Sol_140M0122R0008_Amd_0001.pdf

(x)

140M0122R0008 x x

1 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

M10

Sterling VA 20166-9216 45600 Woodland Road, VAE-AMD

BOEM-HQ

06/21/20220001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

05/31/2022

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The purpose of amendment 0001 is the following:

1. Provide responses to submitted questions as attached.

2. Increase the Technical proposal page limit to 26 pages.

3. Extend the response date for proposals to July 7, 2022 at noon EST.

4. Provide replacement pages 56 and 57 with changed text identified in red font.

End of amendment description.

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

William Rilee

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

QUESTION 1: The solicitation identifies “fishes, such as large bodied, low trophic elasmobranchs, sea turtles, and other species of interest” – could you please provide more guidance on other species of interest? Low trophic-level fishes and sea turtles only or other taxa?

RESPONSE: This IDIQ could include spatial ecology studies on a number of marine taxa, the above are just examples.

QUESTION 2: What BOEM regional office(s) is this solicitation intended to cover? The sample task order identifies the Gulf of Mexico, but are the Atlantic and Pacific or the Gulf of Alaska, Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas also priorities?

RESPONSE: This IDIQ can include task orders in several regions Nationwide.

QUESTION 3: In the Pre-solicitation notice BOEM indicated that there is an incumbent contractor. Will this contract replace the existing IDIQ for Telemetry, Communications and Engineering Support or will BOEM maintain two similar contracts?

RESPONSE: The existing IDIQ 140M0121D0004 currently has active task orders on it. BOEM’s intent is to maintain two similar contracts until the existing task orders under 140M0121D0004 are completed and closed out. The existing task orders under 140M0121D0004 are of various period of performances within the ordering period of that IDIQ. The intent for solicitation 140M0122R0008 is to award an IDIQ that will be a follow-on to 140M0121D0004 in which new requirements (task orders) within the IDIQ scope will be awarded under an IDIQ that has a higher overall ceiling. The Government does not intend to award new task orders under 140M0121D0004 once the new IDIQ from this solicitation is awarded. The IDIQ for this solicitation has a larger ceiling value compared the ceiling level that was solicitated for 140M0121D0004.

QUESTION 4: DESCRIPTION/STATEMENT OF WORK. 2.4 IDIQ TASK AREAS. Given the broad range of logistical, analytical and communications support services being sought, does BOEM have a forecast on how much work will be allocated to each Task Area?

RESPONSE: This information cannot be provided as it varies and is relative to what studies require support for this type of work. It can vary significantly on an annual basis.

QUESTION 5: DESCRIPTION/STATEMENT OF WORK. 2.4.3 Task Area 3, Vessel Support for Research Implementation. Does BOEM envision any scientific support associated with at-sea research under this contract?

RESPONSE: Scientific support may be required at the task-order level.

QUESTION 6: L.6 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL. Given the broad scope of work and SME needs across the entire IDIQ, would BOEM consider extending the due date by at least 2 weeks to accommodate making contacts and developing a comprehensive team to address the full IDIQ and allow us to accommodate BOEM clarification responses?

RESPONSE: An extension is granted with a new deadline of July 7, 2022 at noon EST.

QUESTION 7: ATTACHMENT I: Sample Project Task Order. Please confirm that BOEM is not expecting any at-sea research from the contractor in the execution of this Task Order.

RESPONSE: The sample task order may require at sea research; however, it is up to offerors to decide on how to best address the objectives of the study.

QUESTION 8: ATTACHMENT I: Sample Project Task Order. Can BEOM provide the expected timeline for the Task Order Award.

RESPONSE: The task order award is expected to be awarded shortly after the IDIQ award (anticipated September 2022).

QUESTION 9: ATTACHMENT I: Sample Project Task Order states, “The purpose of this study is to support the BOEM principal investigator in scientific investigation”. Does this imply that there is already a PI for the project and that a PI does not need to be put forward for the TO? Similar statements are made in the IDIQ portion of the RFP. Similarly, in the 3 service areas described, there is no direct performance of the studies, only support of PIs, is this interpretation correct?

RESPONSE: Yes, the vendor could suggest a co-investigator, but this IDIQ is to support BOEM applied science and not simply a research funding vehicle. The applicant is expected to collaborate and work closely with BOEM from inception through implementation through publication.

QUESTION 10: Can BOEM clarify whether the Task Orders that will be issued will be in support of researchers that will already be contracted by BOEM or will the task orders include providing the principle investigators?

RESPONSE: Typically, BOEM does not have researchers contracted that will be supported by this IDIQ.

Instead, it’s mainly to support BOEM scientists. But an offeror should have the ability to bring capable scientists for meeting requirements if it necessary at the task order level.

QUESTION 11: Can BOEM provide an estimated percentage of each service area that are anticipated over the 5 years of the IDIQ?

RESPONSE: This information cannot be provided as it varies, and it really depends on the annually approved studies list.

QUESTION 12: The solicitation requires the Technical Volume to be no more than 20 pages, not including: "resumes, letters of commitment, the Past Performance forms, the Management Plan, and the technical proposal for the Sample Task Order." Is there any flexibility in this restriction?

RESPONSE: An additional 6 pages is being provided, see revised L.8.

RFP 140M0122R0008-0001

Replacement Page 56 of 74 purpose of evaluating the proposal except that (i) if a contract is awarded to the offeror as a result of or in connection with submission of the proposal, the Government shall have the right to use the information as provided in the contract, (ii) and if the same information is obtained from another source without restriction it may be used without restriction.

(e) If a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeks access to information in a proposal identified as trade secret information or confidential commercial and financial information, full consideration will be given to the offeror's view that the information constitutes trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information. The offeror will also be promptly notified of the request and given an opportunity to provide additional evidence and argument in support of its position, unless administratively unfeasible to do so. If it is determined that information claimed by the offeror to be trade secret information or confidential commercial or financial information is not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, the offeror will be notified of this determination prior to disclosure of the information.

(f) The Government assumes no liability for the disclosure or use of information contained in a proposal if not marked in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this provision. If a request under the Freedom of Information Act is made for information in a proposal not marked in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this provision, the offeror concerned shall be promptly notified of the request and given an opportunity to provide its position to the Government. However, failure of an offeror to mark information contained in a proposal as trade secret information or confidential commercial or financial information will be treated by the Government as evidence that the information is not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, absent a showing that the failure to mark was due to unusual or extenuating circumstances, such as a showing that the offeror had intended to mark, but that markings were omitted from the offeror's proposal due to clerical error.

L.5 SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS

All questions are due by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 9 June 2022. All questions must be submitted via email to William Rilee, at william.rilee@bsee.gov. The Offeror shall include the RFP number, 140M0122R0008 in the subject line of the email. Questions will not be answered via telephone.

Should any questions be received after the date stated above, the Government reserves the right to not provide an answer. Please note, questions and comments will not be protected, by the Government, as proprietary.

L.6 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted via email to william.rilee@bsee.gov no later than 12:00 p.m.

Eastern Time, 07 July 2022. Please note it is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure/verify that BSEE receives their submissions on or before the date and time specified in the RFP. If the proposal is not received by BSEE on or before the date and time specified, the Offeror’s submission will be considered late and may be rejected.

PLEASE NOTE: Offerors MUST be registered and active in the System for Award Management

RFP 140M0122R0008-0001

Replacement Page 57 of 74

(SAM) at the time a proposal is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. If an Offeror is not registered and active in SAM at time of proposal submission it will be rejected and not considered for award: https://sam.gov/SAM/

L.7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

(a) The proposal package must include two separate volumes: (1) Technical Volume and (2) Business/Cost Volume in accordance with the instructions contained in this solicitation.

(b) The failure to submit any of the information requested in this solicitation may lead to the rejection of your proposal without further discussion. Any proposal that offers less than the total required effort will not be considered.

(c) This solicitation in no way obligates the Government to issue or award a contract. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by responding to this solicitation or subsequent task orders.

L.8 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

The technical proposal is limited to no more than 26 pages in length. Documentation submitted may use any font, and will use pitch size 12, single spaced, and 8.5x11 paper. Any pages larger than 8.5x11 will be considered 2 pages. Any pages in excess of 26 pages will not be evaluated.

The Technical Proposal limitation of 26 pages excludes the following documents: resumes, letters of commitment, the Past Performance forms, the Management Plan, and the technical proposal for the Sample Task Order. These documents must be included and clearly identified in the Technical Proposal volume of the proposal package.

L.8.1 Technical and Management Approach to the IDIQ Contract

(a) The Offeror shall describe in detail its technical understanding, approach, and ability to accomplish each of the tasks outlined in the IDIQ SOW, Section C. Proposals shall include a general discussion of the technical approach and procedures to be followed to manage and perform the task areas identified in Section C.

(b) The Offeror shall submit a comprehensive management approach/plan for managing the IDIQ SOW, Section C. The plan should discuss how the Offeror will provide for maximum flexibility to innovatively and cost-effectively manage the project schedule, performance, risks, subcontracts, and data to support the project objectives.

L.8.2 Technical Understanding and Approach – Sample Task Order, Attachment 1

(a) Offeror shall provide information which demonstrates how the Offeror proposes to meet the stated requirements, and that the Offeror has the necessary understanding, expertise, personnel, and experience to successfully accomplish the work.

(b) The Offeror shall provide a matrix showing labor hours of all key and support personnel by