Attachment F- Questions and Answers.pdf

ATTACHMENT F

Request for Quotes (RFQ) 70B06C21Q00000005 Questions & Answers

# Question Government Response Changes to RFQ As Result

1 What if an offeror does not yet have a CAGE code? Is this necessary to submit?

This solicitation includes FAR Provision 52.204-

7. Please review FAR 52.204-7(a)(1).

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2 Can you please provide more information about the self-led demonstration? What information is needed to fulfill this component (i.e. log-in information, password, etc.) Would you like to test out Live Proctoring specifically? If so, do you have an anticipated timeframe that you will be testing it out? Are there any certain features that should be enabled?

See Page 43 of the 70B06C21Q00000005 Request for Quotes.pdf, second full paragraph regarding the Self-Led Demonstration. Offerors should provide log-in information if it is required to access the self-led demonstration.

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3 Is there a preferred proctor to examinee ratio for the 1,000 simultaneous users?

See Section 5.6 of Attachment B- Performance Work Statement.pdf

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4 Is it required that proctors are United States citizens that are based in the United States at the time of proctoring?

See Section 4.1.14 of Attachment B- Performance Work Statement.pdf

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5 Is it required that proctors are United States citizens that are based in the United States at the time of proctoring?

See Page 43 of the 70B06C21Q00000005 Request for Quotes.pdf, second paragraph under Past Performance Factor heading.

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6 For CLIN 20 (April 2020), the government estimates a volume of 230 candidates. Will the government be capping the number of examinees that can chose the remote option for April 2020? If so, how will that number we allocated geographically? The distribution of examinees directly effects proctor allocation needs.

The Government will establish a quota on the number of examinees who are able to register for the remote proctored option. The geographic distribution of remote option registrants is unknowable at this time.

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7 In addition to the remoted proctored services in CLIN 20, the administration of this program requires support services and technology. Can the government clarify/confirm, how they want costs represented in the price template? E.g., CLIN 20 only proctor services costs and all other costs rolled into CLIN 10.

It was the intent of the Government to have program management and test system development/maintenance costs rolled into CLIN 10 as these costs are by and large independent from the exact number of examinees for any given exam. It was the intent of the Government for CLIN 20 to capture all those costs directly attributable to the number of examinees for a specific exam. What specific costs are attributable to the individual CLINs is up to the offeror to determine if those costs are not traceable to specific tasks provided in the PWS.

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8 On page 5, item 1.11, Security Requirements, it states: “In lieu of CBP background investigations as outlined in HSAR 3052.204-71(c), Contractor employees are required to execute a Non- Disclosure Agreement (NDA) (Department of Homeland Security Form 11000-6) as a condition to access sensitive but unclassified information.”

This is not consistent with the requirement that all personnel must complete the BI process to work on the program. Can the government offer guidance on the policy?

Per HSAR Class Deviation 15-01, CBP-conducted background investigations are only required in the instance of a Contractor employee having recurring access to CBP Information Technology (IT) Systems or recurring access to CBP facilities, neither of which the awarded contractor will have access to. However, per Section II.33 Special Security Requirement – Contractor Prescreening (Sep 2011), the Contractor will be required to conduct a background investigation that ensures contractor employees meet minimum fitness standards, as defined in the clause. In addition to this, contractor employees will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition to this sensitive but unclassified information.

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9 On page 22. Item 5.6, the government states, “The Contractor shall provide one (1) proctor for every six (6) to 10 examinees”. What is the maximum number of concurrencies allowed?

The PWS does not specify the maximum number of concurrencies because it may be dependent on the contractor’s staffing model and system capabilities.

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10 Do tech support personnel need to be US based?

This role was not addressed in the RFQ. This would be supporting the day of the event for examinees having any technical issues at home.

Yes. In Attachment B- Performance Work Statement.pdf, the word “Proctors” is stricken from PWS Section 4.1.14 and replaced with “All Contractor staff assigned to the CBLE Program, including proctors,…”

11 On page 23, item 5.8, can the government offer further guidance on the requirement of the contractor in terms of “ensuring” a quiet-room, appropriate for testing. Does the government agree that onus should be on the examinee to put themselves in the best situation for testing?

PWS Section 5.8 establishes a requirement for the Contractor to perform what may be referred to as a “room check” or “room scan” as part of the proctoring activities for the exam and to appropriately respond to violations. The term “ensure” or “ensuring” in section 5.8 has the same meaning as section 5.7 in describing the required proctoring services.

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12 FAR Clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan, requires reporting two times annually in eSRS. Homeland Security Clause 3052.219-70 Small Business Subcontracting Plan Reporting is identified as N/A. Can the Government please clarify the Small Business Subcontract reporting requirements?

Released in February 2019, the most recent version of the Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Regulations (HSAR) incorporated Final Rule (83 FR 67123) rescinding Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation Clause 3052.219-70, Small Business Subcontracting Plan Reporting (HSAR Case 2017-001). Therefore, the reporting requirements default to FAR Clause 52.219-9.

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13 RFQ Page 46, Evaluation Ratings- “The Small Business Subcontracting Plan will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Upon submission of the subcontracting plan, the plan shall be reviewed by the Contracting Officer in coordination with the CBP Small Business Liaison to confirm the small business subcontracting plan meets CBP Small Business Goals. If the plan does not meet small business goals, the Government may negotiate with the Quoter to revise the subcontracting plan. The Government may, at its discretion, fail a small business subcontracting plan that does not meet the CBP small business goals without reasonable explanation. A Quoter who does not submit a small business subcontracting plan that has a final ‘pass’ rating, shall be excluded from award.” Can the government confirm that a small business plan is not required at submission?

The Government confirms a small business plan is not required at time of quote submission, currently due December 9, 2020.

14 PWS Page 24, Deliverables Table- ATP for Practice CBLE: 14 weeks prior to the April 2021 exam: MS Word or Excel file, electronic delivery:

COR 4.2.3.a Fourteen (14) weeks prior to the April 21, 2021 exam is January 13, 2021. This date is outside the ordering period specified in the Ordering Period in II.24. Can the government revise to align requirements and ordering periods?

Depending on the date of contract award, which will also be the date of issuance for the first task order (April 2021 exam), the Government will consider a reasonable accommodation for the completion of the task outlined in PWS Section 4.2.3a. For all exams after the April 2021 exam, the 14 week deadline will remain.

15 RFQ Page 30, Section II.34- Is an ATO for the remote proctoring system required, and if so does the government plan to issue an ATO prior to the April 2021 testing date?

An ATO will not be required prior to the April 2021 exam if the system complies with the PWS. An ATO may be required during the 5-year ordering period.

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16 RFQ Page 30, Section II.34- How many calendar days does CBP expect it to take from SA documentation submission to award of ATO?

It is not possible to estimate the time required to complete the ATO in the future.

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17 RFQ Page 30, Section II.34- How long does the government expect their review of the Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA) to take once the information is submitted for review?

The PTA has been completed based on the PWS requirements for the April 2021 exam. It is not possible to estimate the time required to complete a PTA in the future.

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18 RFQ Page 41- Do executive summaries count against page length? If so, of which section(s) are they considered part?

An executive summary may be no longer than one (1) page in length. An executive summary does not count against any particular document page limitation identified in the table of Page 41 of the RFQ. An executive summary is a stand-alone document.

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19 RFQ Page 43, Instructions Relative to Evaluation Factors Past Performance Factor- This states, “No submission is necessary for this factor.”

Does the government require a Volume II with past performance? If so, can the government clarify this guidance.

The Government does not require a submission for Volume II- Past Performance. Offerors may include a Volume II submission if the offeror determines the conditions of the second paragraph under Past Performance Factor on Page 43 are met.

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20 PWS page 4, Section 1.2- Should requirements for technology change (e.g., AI assisted proctoring solutions, will it result in a contract modification and changes in pricing?

If the Government’s requirements change, this would be approached as a bilateral modification to the contract open to negotiation and pricing adjustments.

21 PWS Page 16, Section 4.1.11- Given that remote proctoring sessions will run at the same time as brick and mortar proctored sessions, is any coordination required between the existing brick and mortar contractors and the online proctor contractors on the separate contracts?

The Government does not expect coordination to be required between the remote proctoring service provider and the in-person proctoring service provider. The Government will coordinate remote and in-person exam events separately.

22 PWS Page 19, Section 4.2.7(f)- Does CBP plan to include scheduled breaks in the CBLE exam, particularly for candidates who qualify for extended time?

The Government will consider scheduled and unscheduled breaks in coordination with the Offeror awarded the contract

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23 PWS Page 19, Section 4.2.7(f)- Will candidates be allowed to leave their seats/room if no scheduled breaks are allowed?

The Government will consider procedures for unscheduled breaks in coordination with the Offeror awarded the contract

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24 RFQ Page 12, Section II.8(d)- Will candidates be authorized to access to paper references, or “open book” format when taking the exam (in addition to the 5 electronic reference URLs)?

No. None

25 RFQ Page 12, Section II.8(d)- This clause seems to be missing filled in blanks for number of days.

The Government failed to include the number of days in FAR 52.216-19(d). The applicable number of days in FAR 52.216-19(d) is five (5).

In 70B06C21Q00000005 Request for Quotes.pdf, Section II.8, FAR 52.216-19(d) on Page 12 is amended to read:

Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within five (5) days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor's intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.

26 RFQ Page 32, Section E.1(ii)- Regarding the independent assessment, is CBP providing the third-party assessor for the security review?

No. None

27 PWS Section 4.1.8, can CBLE identify their expectation for a “timely manner”?

The Government reasonably expects prompt communication based on severity and urgency of the issue. The Contractor’s risk management strategy and risk monitoring plan (see PWS 4.1.9) should inform the determination of the severity and urgency of the issue.

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28 PWS Section 4.1.11, can the Government identify specific technology requirements for the war room?

The Government does not have a technology specification requirements beyond those provided in PWS Section 4.1.11

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29 PWS Section 5.7(c), will the proctor end session if cheating is detected or just notify the war room?

The Proctor may dismiss an examinee caught cheating. Proctors may consult the war room depending on the severity of the witnessed behavior to assist in reaching a decision whether to dismiss an examinee. Per PWS Section 4.1.12, the contractor shall notify the war room immediately of any examinee caught cheating.