B09_Solicitation_Amendment_0002_QnA_0002.docx

140A1625R0032 Technical Assistance and Administrative Support Services (TAAS) IDIQ for DWP Questions and Answers

Note: Most duplicate questions have been removed or combined into one Question/Answer. If there is a perceived discrepancy in any of the answers provided, please notify the Contracting Officer immediately for clarification.

Solicitation 1 and 77 Item 9 and I. Proposal Submission Details Item 9 asks for sealed offers in original and 1 copy to be sent to the location in Item 8. There is no address for submission of the sealed offer. Section I asks for electronic submission. Would the government please provide clarity regarding the proposal submission instructions?

Section I is correct. Page 1 is part of the standard form and can’t be changed. Page 1 of the SF-33 should be ignored.

Solicitation 8 B.7.h Overtime (non FFP orders only) Will the government please confirm that overtime will be time and a half at the fixed fully loaded hourly labor rates negotiated?

Per the Fair Labor Standards Act, positions considered exempt are not subject to time and a half overtime rates. Contractor is responsible for determining each position’s exempt status for proposal development.

Solicitation 7 B.5 Travel The solicitation states, "If travel is required to a location that is over fifty (50) miles one-way from the individual TO place of performance the individual TO includes funding for travel…." What is the originating address that is used to calculate travel distance?

Distance is calculated from the employee’s agreed upon duty station at the TO level.

Solicitation 14 F.4 Task Order Transition Plans Regarding the specifications of the Transition Plan, will the government clarify what is meant by "Create bi-party or tri-party agreements"?

See amendment. Will be Removed from Solicitation.

Solicitation 14 F.4 Task Order Transition Plans Will the government confirm an independent task order will be issued for the Orientation Briefing, Transition In and Transition Out plan development, and performance of activities not directly related to performance of other task orders?

Solicitation updated. The government is looking for generalized transition plans of how the contractor would transition-in or transition-out of TOs and reference the bullet points in the Transition-In Plan and Transition-Out Plan solicitation sections.

Solicitation 14 F.4 Task Order Transition Plans Does the government require a transition plan for the IDIQ separately from transition plans at the task order level?

No transition plan is required at the TO level.

Solicitation 17 Section G Contract Administration Data This section asks for timesheets and number of hours worked with corresponding labor categories and rates to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice. Will the government please confirm that this is not required for FFP Task Orders?

This requirement does not apply to Firm Fixed Price TOs.

Solicitation 18 Section G.4 Non-Displacement of Qualified Workers Will the government please confirm that this does not apply since EO 14055 was revoked consequential to EO 14148?

Confirmed. Section G.4 will be removed from the solicitation.

Solicitation and SOW 19 and 9-10 Section H.2 and 4.3, 9.0 Section H.2 Section 4.3 and 9.0 are inconsistent regarding Key Personnel. Will the government please confirm that the only Key Personnel position requiring a resume at the IDIQ level is the program manager?

See amendment. SOW has correct key personnel for IDIQ level and has been copied over to the solicitation section H.2.

Solicitation 11 E.4 Points of Contact Will the Contracting Officer’s Representative be co-located in the Lakewood office with the Contractor’s Program Manager?

The Contracting Officer’s Representative may be located anywhere in the nation and is subject to change at any time.

Solicitation 11 E.4 Points of Contact Will the Contracting Officer be in Reston, Virginia?

The CO for this solicitation, Jeff Pearson, is located in Reston, VA. CO for the IDIQ and subsequent TOs is subject to change.

12 Solicitation 13 E.5 Permits and Licenses As stated, this section requires and allows for permits and licenses to be overhead expenses. Will the government confirm if this clause applies to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other environmental permitting such as Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments for Construction Projects and/or hydropower projects, oil release regulatory compliance and other compliance at the dams and hydropower plants or disposal of fuels, lubricating oils, hydraulic oils, debris, hazardous and/or non-hazardous materials from the dams, hydropower and irrigation facilities and/or the Early Warning System Monitoring Facility or operations?

Permits and licenses relate to those required for Federal, State or local Professional work (such as Professional Engineering Licensure or local or tribal business permits), not those required for project specific compliance (such as NEPA compliance, USACE 404 permits, etc.).

Solicitation 13 E.5 Permits and Licenses As stated, this section requires and allows for permits and licenses to be overhead expenses. Will the government confirm whether this requirement applies only to the office operations of the Contractor?

See A12.

Solicitation and SOW 75 F. Volume I Instructions, Factor 2: Personnel Qualifications This sections states, "The Offeror shall provide resumes as an addendum or attachment to the proposal for all key personnel listed in Attachment 1 IDIQ SOW Section 4.3. The Program Manager is required at the start of the contract; however, without visibility into the task orders and timing for need of additional key personnel, the contractor has no way of knowing when these positions will be required. Will the government confirm that representative resumes can be provided until such time that the initial task order is released?

See A9. In addition, Key personnel resumes are only required for the IDIQ level at this time. Each TO will have its own requirements for key personnel, which will be quoted at the TO level only.

Solicitation 75-76 F. Volume I Instructions, Factor 4: Past Performance For IDIQ past performance, the task order relating to past performance must be identified. Will the government clarify if the relevant size must be at the IDIQ level or the Task Order Level?

The relevant size pertains to the IDIQ.

Solicitation 25 Section H.16 Will the government confirm whether flexible schedules such as 5/4/9 or four 10-hour days are allowable?

These will be acceptable on a case by case basis at the TO level with the approval of the government and as the work allows. The government reserves the right to withdraw approval of flex schedules at any time.

Solicitation 74 Section 4. Proposal Content Requirements Would the government consider extending the page count for the Technical volume to 35 pages?

No.

Solicitation 76 Section F. Factor 4: Past Performance Due to the specialized nature of this work, would the government please extend the recency limit on past performance from three to five years?

No.

Solicitation 74 Section 4. Proposal Content Requirements Please clarify how the government would prefer to receive additional required documents: IA IEEE Representation form (Attachment 4), DIAR 1452.280-4 ISBEE Representation, amendment acknowledgements, and representations and certifications.

Use attachment 4 for IEEE representation. Include in the electronic proposal submittal as separate documents. These do not count towards any page limits.

Attachment 1, SOW and Attachment 3, LCATs 7 3.1.2 Section 3.1.2, Acquisition Support, requires a functional expert in acquisition and contracting. However, Attachment 3, LCATs, does not explicitly include labor categories for this specific expertise. Will the government please provide either a labor category or specify a current labor category this position will map to?

Acquisition support does not require a functional expert; section 3.1.2 is only stating that the government may require in a TO a person to assist with statements of work or pricing activities.

Attachment 1, SOW 12 7.2 Will all work required for this effort be performed on government-provided laptops pursuant to Section 7.2 of Attachment 1?

TOs will specify whether government equipment or contractor provided equipment is to be used for performance of work.

Which fiscal year funding will be used to make the initial award of this contract.

This is currently unknown.

How long before the actual award will notification to the selected contractor be made?

Notification to the selected contractor occurs the same day the IDIQ is awarded. The first task order will then be solicited solely with the IDIQ awardee.

Can Offerors add labor categories at the IDIQ level?

The government does not anticipate any other labor categories to be needed at the IDIQ level.

Sol_140A1625R0032 L.1 Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-1 pages 75-76 The instructions state that an Offeror cannot utilize an indefinite delivery contract as a past performance reference; however, when determining relevance, the instructions also state that the provided references should be similar in "dollar value (ceiling of IDIQ)". Can the government please clarify if their intent is for the specific task order reference to meet the relevance requirements or are those requirements (types of services/support, complexity, dollar value, and contract type) aimed at the associated indefinite delivery contract, as the potential effort is also an IDIQ?

See amendment. L.1.F Factor 4 language has been updated. The intent is for any IDIQ, contract, TO, PO that is relevant to this requirement to be allowed to be used for past performance.

Sol_140A1625R0032 L.1 Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-1 page 76 Can the government please confirm that relevant contract experience as a subcontractor is allowed to be submitted for the Past Performance section?

From page 76 of 80 of the Solicitation: “If the Offeror has no relevant past performance experience in which they acted as the prime Contractor, the Offeror must submit a statement stating this and the Offeror will be given a neutral rating for past performance.”

Sol_140A1625R0032 L.1 Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-1 page 77 The submission instructions make mention of the "Stage I"; can the government confirm that this is a typo and there is only one solicitation package required (i.e., this is not a phased acquisition)?

See amendment. This is NOT a phased acquisition.

Sol_140A1625R0032 L.1 Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-1 page 77 Would the government please consider extending the proposal deadline to August 4, 2025 to allow for sufficient time to address any adjustments resulting from the Q&A?

See amendment. The proposal deadline has been extended.

B08_Solicitation_Attachment_1_IDIQ_SOW 9.0 LOCATION OF PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES REQUIREMENTS page 12 Can the government please clarify if the key personnel required to be located at the DWP offices must be onsite full time?

Each TO will state the requirement for contractor personnel location.

SOW, 4.3, Key Personnel, page 9 / Solicitation H2. Key Personnel page 19 The government notes that Key Personnel are a Program Manager, technical lead for the Safety of Dams Program (SOD), and a technical lead for the Branch of Irrigation and Power Program (BIP), which would indicate three resumes/key personnel are required. However, in the solicitation document H.2 Key Personnel lists the IDIQ Program Manager as the only Key Personnel. Please clarify what resumes we are to provide with our submission. Are we providing 3, 4, or one resume for Key Personnel. Also, what level of Physical Scientist?

See amendment. The Key Personnel required is in the SOW Section 4.3 Page 9. The Key Personnel section of the solicitation has been updated to match the SOW.

Solicitation H2. Key Personnel page 19 Is this IDIQ Program Manager required to have the same skillset/meet the same requirements as the Program Manager LCAT?

Yes.

SOW, General Is the SOW considered a seed task order to the IDIQ? Where do we put the technical/pricing specific to this?

No. The technical is in response to the IDIQ SOW. The pricing is for each labor category at the IDIQ level.

Solicitation, B.5 Travel, page 7 The second sentence reads that G&A is allowed for travel. The 6th sentence notes that G&A is not allowed. Please clarify.

See amendment. G&A allowed, but profit on G&A is not.

Solicitation I. Proposal Submission Details Bullet 3 notes “Stage I” is this a multi-part procurement? What is encompassed in Stage 2+?

See A27.

General Administrative Please confirm you would like the SF33, Section K, additional fill-in clauses, and IEE representation as one stand-alone PDF.

Forms may be Word or searchable PDF.

Section L, page 70 We noticed that 52.222-46 Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees is incorporated, however the page counts provided for the technical document will not permit us to submit this (this document is usually 15-20 pages alone) Should we include this as a separate attachment for evaluation? Or include it in the pricing narrative?

Pricing data does not count against any page limits and may be provided as a separate attachment.

Section I, item 7, 52.222-55, page 32 EO 14026 was rescinded by the current administration. The vendor requests this line be unchecked.

See amendment. Unchecked FAR 52.222-55.

Solicitation Section L page 74 Can the government confirm that the header/footer (logo, page number, etc.) can be INSIDE the 1 inch margin? “Margins: One-inch margins around the entire paper (header and footer may be outside the one-inch margin)” Yes Solicitation Section L page 74 The table notes that the pricing narrative must be in Word. Would searchable PDF also be allowed like that noted in Volume I, or MUST this be a .DOCX Word file?

See amendment. Searchable PDF is allowed.

SOW document – all pages Is the current SOW being performed by incumbents? (if so, please provide the number of resources by role, incumbent personnel names and contact information), Reference to non-displacement of qualified workers is currently checked.

Solicitation updated. The majority of work included in this IDIQ is currently being performed by Managed Business Solutions LLC (SAM UEI XV3NLKL4UFA9) under stand-alone contract 140A1620C0007, which has a ceiling of $41,718,694.47 and currently expires 1/31/2026. Note this IDIQ includes revised requirements than 140A1620C0007.

Reference to non-displacement removed from solicitation.

F.4, A page 14 Is a transition plan required in Volume I?

Yes, transition-in and transition-out plans are required per the solicitation.

Section L, item B. Page 78 It appears that all written information required by the technical is relative to the stated SOW, not the overall IDIQ. Is this a correct assessment that we should not discuss the management of the overall IDIQ?

See solicitation section L.1.F.

Section L, page 76 The government has indicated “The Government reserves the right to consider past performance report forms received after the due date of the RFP.” Please confirm there is not a form the vendor needs to complete.

Confirmed.

SOW page 6 The government notes that part of the SOW is to “Provide temporary off-site facilities for meetings, conferences and workshops” however, the IDIQ notes that all materials, facilities, equipment is provided by the government. If this is part of the scope of work, industry needs to know the size of facility needed and a way to price this in the pricing sheet.

No information regarding off-site facilities, conferences or workshops is required at the IDIQ level. A TO may be negotiated with the IDIQ awardee at a future date to perform off-site facilities for meetings, conferences and workshops (potentially for training) General Given that our preceding questions need to be answered to recruit for key personnel, the industry requests an extension of two weeks from when the Q&A is returned from the government.

See amendment. The proposal deadline has been extended.

General Are letters of commitment required for Key Personnel? Are these also excluded from the technical {page limit}?

Yes, letters of commitment are required for all key personnel at the IDIQ level. Letters of commitment are excluded from any page limit.

Factor 4 Past Performance, page 75 It is noted that “Past performance information is required for the Offeror and all teaming partners, joint venture partners, and/or subcontractors” does this mean that each of those can provide 3-5 past performance references, or that among all of these we can provide 3-5?

The total number of references is 3-5.

General Will the government please correct the award date to 2025?

See amendment. Targeted date of award in solicitation section L.1.D. has been updated.