Attachment 4 - Revised CWMD OSD ChemPREP RFP 70RWMD24R0000001 Questions and Answers 15 March 2024.pdf

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

Question Number

Section / Attachment

Paragraph Page

Number Question Answer

1 RFP 3.0 & 11.1 21 & 30

In Section 3.0, Volume 5, the Offeror is requested to submit pricing (i.e., labor category rates and hours) for three key personnel in accordance with their technical proposal methodology. In Section 11.1, there is a reference to discounts at the order level from the IDIQ established rates for any contract line items (CLINs).

Can the Government please clarify whether contractors are being asked to bid labor category rates and hours to ultimately execute the work identified in the SOW, or whether contractors are being asked to bid labor category rates to establish ceiling rates to potentially be discounted on task order proposals?

Contractors are being asked to bid labor category rates to establish ceiling rates to potentially be discounted on task order proposals.

2 SF1449 N/A 7

Can the Government please confirm that CLINs 0010, 1010, and 2010 for Other Direct Costs (ODCs) will be Contract Type: Cost Reimbursable?

Yes, the Other Direct Costs CLINS (0010, 1010, and 2010) are Cost Reimbursement CLINs) The SF1449 has been revised to identify these CLINS as Cost Reimbursement.

3 RFP

Volume 3, Factor

Given that at least three resumes must be submitted (with a maximum page count of 2 pages per resume), would the Government please confirm that key personnel resumes are excluded from page count for Volume 3?

Yes. Resumes are excluded from the page count.

4 RFP

Volume 4, Factor

At the top of page 21, it states "For each past performance reference submitted, provide the following information in the Volume 3 Technical Proposal submission, in the format provided."

Would the Government please confirm that the past performance table requested should be included in Volume 4, Technical Factor 4: Past Performance (not Volume 3 as indicated at the top of the page)?

Correct there is a typo on page 21. Past performance tables requested should be included in Volume 4, Technical Factor 4: Past Performance (not Volume 3 as indicated at the top of the page). See updated document for revised language.

5 RFP

Volume 4, Factor

Would the Government allow for either the "Description of Work" narrative to be (1) outside of the table or (2) inserted as its own row within the table, to allow for maximum use of the 2‐page limit per past performance citation?

Table page 21 has been updated to include a new row for description of work.

6 RFP

Volume 1, Factor

Looking at the table on the top of page 18 which details "The Proposal shall be submitted, subject to the page limitations, as follows," will the Government provide a plug number (e.g., $20M total value) for use in Volume 1, Technical Factor 1 Small Business Subcontracting Plan, so that pricing data are not included in the Technical (non‐price) Factors?

No, this chart is strictly to lay out the composition of the volumes and page limitations. Pricing information is not being requested for Technical Factor 1 ‐ Small Business subcontracting plan, nor should offerors provide pricing information for this factor nor any other non‐price factor (Technical Factors 1 – 4) in the RFP.

Statement of

Work

1.1 1

Will the government please provide the five (5) major jurisdictions that were part of the Chemical Defense Demonstration Cities Initiative?

Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA;

Boise, ID; Nassau County, NY

Statement of

Work

1.4.1 and 1.4.2 3

Will the government please provide the Chemical Defense Demonstration Cities Initiative Report (June 2018) and other compliance and reference documents cited in para 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 to potential bidders as part of a revised Request for Proposal? These documents are not all available on the worldwide web.

Will provide non‐FOUO documents. Documents which are FOUO will be provided upon award at the kickoff meeting.

Statement of

Work

2.4.1 and 2.5 9

In 2.4.1, the SOW calls for Chemical Preparedness Capability Workshop Evaluations in two (2) to four (4) jurisdictions during the 12‐month base period and two (2) to five (5) jurisdictions per option period. In 2.5, the SOW calls for visual representations of the Cognitive Decision‐Making Framework in two (2) jurisdictions during the base period and three (3) jurisdictions per option period. At most, the contractor may do 14 Workshop Evaluations and 8 Frameworks during the lifetime of the contract. Will the Government please clarify the discrepancy?

There is no discrepancy. The number of deliveries will vary by task and from base year to option years.

Statement of

Work

3.6 14

The SOW requires a Transition‐In Plan "taking over the existing efforts". Does this mean that this effort is a recompete of a current contract providing these services, or is this a new effort? If a recompete, who is/are the incumbent(s)?

This is a new requirement. There is no incumbent. A "Transition‐In" plan refers to how the work will be transferred to the contractor from the current federal team. A "Transition‐Out" plan will be required at the end of the contract should a change in contractors occur.

Statement of

Work

4.2.2 16‐17 Given the nature of the work across the US to support various jurisdictions, is it permissible for the

SMEs to reside throughout the country and not have to be residents of the Washington, DC area?

Yes this is permissible.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

Statement of

Work

4.3 18

Contractors are required to wear identification badges in government facilities that include the employee's clearance level. What are the clearance requirements for contractor staff? Paragraph

6.0 does not mention clearance requirements.

Contractors are not anticipated to need a clearance.

Statement of

Work

6.0 20‐24

What are the clearance requirements for the contractor staff, particularly for the Key Personnel identified in paragraph 4.2? Contractors are not anticipated to need a clearance.

Statement of

Work

8.0 24

Will the contractors be permitted to telework?

The contractors will not be "on site" at government facilities. The work will be conducted at contractor facilities or as directed by the contractor so long as appropriate information security processes are in place.

Request for Proposal

2.0 17 The Place of Performance subparagraph specifies "various locations" including contractor facilities. Will bidders have the option of having staff located in contractor facilities that are not in the DC area?

Yes but they will be required to be on site at government facilities or within a jurisdiction as directed by the PO.

Request for Proposal

3.0 18 The RFP dictates 10 pages max for Technical Factor 3 (Management Approach/Staffing Plan). Do Key Personnel resumes count towards the 10‐page limit? Yes. Resumes are excluded from the page count.

Request for Proposal

3.0 19 Section 4.2.2 in the Statement of Work identifies the Chemical SME as a Key Personnel labor category. It also mentions that a minimum of four Chemical SMEs are required. Does the Staffing Plan in the proposal submission require resumes for four Chemical SMEs?

The SOW has 3 key personnel categories, with 1 key personnel being the Project Manager, 4 key personnel being Chemical Subject Matter Experts, and 1 key personnel being the Critical Decision Making SME. Offerors will submit at least 6 resumes for its key personnel.

Request for Proposal

Section II Factor 1, par. 2

24 Will the Government please clarify if the small business subcontracting plan refers to 43% of all subcontracting to small businesses, or if 43% of total price is subcontracted to small businesses?

See Answer to Question # 25

Statement of

Work

2.3.2 7

Could the Government clarify/further define what they mean by "scenarios" within the context of

SOW 2.3.2?

"Scenarios" refers to a possible sequence of events based on information gathered from SOW Section 2.2 which involves the accidental, intentional, (nefarious or otherwise) release of a toxic‐industrial chemical, a toxic‐industrial material or chemical‐warfare agent which triggers a response of some degree. Scenarios would provide the Chemical released, the type of release, location, and additional details about the release, including vulnerable populations in and around the area.

Statement of

Work

2.8 11 What are the Government's expectations for the frequency of contractor engagement with local partners via the Technical Assistance Teams?

The government anticipates 3‐4 in‐person meetings per local jurisdiction per year which may include the entire TA team but the PO is flexible to innovative approaches made in the offeror's proposal.

Statement of

Work

2.8 11 Does the Government have specific requirements for in‐person technical Assistance Team meetings with local partners, or is there flexibility in how these meetings can be facilitated?

The government anticipates 3‐4 in‐person meetings per local jurisdiction per year which may include the entire TA team but the PO is flexible to innovative approaches made in the offeror's proposal.

Statement of

Work 2.1‐2.9 4 to 13 Does the Government anticipate that the jurisdictions the contractor will be working with are of similar size and complexity as the Chemical Defense Demonstration Cities Initiative?

The PO is looking to engage with a broad spectrum of jurisdictions which may be similar but may also vary in size and complexity when compared to each other as well as those in the Chemical Defense Demonstration Cities Initiative (CDDCI).

Statement of

Work

2.7 11

Regarding the HSEEP‐compliant exercise in task 2.7, does the Government anticipate it being a tabletop exercise, functional exercise, or full‐scale exercise? Or would the exercise type be determined in collaboration with the jurisdiction?

The exercise will most likely be table top but a final determination would be made which best matched the jurisdictions needs.

Statement of

Work

2.7 11

Can the Government confirm that the envisioned exercises are intended to be conducted primarily in‐person? Yes. The envisioned exercises are intended to be conducted primarily in‐person.

25 RFP

II. Evaluation ‐ Evaluation

Factor 1: Small Business

Subcontracting Goal

The RFP states "offerors must meet or exceed the DHS FY24 Small Business Subcontracting Goal of 43% of the total proposed value of this task order". DHS' small business subcontracting goals are defined as a percentage of subcontracted dollars rather than a percentage of the total contract/task order value. Can the Government please confirm that the evaluation criteria regarding a small business subcontracting plan meeting or exceeding DHS' subcontracting goals is based on percentage of subcontracted dollars rather than total task order value?

The percentages listed in the table are based on percentage of subcontracted dollars rather than the total task order value

Attachment

2 ‐ IDIQ

Pricing Table

3.0 Proposal

Submission ‐

Volume 5, Factor 5 Price Proposal Submission

The price proposal submission requirements provides annual estimated pricing for travel and other direct costs (ODCs) that shows $90,000 for Option Period 1 (CLIN 1010) but Attachment 2 ‐ IDIQ Pricing Table includes a total of $69,000. Can the Government please confirm the correct not‐ to‐exceed amount that should be used for CLIN 1010?

NTE amount for CLIN 1010 Option Period 1: Other Direct Costs (ODCs) : $69k. See updated RFP Document Section II as well as updated Attachment 2‐IDIQ pricing table.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

Attachment

2 ‐ IDIQ

Pricing Table

3.0 Proposal

Submission ‐

Volume 5, Factor 5 Price Proposal Submission

21 Given the nature of an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, would the Government consider providing offerors with an estimated level of effort for each CLIN to assist in the price evaluation and ensure an adequate comparison of offerors' proposed pricing?

A level of effort is given for the key personnel positions, but CWMD is looking for the offerors to propose their own additional mix of labor and level of effort to round out the completion of the tasks.

Attachment 3 ‐ Past

Performance Evaluation

Can the Government provide an editable (i.e., non‐PDF) version of the past performance questionnaire to facilitate completion by offerors and their references?

An editable word version of this document will be included in the attachments to this amendment

29 RFP

III. IDIQ Terms and Conditions ‐

5.0 Guarantee

and Maximum

Contract Limitation

Can the government provide the estimated contract ceiling value?

The Government cannot provide IGCE information.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

2 17 To ensure that the submitted proposals do not get rejected by the Government's email system due to file size limits, will the Government please specify what the file size limits are for proposal submission?

Combined file size limit is 10 MB. Email size limit shall not exceed 10MB to allow for email submissions to be successfully received by the Government’s email server.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

2 17 The RFP states: "Any charts appearing in the Proposal may have a font size not less than 8.5 point." Will the Government please confirm that tables and figures are both considered to be "charts"?

Yes, both are considered to be "charts"?

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

2 17 The RFP states: "The Offeror is required to submit separate volumes of its Technical and Price Proposal…". Do the Technical and Price Proposals need to be submitted as separate emails?

No. Only separate files.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

1 18 Will the Government please confirm that Volumes 1‐4 should be submitted together as one combined file with the cover page, table of contents, and executive summary?

Volumes 1‐4 to include the cover page, table of contents, and executive summary should be submitted as 1 file with clear markings to differentiate the respective content and volumes.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

4 18

The RFP states: "Offerors shall provide a record of previous performance in carrying out the goals of subcontracting plans by including two (2) Summary Subcontracting Reports (SF 295) for recent individual contracts." Summary subcontracting reports include all subcontracting plans under an agency for each contractor. Individual Subcontracting Reports include subcontracting for each individual contract. Would the Government please clarify if Prime contractors shall provide samples of 2 Individual Subcontracting Reports (SF 294), instead of 2 Summary Subcontracting Reports (SF 295)?

The RFP has been corrected to state, “Offerors shall provide a record of previous performance in carrying out the goals of subcontracting plans by including two (2) Individual Subcontracting Reports (SF 294) for recent individual contracts”.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

2 19 In the instructions for Volume 3, sub‐bullet #2, will the Government please confirm that resumes are limited to two pages each and that they do not count against the ten (10) page limit for Volume 3?

Yes. Resumes are excluded from the page count.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

2 19

In the instructions for Volume 3, sub‐bullet #5, it appears that there is a typo and the instructions should read:

"5) Describe their corporate policies and procedures for resolving, and escalating if necessary, any technical or personnel issues related to the task order;"

Will the Government please confirm and correct it?

This revision is correct and is incorporated in Amendment 001. See updated language in RFP

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 5.0 Deliverables

2 19 The table in section 5.0 DELIVERABLES lists several formats as "At COR Direction". Will the Government please clarify when the COR will provide the direction so that deliverables can be submitted on time?

The COR will provide direction at the Post Award conference or at the start of a task depending on which is more appropriate.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 5.0 Deliverables

2 19 The table in section 5.0 DELIVERABLES lists several deliverables due by "Enduring/Continuous".

Will the Government please clarify what the actual timeframes are for the due dates?

These are ongoing tasks which will have delivery dates contingent on circumstances. The COR will establish delivery dates in conjunction with the PO commensurate with the work timelines developed for each jurisdiction.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 5.0 Deliverables

2 19 The table in section 5.0 DELIVERABLES lists several deliverable due dates expressed in "days" and others expressed in "business days". Will the Government please change all due dates to be consistent (days or business days)?

No change to the deliverables’ due dates. The use of “days” means calendar days unless identified as business days

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 5.0 Deliverables

2 20

In the table in section 5.0 DELIVERABLES, item #15 lists both the draft and final versions of the Transition Plan to be due at the same time (90 days after kickoff). Will the Government please clarify if the draft should be completed sooner than the final version? Or should there just be a final version listed as a deliverable?

Draft no later than 60 days after kickoff. Final no later than 90 days after kickoff. See updated SOW

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

4 20 Please confirm that the Prime Contractor must have at least 2 examples of relevant past performance if their subcontractors provide 3 past performance references.

In order for a contractor to receive a rating other than “neither favorable or unfavorable” it must provide a minimum of three and no more than 5 relevant PP projects of which no more than three can be for a teaming partner or subcontractor. Of these, no more than three can be for a teaming partner or subcontractor.

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

1 21

The past performance table provided does not leave sufficient room to describe the work performed in the righthand column of the Reference Identifier row. To maximize the space given for Contractors to describe the work performed, will the Government please modify the table so that the lefthand column of the Reference Identifier row becomes a full‐page width row, and that the righthand column becomes a new full‐page width row underneath it?

Language updated on RFP page 20 to include, CONTRACTOR MAY CHANGE TABLE SIZE FORMATTING in their Volume 4 proposals, to accommodate for the information they are providing. Please ensure that your table includes the information requested by the Government. The overall 6 page limitation is still in effect for the past performance section of the proposal.

RFP

Document, Section II;

RFP

Document, Section 3.0 Proposal

Submission

CLIN 1010 on page 10; CLIN

1010 on page 22 10 and 22

On page 10, CLIN 1010 ‐ Option Period 1: Other Direct Costs (ODCs) (NTE) ‐ Quantity 2, the amount is $69,000. On page 22, CLIN 1010 Option Period 1: Other Direct Costs (ODCs) (not‐to‐exceed) amount is $90,000.00. Will the Government please clarify what the NTE amount is for CLIN 1010?

NTE amount for CLIN 1010 Option Period 1: Other Direct Costs (ODCs) : $69k. See updated RFP Document Section II as well as updated Attachment 2‐IDIQ pricing table.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

RFP

Document, Section 21, FAR 52.216‐

9 57‐58 The RFP is listing FAR 52.216‐25 Contract Defeminization (Oct 2010). Will the Government please clarify if this contract is a letter contract?

The Government is planning to avoid a letter contract by formalizing its requirements before award and have work begin only after contract award for one (1) Single‐Award one (1) Single‐Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract via full and open competition and will not be set‐aside for small business. The resulting Single Award IDIQ contract award will allow for time and materials (T&M), cost‐reimbursement (CR), and a hybrid of T&M and CR orders without further competition.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 1.2 Scope

1 and 7 2

The SOW states: “The selected Contractor will support CWMD’s community‐wide approach in working with emergency management officials through a defined process of understanding the current capability, understanding the unique chemical threats to a community, and through scenario‐based response training and exercises.”

And

“The process should be piloted and validated in at least one jurisdiction during the Period of Performance.”

Question: Is the Page 7, 2.4.1 Chemical Preparedness Capability Workshop Evaluation the same as the pilot mentioned in Section 1.2? If not, then where does the pilot program fall under the list of Tasks in SOW 2.0?

Task 1.2 refers to piloting the necessary tasks within 2.0, one of which is 2.4.1 Chemical Preparedness Capability Workshops. Not all deliverables within Task 2.0 will be provided at the same time. Tasks 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9 must first be piloted successfully at least once to ensure success.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 1.2 Scope

1 and 7 2

The SOW states: “The selected Contractor will support CWMD’s community‐wide approach in working with emergency management officials through a defined process of understanding the current capability, understanding the unique chemical threats to a community, and through scenario‐based response training and exercises.”

And

“The process should be piloted and validated in at least one jurisdiction during the Period of Performance.”

Question: The pilot program is not listed in SOW 5.0 Deliverables. Will the Government please clarify if the pilot program is a deliverable for this contract?

Not all deliverables within Task 2.0 will be provided at the same time. Tasks 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8 and

2.9 must first be piloted successfully at least once to ensure success.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 1.2 Scope

1 and 7 2

The SOW states: “The selected Contractor will support CWMD’s community‐wide approach in working with emergency management officials through a defined process of understanding the current capability, understanding the unique chemical threats to a community, and through scenario‐based response training and exercises.”

And

“The process should be piloted and validated in at least one jurisdiction during the Period of Performance.”

Question: Since this pilot will take considerable effort to deliver, how is the contractor to cost delivering and assessing what might be more than one pilot? Can the government specify how many pilots will be offered?

The piloted tasks will be counted towards the minimum amount of engagements listed in the SOW under the appropriate tasking. The piloted engagements should not vary in size and complexity to the typical engagement that are being developed through the piloted process. Not all deliverables within Task 2.0 will be provided at the same time. Tasks 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9 must first be piloted successfully at least once to ensure success.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 1.2 Scope

1 and 7 2

The SOW states: “The selected Contractor will support CWMD’s community‐wide approach in working with emergency management officials through a defined process of understanding the current capability, understanding the unique chemical threats to a community, and through scenario‐based response training and exercises.”

And

“The process should be piloted and validated in at least one jurisdiction during the Period of Performance.”

Question: Can the government specify how many pilots will be offered?

The PO anticipates 1 to 2 pilots with the remainder of the engagements becoming a more mature and standardized process.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 2.7 Capstone Exercises

1 11 Is the intention of the Capstone Exercise(s) to be Full‐Scale Exercises?

The exercise will most likely be table top but a final determination would be made which best matched the jurisdictions needs.

Attachment

1: SOW,

Section 1.2 and Section

2.3

10 2 and 6 The RFP states: "Developing digital, IT, software, or other automated tools is outside the scope of this project.", however, Task 2.3 requires modeling. Has the Government identified the modeling platform, or have a preferred modeling platform for Task 2.3?

The term "model" refers to a process or systems map not an IT based platform. IT software may be used to create the systems process map but the government does not want to develop new software or IT solutions.

SF 1449 and Continuation Pages:

Evaluation Factors

Volume 4 Factor 4, Past Performance Evaluation 26 of 106

For past performance evaluation purposes, can the Government please define how many many employees and how many labor categories are considered to be very relevant with respect to an offeror's "Experience in staffing a large and diverse number of employees which can successfully deliver a large volume of services."

The Government will not provide a specific number of employees or labor categories.

For purposes of evaluating an offeror’s past performance the Government will assess its level of confidence that a contractor will successfully perform the requirements by reviewing the contractor’s past‐performance data from recent and relevant Government contracts or programs which are similar to the RFP’s requirements and in accordance with the RFP’s stated evaluation criteria.

SF 1449 and Continuation Pages:

Evaluation Factors

Volume 3, Factor 3 Management Approach/ Staffing Plan Proposal Submission 19 of 106

Are the key personnel resumes (limited to 2 pages per resume) excluded from the overall 10 page limit for this volume?

Yes. Resumes are excluded from the page count.

SF 1449 and Continuation Pages:

Evaluation Factors

Volume 4 Factor 4, Past Performance Evaluation 26 of 106

For Small Businesses interested in competing on this solicitation, can the Government please remove the requirement for 'The Offeror shall reference a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) relevant pastperformance projects performed within the last three (3) years and provide past performance questionnaires to these references for completion' and change to minimum of 'one (1) relevant past performance project' to allow for otherwise capable small businesses of participating competitively on this DHS CWMD program?

This will remain unchanged. Neither a favorable nor unfavorable rating will be provided for this Factor if the Offeror does not have relevant past performance or if past performance information is not available.

SF 1449 and Continuation Pages:

Evaluation Factors

3.0 Proposal

Submission 17 of 106

Can the Government please extend the due date by 3‐weeks to April 2, 2024 at 10:00AM to allow for enough time to offerors to complete competitive responses for this important DHS CWMD program?

Proposal due date has been extended to 26 March 2024

RFP

(amendment 001)

3.0 & 11.1 21 & 30

The answer to question 1 in amendment 001 states that contractors are being asked to bid labor category rates to establish ceiling rates to potentially be discounted on task order proposals.

This answer helps significantly, and we plan to bid the labor categories and associated rates for the solution we are proposing, but the Government may find it advantageous in execution to add junior or mid‐level rates for the previously awarded labor categories. As this is an IDIQ, can the Government confirm that it will allow the addition of appropriate labor categories and associated ceiling rates post award for future task orders if it is in the Government's best interest?

Tiered levels of experience/qualification of the same labor categories are allowed as part of the offeror's proposed solution. All labor categories and ceiling rates will be established at time of award of the base IDIQ, not post award.

DHS RFP 70RWMD24R00000001 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Operations Support Directorate (OSD) Chemical Preparedness (ChemPREP) Program Support Question and Answers

RFP

(amendment 001)

Volume 1, Factor

The answer to question 6 in amendment 001 states that No, this chart is strictly to lay out the composition of the volumes and page limitations. Pricing information is not being requested for Technical Factor 1 ‐ Small Business subconracting plan, nor should offerors provide pricing information for this factor nor any other non‐price factors (Technical Factors 1‐4) in the RFP.

The instruction in section 3.0 Proposal Submission state that Offerors shall submit a small business subcontracting plan in accordance with FAR 52.219‐9. Paragraph (d) of FAR 52.219‐9 states that (d) The Offeror’s subcontracting plan shall include the following: (1) Separate goals, expressed in terms of total dollars subcontracted, and as a percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars, for the use of small business, veteran‐owned small business, service‐disabled veteran‐owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women‐owned small business concerns as subcontractors. We respectfully request the Government's confirmation that it is not requiring offerors submit separate goals expressed in terms of total dollars subcontracted in the individual small business subcontracting plan as required by FAR 52.219‐9. Therefore, only including separate goals as percentage of total subcontracting dollars (i.e., no pricing) is acceptable.

As a result of this question, it is apparent that our response in amendment 001 to Question # 6 to not provide pricing information in any of the Technical Proposal volumes contradicts the Small Business Subcontracting requirements of FAR 19.704(a)(2) and 52.219‐9(d)(1) which require offerors to express separate goals, in terms of the total dollars subcontracted, and as a percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars in the plan. This amendment hereby revises that response to the following, “The offeror shall abide by the requirements of FAR 19.704(a)(2) and 52.219‐(d)(1) and submit total dollars subcontracted and as a percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars for their subcontracting plans in preparing the small business subcontracting plan. This data concerning the total dollars subcontracted and the percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars portion of the subcontracting plan will be redacted by the contracting team prior to submission of the proposals to the technical review team so as not to influence the evaluation of the proposal on its technical merits.