19AQMM24R0011 QA FINAL v2.pdf

# Solicitation Reference Section/Exhibit Question Answer

1 Section L Section L states 5‐10 pages then subsequently states no more than 15 pages for Volume 2. Can you confirm the page count limitations and structure for Voume 2?

The language in L.1(d)(1)(ii) has been corrected to reflect a 15 page limit for the Volume II Technical proposal, to align with the language in (d)(2). The reference to page 10 in (d)(3)(ii) is also corrected to 15.

The requirement for double spacing has also been removed.

2 Section L.1 Instruction Section D

(ii) Volume II, Technical Proposal. 5‐10 pages (excluding resumes, however resumes are limited to no more than 2 pages each) Re levant Corporate Experience shall be limited to 2 pages.

(2) Volume cover sheets, table of contents, and glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, do not count towards the 15‐ page limitation for Volume II.

Please clarify the number of pages for Volume II, Technical Proposal including corporate experience. Is the maximum number of pages 15 (not including resumes) or 10 (not including resumes)?

See answer 1.

3 Attachment 1, SOW,page 6

Instructors. All proposed instructors shall be Mexican Nationals (LNs), identified as Key Personnel, in accordance with the minimum instructor qualification requirements (Refer to Instructor Qualifications table below for additional details on acceptable instructors’ profiles). INL must approve all instructor candidates prior to their performance under the contract.

Would the government be willing to revise or relax the requirement (referenced below) for Mexican Nationals to allow for candidates from other countries to be proposed?

No. The training to be delivered under the contract is practical in nature and therefore requires specific experience in Mexico as described in the labor category qualifications.

Section L.1.

b) Submission of Electronic Proposals, Page 6

Receipt of electronic proposals shall only be accepted at the Contracting Officer’s email address listed below and must be received on August 23, 2024 by 5:00 p.m. CST

Will the Government consider a 1 week extension on the due date?

Yes. The deadline for receipt of proposals has been extended to August 30, 2024 5:00PM CST

5 Attachment 1, SOW Section 5 In this section, it states that option years 1‐3 will have 18 iterations for the Investigations Course.

Should this section be revised to include option year 4?

No, as shown on the Pricing Spreadsheet Attachment 2, the government does not anticipate offering this course beyond Option Year 3. However, pricing is requested as this is an IDIQ type contract per FAR 16.504 , the listed quantities are estimates, and government requirements are subject to change.

6 Attachment 1, SOW Section 7 This section states that travel can be to any state of Mexico.

Due to varying costs of travel, would the Government consider providing a plug number for the offeror to use for travel?

No. For pricing at the IDIQ level, offerors should provide a firm‐fixed price for travel for any state in Mexico.

Illustrative examples of training locations are included in the SOW. Task order competition may include specific training locations for contractors to price. A new Attachment 2.1 for task order 1 (TO1) has been provided for completion. The government intends to award the initial task order concurrently with the IDIQ(s) or shortly thereafter utilizing the task order 1 pricing provided via Attachment 2.1.

7 Attachment 1, SOW Section 5

In this section, it states that base year will have 32 iterations (4 per month) and option years 1‐4 will have 36 iterations per months for the Analysis Course.

Should this section be revised to clarify how many iterations per month are needed, if 32 or 36?

The language in this section has been revised for clarity and to remove the "per month" descriptors.

Offerors should refer to Attachment 1.2 for the Base Year Schedule as an example. As this is an IDIQ type contract per FAR 16.504 , the listed quantities for the option years are estimates, and government requirements are subject to change and will be finalized in actual orders.

8 Section L.1 Instruction Section D

In Section L.1, page 43 section (d) (ii) mentions for Volume II‐Technical Proposal a page limit of 5‐10 pages plus the Relevant Experience limited to 2 pages. However, in (2) same page mentions a 15 pages limitation for Volume II.

Can the Government clarify page limitation for Volume II – Technical Proposal is 12 or 15 pages (including Relevant Experience)? Past Performance shall be included under this Volume? If so, which is the page limitation for this section?

See answer 1. Past Performance is included in Volume II per L.3(a)(1)

9 Section L‐3.4 FACTOR 4 Past Performance In Section L‐3.4 FACTOR 4 Past Performance (1) mentions Attachment 6B which is not included.

Should this section be revised to replace this Attachment for Attachment 3‐PPIQ RFP 19AQMR24R0011?

Yes, the language in Section L has been amended to correct the reference to Attachment 6B to Attachment 3.

10 Section J‐ List of Attachments List of Attachments only provides reference to Attachment 1 SOW and Attachment 1.2 SOW Base Year Schedule however the posted documents include Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet and Attachment 3 PPIQ which are not directly referenced in that manner in the solicitation.

Only the attachments which will be included in a corresponding contract award are listed in Section J. Other attachments for are for proposal use only and therefore are not listed in Section J. Offer should still refer solicitation provisions (e.g. Sections L, M, etc.) for use of other solicitation attachments.

11 Section L‐3.4 FACTOR 4 Past Performance

1. L‐3.4 FACTOR Past Performance Paragraph (1) states “The offeror will submit its past performance information on the Past Performance Information Form contained in Attachment 6B.” As there is no Attachment 6B provided, we’re unsure how to provide this information to include how to stay within allotted page count.

See answer 9.

12 Section L‐3.4 FACTOR 4 Past Performance

1. L‐3.4 FACTOR Past Performance Paragraph (2) (d) states “Past Performance Questionnaire. The offeror will provide the Past Performance Questionnaire contained in Attachment 6A to each of the contract references.” As there is no Attachment 6A, we assume 6A should be Attachment 3 PPIQ. Please confirm. L‐004 Price Proposal – Volume III paragraph (a) states, “The offeror shall prepare its price proposal in accordance with the instructions in Tab 1 on the Attachment 5 Vol III Vendor Price Matrix.” Please confirm the reference to Attachment 5 should be Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet.

See answer 9. Confirmed that Attachment 2 is the correct Attachment Numbering for the pricing spreadsheet. L‐004 reference to Attachment 5 has been corrected to Attachment 2. Also, please see new language in L‐004 regarding submission of Attachment 2.1 as described in answer 6.

19AQMM24R0011 Investigation and Analysis Courses (INL Mexico): Solicitation Q&A

13 Section L.1

1. For further clarification, the instructions for page count in Section L.1 Proposal Instructions, paragraph (d) subparagraph (1) Proposal volumes and page limitations are not clear. Page allotment for Volume II states 5‐10 pages excluding resumes and Relevant Corporate Experience is limited to 2 pages. In subparagraph (2) it states that cover sheets, table of contents, glossaries, and acronyms do not count towards the 15 page limitation for Volume II. We’re unclear whether the page count is limited to 10 pages or 15 pages for Volume II and whether the Relevant Corporate Experience is inclusive or exclusive of the Volume II overall page count. Please confirm and update as the page count is very limited as is and clarification is needed for all offerors to be able to respond fairly.

See answer 1. Relevant corporate experience is including in the Volume II and is included in the 15 page limit for Volume II. Only resumes are excluded from the page count.

14 Who developed the curriculum?

Not relevant to the solicitation. Curriculum development is outside the scope of the contract. The contractor is only required to deliver the curriculum in the training, but is invited to suggested changes and updates to the COR for INL consideration.

15 is this a new contract or a follow‐on to a previous contract? This is a new contract requirement, but these services were previously performed under a DOS grant.

Several identified locations are considered either "No Travel" or "Reconsider Travel" on the Department of State website for Mexico.

1) Do you know if this restriction will apply to the contracted Instructors? Will it eliminate these locations?

2) Does DoS intend to provide security through RSO for any of the contracted American Citizens or Mexican Nationals supporting the training or are the security responsibilities completely on the Contractor company?

1) Restrictions do not apply to instructors. INL intends will train in these locations

2) The contractor is responsible for security. However, training will take place in GOM owned or operated facilities, and therefore the contractor should not plan to provide for l security in addition to the security measures already in place by the GOM in their training space. INL will have continuous communication with the contractor company/instructors about security issues, but ultimate responsibility lies with the contracting company.

Will the Contractor company know the training locations far enough in advance to make the purchase of the tickets economically and facilitate security posture?

To the maximum degree practicable, DOS will compete orders including specific dates as well as locations.

For example Attachment 2.1 contains training locations and dates for contractors to price for Task Order 1.

In some cases, dates may be known but locations may not be finalized until after task order award. In all cases, DOS will provide the final location not less than two weeks prior to the beginning of the course.

Who is facilitating the "logistics" for a class?

1) Who is going to print out all the training material and certificates for students?

2) Who is putting together the certificates?

3) Who is developing the Survey and Eval Report template? INL or Contractor

4) Who is developing the Participant Performance Report Template? INL or Contractor

5) Who is developing the Tests and Evaluations? INL or Contractor

1) Contractor

2) INL will prepare and send certificates to Contractor for printing and distribution

3) INL

4) INL

5) INL

Also, see Section B.2 which states "Normally, GOM training facilities are well equipped, however, the contractor must be prepared with their own equipment to deliver the training curriculum in accordance with their technical proposal...The contractor must provide the necessary equipment as needed in the event that the training facility capabilities do not align with their technical approach."

19 Will INL representatives participate in the training events?

INL will at times attend and/or participate in training events. For example, the CO, COR, or GTM may attend to observe contractor performance. Other DOS employees may observe as well and will not be considered students for purposes of this contract.

Does the decision of whether to cancel or add training events affect the overall cost of the Contract? Would those decisions be made far enough in advance for the Contractor company to pivot accordingly?

The contractor will only be paid the firm‐fixed price rate for actual sessions delivered and the authorized corresponding required travel. Per the SOW, for cases of cancellation, if one week notice is provided then it will be without penalty to INL. Also, see section F.3.

There is a restriction on the instructor arriving on Monday, 45 minutes before the training begins.

1) What location is this? Mexico City only? There is a line indicating in other "states" that the instructor can arrive the day before.

2)Can this apply to all locations?

3) Is the INL rep or other designated "in‐country" State representative going to "set up" the classroom?

On the Monday training start day, contract instructors must arrive at the training facility no later 45 minutes prior to the class start. This requirement applies to all locations.

1) The language regarding "in cases where the courses are delivered in another state" should be read as in cases where the instructor needs to travel another state i.e. their state of residence is not the same state where the course will be delivered.

3) For classroom setup, see the answer to question 18.