Amendment 1 Attachment 1 RFI Response 1-147.pdf

# Solicitation Reference Reference Text RFI Response 1 For tribally owned and controlled entities, does ISBEE eligibility under this solicitation require that individual Indian personnel involved in daily operations also possess technical capabilities directly related to the SOW, or is it sufficient that the board of directors controlling the entity is composed of tribal members?

In reference to evaluation factor 5, part 2,The management and daily business operations of an enterprise must be controlled by one or more individuals who are Indians. If these individuals are the board of directors then they should be identified in the org. chart. See revised solicitation.

2 Is submission of an organizational chart identifying Indian personnel with technical capabilities required for all ISBEE offerors, or only for individually owned firms?

ISBEE offerors must submit an organizational chart as identified above and in factor 5.

3 Please confirm that, for entity‐owned firms, control of management and day‐to‐day operations by a board of directors composed of tribal members satisfies the ISBEE eligibility requirements as defined in

HHSAR 326.601.

See response to #1.

4 If additional documentation beyond the IHS IEE Representation Form is required for tribally owned firms, please specify the exact requirements

Refer to evaluation factor 5.

5 FACTOR 5: ISBEE REPRESENTATION, p. 88: The solicitation states, "..the offeror must represent as part of its offer that it does meet the definition of Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) as defined in HHSAR 326.601..." However, the SAM.gov webpage for this solicitation states: "Classification: Original Set Aside: Total Small Business Set‐Aside (FAR 19.5)". Please clarify if this solicitation is an SB‐setaside or an ISBEE‐setaside, and if it is indeed an ISBEE‐setaside, please correct the SAM.gov webpage.

See SAM posting and solicitation section M.1 for reference to tiered evaluation.

6 Is there an incumbent contractor? If so, what is its name and contract number? This is a new requirement 7 If there is an incumbent contractor, has the scope or size of the contract changed in any nontrivial way between the incumbent contract and the present solicitation?

See above

8 If there is no incumbent contractor, then are there existing contractor(s) that are doing some of the work of this PWS? If so, what are their name(s) and contract number(s)?

Portions of work are being accomplished under GSA schedule GS‐10F‐014CA

9 If there are no contractors doing any of the work currently, then how is the work of the PWS being done? Or is it not being done at all?

See above

10 If the work of the PWS is not being done at all right now, then is there a backlog that the incoming contractor will have to handle? If so, please explain and describe how much of a backlog there is.

No known backlog

11 If there is an incumbent contract, is the scope and estimated workload for the present solicitation approximately the same as for the incumbent contract?

Please refer to solicitation for ordering limits. An indefinite‐quantity contract provides for an indefinite quantity, within stated limits.

12 What is the estimated metrics of workload for this PWS? See above 13 Solicitation Document titled ‐

B0125R00030 Page 9/94

Can the Government please clarify how they are defining the word Vendor? The requirement states that "vendor shall be certified, at minimum, as a Silver ESRI Partner Network Member". Can the membership be held by a subcontractor on the submitting team?

The vendor is the SAM registered entity submitting the proposal to which an award would be made. If the SAM registered entity is a JV, or, if a teaming agreement is submitted, the Government will consider ESRI Partner Network Membership of those stated members of the venture or teaming agreement Proof of membership should be submitted with the proposal

14 Solicitation Document titled ‐ B0125R00030

Will the Government please clarify if any other certifications can be considered in lieu of the Silver ESRI Partner Network Membership?

See response to #134

15 Item 2: Help Desk Page 13/94

Can the Government please clairfy if this work is currently being performed by another contractor? If not, is this work presently being performed by Government provided personnel?

See response to #6 & #8

16 Item 2: Help Desk Page 13/94

Can the Government please confirm what system is currently being used to track tickets for help desk support?

MS Excel is currently being used, contractor to propose tracking system

17 Item 3: Training Resources Page 17/94

Will the Government please confirm if BizLibrary would be an acceptable option for a training platform?

Contractor shall use platforms identified in scope, however, may propose alternate platform for consideration

18 H.2 Key Personnel Page 42/94

Can the Government please confirm what personnel are considered Key Personnel? The only Key Personnel identified directly in the solicitation is the GIS PM.

Key Personnel are those proposed under evaluation factor 3 and will be used for task orders

19 Solicitation Document titled ‐ B0125R00030

Can the Government please confirm that "Past Performance On Relevant Projects" (factor 4) can be a combination of all teaming organizations, Primes and Subs?

Refer to Section L.3 for additional information required when experience submitted is other than prime contractor.

20 M.2

On page 92, Section M.2 Basis of Evaluation, the title for Factor 2 states that a Surety Statement of Bonding Capacity is required. However, there is no other information provided. Could the government please clarify whether the bonding requirement is applicable to this solicitation?

See amended solicitaiton removing this requirement

21 L.1.e Page 85 B.1 Schedule of Items Will the Government please consider an earlier due date for questions, perhaps 10 days before the due date? Receiving answers to questions less than 7 days before the due date will make it difficult for offerors to make revisions in a limited time frame and ensure a compliant submission.

The Government will determine if an extension to the due date is needed.

22 L.4 Factor 1 Page 86‐87 “The following labor categories and firm fixed hourly rates are applicable to this contract. See Section J, Rate Schedule, for rates related to specific tasks to be applied to all orders issued under this IDIQ for the base period and all options. Rates are fully loaded and include overhead, General/Administration (G&A), Labor Burden Fringe Profit and other costs and/or

Please confirm that the JV agreement is excluded from the 6‐page limit for Factor 1: Technical Experience on Relevant Projects.

Amended solicitation will exclude JV or teaming agreements from page limitation

23 Attachment 3 B.1 Schedule of Items Please indicate where this information shall be provided in our submittal. Section L.3 indicates that the technical experience submittal attachment 3 is to be included with volume 2.

24 L.4 Attachment 3 Page 86 B.1 Schedule of Items Please advise if offerors are permitted to modify the form to maximize space to respond. These modifications would include adjustments to column widths, font, page margins, and the header/footer to match the rest of the submittal.

Offerors may modify form for spacing, however, content must remain unchanged and minimum font size must be 10pt. Offerors shall also adhere to page limitation.

25 B.1 Schedule of Items Page 3 B.3 Supplies or Services to be Furnished B.1 Schedule of Items and Attachment 2, Rate Schedule do not show any labor categories that are to be priced. Will the Government clarify if the B.1 Schedule of Items and Attachment 2, Rate Schedule are correct and if the referenced text should be deleted from B.1?

Task orders will be priced using attachment 2

26 B.1 Schedule of Items Page 3 Will the Government confirm that the NTE capacity values shown for each year are based on historical/current Service Provider amounts?

This is a new requirement

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 2

27 B.1 Schedule of Items Page 3 “All software and hardware costs required by the Contractor to conduct the work will be included as overhead and will not be compensated separately.”

Will the Government provide a breakout of the historical number of total task orders and total dollar amounts awarded for each of the four (4) SOW Items?

This is a new requirement

28 B.3 Supplies or Services to be Furnished

B.3 Supplies or Services to be Furnished Will the Government explain why all software and hardware costs are required to be included as overhead and not as direct costs?

See response to #25

29 B.3 Supplies or Services to be Furnished

Will the Government clarify where in the contract all categories of service provided and corresponding rates are located?

See Attachment 2

30 B.3 Supplies or Services to be Furnished

“All categories of service provided and corresponding rates shall be fully identified in this contract.”

Will the Government provide a checklist or other specific information so that there is a clear understanding of what documents and products require Section 508 compliance?

https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws‐and‐policies/ https://www.section508.gov/create/ https://www.section508.gov/create/presentations/authoring‐guides/ https://www section508 gov/tools/

31 B.5 Task Orders Page 5 Once agreement is reached between the Contractor and Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall commence with completing the task order using only direct productive labor hours in categories and at labor rates incorporated into the contract

B.1 Schedule of Items and Attachment 2, Rate Schedule do not show any labor categories that are to be priced that will be incorporated into the contract. Will the Government explain what is meant by the referenced text? Nowhere in the RFP does it direct Offerors to price either Government mandated or Offeror proposed labor categories and fully burdened labor rates.

Required when task order proposal is based on hourly rate referenced in attachment 2.

32 B.5 Task Orders Page 5 Will the Government explain why the contractor shall invoice for actual hours used since all task orders issued under the IDIQ contract will be issued as Firm Fixed Price?

See above.

33 Section C SOW: Background Page 6 “Once agreement is reached between the Contractor and Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall commence with completing the task order using only direct productive labor hours in categories and at labor rates incorporated into the contract ”

Will the Government provide access to software licenses from ESRI and AutoCAD for use by the vendor, or is the vendor required to purchase its own licenses separately?

Vendor shall provide their own licenses for Autodesk and ESRI products. Exception ‐ the government will provide creator user licenses for the IHS OEHE GIS portal.

34 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vendor Qualifications “The Vendor personnel team should have:”

Will the Government confirm that the Vendor Qualifications are mandatory or preferred, i.e., shall have versus should have?

Contractor shall have qualifications/experience where required, other qualifications/experience will be rated more or less favorably based on meeting desired qualification/experience

35 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vendor Qualifications “Additional Qualifications for instructors (as demonstrated through resumes) shall include:”

Will the Government confirm that Additional Qualifications for instructors apply at the task order level and not at the IDIQ contract level?

Key Personnel are those proposed under evaluation factor 3 and will be used for task orders

36 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vendor Qualifications “Submit qualified resumes for all individuals to be used to support this contract.”

Will the Government confirm that the referenced text applies at the task order level and not at the IDIQ contract level?

See above. Resumes should not be required at the task order level but may be requested for additional or change in personnel.

37 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vendor Qualifications “Submit qualified resumes for all individuals to be used to support this contract.”

Will the Government explain why resumes are required for “all” individuals to be used to support this contract since the IDIQ contract and all issued task orders are performance based?

Resumes are required for key personnel, see revised solicitation.

38 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vender Qualifications “No changes to proposed personnel will be accepted without prior coordination of the COR.”

Will the Government explain why changes to proposed personnel have to be coordinated with the COR since all issued task orders are performance based?

See #35

39 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Submit detailed resumes prior to the assignment of any new or replacement personnel to the contract for approval by the Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) ”

Will the Government explain why detailed resumes are required to be approved by the Government prior to the assignment of any new or replacement personnel since all issued task orders are performance based?

See above.

40 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vender Qualifications “In addition to the above requirements, the Vender shall be certified, at a minimum, as a Silver ESRI Partner Network member.”

Will the Government explain why Venders need to be certified, at a minimum, as Silver ESRI Partner Network member? According to the ESRI membership network website, the current ESRI membership tiers are “Member”, “Gold”, and “Platinum”.

See response to #134

41 Section C SOW: Vendor Qualifications

Vender Qualifications “In addition to the above requirements, the Vender shall be certified, at a minimum, as a Silver ESRI Partner Network member.”

Will the Government confirm if this requirement applies to the IDIQ contract (i.e. will Offeror’s be required to have Silver ESRI Partner status at the time of the proposal submission) or only if required by task order(s)?

Offerors shall possess and maintain ESRI status. Also see response to #134

42 Section C SOW: Item 2 Help Desk Page Item 2: Help Desk Do Help Desk services require onsite support or are they intended to be provided remotely? Help desk services are intended to be provided remotely 43 Section C SOW: Item 2 Help Desk Page Item 2: Help Desk What is the current Web Based Support Ticket Tracking System being used? This is a new requirement, see response to #17 44 Section C SOW: Item 2 Help Desk Page 2.1 Web Based Support Ticket Tracking System Who is the current incumbent Service Provider? See response to #8 and #17 45 Section C SOW: Section 3.1 & 3.1.1 Page

“Provide all IHS users under this solicitation access to a web‐based training platform such as Go to Training, Adobe Connect, Zoom, or other equivalent platform that allows access for up to 100 users to connect concurrently over the internet ”

Will the Government confirm if Microsoft Teams is considered an equivalent platform? Teams is considered an equivalent platform.

46 Section C SOW: Section 3.3 & 3.3.3 Page

3.3 Multiday Trainings: Execution

3.3.3 Equipment

“Provide all necessary equipment including, but not limited to, appropriate software version, software licenses, computers with Appurtenances for each trainee and the instructor (if mobile computer lab i l d d i t k d d t d) d j t ”

Will the Government provide historical workload data (e.g., number of trainees) so that Offerors have an understanding of what equipment may be required?

See response to #11, #47, #48

47 Section C SOW: Section 3.3 & 3.3.4 Page

3.3 Multiday Trainings: Execution

3.3.4 Reference Manuals

“Provide spiral bound reference manuals for each attendee of a classroom session ”

Will the Government provide historical workload data (e.g., number of attendees) so that Offerors have an understanding of the number of reference manuals that may be needed?

Typically, in person training does not exceed 20‐30 participants. Also see response to #11 and #48

48 Section C SOW: Section 3.5 Page 23‐24 3.5 Performance Standards What is the expected frequency/volume for each requirement below in each year, based on the previous 5‐year contract? 1) Two‐hour Virtual Training 2) Periodic Advanced Topic Virtual Training 3) Multi‐day Training 4) Mobile Computer Lab 5) YouTube Style Videos

Esimated Ranges (per year) ‐ 0‐12 two hour trainings; 0‐6 periodic advanced topic virtual trainings, 0‐ 16 days of multi‐day training execution; 0‐4 instances of computer lab, 0‐20 You tbe style videos.

Estimated range for total multi year contract 0‐5 multi‐day training course development. Response to #11 also applies

49 Section C SOW: Item 4 Data Conversion

Item 4: Data Conversion “There is no guarantee of work for this item. Bid quantities are rough estimates only and will likely vary significantly from year to

To what degree (cost‐wise) is Item 4: Data Conversion factored into the NTE ceiling values in Section B.1 Schedule of Items?

See response to #11

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 3

50 Section C SOW: Section 4.2.1 Page 28

4.2.1 Research at an IHS location and Field Visits

Will the Government provide more detailed information about the research and field visits, including the frequency and volume of visits AND the tasks being performed under the current contract?

This is a new requirement. Field visits will be used to collect data required for conversion and/or validation of legacy data in paper or electronic formats. Response to #11 also applies.

51 Section C SOW: Section 4.2.2 Page 28 4.2.2 Field Surveying “Provide a registered land surveyor to complete field survey to locate existing utility feature (e.g., pipe, valves, manholes).”

Will the Government provide historical field surveying workload data, i.e., frequency and volume of work being performed by the incumbent contractor?

This is a new requirement.

52 Section G.7 Page 38 G.7 Task Orders d. “Based upon the contents of the TMP, the Contractor and the Government shall negotiate the number of hours and labor mix required to complete the task order…”

Will the Government explain the relationship between the referenced text (i.e., number of hours and labor mix) and Attachment 2, Rate Schedule?

See response to #11.

53 Section G.7 Page 39 G.7 Task Orders h. “Task orders will be issued based on established rates, including travel, if applicable.”

Will the Government please clarify what it means by established rates as there are currently no established nor required rates under this potential IDIQ?

Rate for PM is required, other rates refer to proposed rate for task identified in rate schedule attachment

54 Section G.7 Page 39 G.7 Task Orders h. “If a discipline is not listed in the Schedule of Items and is required for a specific task order, that labor rate shall be negotiated before the award of that task order.”

There are no disciplines/labor categories shown in B.1 Schedule of Items. Will the Government please clarify what it means by the referenced text?

Applicable to orders that may require personnel not proposed

55 Section G.7 Page 39 G.7 Task Orders h. “The labor rates provided by the offeror…”

Section L does not require Offerors to provide labor categories/labor rates. Will the Government please clarify what it means by labor rates provided by the offeror?

Applicable to orders that may require PM hourly rate, or other hourly rate as indicated above. Other rates refer to proposed rate for task identfied in rate schedule attachment.

56 Section G.7 Page 39 G.7 Task Orders h. “All hourly rates in the Schedule of Items in Section B.1 under the Base Period and all Optional Periods shall be the fully burdened rate and include overhead, General/Administration (G&A), Labor Buren Fringes, Profit or other costs. The amount paid to the Contractor for each firm‐fixed price task order shall not exceed the fully loaded hourly rates (including profit) for disciplines listed in Section B 1 ”

There are no disciplines/labor categories shown in B.1 Schedule of Items. Will the Government please clarify what it means by the referenced text?

See above.

57 Section H.7 Page 43 H.7 Equitable Adjustments Due to Changes f. “The percentages of overhead to be allowed by the Contracting Officer will be 10% for all contract changes performed by the Prime Contractor personnel and 5% for all contract change work performed by subcontract personnel.”

Federal contractors are required to calculate and submit their indirect costs/rates (fringe benefits, overhead, G&A) to DCAA annually. The DCAA approved overhead rate may be less than or greater than the 10%/5% overhead percentages. Therefore, will the Government consider not capping the overhead percentages?

No

58 Section H.12 Page 45 H.12 Subcontracted Services “The Government reserves the right to require submission of a detailed breakdown of subcontract services, including labor, material, profit, overhead, and other costs incidental to the performance of the work.”

Will the Government confirm the referenced text applies to task orders and not the IDIQ contract? No

59 Section I Page 63 HHSAR 352.237‐75 HHSAR 352.237‐75 Key Personnel (DEC 2015) The contractor shall assign to the contract the following key personnel

Will the Government confirm that the referenced HHSAR clause applies to task orders and not the IDIQ contract? Also, will the Government state which paragraph in Section C this requirement can be found?

Applies to IDIQ and task orders. Section will be completed with proposed key personnel

60 Section L.3 Page 85 The requirements state that “the proposal shall be submitted in two volumes via email as individual PDF’s.” However, in Volume 2 ‐ Factor 1: Technical Experience Submittal, it states that each project shall be submitted as individual attachments. Can the Government clarify whether the Technical Experience on Relevant Projects examples should be submitted as separate attachments from our Volume 2 proposal, or should they be included within the same PDF as our Volume 2 proposal?

Include in volume 2 proposal

61 Section L.3 Page 85 Volume I Should Offerors include a similar Cover Page, as required for Volume 1, with their Volume 2 submission?

Not required if not specified for volume 2

62 Section L.3 Page 85 Volume I Should the SF1449 and SF30 forms be included in the Offerors’ proposals, or should they be included as separate, signed attachments?

L.3 requres as part of Volume 1 pdf

63 Section L.3 Page 85 Volume I Given that Attachment 2 Rate Schedule is an Excel file, should Offerors submit it separately from the Volume 1 Proposal, or should they convert it to PDF and insert the contents into the Volume 1 proposal?

Covert and include with volume 1 pdf

64 Section L.3 Page 85 Volume I There are several references in the RFP that refer to labor categories, fully burdened rates, and labor hours. Attachment 2 provides several discrete items for pricing based on various units of measure (annual, per hour, each, per day, per job, per 1,000 feet). Will the Government confirm that all references to labor categories, fully burdened rates, rates, and labor hours are not applicable to this solicitation?

Attachment 2 includes a requiremment for PM hourly rate which shall be fulled burdened. All other rates for tasks identified in rate sheet shall also be fully burdened.

65 Section L.3 Page 85 Volume I Should Offerors submit any other clauses listed in Section I, Section J, Section L, and/or Section M of the RFP or are Offerors only required to submit clauses listed in Section K that are not completed on their Sam.gov record?

Submittal is based on requirements identified in Section L

66 Section L.3 Teaming Proposals Page 85‐ Will the Government state what Volume the SBA Small Business status is required to be in? Include on cover page 67 Section L.3 Teaming Proposals Page 86 This explanation shall be provided in paragraph (h) of

Attachment 3, Company Specialized Experience Form, as applicable for each project.”

Will the Government please clarify where the required explanation should be provided as there is no paragraph (g) in Attachment 3?

Explanation shall be provided on revised attachment 3

68 Section L.4 Evaluation Factors The Government states that there is a size limit on email submissions (8mb). Given this relatively small size, should Offerors provide the Factors for Volume 2 as separate files, e.g. Offeror_Volume 2_Factor 2.PDF, Offeror_Volume 2_Factor 3.PDF, etc.? This would allow Offerors to better control the size of the email submission

Refer to L.3 for labeling instructions

69 Section L.4 Evaluation Factors Page 86 Factor 1: Technical Experience Submittal states that the projects should be submitted as separate attachments. Is this true for the other Factors included in Volume 2 – Factors 2‐5? Should these be included in their own separate PDF files or should they be combined into one Volume 2 document?

This refers to each project being on individual forms as part of the respective volume

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 4

70 Section L.4 Factor 1 page 86 Should Offerors submit their projects on the provided Attachment 3 or are Offerors allowed to modify Attachment 3 to include other proposal requirements, such as cover page, headers, footers, and use/disclosure of data clauses as required by FAR 2.10 and 3.104?

Offerors may modify forms to include header/footer. Other information such as a cover page and disclosure of data shall be submitted as separate documetns within the volume.

71 Section L.4 Factor 1 Page 86 “The contractor shall submit comprehensive and complete narratives describing work performed on at least one, but no more than three (3) relevant contracts completed in the last six (6) years that are similar in scope to this requirement.”

Acknowledging that performance on this IDIQ is accomplished via task order(s), and that many contractors hold IDIQ contracts with individual task orders that meet the relevant projects requirements in the solicitation, we assume that a task order (or group of task orders) of similar scope and relevancy issued under an IDIQ can be used to meet the relevant projects requirement.

Furthermore, we assume that multiple task orders from the same IDIQ can be used to meet the relevant projects requirement. Please confirm that Offerors are allowed to use an IDIQ with multiple awarded Task Orders as one contract reference.

Performance under task orders is allowable, however, must meet requirements identified in factor.

72 Section L.4 Factor 1 page 86 Under this requirement, the Government asks Offerors to provide Technical Experience that is relevant to the SOW and has “3) subject matter expertise in the use of GIS software and integration with AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Revit, including ARCGIS for AutoCAD.” Can the Government confirm if, to be deemed relevant, the technical experience projects provided must have used all 4 of the listed GIS software ‐ AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD, Revit, and ARCGIS for AutoCAD?

See response to #34

73 Section L.4 Factor 2 Page 87 Can the Government confirm that Offerors are only to address Items 1‐5 of the SOW and no other parts of the SOW?

Scope provides general standards offeror must meet and information to include in proposals

74 Section L.4 Factor 2 Page 87 “The offeror shall submit a narrative for each task (item) in the SOW for this factor. The items are:

Item 5: Travel and Per Diem”

Offerors are required to submit a comprehensive and complete narrative describing the means and methods used to successfully execute all work under this contract as intended. Will the Government clarify what offerors are specifically required to address for Item 5: Travel and Per Diem?

Travel and per diem shall be discussed as part of items 1‐4

75 Section L.4 Factor 2 Page 87 Given the amount of information required to adequately address each SOW Item, would the Government consider increasing the page limit to 20 pages?

Yes

76 Section L.4 Factor 3 Page 87 Are Offerors required to submit full resumes for Key Personnel or only the information listed in Factor 3: Key Personnel Resumes & Organizational Chart?

Information required for key personnel is minimum requirement, refer to Section L and M for additional information

77 Section L.4 Factor 3 Page 87 The requirements state that Offerors are allowed to submit resumes for the GIS Program Manager and up to 3 additional personnel. However, on Page 8 of the RFP, it states that Offerors must submit qualified resumes for all individuals to be used to support this contract. What are Offerors supposed to provide if they plan on using more than 4 total personnel on this contract?

Revised pg. 8 to indicate "key personnel"

78 Section L.4 Factor 4 Page 88 Should individual CPARs and/or PPQs be submitted as separate files/attachments from the Volume 2 proposal?

Include in Volume 2. May be helpful to include a title page e.g. "Factor 1" separating each submittal within the respective volume.

79 Section L.4 Factor 5 Page 88 Should the required, completed form (Attachment 5) and Tribal enrollment/certification of Degree of Indian Blood documentation be submitted as separate files/attachments from the Volume 2 proposal?

See above

80 Section L.4 Factor 5 Page 88 Acknowledging the definition of IEE, is the Government requiring that the work and day to day operations under this IDIQ has to physically be performed by one or more individuals who are Indians, or is the requirement met by showing in an organizational chart the Board of Directors (all Native Americans/Alaskan Natives) and CEO (Native American/Alaskan Native) supporting the day‐to‐day operations by managing the company and the “primary industry” is Government contracting?

See response to #1

81 Section L.4 Factor 6 Page 88‐89 L.4 Evaluation Factors Factor 6: Price (Non‐Technical) “The Government will evaluate price based on the “Total Price” of each task to include all associated proposal requirements outlined in section L of this solicitation using the efficient method of evaluation detailed in this provision ”

Will the Government explain how it will evaluate the “Total Price” of each task when the pricing for each SOW Item Numbers (Attachment 2, Rate Schedule) have different Units of Measure, i.e., annual, hourly, each, per day, per 1,000 feet, per feature)? Is the Government saying that each task line item price will be compared to other Offerors’ task line items? For example, SOW ITEM 2, Number 4, Two‐ Hour Virtual Training: Offeror X ‐ $X/each; Offeror Y ‐ $Y/each where $Y is lower priced.

Total price will be evaluated for reasonableness IAW FAR 15.401

82 Section M.1 Page 92 The Government provides the email subject line that Offerors should use when submitting their proposal. However, there is no information provided on file naming conventions. Should Offerors name their files something like “[OfferorName]_75H70125R00030_GIS Support Services_Volume 1 pdf”?

See revised solicitation Section L.5

83 Section M.2 Page 92 M.1. Basis of Award “(g) The price evaluation will be based on the amount listed in Block 17 of the SF1442.”

Block 17 of the SF1442 does not show an amount. Will the Government confirm where this information is located?

Amemended solicitation removes language related to block 17

84 Attachment 2 Rate Schedule M.2 Basis of Evaluation Factor 2: Technical Approach & Surety Statement of Bonding Capacity

There is no mention of bonding capacity in the RFP except in the title of Factor 2. Will the Government clarify what it means by Surety Statement of Bonding Capacity?

See response to #20

85 L.4. Evaluation Factors, Factor 1:

Technical Experience on Relevant Projects

Contracts that are at least 75% complete from the date of this solicitation may be used as a substitute for completed contracts.

Would the government accept a current contract that represents a renewal of a previous contract with the same scope of work (provided the previous contract is referenced), for which 1 of 5 years has been completed? Referencing the previous contract will provide the government with assurance of ability to do the work

Refer to section L for experience requirements.

86 Vendor Qualifications the Vendor shall be certified, at a minimum, as a Silver ESRI Partner Network member.

Given that Esri has retired their Silver partnership level, will the government please confirm that being part of the Esri Partnership Network is sufficient?

Refer to response to #134

87 SF 1449/Block 8 6/06/2025 2:00pm

Please provide the time zone for the RFP Submission time. Is it assumed to be PST? The posting in SAM.gov should identify the time zone as Pacific Time

88 M.2 Basis of Evaluation Factor 2: Technical Approach & Surety Statement of Bonding Capacity

Please confirm that the government is not asking for surety and bonding capacity information. Confirmed, see response to #20

89 2.1 Web Based Support Ticket Tracking System ‐

Provide an electronic ticket tracking system meeting the following requirements (at a minimum) within 21 days of contract award:

Is the requirement for the offeror to select the platform for the ticket tracking system or is the offeror to use an existing platform within the IHS environment? If the latter, what is the platform to be used?

See response to #17

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 5

90 L4 Evaluation Factors / Factor 5: ISBEE Representation (ISBEE Only) (Non‐ Technical, Pass or Fail)

Factor 4 Submittal Part 1) Ownership must constitute not less than 51 percent of the enterprise: Submittal Requirements: For Indian owned businesses, the contractor shall complete and submit Attachment 5, IHS IEE Representation Form (Jan 2022) AND, if applicable, the controlling enterprise’s Tribal enrollment/certificate of Degree of Indian Blood documentation (2 documents). Please note that there shall be no personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers, included in the documentation submitted. Any PII shall be redacted prior to submission.

(Factor 4 Submittal Part 2) The management and daily business operations of an enterprise must be controlled by one or more individuals who are Indians.

As stated in the definition of an IEE, the individuals must possess requisite management or technical capabilities directly related to the primary industry in

Should the Factor number shown for the two‐part submittal be 5 rather than 4? Yes, see revised solicitation

91 Factor 5: ISBEE Representation (ISBEE Only) (Non‐Technical, Pass or Fail)

Provide an organizational chart showing the management structure of personnel directly involved in the day to day operations, confirming that they are Indian and how they have the technical capabilities directly related to items required in the SOW

Can the government please confirm that the requirement for Indian personnel refers to the ISBEE management, and not to the project team individuals with the technical capabilities to do the work?

See response to #1

92 Vendor Qualifications Submit qualified resumes for all individuals to be used to support this contract.

The government has indicated that OEHE GIS Support Services is a single‐award IDIQ. It is assumed that personnel will be assigned according to the skills needed to support the specific needs of task orders as they are released. Can the government please confirm that the resumes submitted are representative, with the actual staffing requirements specified within the task orders?

Proposed key personnel are expected to execute work under task orders. See revised solicitation.

93 2.1 Web‐Based Support Ticket Tracking System

Typical number of support tickets (received via email and phone combined) currently ranges from zero to ten per month.

To enable more accurate sizing for responding to support tickets, please provide more detail on the average LOE and/or levels of complexity for support tickets based on historical information.

LOE and complexity is variable depending on the request. The majority of questions received to date were related to issues with "disappearing" data, data not integrating properly between ArcGIS for AutoCAD and portal, basemap permissions, and other permission issues.

94 Phone Support Is there an existing toll free number in use by IHS for this purpose that will need to be kept or is establishing a new number acceptable?

A new number is acceptable

95 3.3.3 Equipment Provide all necessary equipment including, but not limited to, appropriate software version, software licenses, computers with appurtenances for each trainee and the instructor (if mobile computer lab included in task order and requested) and projector

Please advise on the requirements for software version numbers and if this is a complete list of required software: ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Pro, Survey 123, AutoCAD, Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365, help desk ticketing system, and video conference software.

Computer lab should have the appropriate software required to support the requested training.

Software versioning to be based on current versions in use by the IHS at the time of the requested training.

96 3.3.7 Non‐student classroom observers Each session may have one or more IHS non‐student observers with technical background in the subject matter that may provide incidental input or assistance but will not materially interfere with conduction of the course or alter the terms and conditions of the contract. The CO, COR or a designated inspector may observe a session at any time

Will non‐students require a laptop, reference materials, and/or handouts that are required for students?

In‐person trainings. Non‐students will not require training equipment or materials; however, they may request to review the materials and/or handouts at some point before or during the training.

Web‐based trainings: Non‐students should be provided access to content and course at the level required to observe and evaluate the content and quality of the training.

97 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.4.4 For the CAD files to be converted into GIS compatible files, what percentage of the drawings have already been separated into point, line, and polygon features? What percentage of these shapefiles have been separated into point, line, and polygon features? Additionally, what is the average quality of the scanned maps/paper files?

Legacy file quality is highly variable. CAD files typically contain lines, points,and polygons; however, they are often combined within various CAD layers (e.g., a CAD water layer may contain all three geometries for water features.)

98 4. Data Conversion When georeferencing, what are acceptable reference spatial data points? For example, GPS survey data or parcels?

GPS survey grade data is the prefered spatial data reference; however, if unavailable, alternate methods may be considered.

99 4. Data Conversion Will the contractor be responsible for metadata creation/maintenance? Is there a required metadata standard?

Contractor should generate metadata for data created through the data conversion process. A standard has not yet been established.

100 4. Data Conversion Do attributes vary widely between IHS areas, or are they already adhering to a central schema? IHS has a centralized schema for our national geodatabases including our utility geodatabase.

101 4.4.1 Are there existing QA/QC processes which the contractor must adhere to, or will the contractor be responsible for defining and executing these processes?

Refer to 4.1.1 in the SOW for minuimum requirements

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 6

102 The contractor shall submit comprehensive and complete narratives describing work performed on at least one, but no more than three (3) relevant contracts completed in the last six (6) years that are similar in scope to this requirement. Relevant is defined as performance that required 1) experience supporting the application of GIS to water, wastewater, and solid waste utility design and operations, 2) demonstrated expertise in geospatial data collection and management programs, and 3) subject matter expertise in the use of GIS software and integration with AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Revit, including ARCGIS for AutoCAD. (pg 86)

If the Offeror is a Joint Venture (JV), relevant experience should be submitted by that JV entity. If the JV does not have shared experience, projects shall be submitted for each JV partner relevant to their overall JV partnership. Offerors who fail to submit experience for all JV partners may be rated less favorably. The JV agreement shall be included in this section. (pg 87)

The government seeks offerors with relevant experience defined as 1) experience supporting the application of GIS to water, wastewater, and solid waste utility design and operations, 2) demonstrated expertise in geospatial data collection and management programs, and 3) subject matter expertise in the use of GIS software and integration with AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Revit, including ARCGIS for AutoCAD. For JV entities, it is unlikely that the JV itself, or that each of the JV partners, will have three (3) relevant contracts as narrowly defined, putting them at a disadvantage compared to non‐JV entities. The government also indicates "If the team is proposing as a joint venture, the team will be required to discuss if the joint venture has experience working together in the past."

Could the government please confirm that at least 1 contract must be cited with direct relevance as defined above, but that up to 2 additional contracts can be cited to demonstrate past performance by each of the JV partners, and/or past performance providing evidence of the joint venture's experience working together in the past?

Combined experience of JV/teaming agreement will be considered

103 Factor 3: Key Personnel Resumes & Organizational Chart

The organizational chart should identify the name, title, and company of key personnel and show the reporting relationship or hierarchy to be utilized for this project

Given that this is an IDIQ, the project staffing will be dependent on the specific task order. Please confirm that the purpose of the organizational chart is to show the reporting relationship between the management/corporate structure and the project team.

The purpose of the organizational chart is to chow the reporting relationship/ hierarchy of key personnel to be utilized for this contract.

104 4.0 General The IHS will provide the Vendor up to two temporary creator accounts to the HIS enterprise portal to perform the work at no cost to the Vendor.

Will these creator accounts include access to ArcGIS Pro? IHS can provide access to ArcGIS Pro Basic through the enterprise portal Creator accounts; however, It is anticipated that the successful vendor will have their own advanced software licensing.

105 4.2.2 Field Surveying Provide a registered land surveyor to complete field survey to locate existing utility feature (e.g., pipe, valves, manholes).

Will all field surveying require accuracy less than a centimeter or is that the most stringent requirement that is required only in some cases? At the task order level, would recommendations for sub‐foot accuracy be considered?

Refer to 4.2.2. "Survey accuracy, unless otherwise identified in the task order or approved by the

COR....."

106 Vendor is accredited to issue continuing education units (CEUs)), and transcript maintenance.

What type of accreditation does the government accept? A nationally recognized organization or board that has specific requirements for the types of courses and activities that qualify for CEU credits (e.g., IACET, ACCET)

107 Should there be a line item for 4‐hour virtual trainings? 4‐ hour virtual trainings on will be requested at the task order level under CLIN #3. This item is defined in 3.1.2B and shown as item #5 on Attachment 2 rate schedule.

108 Should the cost of the intital set up of the web based ticket tracking system be included in the base year with ongoing system maintenance included in subsequent years?

Item 2 Help Desk in a fully burdened annual cost

109 For the Mobile Computer Lab, can you confirm whether or not the government plans to take ownership of the hardware and software at the end of the contract?

Ownership of the hardware and software is to remain with the vendor

110 Section 3.2 Multiday Training states that “The vendor shall develop the course for Indian Health Service ownership.” Does this only apply to the multiday training, or all training in the Scope of work?

Government ownership applies to any training in which the government pays for development of content. It does not apply to "off‐the‐shelf" trainings or other trainings developed at the Vendor's expense.

111 The cost of training will greatly vary based on who retains ownership (customized training vs. off the shelf training). We have “off the shelf” multi‐day training courses that can be provided with small customizations at a much lower cost for many topics. We cannot provide ownership of this content.

For example, we have an Introduction to ArcGIS Pro class that can be modified to include wrap‐up exercises using your own data, at no additional cost to IHS, but we would retain the ownership of the course materials and recording. Can we include line‐items for both types of training, so that IHS can get the best cost for each?

Refer to the rate schedule. Item #6 pays for new training course development whereas Item #7 pays for course execution. The government would retain ownership for all course materials developed under item #6.

Off‐the‐shelf trainings would be ordered from item number #7 and the Vendor would maintain ownership of the content .

112 M.2, Factor 2 Can the Government please clarify whether a surety statement is required, and if so, what form it should take?

See response to #20

113 L.4, Factor 6 Is our understanding correct that the Government is only requiring cost breakout as specified in Attachment 2 for SOW Items 1‐4, and that pricing for SOW Item 5 will be established at the task order level?

Correct

114 Section C, Item 2.3 Item 2.3 mentions "the previous 5‐year contract." Is there an incumbent for this work? If so, will the Government please provide the incumbent contract information (vendor name, contract number)?

Refer to resppnose to #8.

115 If this is a follow‐on contract, is the scope the same or in what ways has it changed? Refer to response to #8.

116 Section B.3 How are “emergency” tasks defined? Will task orders include pre‐approved scopes for these? please refer to pg.4, section B.3 and pg. 38 section G.7 of the solicitation.

117 Section B.3 Can you confirm if there is a standard allocation of hours for this CLIN across all task orders? No standard allocation of hours

118 Section C, Item 3 & Item 4 Are there estimates of the number of live trainings, YouTube videos, or data conversion requests expected annually to support pricing assumptions?

Refer response to #11, #55, & #56

119 Section C Will any sample schemas or anonymized data be made available for offerors to assess the complexity of data conversion and QA/QC processes?

See attachments to amendment 1

120 Section C Is there documentation available on the IHS enterprise GIS portal configuration and current schemas for the feature services?

See above

Attachment 1 RFI's 1-147 7

121 Section C What versions of ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcPro are currently in use? ArcGIS Enterprise: 11.3 Arc Pro: 3.4. Due to challenges with IT staff availability to install software on workstations, users across the country are typically are on several different versions.

122 Section C Are there standardized templates for the utility services or does each IHS Area have different schema implementations?

Refer to Answer from Question 100

123 Section B.3 Please clarify what security clearance level is required for vendor personnel accessing IHS data systems? Are any of the vendor's personnel required to have a security level higher than Tier 1 IAW Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD‐12)?

Vendors will be required to work with IHS IT to obtain a PIV card to access systems within the IHS network such as our internal SharePoint site(s) and to have an IHS email (provided to Vendor at no charge). A PIV card is not required to access the enterprise portal.

124 Section B.3 Can you clarify whether the contractor is responsible for full Section 508 compliance for all deliverables (including training videos)?

Contractor is responsible. Also refer to response to #30

125 Section B.3 What tools or processes are acceptable to test for 508 compliance? Refer to response to #30 126 Section B.5 Will the contract awardee receive any forecast or pipeline of anticipated task orders? PM mandatory meetings and help desk support are anticipated to be annual task orders and awarded within 21 days of IDIQ award. All other tasks are anticiapted to be ordered as needed up to stated limits.

127 Section C, Item 3.1.1 Does IHS have the Training Platform for use in the live virtual trainings, or is the vendor expected to provide the platform?

Please refer to Section 3.1.1 of the Statement of Work

128 Sections C.3 & C.4 Beyond the examples listed at the top of pg 17, are there any anticipated course topics we must pre‐ staff or are we expected to provide a pool of generalist GIS instructors?

IHS anticipates identifying training topics related to software that can be utilized in our workflows including, but not limited to the topics listed in SOW Section 3.2. Other workflows currently in use by IHS include Survey123 and drone2map.

129 Item 2 Help Desk Item 2.1 says "Provide an electronic ticket tracking system…within 21 days of award." Is there a preferred platform (e.g., Jira, Freshdesk) for the help desk ticketing system? What help desk ticketing syste is currently in use? or are we free to propose any COTS solution?

See response to #17

130 Item 2 Help Desk Is our understanding correct that vendors may propose any COTS solution for the help desk ticketing system?

Proposed system must meet requirements identified in SOW/Solicitation

131 Item 2 Help Desk Is integration with IHS IT systems required for the help desk platform? No, integration of the help desk platform with IHS IT systems is not required nor recommended.

132 Item 2 Help Desk Can a single person support both the phone help desk and web‐based tickets, or are these expected to be separate functions…