Questions and Answers document.pdf

Question and Answers for EAPS

Q: Does the government foresee any restrictions on a contractor bidding as a prime and subcontractor?

A: No. NSF encourages contractors to build teams through subcontracting and teaming.

Q: Are cover page and Table of Contents desired, and if so can they be excluded from the page count?

A: See solicitation page 20 for cover page requirements. Table of contents are not desired, will not be read, and will count against the page count.

Q: Is there a required line spacing – i.e., single or double spaced?

A: NSF recommends single spacing, but if you prefer to double or triple space, please feel free.

Q: Please confirm there is nothing additional required for Factor 2: Past Performance other than the information provided under Factor 1.

A: Confirmed.

Q: Please confirm commercial corporate experience is acceptable to the Government for Factor 1.

A: Confirmed.

Q: Does NSF intend to release task orders specifically set-aside for the small business awardees?

A: Yes.

Q: Can a firm both prime a bid and be a subcontractor on another?

A: Yes. NSF will not reject quoters from affiliated firms or limit them to one award.

Q: Please confirm small business awardees can submit proposals for task orders which are not set-asides; that is released for “full and open” competition.

A: Unrestricted task orders will be released on an unrestricted basis.

Q: Request the Government allow for the use of 10-point font for charts, tables, and graphs.

A: Request denied.

Q: The Advisory Down-Select shows Factors 3, 4, and 5 under Phase II, and lists Factor 3 as “Small Business Subcontracting Plan” which does not align to the other references to Factor 3. There are similar disconnects in the listings for Factors 4 and 5 in this section. Please clarify.

A: This is corrected in amendment 3.

Q: Paragraph 1 under Evaluation Factors for Award states what the Government will evaluate for Factor 1 Corporate Experience yet does not provide the criteria the Government will use for their evaluation.

We request you provide additional information as it would be in the best interest to the Government to provide this additional clarity to ensure offerors present their information in a beneficial manner.

A: The factor of corporate experience is defined on page 20. The NSF will evaluate that factor as follows, from page 23, “NSF will evaluate the quoter’s corporate experience to accomplish all facets of the statement of work…”

Q: What type of contract(s) does NSF intend to award for Task Orders under the IDIQ? For example, are these likely to include fixed price, time and materials, cost plus fixed fee, or hybrid contracts that combine two or more of these features?

A: NSF will state the order type in the task order request for quote.

Q: Would NSF please confirm that it is not requesting resumes for staff as part of the Phase I solicitation?

A: Confirmed.

Q: Please clarify whether there are 5 or 6 questions under “Phase I, Factor 3: Questionnaire Response” that bidders should address in two-page responses. In particular please clarify whether you would like a two-page response to not only items #2 through #6 in that section but also the statement italicized below embedded in item #1 relating to the team’s technical and content expertise.

A: This is clarified in amendment 3.

Q: Would NSF please clarify whether 17% or 17.5% will be the small business subcontracting goal?

A: This drafting error is corrected in amendment 3.

Q: The solicitation indicates that “The quoter shall provide a summary of recent (last three years) and relevant projects completed”. Must all of the projects described be under contracts that have been completed, or is it acceptable to describe some project work under ongoing contracts?

A: In process work is acceptable.

Q: This section indicates that the description of projects should include “any associated formal performance evaluation”. Should quoters summarize the content of any performance evaluations or simply indicate whether the client produced a formal performance evaluation and if so, whether it included a CPARS assessment?

A: This is clarified in amendment 3.

Q: Can the government please allow the inclusion of an acronyms list and table of contents outside of the set page counts?

A: No.

Q: The notional schedule notes that the notification of advisory down-select will occur on 5/1/2021 and the Phase II Oral Presentations will occur on 6/20/2021. Both of these dates fall during a weekend. Can the government confirm that these events will occur on weekdays? And if so, please revise the dates for those events?

A: The dates are notional and used to estimate the time NSF expects between phases. Actual dates will differ.

Q: Pg. 7, b. Background Investigation states, “the Contractor shall not work on the contract until a favorable determination is granted.” Can you clarify if this refers to the Contractor as an entity or a particular contractor personnel (individual) awaiting a determination?

A: This refers to the individual awaiting a determination.

Q: Per page 21 of the RFQ, quoters must respect a 2-page limit for each question in the questionnaire response. Can the government please confirm whether visual graphics/tools/charts included in each response are counted in that page limit?

A: Confirmed.

Q: Please clarify whether bidders are expected to include resumes for key staff in the Phase 1 April 8th submission? If so, is there a page limit for resumes?

A: Resumes are not requested or required.

Q: Is there an overall page limit to the entire response to this RFP? If yes, does this overall page limit exclude the cover page, cover letter, table of contents, reference page, appendices, resumes, and letters of commitment?

A: The page limits are set forth in the solicitation. Tables of contents, references pages, appendices, resumes, and letters of commitment are not required and if submitted, will not be read.

Q: The RFP indicates that: “The NSF will review past performance related to the projects submitted as corporate experience. NSF may choose to review past performance databases (e.g., CPARS), call project points of contact, or use any other method of obtaining information to assess past performance.” Is a separate response expected for Factor 2, or will the information come from Factor 1? If a response is expected for Factor 2, is there a page limit?

A: No response for factor 2 is required.

Q: Given some of the language included in # 2 and # 3 on pages 7 through 9, is there an expectation that some of the tasks under this opportunity may require a contractor to be physically present at an NSF site once the public health environment allows for more widespread non-remote work?

A: Currently, NSF is teleworking full time, including most contractors. That is NSF’s posture for the near-term future. At some point during the period of performance, contractors may be required to re-enter the building.

Q: Would a potential Conflict of Interest (COI) apply for University Partners or Individual Academics who have received funding from the NSF for non- evaluation activities in the past?

A: No but interested quoters should ensure that they are free of conflicts in accordance with FAR part 9.5.

Q: Are offerors required to submit a copy of their Representations and Certifications as part of the proposal submission?

A: See page 2, “Offerors shall ensure that its Representations and Certifications are available at www.sam.gov, in accordance with 52.212-3.”

Q: Will the government please clarify whether oral presentation materials or narratives supporting the Phase 2 standard task order approach should be submitted prior to conducting oral presentations?

Q: Will the government please clarify whether a price quote for the Phase 2 standard task order should be submitted separately or incorporated in the oral presentation materials?

A: Instructions regarding oral presentations will be included in the advisory letter.

Q: Will the government please clarify whether labor category descriptions are required?

A: Descriptions are not required.

Q: Will offerors have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the standard task order statement of work (which will be provided by the CO 2 weeks prior to oral presentations)?

A: NSF does not anticipate another round of Q&A in phase II.

Q: Will the Task Order Statement of Work presented for the oral presentations be a sample order or an order available for award?

A: It is an order available for award.

Q: Are the three oral presentation participants limited to current employees of the Quoter?

A: No.

Q: Can the government clarify whether the small business subcontracting goal needs to meet specific socioeconomic targets (e.g., woman-owned, HUBZone, etc.)?

A: NSF has not established specific goals for small business subcategories.

Q: Does NSF anticipate that selected contractors would receive or generate Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) during the performance of the contract?

A: Yes.

http://www.sam.gov/

Q: Can IDIQ awardees bid on requests for task order proposals (RFTOPs) with subcontractor organizations not listed in their original IDIQ proposal?

A: Yes.

Q: Is it acceptable for a respondent to reference corporate experience a few months beyond the three-year limit where a strong case exists for its relevance to the SOW?

A: The limit is three years.