Attachment 9_RFP Questions and Answers_Amend 0001.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 26 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Forward Networks Unlimited Enterprise License
- Solicitation number
- 842675078
- Issued by
-
Defense Information Systems Agency
About this file
This is a Request for Proposal Questions and Answers document (Amendment 0001) for RFP HC108426R0012, addressing clarifications on the Forward Networks Enterprise License solicitation. The document contains 14 contractor questions with corresponding government responses that materially clarified and amended the Performance Work Statement (PWS).
Key clarifications include: the government will provide hosting and infrastructure on-prem at DISA with contractor assistance for license provisioning and software operation compliance with DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (IL 4-6 standards); pre-deployment change modeling requirements were reworded to focus on pre-change and post-change comparison analysis using Diff validation rather than sandbox sandboxing; security clearance requirements were clarified to reference Secret and TS/SCI as personnel security and SIPR, NIPR, and JWICS as system requirements; ACAS vulnerability scanning was confirmed as a government responsibility through the established ACAS team on government-furnished equipment; vulnerability remediation timing is dependent on vulnerability severity with OEM Resident Engineer assistance; travel reimbursement was clarified to cover long-distance CONUS travel pre-approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative outside a 100-mile radius of the mission location; the solution scope includes all DISA-hosted and DISA-managed networks across multiple classification levels; SCI clearance requirements for Resident Engineers were confirmed in the DD254 for "need-to-know" eligibility; training delivery may include embedded resources or instructor-led virtual webinars with completion measured by training frequency and survey effectiveness; and Impact Level requirements were amended to remove IL7. The amendment required date remains July 17, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Central.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFP_HC108426R0012_Amend 0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment 1_PWS_Amend 0001.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 4_CDRLS_Exhibit A_Amend 0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment 5_DD254.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3_CLIN Pricing Worksheet_EPL.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 10_JA Forward Networks_Redacted.pdf | ||
| RFP_HC108426R0012.pdf | ||
| Attachment 8_Subcontracting Plan Review Checklist.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 2_QASP dated July 6_2026.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 7_GFP.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 1_PWS.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 6_NDA.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 4_CDRLS_Exhibit A.pdf | ||
| Attachment 9_RFP Questions and Answers Template.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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Instructions
| Q&A INSTRUCTIONS: The purpose of these specific instructions is to expedite the process of answering questions. Please do not change the format of this document. |
| Complete the spreadsheet tab below named "Q&A" with all questions, comments, and recommendations about the RFP. |
| Blue text is provided as sample language and should be deleted by contractor before submission. |
COLUMN B: Complete the "Page" column. This is the page number from the contract. Do not include the total page number.
COLUMN C: Complete the "Section/Paragraph" column with the applicable section and paragraph number (if applicable) of the contract. Do not include any other extraneous identifiers or other information other then instructed here. If the reference is to a CLIN, Clause, Appendix, or Attachment etc. the entry goes in the next column.
COLUMN D: Complete the "CLIN/Clause/Other" column. Insert the CLIN, Clause, Provision, Appendix, or Attachment number. For example: CLIN 0001, 52.217-8, Appendix A, or Attachment 3.
COLUMN E: Complete the Questions/Comments/Recommendations column. Start the question by referencing the topic. This may help the sorting process. For example: Minimum Qualifications Checklist or Performance Area 10. Then insert the question or comment.
Q&A
| RFP No.: HC108426R0012 | |||||||
| No. | RFP Page | RFP Section/ Paragraph | CLIN/ Clause/ Appendix/ Attachment/ Other | Questions/Comments/Recommendations | RFP Amendment Required (Yes/No) | Government Response | |
| 1 | 2 | Section 5 | The contractor shall ensure the platform operates in strict compliance with DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (CC SRG) Impact Level (IL) 5 through IL7 standards. | Can the Government clarify whether it is providing hosting and infrastructure for this deployment on-prem at DISA as GFE? | Yes | The PWS section was reworded to address the concerns. The provisioning and operation of the platform are the responsibility of the government with Contractor assistance. The Contractor will provision the licenses and ensure the software can operate in government environments. | |
| • | Platform Provisioning and Operating Environments: The contractor shall provision the enterprise licenses and ensure the software operates in Government environments which are in strict compliance with DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (CC SRG) Impact Level (IL) 4 through Impact Level (IL6) standards and Special Access Programs as required. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | 6.1 Subtask 1 | Pre-Deployment 'What-If' Sandboxing: A built-in behavioral sandbox allowing Agency engineers to modify configuration text files, routing tables, and security ACLs inside the digital twin environment to verify the exact blast radius and policy impacts prior to pushing changes to production infrastructure. | Can the Government clarify this requirement? Our interpretation of the intended requirement is: Pre-Deployment 'What-If' Sandboxing: A built-in behavioral sandbox allowing Agency engineers to modify security ACLs inside the digital twin environment to verify the exact blast radius and policy impacts prior to pushing changes to production infrastructure - using Diff analysis to validate proposed changes and effects on systems. | Yes | The section in the PWS was replaced. The wording was too ambiguous and insuated a feature that does not yet exist. | |
| • | Change Modeling: The contractor shall configure the software to allow pre-change and post-change comparisons in network device configurations and states to provide in-depth analysis of change impact. This capability must allow the Government to identify the full impact of changes to security posture, blast radius, and pathing. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | 6.2 Subtask 2 | Secret, NIPRNet, and SIPRNet accesses are required to support: The Contractor shall provide an EL that maximizes the aforementioned capabilities by providing device scalability at a fixed annual cost. The EL shall cover all DISA managed and/or owned devices regardless of classification (NIPRNet, SIPRNet, etc.) | The requirement calls out Secret, NIPRNet, and SIPRNet, but TOP SECRET has been stated and even identified in the DD254. Can the Government clarify whether TS should be called out in here? | Yes | Updated language within the pws to clarify Secret and TS/Sci is personnel security and sipr, nipr, and jwics are system security requirements. - DSC | |
| 4 | 4 | 6.3.5 Subtask 5 | The Contractor shall scan the system monthly using an instance of the Assured Compliance Assessment Solution (ACAS) using DISA required plug-ins in accordance with the ATO. | Can the Government confirm that this is a function of the established ACAS team on GFE and scans will not be included in scope? | Yes | This item in the subtask was deleted. Utilizing ACAS to scan the platform is a Government responsibility. | |
| 5 | 4 | 6.3.5 Subtask 5 | The Contractor shall continuously remediate system vulnerabilities, as discovered, in accordance with DISA policy. | With regard to DISA policy, can the Government clarify the timing that vulnerabilities need to be remediated by if/when found? | Yes | Timing for vulnerability remediation varies depending on the vulnerability. Furthermore, this item in the subtask was amended to reflect that the OEM Resident Engineers will assist the Government with remediation. | |
| 6 | 11-Oct | Section 9 | Local travel to and around the mission location may be required throughout the period of performance; this travel will not be reimbursed. Long distance travel within CONUS or OCONUS (if applicable) may be required to support the requirements of this PWS. Long distance travel within CONUS must be pre-approved in writing by the COR prior to the Contractor incurring the cost in support of this contract. | Can the Government clarify whether CONUS/OCONUS travel outside the defined 100-mile radius of the mission center (primary location) is cost reimbursable? | yes | Removed language that implies we will reimburse cost and updated langauge to be specific about the 100 mile radius. | |
| 7 | 2 | Section 5 | specialized joint-warfighter enclaves) domains | Can the Government clarify if its intention is to have this solution across any networks that DISA is hosting within its data center environment (e.g., to include SAP, JWICS, etc.) | No | It is the intention to have this solution across any networks that DISA is hosting within it's data center environment. But it also includes DISA managed systems which may not be hosted at a data center but at other sites as well. Refer to section 9. | |
| 8 | 2 | Section 5 | contractor shall deploy dedicated, Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI)-cleared OEM Resident Engineers | Can the Government clarify if its intention is to sponsor these SCI required resources within the DD254? | No | The requirement for SCI is included in the DD254 so that the Contractor personnel will be eligible for "need-to-know". | |
| 9 | 2 | Section 5 | The Government may require surge support during the base or any option period, and surge modifications will be within the scope of the contract and provide increased support for the defined task areas of this PWS. | Does the Government intend to leverage the SKUs for the Resident Engineer/Support for this effort? | No | If needed. We have SKUs on the contract for engineers. If the surge is needed for engineers or other requirements, it will be used. | |
| 10 | 3 | 6.3.1.1 Subtask 1 | The contractor shall provide training on how to use and interpret the dashboards and KPIs. | Can the Government clarify whether this training is to be further defined, to include structured classes? Alternatively, will training via the embedded resources be acceptable? How will completion of this requirement be measured/quantified as being complete, or is this an ongoing task? | No | We can accept embedded resources, although instructor-led (virtual) would be optimal if a detalied webinar is available, we could accept. Recommend this detail be worked out post award. I would expect this to be an on-going task as new users on-board. We can metric this task by how many trainings we have and survey results to show effectiveness. | |
| 11 | 5 | 6.3.6 Subtask 6 | Team Enablement & Mentorship | Can the Government clarify whether training can be pre-scheduled on a quarterly basis to be conducted with personnel at Scott AFB? | No | This can be agreed to post-award. The OEM may assist with this training as a value add. To document how often could limit the government in having qualified end users. | |
| 12 | 9 | 6.6 Subtask 6 | Impact Level (IL) Requirements: | Is the Government's intention to have this as a cloud-based solution? Currently, it is an on-prem solution and is not intended to be hosted in an IL4-7 environment. | Yes | The DISA J-9 Data Centers where the platform is hosted are IL environments. PWS was amended to remove IL7. | |
| 13 | 11-Jan | Section 9 | Long distance travel within CONUS must be pre-approved in writing by the COR prior to the Contractor incurring the cost in support of this contract. | Does the Government intend to have a CLIN on the contract that this can be charged against? If so, is it to be an “Actuals Only” or will a standard G&A be approved on the travel to account for accounting overhead? | Yes | Removed this language | |
| 14 | 13 | 11.2.1 TS/SCI Requirements | Individuals located onsite at Government locations listed in the place of performance and supporting PWS Tasks / Subtasks that require(s) a final TS security clearance will, immediately upon hire, require SCI access eligibility | Is the Government's intention that all personnel that have to work on a site/location temporarily will also require TS/SCI clearances? Or, is this to be determined by site and network-specific for work being executed? | No | The sentence states "Tasks / Subtasks that require(s) a final TS security clearance", even if they are temporary, if they are working on a requrement that is TS they should have a TS. | |
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File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .