2.5.1 70B06C23R00000040 A00001.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

PAGE OF PAGES

3. EFF. DATE 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

FACILITY CODECODE

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR(Number, street, county, State & Zip Code)

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended. Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES Such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc. ) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103 (b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) copies to issuing office.

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

A0001 06/12/2023 0020137688

DHS - Customs & Border Protection

Mission Support Contracting Division 6650 Telecom Drive

Intech 2, Suite 100 Indianapolis IN 46278

DHS - Customs & Border Protection

Mission Support Contracting Division

6650 Telecom Drive

Intech 2, Suite 100

Indianapolis IN 46278

70B06C23R00000040

06/01/2023

1 12 is required to sign this document and return is not

PREVIOUS EDITION UNUSABLE STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE

SIGNED

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE

SIGNED

BY

(Signature of Contracting Officer)(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15A NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

Jared A. Tritle Contracting Officer

The purpose of this amendment to the Request for Proposals listed in Section 10A is to provide Government responses to questions provided from interested Offerors. Any changes resulting from this amendment can be found in the Government's response.

Of note is that the due date and time for responses is being extended to June 16, 2023 at 3PM ET.

N/A

X X

Request for Proposal 70B06C23R00000040 A00001

U.S. CBP Office of Trade Communications, Training, Operations, and Deployment (CTOD) Support Services

Question & Answer

# Reference (if applicable) Question Government Response

1 Solicitation Page 1, Block 8: Due Date Will the Government consider an extension for the Phase I submission to allow us to react to answers to submitted questions given the potential significant impact our questions could pose to all three of the Government's solicitation documents? Answers to our questions could not only impact Phase 1 or Phase 2; they could impact offerors' overall approach to the solicitation.

CBP will extend the due date of the Phase I submissions to Friday, June 16, 2023 at 3pm ET.

2 Phase I Evaluation Factor 3: Management Approach (p. 49)

The Government requires all Key Personnel and 50% of Non-Key Personnel to have a fully adjudicated CBP BI on date of award. To avoid artificially restricting competition, will CBP open the opportunity for offerors to submit personnel into the BI process upon submission? If not, how does the Government propose non-incumbents bid on this work?

CBP will not change this minimum requirement.

The current percentages (100% for Key Personnel and 50% for non-Key Personnel) are the Government’s minimum requirements so as to maintain continuity of services.

3 Phase I Evaluation Factor 3: Management Approach (p. 49)

It appears the Government is giving an unfair competitive advantage to the incumbent by requiring key personnel to have both an adjudicated CBP background investigation and trade-specific knowledge to be a viable competitor. Will the Government consider removing the adjudicated CBP BI at award as a requirement to bid in an effort to promote the fairest competition across all bidders?

CBP will not change this minimum requirement.

4 II.28 Security Procedures, A. CBP Suitability Requirements (p.20)

Will the Government allow for any fully adjudicated or provisional CBP BI Tier, rather than a Tier 4 BI, recognizing even CBP-cleared personnel frequently do not hold a Tier 4 BI?

CBP will not change this minimum requirement.

# Reference (if applicable) Question Government Response

5 Phase I Evaluation Factor 1: Prior Experience (p.

47)

Will the Government confirm that the assessment of size, scope, and complexity will be conducted at the task order level and not the BPA level?

The Government is unsure as to the intent of this question. The Government will assess size, scope, and complexity for the examples submitted under prior experience as how it is presented to CBP.

6 Phase I Evaluation Factor 1: Prior Experience (p.

47)

Will the Government consider allowing for two of the three prior experience examples of similar in size, scope, and complexity to be from non- Trade work, such as other DHS or law enforcement environments, to allow for fair competition, access to innovation, and best practices from similar, but non-Trade work?

CBP will not change this minimum requirement.

7 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services For key personnel labor categories requiring only a bachelor’s degree. Would the Government consider a substitution of an advanced degree, such as a Masters or PhD, for specific years of experience? For example, could a Master's be substituted for 2 years, or a PhD for 4?

CBP will not allow offerors to use education as a substitute for experience.

8 Selection for Award III.1252.216-1 (p. 55) Would the Government be able to provide the breakdown of FFP, T&M, LH, and LOE task orders held by the current incumbent contract? This would allow non-incumbents a better understanding of how the government has leveraged this BPA in the past and increase competition.

This information is not readily available as requested, as the incumbent is providing services under a 100% T&M OASIS Task Order. To date, $26,871,360.07 has been obligated to the order.

9 SOW 8.1 Work Hours (p.15) The Government states that an 8-hour workday is required for all labor categories, which conflicts with the multiple task order types that the Government states could be issued (FFP, T&M, LH). Will the Government allow offerors to deviate from this requirement for any personnel but in particular for those with niche technical expertise? This approach could lead to increased flexibility and efficiency for the Government.

The workday may vary at the task order level depending on requirements for those efforts.

10 Section III, Factor 2, Price - on the topic of Labor Category Requirements (p. 47)

Will the Government allow for offerors to rewrite some labor categories to better align them to our proposed solution? Some contract vehicles, such as OASIS, allow this with written explanations. This will allow bidders to tailor the labor categories to their solution reducing the risk to the government of unnecessary contract modifications in execution.

CBP will not change this requirement.

11 Advisory Downselect Factor 7 - Small Business Subcontracting Plan (p. 52)

Can the Government confirm that a subcontractor that submits a subcontractor plan that deviates from CBP's goals would be deemed a failure unless a reasonable explanation is given?

The Government may, at its discretion, find that a small business subcontracting plan is deficient if it does not meet the CBP small business goals without reasonable explanation.

12 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services. Project Manager Communications, Senior (Row 22);

Communications Specialist, Senior (Row 23);

Project Manager Operations and Deployment Support, Senior (Row 38)

The minimally acceptable requirements are the same for the following labor categories: Senior Project Manager Communications, Senior Communications Specialist, and Senior Project Manager Operations and Deployment Support.

Given the varying Labor Category titles, please confirm that the requirements listed should be unique and differentiated, and please specify those requirements.

This was intentional because there are multiple Offices and programs being supported by this contract. One may need a specialist but not a project manager; in this way the Offeror would be able to provide the best combination of personnel for a particular task order. A project manager may be more appropriate in the operational areas awhile a specialist could be a SME. Therefore, the requirements are minimally acceptable so Offeror may provide personnel with more experience depending on the task order.

13 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services. Program Manager, Senior, (Row 10)

The Senior Program Manager labor category requires “20 years of experience managing large projects for federal Government clients supporting complex information technology projects or operational/policy programs relevant to the SOW.” Would the Government consider otherwise qualified candidates with 15 years of experience in the stated area?

CBP will not change this requirement.

14 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services.

Instructional Developer and Instructor, Senior, (Row 18)

The Senior Instructional Developer and Instructor labor category requires “5 years of experience working in international trade and a demonstrated knowledge of international trade community stakeholders, CBP’s trade programs, CBP automated trade systems (e.g., ACE), and import/export processes relevant to this SOW.”

Would the Government consider removing this requirement given the advanced and specific nature of the other requirements for this niche position? If this requirement remains, the Government will be precluding almost all if not all, other competitors from submitting a qualified candidate for this key position other than the incumbent.

CBP will not change this requirement; the requirements are the minimums acceptable.

15 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services. Project Manager Communications, Senior, (Row 22) and Communications Specialist, Senior (Row 23)

The Senior Project Manager Communications and Senior Communications Specialist labor categories require “15 years of experience managing projects for federal Government clients doing strategic communications in an international trade or law enforcement setting.”

Given "familiarity with international trade issues" is also required, would the Government consider removing “in an international trade or law enforcement setting” as a requirement for all 15 years of experience as to promote fair competition among offerors with qualified resumes and familiarity with trade issues?

16 Section III.1 Instruction to Offerors for Proposal Submission, Proposal Preparation (p. 45)

The "Advisory Down Select" table references "3" in the "Factor #" column to correspond with "Management Plan". In other references in the RFQ, the Government refers to "Factor 4" as "Management Approach" (e.g., see pages 46, 48, 52, and 54). Can the Government update the "Advisory Down Select" table so that it references "Management Approach", and to have that Factor # correspond with Factor 4?

Yes; the Government inadvertently swapped the titles for Factors 3 & 4 in the Table on Pg. 45.

Communications, Training, Operations, and Deployment Expertise is Factor 3; Management Approach is Factor 4.

17 Section III.1 Instruction to Offerors for Proposal Submission, Proposal Preparation (p. 45)

The "Advisory Down Select" table references "4" in the "Factor #" column to correspond with "Communications, Training, Operations and Deployment Expertise". In other references in the RFQ, the Government refers to Communications, Training, Operations and Deployment Expertise as "Factor 3" (e.g., see pages 46, 48, 52, and 54). Can the Government update the "Advisory Down Select" table so that Communications, Training, Operations and Deployment Expertise corresponds with Factor 3?

Yes; the Government inadvertently swapped the titles for Factors 3 & 4 in the Table on Pg. 45.

Communications, Training, Operations, and Deployment Expertise is Factor 3; Management Approach is Factor 4.

18 Section III, Phase II- Evaluation Factors and Instructions, III.2 Evaluation of Proposals (p. 52)

The Government states, "Proposals submitted in response to the RFP will be evaluated based on the following evaluation Factors (not listed in order of relative importance or weight):.."

Will the Government consider identifying the weighted evaluation criteria for transparency to its bidders? This will provide greater transparency to industry on how the government intends to evaluate offerors proposals, create transparency with bidders, and promote greater competition.

This information is provided in the section Titled Selection for Award on Pg. 55, the last paragraph of Section III.2.

19 Section III, Phase II- Evaluation Factors and Instructions, III.2 Evaluation of Proposals, Evaluation Ratings (pp.52-53)

Can the Government confirm that Prior Experiences submitted by the offeror will be evaluated more favorably if the experience that the offeror is submitting was performed by the bidder as the prime or the bidder's subcontractor as the prime?

Correct; In arriving at the Government’s assessment, the Offeror’s prior experience as the prime contractor in a prime/sub relationship and/or the Offeror’s prior experience as part of a teaming arrangement, as applicable, will be considered more demonstrative of the Offeror’s prior experience than the prior experience of the Offeror’s teaming partner(s) and/or subcontractor(s).

20 Attachment 1 - Schedule of Services Several labor categories are titled as "Senior or Journeyman" (e.g., Human Factors Engineer, Functional Analyst). Can the Government confirm if they would like to see rates for the Senior level or the Journeyman level?

For those labor categories that list “Senior or Journeyman”, this should be at the Journeyman level only.

21 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Pages 45, 48, 49

Given that submitted slides will not be evaluated, does the government have a specific requirement for standard size or wide screen format for the slides?

No. CBP intends to print the slide deck for note-taking purposes, but no specific requirement for standard size.

22 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet

The LCAT description noted for the Communications Specialist Senior appears to be identical to the LCAT description for the Project Manager Communications Senior. Will the Government please provide clarification and/or a revised position description for the Communications Specialist Senior LCAT?

This was intentional because there are multiple Offices and programs being supported by this contract. One may need a specialist but not a project manager; in this way the Offeror would be able to provide the best combination of personnel for a particular task order. A project manager may be more appropriate in the operational areas awhile a specialist could be a SME. Therefore, the requirements are minimally acceptable so Offeror may provide personnel with more experience depending on the task order.

23 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet

The labor category description for Multimedia Specialist Journeyman and Associates states that the years of experience are 4 years and 6 years respectively. Will the Government confirm that the Journeyman should be 6 years of experience and the Associates should be 4 years of experience?

Confirmed. Journeyman should be 6 years of experience and Associates should be 4 years of experience.

24 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet

The labor category descriptions for both the Project Manager Communications Senior and Project Manager Operations and Deployment Support Senior require "15 years of experience managing projects for federal government clients doing strategic communications in an international trade or law enforcement setting."

The Government also requires "familiarity with international trade issues such as, CBP automated trade systems (e.g. ACE) import/export process, CBP trade programs (e.g.

forced labor), etc. and knowledge of trade community stakeholders involved in international trade."

Will the Government please clarify/confirm that the 15 years of experience is relative to "managing projects for federal clients doing strategic communications" only.

CBP will not change this requirement.

25 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1

If Offerors choose to provide additional information/context regarding the proposed TEP relative to the Affordability Benchmark, can the Government please provide instructions on where this information should be provided relative to Phase 1?

No additional space will be allotted for this information.

26 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Schedule of Services - Pricing

For the Subject Matter Expert (SME) labor category, historical experience demonstrates that a candidate's years of experience accrued within a specific domain is significantly more important that an educational degree. Will the Government allow a candidate to be proposed with 15-20 years of experience in lieu of a bachelor's degree?

CBP will not change this requirement.

27 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet

Based on historic productive hour calculations, will the Government confirm if 1,980 hours/year is correct, or if the total labor hours should be 1,920?

Yes, this is correct as multiple people may fill the role rather one person.

28 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Schedule of Services - Pricing

The labor category description for Project Manager for TRLED Forced Labor, Senior requires "6 years of experience in international trade or shipping or cargo plus 10 years supervisory experience relevant to this SOW; Knowledge of trade community stakeholders involved in international trade, such as software vendors, carriers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, importers, and exporters, who transmit electronic customs data to CBP automated commercial systems; and/or internal CBP stakeholders such as CBP officers, entry specialists, import specialists, and headquarters management and or other government agencies with a role in regulating imports and exports (PGAs) experience plus 6 years supervisory experience relevant to this SOW. "

Based on the language discrepancies above, will the Government please clarify/confirm that the candidate is required to have 10 years of supervisory experience relevant to the SOW?

For this labor category, the 6 years can be part of the 10 years supervisory experience. The person may have a total of 10 years that included 6 years experience in international trade.

29 Solicitation 70B06C23R00000040 Attachment 1 Schedule of Services - Pricing

The labor category description for Project Manager for TRLED Forced Labor, Senior requires "6 years of experience in international trade or shipping or cargo ...; Knowledge of trade community stakeholders involved in international trade, such as software vendors, carriers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, importers, and exporters, who transmit electronic customs data to CBP automated commercial systems; and/or internal CBP stakeholders such as CBP officers, entry specialists, import specialists, and headquarters management and or other government agencies with a role in regulating imports and exports (PGAs) experience ..."

Based on the role of the Project Manager, will the Government clarify/confirm that the candidate should only be able to demonstrate a knowledge of trade community stakeholders involved in international trade, such as software vendors, carriers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, importers, and exporters, who transmit electronic customs data to CBP automated commercial systems; and/or internal CBP stakeholders such as CBP officers, entry specialists, import specialists, and headquarters management and or other government agencies with a role in regulating imports and exports (PGAs).

30 70B06C23R00000040, Pg. 47, PHASE I- Evaluation Factors and Instructions

Phase 1 - Prior Experience states that "The work shall be ongoing or shall have been completed in the last three (3) years from the release date of this solicitation." Would the government consider increasing this to in the last five (5) years? This provides the government better access to offerors with experience supporting the transition of Core ACE components completed in 2018. The experience gained through this transition will more accurately represent the scope and complexity posed by the governments current need, and better support a best value evaluation.

No, the prior experience requirements remain unchanged.

31 Phase I - Evaluation Factors & Instructions;

Factor 1 - Prior Experience, Pg. 47

To remove unnecessary barriers to competition, the Government should consider expanding both Prior Experience and LCATs-specific experience requirements to include international trade operations. Given the Government's emphasis on "experience working with international trade operations" and "legal or regulatory change within the international trade community," will the Government consider amending the Factor 1 - Prior Experience requirements to "three (3) specific examples that are verifiable, describe the Offeror's experience working with international trade operations and international trade systems?"

CBP will not change this requirement.

32 Evaluation Ratings; Factor 1 - Prior Experience, Pg. 53

Are the terms "Teaming Partner" and "Subcontractor" being used interchangeably?

In this context, yes.

33 Phase II - Evaluation Factors and Instructions;

Factor 5 - Past Performance, Pg. 51

Will the Government please define "predominant" and elaborate on the threshold for "predominant responsibility" in "If an Offeror indicates that one (1) team member and/or subcontractor will have predominant responsibility for a specific SOW area, then that team member’s/subcontractor’s previous performance for that area shall be considered."

In this context, predominant would be considered strongest or primary responsibility.

34 Proposal Preparation and Delivery Instructions;

Signed cover letters; Pg. 44

Will the government please confirm in which section of the proposal the signed SF1449 and completed representations and certifications should appear?

Phase 1 with the cover letter. This does not count toward the page limitations.

35 Section I Schedules - I.2 Schedule of Supplies/Services; Offer Affordability Statement, Pg. 5

To ensure offers are best positioned to price this work, is it possible for the Government to provide an estimate of the percentage distribution of work among Labor Hours (LH), Time & Materials (T&M), or Firm, Fixed Price

(FFP)?

This information is not readily available as requested, as the incumbent is providing services under a 100% T&M OASIS Task Order. To date, $26,871,360.07 has been obligated to the order.

36 Phase 1: Evaluation & Instructions: Factor 2:

price, Pg. 47

Does evaluated pricing of less than $55,000,000.00 include the prorated price, should the FAR 52.217-8 be exercised?

No, this estimate does not include the option afforded through FAR 52.217-8.

37 Evaluation Ratings; Factor 5 (Past Performance), Pg. 53

Will the Government modify "Recent," as defined as the referenced contract having ended from three (3) years from the Phase II submission date to four (4) years from the Phase II submission date.

No, this remains unchanged.