RFQ_70RNPP19R00000004_GovernmentResponses.pdf

No. RFQ Section Reference Vendor Question Government Response

1 General N/A Is this requirements similar to any work performed currently or in the past, or will this be a new requirement?

This work is current being performed under Task Order No. HSHQDC-15-F-00175.

2 General N/A Can you please provide the most recent contract or task order number?

See Question #1

3 Section L L-2.2, Page 125, and TAB C, page 126

On page 125, the first sentence under “VOLUME

I:TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT

PROPOSAL:” states, “The Technical/Management Volume shall not exceed 35 pages, excluding the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), Performance Requirements Summary, resumes of Key Personnel, past performance citations, cover letter, title page and table of contents.”

On page 126, the third title reads, “TAB C-Technical Evaluation Factors (Not to Exceed 40 Pages).”

Clarification: Please clarify the Page allowance for the basic body of Volume I.

Clarified and corrected on Page 125 and 126. Technical Management Proposal shall not exceed 35 Pages, excluding the notated documents with the solicitation.

4 Section L, 2.2 L-2.2, Page 129, Section labeled: Factor 3: Past Performance, second sentence, states: “Furthermore, Offeror’s shall include a list of all relevant DHS on-going contracts or contracts completed for the specified period.”

Question: Will the Government allow the page count required for this list of contracts to be excluded from the Volume I page count? The three (3) Past Performance examples are excluded.

“Past Performance” Citations, which include the list of all relevant DHS on-going contracts, can be excluded from the 35 Page maximum requirement for the proposal.

5 Section L, 2.1 L-2.1, Page 125, In section 2.1, General Format Instructions, the second and third

Tables, Figures, and Graphs contained within the text can sentences state, “The font small (sic) be no smaller than 12-point font. Photo-reducing of text is not permitted.”

Question: Will the Government allow less than 12 point font sizes (8 or 9 point) to appear in Tables, Figures and Graphics (graphics may contain photo reduced text), as long as they are clearly legible?

be less than 12 point font, and photo reduced, as long as the content is still visible and legible.

6 Section L, 2.2 L-2.2, Page 125, and 2.2

Factor 1, Element 8, Section labeled VOLUME I:

TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT

PROPOSAL: states, “The Technical/Management Volume shall not exceed 35 pages, excluding the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), Performance Requirements Summary, resumes of Key Personnel, past performance citations, cover letter, title page and table of contents.

2.2 Factor 1, Element 8, states: “As

part of the QASP, the Offeror shall also prepare a Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) matrix using the template provide (Attachment 6) listing all readiness and non-readiness requirements of the PWS.”

Question: Because the PRS and QASP are based on two separate Government templates, will the Government permit the offeror to submit the PRS and QASP as two separate documents?

Yes, the QASP (Attachment 3) and PRS (Attachment 6) can be submitted as two (2) separate documents.

7 Section L, 2.2 L-2.2, Page

In the section labeled, VOLUME I:

TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT

PROPOSAL, the third and fourth sentences state, “The cover letter and title page shall not exceed one (1) page each. The table of contents shall not exceed two (2) pages.”

Question: Will the Government allow additional front matter

Please adhere to the Cover Letter, Title Page, and Table of Contents Requirements as stated in the solicitation as well as the technical proposal content 35 Page maximum requirement.

exhibits in Volume I (such as a compliance cross-reference matrix and a glossary of acronyms) with no impact on the 35-page limit for Volume I?

8 Section L, 2.1 L-2.2, Page

In section 2.1, General Format Instructions, only 8 ½ x 11 inch paper size is mentioned.

Question: Will the Government allow the Offeror to use 11 x 17 inch foldout pages – as long as each sheet counts as two (2) pages in Volume I?

Would prefer Offerors to only use 8 ½ and 11 inch page specifications for ease of printing, but if content requires a larger page specification, that is permissible. However, any additional content outside of the 8 ½ and 11 page specifications, will count as an additional page.

9 CLINs There are “OPTIONAL” CLINS for GETS and WPS, but it is not clear why the particular tasks are OPTIONAL, especially since the POP dates are the same.

Question: Please clarify which specific tasks are assigned under CLINs X004 and X006.

Optional CLINS X004 and X006 for base and option periods have been removed.

10 CLIN List CLINs X011, Section M-2.0, Factor

M-2.0, Factor 4: Cost/Price, third sentence states, “Cost realism analyses shall only be performed on Cost Reimbursable (CR) and Cost-Plus-Award-Fee (CPAF) CLINs (with the exception of Optional CLINs X011 – Technology Refreshment). In the event the Government exercises Optional CLINs X011, the Government will determine at that time whether the costs for those CLINs are realistic.”

Because the future work required in Technology Refresh is unpredictable, it is difficult to accurately estimate its costs.

Question A: Does the Government require offerors to propose the Government-provided Not To Exceed (NTE) amounts for the Technology Refresh CLINs to facilitate equal evaluation across

Due to the fact that our requirements for Technology Refresh are currently undefined, we cannot ask vendors to suggest labor categories, estimated hours, and rates on unpredictable work. We have changed the Technology Refresh (CLIN X011) to be NTE completely across the board, however we are asking Offerors to still propose an Award Fee (along with the other CPAF CLINs) in order to differentiate pricing strategies amongst the offerors for this CLIN.

all offers for these CLINs with undefined requirements?

Question B: If the answer to question A is no, and all offerors are to provide their individually estimated pricing, we request that the Government provide additional definition of the required scope of work, to ensure all the offerors prepare accurate responses.

11 Section L, 2.1 L-2.1, Page 125, L- VOLUME II:

COST/PRICE

PROPOSAL:

In section 2.1, General Format Instructions, the first sentence states, “Contractor shall furnish its proposal in two (2) separate volumes: Volume I:

Technical/Management (in PDF or MS Word 2010 Format or higher) and Volume II: Cost/Price Proposal (in MS Excel 2010 Format or higher) as specified below.”

The section, “VOLUME II:

COST/PRICE PROPOSAL:” that begins on page 130, describes three TABs that comprise Volume II. TABs A and B are narrative statements, certifications and forms such as SF33.

Question: Will the Government allow the Contractor to use PDF or MS Word 2010 Format or higher to respond to TABs A and B, and the front matter and narrative text portions of TAB C?

Yes, Government will allow Offeror to submit text and narratives outside of the Pricing/Cost Schedule (Attachment 1) as PDF or MS Word 2010 Format or higher.

12 Section L, 2.2 L-2.2, TAB C Factor 2:

Management Approach and Capabilities, The last sentence in the Factor 2 section states, “See Section G, Item 16.3 “Key Personnel” for Key Personnel minimum qualifications guidelines.”

Potential typographic error: The referenced key personnel provisions are in Section H (not Section G).

Corrected.