Staff_Support_Services_2-_Questions.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 29 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Staff Support Services 2 Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- 1331L5-19-R-13ES-0007
About this file
This solicitation is for staff support services to be provided across the Department of Commerce through multiple-award IDIQ contracts with a total ceiling value of $151 million over five years. The solicitation seeks to acquire services covering a variety of functional areas including clerical, administrative, technical, and professional support through a list of 95 labor categories. Responses are due within 20 days and the period of performance for the IDIQ contracts is five years from award. The solicitation sets aside the opportunity for SDVOSB or HUBZone businesses only. The incumbent contracts have a total value of $48 million supporting over 200 FTEs. Task orders will be competed among IDIQ holders and evaluated using various methods including LPTA and best value tradeoff.
Attached is AMD 01 Q&As
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Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 1331L5-19-R-13ES-0007_-SS2__AMD_01.pdf | ||
| J.1_Labor_Category_Rate_Spreadsheet.vF_AMD_01.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 1331L5-19-R-13ES-0007_-SS2.pdf | ||
| J.1_Labor_Category_Rate_Spreadsheet.vF.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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Sheet1
| No. | Questions | Answers | Amendments |
| 1 | Is it solely a set aside for HUD? | The solicitation is set-aside for SDVOSB or HUBZone firms only. | |
| 2 | What are the minimum and maximum number of awards anticipated for Hub Zone and SDVOSB companies? | The minimum total awards is 2 (i.e. multiple award). There are no minimum awards for SDVOSB or HUBZone. | |
| 3 | What are the minimum and maximum number of awards anticipated in each of the 3 regions? | The minimum total awards is 2 (i.e. multiple award). Offerors must propose to all 3 regions to be responsive. (Section L.3, 1352.215-70). Awards will not be made by region. | |
| 4 | Will the Government target awards in each of the 3 regions for both Hub Zone and SDVOSB companies? | No. See question 3. | |
| 5 | Can a company bid as both the prime on one proposal and as a sub on another? | Yes. There are no restrictions on offerors task organizing in a manner they desire or for submitting more than one proposal. | |
| 6 | Who are the current incumbent companies? | See FBO 1331L5-19-S-13ES-0001 | |
| 7 | What are the current incumbent contract numbers? | See FBO 1331L5-19-S-13ES-0001 | |
| 8 | Section - C.6 HOURS OF OPERATION - Since the govt. has outlined the Federal Holidays, we can figure out the T & M rates to be billed to take into account all predictable parameters like Holiday Pay, Paid Time off etc. to incorporate them into our fully burdened T & M Labor rates. However since the Govt. has the right to proscribe us from working on days closed due to Executive Order, Office of Personnel Management direction or other form of Federal proclamation. These closures are often due to inclement weather, potentially hazardous conditions or other special circumstances. Since these are unknown, how is the contractor take into account all these unknown costs for hours for which costs shall be incurred especially for exempt salaried professional workers into the fully burdened T & M rates and incorporate them into the fully burdened T & M Labor rates? Alternatively, will the govt. allow billing for these hours for employees working on direct tasks where they are willing but being not allowed to work as is the wont for many other federal agencies for similar T & M contracts where unpredictable shout downs occur due to these factors? | Part a. Known holidays are provided. Unknown/unscheduled days off must be considered in the offeror's fully burdened rate and will have an effect on the overall price evaluation and source selection. A company may do its own analysis of historically how many days fall into this category on average per year and make their own business decisions. In many cases, tasks permit telework which could allow Contractor employees to continue work during a closure. This is on a task order basis. |
Part b. Contractors cannot be paid for work not performed.
| 9 | Section C.8 TRAINING, LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - Since the costs for these elements have not been defined nor outlined, will the govt. allow these costs to be billed as ODC at the Task Order Level if any such training is required? | No. Requisite qualifications are the responsibility of the employer/individual to perform the work that the Government contracts for. Costs of continued training and/or certifications of personnel is an overhead cost for the company and part of the fully burdened rate. | |
| 10 | Section G.6 SUBMITTAL OF INVOICES - Since like almost all small HUB Zone firms and other US business, we pay our employees on a bi-weekly / fortnightly basis, will the Govt. allows us to bill every 2-weeks rather than every month so that we may be able to bill as soon as we incur payroll costs? This will help a small HUB Zone firm in terms of cash-flow management minimizing our money costs and will be greatly appreciated like a myriad of Federal Agencies that do allow bi-weekly billings especially for small firms. | Invoice cycle is monthly. Low revenue companies must consider funding mechanisms to sustain at least 45 days of performance before receiving payment. (Monthly invoice cycle + 15 days payment disbursement) | |
| 11 | Section L - 1352.239-71 ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (APR 2010) - This is a staffing Multiple Award Contract with the contractor requiring to provide labor for each Task Order. How is it then relevant for the contractor to be subject to this Clause and be required to provide Information Technology Products compliant with these standards? | The provision is inserted as notification of requirements that will flow down to applicable task orders when appropriate. | |
| 12 | Section L.3 - PROPOSAL PREPARATION - Key Personnel Qualifications - Can both the roles - Program Manager and Contracts Manager be performed by the same person to keep costs low? Since this is at IDIQ Level with no guarantee of any work, can these be only brought on-board after actual allocation of tasks as employing them before any task allocation will be a costly burden on a small HUB Zone firm? Alternatively can the business owner perform the role of Program Manager and Contracts Manager till there is a sufficient business volume to justify employing these individuals on company overhead? Can this requirement be waived for the proposal submission process as these individuals are typically brought on-board after the award of task orders with the business owner performing these functions for small HUBZone firms? | The two key personnel identified at the IDIQ level should be those people who the offeror intends to perform the related responsibilities. Their qualifications and experience in performing those functions will be evaluated as part of the offeror's technical capabilities. It is incumbent upon the offeror to propose those individuals, one or two, who they intend to meet the Government's requirements. | |
| 13 | Section L.3 -VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE - For large IDIQ contracts like this, is the Past Performance Information required at the IDIQ Level or at the Delivery Order Level? How many Past Performances are required? Will CPARS suffice should they be available giving the Contract Numbers of each Contract / Task? | Past performance references are required for similar performance, i.e. providing staff support to multiple offices or multiple tasks. The more similar the references, the more relevant they will be. The Government requests 3 references. CPARS should not be submitted. See Section L.3 1352.215-70 for instructions on what to provide for each reference. | Y |
L.3 B 2 14 Section L.3 -VOLUME III - Cost - Is this contract subject to Service Contract Act (SCA) for some of the Labor Categories like Clerks, Administrative Assistants etc. and therefore required to be paid as per Wage Determinations (WD) outlined by Department of Labor? If so, what are the specific counties where service will be required as wages vary significantly based on the work location as per SCA WD tables for those locations? What Labor Categories are subject to SCA and what is the SCA Labor Category that must be used for a particular labor category? Labor categories except the professional/technical trades are applicable to SCA requirements, either by wage determination or prevailing labor rates for the specific locality. The following wage determinations may be found at the website: https://wdolhome.sam.gov/ and may be helpful in determining appropriate pay rates and fringe benefits for Contractor employees. These labor rates do not account for overheads and are therefore likely to be different than the proposal requirement of a fully burdened hourly price/rate as required per Section B (and J.1).
Mid-Atlantic Region: Washington, DC SCA WD# 2015-4281 and WD# 2015-4282
South-Central Region: Richmond, St. Louis, Boulder SCA WD# 2015-4331 and WD# 2015-4332 SCA WD# 2015-5075 and WD# 2015-5076 SCA WD# 2015-5415 and WD# 2015-5416
Western Region: Los Angeles, Spokane SCA WD# 2015-5613 and WD# 2015-5614 SCA WD# 2015-5537 and WD# 2015-5538
| 15 | Section M.2 - Evaluation Criteria - What specific Matrix / Criteria will the Govt. use to evaluate that the education, experience, and accomplishments of key personnel to determine the degree to which they possess acceptable qualifications to perform their proposed duties under the contract? | The Government will evaluate the education, experience, qualifications and accomplishments of the personnel provided. There is no matrix/criteria as suggested. Personnel will range on a scale from unqualified to highly qualified based on their merits as provided in the proposal. | |
| 16 | NAICS Code - 541611 - is listed as $15 Million. However effective August 19th 2019, SBA has increased it to $16.5 Million. Hence will the govt. kindly make the necessary change? | The size standard is increased to $16.5M. | Y |
SF 1449
| 17 | For Key Personnel, I located the requirements for the Program Manager in the Labor Category Rate Spreadsheet, however, I did not see any requirements for the Contracts Manager. Can the Government please provide experience, education, and certification requirements for the Contracts Manager? | The Program Manager and the Contracts Manager at the IDIQ level are for the purpose of overseeing the IDIQ performance, not specific tasks issued under the IDIQ. Offerors have discretion on proposing the personnel with qualifications they believe are best suited to perform the roles. | |
| 18 | Will the Program Manager and Contracts Manager reside in Government facilities or in contractor facilities? | No. The Program and Contract Manager at the IDIQ level are the Contractor's personnel for the management and performance under the whole IDIQ contract and all issued task orders. They are do not reside with the Government and they cannot be direct billed to the Government. | |
| 19 | Reference: Attachment J1 -Labor Category Rate Sheet – Line Item 46: Interpreter | ||
| Question: Per Industry standards, the labor rates of Interpreters varies widely with the target language being interpreted. Will Offerors be allowed to specify the core languages included in the proposed labor rate for Interpreters? | The primary language for interpretation is Spanish. Other languages may be required by task order and Offerors should consider this in pricing this LCAT. | Y |
J.1
| 20 | Reference: Attachment J1 -Labor Category Rate Sheet – Line Item 46: Interpreter | |||
| Question: Does this scope include written translation? Per industry standards, written translation is mostly priced per word, instead of per hour. Will the Government allow for offerors to offer translation pricing on a per word basis, and limited to core languages? | Yes. Written translation may be required. This staff support contract must be priced for the hours provided. | |||
| 21 | Paragraph C3 specifies that requirements will be provided for individual task orders under this IDV. I am unclear as to what requirements are to be addressed in the Technical Volume response. Perhaps I am missing something, but am I to understand that the Technical Volume is to focus on how we would staff and respond to task orders, and how our past performance demonstrates our ability to do so? Or are there more specific requirements that I am not identifying? | Section L.3, 1352.215-70 provides the instructions for what offeror's need to address in their technical proposal. | ||
| 22 | Reference Section H.10 on page 23 – This RFP paragraph indicates that Offerors may be required to provide employees with clearances in support of this contract. In order to provide personnel with indicated security clearances, Offerors are required to possess a Top Secret (TS) Facility Security Clearance (FCL). Obtaining a TS FCL is a long lead-time process. From the RFP instructions, it is not clear if Prime Offeror possession of the TS FCL should be identified in the Technical Capability Volume, in the Cost/Price and Business Volume, or both. Please confirm the Government’s preferred location(s) to confirm a Prime Offeror’s TS FCL. | Offerors must possess a Top Secret Facility Security Clearance to meet this requirement. The information is required in the Technical proposal. | Y |
H.10 L.3 B 1 M.2 (a) 23 L.3.A (General Instructions) on page 62 – We typically include a Cover Letter as a letter of transmittal at the front of the Technical and Price Volumes. Please confirm this Cover Letter will not count against page limits. Cover Letters are not counted as part of the page count Y L.3 A 24 Reference Section L.3.B.1 and Section L.3.B.1.a, both on page 62; and the table in Section L.3.C (Copies) on page 65 – Please clarify if the Government’s preferred name of Volume I of the Offeror’s proposal is “Technical” or “Technical Capability”. Volume is "Technical". L.3.C is updated accordingly. Y L.3 C 25 Reference Section L.3.B.3 on page 64; and the table in Section L.3.C (Copies) on page 65 – Please clarify if the Government’s preferred name of Volume III is “Cost/Price and Business” or “Price and Business”. Volume is "Cost/Price and Business" L.3.C is updated accordingly. Y L.3 C
| 26 | J.1 (Labor Category Rate Spreadsheet) – To enable Offerors to properly price all labor categories, we request that the Government provide the education level and years of experience requirements for the following 11 labor categories: | ||
| A. | Item 10 (Webmaster) | ||
| B. | Item 14 (Clerk I (General)) | ||
| C. | Item 15 (Clerk II (General)) | ||
| D. | Item 18 (Receptionist) | ||
| E. | Item 21 (Secretary I) | ||
| F. | Item 22 (Secretary II) | ||
| G. | Item 23 (Secretary III) | ||
| H. | Item 36 (Facilitator) | ||
| I. | Item 39 (Data Entry Operator I) | ||
| J. | Item 40 (Data Entry Operator II) | ||
| K. | Item 60 (Program Analyst). | Qualifying characteristics; education and experience have been added. | Y |
J.1
| 27 | J.1 (Labor Category Rate Spreadsheet) – Please confirm if there is to be a difference between the duties/education/years of experience of: | |
| A. | Items 19 and 20 (Records Management Administration Specialist) | |
| B. | Items 55 and 56 (ERP Specialist) | |
| C. | Items 78 and 8 (Imaging Specialist/Technician) | |
| D. | Items 93 and 71 (Security Analyst) | |
| E. Items 27 and 28 (Capital Planning Investment Controls Analyst II) | Inadvertent Duplicates: 8, 20, 28, 55 and 71 removed. | Y |
J.1
| 28 | J.1 (Labor Category Rate Excel Spreadsheet) – We request the Government clarify the level (e.g., I to IV), duties, education, and desired experience requirement for: | |
| A. | Item 27 (Capital Planning Investment Controls Analyst II) | |
| B. | Item 28 (Capital Planning Investment Controls Analyst II) | |
| C. | Item 29 (Capital Planning Investment Controls Analyst III) | |
| D. | Item 30 (Capital Planning Investment Controls Analyst IV) | |
| The level (i.e., II), duties, education, and years of experience are the same for Items 27 and 28. While Items 29 and 30 have different levels (i.e., III and IV, respectively), the duties, education, and years of experience are the same. | #28 Removed | |
| #27, 29 and 30 Clarified (duties are similar among levels, experience and expertise in field is the differentiator) | Y |
J.1
| 29 | Would the government consider adding, or changing the NAICS to 561320 – Temporary Help Services. There is precedence for this approach as our NOAA Program Support Services contract, which supplied many of the same labor categories as this solicitation, used this NAICS. The task orders issued under your current contract also demonstrate that many of the services required have been temporary in nature | No. The work required under most task orders does not meet the definition of NAICS 561320. | |
| 30 | C.3.2 Staff Support Services-The Contractor shall provide qualified staff support to perform the general responsibilities as identified in Section B.3. Staff services shall be provided as directed by discrete task orders for any organization within the Department. The labor categories provide for basic competencies to be applied to any office, program or system as identified in task orders. All final decisions will be made by federal personnel.- Section C.3.2 references back to Section B.3. Section B.3 is entitled Schedule of Rates, which points to Attachment J.1, but there is no specific PWS cited. Is a detailed PWS missing or does the Government intend the PWS to be the specific definition of each Labor Category provided in Attachment J.1? | Detailed PWS will accompany a Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR) that will be issued only to awardees of the IDIQ contract. | |
| 31 | Does the Government anticipate providing the awarded contractor(s) a Phase-In or Transition period upon contract award/start? If so, what is the period (in days) of the Transition? | Awardees are required to perform at any time contract award upon receipt of a TOPR. Awardees will not be assuming any current performance for which a transition period would be required. | |
| 32 | Instructions to Offerors – Competitive Acquisition (c)(2)(v)-(v) Name, title, and signature of person authorized to sign the proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office- What evidence is required to prove agent’s authority? | This only applies if a offeror is utilizing an external agent to submit their proposal, otherwise, a principle official of the company submitting the offer who has the authority to do so does not require additional evidence. In the case of using and agent, the offeror principle may sign a letter designating the agent to sign the offer on behalf of the company. | |
| 33 | M.2(c) Evaluation Methods- Proposed prices identified in Attachment J.1 of the solicitation will be evaluated by multiplying the hourly labor price per respective year by the Government’s estimated labor quantities required in each corresponding year -- years one (1) through five (5). The totals for each labor category over the five (5) years will then be added together to reach a single weighted price per offeror. The Government’s estimated quantities will not be disclosed. - Did the Government create an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for the evaluation of this solicitation? If so, was incumbent salary information used in generating the IGCE? Can that salary information be provided to the offerors? Reference page 69 which states that the Government developed estimated labor quantities, but not an IGCE. We understand that the Government's estimated labor quantities will not be disclosed. | The Government prepared an IGCE that is predicated upon the estimated labor hour quantities and an estimated labor rate for each LCAT based on internal market research. The IGCE nor the incumbent labor rates be disclosed. It is the nature of this solicitation for prospective offerors to develop their own pricing offer based on their own market research and consideration of business factors. | |
| 34 | Does the Government expect current salaries of incumbent personnel to be maintained by the successful offeror? | It is the nature of this solicitation for prospective offerors to develop their own pricing offer based on their own market research and consideration of business factors. | |
| 35 | What is the anticipated date of award? | 30-Oct-19 | |
| 36 | Page 23, Section H. 10- States, “the government is not liable for the costs of any Contractor personnel to become cleared.” Please confirm the cost for a clearance by type (Public Trust, Secret, etc.). How will the government charge the contract for these clearances? | Requirements for cleared personnel must be provided by personnel who possess the required level of clearance. The Government will not pay for Contractor personnel to become cleared as it is the responsibility of the Contractor under the contractor to provide such personnel. Public Trust will be conducted on personnel having access to Government networks by the Government during the standard badging process. The Contractor is not responsible for reimbursing these costs. | |
| 37 | Page 40, Section K- Will the awardee be required to recertify to the status (SDVOSB or Hubzone) or size (small) annually? Or just at time of proposal submission or contract award? | The qualification must exist at time of proposal submission. Recertification is not required until 5 years after award unless there is a specific reason that requires recertification. | |
| 38 | Page 63, L.3.B- Regarding the past performance information required, is Delivery Schedule synonymous with Period of Performance in this context? | Maybe. The delivery schedule may refer to total period of performance or to the delivery of specified deliverables during the period of performance. | |
| 39 | Page 65, Section L. 3.B. Volume III- The solicitation states that the mid-Atlantic region is expected to have the highest preponderance of work over the IDIQ term. Is the government able to provide a basic estimate of the percentage of work anticipated by region? | It is anticipated to be about 90% of the total work under the contract. | |
| 40 | Please confirm that we are permitted to use subcontractor experience to address the capabilities and experience requirement in Volume I – Technical. | Sub-contractors capabilities may be used under the technical proposal and performance under the past performance proposal; however, the Government only has contract privity with the Prime which will be a consideration during the evaluation process. | |
| 41 | Please confirm that we are permitted to use key personnel experience to address the capabilities and experience requirement in Volume I – Technical. | The offeror may use such information at their discretion. | |
| 42 | With regards to Section M.2 that “Internal contract administration costs and contract management efficiency will also be considered as part of the value assessment when contemplating the total number of contracts to be awarded.” | ||
| a. | Is the government seeking a separate cost item for internal cost administration? If so, where should bidders provide that cost data? | ||
| b. | Please confirm that contract management efficiency should be addressed in the management plan. | Part a. No, this is an internal Government cost of contract administration that increases proportionately with the number of contracts awarded. This has nothing to do with the offeror's proposal. |
Part b. No, this statement has nothing offeror's proposal.
This statement is made to disclose that the number of contract awards above 2 will also consider the Government cost of additional contract management functions and diminishing efficiency in the operation of the IDIQ.
| 43 | What method of evaluation will be used for Task Order proposals (e.g. LPTA, Best Value tradeoff, etc.)? | The majority are anticipated to be Best Value Tradeoff; however, each TOPR will specify the evaluation criteria and selection methodology. | |
| 44 | Since past experience and past performance will be evaluated at the contract award level, we request that the government exclude these factors from evaluation at the TO level. | TOPR's will specify the evaluation criteria and selection methodology are only relevant to awardees of the IDIQ. | |
| 45 | Is the government expecting contract awardees to provide in their task order proposal pricing discounts off the contract Schedule of Rates (Attachment J.1)? | Offerors who are awarded IDIQ contracts may provide discounts from their IDIQ rates in order to maintain competitiveness at the task order level. | |
| 46 | How many TORFPs on average are expected to be issued annually? | Varies, but on average 15 per year. | |
| 47 | What is the average number of FTEs per task order? | Varies greatly from task to task. From 1 person to 45 persons have been experienced per task over the past 3 years. | |
| 48 | Page 63, 2. VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE | ||
| c. “Offeror may provide performance information of . . . key personnel who have relevant experience . . . when such information is relevant.”- Please clarify - Would the relevant experience of a Key Person be accepted in place of a past performance within the past performance volume and rated in a similar manner as a relevant corporate past performance? | The information provided will be considered. | ||
| 49 | Page 6, C.3 Requirements | ||
| “The Contractor shall be prepared to provide staff support requested to the assigned place of duty in the task order ten (10) working days from issuance of the order, unless a later date is specified.”- In consideration of the fact that the standard notice given to employers is 10 working days, would the Government consider extending this requirement to 15 working days to allow for employees to give adequate notice to their current employers? | No. Most task orders do not require a 10 day response time, but the requirement will not be relaxed. | ||
| 50 | Approximately how many FTEs will the Program Manager be expected to manage at one time? | The Program Manager is responsible for the overall performance of the IDIQ contract. The total number of FTE will depend on a myriad of factors including how many TOPRs are released, how many are won and how many people are on each TOPR. | |
| 51 | Please provide an estimate of the number of FTEs anticipated under the IDIQ contract. | The inherent nature of an IDIQ contract, unknown quantity, unknown deliver, does not permit an answer to this question. | |
| 52 | Pg. 6, PWS Section C.3.3 – Performance Standards. This section states that support staff should be provided within 10 working days from issuance of the order. With that in mind, how long will it take for the government to process Personnel Identity Verification and Common Access Card request forms? | Depends on the bureau; however 3 weeks on average. | |
| 53 | Pg. 6, PWS Section C.3.3 – Performance Standards. Bullet 1 defines that contractors are required to submit proposal to task order requirements within 7 calendar days after issuance of TOPR, unless a later date is specified. | ||
| a. | What proposal instructions will be standard for a contractor to respond to in a TOPR? For example, will only pricing by labor category/location be required? Or, will technical proposals to include resumes of proposed personnel and past performance be required for submission? | ||
| b. | What evaluation criteria will be used for TOPR proposals? Is this a lowest price technically acceptable contract? | ||
| c. | If a TOPR is released on Friday at COB, and a contractor only has 7 calendar days and it is a holiday weekend, contractors would only have 3 working days to complete proposal. Will the government consider lengthening the TOPR response time to at least 10 working days? | ||
| d. | Will the government consider lengthening the staff in place time to at least 20 working days so that contractors have enough time to allow incumbent personnel covered by SCA/SCLS and FAR non-displacement of workers clause the required 10 days to accept/decline these type positions on the contract? | Part a. Each TOPR will include its own set of instructions relative to the task order scope. The instructions and proposal requirements are generally standardized- a technical and price proposal are normally required. Past performance at the task order level is normally not required (its assessed in the award of the IDIQ contract). |
Part b. Evaluation criteria is specific to each task requirement. LPTA is possible, however, most are tradeoff.
Part c. The requirement is 7 calendars to be successful on this contract.
Part d. The requirement for staffing is 10 working days, unless otherwise specified at the task order level.
| 54 | Pg. 68, Section M.2 – Evaluation Method, 1352.215-75 – Evaluation Criteria. Within the evaluation criteria what are the ratings (adjectival, color, etc.) for the technical and past performance factors? | An adjectival rating scheme will be utilized in the evaluation process. | |
| 55 | Pg. 23, Section H.10 Requirements for Cleared Personnel. H.10 references that contractors are authorized to propose labor rates that exceed the awarded ceiling labor rates in J.1 for cleared positions only. | ||
| a. | What is the highest level of clearance required under this contract (e.g., Public Trust, Secret, TS, etc.)? | ||
| b. | Does a contractor have to have a certain level security clearance (e.g., Secret or TS) to submit a proposal under this solicitation? | Part a. Highest level - Top Secret |
Part b. Technically Hawaii and Alaska are covered by this solicitation; however, it is unlikely any TOPRs will be released for these regions.
| 56 | Pg. 7, PWS C.4 – Place of Performance defines locations to include the Continental United States and US Territories. | ||
| a. | Please define the 6 supported US territories covered in this solicitation. | All U.S. territories are within the scope of this IDIQ, although it is unlikely any TOPRs will be released for these locations. | |
| 57 | Pg. 65, Section L.d. requires offerors to submit – under a separate tab – all (if any) assumptions or conditions upon which the price proposal is based. Please clarify if an offeror should submit assumptions on a newly created tab within the MS Excel file (J.1) or in a separate Volume III MS Word document? | A separate tab which may be an MS Word document or and Excel document, but it is not recommended as part of the J.1 attachment. | |
| 58 | Attachment J.1 – labor category rate spreadsheet. | ||
| p. | Labor Categories 76 and 77 are defined as Enterprise Architect I and Enterprise Architect IV respectively. Will the government need an Enterprise Architect level II and III? If so, please add to J.1. | ||
| q. | Labor Categories 82 and 83 are defined as IT Security Engineer I and IT Security Engineer III respectively. Will the government need an IT Security Engineer level II? If so, please add to J.1. | ||
| r. | Labor Categories 89 and 90 are defined as IT Strategic Planner II and IT Strategic Planner IV respectively. Will the government need an IT Strategic Planner II level III? If so, please add to J.1. | Clarified Enterprise Architect III and IV |
Clarified IT Security Engineer II and III Clarified IT Strategic Planner II and III Y J.1
| 59 | Pg. 9, C.12 Conflicts of Interest. Will the government consider allowing a contractor to submit an OCI mitigation plan after award to ensure appropriate measures are taken to not release confidential information and thereby allowing contractors the opportunity to bid other Commerce requirements? | The Conflicts of Interest term under this contract does not prohibit bidding on other Commerce requirements, rather, it prohibits the bidding on requirements that may present an OCI from the company having unequal access to information or may participated in the requirements development. Access to information will be task order dependent. | |
| 60 | Pg. 57, (d) Offer expiration date. Will the government clarify the minimum proposal validity period for submission, it is not currently on the solicitation cover sheet as referenced in this section. | Acceptance period is specified as 120 days on page 65, Section L.3, Volume III. | |
| 61 | Pg. 68, (3) (i). Will the government remove this section as it contradicts section (d) on page 70 and this is a small business set aside requirement. | Section (3) (i) on page 68 is standard clause language and as stated is only relevant to if discussions are held, which is not currently anticipated and would only be applicable those requirements that require small business subcontracting plans. | |
| 62 | Pg. 69, (C) Price Evaluation states that the government’s estimated quantities will not be disclosed. Can the government provide any information on if all labor categories in J.1 were used in the previous contract? | This follow on contract contains an enhanced set of labor categories and is not completely the same as the predecessor contracts. | |
| 63 | With the requirements for pricing 95 labor categories, developing a full technical proposal response and past performance information for submission, will the government consider extending the proposal due date to allow contractors between 30-45 days (currently contractor only have 20 days) to develop and submit proposals? | If an extension is authorized, it will be identified in this amendment. It is unlikely that any extension authorized would exceed 30 days. | |
| 64 | Section 11.2 (Physical Security), Is the government anticipating that the winning contractor(s) would store government IT systems on the contractor premises? | Government IT systems will be maintained on Government premises with the exception of telework opportunities that may be authorized at the task order level. | |
| 65 | Can the government clarify the types of sensitive information that may be stored in contractor building? | Sensitive information will not be stored in the contractor's building. | |
| 66 | Is this contract the same level of effort as the current contract or is it being increased or decreased? | The LCAT list (J.1) has expanded and the dollar ceiling has increased. | |
| 67 | In the spirit of Green Procurement, and to reserve limited Small Business resources, we request that proposal submission be electronic via a secure portal or email submission. | The proposal submission requirements are provided in section L.3. This opportunity is valued up to $151M over five years. An offeror who is in financial distress in preparing and submitting 8 hard copy documents and mailing via a commercial carrier should seriously considered the magnitude of what will be required of them and their ability to meet such demands of this acquisition prior to submitting a proposal. | |
| 68 | Does the government anticipate additional expiring contracts will be consolidated under the awarded IDIQ? | The IDIQ will accommodate support of requirements within the general scope for which it was intended. | |
| 69 | Ref. Section H.8. Please confirm if electronic proposal materials should be 508 compliant. | Materials required to be submitted in an electronic format are required to be 508 compliant. If using one of the specified submission formats; MS Office products or PDF, they will be. | |
| 70 | Ref. F.4. PRS #3. Please clarify this deliverable: “Staff augmentation shall arrive ready for duty within the timelines identified at least 85% of the time. No order for augmentation shall exceed 25 calendar days before the personnel report.” | There is not a zero defect staffing requirement based on a myriad of factors, such as contracted staffing availability, delays due to giving a prior employer notice, vacations, etc. The standard is 100% of the time; however, successful performance under the contract will be achieved if at least 85% of the time the dates are met and no date prescribed is missed by more than 25 calendar days. If these parameters are missed, the Contractor should expect the Government to seek from the Contractor corrective action and potentially unfavorable notations in CPARS reports. | |
| 71 | G.6 Ref “Invoice No”: The example provided for email submission subject line eludes to an invoice sequence (count). Accounting systems use unique invoice numbers for each invoice, rather than sequence starting at 1. Please confirm if unique invoices numbers are acceptable. | The example is representative of a unique invoice ID number. It can be numeric or alpha-numeric and can be any number of characters relevant to the awardees accounting system, so long as it is unique and discrete. | |
| 72 | RFP Page 63; Section L: Are the key personnel billable or should they be covered in G&A and the overall burdened rates? | The two key personnel identified at the IDIQ level should be those people who the offeror intends to perform the related responsibilities and are costs borne by receiving and operating the IDIQ contract and not specific to any billable task order issued under the IDIQ. They are therefore part of the Contractor's indirect (overhead) costs and not billable. | |
| 73 | Will the government accept multiple proposals from the same company? | There is no restriction on number of proposals that can be submitted by a company. Each will be evaluated independently based on its own merits. | |
| 74 | Will the Government accept no less than 8pt font for tables and graphics? | See Section L.3A | |
| 75 | Can pages be in landscape orientation? | Yes. | |
| 76 | Reference: Past Performance (RFP page 63 & 69) | ||
| Will the Government please clarify if a team approach to past performance is acceptable, or if the Prime Offeror’s past performance is only being considered? | The Prime is responsible for fulfilling the requirements under the contract, therefore, Prime past performance is most relevant; notwithstanding, sub-contractor past performance will also be considered, but clearly, given a scenario where two offerors have the same past performance in total, the one who is all Prime experience would have higher merit than the one who is a combination of Prime and Sub. | ||
| 77 | Reference: Facility Clearance Level (RFP page 23) | ||
| Will the Government please clarify if there is a facility clearance level requirement for this contract? | Top Secret Facility Clearance is required | Y |
H.10 L.3 B 1 M.2 (a)
| 78 | Reference: Technical (RFP page 63 & 68) | ||
| “Capabilities, approach, and experience in providing the requirements described in paragraph C.3 and incorporating the labor categories in paragraph B.3 (J.1)” – will the Government please verify that all 95 labor categories listed in J.1 do not need to be individually incorporated in the approach, but rather an over-arching capabilities, approach, and experience specific to this contract scope is to be provided? | Over-arching approach is the intent. | ||
| 79 | How many Task Orders have been issued under the current contract? | Almost 60 task orders as of this Q&A release | |
| 80 | Do any of the positions require a clearance? | There are task orders that have required cleared personnel | |
| 81 | What is the total value of the current contract? | $48M | |
| 82 | How many FTE’S are on the current contract? Are there any significant changes in the new scope? | Part a. Over the life of the predecessor IDIQ, in excess of 200 FTE's have been contracted. |
Part b. Expanded LCAT list and increased ceiling.
| 83 | Does the Subcontractor who is part of our team require a Top Secret Facility Clearance? | The employer of the cleared staff provided (in the event of a Sub) will be required to maintain a TS Facilities Clearance in addition to the Prime. |
| 84 | Can key personnel be provided by the prime as well as a subcontractor? | Prime only. |
| 85 | L.3 Proposal Preparation 1352.215-70 Proposal Preparation (Apr 2010) A. General Instructions.- “Fold-outs with |
diagrams and tables will be counted as one page and shall not exceed an 8 ½ X 17 sheet of paper.”
Comment: The government refers to an unusual paper size.- May the offeror use 11 X 17” (Tabloid) as a fold out?
If a fold out contains text narrative is, it counted as one page? Foldouts are 11 x 17 and designed to illustrate diagrams and charts. Narrative on these pages provided to add clarity to the diagram or chart is acceptable. Narrative to describe the technical approach will not be accepted. Y L.3 A
| 86 | B. Specific Instructions 1. Volume I – Technical (d.- “Experience: Provide the relative experience in delivering services similar in nature to those | ||
| required in this solicitation.”- May the offeror cite task orders or contracts regardless of when the similar services were performed in order to demonstrate the full breath of their experience? | Yes. The experience descriptor in the Technical proposal is not time limited. | ||
| 87 | Can the Government provide details on the expected types of “special training, licensing, and certifications” referenced in Section C.8 to assist in the pricing of labor categories? Are these outside the qualifications defined in Attachment J.1. | Requisite certifications would be relevant to each labor category and the function they are required to perform as specified by a task order. For example, a typical Program Manager would be required to have a PMP certification, whereas a Database Administrator responsible for an Oracle database may require an Oracle certification, but a requirement for an IBM database may require an IBM certification. J.1 provides the general requirements of each LCAT which will be further specified by each task order requirement. In all cases, the Contractor is required to provide skilled and certified staff to fulfill the requirement, to include continuous learning and/or certification renewals as applicable. | |
| 88 | Per Section C.8, if the Government requires “special training, licensing, and certifications” which are not captured in Attachment J.1 labor category descriptions, will they provide specific requirements in the individual Task orders and allow for price adjustments? | See question 87. Price adjustments are generally not allowable for this purpose. | |
| 89 | Could the Government please provide more details regarding the estimated geographical locations (city/state) and expected workforce levels within the provided regions to help refine our pricing calculations? | The inherent nature of an IDIQ contract, unknown quantity, unknown deliver, does not permit an answer to this question other than what has previously been stated. | |
| 90 | Will the Government please define the annual manhours (e.g. 1920) baseline per FTE we are to use in our pricing? | Annual FTE requirements will primarily be 1920 hours but may in some cases be 1880. | |
| 91 | Instructions state “b. The offeror shall include documentation regarding their relevant past performance as it directly relates to the work being procured under this solicitation. The offeror shall submit data for past performance within the past 36 months.” Can the Government confirm the 36-month timeframe is from the date of solicitation release or is it the date that proposals are due? | Date of solicitation release will suffice. | |
| 92 | Are H1-B Visa holders eligible for the DOC/ES-A positions? If the visa holder has been active in the U.S. for three years, as required for a Public Trust clearance, would they qualify? | All personnel provided must be able to obtain security and facility access to perform under this contract. While in most cases, a Public Trust clearance will meet this requirement, individuals from certain countries or those having certain risks associated with their clearance will prohibit access to facilities and/or networks and will not be suitable under this contract to meet performance requirements. | |
| 93 | Does the Subcontractor who is part of our team should be a Small Business on 541611 with Size Standard $15M or $27.5M will be allowed ? | Sub-contractors, small or otherwise, do not need to meet the NAICS size standard. As a set-aside, the Prime must perform at least 51% of the work under the contract calculated by total dollars obligated. Awardees will be required to report on this monthly at the IDIQ level. See J.2 | |
| 94 | Per RFP C.12, Contractor’s employees are required to sign non-disclosure agreements (Attachment J.3). Can the Government please confirm this is a requirement at the order level, or should offerors include signed NDAs from Key Personnel with our proposal submissions? If so, can the Government confirm these signed NDAs should be included in Volume III-Cost/Price and Business? | NDA's are not required as part of the proposal submission. Awardees will be required to sign NDA's at the IDIQ level and all personnel performing at the task level. Prime's are required to maintain these NDA's and make available upon request. | |
| 95 | Per RFP page 59, 1352.209-70 POTENTIAL ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST, paragraph 2, “As part of the proposal, offerors shall provide the Contracting Officer with complete information regarding previous or ongoing work that is in any way associated with the contemplated acquisition.” Can the Government please confirm this COI information should be provided in Volume III-Cost/Price and Business? | This information is to be provided as part of Volume III - Cost/Price and Business | |
| 96 | This requirement asks for offerors to provide our “Capabilities, approach and experience in providing the requirements described in paragraph C.3 and incorporating the labor categories in paragraph B.3 (J.1).” Can the Government please provide any clarification on how the “capabilities, approach and experience” asked for in this bullet differs from the specific experience, capabilities and approaches requested in the four bullets that follow in the RFP (titled “Experience,” “Employee Recruitment, Retention and Training,” “Management Plan,” and “Key Personnel Qualifications”? | The first bullet requires the Offeror to address their capabilities holistically. The following bullets are for more detail in specific areas of interest relative to the nature of the work under this acquisition. |
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