RODB-2 RFP Questions and Answers_Amendment 0001.pdf

RFP # 1332KP22RNEEP0003

CDP RODB-2 RFP Questions and Answers (Questions were due by 4 pm Eastern Time, 10-Aug-2022)

1) Are data rates of 125 Hz, 200 Hz, and 250 Hz also acceptable to NOAA for neutral atmosphere data?

Yes. UCAR’s software can be configured for different RO data rates, so rates of 125 Hz, 200 Hz, and 250 Hz are acceptable.

2) Is it NOAA’s intention to require reference tracks for RO data assimilation independently of the receiver’s oscillator stability?

Yes.

3) NESDIS Common Cloud Framework Interface Control Document (ICD): We request a copy of the ICD for our review.

If awarded an RODB-2 contract, the NCCF Data Onboarding team will be prepared to discuss connection options at our initial meeting. In the interim, please refer to the “SOW- Security Requirements” section of the RFP, as the Government will not be providing this ICD to Offerors.

4) For the Category 2 Price Availability Schedule (“Attachment J-1B_Category 2 Price Availability Schedule.xlsx” - Schedule Sheet), does “Observations per day” mean Tracks per day including all associated scintillation indices (normal and high rate)? Is it NOAA’s expectation that proposals will provide pricing for Category 2 solely in terms of the number of TEC tracks? Or should separate pricing be provided for normal and high rate scintillation indices as well as tracks?

TEC tracks should be priced to include costs associated with providing the high rate scintillation data that meet the requirements of C.3.3.2.

We have updated Attachments J-1A and J-1B (the pricing worksheets for neutral atmosphere and space weather products) to include more descriptive terminology.

5) Delivery Order 2 states in the Pricing Section that “Data delivered under this delivery order shall be subject to the terms and conditions specified in Option 1 and 3a of Section 10, "Data Rights," of the IDIQ contract…” However, “Attachment J-5A_DO2 Price Volume Spreadsheet.xlsx” has only one pricing table. Is it acceptable to NOAA for proposals to include 2 sheets in the DO2 Price Volume Spreadsheet to address pricing for the two different data rights licenses: one sheet for Option 1 and a second sheet for Option 3a?

Attachment J-5A (pricing worksheet for Delivery Order 2) has been modified to accommodate pricing for both Data License Option 1 and Data License Option 3a.

6) In C.3.2.18, the RFP states: “At a minimum, the Contractor must have the capability to provide a daily count of at least 500 RO soundings, when averaged over any 30-day period, with no more than three days in any 30 day period falling beneath 400/day.” Is this 30-day average count of RO soundings also used to assess delivery compliance for daily orders of RO soundings above 500? For example, if a contractor is awarded a delivery order of 2,000 RO soundings per day, do they meet the delivery requirements if they deliver at least 2000 RO soundings when averaged over any 30-day period, with no more than three days in any 30-day period falling beneath 1600/day? Or is there another metric on which these potential larger orders are assessed?

Your example is correct. The RFP has been updated to clarify this requirement (see C.3.2.19 of the amended RFP).

7) The RFP has no Section A. Was that intentional?

Yes. The section labeling follows the Uniform Contract Format (FAR 15.204-1).

8) Is it acceptable to deliver level-0 telemetry at an alternative cadence (eg, daily) if we are delivering near-real time products in level-1a formats?

No. We intend to process the level 0 data in near-real time.

9) If proposing for both Category 1 and Category 2 data types, are we permitted to submit two Technical Volumes (one per category), or are we required to document our capabilities within a single 20-page technical volume?

Proposals are limited to a single 20-page Technical Volume, regardless of which Categories are being proposed.

10) Pricing questions:

10a) If proposing for both Category 1 and Category 2 data categories, our price per occultation may be lower if NOAA executes delivery orders for multiple categories during the same time period. How should this cost savings be reflected in our pricing volumes?

Prices provided in response to this RFP will become ceiling prices for the IDIQ contract.

Discounts can be applied at the Delivery Order level to reflect any cost savings or other incentives.

10b) How should the Enhanced Data Requirements noted in section C.4.1 be priced separately from the standard Category 1 & Category 2 data?

Separate pricing table is now provided in Attachment J-1C_Enhanced Data Requirements.

10c) Attachment J-4 instructs to fill out Attachment J-1A, CLIN 0003A. Assuming the CLINs are equivalent to the “ITEM NO.” in column B of Attachment J-1A, that CLIN refers to data rights option 2A. Was the intent to refer to CLIN 0004A (data rights option 3A)?

This is a typo and it should have read “CLIN 0001A” – the data in Delivery Order 1 data are to be unrestricted (Data License Option 1). Attachment J-4 (instructions for Delivery Order 1) has been updated to correct this.

10d) For J-5, does NOAA want pricing to include both Option 1 and Option 3a, or just one or the other? We are asking because of this reference in the Pricing section of Attachment J-5 "Data delivered under this delivery order shall be subject to the terms and conditions specified in Option 1 and 3a of Section 10, "Data Rights," of the IDIQ contract". Please clarify.

For Delivery Order 2 (Attachment J-5), Contractors should price both Data License Option 1 and Data License Option 3a. Attachment J-5 (instructions for Delivery Order 2) has been updated to reflect this.

10e) Attachment J-5A appears to include pricing broken down by quantities of 500 compliant RO profiles (i.e. pricing for 500, 1000, etc), thereby excluding quantities that would fall in-between, such as 750 or 1100. Should we adhere to only pricing out our RO based on these 500 increments, or is it possible to price out in different increments, such as in quantities of 100’s? Or for example, to note the exact quantity proposed in the last 500 bucket - e.g. 375 -and then note the sum total proposed.

Attachment J-5A (the pricing worksheet for Delivery Order 2) has been modified to address this.

11) Does the Government seek to procure up to 6000 occ/day from each provider in DO-2, or does it seek to procure up to 6000 occ/day in total from all providers?

The Government is seeking up to 6000 RO soundings per day total, from either one or multiple providers in Delivery Order 2.

12) We understand both from recent NOAA briefings as well as from the pricing tables within the current RFP that NOAA desires 20,000+ occultations per day. Does NOAA plan to increase data quantities in future delivery orders under RODB-2 in order to reach a total of 20,000+ occ/day? Can you provide a rough estimate for how you anticipate RO volumes increasing in DO-3 and beyond?

No estimate for future Delivery Order volumes will be provided at this time.

13) Under B.2 the estimated ordering period is scheduled to begin April 2023. DO-1T specifies under Requirements I. that data will be provided two weeks after the DO award. If we assume a ~60 day RFP evaluation window, this implies DO-1T delivery will begin in early November 2022 and conclude in early December 2022. Is this a reasonable timing assumption? Or, alternatively, do you not expect to award until April, 2023?

The intent is to have a gap of approximately one month between the end of DO-1T and the beginning of DO-2 to allow time to test and prepare for ingest of the DO-2 data into operational systems on July 18, 2023. No other schedule information will be provided at this time.

14) DO-2 has a stated start date of July 18, 2023. Per the previous question, this implies an ~7 month gap between D0-1T and D0-2. Is this the intention? If so, can you provide comment on the reason for the data delivery time gap?

Please see answer to Question 13.

15) Is there a possibility DO-2 would be initiated sooner than July 2023? Under what conditions could we anticipate an earlier start date?

The start date for DO-2 is not likely to change significantly.

16) The BeiDou GNSS signals are of comparable or better quality than other GNSS signals and provide very high quality profiles of the atmosphere and ionosphere. There are presently more BeiDou-3 satellites operating in orbit than the number of Galileo, or GLONASS satellites or GPS satellites transmitting civilian L2/L5 signals. Including BeiDou occultations would increase the number of GNSS occultations by 40%. Is it also acceptable to NOAA to propose delivering BeiDou RO data under this proposal? If NOAA excludes these occultations, is there a policy or technical reason for doing so? Similarly, is it also acceptable to NOAA to propose delivering QZSS RO data under this proposal? If NOAA excludes these occultations, is there a policy or technical reason for doing so?

The RFP has been amended to include the BeiDou GNSS system.

17) Regarding data rights, what is the definition of “non-commercial” as it pertains to who can use our data and when? Can examples be provided for this? For example, It is our understanding that ECMWF and the UK Met Office provide commercial products from their forecasts. Would they be excluded from 3a immediate sharing rights as a result?

They are not excluded from receiving the near-real time data from NOAA under Data License Option 3a, but can only use these data to develop non-commercial products. If a foreign meteorological office uses GNSS RO data to produce a model that is used for both non-commercial and commercial products, it could not use the near-real time data procured by NOAA under option 3A. In practice, foreign partners with commercial arms have chosen not to ingest these NOAA data.

18) Section B.3 notes that this is a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract, however in Section L.10.2.4 (b) the Offeror is requested to provide comprehensive descriptions of how the prices presented were developed and to provide rationale as to why the Offeror considers them to be reasonable. Please clarify why NOAA is requesting this pricing justification given that this is a FFP contract.

As stated in RFP Section L.10.2.4(b), “Offerors shall describe comprehensively and in detail how the rates were developed in order to eliminate, or at least minimize, the need for clarification questions by the Government as it reviews the price proposals.” The Government will evaluate the proposed price to determine price reasonableness (FAR 12.209); please also refer to the following FAR Reference:

FAR 15.404-1

“…Price analysis may include evaluating data other than certified cost or pricing data obtained from the offeror or contractor when there is no other means for determining a fair and reasonable price. Contracting officers shall obtain data other than certified cost or pricing data from the offeror or contractor for all acquisitions (including commercial acquisitions), if that is the contracting officer’s only means to determine the price to be fair and reasonable.”