NOIS 2 DRFP Q&A..pdf

NASA Open Innovation Services 2 (NOIS2) Draft Request for Proposal (RFP)

Questions and Answers

1. Does NASA anticipate creating 7 task order swim lanes (tracks of competition for a subset of vendors onboarded to the IDIQ) using the End Products and Services specified in 3.2.1 (a)-(g)?

No, the Government does not intend to create separate tracks based on the sections in 3.2.1. Offerors selected for the NOIS2 contract will receive Requests for Task Plans and can then self-select which to propose to.

2. Will there be task orders offered specifically for freelance based tasks?

The Government reserves the right to specify a preferred methodology from the list in Section 3.2 of the Statement of Work (SOW), such as “Crowd-Based Freelance Projects,” in a Request for Task Plan but may not always do so.

3. Regarding Multimedia development, will task orders specify that the requirement is fulfilled by crowd-based challenges or crowd-based freelancers?

The offeror shall use one or more of the listed methodologies listed in section 3.2 of the SOW to meet the requirements of specific Request for Task Plan. The Government reserves the right to specify a preferred methodology but may not always do so.

4. What kind of task orders are expected under “Crowd-Based Freelance Projects” category?

The Government expects to use Crowd-Based Freelance Projects when the end product is well known and requirements can be specified in detail. Other methodologies are used when the requirements are not well defined.

5. Are individuals, teams, and/or talent pools all eligible to support “Crowd-Based Freelance Projects”?

Yes. The final RFP will be revised to clarify that the Government expects vendors to provide platforms with access to a pool of labor resources which can include mechanisms to team or pool resources in addition to individuals.

6. Regarding freelance based task orders, would NASA provide expected or desired skill levels for the services provided?

The Government generally will not specify expected or desired skill levels in a Request for Task Plan but reserves the right to do so.

7. Would NASA provision software licenses to be used by freelancers for specialized work involving Engineering Design?

The Government generally does not provide software licenses but reserves the right to do so. If the Government chooses to provision a software license in support of a project, it will be stipulated in the Request for Task Plan.

8. “Crowd Program Formulation” - confirming that this is a requirement for consulting services specialized in open innovation and crowdsourcing programs?

Per Section 3.2.1(f) of the Statement of Work, the Government is seeking the use of expertise in developing “Crowd Program Formulation” products and execution of open innovation programs that leverage crowdsourcing.

9. “Crowd Program Formulation” - this often requires the consultation SMEs for various functional and technical expertise. Are there specific technical SMEs that NASA would like to see in the capabilities of the vendors?

The Government does not have any additional requirements for this section beyond what is already defined in statement of work section 3.2.1(f).

10. With regard to crowd sourcing methods, if our business is built on contract freelancers does this constitute ‘crowdsourcing’ as noted in the DRFP?

Offerors must meet the requirements of the Solicitation. The Final RFP will be updated to include the definition of crowdsourcing in Section 3 Statement of Work.

11. We provide highly in depth services in visual communications, meaning we often require original photography done with one of our professional photographers, in depth research for communication and messaging and often require our assigned team members experience the client’s brand or experience the end user experience of the messaging, for themselves. This would sometimes require we visit a site or client facility. Will this be possible, as per our creative process, when POs are issued?

As stated in the SOW, Section, 3.3.2, the Government anticipates that the work on this contract will be performed offsite, primarily at the vendor’s facility and/or virtually via the vendor’s IT infrastructure. Some projects may require specific event support, travel, or on-site visits, and those requirements will be stipulated in the Request for Task Plan.

12. Is there a sense of the types of collateral and design support that will be required going forward? Ie: Posters, video production, animation, tear sheets, rack cards, media kits, etc.

The Request for Task Plan will outline any requirements for marketing and/or supporting materials associated with the given project.

13. 1852.216-80 Task Ordering Procedure: Can NOIS 2 confirm that contractors will be able to select which TOs to respond to, as was done with the first NOIS? (p.16)

Yes, the RPF will be updated to clarify in 1852.216-80 that Contractors may select which RFTP’s to respond to.

14. Section 3.2 Scope of Work B. Crowd-Based Freelance Project (p.29): Can NASA elaborate on how it is thinking about “Crowd-Based Freelance Projects”, as this could be quite broad in its interpretation.

Please see answers to Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5.

15. Section 3.2 Scope of Work 3.2.1 (g). Public Engagement Campaign (p.30). Would these only be conducted on behalf of NASA, or could these be for other government agencies as well?

Public Engagement Campaigns may be conducted on behalf of NASA or other Government agencies.

Section 3.2.1(g) will be updated in the final RFP to clarify.

16. Can NASA clarify the relationship between Crowd Program Formulation as an End Product (3.2.1) vs an input to a crowd based solution methodology (3.2). The description appears as a methodology to crowdsource solutions yet is listed under End Product. In other words, vendors will need to produce a crowd program formulation as in input to crowdsource solutions such as software or multimedia assets.

Section 3.2.1 of the SOW identifies both end products and services the Government requires. Crowd Program Formulation is a service in this example.

17. What was the scope of NOIS I? Does it differ from the scope of NOIS II? Are there any particular areas that NASA would need particular help with on NOIS II? Section: 3.2 Scope of Work, page: 29.

a) The NOIS 1 RFP is available in the archives of FBO.gov under the solicitation number

NNJ15517388 and identifies the full scope of the contract.

b) The Government is seeking to expand the capabilities and expertise at its disposal through crowdsourcing. With the NOIS2 acquisition, the Government still plans to focus on the use of crowdsourcing, but will expand its access to a broader set of tools not limited to public contests.

c) No, the Government is not emphasizing any particular parts of the NOIS2 Statement of Work.

18. Does NASA intend to continue to use existing crowdsourcing tools acquired through NOIS I?

Section: 3.2 Scope of Work, page: 29.

See answer to Question 17b above.

19. What is NASA’s current crowdsourcing landscape? Section: 3.2 Scope of Work, page: 29.

Please refer to the NASA Solve website at https://www.nasa.gov/solve.

20. How does NASA envision integrating machine learning into this requirement? Section: 3.2.1 End Product and Services, page: 30.

Machine Learning is integrated into the requirement in Section 3.2.1 (c). “Data science - These include, but are not limited to, data-science-related elements such as machine learning algorithms, mathematical algorithms/models, data sets (gathered, validated, or cleaned/improved).” The Government anticipates acquiring machine learning algorithm(s) as an end product.

21. For software, does NASA prefer a COTS or fully custom solution? Section: 3.2.1 End Product and Services, page: 30.

https://www.nasa.gov/solve

The Government may issue Request for Task Plans for software deliverables and it will be up to the vendor to propose how they plan to meet the requirement.

22. How does NASA envision using engineering design and CAD in their crowd sourcing initiatives? Section: 3.2.1 End Product and Services, page: 30.

The requirement for engineering and CAD design as an end product to be acquired by the Government is stipulated in section 3.2.1 (e). The Government may choose to share the intended use of the specific deliverable in the request for task plan for that project.

23. How many licenses will NASA require for the crowd sourcing platform? Section: 3.5 Task Order Execution, page: 31.

The Government is not seeking a license-based crowdsourcing platform under this contract.

24. What are NASA capabilities for hosting services, storing data, and providing infrastructure for its crowd sourcing platform? Section: 3.5 Task Order Execution, page: 31.

Per section 3.3.2 of the SOW, the work on this contract shall be performed primarily at the vendor’s facility and/or virtually via the vendor’s IT infrastructure. Generally, the Government will not provide hosting services, data storage, or infrastructure for a crowdsourcing platform.

25. Is there a particular technology NASA prefers to use to house their data, i.e. cloud, on prem, etc.? Section: 3.6 Reporting Requirements, page: 32.

Other than the required reporting information that is collected using NASA’s content management system through a web-based form as described in section 3.6.2., there is no overarching requirement for the vendor to use any specific technology. If there is data housing requirement specific to a task order it will be defined in its Request for Task Plan.

26. How does NASA currently evaluate crowd sourced ideas?

The Government participates in the evaluation of crowd-based ideas via the vendor-provided platform and process. The criteria used for those evaluations are determined based on the requirements stipulated in the Request for Task Plan.

27. Why was the IDIQ ceiling for NOIS2 reduced from the $20 million specified in NOIS 1?

The IDIQ ceiling for NOIS2 is $24.9 M, as specified in JSC 52.216-90 IDIQ Minimum and Maximum Ordering Limits (AUG 2018) on page 15 of the DRFP. The total maximum value of the current NOIS contract is $20M, therefore the IDIQ ceiling is increasing from the NOIS to NOIS2 contract.

28. Will the IDIQ and task orders allow ODCs including software license and/or subscription fees and travel?

NOIS 2 task orders will be Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and the vendor will be responsible for proposing a fair and reasonable fixed price inclusive of all costs associated with completing the task order, and therefore be inclusive of all costs including ODCs.

29. Will the “Crowd-Based Freelance Projects” be fixed-price or Time & Materials?

All NOIS2 task orders will be issued as fixed-price.

30. Will the Engineering Design task orders be fixed price or Time & Materials?

See answer to Question 29.

31. Please confirm that there are no demographic or geographic restrictions on the freelancers and contest participants?

Any demographic or geographic restrictions will be specified in the request for task plan. However, most task orders are not expected to be demographically restricted other than by current U.S. law (i.e., prohibited countries or designated personnel) as stated in section 3.5 (j). Current legal restrictions can be found here:

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/faq_10_page.aspx

Under the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. §§ 8301-8305), the U.S. Federal Government has a long-standing preference for the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States. However, the Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. § 2501 et seq.) provides the authority to waive discriminatory provisions for eligible products from countries that have signed an international trade agreement with the United States, or that meet certain other criteria, such as being a least developed country. The Government has determined that the NOIS2 acquisition is covered by the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement; therefore, pursuant to 19 U.S.C.

§ 2512, NASA will only acquire U.S.-made or designated country end products or U.S. or designated country services, unless offers for such end products or services are either not received or are insufficient to fulfill the requirements (FAR 25.403(c)). Definitions of "U.S.-made end product," "designated country," and "designated country end product" are provided under FAR 25.003. The Final RFP will contain clause FAR 52.225-5 Trade Agreements.

32. When preparing a response should we indicate in the cover letter or on the cover of the response what area of expertise we are responding to? Ie: Media

Offerors shall provide a description of which end product(s) or service(s) listed in Section 3.2.1 of the SOW the offeror can successfully deliver in Technical Acceptability Factor - Volume I of the proposal submission.

33. What is the anticipated official RFP release date?

The Government anticipates releasing the final RFP on 12/02/2019. Please note that this date is subject to change. Please continue to monitor both the NOIS2 website and beta.SAM.gov for any changes to the schedule.

34. Is there an anticipated annual budget and can this be disclosed?

No, there is not an annual budget.

35. What was the previous budget?

Please see answer to Q34.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/faq_10_page.aspx

36. Can you provide the names of previous contractors?

The current NOIS vendors are: Common Pool, HeroX, Innocentive, Kaggle, Luminary Labs, NineSigma, OpenIDEO, Patexia, Tongal, and Topcoder.

37. We have contacted SAM and they said that our “Unique Entity Identifier” is our DUNS number, and that they are in the process of converting DUNS numbers to Unique Entity Identifiers.” It may be months before we have a Unique Entity Identifier.

FAR 4.1102(a) requires offerors to be registered in SAM at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications. Please be aware that the SAM registration process takes time to complete, SAM registration should be completed in advance to ensure completion to meet this requirement.

38. Can NASA clarify the requirement to provide a Unique Entity Identifier number?

Section 5.5 of the RFP states that the offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the SF1449 of its offer, the annotation “Unique Entity Identifier” followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Offeror’s name and address. If the Offeror does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment directly to obtain one.

39. Can NASA please clarify what “Reps and Certs” refers to and where the reps and certs are located? Reference page 65 section 6: The Table under (6) on page 65 Shows Section 4 Reps and Certs. There is no information provided as to where information on “Reps and Certs is located.

“Reps and Certs” referred to Section 4 of the RFP “52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items (JAN 2017) Alternate I (Oct 2017)”. Per Section 5(6) of the RFP, the offeror must submit with its proposal, in Volume III, the Model Contract in its entirety (basic and any amendments). The model contract shall include all pages contained in Sections 1-4, include all required offeror fill ins- which includes Section 4 Representations and Certifications which contains fill in requirements.

The Government will update the table found on page 65, Section 6, of the RFP to clarify the following:

Section 3: No fill-ins. Please attach Section 3 in its entirety.

Section 4: Representations and certifications shall be completed and submitted in this volume in accordance with provisions found in Section 4 Solicitation Provisions: Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (FAR 52.212-3), also provide fill-ins for 52.204-17, 52.209-2, 52.204-24, 52.209-7, 52.209-12

40. Can NASA please clarify what “How items (7) through (10) are to be submitted? Reference page 65, Sections (7)-(10): Paragraphs (7) – (10) are items to be included with the proposal. And they do not appear part of Volume I or Volume II

Paragraphs (7), (9), and (10) will be removed from the final RFP. Paragraph (8) requires offerors to acknowledge Solicitation Amendments. Amendments to the solicitation will be posted on sam.gov and the NOIS2 acquisition website, via Standard Form 30 (SF30) Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract. Block 11 of the SF30 requires offeror acknowledgement of receipt of the amendment by one of the following methods: (a) by completing items 8 and 15 of the http://www.sam.gov/

SF30 and returning a copy of the amendment to the Contracting Officer; (b) by acknowledging receipt of the amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) by separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. Failure to acknowledge solicitation amendments may result in rejection of offer.

41. Can NASA please clarify what the section 5 reference to elements means? Reference page 63 Section A.a. : Reference Requests “A detailed description of how each of the offeror’s specific method and/or methods described meets each of the elements listed in the SOW under Section 3.0.” The only reference in the SOW to “elements” The only SOW references to “elements” are in 3.2.1. c, d, and e

The Government will update Section 5.3 the RFP language to the following: “A detailed description of how each of the offeror’s specific method and/or methods described meets the requirements stipulated in Section 3.5, Task Order Execution.”

42. Can NASA please clarify what SOW elements our proposed methods must meet? Reference page 63, Section A.a.c : Reference a) requests “An overview of the business model and the specific crowdsourcing method or methods used to successfully deliver the products and services outlined in the SOW.” Reference c requests “A detailed description of how each of the offeror’s specific method and/or methods described meets each of the elements listed in the SOW under Section 3.0. This can be interpreted as a contradiction. It is not clear whether the products or services and methods must meet each of the elements in 3.2.1.

See answer to Question 41.

43. This instruction sounds like NASA is addressing what the offeror is proposing in Volume I and not what the offeror did on the contract or project being submitted to establish a past performance record. Can NASA please clarify what is being requested? Reference page 64 Section 5(c) Reference requests “This submission shall clearly detail what portions of the Statement of Work, the prime, major/minor subcontractors, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner are responsible for and the specific resources (workforce, management, facilities, or other resources) to be employed and relied upon to perform the proposed effort.”

The Government will update the RFP to remove the last paragraph in Section 5.3(5)(C).

44. Section 5.2 Formatting Instructions (ii) Is it possible to allow charts with font sizes of 10 pt?

(p.60)

The Government will update the RFP to change the text size requirements found in Section 5.2 of the RFP for the text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall be no smaller than 10 point text size.

45. Section 5.2 Formatting Instructions (vii) Can NASA confirm that no excel spreadsheets are being requested as part of this RFP? (p.60)

RFP Section 5.2(vii) Instructions to Offerors will be updated to only require electronic proposals to be prepared and submitted in a Microsoft Office Word application.

46. Section 5.2 Formatting Instructions: Does the electronic cover sheet required (p.61) count towards the page limits set forth in Table 5-1 (p.59)?

The RFP will be updated to clarify that the electronic cover sheet does not count towards the proposal page count.

47. Section 5.2 Formatting Instructions: Does the cross reference list required (p.61) count towards the page limits set forth in Table 5-1 (p.59)?

The RFP will be updated to clarify that the cross reference list will not count towards the page limitations.

48. Section 5.2 Formatting Instructions: Will additional questions be allowed after the final RFP is released? (p.61)

The Government will be hosting a Pre-Proposal conference after the final RFP is released. Interested parties will have an opportunity to submit questions related to the final RFP by the date specified in the final RFP.

49. 5.3 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors (a) Submission of Offers (P.62) states that “offers must be submitted on the SF 1449” The instructions say that the “offer must be submitted on the SF 1449” and then goes on to show that offers must include Volumes I, II and III - are these all meant to be included on the SF1449 as well as submitted separately?

No, the RFP has been revised to clarify 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors.

50. 5.3 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors (a) Submission of Offers (P.62) Further, we see some items being mentioned in multiple places. Are we correct to presume they should only appear once, in the Volume as referenced? FAR 52.212-3 Representations and Certifications are asked to be completed as part of (6) Model Contract Volume III (p.65) and mentioned again under (7) also on page 65.

Please see answer to Question 40.

51. 5.3 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors (a) Submission of Offers (P.62) Further, we see some items being mentioned in multiple places. Are we correct to presume they should only appear once, in the Volume as referenced? Past Performance is asked to be included in Volume II on page 64 and mentioned again under (9) on page 65.

Please see answer to Question 40.

52. (a) (5) Responsibility Considerations - Volume II C. Past Performance Record;1 page seems insufficient to provide the information requested for up to 3 past contracts; The paragraph at the bottom of page 64 asks for detail that seems to be forward looking and therefore inconsistent with past performance, e.g., “what they will be responsible for and /or proposing to do with the specific resources”. Can NASA clarify what is being asked in this paragraph?

52.212-1(5)(C) Past Performance Record requires the offeror to submit the entire Past Performance Record write-up on one page in length. The Government requests a very brief summary of the past performance projects with minimal additional information and will not be changing the page length requirement. The Government will update the RFP to remove the last paragraph in Section 5.3(5)(C).

53. SECTION 6: Evaluation 6.3 Responsibility Factor (Volume III), C. Past Performance Record It states here that only contract period of performances within 3 years from the date of the NOIS2 original solicitation will be considered. Is that based on when the past performance project was initiated or completed? Can projects that are in progress be included?

Projects in progress may be included. The RFP will be updated to clarify that the three year period is based on when the past performance project was completed.

54. Will follow-on NOIS2 RFP include a mock call order? A mock call order would help offerors get a stronger understanding of the work to be performed for scoping and technical approach purposes.

No, the Government does not anticipate sharing sample task orders for NOIS2. However, sample task orders from the current NOIS contract are provided in the technical library as a reference.

55. How many qualified offerers does NASA intend to having on this IDIQ? Section: Cover Letter;

page 2.

Per Section 6 of the RFP the Government intends to award to multiple offers as a result of this solicitation. In accordance with Procurement Class Deviation 18-02, the Government intends to make an award to each and all qualifying offeror.

56. Can NASA clarify the page limit on the past performance? Is it one page per past performance or 3 past performances on 1 page? Section: (5) Responsibility Considerations - Volume II, page:

64.

The entire past performance record write-up shall not exceed one page in length; information on all 3 past performance contracts shall be included on one page.

57. If teaming with another offeror, can NASA clarify whether it would require 3 past performance per offeror or 3 past performances for the entire bid? Section: (5) Responsibility Considerations - Volume II; page 64.

Please submit information on 3 past performance contracts per proposal submission.

58. Are the projects in the technical library meant to be addressed by our sample project plans, or may we submit our template?

No, the sample TOs found in the technical library are provided as an example of TOs issued under the current NOIS contract. Instructions for the submission of sample project plans are located in Section 5 of the RFP.

59. According to the DRFP, Offerors must ensure its company is listed in the on-line database:

System of Award management: https://www.sam.gov, U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, VETS-4212 Reports:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212; Data Universal Numbering System:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/. Does that mean Offerors must be in listed in “one of the above” or “all of the above”?

Offerors must be registered in all of the listed on-line databases.

60. The DRFP is anticipated to be issued under full and open competition. Is it the individual task orders that will be set-aside for Small Business?

https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212 https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__fedgov.dnb.com_webform_&d=DwMFAg&c=ApwzowJNAKKw3xye91w7BE1XMRKi2LN9kiMk5Csz9Zk&r=fALXMb7RtCRNQJwn91i46nPnMTudGDTa49pYjynJNVI&m=7Kod0DFt9ipZcVDASJzxqHmQCNMzfTpParSxHY9lOyU&s=NYtWuiHGxBfbjrlU7m7_YE-LEgnZwyM5kTKkdnMnInw&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__fedgov.dnb.com_webform_&d=DwMFAg&c=ApwzowJNAKKw3xye91w7BE1XMRKi2LN9kiMk5Csz9Zk&r=fALXMb7RtCRNQJwn91i46nPnMTudGDTa49pYjynJNVI&m=7Kod0DFt9ipZcVDASJzxqHmQCNMzfTpParSxHY9lOyU&s=NYtWuiHGxBfbjrlU7m7_YE-LEgnZwyM5kTKkdnMnInw&e= http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/

Yes, the contract is anticipated to be competed utilizing full and open competition at the contract level with capability to set aside to small businesses at the task order level.

61. The requirements of the solicitation are for a contractor to facilitate the crowd-sourcing for various task orders. Should a firm win the contract/or portion of the contract for crowd-sourcing, will they then be precluded from bidding on any task order that includes their specific talents; such as multimedia, graphic design, etc?

The offeror shall use one of more of the crowd-based methodologies listed in Section 3.2 of the SOW to deliver the end products and services identified in Section 3.2.1 of the SOW. The scope of the NOIS2 contract requires the ability to solicit crowd-based solutions to satisfy the SOW.

62. If a particular Prime were to win this contract and say we had partnered with that Prime in the past, would it exclude us from being eligible for upcoming task orders related to this DRFP

This questions does not contain substantial information for the Government to provide a definitive answer. If the offeror believes an Organizational Conflict of Interest exists, the offerors must identify OCI issues in Volume II of the proposal, and submit a plan to mitigate each issue.