Questions_and_Answers_AG-3187-S-15-0022_14_April_2015.pdf

AG-3187-S-15-0020 Amend 0002 Human Resource Management Support Services

Q&A

Questions and Answers

Q1. In July 2014 the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council

(PAC) signed/approved the National Training Standards Implementation Plan with all departments/agencies being require to implement a fully compliant training program by June 2015 for all personnel performing investigations and adjudications. Will your agency require the contractor to be compliant with the updated National Training Standards for all full time and contractor personnel?

A1. Yes. The contractor must be compliant will all laws and regulations in the performance of this contract.

Q2. Will the solicitation/contract be modified with language to support the requirement in question Q1?

A2. Not at this time. The current task order is to prepare the packages for OPM only. The contractor is not required to perform investigations or adjudications. The specific requirements will be added to any future task orders that do require these services.

Q3. Is this a new requirement or a re-compete contract requirement?

A3. This is a new requirement. Some efforts under the IDIQ PWS have been contracted for in the past under various awards but the IDIQ with this large scope of work is new.

Q4. Is this work currently being performed by the Government or by a contractor(s)?

A4. Government and contractor support.

Q5. Who is/are the incumbent contractor(s) and the contract numbers.

A5. AE Strategies provides Strategic Workforce Planning under task order AG-3187-D-14-

0192. YRCI is providing Staffing Support Services under task order AG-3187-D-14-0222.

Catapult was providing Personnel Action Processing under task order AG-3187-D-11- 0198.

Q6. When does the Government anticipate awarding this contract?

A6. Mid to late June

Q7. Are we required to submit a key personnel resume for the Program Manager?

A7. Yes, resumes or experience summaries will be required for all key personnel.

Q8. Are we required to submit Key Personnel resumes for Task Order 1 & 2 proposal?

A8. Yes, section IV Key Personnel… Key personnel will also be identified at the Task Order level.

Q9. What is the key personnel requirement for Task Order 1 and 2?

A9. AGAR 452.237-74 Key Personnel part (a) The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel: Project Manager, Lead Technical Staff, Task Order Managers, other employees who the contractor has identified as critical to the successful performance for each task order.

Q10. Part IV – Section L, Technical Proposal, pg. 34 – The Technical Proposal is limited to 20 pages not including the Cover Page, TOC and Past Performance Summaries, and Questionnaires or CPARS/PPIRS reports. Given the amount of detailed information required by the Government in the Organization/Management Approach and Task Order responses, will the Government consider raising the page limitation of the Technical Proposal to 40 pages?

A10. The page count has been changed to 30 Pages, which includes Resume’s and or key personnel summaries under Factor 1, SubFactor 2, Organizational/Management Approach.

Q11. Part IV – Section L, Procurement Milestones, pg. 33 – Proposal are due by 20 April 2015 by 5:00 p.m. EST. “Offers must be submitted electronically……by the offer due date identified in the solicitation and provide hard copies of the entire package” Does the Government require hard-copies of the three proposal volumes be delivered to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office by 5PM, April 20th, or be postmarked by April 20th to be considered, on-time?

A11. Hard copy proposals are due on 20 April 2015.

Q12. Part I, Section F, Place of Performance, pg. 7 – The Government specifies that Task

Order performance will be primarily performed at Contractor facilities with some travel required to Albuquerque, Washington, DC, and other Government facilities. The COR for Task Order 1 will be located in Albuquerque (Attachment 2, pg. 5) and the Government references issuance (if necessary) of Key Cards (Attachment 2, pg. 4), and granting systems access to perform duties. The Government also specifies issuance of up to 4 laptop computers. Several questions:

• Are there any unique network requirements needed to access Government systems?

• Will the Government require PKI certificates and/or card readers for systems access?

• If the Contractor believes more than 4 laptops are necessary to meet deliverables, will the Government provide additional laptops?

A12. No unique network requirements are needed to access Government systems.

Common access cards will be issued, as required, for system access.

The Government may provide additional laptops when the contractor validates the requirement for additional equipment.

Q13. Attachment 3, Part 1, 1.3, pg. 2 – The Government identifies a requirement of “provide complete licensed investigative services…….” Not all states require that Investigators be licensed or have a licensing methodology. Will the Government remove the licensing requirement in states that do not license Investigators?

A13. The government understands that not all states require licenses. The requirement is for investigators to be licensed as required in the location where they conducting the investigation. For example if the investigation includes multiple locations where one or more locations require a license or certification and the other locations do not the investigator must meet the requirement/s for the location in which the work is currently being done.

Q14. Part IV – Section L, Technical Proposal, pg. 32 – Can the Government provide an example of how evaluation criteria will be applied to determine the relative merit of the IDIQ proposal submissions, which are deemed to be in the competitive range?

A14. The proposals will be evaluated in accordance with Section M of the solicitation on page 37.

Q15. Part II. Purpose/Scope, Attachment 1, IDIQ PWS, Technical Proposal, Pg. 1 In addition to the Forest Service, can the Government specifically identify the referenced “other United States of Agriculture (USDA) agencies” that may seek support under this IDIQ?

A15. All agencies within the USDA may submit tasks within the scope of the contract for any or all of the sections listed in the PWS. There are approximately 19 other agencies with approximately 8 other components under USDA. The Forest Service comprises about 40 percent of the entire USDA. It is unknown at this time if the other agencies and components will use a resultant contract vehicle.

Q16. Part IV – Section L, Technical Proposal, pg. 33 – 34 (2) Page Limitations: Are appendices considered part of the proposal count? Is the compliance matrix considered part of the proposal count?

A16. No, appendices and a compliance matrix are not a part of the page count.

Q17. Part IV Section L, Page 31 states that “....the Government intends to award a single IDIQ task order contract as a result of this solicitation. However, the Government reserves the right to make more than one award if it determines it would be in the best interest of the

Government to do so.…” Given the scope and diversity of potential HR tasks and activities as outline in IDIQ PWS HRM, can the government be more specific as to whether only one or multiple awards will be made at the IDIQ level? Does the above statement refer to a single award of an IDIQ contract or a single award of each Task Order issued under the IDIQ contract?

A17. The FS does have a preference for a single award but if the proposals do not support a single award the government reserves the right to make multiple awards. And the response for the second question is; a single award for the IDIQ contract

Q18. On page 21 of the solicitation, the government provides a notice of Price Evaluation

Preference for HUBZone Small Businesses. Given the Price Evaluation preference, does the government intend to reserve an award for a HUBZone Small Business?

A18. No

Q19. On page 34 of the solicitation, the government states that they will consider past performance from the Prime Contractor, Teaming Partner, or Subcontractor. Will a past performance from a Prime Contractor be more heavily weighted than a past performance from a Teaming Partner or Subcontractor? Does the government expect at least two past performances to be provided from the Prime Contractor?

A19. There is not a minimum of past performance references that must come from the prime verses sub. However, the prime will be solely responsible for the successful performance of the contract and will be the single point of contact for addressing performance on the contract with the Government. The Government only has privity of contract with the prime. Past performance on any resultant contract will be rated on the

Prime Contractor in CPARS. Teaming arrangements are a viable and important part of

Government contracting as they often create complementary arrangements to best meet the needs of the Governments requirement when the prime does not have a core competency or the bandwidth to support some aspect of the requirement. However, when determining best value of an offeror, establishing the capability and quality of the prime contractor is more important than establishing the same on the proposed subcontractors.

Q20. On page 38 of the solicitation, the government states that the estimated number of hours that will be assigned to each labor category will not be revealed until after the source selection is complete. What factors did the government consider when developing the estimated number of hours by labor category?

A20. How much weight we wanted to give the task orders as compared to the IDIQ labor rates in the overall total evaluated price.

Q21. Will the government consider eliminating contract clause 52.219-4 to allow all small business concerns to compete equally?

A21. No

Q22. Under Task Order #1, access to OPM’s Personnel Investigations Processing System (PIPS) is required. This was not listed as a government furnished service under Part 3 of the Task Order. Please clarify.

A22. As allowed by current Forest Service policy, the contractor will have access to all systems required to complete the task.

Q23. Under Task Order #1, Part 3 the government will provide up to four laptops. Please clarify as to the specifications of these laptops, including software and physical components.

A23. The Government furnished laptops will meet all software and hardware requirements to accomplish the assigned task. Generally the laptops will be within two generations of the current HP models with Intel processors. The software will be the standard Forest Service load (MS Office, Communications, and Security, etc.) plus any additional applications required to complete the task.

Q24. Please confirm that Task Order #1 is strictly for the 10,000 backlogged cases. Will any new cases be added to the workload through the duration of the 24 months?

A24. Task Order #1 is for the inventory of backlogged cases as of the contract award date. At this time there is no plan to add additional cases beyond the current backlog.

Q25. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, access to computers, computer setup / maintenance, USDA standard applications and software for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”…Can the government list the minimal systems necessary to perform the services from our facilities in reference to interfacing with the government systems other than security considerations for; overall Human Resources Management in general, PIPS in particular, and Task Order #1, and Task Order #2, respectively since the reference states “USDA may provide” and not “will provide”?

A25. To be clear, the IDIQ PWS is an umbrella document which identifies the scope of work that may be added via task order. The IDIQ PWS is a generic document which provides scope but does not include any actual work. Government provided facilities and/or equipment will be identified at the task order level. Laptops will be provided for Task Order 1. No Government provided equipment will be provided for Task Order 2. The Windows 7 operating system and the Microsoft Office Suite software are part of the basic software used within USDA. Specific access will be granted for Web applications and applications requiring access from within the USDA/FS infrastructure; when the computer and personnel security requirements have been met.

Q26. Under Task Order #1, can the government provide the average number or percentage of non-responsives in current case or historical caseloads? What percentage of HSPD-12 initiations result in non-responsives at USDA?

A26. The data will take several weeks to obtain. The information will be available for the kickoff meeting.

Q27. Under Task Order #1, can the government provide statistics on system downtime of the government systems (BIDS, e-QIP, Connect HR, and any other systems) that contractors will need to access from their facility?

A27. Forest Service does not track downtime for BIDS or e-QIP. ConnectHR meets contract requirements for system availability and has been historically very reliable.

Q28. Under Task Order #2, are the 20+4 case investigations cited in the TO of individuals that are on the Long-Term or Periodic OWCP Roles?

A28. Investigations are not targeted at Long-Term or Periodic OWCP individuals.

Investigations will normally be initiated when reliable information is presented to the OWCP team that would indicate that an individual receiving workers’ compensation may be committing fraud.

Q29. Under Task Order #2, can the government provide geographic information on the location of the 20+4 cases to be investigated?

A29. The task order is for future cases. Based upon limited historical information investigations have ranged from coast to coast and into Canada.

Q30. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, access to computers, computer setup / maintenance, USDA standard applications and software for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”…Does the government consider BIDS and e-QIP as sufficiently comprehensive for case management system tracking in Task Order #1 investigation initiations and investigation initiations documentation compilations?

A30. e-QIP will be the system of record for case management.

Q31. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, access to computers, computer setup / maintenance, USDA standard applications and software for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”…Can the contractor or subcontractor information systems electronically interface/connect to capture and electronically feed information from e-QIP, BIDS and/or other OPM information necessary to initiate background investigations and alternately supply the results to e-QIP, BIDS, or PIPS limited to Task Order #1 or will the information have to be rekeyed into a system preventing exported data and/or preventing copy and paste ability?

A31. Contractors will be using the same hardware and software as their government counterparts and will have the same access for data input.

Q32. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”… Will the government provide router & software plus installation for Task Order 2 WC reporting &/or

Task Order 1 background investigations to assist in fulfilling the government requirements with the best pricing possible?

A32. For Task Order 1 the government will not provide for additional infrastructure within the contractor facility. Government laptops are being provided and it will be the contractor’s responsibility to connect to the Internet.

Q33. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”…In developing more efficient solution possibilities for Task Order #1 what IT platforms and/or standard operating electronic technology are the applications; Background Investigation Database System (BIDS), and Electronic Questionnaire for Investigation Processing (e-QIP), running on for the purposes of potential export, import, down loading or, uploading?

A33. The BIDS and e-QIP are web based applications and do not require any additional software or hardware modifications to the government provided laptops.

Q34. Attachment 3, Task Order 2, Section 1.3 states “…..The contractor shall provide complete licensed investigative services utilizing discreet tactics that include long-range photography and video recording…” Can the government confirm that the requested investigative services are limited to video and photographic surveillance and that neither subject nor other witness interviewing, nor any other types of investigative activities are being requested?

A34. The subject will not be interviewed by the investigating team. Witness interviews may be requested at the time the investigation request is submitted. No other types of investigation activities are anticipated at this time.

Q35. Attachment 1 of the IDIQ PWS, Page 14 of 14, states in part; “USDA may provide space, access to computers, computer setup / maintenance, USDA standard applications and software for computers, LAN, Internet access, parking, and electronic mail service”… Is a Case management system supplied by Government for the purposes of Task Order 1 to assist in initiation purposes tracking including Attachment 2, Task Order 1 Page 8 of 9, for proactive timeliness of achieving the AQL’s?

A35. Cases are tracked through the e-QIP application

Q36. Attachment 3, Task Order 2, Schedule B Pricing Structure, Page 2 states “…. Standard investigations will be accomplished for the Firm Fixed Price…” Can the government provide any assumptions on the estimated investigative hours per standard investigation and/or the number of surveillance sessions and hours per session that should be used by offerors in determining their firm fixed price per investigation?

A36. The Government expects the potential offerors to have an in-depth enough understanding and familiarity of the requirement to propose a firm fixed price for a standard investigation.

Q37. Attachment 2 Task Order1, Page 8, Technical Exhibit 1, Performance Requirement

Summary PS-2 specifies Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL’s). Can the government supply estimates of the percentages and/or quantities of Background checks and expedites for each of the following categories and estimated percentages and/or quantities of expedite requests for the same plus notate in some manner any seasonality skewing where appropriate?

A37. The approximate 10,000 is the actual backlog for background checks to be initiated. The task is to start and complete the initiation process on approximately 10,000 backlogged investigations. The government will inform the contractor if there are any priority initiations in the backlog.

Q38. Attachment 2, Task Order 1, Section 1.2, Page 3 states “…The contractor shall accomplish initiation procedures for background investigation services for Forest Service employees …..” Can the government confirm that the contractor’s scope of work under this

Task Order is limited to only initiation actions? If so, can the government provide further detail on the specific initiation actions being requested, e.g., procuring completed SF-85’s and /or e-

QIP applications from employees, checking for completeness, follow-up to obtain missing information etc.?

A38. The task is limited to the backlog of initiations identified no later than the start of work.

The vendor will be responsible for gathering and processing the documentation required for the initiation process to be completed. This includes but is not limited to notification, follow-up with the applicant for missing or incomplete documentation, reporting to government supervisor when the timeframe for follow-up is up, document review, correction of discrepancies identified by OPM.

Q39. Attachment 2, Task Order 1, Schedule B – Pricing Structure, Page 1 states “… All initiations, approximately 10,000, shall be accomplished within 18 months of award. All 10,000 actions shall be completed within 24 months of award, six months after the deadline for completing the initiations. Can the government clarify the distinction between the terms accomplished in 18 months of award versus completed within 24 months of award?

A39. The initiation of the background investigation is the starting point of the process. And the process must be completed in order to be paid. After the initiation, the contractor will follow up as needed and address any of OPMs questions and comments. The contractor will get credit for an action once OPM states that the package has been accepted or the 45 days has passed without the employee’s response and the issue was raised to the Government supervisor.

Q40. Section B – Price Structure, on page 5 of 40 under Contract Type and Incremental Funding it states the following:

“This is an IDIQ contract in which Firm Fixed Price and Labor Hour task orders may be issued against it. The Government will pursue Firm Fixed Price orders as much as is practicable. The above labor hours will be used as maximums that may be proposed on future task orders.”

However in Section L, Price Factor it also states:

“IDIQ Pricing will be accomplished by using the labor rates for each of the five performance periods (base period and four options). The Government will populate a sample of the estimated number of hours for each labor category for each performance period. The Government will not reveal the estimated number of hours that will be assigned to each labor category until after the source selection is complete. However, the number of hours was established prior the issuance of the solicitation.”

Regardless that the language in Section B refers to the hours “above”, in other words, the hours in Section B Tables, since the Section L language states the estimated number of hours will not be revealed until after source selection, can we presume that all contractors are only required to submit their fully burdened labor rates through fee in the Section B Tables?

A40. Yes, just list the fully burdened rate for each of the labor categories for each of the option periods.

Q41. Will the Government extend the response deadline for Past Performance Questionnaires identified in the PPQ template from April 15 to April 20 to be consistent with the proposal deadline?

A41. Past Performance Questionnaires will be considered if they are received in time to consider them in the source selection, even if received after the date that proposals are due. The earlier due date is to help increase the responsiveness of the individuals submitting them so that the information will be available for the source selection.

Q42. For Task Order 1, HSPD-12 Personnel Security Clearance Support Services, please identify:

A42. There is not an incumbent providing the services under Task Order 1.

Q43. For Task Order 2, Workers’ Compensation Investigations, please identify If there is an incumbent contractor A43. There is not an incumbent providing the services under Task Order 1. However, small purchase requests were accomplished for some individual investigations in the past but not more than one at a time.

Added in Amendment 2 to the Solicitation Q44. Section L, Page 34, the government includes counted and uncounted sections of the proposal. We'd like to include a 'Compliance Roadmap' to start our Technical Proposal to allow for organization and easy compliance checking for the government. We respectfully request this be allowed as uncounted to the page limit.

A44. A compliance roadmap may be incorporated into the Table of Contents. However, the Table of Contents and Compliance roadmap may not exceed two pages in total. Anything over two pages will be counted against the total page count and excess pages will be removed prior to evaluations.

Q45. Will the government allow for smaller, albeit readable, font for tables?

A45. On page 33 of the solicitation, under proposal format, the solicitation states that smaller font is permitted for figures and graphs. This includes tables.

Q46. Task Order #2, PWS paragraph 1.4.1. page 3. The government states: “All video and photography must be captured utilizing high-definition/high-resolution cameras producing high-quality images that support positive facial recognition images that conclude with certainty that the claimant is the one being monitored. A multiple array of cameras should be considered to include long-range capabilities as well as small, discreet, concealable and remote operated cameras that produce high-quality images…” Since the basic RFP specifies that

“…Other direct costs (ODCs) will not be directly reimbursed under this contract…” page 6:

“Other Direct Costs”, is the cost of referenced cameras intended to be treated as “Contractor-

Acquired Property (CAP)” purchases and not authorized for reimbursement under this contract? Should such costs be included in indirect charges reflected in the fully burdened labor rates? How will the government ensure that all offerors have considered/included such costs in the formulation of their indirect rate burdens?

A46. The task is a fixed price award for each investigation and it is the contractor's responsibility to ensure that their expenses are covered in their bid. The government will not reimburse the contractor for any equipment purchased under this task order.

Q47. Task Order 1, PWS Paragraph 1.2 and 1.3, page 3. The government states: "The contractor shall accomplish initiation procedures for background investigation services . . . " and further in

1.3 Services Required: "The work expectation of the contracted service to be provided is specified below: a. Eliminate the current backlog of overdue background initiations . . . " and b.

"Complete background initiations of employees . . . ". We request that the government provide current task-level protocols, including detail comprising the workflow referred to by the phrase, 'background initiations.'

A47. This is a standard process. The Government has stated the outcomes needed and provided the guidance that must be followed. No additional information will be provided.

A48. On Task Order 1, Does the government expect the contractor to perform "batch" initiations as a part of its proposed approach to accomplishing the Task Order requirements?

A48. Each background initiation stands on its own. The government expects the contractor to propose a process that meets best practice for background initiation.

Q49. The government states: "PS-1, Process CRM cases, All CRM cases must be answered within 7 days." Is CRM used here to mean eQIP, or some other system?

A49. CRM is the government help desk system and eQIP is used as a case management system.

Q50. The government states: "PS-1, Process CRM cases, All CRM cases must be answered within 7 days." What is the definition and description of "Answered"?

A50. Documentation of a response that would close the case and, if required, the required follow-up to close the case.

Q51. The government states: "PS-3, Employee Email or voicemail inquiry, Emails and voicemails are responded to within 24 hours of receipt (during the business week)." What is the minimum standard for content the government requires that should be included in responses that would rise to the level of a qualitative "response"?

A51. Sufficient information for the customer to understand what, if any, actions are required by the customer or a plan of action that the contractor must take before being able to complete the customer's request.

Q52. The government states: "The contractor shall accomplish identified claimant surveillance in all 50 U.S. States, its territories, and commonwealths that employ Forest Service Employees.

1.3 SERVICES REQUIRED. The contractor shall provide complete licensed investigative services utilizing discreet tactics that include long-range photography and video recording that do not alert the claimant or surrounding residents of potential surveillance monitoring, while capturing video and still photography evidence of any potential fraud associated with the claim." As it seems as though the government is requesting a PI(private investigator) in every state, will the contractor be able to employ 1099's for this role, since it will be impossible to have PI's as FTE's on the payroll for these as-needed tasks? (p. 67, section 1.8)? Would the government consider allowing such costs as ODC costs rather than consider as part of the labor content of the contract?

A52. Yes, the contractor may employ 1099 for this role. Other ODC’s will not be permitted on this task order.

Q53. How many fraud claims were investigated during calendar year 2014? And how many of said cases were closed out in calendar year 2014? Who is responsible for asserting the case that fraud has occurred and thus requiring investigation (Government or Contractor)?

A53. 3 were opened and closed. The Government will provide potential fraud assertions.

Q54. The Government states: "a. Eliminate the current backlog of overdue background initiations for Forest Service employees. There are approximately 10,000 as of Feb 2015." Can the Government provide any historical estimates of 'run-rate' as to the number of backlog cases completed by week and by month?

A54. We don’t have historical data collected at this time.

Q55. Can you give me the location of the command center?

A55. Albuquerque New Mexico is where the Forest Service HRM organization has been centralized.

Q56. Can you please provide a list of the Regional Offices this contract will be supporting?

A56. All of them. HRM in Albuquerque, NM serves all of the Forest Service. Organizations can be viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/organization/506

Q57. Is it required to have employees on site at the Regional Offices or can they work from a Home Office Location?

A57. No, contractors will mainly work from their facilities unless otherwise required in a task order.

Q58. Does this contract have a CBA attached?

A58. There is not a collective bargaining agreement attached to this contract.

Q59. What company or organization is used by Forest Service to handle the current Workers’

Compensation Investigations?

A59. Defense Investigators Group Incorporated located in Hanson, MA.

Q60. The Pricing Structure only has one training labor category – Training Specialist. In order to support the Training tasks listed there may be other labor categories required such as ISD, http://www.fs.fed.us/organization/506

Programmer, Graphic Artist, Quality Assurance Specialist, etc. Would USDA Forest Service be open to adding other relevant labor categories to their list?

A60. No programming will be accomplished under the contract. A labor category was added to

Schedule B for Instructional System Designer, Graphic Artists, and Quality Assurance Specialist.

Q61. 1.0 Description of Services/Introduction: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform Workers’ Compensation claimant fraud investigations as defined in this Performance Work Statement except as Specified in section C-3.”

A61. There is no section C-3 and that reference will be removed from the award. C-3 was a reference to Government provided services from another PWS format.