A23 Attachment 11 Responses to Market Research Questions.pdf

1 Draft PWS Template 1: General Information 1.6.4 Hours of Operation 3 33 Substantive

The PWS states that “The contract program manager shall be reachable between the hours of 0900 and 1700 Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings” but the position of program manager is listed as .5 FTE. Should the program manager position be full-time (1 FTE) rather than half-time?

PWS Estimated Workload Exhibit is revised to show 1 FTE.

2 Draft PWS Template 1.6.11 Contract Personnel 1.6.11.1.1 Key Personnel 6 0 Critical Could the government please confirm which personnel are "Key Personnel"? In section 1.6.11.1 of the PWS, the government says, " The following personnel are considered Key Personnel by the Government: Program Manager.” Below that in section 1.6.11.1.1, a table lists the Senior Professor(s) as Key personnel and the Program manager as "Non-Key personnel.

PWS Section 1.6.11.1.1 is revised.

3 Draft PWS Template 1: General Information 1.6.11.2 Non-Key Personnel 7 0 Critical The minimum qualifications for a .5 FTE program manager are onerous. Particularly the requirement to have a minimum of 10 years experience leading and supervising multi-disciplinary teams in support of US Government (USG) international programs. Can this requirement be reconsidered?

PWS Section 1.6.11.1.1 is revised.

4 Draft PWS Template 5. Specific Tasks 0 13 3 Substantive

“a) Coordinating and aligning academic standards…” and “d) Developing courses and workshops…” are listed as lines of effort, but sections 5.1 through 5.4 do not include any relevant specific tasks. Is there an expectation that the implementer will actually perform work related to lines of effort a and d, and should a proposer respond to those lines of effort in the proposal or solely to the specific tasks outlined in sections 5.1 through 5.4 of the PWS?

PWS Section 5.3.2 has been added.

5 Draft PWS Template 5. Specific Tasks 0 13 0 Substantive Some of the research areas outlined in the specific tasks are related to emerging technologies. Will there be an expectation of technology development and transition as part of this program? There is no expectation of technology development and transition as part of this program.

6 Draft PWS Template 5: Specific Tasks 5.4 Task 3: Research Areas of Focus 13-15 0 Substantive

To provide appropriate expertise for each of the research topics listed in PWS section 5.4, we would want to engage a number of faculty in the projects (an expert on lawfare, a different expert on economic statecraft, etc.). Can the 2.0 FTE allocated for ‘professor’ be broken down to include a number of professors, each with .25 FTE for example?

Yes, the 2.0 FTE may be broken into more than two positions, employing increments of no less than .25FTE.

7 Draft SOO Instructions to Offerors 52.212-1 Addendum B. Administrative (Volume I) 66 22 Critical

Can the following clause on pg. 66 be removed? This clause would prevent any negotiation of the terms and conditions, and some of the terms appear to be set up for contractors instead of universities. The changes required for universities are subtle, but would be important to ensure the work can be completed.

a.“To facilitate the award process, the Offeror shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition. We certify that all aspects of services outlined in the PWS and Attachments will be performed upon award of the contract."

This section has been removed.

8 General 0 0 0 0 General What unit would the COE report to within the DoD. Is it under consideration to report directly to USD/P? To meet the mission elements mandated by Congress in 10 U.S.C. 345, the hybrid IWC enterprise will fall under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (OUSD(P)).

9 General 0 0 0 0 General Could the government please describe and eleborate on the relationship between the Government-run IWC support staff and the tasks described in this RFP and this PWS? Specifically, will the personnel requested in this PWS REPLACE or AUGMENT the current IWC staff such as the "Chair of Research" listed on the IWC website. https://irregularwarfarecenter.org/leadership/?

To meet the mission elements mandated by Congress in 10 U.S.C. 345, the hybrid IWC enterprise will fall under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (OUSD(P)).

10 General 0 0 0 0 General

Can the key personnel position of Program Manager be edited to Center Director or something similar, to be filled by a more senior irregular warfare expert who would serve as the point of contact with the sponsor and government-run IWC and coordinate faculty and partners for task execution? This position could be supported by a more junior part-time project manager to help with administrative components of the project.

PWS Section 1.6.11.1.1 is revised.

11 General 0 0 0 0 General What has caused delays in awarding the IWC CoE? The delays has resulted from the lack of budget eneactment for FY2024. New start programs may not be established under continuing resolution. The Department moved expeditiously to post the RFP as soon as Congress enacted a budget.

12 Draft PWS Template 0 0 0 0 Critical

We are concerned that the pre-solicitation is too limited in its scope of work to fully leverage the innovation and expertise a university could bring to bear on irregular warfare challenges. For example, the pre-solicitation limits the research areas of focus and does not leave room for the COE to proactively identify topical challenges or develop potential solutions. Also, while the pre-solicitation lists “coordinating and aligning academic standards” and “developing courses and workshops” as services the Contractor shall provide, none of the specific tasks listed in the draft PWS (Sections 5.1-5.4) are relevant to those objectives. Those are areas where civilian universities have longstanding strengths relative to the DOD—it would benefit DoD to leverage those strengths in the service of IW requirements.

Following a robust market research process, the RFP was scoped to meet the specific mission elements of the IWC as mandated by the Congress in updates to 10 U.S.C. 345.

PWS Section 5.3.2 has been added.

PWS Sections 5.4.8 and 5.4.8.1 has been added.

13 Draft PWS Template 1 1.4 2 0 Substantive #2 See #12

14 Draft PWS Template 5 5 13 9 Critical #2 See #12 15 Draft PWS Template 5 5.2 13 0 Critical #2 See #12 16 Draft PWS Template 5 5.3 13 0 Critical #2 See #12 17 Draft PWS Template 5 5.4 13 0 Critical #2 See #12

18 General 0 0 0 0 Substantive

The Sources Sought Notice issued on August 10, 2023, listed three Critical Task Areas - the first which could be described as program administration, external engagement to discuss IW challenges, and curriculum and workshop development; the second include research and analytical support; and the third included simulation, modeling, and operation analysis, test and evaluation of new IW technolgy capabilities, execution of wargames, and support IW national strategy; among others. The RFP only includes the activities listed under Critical Task 2. What changed the nature of the IWC CoE between the issuance of these two documents to reduce the scope, and how does DoD plan to address the needs originally identified as Critical Tasks 1 and 3? Where will the funding for fullfilling Critical Tasks 1 and 3 be derived?

Following a robust market research process, the RFP was scoped to meet the specific mission elements of the IWC as mandated by the Congress in updates to 10 U.S.C. 345.

19 General 0 0 0 0 Substantive

Why will the COE report to the IWC, rather than than USD(P) directly? While the COE would certainly work closely and in close collaboration with the government-run IWC, it is important to Congress that the COE have guaranteed research and academic independence and a path for contestability. We strongly encourage you to explore the possibility of having the COE report directly to USD(P) to ensure academic independence is in line with the original intent of Congress.

To meet the mission elements mandated by the Congress in 10 U.S.C. 345, the hybrid IWC enterprise will fall under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (OUSD(P)).

20 Draft PWS Template 5 5.3 13 Critical #9 See #19 21 Draft PWS Template 5 5.4 13 #9 See #19

22 Draft SOO 0 0 0 0 Substantive The RFP does not list the $5 million appropriation included in the FY24 funding package. How is DOD planning to incorporate this funding into the establishment of the COE?

Offerors will be assessed on a variety of criteria, including price. The Department recognizes and appreciates the $5 million add th Congress included in the FY2024 budget enactment for the IWC COE.

23 Draft SOO 52.212-1 0 66 Critical

The restrictive language in the solicitation would inhibit modifications to the award document. Is it possible to adjust this single statement to allow for greater flexibility between DoD and the Offeror, as some of the terms and conditions appear focused on contractors rather than universities, and are restricted to certain mechanisms? Specifically, this is regarding the language on page 66, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS / 52.212-1 ADDENDUM; B. Administrative (Volume 1): “To facilitate the award process, the Offeror shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The terms and conditions and solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition. We certify that all aspects of services outlined in the PWS and Attachments will be performed upon award of the contract”.

This section has been removed.

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