19AQMM18R0252_Q&As_13_May_2019.pdf

RFP 19AQMM18R0252 – INL/WHP IDIQ – FA4 – Q&As – 13 May 2019

SOLICITATION Q&As

19AQMM18R0252 – INL/WHP IDIQs – FA4 13 May 2019

NOTE: Responses provided below are informational only and do not change the terms of the solicitation. The Contracting Officer will make changes to the solicitation, if any, through the issuance of an amendment utilizing Standard Form 30.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

1. N/A N/A N/A INL Functional Area 4 was posted but the Interested Vendors tab was not activated. Can you explain if it will be activated? This is a good way for companies like ours to reach out to HUBZone companies interested and offer our knowledge and experience for subcontracting opportunities.

Current DOS settings on FBO do not allow Interested Vendors List to be activated.

2. N/A N/A N/A (a) Will any long term personnel assigned to forward locations will be able to billet in the compound or would they be expected to live off the economy?

(b) If so, will the cost implications will be dealt with at the TO level?

(a) Unknown at this time.

(b) These costs, if any, need to be included as part of a Contractor’s task order proposal(s). Refer to Section B for what elements are included as part of the proposed fully-loaded hourly labor rates.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

3. Section B B-003 k)

“k) Each negotiated NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate consists of an unloaded hourly labor rate, any labor- related direct costs (e.g., any direct fringe benefits, any direct bonuses), all costs associated with satisfying any local labor laws, applicable indirect costs, and profit amount. It does not include any other costs, including ODCs/non-labor-related direct costs.

Any other costs that are part of the Contractor’s established compensation plan and consistent with FAR part 31 shall be allocated separately as an ODC (other direct cost) (under fixed-price and cost-reimbursement arrangements) or as a direct material (under time-and-materials arrangements) at the task order level. Examples of such costs, if applicable, that shall be allocated separately as an ODC or Material, are post hardship differential pay and danger pay.”

Please confirm if task order specific local PMO and other direct management costs will be allowable costs at the task order level.

Yes. Refer to RFP Section B-011(i).

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

4. Section B B-006 Paragraph i) 1-8

Time Reimbursed During Travel Status While these may be applicable for Exempt Professional Employees, but should Non- Exempt Employees travel, they will need to be reimbursed for hours spent on travel including applicable overtime hours in excess of 40 Hours / Week in order to comply with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Hence will the Govt. allow reimbursement of actual time spent on travel status in case of Non-Exempt employees thereby not making the contractor violate the overtime regulations as per FLSA and be subject to fines and sanctions if the contractor is unable to pay for all overtime hours due to Govt’s refusal to pay all the hours spent on travel?

The FLSA does not require that non-exempt employees travel outside their regular working hours or in excess of 40 hours per week. Thus and pursuant to RFP Sections B-006(i)(5) and (6), the Government will not pay for such employees’ travel time that is outside their respective regular working hours or results in an excess of 40 hours for their normal workweek. Therefore, the Government advises contractors to schedule travel time for all employees (exempt and non-exempt) during their regular working hours. Pursuant to RFP Section B-006(i)(8), the Contractor may request an exception, and the Contracting Officer will consider it on a case-by-case basis.

FLSA does not apply to regular employment outside the United States 29 USC 213(f). So the limitation as to hours of travel would only apply to FLSA-covered employees whose travel was from a place of regular employment in the United States. We expect most of the TDY travel by U.S. based employees will be by professionals who are not covered by FLSA.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

5. Section B B-007

POST HARDSHIP DIFFERENTIAL PAY AND DANGER PAY This section states that the contractor shall only be reimbursed for the applicable percentage of these payments with respect to the unburdened employee pay for the week.

Given that it is a form of an extra payroll (an extra direct cost) for the employee that entails corresponding indirect costs like fringe, overhead and G & A. Hence request that this payment be reimbursed as the applicable fully burdened hourly labor rate and not just the unburdened rate the contractor to be able to recoup all the indirect payroll costs that are incurred due to this extra direct cost.

Otherwise, how is the contractor able to recover the indirect costs that will be incurred due to the direct payment of these elements as an added payroll?

The first sentence in RFP Section B- 007 reads, “Post Hardship Differential Pay and Danger Pay, which are forms of incentive compensation, will be generally allowable and allocated separately as an ODC (other direct cost) or direct material at the task order level.” (bolding added for emphasis)

Thus, RFP Section B-007 addresses payment of post hardship differential pay and danger pay as direct costs only. The Government considers the application of applicable indirect costs, regardless of task order type (e.g., FFP, CPFF, T&M), as generally allowable. However, such application must be part of the contractor’s established cost accounting practices.

Offerors shall not include post hardship differential pay costs and danger pay costs, and their associated applicable indirect costs, in the NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rates proposed in Pricing Table 4.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

6. Section C P 21 para. 1.6 Services include construction management, engineering consulting, project management, and related professional services pertaining to real property and equipment. INL may utilize the construction manager as the principal agent to advise or manage the process over the project regardless of the project delivery method used. Construction management services include, but are not limited to, design phase support, procurement support, commissioning services, testing services, construction claims support, and post-construction engineering services. Engineering consulting services include, but are not limited to, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, fire protection engineering, structural engineering, or any other specialized engineering consulting services that are utilized regarding real property and equipment. Authorized engineering consulting tasks include design reviews, shop drawing reviews, submittal reviews, inspection and testing services, witnessing acceptance tests of equipment and systems, commissioning, modeling and analysis, loss investigation, facility surveys, safety evaluations, research studies, risk mitigation strategy development or reviews, and other related technical consulting services.

Request for clarification of paragraph 1.6 as to how it pertains to acquiring consulting services, we understand that a Construction manager will manage the process and determine the services needed in each phase of a task order.

However the different engineering services are priced as direct labor hours, are the different engineering services limited to the calculated cost since these type services are normally acquired through service contracts.

Refer to RFP section B-003(e).

When Section B-003 does not apply at the task order level [see B-003(a)], the Government will pay the contractor’s consultant costs based on the payment terms associated with the specific task order type. For example, under a CPFF task order, the Government will pay the contractor’s actual incurred consultant costs that the Government determines allowable.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

7. Section C C-005

CORPORATE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND REPORTS -

(a) CORPORATE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

This section calls for a Corporate Program Manager (CPM) to represent the company is all matters and requires that person to be available on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days out of the year but need not be a full-time employee. This is inconsistent and impossible for someone to be available on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days out of the year especially if they are not a full-time employee. Will the Govt. remove this requirement as it is simply humanly impossible for someone to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days out of the year and instead simply require that the CPM or an alternate(s) including owner(s) provide this coverage?

Moreover in the absence of any guaranteed work beyond the minimum $10,000 to a small HUBZone firm, how does the govt.

realistically expect a small HUBZone firm to be able to afford such a high priced individual on a non-billable overhead position unless it is the owner of the firm? Only large firms have such deep pockets to be able to afford such high overhead costs and hence the govt. is requested to take all these into account and remove / modify these requirements for this HUBZone Set-Aside procurement.

Refer to sections C-005, B-011(i), and B-011(n) in the amended RFP.

The Government is not requesting that a company hire a new individual to participate in this RFP. The Government has no issues if a company desires to propose the president or CEO as the CPM. The individual proposed will be evaluated as detailed elsewhere in the solicitation.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

8. Section C C-005 25, paragraph 1

The CPM need not be a full-time employee. However, the CPM shall be on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days out of the year. The CPM shall have sufficient corporate authority to direct, execute, and control all elements of this contract and resultant task orders. If the CPM does not have contractual authority to bind the Contractor, the Contractor shall ensure an individual with authority to bind the Contractor is readily available at the request of the COR and the CO. Such individual shall be on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days out of the year.

Does the government have any estimation of the possible required level of effort for the

CPM?

No. Refer to amended sections B and C.

9. Section C C-005 Page 26, paragraph (d)

The Contractor shall notify the CO and the COR when a Contractor employee or subcontractor employee is terminated or resigns, or is otherwise no longer performing under the contract.

Does this requirement apply to any employee or only Key Personnel? Please clarify.

Any employee assigned to a task order. Language in section C-005 will be revised to make this clear.

Notification requirements for key person are included in Section H, Item H-039.

10. Section C C-005 (f) P 26

Serious Incident Reporting The government states that a Serious Incident report (SIR) must be filed no later than 4 hours after the serious incident occurred. Will the government amend the requirement to read

– within 4 hours of the PM becoming aware of the serious incident?

The requirement will not be changed.

However, the timeframe will be increased to 8 hours. The Contractor needs to brief employees and subcontractors to ensure notification timeframes are adhered to.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

11. Section C C-005

(h) ANNUAL SUBCONTRACTING REPORT This pertains to limits in terms of sub-contracts for HUBZone Set-Aside contracts that require at least 51% of the labor effort be performed by the Prime HUBZone firm.

However given that the majority of the work will be performed by Mexican and Colombian nationals is their respective countries, these folks would have to be foreign / sub-contractor service providers on a W-8 status and consequently cannot be considered as employees of the US HUBZone firm as they have no US employment authorizations being NOT subject to US IRS and employment regulations (with no US work eligibility / E*Verify compliance). Hence the sub-contract report is going to exceed 51% should such a report be sought not consistent with the sub-contracting limitations for HUBZone Set- Aside contracts. Therefore, will the govt.

waive the requirement for providing Annual subcontracting report or waive the 51% rule as this work is being performed overseas with majority of the service providers being LCNs (Mexico and Columbia) who cannot be classified as employees as per US IRS and employment laws (with no US work eligibility / E*Verify compliance) and therefore are foreign vendor / sub-contractors on W-8 status?

The requirement to provide the annual subcontracting report will not be changed. The CO has no authority to waive the limitations of subcontracting.

American small businesses can, and have in the past for Department contracts, hire local nationals to work in the country where they are citizens.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

12. Section F F-005

There are no geographic limitations for task orders to be awarded under this contract. The Government expects the majority of task orders awarded under this contract to be performed outside the United States, mainly in Western Hemisphere countries.

Services specified in a task order may be performed at the contractor’s facilities, at host country government facilities, and/or USG facilities.

1. Does the Government expect or anticipate the Contractor to have established program offices with program staff in OCONUS locations prior to contract start date?

2. If the answer to (1) above is affirmative, can Government provide more specific information on what proximity the Contractor program office(s) need to be in relation to Government facilities for which support is anticipated?

1. No

2. Not applicable. The answer to the first question was not affirmative.

13. Section F F-005

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE This section states that “There are no geographic limitations for task orders to be awarded under this contract”. Will the govt.

clarify this since this work is to be done in Mexico / Columbia as per Section C and Pricing sheet.

Mexico and Colombia are two countries in which the Government anticipates, with a high degree of confidence, task order performance will occur. Task order performance may occur anywhere in the world, however.

While the government is requesting pricing for US, Colombian, and Mexican labor only at this time, the Government reserves the right to add labor categories for different performance locations per solicitation sections B-003(r) and H-042.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

14. Section F F-005 Place of Performance;

M-011 (A) p.34 of 118;

p. 115 of 118, Para

(A) Factor 1:

Corporate Experience

The Government will most favorably consider corporate experience, that individually or combined, demonstrates experience in Latin America…

Section F-005 Place of Performance indicates that “There are no geographic limitations for task orders to be awarded under this contract” yet section M-011 (A) of the Corporate Experience evaluation factor indicates that preference will be given to experience in Latin America, which seems to be contradictory and somewhat limiting. We suggest changing the term “in Latin America” in section M-011 (A) to simply state “internationally” or “in non-US locations”.

The full sentence reads:

“There are no geographic limitations for task orders to be awarded under this contract. The Government expects the majority of task orders awarded under this contract to be performed outside the United States, mainly in Western Hemisphere countries.” (Emphasis added).

The Government is particularly interested on prior experience in Latin America. Section F-005 will be revised to change “Western Hemisphere” to “Latin American”.

15. Section G G-008

EXPANDED INVOICE INSTRUCTIONS As per j 2) timesheets are to be attached to the invoice with signature if employee and supervisor. Is the supervisor a contractor employee for this Non-Personal Services Contract as the employees can only have contractor supervisors and not Govt.

employees as supervisors (this would then could be construed as Personal Services Contract proscribed under FAR)? Kindly clarify and also how DoS staffers can possibly be designated as contractor employee supervisors for this Non-Personal Services contract?

Yes, the supervisor is a contractor employee.

To clarify, however, RFP Section G- 008(j)(2) now reads, in part, “employee’s Contractor supervisor” instead of “employee’s supervisor” in the amended RFP.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

16. Section H H-003 License, bonds and Permits

Pg 47 2nd para

The contractor shall obtain all permits, license, and appointments required for execution of work under this contract. The contractor shall obtain these permits, license, and appointments in compliance with host country laws. Failure to be fully licensed by date planned for commencement of contract performance may result in contract termination. The contractor shall be responsible for application, justification, fees, and certifications for any licenses required b the host government. Once the contract is awarded, the Embassy may assist the Contractor to obtain permits and licenses as necessary.

Are licenses, bonds, and permits required to support the contract or the Task Order?

There seems to be a conflict when the licenses, bonds and permits are required. Are the required before or after commencement of the contract?

Is the prime required to obtain the license, bond or permit or is the entity actually performing the work in country required to obtain the documentation?

This section will be removed. The requirements are already covered under DOSAR clause 652.242-73.

The licenses, permits, etc. are required at the task order level.

17. Section H H-015

EMERGENCY PERSONNEL This section states that Emergency Contractor Personnel may be excused in advance by the “Government Supervisor”. However, since this is a Non-Personal Services Contract, there cannot be a “Government Supervisor” as that would denote an employee-employer relationship between the contractor employee and USG strictly proscribed under FAR for Non-Personal Services contract. Hence will the Govt. remove any reference to “Government Supervisor” as this is a Non- Personal Services Contract?

Reference to “Government Supervisor” will be changed to “the

COR”.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

18. Section H H-026

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS Why is the Govt. requiring such high insurance requirement than the norm of $1,000.000 or less for similar service contacts in addition to DBA / Medevac insurance thereby increasing such costs for the contractor which are not required for other similar contracts by the Govt? Request to keep the limits to $1 Million or less to not unnecessarily increase costs which ultimately will be paid by the Govt. as indirect costs.

The CO has no authority to waive DBA insurance requirements.

Medical and Medevac insurance are required to ensure Contractor employees travelling overseas are adequately protected and do not cause undue burden to USG in the event of a mishap.

Required insurance information will be detailed in the RFTOPs issued under this contract. Refer to amended section H-026.

19. Section H H-030

CHANGES TO TEAMING ARRANGEMENTS/JOINT

VENTURES

Since the Prime HUBZone Contractor is ultimately responsible for execution of the tasks and the Prime HUBZone contractor has no sub-contracting requirement, why is the Govt. mandating that the Prime HUBZone firm use the sub-contractor / JV Partner thereby making the Prime HUBZone firm give out sub-contract work even if the Prime HUBZone firm be in a position to execute the task(s) on it’s own with no business reason to have the sub-contractor / JV Partner? This is akin to have a Prime HUBZone firm being forced to have a sub-contractor which may be a large firm or risk loosing the contract and is not fair to a small HUBZone Prime firm.

There is no provision in FAR that allows the Govt. To do so and the govt. is requested to not do so.

The Government is not mandating an Offeror to subcontract any portion of the work if it does not desire.

FAR 9.601 reads, ““Contractor team arrangement,” as used in this subpart, means an arrangement in which-

(1) Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime contractor; or

(2) A potential prime contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified Government contract or acquisition program.”

FAR 9.603 reads, “The Government will recognize the integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements; provided, the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements.”

The Government included Section H- 030 because, consistent with FAR 9.603, the Government must approve any new team arrangement before the new team arrangement receives any new task order or before the team arrangement becomes effective.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

20. Section H H-043

CONVERSION OF LOCAL CURRENCY LABOR RATES TO

US DOLLARS FOR TASK ORDER

PURPOSES

Will the govt. remove this requirement to provide labor rates in local currency in the first place and instead only seek quotes in US $$ to eliminate the need to convert and any risk associated with currency fluctuations as has been the case significantly in Mexican Pesos and Columbian Pesos?

No.

21. Section I Page 71 52.229-6 Taxes - Foreign Fixed-Price

FAR Included by Reference.

Does the State Department have any specific agreements in place with Mexico, Columbia or other Western Hemisphere countries in which the contractor would get relief from Customs duties, sales tax or VAT, for ODCs purchased under awarded TOs for this contract?

Yes. This information will be provided as part of the Request for Task Order Proposal (RFTOP) process.

This clause will be deleted, and if required, incorporated in the RFTOP with pertinent information.

22. Section I Page 71 FAR 52.229-6 Included by Reference and Pricing for Equipment.

Taxes - Foreign Fixed-Price

Does the State Department envision task orders under this contract to be 100% fixed price for both labor and ODCs under which the contractor would retain ownership of the ODCs (equipment for example) or will the ODCs be considered Contractor Acquired Government Owned?

Unsure at this time.

This clause will be deleted, and if required, incorporated in the RFTOP with pertinent information.

23. Section I Page 71 FAR 52.229-8 Included by Reference and Pricing for Equipment.

Taxes - Foreign Fixed-Price

For ODCs (equipment, software etc.) that the State Department considers Government Owned, is there a dollar threshold State would consider using ($250, $500) as a threshold for an item to be considered a consumable?

Unable to answer this question as it pertains to the tax clause.

For GFP, refer to item H-025.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

24. Section L L-007 Pg 99, 1st para

The Government intends to award approximately three IDIQ contracts as a result of this solicitation.

1. Will all Task Order awards be competed?

2. Are TO awards based on Cost solely?

3. Since rates are established, will the government consider spreading the work evenly between the three contractors? Doing so will reduce risk and subsequently cost.

4. Will Contracts have a dollar value ceiling limit?

Items 1-3

Refer to disclaimer in page 6 of the RFP and Section G-004 for fair opportunity procedures. Work will not “be spread” amongst contractors.

Item 4

See RFP Section B-002(b) regarding the IDIQ contract maximum quantity.

Also, a given task order dollar value will reflect the task order type. For example, a FFP task order will show a firm fixed price, which is neither a minimum nor a ceiling. A CPFF task order will show an estimated cost (which is the maximum/ceiling estimated direct cost and indirect cost) and a fixed fee dollar amount (which functions like a firm fixed price). A LH or T&M task order will show a ceiling price.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

25. Section L L-009

CURRENCY OF OFFERS Will the govt. remove the requirement to quote in Foreign currency due to reasons as outlined above?

Note: “Outlined above” refers to question 20.

No. The principal purpose for the Government to solicit and award select NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rates in Colombian and Mexican currency are to: 1) minimize the financial risk of each party regarding potential significant fluctuations in exchange rates during contract performance; 2) facilitate contractor’s agreements with and payments to local nationals because such agreements and payments likely will be in local currency; and 3) minimize the number of currency conversions, modifications, and problems during contract administration, which results in less time, cost, and dispute for all parties.

26. Section L L-014

Closing date and time: Closing Date and Time: May 13, 2019 at 13:00 local (Miami, FL) time

Would the Government consider an extension of two (2) weeks to allow respondents adequate time to provide a complete and compliant offer?

Yes. Due date will be extended as until May 28, 2019 at 15:00 local (Miami, FL) time.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

27. Sections L and B and Attachment 8

L-016 B. b) 16)

B-003 f)

L-009

Pricing table 4. IDIQ Prices lines 163-169

L-016 B. b) 16) “16) In Pricing Table 4, each proposed NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate shall be in United States dollars, Colombian pesos, or Mexican pesos. Pricing Table 4 shows, as part of the CLIN identifier, “US,” “C,” or “M.”

a. “US” signifies that the associated proposed NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate shall be in US dollars.

b. “C” signifies that the associated proposed NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate shall be in Colombian pesos.

c. “M” signifies that the associated proposed NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate shall be in Mexican pesos.

Therefore, only one currency shall be proposed per CLIN.”

In L-009: “Offers received in other currencies will not be evaluated and will not be considered for award. See also RFP Sections L- 016(C)(b)(16) through (19).”

Attachment 8, Pricing Table 4) requests likewise in lines 163-169.

“Subtotal (Labor) = FTE x NTE Rate x Hours

The Government requests that the NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rates be provided in local currencies. However, Pricing Table 4 takes a sum of all NTE rates multiplied by government provided hours, irrespective of country or currency.

Please confirm that the fully loaded NTE rates in Pricing Table 4 are to be provided in Colombian Pesos, Mexican Pesos, and US Dollars respectively. If so, could the government please add separate totals in Pricing Table 4 for each country respectively?

Please see the paragraph preceding Note 1 in RFP Section M-012. The Government will take the rates proposed in Colombian and Mexican currency in Pricing Table 4 and convert them to U.S. dollars for evaluation purposes only.

Please see RFP Section L- 016(C)(b)(16).

No. Please see the first paragraph in this response.

28. Section L L-015(B)

The font type/text size shall be Times New Roman, no less than 12-point size.”

For tables, charts, graphs and figures, the text shall be no smaller than 9-point size.

Since there is no explicit font type requirement for tables, charts, graphs and figures, only text size, is the font type for tables, charts, graphs and figures at the Offeror’s discretion as long as it is legible?

Times New Roman. This section will be revised accordingly.

29. Section L L-015 (B)

p. 102

Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches. Will the Government allow for the use of 11x17 size paper for tables, charts, figures and graphics? If so, will you allow for each 11x17 fold-out to count as one page?

11x17 is not acceptable. Requirement remains as is.

30. Section L L-015, C, D, and E

p. 102-103

Title Page, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Please confirm that the Title Page, Table of Contents, and Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms required for all volumes are not included in page count.

These items are not excluded from the page count. The page limitations were established with this in mind.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

31. Section L L-015, E

p. 102

Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used.

Since Volume I consists primarily of completed Government forms, please confirm that a glossary is not required for this volume.

Correct. Requirement will be clarified.

32. Section L RFP – L-016 B(1) vice L-016 E (4)

P 102; P 111

Proposal Preparation Instructions – Volume Specific: Volume II – Business; Volume V – Past Performance

Will the government please clarify what information it wishes to receive per B (1) on page 102 (“Briefly describe your company’s history and organization”) vice the seemingly similar request made on p 111 under E (4) Organizational Structure Change History?

The Government team evaluating past performance will not necessarily have access to the business volume. Refer to section L-015(F).

33. Section L L-016(B)(8) Pg 104

(8) Tab 7 – Joint Venture If two or more parties have formed a partnership or joint venture (see FAR subpart 9.6) for the purposes of submitting a proposal under this solicitation and, if selected, would perform the contract as a single entity, they must submit the Corporate Charter, By- Laws, or Joint Venture or Partnership Agreement. In addition, the teaming arrangements must be identified, company relationships must be fully disclosed and respective responsibilities and method of work must be expressly stipulated. The joint venture or partnership agreement must include a full discussion of the relationship between the organizations, including identification of the organization, which will have responsibility for negotiation of the resultant contract and task or delivery orders, which organization will have accounting responsibility, how work will be allocated, and profit or fee, if any, shared. In addition, the parties to the joint venture or partnership must agree to be jointly and severally liable for performance of the contract and acts or omissions relating to the contract. Written evidence of such agreement is required to be submitted with the proposal.

With regard to the language under (8) Tab 7 Joint Venture addressing “teaming arrangements” and “partnership agreement.”

Does this apply to subcontractor teaming agreement or teaming agreement with a Major Subcontractor; and if so, is the Prime required to provide all backup information detailed under this TAB?

If two or more parties have formed a partnership or joint venture (see FAR subpart 9.6) for the purposes of submitting a proposal under this solicitation and, if selected, would perform the contract as a single entity. (Emphasis added)

If the teaming agreement will perform as a single entity, then the information is required.

34. Section L L-016, C.(b)(1)

p. 105

Offerors shall prepare one file for each of the above sections.

Therefore, offerors shall prepare three files comprising the price proposal.

Since L-015 also requires that each volume include a cover page, TOC and glossary. In which file should these items be placed?

The cover page, TOC, and any glossary for Volume III (Price Proposal) shall be included in the Narrative of the price proposal.

35. Section L L-016 C (b) Price Proposal Instructions;

Attachment 8, Tabs 1 and 2

pp. 105-109 of 118;

Paragraphs 5-12, 22 and 29

In general, provisional billing indirect cost rates, ceiling indirect cost rates and actual indirect cost rates, with emphasis on p. 109, paragraph 29) items a.-i.

HUBZone Joint Ventures (JV’s) are not permitted to be populated with employees for the most part. Therefore, the members or partners of the JV’s typically perform the work and/or subcontract the work, and the JV typically does not have separate fringe and overhead indirect rates. Instead the partners have their own indirect rate structures, which may be very different. The instructions and pricing template do not accommodate this situation and only anticipate a single indirect rate structure. Also, instruction 29, items a-i do not apply to a HUBZone JV with no separate indirect rate structure. Further, since the government intends to award fixed price task orders, indirect rates are not applicable at the IDIQ level. Also, even though Attachment 8 Tabs 1 & 2 request provisional and ceiling indirect cost rates (fringe, overhead, G&A, etc.) and related base information, the pricing template does not utilize any of those indirect cost rates in the final evaluation of price, other than a G&A or similar rate. We suggest that pricing instructions L-016 C (b) 5) to 12) and 22) and

29) and Attachment 8, Tabs 1 & 2 be eliminated for purposes of this procurement evaluation and that Offerors simply acknowledge that they understand they will be required to negotiate provisional and ceiling indirect cost rates upon award, thereby eliminating a significant amount of unnecessary evaluation by the Government prior to award.

RFP Section L-016(C) does not limit the provisional billing indirect cost rates proposed in Pricing Table 1 and ceiling indirect cost rates proposed in Pricing Table 2 to one entity. It limits it to the one “offeror,” as identified in Block 15A on Standard Form (SF) 33.

Therefore, if the offeror is comprised of two or more entities, and these two or more entities are expected to allocate indirectly selected costs under this contract, then the offeror shall add rows as necessary in Pricing Tables 1 and 2 to reflect the proposed provisional billing indirect cost rates and ceiling indirect cost rates, respectively. In Pricing Tables 1 and 2, the offeror shall identify accordingly each entity associated with the proposed indirect cost rates.

RFP Section B-001(d) reads in part, “…the Government reserves the right to issue task orders utilizing any of the contract types, or a combination thereof, authorized by FAR part 16 (Types of Contracts).”

Moreover, FAR 9.104-1(e) requires that the Government, as part of its responsibility determination, ensure that a successful offeror has the necessary accounting controls or the ability to obtain them. The entity or entities responsible for accounting of costs under this contract shall be disclosed in the JV agreement, and shall be disclosed accordingly in Pricing Tables 1 and 2.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

The Government has elected a source selection process that most accurately and currently reflects, in Pricing Table 4, the contract’s anticipated prices and costs, including indirect costs. The Government has decided otherwise to solicit indirect cost rates at the IDIQ level to, among other things, facilitate contract administration.

The Government maintains its indirect cost rate-related instructions. In the context of this question, such instructions shall be followed by each entity that is expected to allocate indirect costs under this contract.

For more information, please see Chapter 37 (Joint Ventures and Teaming Arrangements) of the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Selected Areas of Cost Guidebook, which replaces Chapter 7 of DCAA’s Contract Audit Manual (CAM). The link is https://www.dcaa.mil/Content/Docum ents/sac/Chapter37.pdf.

36. Section L Price Proposal Instructions/Attachm ent #8 Table 4

Pages 105-109 and Table 4

Instructions for Pricing Table 4, propose fully loaded hourly labor rates in US dollars, Colombian pesos, and Mexican pesos.

For the fully loaded labor rates, should we assume contractor’s facility, USG facility, or host-country facility? If USG or host-country, will the staff be provided necessary office space and equipment to perform their duties where these costs are covered by the USG or host-country?

Unknown at this time. Keep in mind that the rates negotiated are ceiling rates. Consider this risk when pricing the contract.

https://www.dcaa.mil/Content/Documents/sac/Chapter37.pdf https://www.dcaa.mil/Content/Documents/sac/Chapter37.pdf

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

37. Section L L-016

VOLUME III - PRICE PROPOSAL 16) Will the govt. remove the requirement to quote in Foreign currency due to reasons as outlined above?

Note: “Outlined above” refers to question 20.

No. Please see the Government’s response to Questions #25 and #27.

38. Section L L-016

D. VOLUME IV - CORPORATE EXPERIENCE How will the govt. rank those HUBZone firms like us who have some but not all the number of Corporate Experience as Prime vs those firms that rely on their major subcontractor (typically a large US firm) to have 10 Corporate Experience? There seems to be an emphasis to bring on-board a sub-contractor for this IDIQ award when the real work will be competed at the task order level. So will the govt. consider removing any credit for sub-contractor Corporate Experience and evaluate the HUBZone firms strictly on it’s own merit to foster more competition and choose a HUBZone firm on its own merit rather than a firm that is relying to win this contract on sub-contractor qualifications than on it’s own? In fact our research shows that very firms (probably only a couple of very large firms have this kind of Corporate experience in Latin America that seems to weigh more favorably to such firms rather than HUBZone firms that are unable to bring such a large sub-contractors that have Latin America Experience. Not giving this “subcontractor credit is likely to encourage more HUBZone firms to respond increasing competition to the ultimate benefit of the Govt.

Requirement remains as is.

The Government does not require nor is there an emphasis to bring on board large subcontractors. The Government is unsure if major subcontractors are typically large US firms.

When selecting subcontractors Offerors need to be mindful of the limitations on subcontracting and affiliation rules.

As stated in the solicitation, the Government will consider recent and relevant corporate experience of the offeror to be more significant than similar corporate experience of major subcontractors.

If Company A has corporate experience as a prime similar to Company B, and in addition is able to bring onboard subcontractors to supplement its capabilities, Company A will likely be rated higher than Company B.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

39. Section L 109 – 110 para D&E Volume IV and Vol V for Corporate Reference and Past Performance

Should most of this information be fairly redundant? Or are you looking for different data?

I wanted to ensure I was filling out the information properly and confused on the difference between corporate references and past performance. We are a small company and I’m using the same information. If that is expected or understandable then I will continue, if not could you please explain to me the differences so I can give you the information you need to consider us for this proposal.

The references could be, though not necessarily need to be, the same. The information required for each area is detailed in section L.

40. Sections L and M L-016 D. Volume IV- Corporate Experience;

p. 109, Para 1;

M-011 (A)

p. 115, Para (A)

Provide a list of up to ten (10) corporate experience references.

References should be for recent corporate experience providing services that are of similar scope, magnitude, and complexity as those required under this solicitation.

Of the four (4) relevancy aspects for this RFP (Corporate Experience, Past Performance, Key Personnel and Price) Corporate Experience is the most heavily weighted evaluation criteria in terms of importance, yet it seemingly restricts “competition” to only certain contractors who can demonstrate corporate experience providing services of “similar scope” and “magnitude”. While this solicitation is ostensibly for small HUBZone businesses with an average three-year revenue of no more than $38.5 million, no small business can meet the “similar scope” and “magnitude” relevancy requirements other than tribal organizations (Alaskan Native Corporations (ANC’s) or Native American (NA) contractors). To illustrate, this procurement is for a $625 million IDIQ anticipated for three awards for 5 years, which would indicate that the magnitude the Government is looking for is a company with at least $41.667 of annual revenue ($625M divided by 3 awards divided by 5 years). This is higher than the maximum for the procurement’s NAICS code ceiling, and this is if the offeror only provides one example of corporate experience. If an offeror were to provide 10 examples of corporate experience as the procurement indicates, it would mean that the offeror would have annual revenues in excess of $410M. No small HUBZone business other than an ANC or NA contractor who can simply establish a new LLC joint venture could meet this requirement. We recommend revising the relevancy requirements and evaluation criteria to delete the term “magnitude” to allow otherwise capable HUBZone small businesses to compete and demonstrate their abilities to address the Government’s requirement to

The IDIQ maximum is not relevant in this case. For evaluation purposes only, the Government will revise wording to reflect the expected value of individual task orders to be awarded under this contract.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response meet the similar scope and complexity of the project(s). The evaluation of a company’s ability to meet the magnitude of a given task order should be determined at the task order level.

41. Section L L-016 D. Volume IV Pg 109 2nd para

Corporate experience references must be submitted utilizing Attachment 4 (corporate Experience Reference Template)

May we modify the template to column widths.

Yes. As long as the general page and size format requirements detailed in L-015(B) are met.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

42. Section L L-016

E. VOLUME V - PAST PERFORMANCE How will the govt. rank those HUBZone firms like us who have some but not all the number of Past Performance Experience as Prime vs those firms that rely on their major subcontractor (typically a large US firm) to have 10 Past Performance? There seems to be an emphasis to bring on-board a sub-contractor for this IDIQ award when the real work will be competed at the task order level.

So will the govt. consider removing any credit for sub-contractor Past Performance Experience and evaluate the HUBZone firms strictly on it’s own merit to foster more competition and choose a HUBZone firm on its own merit rather than a firm that is relying to win this contract on sub-contractor qualifications than on it’s own? In fact our research shows that very firms (probably only a couple of very large firms have this kind of Past Performance experience in Latin America that seems to weigh more favorably to such firms rather than HUBZone firms that are unable to bring such a large sub-contractors that have Latin America Experience. Not giving this “subcontractor credit is likely to encourage more HUBZone firms to respond increasing competition to the ultimate benefit of the Govt.

Requirement remains as is.

The Government does not require nor is there an emphasis to bring on board large subcontractors. The Government is also unsure if major subcontractors are typically large US firms.

When selecting subcontractors Offerors need to be mindful of the limitations on subcontracting and affiliation rules.

As stated in the solicitation, for the purpose of evaluating past performance, the Government will consider the collective past performance of the proposed contract team. FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iii) states that the evaluation should take into consideration, among other things, “past performance information regarding…subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement…”

43. Section L L-016 (E). Volume V-Past Performance

p. 110 of 118, Para (2)

Provide a list of no more than ten (10) recent or current contract references for projects similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity to the requirements stated in this solicitation.

Of the four (4) relevancy aspects for this RFP (Corporate Experience, Past Performance, Key Personnel and Price) Past Performance is the second most heavily weighted evaluation criteria in terms of importance, yet it seemingly restricts “competition” to only certain contractors who can demonstrate past performance providing services of “similar scope” and “magnitude”. While this solicitation is ostensibly for small HUBZone businesses with an average three-year revenue of no more than $38.5 million, no small business can meet the “similar scope” and “magnitude” relevancy requirements other than tribal organizations (Alaskan Native Corporations (ANC’s) or Native American (NA) contractors). To illustrate, this procurement is for a $625 million IDIQ anticipated for three awards for 5 years, which would indicate that the magnitude the Government is looking for is a company with at least $41.667 of annual revenue ($625M divided by 3 awards divided by 5 years). This is higher than the maximum for the procurement’s NAICS code ceiling, and this is if the offeror only provides one example of past performance. If an offeror were to provide 10 examples of past performance, as the procurement indicates, it would mean that the offeror would have annual revenues in excess of $410M. No small HUBZone business other than an ANC or NA contractor, who can simply establish a new LLC joint venture, could meet this requirement. We recommend revising the relevancy requirements to delete the term “magnitude” to allow otherwise capable HUBZone small businesses to compete and demonstrate their abilities to address the Government’s requirement to meet the similar scope and

The IDIQ maximum is not relevant in this case. For evaluation purposes only, the Government will revise wording to reflect the expected value of individual task orders to be awarded under this contract.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response complexity of the project(s). The evaluation of a company’s ability to meet the magnitude of a given task order should be determined at the task order level.

44. Section L Pg 111-112 Per L-016 and under E. VOLUME V - PAST PERFORMANCE, there is a 25 page restriction.

Would the Government confirm the 25 page allocation includes the total of all TAB requirements?

If so, there are 10 references (TAB 2) possible 10-20 pgs ; 10 Consent Letters (TAB 5) one page each; and 10 PPQs (TAB 6) already exceeds the 25 page restrictions.

Would the Government allow TAB 5 & TAB 6 pages be submitted as Appendices to this Volume?

Tabs 5 and 6 will not be counted towards the limit. Additionally, the page limit will be increased to 35 pages.

45. Section L L-016

E. VOLUME V - PAST PERFORMANCE (6) Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) – Since it is a cumbersome process to send PPQs to the references and for them to turn them in a timely manner and failure on their part to do so resulting in the HUBZone firm being rated less favorably due to factors beyind it’s control, will the govt. consider allowing submission of CPARs if available in lieu of PPQs particularly since as many as 10 may be required? Thank you for kind consideration of this request.

Requirement remains as is. Please note that per item M-004 the Government reserves the right to utilize CPARS information.

46. Section L L-016, F. (ii)

p. 112

Key person’s willingness to relocate if necessary; Can the Government provide clarity regarding where the key personnel would need to consider relocation to?

Government will remove this requirement.

Section / Attachment Number

Page Number and Paragraph Solicitation Requirement Question / Recommendation Government’s Response

47. Section L L016, E., (6)

p. 112

For each effort identified under Tab 2 above submit information in accordance with Attachment 5 (Past Performance Questionnaire). The PPQ must be submitted directly by the assessor(s) to the Government as directed in Attachment 5.

Given the similarity between Section 2 of the PPQ and the…