Responses to Questions Received - Final.pdf

Solicitation 1333ND23QNB77003 Responses to Questions

Q# Attachment Page # Section Question/Comment Response

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

33 Key Personnel

The RFP identifies an IDIQ PM as the only KP for the IDIQ. Where should we include this resume as the only identified KP resume locations are in the Mock TOs? Is it a Phase 1 or Phase 2 requirement to identify this PM?

The "Instructions to Offerors" within Section L of the solicitation has been updated to clearly identify that Offerors shall provide the resume for the proposed IDIQ Contract Program Manager as part of Volume II of the proposal, which is part of Phase Two.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Key Personnel

If bidding less than full time staff, can key personnel resumes be used on more than one MTO? For example, could a bidder use the same Task Order PM (PM2) for more than one Task Order?

Yes. Offerors may propose the same key personnel candidate for more than one task order as long as no one individual is being proposed as being more than one FTE total. Offerors should assume that, if awarded, all five Mock Task Orders would be performed concurrently.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Other

Is a Facility Clearance Level required for the contractor? If so, what level? Additionally, is there any safeguarding level required for the contractor? If so, what level?

Please see CAR Clause 1352.237‐71 (Security Processing Requirements‐ Low Risk Contracts ) and 1352.237‐70 (Security Processing Requirements‐ High or Moderate Risk Contracts) for security processing requirements.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Performance Work Statement

Can the government please confirm that they mean the Management Volume in this phrase: "...the labor categories specified in Section B of the RFP in their Technical Volume?"

The phrase is referring to the Schedule of Labor Categories that is included in Section B (specifically B.2) of the SF‐33.

Offerors must propose a Schedule of Labor Categories, complete with a description of duties and minimum qualifications, that includes the labor categories specified in Section B [specifically, section B.2 of the SF‐33]. The Schedule of Labor Categories that the offeror proposes is required to be included as part of Volume II (IDIQ Management Approach), per the Instructions to Offerors. The IDIQ PWS has been updated to clarify this.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Performance Work Statement

The stated 5‐year period of performance is June 1, 2023 through May 31, 2028; subject to change based on the date of the award.

When does the government anticipate making an award?

The government anticipates making an award for this solicitation prior to 6/1/2023. However, the period of performance start/end dates are subject to change based on the actual award date of the IDIQ.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

Are requirements traceability matricies that show where RFP requirements are addressed in proposals excluded from page count?

If an Offeror includes a Requirements Traceability Matrix, it will be excluded from the page count but shall not exceed 3 pages.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

In the first paragraph under Phase One, the Government states that "Each proposal shall consist of the volumes listed below, each of which shall be submitted in separate electronic files." Can the Government please confirm if this is to mean that each of the Sections under Volume I, (i.e., Transmittal/Cover Letter, Executive Summary, A.1, and A.2) are to be sumitted in separate electronic files?

Transmittal/Cover Letter, Executive Summary, A.1, and A.2 shall be submitted in separate electronic files. A zip file of these separate electronic files will also be accepted.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

In the "Format." paragraph, the Government states that, "Print shall be of a minimum 11‐point font size or a maximum 12 characters per inch spacing." Can the Government please clarify that this includes the size of print to be used in graphics, charts, and tables as well?

The font size shall be no smaller than 10 pts for graphics, charts, and tables. Section L of the solicitation has been updated to reflect this change.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

The Government states that, "The use of a Sans Serif‐style font is preferred over Times New Roman." Can the Government please clarify if this is a formatting requirement?

As stated in the solicitation, the use of a Sans Serif‐style font is preferred, but not a requirement.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

Under 'Format,' the Government requires that a copy of the Cover Letter is required for each Volume. Will the Government confirm that the Executive Summary is not required to be included for each volume?

The Executive Summary is not required for each volume.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

The Solicitation indicates that "For offerors proposing under a formal or informal joint‐venture agreement, or other formal teaming arrangements, provide a copy of the fully executed agreement to include signatures of all parties." Please confirm that this requirement is only required for Joint Venture or Contract Teaming Arrangement (CTA)‐based teams and does not apply to a traditional Prime / Subcontractor teaming agreement.

This requirement does not apply to a traditional Prime / Subcontractor teaming agreement.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

Standard Form 33 is required to be included as the Cover Sheet for Volume V. Since the instructions indicate that Volume V is to be submitted using Attachment 7, which is an Excel spreadsheet, can the completed SF33 be submitted as a separate attachment?

See the revisions made to the "Instructions to Offerors" in Section L of the RFP. The completed/signed SF‐33 page 1 may be included as a separate attachment within Volume V.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

The Volume V requirements indicate "Each of the section (A and B) shall include a cover page with the following information." Since both sections are included within Attachment 7, will the Government confirm that one tab added to the spreadsheet that includes the required information (Solicitation Number, Date of Submission, Offer name and info, authorized representative info) will be accepted rather than adding two additional tabs to the spreadsheet with identical information?

See the revisions made to the "Instructions to Offerors" in Section L of the RFP. The Offeror's Volume V must include a cover page with the information detailed in Section L.

However, Offerors need not submit separate cover pages for each section of Volume V.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

Section E. Price Requirements states, "Volume V of the Offeror’s proposal shall be divided into two separate sections (A and B), as detailed below." Is it the government's intent to insert cover pages into the document prior to Sections A and B, or is the offeror to submit separate files for Sections A and B?

See the revisions made to the "Instructions to Offerors" in Section L of the RFP. The Offeror's Volume V must include a cover page with the information detailed in Section L.

However, Offerors need not submit separate cover pages for each section of Volume V.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

1 & 82 Section L‐ Instructions

After section 4.b, the solicitation document states "Phase One proposals must be received electronically at hingpan.wong@nist.gov and keith.bubar@nist.gov prior to the solicitation response due date listed in the SAM.gov posting and attachments." but Block 9 of the SF33 seems to imply hard copies to be delivered. Will the government please clarify if this is an electronic‐only submission?

This is an electronic‐only submission. Hard copies of proposals will not be accepted.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section L‐ Instructions

For company site work, should bidder assume all work can be completed with company‐issued information technology?

Some task order requirements could be completed with contractor issued IT equipment, while some would require the use of Government‐furnished equipment (GFE). This requirement will be identified at the task order level.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section M‐ Evaluation Factors

Under the evaluation factors for "Specialized Experience", the Government states that, "The degree of relevance between the projects submitted and the work required by the tasks listed in the base IDIQ and the five potential task orders shall be considered."

Can the Government please clarify if this means there is a requirement to write to each of the five mock task orders within our Specialized Experience section of A.1 of our proposal?

While not a minimum requirement to provide information on separate specialized experience examples for each separate Mock Task Order, the Government is seeking companies with specialized experience relevant to all seven IDIQ task areas, including the five potential Mock Task Orders.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section M‐ Evaluation Factors

Under the evaluation factors for "Specialized Experience", the Government states that, "The degree of relevance between the projects submitted…" Can the Government please clarify if this means our Specialized Experience needs to be "submitted" in an additional/different format than describing it within our narrative for Section A.1?

No. The language in this portion of Section M has been clarified. The word "submitted" is changed to "described."

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section M‐ Evaluation Factors

Where do bidders calculate provide price for MTO‐1? Per E.2, this is an evaluated area, but not consistent with phase 1 delivery?

Phase One evaluation does not include the evaluation of any pricing elements. As such, no pricing information shall be submitted in Phase One proposals. Pricing for MTO‐1 shall be submitted under Phase Two, in Volume V, as described in the "Instructions to Offerors" in Section L of the RFP.

1. Solicitation

(SF‐33)

Section M‐ Evaluation Factors

What is the estimated time between Phase One proposal submission and the Advisory Notice?

The Government is unable to provide an estimate for this time because this is highly dependent on the number of proposals received.

IDIQ Labor Categories

The labor category specified emphasize, beyond technical specialist and subject matter expert type of support, system design and development type of skills on an agile environment. Are there other specific labor categories needed to be able to support all of the other technical topics included on the five Mock Task Orders (representative of the contract's expected scope)?

No, the Schedule of Labor Categories provided by the Government, included in Section B of the RFP, is meant to be representative of all of the labor categories believed to be required to support this IDIQ contract and task orders issued under the resultant contract.

Mock Task Order 1

Performance Work Statement

Section 3.2 states, "The contractor shall ensure that the “Program of Work” is conducted in a prompt, efficient, and effective manner, in accordance with the objectives, policies, and procedures of the INCITS standards program." Will the government either provide those objectives, policies and procedures or identify where they can be found online?

The Government is not allowed to hand out policies and procedures of INCITS because one needs to be a member, or member representative, in order to get them. However, the Policies and Procedures should not affect the proposed level of effort because they have to do with document save locations and email listservs. Here is where you can find the INCITS mission statement:

https://www.incits.org/about/overview and more info about

INCITS.

Mock Task Order 1

Performance Work Statement

In reference to 3.4.1 Specific Tasks Item 1 and 2 is there any way to identify the volume of materials or frequency of activities under, "Study period contributions including development, analysis, and stakeholder coordination of contributions in the areas of Identity Assurance Framework, Entity Authentication Framework (ISO/IEC 29115), identity related risk management, identity landscape, identity roadmap, and mobile driver’s license." These efforts often align to external factors, such as the adoption of Real ID, resulting in periods with significantly higher workloads as well as the inverse.

For instance, there are often working groups with shorter timelines such as the analysis of identity management use cases and their alignment to current and planned standards. Will the government provide more information to quantify the anticipated frequency and duration of support.

Most of the standards groups involved in these tasks run on a bi‐annual meeting basis. Activity tends to be greater in the time just before these bi‐annual meetings and lesser immediately following the meetings. However, these tasks would include activities from more than 1 entity so the timing of greater activity levels would need to be considered across multiple organizations.

Mock Task Order 1

Performance Work Statement

Per Section 4 the CS1 Annual Report must conform, "to CS1 standards, policies and procedures." Will the government either provide those materials or identify where they can be found online?

The requirements for the Annual Report will be a MS Word basis template and should not affect the level of effort proposed.

Mock Task Order 1

Performance Work Statement

For government specified timelines like PWS Projected Completion Dates, the government sometimes designates "business days" and sometimes uses "days" without the preceeding word "business" to describe timeline expectations. Where the word "business" is omitted, should offerors interpret those instances to mean business days or calendar days?

Mock task order 1 PWS has been updated for clarification.

Mock Task Order 1

All Performance Work Statement

Activities on INCITS/CS1 include a significant amout of work currently executed by ITl. Can the government confirm that this Mock TO only includes the NIST/ANSI responsibilities and that ITI is expected to continue their work on the INCITS committee(s)?

NIST would be responsible for the CS1 Chair. ITI would still be performing all of its current duties.

Mock Task Order 1

Performance Work Statement

Task 1 requires travel which includes planning travel labor hours and expenses. If the offeror assumes travel to San Jose, CA and travel time is greater than a trip to San Jose, how can the offeror receive an equitable adjustment on a Firm Fixed Price CLIN?

Can the offeror estimate travel hours in Tasks 1‐3, or do those hours have to be estimated in Task 4?

A Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) would typically arise from an unforeseen change to the contractual requirements directed by the Government. Therefore, travel time taking longer than the contractor originally estimated would not typically result in an equitable adjustment. However, contractors are of course free to submit an REA to the Contracting Officer throughout performance as they see fit.

Regarding the second part of the question, direct labor hours would not be included under CLIN 0004, which is for Travel expenses required for completion of the work under this task order.

Mock Task Order 1

All Section L‐ Instructions

Can the government please provide the historical FTE Labor Count for each of the Mock Task Orders?

The Government will not provide this information. Offerors should develop their pricing proposals based on their understanding of the work and based on what they believe to be the most efficient approach to successfully completing the tasks.

Mock Task Order 1

The government provides details (examples) for two domestic and one international trip. How many domestic and international trips total do you want priced for MTO 1? In other words, please provide a count for each (domestic and international trips) and to where for each (destinations)?

Section 3.5 of MTO 1 PWS has been revised for clarification.

Mock Task Order 1

5 Should all MTO 1 in‐person trips pricing include airfare costs? Yes, the estimated cost shall include airfare.

Mock Task Order 2

Performance Work Statement

Will the government please identify all current test suites in use (e.g.

Resolve) and clarify those that are provided as part of the GFE?

Test suites in use depend on the individual projects. The Government is flexible on test suites used for this requirement as long as the contractor can justify the use of the test suite.

All required test suites and tools will be provided as GFE.

Mock Task Order 2

Performance Work Statement

Will the Government clarify how long its sprints are? Sprints for MTO 2 are 2 weeks with possible exceptions during the winter holiday season.

Mock Task Order 4

Performance Work Statement

Will the Government please clarify why both Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140‐2 and 140‐3 submissions are included in the directions for Section 5.1 (CMVP Operational Support) of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) for Mock Task Order (MTO) 4? Based on our understanding of the NIST environment, FIPS 140‐2 submissions are no longer accepted.

The Government no longer accepts new FIPS 140‐2 submissions. However, we do still have a backlog of 140‐2 submissions to complete.

Mock Task Order 4

Performance Work Statement

Will the Government please clarify the applicability of FIPS 140‐3 as it points to and relates to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) / International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 19790 which is currently under revision – e.g., additional requirements for incorporating and addressing the expected updates?

Any updates to FIPS 140‐3 will be made by Federal personnel and is out of the scope of this task order.

Mock Task Order 4

Performance Work Statement

In regards to Section 5.3 please identify the current development, test and operational architecture and status for the CAVP, CMVP and ACVP (such as the Technical Readiness Level of each system).

Will the government release information pertaining to the sizing of the programs to include either lines of code, number of requirements and/or use cases being tested or other relevant data for the level of effort estimation process? Are there toolsets and software, to include open source software, in use that is not identified in MTO 4?

CAVP/ACVP are in the O&M phase and has 500,000 lines of code. The software includes: C#, .NET, SQL Server, TeamCity, Rider, Docker, Angular, and Visual Studio. CMVP (in O&M) has about 100,000 lines of code, ESV (in O&M) has about 10,000 lines of code. Development for new algorithms being put into ACVP is constantly occurring for these systems.

Mock Task Order 4

Performance Work Statement

Section 8 Key Personnel Minimum Qualifications states that all personnel for this Task Order must be U.S. citizens. Is it the government's intent that personnel will also require a security clearance? If so, what level?

The risk level for this Task Order is considered Moderate.

Please see 1352.237‐70 (Moderate/High Risk) for security processing requirements.

Mock Task Order 5

Performance Work Statement

Are these requirements a new task or continuation of current efforts? If it is a continuation can the government identify the current status of plans and/or development for, "mapping and/or displaying in an easy‐to understand format, interdependencies in supply chain networks ?" Is there a current draft of, "an adaptable algorithm for measuring interdependency risks?" Is there a open source or COTS product performing these requirements that is currently in use as either a pilot, test or production system?

For proposal preparation purposes, Offerors shall assume this is a new effort without an existing algorithm.

38 Other Pricing Spreadsheet

Per provision L.10 52.216‐31 TIME‐AND‐MATERIALS/LABOR‐HOUR

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS ‐‐ COMMERCIAL ACQUISITION (NOV

2021), clause (b) The offeror must specify fixed hourly rates in its offer that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit.

However, in Attachment 7, Pricing Spreadsheet, MTO1‐MTO5 tabs.

The government asks for G&A as a separate line item. Please confirm that this is G&A ONLY for as applied to ODCs and materials.

Yes. The G&A only applies to the ODCs, if the Offeror is proposing that G&A be added/applied to ODCs. The hourly labor rates proposed/used should be fully burdened.

39 Other Pricing Spreadsheet

In Attachment 7, Pricing Spreadsheet, MTO1‐MTO5 tabs. The government asks for “Direct Labor by Category,” along with hours, rate, and total. Please confirm Direct Labor by Category is only for the labor hour (LH) tasks, and not for the firm fixed price (FFP) tasks.

Offerors shall provide the required information for the Direct Labor in the Attachment 7‐ Pricing Spreadsheet for all tasks, including FFP and Labor Hour/T&M tasks. The Government is requesting this information for all tasks to see how the Offeror derived its proposed pricing for all tasks. This information is required for the purposes of evaluation and determining the proposed pricing to be fair and reasonable.

40 Other Pricing Spreadsheet

Attachment 7, Pricing Spreadsheet, MTO1‐MTO5 tabs. The government asks for “Direct Labor by Category,” along with hours, rate, and total. Please confirm that the rate to be provided is the fully burdened rate, and not the direct labor (unburdened) rate.

Correct. The rates provided shall be fully burdened hourly rates.

41 Other

Is there a maximum size attachment we should keep in mind/abide by when submitting files to the government?

The outlook attachment limit is 20 MBs. Offerors may need to submit their proposal attachments in separate e‐mail if the attachment size exceeds 20 MBs. Offerors may also use zip files.