RFP Attachment J.4 - Summary of Questions and Answers.pdf

# FHWA Responses

1 Correct, Volume 1 - Technical Proposal, shall consist of 3 parts: Technical Approach, Staffing and Management Approach, and Letters of Intent.

Additionally, Offerors may submit these files in separate documents, or as one consolidated document as there is a clear separation between sections (e.g. it is clear where one section ends and the next begins).

The instructions have been amended for clarity/correction on these items.

2 Letters of intent shall reflect a subcontractor's intent and commitment to partner with the prime Offeror in support of this requirement.

The instructions have been amended for clarity/correction on these items.

3 This requirement will remain unchanged and all Key Personnel at the IDIQ level must be proposed by the Prime Offeror. However, subcontractors or partnering organizations may be permitted to propose Key Personnel at the task order level.

However, any requirements for Key Personnel at the task order level will be articulated in those task order solicitations.

4 FHWA will not be waiving this RFP requirement at this time.

5 FHWA will not be waiving this RFP requirement at this time nor is the proposal submission date extended.

6 Correct, any letters of intent from proposed subcontractors will not count toward Volume I page limitations but may not exceed 1 page each.

7 All labor categories must remain unchanged and no new labor categories will be considered.

8 The requirement for the PI's to have PMP's for this requirement cannot be waived.

9 Section 508 compliance standards are detailed in Section H.3 of the RFP.

Additional clarification has been added to Section M for this requirement.

The Offeror shall provide, as a part of its proposal, a description of its resources, to include any facilities, to conduct the work and tasks anticipated under this

ID/IQ.

Additional clarification has been added to Section L for this requirement.

RFP Page 90, Technical Proposal, Part II –Staffing and Management Approach

All proposed Key Personnel for this requirement MUST be proposed by the Prime. Key Personnel proposed by subcontractors or other partnering organizations of the Prime will not be considered.

If FHWA will waive the requirement for Key Personnel to come from the prime, can the proposal submission deadline be extended by 1 week.

RFP Page # / RFP Section and Name

RFP Text That Your Question References Question / Recommendations

U.S. DOT FHWA ITS JPO RFP # 693JJ321R00004

Comments and Questions to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

RFP Page 90, Technical Proposal, Part II –Staffing and Management Approach

All proposed Key Personnel for this requirement MUST be proposed by the Prime. Key Personnel proposed by subcontractors or other partnering organizations of the Prime will not be considered.

Would FHWA consider waiving this requirement and permitting subcontractors or other organizations partnering with Prime Offerors to propose Key Personnel?

RFP Page 90, Technical Proposal, Part II –Staffing and Management Approach

All proposed Key Personnel for this requirement MUST be proposed by the Prime. Key Personnel proposed by subcontractors or other partnering organizations of the Prime will not be considered.

Would FHWA consider waiving this requirement and permitting subcontractors or other organizations partnering with Prime Offerors to propose Key Personnel?

RFP Page 88, Volume I – Technical Proposal "This volume shall consist of two parts, shall be in separate files.” Should this read “three parts” instead? Additionally, what is meant by “shall be in separate files?” It is our understanding that there are two volumes, but are parts a-c to be submitted as separate files or as one file as part of Volume I?

RFP Page 90, Technical Proposal, Part III – Letters of Intent N/A What are the requirements that need to be included in the letters of intent?

RFP – Section L.4 “Proposal Content and Configuration” (Page 88 of 101)

Section L.4 under Volume I – Technical Proposal states “Volume I shall not exceed 80 pages, not including submitted resumes.” Can the government confirm that “Part III - Letter of Intent for Proposed Subcontractors – Limited to 1 page each” is NOT included in the 80 page count?

Attachment J.1 - “Labor Categories and Position Descriptions” Given the pace of change in technologies and potential applications of new and emerging technologies in the transportation sector, would the government consider allowing respondents to add new Labor Categories with descriptions as part of this solicitation response in Attachment J.2 (e.g., “Functional Expert Consultant”) which enables the government to benefit from support provided by individuals with relevant expertise that may come from non-ITS focused sectors?

Attachment J.1 - “Labor Categories and Position Descriptions” "PI(s) shall have: An active Project Manager's Professional (PMP) certification." Many acknowledged experts in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems have PhDs in their fields of expertise, so have spent their careers leading technological advancements, not in project management. The RFP requires PMP certifications for the Principal Investigators, which will restrict the type of expertise that can lead highly technical aspects of the project. Will the government consider alternate qualifications of a PhD for the six Principal Investigators?

L.4 Instructions: Part II-Staffing and Management Approach No mention is made in the instructions for the Part II Staffing and Management Approach about 2 items that appear in Section M, Evaluation: 1. necessary resources and 2. approach to ensure quality of deliverables and compliance with Section 508. Will the government clarify the instructions to include those two items?

10 FHWA will not provide definitions for its adjectival rating scheme. However, sections M.1 and M.2 provide a full summary of the procedures to be followed during evaluation and source selection.

11 The master staffing matrix required under Volume 1, Part 2 is included in the 30-page page limitation for that part.

12 Letters of intent are not included in the noted page limitations, but must not exceed 1 page in length, per letter.

13 This size limitation applies to both Volumes 1 and 2 combined. The full proposal shall not exceed 8MB.

14 Yes, font sizes for text within diagrams or tables may be smaller than 12-point font as long as that text is fully legible.

15 Offerors may not delete any sections from attachment J.3 and are required to submit both the master SubK Plan and a completed attachment J.3.

Please note that a revised Attachment J.3 has been included as a part of Amendment 1 to this RFP.

16 A revised Attachment J.3 has been included that contains added clarity on how Offerors are to report SB SubK goals.

17 The Service Contract Labor Standards Act doesnot apply to this acquisition for professional services per FAR 22.1101. The clauses at FAR 52.222-41 and FAR 52.222-43 have been removed.

Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award The RFP references multiple evaluation ratings of "Acceptable or higher,” but does not define the scoring categories or what constitutes "acceptable." Could you please define these?

Section L.3 Proposal Format, item e 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 the government confirm that text within tables and used in diagrams may be presented in a font size smaller than 12 point as long as it is legible?

L.4 Instructions: Part II-Staffing and Management Approach "Offerors shall provide a Master Staffing Matrix, which denotes those Key Personnel and the staffing levels proposed, and capabilities/credentials."

Please confirm that the Master Staffing Matrix, within Volume 1 – Part 2, is not included within the 30 page limit?

L.4 Instructions: Part III-Letters of Intent Provide letters of intent, limited to one page each, from proposed subcontractors. Please confirm Volume 1 – Part 3 (Letters of Intent) are not included within the 80 page limit for Volume 1.

L.3 - Proposal Format Submission should be limited to 8MB or less Please confirm that the file size restriction of 8MB limit is for each proposal volume file attached, or for the total of both proposal volume files.

Section L.4 Volume II, Part IV Small Business Subcontracting Plan This section states that the offeror shall include a copy of their Master Subcontracting Plan and a subcontracting plan in accordance with the format in Attachment J.3. Can the offeror eliminate from the format in J.3 any section that is already addressed in its Master Subcontracting Plan?

Attachment J.3 FHWA Subcontracting Plan Goals In the table for Subcontracting Goals, the row for Planned subcontracts to Small Business concerns contains the parenthetical statement “not elsewhere counted below”. Typically, the goal amounts for small business subcontracting include all small businesses, not just those small businesses that are not in another socio-economic sub-category. Moreover, the Individual Subcontracting Report, which is the government-wide format for reporting of subcontracting, specifies that the amount awarded to small businesses, plus the amount awarded to other-than-small businesses, must equal 100% of all subcontracted dollars. Therefore, the goal amount for Small Business concerns stated in the Report must include the amount awarded to all small businesses, not just those small businesses that are not included in another socioeconomic sub-category. Would the Government modify the table to delete the parenthetical “not elsewhere counted below” in order to be consistent with industry practice and the way results are reported?

FAR 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards Section I includes FAR 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards (pg. 77), but no Wage Determination was provided. Based on the work awarded under the predecessor TSSC2 contract, which did not include FAR 52.222-41 or 43, the scope of work in the RFP, and the labor categories, it is our understanding that the majority of work under this agreement will be predominantly for professional services. The SCA is required when the principal purpose of the work is to provide services with "service employees". Furthermore, the DoL Field Operations Handbook (Chapter 14c07) states that contracts for professional services “with use of service employees being only a minor factor in contract performance, is not covered by the SCA.” It further provides a 10 to 20% guideline as determining whether there is more than a minor use of service employees. Does the Government expect that there will be more than minor use of service employees in performance? If not, we respectfully request that the government remove FAR 52.222-41 and 43 consistent with DoL guidance.

18 The employee compensation plan, required in accordance with FAR 52.222-46, shall be included as a part of Volume 2, Part III - Other Financial/Organizational Information. Section L.4 has been revised to reflect this requirement.

19 The correct solicitation number to be referenced is 693JJ321R00004.

20 FHWA is unable to extend the submission deadline at this time.

21 Sections B.2 and G.3 will remain unchanged.

22 Offerors are instructed to read the instructions stated in the RFP and respond based on their understanding of said requirements.

23 FHWA anticipates, but does not guarantee making an award in August or September of 2021.

24 The requirements stated in RFP section H.14 1252.237-70 QUALIFICATIONS

OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES (DEVIATION). (MAY 2005) -

ALTERNATE I (OCT 2005) will be incorporated in and applied to the anticipated IDIQ awards as written.

25 The language in section H.18 has been revised to read as follows:

Except to the extent that the Contractor can mitigate such conflict in accordance with its approved Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan described in item (d) below, and has obtained written approval from the Contracting Officer reflecting such, the Contractor is prohibited from competing on any FHWA requirements where it, in performance under this Contract as a Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, or Consultant, was privy to any of the following types of information, where such information would provide an unfair competitive advantage under a competitive acquisition...."

26 Correct, both proposals are due on 6/15, unless a subsequent amendment instructs otherwise.

27 Correct.

28 Any Government-Furnished Equipment or Information will be provided to the successful Offerors at the task order level, as opposed to at execution of the anticipated IDIQ contracts.

29 FHWA anticipates, but does not guarantee issuing an average of 10 - 15 task orders under the anticipated IDIQ on an annual basis.

“3. Solicitation Number 693JJ321R000004” Both the draft RFP and subsequent pages of the RFP indicate the solicitation number is DTFH6121R00004. See also Proposal Volume table just before L.4 (RFP page 88).

Would the Government please clarify the applicable solicitation number?

Is the correct number to reference for proposal submission: 693JJ321R000004, 693JJ320R000002 or

DTFH6121R00004?

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Block 9 Standard Form 33

Proposals due – 6/15/2021 @ 3:00PM ET With the significant changes to Key Personnel and Past Performances sections of the RFP from “Draft” to “Final”, and the level of detail that is required in accordance with RFP instructions, would the Government please extend the due date by one (1) week?

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Section B.2 – Schedule of Rates Section G.3 – Travel and Per Diem

B.2 – “Travel and materials will be reimbursed at cost. Inclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expenses, is not allowable.”

G.3 – “All travel and materials will be reimbursed at cost. Inclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expenses, is not allowable.”

Sections B.2 and G.3 state that “[t]ravel and materials will be reimbursed at cost” and that “[i]nclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expense is not allowable.”

As the standard approach to billing for material costs allows “all appropriate indirect costs allocated to direct materials in accordance with the contractor's usual accounting procedures” (see FAR 16.601), would the Government revise the RFP to allow the billing of indirect cost on travel and materials when such practice is consistent with the contractor’s approved cost accounting procedures?

Section L.16 Section L.16 includes FAR 52.222-46 Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (pg.

96), which requires offerors to submit a compensation plan as part of their proposal. Could the government clarify where in the price volume the compensation plan should be provided?

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Block 3 Standard Form 33 and header of the rest of RFP

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Section L – Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Bidders Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award

“NOTE: Offerors shall submit their proposal electronically to Ryan.Buck@dot.gov and HCFA-32SRI@dot.gov. Please include the solicitation number in the subject line of the email.”

Given the phased evaluation of proposals, would the Government please confirm that both proposal volumes are due at the same time on the current due date of 06/15, unless said date is subsequently amended?

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Section H.18 Organizational Conflict of Interest and Limitation on Future Contracting

“ (a) Contractor is prohibited from competing on any FHWA requirements where it, in performance under this contract as a Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, or Consultant, was privy to any of the following types of information, where such information would provide an unfair competitive advantage under a competitive acquisition.”

Can the Government please confirm that, consistent with FAR Subpart 9.5 principles and established GAO precedence, such prohibition will not apply to the extent such conflict is reasonably mitigated?

Can the Government also revise the language of H.18(a) to reflect this point and state: “Except to the extent that the Contractor can mitigate such conflict to the satisfaction of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor is prohibited from competing on any FHWA requirements where it, in performance under this contract as a Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, or Consultant, was privy to any of the following types of information…” ?

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Section C.4 – Detailed Requirement C.4.2.1 – Emerging and Enabling Technologies

“Technical assistance in this area shall support the activities described in the 2020-2025 ITS Strategic Plan in the section entitled “Emerging and Enabling Technologies”, as well as the U.S. DOT’s departmental priorities, including but not limited to socio-economic and racial equity, climate change, and economic recovery.

As noted in the U.S. DOT RD&T Strategic Plan, the Department seeks to advance the adoption and use of emerging practices and technologies for transportation, particularly where they play a key role in providing public benefit to Americans.”

The description for Emerging & Enabling Technologies requirement references the 2020-2025 ITS Strategic Plan and the USDOT RD&T Strategic Plan.

Would the Government please clarify if the intent is to focus on the ITS Strategic Plan to guide the technical activities for this Program Subarea and to reference the RD&T Strategic Plan as background for the technical response?

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F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

“The period of performance under this contract is five years, beginning on the effective date of the contract.” Would the Government please clarify the anticipated start date of the contract?

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Section H.14 – 1252.237-70 Qualifications of Contractor Employees (Deviation). (MAY 2005) - Alternate I (OCT 2005)

“(e) The Contractor shall ensure that contractor employees are citizens of the United States of America or aliens who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence or employment (indicated by immigration status) as evidenced by Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services documentation”

Section H.14(e) can be read as imposing a blanket requirement that all contractor employees be U.S.

Citizens or aliens that have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence or employment. While we understand that all U.S. based employees must be authorized to work in the U.S., the overall impact to U.S. DOT is the loss of ITS technical expertise and benefits to access international subject matter experts, which is in contradiction of the International contextual experience desired in C.3 Objective.

Given the IDIQ nature of the contract and the fact that there could be activities that might not require access to “Sensitive Information,” will the Government clarify whether individuals who are not U.S.

Citizens or aliens that have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence or employment may be used to support certain activities on a task order-specific basis?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach

“The Offeror’s management approach for this ID/IQ, to include:

▪ Approach to manage communication, oversight and supervision of proposed personnel and subcontractors.

▪ Approach for managing multiple projects and/or TOs.”

Would the Government provide an estimate of the number of yearly Projects and/or Task Orders that it plans to award under the IDIQ?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume II – Business and Cost/Price

“Shall consist of the following:” Would the Government please confirm that offerors are to submit one (1) file for Volume II – Business and Cost/Price Proposal consisting of :

Part I – Cost/Price Informant Part II – Subcontracts/Consultants Part III – Other Financial/Organizational Information Part IV – Small Business Subcontracting Plan Part V – Organizational Conflicts of Interest Mitigation Plan Part VI – Past Performance

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Work Area C.4.5 – Program Management, Start-up, and Transition

“Describe what processes and tools you will use to keep track of project cost, schedule, and performance for each task order.” Would the Government provide a list of Government Furnished Tools (GFE) including PMO tools that would be available to the awardees for the execution of the contract?

30 FHWA cannot provide this information and Offerors are instructed to review the requirements and propose accordingly.

31 All Key Personnel must be employed with the Prime prior to contract execution and ready to begin work on day 1 of the period of performance of the contract.

32 As stated in the RFP, only those key personnel candidates proposed by the Prime Offeror will be considered.

33 Correct.

34 Key Personnel proposed under this requirement must be directly employed by the Prime Offeror and individuals supporting the Prime under independent contractor agreements will not be considered for those positions.

35 The page limitation for Past Performance has been increased to 15 pages, inclusive of references for both the Prime and its Subcontractors.

36 This requirements will remain unchanged.

37 For the purposes of this RFP, Offerors should provide examples of the cited terminations for convenience within 12 months of the submission deadline for proposals, which is 6/15/2021.

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach

“The Offeror’s management approach for this ID/IQ, to include:

▪ Approach to manage communication, oversight and supervision of proposed personnel and subcontractors.

▪ Approach for managing multiple projects and/or TOs.”

Would the Government also provide an estimate of the distribution of hours across different LCATs anticipated to be used under this contract?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal

S ffi d A h

“Key Personnel Note: All proposed Key Personnel for this requirement MUST be proposed by the Prime. Key Personnel proposed by subcontractors or other partnering organizations of the Prime will not be considered.”

To the extent that the Government will not waive the requirement for Key Personnel to be proposed only by Prime Offerors, would the Government please confirm that Key Personnel proposed by the offeror can be consultants that that offeror has engaged under an independent contractor agreement?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume II – Business and Cost/Price Part VI – Past Performance

“(f) Part VI – Past Performance – Not to exceed 10 pages.”

“Note to Offerors: The proposal may include up to ten examples

– up to five for the prime offeror and up to five for subcontractor(s).”

Would the Government please confirm that the 10-page limit applies to the prime offers past performance references only and the past performance examples for subcontractor(s) are in addition to the page limitation?

In order for offers to provide detailed examples, we recommend that the page limitations increase to 20 pages for Part VI – Past Performance.

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach

“Key Personnel Note: All proposed Key Personnel for this requirement MUST be proposed by the Prime. Key Personnel proposed by subcontractors or other partnering organizations of the Prime will not be considered.”

Will the Government allow offerors to propose Principal Investigators Key personnel candidates who are contingent or 1099-contracted hires who will be onboarded as full-time staff within 30 days of contract award?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach

“Principal Investigator(s) – 1 for each of the areas below” Consistent with the instructions for Past Performance, will the Government allow offerors to propose up to 2 candidates for each Principal Investigator key personnel position with 1 from the Prime Contractor and 1 from an exclusive subcontractor? This will allow the Government flexibility in selecting key personnel at the Task Order level and give the Government a better understanding of the senior-level expertise from across each offeror’s team.”

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume I – Technical Proposal Part II – Staffing and Management Approach

“Offerors shall provide a Master Staffing Matrix, which denotes those Key Personnel and the staffing levels proposed, and capabilities/credentials.”

Would the Government please confirm that the staffing levels proposed is only for the key personnel?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume II – Business and Cost/Price Part I – Cost/Price Information

“In addition to completing the labor rate chart with offerors’ proposed full-burdened rates, offerors must provide a detailed explanation for what is included in the proposed fully-loaded rates. This explanation must include the proposed rates (%) for any of the items noted above (overhead, fringe, profit/fee, G&A, etc.) that factor into each fully-loaded rate, as well as the rationale behind the proposed amounts. This explanation should include a confirmation as to whether those rates are consistent with other contracts held or recently held by the offeror, as well as other rates paid in the marketplace for similar services. This description should be included as an enclosure to the Labor Rate Chart described above.”

The RFP currently requires the offeror to provide the detailed breakdown components of the proposed rates. This requirement is more typical under FAR 15.403. Would the Government consider removing this requirement?

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Section L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume II – Business and Cost/Price

“Terminated Contracts - List any contract that was terminated for convenience of the Government within the past 12 months, and any contract that was terminated for default within the past 5 years. Briefly explain the circumstances in each instance.”

What time frame of measurement should offerors use in support of submitting the 12 months termination for convenience request? For example, is 12 months from the month of proposal submission acceptable?

38 Past Performance will not be evaluated under the Phase I Evaluation of the Technical Proposals and will therefore not factor into an Offerors rating of Technical Capability. While the Technical Evaluation Team will not be solely responsible for evaluating that portion of the proposal, the Past Performance Evaluation Team reserves the right to consult with subject matter experts for any technical questions that may arise during evaluation, as they pertain to a record's relevance to this requirement.

39 FHWA will not provide definitions for its adjectival rating scheme. However, sections M.1 and M.2 provide a full summary of the procedures to be followed during evaluation and source selection.

40 The evaluation scheme summarized in the RFP will remain unchanged.

41 The description in the RFP states that ITS JPO will require "legal and/or regulatory expertise, research, analysis, and opinion on ITS related technical issues in various areas." The language in attachment J.1 would fall under "legal expertise" and the verbiage in section C states that the examples listed are not all-encompassing of the anticipated requirements. Both the RFP and attachment J.1 will remain unchanged as they pertain to those requirements. However, please note that the Senior Legal Counsel is not Key Personnel and therefore may be provided by subcontractors or other project partners at the Task Order level.

42 This requirement will remain unchanged.

43 This requirement will remain unchanged.

44 This requirement will remain unchanged.

45 Correct.

46 Treatment of OCI under the anticipated IDIQ will be handled in accordance with section H.18 of this RFP. Any OCI arising under different contracts as they pertain to this requirement must be handled in accordance with the terms and conditions of those contracts, as well as what's included in this RFP concerning

OCI.

RFP Section H.18 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

AND LIMITATION ON FUTURE CONTRACTING

How can firms determine whether any past, current, or future OCI exists for this requirement and will performance under this anticipated requirement present potential or actual OCI under any current or future DOT contracts that I hold?

“These personnel shall have some knowledge of ITS and transportation systems” The Government states that the labor categories of “Financial Planner/Analyst” and “Business Planning/Business Modeling” should have ITS and transportation system experience. This could exclude high-quality personnel without improving delivery quality and provide unfair competitive advantage to incumbent personnel.

Would the Government please consider adjusting this language from both labor category description/requirements to say “… should have ITS or transportation system experience”?

Attachment J.3 FHWA Subcontracting Plan

“Subcontracting Goals - (Years 1 – 5)*” Table As an IDIQ contract vehicle, would the Government confirm offerors should utilize the total acquisition value of $200,000,000 to calculate the subcontracting goals to satisfy the Government’s provided attachment J.3?

Attachment No. J.1 Section III – Support Labor Category Descriptions H.12 Non-Personal Services Contract

“Senior Legal Counsel … They must have experience in intellectual property and copyrights or registration of the organization's products, processes, devices, and trademarks, advising whether to initiate or defend law suits or other legal actions. These personnel shall: conduct pretrial preparations and may be involved in leading or contributing to lawsuits or other legal actions; advise officials on Government regulations, and/or legal rights; represent the ITS JPO before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies of the Government; as necessary, confer with colleagues with specialty in areas of law to establish and verify basis for legal actions and ruling; perform consultation, advisory, and/or congressional testimony or trial work, and carry out the legal processes necessary to affect the rights, privileges, and obligations of the organization; gather evidence and information for management decision making;

prepare and review various legal instruments and documents, such as contracts, leases, licenses, purchases, sales, real estate, etc.;

examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit or to implementing or refining regulatory actions or standards; and examine products and materials for legal implications, advising officials of proposed legislation that might affect the organization.”

The description of the expected support from the Senior Legal Counsel found in the cited section of Attachment J.1 appears inconsistent with the statement of work found in Section C.4.3.5 of the RFP for policy, institutional issues, regulatory, and legal analysis services. Whereas the description of the legal analysis services found in the RFP is focused on general legal analysis consistent with a professional services contract, the description in Attachment J.1 is better aligned for a legal services contract, with the senior legal counsel providing direct legal advice and representation to the Government.

Given this apparent inconsistency, as well as the fact that the type of services required under Attachment J.1 cannot be provided by certain types of firms, can the Government please pull the referenced language from Attachment J.1.

Attachment No. J.1 Page 8 – 9 Section III – Support Labor Category Descriptions – Event Planner/Coordinator(s), Graphic Designer

“These personnel shall have some knowledge of ITS and transportation systems” The Government states that the labor categories of “Event Planner/Coordinator(s)” and “Graphic Designer” should have ITS and transportation system experience. This could exclude high-quality personnel without improving delivery quality and provide unfair competitive advantage to incumbent personnel.

Would the Government please consider removing this language from both labor category description/requirements?

Attachment No. J.1 Section III – Support Labor Category Descriptions – Communications and Web Technology

“Communications and Web Technology personnel shall have communications expertise in all aspects of messaging and branding related to major transportation and ITS programs”

The Government states that the labor category Communications and Web Technology should have expertise in all aspects of messaging and branding related to major transportation and ITS programs.

This could exclude high-quality personnel without improving delivery quality and provide unfair competitive advantage to incumbent personnel.

Would the Government please consider adjusting this language from both labor category description/requirements to say, “Communications and Web Technology personnel shall have communications experience in all aspects of messaging and branding related to major transportation or ITS programs”?

Attachment J.1 Page 9 – 10 III. Support Labor Categories – Financial Planner/Analyst, Business Planning/Business Modeling

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L.4 – Proposal Content and Configuration Volume II – Business and Cost/Price Proposal Part VI – Past Performance

“Part VI - Past Performance” Per the RFP instructions, Past Performance is to be submitted as Part VI of Volume II – Business Cost/Price. As such, will the past performance section be separated from cost/price submittal in Volume II and evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Team?

If not, can the Government please clarify how Past Performance will be evaluated without the Technical Evaluation Team also reviewing the pricing information in Volume II?

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Section M.1 – Best Value Evaluation

“Based on the Government’s evaluation of the Offerors’ Volume I, those proposals that receive a rating of “Acceptable” or higher in the Technical Capability evaluation factor will remain in the competition and will advance to the Phase II Evaluation described below. A Volume I - Technical Proposal that receives an “Unacceptable” rating in the Technical Capability evaluation factor will be removed from the competition and from further consideration for award or continued evaluation.”

“As a result of the Phase II Evaluation, a proposal that receives a “Marginal” or “Unacceptable” rating in one or more non-price factor (meaning Past Performance and/or Subcontracting Plan) may be removed from the competition and from further consideration for award or continued evaluation.”

The Government states that it will assign adjectival ratings (e.g., “Acceptable,” “Marginal,” and Unacceptable”) during the Phase 1 and Phase 2 evaluations. However, the full set of adjectival ratings and the definitions of each rating are not provided.

Would the Government please provide the full set of adjectival ratings that will be utilized to evaluate proposals and the applicable definitions that will be utilized?

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M.2 – Evaluation Factors

"The evaluation will consist of three factors which are listed in descending level of importance: 1) Technical Capability; 2) Past Performance; and 3) Cost/Price."

With the Government’s intent to evaluate price and non-price factors separately, would the Government please move Past Performance to Volume I (Technical Proposal)?

Alternatively, would the Government consider making Past Performance a separate Volume?