Responses To Questions 10 Feb 2021.docx

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS - RFQ 70Z08420QBB500900

Date: 10 February 2021

NOTE: Numbers 32 through 51 has been added to the Q&R document.

1) QUESTION: On Beta.SAM.gov, this solicitation is classified as an 8(a) set-aside. On the solicitation's SF1449, it is listed as a small business set-aside. Can you please let us know if this solicitation is open to all small businesses, or just those with 8(a) status?

RESPONSE: The solicitation is set aside and open to 100% Small Business under NAICS 541611.

2) QUESTION: Is there a current incumbent for this work? If so, can you please let us know who the incumbent is, and the contract number?

RESPONSE: Yes – Thundercloud Labs, LLC out of Christiansted VI. The contract number is HSCG84-16-D-BB5081.

3) QUESTION: We have just started a company, we are a women owned company. We are just starting out in this field. Unfortunately, it has been a lot of learning on our end. We came across the contract. If you can direct us on how we can proceed would be greatly appreciated.

RESPONSE: This is a solicitation not a contract. If your company is interested and would like to submit a quote the solicitation is posted on the BETA.SAM.gov website at https://beta.sam.gov

4) QUESTION: Would the government allow CPARS to be used in place of PPQs for this solicitation?

RESPONSE: No

5) QUESTION: Since the base period commences on April 6, 2021, can the government provide the number of Functional Analysts and Operational Research Analysts needed for the base period? This would allow us to identify the appropriate number of Analysts prior to the beginning of the base period.

RESPONSE: It is anticipated, but subject to change and not guaranteed, that the U.S. Coast Guard requires one Functional Analyst and one Operational Research Analyst. Per estimated quantities on page 5 and 6 of the solicitation. The estimated quantities specified in the “Schedule of Supplies/Services” are estimates only. The quantities needed may go up or down depending on the need of the Coast Guard.

6) QUESTION: FAR Clause 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards is “checked”. However, this Program Management and Analytical solicitation appears to require “employees employed in a bona fide professional capacity”. Please clarify the government’s intent for “checking” this FAR Clause 52.222-41.

RESPONSE: FAR 52.222-41 was checked in error and is not applicable to this solicitation.

7) QUESTION: The notice is classified as an 8(a) Set-Aside on opportunity on beta SAM and in other documentation listed as "100% total small business". Are you able to clarify the intended set-aside classification?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 1

8) QUESTION: Solicitation Provisions - pp. 45-46. Will the Government accept Past Performance Questionnaires from clients of each team member, or are PPQ's only expected to come from the clients of the submitting prime vendor?

RESPONSE: The government will not accept PPQ’s from clients of each team member. PPQ’s can come from clients of the submitting prime vendor.

9) QUESTION: We currently have highly qualified staff on hand who meet the minimum requirements for the Operations Research Analyst, however we do not currently have staff on hand who meets all the requirements for the Functional Analyst. We do have a highly qualified Program Manager with 25+ year of Project Management experience supporting the Department of Defense, however she does not have a Bachelor’s Degree or PMP.

My question is if there is in flexibility in the requirements for the Functional Analyst position? Will experience be considered in lieu of degree/certifications?

RESPONSE: No – the Functional Analyst must meet the minimum requirements as outlined on page 14 of the solicitation.

10) QUESTION: Continuation of SF-1449 Blocks 19 – 24: Schedule of Supplies/Services. The contract type is listed as an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Contract with Firm-Fixed Unit Prices. Is this a single award IDIQ or multi-award IDIQ?

RESPONSE: Single award

11) QUESTION: Continuation of SF-1449 Blocks 19 – 24: We have profound experience in developing strategy, organizational change management, business process transformation, and facilitation at the DoD service level. This RFQ Statement of Work is vast in scope across these major task areas; however, the SF1449 lists two CLINs that align to the only two labor categories (Functional Analyst and Operations Research Analyst) listed in the Statement of Work Section 3.2 Qualified Personnel. The perceived discrepancy between the broad task areas with a multitude of specified sub-tasks, only two listed Labor Categories, and the description and structure of CLINS 00001 and 00002 may mislead an organization to believe that this is only a 2 FTE effort. What is the government estimate of level of effort? We estimate it to certainly exceed 2 FTE and thus are challenged to appropriately capture our price for the Not to Exceed Contract Ceiling.

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 5. Additionally, the government does not believe there is a need for any additional labor categories.

12) QUESTION: Statement of Work 3.2 Qualified Personnel: Given the four major task areas listed in the Statement of Work (2.1 Change Management and Communications, 2.2 Strategic Planning and Analysis, 2.3 Business Transformation and Initiative Management, and 2.4 Facilitation, Coordination, and Documentation Support), will the Government consider increasing the number of Labor Categories beyond the Functional Analyst and Operations Research Analyst. This should lead to better task and sub-task alignment to Labor Category capabilities and specified requirements/experiences. It should also lead to more efficiency in service delivery and price at the Task Order level. If desired, we are happy to recommend an additional three to five Labor Categories with capability and experience requirements that would be appropriate for the task areas listed in the Statement of Work.

RESPONSE: See Response to Question 5. Additionally, the government does not believe there is a need for any additional labor categories.

13) QUESTION: Statement of Work 2.2 Strategic Planning and Analysis: Can the DOL provide us with a recent Strategic Plan or its goals and objectives as referenced in the RFQ paragraph 2.2.2.1?

RESPONSE: The Technical Approach and Understanding document should focus and provide a comprehensive discussion of your organizational capabilities as well areas of expertise and resources to be used in the proposed effort of this area.

14) QUESTION: With respect to “Place of Performance”, due to ongoing COVID restrictions in gov’t facilities, will the Government consider any offers which do not require Full Time Seating at Contract Facility – will any flex-work, or off-site arrangements be entertained until COVID restrictions relax?

RESPONSE: As time goes on the government may consider and entertain other arrangements such as flex-work, telework or off-site arrangements until COVID restrictions relax. However, at this time the primary place of performance is outlined in paragraph 4.3 on page 17 of the Statement of Work.

15) QUESTION: The solicitation states there are no security clearance requirements for this program. Will the CG require a background check using a system like eQuip to ensure CAC access and/or government facility access can be granted? Is a VAR required for this program for building access? Or is TASS sufficient to cover everything?

RESPONSE: See paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 on pages 16 and 17 of the Statement of Work.

16) QUESTION: Can charts/tables that are used to display capability, qualifications and/or performance use a font size other than 12pt? All remaining content will meet the font size criteria.

RESPONSE: Yes

17) QUESTION: PPQ: Due to time constraint, COVID and the speed of getting this requirement complete, will the government consider authorize past performance to be submitted by the contractor in the response and the government can than reach out to the POC if there are questions. The concern is not knowing the state of health or condition of past performance representatives in such a short, fused response window.

RESPONSE: No

18) QUESTION: Can you please provide clarity? Page 46 of 67 Past Performance section states: “(A Past Performance Questionnaire shall not be completed by a point of contact/employee of a prime contractor that your company worked for as a sub-contractor or your company’s parent or sister company)”.

RESPONE: See Responses at Question 8, 19 and 25

19) QUESTION: Will past performance only be considered from prime contractors? Can a teaming partner submit a past performance questionnaire?

RESPONSE: Yes

20) QUESTION: Are resumes and PMP certification certificates considered in the 12 page count?

21) QUESTION: The award criteria states LPTA but your scoring criteria indicates this order: The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes: (1) Technical, (2) Past Performance, and (3) Price. Please clarify award preference is not best value.

RESPONSE: Technical, Past Performance and Price

22) QUESTION: FAR Clause 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards is “checked”. The requirements are very complexed and strategic in nature. Also, this appears to be a professional services contract. How does the government desire the offeror to apply the wage table provided for pricing?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 6

23) QUESTION: After looking at the "Services and Prices" table on page 5 of the RFQ, can you clarify that the "EST QTY" of 12 are suggesting (12) Functional Analysts to provide support or one Functional Analyst providing (12) months of service?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 5

24) QUESTION: Can the government confirm the level of effort on this contract? How many FTEs required? How many employees did the incumbent engage historically?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 5

25) QUESTION: The submission requirements state that PPQs are required for at least 3 different contracts. Can the PPQs be of a teaming partner/subcontractor who is teaming to bid for this opportunity? In other words, do all the PPQs need to be from the prime only?

RESPONSE: No

26) QUESTION: Will the cover page, table of contents and acronym list be included in the total count of the 12 page limit for the technical approach?

RESPONSE: No

27) QUESTION: Per section 4.3 “place of performance”, key personnel will perform work on-site in Norfolk, VA and “unless otherwise specified in individual task orders, all other services shall be performed at the contractor's facility.” For work being performed on-site, are there any telework or flexible work accommodations being made for COVID-19?”

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 14

28) QUESTION: Solicitation Provisions - pp. 45 notes that the font will be a 12 point size type or larger in our response. May we use a smaller font for tables and graphics?

RESPONSE: Yes

29) QUESTION: Solicitation Provisions - pp. 45 notes that the page limit for the Technical Approach is 12 pages. Are Cover Page, Cover Letter, and Table of Contents included in this page count?

30) QUESTION: We request Government clarification on the previous response to question (#8). Will the Government reconsider accepting Past Performance Questionnaires from clients of each of the team’s members if the team members are Small Businesses or if every member of the team is a SB?”

RESPONSE: See Responses at Questions 8, 19 and 25

31) QUESTION: PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance (i.e., primary worksite) for the designated Key Personnel to perform on-site work is USCG, Director of Operational Logistics, 300 East Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23510.

Unless otherwise specified in individual task orders, all other services shall be performed at the contractor's facility.

Given COVID 19 and the adoption of Remote Work, is it still a requirement for the primary place of performance to be at the designated address, or would you expect most of the work to be completed at the contractor's facility?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 14

32) QUESTION: Who is the current incumbent contractor?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 2

33) QUESTION: Are all positions currently filled?

RESPONSE: Yes

34) QUESTION: What is the anticipated contract start date?

RESPONSE: See the schedule on pages 5 and 6 of the solicitation

35) QUESTION: Page 45 of 67, (9) Past Performance Information – Is a teaming partner/subcontractor past performance acceptable as a reference?

RESPONSE: Yes

(36) QUESTION: Will the Government consider past performances within the past five (5) years, instead of the past three (3) years?

RESPONSE: No – see pages 45 and 46 of 67; paragraph 9 for Past Performance

(37) QUESTION: Will the Government accept one (1) to three (3) very relevant past performances?

RESPONSE: The government will accept at least 3. See pages 45 and 46 of 67; paragraph 9 for Past Performance

(38) QUESTION: Page 14 of 67, 3.2.1 Functional Analyst – The Government list both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in the minimum requirements for a Functional Analysts. Which degree does the Government consider the requirement?

RESPONSE: Both

(39) QUESTION: Page 20 of 67, 4.9 Status Reports.. – How will the monthly status meetings occur at the Government’s facility during COVID? Will the Government consider virtual meetings?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 14

(40) QUESTION: When will the Government be releasing answers to questions?

RESPONSE: The government has been releasing answers to questions since 9 February and posting them on the BETA.SAM.gov website https://beta.sam.gov

(41) QUESTION: Will the Government extend the submission date at least one (1) week from the day of the release of answers to questions? Determining which past performance references to submit will largely depend on answers to questions and impact the turnaround time for customers to return PPQs to contracting.

RESPONSE: No – the proposal submission closing date and time of 17 February 2021; 2PM Eastern will not be extended

(42) QUESTION: In reviewing the Q&A, there seems to be different answers for Questions 8 and 25. For clarification, can we submit a PPQ from one of our subcontractor's clients?

RESPONSE: Yes

(43) QUESTION: Can we include the past performance in the technical response vice using PPQ since conditions of supporting personnel like a COR, Program Managers could be unpredictable due to Covid etc...

RESPONSE: No – See paragraph 9 on pages 45 and 46 of the solicitation for Past Performance

(44) QUESTION: When will this contract be funded?

RESPONSE: It is anticipated to be funded before 6 April 2021

(45) QUESTION: Section 3.2.1 Functional Analyst states that the Functional Analyst must have a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Typically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) or Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification at the same/similar certification level have been considered equivalent to the PMP, provided experience and continuous learning requirements have been met and the government approves.

Will the government accept one of these certifications as an equivalent to the PMP for this solicitation as well?

RESPONSE: You can submit certifications and the government will determine if it is at the same/similar certification level and considered equivalent to the PMP certification for the Functional Analyst.

(46) QUESTION: Given that Beta.SAM.gov had originally classified this solicitation as an 8(a) set-aside, and that the level of effort is relatively small (making teaming unreasonable), many organizations (like ours) eliminated it from consideration. The last-minute shift in acquisition strategy now makes this a viable opportunity for a competent small-busines prime with performance directly aligned to the government requirements.

However, companies that had logically decided to pass on the opportunity are now disadvantaged, given the short response timeline. Will the government consider a 2-week extension to the proposal submission deadline?

RESPONSE: The change in acquisition strategy was not a last minute shift and short response timeline. The proposal deadline of 17 February 2021; 2PM Eastern is sufficient amount of time to submit an offeror and will not be extended.

(47) QUESTION: Page 52, FAR PROVISION 52.212-2: Evaluation – Commercial Items (OCT 2014) states that the Government will award an Order resulting from this RFQ to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the RFQ will be the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) offer. The response to the previous Question (21) simply restated that the evaluation factors, Technical, Past Performance and Price would be used. The LPTA process is typically applied where “the requirement is clearly defined, and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal.”

Given that the requirements outlined in the solicitation will drive Coast Guard mission support business model transformation activities (critically important to operational success), are less definitive and require more development work (due to the nature of change management activities), ultimately creating a greater performance risk, will the government consider shifting to a best value award.

RESPONSE: No

(48) QUESTION: Please let us know if this is a 8(a) set-aside. We are a Small Business, and are interested in bidding for this.

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 1

(49) QUESTION: Will comparable project management experience and/or certifications be considered in place of PMP certification for the Functional Analyst?

RESPONSE: You can submit and the government will determine if it is or is not comparable to the PMP certification for the Functional Analyst.

(50) QUESTION: Are any COVID restrictions in place at the primary worksite that would limit on-site work and increase the amount remote work required?

RESPONSE: See Response at Question 14

(51) QUESTION: What, if any, wage category should be used for (a) Functional Analyst and (b) Operations Research Analyst?

RESPONSE: See pages 5 and 6 of 67 of the solicitation.