RFP Questions and Answers_A0001.pdf

Attachment J-9 OMS Request for Proposal 1332KP-20-R-NEEB0001

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

1 OMS Request for Proposal 78 L.10.3.13 (3) 1st

Will the Government amend Section L.10.3.1.3 Section C – Responsibility to revert to the text from the Draft OMS RFP, specifically:

3. Purchasing System Requirements: The Offeror shall provide evidence of an approved purchasing system from either the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), or by a cognizant Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), in accordance with FAR 44.3. Evidence of an approved purchasing system would include a written opinion or other statement from the DCMA ACO or Cognizant Federal Agency Official (CFAO) that the system is approved, or has been determined to be adequate within three (3) years of the proposal submission date. If available, the Offeror shall provide the Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) report number and date associated with the purchasing system review. If the Offeror does not have a copy of the report, the Offeror may furnish a copy of the report number and DCMA or CFAO point of contact information.

If the Offeror does NOT have a purchasing system that has been approved by DCMA or a cognizant ACO or CFAO, the Offeror shall furnish documentation related to its purchasing system policies in accordance with the review requirements in FAR 44.303 to facilitate a purchasing system review.

Purchasing system reviews for systems that have not been previously approved shall be conducted on a Pass/Fail basis based on the review requirements in FAR 44.303.

(NOTE: Offerors who are unable to provide evidence of an approved purchasing system, or whose purchasing systems are deemed unacceptable after the Government’s review of the purchasing system documentation furnished, may be determined non-responsive, and ineligible for contract award.)

After further consideration, sections B.4.5, G.9, L.10.3.1.3, and M.3.1 of the RFP have been revised with Amendment 1 to reflect that a purchasing system is not a mandatory requirement.

Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 Program

Management PWS Terms and Conditions

17 and 24 4.0 and Appendix A

RFP Text: A final Contract Phase-in Transition Plan is due within 60 days after contract award and shall consolidate all Task Order (1-4) Contract Phase-in Transition Plans from proposal submission.

And

Final consolidated plan 30 days after contract award

Question: Section 4.0 of Attachment J-5 OMS IDIQ Task Order 1 Program Management PWS Terms and Conditions states a final Contract Phase-in Transition Plan is due within 60 days after contract award. Appendix A of Attachment J-5 states the final consolidated Contract Phase-in Transition Plan is due 30 days after contract award. Please clarify the due date for the final Contract

Phase-in Transition Plan as 60 days after award.

The final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 30 days after contract award. Section 4.0 of the TO 1 PWS has been corrected with Amendment 1.

OMS RFP Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 Program Management PWS and OMS

RFP Attachment J-6 OMS Task Order 2 Operations and

Maintenance PWS

TO 1 PWS

and TO 2

TO 1 PWS

Appendix B and TO 2 Section 3.3.12

First full row in table on page 26 and first bullet in section

RFP Text: TO 1 Appendix B text "

And

TO 2 3.3.12 Text "

Question: Are the SOCC Meeting in the TO 1 PWS and the Operations Stand Up Meetings in the TO 2 PWS the same meeting?

No, they're not the same meeting. The SOCC meeting is the consolidated operations meeting and the Stand Ups are system by system. Meeting support may need to be extended to one of the Stand Up meetings if an anomaly arises.

4 RFP, and Government answer to question #315 Page 70 L.9.3.1.2.3 Key Personnel

RFP Text: The Offeror shall provide evidence that the proposed candidate possesses a PMP Certification at time of proposal submission, or supporting documentation to indicate that the proposed candidate will have obtained a PMP Certification by contract award” Answer to Question #315: “A certification number and date in the resume will not suffice as PMP certificate documentation.

Question: Answer to question #315 implies that copies of a PMP certificate or supporting documentation is required. Please confirm that such documentation can be attachments to the two page resume.

Yes, the PMP certification can be an attachment to the resume and is excluded from any page count.

5 OMS Request for Proposal 16 F.5 Schedule of Deliverables

(b) All deliverables shall be made by close of business (COB) at the destination, Monday through Friday, unless stated otherwise in the task order.

Please define close of business (COB) for 24x7x365 facilities.

Section F.5 of the RFP has been updated with Amendment 1 to reflect COB as 5:

00pm local time.

6 OMS Request for Proposal 20

G.4.1 NAM

1330-52.242- 70 Submittal of Invoices

All invoices shall be submitted by the 10th day of the subsequent month.

All invoices shall be submitted by the 10th day of the subsequent month.

For consistent and accurate billing, will NOAA adjust the invoice submission date to the 15th of the month or discuss a revised submission date upon award?"

No, per NAM 1330-52.242-70, it is a NOAA requirement to have all invoices submitted by the 10th day of the subsequent month.

7 Attachment J-1 OMS IDIQ

PWS 15 3.

Requirements

The Contractor shall furnish such labor as may be necessary for packing, unpacking and placement of equipment when in the possession of the Government without additional charge to the

Government. Supervision of packing, unpacking and placement of the equipment shall be furnished by the Contractor without charge to the Government.

Please clarify what labor is to be provided without additional charge to the Government.

This language under section 3, Requirements, of the IDIQ PWS has been revised with Amendment 1.

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

8 Attachment J-1 OMS IDIQ

PWS 26 3.5.2

Cyber Security Program Management

Support

This section indicates that the OMS contractor's role in Cyber Security support relates only to provision of artifacts and requested deliverables. Please confirm that additional Cyber Security support tasks required are listed under Task Order 1.

The OMS IDIQ and Task Order 1 PWS covers CyberSecurity Compliance Support.

The other task orders cover specific CyberSecurity O&M Support requirements in addition to the Compliance Support requirements.

Attachment J-8 OMS Task Order 4 Products and

Applications PWS_Terms and Conditions.pdf

B.3

CONTRACT

LINE ITEM

NUMBER

(CLIN)

STRUCTURE

ODC's have T&M contract type

Under the Other Direct Costs CLIN, does the Government anticipate labor hours as well as non-labor expenses? If so, will the Government consider breaking out a separate Cost-Reimbursable

CLIN for the non-labor expenses?

The Government does not anticipate labor expenses under the Task Order 4 ODC

CLIN.

10 Sustainment Plans and System Inventory Data

TO-3 PWS

page 6, TO-3 PWS page 8, and

OMS

bidders library

Sections 2.0 (page 6), and

3.1 (page 8)

Table 2.0-1 Legacy Ground Systems, and

PWS-TO3-GS02

Table 2.0-1 lists SARSAT and DCS as sustained systems, each for which PWS-TO3-GS02 requires offerors submit an initial draft sustainment project plan with their proposal response. We are unable to locate system inventory data for either SARSAT or DCS. Would the Government either provide data sufficient for offerors to prepare a draft sustainment plan for the SARSAT and DCS systems, or remove the requirement for initial sustainment plan drafts for the SARSAT and DCS with their proposals?

No additional data is needed to prepare a draft Sustainment Plan. Offerors are not expected to provide a detailed refresh schedule of all of the components of the ground systems in the initial Sustainment Plan submitted with the proposal. The latest inventories of all systems will be provided to the awardee after contract award for inclusion in the final Sustainment Plan due within 120 days after award..

11 OSPO System Description and Environments Overview 129 N/A N/A Jason recently completed or is now currently undergoing a refresh. Is the information in the bidder’s library for the system before or after the refresh?

The information in the OMS Acquisition Library is before the FY19 refresh;

however, Jason-CS is coming online in early FY21 and Jason 3 will need minimal sustainment.

12 OSPO System Description and Environments Overview 129 N/A N/A NJMS is described as having three systems: one for Jason 2, one for Jason 3 and one shared backup.

With Jason 2 being decommissioned, what are the plans for the Jason 2 system?

The Jason 2 ground system was renamed to NJGS to distinguish it from the satellite.

NJGS is a single ground system that supports multiple Satellites. Jason 2 and Jason

3 are satellites supported by the single ground system. NJGS system inventory includes all the components managed by the OMS contract.

13 Task Order 3 PWS 25 4.2.3 Para 1

P25 of the TO3 PWS says the ESPC File Manager, Web Server and Telemetry Analyzer (TM-NRT) are part of the Jason system, but no other information on these systems is available. Are they to be included in the Jason system? If so, where can more information be found? Are there more components fo NJGS that are not in the bulletized list?

ESPC File Manager, Web Server and Telemetry Analyzer (TM-NRT) are part of the ESPC system that processes Jason telemetry. Detailed ESPC inventories will include these systems during contract transition. There are no other components for NJGS that are not in the bulletized list in Section 4.2.3.

14 Attachment J7; Attachment J6 28;33 4.2.9, 4.2.9.1;

3.4.5

PWS-TO3-A01;

PWS-TO2-M24

PWS-TO3-A01 calls out a requirement "shall conduct all sustainment activities necessary for antennas identified in Appendix C, Antenna Sustainment Matrix".

Appendix C calls out the four Viasat 9.1 antennae at the NSOF as requiring sustainment but does not call out the four (4) HRIT antennas, and two (2) GNC antennas also located at the NSOF and called in PWS-TO2-M24 that are listed for maintenance.

Is it Government's intent that the four HRIT and two GNC antenna should not be included in the sustainment plan/activity?

Yes, the HRIT and GNC antenna are not expected to be sustained under TO3.

Appendix C in TO3 is accurate.

15 RFP 66 L.9.1 Para 1

Considering the current environment and logistics associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as coordinating flexible workers amid various "stay at home orders", will the government consider extending the due date for Step 1 by one week to allow offerors sufficient time to develop and submit comprehensive responses?

The proposal due date is being extended to Monday, April 20th at 3:00pm ET with Amendment 1.

16 Attachments J-13, J-14, J-15, J-16

Summary Tabs ODC Plug N/A

The plug numbers provided for ODCs are in excess of 10 times the ODC plugs provided for the SMOMS and ESPDS RFPs combined. Can NOAA provide the rationale behind the significant increase in estimated ODCs?

The scope is broader than the two mentioned contracts. The scope for OMS includes extended maintenance and sustainment for all OSPO systems. In addition, SMOMS did not include hardware/software maintenance renewals, which is a significant increase in ODCs.

17 Final RFP#1332KP-20-R-

NEEB0001 78

L.

10.1.1.1 Se

ction B - Solicitation

Forms

The Final RFP states "Each Offeror shall complete Block Nos. 12-18 of the SF-33 form." Question:

Upon review of the Final solicitation documents, we could not locate the SF-33 associated with this solicitation. Request the Government provide the SF-33 as mentioned in the Section L for completion.

The SF-33 was inadvertently left off of the original posting and is now available.

18 Attachment J6 TO2 PWS 20 3.3.1 PWS-TO2-OP02 Can the Government confirm that the SLA for replacing hardware with a Government provided spare within two (2) hours is for both business hours and non-business hours?

Replacement of mission critical hardware must be done within 2 hours; however, this does not include the 2 hour response time during non-business hours.

19 Attachment J8 TO4 PWS 21 3.3.1 PWS-TO4-MC07 Can the Government provide product availability metrics, not associated with system outages, for the prior 6 month period? No, metrics not associated with system outages are not tracked.

Attachment J-5 OMS TO1

Program Management PWS Terms and Conditions

27/34 4.0 / Appendix A

PWS-TO1-CT1

versus D-

TO1-023

Section 4.0 states that the final Contract Phase-in Transition Plan is due within 60 days after contract award while Appendix A, D-TO1-023 states that Final consolidated plan 30 days after contract award. Will the Government please clarify which delivery timeline is correct?

The final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 30 days after contract award. Section 4.0 of the TO 1 PWS has been corrected with Amendment 1.

21 OMS FRFP 73 Section L L.9.3.2.1. & L.9.3.2.2.

Given the current COVID-19 operational environment of our government customers, will the government make any allowance in the submission timing for Attachment J-10 Past Performance Questionnaire response Assessments (requirement L.9.3.2.2) submitted to support L.9.3.2.1?

An extension to the proposal due date, including the submittal of Past Performance Questionnaires, is being granted to Monday, April 20th at 3:00pm ET with

Amendment 1.

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

22 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 44179

3.1.5 Procurement and Property

Support

PWS-TO1-PS07

PWS-TO1-PS08

PWS-TO1-PS09

The final RFP moved Procurement and Property Support requirements from TO2 to TO1.

Requirements include on-site property touch inventory and shipping/receiving tasks. TO1 places of performance do not include all OMS-supported FISMA ground systems property locations.

To provide Offerors with information to accurately bid Procurement and Property Support staff, will the Government confirm if the locations requiring on-site property management are limited to the places of performance listed for TO1, or if they include the places of performance listed in TO2, TO3 and TO4?

Section 2.1 of the Task Order 1 PWS has been revised with Amendment 1 to clarify the locations where performance may occur.

23 OMS RFP 68

L.9.3.1.1.4, Work

Breakdown Structure

The WBS reporting level requirement language was changed from the draft to the final from "Offerors shall provide an IDIQ level work-breakdown structure (WBS) that captures the scope for all four initial task orders down to WBS level 3." to "Offerors shall provide an IDIQ level work-breakdown structure (WBS) that captures the scope for all four initial task orders down to WBS level

3 within each CLIN."

The wording of this change introduces ambiguity in the interpretation of the WBS fomat. Based on practices common on other NOAA programs, IDIQ WBS levels are typically 0: Contract, 1: TO, 2:

CLIN, 3: Organization-System-Service. Potential interpretations of this change could cause Offerors to extend the WBS to the work package level. This would not be representative of typical WBS reporting levels and would introduce signficiant complexity for the Government and Bidders.

We request the Government modify this change as follows: "Offerors shall provide an IDIQ level work-breakdown structure (WBS) that captures the scope within each CLIN for all four initial task orders down to WBS level 3."

The language within section L.9.3.1.1.4 will remain unchanged.

24 RFP 8 and 17

B.4. Task Order Pricing and G.2. Primary Government

Roles and Responsibilitie s

N/A

Section B.4 introduces a Task Order Contracting Officer (TO CO), which is referred to in several places in the RFP. Will the Government clarify the role of the TO CO and how it differs from the role of the IDIQ Contracting Officer role with regards to Procurement and Property Support.

The TO CO is responsible for the execution of the individual task orders while the IDIQ CO is responsible for the overall management of the contract to include ceiling management and modifications to the base. It's possible the IDIQ CO and the TO CO will be the same person.

25 OMS Request for Proposal 91 M.3.2.1.2.7 1

"The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s proposed monetary disincentives for untimely deliverables. Offerors who propose higher disincentive percentages will be evaluated more favorably."

Will the Government clarify how the proposed disincentive percentage will be evaluated? Since different offerors' CLIN x001 payments will vary by actual dollar amount, a higher percentage may not translate to higher dollar savings to the Government or disincentives to the offeror.

The disincentives proposed will be evaluated per section M.3.2.1.2.7 of the RFP.

The Government's intent is to ensure deliverables get submitted on time. The potential dollar impact does not factor into the price evaluation.

26 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 18-19

5.0 Performance Requirements

Summary

PRS Table - Appendix A Deliverables

Please confirm that the "CLIN x001 payment" described in the Disincentive Plan refers to Task Order 1 CLIN x001 payment and does not include CLIN x001 payments from other Task Orders. It refers to only the Task Order 1 CLIN x001 payment.

27 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 18-19

5.0 Performance Requirements

Summary

PRS Table - Appendix A Deliverables

Please confirm that the Disincentive Plan is applied monthly to that one month's CLIN x001 payment. Yes, the disincentive is applied per invoice period (i.e. monthly).

28 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 21-24 Appendix A Deliverables

D-TO1-004

D-TO1-005

D-TO1-006

The TO1 PWS requires invoices submitted on the 10th day of each month.

Will the Government consider changing this to submit invoices on the "10th business day of each month" to allow time to receive and process Subcontractor invoices and provide the Government with more accurate invoices?

No, per NAM 1330-52.242-70, it is a NOAA requirement to have all invoices submitted by the 10th day of the subsequent month.

29 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 15 3.1.6.2.1 PWS-TO1-ICS04

The requirement states that "The Contractor shall submit assigned Security Control Assessment (SCA) [D-TO1-021] artifacts yearly for each assigned system per the agreed schedule."

Please clarify the scope of SCA and A&A required for JPSS and GOES-R.

This does not include JPSS or GOES R, only the supported systems under Task Order 2.

30 J-5 OMS TO1 PWS 12 3.1.5 All

The final RFP moved Procurement and Property Support requirements from TO2 to TO1.

Because there is no assigned list of systems in TO1, as there was in TO2, please clarify which systems apply to Procurement and Property Support (property, procurement, license mgt, shipping & receiving)?

Task Order 1 supports the systems identified in all of the other task orders.

Individual system inventories are available in the OMS Acquisition Document

Library. The system inventories are part of the procurement and property support.

31 J-8 OMS TO4 PWS 24 3.9.2.1 PWS-TO4-PA80

through PA82

In the interest of consolidating like-O&M functions in TO2 to achieve cost-efficiencies, we recommend moving TO4 requirements PA80 through PA82 into TO2. As currently stated, these requirements establish System and Network Administrator positions in TO4, which do not appear to warrant full time positions. We feel it is a more efficient use of labor to consolidate O&M functions in TO2, wherever possible.

The references provided in your question are from the PWS's posted with the draft RFP. The requirement referenced will remain in Task Order 4

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

32 OMS RFP 77 L.10.3.1.2 All Will the Government provide the Proposal Form (Standard Form 33) for Offeror to complete? The SF-33 was inadvertently left off of the original posting and is now available with this amendment.

33 RFP 9 and 21 B.4.5 and G.9 All

We interpret these requirements to mean that the Offeror must ensure that either the Offeror, or a teammate, will ensure as part of the Offeror’s proposal that an approved purchasing system (i.e. as provided by a subcontractor) will be implemented for the life of the IDIQ Contract. Accordingly, please confirm:

i) the Government is not intending by this requirement to restrict offers to only prime contractors that possess an approved purchasing system;

(ii) Consistent with the interpretation above, a prime contractor’s proposal that satisfies such requirement (B.4.5) through a subcontractor teammate would be deemed compliant;

(iii) Consistent with the above, the Government’s use of the words “contractor” and “maintain” are not intended to be restrictive to the prime contractor only, but are intended to mean that at a minimum, the offeror’s proposal must establish that a “contractor” supporting the prime contractually will be in a position to “maintain” on behalf of the prime such an approved purchasing system for the life of the IDIQ contract.

A subcontractor's puchasing system is not an acceptable substitute. The RFP has been revised to reflect that a purchasing system is not a mandatory requirement with

Amendment 1.

34 OMS Request for Proposal 68 L.9.3.1.1.5 N/A

Section L.9.3.1.1.5 and M.3.2.1.1.5 ask for a SEMP, and requires “the SEMP shall comply with NESDIS Systems Engineering Processes and Procedures.” What is the definition of NESDIS

Systems Engineering Processes and Procedures? Are Bidders to assume the document "Office of Satellite Ground Services (OSGS) Systems Engineering Process Document, October 3, 2016, Version 0.5" provided in the OMS Acquisition Library is the definition to follow?

NESDIS-PD-1110.1 NESDIS Systems Engineering and Program Management Policy is available on the internet at https://www.nesdis.noaa.

gov/sites/default/files/asset/document/NESDIS-PD-1110-1.pdf. This document along with the OSGS SE process document should be used as guidance in producing a SEMP.

35 OMS Request for Proposal 68 L.9.3.1.1.4 1

This section states: "L.9.3.1.1.4 Work Breakdown Structure: Offerors shall provide an IDIQ level work-breakdown structure (WBS) that captures the scope for all four initial task orders down to

WBS level 3 within each CLIN."

Will the Government allow Offerors to provide beyond the WBS level 3? The WBS is structured based on the work to be performed during the period of performance, and reflects the Offeror's approach. Mapping to a CLIN can be provided to the WBS proposed, and is consistent with the

Earned Value Management standard and best practices.

The offeror can structure their WBS to any level they need for their internal tracking, but for the proposal they should roll up the WBS to level 3 within each

CLIN.

36 OMS Request for Proposal 70 L L.9.3.1.2.3 Would the Government expand the response provided in question 248 on the Draft RFP, and clarify the anticipated roles and responsibilities of the IT Security Liaison position?

The role of the IT Security Liaison is included in Task Order 1 PWS Section 3.1.6.4 Cyber Security Management and Oversight.

37 OMS Request for Proposal 70 L L.9.3.1.2.3 Are Offerors able to include transition-only corporate support personnel as part of proposed indirect rates, or is this to be separated and included with the Staffing Plan?

Yes, Offerors are able to include corporate support personnel as part of indirect rates.

38 OMS Request for Proposal N/A N/A N/A What percentage of tasks are expected to be FFP versus T&M? Tasks will be FFP to the greatest extent practicable.

39 Task Order 1 PWS 5 3.1 2nd Bullet

This bullet states: “Create and maintain a comprehensive file management structure for the OMS deliverables repository that shall be segmented by each task order within (1) month after contract award.”

And on page 10: “PWS-TO1-CM05: The Contractor shall manage and maintain the SharePoint Technical

Documentation Library in accordance with the OSPO Technical Documentation Rules and Procedures.”

There are several file management systems in use such as Google Docs and SharePoint. Does the

Government use an existing file system for this purpose? Or is a new structure is preferred?

OSPO currently utilizes a local network shared drive and SharePoint for document management. The Local shared drives are transitioning to either Google Docs or

SharePoint. Therefore, determining the use of Google Docs and/or SharePoint for managing the OMS deliverables will be mutually agreed upon between the contractor and the Government.

40 Task Order 1 PWS 7 3.1 N/A

This section states: “PWS-TO1-PM08: The Contractor shall provide an initial Staffing Plan for each task order with the proposal response.”

And in Page 9 of RFP: “B.4.5 Subcontractor Competition

In accordance with FAR 52.244-5, unless otherwise advised in writing by the TO CO, the Contractor is required to conduct subcontractor competitions for all subcontracted services and supplies/ODCs proposed in response to task order solicitations. At a minimum, the Contractor’s task order proposals shall include documentation demonstrating the following: 1) evidence that subcontractor competitions were conducted, or, if infeasible, rationale for why subcontractor competitions could not be conducted; 2) rationale to support subcontractor selections (e.g. copies of business clearance memorandums, price analyses, proposal ranking documentation, etc.); and 3) copies of subcontractor quotes as provided to the Contractor. The Government reserves the right to request additional documentation as required in order to determine proposal acceptability and price reasonableness. In accordance with FAR 44.305, the Contractor is responsible for maintaining an approved purchasing system for the life of the IDIQ contract.”

Do Offerors need to show subcontractor competition for the initial Task 1 proposed staffing from subcontractor?

No, proof of subcontractor competition is not required with the initial proposal.

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

41 Task Order 1 PWS 11 3.1 N/A

This section states:

“PWS-TO1-QA03: The Contractor shall present performance metrics as part of the quarterly program review meeting. Metrics shall cover all task orders. Metrics shall be mutually agreed at the start of the contract, and may include modified or new metrics, as required, to accurately reflect contract performance.”

Please provide existing metrics for history and trending purposes that is in use by the Government.

No, the Government will not provide existing metrics.

42 Task Order 1 PWS 12 3.1 N/A

This section states:

“PWS-TO1-PS02: The Contractor shall provide procurement of software and maintenance support.”

What is the Government's preferred vehicle for procuring software and hardware (e.g., GSA, NASA

SEWP)?

The Government does not have a preference regarding what vehicles the Contractor should use when procuring software and hardware. The Government only requires the Contractor to conduct subcontractor competitions for all subcontracted services and materials.

43 Task Order 1 PWS 14 3.1 N/A

This section states: “PWS-TO1-PS07: Provide a property contact to support 6 OSPO Property Custodians who maintain 7100+ components. The Contractor shall provide a property contact support aligned with NOAA’s property management policy (NOAA Property Bulletin)”

What tool does the Government use for Property Management and are these assets already being tracked in there?”

The NOAA Enterprise Tool for Managing property is called Sunflower, which is used to manage the 7100+ components.

44 Task Order 1 PWS 17 PWS-TO1-

CT01 4

Paragraph 4.0, PWS-TO1-CT01 states that a consolidated Transition Plan is due 60 days after contract award.

Appendix A, Deliverables, states that a consolidated Transition Plan is due 30 days after contract award.

Please clarify the schedule requirement to submit the consolidated Transition Plan.

The final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 30 days after contract award. Section 4.0 of the TO 1 PWS has been corrected with Amendment 1.

45 Task Order 3 PWS N/A N/A N/A Can the government provide a Systems Model of the NESDIS Ground Enterprise, including architecture views, interfaces, functions, activities, and with traceability to system requirements?

Does this model exist?

No, this model does not exist. However, OSAAP-PLN-1400.1 - Office of System Architecture and Advanced Planning (OSAAP) Management Plan available on the internet does provide more information on the NESDIS Ground Enterprise and system requirements. https://www.nesdis.noaa.

gov/sites/default/files/asset/document/OSAAP_PLN_1400_1_Management_Plan.

pdf

46 Attachments J-13 through J- 16 N/A N/A N/A Do the ODCs include subcontracting, referencing Section B.4.5, Subcontractor Competition (ODC’ s)? Yes.

47 Attachments J-13 through J- 16 N/A N/A N/A Please clarify the Government's response provided to Question 218 on the Draft RFP Q&A: Does

"fully burdened" mean inclusive of fee/profit? Fully burdened means inclusive of all indirect rates and profit/fee.

48 Attachments J-13 through J- 16 N/A N/A N/A Do the ODC plug numbers align with historical annual spend for the ESPDS and SMOMS contracts?

No. The OMS scope is broader than the two mentioned contracts. The scope for OMS includes extended maintenance and sustainment for all OSPO systems. In addition, SMOMS did not include hardware/software maintenance renewals, which is a significant increase in ODCs.

49 Attachments J-13 through J- 16 N/A N/A N/A

The ODC plug values over the five year period of performance for the OMS Task Orders is $235M.

Assuming 3% escalation, and extrapolating from the first five years, the total value over the 10-year IDIQ contract is $516M. This represents 74% of the stated OMS ceiling value. Does this percentage align with the Government's expectations for ODCs on the OMS contract?

No, these percentages do not align with the Government's expectations. The current portfolio is expected to decrease over time with a transition to cloud services and the decommissioning of legacy equipment.

50 OMS IDIQ RFP 73 L.9.3.2.2

The RFP requires questionnaires be sent to contract POCs and returned to the government by April 15th. The amount of time provided between the RFP release date and April 15th is not sufficient to accomplish this. Many government organizations are operating with limited staff due to COVID19 considerations. Both contractor and government staff are operating at reduced staffing, essential personnel only, rotating shifts, remote locations, or under other arrangements that limit the availability and accessibility of the personnel required for this. These unusual circumstances are also disrupting normal activities and completing questionnaires may be viewed as very low priority and would not be an urgent requirement under these circumstances. By nature, many of the contracts involving satellite systems involve security agency clients and classified work. The content provided for an unclassified proposal requires publication review to determine releasability of the content. The publication review staff are among staff deemed non-essential, so in the current situation offerors will not be able to quickly provide content from these highly relevant contracts. To provide adequate time for government staff to complete and return questionnaires, we request the due date for questionnaires be extended until May 15th, 2020 to provide adequate time for government personnel to complete and return them.

An extension to the proposal due date, including the submittal of Past Performance Questionnaires, is being granted to Monday, April 20th at 3:00pm ET with

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

51 OMS IDIQ RFP 73 L.9.3.2.2

The RFP requires questionnaires for all past performance references, and for the questionnaires to be sent to contract POCs and returned to the government by April 15th. The amount of time provided between the RFP release date and April 15th is not sufficient to accomplish this because many government organizations are operating with limited staff due to COVID19 considerations. Both contractor and government staff are operating at reduced staffing, essential personnel only, rotating shifts, remote locations, or under other arrangements that limit the availability and accessibility of the personnel required for this. These unusual circumstances are also disrupting normal activities and completing questionnaires may be viewed as very low priority and would not be an urgent requirement under these circumstances. The CPARs system is intended to provide performance information for source selection. Additionally, many government clients that participate in CPARs will not complete questionnaires which can limit the ability of an offeror to use these reference contracts. The questions in Section B of the OMS questionnaire align with the standard CPARs categories. Accepting CPARs where they exist would provide comparable performance information as the questionnaire and would enable offerors to include references which may not be possible with questionnaires. The government would benefit from a fuller representation of offeror capabilities.

Request the government waive the questionnaire requirement for contracts with CPAR's reports; and allow offerors to submit the completed Section A of J-10 along with a copy of the most recent CPARs directly with the proposal submission.

Past performance questionnaires shall still be utilized even if a CPARS report exists.

The last sentence of section L.9.3.2 states "The Government reserves the right to contact any number of references and use sources other than those provided by the Offeror to obtain information related to past performance."

52 Attachment J-3 Draft DD-254 43832

In the DD-254, Box 9 states 3 specific positions (IT Security Liaison, Antenna and Ground Maintenance Support, and System Analysis Branch support), Box 13 states 'All Contractor Personnel' will require a Secret clearance. To assure the security clearance requirements are commensurate with the sensitivity of their position and to avoid unnecessary security clearance requirements would the government please clarify whether Secret clearances are only required for the 3 positions as outlined in Box 9 or all contractor personnel?

The interpretation that all contractor personnel are required to have Secret security clearances is not accurate. The security clearances are required for the 3 areas of support listed in box 9, (Antenna and Ground Systems Maintenance Support, IT

Security Liaison, and System Analysis Branch Support).

53 Attachment J-3 Draft DD-254 All

DD-254 Box 9. General Unclassified Description of this Procurement reads: All contractor personnel must possess a secret level security clearance issued by the Department of Commerce. In response to Draft RFP Question #250 the government confirmed reciprocity for DoD Secret clearances in lieu of the Department of Commerce Secret clearance. Request the government amend Block 9 in the Draft

DD-254 to state that there is reciprocity with DoD and US intelligence community issued Secret clearances, as appropriate.

The Government does not intend to modify the DD-254. There are several other agencies, not just DoD and US intelligence agencies where reciprocity is accepted.

The following manual provides additional information: National Industrial Security

Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), DoD Manual 5220.22-M, February 28, 2006; Incorporating Change 2, May 18, 2016.

54 OMS IDIQ RFP 80 L.10.3.2.1.4

Section L.10.3.2.1.4 reads: "The Offeror shall provide an initial comprehensive recommended SLA that addresses all mission critical, mission essential, non-mission essential, and other general metrics for OMS systems and capabilities. Request the government identify the components or systems that fall under each of those categories.

The System Inventories include a Mission Criticality column, aside from POES which has not completed this level of assessment in its inventory. For SLA purposes assume 50% Mission Critical, 25% Mission Essential, and 25% Non Mission Essential for the POES system.

55 OMS IDIQ RFP

Please provide the following documentation through the Acquisition Library: 1) Description (including systems/products) of the existing operations performance monitoring infrastructure; 2:

Description of the existing Product Request Ticking System; 3) Number of help desk tickets, by severity (E1/E2/E3), for most recent year available; 4) Average annual number of supporting IT systems requiring repair or replacement; 5) Average annual number of restorative actions for IT systems; 6) System-level requirements and/or risk data.

Please refer to the OMS Acquisition Library: 1) The OSPO System Description Document and OSPO System Inventories describe the environments; 2) ECMT tracks the Tickets and CM Requests; its a ClearCase/ClearQuest Database system.

3-5) The OSPO ECMT Report for FY18 FY19 includes ticket numbers and details.

6) Detailed risk and other system information will be provided after contract award.

56 OMS IDIQ RFP 72 L.9.3.2

The RFP defines recency as "performed within the past five (5) years of the proposal due date". As written, that could imply that the entire period of referenced performance be within the last 5 years.

For a contract with a starting date prior to 5 year ago, does this constraint limit the past performance narrative to that performance which occurred in the last 5 years. Recency is often defined as having an ending date within a certain period of time and the narrative can include all work performed on the contract, not simply that which occurred in the last 5 years. Request the Government clarify the what date is used to determine recency and what period of time can be included in the reference input.

We are not implying that the entire period of performance be within the last 5 years. The Government will evaluate contracts in which relevant performance occured within the 5 years preceding the Step 1 proposal due date. If said contracts began prior to the recency period described in the RFP but had performance overlap to within the 5 year recency period, the entire contract's period of performance will be evaluated.

57 Attach J-13 TO1 Pricing Breakdown ODC CLINs

The ODC CLINs (NTE) amounts in Attachment J-13 are reflected as T&M plug numbers. It is important for offerors to understand these costs to inform their solutions and approaches to meet and exceed NESDIS' OMS contract requirements. Request the government provide a description / breakdown of the types of costs elements that comprise each of the ODC CLINs (0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002).

Per section B.2 of Attachment J-5, Task Order 1 ODCs consists of training and travel. We are not able to provide a further breakdown.

58 Attach J-14 TO2 Pricing Breakdown ODC CLINs

The ODC CLINs (NTE) amounts in Attachment J-14 are reflected as T&M plug numbers. It is important for offerors to understand these costs to inform their solutions and approaches to meet and exceed NESDIS' OMS contract requirements. Request the government provide a description / breakdown of the types of costs elements that comprise each of the ODC CLINs (0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002).

Per section B.2 of Attachment J-6, Task Order 2 ODCs consists of hardware/software licenses, materials, travel, and training. We are not able to provide a further breakdown.

59 Attach J-15 TO3 Pricing Breakdown ODC CLINs

The ODC CLINs (NTE) amounts in Attachment J-15 are reflected as T&M plug numbers. It is important for offerors to understand these costs to inform their solutions and approaches to meet and exceed NESDIS' OMS contract requirements. Request the government provide a description / breakdown of the types of costs elements that comprise each of the ODC CLINs (0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002).

Per section B.4 of Attachment J-7, Task Order 3 ODCs consists of materials, travel, and training. We are not able to provide a further breakdown.

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

60 Attach J-16 TO4 Pricing Breakdown ODC CLINs

The ODC CLINs (NTE) amounts in Attachment J-16 are reflected as T&M plug numbers. It is important for offerors to understand these costs to inform their solutions and approaches to meet and exceed NESDIS' OMS contract requirements. Request the government provide a description / breakdown of the types of costs elements that comprise each of the ODC CLINs (0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002).

Per section B.2 of Attachment J-8, Task Order 4 ODCs consists of travel and training. We are not able to provide a further breakdown.

61 OMS IDIQ RFP, Attachments J-13, J-14, J-15, and J-16 9 IDIQ RFP

Section B.4

IDIQ RFP, Section B.4 indicates ODCs established on a cost-reimbursement basis, including travel costs, shall be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) at the task order level and will be allowable on the task order only if approved prior to to the Contractor incurring these costs. Attachments J-13, J-14, J-15, and J-16 (Pricing Templates for TOs 1-4), indicate the ODCs are T&M. Please clarify whether ODCs shall be billed as T&M or as Cost Reimbursable, or if ODCs on future issued task orders may only be recovered on a cost reimbursement basis.

Section B.4.4 of the RFP has been revised with Amendment 1 to remove the language "established on a cost-reimbursement basis". All ODCs will require pre-approval by the COR. For the first four task orders, all ODCs are T&M CLINs.

62 OMS IDIQ PWS Appendix A, Attachment J-15

PWS page 33 and

Attachment

J-7 TO

PWSpage

III D

Attachment J-1 OMS PWS, Appendix A, OMS Information & Cyber Security Support Task Accountability Matrix, Section III, Cyber Security Program Management, subsection D, Performance Work Statements for IT Security Services as Other Direct Costs and Attachment J-7 TO 3 PWS, Section 4.2.10.1 states “The Government has allocated IT services for purchase under the OMS contract as Other Direct Costs (ODCs). The Government will define purchases of IT services to the contractor in a Bill of Materials (BOM).” Attachment J-15 (TO 3 Pricing Template) lists $156,008,254 as the T&M ODC amount. Request the government clarify whether its use of the term services refers to purchase of labor and/or non-labor (e.g, hardware, materials, etc…). And, if both, request the government provide the estimated percentage of the ODCs for TO 3 allocated to labor and non-labor.

ODCs may include labor and non-labor; the Government is unable to provide a percentage breakout of non-labor and labor ODCs. The Government will only provide the contractor a Bill of Material for IT Security related ODC's, which is a small part of the overall ODC estimate.

63 Attachment J-5 Task Order 1 PWS 27, 34 4.0 and

Appendix A D-TO1-024

Attachment J-5, Task Order 1 PWS, Section 4.0 states “A final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 60 days after contract award.” Appendix A. Deliverables to Attachment J-5 , D-TO1-023 indicates a Final consolidated plan for Contract Phase-In Transition is due 30 days after contract award. Request the government to clarify.

The final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 30 days after contract award. Section 4.0 of the TO 1 PWS has been corrected with Amendment 1.

64 OMS RFP 21 G.7 and G.8

Reference previous questions 167 and 146: In response to previous questions, the Government has stated that in accordance with Section G.7, no indirect costs will be permited on travel. This guidance contradicts section G.8 of the RFP which states the accounting sytem shall be deemed adequate or approved by DCAA, the CFA, for CFAO, throughout the life of the contract. If our current system is approved by DCAA, and/or our disclosure statement permits the charging of handling fee (indirect rate/cost) on Travel, submitting the proposal without a handling fee or indirect rate would deviate from our approved accounting system. We respectfully request the Government reconsider previous answers and allow the contractors to charge indirect rate/costs, if approved by

DCAA and/or disclosure statement.

After further consideration, the Government has revised RFP sections G.7 and G.8 to reflect that indirect costs on travel may be accounted and billed for if in accordance with their approved accounting system .

65 OMS RFP 64 L.8 L.8 (3rd Paragraph)

Reference L.8: "NOAA’s intent is to make an award for this solicitation no later than the 2nd Quarter of FY21. This information is provided for use as a basis for schedules and labor rate calculations. This reflects both the anticipated start of the Base IDIQ ordering period as well Task Orders 1, 2, 3, and 4. (NOTE: The Government reserves the right to modify this performance start date in the future.)" Please provide clarification on whether the base IDIQ and TOs 1-4 will have a performance start date different than the award date to allow for the 60 and 120 day transition periods, and that performance for the base IDIQ and TOs 1-4 will begin on day 61 of the contract.

The task orders must be awarded for transition to begin. The award date and performance start date for the IDIQ and the first four task orders are anticipated to be the same.

66 OMS RFP 68 L.9.3 L.9.3.1.1.6 Reference L.9.3.1.1.6 Cloud Services: Request 2 additional pages be added to the Section A: IDIQ Management Approach to allow for appropriate coverage of this section. The page limit for Section A, IDIQ Management Approach, will remain unchanged.

67 Attachment J-7 OMS TO 3 Sustainment PWS 5 Section 2.0 2.0 (Ninth bullet)

Reference the Sustainment PWS, Paragraph 2.0 Scope (Ninth bullet) states: "Conduct all required software reviews for sustainment solutions including requirements review, interfaces, software code, testing for planned software release and capability verification (factory acceptance and site acceptance testing, pre-ship review, as required) and (if any) fixes to ensure all the capabilities function as intended."

The use of the terms “factory acceptance" and "pre-ship review” infers off-site work effort. Please clarify if there is the potential for off-site work and if off-site rates should be submitted with the cost proposal.

TO 3 Section 2.1 defines the places for performance which include potential for off-site work to include sustainment of equipment that is outside of NGE primary work locations. Off-site rates should not apply.

68 OMS Request for Proposal 68 l.9.3.1.2.1 Procurement and Related Support

This requirement states "The Offeror shall also describe their approach to adhering to Government procurement regulations, including FITARA, as appropriate." In our experience, different Agencies that have adopted FITARA have different ways of implementing its requirements. Please specifically describe the Department of Commerce/NOAA requirements for FITARA.

Information on NOAA compliance with acquisition requirements under FITARA can be found here: https://www.ago.noaa.gov/acquisition/docs/aa_18-07_fitara.pdf

OMS Request for Proposal and Attachments J-2, J-3, J-4, and J-5

70, 81, 84, L.9.3.1.2.3, L.

10.3.2.3.2, L.

10.3.3.3.3, L.

10.3.4.3.2

Staffing Plan

The cited Sections identify Key Personnel for each of the 4 task orders, including "Task Order Project Managers". However, within each task order, there is a statement that states task order management is considered part of the TO-1, rather than task order-specific. Please clarify whether NOAA considers Task Order Project Managers as part of TO-1 or are they task-specific?

The key personnel listed are specific to each task order, and are not part of Task Order 1.

70 Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 5 3.1 Program Management

PWS-TO1-PM01 states: Create and maintain a comprehensive file management structure for the OMS deliverables repository that shall be segmented by each task order within (1) month after contract award. Does that mean the OMS contractor will have access to NOAA systems before contract start, during Contract Phase-In, given Phase-in is 60 days?

No, offerors will not be given access to any NOAA system prior to contract award.

PWS-TO1-PM01 only requires a file management structure for deliverables within

1 month after contract award.

Question and Comment Template

Question Number Document Page

Number Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response (Yellow = resulted in RFP Amendment)

71 Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 17 4.1 Contract Transition

PWS-TO1-CT01 states that the final Contract Phase-in Transition Plan is due within 60 days after contract award. What is the expected length of time between contract award and the start of Contract

Phase-In?

The final Contract Phase-In Transition Plan is due within 30 days after contract award. Section 4.0 of the TO 1 PWS has been corrected with Amendment 1. The award date and performance start date for the IDIQ and the first four task orders are anticipated to be the same. The expected length of time between the performance start date and start of phase-in transition is part of the Offeror's solution.

72 Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 6 and 21 3.1 and

Appendix A Program Management Appendix A for D-TO1-007 states the deliverable is due 60 days after contract award. Please clarify that NOAA expects this deliverable to be submitted during Contract Phase-in Transition. D-TO1-007 is initially due 60 days after contract award.

73 Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 23 Appendix A Deliverables Appendix A for D-TO1-016 states the deliverable is due 60 days after contract award. Please clarify that NOAA expects this deliverable to be submitted during Contract Phase-in Transition. D-TO1-016 is initially due 60 days after contract award.

74 Attachment J-5 OMS Task Order 1 21-24 Appendix A Deliverables Unless explicitly…