B09 140G0220R0034-2 Attch 4 Q and As_0002.xlsx
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- Science & Technology Support Services USGS NGTOC
- Solicitation number
- 140G0220R0034
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This solicitation notice announces a request for proposal for science and technology support services from the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Technical Operations Center. The solicitation is set aside 100% for small business administration 8(a) firms and involves providing professional, scientific and technical services with a NAICS code of 541990. Responses are due by November 19, 2020. The incumbent contractors are Cherokee Nation Technologies, L.L.C. and Xcellent Technology Solutions, Inc. Services required include program management, technical writing, geospatial application and modeling, and web and database development to be provided over the term of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract through subsequent task orders.
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| File | Type | Posted |
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| Sol_140G0220R0034_Amd_0002.pdf | ||
| Sol_140G0220R0034_Amd_0001.pdf | ||
| Sol_140G0220R0034.pdf | ||
| B08 140G0220R0034 Attch 2 DOL WDs.pdf | ||
| B08 140G0220R0034 Attch 3 FISMA Requirements.doc | DOC document | |
| B08 140G0220R0034 Attch 1 Price Schedule.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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Sheet1
| Attachment 4, Questions and Answers 001 through 078. | |||
| 140G0220R0034 STSSC for USGS NGTOC | |||
| QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |||
| Question # | Question | Answer | |
| 1 | Page 52 of 61, Section Sub factor 2.2 Business Relations and Customer Service, 2nd paragraph: Please confirm if “offeror” in the above mentioned paragraph is defined as the 8(a) prime and their teaming partners/subcontractors or if “offeror” is only the 8(a) concern? | "Offeror" is only the 8(a) Firm proposing for this solicitation. REMINDER: Offerors, who are proposing to have subcontractors performing any portion of the work, must readily show in their proposal that the Offeror 8(a) firm will be performing at least 50% of the work by their own employees. | |
| 2 | Page 52 of 61, Section Sub factor 2.2 Business Relations and Customer Service, 2nd paragraph: May an offeror submit one or more past performance of their teaming partner/subcontractor? | The offeror "may" submit any proposal support documentation. However, the Government will only value past performance information on the offering 8(a) firm for Past Performance evaluation. The past performance of the offering 8(a) firm is an indicator of future performance of the offering 8(a) firm; thus, past performance information pertaining to other than the offering 8(a) firm will not be of any value to the Government. REMINDER: Offerors, who are proposing to have subcontractors performing any portion of the work, must readily show in their proposal that the Offeror 8(a) firm will be performing at least 50% of the work by their own employees. | |
| 3 | Would there be a conflict of interest (COI) if we partnered with a vendor on USGS's Geospatial Products and Services Contract (GPSC)? | Yes, Organizational Conflicts of Interest could occur between STSSC and GPSC. Offerors who "partner", either by partnering agreement or by subcontractor agreement, with GPSC contractor(s)/vendor(s) must consider including a Organizational COI Mitigation Plan within their partnership/subcontractor agreement with sufficient firewalls/stonewalls in place to clearly describe how all parties in the partnership/subcontractor agreements will function in order to mitigate the creation of an Organizational COI for either the STSSC or the GPSC for both award competitions or for contract performance. REMINDER: Offerors, who are proposing to have partners/subcontractors performing any portion of the work, must readily show in their proposal that the Offeror 8(a) firm will be performing at least 50% of the work by their own employees. Offerors with teaming partners shall reference their COI Mitigation Plans in their Volume 1, 30 page limit. The full COI Mitigation Plans will only be required from the teaming offerors whose proposals are selected for the competitive range. | |
| 4 | Is this only a portion of the (Government's) Requirement…the only incumbents are… ING16PC00003 CHEROKEE NATION BUSINESSES, LLC (and) 140G0218D0001 XCELLENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, | ||
| INC.? | The incumbents information is found on Page 5 of 61: Contract ING16PC00003 with CHEROKEE NATION TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. (CNT) and Contract 140G0218D0001 with XCELLENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. (XTS). | ||
| 5 | ...submitted a response on 9/16/2020 to solicitation number 140G0220R0021, which seems to be identical to this new solicitation that is currently out and due on 11/2. Has the previous solicitation that we submitted cancelled and this is a new version? Or is this solicitation separate from the one that we submitted? Can you kindly provide some clarification on this? If the previous one is cancelled, we never received a cancellation notice. | Solicitation Number 140G0220R0034 replaces Solicitation Number 140G0220R0012. Solicitation Number 140G0220R0034 is not the same as Solicitation 140G0220R0021. | |
| 6 | M.4 Evaluation / Para 4, Page 56 of 61. M.4 Evaluation states: “Offerors that represent the most thorough understanding, realistic and comprehensive approach for the entire project, will be rated more favorably.” |
The new solicitation reflects several changes including the removal of two evaluated Factors (from the prior solicitation): Factor 2, Technical Approach and Factor 4, Organizational Experience. As a result, it is not clear how an Offeror would be able to demonstrate, per the M.4 Evaluation, a thorough understanding, realistic and comprehensive approach for the entire project. Specifically, Offerors are not able to demonstrate technical capability to perform the technical scope requirements, and record of experience in doing so. Further, the revised solicitation removes the opportunity for non-incumbents to discuss not only an approach and expertise, but demonstrated capability in delivering solutions and value (savings, efficiencies, etc.) to the Government. The resulting solicitation affords a strong advantage to the incumbent, thus impeding fair competition for all 8(a) firms.
| Please clarify how an Offeror is to fully meet this evaluation element. | All offerers are provided fair opportunity to meet this element by providing the support documentation as required in Section L and evaluated in accordance with Section M. | |||
| 7 | L.10, Factor 1, Management, Subfactor 1.3 – Key Personnel / Para 2 | 52 of 61 | L.10, Factor 1, Management, Subfactor 1.3 – Key Personnel |
The requirement states: “With the resume, please attach a signed statement of availability for each proposed key personnel.”
| The requirement for signed statements of availability provides an advantage to the incumbent, impeding fair competition, as the incumbents have been restricted in furnishing such signed statements. Would the Government remove this requirement in its entirety? | No. Either the Offeror has a qualified Program Manager as an employee or has the capability to employ a qualified Program Manager, as the one required Key Personnel for this solicitation/contract. It is reasonable for the Government to see the proposed Key Personnel's resume(s) and if the proposed Key Personnel is(are) not an employee(s) of the Offeror, then a letter(s) from the Key Personnel to show proof that the offered Key Personnel is(are) available in order to show the Offeror is capable. Thus, there is not an "unfair" advantage to the incumbents. | |
| 8 | H.21. Security Requirements: Facility Access And Information Technology (Aug 2016), H.28 Wage Determination, and |
F.9 Telecommuting / Para NA, Pages 29, 33 of 61. Based on the Government’s solicitation clauses and requirements (e.g., wage determination, security and access to Government systems and data per Section H.21, and NACI), our understanding is staff would reside in the United States and be U.S. Citizens.
| Please confirm this is the correct understanding. | Unless stipulated at the task order level, the contractor/subcontractor's employees must have the right to work in the USA. Thus, non-US Citizens would qualify if they: have current green cards or work visa to work in the US; have legal residence in the US; and perform services in the US. | ||
| 9 | L.10, Factor 2, Past Performance, References / Para titled References, Pages 52 of 61. | L.10, Factor 2, Past Performance – References |
The requirement states: “The reference information is limited to the offeror’s past project performance; thus, the Government will not consider references’ information/comments on any vendor(s) other than the offeror.”
| Past performance solely from the Offeror limits competition for Offerors with teaming partners expected to perform on the program. Would the Government allow Offeror’s to use past performance refences of teaming partners? | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | |||
| 10 | ...by chance is the subject line solicitation open to STARS-II vendors? | Solicitation 140G0220R0034 is an Open Market Competition limited to 8(a) vendors | ||
| 11 | Can you provide incumbent contract info is applicable? | The incumbents are found on Page 5 of 61: Contract ING16PC00003 with CHEROKEE NATION TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. (CNT) and Contract 140G0218D0001 with XCELLENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. (XTS). | ||
| 12 | Can the PM (Key personnel) work from contractor site as COVID restrictions have impacted logistics? | The Key Personnel is specified as an on-site task order. Until the USGS offices reopen to 100%, the PM will report from an alternate location to be determined by their contract company. | ||
| 13 | Will remote work be authorized in any task orders? | Each task order is independent. Consideration of remote work will be assessed on a case by case basis. | ||
| 14 | How many awards will be made for this IDIQ? | One | ||
| 15 | On price proposal, can you verify which labor categories fall under SCA Wage Determination? | No. The Government intends to have the Offeror propose either an SCA Wage or Professional Services wage for each labor description. | ||
| 16 | Can you provide mapping of labor categories required under this contract to the OCCUPATION codes on the wage determination document? | No. The Government intends to have the Offeror propose either an SCA Wage or Professional Services wage for each labor description. | ||
| 17 | For Subfactor 1.3 – Key Personnel, it states to provide narrative of the key personnel. Are you requiring resumes and narrative of team members that are NOT key personnel? Or do you only require information on the Program Manager? | The Program Manager must be named and that named Program Manager's resume is required. Additionally, the proposal package must contain a statement of availability, signed by the named Program Manager, Resumes of non-Key Personnel are not required. | ||
| 18 | How many FTEs are currently supporting this contract? | Our current FTE support is reflected in the Labor Category spreadsheet attachment. | ||
| 19 | Can we utilize our teaming partner’s past performance in our proposal? | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | ||
| 20 | L.9. SUBMISSION OF OFFER, Page 50. Cover letters and/or graphics are included in the page limitations. | Would the Government allow the cover letter to be excluded from page count? If no, does the Offeror have the option to not submit a cover letter? | No, cover letters will be include in the page limit. Yes, the Offeror has the option to not submit a cover letter. | |
| 21 | L.9. SUBMISSION OF OFFER, Page 50. The proposals must also contain offeror’s contact and company information, including DUNS number, CAGE Code, Street Address, Phone Number, and information of the person authorized to negotiate, sign and responsible for the proposal. Can the Offeror provide this information in the Title Page (which is excluded from page count)? | Yes, title/cover page(s) will be include in the page limit. Since the offer/proposal must be in two volumes, offers/proposals shall contain offeror’s contact and company information, including DUNS number, CAGE Code, Street Address, Phone Number, and information of the person authorized to negotiate, sign and responsible for the proposal in both volumes. | ||
| 22 | Will the Government confirm that the offeror is not required to propose any price based on the notional hours provided in the RFP as the proposal requirements state only a burdened cost rate is required for each LCAT?” | Government understands LCAT as meaning Labor Category. At minimum all LCATs on Attachment 1 Price Schedule must be completed with the offeror's proposed fully-burdened rates. | ||
| 23 | Will the Government confirm that the offeror is allowed to a.) add LCATs now to our submission at the IDIQ level or b.) add LCATs at the Task Order level based on required scope. | Offerors shall not add LCATs to the Price Schedule. | ||
| 24 | Page 23 Section H7- Key Personnel and Page 52 subfactor 1.3 |
| Question: while it is stated that the program manager must be named, there is ambiguity about whether or not an actual resume must be submitted with the proposal. Can the government clarify whether or not a resume and signed statement availability is required by the designated program manager? | The Program Manager must be named and that named Program Manager's resume is required. Additionally, the proposal package must contain a statement of availability, signed by the named Program Manager, Resumes of non-Key Personnel are not required. | |
| 25 | Page 6 section 1A last line on the page |
| Question: Given the situation with COVID, is it acceptable for the government to have the program manager work remotely? | The Key Personnel is specified as an on-site task order. Until the USGS offices reopen to 100%, the PM will report from an alternate location to be determined by their employer(Contractor). | ||||
| 26 | RFQ. G6. Pg. 20 and RFQ H13 Pg.25 | Travel and Transportation, Should travel be included in the offerors cost proposal. If so, please provide specifics | No. If/when travel is required, the Government will only reimburse the contractor for travel in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations. | ||
| 27 | RFQ. H4. Pg. 22 Organizational Conflicts of Interest. Please confirm that the Government sees no conflict of interest with subcontractors on the offeror’s team being a prime contractor under USGS’ Geospatial Products and Services Contract V3 (GPSC3) or V4 (GPSC4). | Organizational Conflicts of Interest could occur between STSSC and GPSC. Offerors who "partner", either by Joint Venture or by subcontractor Teaming agreement, with GPSC contractor(s)/vendor(s) must consider including a Organizational COI Mitigation Plan within their partnership/subcontractor agreement with sufficient firewalls/stonewalls in place to clearly describe how all parties in the partnership/subcontractor agreements will behave in order to mitigate the creation of an Organizational COI for either the STSSC or the GPSC for both award competitions or for contract performance. REMINDER: Offerors, who are proposing to have partners/subcontractors performing any portion of the work, must readily show in their proposal that the Offeror 8(a) firm will be performing at least 50% of the work by their own employees. Offerors with teaming partners shall reference their COI Mitigation Plans in their Volume 1, 30 page limit. The full COI Mitigation Plans will only be required from the teaming offerors whose proposals are selected for the competitive range. | |||
| 28 | RFQ. Pg. 52 Subfactor 2.2 References, last para | Past Performance | The solicitation states, “The reference information is limited to the offeror’s past project performance; thus, the Government will not consider references’ information/comments on any vendor(s) other than the offeror.” Is the “offeror” referring to just the Prime or the entire Team? Can references be provided for subcontractors? | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | |
| 29 | RFQ. Pg. 53 Factor 3 – Professional Employee Compensation Plan | ||||
| Compensation Plan | The solicitation states, “The Professional Employee Compensation Plan is limited to the offeror’s company.” Is the “offeror” referring to just the Prime or the entire Team? Can the Compensation Plan include the subcontractors? | The contracted "Professional Employee Compensation Plan" (PECP) shall be applicable to all professional employees of the prime contractor. And, the prime contractor must ensure that subcontractors comply with PECP of the subcontrator's company. | |||
| 30 | RFQ. Pg.50 L.9 Submission of offer Volume II Please clarify what is meant by what shall be included in Volume II in regards to reference to 1. “Solicitation” | ||||
| Please clarify in RFQ. Section L.9 under Volume II, line 1. Standard Form 1449, SOLICIATION, Offer and Acknowledgement of Amendments. What is meant by “Solicitation” in this section? | The SF 1449 may be used as a "Solicitation" or a "Contract". Since, we're in the solicitation phase, the SF 1449 must be completed as the SOLICITATION proposal offer. Since the SF 1449 is an offer by the offeror, the Government may accept any proposed offer without discussion/negotiation. | ||||
| 31 | RFQ. Pg.52 L.10, Fac 2 PP. | Factor 2 Past Performance | Please clarify what is meant by “offerors may choose to include past performance experience information”? Is this over and above subfactor 2.1 and subfactor 2.2 | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | |
| 32 | RFQ. Pg. 53 L.10, Add. Volume I Non-Price Supp. Doc, Non-Price Support Documents. As specified under General References it is requested to provide listing of reference information related to the offeror’s financial institution, creditors, insurance companies, subconsultants and suppliers.” Is there anything specific that should be included outside of the name, address and contact information?” | No. However, the offeror may include additional information. | |||
| 33 | RFQ. Pg. 54 L.11 Volume II – Price Proposal Instructions | Volume II. Can you please clarify which positions in Attachment 1 are covered by SCA? | No. The Government intends for the Offeror to propose either Service Contract Act (SCA) or Professsional Services (PS) and identify as such on Attachment 1 Price Schedule | ||
| 34 | Attachment 1. Price Schedule. Excel Sheet. Is Attachment 1 where it references Professional Services (PS) is this considered exempt? | Yes. PS are exempt from the SCA. | |||
| 35 | Attachment 1. Price Schedule. Excel Sheet. Are there years of experience and education that can be provided for all positions listed in the three tabs? There are some identified in some labor categories and some that are not. | The descriptions in the Price Schedule are the minimum requirements for the labor category described. | |||
| 36 | Attachment 1 Question: Since hours are provided by labor category, it equates to 64 FTE at the 1920 hour man-year provided. Does the Government intend to award all of these positions at contract award or will they be issued with task orders? | The USGS will be issuing an IDIQ contract. Task orders for services will be issued as the needs arise and funding becomes available. | |||
| 37 | Page 6, C.3, 1.a. | Reference: The on-site Program Management Services are required as a separate task order. Any on-site Program Management would be responsible for the overall management of the subject contract and supervision of contractor staff carrying out the work authorized by task orders issued under the contract. |
| Question: Can the Government confirm that Program Management Services for the overall contract will be performed under a separate Task Order? | Yes, Confirmed, the Key Personnel, Program Management Services for the overall contract will be performed under a separate Task Order. There will not be a need to include the costs of program management when calculating proposed fully-burdened rates for Attachment 1 Price Schedule. | ||
| 38 | Page 6, C.3, 1.a. | Reference: The Program Management (Key Personnel) is a direct cost for this contract and shall serve as liaison between contractor staff and the Government COR and Task Order Manager(s), ensuring all the contractual requirements, objectives and operational requirements are met. |
| Question: The Government references Program Management multiple times with the PWS, can the Government confirm if this is considered one key personnel position or multiple? | In performance-based acquisitions, the Government describes the tasks for performance results with quality standards and time standards for acceptable performance. The "how to" obtain the results that meet or exceed the quality standards and time standards is up to the offeror/contractor. | ||
| 39 | Page 15, F.1.2, F.1.2 | Reference: Deliverable Table – Unless otherwise specified or agreed upon, all deliverables shall be submitted to the COR identified in Section G of this contract, with a copy of the transmittal letter to the Contracting Officer. Other deliverables, specific to task order performance, will be as specified within individual task orders. |
| Question: Section G references the “Contracting Officer” only, it does not provide any POC information for the Contracting Officer Representative is. Can the Government please clarify? | At the time of contract award, the Contracting Officer will include the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR, COR) and other Government POCs in the contract. | |||
| 40 | Page 23, | H.7, a. | Reference: (Offeror must provide/enter the names of proposed key personnel, as presented in the technical proposal.) | |
| Question: Is the Government requiring more than one key personnel? | No. | |||
| 41 | Page 52, L.10, Subfactor 1.3 | Reference: Should the offeror utilize and include the resume of the key personnel, the resume(s) will not be counted towards the 30-page limit. With the resume, please attach a signed statement of availability for each proposed key personnel. The signed statement will not count towards the 30-page limit |
Q1: It is not clear whether or not a resume is required, can the Government please clarify if it is required or optional?
| Q2: If it is required, should the offeror provide as a separate attachment or as an appendix within Volume I? | Resumes are required for proposed Key Personnel. Resumes are not counted in the 30-page limit. Key Personnel signed Statements of Availability are not counted in the 30-page limit; offerors' submission may be as separate attachments or appendix to the non-price Volume 1. | |
| 42 | Page 53, L.10, Factor 3 Reference: The offeror shall provide the Professional Employee Compensation Plan, as a separate document, which is not included in the 30-page limit |
| Question: Can the Government please clarify if this should be provided as a separate file or as an appendix within Volume I? | The offeror's Professional Employee Compensation Plan shall be included as a separate document, which would not count against the Non-Price Volume 1, 30-page limit. | ||
| 43 | Page 53, L.10 Additional Volume I Non-Price Support Documents | Reference: Additional Volume I Non-Price Support Documents – Section K and General References. |
| Question: Can the Government please clarify if these requirements (Section K and General References) are to be provided as separate files or as an appendix within Volume I? | Section K and General References, (These representations and certifications will not be counted in the 30-page non-price page limitation.) may be provided as attachment to or appendix of the Non-Price Volume 1 | ||
| 44 | Page 58, M.6, Subfactor 1.3 | Reference: Key personnel resume(s) will be evaluated based on the individual’s qualifications and experience relative to: the mission of U.S. Geological Survey; specific duties the individual will perform under the contract; and complementary specialty skill and experience areas such as IDIQ/Task Order contracting, project/task management, systems/IT architecture, Amazon Web services (AWS) migration, scientific, and technical services. |
| Question: Section L.10 references the offeror to Attachment 1 for a description of duties and qualifications for Key Personnel, section M.6 includes more qualifications, can the Government please confirm qualifications in M.6 and Attachment 1 are both required to be compliant? | Yes. Confirmed, qualifications in M.6 and Attachment 1 are both required to be compliant. | |
| 45 | Page 53, General References. Reference: 2. General References – Provide listing of reference information related to the offeror’s financial institutions, creditors, insurance companies, subconsultants, and suppliers. |
| Question: What type of reference information is required? Are we required to provide information regarding all listed? Please clarify what is required so offeror can provide compliant response. | The Government is allowing the offeror to provide FAR Part 9 "responsibility" reference information. The information provided is up to the offeror. | |||
| 46 | L.10; Factor 2; Subfactor 2.2; Second Paragraph "References"; Page 52 | The RFP states that the Offeror shall submit no more than 3 references and that the reference information is limited to the Offeror. If a Team is bidding, would the Team Member be considered as part of the “Offeror” or would the Team Member be considered a “Vendor”? If an Offeror, would the 3 references then include references from the Prime and the Team Member, or would it be 3 for each? | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | |
| 47 | L.10; Factor 3; "Professional Employee Compensation Plan"; Page 53. The RFP states that the Professional Employee Compensation Plan is limited to the offeror's company. If a Team is bidding, would the Team Member be considered as part of the "Offeror" or would the Team Member be considered a "Vendor"? If an Offeror, is the government requesting the Professional Employee Compensation Plan reflect the Team Member's compensation structure, salaries, and fringe benefits? | The contracted "Professional Employee Compensation Plan" (PECP) shall be applicable to all professional employees. Thus, it's the requirement of the 8(a) Prime Contractor: to complete at least 50% of the over-all contracted work (the sum of all task orders) with its own professional employees; to follow the proposed PECP for its professional employees; and, to assure that all subcontractors are following the contracted PECP for the subcontractors' professional employees. | ||
| 48 | RFP Section C.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE HOURS: You list 3 locations; 2 for the NGTOC, 1 for the National Geospatial Program. Can you please list the number of personnel assigned to each location? | No. The Government intends to issue Performance-based Work Statements (PWS) for the task orders. With PWS, it is up to the contractor to determine "how to perform" the required services/tasks to meet or exceed the required quality standards and time standards. The "how to perform" includes the number of employees and their locations will be up to the contractor. | ||
| 49 | In Attachment 1, “Price Schedule” there are 4 tabs listed one of which is Key Personnel. On that worksheet, there are two locations listed for Key Personnel – Rolla and Denver. Can you provide the current location of the Key Personnel for the existing contract? | No. The Government intends to issue Performance-based Work Statements (PWS) for the task orders. With PWS, it is up to the contractor to determine "how to perform" the required services/tasks to the required quality standards and time standards. The "how to perform" includes the number of employees and their locations will be up to the contractor. | ||
| 50 | In regards to the place of performance (page 16 of RFP, section F.3), if the contractor can service one of the areas in-person, would it be permissible to perform services for the other two areas remotely? | The Government intends to issue Performance-based Work Statements (PWS) for the task orders. With PWS, it is up to the contractor to determine "how to perform" the required services/tasks to the required quality standards and time standards. The "how to perform" includes the number of employees and their locations, will be up to the contractor. Remote work can be considered on a case by case basis. | ||
| 51 | Page 55, L.13. GS2101 INQUIRIES, Paragraph 2; Will the Government grant a two (2) week proposal extension or commit to providing answers to all Solicitation Questions at least two weeks prior to the proposal due date to allow for Offerors to incorporate answers to questions into proposals as Covid-19 has made proposal writing take much longer than usual as communication and collaboration has become more difficult. | Yes. The solicitation responses are due by 1700 ET 11/19/2020. | ||
| 52 | Page 52, Factor 2 – Past Performance, Paragraph 2; For Factor 2, Past Performance, is the Government looking for relevant project descriptions tied to Section C PWS or simply a list of relevant contracts to look up CPARS? Please clarify what the Government is looking for. | Yes. The Government is looking for relevant project descriptions as narratives, in Non-Price Volume 1, which are tied to Section C PWS. The Contract Specialist/Contracting Officer will provide all CPARS to the Technical Evaluation Committee for evaluation purposes. | ||
| 53 | Page 52, Factor 2 – Past Performance, Subfactor 2.1 - Quality of Product or Service; Subfactor 2.2 Business Relations and Customer Service; For Factor 2, Past Performance, is the Government looking for multiple references to projects to answer Subfactor 2.1 and 2.2? | Yes. The Government is looking for multiple references to projects to evaluate Subfactor 2.1 and 2.2 | ||
| 54 | Page 52, Subfactor 2.2 Business Relations and Customer Service; References, (included in the 30-page limit.) | Is the government looking for a project description with the three required references? | Yes. the Government is looking for project description with the three required references to evaluate Subfactor 2.2 | |
| 55 | Page 53, Factor 3 – Professional Employee Compensation Plan, Paragraph 1; Factor 3 states "The offeror shall provide the Professional Employee Compensation Plan, as a separate document, which is not included in the 30-page limit." Will the Government confirm that the compensation plan is to be included in Volume I and not submitted as a separate document? | The offeror may submit the Professional Employee Compensation Plan as an attachment, addendum, or appendix to Volume 1. | ||
| 56 | Page 49, L.7. JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENTS, Paragraph | 1; Does the Government want a copy of a JV agreement or Teaming Agreements submitted with the proposal? If so, please indicate which volume | The Government may request Teaming Agreements (either Joint Venture, or Subcontractor) from offerors who are selected for the competitive range. | |
| 57 | Page 22, H.4. GS1310 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST—GENERAL (JULY 2001), Paragraph 1; If a teaming partner has a possible COI supporting this contract because of other current and future USGS contracts should the offeror include a COI Mitigation Plan in our response to proactively address possible COI scenarios or include a narrative on the development of a COI Mitigation Plan since including the actual plan would likely not be possible due to page constraints. | Organizational Conflicts of Interest could occur between STSSC and GPSC. Offerors who "partner", either by Joint Venture or by subcontractor Teaming agreement, with GPSC contractor(s)/vendor(s) must consider including a Organizational COI Mitigation Plan within their partnership/subcontractor agreement with sufficient firewalls/stonewalls in place to clearly describe how all parties in the partnership/subcontractor agreements will behave in order to mitigate the creation of an Organizational COI for either the STSSC or the GPSC for both award competitions or for contract performance. REMINDER: Offerors, who are proposing to have partners/subcontractors performing any portion of the work, must readily show in their proposal that the Offeror 8(a) firm will be performing at least 50% of the work by their own employees. Offerors with teaming partners shall reference their COI Mitigation Plans in their Volume 1, 30 page limit. The full COI Mitigation Plans will only be required from the teaming offerors whose proposals are selected for the competitive range. | ||
| 58 | C.3.1 Program Management Services | |||
| The last sentence on page 6 of 61 states “The Program Management may be physically located at the Rolla, MO or Denver, CO site. This must be referring to the single Key Person, identified as a Program Manager Level 3. But the Key Personnel Matrix also shows program management (level 2) support located in Reston. Please describe the difference in skills required between the Key Personnel Program Manager (III) and the Program Manager (II) located in Reston, VA. | The Key Personnel is the Program Manager III with oversight of the entire contract personnel. The Program Manager II listed is part of an individual task order requiring additional oversight by the contract company. | |||
| 59 | C.3.1 Program Management Services | |||
| The last sentence on page 6 of 61 states “The Program Management may be physically located at the Rolla, MO or Denver, CO site. This must be referring to the single Key Person, identified as a Program Manager Level 3. But the Key Personnel Matrix also shows program management (level 2) support located in Reston. Will you consider the Key Personnel PM location in Reston, VA as well as, CO and MO? | Offerors shall include fully burdened prices for Program Management Services for all three locations. | |||
| 60 | C.3.2 Technical Writing and Information Management; Could any of the USGS products that the contractor would be editing ever include references to Foreign Names? If yes, will the contractor have access, via a web service, to the official foreign Names data base maintained by NGA to validate those references? | No. We do not have reference to foreign names. | ||
| 61 | C.3.2 Technical Writing and Information Management | |||
| Please confirm the location for this labor category? | The Government intends to issue Performance-based Work Statements (PWS) for the task orders. With PWS, it is up to the contractor to determine "how to perform" the required services/tasks to the required quality standards and time standards. The "how to perform" includes the number of employees and their locations will be up to the contractor. | |||
| 62 | C.3.4 Geospatial Application, Modeling, and Associated Technologies |
Most of the tasks described in Section 4 are already being performed by NGA. Task 4.d. states the contractor shall “Utilize existing software and recommend and implement new software concepts and programs to further GIS-related data acquisition, analysis, modeling, management, metadata development, and use.”
| If the contractor is aware of NGA applications that could be leveraged by USGS to achieve the intent of task 4.d, may they pursue these directly with NGA in coordination with USGS? | Any communications with entities outside of NGTOC would need to be presented for consideration. | |
| 63 | C.3.5 Web, Database, and GIS Application, Development |
NGA and USGS, using many of the same applications, perform similar tasks. NGA has for the past four years modernized how they produce Foundation GEOINT. Much of what section 5 is asking the contractor to do for USGS has already been done by NGA, especially the integration of digital databases with GIS hardware and software requested by task 5m.
| In performing tasks described in Section 5, would USGS agree to allow the contractor to meet with NGA to gather lessons NGA learned while NGA modernized its GIS applications? | Any communications with entities outside of NGTOC would need to be presented for consideration. | |
| 64 | H.7. GS1330 Key Personnel |
Section H.7 of the solicitation lists “Program Management Name(s) to be determined” and 1.a in Program Management Services states “Program Management (Key Personnel), whereas the +Price+Schedule.xlxs spreadsheet lists only one position in the Key Personnel tab.
| Would the government please clarify in section H.7 of the solicitation if the Program Manager III position (Denver or Rolla) is intended to be the only key personnel position proposed or if the contractor is expected to propose all necessary program management support as key | Yes. The Government requires at a minimum the Program Manager as a key personnel. Offerors may propose any number of key personnel that the offer believe are required to perform the required services to the quality standards and time standards in the work statement. | ||||
| 65 | What measures will the government take during source selection to determine the “non-price merits”? Without numerical or adjectival criteria of evaluation, how will the government determine technical capabilities and rate the “non-price merits” of the proposal? | Section M describes how the Government will evaluate the non-price merit, by adjectival criteria, and the price. | |||
| 66 | On Page 52, in Section L, Subfactor 2.2., “References”, is it permissible for offerors to submit the same references used in the Past Performance citations? | Yes. The information gathered from Past Performance evaluation references may be evaluated for any of the non-price factors/subfactors. | |||
| 67 | On Page 56, in Section M.4, “Evaluation”, the government states, “The proposals will receive a preliminary review to determine whether the proposal contains sufficient information, as require by section L, to allow the Government to perform a meaningful evaluation.” What does the government define as “sufficient information” during this preliminary evaluation? | Sufficient Information in this case describes the completeness of the proposal's price and non-price volumes to meet/exceed the required documentation described in Section L. | |||
| 68 | Please define how much preference is provided to a prime past performance and how that will impact the evaluation? | Since the Prime 8(a) Contractor must perform at least 50% of the work, the Prime 8(a) Offeror will be the only vendor evaluated for Past Performance. | |||
| 69 | Given the answers provided by the government to industry questions could have a significant impact on the provided vendor’s solution, we request an extension of the due date to ten (10) business days after answers are received. | The solicitation end day will be at least 2 weeks after the date these answers are posted as an amendment. | |||
| 70 | On Page 6, in Section C.3 (a) of the Performance Work Statement, the government states, “The on-site Program Management Services are required as a separate task order.” How/when does the government determine when Program Management tasks are required? | Since the Government requires a separate task order(s) for the on-site Program Management Services, the task order is expected to be issued shortly after the IDIQ contract award. | |||
| 71 | Page 52/61 | Subfactor 2.2 Business Relations and Customer Service | 2 | “The reference information is limited to the offeror’s past project performance; thus, the Government will not consider references information/comments on any vendor(s) other than the offeror.” Question: Could the government please clarify if the teaming partner/ subcontractor past performance references can be used as one of the three past performances from the offeror?? | |
| Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. | |||||
| 72 | Page 52/61 | ||||
| 53/61 | Subfactor 2.1 - Quality of Product or Service | 1 | “Offerors may choose to include past performance experience information, included in the 30-page limit or offerors may rely on CPARS reports, which the Government will collect and provide to the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).” | ||
| The Government will collect information from CPARS.gov, which will be used as a source of past performance information in the source selection process, in addition to any other past performance information required under this solicitation. The offeror does not need to submit CPARS report(s). CPARS affords the contractor an opportunity to respond to all past performance reports; thus, the Government will not request or require Offeror comments for negative CPARS reports. However, Offerors may make comments about their CPARS reports, which shall be included in their 30-page limit. |
Question 1: Can the Offeror submit only the CPARS and not the Past Performance information ? That is, in lieu of the past performance information can the offeror submit only the CPARS?
Question 2: Can the Offeror submit the CPARS of the teaming partner / subcontractor in support of this program?
| Question3: If our customers that do not offer CPARS, we can request them to complete the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ). We would appreciate if USGS could provide the PPQ template and also provide a due date for submission, please. | Answer 1. Yes, however, the Offeror is encouraged to provide relevance to Subfactor 2.1 within its narrative in Non-price Volume 1. Offerors do not need to submit their CPARS, as the Contract Specialist (CS) and/or Contracting Officer (CO) will collect the offeror's CPARS and provide all CPARS for each complete offeror's proposal to the Technical Evaluation Committee. Answer 2. No, only CPARS for the Prime Offeror will be evaluated for past performance. Answer 3. If the Government chooses to collect information from offerors' references, then the Government will obtain past performance information directly from offerors' references. The CS and/or CO may send past performance questionnaires directly to references, and/or call references to obtain past performance information. Information collected from offerors' references will be provided to the Technical Evaluation Committee for evaluation toward any non-price factor. | |
| 73 | Page 51/61 | |
| Subfactor 1.2 – Transition Plan. Question 1: In Subfactor 1.2 – Transition Plan, there is no specific transition in/transition out period like 30 days/60 days/ 5weeks. Can the government please provide specific transition period? |
| Question 2: In Subfactor 1.2 – Transition Plan, there is no specific information on transition out. Do we need to address the transition out in our proposal? What is transition out period? | Answer 1. The Government expects the offeror to propose its transition-in period within its transition plan. Answer 2: 52.237-3 CONTINUITY OF SERVICES (JAN 1991) is incorporated by reference: " (b) The Contractor shall, upon the Contracting Officer’s written notice, (1) furnish phase-in, phase-out services for up to 90 days after this contract expires and (2) negotiate in good faith a plan with a successor to determine the nature and extent of phase-in, phase-out services required...." | |
| 74 | Page 52/61 |
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| Subfactor 1.3 – Key Personnel | Based on Attachment 1, our understanding is , we are supposed to provide only one Key Personnel (Program Manager III) resume. Question: Could the Government please confirm if we are required to provide the resume for only the Program Manager III position. | The Government requirement is for at least one key personnel, the Program Manager. However, the Government requirement is for performance-based services; thus if/when the offeror determines that more than one key personnel is required, then the offeror must include resumes and signed commitment/capability statements for each proposed key personnel. | |
| 75 | Page 52/61 |
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| Subfactor 1.3 – Key Personnel | Question : Does the Government require the contractor to propose additional key personnel? | The Government requirement is for at least one key personnel, the Program Manager. However, the Government requirement is for performance-based services; thus if/when the offeror determines that more than one key personnel is required, then the offeror must include resumes and signed commitment/capability statements for each proposed key personnel. | |||
| 76 | Row 8 | Attachment 1 | Key Personnel Tab | *The Offeror shall indicate which location, Denver or Rolla, where the Key Personnel will work. | |
| Question: Does the Government want the key personnel to work at either of the above-mentioned locations (Denver or Rolla)? | Yes. The Government expects the offerors to propose the offerors' best solution for the work location of their key personnel within Non-Price Volume 1. | ||||
| 77 | Please advise if government will extend the due date for the solicitation mentioned in the subject for two weeks, in order to allow bidders to present the highest quality proposal once Q and A responses are released. | Yes. The solicitation responses are due by 1700 ET 11/19/2020. | |||
| 78 | Based upon the language on Page 52, while it is mentioned that References shall come only from offeror, can the govt confirm whether the past performance contracts submitted can be from subcontractors, or only from prime? | Since a firm's past performance is a strong indicator of the firm's anticipated future performance, the Government will evaluate only the past performance of the prime contractor. The Government does not consider a subcontractor's past performance to be an indicator of the prime contractor's anticipated future performance. |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .