Responses to Requests for Clarification and Questions.pdf

1. Is there an incumbent for this contract, if so?

a. Can you provide the previous contract number?

b. Due to COVID, will these positions be partial/full telework?

Answer: Yes, the incumbent contractor is TMC-Telesolv.

a. The contract number is HSHQDC-16-D-

P2029/70RFPW18FRWA00018.

b. Telework at an alternate work location is authorized in the statement of work; however, the contractor must submit a request for partial or full telework to the COR and the Government will make a determination in accordance with its mission requirements. Please refer to page 52 of 133, Situational Telework, of Amendment 0002.

2. I was wondering if you had the current contract for this work? In the documents there is mention of an incumbent but I did not see a current contract number. Can you please provide this information?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1.

3. Is there any chance that this solicitation is reclassified as NAICS Code 561320 (Temporary Help Services)?

Answer: No. The solicitation is correctly classified under NAICS 561110.

4. Item number 1 under Proposal Submission Requirements states that the SF 1449 is to be used as the cover page for the proposal. Item number 5 states that the proposal cover page should contain a DUNS Number, TIN Number, and POC information, items that are not normally included on a SF 1449. Can the Government please confirm that the SF 1449 should be the cover with added information in Block 17, or can we use our normal proposal cover page which contains the required information and then insert the SF 1449 as the first item (after the TOC) in the proposal?

Answer: See Amendment 0002, page 106 of 133, for revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

5. The Proposal Submission instructions state that the Government wants Technical (Non-price factors), Price Proposal, and other items normally contained in a Contract Documentation volume, however, it did not state how many volumes were to be submitted. It appears as though the Government wants a single

Answer: See Amendment 0002, page 106 of 133, for revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

70RFPW21RWA000001 Page 1 of 11 volume with all the items tabbed in the table of contents. Can the Government please confirm?

6. Question regarding contract FTE's:

CLIN 0001 Accounting Clerk III (2 FTEs) - Auburn, WA CLIN 0002 General Clerk III (2 FTEs) - Auburn, WA CLIN 0003 General Clerk III (1 FTE) - Portland, OR

OPTIONAL:CLIN 0004/0005/0006

Section 5:

5. SUPERVISION OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES

5.1 The Contractor shall provide sufficient day-to-day contractor supervision of each employee to insure successful performance. Day to day supervision will not interfere with normally scheduled clerical duties.

5.2 The Contractor shall submit a supervisory plan and supervisor list with their proposal and update the plan after contract award when changes occur.

The contract provides no CLIN for Program Manager to provide sufficient day-to-day contractor supervision of each employee to insure successful performance.

Unless a PM position is appointed the contractor, staff will be taking direction directly from the Government employees which would constitute a personal services contract (48 CFR § 37.104 - Personal services contracts), vice professional services contract (48 CFR § 31.205-33 - Professional and consultant service costs).

Is there an intent to add a PM position to the contract for oversight?

Answer: No, there is no intent to add a Program Manager position to the contract. The contractor is responsible for supervising their employees and employees will not be taking direction from the Government. Tasks will be assigned by the task manager as outlined in the Statement of Work. Offerors are reminded to reflect the pricing for any supervision/management within the pricing for the individual Contract Line Item Numbers (“CLINs”).

7. Who is the incumbent for this current contract & what is that contract number?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1.

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8. The RFP does not list a preferred format for the contractor to explain its proposal for the technical, past performance, & pricing information. Is there any preference to format, length, font, sizing or spacing preferred by you or the government?

Answer: See Amendment 0002, page 106 of 133, for revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

9. Page 73. Contract Transition. Will the Government please provide the incumbent contract information, i.e., contract number and name of contractor?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1.

10. Contract Clauses, Para 6, Page 17 of 133. What is the anticipated award date of this contract?

Answer: The Government anticipates an award in January 2021.

11. Contract Clauses, Para 6, Page 17 of 133. What is the Government’s definition of “fully adjudicated?”

Answer: Fully adjudicated means the contractor employee has completed their background investigation through the FPS Personnel Security division and received a favorable determination.

12. SOW, Para 1.2, Page 52 of 133. What are your current COVID-19 working procedures?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1b. The current working conditions may not be the same under the solicited effort particular after resolution of COVID-19 issues

13. SOW, Para 1.2, Page 52 of 133. What is the potential travel that may be required in support of this contract?

Answer: Travel is very rarely used for contractors unless there is a government need of the contractor to travel for training. Travel is estimated to be one to two days per performance period. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work (Attachment 1), Section 13.

14. SOW, Para 19.1, Page 68 of 133. What level of background investigation will be required for this contract (Tier 1, Tier 3, etc)?

Answer: Tier 3 Moderate Risk. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work (Attachment 1), Section 19.1.

15. SOW, Para 19.1, Page 68 of 133. What is the typical timeline to obtain a favorable EOD decision once completed security forms have been submitted to the Personnel Security Unit?

Answer: The typical timeframe is approximately a 30-day turnaround;

however, the timeline could vary depending upon the individual person’s background check.

16. SOW, Para 25, Page 72 of 133. Are the 5 FTE positions currently filled by incumbent employees? If no, which positions are vacant?

Answer: No. There are currently one (1) Accounting Clerk III and three (3) General Clerk III’s under the incumbent contract and all are located in Auburn, WA.

17. SOW, Para 25, Page 72 of 133. How long has each incumbent employee been employed in their positions on this contract?

Answer: The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not considered necessary for pricing. Pricing strategy is discretionary to offerors.

Accounting Clerk III (01013) (Auburn, WA) – 04/01/2010 Accounting Clerk III (01013) (Auburn, WA) – New Requirement

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General Clerk III (01113) (Auburn, WA) – 08/12/2013 General Clerk III (01113) (Auburn, WA) – 05/08/2018 & 01/29/2020* General Clerk III (01113) (Portland, OR) – New Requirement

*Note: Under the incumbent contract there are three General Clerk III’s and one Accounting Clerk III located in Auburn, WA. Under this new solicitation, only two GC III’s will be located in Auburn, WA.

18. Para 5.2; page 61.

SOW states “The contractor shall submit a supervisory plan and supervisor list with their proposal and update the plan after contract award or when changes occur.”

QUESTION: The only technical / non-price proposal information currently requested in the RFP is Relevant Past Performance so can the Government state where in the proposal offerors put this supervisory plan and specifically what to cover / submit for the supervisory plan in the proposal?

Answer: See Amendment 0002, revised SOW, Section 5.2.

19. Para 9; page 63. Other than the specific knowledge and experience stated in the paragraph 4 sub-paragraphs for each labor category and location are there any other education and years of experience requirements for each labor category.

QUESTION: Can the Government provide the minimum education and years of experience required for each labor category and location?

Answer: See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work (Attachment 1), Sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3.

20. Para 19.1; page 68. It states that contractors submit completed security forms through the COR no less than 45 days prior to contract start or for known replacements, additions, etc.

QUESTION: Is the Government awarding the contracting at least 60 days prior to start so contracts can comply with this requirement, or will this requirement prior to contract start requirement be waived based on award date?

Answer: It is anticipated that an award will not be made at least 60 days prior to the start of the contract. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work (Attachment 1), Section 19.1.

21. Will the Government allow Times New Roman 10 point as the allowable Font Size for the entire proposal submission since the Past Project Form is in TNR 10?

Answer: No. See Amendment 0002, revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

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22. Are proposal requirements – Solicitation Documents, Technical Proposal and Price Proposal – all submitted within one Volume / document together or are they submitted in three separate Volumes / documents?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 5.

23. Will the Government allow offerors to provide a one-page Technical Proposal Introduction and a one-page Past Performance introduction / summary?

Answer: Please follow the instructions outline under the Amendment 0002, Proposal Submission Requirements section.

24. Is there any page limit for the submission of each Past Project forms or for the total of the three Past Project forms?

Answer: No. There is no page limitation for each Past Project Form.

See Amendment 0002, revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

25. Does an individual task order on an IDIQ contract qualify as a Past Project Contract? Also, does an entire IDIQ qualify as a Past Project Contract?

Answer: Yes. Yes.

26. If an offeror has a CPARS Assessment for the most recently completed performance period on a task order being used for the Past Project is a Past Performance Questionnaire required or is it optional?

Answer: Submission of a Past Performance Questionnaire is at the discretion of the contractor IAW the Relevant Past Performance instructions on page 107 of 133.

27. Can offerors provide price narrative information in the Price Proposal to clarify their pricing elements, buildup and compliance?

Answer: Yes.

28. Can the Government validate that offerors provide the CLIN pricing on the SF 1449 Schedule of Supplies/Services (pages 2-9) within the Price Proposal section/document?

Answer: IAW the Price Proposal instructions on page 109 of 133, Using the Pricing Schedule – Attachment 5 and the pricing schedule in the SF 1449, the Contractor must submit unit prices and extended prices (i.e. Unit Price x Estimated Quantity) for every line item listed under each potential ordering period (not including the 6-month option available under FAR 52.217-8).

29. For the CLINs with 2 FTE, the excel spreadsheet and Schedule of Supplies/Services unit price only calculates for 12 months. Can the government validate that offerors use in a monthly unit price for 2 FTE?

Answer: Yes, the monthly unit price should be for 2 FTE.

30. The Government is requiring a price breakdown with cost elements and calculations. How does the Government want the breakdown submitted, i.e. on a separate excel file, on another tab

Answer: The Government has no preference; however, the price breakdown shall be provided in an excel format with calculations and

70RFPW21RWA000001 Page 5 of 11 on the Attachment 5 excel spreadsheet or as a table within the Price Proposal?

formulas shown. See Amendment 0002, revised Price Proposal section.

31. Does the Government want a price breakdown for the CLINs on OT hours?

Answer: Yes. IAW the Price Proposal instructions on page 109 of 133, The Contractor shall also provide a detailed breakdown of its proposed unit prices for each contract line item.

32. The Government is requesting a “Total Estimated Price” for each of the ordering periods. Where on the Schedule of Supplies/Services should this be provided as there is no space after each of the CLINs within each performance period?

Answer: The total estimated price for each ordering period should be provided after the last CLIN (i.e. 0007, 1007, 2007, etc.) of each ordering period.

33. On the 1449 it states that offerors must be an SDVOSB organization; does the DHS require that we be a CVE Certified SDVOSB as well? Would you need us to provide our VIP database verification from the VA VIP site?

Answer: No. No.

34. Page 16, FAR 52.212-4, states “The Contractor shall provide all personnel, materials, supervision, and services necessary to perform continuous administrative support services in Auburn, WA and Portland, OR for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Management Directorate (MGMT), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Region 10 in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW).” This is also outlined on page 52 in the SOW section. Can the DHS please explain what materials the vendor would be required to provide for daily work to occur? Is the current vendor also providing their workforce with supplies/materials?

Answer: No. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work, Attachment 1, Section 1.1, Scope, and revised Page 15, Addendum to FAR 52.212-4, Description of Services Section.

35. Can you please advise the number of current administrative support personnel that are on the incumbent contract and their SCA Codes/Locations?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 17.

36. Page 64 states “11. Contractor shall ensure that the Government only pays for actual hours worked under this effort (to exclude lunch breaks and other non-productive time).” The 1449 has pricing built out in 12 equal monthly payments per year.

Answer: The invoiced unit price is by month.

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a. Can you please clarify the method of invoicing – by month or by labor hour

37. Does the DHS have a minimum requirement of time serviced for current ongoing projects that can be used for relevant Past Performance examples?

Answer: There is no minimum requirement, but offerors are advised that projects that have been performed for less than one year in duration may not be considered by the Government as reliable an indicator to assess performance risk.

38. Page 106. The RFP states that "the Contractor must use the Standard Form 1449 as a cover page to the proposal." The RFP also states that "proposals shall include a cover sheet that includes:

DUNS Number, TIN Number, POC name, email, and telephone number.

Please confirm that the Standard Form 1449 may be submitted as a separate file.

Answer: Confirmed. See Amendment 0002, revised Proposal Submission Requirements section.

39. Page 107. Please confirm that there is no page limit for Past Project Forms (Attachment 2).

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 24.

40. Page 110. Please confirm that the last three years of audited financial can be provided by a third-party Accounting Firm.

Answer: Yes.

41. Page 61. Please confirm the supervisory plan and supervisor list will be submitted within the Technical Proposal Volume.

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 18.

42. Page 51. The Contractor must provide all equipment services.

What equipment is required? Page 65, the Solicitation states the Government will provide equipment and supplies.

Answer: The contractor is not required to provide equipment. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work, Attachment 1, Section 1.1, Scope, and revised Page 15, Addendum to FAR 52.212-4, Description of Services Section.

43. Page 65. According to the Solicitation, "Expenses incurred may be burdened with the contractor's indirect "handling" rate, as entered by the offeror and agreed to by the Government, in the schedule."

However, the Solicitation also states that "Profit (fee) and G&A included in travel expenses are not allowed."

Since there is no schedule associated with this Solicitation and since many Small businesses do not have an approved handling

Answer: Yes, G&A will be accepted. See Amendment 0002, revised Statement of Work (Attachment 1), Section 13.

70RFPW21RWA000001 Page 7 of 11 rate, will G&A be accepted if the Contractor only has a three-pool structure, fringe, overhead, and G&A? Please clarify.

44. Page 58. According to the SOW, one General Clerk III in Auburn, WA, will back up the Administrative Clerk in Portland, WA. Also, the General Clerk III in Portland, OR, will back up the Administrative Clerk in Auburn, WA.

Question: there is no Administrative Clerk LCAT listed in the Solicitation or SOW; please clarify if the two General Clerk III positions under 4.3 are expected to provide back-up for each other, or are they expected to provide back up for a separate administrative position not listed in the SOW?

Answer: Yes. See Amendment 0002, revised SOW, Attachment 1.

45. Page 65. According to the SOW: Trips within a 30-mile radius of the work address are not considered reimbursable travel expenses.

Question: Are government vehicles/ transportation provided to support trips within the 30-mile radius? And how often are these trips expected during each period of Performance?

Answer: No, Government vehicles/transportation will not be provided to support trips within a 30-mile radius. Please refer to the response provided for question 13 for second part of question.

46. Page 111. Please clarify if Offeror Representations and Certifications are to be included in the Technical proposal or the Price Proposal.

Answer: See Amendment 0002, revised Proposal Submission

47. Does the Government have a page limit for the Technical Approach, they would like observed?

48. If there is an incumbent currently providing the requested services to the Government, is the level of effort currently being performed as described within the current RFP (i.e. FTEs)?

49. Does the Offeror need to create 2 volumes i.e. Technical and Price? Also, is there a page limit for both Technical and Price Volume?

50. Does the offeror need to follow a specific format in terms of font style and size, Page Size, etc. for the submission of the proposal?

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51. Reference Contracts (a), Page no. 107 The Contractor may submit up to a maximum of three (3) contracts for evaluation. The Government reserves the right to obtain information from sources other than those identified by the Contractor. The Government reserves the right to utilize any and all information on the Past Project Form including but not limited to hours, dollars, as well as the Past Performance Questionnaires and CPARS Assessments to determine magnitude.

Does the offeror need to submit both, the past performance as well as the Past Project Form (provided by the agency) along with the proposal?

Answer: No, only the Past Project Form (attachment 2) shall be completed for each reference contract submitted. The Past Performance Questionnaire (attachment 3) may be submitted directly to the Agency by the customer reference. Please refer to page 107 of 133 of RFP.

52. Past Performance Questionnaires - Paragraph (b), Page no.

Can the offeror submit only CPARS of the reference contracts instead of the PPQs or we need to submit both CPARS and PPQs?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 26.

53. Paragraph 1 of Page 108:

1. Where a teaming arrangement (as defined at FAR Subpart 9.6) is proposed, an additional maximum of up to three (3) projects for partner(s)/subcontractor(s) may be submitted. Thus, a maximum of no more than six (6) projects (3 for the prime and 3 for the subs or other partners) may be submitted in total. (Note for Joint Ventures: For Joint Ventures, a maximum of up to 6 projects may be submitted in total from the JV and JV partners (no more than 3 projects may be submitted for any one entity, JV or JV partner)).

For the past performances, does the offeror need to submit a total of 6 past performances (3 from Prime & 3 from Subcontractor) or maximum of 6 and minimum of 3?

Answer: No. IAW the Past Performance instructions on page 108 of 133, a maximum of no more than six (6) projects (3 for the prime and 3 for the subs or other partners) may be submitted in total. There is no minimum.

54. Can the government clarify page 11 section 5.5:

Clerical personnel on this contract will not perform contractor specific clerical duties during their scheduled FPS clerical work hours.

Answer: The contract employee will only conduct tasks outlined in the statement of work in support of the agency mission during work hours.

Any contractor’s related business activities/duties must be done after the contractor personnel’s work hours.

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55. On page 12 section 7.3 is only reference to Project Manager, as it relates to this contract. Can the government specify where this Project Manager will be located?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 6.

56.

A. Who is the incumbent?

B. What was the amount of the contract?

C. What is the estimated amount of travel FTE outside of their work areas?

A. Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1.

B. Answer: Each solicitation stands alone. The requested information is not necessary and as such is not needed or prerequisite for submission of Technical and Pricing Proposals.

C. Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 13.

57. It is stated in the RFP that "if the contractor chooses to submit a past performance questionnaire ...". Does this imply that the past performance questionnaire is optional for proposal submission? Will it be evaluated as a standalone document in the submission or is it intended only if the contractor does not have CPARS for the relevant past performance reference?

Answer: (a)Yes. (b) Please refer to the response provided for question 26.

58. According to various sources, previous contract for this work was competed as a task order under the PACTS II contract vehicle, however it appears that this opportunity is not being competed on that vehicle. Is this opportunity under the PACTS II vehicle or is it open to contractors that are not on that vehicle?

Answer: Reference page 1 of 133. This requirement is not being competed under the PACTS II vehicle and is set aside 100% for SDVOSBs.

59. If an offeror is going to be submitting this proposal with a teaming agreement, may the contractor serving as subprime/subcontractor submit a CPARs for past performance, in which they were the subprime/subcontractor? Or must the subprime/subcontractor submit a past performance questionnaire instead of a CPARs for a case like this? May the questionnaire come from the contractor who served as prime or the COR of the project? Does the government have a preference?

Answer: (a) Please follow the RFP instructions for Relevant Past Performance starting on page 107 of 133.

(b) Submission of a Past Performance Questionnaire is at the discretion of the contractor IAW the Relevant Past Performance instructions on page 107 of 133.

(c) The questionnaire may be completed and submitted by either the prime contractor or the COR for the prime contract.

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60. Is there an incumbent contractor? If so, who is it and could you please provide the contract number?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 1.

61. If there is an incumbent contractor, is the scope of the CURRENT solicitation identical or is it changed? If it is changed, how so? (i.e., number of people required, scope of tasks)

Answer: The RFP requirements differ from the current contract requirements. Currently there are four (4) FTE (one (1) Accounting Clerk III and three (3) General Clerk III’s) performing on the incumbent contract. The scope of the tasks has not changed.

62. If there is an incumbent contractor, may we please know the number of years of service for each employee?

Answer: Please refer to the response provided for question 17.

63. If there is an incumbent contractor, are any positions currently vacant?

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