Career_Svc_Q&A_693JF718R000025_20180807.docx

Questions and Answers for Solicitation 693JF718R000025 (USMMA AND SMA SIP GRADUATES CAREER SERVICES)

1. As stated in the SF 1449, the magnitude of this requirement will be set between $80,000 and $100,000. Does that imply that this effort will support one (1) contractor personnel to fulfill the requirements of the SOW? How the contractor proposes to fulfill the requirements is at its discretion.

1. What are the number of hours per year to use in the pricing calculations? MARAD has no estimate of the number of hours to use in the pricing calculations. Offerors are asked to propose a firm-fixed price to provide career services for a one year period based upon the SOW requirements.

1. Is overtime anticipated? No.

1. Where are the anticipated travel locations and how many times per year will travel be required? The RFP has been amended to include maritime academy locations and the number of times we expect the contractor to visit each maritime academy.

1. Will travel be reimbursed separately from the predefined budget of $80,000 – $100,000? No. MARAD intends to award a firm-fixed price contract for this requirement.

1. Does the government have historical data to determine what contractor provided resources will be necessary to fulfill the requirements of the SOW? No.

1. Will the government provide the contractor points of contacts for government agencies, shipping companies, labor unions, that traditionally hire maritime academy graduates? Other than the USMMA and SMA point of contacts, MARAD will not provide any points of contacts.

1. Will the government reimburse for the administrative cost of providing the contract personnel with equipment such as a toll free line to comply with the SOW requirements? No. MARAD intends to award a firm-fixed price contract for this requirement.

1. What are the expectations on our firm in terms of placement volume? Are we expected to have a certain number of placement each month? If so, what are the consequences for not meeting the number of placements required? The contractor is not expected to have a certain number of placements each month.

1. It states contractor will be expected to visit SMAs each at least once and the USMMA at least twice. It also states we are to coordinate a pre-determined number of PDCS Potential Presentations/Workshops and/or SMA career fair visits. Do all of these activities fall in line with the minimum number of visits needed during the year or a minimum of 6 SMA visits and 2 USMMA visits? The RFP has been revised. The minimum number of visits to the USMMA and six SMAs are for the PDCS Potential Presentations/Workshops and SMA career fair visits.

1. Can we substitute professional experience in lieu of past company performance? Experience will be evaluated as part of the technical factor. Past performance is a separate evaluation factor. In accordance with FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv), in the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.