AG-024B-S-15-0043_Q A.pdf

Solicitation No. AG-024B-S-15-0043 U.S. Forest Service Leadership Development, FAM National Office

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

DECEMBER 30, 2015

1. Please specify the locations at which training will be conducted.

Due to the sporadic nature of wildland fire and any requirement for future staff rides, conferences, courseware, etc, we are unable to provide this information.

2. Can the government please provide more detail as to the extent to which travel will be reimbursed? Will the contractor be reimbursed for travel from their home of record to the training location??

See updated Section 3.1.

3. Will excess baggage be reimbursed under the travel CLIN? This may be necessary to accommodate training equipment.

To be determined on a task order basis.

4. Will the government consider adding a CLIN for reimbursement of facility rental? Details regarding course length, desired facilities, locations and estimated number of personnel are not sufficient to effectively incorporate those requirements into the hourly rate.

See updated Schedule of Items regarding unforeseen miscellaneous requirements such as rental of facilities for training/conferences.

5. The provided Wage Determination does not list the Occupation Titles provided in the SOW.

Can the government please clarify if the provided Wage Determination is the correct document?

See updated Sections 3.2 and 4.4.

6. Can the government please provide a minimum order amount in hours?

7. Can the government provide an estimated length for training endeavors?

8. Can the government provide a list of Government Furnished Property?

There is no Government Furnished Property.

9. Can the government provide a list of potential contractor furnished property? Or consider a cost reimbursable CLIN for required items as it is not feasible to include this into a fully loaded hourly rate.

See updated Schedule of Items regarding unforeseen miscellaneous requirements such as rental of facilities for training/conferences.

10. Can the government please confirm that pricing is to be provided in the Schedule of Items and NOT the SF 1449 and continuation sheets?

Pricing is to be submitted in the Schedule of Items and not on the SF-1449.

11. Is the government willing to consider a contractor with no past performance relevant to the company but with key personnel who display significant relevant past performance?

See Section 4.5, 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items (Oct 2014)

12. Part II of the “Instructions to Offerors” states “At a minimum resumes are required for all three

(3) key personnel identified by an asterisk in the schedule of items. Firms will need to provide additional resumes for the following job categories: Conference Planner II, Facilitator II, Educational Technologist,” The three listed categories are also the categories identified by an asterisk in the schedule of items. Can the government clarify which labor categories are consider ‘key personnel’ and how many personnel for each category resumes are required?

See updated Section 4.4.

13. The Staff Ride defined. The military defines the staff ride, when properly conducted, “these exercises bring to life, on the very terrain where historic encounters took place, examples, applicable today as in the past, of leadership tactics and strategy, communications, use of terrain, and above all, the psychology of men in battle” (Robertson, W.G., 2014).

Today this task is normally conducted via helicopter for military leaders. What is the expected transport for the contracted staff ride, and is the contractor responsible for the transportation/costs of the staff ride or will it be Government provided?

Task order specific. See updated Schedule of Items regarding unforeseen miscellaneous requirements such as rental of facilities for training/conferences.

14. Does the government maintain responsibility/insurance for family and community members on the staff ride transport?

No.

15. SME’s of Yarnell Hill and other specific areas as required.

Is the US Department of Forestry and/or host agency willing to provide a list of SME Point of Contacts for potential sub-contracting to fulfill local expertise as needed?

To be determined after award of IDIQ and award of Task Orders. SMEs could be current and past federal employees, other agency personnel, contractors, or general public.

16. Page 21, Reference to the Final Report of the Interagency Management Review Team on the South Canyon Fire, (1995), the Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness Study, Phase III, Tri-data report and AAR from the Yarnell Fire be made available to the selected contractor for inclusion in staff development scenarios?

To be determined after award of IDIQ and award of Task Orders.

17. Page 28, Government Furnished Materials. Unless otherwise directed in the Task Order, all materials will be provided by the Contractor to perform the work required by the TO. The Contractor must document the transfer of materials in a monthly status report. Again after each line item table, (pg. 4-8), the statement that “All labor categories must have a rate on the base period and option periods. These are fully burdened rates to include profit, G&A, Overhead, etc.

The line items are solely for manpower, and travel. Page 24, Section 3, Contract Documents, Exhibits, or Attachments maintain that the DOL rates are the maximum rates allowable.

Is a firm fixed price per contractor hour, allowable to account for “unfurnished materials”, administration, profit and overhead as long as the prevailing wage per employee meets Department of Labor employment standards as a minimum? Or are profit, direct and indirect costs to be charged to each task order in addition to the line items?

See updated Schedule of Items regarding unforeseen requirements such as rental of facilities for training/conferences. The rates provided in the schedule of items shall be fully burdened rates, as stated.

18. Page 45, Technical Requirements, 3. Produce all required field audio-visual aids for above staff ride delivery plan.

Please describe the audio-visual aids expected. Staff rides usually include a handout with maps and stop locations with some history and/or objective for the stop (Storyboard). Is this sufficient, or is a pre-flight video or in-flight audio clip requested?

19. Does the contract require three technical writers (TW I, II, and III) or one technical writer that may be TW I, II, or III?

The contract requires rates for all three levels.

20. Does the technical writer need to provide/submit a PPQ?

See section 4.4 Addendum to FAR Provision 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (Incorporated by reference), Proposal Preparation Instructions, Proposal Format and Content, Part II – Technical Capability & Past Performance, (2) Past Performance.

21. Will this contract allow the educational technologist to work remotely or is does it require this position to relocate to the place of performance for the duration of the project?

Positions will be required to work only when required by the SOW on an individual Task Order basis.

22. Does the contract require three Consultants (Consultant I, II, and III) or one consultant that may be Consultant I, II, or III?

The contract requires rates for all three levels. Resume is required for Consultant II as stated in Section 4.4, Addendum to Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (Incorporated by Reference), Proposal Format and Content.

23. Does the contract require three Facilitator (Facilitator I, II, and III) or one facilitator that may be Facilitator I, II, or III?

The contract requires rates for all three levels. Resume is required for Facilitator II as stated in Section 4.4, Addendum to FAR Provision 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (Incorporated by Reference), Proposal Format and Content.

24. Is there an incumbent for this project?

25. The following are items that could be used to develop a staff ride. Can the FS furnish the contractor with any or all of these items pertinent to the Yarnell Hill fire or must we obtain them ourselves from public resources? Please indicate which items are available?

a. Investigation Report

b. Follow-up Management Report

c. Fire Behavior Research Paper

d. GPS Data (accurate GPS coordinates for each Stand with Datum reference)

e. MapQuest Travel Map

f. Orthophoto (showing fire/resource movement)

g. Field Guide (with cues for maps, route access, terrain orientation, key events, and important discussion points for each Stand during the Staff Ride)

h. First Person Accounts

i. Land ownership data

This will be determined by the individual task order.

26. The RFP states “Staff rides should be viewed more as education and less as training.” Can the

FS articulate how it differentiates between education and training? Might you give us an example of an “educational” activity vs. a “training” activity?

The US Forest Service Leadership Development Program sees training as the act of gaining a specific skill for performance, and education as the act of furthering knowledge and understanding.

27. “The contractor will develop a national level staff ride package, with State of Arizona’s sponsorship, and local community partnership. The provider will be responsible for the design, development, and execution of The Yarnell Hill Staff Ride.”

To clarify, the national level staff ride package is the Yarnell Hill Staff Ride, correct?

Yes.

28. Could you please clarify some of the items that you are anticipating would be in a Staff Ride package?

29. Re: the Staff Ride:

“Aspects of current and future incidents should be related to the historical actions during the incident.”

And “Help heal communities affected by past and future fatalities in the course of wildland fire operations.”

Both these goals seem to involve learning beyond the physical environment of the staff ride itself. Does the FS anticipate a number of hours of the staff ride day to occur in an (indoor) class setting? Is there an indoor setting in the vicinity of Yarnell Hill?

To be determined after award of IDIQ and award of Task Orders. This will be determined in the development of the staff ride.

30. For the Staff ride, the RFP describes “Provide 2-4 military SME’s”. We are under the impression that this is a Forest Service Staff Ride. Please explain the presence of military personnel. Would we be scored lower if we did not have former or retired military personnel over and against another bidder who did?

This solicitation has been set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.

31. The RFP seems very well planned already, as if a subject matter was already involved. Is there another private contractor entity that was engaged for a feasibility study? If so, can you please name?

The RFP was developed by US Forest Service staff.

32. The RFP asks for hourly rates of various staff members but does not give any hint of expected hours for each. Can you please give some idea of effort hour expectations?

33. Does the FS have any idea of the number of hours that each Conference planner would be utilized in each year of the contract?

34. Is a staff ride considered a “conference”?

35. Does a conference consist of more than a one day Staff Ride? If so, what other activities would be considered?

Conferences are not related to Staff Rides.

36. The role of Educational Technologist in the Learning and Development field usually refers to someone who is involved with both the hardware and software (Learning Management Systems etc.) of virtual training solutions (webinars, e-learning etc.). Does the FS expect there will be a distance-learning component to this training?

See Section 3.1, Description and Scope, Scope of Work, d. Leadership development courseware.

37. What if our Educational Technologist is very knowledgeable in the creation of Staff Rides but not knowledgeable in technology? Is this acceptable?

See Section 3.1, Technical Specifications, Educational Technologist.

38. Can the Forest suggest the approximate number of hours it envisions each year for the services of the Consultants?

39. Can the Forest suggest the approximate number of hours it envisions each year for the services of the Facilitator?

40. Can the Forest suggest the approximate number of hours it envisions each year for the services of the Technical Writer/Editor.

41. Given the lack of clarity about the number of hours could we submit two or even three separate proposals based on different cost assumptions?

Yes.

42. Please explain the role of the Quality Assurance Representatives. The RFP describes their role as relating to construction projects.

See Schedule of Items for listing of requested labor categories.

43. If appears that once the training has been developed for the first year, it would not need to be developed but only delivered for the out years. Please explain the FS assumptions.

Training that has been developed would not need to be developed again. However developed training could require revisions and adjustments.

44. Can the FS please clarify some rough order of magnitude estimates of:

a. The number of conferences per calendar year/period of performance anticipated

b. The number of consulting hours per calendar year/period of performance

c. The number of facilitation hours per calendar year/period of performance

d. The number of technical documents to be created per calendar year/period of performance

45. Can the FS share with us the specific schedule drivers for the RFP and deliverables?

There are no specific drivers.

46. We are accustomed to breaking down requirements into projects then further decomposing those projects into tangible deliverables. This decomposition is essential for cost estimating The following questions are included to help us size and therefore estimate effort and costs for each deliverable.

a. Staff Rides (plural)

i. How many staff rides might be developed, tested and implemented during each performance period?

ii. Once implemented how many would the contractor be responsible for facilitating?

iii. After the Yarnell Hill staff ride is developed would other staff rides for other regions be developed?

b. Table Top Exercises/Simulations

i. How many Table Top Exercises/Simulations might be developed, tested and implemented during each performance period?

ii. Once implemented how many would the contractor be responsible for facilitating?

c. Conference Presentations

i. How many Conference Presentations might be developed and delivered during each performance period?

d. Leadership Courseware

i. Would we be expected to develop custom courseware or could we customize existing courseware (e.g. Miller Heiman, Covey, Hersey/Blanchard etc.)?

ii. For the purposes of the cost estimate, how do we determine “Support for both resident or non-resident (distance learning) courseware may be required.”

iii. Should we include developing a distance learning Leadership Training solution as part of the cost proposal?

e. Lessons Learned collection

i. How many Lessons Learned collection sessions should be assume for each performance period.

f. Specialized command and control systems

i. This term is very broad. Could the FS please clarify and give some examples of these “tools and systems”, so we could size themm for estimating purposes?

47. Will the USFS fire maps be made available to the awarded contractor?

This will be determined by the individual task order.

48. What additional locations are expected to be covered throughout the life of the contract, CA, TX, WA, NV, CO, NM?

49. Are the Staff Rides and Initial Planning conference already concrete dates? Are there corresponding external events to the dates that the contractor should be aware of?

The dates provided in the Initial Task Order are firm.

50. What tasks are expected after June?