single spacing and 9pt Arial font for text in tables

d. Use any size text in headers and footers

e. Use single spacing for text in resumes

A10. The Government agrees to all suggestions. The Cover page shall be limited to no more than 2 pages.

Q11. Reference 10-223-SOL-00188_RFP_Amendment_1.pdf, section d (page 46) and section e (page 47). There are 2 sections that discuss contractor responsibility which have similar but not identical requirements. Will the FDA consider consolidating the sections?

A11. The forthcoming Amendment 2 consolidates the language in both sections.

Q12. Reference Attachment 5 – Web Services Sample Task, section 4a, page 2. Please provide clarification for line spacing for the sample task. Is it acceptable to use single spacing as it was not specified in the sample task instructions?

A12. Responses to the sample task shall be double-spaced.

Q13. Reference Attachment 7 – Past Performance Data Sheet. Is it acceptable to use single spacing and 9pt Arial font for text in the table for the Past Performance Data Sheet?

A13. Yes.

Q14. The pricing worksheet for the Contractor Site and Government Site each request information on Fringe, Overhead, G&A, Fee, FCOM/COM and a fully burdened rate. This implies a cost plus pricing scheme. However the IDIQ is based on labor rates. Is it allowable to provide only the fully burdened labor rate for each CLIN description without the other information?

A14. No it is not allowable. The only contract types that apply to the potential award are listed in section 1 of the RFP.

Q15. How much of the total effort is the prime expected to perform?

A15. The potential contract is subject to the terms of FAR clause 52.219-14 “Limitations on Subcontracting”.

Q16. Does 60 page Technical Volume include resumes and sample task response?

A16. Please review the Instructions to Offerors section of the RFP. The sample task’s 10 page limit is included in the 60 page limit of the Technical Volume.

Q17. Will the cost to transfer hardware from current hosting site to new site be included in ODCs?

A17. The Pricing Spreadsheet under Amendment 2 (forthcoming) will include a table for both ODCs and Travel under Task 4.1 “Contract Transition Activities” for each occurrence of transition (one in the base period and the second in the last contract period). All ODCs and travel costs associated with the respective transition task shall be included in that task’s pricing proposal.

Q18. Is the current Prime contractor that delivers requirements for hosting eligible to bid on this solicitation?

A18. Yes.

Q19. Is the contractor who currently Develops the FDA’s web site, eligible to bid on this solicitation?

A19. Yes.

Q20. Attachment 2 – Pricing Spreadsheet: The CLIN#s for IDIQ-Contractor-Site and IDIQ- Government-Site are the same. Is that how the Government intended or should they be different?

A20. The IDIQ-Government Site CLIN numbers of the Pricing Spreadsheet will be updated in the forthcoming Amendment 2. The CLIN numbers will begin with “B” rather than the current “A”.

Q21. Does the FDA want the offeror to add an additional column to “IDIQ-Contractor-Site” and “IDIQ-Government-Site” tabs to show the total labor cost of the Proposed Staffing, as stated on page 42, (2) b)? Please clarify.

A21. The addition of such a column in attachment 2 is encouraged but not required for proposal submission.

Q22. May we substitute key personnel titles/roles for the ones listed in section 5 based on our approach or are these roles required?

A22. Please review the FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2008) section of the RFP for directions.

Q23. With each invoice, the Contractor shall submit to the CO a cumulative report demonstrating compliance with FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting. If not in compliance, the report shall include the corrective actions taken or planned to be in compliance" Is the cost of hosting (not services associated with set-up and maintenance) included in subcontracting or may this be considered an ODC?

A: As stated in clause 52.219-14, “By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor agrees that in performance of the contract in the case of a contract for –

(1) Services (except construction). At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern.”

This shall be the applicable standard for determining whether a firm is meeting the requirements of the clause.

What about licenses for web caching such as Akamai?

A: See Above.

Is the limitation on subcontracting required for every billing period or task order or over the base year / option year for the contract or may the prime show a plan for overall compliance during the base and option years?

A: The clause applies to the total effort of the work performed. The reporting requirement applies to each invoice submitted.

Q24. To what extent will Task Orders be issued concurrently versus sequentially?

A24. Task orders will be issued as needed.

Q25. Will the Government identify and provide contact information for the incumbent contractor’s personnel?

A25. No.

Q26. How many awards are anticipated?

A26. One award is anticipated.

Q27. Past Performance: If the offeror proposes the use of a subcontractor:

1. Will the subcontractor’s past performance be evaluated?

A: Yes.

b. May the five past performance references be a mix of the prime and subcontractor’s references, i.e., three from the prime and two from the subcontractor?

A: Yes.

Q28. In Section L, letters of intent are discussed under “Management Plan.” We believe these letters more properly belong in the “Resumes” section, along with their corresponding resumes.

Will the Government permit one-page letters of intent to be included with their associated resumes, and not subject to the page limits for Volume 1?

A28. Yes.

Q29. Will the Government identify the anticipated date of award and starting date of performance?

A29. Please review part 4 of the FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2008) section of the RFP.

Q30. Under Solicitation provisions it says that the offeror shall provide “Five (5) electronic copies of Volume I in Microsoft Office 2003 compatible format via compact disc (Microsoft Word and PDF).” Does this mean that you want 5 CDs in Word and 5 CDs in a .pdf format?

A30. There are to be a total of 5 CDs submitted for Volume I with each CD containing both the Microsoft Word and PDF version of Volume I.

Q31. The RFP states that material handling on subs shall not exceed 5%. Does that limitation only apply to subs? If it is the contractors normal practice to burden other non-labor costs with full G&A, is there any prohibition against that?

A31. The 5% maximum material handling fee applies to all subcontractor and all material expenses incurred under this contract.

Q32. Under Solicitation Provisions, page 38 states: “(vi) Page Limitations: Volume I Section A, Technical Understanding and Approach; Section B, Management; and Section C, Relevant Experience; 60 pages in total not including resumes for Key Personnel, Attachment 3 (Staffing Plan Matrix) and Attachment 7 (Past Performance Data Sheet(s) - Appendix). Resumes limited to 2 pages each.”

Given the fact that the Technical Understanding and Approach includes both a description of our approach for both the IDIQ contract and a response to the sample task order, would the government consider expanding the page limit for all of Volume I from 60 total pages to 120 total pages?

A32: No.

Q33. What metrics (e.g. travel start and end points) should travel estimates be based on?

A33. Travel costs are to be determined by the offeror.