BIO_Assistance_Q A_as_of_11_Oct_2013.xlsx
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- DOI Business Integration Office (BIO) Assistance Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- D13PS00314
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RFP Q A as of 11 Oct 2013
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BIO Assistance Q&A 11 Oct 2013
| RFP Reference | |||||||
| Question # | Attachment # | Section | Page | ||||
| Number | Question | Answer | Amend # | ||||
| 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Do any incumbents exist for this requirement and if so, could you please provide the incumbent vendors and the corresponding contract numbers? | Delta Solutions and Technologies under Blanket Purchase Agreement N08PA10457 and D13PA00016 | 000001 | |
| 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Are questions still due on 10/7, or is there going to be a change in schedule due to the government shutdown? | Questions are still due @ 3PM Eastern on 10/7/13 | 000001 | |
| 3 | 23 | 4.7.2 | 11 | The Government requires that all subs provide a minimum of 2 past performance references. Given the number of potential subcontractors to satisfy known requirements within the PWS as well as future requirements, request the Government consider limiting the number of PP citations requirements, for example, to subcontractors with greater than 5% of the workshare. | As stipulated in the RFP "The offeror shall identify four (4) recent contracts/orders for the prime contractor and two (2) recent contracts/orders for each proposed subcontractor on previous or current projects/tasks that are of a similar size, scope, and complexity of work identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS)." | 000001 | |
| 4 | 23 | 4.6.1.5 | 10 | Does the Government require Teaming Agreements and Past Performance references for all subcontractors or just subcontractors with greater than 5% of the workshare? | Yes, the Government requires Teaming Agreements and Past Performance for all subcontractors | 000001 | |
| 5 | 23 | 4.7.3, e | 16 | Does the Government require subcontractors who submit past performance references to also have PP questionnaires completed or is only the Prime Contractor required to have questionnaires completed? | Yes, subcontractors are asked to provide past performance questionaires as well. | 000001 | |
| 6 | 23 | 4.8 | 17 | Given the RFP is silent on the requirement for subcontractor sealed packages, please confirm that sealed packages from subs are not required | Sealed packages are not required. | 000001 | |
| 7 | 23 | 4.8 | 17, para 3 | "The Offeror is cautioned to submit other than cost/pricing information that is fully responsive to the contract requirements” Please clarify that this information, if applicable, is required only from the Prime. | Other than Cost or Pricing Data is required from the prime contractor. | 000001 | |
| 8 | 23 | 4.7. | 17, para 4 | Given that this is a FAR Part 15 procurement as referenced in the RFP, please clarify the level of pricing back up that the Government expects to see in the cost/price volume. Is the Government looking to see the direct labor, indirect rate, and profit detail for each proposed labor category? Will sealed packages from the subcontractors be required? | This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with the procedures of FAR Parts 12, 15, AND 16. The level of pricing back up that the Government expects to see is as follows: Any type of information required to determine price reasonableness or cost realism that does not require offeror certification as accurate, complete, and current in accordance with FAR 15.406-2; |
May include pricing, sales, or cost information;
| Includes cost or pricing data for which certification is determined inapplicable after submission. Direct labor, indirect rate, and profit detail are not required for each proposed labor category. Sealed packages from subcontractors are not required. | 000001 | ||||||
| 9 | 13 | 2.6 | 57 | Is this the full scope of the requirement. Do the Business Process Division Staffing requirements contain all of the functional areas? | The following staffing requirements were added to section 2.6.2 Business Process Division Staffing Requirements: Labor Expert; Travel/Permanent Change of Station Expert; Charge card Expert; Vendor/Master Data Management; SAP Consultant for Inventory Management. IPP is referenced in section 2.6.2.5. | 000002 | |
| 10 | 10 | 2.2.2.6 | 52 | Information Systems Auditing Support is described in the Technical Support Requirements section but not included in the BIO Task Order or identified as a contractor position on the BIO organizaton chart under the Quality Branch. Please confirm this position is within the scope of this contract. | Information Systems Auditing Support is within scope of the the ID/IQ contract, as it is possible that this support may be needed during the course of the contract. However, Information Systems Auditing Support is not currently required for the BIO Task Order. | 000002 | |
| 11 | 13 | 2.6 | 56-57 | For staffing requirements where a bachelor’s degree is required in a relevant field, would the Government accept a bachelor’s degree in any field, as long as the experience is in a relevant field and meets minimum requirements? | Where required, the bachelor's degree must be in a related field. Staffing requirements that require a bachelor’s degree may be substituted with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience. NOTE: This substitution requirement does not apply to staffing requirements that state within the position description that less than five years of relevant experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree. | 000002 | |
| 12 | 13 | 2.6 | 56-57 | For staffing requirements which require a bachelor’s degree in a related field, would the Government consider 5 years of professional experience as a substitute for a Bachelor’s degree? | Staffing requirements that require a bachelor’s degree may be substituted with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience. NOTE: This substitution requirement does not apply to staffing requirements that state within the position description that less than five years of relevant experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree. | 000002 | |
| 13 | 23 | 3.4., 3.5, 3.6 and 4.9, 4.10, 4.11 | pages 3 - 5 and pages 22, 27, and 31. | There appears to be an error in Volume names for Volume 4 - 6. Please confirm the following: Volume 4: BIO Support Task Order, Volume 5: AQD Support Task Order, Volume 6: BSEE Support Task Order. | The title of paragraph 4.10 is revised from stating "Volume 4" to 4.10. VOLUME 5: AQD Support Task Order. The title of paragraph 4.11 is revised from stating "Volume 4" to 4.11. VOLUME 6: BSEE Support Task Order. All changes in RED Font. | 000002 | |
| 14 | 23 | 4.7.2, Para 2 | 11 | Reference Text: "Each Offeror shall submit a past and present performance volume with its proposal, containing past performance information in accordance with the format contained in paragraph 4.7.1.1. " Question: Paragraph 4.7.1.1 does not exist. Please clarify where this information is referenced. | The RFP inadvertantly referenced the wrong paragraph. The sentences is revised to state: Each Offeror shall submit a past and present performance volume with its proposal, containing past performance information in accordance with the format contained in paragraph 4.7.2.1. All changes in RED Font. | 000002 | |
| 15 | 16 | 1.2 | 1 | Please clarify the place of performance for the BSEE Task Order. | The place of performance is hereby revised from Washington, DC to Herndon, Virginia. Please reference Attachment #16 to review revision in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 16 | 16 | 1.3 | 1 | Please clarify the specific work requirements for the BSEE task order. | The work requirements for the BSEE task order are revised in their entirety to remove the project management tasks (paragraph 1.3) and training requirements (paragraph 1.4). Please reference Attachment #16 to review revision in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 17 | 18 | 2.1.1.1 | 3 | Due to the specific nature of the requirements for the Acquisition Functional Expert, would the Government consider revising the experience requirement from “Five years minimum of relevant experience required” to “Five years minimum of relevant experience preferred”? | Amendment 2 has included an additional requirement for an Acquisition Functional Analyst. This labor category requires "One to Three years minimum of relevant experience required." All changes in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 18 | 23 | 4.2 | 7 | Each transition plan has been given a 20 page count limitation. Please confirm that this is OVER the minium page count of 15 pages for the ID/IQ and Task Order responses (Volumes 4 and 5). | The page count for the volumes 4 and 5 do not include the transition plan. There is a separate page limit of 20 pages for each transition plan. Attachment #23 is revised as follows: Volume 4 – BIO Support Task Order is limited to 40 pages (page limit does not include the transition plan). Volume 5 – AQD Support Task Order is limited to 30 pages (page limit does not include the transition plan). All changes in RED Font. | 000002 | |
| 19 | 23 | 4.6.1.4 | 10 | Section 4.6.1.4 Item vi states-- “ Identify the participation of business concerns (e.g. small business, small disadvantaged, etc.) in terms of the value of the ID/IQ contracting (using a percentage %). Please do not include actual dollar amounts in this volume.” |
This statement is contrary to FAR 52.219-9 which states that an offeror’s subcontracting plan should have the goals expressed in terms of percentages of total planned subcontracting dollars and include a statement of total dollars planned to be subcontracted for an individual contract plan. Please clarify.
| The requirement for submission of a small business subcontracting plan is moved from VOLUME 1: Management and Technical (ID/IQ Contract) to Volume 3. The requirement for submission of Subcontracting and Teaming Agreements is moved from Volume 1 to Volume 3. All changes in RED Font. | 000002 | |||||
| 20 | 23 | 4.7.5, Chapter 5 | N/A | Please confirm that the requirement to provide notification of any efforts that were terminated for default or cause, is limited to the Prime contractor only. | The requirement to provide notification of efforts that were terminated for default or by cause is limited to the Prime contractor. The Instructions to Offerers are revised to state, The offeror (prime contractor) shall notify the Government of any efforts in which it was terminated for default or terminated for cause. All changes are in RED font. | 000002 |
| 21 | 10 | 2.6 | N/A | Currently, Attachment 10 BIO_IDIQ_PWS states in Section 2.6 states that “Staffing Requirements shall be specified at the task order level.” Attachment 13 BIO_TO_PWS specifies labor categories for that task order, and those labor categories also appear in Attachment 26 Cost_Price_Template_BIO_TO. Similarly Attachment 18 AQD_Support_TO_PWS specifies two (2 ) labor categories for the task order. Question: May the offeror propose additional labor categories beyond those contained in Attachment 13 for the BIO Task order and Attachment 18 for the AQD task order in order to provide the Government our Best Value solution? | Yes, the offeror may propose labor categories beyond those contained in Attachment 13 for the BIO Task order and Attachment 18 for the AQD task order in order to provide the Government a best value solution. | 000002 |
| 22 | 16 | BSEE Support Task Order | N/A | Attachment 16 BSEE_Support_TO_PWS does not specify labor categories to be used for the task order. Question: May the offeror utilize the labor categories from Attachment 13 BIO_TO_PWS and also propose additional labor categories in order to provide the Government our Best Value solution? | Yes, the offeror may utilize the labor categories from Attachment 13 BIO_TO_PWS and/or propose additional labor categories in order to provide the Government a best value solution. | 000002 |
| 23 | 26, 27, 28 | N/A | There are 4 pricing templates at the task order level – one for each TO (Attach 26, 27 and 28) and Attach 30 Cost Price Template Example. However there is no submission page for the IDIQ rates by labor category. Please clarify that this is the Government intent? | Correct. There is no pricing template for the ID/IQ labor rates by labor category. Contractor format is acceptable. A requirement to provide the rates in an MS Excel spreadsheet has been added to the Instructions to Offerors. All changes are in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 24 | 26, 27, 28 | N/A | If subcontractor prices will be reflected in the IDIQ rates by labor category, will the Government require listing each subcontractor company in the pricing templates or just those subcontractors with greater than 5% of the workshare? | All subontractors shall by identified. The offeror shall list the name of the company the offeror is proposing resource(s) from in column E – Company performing. | 000002 | |
| 25 | 3 | ALL | Understanding that the offeror is required to make a recommendation, do you have a preference on where the resources are physically located between Herndon and Denver? | The BIO is split approximately 50/50 between the Denver and Herndon offices. The government prefers a similar split for the BIO Assistance contractor resources. | 000002 | |
| 26 | 6 | 1 | Could DOI please provide an updated copy of this diagram that is legible? | All of the detail in this diagram can be seen in the electronic version of this attachment at a high enough zoom. Recommend zooming into no less than 450%. | 000002 | |
| 27 | 13 | 1.1.1 | 7 | How many Business Process Division staff are Currently assigned to Herndon and/or Denver? | Numbers provided are for federal staff. |
35 total plus 1 vacant Budget Lead with location TBD.
Herndon - 11
| Denver - 25 | 000002 | |||||
| 28 | 13 | 1.1.1 | 7 | How many Application Management Division staff are currently assigned to Herndon and/or Denver? | Numbers provided are for federal staff. |
10 total Herndon - 7
| Remote - 3 (Phx, NC, NY) | 000002 | |||||
| 29 | 13 | 1.1.1 | 7 | How many Technical Infrastructure, Security, and Quality Management Division staff are currently assigned to Herndon and/or Denver? | Numbers provided are for federal staff. |
14 total Herndon - 10
| Denver - 4 | 000002 | |||||
| 30 | 13 | 1.1.1 | 8 | How many Production Management Division staff are currently assigned to Herndon and/or Denver? | Numbers provided are for federal staff. |
4 total
| Denver - 4 | 000002 | |||||
| 31 | 18 | 1 | 1 | How many resources are currently assigned to Herndon, Denver, and Sierra Vista? | The contractor resources currently assigned to Herndon, Denver, and Sierra Vista are as follows: |
2 - Herndon
1.5 - Denver
| 0 - Sierra Vista | 000002 | ||||||
| 32 | 23 | 4.7.2.1 | 13 | Past Performance Information Required "Contract task areas to which the Past or Present Performance reference applies" Please clarify how the government wants us to map Past Performance activities to the Contract Task areas defined in each TO PWS ? | The requirement to provide: 6. Contract task areas to which the Past or Present Performance reference applies; is hereby removed from 4.7.2.1. All changes in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 33 | 23 | 4.7.3 d | 16 | "The Offeror shall request that the Raters return the completed questionnaires directly to the Government email address or fax number cited on the questionnaire on or before the due date". Is this due date the same as the due date for the proposal, i.e., 3:00 P.M. eastern time, Wednesday, October 30, 2013 ? | The RFP due date (to include past performance questionnaires) has been extended to Friday, 3:00 P.M. eastern time, November 8, 2013. | 000002 | |
| 34 | 23 | 4.7.3 f | 16 | "It is the responsibility of the Offeror to assure that the Raters return the questionnaires by the due date." During the Government shut down it may be difficult or impossible to contact the Raters for Past Performance References, to ensure their willingness to act as a reference, to explain the process and to ensure their completion and return of the questionnaire by the due date. Will DOI extended the due date for completed questionnaires? | The RFP due date (to include past performance questionnaires) has been extended to Friday, 3:00 P.M. eastern time, November 8, 2013. | 000002 | |
| 35 | 23 | 4.7.5 | 17 | Is this notification required only for the prime contractor? If not, we assume the period of time is in line with the 5 year past performance window. | Reference response to Question #20. | 000002 | |
| 36 | 23 | 4.9.1.4 | What is your expectation of how we will provide verification that key personnel shall have completed background investigations and be able to start immediately at the beginning of the transition period ? | The requirement to provide verification that Key Personnel shall have completed background investigations and be able to start immediately at the beginning of the Transition Period has been removed from the solicitation for both the BIO Task Order and the AQD Task Order. | 000002 | ||
| 37 | 23 | 4.9.2.3 | 26 | In section i, the second sentence requires information related to "who the contract is currently with". Wouldn't that be assumed to be the incumbent? | The Government is referring to the incumbent Contractor. See revised instruction, with changes highlighted in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 38 | 23 | 4.9.1.5 & 4.9.1.6 | 25 | By providing functional and technical resource resumes does that mean we need to commit these resources to be delivered at time of award? | Resumes are no longer required for the functional and technical resources. Please reference revised Attachment #23 Instructions to Offerors and Attachment #24 - Evaluation Criteria. | 000002 | |
| 39 | 23 | 4.9.1.5 & 4.9.1.6 | 25 | Does your current approach preclude utilizing an incumbent capture process to retain incumbent personnel? If no, how can we submit resumes for these incumbent resources? | Yes, our current approach includes utilizing an incumbent capture process to retain incumbent personnel. Please reference FAR Clause 52.222-17 Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers in the Terms and Conditions of the solicitation. |
| Offerors are not required to submit resumes for the incumbent resources with their proposal submission in response to the solicitation. Where resumes are required to be submitted, offerors are required to provide resumes that validate proposed personnel meet or exceed the required work experience, training, and education requirements for each position. | 000002 | ||||||
| 40 | 5 | All | All | During Deployment 8, the PMO estimated their planning capacity for the government and contracting resources in order to validate the amount of scope that could be accomplished for the Deployment while balancing O&M needs. This approach was used again for the FY14. If the current contractor participated in this effort, what is the planned capacity in hours and FTEs for all FY14 and O&M activities? | The incumbent's participation was limited. The workload planning was primarily a government management effort. Still, these workload estimates may be useful in explaining the anticipated work and the total amount of effort anticipated, along with the amount anticipated to be provided by the contractor. PLEASE NOTE: These are working estimates only and have not been updated based on Deployment 9 blueprinting. Reference RFP Attachments # 32 (Contractor Resources Only) and #33 (Federal and Contractor Resources). | 000002 | |
| 41 | 23 | 4.8.1.2 | 18 | Since the ID/IQ references Firm Fixed Price for future work, should the ID/IQ rate card (in Chapter 2 of the Cost/Price Volume) include both Firmed Fixed Price and T&M rates? | The purpose of this instruction is to provide the T&M/LH rates for the ID/IQ contract. | 000002 | |
| 42 | 23 | 4.8.1.2 | 18 | What is the format for the ID/IQ Rate Card in Chapter 2 of the Cost/Price Volume? | Contractor format is acceptable. A requirement to provide the rates in an MS Excel spreadsheet has been added to the Instructions to Offerors. All changes are in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 43 | 2 | All | All | The Deployment 8 development object list has been attached to the RFP. Can the Deployment 9 development object list be provided? | FBMS Deployment 9 is currently in the blueprint phase, although most work has been placed on hold during the Government shutdown. The latest D9 object listing is included in Attachment #34 titled FBMS Deployment 9 (D9) Application Development Object | 000002 | |
| 44 | 23 | 4.8.1.2 | Is the Service Contract Act applicable to the current contract? If yes, approximately how many FTE's are subject to the Act? If no, why does the DOI feel this type of work would be subject to the Act? | FAR Clause 52.222-41 SERVICE CONTRACT ACT OF 1965 (NOV 2007) Clause is included in the GSA contract for the incumbent. There are no current FTE's subject to the ACT. DOI is not assuming that this type of work is subject to the Service Contract Act. However, based on the labor categories an offeror proposes one or more of the labor categories may be subject to the Act (e.g. Technical Writer, etc.). Therefore, offerors are asked to identify the proposed labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act. | 000002 | ||
| 45 | 13 | 2.6.x | 56-57 | BIO Task Order PWS Section 2.6.2.x labor categories all require a bachelor’s degree plus years of experience. However, PWS Section 2.6.3.x is less consistent. Some positions require a degree and years of experience, others state that a bachelor’s degree is “preferred” while others state that a degree “and/or” years of experience is required. Further, all labor categories in 2.6.4.x state a degree is “preferred.” Due to the complex nature of the work to be performed , will the Government consider requiring a bachelor’s degree and years of experience for the LC descriptions in 2.6.3.x and 2.6.4.x” | The Government has reviewed the staffing requirements and made revisions to the bachelor's degree and minimum year requirements for several labor categories. Please review the revised staffing requirements with revisions noted in RED font. | 000002 | |
| 46 | 13 | 2.6 | All | The minimum years of relevant experience required in each of the labor categories are overly restrictive. The minimum year requirements are in excess of the Government’s minimum needs. We believe the following change to be reasonable and consistent with the Government’s minimum needs: |
• Labor categories requiring a minimum of 8 years be changed to 5-8 years
• Labor categories requiring a minimum of 7 years be changed to 4-7 years
• Labor categories requiring a minimum of 5 years be changed to 3-5 years
• Labor categories requiring a minimum of 3 years be changed to 1-3 years
| We request that the RFP be changed to reflect the proposed labor categories above. | The Government has reviewed the staffing requirements and made revisions to the minimum year requirements for several labor categories. Please review the revised staffing requirements with revisions noted in RED font. | 000002 | |||||
| 47 | 23 | Volume 4; Chapters 5 and 6 | The requirement to submit named resumes for all Functional and Technical positions is excessive. We agree it is critical for named resumes to be provided for Key Personnel. However, a requirement for all resumes is unduly restrictive. We request that resumes only be required for Key Personnel and that only representative resumes be required for Functional and Technical positions. | Resumes are no longer required for the functional and technical resources. Please reference revised Attachment #23 Instructions to Offerors and Attachment #24 - Evaluation Criteria. | 000002 | ||
| 48 | N/A | N/A | na | Request the Government provide the capacity model analysis reflecting the level of effort to continue supporting the entire FBMS FY14 effort. | Reference response to Question #40. | 000002 | |
| 49 | 24 | 1.1.2.1 | 1 | Past performance is not included in the criteria for award in the three (3) Day One Task Orders and is only relevant to the IDIQ rate card. We believe this is inexplicable, appears to be oversight, and, if not corrected, would lead to a lack of meaningful evaluations in the award of the three (3) Day One Task Orders. We request that past performance criteria be included in at least the BIO Task Order. | The Government plans to award the ID/IQ contract to one vendor. Each offeror shall provide sufficient past performance information (as instructed in Attachment #23) to allow the Government to determine that it can support any and all task orders awarded against the ID/IQ contract. Therefore, it is redundant to request past performance references for each of the three initial task orders being awarded as a result of this solicitation. | 000002 | |
| 50 | 23 | 11 | 36 | Request that DOI extend the due date for proposals to November 15, 2013 | Reference response to question #33. | 000002 | |
| 51 | 10 and 13 | 3.7 | The current RFP prohibits the ability to perform work remotely. We ask that DOI reconsider the restriction. | The government would need to clearly articulate what products could be supported through this type of approach and how we would manage the delivery and quality of those products. The question does not provide enough information to know exactly which positions and products would be serviced through this approach. The program will be experiencing a large change in our operations model, as we change from the large, prescribed deployments to a more flexible release strategy. It is not in the Government’s best interest to make a change in how we operate without contract support, at this time. One reason the program has been a success is through the integrated teamwork across all disciplines within the program. The Government is not confident it could maintain the same level of success making this change at the same time we are making programmatic changes required by the evolution of the deployments. | 000002 |
Solicitation No. D13PS00314 – U.S. Department of the Interior, Business Integration Office (BIO) Assistance Response to RFP Questions as of 11 October 2013
Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 &P Amendment 000002
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .