DFAD_QA.docx

Solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0004 Development FSA Application Delivery – Common (DFAD Common) The purpose of this amendment is to (1) respond to vendor questions, (2) revise the time of the proposal submission and revise the solicitation, Section M. The time for proposal submission has been changed to 12 Noon EST on April 7, 2014. Specifically, the following changes are hereby made:

a. Section L.5.3, Page 192, 2nd Sentence, is revised to read “At least two additional references must demonstrate the Offeror serving as either a prime or a subcontractor for similar requirements as set forth in at least one of the Task Orders included in this Solicitation.”

b. Section L.2.5.1, Page Limitation, Page 186, Page limit is changed to “150 Pages”.

c. Section G.4, Invoices, is hereby changed to read as follows:

“ The USDA has transitioned to Department of Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). The “Submit Invoice-to" address for this contract shall be Department of Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). The contractor must follow the instructions on how to register and submit invoices via IPP as prescribed in the previous communications from USDA and Treasury. The "Submit Invoice-to" address for USDA orders, contracts and agreements, is the Department of Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). The contractor must follow the instructions on how to register and submit invoices via IPP as prescribed in the previous communications from USDA and Treasury. All invoices are to be submitted via the electronic Invoice Processing Platform. This is a mandatory requirement initiated by the U.S. Department of Treasury and you can find more information at this website https://www.ipp.gov/index.htm. Please make sure that your company has registered at https://www.ipp.gov/vendors/enrollment-vendors.htm to establish your account.

The Contractor shall invoice no more than once a month via IPP. In addition to the information required by the Prompt Payment Act, at a minimum the following information must also be included on the invoice:

1. Contract Number(s) IDIQ, Task Order

2. Contractor, Address, Point of Contact, and Telephone Number

3. Period of Performance associated with the Invoice

4. Invoice Number and date of invoice

5. A description of the deliverables per the deliverables and pricing schedules for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) being invoiced.

6. Any other information deemed necessary and appropriate to justify payment to include by not limited to:

· Labor hours expended. The labor hours expenditure information shall include the identification of the employee name, labor category, hourly labor rate, and total number of labor hours expended.

· Timecards/sheets, or equivalent. The contractor shall provide a copy of each employee’s time and it shall identify the contractor employee name and number of hours claimed per day.

· Travel costs. Supporting documentation for travel costs. Invoices including travel costs shall include supporting documentation as required by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) (which currently requires receipts for all costs $75.00 or greater). Invoice submissions including travel costs shall include completed travel expense sheets for each trip for each employee.

· The contractor shall comply with line item (i.e., per individual positions, different programs, program areas, modernization efforts, farm bills, etc.) billing requests.

7. Failure to provide the above information (or adequately justify payment request) is grounds for disapproval of invoice.”

d. Section H.1.2, is revised to add “Washington DC” in first sentence.

e. Section H.4.1, The following sentence has been removed, “Retention of existing contract staff with FSA business knowledge is preferable.”

Solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0004 Development FSA Application Delivery – Common (DFAD Common)

1. Question: Does USDA contemplate multiple vendor awards under this IDIQ or is this anticipated to be awarded to a single vendor?

Response: This procurement will result in a single IDIQ award and the award of the “Initial Task Order” Attachment 7.

2. Question: Is this a new requirement or a renewal of an existing requirement? If a renewal, who is the incumbent and under which specific contract(s) was the previous work performed?

Response: For information concerning the incumbents, etc., offerors may submit a FOIA requests to: http://www.dm.usda.gov/foia/requestors.htm.

Hewlett Packard and Science Applications International Corporation (now Leidos, Inc.) are the incumbents on the initial and example task order attachments.

3. Question: If there is any chance this contract can be assigned to a well-qualified HUBZONE company as a direct award?

Response: This procurement is being competed as a small business set aside. No set aside preference is established for this procurement.

4. Question: Is there any vendor conference / outreach coming up on this opportunity?

Response: No, there will not be additional vendor conference / outreach opportunities.

5. Question: Reference page 192, section L.5.3 Past Performance: Does GSA Schedule 70 or the STARS II Contract Vehicle qualify as an IDIQ and/or BPA for solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0004?

Response: Past Performance submissions are the Vendor’s determination.

6. Question: Reference page 192, section L.5.3 Past Performance, states “At least two additional references must demonstrate the Offeror serving as either a prime or a subcontractor for similar requirements as set forth in the each Task Order included in this Solicitation.” Does this statement require the prime to have past performance experience as either a prime or a subcontractor for both Task Orders?

Response: Please see change in solicitation “At least two additional references must demonstrate the Offeror serving as either a prime or a subcontractor for similar requirements as set forth in at least one of the Task Orders included in this Solicitation.”

7. Could you please identify the current incumbent contractor for the services being procured by solicitation AG-3151-S-14-0004.

Response: Please see the response to Question#2.

8. Can a contractor propose a COTS product as a solution?

Response: The Government does not anticipate a COTS product as a solution to this Solicitation. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations 15.6 - Unsolicited Proposals, such a proposal likely would not address the known agency requirement and would not be a valid proposal.

9. RFP section L.2.5.1 states that “…the total page count for all Volumes of the proposal should not exceed 100 pages total.” Given the amount of information requested (e.g., 10 past performances at two pages each, which will total 20 pages), will the Government exclude “Phase 1 Volume II Past Performance” and “Phase 2 Volume II Price Proposal” from the page count?

Response: The page count has now been changed in the solicitation to 150. No additional exclusions.

10. RFP Section L.2.5.3 specifies that “Pages shall be numbered consecutively.” Does the Government wish that each volume start on “page 1,” or that each volume be a continuation of the page numbering from the previous volume? (E.g., Phase 1 Volume II might start on page 40).

Response: The Volume numbering should be consecutive and not start again at page 1 for each Volume.

11. Will the Government issue the SF 1449 for this solicitation?

Response: Yes, the Solicitation has been changed to add a SF 1449.

12. Will the Government consider electronic-only submission of this proposal?

Response: No, please submit this proposal as requested.

13. RFP Section L.5.4 states “For each questionnaire distributed include a letter, printed on company letterhead, containing substantially the same information as that included in the Section J Attachment 3, entitled sample Past and Present Performance Questionnaire Cover Letter.” Is it the Government’s intention that Offerors include these letters with proposal submission?

Response: Yes, it is the Government’s intention that Offerors will include these letters with the proposal submission.

14. Pursuant to the previous question regarding Section L.5.4, if the Government does require Offerors to include transmittal letters with the proposal, will the Government allow them to be outside of the page limit?

Response: Please see the response to Question #9.

15. Regarding TO 2 (Attachment 8), what is the general breakdown of applications; i.e., how many applications are traditional Web applications, how many comprise the CITRIX thin-client (referenced in C.1.2 “Objectives”), and how many are desktop applications?

Response: There is one traditional Web Application and one coming soon. There are four CITRIX thin-client applications. There is one desktop application.

16. Regarding TO 2 (Attachment 8), how many of the applications are custom-built, and how many are COTS?

Response: All the applications are custom-built to integrate with the ESRI and/or SAP COTS solutions. ESRI and SAP development skillsets are not required for this Solicitation.

17. Task Order 2, Section H.4.6 specifies the Program/Project manager must provide on-site support. Does that mean all other positions (Architects, Programmers, Testers) can access the Government system(s) sufficiently to perform their work from off-site (remotely)?

Response: This work will be primarily on-site. As stated in this Solicitation, remote work is only allowable with the permission of the COR.

18. Please provide additional detail regarding the issues specified in Task Order 2, such as the need to "Improve GIS application stability in the Web Farm"; the need for "more efficient program delivery"; and the challenges with "maintaining Farm Program delivery dates."

Response: This information is presented in Section C of the GIS Task Order under the Background and Objectives Section.

19. Please provide a list of all current incumbent contractor companies that are supporting AFAO, GISO, EMSO and CITSO today, as well as any other potential task orders that may be issued in the future.

Response: For AFAO and GISO, please see the response to Question #2. For CITSO, the incumbent is Global Support Services. For EMSO, the incumbent is Vertiss, LLC. For future Task Orders, that information has yet to be determined.

20. Please provide a list of all current FTEs that are supporting AFAO, GISO, EMSO and CITSO today, as well as any other potential task orders that may be issued in the future.

Response: Please see response to Question #1. Potential Task Order information has yet to be determined.

21. Will USDA FSA issue a parallel RFP for business entities that are not small businesses?

Response: No, there will not be a parallel RFP for business entities that are not small businesses.

22. Please confirm that the Offerors are required to submit hard copy, CDs, and email versions of the proposal.

Response: The Government confirms that the Offerors are required to submit hard copy, CDs, and email versions of the proposal, as stated in this Solicitation.

23. Attachments 7 and 8, Sections F.1 and F.2, state “The contractor may perform task related activities at Contractor facilities within the local area when required and authorized by the Government at no additional cost to the government.” Please define the “when required” requirements.

Response: “When required” means as directed by the Government.

24. RFP Section I.2 (page 46) states “Task Orders may be issued from May 09, 2014 to May 08, 2014.” When is the projected award date of the IDIQ contract?

Response: The award date has yet to be determined.

25. RFP Section I.2 (page 46) states “Task Orders may be issued from May 09, 2014 to May 08, 2014.” When will the first task order be awarded, and what is the expected start date?

Response: The initial Task Order will be awarded at that same time as the IDIQ.

26. RFP Section I.2 (page 46) states “Task Orders may be issued from May 09, 2014 to May 08, 2014.” Please provide the task orders and subsequent dates on when the additional task orders will be issued?

Response: This information has yet to be determined.

27. Regarding Attachment 4, SAP tools are not explicitly listed in the Developer Specialties with the list “JEE, .NET, Website, Mobile, ESRI GIS, and COBOL”. Is SAP contemplated for the task orders in this IDIQ contract?

Response: No, we will be integrating with SAP, but, this will not include coding or development work within SAP.

28. Regarding Attachment 8, “Example” was included in the title, where as it was not included in Attachment 7. Please explain the reasoning.

Response: The Example Attachment Task Order is an example only and is not to be awarded with the IDIQ.

29. RFP Section L.1.1 states “The Government contemplates the award of a single IDIQ Contract with one Labor Hour Task Order resulting….” Which task order is being awarded with the IDIQ Award? When will the other task order within the RFP be awarded? When will the subsequent task orders not included in the RFP be provided the IDIQ awardee to submit proposals?

Response: Please see the response to Question #1. The remainder of your question requires information that has yet to be determined.

30. Can the Government provide more detail regarding the anticipated workload distribution among the staff supporting TO 2?

Response: The information provided in Task Order 2 is the historical workload distribution. Anticipated workload distribution is to be proposed by the vendor.

31. There are two part-time project managers listed in the estimated staffing table for Task Order 2. Please explain the rationale for the two positions.

Response: Please review the staffing table. Your reference to part-time is inaccurate.

32. RFP Sections H.3.2 and H.3.2.4 appear to conflict. Specifically:

· RFP (IDIQ) Section H.3.2 states, “The contractor applicant’s background investigation materials consist of a number of printed forms (At a minimum, the investigative forms required include an OF-306 – Declaration for Federal Employment, and Certification and Release Forms from eQIP. A contractor employee that is not a U.S. citizen must provide EPD a copy of the I-9 and the E-Verify print-out when the request for background investigation is submitted to EPD by the COR. Additional forms may be required depending on the level of background investigation.) that are followed up by completion of their entries into e-QIP. The printed forms from e-QIP are provided to EPD by the applicant.”

· RFP (IDIQ) Section H.3.2.4 states, “The contractor’s personnel are required to meet the following criteria: Contractor personnel assigned to this task shall be a United States citizen with the following possible exceptions: if the contractor finds highly qualified personnel, or personnel with expertise and experience of FSA business programs or highly qualified incumbent personnel, but they are not a United States citizen, the contractor may make an exception request to the COR. In the exception request, the contractor will need to provide all pertinent details so that the COR can make a decision for why granting an exception to this citizenship qualification would be of benefit to the Government. These requests would be considered on a case by case basis.” It is our understanding that contractors currently working at the USDA with approved background investigations would be eligible for submission as key personnel on this project regardless of their citizenship status. Please clarify the requirements for the initial submission of the key personnel for the IDIQ and the Task Orders.

Response: Non-US citizens are eligible to be presented as Key Personnel, however, if they are not approved as an exception upon award, this could be a risk to performance and the Government would anticipate the Vendor would comply with the replacement of this Key Personnel as set forth in Section H.4.1 of the Solicitation.

33. RFP Section L.5.3, “Past Performance References,” states “At least two additional references must that must demonstrate the Offeror serving as either a prime or a subcontractor for similar requirements as set forth in the each Task Order included in this Solicitation.” Please confirm that the Government requires two TO-specific references from the prime contractor, in addition to the IDIQ-related reference (total of three references from the Prime).

Response: Please see the response to Question #6.

34. Will the Government permit 11x17” paper for fold-out graphics (e.g., CONOPS diagrams)?

Response: No, the Government will not permit this.

35. Is there an current incumbent contractor? If so, are they meeting the required standards?

Response: Please see the response to Question #2. The required standards have been developed to address the Government current performance needs.

36. How many after hour calls typically occur on an annual basis?

Response: After hour calls should be minimal in all environments (Both Task Orders) for unscheduled production support. Periodically, there may be scheduled after hour deployments that require contractor support.

37. Is US citizenship required for any of the positions in this solicitation?

Response: Yes, please note Solicitation Section H.3.2.4.

38. Will the Government extend the due date for proposals to a date that is 2 weeks after posting of answers to offer's questions?

Response: No, the due date remains.

39. Only "disincentives" are conveyed. What "incentives" exist, if any, for performance exceeding acceptable quality levels?

Response: Incentives are not applicable to this Solicitation.

40. Can USDA/FSA share whether you are planning to make multiple awards for this IDIQ vehicle?

Response: Please see response to Question #1.

41. Can you please confirm that in the past this contract was referred to as Farm Applications Services and Technologies (FAST)? Were the prior incumbents ECS Federal and Ace Info Solutions, Inc.?

Response: No, the Government does not confirm that in the past this contract was referred to as Farm Applications Services and Technologies (FAST). ECS Federal and Ace Info Solutions, Inc. are not incumbents on the initial and example Task Orders.

42. Under Key Personnel, can you please provide additional description for the “2 Senior COBOL/Mainframe Developers?”

Response: The description for Senior Developer is found in Section J Attachment 4.

43. Please clarify the contract periods for this solicitation. Section F.1 on Page 17 and F.1 of Attachment 8 (Task Order 2) states base period of one year with 4 option years but Section F.1 in Attachment 7 states a base period of 5 months, 4 option years with a 5th option year of 7 months. Which is correct?

Response: The periods listed in the IDIQ, Attachment 7 and Attachment 8 are not all the same. They are correct as stated.

44. Section F.2 states performance will be KC and WDC. Can you provide an estimate or historical average of the FTEs at the different locations.

Response: This information is provided in Attachment 7 and Attachment 8.

45. Section F.4 on page states “Teleworking contractor staff must be able to return to the FSA government facility at no cost to the government, within 5 hours of receiving the request.” Can “Teleworking” be performed from outside of the continental United States? Does the FSA facility need to be the location of the associated Task Order?

Response: No, “Teleworking” cannot be performed from outside of the continental United States and yes, the FSA facility needs to be the location of the associated Task Order.

46. Section G.4 describes a paper invoice process. Will this contract being using the IPP system for electronic invoices? If so, will be still need to send paper invoices?

Response: IPP is required. This change is reflected in the Solicitation.

47. Does Section H.1.2 also apply to WDC?

Response: Yes, this change is reflected in the Solicitation.

48. Section H.3.2 states “The contractor will be held responsible for all related costs associated with processing the application(s).” Are there any processing costs in addition to the company/applicant’s labor and expenses to provide/complete the required paperwork/forms/fingerprints?

Response: No additional processing costs are required.

49. Section I.2 item C(7) 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers is checked. Are there any existing personnel on Task Orders 1 and 2?

Response: Yes, there are existing personnel on Task Orders 1 and 2.

50. Will the “corporate Program Manager” in Section B.2 be provided an office at the FSA government facility? If so, which location KC or WDC?

Response: No, an office will not be provided.

51. Section H.1.2 in Attachment 7, Task Order 1, states “A minimum of 75% of the contractor staffing proposed to support the web development requirements shall be Sun Certified Java Programmers”. “Web development” in the previous statement is only a portion of JEE usage. So does this requirement only apply to JEE developers supporting web services or all JEE development? If only “web services” then how many of the JEE Developers are counted?

Response: The requirement applies to all JEE developers.

52. Section H.1.2 in Attachment 7, Task Order 1, states “100% of architects shall possess the Oracle Certified Master Java Enterprise Architect Certification.” How many architects are on this Task Order? Is this a position in addition to the 9 JEE Developers?

Response: Should the vendor decide to provide an Architect as part of their solution, then this Architect must possess the Oracle Certified Master Java Enterprise Architect Certification. This position has not been utilized historically.

53. What percentage of Microsoft Certified .NET programmers are required to support Attachment 8, Task Order 2, H.4.1

Response: Please see H.4.6 of the GIS example Task Order.

54. Section M.2, page 201, states “The Government contemplates award of a single Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract and one initial task order…”. Is a single award still being planned? Which of the two Task Orders is planned for the initial award? When is the second Task Order award planned?

Response: Please see the response to Question #1. Attachment 8 is an Example only.

55. Are there any other Task Orders currently planned for this IDIQ? And if so, what are the estimated FTE levels?

Response: This information has yet to be determined.

56. Can the delivery time on April 7th be extended to 12 Noon Eastern, to allow for UPS/FedEx guaranteed deliveries from areas outside of DC?

Response: Yes, this change has been made to the Solicitation.

57. Is there an incumbent supporting these tasks? If so, can you share the information, contract number and also the value of the current contract?

Response: Please see the response to Question#2

58. Does the government require the contractor to possess prior experience in any of the legacy systems mentioned in the SOW?

Response: The Government does require prior experience with those types of systems and skill sets, but, not those exact systems.

59. As a Prime is it mandatory to have the experience in managing the IDIQ / BPA, or is it sufficient to have managed a very large and complex contract with multiple subs and task orders?

Response: Please refer to Section L and M of the Solicitation.

60. What is the Security Requirement for the contract?

Response: The security requirement is Public Trust.

61. If it is a secret clearance, will the organization sponsor company for a Secret Facility Clearance?

Response: As this is not a Secret Clearance, we are not sponsoring a Secret Facility Clearance.

62. H.4.1 states “Retention of existing contracting staff with FSA business knowledge is preferable.”.

a. Question: Is this clause part of the evaluation? If yes, then this gives unfair advantage to the incumbent company. We would like to request the govt. to revise this clause.

Response: No, please see section M. This Solicitation has been changed to remove this sentence for clarification.

63. C.1.4 The Labor Categories described in this section do not match with the work described in sections C.1.5.4-C.1.5.8 and C.1.5.10. These sections describe architecture, requirements, design, and testing work, but Section C.1.4 does not include any labor categories for architects, analysts or testers. Section H.12 and attachment 1 include certification requirements for architects, but no architect is listed as required in the estimated staffing plan shown in C.1.4.

a. Question: Please confirm if the provided labor mix is correct?

Response: These labor categories are for skill sets that may be needed throughout the life of this IDIQ contract. They are not necessarily all needed under the initial and example Task Orders.

64. What is the Ceiling of IDIQ and how many task order government is expecting under this IDIQ during the life of IDIQ?

Response: Please see Section I.2 of the Solicitation.

65. This is a single award IDIQ with 2 task orders. As IDIQ scope is much larger than 2 task orders, evaluating the task orders with incumbents and preferring multiple resumes of incumbent employees give UNFAIR advantage to incumbent team of these 2 task orders. There may be more task orders coming under IDIQ and those incumbent will have disadvantage as there work experience will not be equaly evaluated in the evaluation of this IDIQ. Thus we request government to evaluate IDIQ only and general experience on the scope of work rather than specifics of the task order. We further request government to remove the resume requirement of Task order and government evaluate key personnel and sample resume required at IDIQ level?

Response: No, the Solicitation remains.

66. Are additional task orders apart from task order one (Budget & Finance) and task order two (Geospatial/GIS) anticipated/planned under this IDIQ?

Response: Additional Task Orders have yet to be determined.

67. The original FAD RFI contained 5 FAD task , two orders of which have been released in this solicitation. Are there plans to release the remaining 3 task orders in a separate solicitation at a later date?

Response: This Solicitation does not cover all 5 FAD tasks listed in the FAD RFI. Please review Section C of this Solicitation.

68. As the solicitation package does not include a SF 1449 will one be provided?

Response: Please see response to Question #11.

69. Will a breakout of the current labor category population across the two task orders be provided?

Response: This information has already been provided in each Task Order.

70. Will the award be to multiple vendors or a single vendor?

Response: Please see response to Question #1.

71. How many resources are currently working on this project? Will the government provide an estimated staffing level table?

Response: This information has already been provided in each Task Order.

72. Are there any technical differences between the current tasks supported and the proposed tasks under this Solicitation?

Response: Although there will always be technical differences as we progress in tasks, significantly different skillsets are not anticipated.

73. The solicitation mentions SAP at various points. Does the government anticipate requiring SAP resources on this contract at a future date?

Response: No, SAP resources are not anticipated.

74. Please clarify what figure should use be used as the FTE hours per year?

Response: See the IDIQ section H.4.1 of the Solicitation.

75. What are the COTS products that are being utilized presently?

Response: ESRI is the COTS solution being used for GIS and some of the applications for both GIS and Budget and Finance Task Orders will integrate with the SAP COTS solutions. However, the development work completed under this Solicitation (IDIQ and Task Orders) will be done with the skillsets listed in this Solicitation when integrating with ESRI and SAP.

ESRI and SAP development skillsets are not required for this Solicitation.

76. Custom developed solutions - who has supported this development effort?

Response: Government Contractors and FTEs supported this development effort.

77. What technology are these custom developed solutions in?

Response: This information is included in the Solicitation.

78. Who supported these migration services, and will they continue to support these services or will you need a new vendor for this?

Response: Government Contractors and FTEs perform previous migration services. Additional migration services may or may not be required as part of this procurement.

79. Can you please provide more details about MIDAS (Modernize & Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural Systems)?

Response: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/midas?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing

80. When is the past performance evaluation survey due to Dept. of Agriculture?

Response: Evaluations are anticipated prior to the proposal submission date.

81. Reference H.1.1 – Government Furnished Equipment, 3rd bullet – please confirm that the government will provide all required desktop/lap computing devices for contract performance, and that quantities provided will be sufficient vs. limited to 'available IT equipment and software'.

Response: Confirmed.

82. Reference H.1.2 – Contractor Furnished Property/Items. Please clarify the statement regarding 'providing services from locations other than the government facilities in Kansas City, MO'. Attachment 8, Task Order 2, requires performance at the government's facilities in Washington, D.C. Will the government provide all such items at their site in WDC?

Response: Yes, this change is reflected in the Solicitation.

83. Reference H.3.4 – Personnel Security Requirement — please clarify/confirm that any proposed contract employee that is NOT a United States citizen requires an exception, approved by the COR.

Response: Yes, please see H.3.2.4. This clause applies after award.

84. Reference H.3.4 - How would a prospective offeror obtain an Exception to propose a non-US citizen prior to submitting its proposal?

Response: The exception is not needed prior to submitting the proposal. This exception will be addressed after award.

85. Reference H.1.1 Key Personnel, and H.1.2 – the list of eight (8) key personnel in H.1.1 does not identify an 'architect' position, as referenced in H.1.2, Specific Expertise and Experience. Please clarify this difference.

Response: Please see the response to Question #17.

86. Reference L.1.1 – Type of Contract — please clarify the government's statement that it contemplates the award of 'one labor hour task order resulting from this RFP', when the government has included two (2) Task Orders that offerors must propose to (Attachments 7 and 8). Does the government intend to only award either task order described in Attachments 7 and 8, but not both?

Response: Attachment 8 is an Example only. Attachment 7 will be awarded with the IDIQ contract.

87. Reference M.2.2 – Competitive Range & Discussions – please identify/clarify/describe the government's proposed methodology for determining a 'competitive range', and how that competitive range will be used in the proposal evaluation/award process.

Response: The Government will conduct a Phase One competitive range determination. The Government anticipates award without discussions for Phase Two.

88. Is there an incumbent contractor(s)? If so, who is/are the incumbent(s) and what is the contract number(s)?

Response: Please see the response to Question#2.

89. Section H: Special Requirements, H.1.4, Knowledge Transfer states a proposed list of methodologies and utility tools. Can the Contractor introduce new COTS tools for this solicitation, or can only those listed on the list be provided?

Response: Please see the response to Question #8.

90. Section C, C.2 , Objective refers to "outdated software and hardware platform." Is it fair to assume that the Contractor can propose other, more innovative COTS technologies for this solicitation?

Response: Please see the response to Question #8.

91. H.3.2.4, Page 32: In the event proposed Key Personnel are not United States citizens at the IDIQ level or Task Order Level, must an exception request addressed to the COR be included as part of the contractor’s proposal? If so, will the exception request be excluded from the page count?

Response: Please see the response to Questions #83 and #84.

92. Attachment 4 – Labor Category Descriptions, Page 67: The Security Specialist Solutions Architect appears to be an added Labor Category beyond Solutions Architect. Does the government plan to add this labor category to the B.2 Price Schedule table on Page 1 and 2 and define associated Knowledge/Skill Levels?

Response: Remove as a category in the Table of Contents. Requirement is for specialization of a Solution Architect in the security area, not a separate labor category.

93. Appendix B – Information Bulletins, Page 96: Please provide the content for all Information Bulletins.

Response: Appendix B is a sample of a work definition form and will not be evaluated as part of the proposals submitted for this requirement.

94. B.2, Page 97: May the contractor supply an added table column “Discounted Hourly Rate”?

Response: No, the Rates provided in the IDIQ must equal the rates applied to Attachment 7 and Attachment 8.

95. C.1.3, Pages 100 and 101: Will the government require SAP and SAP-related technology capable personnel for the performance delivery of this task order? If so, please be specific so that added Labor Categories and rates may be proposed as appropriate and needed Response: Please see the response to Question #73.

96. C.2, Page 108: Will the government please supply a fixed travel amount to be included in each contractor’s proposal for each period of performance with the understanding all travel must be approved in advance by the government and will be reimbursed at actual expense with no profit applied? (Also affects L.3, Page 187) Response: Travel will be addressed, as necessary and approved, after award.

97. B.2.0, Page 126: May the contractor supply an added table column “Discounted Hourly Rate”?

Response: No.

98. C.1.2, Page 128: How does this work integrate, or overlap with the GIS work being performed by Leidos, Inc., under task order AG-3151-D-14-0010? Please identify any Leidos, Inc.,-supported applications that may be included within this task order’s scope of work.

Response: Development work under task order AG-3151-D-14-0010 at some point may become in scope, however any operations work would not.

99. C.1.2, Pages 127, 128, and 129: Will the government require SAP and SAP-related technology capable personnel for the performance delivery of this task order? If so, please be specific so that added Labor Categories and rates may be proposed as appropriate and needed.

Response: Please see the response to Question #73

100. C.1.4, Page 131: The section states: “Historical staffing levels in terms of Full -Time-Equivalent (FTE) positions are identified below.” Please identify the contract number and task order number from which these historical staffing levels are derived from.

Response: Please follow the FOIA process identified in the response to Question #1.

101. C.2, Page 137: If travel may be required, will the government please supply a fixed travel amount to be included in each contractor’s proposal for each period of performance with the understanding all travel must be approved in advance by the government and will be reimbursed at actual expense with no profit applied? (Also affects L.3, Page 187) Response: Travel will be addressed, as necessary and approved, after award.

102. L.1.1, Page 185: The section states: “The Government contemplates the award of a single Indefinite Delivery Indefinite-Quantity Contract with one Labor Hour Task Order resulting from this request for proposal (RFP).” The government appears to be requiring proposals for the DFAD IDIQ, Attachment 7 task order and Attachment 8 task order. Please clarify the number of awards contemplated by the government.

Response: Please see the response to Question #1.

103. L.5.3, Page 191: Please confirm the government requires a minimum total of six (6) past performance references to represent performance across the DFAD IDIQ, Attachment 7 task order, and Attachment 8 task order. Please also confirm (1) At least one of these six (6) past performance references must represent the Small Business Prime Contractor Offeror performing IDIQ-level services as a Prime Contractor; and (2) The same Small Business Prime Contractor must also present a past performance reference in either a Prime Contractor role or a subcontractor role performing services similar to the Attachment 7 task order AND must also present a past performance reference in either a Prime Contractor role or a subcontractor role performing services similar to the Attachment 8 task order.

Response: Please see the response to Question #6.

104. M.1, Page 201: The section states: “The Government will award an IDIQ contract and initial Task Order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered.” Please clarify the number of awards that are expected to result from proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.

Response: Please see the response to Question #1.

105. M.1, Page 201: Please identify companies who are deemed to have an inherent organizational conflict of interest with this solicitation.

Response: Please refer back to section M.1.

106. M.2, Page 201: The section states: “The Government contemplates award of a single Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract and one initial task order resulting from this solicitation following its evaluation.” Please clarify the number of awards that are expected to result from proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.

Response: Please see the response to Question #1.

107. Is there a current incumbent for this requirement who is providing support technical support services to FSA/OCIO in Kansas City and/or Washington DC?

Response: Please see the response to Question#2