A3_Vendor_Q A_revised_09072015.pdf

Questions & Answers

D15PS00317 Workplace Conflict Management Services

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 1

I operate a small executive coaching business. Is that the type of business DOI is looking for through this solicitation?

DOI is seeking a Contractor that will manage a national network of practitioners—that is, practitioners that practice in all of the fields covered by the PWS. Importantly, this will entail the ability to recruit and identify talent—through subcontracting or through direct employment, in mediation, coaching, organizational development, change management, facilitation, and other conflict management fields. The person in this role would need to demonstrate substantive knowledge and experience in these fields and is well as substantive knowledge and experience in the role of developing, sustaining, and managing such a practitioner network, including the administrative and the substantive aspects associated with the network.

Amend-ment 1

In re: C.2.1. (3) lists a requirement for coaches to be

International Coach Federation certified. In addition, the solicitation breaks the tiers of coach labor categories down by ICF credential. Given the limitations on the number of ICF coaches with significant federal experience, would the Government consider replacing this requirement with a requirement that the coach be certified by a nationally recognized coaching program and that the labor categories be based on years of experience in the federal sector?

No, the Government will not consider replacing this requirement in this manner.

Amend-ment 1

In C.2.4., the successful offeror is requested to provide personnel who have “foreign language ability and cultural sensitivities.” Could the Government provide additional information on this requirement, particularly the foreign language abilities necessary for successful performance?

This requirement is for situations in which the Department of the Interior might need someone who speaks a foreign language to serve in the role of one of the labor categories in the contract.

Amend-ment 1

In C.2.5., there is a requirement for providing assistance locating, retaining and managing subject matter experts from other fields. What other fields does the Government contemplate needing subject matter experts from?

Subject Matter Experts would have specific knowledge of the specific discipline covered by the PWS.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 1

In C.4.3 and C.4.4., the Government references “Conflict

Coach” and “Executive/Leadership Coach” as labor category definitions. How will the services provided by the Conflict Coaches and the Executive/Leadership

Coaches be defined and differentiated? For example, will the conflict coaches be working with employees who are not leaders or executives?

Conflict Coaches typically focus on a particular conflict between individuals. Executive and leadership coaches coach individuals through the broad spectrum of leadership competencies, which might include conflict.

Amend-ment 1

Re: C.5.1., since a QASP is a Government-developed surveillance process for performance-based contracting, would the Government provide additional information on the performance standards in terms of quality, quantity and timeliness?

The Government expects its contractors to be punctual, both in terms of showing up on time, and in terms of submitting products in accordance with deadlines in the contract. In addition, the quality of service is expected to be excellent under this contract.

Amend-ment 1

How many employees does the Government anticipate being coached under the program?

We anticipate that a minimum of 25-40 individuals will receive coaching in any given year.

ment 1

How many training events does the Government anticipate under the program?

We anticipate 5-10 training events in any given year under this contract.

ment 1

Is this a new requirement? If it is not, who is/are the incumbent(s)?If it is not, who is/are the incumbent(s)?

The incumbent is Carole Houk International (CHI), 2400

Garnett Drive, Alexandria, VA 22311-4906, a Woman Owned

Small Business (WOSB).

ment 1

In Attachment J-2, the Government lists groups of metropolitan areas. The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is not on the list. Does it fit within the “Rest of the

U.S.” category or should it be included on one of the other lists?

We will amend Attachment J-2 Geographical Labor Rates to include the Washington, DC metropolitan area, as well as, Miami, FL, and Minneapolis, MN.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 1

In L.13, the Government states that objections can be submitted as a part of the Assumptions, Conditions or

Exceptions section, but that objections submitted in conjunction with the proposal may result in the offer being non-compliant.

This is not a question.

Amend-ment 1

In C.3.4 Task 3 - Training / Curriculum Development.

This should remain the property of the contractor -intellectual property. Nowhere in this RFP does it say what belongs to whom.

This is not a question.

Amend-ment 1

B.8.2 - Please explain "Travel Time shall be compensated at a rate of 25% of the labor rate...?" This is very specifically different than most travel statements. Please explain further as most travel is per diem rates for actual costs?

There is a difference between reimbursement for travel expenses and compensation for time spent travelling. This language refers to compensation for time spent travelling, in limited instances, at the discretion of DOI.

Amend-ment 1

What does "NTE amount mean please?

NTE means Not-to-Exceed

Amend-ment 1

C.2.2 - Does the requirement for a Washington DC office stand as a requirement without additional fees from this contract? Would an office in Virginia or another nearby area work?

The requirement for a Washington DC metropolitan area office is redefined in C.2.2 as follows. “The Contractor shall maintain a Washington, D.C. metropolitan area office at no additional cost to the Government, that is, the Contractor shall maintain an office close enough to Washington, D.C., so that the Contractor can attend regular meetings and conferences with DOI CADR staff in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on short notice without incurring Travel expenses. Such offices can be established immediately after award of the contract.”

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 1

C 2.5 - Please further define "the following as ancillary" will these be included in the fees paid on this contract?

Yes. Ancillary services will be compensated at hourly rates.

Amend-ment 1

The qualifications for a Past Performance to be considered on page 78 of the solicitation states that Past

Performances shall “have at least one year of performance history”. We anticipate that individual task orders on this contract are likely to be short-term in nature. Given that, would be it be considered acceptable to submit references to work performed within the last three years, but which had short-term delivery windows

(less than one year), provided they were similar in scope and delivery to anticipated task orders? Especially past performances which align closely to Sample Task

Orders?

Yes. It would be considered acceptable to submit references to work performed within the last three years, but which had short-term delivery windows (less than one year), provided they were similar in scope and delivery to the requirement described in the PWS.

Amend-ment 1

Re: C.2.2 Contractor Offices - What is meant by

Washington, DC "metropolitan area office" - are offices in VA/MD acceptable?

See Question 14.

Amend-ment 1

Re: C.2.2 Contractor Offices - Does the Contractor need to have existing office/presence in Washington DC metro area or can one be established upon award of contract?

Offices can be established immediately after award of the contract. The solicitation will be amended accordingly.

See Question 14.

Amend-ment 1

Work Volume - Are reports or other information available to show the volume of mediation, facilitation, training or other services that DOI has in a typical year?

We anticipate the following labor hour breakdown by labor category based on past experience: 30% for mediation, 25 % for Organizational Development/Change Management, 20 % for facilitation/Situation Assessments, 15 % for coaching, 5% for training, and 5% for other.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 1

Technical and Price Quote Samples. In providing responses to sample quote requests, is it permissible for

Contractor to provide a time and cost 'range' rather than definitive amounts given number of participants, etc. may vary?

Yes

Amend-ment 1

Quick question regarding the referenced RFP. Is there an incumbent today or is this a new requirement?

There is an incumbent. See question #9.

Amend-ment 2

Please clarify the proposal due date. SF-1449 indicates the due date as 8/18/15, but L.4 lists the due date as

Monday, August 18 th ; August 18 th is a Tuesday.

The proposal due date has changed from Tuesday August 18, 2015 at 09:00 AM Eastern Time to Monday September 14, 2015 at 09:00 AM Eastern Time. The reason is to provide interested Offerors with additional time to respond to the solicitation.

RFP Sections L.4 and L.4.2 have been updated

Amend-ment 2

SF-1449: ODCs is listed as NTE $25,000 for the Base

Year and Travel is NTE $50,000 for the Base Year.

a. Question A: Please confirm that all Offerors must bid the NTE amounts of $25K for ODCs and $50K for travel in the Base Year

b. Question B: Please confirm that all Offerors must bid the NTE amounts of $25K for ODCs and $50K for travel in each of the Option Years as well

All Offerors must bid $25,000 for ODC’s and $50,000 for

Travel for the Base Year and all four Option Years.

RFP Section L.14 3) i) has been updated accordingly.

ment 2

B.9 states that “general and administrative fee will not be allowable on Travel expenses. We respectfully request that the Government revises this restriction and permits

G&A expense on Travel on this contract.

We have considered the request with our management, and there is no change. No G&A allowable on Travel or ODCs.

RFP Section B.9 has been updated to exclude G&A on ODCs, as well as Travel.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

H.8 Key Personnel refers to Project Manager and Deputy

Project Manager, while in L.14 1) b, the Key personnel is referred to as Program Manager. Please clarify the Key personnel titles.

We use the terms Program Manager and Project Manager interchangeably. Essentially, we require that the number 1 and

2 persons on the project be treated as Key Personnel.

Sections H.8, L.12 a), and L.14 1) b) have been updated to reference the Program/Project Manager and the Deputy

Project/Program Manager.

Attachment J-1 and J-2 and L.14.3, Factor 3, Price. Please confirm that the Offeror may propose one set of rates that will apply to all three Groups (or metropolitan areas).

The Offeror shall provide one set of rates for the 3 Group

Metropolitan Areas (Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3). See updated Attachment J-1 that requires pricing for all 3 Group

Metropolitan Areas on one page.

Section J-1 has been updated

Attachment J-1 and J-2. Does the Government envision that the Offeror’s labor rates will be applicable to both the

Offeror and each of their subcontractors, or is it acceptable for the Offeror’s subcontractors to have their own set of rates? e.g. The Offeror’s rate for SME may be

$100, while Subcontractor A’s rate is $90 and

Subcontractor B’s rate is $105 (even if they are all in the same Group or Metropolitan Area).

We have no privacy of contract with subcontractors. Our contract is with the Contractor.

We will pay the NTE rates that the Contractor proposed in

Attachment J-1. The rates that the Contractor pays its subcontractors is of no concern to the Government, whether those rates are less or more than the rates listed in Attachment

J-1

Section K: Please confirm whether the Government wants

Section K completed and submitted with the proposal. If so, please clarify which Volume Offerors should use to submit (Volume I, II, III, or IV).

Submit a copy of your Section K Representations and

Certifications (Reps and Certs) that are approved in the System for Award Management (SAM) with your proposal as part of

Volume IV Price.

Section L.12 a) has been updated accordingly to provide for

Reps and Certs as part of Volume IV Price.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

L.14. 1, e. Subcontracting Plan. The instructions clearly state that the Subcontracting Plan is not required to be submitted with proposals, but will be required prior to award upon request. However, L.14 also states that the

“The submitted plan shall be compliant with the Offeror’s approved Master Subcontracting Plan.” What is the

“Master Subcontracting Plan” and how is it different from the “Subcontracting Plan”?

The Subcontracting Plan is required to be submitted with proposals and shall be compliant with FAR Subpart 19.7.

Sections L.14, M.7.1 and M.10 have been updated accordingly

M.10 Evaluation Rating for Subcontracting. Please clarify how “compliance” will be determined if the

Subcontracting Plans are not required to be submitted with proposals?

See Question 29.

Amend-ment 2

M.2 - Please clarify how the Government will evaluate the Offerors’ prices. Will the Government add each

Offeror’s proposed ID/IQ hourly rates together to average at an average rate?

Pricing will evaluated according to the labor rates that Offerors propose in Attachment J-1. We will use a weighted average to weight the labor rates according to the labor categories that are the most commonly used, based on our experience with this contract.

Amend-ment 2

We respectfully request a one week extension to the submission date.

The due date for proposals has been extended to Monday, September 14, 2015, at 09:00 AM Eastern Time, in order to provide all interested Offerors with additional time to submit a quality proposal.

Amend-ment 3

The RFP states that the proposal is to be submitted electronically in word and excel. The files will be large and may not be able to be transmitted easily via email, since most systems won’t accept or transmit a file larger than 10 MB. Would it be permissible to pdf the file as we often do for proposals, or to transmit it via a cloud service such as dropbox?

The instruction at section L.12 f) is revised in Amendment 3 so that the requirement to submit the proposal in Microsoft

WORD format is deleted. The Government expects that most vendors will submit their proposals using PDF format. The

Government still requires that the pricing shall be submitted in

EXCEL format, in order to facilitate our pricing analysis.

Also, if email is not available to transmit the proposal files, we will accept a timely transmission via a cloud service such as drop box.

Revised – September 7, 2015

# Questions Answers

Amend-ment 3

The RFP states that graphics are to be in a grid format and that can make the graphics pretty ugly and harder to read. Can you explain this requirement or remove it?

The instruction at section L.12 f) is revised in Amendment 3 so that this graphics requirement is deleted.