iTRAK RFP Questions and Answers 11-22-11.pdf

National Science Foundation RFP# DACS12P2108

Response to Offeror RFP Questions 11/22/2011

Number RFP Location Offeror Question NSF Response

1 IDIQ PWS 3.0

Current Environment

Q: What’s the data volume of the current FAS system open documents, open balances, and supporting master data?

Assumption is that no historical data is going to be converted to the new iTRAK ERP system, is that correct?

Only open documents, open balances, and supporting master data will be converted to the new financial management system. Additional volume information will be provided upon contract award.

2 Attachment C:

Interface Requirements Data Warehouse -

Q: Is the FAS historical data being migrated by the Government to the current Data Warehouse prior to Contractors support of Task Order 01?

NSF will migrate the historic financial data.

3 RFP pg. 36, Volume/Proposal Section Page Limit

Q: Can fonts in graphics and tables be different font style and size (smaller than Times New Roman 12 pt.)?

No

4 General Q: Can proposal include interactive graphic dashboard that functions in the PDF file?

No

5 Attachment E - SLA- 06-02: Disaster Recovery, IDIQ page 10 - 6.8.1 Hosting Services for Production

Q: Please clarify COOP / Disaster Recovery requirements, re: onsite or offsite, e.g., Contractor will need a fully redundant system in case of an outage due to flood, fire, etc.? Within what timeframe?

Offeror to propose design as part of their solution. The site shall be available at the time of production.

Redundant system shall be available within 48 hours of disaster.

6 RFP Page 36 May the offeror provide a “CERTIFICATION

OF AVAILABILITY OF PROPOSED KEY

PERSONNEL” signed by the firm’s authorized representative in lieu of individual letters of commitment from proposed key personnel?

No

7 RFP Page 36 Are the resumes included within the total of

30 pages for Vol. 2

No, resumes are not included within the 30 page limit for Volume II, but each resume is limited to 2 pages.

8 RFP Page 45 Must all 3 past performances be core financial system implementations, or can other types of system implementations, such as grants management systems, be provided?

At least one past performance references must be for a core financial system implementation.

9 RFP Page 48 Please provide historical help desk volumes. Daily average calls as well as monthly averages so that we can estimate accurately.

The historical and the average call volume are based on a stable system. Reports related support is not included in the current system call volume since the support is provided by the other applications.

The new iTRAK system is expected to be more complex with integration to internal applications on SOA architecture, expectation to have built-in interfaces to most of the external systems and maintain data services to reporting system. There are more reports and user profile authorizations expected to be delivered by the COTS product.

The vendor needs to analyze the above intricacies hence the current FAS support may not be the right info to base their estimates on.

10 Attachment C:

Interface Requirements 3.1 Proposed Integration Architecture, Page 5

We understand that NSF has a significant installed base of Sybase systems and a stated direction to migrate to Oracle in the future. Does the government have an architectural standard that they wish us to bid to?

The RFP does not state that our direction is to migrate to Oracle in the future.

NSF is expecting the vendor to use any ETL tool for extract-Transform-Load data to NSF environment.

11 Attachment B, Business Requirements, Technical Capacity, TC-12-05

The requirement states “For system authentication/authorization, the system must provide for the use of service-enabled components.” Can the NSF provide clarification or an example of a service-enabled component used for system authentication/authorization?

Attachment C, section 3.5 states - For the Identity integration NSF plans on using identity services to consume Authentication information to log into the application. iTRAK should have the capability to consume SAML (Secured Assertion Markup Language) OR Web Services for user authentication to the system.

12 RFP B.2, B.6, Page

Section B.2 specifies that ODCs will only be reimbursed at actual cost. Section B.6 specifies G&A may be applied to ODCs. Can the Government please clarify whether ODCs (and perhaps a subset of ODCs) can have G&A applied?

The G&A rate can be applied to all proposed ODCs.

13 RFP , B.6

The instructions request offerors to provide G&A for each year. However, attachment I, Cost Matrix, does not have place/table to show G&A. Should contractors assume that G&A should be shown for each CLIN (as applicable)?

Pricing information must include fully burdened labor rates.

14 RFP C.7 (II)& (b)

And RFP Factor 4 and 46

Please confirm that the pricing ceilings are established by a combination of the contractor’s proposed Labor mix and fully loaded rates together with the estimated hours provided by NSF on page 47?

Meaning, the contractor does not have flexibility to modify the estimated hours.

Additionally, is it correct to assume these hours are for pricing Task Order 1 only?

The estimated hours provided by NSF are estimates only. Offerors may propose the level of effort necessary to meet the requirements set forth in the PWS.

The pricing matrix provides the format for proposed pricing.

15 RFP Page 36 Is the 30 pages maximum for Volume II:

Management Approach total for both the ID/IQ and Task Order 1 response or does the Task Order have a separate page limit similar to Volume I: Technical?

Volume II shall include the Management Approach for the IDIQ and segregated with Task Order 1 all within the 30 page maximum. Task Order 1 does not have a separate page limit.

16 RFP Page 36 Volume V, Extent of Participation of Small Disadvantage Business Concerns is limited to 10 pages maximum; however, it is our experience that more than 10 pages are needed in order to properly document our small business plan. Will the Government consider expanding this to a maximum of 25 pages?

The page maximum for Volume V is increased from 10 pages to 15 pages.

17 RFP Page 36 The past performance volume page limit is set to 6 pages, with 2 pages per reference.

Would the Government consider expanding the page count to 8 pages to include an overview and overall experience for this volume?

No

18 RFP Page 37 Would the Government please provide file size limits/information when submitting files electronically?

No electronic file limits are established.

19 RFP Page 38 Based on the items that the Government wishes to see demonstrated, additional time is required to sufficiently show those features. Is it possible to expand the demonstration period from 60 minutes to 90 or 120 minutes?

No

20 RFP Page 39 For items tagged as ‘Written and Oral Presentation’, we assume ‘written’ refers to the proposal document rather than the PowerPoint slides to be submitted as a .pdf.

Please confirm this assumption is correct.

Items identified as “written” must be included within the submitted technical proposal. Offerors must also address within the technical proposal those items identified as “oral presentation” and “software demonstration.”

Oral presentation slides are also required based on the RFP instructions.

21 RFP Page 42 The following items under Subfactor H (Operations & Maintenance Services items e, g, and h) are the same as those in Subfactor A (Technical Approach items f, h, and i). Is it acceptable for vendors to respond to the items once? If not, please clarify the difference between the sections in the 2 subfactors.

The items identified under Subfactor A applies to implementation. The items identified for Subfactor H applies to Operations and Maintenance. Offerors are required to provide separate responses for the stated sections.

22 RFP Page 47 If the estimated hours are for Task Order 1, the task order 1 instructions do not address all the tasks listed in page 47 or Attachment I, Cost Matrix. Please clarify what tasks should be included in task order 1 versus what should be included for only the ID/IQ?

The estimated hours are for all tasks in the IDIQ. Task order 1 includes the following Implementation/Integration Services, Integration NSF Systems, Integration Federal Systems, Hosting During Implementation, Project Management, Organizational Transformation, Software Licenses.

23 RFP Page 48 Will the Government please clarify if the subcontracting goals listed are based upon total subcontracting dollars, or total contract dollars?

The subcontracting goals are based on total contract dollars.

24 RFP Page 48 The RFP states “NSF will evaluate proposals for the ID/IQ contract and Task Order 1 requirements based upon 4 factors…” then lists 5 with “Extent of Participation of Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns” as the

The Small Business Subcontracting plan will be evaluated on “meet/fails to meet” criteria.

fifth in bold. Will the Small Disadvantage Business Subcontracting Plan be evaluated?

25 Availability, In our experience, 99.95% is an aggressive availability target for a Federal Financial Management System; which necessitates significant hardware redundancy and associated costs. Will the Government entertain a lower availability target (for example 99.5%) which will lead to a considerable reduction in costs?

99.95% is NSF Standards on System availability.

26 General The metric states that the system will support a minimum of 4,000 transactions per day. Would the Government provide the maximum (peak) number of transactions per day, and whether these transactions occur during the online day?

Transaction information is provided in Attachment G - NSF Transactional Volume Data and Attachment C, page 4 in Payment Processing.

27 Attachment I The matrix does not provide CLIN #s as indicated in section E.8 Pg 46 of the RFP. Is it correct to assume that the contractor may propose their own CLINs?

CLIN is deleted from the RFP. Offerrors use the titles as identified in Attachment I “Implementation/Integration Services, Integration NSF Systems, Integration Federal Systems, Hosting During Implementation, Project Management, Organizational Transformation, etc.” To establish pricing.

28 Attachment I The matrix does not specify where to include COTS SW Maintenance (COTS) beyond the base period, where should these costs be specified.

The information should be included within Operations, and Maintenance, Hosting for Production.

29 Attachment I The matrix does not specify where to include additional software licenses and corresponding maintenance, is it safe to assume that the total user count included in task 1 is the total set of users for the life of the contract?

Page 47 of the instructions states:

a) Software Licenses. The Offeror shall provide pricing for the acquisition and maintenance of all proposed software licenses. This pricing shall include maintenance upgrades for all software. The Offeror shall clearly indicate in which base and/or option period(s) the price(s) will apply and also include incremental pricing to increase the number of software licenses if needed.

30 General For Task Order 1 – is it correct to assume that the contractor should use a similar

Yes format as the Attachment I, Cost matrix but only for those items listed in the Task Order 1 instructions, Plus any additional details / supporting tables for those T&M and FFP tasks?

31 Attachment B, Business Requirements, Technical Capacity, TC-12-05

The requirement states “For system authentication/authorization, the system must provide for the use of service-enabled components.” Can the NSF provide clarification or an example of a service-enabled component used for system authentication/authorization?

Attachment C, section 3.5 states - For the Identity integration NSF plans on using identity services to consume Authentication information to log into the application. iTRAK should have the capability to consume SAML (Secured Assertion Markup Language) OR Web Services for user authentication to the system.

32 RFP Page 47 Should the estimates provided in the table be used for the IDIQ pricing Volume 4?

The estimated hours provided by NSF are estimates only. Offerors may propose the level of effort necessary to meet the requirements set forth in the PWS.

33 RFP Page 47 Please confirm that the hours provided in the table are not representative of the scope in Task Order 1.

The estimated hours are for all tasks in the IDIQ. Task order 1 includes the following Implementation/Integration Services, Integration NSF Systems, Integration Federal Systems, Hosting During Implementation, Project Management, Organizational Transformation, Software Licenses.

34 General Please confirm that bidders should assume the NSF will provide no resources to supplement the implementation effort.

NSF will provide resources as needed.

35 RFP Page 36 To facilitate evaluation of Task Order 1 proposals, shall the offeror include a Basis of Estimate in the Task Order 1 price proposal, Volume 6, that provides NSF with the detailed estimating factors that were used to estimate the effort proposed for each CLIN?

Yes

36 RFP Page 39 Are there other important elements of the proposal that may be addressed in Orals, besides the technical pieces identified in the RFP (e.g., Management approach, Change Management/BPR) ?

Vendors must respond to the categories as stated in the instructions.

37 RFP Page 39 The RFP provides a small number of Subfactors to be included in the offeror's orals presentation: SubFactor A (points D

Vendors must respond to the categories as stated in the instructions.

and E); SubFactor C; and SubFactor D. Can NSF confirm that the remaining Subfactors (B, and E thru K) should not be addressed in the orals presentation?

38 RFP Page 37 Please confirm that no additional participants, beyond the key personnel can be included in the software demonstration.

Only members of the Offeror’s proposed key personnel shall present the oral presentation. The maximum number of Offeror attendees during the Oral Presentation and Software Demonstration is 8 attendees.

39 RFP Page 37 Would it be acceptable to have an account executive attend the orals and demonstration if the total headcount stays within the limit of 8?

Only members of the Offeror’s proposed key personnel shall present the oral presentation. The maximum number of Offeror attendees during the Oral Presentation and Software Demonstration is 8 attendees.

40 RFP Page 36 For the base IDIQ price proposal, Volume 4, it is not clear what work scope should be assumed for CLINs 003 - 004 (Integration Federal Systems and Hosting During Integration) since this work is contained within Task Order 1. Should these CLINs not be priced for the based IDIQ? should it be the same price ?

It will be the same. Task order 1 is a subset of the

IDIQ.

41 General May the completed Attachment B, Master Requirements List, be included as an appendix to Volume 1? And NOT count against the page limit?

Yes, the completed Attachment B do not count against the page limit.

42 General Will NSF allow the list of standard reports, queries, and preconfigured workflows that are standard in the proposed solution to be included in an appendix (so as to not count against the page limit of the technical volume)?

Yes, the list of standard reports, queries, and preconfigured workflows can be included in an appendix and will not count against the page limit.

43 RFP Page 46 May the past performance volume contain information about the offerors capabilities beyond the three past performance references?

Yes but not to exceed to the 6 page maximum.

44 Attachment I Transition Services is understood to be a one-time activity, based on the description in the RFP. The pricing matrix includes the Transition Services CLIN for the Base Year and all three Option Years. Should offerors assume that Transition Services only need to be priced for the Last Option Year (to avoid multiple-counting of a one-time cost)?

45 Attachment I How should the help desk tiered pricing be reflected within the pricing matrix, which asks for a fixed-price quote for Operations & Maintenance? Should the offeror create any necessary sub-CLINs, or potentially outline the tiered approach in a detailed Basis of Estimate?

Offerors are permitted to create any necessary sub categories to establish pricing.

46 IDIQ PWS, Key Personnel Description

The role descriptions for the Project Control Specialist – EVM and Project Control Specialist – Risk Manager are essentially the same. Can the NSF clarify the distinction between these two roles?

One is focused on earned value management; the other is focused on managing project risks. It can be the same person filling multiple roles.

47 IDIQ PWS, Key Personnel Description

Please confirm that the requirement for the Senior Integration Analyst to be experienced in implementing the proposed Core Financial management system applies only to the "Senior Integration Analyst - Technical Lead".

The requirement applies to the three Senior Integration Analysts who are identified as key personnel, Technical: Lead, Data Conversion Lead, and Testing Lead.

48 General Regarding meeting the FIPS Minimum Security Requirements: based on the nature of the system and type of data contained in iTRAK, it should be classified as a FIPS Moderate level system. Please confirm that this is the appropriate level of security to be proposed for the hosting solution.

Moderate

49 RFP Page 36 In Volume 1, the segregated IDIQ and Task Order requirements are allocated 40 pages and 30 pages respectively. In Volume 2, there is no page allocation for the Task Order requirements. Please clarify if the complete response for Task Order 1 should be included in Volume 1, section (b), inclusive of the Management Approach requirements.

The information submitted for Volume II will be used by NSF to establish Task Order 1. The page limitation for Volume II is 30 pages maximum.

50 Attachment I Attachment I states for each option year, provide a cost table for each CLIN

Yes, not all services are needed for each year.

(except CLIN 007). However, in the option years the provided tables do not include each CLIN. Should the offeror only provide costs for the listed CLINs in each period?

51 RFP Page 36 In the 30 pages allocated to Task Order 1, should offerors respond to the PWS requirements relevant to Task Order 1 as reflected in the attachment iTRAK Task Order 1 Final?

NSF will use the written description for the overall IDIQ to establish Task Order 1.

52 RFP Page 2 and Attachment I

Paragraph B.6 states “G&A rates are set forth in Attachment I, Cost Matrix”. This statement implies Attachment I includes a placeholder for G&A rates. Attachment I does not include a separate section to provide G&A rates. Please clarify.

Paragraph 2 states “…Offerors are also required to provide G&A rates for each year of the contract, including options that would be applied to Other Direct Costs for and Materials task orders authorized by the Government under the contract. Offerors are not to propose Other Direct Costs associated with Time and Materials Task Orders.”

Since price proposals will not include ODCs for T&M Task Orders, does the Government want the proposal to include a separate table indicating the G&A rate that would be applied for each contract year?

Offerors shall propose a G&A rate that will be applied to all ODCs. See amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix.

53 RFP Page 46 RFP states “The price proposals shall be submitted for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) in the specified format (Time and Materials, Firm Fixed Price) for the base period and each option period as set forth in Attachment I of this solicitation.” CLINs are not provided. Please clarify.

Offerors are required to provide pricing for the specified services that are identified in Attachment I for the applicable periods, (Base Period and each Option Period). See amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix.

54 RFP Page 47 First item in table on page 47 of RFP and First Item in Attachment I page 1, Schedule of Prices refer to “Implementation/integration

The section is revised to:

- Implementation Services

- Integration to NSF Systems services”.

Section 6.1 of Attachment A and Section 2.1 of Task Order 1 refer to this item as “Implementation”. Please clarify.

- Integration to Federal Systems

55 RFP Page 47 Do the estimates on page 47 (items 1-7) apply to the 18 month effort for Task Order 1? Please clarify.

56 IDIQ PWS and Task Order 1

Please confirm the mapping between the IDIQ PWS CLINs and Task Order 1 CLINs is as follows:

IDIQ Task 6.1 = T.O. 1 Task 2.1:

Implementation Services IDIQ Task 6.2 = T.O. 1 Task 2.2: Integration to NSF Systems IDIQ Task 6.3 = T.O. 1 Task 2.3: Integration to Federal Systems IDIQ Task 6.4 = T.O. 1 Task 2.4: Hosting Services during implementation and integration IDIQ Task 6.6 = T.O. 1 Task 2.5: Project Management IDIQ Task 6.7 = T.O. 1 Task 2.6:

Organizational Change Management & Training IDIQ Task 6.5 = T.O. 1 Task 2.7: Software Licenses (Initial and Annual)

See amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix

57 RFP Page 47 The RFP indicates the Business Process Support Services CLIN will be priced as Fixed Price.

Attachment I indicates Business Process Support Services CLIN will be priced as Time & Materials.

Please clarify.

Business Process Support is now deleted from the RFP. See amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix.

58 RFP Page 47 RFP states: Software Licenses. “…The Offeror shall clearly indicate in which base and/or option period(s) the price(s) will apply and also include incremental pricing to increase the number of software licenses if

See amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix.

needed” Attachment I states: “For each option year, provide a cost table for each CLIN (except CLIN 007 Software Licenses which will be a one-time cost)…” Please clarify the requirements.

59 PWS Sections 6.1 and Section 2.1- Implementation Services:

a. Section 2.1 contains OMB Circular references not included in Section

6.1. Should they be identical?

Please clarify.

b. Section 6.1 contains seven (7) service objectives and Section 2.1 contains six (6) service objectives.

Section 2.1 is missing System Documentation. Should they be identical? Please clarify.

c. Services objectives are named differently between the two sections.

Please clarify.

a. Refer to Section 2.1 in the Task Order

b. Refer to Section 2.1 in the Task Order

c. Refer to Section 2.1 in the Task Order

60 PWS Sections 6.4 and 2.4 – Hosting Services during implementation and integration

a. The services objectives are not consistent between these two sections. Please clarify.

Refer to Section 2.4 in the Task Order.

61 Attachment I Base period (24-month) ODC Total Cost is $10,000. Each option period (12-month) is also $10,000. Should the Base period be $20,000 to cover a two year period?

ODC costs are as stated in the Attachment I - Cost Matrix.

62 Task Order 1 Task Order 1 includes both T&M and Fixed Price tasks for an 18-month period. Is there a Fixed Price ODC component that should be bid for Task Order 1?

No

63 RFP Page 36 Are the Resumes included or excluded from the page limitation of the Management Volume?

The resumes are not included in the page limitation, but each resume is limited to 2 pages each.

64 RFP Page 43 Is the Project Schedule to be included within Offerors are asked to submit a project schedule that is the page count of the Management Volume, or can it be a separate Attachment that is outside the page count?

no more detail than WBS level 3 and no more than 20 pages. See amended instructions.

65 RFP Page 36 Does the Government want letters of commitment for all personnel who will be assigned to the project? For instance, key, non-key current employees and contingency hires? Please clarify.

“The letter of commitment must reflect agreement on salary, benefits and position” is this requirement for a contingency hire letter of commitment only? Or is the “agreement on salary, benefits and position” required for every letter? Please clarify.

Letters of commitment for all key personnel, both current employees and contingent hires.

Agreement on salary, benefits, and position is a requirement for contingency hires only.

66 RFP Page 36 Does the Government want the proposal to include the names of all personnel who will be assigned to the project, both key and non-key current employees and contingency hires?

Offerors should only include the names of key personnel.

67 RFP Page 36 It seems that the usual Federal Government font requirement is 12 point for text, 8 point font for tables / graphics, and no size restriction for logos or representative pictures. May we assume that NSF intends iTRAK bidders to follow that protocol also?

Refer to iTRAK RFP, See page 36 for font requirements.

68 RFP Page 37 Will the Government consider to have the Oral Presentation submitted one week after the proposal is due?

No. All information is required by the closing date of the

RFP.

69 RFP Page 48 Please confirm that the small business subcontracting goals specified in the RFP are examples and not firm guidance.

The subcontracting goals are provided as guidance.

However, offerors will be evaluated based on the percentage of subcontracting that is allocated to small business concerns.

70 IDIQ PWS, Key Personnel

There are 2 Senior Business Analysts and 3 Senior Integration Analyst. Does this paragraph apply to all 5 key positions?

The paragraph applies to all key positions.

71 RFP Page 36 Is the 30 page slide limit inclusive of front No matter that is typically excluded such as the cover page and points of contact?

72 RFP Page 3 Have the artifacts mentioned in RFP B.8 "Government-Furnished Property, Space, Equipment, and/or Information" (such as as-is flows, to-be flows, architecture) been finalized, or are they subject to change after review by the contractor and design discussions?

They are subject to change.

73 General Will there be any HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) or PCI (Payment Card Industry) support involved?

Will there be a requirement for storing credit card information within the hosted environment? For example will actual credit card information be collected or stored?

Information like the credit card number or account pin number?

There are no HIPAA or PCI requirements.

74 IDIQ PWS Please state the following about users for every application module:

Number of named users Number of self-service users Number of professional users

Currently NSF cannot provide detailed data on the number of users for each function. NSF is working on identifying iTRAK users by function and plans to have this data available to the implementation contractor after contract award.

75 IDIQ PWS NSF does not intend to customize the COTS financial management solution and instead will adopt business processes to realize the full benefits of the best practices and efficiencies built into the COTS software.

NSF unique requirements will be addressed with configuration and not customization.

Provide detailed description on how the First-in-First-Out Process will be accomplished. Specifically, discuss the process used to design, develop, and deploy a custom cost allocation methodology as part of the iTRAK solution.

These statements appear to contradict one another; please indicate which statement is

NSF does not intend to make changes to the application source code.

The Offeror is expected to develop an approach and methodology to allocate costs. Refer to Attachment B, Business Requirements, for amended requirement ID, CA-01-01.

correct.

76 Task Order 1 The scope of the Task Order 1 implementation is limited to the core financials functionality in the table on page 5.

At the same time, Subfactor A on page 39 of the RFP asks for a description of “procure to pay” process from PO entry through invoice payment. Purchasing is not in the list on page 5 of the Task Order 1.

Please clarify.

iTRAK will be a pass through for obligations. Grant obligations will flow through via an interface. Manual entry will occur for contract system transactions.

Please refer to Attachment B, Purchasing flows, Section

2.6 and 2,7 and also Payments, Section 2.3.

77 IDIQ PWS iTRAK Attachment A - IDIQ PWS Final.pdf describes the positions of “Project Control Specialist – EVM” and “Project Control Specialist - Risk Manager” in nearly identical terms. Was this intentional, or are there replacement descriptions for either of them.

The only difference is highlighted below:

Project Control Specialist - EVM :

B.S. or B.A. degree or equivalent experience with EVM experience preferred; Monitors financial and/or administrative aspects of assigned contracts and deliverables. Tracks and validates all client financial information, establishes and maintains master contract files, prepares and monitors status of all deliverables, tracks the value of contracts, and reports payment of government fees.

Updates task reports with funding information and prepares revenue projections for all active contract task orders.

Uses automated systems to track deliverables, financial transactions, and management information

Project Control Specialist - Risk Manager:

B.S. or B.A. degree or equivalent experience with Risk Management experience preferred;

Monitors financial and/or administrative aspects of assigned contracts and deliverables. Tracks and validates all client

One is focused on earned value management the other is focused on managing project risks. It can be the same person filling multiple roles.

financial information, establishes and maintains master contract files, prepares and monitors status of all deliverables, tracks the value of contracts, and reports payment of government fees. Updates task reports with funding information and prepares revenue projections for all active contract task orders. Uses automated systems to track deliverables, financial transactions, and management information

78 Attachment G, Transaction Volumes

In the transaction volumes presented in Attachment G, please indicate which row represents Grants Payments.

Grant payment transactions are detailed in Attachment C, page 4 in Payment Processing.

Expected frequencies of payment transactions are between 2,000 and 25,000 daily, with an average expected frequency of 11,000 daily.

79 Attachment E The RFP (Attachment E: Service Level Technical Requirements; Item SLA-03-02-

01) states that the system availability (not including scheduled downtime) SLA must be 99.95%. Would the NSF consider lowering this SLA to 99.5% which is a target generally acceptable for these types of applications?

99.95% is NSF Standards on system availability.

80 RFP,

Block 20

Contract Vehicle - NSF has stated that they wish to acquire commercial items utilizing FAR commercial terms and conditions (FAR Pt 12). Given that the items/services to be acquired are available via the GSA IT Schedule, we suggest a GSA IT procurement. By utilizing the established contract vehicle, the NSF will be afforded the advantages of detailed terms for the commercial items at the lowest possible cost.

This is a full and open acquisition. FAR Part 12 procedures will be used for this acquisition.

81 RFP,

C17 FAR 52.234-4

Recommend that the Government consider eliminating the requirement for Earned Value Management in order to lower cost to the Government. This RFP is for Firm Fixed Price and Time and Materials well-defined

EVM is an OMB requirement for IT investments.

services with low risks; EVM requirements will result in extra cost to the Government with little added benefit.

82 RFP Page 36 “Management Approach Page Limitation: 30 pages maximum; Resumes: 2 pages maximum per Key Personnel (excluding letters of commitment)” Volume II requirements talks about the Management Approach and Resumes. Can we assume that the 2 page limit for each resume is in addition to 30 pages for the Management Approach?

Resumes are not included within the 30 page limit for Volume II.

83 RFP Page 37 Does the Government have an anticipated timeframe for the vendors selected to provide an Oral presentation and system demonstration?

Not at this time.

NSF will provide the date, time, and room number for their oral presentation within (15) calendar days after the closing date of the RFP, for each Offeror who submits a responsive proposal and which is received by the designated proposal due date.

84 RFP Page 39 Subfactor A, b)

Please clarify that the expectation for this requirement, “b) Describe how the solution meets Federal Financial System requirements and will address all NSF specific mandatory requirements identified in Attachment B…” will be addressed as an attachment to the proposal and outside of all identified page counts

The completed Attachment B is not included in the page limitation.

85 RFP Page 40, Subfactor A, g)

“Provide a list of the standard reports, queries, and preconfigured workflows that are standard in the proposed solution;”

Is it the government’s intention that offerors list all COTS reports or just those reports that are unique to our Shared Service solution? Can this list of reports be added as an appendix?

The list of standard reports, queries, and preconfigured workflows do not count against the page limitation.

86 RFP , Subfactor B Is it the government’s intention that a MS Project Schedule be developed, a high level plan (level 3) with key milestones? If this is the case, we suggest this plan to be a separate Appendix and outside the page

Offerors are asked to submit a project schedule that is no more detail than WBS level 3 and no more than 20 pages. The project schedule shall be a separate attachment an not count against the Management Volume page limit.

count.

87 RFP Subfactor G, 2.

For the requirement, “A description of each role on the project team and the responsibilities of that role;” please clarify this is for all roles on the project not just key roles. If for all roles, clarify that NSF is looking for role (i.e., Business Analyst) level descriptions versus FTE level roles (i.e., B2R Analyst, O2C Analyst, etc).

Yes, this is for all roles on the team. Include role level descriptions.

88 RFP, Subfactor H Evaluation criteria G and H appear to be the same as letters H and I of Subfactor A. It is the intent of the government that these factors are addressed in multiple sections?

Subfactor A is for Implementation, Subfactor H is for hosting the production environment.

89 RFP,

Factor 2, b)

The Management Volume appears to be asking for the same MS Project information requested in Subfactor B-1. Will the government clarify if this is asking for the same information or a different view of the project activities?

It is expected that Offerors will provide one project schedule that identifies all project activities.

90 RFP

Factor 4

“All Offerors shall provide separate pricing for the descriptions that are identified in the table below:”

At the bottom of page 46 and the table on page 47, please explain how the vendors are supposed to respond to this section. It appears that NSF is requesting a second price model with these elements or, are the vendors supposed to be limited to these hours for the basis of all the time & materials work that NSF is requesting? Should all bidders be required to bid the number of hours estimated?

Offerors should use the amended Attachment I - Cost Matrix for the pricing format.

The estimated hours provided by NSF are estimates only. Offerors may propose the level of effort necessary to meet the requirements set forth in the PWS.

91 RFP,

Factor 4

Volume IV (IDIQ) – it is not clear what pricing data is to be provided for Volume IV Price (IDIQ). Is the Offeror to provide the fully burdened labor rates to be used for T&M task orders? Please clarify Volume IV pricing data requirements.

Is the table at the top of page 47 to be used

The table on RFP page 47 is provided as estimates only. Offerors shall use the following estimates to establish Task Order 1 pricing: Implementation Services, Integration NSF Systems, Integration Federal Systems, Hosting During Implementation, Project Management, Organizational Transformation, Software Licenses.

to provide pricing for Volume VI Price (Task Order 1)? Please clarify Volume VI pricing data requirements.

92 SLA 05-01-05 Regarding SLA 05-01-05, does the NSF have courses that contractors are expected to take or is the expectation that the training will be provided by the contractor for their employees?

The Offeror is expected to provide its staff specialized security training.

93 PWS 6.8.2

Operations and Maintenance Services

What Help Desk trouble ticketing tool does the NSF currently use? If the contractor will use the NSF’s Help Desk Tool, will the NSF be providing the license for the help desk tool, or does the contractor need to include in its price?

The Offeror needs to include help desk support and price with their solution.

94 Attachment I Several items in the business volume appear to be related to a unit category. i.e.

Integration Federal Systems. Is NSF looking for the cost of each interface to be supplied in this table? The same is true for Business process support services. What is the expectation regarding “unit”.

For internal interfaces, units do not apply. For standard federal systems, a unit is the equivalent of an interface.

Refer to Attachment C, Interface Requirements.

95 Attachment I In the cost table summary, NSF is requesting estimated hours for each of the period of performance. However, certain items, like some elements of the Hosting solution are not formulated as an hourly component. Also, the software proposed is also not part of the hourly equation. Given the format, how does NSF expect the fixed price components to be included?

Refer to Attachment G, NSF Transactional Volume Data.

96 Interface Requirements

The interface requirements list does not list the NSF's current procurement system. Will the NSF please confirm that the solution being delivered should include integration with the NSF's current Procurement system.

The solution will not integrate with the procurement system.

97 Attachment B It is our assumption that the completed Business Requirements is an attachment to the Technical volume and excluded from the

Yes, the completed Attachment B is not included in the page limitation.

page count. Is this correct?

98 SLA-06-01-01 Daily and Weekly full backups must be taken by the contractor. A copy of the weekly backups must be created and stored in an approved facility. Please define an approved facility.

An approved physical facility which meets the security standards determined in the SLA. The location should be within the continental United States.

99 SLA-06-01-05 Routine restoration of deleted files must not be dependent on the off-site versions.

Please define an approved facility.

An approved physical facility which meets the security standards determined in the SLA. The location should be within the continental United States.

100 SLA-05-01-06 “The system must store sensitive data, including credit card numbers and Social Security Numbers, at the database level in an encrypted form using industry-standard encryption methods with 128-bit and higher encryption keys.”

Encryption: Does the system include credit card numbers? There is no mention of Payment Card Industry Security Standards (PCI) compliance in the documentation.

Please clarify if PCI compliance and audits will be needed for this system.

The system would collect credit card information and the information requires encryption. PCI DSS is a collection of best practices as long as system is compliant with NIST standards and the basic security is in place. Audits are not necessary.

101 General SLA states 48 hour RTO, but the performance threshold is 24 hours. Please clarify.

Performance threshold for RTO should be 48 hrs.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) should be within 48 hours.

Attachment F: Page 2 Line 1 should read (RPO) and not (RTO).

102 General The Performance Metrics on High Availability calls for 99.95% of production up time. Please provide confirmation on the 99.95% production up time given the cost impact.

99.95% is NSF Standards on System availability.

103 iTRAK RFP Final:

1. Volume I:

We are assuming that the Master Requirements List is outside of the 40 page

The completed Attachment B is not included in the page limit.

Technical Subfactor A:

Technical Approach

b) .… Complete Attachment B, in the Master Requirements List and / or 30 page maximum for Volume I.

Please advise if this assumption is correct or incorrect. If it is correct, where should the Master Requirements List response be placed within the proposal?

104 iTRAK RFP Final:

1. Volume I:

Technical Subfactor A:

Technical Approach

d) “Written, Software Demonstration and Oral Presentation” which identifies:

First-in-First-Out Process Custom cost allocation methodology Procure to Pay process Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) process Processing financial statements Describe the reporting tools

E.7 INSTRUCTIONS

FOR ORAL

PRESENTATION

AND SOFTWARE

DEMONSTRATION

The Technical proposal requires “Written, Software Demonstration and Oral Presentation” information on the six items specified in Subfactor A: d)

The Software Demonstration requires demonstration of the four items specified in E.7 j).

Are the First-in-First-Out Process and custom cost allocation methodology to be presented only in the Written and Oral Presentation, or in the Software Demonstration as well?

The Oral Presentation will address: Cost Allocation;

Account Reconciliation; Purchase Card Process; and Integration to External Systems.

The Software Demonstrations will address: Procure to Pay; Inter-Agency Agreements (IAA); Financial Statement Process; and Reporting Tools that come standard with the software.

In addition to addressing the above topics in the Oral Presentation or Software Demonstration, all of the above should be addressed in the Offeror's written proposal.

j) …. Offerors shall conduct software demonstrations for Procure to Pay;

Inter-Agency Agreements;

Financial Statement Process; and Reporting tools that are standard with the software

105 iTRAK RFP Final:

1. Volume I:

Technical Subfactor A:

Technical Approach

d) “Written, Software Demonstration and Oral Presentation” which identifies the First-In-First-Out Process.

First-in-First-Out is typically a term of art in accounting for an inventory system. NSF does not appear to have or require an inventory system. How does NSF define the “First-in-First-Out” Process?

See attachment B, iTRAK Business Requirements, “Cost Allocation Requirements” section for the FIFO requirements.

106 iTRAK RFP Final:

2. Volume II:

Management Approach

Management Approach Page Limitation: 30 pages maximum;

Resumes: 2 pages maximum per Key Personnel (excluding letters of commitment)

We understand that the letters of commitment are excluded from the resume page maximum. Are the resumes included or excluded from the Management Approach 30 page maximum?

Resumes are not included in the page limitation but each resume is limited to two pages each.

107 iTRAK RFP Final: For clarity, should the SUBCONTRACTING Only large businesses are required to submit

Factor 5

Extent of Participation of Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns (Volume V) (Notice:

This Factor is Only Applicable to Large Business Concerns submitting Proposals under this RFP.)

SUBCONTRACTING

PLAN

The Offeror shall submit a Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business Subcontracting Plan, in accordance with FAR Subpart 19.7 and FAR 52.219-9.

Failure to submit such a plan will render the Offeror ineligible for award.

PLAN read “Large Business Offerors shall submit a… Plan,” or do small business concerns need to provide a Subcontracting Plan for Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business as well?

Subcontracting Plans

108 iTRAK RFP Final:

Factor 4 Price, Business Process Support Services are listed as Fixed Price.

Attachment I:

Schedule of Prices, Business Process

Are Business Process Support Services Fixed Price or Time & Materials?

Business Process Support Services is now deleted from the RFP.

Support Services are listed as Time & Materials

109 Attachment A:

IDIQ PWS Final

5.0 General

Requirements NSF does not intend to customize the COTS financial management solution and instead will adopt business processes to realize the full benefits of the best practices and efficiencies built into the COTS software. NSF unique requirements will be addressed with configuration and not customization.

iTRAK RFP Final:

1. Volume I:

Technical Subfactor A:

Technical Approach

d) “Written, Software Demonstration and Oral Presentation”…

Specifically, discuss the process used to design, develop, and deploy a custom

In the PWS, NSF states that it “does not intend to customize the COTS financial management solution ….”

In the iTRAK RFP, NSF is requesting … “a custom cost allocation methodology as part of the iTRAK solution.”

Please clarify NSF’s intentions with regards to customization.

NSF does not intend to make changes to the application source code.

The Offeror is expected to develop an approach and methodology to allocate costs.

Refer to Attachment B, Business Requirements, for amended requirement ID, CA-01-01.

cost allocation methodology as part of the iTRAK solution.

110 Attachment A:

IDIQ PWS Final

6.0 Scope of Work

Eleven items are listed under 6.0 Scope of Work. The same eleven items are described in more detail from 6.1 through 6.11, but in a different order than in 6.0.

1) Are these eleven items considered to be the CLINS for the proposal/contract?

2) If yes, should the list of the eleven items and the description of each item match one-to-one? For example, item number 5 on the list is Project Management, however, Project Management is item 6.6 in the description section.

Yes, those eleven items are the required services. The items listed in Section 6.0 are the same, but in a different order.

111 Attachment A:

IDIQ PWS Final

6.9 Transition

Services (Optional Task)

6.10 Enhancement

Services (Optional Task)

6.11 Business

Process Support (Optional Task) iTRAK RFP Final:

E.8 Factor 1:

Technical (Volume I) The Offeror shall provide a total solution that includes financial management software and implementation and

In Attachment A: IDIQ PWS Final, Transition Services, Enhancement Services and Business Process Support are identified as Optional Tasks.

In the iTRAK RFP Final, The Offeror shall provide a total solution that includes “… enhancement services, and transaction service that addresses….”

In iTRAK RFP Final, Subfactor I: Transition Services are described “as needed” and Subfactor J: Enhancement Services and Subfactor K: Business Process Support appear to be required.

In iTRAK RFP Final, Factor 4 Price has a line item for “Enhancement Services – Time and Materials – 988 Hours Per year over 3 Year Option Periods”

Are these three services optional or mandatory?

NSF is planning to award an Indefinite Delivery- Indefinite Quantity type contract with provisions to allow for the issuance of Task Orders. If needed, Task Orders will be issued for Transition Services, and Enhancement Services.

Business Process Support is no longer required under this RFP.

integration services to include project management and organizational change management, hosting, operations and maintenance, enhancement services, and transaction service that addresses all of the objectives and requirements in the

RFP.

iTRAK RFP Final:

Subfactor I:

Transition Services…, if needed.

Subfactor J:

Enhancement Services Subfactor K:

Business Process Support Services iTRAK RFP Final:

Factor 4 Price (Volume IV (IDIQ) and Volume VI (Task Order 1)) Enhancement Services Time & Materials 988 Hours Per Year over 3- Year Option Periods

Transition Services Enhancement Services Business Process Support Services

112 Attachment B: What is meant by “export official records?” The system should be capable of downloading the data

Operations TC-08- The system must provide the capability to export official records as required by NSF.

into a universal format.

113 Attachment B:

Interagency Agreements

IA-01-08

The system shall maintain and update (manually) and provide the capability to select a Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) from a drop-down list when completing an Interagency Agreement.

Does this refer to the NSF TAS symbol(s) or to other party TAS symbol(s)?

This requirement is referring to the maintenance of the

NSF TAS.

114 Attachment B:

Grants Requirements

GN-01-05

The system shall have the capability to hold open a grant for a configurable period of time (ie one quarter)

Please clarify what is meant by “open,” e.g., open for modification. Please clarify “configurable period of time” will be used.

For example, is NSF looking for the ability to enter a time period and have it applied to all of the grants?

The system shall have the capability to hold a grant open for expenditure, so that no closeout can be completed during an NSF-specified period of time.

115 Attachment B:

Financial Statement Reporting GL-06-15 The system must provide the capability to produce a report on all

How are Journal Vouchers defined in this instance? Are these Journal Vouchers entered directly into the General Ledger or are these Journal Vouchers entered into another module / subsystem of the financial system?

The system shall be capable of producing a report on all journal vouchers regardless of where it is entered.

It can be done either way depending on what the Offeror proposes.

Journal Vouchers created based on user-specified parameters

116 Attachment B:

Financial Statement Reporting GL-06-20 The system must provide the capability to produce RSI and RSSI reports

What are RSI and RSSI? The Required Supplemental Information (RSI) and Required Supplemental Stewardship Information (RSSI) reports are required as part of the Annual Financial Report. The RSSI requires the Federal Government to report on its stewardship over certain resources entrusted to it and certain responsibilities assumed by it that cannot be measured in traditional financial reports.

The RSI requires additional information be reported regarding deferred maintenance, intragovernmental amounts, Statement of Budgetary Resources (SBR) by program, etc.

117 Attachment B:

Statement Reporting GL-06-21 The system must provide the capability to produce Intragovernmental FTRAN reports

What is FTRAN? FTRAN stands for Federal Transactions.