AG-SPEC-S-16-0028_0002.pdf

(x)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028

x x

1 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

NRCS-TX-127482-NCSU

Fort Worth TX 76115-3404 Building 23 501 W. Felix ST.

USDA-NRCS-NCSU

WASHINGTON DC 20250

NRCS-HQ-12SPEC

ROOM 6801-S

1400 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE, SW

USDA-NRCS SPECIALIZED CONTRACTING T

NRCS-HQ-12SPEC

09/21/2016000002

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

09/07/2016

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

This amendment hereby adds answers additional offeror Q&A, provides for a revised PWS

Appendix A, provides for a revised Price Proposal Worksheet, and adds the following invoicing requirements:

Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements-Invoice Payment Platform (IPP) Invoices must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury Invoice Payment Platform System (IPP) or the Contractor must be willing to accept payment by Government purchase card. The Contractor must use the IPP website (https://www.ipp.gov) to register, access, and use IPP for submitting invoices. Contractor assistance with Continued ...

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

VICKI SUPLER

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

2 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

enrollment can be obtained by calling (866)

973-3131. Invoices submitted by means other than

IPP will not be accepted unless the Contracting

Officer authorizes alternate procedures in writing.

Q&A

Q1. The Revised Attachment 2 lists proposed rates as Overhead, G&A, and Profit. However, the

Sample Task Order (TO) Pricing for the Base Year lists columns for Fringe, Overhead, G&A, and

Profit/Fee. Has (Fringe) been omitted from

Proposed Rates?

A1. For the purposes of this requirement

Overhead, G&A, and Profit/Fee are to be bid as fixed costs per contract year and are reflected in the proposed rates section of the spreadsheet.

Salary and Fringe are potentially variable based on the Wage Determination of each individual Task

Order (TO). Fringe will be considered as part of the offerors proposed pricing for purposes of determining whether the amounts reflect a clear understanding of the requirement.

Q2. Can the Government please clarify the Past

Performance Questionnaire requirement? The answers already provided to Questions 16 and 26 instruct the bidders to include the completed

PPQs as part of the proposal submittal. However, many Agencies will not provide the PPQs to a bidder but instead prefer to submit them directly to the Government Contracting Officer. Further, the instructions on the PPQ for this acquisition direct the individual filling out the PPQ to sign the PPQ and send it directly to both of you.

A2. PPQs should be submitted directly to the CO by the individual/agency/entity who is completing and signing the PPQ by the deadline date/time.

Q3. If a bidder intends to submit a bid for more than one region and intends to use the same 3

Past Performances for all regions bid, does the bidder have to have the PPQs submitting for each region or is submitting PPQs one time sufficient to apply to any and all regions proposed?

A3. Submitting PPQs one time is sufficient to apply to any and all regions proposed.

Q4. We noticed that a few positions were no

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

3 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

longer listed on revised documents-Does the

Government no longer have a need for these positions i.e. supply technician etc.?

A4. Please reference amended PWS appendix A and price proposal worksheet in amendment 2.

Q5. What is the anticipated start date for this contract?

A5. Estimated as December 01, 2016.

Q6. Are the offerors responsible for sending out questionnaires to our customers and submitting that version in our proposal?

A6. The offeror is responsible for sending the questionnaires to their customers and their customers shall submit the completed forms directly to the CO via email.

Q7. Currently, the limitation for Volume IV, not counting the table of contents and glossary, is 5 pages. The SF1449, Amendment 1 and Price

Proposal Worksheet will account for 4 pages, not leaving much room for an adequate price narrative. Can the SF1449 and amendments be excluded from the page count?

A7. Yes, the SF1449, Amendments, and Price

Proposal Worksheets may be excluded from the page count in Part IV Price Proposal and Amendments.

Q8. We are concerned that IAW SCA WD personnel must be compensated for the actual location worked however the governments pricing worksheet only allows one rate per class for all location.

How will the contractor be paid for the difference? Example California is higher than the pricing worksheet?

A8. Task orders placed for an area with lower or higher SCA rates than the Washington DC Wage

Determination shall be adjusted accordingly by the difference in SCA wage rate(s) for the locations/positions required at the Task Order

Level. The SCA WD provided as part of this solicitation is for evaluation purposes only.

Q9. Please confirm travel of personnel to whichever requesting office is reimbursable.

A9. Travel to and from the requesting office is not reimbursable. If travel is required in the performance of assigned tasks (and is pre-approved) actual travel costs will be

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

4 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

reimbursed in accordance with Federal Travel

Regulations and the Government Joint Travel

Regulations (JTR) in accordance with FAR

31.205-46.

Q10. Please advise expected workload by personnel

(number of personnel per region placed by contractor) that can be expected by region for one year?

A10. The expected workload in each region is unknown at this time and will be determined at the TO level.

Q11. Are positions temporary (i.e. less than fulltime per job or part-time)?

A11. See Amendment 1, Q3 posted on FBO.

Q12. The answer to Amendment 0001 question 15 states one document with four parts, but question

36 states that each part is a volume. In the email response per region, are you expecting the attachment to be 1 attachment (1 volume) containing 4 sub-headers (Parts I ¿ IV) or do you want 4 separate attachments labeled Part I, Part

II, Pat III and Part IV?

A12. The terms Volume and Part are used interchangeably. The proposal shall be emailed as one (1) single file (attachment) formatted in

Parts/Volumes as instructed.

Q13. Is this a new opportunity or a re-bid? If this is a re-bid who is the incumbent? Will the incumbent be allowed to bid?

A13. See Amendment 1, Q10 posted on FBO

Q14. Can you provide a breakdown of the number of

Full Time Employees (FTEs) by Region?

A14. This will be determined at the TO level.

Q15.When do you plan on awarding this contract?

A15. See A5 amendment 2.

Q16. Per Appendix A there are 41 separate labor categories, however the price proposal only references 30 labor categories. Are we only to price the 30 categories or the 41 categories?

A16. See A4 amendment 2.

Q17. On page 7 of the PWS If a security investigation conducted by the government renders

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

5 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

a contractor furnished employee ineligible, or if a contractor employee must be replaced for any reason, the contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with replacing the employee with a qualified individual. What is the USDAs cost for investigations?

A17. It is anticipated to be less than $200.

Q18. Is there an incumbent(s) in place? If so, who is/are the incumbent(s) and how long have they serviced this contract?

A18. See amendment 1, Q10 posted on FBO

Q19. Does the health and welfare payment of $4.27 allowance also cover vacation and Government holiday pay?

A19. Please reference the Wage Determination provided as part of the solicitation and/or contact the Department of Labor regarding the procedure for determining the $4.27 allowance.

Q20. How many awards does the government plan to make for each region?

A20. The government intends to award one contract per region.

Q21. In regards to contract value, you have established a ceiling of 2M per year? Does this ceiling apply to each contract awarded or is that the ceiling for the entire project, including all contracts awarded in each region?

A21. The $2M ceiling per year applies to each contract awarded.

Q22. Can you clarify the relevance of the sample rates located under section 52.222-42? Do the numbers in the table represent ranges or are the rates a representative of the base + fringe benefits?

A22. The clause is required by the Service

Contract Act as a statement of the rates that would be paid by the Federal agency to various classes of service employees. The rates are ranges and include fringe benefits and are provided for informational purposes only.

Q23. We do not have an approved, DOL, Affirmative action plan at this time. We comply with labor laws. As a small business, to our understanding it is not a requirement to have an affirmative

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

6 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

action plan in place. Can you please provide guidance to agencies who may not possess this plan? Must a plan be in place prior to proposal submission? Can you provide contact information for the DOL office who approves Affirmative

Action Plans?

A23. Affirmative action plans are required for small businesses that meet certain criteria. If your organization has not previously had contracts subject to the written affirmative action programs requirement, a written statement should be submitted to that effect. The DOL

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

(OFCCP) https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/ provides information on how to comply with federal employment laws.

Q24. Is the Veteran Report a requirement for all small businesses?

A24. If a business of any size has entered into a contract or subcontract in the amount of

$25,000 or more with any department or agency of the United States for the procurement of personal property and non-personal services, they are required to file a VETS-100 (or VETS-100A after

12/01/2003) report during the following calendar year. If this does not apply to your organization, include a written statement to that effect.

Q25. In reviewing Amendment No. 1 to the above subject solicitation, I have a question relative to your answer to Question No. 4: Your answer states Provide a list of no more than three (3) of the most relevant contracts performed for

Federal agencies and commercial customers within the last five years.

Could the words for Federal agencies and commercial be deleted? There may exist many qualified contractors who have a proven track record of providing relevant services to numerous customers, but may not have Federal agencies as customers.

A25. The intended meaning is that a list of relevant Federal agencies AND/OR commercial customers are acceptable.

Q26. When does the Q&A period end? Is there an incumbent or is this a new requirement? If there is an incumbent, please provide the name and the

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

7 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

corresponding contract number(s)

A26. See Amendment 1, Q1 and Amendment 1, Q10 posted on FBO.

Q27. The Wage Determination (WD) provided in conjunction with this solicitation was for the

Virginia/District of Columbia area. Question:

Should this WD be the basis of pricing for all four (4) regions? If not, what is the basis of pricing for the other three (3) regions?

A27. See Amendment 1, Q6 posted on FBO.

Q28. The Price Proposal Worksheet (Attachment 2) has a different Solicitation Number

(AG-SPEC-S-16-0022) Clarification Requested.

A28. This was corrected on Amendment 1. Please reference the Amended Price Proposal Worksheet.

Q29. Would the government either increase page count of Part II to 15 pages or allow the Quality

Assurance and or Transition Plan to be appendix outside of page count?

A29. No.

Q30. Reference Solicitation Part I, paragraph (e) requires offerors to identify labor surplus area designation. Is this still applicable? We are a

HUBZone company.

A30. This is an error in the solicitation document. Labor surplus area designation is not applicable and is not required.

Q31. Part I - Executive Summary and Contract

Documentation: Is there [sic] any key personnel assigned?

A31. The format, specific content, and key personnel to be proposed in the Executive Summary is at the discretion of the Offeror.

Q32. Part II - Technical Capability: What information should be included under Subfactor 2

¿ Management Approach? What information should be included under Subfactor 3 - Organization &

Implementation?

A32. This is at the discretion of the offeror but should clearly demonstrate the requirements listed in Part II (e).

Q33. Part II - Technical Capability: Can we include additional information under Appendix?

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

8 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

A33. All Parts shall follow the general outline as prescribed in the solicitation. An appendix may be added to any Part at the offerors discretion but shall be included in the page count for that section.

Q34. When are the questions due?

A34. See Amendment 1, Q1 posted on FBO.

Q35. If we are submitting proposal for multiple regions, should we email all proposals separately?

A35. See Amendment 1, Q15 posted on FBO.

Q36. Is there any naming convention?

A36. There is no specified naming convention for the file but all emails to the CO or CS must include the solicitation number in the subject line. Avoid using special characters in a file name and use underscores instead of periods or spaces to ensure the viability of the file.

Q37. What is the correlation between part (a) and part (b) of the technical factor/Subfactor adjectival ratings? In other words what is the purpose of part (b) ratings?

A37. In evaluating the technical factors and subfactors, the Source Selection Evaluation Team

(SSET) will fully evaluate and document significant strengths and weaknesses using the adjectival rating scale in (a). Based on the items noted, the SSET will assign each technical factor/subfactor an overall rating using the adjectival rating scale in (b).

Q38. Past Performance Questionnaire: Instructions state that the Contracting Officer will complete

Section I and II. Who is the Contracting Officer referenced here?

A38. The CO is defined as the applicable contracting officer or responsible official in the case of a federal government contract, or an officer of the company for a commercial contract.

Q39. Attachment 2 Price Proposal Worksheet. The drop down box under Regions has only 3 Regions.

It does not contain Region 4. Can you please clarify?

A39. This was corrected in Amendment 1, please see amended worksheet on FBO.

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

9 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

Q40. Can you please provide the volume of documents to be processed per week/month/year?

Can you please provide the volume of customer orders per week/month/year? How many Travel

Authorizations and vouchers are reviewed per week/month/year? Can you please let us know what are the other systems used apart from CONCUR? How are records managed (electronic or hardcopies), can you please elaborate? How much mail is managed and distributed per week/ month/ year?

From where do we gather information for answering inquiries? How are inquiries answered (call, email or in person)? How many calls are answered per day? What type of call is answered?

A40. These items will be provided as part of the specific Performance Work Statements at the task order level.

Q41. Reference Solicitation Part III, paragraph

(d) requires offerors to submit subcontractor consent letters as part of the proposal. Are these letters included in the page count?

A41. No.

Q42. Please clarify if the 5 pages limit for Part

IV is in reference to the Estimating

System/Methodology ONLY and that the completed SF

1449 and Price Proposal Worksheet are NOT included in the 5 page count.

A42. See A7 this Amendment.

Q43. What format do you want the one file containing all 4 parts/volumes? Pdf? Do you want part IV ¿ Price Proposal to be incorporated into the single file submitted? Do you also want the file completed and submitted in excel format?

A43. The file should be submitted as a *.pdf, a separate excel file should not be submitted.

Q44. The answer to Q16 (Amendment 1) states that the offeror should include a copy of the completed questionnaire with their offer.

However, the form asks the reference to return the form directly to you and Ms. Supler. Is it correct to assume then, that you will receive two copies of the completed questionnaire, one direct response and one copy of the response in the offer? Or should the questionnaire only come directly from the individual filling it out.

A44. See A2 this amendment.

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

10 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

Q45. Do you require a quality assurance plan along with our proposal submission?

A45. Yes

Q46. The section identifies the format and specific content required in Part II ¿ Technical

Capability, however, will the government provide more detailed information required for each

Subfactor?

A46. See A32, this amendment.

Q47. Can you confirm that this is a single contract award per region and not a multi-award

IDIQ contract vehicle within each region?

A47. See A20 this amendment.

Q48. We are considering proposing a solution for each region. However, we plan to use the same past performance references. Is it necessary for our points of contact to submit multiple past performance questionnaires?

A48. See A3 this amendment.

Q49. Would the government please clarify what we perceive to be conflicting information? Does the government want 4 separate volumes for each region, or ONE volume divided into four sections?

A49. See A12 this amendment

Q50. Does the inclusion of Certs and Reps count against the Part 1 Executive Summary 10 page limit?

A50. No, this falls under the category of number of pages as needed for contract documentation.

A51. What is a Facility Code? We have a Cage

Code (which we are providing in Section I per instructions). We have a Secret Clearance. But, what is a Facility code and where do I find it or get one? I looked at our Prime Contract award page and there is no facility code on that sheet

(in the facility code block).

A51. Facility Code is not required.

Q52. Do bidder have to submit the completed PPQs as part of our Part III (Past Performance Vol) or is the submittal by our customers (for the PPQs we are using) sufficient to meet the requirement?

A52. See A2 this amendment.

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

11 11

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

AG-SPEC-S-16-0028/000002

Q53. Are the Contract Documentation in a clearly marked, separate section of Part I, as stated on top of page 16 of document AG-SPEC-S-16-0028.pdf, part of the 10 page count of Part I?

A53. No, this falls under the category of number of pages as needed for contract documentation.

Q54. Would you please confirm the page counts for each of the parts? Is the total 31 pgs?

A54. Please reference this amendment: Q7, Q29, Q33, Q41, Q42, Q50, Q53 and amendment 1: Q16, Q31 for additional clarification on page count.

Since there are sections (for instance, required contract documentation, i.e. reps and certs) that fall outside of the page count, the total document page count may vary.

Q55. Do you want the spreadsheet included in the

Part IV ¿ Price Proposal and Amendments volume and submitted as an Excel spreadsheet?

A55. See A7 this amendment

Q56. The verification of submittal date of the most recent VETS-100 Report will be submitted in the Part I. However, we believe this report has been replaced with the VETS-4212 form. Would you still request the submittal date for VETS-100?

Or, shall we submit the date for VETS-4212 instead?

A56. The Offeror shall provide the VETS-100.

Q57. Part IV: Price Proposal and Amendments.

Would the completed and signed amendments be included in the 5-page limitation?

A57. No

Q58. Part III: Past Performance. Would you like the copies of blank questionnaires to be included in the Part III as the completed questionnaires

(by a CO and an assessor) are requested to be emailed directly to the NRCS? Or, would the

Offeror complete Section II and include the partially completed questionnaire at time of proposal submission?

A58. See A2 amendment 2

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)