Amendment no. 2 - Government Responses (EUAS) - Round 2.pdf

Questions for Solicitation No. 47HAA021R0001 - Advanced Metering, Utility, & Waste Data Tracking Government Responses (Round 2)

# Section # (start with #, i.e. 3.1) Offeror's Questions GSA's Answers

1 Amendment 1, L.8.1(a)(6)

"Proposals shall be submitted no later than 10AM ET, Friday August 20, 2021." We request an extension of the proposal due date until Monday, September 20th in order to adjust to the government responses to the inconsistencies in the proposal requirements as noted in the questions below.

To ensure an award by September 30, 2021, an extension can not be granted.

2 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Contractor is to provide a single COTs solution for what is currently four seperate systems. Moving forward, it would seem that there should be one price for licensing, hosting, O&M, etc, as there will no longer be seperate applications? Will the Government consider consolidating these pricing items into one LS?

It is the intent of the Government to consolidate the applications into a single COTS solution; however, we require the total Lump Sum ("LS") for each year to be broken out into "buckets" for budgetary, evaluation and reporting purposes.

3 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 1

Total Evaluated price is showing the Unit(s) for CLINs 0003 and 0007 as “Lump Sum.” If these CLINs are Labor Hour, shouldn’t the unit be “NTE” (Not-To-Exceed) and not “Lump Sum?”

The pricing template has been revised.

4 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 1

Does Tab 1 dictate how the Tabs 2 – 6 get filled out? For example, Tabs 2 and 3 are showing all years but Tab 1 is only asking for costs in the Base Year.

Yes, that is correct. Tab 1 asks for costs in the Base Year, and Option Years 1 through 4. These costs should be shown unless the cell for that year is blacked out.

5 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 4

Tab 4 shows O&M in the base year. The solution will be developed in the base year, so it is not understood why there are O&M pricing requirements in the base year. Will the contractor be responsible for O&M of existing systems until the new COTs solution is deployed?

Contractor will not be responsible for O&M of existing systems until the new COTS solution is deployed. If there are no O&M tasks in the base year, please indicate with a $0.00.

6 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 4

Is the requirement to show LOE/bid rates/LCATs only required in Tab 4_O&M worksheet? The remaining workbook tabs are “lump sum” amounts.

Yes, that is correct.

7 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 4

O&M is showing Helpdesk Services as Item #0002. Is there a significance on why the Item # for O&M Support and Helpdesk Services are the same?

This is a typo. Item #0002 should be for Operations & Maintenance Support and Item #0003 should be for Helpdesk Services. The pricing template has been revised to correct this error.

8 Attachment 6 Pricing Template, Tab 7

Are the hardware/software costs seperate from the LS costs in Tab 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6?

Tab 7_Hardware and Software should be used for any additional hardware and/or software necessary to achieve the requirement(s) outside of the normal hardware and software used by the solution (and whose costs are included in Tabs 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).

9 RFP Amendment 1, p.78, L.2 Type of Contract

The type of contract listed is Firm Fixed Price/Labor Hour but the Section C SOO is titled "Performance-Based" and Factor 1 Technical Approach requires the inclusion of a Performance Work Statement (PWS) which is normally only used for a performance based contract. Is the Contract Type Firm Fixed Price/Labor Hour or Performance Based?

It is a performance based firm fixed price contract.

10 RFP Amendment 1, p.17, E4 Performance Measures

If this is a Performance Based Contract, can the Government please provide the QASP as part of the RFP package?

Per SOO Section E.4, "The Government will develop and utilize a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the life of the contract to ensure that the contractor is performing the required services in an acceptable manner." Also, SOO Section E.5 states, "The QASP will be finalized after the award."

11 RFP Amendment 1, p.17, E4 Performance Measures

If this is a Performance Based Contract, can the Government please detail any performance incentives or penalties? "The QASP will be finalized after the award."

12 RFP Amendment 1, p.17, E4 Performance Measures

If this is a Performance-Based Contract, can the Government please provide a sample of the Performance Based Service Assessment Survey along with the periodicity for its use and any resulting impact on performance incentives or penalties?

This is a typo and has been removed.

13 M.3.1.1(2.) and Attachment

How long after the Phase 1 evaluation will the Phase 2 demos be held?

What format should be used for the materials used in the demo? When do the demo materials need to be provided to the Government? How many individuals can participate in the demonstration? If the contractor needs to access GSA systems for the demonstration, how should that access be requested? What criteria will be used to evaluate the demonstration?

What percentage of the overall evaluation will be attributed to the demonstration?

Vendors selected for the demonstrations (Phase 2) will be notified immediately upon completion of the evaluation of the written proposals (Phase 1)

14 Amendment 1, pg.82, L.8.2.2.1

"The technical proposal font shall be Times New Roman, size 12.". For graphics can the contractor use any font desired as long as it is legible? Or use Arial Narrow 10 as a standard?

Tables, graphs and charts shall be Times New Roman, size 10.

Amendment 1, pg.81 L.8.2.2 and M.3.1.1.1, Factor 5, pg.91

On page 81, the Proposal Arrangement states that the Past Performance section shall include 4 references, not to exceed 8-pages in total.

However, in the past performance evaluation on pg.91: "If the Contractor's response depends on work performed by more than one vendor...each participating vendor shall provide at least (2) past performances...Including past performance for vendors would increase the volume size. Can the Government please increase the length of the Past Performance section to "unlimited" with at least 2 Prime past performances, 2 past performances per non-prime solution partner and no past performance write up longer than 2 pages using the Attachment 7 template?

No, the page limitation will remain 8 pages.

16 Amendment 1, pg.85 M.3.1.1.1, Factor 1

In our history, the PWS is developed by the Government to define what is being procured. Does the Government want the Contractor to define what is being procured, or is the Government asking for a Technical Approach to accomplish the requirements in Section C and Attachment 2?

Contractors shall provide a Performance Work Statement (PWS) that describes how they will accomplish the requirements outlined within Section C and Attachment 2, User Stories.

17 Amendment 1, pg.20, F. 5 Contract Deliverables

"...Such deliverables will be proposed in the Contractor's Performance Work Statement...The contractor developed PWS shall include all deliverables identified in the table below...The contractor developed PWS shall include proposed due dates and update frequency for all required deliverables...At a minimum, the Contractor delveloped PWS shall address...SLA, Project Plan and Schedule, Implementation Plan, Data Architecture Plan, Data Dictionary, User Support Plan, Training Plan, Training Materials, Quality Management Plan, Communication Plan...FREQUENCY - INCLUDED IN CONTRACTOR DEVELOPED PWS".

The 15 pg limit for the Technical approach/PWS is not sufficient to allow all of the plans required in this section. Some plans cannot be created in advance of access to Government systems or provision of the QASP. If the Government is asking for a full plan for each item, which ones? If any of the plans must be developed and submitted as part of the written Tech Approach/PWS requirement, can the Government please make the PWS page count "unlimited"?

The page limitation for Technical Factor 1 has increased to 30 pages. The overall page count has increased to 118 pages.

18 M.3..1.1.1, Factor 1, pg.85

This section provides an outline for the PWS that is not consistent with Section C, not consistent with Attachment 2 and not consistent with the requirement to provide pricing by phase. How will the Government evaluate the price reasonableness of the PWS if the work products in that document are not aligned with the phases in the pricing volume? Can the Government please provide the desired outline for the PWS and a corresponding template for Pricing that allows the vendor to map price to work product like a traditional performance based contract?

1) Contractors shall provide a Performance Work Statement (PWS) that describes how they will accomplish the requirements outlined within Section C and Attachment 2, User Stories.

2) The Government is evaluating the price reasonableness of the Offeror's pricing template.

19 M.3.1.1.1., Factor 4, pg. 89 Management Approach

Is the Quality Management Plan required here different than the one required in the PWS? Is the Project Plan required here different than the one required in the PWS?

No, they are not different than the one required in the PWS.

M.3.1.1.1., Factor 4 Management Approach,

pg. 90 Staffing Plan, Resumes

"Each resume shall not exceed three (3) pages." Is the 3 pages inclusive of the Certification statement, certification signature and (if necessary) Commitment Letter? As ‘Each resume shall be submitted as an individual Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF file(s)’, do resumes and commitment letters count against the 30 page limit for Management Approach?

Yes, the 3 pages per resume is inclusive of the certification statement, certification signature and (if necessary) Commitment Letter. Resumes do not count against the 30 page limit for Management Approach.

M.3.1.1.1., Factor 4 Management Approach,

pg. 90 Staffing Plan, Resumes

With no key personnel criteria and no qualifications listed, how will the resumes be evaluated?

The resumes for the Offeror’s Key Personnel will be evaluated to assess the availability and qualifications of the proposed staff, their subject matter expertise, their experience in similar projects, and their capability to fully and professionally accomplish the Government’s requirements.

22 C.4.1.2 -- C.4.1.6, pgs 10-

Regarding FedRAMP requirement for utility metering process; can we do this outside the FedRAMP environment, interacting with Treasury and USDA, then provide database sych with the FedRAMP'ed software/dashboard daily or weekly. If required, do we have 12 months for that component to gain an ATO?

No, all data and systems housing GSA data needs to be under Fedramp environment. All components have 12 months to gain an ATO.

Vendor Questions