IHS_Web_Support_Services_PWS_Questions_Amend_004_0004.pdf

IHS Web Support Services Amendment 004 Solicitation Q&A

Q1. Can we utilize a PPQ recently sent to us for another opportunity?

A1. Yes, that is acceptable.

Q2. Would the Government consider allowing a font size of 10 for tables and call outs?

A2. The Government has changed the solicitation guidance to allow for 10-point font for the tables, graphics and call-outs as requested.

Q3. Requesting a decrease in font size for tables and graphics to a minimum of 9-point. Request is based on the Technical volume 15-page limit and the large staffing plan chart that is required;

which will take up a significant amount of room leaving little space to respond to QA/QC and a 508 Compliance Plan.

A3. The Government has changed the solicitation guidance to allow for 10-point font for the tables, graphics and call-outs as requested.

Q4. Is it the government's expectation that services are performed between the core hours of 9:00

- 3:00 EST for all 7 days of the week (except federal holidays) or Monday through Friday?

A4. We expect contracted employees to work 8 hours per day Monday – Friday. All employees must work the during the core hours to be but gave the flexibility of when they begin and end their day due to the various possibility of employee locations. This does not include the emergency requirements as stated within the PWS.

Q5. Is there a desired number of FTEs the government expects to support this requirement? A5.

The Government expects Contractors to propose their staffing plans as a part of their technical proposal to include their recommended number of FTEs capable of performing the work as stated within the PWS.

Q6. Are there section-level SharePoint "Content Managers" in the production environment and if so, how many?

A6. The Government has provided all the information we intend to regarding the SharePoint environment, the number of sites, the size of the database, etc. We will not provide the number of content managers from the current contract.

Q7. Does the IHS already have report templates for the report deliverables identified in section 4.4?

A7. No templates exist. There are current reports which will be provided to the awardee, but the awardee is capable of developing their own templates or utilizing what they currently as long as it meets the stated requirements. This will be coordinated after with the CORs after the award of contract.

Q8. Are there any additional IHS employees/contractors that will be assisting/performing these duties?

A8. There are two federal employees that oversee the Web Services program.

Q9. Please confirm that the PPQ form is Attachment 4. The file named “140D0423R0008_Amend_003_0003” refers to it as Attachment 4 but the PPQ form itself is titled (inside the header of the document) “Attachment 6”.

A9. The PPQ is Attachment 4. The header of the document has been updated.

Q10. Please confirm the preferred method of PPQ submission. Should the reference client submit the PPQ to the Offeror and the Offeror submit with their response, or should the reference client submit directly to the Contracting Officer/Specialist? The file named “140D0423R0008_Amend_003_0003” seems to indicate the latter but the PPQ form itself seems to indicate the former is preferred.

A10. Attachment 4 – PPQ has been updated to reflect that complete PPWs should be submitted to the Contracting Officer and contract Specialist via email.

Q11. Can the Government please clarify the definition for "contractor's home office" for wage determination, shall this mean the office in which the personnel are working in or the contractor's headquarters? Also, can the Government please confirm that if personnel are working remotely, then the wage determination for that area should be utilized?

A11. The SCA wage determination should be based on the locality of wherever the employee sits.

Q12. Page 3 of the solicitation states this contract is to be Firm Fixed Price which would result in the contractor’s labor rates being a single fully burdened rate per labor category; however, the Attachment 3 Pricing Sheet Amend 002 is asking for a breakdown of indirect rates for each labor category. Will this be removed to fit with the type of contract?

A12. This is a Firm Fixed Price; however the Government intends to incorporate the Staffing Plan into the contract award with the proposed fully burdened labor rates. Monthly invoices will be submitted for the FFP amount provided all proposed positions are staffed and all services required by the contract are provided.

Q13. There is no place in the form for ODC costs including travel to pick up PIV cards which in the past has been farther than 50 miles from an employee’s place of work. Will a section for ODCs be added to the sheets?

A13. This is a firm fixed-price contract and travel and ODCs will not be priced separately. The only consideration that will be made is if New Mexico Gross Receipt Tax reimbursement is required for a contractor providing services from New Mexico.

Q14. In the Cover-Total sheet there is a line 11 Six Month EOS $ but there is not sheet for this item. Will a sheet be added for this 6-month extension period?

A14. No. The six-month extension is based on half of the price of the final year. It will be evaluated with all other options IAW FAR 52.217-5 but will not be included within the resulting contract unless the Government decides to utilize it.

Q15. What are the instructions for completing the Pricing Narrative sheet?

A15. A request was made to allow Contractors to include a narrative to defend their pricing. It is not mandatory to use but it available for those that would like to use it.

Q16. If a contractor has a subcontractor on their team, in order to prevent “Unbalanced Pricing” are the sub’s labor categories to be listed in the Attachment 3 Pricing Sheet under the Prime’s list of labor categories and identified as such?

A16. Information included in Attachment 3 should be the price the prime contractor is proposing for efforts under the contract, regardless of whether performed by the prime or subcontractor.

Where attempting to factor in prime and subcontractor pricing, the hourly rate should reflect the hourly rate paid that will be paid to the employee as this is being evaluated to ensure the hourly rates are sufficient to attract and retain qualified personnel. The other categories in the spreadsheet would include the total G&A, profit, etc. from both, to arrive at the FFP the contractor is proposing.

Q17. Is the contractor allowed to supply a PDF of budget sheets by year with costs by task to support the costs of this work?

A17. No. All pricing must be provided within the provided pricing sheet (attachment 3).

Q18. The new statement added to Section 2.3 Past Performance stating the PPQs and CPARS documents are not included in the past performance page limit alludes to us needing to provide copies of the contracts’ CPARS. However, answer 18 states that the Offeror is not required to submit CPARS as a part of our past performance submissions (other than the list of references). Just confirming that this answer is still accurate even though the new statement in RFP Section 2.3 refers to the submittal of CPAR documents.

A18. CPARS do not need to be submitted for any of the provided references as the Government is capable of pulling all CPARS. The question was asked, so if they are provided, they will not count toward the page limit.

Q19. Would the Government consider extending the due date by a few days or so to accommodate those taking time off for the Thanksgiving holiday?

A19. No. Unfortunately we are already on a tight timeline due to the expiration of the current contract.

Q20. Can the Government please confirm the labor categories and descriptions for the current 18 FTEs on this award? This will assist in the contractor’s use of developing the Staffing Plan, which would promote the Government receiving personnel that meets their requirements. For example: education requirements, Two added FTEs

A20. All information the Government is willing to share regarding the current contract has been shared. Each contractor is responsible for developing their staffing plan based on what they believe is required to meet the requirements within the PWS and will be evaluated as stated within the solicitation.

Q21. Will the Contractor be able to modify the pricing sheet in order to ensure proper rounding and adequacy.

A21. None of the blocks within the pricing sheet are locked, so please feel free to make any adjustments that are necessary to ensure calculations are accurate.

Q22. Please confirm the necessity of the Indian Preference FAR HHSAR Clauses. We always try to hire the incumbent employees in scenarios where we are starting a new contract which another incumbent has been in place. Without understanding the make-up of the incumbent staff, we want to ensure we can comply without putting the IHS OIT at risk of a smooth transition due to staff turnover/not transitioning (if appropriate and accurate). As we are still trying to determine the make-up of the incumbent staff, and because we are a Native American Tribe, would IHS consider removing the clauses?

A22. The Government will not remove the clause as it is mandatory IAW HHSAR 326.505.

Q23. Due to scheduling delays at CAC facilities for initial/renewal of CAC's, would the government please add FAR Clause 52.249-14 Excusable Delays?

A23. Excusable delays is not appropriate for this contract as it is not a cost-reimbursable contract. Additionally, the contractor will have ample time prior to the start of the contract to begin allow employees to acquire required clearances and PIV cards.

Q24. Due to the change of the New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax every six months, will the Government issue a Non-Taxable transactions certificate?

A24. We do not issue NTTCs. If awarded the contract, a contractor residing in New Mexico would need to reach out to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and provide a copy of the federal contract to determine if they qualify for an NTTC.

Q25. Can the Government please confirm whether the Quality Assurance Plan is required with the proposal submission due 12/6/22? Both the Q&A and PWS issued in Amendment 3 indicate this is only due after award.

A25. The PWS was updated to require the draft QA/QC plan to be submitted by the awardee within 10 days of contract award. All contractors are required to submit QA/QC plan summaries as a part of Volume II – technical to be evaluated.

Q26. Can the Government clarify whether Factor 3 in its entirety is 5 pages, or each project writeup can be up to 5 pages long?

A26. The past performance volume only requests a list of references with the specific information requested to include any PPQs for projects that don’t have CPARs available.

Q27. Are CPARS documents meant to be included with the proposal or the Government will look it up on their end?

A27. The Government will look up CPARS.

Q28. Can past performance come from a subcontractor partner?

A28. Sure. The Contractor can submit past performance from a subcontractor partner.

Q29. Can past performance be as a subcontractor partner?

A29. Sure. The Contractor can submit past performance from when it was a subcontractor partner.

Q30. What degree of modernization is IHS seeking to achieve?

A30. Per the PWS, HIS is willing to review any recommendations provided by the awardee for modernization. All reasonable recommendations will be considered/evaluated.

Q31. Can personnel experience can be used in lieu of past performance?

A31. No. Past performance must be provided for the company that is providing the proposal and not a single individual.

Q32. Can we use organization past performance rather than individual entity?

A32. No. Past performance must be provided for the company that is providing the proposal as they are the ones responsible for performance if awarded a contract.

Q33. In the Q&A responses, the government listed the various position categories the current FTEs are filling. Can the government please elaborate on what activities the Analysts listed are conducting?

A33. No. The Government will not be providing any additional details regarding the current contract or its’ staffing.