70FB8020R00000007 Attach 11 Question Responses.pdf

RFP Questions

70FB8020R00000007

Question Number Question/Comment FEMA Response

In Section C. Scope, what are the other functional areas referenced and what is the expected coordination between this contract and those areas in addition to their respective contractors?

The other functional areas referred to falls under the ad-hoc deliverables in task 2.

In Section D, Specific Tasks and Deliverables, 1) IMAT Academy Design and Development, Operational Support, can the government confirm that specific Critical Information Requirements have been defined?

The critical information requirements will be determined and discussed with the contractor on the planning efforts begin.

In Section D, Specific Tasks and Deliverables, 1) IMAT Academy Design and Development, Logistics Support, can the government please elaborate on the physical location where the Academy will take place? In addition, could the government explain which portions of the academy will be virtual?

-If virtual, does the government have a defined platform for virtual execution?

-If not, will the contractor be responsible for selecting and providing the platform?

The physical locaiton will be determined by the government based on avaialability of resources and based on expenditure to the government. The 2020 delivery will be vitual due to covid-19 social distancing requirements.

Revision, redesign and development of future academies will be in residence. Those locations will be chosen by the government based on criteria described. (update can be found in SOW, scope)

In Section D, Specific Tasks and Deliverables, 1) IMAT Academy Design and Development, Curriculum Design, is this task just focused on the July execution or does this extend to a larger and longer curriculum?

This task will cover both the initial 2020 delivery and future revisions, redesigns and deliveries. After the initial delivery, there will be a period of revision and redesign for future deliveries.

In Section D, Specific Tasks and Deliverables, 2) Additional Curriculum Design, Development, and Revision, Operational Support, Can the government specify how many phases of the IMAT Academy will there be? In addition, what is the duration of those phases?

At this point, the design of the leadership academy does not consist of phases.

In Section B, Proposal Submission Instructions, on page 4, Technical Capability, Past Performance, states “The offeror shall submit at least two (2) but no more than three

(3) past performance references in accordance with Factor 4 below. Past performance references shall not exceed three (3) pages.” Can the government clarify that it is the intent of the government to limit past performance to 3 pages per past performance and not a total of 3 pages total for the past performance section?

Offerors are limted to 3 pages per past performance.

In Section D, Evaluation Criterion, on page 9, Factor Past Performance, is the statement that “the Offeror may substitute past performance of a predecessor company” intended to allow individuals that are no longer employees of a company to submit broad information about a full project that they were engaged in rather or is it strictly based on the work that they personally performed and executed individually?

Specifically, on the work that individual performed personally and executed.

In Section F, Attachments, can the government elaborate why Washington, D.C., Florida, and Palm Beach wage determinations listed in the RFQ? Is work expected to be conducted there?

Per the Statement of Work (SOW), the majority of the work will be performed at the contractor’s site. The applicable wage rate will be based on the contractor’s address and can be accessed through wdol.gov. If the applicable wage rate is not attached to the RFP, offerors are encouraged to visit wdol.gov and pull the applicable determination for their locality.

In Attachment 3 – Price Template, CLIN x003 includes a line item for “Multi Vendor provided training (course, training, seminars)”. Could the government please clarify what vendors will be used and the specific services that need to be provided? Are offerors expected to simply provide an NTE total for that line item?

-Can the government confirm that the cover letter, table of contents, and an introduction do not count against the page limit?

The concept for the vendors approach will be to research current off-the-shelf training materials and curricula that would meet the governments requirement of the leadership academy objectives and focus areas. These are spelled out in question 59.

Offerors are expected to provide and NTE total for this line item.

The cover letter, table of contents, and an introduction do not count against the page limit.

10 Does the government have minimum education, experience requirements for the labor categories noted in the price template?

For non key personnel, the government requires at least a bachelors degree and minimum of two years of experience.

11 Does the government have an estimated cost range or budget for this procurement? No. Offeror's shall proposed based on the work detailed in the SOW.

The Set-Aside noted is: HUBZone Sole Source – is this actually a sole source that has already been awarded to a vendor? Or is it a competed set-aside where we still have the opportunity to submit a proposal?

This is a competitive Hubzone set aside in accordance with FAR 19.1305.

Question Number Question/Comment FEMA Response

Document: RFP Section: A. Introduction Page 2

Language: The Leadership Development and Support contract for the FEMA IMAT will first develop and deliver leadership training for the 25 members of the newly established National IMAT (White). The curriculum will be delivered as the IMAT Leadership Academy which will be held for approximately 4 weeks, from June 2020-July 2020.

Question: Can the government confirm the number of hours of coursework expected for the IMAT Leadership Academy?

The total 4 weeks of course work will be approximately 130-140 contact hours.

Document: RFP Section: A. Introduction Page 2

Language: The Service Contract Act applies to this contract. Wage determinations for potential places. Wage determinations for potential places of performance are attached to this RFP. This RFP will be amended if necessary, to include additional wage determinations. All additional wage determination requests shall be submitted by the question deadline – June 15, 2020 at 10 AM

EST

Question: Is SCA (Service Contract Act) applicable for this SOW? If so, does the government have specific SCA labor categories and locations that they would like to see proposed in accordance with the price template?

Per the Statement of Work (SOW), the majority of the work will be performed at the contractor’s site. The applicable wage rate will be based on the contractor’s address and can be accessed through wdol.gov. If the applicable wage rate is not attached to the RFP, offerors are encouraged to visit wdol.gov and pull the applicable determination for their locality.

Document: RFP Section: A. Introduction Page 2

Language: The Introduction of the posting notes: The curriculum will be delivered as the IMAT Leadership Academy which will be held for approximately 4 weeks, from June 2020-July 2020.

Question: Can the government confirm that this proposal would be for support that would occur in June 2020?

This would be for support for the June 29 2020 delivery.

17 Is there any consideration of an extension to this proposal submission date? The proposal submission deadline is extended to June 18 at 12 PM EST.

Document: SOW Section: C. Scope Page 3

Language: This requirement may include six (6) or more deliverables per year.

Question: Can the government clarify an upper end limit on expected deliverables per year?

At this point we cannot give a upper end limit, most will be ad-hoc requirements. 6 per year is the governements best estimate of average deliverables.

Question Number Question/Comment FEMA Response

Document: SOW Section: C Page: 3

Language: The Leadership Development and Support contract for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT) will first develop and deliver leadership training for the 25 members of the newly established National IMAT (White). The curriculum will be delivered as the IMAT Leadership Academy which will be held from approximately 4 weeks, 29 June 2020 - 24 July 2020. Once this academy has ended, we will seek support for developing and delivering curriculum for additional training and readiness drills, and revision of future academies.

The contractor will research existing curriculum to include but not be limited to:

leadership development, team building, critical thinking, and decision making to meet the above needs for the IMAT Leadership Academy. The contractor will be expected to present a menu of training options to the project management team.

Question: The first paragraph states "develop and deliver" while the second states "menu of trainings." Does the government want new trainings or off the shelf trainings?

Are there limits around development or existing trainings?

The primary focus will be for off the shelf training, the first delivery in 2020 will be all off the shelf. However, as the academy matures and revisions are necessary. The government may ask for customization and development of original curriculum. (see update in SOW)

Document: SOW Setion D Specific, tasks and deliverables task 1-c Page 4

Language: Identifying existing off-the-shelf leadership development curriculum

Question: Can the government clarify the scope of this? Can the options come from other vendors, FEMA, etc.?

The options may come from a multitude of sources including but not limited to; higher learning institutions, vendors, other governement resources or agencies etc.

21 Document: RFP Section B Proposal Submission Instructions Page 4

22 Does each past performance have a 3 page limit, or do all past performances together need to fit within 3 pages? Each past performance has a limit of 3 pages.

23 Is there a minimum number of past performances that must be submitted by the Prime contractor of a teaming relationship? No, there is no minimum requirement for examples from the prime.

Document: SOW Section D Specific Tasks and Deliverables Task 2-d Page 7

The IMAT Leadership Academy is slated to begin less than 2 weeks from proposal submission date - can the government confirm the timeline of this deliverable? The timeline is confirmed as stated in the RFP.

Document SOW Section: D Specific Tasks and Deliverables, task 1-g

Langauge: Provide onsite logistical and operational support throughout the duration of the IMAT Academy, as needed or requested by the government

Question: Can the government confirm that the IMAT Leadership Academy will be held in person rather than virtually? please refer to question 3

26 Is there a minimum number of demonstrated experience examples that must be submitted by the Prime contractor of a teaming relationship? No, there is no minimum requirement for examples from the prime.

Document: SOW Section: D Specific Tasks and deliverables, Task 2-d Page 7

Langauge: Pre and Post assessments for candidates to assess learning transfer - Weekly throughout duration of academy

Question: Task 2 is defined as "Additional Curriculum Design, Development, and Revision" and does not specify an additional academy - can the government clarify when and how this deliverable is expected to be delivered?

This refers to follow-on fututre academies and should be considered a possible requirement for other types of deliveries stated in task 2. (update to SOW)

28 Will the government be open to utilizing cutting edge eLearning and Virtual Learning Environment training to enhance engagement and retention assessment? yes

Question Number Question/Comment FEMA Response

Will the government have a problem with the subcontractor to complete 60% of the work, with Prime being Hubzone certified?

This is unacceptable per FAR 19.1308 Limitations on Subcontracting and Nonmanufacturer rule. To be awarded a contract under the HUBZone program, the small business concern is required, per FAR 19.1308(b)(1), For services (except construction), to spend at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred for personnel on its own employees or on the employees of other HUBZone small business concerns

30 Will government subject matter experts provide assistance in the development of the leadership academy curriculum? Yes

31 Will the government require an already built out work plan with dates and deliverables?

No, however the vendor this will be required to develop based on requirements from the SOW.This will occur in cunjunction with the program staff and SME's.

32 In light of recent events with coronavirus and social distancing, would the government be open to the offeror presenting a virtual environment training model?

Yes, however future deliveries will be in person deliveries and the vendor will be required to redesign and develop an inperson academy after the first virtual delivery is complete. (SOW update)

In the SOW, it states that “will first develop and deliver leadership training for the 25 members of the newly established National IMAT (White).” Does the government directly mean the offeror will deliver Instructor-Led Training at the IMAT leadership academy?

This will not be applicable for the first delivery. See Q.3. However, depending on the revision and redesign that will come next for inperson delivery, the curriculum still remains undefined. This may or may not be required from the contractor depending on the curriculum sourced.

34 How many hours of training will be required for IMAT (White) members during the approx 4 week training period from 6/29/20 - 7/24/20? Please see question 14

35 Will the June-July IMAT Academy occur in-person or virtually? please see q 3 36 Is the execution date of June 29, 2020 still firm or subject to change? this date is firm however based on the governments requirements could change as needed.

What Level of Effort does the government anticipate from the contractor for the June- July IMAT Academy?

Reduced effort based on virtual delivery curriculum being resourced by the governement. The revision and redesign will require increased effort.

38 How much of SOW Tasks 1 have occurred for the June-July IMAT Academy? Please see q37. The virtual curriculum has been resourced by the government.

Does the government have a document sharing capability in mind? For instance, will the government and contractor share a cloud-based collaborative solution (such as Microsoft Teams) or will the government provide FEMA laptops for the contractor team?

The governement would like to utilize Zoom technology platform and/or microsoft teams for deliveries. Curriculum sharing will utilize the governemetns share point site.

Does Requirement E refer to broader OCD support or is this support for just the IMAT office? This requirement may refer to both. The government will determine its needs as requirements are determined.

Page 8 of the Statement of Work refers to a “Strategic Plan”. Is this the FEMA Strategic Plan? Yes

Should the contractor have a plan to provide staffing for both IMAT Academy execution and IMAT Program office support to ensure continuity of steady-state operations during academy execution? Yes

Under the definition under Operational Support, there is a reference to command – who is this in reference to?

Specifically "Command and General Staff" refers to the positions and responsibilities of positions in the ICS structure.

44 On the pricing spreadsheet template, hours have been pre-populated. Is this FEMA’s best guess as to the level of effort or is this notional?

Per RFP section B(c.)(3) The pricing template includes anticipated labor categories and an estimated number of hours. However, the contractor may propose alternate labor categories and hours. A justification must be provided for any proposed changes.

Under requirements (letter E.), there are several that state, “Ensure all personnel working on this contract….” Do these statements apply to only key personnel or everyone on the contractor team? This has been updated in the Statement of Work to refine the requirements. (updated SOW)

Within the Technical Capability portion, the page restriction for Capability of Key Personnel indicates "Resumes shall not be more than three (3) pages". Can you confirm if this restriction is three pages of resume for each Key Personnel member, or an aggregate of three pages for all Key Personnel? 3 per key personnel members, not an aggregate for all.

Has a location been determined for Task 1-a Deliverable "Attend kick-off meeting" scheduled for 2 days after award in SOW Section D IMAT Academy Design and Development for the June 2020 program, or will this be a virtual meeting? This will be virtual as the government is currrently teleworking.

Do we send resumes as attachments to the proposal (therefore not included in the page limit) and summarize the key points from each into the 3 pages designated for Capability of Key Personnel, or is there no option to include full resumes in addition to the summary? There is no total page cap, please include the resumes as a part of the proposal. Reference q46.

Key personnel are defined in the RFQ as the PM and a SME. Can resumes/summary be included for additional supporting personnel in leadership positions with direct/relevant/significant experience? Yes, additional supporting personnel will be considered in the proposal.

Question Number Question/Comment FEMA Response

50 Based on the Wage determination tables, should we anticipate that the training and support activities will be occurring in Florida Counties?

Per the Statement of Work (SOW), the majority of the work will be performed at the contractor’s site. The applicable wage rate will be based on the contractor’s address and can be accessed through wdol.gov. If the applicable wage rate is not attached to the RFP, offerors are encouraged to visit wdol.gov and pull the applicable determination for their locality.

We see that “Logistical support also includes coordinating and troubleshooting travel and lodging for students and IT support.” Is it anticipated that the contractor may incur reimbursable costs on behalf of the students with respect to their travel and lodging?

No, these cost would be directly paid by the government. The contractor would be responseible for coordination, troubleshooting, and supporting the logistical requirement as required by the government.

52 Is this solicitation an RFQ or RFP? This is an RFP 53 When do you anticipate the training to start? 29-Jun 54 Will the training start? same as 53

55 Will this training be delivered on-site or virtually/online?

The governement will determine the type of delivery that best suits the goverments needs. This will be communicated to the vendor at an appropriate timeframe.

56 Is this a new solicitation or a follow-up to previous training? This is a new solicitation 57 Is there an incumbent for similar training? No. This is a new requirement.

58 Will the incumbent be available to bid? There is no incumbent

Do you have a list of topics, already, or will you review our training based on solid assessments, past performance, and subject matter expertise to custom develop this training?

Please refer to task 1-d. Additional items below:

60 Can you provide a budget range? No. Offeror's shall proposed based on the work detailed in the SOW.

61 Do you have objectives with specific weightings? See RFP section C Basis for Award for evaluation criteria and their relative importance.

I am hoping to find out if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement. If there is an incumbent, could you please provide the contract or task order number? This is a new requirement. There is no incumbent.

Sheet1