Vendor_QA_-_140R8122Q0250_-_CEDC_Innovation_Support_0002.pdf

Solicitation Number: 140R8122Q0250 Page 1 of 3

Vendor Question & Answer

Question 1: In SAM.gov, the Notice ID for this “R--CEDC COMPETITION INNOVATION

SUPPORT SERVICES” opportunity is the same as the “R--IPMD COMPETITION

INNOVATION SUPPORT SERVICES” sources sought opportunity that recently closed. Can the Bureau of Reclamation confirm that these two opportunities are unique and different?

Reclamation Response 1: Sorry for the confusion. The CEDC and IPMD requirement is one and the same. During the sources sought stage, Reclamation had not determined the exact title of the competition, and the working title was “Improving Precipitation Measurement Devices” (IPMD).

After posting the sources sought notice but prior to solicitation, Reclamation finalized the competition title as “Counting Every Drop Challenge” (CEDC).

Question 2: Is this contract anticipated to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold?

Reclamation Response 2: No. It is anticipated to remain below the simplified acquisition threshold.

Question 3: Is there a known budget or not-to-exceed price for this work?

Reclamation Response 3: Reclamation does not wish to state a not-to-exceed price. However, the contract is anticipated to remain below the simplified acquisition threshold.

Question 4: Are there preferred or desired third-party tools or off-the-shelf-solutions for carrying out this effort?

Reclamation Response 4: As stated in performance work statement (PWS) section 1.2, “Reclamation, through an interagency agreement with NASA’s Center of Excellence for

Collaborative Innovation (CoECI), is partnering with the independent platform Freelancer to administer the competition. The Contractor shall be required to coordinate with both

Reclamation and Freelancer.” Freelancer’s home page is https://www.freelancer.com/.

Freelancer has designed a dedicated CEDC competition webpage at https://www.freelancer.com/reclamation/counting-every-drop.

Reclamation is open to vendor suggestions on preferred third-party tools and off-the-shelf-solutions. For collaboration, Reclamation currently uses Microsoft products, including Office, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

Question 5: Are there key personnel requirements? If so, how many key personnel are required and what is their estimated level of effort?

Reclamation Response 5: Reclamation has opted not to state any specific personnel qualifications or key personnel to increase competition for this procurement. Reclamation is open to vendor suggestions on key personnel and the estimated level of effort appropriate for the requested work.

https://www.freelancer.com/

Solicitation Number: 140R8122Q0250 Page 2 of 3

Question 6: Can proposal instructions be provided for the three factors of evaluation? Are there page limitations for these three proposal sections? More specifically:

a. Factor 1: Should the technical approach consist of the contractor’s approach for carrying out the tasks described in Section 2?

b. Factor 2: How many past performance examples can be provided? Are past performance questionnaires or CPARS required?

c. Factor 3: Is the Bureau of Reclamation requesting a cost breakdown for each task in addition to a milestone invoicing table? If so, can estimated completion dates for each task be provided?

Reclamation Response 6: Regarding the question on page limit, Reclamation has issued

Amendment 0002 to limit quotes to a maximum number of 15 pages.

a. Factor 1 – Technical: Yes, please provide a technical description in accordance with FAR

52.212-1(b)(4).

b. Factor 2 – Past Performance: As stated at FAR 52.212-1(b)(10), include references for three similar projects. Projects from across multiple types of industries may be included.

You may include past performance questionnaires. CPARS data will not inform

Reclamation’s source selection decision, but Reclamation will review CPARS data prior to award to ensure the best value vendor has satisfactory past performance on federal government contracts.

c. Factor 3 – Price: As stated at FAR 52.212-1(b)(6), please provide pricing by level of effort per task in PWS section 2.0 with an overall summary of the total price.

Reclamation is not listing estimated completion dates for each task in performance work statement 2.0 but has provided an estimated competition activity schedule in PWS section

5.0 of Amendment 0002.

Question 7: For the “Cohort-like activities” task 2.3, is the Contractor expected to identify and connect CEDC competitors with entrepreneurs with expertise in environmental measurement hardware, or entrepreneurs more generally? The task description for supporting competitors to

“learn business startup skills and identify potential customers” is different than the Section 3.3

Performance Standard of “Partnerships formed and summary report of information shared, knowledge advancements, and recommendations.”

Reclamation Response 7: The expectation for task 2.3 is to connect CEDC competitors with entrepreneurs that are experienced more generally in business start-up and identifying potential customers. Partnerships formed in 3.3 are intended to be between the competitor and the experienced entrepreneur(s) to provide opportunity for advancing startup skills and identifying potential customers for the technology being developed.

Question 8: For the Marketing & Outreach Task 2.1, is the Contractor expected to design a new challenge logo and/or branding assets, or will they have already been developed? Can the Bureau of Reclamation provide an overview of existing outreach strategies and channels?

Reclamation Response 8: Branding is complete and not expected of the vendor. Branding has been developed as part of the competition design. Reclamation will coordinate with Freelancer to ensure branding is shared.

Solicitation Number: 140R8122Q0250 Page 3 of 3

Outreach for the first phase of the competition is ongoing through the following:

Reclamation:

• Challenge specific webpage:

www.usbr.gov/research/challenges/counteverydrop.html

• News release and social media

• Challenge.gov posting

Freelancer:

• Webpage: www.freelancer.com/reclamation/counting-every-drop

• Social media and news release

• Direct outreach to 2,000+ contacts in academia and industry

• Webinar scheduled for August 23, 2022 (includes Reclamation and USDA-

Natural Resources Conservation Services subject matter experts)

Question 9: For the final “Event Audiences” Task 2.4, is there a known number of events in which the contractor will be collaborating with Freelancer? Additionally, what are the expectations for supporting these events (ie. coordinating venues, event facilitation, etc.)? The

“Minimum Acceptable Quality Level” for this task describes Contractor attendance however the

RFQ states that travel is not anticipated. Will attendance at these events involve travel?

Reclamation Response 9: Vendors have discretion in determining the number of events for PWS task 2.4. Collaboration with Freelancer for events will be as needed and to ensure coordination with competitors. As stated for task 2.4, “Events may vary in format and may be in-person or virtual.” In accordance with PWS section 8.0 of Amendment 0002, the Contractor may also choose to host events at its facilities or virtually.

Question 10: Both the “Task Conclusion Summary Report” and the “Final Summary Report” deliverables specify submitting to the COR within 10 business days after the conclusion of the task. Can the differences between these two deliverables be clarified? It seems the second Final

Summary Report is to be delivered upon completion of all tasks for contract close-out.

Reclamation Response 10: The Task Conclusion Summary Report is meant to provide a specific report on completion of tasks 2.1 through 2.4 individually, prior to completion of all requested work. The Final Summary Report is meant to summarize the entire scope of work completed by the Contractor and to inform future Reclamation efforts on similar prize competitions.

http://www.usbr.gov/research/challenges/counteverydrop.html http://www.freelancer.com/reclamation/counting-every-drop