MESC Draft Request for Proposal Q and A.pdf

4 There is a note in L.11 NFS 1852.245- 81 List of Available Government Property that states there is no Government furnished property. Yet there is an equipment list on page 257 of the DRFP. Is there Government furnished property?

The government does not anticipate providing Government Furnished Property (GFP) under MESC. The government anticipates providing Installation Accountable Government Property (IAGP). Attachment J-05 includes the list of IAGP for the MESC. The list will include a title for clarity in the final RFP.

Please reference NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.245-71 Installation-accountable Government property for further information related to IAGP.

The RFP states that “Proposal sections excluded from the page limit shall be placed at the end of each volume.” and “Title pages, table of contents, cross-reference matrices, glossaries, acronym lists, page tabs, and section dividers shall be numbered with lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.).” Please confirm that only those proposal pieces found in Table L.20.2.2 should be included at the end of each volume and sections such as title pages, table of contents, cross-reference matrices, glossaries, and acronym lists, that are numbered with roman numerals, should come at the beginning of the volume.

The government plans to delete the following sentence from Section L.20.2 Proposal Arrangement, Page Limitations, Copies, And Due Dates, paragraph (c), in the final RFP: “Proposal sections excluded from the page limit shall be placed at the end of each volume.”

The non-page limited reference information described in Section L.20.2.3 (a)(4) such as title pages, table of contents, cross-reference matrices, glossaries, and acronym lists, that are numbered with roman numerals, may be placed by the Offeror in the volume in a way that best aids the reader.

6 The RFP states that “Text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall be no smaller than 12-point text size.” Will the government allow text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs to be sized 9 or 10 point for ease of readability?

No, offerors may not use a font size other than the size specified in the final RFP.

Offerors should refer to L.20.2.3(a)(2) for Proposal Formatting instructions, which states: "Text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall be no smaller than 12-point text size. Diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall not be used to circumvent the text size limitations of the proposal."

7 The RFP states that “Text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall be no smaller than 12-point text size.” Will the government exclude screenshots from this font requirement so they may be submitted in their native screen capture font?

No, please see response to MESC question #6.

8 The RFP states that “Sections of the proposal which are page limited shall be prepared and submitted using non-compressed Arial font with single-spaced 12-point text.” Will the Government allow the space between paragraphs to be 6-point?

No, single-space 12-point font is required throughout the document, including the space between paragraphs. Offerors should refer to L.20.2.3(a)(2) for Proposal Formatting Instructions.

9 The RFP states that “Headers, footers, and corporate logos are not subject to the font type and size limitations.” For “sections of the proposal which are not subject to page limitations” will the Government allow headers, footers, and logos to be exempt from the font limitations for all volumes, including those that are page limited?

No, section L.20.2.3.(b)(1) contains requirements only for sections of the proposal which are not subject to page limitations.

10 Table L-2 refers to Past Performance (PP) Attachments, PP Information Spreadsheet, and Introductory Material, with a 7-page limit for Introductory Material. Please define PP Attachments, PP Information Spreadsheet, and Introductory Material, and explain how it relates to L.20.5 Past Performance – Volume II, Section (i), which states: “You may include up to one page of introductory material about the experience and performance of your company and major subcontractors (if applicable). This introductory material is in addition to the page limitation constraints.” Please clarify page limits for Past Performance.

The final RFP will be updated to clarify page limits.

11 Table L-2 gives a 13-page limit to the Operational Approach sections of the Baseline A and Baseline B proposals, including technical, management and staffing, and Phase-in. Technical Understanding alone requires the offeror to respond to more than 20 elements and sub-elements of the Statement of Work (SOW). Could the Government increase the page allocation for this section to allow a response that will be detailed enough to evaluate meaningfully--for example, 20 to 25 pages?

No, in accordance with section L.20.2.2, Table L-2 Overview of Proposal Volumes…the Technical Acceptability Factor - Volume I is limited to 13 pages for Baselines A and 13 pages for Baseline B.

The Government doesn’t anticipate any changes to the page limitations in the Final RFP.

12 When will the Government publish the names of the SEB?

The members of the MESC Streamlined Procurement Team (SLPT) will be published at the release of the final RFP.

Note, the MESC acquisition is planned to be performed in accordance with Streamlined acquisition procedures, not Source Evaluation Board (SEB) procedures. See the guidance provided at this link for further information:

https://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/sorsel.asp

13 Will the government consider an evaluated approach to Volume I, Technical Acceptability Factor instead of an “acceptable vs non-acceptable” assessment? Utilizing an approach similar to the evaluation of the JOIST Baseline A proposal in 2017 which included providing a confidence rating (Green, Blue or Yellow) for management/technical approaches will help the Government better differentiate between offerors’ mission suitability effectiveness, value, and inherent risk level.

Will the Government consider allocating additional page count to the Technical Acceptability Factor, (Volume 1) for the content of DRDs 1 and 3 that is to be included?

No, the Government will evaluate Volume I, Technical Acceptability Factor in accordance with section M.2 JSC 52.215- 122 Streamlined Procurement Evaluation Factors for Award.

No, the Government will not consider allocating additional page count for the response to DRDs 1 and 3. Please refer to DRFP Q&A response #11 above.

14 Will the Government please provide details and expectations regarding the initial submittal of DRDs 1 and 3 as noted in DRL block 7b by adding section L.16.2 information and confirm that the entire DRDs 1 and 3 are not due with the proposal?

Yes. Attachment J-02 The DRL List, and DRD's will be changed in the final RFP to match the information required in section L.20.4.

15 Will the Government permit Arial Narrow (not compressed) 12-point font to be used for diagrams, charts, tables, artwork and photographs?

No, please refer to DRFP Q&A Response #6 above.

16 In which Volume/Section should the one-page resume be submitted?

The Government anticipates the final RFP will be updated to include the 1-page resume submittal in Section L.20.5 Past Performance.

17 Will the Government confirm the correct title is “Attachment L-8 Past Performance Relevancy Matrix?”

Yes, the correct title is “Attachment L-8 Past Performance Relevancy Matrix.”

This title will be updated in the final RFP.

18 Do Time and Materials (T&M) subcontractors who meets the definition in paragraph (d) (1) & (2) be required to submit a Total Compensation Plan (TCP)?

In accordance with JPI 1852.231-71 Determination of Compensation Reasonableness, a TCP is not required for T&M subcontractors who meet the definition in paragraph (d) (1) & (2).

19 Please clarify what is needed under (B) Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Information. Is this information in addition to the OCI Plan?

The Government anticipates the final RFP section L.20.7 (B) will be updated to clarify.

20 Please confirm offerors may modify formulas in Attachment L-03 Baseline Excel Pricing Model (EPM) Template in order to accommodate the offerors’ proposed technical solution.

In the final RFP section L.20.6(d) will be updated to clarify that offerors may modify formulas in Attachment L-03 Baseline EPM Template to accommodate the offerors’ proposed technical solution.

21 For offerors who are only bidding the MESC IDIQ Work Area, what portions of the Model Contract apply and should be provided as a part of the IDIQ Proposal?

In the final RFP, Table L.20.8, will be updated to identify the areas of the Model contract that need to be completed with proposal for Baseline A, B, and/or IDIQ.

22 Did the Government intend that the Subcontracting Arrangement Information (SAI) template be included in the Baseline workbook instead of the IDIQ workbook, or is it required in both workbooks? If required in the IDIQ workbook, would the Government please define the basis?

The Government intends for the SAI template to be included for both Baseline and IDIQ EPM templates. The Final RFP will capture this change. The basis for IDIQ is the estimated value of the specified resources (SRs).

23 Would the Government please clarify if the Subcontract Arrangement Information section in the Responsibility Considerations Volume applies only to the Baseline work areas or if it also applies to the IDIQ work area?

The subcontracting arrangement information required in Section L.20.7A.

is applicable to Baselines A, B, and IDIQ if a subcontracting arrangement is proposed.

24 Does the phrase “annual value” refer to the company’s annual revenue or their proposed contract value on MESC?

Section L.20.7(e) will be updated in the final RFP to state "Annual Gross Revenue." The value requested in this section is not the proposed contract value under MESC.

25 We realize that the RFP is in draft form, however the DRD-19 submission section indicates that the key person PM’s resume is required to be submitted with the proposal. In which Volume/Section should the one-page resume be submitted? Is a letter of commitment also required?

Please refer to DRFP Q&A #16. A letter of commitment is not required to be submitted with proposals.

26 We assume that the graphical organizational chart on page 390 of the DRFP is the referenced Attachment L- 01 for Baseline B. Is this a correct assumption? The org chart is not labeled. In addition, “Lead Database Administrator” appears to be duplicated on the org chart. We assume that this org chart should match the requirements in DRD-19. Is this correct?

Yes, the graphical organizational chart on page 390 of the DRFP is the referenced Attachment L-01 for Baseline B. A title will be added to the chart in the final RFP.

Regarding the DBA, please reference Draft RFP Q&A response #3.

Yes, the offeror's organizational chart submittal in Attachment L-01 should align with the offeror's approach to meeting requirements under DRD-19.

27 The Minor Subcontractor Template (MST) on the IDIQ EPM references Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) rates.

Would the Government please clarify that only firm-fixed-priced (FFP) rates are required for the IDIQ Work Area?

The IDIQ EPM MST tab should only include FFP rates. The Government will remove the Cost Fully Burden Rate (FBR) section from the MST in the IDIQ EPM Template.

28 For the purposes of the IDIQ Fringe Benefits Analysis of Compensation Plan Template (FBAC), does the Government intend for the Offerors and their subcontractors to use the Specified Resources as FBAC proposed WYEs/direct hours, or will the Government provide a plug number?

The Government requires the offerors and their subcontractors to use the Specified Resources for the FBAC. Reference L.20.6 Cost and Price Factor- Volume III.

29 Would the Government please clarify by providing Section L Instructions and Section M Evaluation Criteria guidance regarding the DRDs?

In the final RFP, section L.20.8 will be updated to clarify the DRDs due at proposal and to reference the DRL for response dates for all other documents required by DRDs.

30 The RFP states: “All offerors shall provide a response to Technical Areas 1 through 3 in the Table below. The page limit for the Technical Approach for Technical Areas 1 through 3 two pages per Area (six pages total).”

Does this mean some area technical approaches can go over two pages as long as the total page count of 6 pages for all three areas is not exceeded?

No. In attachment L-02, IDIQ Technical Scenario, this sentence will be revised to state: “The page limit for the Technical Approach for Technical Areas 1 through 3 is two pages per Area (not to exceed six pages total).”

31 DRD 03 – Management & Staffing Plan. The submission date on page J- 01-4 says “Due with Proposal”. Under Item 8, it states: Initial is upon contract award [IDIQ]. This is not listed in Table L-2 Overview of Proposal Volumes, Page Limitations, Copies, and Format for IDIQ. Need confirmation on whether this DRD is required for IDIQ. If required, it needs to be added to Table L-2 and we need to know if the Management & Staffing Plan is due with the proposal or upon Contract Award for the IDIQ proposal.

DRD-03 is required for IDIQ. The submission of that plan is due upon contract award, not proposal. Table L-2 is correct as written. However, the DRL will be updated for clarity for the submission of DRD-03.

1. [Baseline A & B] Initial due with Proposal shall include sections: 8c. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7; 9a and 9b; 12; and 13, and Attachment L-01, MESC Staffing Expectations Baseline A and B. After award, offeror(s)/Contractors will be notified by the Contracting Officer when the full Management and Staffing plan submittal is due.

2. [IDIQ] Initial upon contract award

32 DRD 06 – IT Security Management Plan. The submission date states: “See Provision L.16.7” (this is also stated for several other DRDs). There is no Section L.16.7. Please identify when these plans are due.

The provision numbers will be updated in the DRL for the RFP. For the IT Security Management Plan, the Provision will be corrected to L.20.7 in the RFP.

Provisions L.20.7 I. “The Contracting Officer will request the information required by the Information Technology (IT) Security Management Program Plan DRD-06 from all Offerors in the competitive range or only from the apparent successful Offeror(s) or from Offeror(s) deemed as necessary to support an efficient responsibility decision.

Offeror(s) will be notified by the Contracting Officer of this requirement, with an anticipated 10 calendar days allowed for submittal.”