CS2 and CS2-SB Q A-part 4.pdf

CS2 and CS2- Small Business General Questions and Answers (Part 4)

Question 22: In the CS2 and CS2-SB Draft RFPs, Section M.3, “contracts or orders” were permitted as Past Performance, but the Final RFP, Section states only the word “contracts.”

Are orders still permitted?

Answer: Yes. Past performance will be evaluated on the Offeror’s performance on contracts or orders.

Question 23: Are there alternate ways to submit the Past Performance surveys – via email or

FAX?

Answer: E-mail delivery will be accepted to FutureCOMSATCOM@gsa.gov. The CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section L will be amended to add e-mail delivery as an alternate.

Will GSA accept these hard copies via Federal Express letter shipment addressed to Mr. Felton Jones?

Answer: Yes, in accordance with CS2 RFP Section L.24.3.1 (CS2) and CS2-SB RFP Section L.21.3.1.

Will the Government accept the questionnaire if it is in Word format, converted from the PDF?

Answer: Yes, the Government will accept Past Performance questionnaires in Word format.

Question 24: The total page limit for the Corporate Experience narrative is 20 pages, plus an appendix that lists the Corporate Experience references.” Would not the corporate experience narrative (Volume 2) already contain the corporate experience references?

Answer: In CS2 RFP Section L.24.2.2 and CS2-SB RFP Section L.21.2.2, there are instructions for the Offerors to submit an appendix of their corporate experience references. It is a complete POC listing with contact information including contract title, contract name, value, period of performance and POC info so the government can verify their references. The narrative only asks for the references' name.

Question 25: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section H, Subsection H.5, states “The redacted Internet version of the contract shall include current contract period pricing.” Since all FCSA CS2 pricing is Task Order specific, is the Government’s intention that Contractors include the pricing of awarded Task Orders as part of the redacted Internet posting?

Answer: No. Only contract level pricing will be included.

Question 26: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section I.10 omits three provisions of particular concern to contractors that perform task orders OCONUS:

1. FAR 52.228-3 Workers’ Compensation (Defense Base Act)

2. 52.228-4 Workers’ Compensation and War-Hazard Insurance Overseas mailto:FutureCOMSATCOM@gsa.gov

3. DFAR 252.225-7043 Antiterrorism/Force Protection Policy for Defense Contractors Outside the United States

Answer: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section I will not be modified to add the three clauses. (1) FAR 52.228-3 applies when the Defense Base Act applies and: (a) The contract will be a public-work contract performed outside the United States; or (b) The contract will be approved or financed under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (Pub. L. 87-195) and is not excluded by FAR 28.305(b)(2).

(2) FAR 52.228-4 applies when the contract will be a public-work contract performed outside the United States and the Secretary of Labor waives the applicability of the Defense Base Act (see 28.305(d)).

(3) DFAR 252.225-7043 will be included at the Task Order level as required by the Ordering Activity.

Question 27: Section L.25.2 of the DRAFT Solicitation #QTA-010-CTA-0003 (Section L.23.2 of the DRAFT Solicitation #QTA-010-CTA-0010) stated the following: “The Offeror shall not include performance information from other divisions or corporate management entities not planned for direct involvement or that will not significantly influence the performance during the execution of the FCSA Program.” Does this statement remain applicable to the FCSA CS2 Full & Open Solicitation (and CS2-SB)? That is, may an Offeror submit a proposal that includes past performance and corporate experience information from its affiliate (a company owned by the same parent) that will be directly involved in contract performance during execution of the FCSA program?

Answer: Offerors responses to Factor 2, Corporate Experience, and Factor 3, Past Performance must be based on the offeror's own experience/performance as a prime or subcontractor. For Past Performance, the government will only consider past performance for projects where the offeror performed as a prime or subcontractor. Past performance references provided for potential subcontractors of the offeror will not be considered. For Corporate Experience, offerors are encouraged to describe their involvement in projects that demonstrate corporate experience of the kind described in the RFP. In describing the offeror's corporate experience, the description should include the offeror's specific role as prime contractor, subcontractor or supplier. The description may also include a description of the other entities that worked with the offeror. Any projects or efforts described to demonstrate corporate experience must involve the offeror. Projects that were performed with no involvement of the offeror should not be proposed.

Question 28: Is GSA accepting another round of Q&As with industry, now that the final RFP has been issued? (And if so, when are the questions due?).

Answer: The final date for submittal of questions is Thursday, July 22, fifteen (15) business days prior to the closing date.

Question 29: It appears that two different sets of questions and answers relating to the CS2 and CS2-SB solicitation are being posted on the www.gsa.gov Web site and on the www.fbo.gov Web site. Are there certain types of questions that Offerors should direct to a particular site? If not, would it be possible to consolidate all questions and answers that relate to the CS2 and CS2-SB solicitation and post them on the www.fbo.gov site?

Answer: The referenced questions were posted presolicitation and are no longer relevant. Only information posted on FBO is relevant. The postings on gsa.gov/fcsa FAQs will be removed.

Question 30: Please provide the phone number and e-mail address for the Ombudsman.

Answer: The GSA Ombudsman is Joseph Neurauter. Mr. Neurauter’s contact information is:

email address joseph.neurauter@gsa.gov and phone (202) 219-3454.

Question 31: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section G.4.2, GSA Management Fee: Please clarify that that payment of the management fees must be within 30 calendar days of the close of the calendar month in which the fees are collected, not the month for which the fees apply.

Answer: Correct. Payment of the GSA Management Fees must be within 30 calendar days of the close of the calendar month in which the fees are collected, not the month for which the fees apply.

Question 32: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section K.2, Annual Representations and Certifications:

Please identify the contract value that the Offeror should use in order to identify those representations or certifications in ORCA that are applicable to this solicitation as specified at 52.204-8(c)(1).

Answer: The Offeror should assume that the value exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

Question 33: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Sections K.2, K.3.1, K.3.2, and K.3.3: Please clarify if FAR 52.223-1, 52.223-4 and 52.223-13 apply at the contract level or the order level.

Answer: The referenced provisions are all certifications of environmental compliance and shall apply to all Task Orders issued under the Contract.

Question 34: Given that CS2 RFP Sections L.23.1.1.1 and L.23.1.1.2 (CS2-SB RFP Sections L.20.2.1.1 and L.20.2.1.2) state that no digital signature is required for the Technical/Management, Corporate Experience, Past Performance, and Price Proposal files, please clarify why reference is made to digital signatures in CS2 RFP Section L.13.5 (CS2-SB RFP Section L.11.5).

Answer: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section L 13.5 refer to problems of verifying digital signatures.

Since no digital signatures are required, we do not see a conflict.

Question 35: CS2 RFP Section L.24.2.1 (CS2-SB RFP Section L.21.2.1): Do Offerors have the option to submit multiple Corporate Experience references to address a single Solution Type or Solution Attribute?

Answer: A single reference will suffice for each solution type. However, the same reference may be used for more than one solution type. Multiple references may be required for specific attributes. Please see CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section M.3.

Question 36: CS2 RFP Section L.24.4, Price Volume 4 (CS2-SB RFP Section L.21.4): Given that proposals are due thirty seven (37) days from the date of issuance of the solicitation, please clarify why pricing is to be based sixty (60) days from the date of issuance of the solicitation.

mailto:joseph.neurauter@gsa.gov

Answer: For proposal purposes, pricing should be based 60 calendar days after the date of the solicitation issuance.

Question 37: CS2 RFP Section L.24.4, Price Volume 4 (CS2-SB RFP Section L.21.4): “The second table shall provide the overall system price for each STO. The prices provided in the second Section B table will be the awarded prices; the prices in the second Section B table are the only prices incorporated in the contract.” What is the significance of awarded prices or prices incorporated in the contract? What is the procedure for an awardee to respond to a Task Order Request for services that are not duplicative of one of the STOs? Does the contractor have to submit a mod to the contract to add the TOR pricing offered?

Answer: Please see Q&A #8 for first part of this question. We do not anticipate modifications to add products or services since pricing will be determined at the task order level.

Question 38: CS2 and CS2-SB RFPs Section M: The Standards for several of the Solution Attributes call for “at least two corporate experiences” and “at least one experience”. Please define these terms in this context.

Answer: "One corporate experience" and "one experience” have the same meaning in this context.

Question 39: Is the contractor to assume that they will receive a certificate exempting them from State, Local and International Taxes for purchase of equipment?

Answer: Yes, for proposal purposes only assume that an exemption will be provided.

Question 40: In light of the additional Q&As that have been recently posted on the FBO website, my company would like request an RFP due date extension of at least seven (7) calendar days. There has been much additional information supplied by the government in these Q&A’s, and additional time is needed to thoroughly address these issues.

Answer: No extension is granted at this time.

Question 41: For the proprietary/copyright statement on the cover page, is it permissible to use point size 9 instead of 12?

Answer: Yes, the use of smaller font for the proprietary/copyright statement is permissible.

Question 42: FAR 52.211-11 (liquidated damages) there is no stated cap on damages. The FAR clause includes a blank, to be completed by the CO, indicating the daily accrual rate for LDs. Can the government provide more detail on liquidated damages (i.e. daily accrual rate and cap) to ensure offerors can address risk exposure and subcontracting agreements accordingly?

Answer: If applicable the OCO will use clause at the TO level and complete blanks appropriate to the task order.

Question 43: With respect to the past performance questionnaire, if the Offeror request more than three customers to complete the questionnaire to ensure that a total of three past performances references are submitted to the GSA on time, will the government discard any number greater than 3 received?

Answer: In the event that more than three (3) references are received, the Government will evaluate the first three (3) past performance questionnaires received. RFP Sections L and M will be amended to reflect this clarification.

Question 44: CS2 RFP Section L.22.1.1 (CS2-SB RFP Section L.20.1.1): Can a bidder provide a cross-reference matrix? If so, does it count towards the page limits?

Answer: A cross reference matrix is not required. If included, it will count towards the page limits.

Question 45: Are the contractors expected to have experience/past performance in the three types of Task orders sampled? Will a contractor be considered for award even if optimal past performance is demonstrated but just in one or two of the sample Task Order solutions (or –let’s say half of the types listed on C.2.4.4) or (attributes list on C.2.5)?

Answer: To clarify, Technical/Management, Corporate Experience, and Past Performance are defined as separate evaluation factors. The requirements for response to the Sample Tasks are identified in the Technical/Management Volume instructions in Section L.

For the Technical/Management factor CS2 Section L.24.1 and CS2-SB Section L.21.1 state:

"The Offeror shall prepare its Technical/Management Approach Volume to address the Sample

Task Orders (STO) in Section J. Technical/Management evaluation of the STOs will be based on compliance with the applicable requirements found in the following sections: C.2.1

Management, C.2.2 General Technical Requirements, and C.2.4 Required COMSATCOM End-to-End Solution Attributes. In the Offeror’s response, the Government is interested in those requirements applicable to each STO.

For Corporate Experience, CS2 Section L.24.2.1 and CS2-SB Section L.21.2.1 state: “The

Offeror shall focus its submittal on its demonstrated experience within the past three (3) years delivering the six Required COMSATCOM End-to-End Solution Types and nine of the Required

COMSATCOM End-to-End Solution Attributes described in Section C:”, which includes L.

21.2.1.16 Satellite Professional Support Services in the CS2-SB solicitation.

Past Performance requirements are as stated in CS2 Section L.24.3 and CS2 L.21.3 which state: “The Offeror shall identify three relevant contracts for its Past Performance Volume.

Relevant contracts should relate to specific requirements outlined in C.2.2 General Technical Requirements.”

Question 46: CS2 Section L.22 and CS2-SB L20 General Proposal Instructions: Is it correct to assume that the 45 pages for the Technical/Management volume can be allocated by the contractor across the three sample tasks?

Answer: Yes.

Question 47: RFP Section L states: "Technical/Management Proposal Volume page count does not include link budget analysis." The government has allowed for link budget analyses to be placed in an appendix to a STO response. Would additional engineering analysis in support of a shared bandwidth network technology also be permitted in the appendix, with a summary table to be placed in the page limited primary STO section? These network technologies require extensive engineering analysis for a large complicated network and this analysis alone would take a significant portion of the allotted page count, reducing an offeror's ability to provide a complete response to many other important RFP requirements. Please clarify.

Answer: No. Results of engineering analyses for the STOs shall count towards the page count limits.