RFP_-_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Policy IDIQ - RFP 693JJ318R000029

Questions Submitted

1. Page 70 of RFP mentions a SME required for each labor category. Is FHWA requiring different skill levels within each labor category, such as high, mid, and low as included on attachment J.2 Schedule of Rates?

No. The three rate levels in J.1 Schedule of Rates should be treated as a single labor category based on experience level. The category of low, mid and high should be based on experience.

2. Will FHWA consider providing an extension for the submission due date beyond October 1?

No, the FHWA will not be extending the submission due date.

3. In Section L.4, the RFP defines the key personnel. Will FHWA provide requirements for these key personnel labor categories?

The key personnel are considered subject matter experts and are considered essential for the successful performance of the contract.

4. In Section 3.4, Task Area D, will FHWA confirm what statistical, data modeling, and data analysis tools the analysis should be provided in?

Task area D is broad as stated in C3.4 Area D. It covers essentially all data collection and processing tasks resided in the Office of Highway Policy Information. Interested parties can visit the office website at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/ for a general understanding the statistical work, modeling work, and analysis covered by the office.

5. The solicitation includes two labor categories Program Manager and Project Manager (Page 58 of 80 and Page 70 of 80). Isn't it the same function for a specific solicitation like this? If not, would the Government please clarify the differences between these two labor categories.

The Program Manager is responsible for and manages the entire IDIQ contract for a contractor. The Project Manager manages a specific task order awarded under the IDIQ. In some cases, this may be the same individual.

6. The solicitation includes a labor category of Geographer. It looks like this requirement stems from Task Area B (8) on Page 8 of 80 of the RFP, which states:

"Develop economic geography tools linking land use pattern and property value related to highway construction. Quantify economic benefits from agglomeration at household and community level. Determine the significance of location and transportation access with respect to a firm’s productivity. Develop empirical models to incorporate geospatial analysis of highway on income, housing, accessibility, and transportation mode choices."

Generally, a Transportation Planner (a separate labor category in the RFP) performs this geospatial analysis. Would the Government consider removing the labor category of Geographer?

No, the government will not be removing this labor category.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/

7. Section L.3, Item (e) states resumes are not included in page limitations, however, Section

L.4, Item (b) states Part II Staffing Proposal/Resumes includes resumes in 44 pg. limit. Can you please clarify?

Section L.3 has been revised as follows.

“(e) Page limits for proposal volumes shall adhere to the page count limitations listed below.

The page limit includes all narrative, figures, tables, appendices, and all other ancillary materials with the exception of the following. The following items do NOT count against the proposal page limitations: Proposal covers, cover letters, title pages, divider pages, tables of contents, and lists of acronyms.”

8. Could FHWA please grant a 2-week time extension due to the loss of response time over the Labor Day holiday weekend?

Please see the response to question 2

9. On page 2, Section B.2, Schedule of Rates, it states “Labor category requirements and labor rate ceilings governing Task Orders under this contract shall be listed in the Microsoft (MS) Excel format found in Attachment J.1 and shall be applied for each of the described categories for each of the contract years.” Can FHWA please provide a brief description for each of the labor categories?

A detailed description of labor categories will not be provided. The labor categories are based on industry standards.

10. Please confirm that the ceiling for this IDIQ contract will not exceed $19,000,000.

The program office has confirmed the ceiling for this IDIQ contract should not exceed $19,000.000.

11. How many total number of awards does the government plan to make?

The government anticipates that no more than 6 awards will be made in response to this RFP with no less than two of those 6 awards being set aside for small business.

12. Are all LCATS listed on page 70 of the RFP key personnel?

Yes, with the exception of the Support Staff as indicated.

13. Please provide LCAT descriptions See response to question 9.

14. Under L.3(e) – page 67 of the RFP – It states that resumes “…do NOT count against the proposal page limitations…”. However, under L.4 (b) – page 68 – the RFP states that the staffing proposal is limited to 44 pages including resumes with up to 10 pages of narrative. Please clarify if resumes are or are not included in the page count.

Please see response to question 7

15. Under L.4(b) the RFP requests “two pages per submitted resume.” Is the two page limit a maximum length on resumes? We would like the option to submit one page resumes for some key personnel.

Yes, the two-page limit is the maximum length on resumes. A one page resume would still be acceptable.

16. In a few places, the RFP asks for original letters (p. 70 - personnel letter of commitments; p.

71 – Std Form 33) to be included in the original Volume. Since this is an electronic submittal, will electronic signatures or scanned copies of the originals be acceptable in the final packages?

Yes

17. Due to the amount of information requested, would you allow the requested staffing matrices to be formatted on 11x17 inch paper?

No, proposals shall be formatted on 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

18. Can subcontractor personnel be key personnel?

Yes

19. Can the government provide an anticipated level of effort for the entire contract for each year of the contract broken down by labor category?

See Section C.3 for the anticipated allocation of Task Orders.

20. On page 67 of 80, L.3(d), the RFP states, “Footnotes, legends, or labels associated with tables or diagrams, and other information that is ancillary to the main text, may be presented in a font size smaller than 12 point font---provided that any such smaller font is fully legible.” Can contractors also use smaller than 12-point font within the body of tables and diagrams as well, instead of only the tables’ legends or labels?

No.

21. On page 68 of 80, the RFP states, “(b) Part II – Staffing Proposal/Resumes – Staffing proposal is limited to 44 pages including two pages per submitted resume and up to ten pages in narrative.” On page 70 of 80, the RFP states, “Resumes may not exceed 2 pages for each person proposed.” Can resumes be less than 2 pages for each person proposed Please see the response to question 15.

22. On page 2 of 80, the RFP states, “Travel and materials will be reimbursed at cost. Inclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expenses, is not allowable.” Given that G&A is recognized as an allowable cost per FAR 52.216-7 “Allowable Cost and Payment,” will the government consider revising the RFP to allow for the inclusion of G&A on material costs, including travel expenses?

Travel and materials will be reimbursed based on actual cost.

23. The Solicitation does not include any university-specific FARs. Given the absence of the university- specific alternatives, it will be difficult to subcontract with universities. Please advise whether vendors should identify the specific FARs applicable to universities to enable their participation in our proposal.

If a university is being considered for a Task Order award the clauses will be appropriately updated.

24. Please confirm that the heading on Attachment J.1, Schedule of Rates, should be J.1 instead of J.2 The attachment has been corrected to read J.1

25. RFP page 71, Part I, item (b) states that the Standard Form 33 is to be used as the cover sheet of Volume II. Please confirm that this may be placed after the outside proposal cover, on which we are to include the notice referenced in RFP Section L.6 Procurement Integrity Act Requirements.

Yes, it may be placed after the outside proposal cover.

26. RFP page 71, Part III, item (a) – Other Financial / Organizational Information – please clarify whether the Standard Form LLL is required for the prime/offeror only, or if this information is required for both prime/offeror and subcontractors.

Required for prime only.

27. RFP page 71, Part III, item (b) – Other Financial / Organizational Information – please clarify whether the Terminated Contracts is required for the prime/offeror only, or if this information is required for both prime/offeror and subcontractors.

Required for prime only.

28. RFP page 71, Part III, item (c) – Other Financial / Organizational Information – please clarify whether the Representations and Certifications is required for the prime/offeror only, or if this information is required for both prime/offeror and subcontractors.

Required for prime only.

29. RFP page 71, Part III, item (d) – Other Financial / Organizational Information – please clarify whether the FAR 52.219-28 (Section I) is required for the prime/offeror only, or if this information is required for both prime/offeror and subcontractors.

Required for prime only.

30. RFP page 71, Part III, item (f) – Other Financial / Organizational Information – please clarify whether the Acceptance of Terms and Conditions is required for the prime/offeror only, or if this information is required for both prime/offeror and subcontractors.

Required for prime only.

31. RFP page 71, Part III, Item B states that offerors are required to list all contracts terminated for convenience by the Government in the past 3 years. Can you please clarify whether “Government” is limited to the Federal Government?

Yes, it is limited to the Federal Government

32. RFP page 81, Part III, Item B requests a list of contracts terminated for convenience. Should this list include only prime/offeror contracts, or should it include subcontractor contracts as well?

This list should include only prime.

33. Please clarify if the 44-page limit for Part II, Staffing Proposal/Resumes includes the required Letters of Commitment, and if proposers may include the Letters of Commitment in an Attachment/Appendix to Volume I.

The required Letters of Commitment do not count towards the 44-page limit for Part II.

34. Please confirm that proposers may provide one Letter of Commitment from each subcontractor firm that is providing key personnel who are not currently part of the prime/Offeror’s staff.

One letter of commitment must be presented per person.

35. Will the government allow offerors to submit half page or one-page resumes for proposed key personnel?

Please see the response to question 15.

36. Please confirm that the 10 page narrative for Volume I, Part II, Staffing Proposal/Resumes is to address the bullet points listed on RFP page 69 and does not include the two staffing summary tables, resumes, and Letters of Commitment.

Yes, that is correct.

37. The requested one-page summary table described on RFP page 70 requires the Identification of the Project Manager for the contract. Please clarify if this is to be the overall contract Program/Project Manager.

Yes, this is for the overall Program/Project Manager

38. On page 75 of the RFP, 52.216-29 Time-and-Materials/Labor-Hour Proposal Requirements

– Non-Commercial Item Acquisition with Adequate Price Competition (FEB 2007):

Sections of this FAR clause are missing, is there a reason why portions have been left out?

In reference to FAR 52.216-29. Please review the prescription to the clause FAR 16.601 which allows the agency to amend the provision.

39. On page 70 of the RFP: Does the government have definitions or descriptions of each J.1 labor category under this contract?

Please see the response to question 9

40. On page 70 of the RFP: Does the government have definitions of high/medium/low rates for the J.1 labor categories?

Please see the response to question 1

41. RFP Page 67 states that resumes are not included in page limit. RFP Page 68 states that

Volume I Part II (Staffing proposal) is limited to 44 pages including two pages per submitted resume, which seems to indicate a resume page limit of 34 pages. Which is correct?

Please see the response to question 7

42. On page 72 regarding Part IV Past performance. May we submit past performance references from one or more of our subcontractors or do all these need to be from the prime?

Yes, you may submit past performance reference from one or more of your subcontractors.

43. Will small business offerors be eligible to bid for task orders in all task areas or only certain task areas and/or task orders designated as small business set-aside? If only small business set-aside task orders, how many and in what task areas does the government anticipate issuing under the contract?

Yes, small business offerors will be eligible to bid for task orders in all task areas.

44. The current policy support contract has 2 named key personnel—a Project Manager and a Technical Advisor. Would the government be willing to consider some reduction in designated key personnel for this contract, to include the Program Manager, Project Manager, and the various task area leads?

No, the government will not be reducing the key personnel for the contract.

45. Page 70 of the RFP reads that “proposed staff, including consultants and Subcontractors, [be] identified by labor category and task area in which they would be involved,” but at the same time recognizes that an individual’s expertise may apply to more than one task area.

Please confirm whether an individual team member with varied expertise may be proposed to serve in more than one labor category as well (depending on the task).

Yes. A single person can serve multiple areas and tasks.

46. Page 58 of the RFP designates 17 labor categories as key. However, on page 70, the RFP requires that personnel be named in a summary table for 18 different labor categories, to include Support Staff. Please confirm that any change to the Support Staff named in this table would not require prior Government approval.

Any change made to the Support Staff would not require government approval.

47. The solicitation contains 52.222-43 Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards-Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts). (MAY 2014) but doesn’t contain )52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards. Does 52.222-41 apply to this effort?

If so, when will the Wage Determination be provided?

52.222-43 was included in the clauses in error and will be removed.

48. In Section L.4, under Part II Staffing Proposal/Resumes, the solicitation states that “For all personnel who are not currently members of the offeror’s staff, an original letter of commitment shall be submitted with your proposal.”

a. Are the letters of commitment to be included in Volume I Part II - Staffing Proposal/Resumes, or should they be attached elsewhere in the proposal?

Yes. It should be part of Volume I Part II

b. If they are to be included in this section, please confirm that they are not counted against the 44 page limit for this section.

No, they are not counted against the 44-page limit.

c. For existing members of a proposed subcontractor’s or consultant’s staff, is a letter of commitment needed from the individual personnel member, or is a letter from the subcontracting/consultant organization (the personnel member’s employer) sufficient?

Please see response to question 34

49. The solicitation requests “original” copies of the letter(s) of commitment and the executed

Standard Form 33 be included with the proposal. Please confirm that because this proposal is scheduled for electronic submission via email, electronic signatures will suffice for all such mentions.

Electronic signatures will suffice for all such mentions.

50. Item (2) under Task Area B (section C.3.2, page 7) requests the Offeror to improve procedures for optimization: “Evaluate, update and refine the Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS) to support analyses of highway investment/performance relationships. Improve procedures for optimization. Incorporate factors that affect the supply of construction work. Incorporate the additional user cost of ride discomfort in HERS.

Validate the speed model. Examine traffic forecast at State level in the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) sample data. Analyze relationships between highway section characteristics and impacts on system users in the form of vehicle operating costs, travel time, delay, and crashes. Update and refine models to quantify the impact of highway improvements to vehicle emissions. Harmonize and unify the methodologies used in pavement model to analyze load related pavement damage;”

What optimization procedures / algorithms does HERS currently employ?

Please Refer to Appendix A of the 2015 Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit: Conditions and Performance report to Congress. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2015cpr/appendixa.cfm#_Toc464549613

51. May we include past performance from subcontractors as part of the 5 past performance references?

Yes, please see response to question 42.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2015cpr/appendixa.cfm#_Toc464549613