Government Responses to Post Due Diligence Questions_Amendment 002.xlsx
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- Solicitation number
- 19AQMM23R0059
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This document contains government responses to questions regarding Department of State S/GAC Data and Systems Support Services Request for Proposals number 19AQMM23R0059.
The RFP solicits proposals for an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity contract to provide data and systems support services to the Department of State's Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy. Key details include a one-year base period of performance starting October 1, 2023 with four one-year option periods; responses are due by August 15, 2022 with award anticipated by September 30, 2022. Services required include ongoing maintenance, upgrades, security patching and administration support for systems such as DHIS2, MicroStrategy and other software tools. Pricing utilizes fixed fully loaded hourly labor rates by labor category with plug numbers provided for other direct costs. No set-asides or restrictions on teaming arrangements were specified other than for providers of DHIS2 software as a service and hosting.
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Sheet1
| Reference: | Question: | Response: | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section B, Section G, Section H, Section I, Section L | Based on solicitation clauses (52.215-2 Audit and Records-Negotiation, 52.242-3 Penalties for Unallowable Costs, 52.216-7 Allowable Cost and Payment, 52.232-20 Limitation of Cost, and 52.232-22 Limitation of Funds) and the potential for cost-reimbursable Task Orders, please confirm offerors should provide proof of approved accounting system as determined by the cognizant administrative office for accumulating and reporting incurred costs as part of Volume III Cost/Price Proposal? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section L-006 – Cost/Price Proposal Instructions adds a paragraph (k) that reads “The offeror shall identify its accounting system and the capabilities of the accounting system to meet the Department's potential contract-type requirements. Note: If the Department identifies a need for a cost reimbursement task order, the accounting system must be adequate and approved by the Government”. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section F-002 | Section F-002 states, "This contract is comprised of a one-year base performance period, with up to four, one-year option periods." For Cost/Price evaluation purposes, will the Government please confirm that the notional start date for the IDIQ contract is October 1, 2023? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section L-006 – Cost/Price Proposal Instructions, paragraph (a) was amended to establish a notional start date of October 1, 2023, for pricing purposes. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section H-005 | Attachment J-2 Scope of Services, Section 6, includes the following: "The existing Enterprise Program Management Office (ePMO), led by S/GAC staff with ongoing engagement with S/GAC and PEPFAR interagency subject matter experts, manages S/GAC data and systems governance, process, and operational practices." Will the Government please clarify whether the services provided under the ePMO contract present an unmitigable OCI and whether contractors supporting the ePMO as either prime contractor or subcontractor are eligible for award under this RFP? | There is no known evidence that the ePMO contract presents an unmitigable Organizational Conflict of Interest. There is no known or identified condition of award. There is no known restriction for future prime contract or subcontract awards. There is no known clause that specifies the nature and duration of any proposed restraints. There is no known agreement between the contractor and the Government on any restriction. Special Emphasis - All interested RFP 19AQMM23R0059 contractors are bound by the following Organizational Conflict of Interest solicitation clauses (i.e., H-005 - Organizational Conflict of Interest and H-003-2 Subcontracting) contained in the solicitation. Documentation on PEPFAR planning and reporting processes can be located in the public domain: https://www.state.gov/reports-pepfar/. Furthermore, significant documentation related to PEPFAR's data can be located in the public domain at: data.pepfar.gov | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section I | Section I includes the incorporation of 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2020). Will the Government confirm that clause 52.219-6 will be removed since this contract is not a total Small Business set-aside? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059 and removed - FAR 52.219-6 - Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2020). | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section L.005-2 | Section L.005-2 states, "One (1) of the Past Performance Contractor Profiles may be associated with a significant subcontractor or affiliate." Will the Government please provide the definition of a "significant" subcontractor? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059 and defined a major or significant subcontractor as a subcontractor that is awarded a subcontract that equals or exceeds both the certified cost or pricing data threshold and 10 percent of the value of the contract under which the contract is awarded. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section L.005-2 | Section L.005-2 states, "The Offeror must also provide a listing of any cure notices, show cause letters, or terminations within the past three (3) years." Will the Government please confirm that offerors are required to include all terminations (cause/default and convenience), not just terminations related to the three past performance references? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059 to clarify the types of terminations that must be addressed in the offeror’s response. The following statement is amended to read “The Offeror must also provide a listing of any cure notices, show cause letters, or terminations (i.e., cause/default and convenience) within the past three (3) years”. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section L-006, paragraph g | RFP states: “The Offeror shall not propose teaming arrangements/agreements of any kind that restricts competition (includes prime-subcontractor relationships) on an exclusive basis.” Will the Government please clarify what “restricts competition” and “exclusive basis” means in this context, as applicable to this requirement? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059 and Section L-006 – Cost/Price Proposal Instructions, paragraph (g) was amended to read: “The Offeror shall not propose teaming arrangements/agreements of any kind that restricts competition (includes prime-subcontractor relationships) on an exclusive basis for companies that provide managed hosting services with DHIS2 software as a service in the cloud and hold the market on DHIS2 expertise per https://dhis2.org/hosting/. Offerors shall provide a copy of all executed teaming arrangements/agreements with its proposal. The teaming documentation must include but is not limited to structure of the teaming arrangement/agreement, responsibilities, and liabilities; monetary responsibility; managerial responsibility and accountability; and applicable legal documents. The burden of proving that any teaming arrangement/agreement proposed does not restrict competition shall rest with the offeror. Offeror’s are advised that should the Government determine that any such proposed teaming arrangement/agreement, inhibits competition that may render the offeror’s proposal ineligible for award”. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section L-006, paragraph g | RFP states: “The burden of proving that any teaming arrangement/agreement proposed does not restrict competition shall rest with the offeror. Offeror’s are advised that should the Government determine that any such proposed teaming arrangement/agreement, inhibits competition that may render the offeror’s proposal ineligible for award.” Will the Government please clarify whether a teaming agreement/arrangement would be approved if it restricts teaming partners from competing against one for award, but allows either company to pursue a subcontract with another entity in the event a prime contract is not awarded to the team? | A teaming agreement/arrangement that restricts a company that specializes in DHIS2 development, implementation, and support with critical technology from competing as a prime or subcontractor on a team would not be approved. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section L-006, paragraph g | Will the Government please confirm that the requirement to provide Software as a Service in the Cloud or specific software products (i.e. DHIS2, MicroStrategy) will be handled directly by the Government in another contract and is not in scope for this contract? | Provision of support for the DHIS2, MicroStrategy, and other software tools described in the RFP is a specific requirementin scope of the contract. The Government intends to directly procure necessary software and/or maintenance licenses as well as required hosting services. However, the Government reserves the right to request the awardee of this contract to procure these and related services on its behalf. Fully within scope of this contract is systems administration associated with the ongoing maintenance, planned platform upgrades, security patching, etc.of all systems described in the RFP irrespective of whether the Government procures associated licenses and hosting directly and/or the awardee does so at the request of the Government. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section L-006, paragraph g | Will the Government please confirm that the prohibition on exclusive teaming arrangements/agreements refers only to an essential technology or product (software-as-a-service, hosting, and software products critical to S/GAC's ongoing performance) and does not refer to professional services teaming agreements? | For DHIS2 support especially, SGAC requires professional services to support DHIS2 software as a service implementation. Providing access to such an environment without the necessary expertise is not sufficient. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section L-006, paragraph g | If there is a requirement to procure specific software-as-a-service or other technologies under this procurement from specific vendors, will the Government please provide offerors with the required vendor and confirm that this vendor must provide these product(s) for any interested offeror? | Related to question #12, if the Government requests for the awardee to process software licenses on it behalf, it will provide necessary details. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, | ||||
| Section L-006, paragraph j | Section L-006, paragraph j) states, "The offeror shall abide by the Department of State Plug Numbers placed in the Other Direct Costs Section of Section J, Attachment J-1A (Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Tables)". Will the Government please confirm that the Plug Numbers are to be treated as Not-To-Exceed figures? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section L-006 – Cost/Price Proposal Instructions, paragraph (j) is amended to clarify that the plug numbers are considered not-to-exceed numbers. | ||
| RFP_19AQMM23R0059.pdf, Section M-006, Factor 2 | Evaluation Factor 3 states: "The Government will also evaluate "how well" the Offeror has performed similar work with its customers over the past 36 months prior to issuance of the solicitation based on the submitted PPQ (Refer to Section J, Attachment J-4-2, Past Performance Questionnaire) ." The instructions encourage the submission of CPARs, if they are available. Will the Government please confirm that PPQs are required, even if CPARs are submitted, to support the Government's evaluation of the PPQs? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section M-006 Evaluation Factor and Subfactor Evaluation Criteria, Technical Evaluation Factor 2: Experience and Past Performance amends the following sentence to read: “The Government will also evaluate "how well" the Offeror has performed similar work with its customers over the past 36 months prior to issuance of the solicitation based on the submitted PPQ (Refer to Section J, Attachment J-4-2, Past Performance Questionnaire) or CPAR”. | ||
| J-1B_Labor Category Descriptions.docx | There are entry-level Labor Categories in Attachment J-1B that require 5 to 8 years of experience in addition to a Bachelor's degree. In order for offerors to provide the most cost effective solutions, will the Government please consider adjusting the Minimum Required Experience per the following: 1) for "Analyst 1," "Business Analyst 1," and "Programmer 1," update Minimum Required Experience to two years and 2) for "Analyst 2" and "Business Analyst 2," update the Minimum Required Experience to five years? | The Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 amended J-1B_Labor Category Descriptions, as highlighted in the Attachment. | S/GAC Team needs to discuss | |
| J-4-2_Past Performance Questionnaire_Revised.docx | The Signature of Rater field indicates that "Past Performance Rating must be provided by a Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative, Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative or Corporate Officer/Official with knowledge about the project." Will the Government please confirm that for a Past Performance Reference performed as a subcontractor, the Rater signature must come from a corporate official from the prime contract holder for the reference contract? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section L.005-2 Evaluation Area 2: Experience and Past Performance is amended for Offeror’s completing the PPQ (i.e., Attachment J-4-2_Past Performance_Questionnaire_Revised.docx) to read- “The Offeror shall complete pages 1, 3, and 4 for each PPQ and return the entire survey in Microsoft Word Format with its Technical Proposal. The Department of State will distribute all Past Performance Surveys to the cited references to complete remaining sections after receipt of proposals. Note: For work performed by a subcontractor, the Rater signature should come from the Prime contractor corporate official for the referenced contract”. In addition, the PPQ reference for the subcontractor should indicate the "Project size" and "Project complexity" of the subcontract work performed by the Offeror. | ||
| J-1A_Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table.xlsx | In each contract period tab of attachment J-1A_Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table, the formulas in columns H and I (H10:I36) do not calculate total cost by multiplying rates by hours. Will the Government please allow bidders to edit formulas in this file as needed to calculate total cost? | No, The Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 updates Attachment J-1A. | . | |
| J-4-2_Past Performance Questionnaire_Revised.docx | Page 3, Section 1A of the PPQ form contains two boxes titled "Project size" and "Project complexity." Please confirm that when submitting a PPQ reference where the offeror is a subcontractor, the "Project size" and "Project complexity" should refer to the size and complexity of the subcontract for the work performed by the offeror, not the entire project to include the work performed by prime and other contractors? | The Government issued Amendment 001 to 19AQMM23R0059, Section L.005-2 Evaluation Area 2: Experience and Past Performance was amended for Offeror’s completing the PPQ (i.e., Attachment J-4-2_Past Performance_Questionnaire_Revised.docx) to read- “The Offeror shall complete pages 1, 3, and 4 for each PPQ and return the entire survey in Microsoft Word Format with its Technical Proposal. The Department of State will distribute all Past Performance Surveys to the cited references to complete remaining sections after receipt of proposals. Note: For work performed by a subcontractor, the Rater signature should come from the Prime contractor corporate official for the referenced contract”. In addition, the PPQ reference for the subcontractor should indicate the "Project size" and "Project complexity" of the subcontract work performed by the Offeror. | ||
| B-004 - Fixed Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rates | Page 9, Paragraph f) The negotiated NTE fully loaded hourly rates apply only to performance by American Citizens. The clearance requirement of Moderate Risk Public Trust allows for non-US citizens. Can the Government please update or clarify this language to allow non-American Citizes to work on this IDIQ? | The Government issued Amendment 0002 to 19AQMM23R0059 deleted the language and paragraph f) is now marked RESERVED. | . | |
| L.005-2 | Page 103 "The Offeror must also provide a listing of any cure notices, show cause letters, or terminations within the past three (3) years. The Offeror must also provide a brief explanation related to the facts and circumstances for each instance. If no such action was taken, the Offeror shall clearly state that in the response to this proposal. Can the government confirm that cure notices, show cause letters, or terminations within the past three (3) years would be required for disclosure of work of similar size, scope, and complexity as what is being solicited here? | The Government can confirm that the requirement calls for a complete listing. There is no differentiation associated with similar size, scope and complexity. | ||
| J-1A_Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table.xlsx | Tabs BP, OP1, OP2, OP3, OP4 - Will the Government allow offerors to update J-1A so that cells H10 through H33 multiply the government site rates (Column D) by the estimated hours (Column G)? | No, the Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 updates Attachment J-1A - Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table. | . | |
| J-1A_Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table.xlsx | Tabs BP, OP1, OP2, OP3, OP4 - Will the Government allow offerors to update J-1A so that cells H10 through H33 multiply the government site rates (Column E) by the estimated hours (Column G)? | No, the Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 updates Attachment J-1A - Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table. | . | |
| J-2 Scope of Services | 4. Task S/GAC 4.1. Task 1 – Transition Plan | |||
| The phase-in and phase-out are known as the transition plan which allows the government to retain institutional knowledge from incumbent to be transferred to the successor. The Contractor recognizes that the services under this contract are vital to the Government and must be continued without interruption and that, upon contract expiration, a successor, either the Government or another Contractor, may continue them. The Contractor shall furnish phase-in training and exercise the best effort and cooperation to affect an orderly and efficient transition to a successor. The contractor shall submit a Phase-Out Plan 90 calendar days prior to the close of an option period. The contactor shall submit a Phase-In plan reflecting migration for current systems and operations within (10) working days after award. Can the government confirm the anticipated overlap in the periods of performance of incumbent contractor and awardee to facilitate transition activities is 90 calendar days? | Confirmed, the anticipated overlap in the periods of performance of incumbent contractor and awardee to facilitate activities is 90 calendar days. | Need to discuss with team | ||
| J-1B_Labor Category Descriptions.docx | Definition of these minimum skills/experiences/position descriptions Programmer 1 |
Highly desired skills/experience Minimum Experience:
Seven (7) years of relevant experience.
Minimum Education: Master’s Degree in computer science, mathematics, or related technical discipline Substitution of work experience for education levels or vice versa acceptable.
Programmer 2 Minimum Experience: Seven (7) years of relevant experience.
Minimum Education: Master’s Degree in computer science, mathematics, or related technical discipline
| Substitution of work experience for education levels or vice versa acceptable. Can the government please confirm they intended for the Programmer 1 and Programmer 2 "highly desired skills/experience" to have the same requirements? | The Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 updates Attachment J-1B_Labor Category Descriptions for the Programmer 1 and Programmer 2. | Need to discuss with team | |
| L.001 | Page 99, The reference paragraph lists 10 provisions that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with the proposal. However, proposal preparation instructions do not specify where to place the provisions within the proposal. Please clarify where in the proposal the offeror should place these provisions. | L-006 (d) states "Each offeror shall submit its completed Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors (Section K) and any listed |
provisions that may include blocks that must be completed in Volume III".
General - J-1a , General On the BP and OY sheets Column H and I cost calculations currently use rates, not hours* rates; also summary cost total adds Contractor and Government Site costs (H53 = sum(H51:/I52) instead of just using the contractor site costs as indicatedin the evaluation instructions. Guidance was the that the offeror should not edit the J-1a sheet, so recommend a revised J-1a be released. The Government issued Amendment 002 to 19AQMM23R0059 updates Attachment J-1A - Fully Loaded Hourly Labor Rate Table. .
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