T4NG2 Industry Day - 20230201 - 1500hrs.pdf

Transformation Twenty-One

Total Technology

Next Generation 2 (T4NG2)

Industry Day

February 2, 2023

Robert C. Kately Contracting Officer

Technology Acquisition Center

Sarah Bach Contract Specialist

Technology Acquisition Center

Administrative Remarks

➢Time Allotted: 11:00am – 1:15pm EST.

➢Please put your device on mute.

➢Live question functionality via audio or chat have been disabled.

➢All questions regarding this briefing can be submitted to

T4NG2.TAC@va.gov. Please use subject line: “Industry Day Questions” and submit all questions no later than February 7, 2023.

➢The briefing slides and Q&A resulting from this Industry Day will be posted to SAM under Notice ID 36C10B23R0011.

mailto:T4NG2.TAC@va.gov

Robert C. Kately

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics

Technology Acquisition Center

Contracting Officer

T4NG2 Industry Day Agenda

➢ 11:05am-11:10am: Acquisition Timeline

➢ 11:10am-11:15am: T4NG/T4NG2 Comparison

➢ 11:15am-11:25am: Acquisition Strategy

➢ 11:25am-12:25pm: Solicitation walkthrough

❖ Focus: Section L (Proposal Submission) & Section M (Basis for Award)

➢ 12:25pm-12:45pm: Government Responses to Questions, Concerns, Suggestions

➢ 12:45pm-12:55pm: Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)

➢ 12:55pm-1:10pm: Organizational Conflicts of Interest, Office of General Counsel

➢ 1:10pm-1:15pm: Next Steps

➢ 1:15pm: Closing Remarks

Disclaimer

➢ The information presented in this briefing is fully pre-solicitation in nature and is subject to change.

➢ Information contained within this briefing does not take precedence to the forthcoming final T4NG2 solicitation in any way, shape, or form.

➢ Briefing slides use excerpts from various sections of the draft solicitation – not the entire text. Refer to the final solicitation for complete requirements.

➢ The Government is only accepting written questions for this procurement. Answers to written questions will be posted to SAM.

T4NG2

Acquisition Timeline

T4NG2 Acquisition Timeline

➢ Questions from Industry Day due February 7, 2023

➢ Next draft solicitation will be issued February 14, 2023 along with responses to previously received questions

➢ Questions on the Feb 14th draft solicitation version due February 21, 2023

➢ Final Solicitation issued: February 28, 2023

➢ Proposals Received: March 30, 2023

➢ Awards made before end of FY23

T4NG / T4NG2

Comparison

• T4NG/T4NG2 Scope:

– Enterprise Contract Solution; covers a wide range of IT and Health IT services including, but not limited to – technical support, program management, strategy planning, systems/software engineering, enterprise network engineering, cyber security, operations and maintenance, and other services and solutions encompassing the entire range of IT and healthcare IT requirements

– Supports VA 2018-2024 Strategic Plan: “Modernize Systems” & “Focus Resources”

– Supports various contract types: FFP, Cost, T&M (inclusive of incentive and award term types)

• T4NG:

– Ceiling: $22.3B

– 37 active ID/IQ contracts (16 SDVOSBs, 21 Large Businesses); 9 of the 37 were added to the vehicle via the On-Ramp clause

– Ordering Period: 3/7/2016 – 3/6/2026

– Approx. 556 Task Orders awarded since inception in 2016

– Ceiling remaining: approx. $872.9M

• T4NG2 (planned):

- Ceiling: $60.7B

- 30 total awards (15 reserved for SDVOSBs, including one reserve for a SDVOSB/WOSB and one reserve for a SDVOSB/HUBZone)

- Ordering Period: July 2023 – July 2028 with an additional 5 year option running to 2033

T4NG / T4NG2 Comparison

T4NG2

Acquisition Strategy

T4NG2 Acquisition Strategy

➢ Multi Agency (MAC) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Task Order (MATO) contract with a base ordering period of five years and one five-year option period

➢ Individual Task Orders shall be issued on a best value, performance-based Time-and- Materials (T&M), Cost Reimbursement (CR), and/or Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) basis

➢ Structured to meet/exceed VA’s socioeconomic contracting goals, specifically SDVOSB/VOSB goals

➢ For T4NG2, the best value basis for awards will be determined by the highest rated Offerors with a Fair and Reasonable Price.

➢ T4NG2 will utilize a Self-Scoring Evaluation Approach where Offerors are responsible for evaluating themselves using a self-scoring matrix provided by the Government.

T4NG2 Acquisition Strategy

➢ The Government will validate or invalidate points claimed by the Offerors, re-ranking Offerors if necessary, until the pre-established number of 30 awardees has been reached.

➢ Once the Top 30 highest scored offers have been evaluated and validated, the evaluation team will then check to verify that these Offerors have proposed fair and reasonable pricing, re-sorting the top 30 if necessary.

➢ Once the Top 30 have been determined, all at a fair and reasonable price, the evaluation will cease, and contract awards will be issued.

T4NG2 Solicitation Walkthrough

Solicitation Walkthrough

➢ Section A - Solicitation/contract form

➢ Section B – Supplies or services and prices/costs

➢ Section C – Performance Work Statement

➢ Section D – Packaging and marking

➢ Section E – Inspection and acceptance

➢ Section F – Deliveries or performance

➢ Section G – Contract Administration Data

➢ Section H – Special contract requirements

➢ Section I – Contract clauses

➢ Section J – List of attachments

➢ Section K – Reps, certs, and other statements of offerors

➢ Section L – Instructions, conditions, and notices to offerors

➢ Section M – Evaluation factors for award

Section B – Price Schedule

Contract Maximum / Minimum Ceiling

In accordance with (IAW) Section I, clause 52.216-22 entitled, “Indefinite Quantity” the maximum overall value of the T4NG2 contract for both the base period and option is

$60.7 Billion. IAW Section I, clause 52.216-22 entitled, “Indefinite Quantity” the minimum guaranteed value under the T4NG2 contract is $1,000. The Government reserves the right to award initial orders at the time of the basic contract award on a sole source basis pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(iv) at amounts which may exceed the minimum guaranteed value. There will be no guaranteed minimum order for the option period, if exercised.

* Note: The minimum guarantee might be tied to a basic contract level report or event, which will be awarded simultaneously with the basic contracts as part of Task Order number one for each prime contractor.

Section C – PWS

4.1 Program Management, Strategy, Enterprise Architecture and Planning Support

4.1.1 Strategy and Planning

4.1.2 Standards, Policy, Procedure and Process Development, and

Implementation Support

4.1.3 Requirements Development and Analysis Support

4.1.3.1 Requirements Packages

4.1.4 Technology Refresh and Configuration Reviews

4.1.5 Studies and Analyses

4.1.6 Program Management Support

4.1.7 Product Data

4.1.8 IT Services Management Support

4.1.9 Development Toolkits

4.2 Systems/Software Engineering

4.2.1 Design and Development

4.2.2 Architecture Development

4.2.3 IT Service Management Implementation

4.2 Systems/Software Engineering (continued)

4.2.4 Enterprise Application/Services

4.2.5 Cloud Computing

4.2.6 Web Application Design and Development

4.2.7 Mobile Application Design and Development

4.2.8 Human-Computer Interaction

4.2.9 System/Software Integration

4.2.10 Modeling and Simulation

4.2.11 Informatics Services

4.2.12 Engineering and Technical Documentation

4.2.13 Current System and Data Migration

4.2.14 Development Toolkit Support

4.3 Software Technology Demonstration and Transition

4.4 Test & Evaluation (T&E)

4.5 Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)

4.6 Enterprise Network

4.6.1 Systems/Network Administration

4.6.2 Network and Telecommunications Infrastructures

4.7 Enterprise Management Framework

4.8 Operations and Maintenance (O&M)

4.8.1 Systems/Network Administration

4.8.2 Application Support

4.8.3 Hardware Support

4.8.4 Disaster Recovery (DR) and Continuity of Operations (COOP)

4.8.5 Capacity/Availability Planning and Management

4.8.6 Service/Help Desk/Call Center Support

4.8.7 Asset Management

4.8 Operations and Maintenance (O&M) (continued)

4.8.8 License Maintenance

4.8.9 Database and Data Warehouse Administration

4.8.10 Data Center Administration

4.9 Cyber Security

4.9.1 Security Management

4.9.2 Information Assurance (IA)

4.9.3 Logical Security

4.9.4 Assessment and Authorization

4.9.5 Cyber Security Operational Support

4.10 Training

4.11 Information Technology Facilities

4.11.1 Incidental Facility Design and Modification Services

4.11.2 Site Surveys

4.11.3 Facility Connectivity

4.11.4 Installation

4.11.5 Physical Security Systems

4.2.5 Cloud Computing

The Contractor may be required to create and implement a cloud computing solution. The Contractor may also be required to support an existing cloud computing environment and its computing services/deployment models, as well as emerging cloud computing solution requirements. Cloud computing is a delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, typically involving the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet. These services are often described using the following categories:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Utility Computing, Web Services, Managed Service Providers (MSP), Service Commerce, and Internet Integration.

4.9.5 Cyber Security Operational Support

The Contractor shall provide operations support for Security Services including, but not limited to, Intrusion

Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Network Discovery, Security Device Monitoring, Penetration Testing, Compliance Scanning, Vulnerability Scanning Service (VSS), Vulnerability Management assistance, Patch Management, Anti-Virus Management Service (AVMS), Cyber Security Incident Response capabilities, Digital Forensics, Computer Network Defense, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Cyber Business

Intelligence, Insider Threat Analysis, Managed E-Authentication Service (MEAS), Operational Metrics

Development and Analysis, Cyber Security Metrics Development and Analytics, and Cyber Security Exercise

Coordination. The operation support shall include, but is not limited to, Managed Firewall Service (MFS), Web

Content filtering monitoring, Virtual Private Network (VPN) or secure remote access maintenance and monitoring, and Web Application Firewalls.

The Contractor shall provide services on a local or enterprise level. The Contractor shall also participate in security functions required to ensure the integrity and availability of computer systems including, but not limited to, security safeguard reviews, audits, reporting suspected security violations, acting to secure system environments, monitoring, and responding to computer security alerts. Security Operating Support shall also include enterprise-wide analysis of security-based architecture, i.e., placement of Network Intrusion

Prevention System (NIPS) devices, Centralized log management solutions, and data correlation activities.

H.1 On-Ramp

The Government may utilize an On-Ramp to add service-disabled Veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), Veteran-owned small business (VOSB), and/or small business

Contractors under any circumstances, including in the event an Off-Ramp is exercised.

The Government can exercise this right at its sole discretion. The Government may On-

Ramp Contractors by any means necessary, including but not limited to, revisiting the original pool of T4NG2 Offerors, and/or issuing a follow-on T4NG2 solicitation for evaluation. Any contract awarded via an On-Ramp process will share in, and in no way increase, the ceiling established for the T4NG2 program. Likewise, contracts awarded hereunder shall include the same terms and conditions of this Contract and shall not exceed the remaining period of performance.

Section H – Special contract requirements

H.2 Off-Ramp

The Government, in its sole discretion, may exercise the Off-Ramp if any of the following events occur: a T4NG2 SDVOSB contract holder that no longer qualifies as a SDVOSB because it is acquired by a non-SDVOSB concern or is no longer listed as verified in the US Small Business Administration

(SBA) Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database as a result of losing ownership and/or control of the company; any T4NG2 contract holder with a repeated record of non-performance, inactivity, or poor past performance (to include, but not limited to the contractor’s good faith efforts to meet its small business and Veterans employment percentages) under its

T4NG2 contract; or, if a joint venture and/or any associated mentor-protégé agreement dissolves for any reason, or the joint venture can no longer qualify as a verified SDVOSB. Any SDVOSB contract holder must notify SBA with a copy to the contracting officer of any change in ownership or control of the company within 15 days of that change becoming final. If the Government elects to exercise the Off-Ramp, the Contractor will be removed from the program and thus will not be eligible to propose on any T4NG2 task order competitions; however, in such an event the

Contractor shall be obligated to continue performance pursuant to any task order it was awarded prior to the Off-ramp.

H.4 Small Business Participation Requirements

➢Prime contractors shall make a good faith effort to meet their T4NG2 proposed small business participation percentages.

➢The prime Contractor's efforts towards, and results in, achieving their small business participation percentages will be considered in evaluation of the prime contractor's past performance on Task Order awards.

➢Small business prime contractor dollars will count towards the Government small business participation requirement in the applicable categories.

➢Failure of the contractor to demonstrate a good faith effort to achieve its small business participation percentages may be grounds for termination for default.

H.5 Veterans Employment

➢The Contractor shall provide a Veterans Employment Certification Report on a quarterly basis listing the following:

➢Total number of employees at time of proposal submission

➢Total number of Veterans employed at time of proposal submission

➢Total number of current employees

➢Total number of current Veterans employed

➢The prime Contractor's efforts towards, and results in, maintaining or exceeding its Veterans employment numbers will be considered in evaluation of the prime contractor's past performance on Task Order awards.

➢Failure to make a good faith effort to maintain overall Veterans employment numbers for this contract may prevent the Contractor from receiving future

Task Order awards.

H.6 Organizational Conflict of Interest

➢Efforts to be performed under this contract are of such a nature that they may create a potential organizational conflict of interest as contemplated by

Subpart 9.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

➢Contractors should not engage in any contractual activities which may impair their ability to render unbiased advice and recommendations, or in which they may gain an unfair competitive advantage as a result of the knowledge, information and experience gained during the performance of this contract.

➢This does not include the normal flow of benefits from incumbency.

H.9 Metrics

➢Contractor performance on the Task Order level will be assessed IAW the corresponding QASP Performance Based Service Assessment Survey.

➢Task Order metrics

➢Technical Quality of Product or Service

➢Project Milestones and Schedule

➢Cost and Staffing

➢Management

➢Past performance, past performance in achieving small business participation goals, and maintaining or exceeding Veterans employment percentage of Veterans employed, may be added as evaluation criteria in task order competitions as well as reviewing Contractor performance.

Section J – Attachments

ATTACHMENT 001 – PRICING ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT 002 – LABOR CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS

ATTACHMENT 003 – CONTRACTOR'S PROGRESS STATUS AND MANAGEMENT

REPORT

ATTACHMENT 004 – CONTRACT PERFORMANCE REPORT FOR TM

ATTACHMENT 005 – CONTRACT PERFORMANCE REPORT FOR CR

ATTACHMENT 006 – GFE REPORT

ATTACHMENT 007 – RESERVED

ATTACHMENT 008 – MANPOWER REPORT - TASK ORDER

ATTACHMENT 009 – CONTRACTOR STAFF ROSTER TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 010 – SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION REPORT

ATTACHMENT 011 – VETERANS EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION REPORT

ATTACHMENT 012 – VETERANS EMPLOYMENT SPREADSHEET

ATTACHMENT 013 – VETERANS EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT 014 – SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION COMMITMENT EXCEL

SPREADSHEET

ATTACHMENT 015 – T4NG2 SELF SCORING WORKSHEET

ATTACHMENT 016 – RESERVED

ATTACHMENT 017 – RELEVANT EXPERIENCE PROJECT (REP) TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 018 – PERFORMANCE RISK ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Section L – Proposal Submission

We will now walk through the following Attachments from Section J, which are also Proposal Submission requirements:

➢ ATTACHMENT 001 – PRICING ATTACHMENT

➢ ATTACHMENT 015 – T4NG2 SELF SCORING WORKSHEET

➢ ATTACHMENT 017 – RELEVANT EXPERIENCE PROJECT (REP)

TEMPLATE

Section M – Evaluation / Basis for Award

Self-Scoring Evaluation Approach

➢ The best value basis for awards will be determined by the highest rated Offerors with a Fair and Reasonable Price.

➢ Offerors are responsible for evaluating themselves using a self-scoring matrix.

➢ Proposals are limited to the scoring matrix, substantiating documentation that is cross referenced to the scoring matrix, and proposed pricing.

➢ During evaluation, the Agency validates or invalidates points claimed by the offeror in its self-scoring and re-ranks validated proposals on a rolling basis.

➢ Highest scoring proposals, following Agency validation, would then undergo price evaluation. If price is determined fair and reasonable, then award would be made.

➢ Once the pre-established number of awardees has been reached, any remaining proposals do not require a validation or price evaluation.

➢ Falls within the best-value continuum but is neither lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) or a tradeoff approach.

T4NG2 Basis for Award

➢ In order to be considered as a highest rated Offeror, the proposal must score amongst the 30 highest rated offers received (or 29 highest rated offers if there are six or more ties for the 30th position).

➢ In the event more than six Offerors are tied for the 30th position, none of those

Offerors will receive an award, and instead only 29 contracts will be awarded to the 29 highest rated Offerors. If less than six Offerors are tied for the 30th position, all of those tied Offerors will receive an award.

➢ A tie is determined exclusively at the 30th position when two or more Offerors receive an identical score. If a tie score occurs at any other position before the

30th position, the tie does not result in two or more Offerors holding that same numbered position.

➢ For example, if two Offerors reach an identical score at the 19th available position, one tied Offeror will take the 19th position and the second tied Offeror moves into the 20th position. 32

➢ The Government intends to award up to 30 contracts which will include reserve awards of up to 15 contracts to SDVOSB concerns.

➢ Of those 15 SDVOSB reserves, the Government is reserving 1 award for a

WOSB/SDVOSB and 1 award for a HUBZone/SDVOSB.

➢ If there is a SDVOSB that qualifies for both a HUBZone and WOSB, then that will account for both of those reserves.

➢ To satisfy the 15 SDVOSB reserve awards, the following process will be followed:

➢ Step One: Highest scores will be evaluated without regard to socioeconomic status of the Offeror. If the top 30 scores are validated and determined to be a fair and reasonable price without reaching the 15th non-SDVOSB Offeror, the evaluation will end and not proceed to Step Two (i.e., the reserve was satisfied).

➢ Step Two: Once a 15th non-SDVOSB Offeror in the top 30 scores is validated and determined to be a fair and reasonable price, then all remaining non-

SDVOSB Offerors will be removed from award consideration and the remaining

SDVOSB list will be re-sorted. The evaluation will then continue utilizing that list of re-sorted SDVOSBs until the reserve is satisfied.

** Note **: In the Step Two scenario, if there is a tie at the 15th non-SDVOSB position, the Government reserves a right to follow the same process described for a tie at the 30th position; and either make more than 30 total awards or limit the number of non-SDVOSB awards to 14. However, in this event, the number of reserved awards for SDVOSBs will remain at 15. 34

T4NG2 Basis for Award (continued)

➢ The Government intends to award contracts without discussions.

➢ Initial proposals must contain the best offer.

➢ VA may conduct clarifications, as described in FAR 15.306(a).

**Note**: Discrepancies found during scoring validation will be treated as clarifications. For example, clarifications (not discussions) would be conducted for an incorrect file reference to otherwise present substantiating documentation;

an incorrect Relevant Experience Project number reference; or any other similar level of minor error or clerical mistake that could be easily resolved.

➢ The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if determined necessary.

Government Responses to Questions, Concerns, Suggestions Received

Timeline

• Timeline:

– Questions

– Will TAC please release another draft RFP and consider extending all response times?

– Concerns

– Gathering the back-up documentation for a self-scoring sheet is a labor intensive and time-consuming effort for offerors.

– Suggestions

– Release a notional schedule for release of the RFP and all milestones leading up to award.

– Extend timelines for draft RFP comments, release of the final RFP, and RFP response time (60 days or more).

• VA Response: Based on industry feedback, we have adjusted the schedule to allow for an additional draft RFP and question period. As a result, we also pushed back the previously planned solicitation date.

Reserve Awards

• Reserve Awards:

– Questions

– Does Step One evaluation consider price reasonableness?

– VA Response: Yes. Once the Top 30 highest scored offers have been evaluated and validated, the evaluation team will then check to verify that these Offerors have proposed fair and reasonable pricing.

– What type of companies will the 15 awards be that are not reserved for SDVOSBs?

– VA Response: Any award that does not fall under the reserve can be any company type.

– Is the 15 SDVOSB reserve a maximum number?

– VA Response: If Step Two is necessary to satisfy the reserve then the maximum number of SDVOSB awards is 15.

– Please confirm there is no minimum number of awards established for non-SDVOSBs.

– VA Response: This is confirmed. In Step One, the highest scores will be evaluated without regard to socioeconomic status. If the top 30 scores are validated and determined to be a fair and reasonable price without reaching the

15th non-SDVOSB Offeror, the evaluation will end and not proceed to Step Two

(i.e., the reserve was satisfied). The number of non-SDVOSB awards in this case could vary; and there is no minimum.

Reserve Awards cont.

• Reserve Awards:

– Questions

– If evaluation proceeds to Step Two, please confirm the outcome of awardees will be 15 large businesses and 15 SDVOSBs (assuming there are no ties)?

– VA Response: Please note that "non-SDVOSB" does not necessarily mean large business. It is conceivable for a non-SDVOSB small business to be ranked within the top 15 non-SDVOSB Offerors and thus there would be less than 15 large business awards. In the event of ties at the 30th position, there could be up to 35 total awards.

– Does the 15 SDVOSB reserve mean VA may award more than 15 or a maximum of

15? And the remaining awards will be made to non-small businesses?

– VA Response: In Step One there may be 15 or more SDVOSBs that are considered highest rated with a fair and reasonable price. If that occurs, there will not be a need for a Step Two. There is no reserve for non-SDVOSBs.

Reserve Awards cont.

• SDVOSB / Woman-owned Small Business (WOSB) Reserve:

– Questions

– In view of VA’s recognition of WOSB underutilization at VA, would VA explain why only

1 of the 30 awards is reserved for a WOSB?

– Concerns

– The current WOSB reserve accounts for only 3.3% of the reserve awards and 6.6% of the total awards.

– Suggestions

– With the number of female service members becoming Veterans, the number of WOSB reserve awards should be a more accurate representation of the female Veteran population.

– With VA's recent push to support more WOSB/SDVOSBs, it is recommended that the

TAC establish more reserve awards for WOSB/SDVOSBs. For example, three reserve awards for WOSB/SDVOSBs would equal 20% of the reserve pool.

• VA Response: The number of SDVOSB/WOSB reserves was driven by market research.

It is important to remember that this does not limit the number of SDVOSB/WOSB awards to 1, instead it guarantees that at least 1 SDVOSB/WOSB award will be made.

Mentor Protégé/Joint Ventures

• Mentor Protégé / Joint Ventures:

– Questions

– Do the reserved SDVOSB spots include Joint Ventures between SDVOSB organizations and large companies?

– How does VA plan to limit the same businesses that win the first 15 slots from winning the remaining SDVOSB reserve awards through their protégés, JVs?

– How will VA comply with Kingdomware and ensure that SDVOSBs without a MP/JV agreement will receive a fair and equitable opportunity for competition to be selected in the top 15 pool when large businesses are allowed up to 3 proteges at one time that could all bid and receive credit for the large businesses’ past performance and certifications?

– What limits will be placed such that the 30 awarded contracts are not duplicating their recipients (i.e., the first 15 awardees will not have backdoor access to the second 15 slot awards through their economic connections to JVs or other mentored or directed companies)?

– Concerns

– A large business could potentially submit bids as a large business as well as a

SDVOSB via up to their 3 joint ventures and capture the first 15 slots that are being filled. This gives an unfair advantage to the large businesses and significantly decreases participation of SDVOSBs that are not JV participants.

Mentor Protégé/Joint Ventures cont.

• Mentor Protégé / Joint Ventures:

– Suggestions

– TAC should consider how requirements and evaluation criteria for JVs will impact small business competition, particularly for SDVOSBs.

• VA Response: Mentor Protégé / Joint Ventures are recognized by regulation as legitimate companies; therefore, we see no basis to interfere in their ability to compete for this contract.

Further, in accordance with 13 CFR125.9(b)(3): In order for SBA to agree to allow a mentor to have more than one protégé at a time, the mentor and proposed additional protégé must demonstrate that the added mentor-protégé relationship will not adversely affect the development of either protégé firm (e.g., the second firm may not be a competitor of the first firm); and (i) A mentor that has more than one protégé cannot submit competing offers in response to a solicitation for a specific procurement through separate joint ventures with different protégés.

Pricing

• Pricing:

– Questions

– Please confirm that the fully burdened rates that Offerors are to propose in Attachment

001 should represent only CONUS-based hours, and not rates for OCONUS-based hours?

– VA Response: Yes, fully burdened rates that offerors propose in Attachment 001 should represent only CONUS locations. For any OCONUS requirements those

LCATs and associated rates will be added at the task order level.

– Under Section L14.1 – Escalation – “This escalation factor will be the average annual

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Economic Cost Index (ECI) for the previous three years, currently 3.41%.” Is this established once at award or does it change over the life of the contract?

– VA Response: This will not change over the life of the contract.

– Draft RFP states that “T4NG2 will only establish ceiling rates for T&M/LH TOs/CLINs, therefore, the proposed ceiling rates do not apply to fixed-price TOs.” Does this mean ceiling rates defined for T&M/Cost Plus will not be used to calculate FFP task orders? Please clarify if this means that if a FFP task order is issued, it would not be based on a compilation of the ceiling rates established for T&M/LH TOs/CLINS and

ODC’s?

– VA Response: No, Offeror's proposed T&M/LH ceiling rates are only applicable to T&M/LH TOs/CLINs.

Pricing cont.

• Pricing:

– Questions

– Draft RFP section M.5.1 states: All proposed rates (Fully Loaded Blended Labor Rates, and Travel and ODC indirect rates) will be evaluated to determine whether they are fair and reasonable. Please clarify the approach or method the government will use to determine if proposed rates are fair and reasonable.

– VA Response: The Government will utilize techniques per FAR Part 15.404-1

Proposal analysis techniques.

– Will the government confirm that pricing will be evaluated for both realism and reasonableness?

– VA Response: No, Offeror pricing will only be evaluated as Fair and

Reasonable.

– Will pricing be evaluated as pass/fail of individual Labor Category rates against “fair and reasonable” criteria (e.g., Government Independent Estimates)? Or will there be any sort of ranking (and cutoff) of vendor pricing combined with technical evaluation?

Or is there any possibility of using IFNs for outlier rates?

– VA Response: Offeror pricing will only be evaluated as Fair and Reasonable.

– Will the government consider adding additional LCATS which will allow for proper staffing to accommodate the recent advances in technology?

– VA Response: As a matter of post award administration, LCATs may be added if deemed necessary and appropriate. 44

John Fedkenheuer

Office of Small &

Disadvantaged Business

Utilization (OSDBU)

About OSDBU

Support the Secretary’s priorities by enabling Veterans to gain access to economic opportunities by developing policies and programs, informed by customer feedback, that improve market research, increase direct access, and maximize the participation of procurement ready Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) in Federal contracting.

OSDBU

Programs

1. Direct Access Program (DAP)

2. Strategic Outreach and Communications (SOC)

3. Acquisition Support Team (AST)

4. Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI)

5. Shared Services Team (SST)

Reference: See 13 CFR § 128.402

• Joint Ventures must have a certified

SDVOSB managing venturer

• JVs must be all small businesses or part of an approved SBA Mentor Protégé agreement

(IAW 13 CFR § 125.9)

• A SDVOSB or VOSB cannot be a JV partner on more than one JV that submits an offer for a specific contract set-aside or reserved for

SDVOSB or VOSB

Joint Venture Requirements

• Doing Business with VA Resources

– http://www.va.gov/osdbu/library/dbwva.asp

• Education and Training

– https://www.va.gov/osdbu/outreach/soc/training.asp

• Direct Access Program Events

– https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/events/

• Veteran Business Certification

– https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/

• Veteran Entrepreneur Portal

– http://www.va.gov/osdbu/entrepreneur/

• Small Business Liaisons:

– https://www.va.gov/osdbu/about/contacts.asp#sbl

Useful Links http://www.va.gov/osdbu/library/dbwva.asp https://www.va.gov/osdbu/outreach/soc/training.asp https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/events/ https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/ http://www.va.gov/osdbu/entrepreneur/

OSDBU Help Desk:

Phone: 866–584–2344

Email: OSDBUAcqSupport@va.gov

John Fedkenheuer 202-632-5577 Email: john.fedkenheuer@va.gov

OSDBU Website:

https://www.va.gov/osdbu

Direct Access Program Events:

https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/events

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VAVetBiz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VAOSDBU

Stay Connected with OSDBU mailto:OSDBUAcqSupport@va.gov mailto:john.fedkenheuer@va.gov https://www.va.gov/osdbu https://www.vetbiz.va.gov/events https://twitter.com/VAVetBiz https://www.youtube.com/c/VAOSDBU

Jamie Ford & Mellany Alio

VA Office of General Counsel

Organizational Conflicts of

Interest

Why do we care?

• Delays

• Litigation

• Breach of Contract

• Exclusion from Future Procurements

• Integrity of Procurement Process

What are OCIs?

• Because of activities/relationships, a person is unable/potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice, or person’s objectivity in performing contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage.

• FAR subpart 9.5 sets forth guidance

TYPES OF OCIs

• “Informational” OCIs – occur when a contractor (or its affiliate) receives unequal access to “nonpublic information” due to the

Government’s actions, thereby receiving a competitive advantage

• “Bias-Type” OCIs –

• “impaired objectivity” - Due to role of contractor (or its affiliates) under contract #1, contractor cannot be fully objective in performing under contract #2

• “biased ground rules” - Due to role of contractor (or its affiliates) in contract #1, contractor is able to “set the ground rules” / “skew the competition” to its advantage under contract #2

Timing of and Responsibility for

OCI determinations

• FAR 9.504 (a)(1): “Identify and evaluate potential OCIs as early in the acquisition process as possible.”

• Ultimate responsibility rests with CO!

– Determines whether a significant OCI exists and develops an appropriate way to resolve it.

– Truly team effort (requiring activity, legal, SMEs & affected contractor)

How to Deal with OCIs

• Must avoid (don’t compete?), neutralize

(unaffiliated subcontractor?) or mitigate

(Comprehensive Mitigation Plan)

• Information Firewalls (NOT Bias-type OCIs)

– NDAs, Physical/Computer Security, Training &

Monitoring

• Waiver

ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSULTANT CONFLICTS OF

INTEREST

• VAAR CLAUSE 852.209-70 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

– Addresses conflicts that may occur as a result of the solicitation, not future conflicts arising from any work to be performed under the resulting contract

– Requires offerors provide a statement that describes all relevant facts concerning any past, present or currently planned interest (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise) or actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest relating to the services to be provided under this solicitation.

• T4 TAILORED ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST CLAUSE

– Per FAR 9.507-1 and VAAR 809.507-1 (a) places restraints upon contractor’s eligibility for future contracts

Next Steps

➢ Slides from today’s event will be posted to SAM under Notice ID:

36C10B23R0011

➢ Questions from Industry Day due February 7, 2023

➢ Next draft solicitation will be issued February 14, 2023 along with responses to previously received questions

➢ Questions on the Feb 14th draft solicitation version due February 21,

➢ Final Solicitation issued: February 28, 2023

➢ Proposals Received: March 30, 2023

➢ Awards made before end of FY23

Thank You!