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Q&A Log
| Question and Answer LOG | | |
| Question # | Question | Answer |
| 1 | Since an offeror has no control in the OPM’s timeline or process to provide a clearance, will the penalty outlined in Section C.9.4.4. Penalty for Vacant Positions in Excess of 30 Days apply in this regard? | |
| | The Government acnknowldeges the excessive lead time necessary to obtain a clearance. Labor cateogires that require clearances consist of only a very small portion of the work. The Solicitation will be amended and make note that positions requiring a clearance will not be subject to the penalty after being 30 days vacant but the contractor must diligently work to obtain clearances for the positions that are required. Vacant positions that require a clearance will need to be tracked and reported on a monthly basis. |
| 2 | Will the Government confirm that the Bio-Scientific and Statistical SME is a key personnel position? | |
| | The Government confirms that this is a single labor category description and this is a key personnel position. |
| 3 | Will the Government confirm that both Clinical Research Nurses and the 2.25 Epidemiology/Data Analysts are all key personnel? | |
| | Only one position of each Key Personnel Labor category is considered "Key Personnel." This has been clarified in Amendment 2 and includes the following: The identified key personnel include only one position for each the following labor categories for a total of four key personnel: LCAT Name: Bio-Scientific and Statistical Subject Matter Expert. Number of Personnel (1); Clinical Research Nurse (RN 1) Number of Personnel (1); LCAT Name: Epidemiology Data Analyst. Number of Personnel (1); LCAT Name: Nurse Practitioner. Number of Personnel (1). |
| 4 | For Phase 2, will Offerors be required to submit Resumes for key personnel? | |
| | Resumes will be required to be submitted for the 4 key personnel |
| 5 | Would the Government therefore consider deleting the paragraph in its entirety? | |
| | No. The Contractor has 30 days before the penalty begins to take effect. Additionally the penalty does not apply to weekends or holidays. The contractor has ample time to find a qualified individual and furthermore the contractor is incecntivized to find a qualified person to increase their potential profit and CPARS assessment. |
| 6 | In the spirit of partnership, would the Government also consider the incorporation of an incentive fee for successful contractor fill of vacant positions in 30 days or less and/or an annualized fill rate of at least 90% across all contracted positions? | |
| | No. The Contractor has 30 days before the penalty begins to take effect. Additionally the penalty does not apply to weekends or holidays. The contractor has ample time to find a qualified individual and furthermore the contractor is incecntivized to find a qualified person to increase their potential profit and CPARS assessment. |
| 7 | Section F.1.1 states “Work should be performed at the Contractor’s/ Government’s facilities San Antonio, Texas.” Since Offerors’ rates are typically dependent on location (Government site versus Contractor Site), will the Government delineate which of the 68.5 FTEs listed in Attachment 10 will perform work at a Contractor site versus Government site? | |
| | Contractor facilities refers to oversight / Contractor Project Manager duties, telework or any subcontracted Non-profit, Not for Profit, or educational institutions |
| 8 | Question (a). Would the Government please confirm whether they want 4 separate documents or that they Offeror can include these in one document as 4 different sections? | |
| | The changes described in Amendment 1 have provided additional guidance and clairification towards the information offerors need to provide. These are four separate documents. |
| 9 | Question (b): Does the Government want the documents described in L.3.2.1, L3.2.2, and L.3.4.4 to each be on business letterhead or would the header with the Company Name and/or Logo be acceptable? | |
| | The Documents described in this question mau be submitted with Business letterhead or a Company Name and a company logo. This change will be reflected in the changes described in Amendment 2. |
| 10 | Would the Government consider evaluation of the previous experiences provided and how each relates to the requirements with an emphasis on relevancy and making relevancy a more significant rated factor than relative scope and size? | |
| | The Government acknowledges the concerns with the previous experience evaluation factor but believes the current structure provides the best opportunity to find a qualified firm that can meet the operational requirements identified by the 59th MDW. |
| 11 | What is the anticipated number of calendar dates between Phase 1 submission and written notification to Offerors for Phase 2 selection? | |
| | The Government anticipates approximately 7 to 10 calendar days between Phase 1 submission and Phase 2 notification. However this may change based on how many offerors submit proposals. |
| 12 | As stated in the pre-proposal conference, the Government wants to ensure Small Businesses do not expend financial resources unnecessarily and thus decided on this 2-phase procurement approach. With that said, in order for a Small Business Offerer to not expend funding until they are notified of selection to Phase 2, how much time will be given to Offerors to prepare their Phase 2 response after notification of selection? Would the Government provide at least 3 weeks as a reasonable response time? | |
| | The Government anticipates providing 10 days for a response from Phase 1 notification to Phase 2 submission.The Government's intent to minimize prosposal costs is focused on reducing the amount of information required in Phase 1. While the Government is asking for less information, the Government is seeking very specific and targeted information to conduct Phase 1 evaluations thereby reducing overall costs to offerors, and identify the most highly rated offerors from Phase 1. |
| 13 | Based on the evaluation factors is the Government intending to move forward to Phase 2 with a select number of successful Offerors? If so, is there a limit of the number of Offerors to move forward? | |
| | The Government does not have a firm number in mind for those invited to submit for Phase 2 evaluations. The final number will be made after all evaluations are complete, and the most highly rated offerors are identified. |
| 14 | Would the Government clarify whether or not a contract award will be determined on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) basis? | |
| | In Phase 2 the Government will identify an awardee using the best value, tradeoff method and not the lowest priced technically accepted method (LPTA). |
| 15 | Due to these difference, will the Government please provide the correct relative importance and order for the Phase 1 Evaluation Factors? | |
| | The relative importance is correctly stated in section M.1.5.2, M.1.5.3, and M.1.5.4. The sequence of evaluation is different than the relative importance. |
| 16 | Will the Government accept years of experience that exceed the minimum requirements as a substitute for an advanced degree or certification in certain instances? | |
| | The Government will require that individuals identified for employment under this contract meet the minimum requirements. The Government recogonizes that during the performance of this contract a unique situation with unforseen circumstances may arise and at which time the Government will take all circumstances into consideration but this would be on a very limited and very special circumstantial basis. |
| 17 | Will the Government please confirm that all offerors are required to use 1880 hours per position as a basis of estimate to ensure that all offerors are evaluated equally? | |
| | Yes 1880 hours will be the basis of evaluation for all hours listed within Attachment 10: Evaluation |
| 18 | Is this new work or are their incumbent staff currently supporting the requirement? | |
| | There will be some existing work ,but there will also be new elements of work as well |
| 19 | If there are incumbent staff, how many of the 68.25 FTEs are current incumbent positions and how many are new positions? | |
| | The Government anticipates that the staff from the previous contracts along with other contracts that are expiring in the near future will be at or very close to enough staff needed to meet the 68.25 FTEs projected |
| 20 | Of the number incumbent positions identified in question (b), how many positions are vacant? | |
| | Of the 68.25 FTEs projected, the Government anticipates vaccancies may be anywhere from 1 to 5 personnel |
| 21 | Regarding the Surge Support CLIN, should Offerors assume that this CLIN represents fully burdened labor costs? | |
| | Yes. This CLIN will use the fully burdoned labor rates priced within Attachment 13 after they have been determined to be fair and reasonable. |
| 22 | Are there Surge Support CLINs on the existing contract(s)? If so, have the Surge CLINs been exercised? | |
| | No. There are not currently any surge support CLINS from any of the previous work. |
| 23 | Regarding ODCs, will occupation health costs for laboratory personnel be billable to the contract? | |
| | Yes, this Occupational Health Cost will be able to be reimbursed as an Other Direct Cost and should not be included in the fully burdoned labor rates. |
| 24 | Will the Government confirm the correct values for the surge support CLINs as for the Base Year and Option Periods 1-4? | |
| | Yes the amounts on the summary page and support CLINS have been updated based on the latest information from the Independent Governement Cost Estimate (IGCE) and how the Six Month Option Extension CLIN will be priced. |
| 25 | Should an Offeror opt to check box (i) Paragraph (d) applies, will the Government clarify that nothing more needs be done with Attachment 11 Section K, Full Text Representations and Certifications because the company’s Representations and Certifications can be found at SAM, assuming that they are current at the time of proposal submittal, will be incorporated by reference? | |
| | No. All REPS and CERS must be filled out in section K. Your registration in SAM will be verified must be current but all REPS and CERTS in Attachment 11 must be filled out and completed. |
| 26 | Would the Government consider removing these two items, as contractors evaluate collaborating institutes based on technical capabilities, successfully negotiated CRADAs, etc., but do not have access to the individual personnel files from these institutions. | |
| | No. The Contractor should be able to provide the number of personnel that collaborated or partnererd with the firm in order to provide the services required to meet the needs of the University, Research Institution, Non-Profit or Not-For-Profit. |
| 27 | Will the Government clarify which is the correct solicitation number? | |
| | Yes the solicitation number is 47QFWA20K0014. This is a unique tracking number used for both GSA Headquarters and Regional Office. The AAS File ID number ID0721060010 is a Regional tracking number and is used for the Regional Office, but is asscoiated with the 47QFWA20K0014. |
| 28 | Can the Government please correct the reimbursement of costs language to be in accordance with 52.232-7 (b)(II)(D) that allows indirect costs to be applied to ODC/travel/material costs under T&M type contracts? | |
| | No. However, the Government will add an additional labor category to Attachment 13 for Executive Support to ODCs. This will capture any time incurred by non-direct labor categories to ensure adequate compensation. |
| 29 | Can the Government please revise the RFP language to include the application of indirect costs to material/hardware/ODC/travel costs in accordance with FAR 52.216-7(b)(II)(D) and allow the reimbursement of hours for the labor category conducting the purchases in accordance with each contractor’s disclosed accounting practices and disclosure statement? | |
| | No. However, the Government will add an additional labor category to Attachment 13 in Amendment 2 for Executive Support to ODCs. This will capture any time incurred by non-direct labor categories to ensure adequate compensation. |
| 30 | Could the Government please clarify substantiating documentation? What does this include | |
| | Substantiating documentaiton is any kind of documentation that may explain the rationale of how you established your pricing. It may also include information about why your pricing is higher or lower than industry standards or competitors. It is an opportunity for offerors to provide an explanation that goes beyond the hard numbers. |
| 31 | Since the government has expressed more weightage for Past Performance/ Corporate Experience from offerors that can showcase working with other Research Organizations, Non-Profits and Academic Institutions, will the government allow for Cooperative Agreements to be used as acceptable past performance submissions as may be needed in Phase 2 | |
| | The Government will recognize and give additional weight to cooperative agreements if the 8(a) firm has partnered with a University, Research Institution, Non-Profit or Not-For-Profit organization. The partnership roles must be clearly delineated in order to receive proper merit and consideration. |
| 32 | Can the Government please reconsider the minimum period of time and calculation of the penalty for vacant positions to a more realistic fifteen (15) day period after receipt of written COR approval? This equates to one (1) workday for the contractor to finalize the offer to the candidate and fourteen (14) calendar days standard employee resignation period to current employer. | |
| | No. The Contractor has 30 days before the penalty begins to take effect. Additionally the penalty does not apply to weekends or holidays. The contractor has ample time to find a qualified individual and furthermore the contractor is incecntivized to find a qualified person to increase their potential profit and CPARS assessment. |
| 33 | Can the Government please explain the reasoning for differentiating the Previous Experience from the Past Performance volumes in Phase 1 and Phase 2? | |
| | Previous Experience and Past Performance are evaluating different pieces of information. Previous Experience is evaluated in Phase 1 and Past Performance is evaluated in Phase 2. Reference the changes listed within Amendment 1 for additional information on Previous Experience and Past Performance. |
| 34 | Please confirm if the transcript or recording of the Pre-Proposal Teleconference for 6/18/20 will be made available? | |
| | The changes described in Amendment 1 have provided additional guidance and clairification that answers this question |
| 35 | Can you provide the name of the incumbent for this work or is this a new requirement for the agency? | |
| | This requirement has some new and some old elements of a previous requirement. The old elements of the previous requirement have been performed by Eagle Global Scientific. |
Answers to Amendment 1 Questions
Question Answer
| 36 | Previous Experience Worksheets: Are we able to include additional pages to allow us to provide a complete description of our experience? Given the questions, we don’t have sufficient space to provide complete responses. | |
| | The previous experience worksheet has been updated to provide more room in the text boxes. Responses within the text boxes must be in Times New Roman font size 12. |
| 37 | Pricing Worksheet Evaluation and Pricing Worksheet Additional Labor Categories. Which of the two worksheets do we use for Phase I and/or Phase II? Do we price both for each of the Phases? | |
| | Both pricing worksheets, Attachment 10 and Attachement 13 will need to be submitted in both Phase 1 and Phase 2. |
| 38 | Will the Government identify format requirements so that we may ensure our submission documents comply with “correct volume format”? | |
| | Section L of the Solicitation provides instructions on how to prepare each document and what volume that document needs to be submitted in. Additionally Change 20 provides updated and more specific instructions for proposal submission |
| 39 | Q: Will the Government provide Attachment 16 General Information? | |
| | Yes. It was intended for Attachment 16 to be posted, however, it did not get uploaded with the rest of the attachments. It will be upladed with the Amendment 2 documents. |
| 40 | Does the Government consider cover pages to be outside of page count restrictions? | |
| | Cover pages will not count against the page restriction |
| 41 | The allotted space within the Previous Experience Worksheet limits our ability to adequately address the questions. Is content required to fit within the existing Previous Experience Worksheet or are vendors able to adjust the size of the text boxes to allow for complete responses? | |
| | The previous experience worksheet has been updated to provide more room in the text boxes. Responses within the text boxes must be in Times New Roman font size 12. |
| 42 | Question (a). Would the Government please confirm whether they want 4 separate attachments or can the Offeror include these in Volume 2 as 4 different sections? | |
| | These should be four separate documents within the Volume. This has been clarified in Amendment 1 and Amendment 2 |
| 43 | Question (b): Does the Government want the documents described in L.3.2.1, L3.2.2, and L.3.4.4 to each be on business letterhead or would the header with the Company Name and/or Logo be acceptable? | |
| | The Documents described in this question can be submitted with Business letterhead or a Company Name and a company logo. This change will be reflected in the changes described in Amendment 2. |
| 44 | With the evaluation factors ranging from Unacceptable to Excellent, how will the Government assess additional merit using this scoring system when reviewing a previous experience project performed by a key subcontractor as opposed to a prime and will the Government stipulate a minimum number of previous experience projects that must be submitted by the prime? | |
| | The Government will utilize an evaluation system involving significant strengths (SS), strengths(S), weaknesses(W) Significant Weaknesses(SW) and deficiencies(D) to evaluate proposals. After evaluating all areas of the proposal and reviewing the assigned SS, S, W, or D the Government will provide an overall Rating for the Previous Experience Factor. Each Previous Experience project submitted with a focus on those research institutions will receive additional merit and credit. |
| 45 | Will the Government accept previous experience from an IDIQ contract with multiple relevant task orders as a single worksheet/project? | |
| | No, the Government will accept each individual task order or stand-alone contract as a worksheet/project |
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