1256A119Q0001_Q&A.docx

EADM BPA Pre-quote Conference Call

11/20/2018 2 PM ET

Forest Service Attendees:

Contractor Attendees:

Grace Ellis

grace.ellis@galileoaz.com

Andrea Kavaler

akavaler@lmc-ny.com

SC&A, Inc.

mjackson@arbrecroche.com

RFQ Review: Multiple award BPA for EADM services. BPAs are not contracts, there is no minimum guarantee of work. BPAs establish standard terms and conditions for possible future orders. Region 9 hasn’t contracted much EADM work in the past so we are unsure of the use these BPAs will receive. Review of selected Section 5 clauses incorporated by reference:

52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel – contractors will comply with agency personal identity verification procedures. If government facility or computer access is needed for a call, contractor employees would complete the requirements to obtain a smart card (linc pass) which includes finger printing (contractor expense) and background checks (government expense).

52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance – contractor shall maintain their CAGE code throughout the life of the BPA. Any change of name agreements must be reported to the CO so the BPA can be updated with the new CAGE code.

52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – this clause addresses Assignment of claims, Changes, Disputes, Excusable Delays, Termination, etc.

52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or EOs –

Due date for quotes is December 5, 2018 at 4:30 PM ET. We will not accept any late quotes so send files in enough time to be received in my inbox by the closing time. Maximum email size is 70 MB. Follow the instructions in the RFQ Section 6.

Questions and Answers (received by email):

1) I was curious if this effort is a new requirement or are there incumbent contracts? If there is an incumbent vendor, would you be able to provide the contract details (such as: Vendor Name, Contract Number, Award Date, Value)? This is a new requirement.

2) Do we need to pull a team together to submit on ALL categories listed on this form? Or can we just bid select services? You may do either. We will accept quotes for select services. We will accept teaming/subcontracting arrangements. The SBA will be consulted if necessary to determine acceptability of teaming arrangements prior to making awards. On orders over $150,000, clause 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting will apply.

3) Will USDA Forest Service R9 accept proposals for partial services/tasks, meaning companies that provide services for only two of the three listed broad categories? Ie: 1) NEPA analysis and documentation, 2) Public engagement and coordination and training. We will accept quotes for partial services, however sub-section 7.1 of the solicitation does indicate that preference for award will be to contractors with the capability to perform within all three work categories. This is because we are limiting the number of awards and we want to achieve maximum coverage of the work items across the region.

4) Can a large business submit an offer as the prime? No, this is a 100% small business set-aside. In some instances, large businesses may offer subcontracting services to small businesses or partner in teaming arrangements. Contact your SBA representative with any questions on acceptable subcontracting or teaming arrangements.

5) Is the USFS ideally looking for a firm that can perform all three of the work categories (i.e., Field Work, Data Collection, Monitoring; NEPA Analysis and Document Preparation; and Public Engagement Coordination and Training), or is the USFS open to a firm that can complete at least one of the work categories (without the use of subconsultants)? See answer #3 and page 54 of the solicitation: “The Government anticipates awarding up to nine BPAs, however more may be awarded to obtain adequate competition at the call level within the three broad categories covered by this solicitation (see Section 1.7). The preference for awards will be to contractors with the capability to perform within all three work categories in Section 1.7”. The reason for this preference is to keep the administration of these BPAs at a manageable level. Actual awards will depend greatly on the types of offers received.

6) Can non-US owned companies submit offers? Yes as long as the firm qualifies as a small business according to 13 CFR Part 121 and meets the small business size standard for NAICS 541620 which is $15 million. If you have further questions, please contact your local SBA representative.

7) Your email address shows melissajohnson@fs.fed.us on the cover page of the RFQ document. Is that correct? No that is incorrect, there are two a’s in my email address. melissaajohnson@fs.fed.us. It is shown correctly on the FBO posting and in the quote submittal section of the RFQ document. Please be sure to use the correct email address when submitting your quotes. The USDA is in the process of changing our email addresses and Melissa.a.johnson@usda.gov will also work for receiving emails.

8) The RFP states to provide a brief biography for at least one person for each labor category our firm is offering. Three questions:

a. Does this include technicians or other categories at or below GS Level 07 that we intend to offer? The schedule of items on page 5 does not specify a GS level. It is a ceiling cost for the labor category so you shouldn’t need to add the same labor category with two different prices. When a call is issued, you can lower your labor rate, you just can’t raise it. See Page 53 Section 6.7c. – “The Offeror must identify how many personnel it has per labor category, through itself or subcontractors, and provide brief biographies for at least one person for each labor category your firm is offering”. So if you have 3 botanists, you only need to provide a bio for one of them.

b. Does the selection committee want to see biographies only, or would it also like to see resumes? We have asked for brief biographies. If you choose to submit resumes instead, that is up to you.

c. If the selection committee would also like to see resumes, are resumes counted against the page limit? Resumes WILL count against the page limit for the technical package.

9) Is there an SF1449 that should be included with submission package? No.

10) Is this contract to be administered by the GSA and therefore only awarded to those listed with the GSA? NO this is not a GSA advertisement. The BPAs will be administered by the Forest Service.

11) Will any preference or consideration be given to WOSBs or EDWOSBs, 8(a), Native American owned, and/or HUBZone? No.

12) Can payments be made on a monthly basis or at some point during performance of the work (for example, a payment made upon completion of the field portion of the project and a payment made at completion and submission of the report) or will payment be made only after completion of all aspects of the project and after report submission? Each call RFQ will specify payment arrangements. If the call doesn’t specify, you may suggest a payment arrangement with your quote. We generally allow progress payments.

13) Would you be able to provide a link to the answers to these and the other questions posed during the pre-quote conference call as well as the list of conference attendees? An attendee list and all Q&A will be posted to FBO upon completion of the conference call. Any additional questions must be received by 11/28/2018 and will be posted to FBO on 11/29/2018.

14) The RFQ includes Lands and Special Uses as a labor category in Section 2.16, yet does not give that labor category a specific designation on the Price Ceiling Table in Section 1.7. Please provide a labor category designation for this labor category. The type of specialist needed would depend on the type of special use project identified in the call. For example if the project was for a proposed pipeline there may be engineering, soils, hydrology, and archaeologist work involved. For an outfitter/guide there may be recreation and wildlife work involved. There isn’t a separate labor category for special uses.

15) We will include teaming with other awardees in our proposal if particular labor categories that we do not have on our team are needed for a particular call order– how does the Region foresee this working? Does the prime have to do 51% of the work based on tasks? Cost? Time? See Section 3.8 for key personnel requirements – substitutions to personnel submitted as part of your technical package must be requested and approved by the FS. On orders over $150,000, clause 52.219-14 will apply.

16) Since this BPA is set aside for small businesses only, can a prime have an “other than small business” on its team and this BPA still be considered a small business set aside? Yes a large business can be a subcontractor or teaming partner to a small business. Clause 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting applies to orders over $150,000. Clause 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns applies to orders over SAT.

17) Under what conditions would a specific Call be sent to specific awardees so we know of its existence and provide the fair opportunity for bidding? See Section 4.1 of the solicitation for example call issuance scenarios. Our intent is to use the 3 broad work categories to identify which firms to send each call to.

18) How will “Fair Opportunity” as discussed under section 4.1 of the RFQ and FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2) be applied? This FAR subpart discusses several exceptions to fair opportunity, however in all likelihood, the only one that may come into play is if the order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract. For example if a vendor prepared an EA and we had a need for litigation support on that decision, we could limit the litigation support RFQ to only the vendor that prepared the EA. Any decisions to limiting competition would require a written justification by the call CO.

19) How will the Region provide forests placing a call order with the information on services a particular company provides under the BPA and know its capabilities and capacities as described in a proposal in response to this RFQ? Will all call orders include a request for a description of capabilities? Will Forests be provided this information from proposals before a call order is issued so that they can develop a statement of work, especially when a company provides a unique and effective method for meeting a need that a forest may not have previously considered? We plan to host a webinar with NEPA personnel and COs (once awards are made) in order to review ordering procedures. We will include copies of each awardees’ proposal in a shared folder along with the ordering instructions so that NEPA personnel and CO’s can review the information prior to issuing RFQs. Each call CO will determine what type of additional technical information will be required to be submitted with each quote (ie: technical approach to the specific project).

20) Can we have Fair Opportunity to bid on all call orders under labor categories included in our proposal, even if they are not the same as the labor categories included in the RFQ? We don’t intend to issue calls based on which labor categories were offered. See question 18.

21) Is training for NEPA, special uses, and effective IDT leadership, in addition to training in public involvement methods and strategies, included in this BPA, especially because the EADM roundtable summary for the region states that EADM training is needed for R-9. Also, can the region be a contracting entity to ensure consistent training in EADM throughout the Region? Have the EADM courses developed by the FS been completed and rolled out? The BPA calls could include training requirements for anything NEPA related. The call CO will be responsible for ensuring that work requested falls within the scope of the BPA so decisions will be made on a case by case basis as to what would be a proper call for training. Much of the training associated with the Forest Service’s new EADM initiative is being developed at the national level so we expect the training element of this BPA would be for more localized (regional, forest) needs.

22) Once the BPA is awarded, would the Region provide a list of CORs for each contracting entity so that we can market our capabilities and ideas? CORs will be identified at the time of the call RFQ issuance so there won’t be a list to provide. You may contact the forests directly to market your services.

23) Once the BPA is awarded, would you please provide a list of POCs for each awardee so we can understand our competition and, more importantly, identify synergies in which we can work together to address specific call orders? The awardee information will be posted to FBO and I will include the POC information there as long as there are no objections from the awardees.

24) Are there other BPAs/IDIQs still operating in R-9 and if so, for what labor categories/type of work? How will the asking entity determine whether to use the existing contracting mechanisms v. the new BPA v. GSA schedule contracting? We don’t have any NEPA type BPAs or IDIQs in R9 that I know about. We do have many different types of surveying IDIQ contracts (heritage resource surveys, plant surveys, wildlife surveys, common stand exam, and stocking surveys). It will be up to each individual CO in conjunction with the program manager to decide which option to use for contracting their project as there are different mechanisms for acquiring these services (ie: GSA).

25) What are the requirements or encouragement for call entities informing a competing awardee that they were not selected, in a timely manner? Can a non-awarded company request that they be informed on the reasons for non-award and how the company can improve their proposals in response to call orders? I will include in the ordering guide that the call CO shall notify all quoters’ with the awardee name and amount for each call. Vendors can request information from the call CO about reasons for their non-selection. Formal debriefings are not required but calls COs will often provide you with a basis for their award determination.

26) What types of labor categories/items that are currently not included in the BPA may be added to call orders? What labor categories/items may we add to the BPA in our proposals? See page 5 of the RFQ, “in the event that a call within the scope of the BPA requires the use of a labor category not included on the contractor’s schedule, the contractor must identify the position and supply the qualifications of the employee being proposed”. I can’t tell you what those categories might be or if there will be any at all. See answer #8, you may add whatever labor categories you deem appropriate.

27) Attachment 2—Example Project: It is our understanding that this “Example Project” is for information only and is not a part of proposal submission. The example project in Attachment 2 is not to be part of your proposal submission.

28) Section 2.7.3 on page 9 of the solicitation includes computers in a list of items to be collected, compiled, and made available to the Forest Service. Can you please provide clarification? It should say computer files.

29) Is the offeror required to work in government offices or have an office in specific locations? If so, what is the extent to which the contractor(s) have to work onsite? Pls. clarify. Each call will specify where the work will be performed. For tasks like surveying, work would be done on the ground at a project site. For public meetings the work will be at a local meeting site. There could be some instances where work would be performed at a government office but we anticipate that much of the work can be accomplished at the contractor’s office. There is no requirement that a contractor have an office in a specific location.

30) If a firm has extensive recent Forest Service plan revision and NEPA experience, but not within the region, would it be acceptable to use those projects in past performance as long as the team subcontractors have experience within the region. You can submit those projects for the past performance technical factor. The technical factors do indicate that the most relevant indicators of performance & corporate experience are contracts for EISs or EAs for land management agencies in the geographical areas contemplated by this solicitation so there may be downgrade in the scores received if the work isn’t within Region 9. The extent to which that downgrade is offset by other experience offered will be determined by the technical evaluation panel.

Questions & Answers (from the call)

31) Does a project description need to be included with the past performance factor or with the corporate experience factor? Both factors ask for a description of the project because firms don’t have to use the same project for both factors. I would include a description of the project for both factors.

32) For the corporate experience technical factor, can we only use the prime’s experience, or can we use the entire team including subs? You can use experience for your team to show overall experience.

33) Does the cover page count against the 25 page limit? Yes.

34) Do the reps and certs count against the 25 page limit? No, reps and certs would be submitted as part of the price package which doesn’t have a page limit.

35) Can you use projects that are partially complete in the technical submission? Yes. The project description should be clear as to what tasks remain incomplete on the project.

36) Does land management agency experience need to be with federal agencies? No.

37) Is there any call maximum or minimum? Maximum is $2M. There is no minimum but the BPAs would probably not be used if the project is less than $2500.

38) Do you feel the level of work to be accomplished under these BPAs will approach the $15M indicated in Section 1.4? We are unsure of the amount of work to be contracted using these BPAs.

Questions will be accepted by email through 11/28 and posted to FBO on 11/29.