RFP_DACS15P1048_Vendor_Questions_and_Government_Responses_Final.docx

RFP DACS15P1048

Vendor Questions and Government Reponses

There were several anticipated Contracts Start Date listed (May 16, 2016 and June 13, 2016), please clarify.

June 13, 2016 Is this a full and open competition?

Yes Question 1 Reference B.1: Offeror assumes separate tables should be provided for the offeror and each subcontractor. Please confirm.

No, only for prime Question 2 Reference B.1: Can additional labor categories other than those specifically called out in the RFP be proposed? For example, can a Project Manager level 1 and a Project Manager level 2 be proposed as separate rates?

No Question 3 Reference B.3: Can Subcontractor labor be considered an ODC?

See FAR 52.216-29 Question 4 Page 68 lists a Proposed Contract Start Date of 6/13/2016. Page 80 lists a Proposed Contract Start Date of 5/16/2016. Page 81 lists the start of Contract Year 1 as 3/1/2016. Can you please clarify what start date should be assumed for proposal purposes?

6/13/2016 Question 5 The table on Page 73 lists Past Performance references as being part of the Technical Volume. However, the detail for what Past Performance references should include is not provided. Page 85 includes Past Performance as a separate volume. Should all Past Performance information be included in a Volume III Past Performance? If so, should Past Performance references be removed from the Technical Volume table?

Past Performance references are part of Volume 1, Page 85 is incorrect no Volume III

Question 6 Page 85 states that for past performance, “Offerors are requested to submit the information requested below as part of their proposal for both offeror and any proposed subcontractors for subcontracts expected to exceed $650,000.00.” Are the 5 past performance forms a total for the offeror and subcontractor combined or can it be up to 5 for the offeror and up to 5 for each subcontractor?

Only 5 forms total for Prime and Subcontractors Question 7 Page 73 states, “The offeror shall submit Letters of Commitment for all proposed key personnel.” Is there any specific content that must be included in a Letter of Commitment?

No Question 8 Reference Page 73: Should Letters of Commitment be signed by the employee listed as Key Personnel or by the employee’s supervisor?

Either Question 9 Page 78 includes a table showing the content of the Cost/Business Volume. A Subcontracting Plan is listed as both 2.3 and 2.5. Can a corrected table please be provided showing the correct section numbering?

Show in section 2.5 Question 10 Page 78 includes a table showing the content of the Cost/Business Volume. Can you please explain the difference between a Subcontracting Plan and Small Disadvantaged Business Participation?

Subcontracting Plan – all labor not performed by the prime contractor Small Disadvantaged Business Participation – amount of work done by a small disadvantaged businesses Question 11 Page 78 and 79 provide detail as to what Cost/Business Volume sections 2.1 – 2.3 should include. Can this type of detail please be provided for the remainder of the Cost/Business Volume sections?

Section 2.1 should show all skill levels and number of hours as shown in Proposal Preparation Hours for each of the five years on the contract Section 2.2 – vendor determined Section 2.3 – deleted – info shown in Section 2.5 Question 12 Page 80 includes additional cost proposal instructions including additional content that must be submitted. Can this additional content please be shown in the Cost/Business Volume organization table on page 78?

No Question 13 The hypothetical tasks require the offeror to provide the amount of money required for the task. There is no instruction in Section L of the RFP explaining how this information should be presented. Can you please clarify how to present this information?

Simple spreadsheet showing all labor categories used and number of hours, hourly rate and extended totals Question 14 If the offeror issues a FFP order to its subcontractor (inclusive of labor and materials), should that be proposed as an ODC in the offeror’s proposal and priced accordingly?

No – price for evaluation purposes is the labor matrix given in the RFP Question 15 If a subcontractor will be issued an FFP subcontract, how should that pricing information be presented in the hypothetical task pricing?

As an ODC Question 16 Page 80 states “Offerors shall prepare price summaries for the year of the proposed contract (60 months total). In addition, offerors shall prepare an overall total price for the 60 months period of performance. The overall cost shall include all subcontracting/consultant cost and all applicable prime contractor indirect loading.” If a subcontractor will be issued an FFP subcontract, and therefore not be included in the composite fixed rates, how should this be shown in the proposal?

For evaluation purposes the price matrix given RFP will be used for price evaluation.

Question 17 Page 80 states “(7) Include in your cost proposal the estimated costs and burden rate you will apply to materials, other direct costs and subcontracts. The Government will include these costs as part of it cost proposal evaluation.” If subcontractor rates must be included in the offeror’s composite fixed rates, please confirm that indirect rates applied by the offeror to subcontractor rates should be factored into the composite rates.

Yes Question 18 Page 9, Section E.4 references an Attachment 2 and a “Data Requirements List.” Can you please provide these attachment?

All reports for the parent contract shall be addressed to the COR, all reports for specific task orders shall be addressed to the task order COR Question 19 Page 15, Section G.6 states that travel will be reimbursed at actual cost. However, Section I.5 includes FAR 52.216-7 which allows indirect costs to be applied to travel. Can you please clarify?

All travel will be in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations Question 20 Page 64, Section L.3 states, “The Government contemplates award of a Time-and-Materials, Indefinite Quantity contract resulting from this solicitation.” However, page 76 states, “A hybrid IDIQ contract that allows for Time and Material or Fixed Price Task Orders will result from this solicitation.” Can you please clarify?

Both Time and Materials and Fixed Price task orders can result from this solicitation, however all of the task orders under the current contract are time and materials task orders Question 21 If composite rates are required, should subcontractors without approved accounting systems be included in the composite rates since they would not be eligible for T&M awards?

No, Both Contractors and Subcontractors are required to have approved accounting systems for T&M work.

Question 22 If FFP is allowable, will FFP task orders be priced based on the established fixed rates?

Yes

Question 23 Page 67, Section L.9 states that the Contracting Officer has determined that this acquisition gives rise to an OCI. However, the description of potential conflict is not complete. Can this please be updated?

Only COI foreseen by CO was possible family relationship (husband/wife, parent / child) but is highly unlikely Question 24 If an OCI statement and/or mitigation plan is required, where in the proposal should this be included?

Vol 1 Question 25 If a subcontractor will not submit unsanitized pricing information to the offeror, should the unsanitized pricing be provided to the offeror as a sealed proposal and included in the offeror’s submission or should the subcontractor submit its proposal directly to the Government?

Yes Question 26 On page 79, can you please clarify what information should/may be included in Section 2.2 of the Cost Volume?

Vendor determined Question 27 Since cost is not rated or scored as part of the proposal evaluation, do offeror’s need to include ODC costs as part of Section 2.1 of the Cost Volume? Or should ODCs only be proposed in the hypothetical task pricing?

Hypothetical Task only Question 28 If a subcontractor provides services under an FFP contract inclusive of labor and materials, should that be considered as an ODC and priced accordingly?

Task Orders - yes Question 29 The FAR Clause 52.227-17, Rights in Data – Special Works, was included in the solicitation. May the offeror request that the Client add FAR Clause 52.227-17 Alt IV which is applicable to educational institutions, during the solicitation stage? With Alt IV, an institution may assert copyright on all data and software.

No Question 30 Hypothetical Tasks 1 and 3 include approximate page limits. Does the Government have an approximate page limit for Hypothetical Task 2?

No more than 10 pages.

Question 31 Will a Certificate of Current Cost and Pricing be required if a subcontractor will have a subcontract of $700,000 or more?

No

Question 32 On page 79, item (3) says “All management and support (such as clerical, corporate and day-to-day management) hours and cost proposed to be direct charge in accordance with your normal accounting treatment, are to be shown separately from that for the technical effort”. Is a separate table required with fixed composite labor rates for these categories?

No What are the mailing instructions for subcontractors that wish to submit a “sealed bid” directly to NSF in support of this proposal effort?

Mail to:

National Science Foundation Attn: M. Scott Donley 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 475 Arlington VA 22230

Are the projected labor hours provided in the RFP intended to include external expert consultants that may be hired at the request of NSF? If so, please provide guidelines on what portion of the work they may be responsible for (e.g., based on the last contract).

Yes, vendor determined

The RFP provides guidelines on the expected length of the responses to Hypothetical Tasks 1 and 3. Are there guidelines for Hypothetical Task 2?

No more than 10 pages.

1. Can Labor Classifications be added to those already listed in the RFP? If so, is the expectation that hours for the added classifications be assumed from the existing ones? For example, for Contract Year 1, if a contractor wishes to add 100 hours of a “Business Analyst” they would reduce the allocation of hours for the listed “Database Mgr./Developer/Sr. Programmer” from 350 hours to 250 hours so that the overall number of hours for Contract Year 1 remains constant. If this is not the approach to take, please advise otherwise.

No

2. Section L.11 lists s project start date of June 13, 2016 while Section C, Item 2 under Volume II – Price/Proposal lists a date of May 16, 2016 and the Period of Performance listed for Contact Year 1 in Section L.14 alludes to a start date of March 1, 2016. Please confirm, which start date should be used in the proposal submission.

06/13/2016

3. Section L.3 states that “The Government contemplates award of a Time-and-Materials, Indefinite Quantity contract resulting from this solicitation,” yet in Item 1, Section B of the Price/Proposal instructions states that “A hybrid IDIQ contract that allows for Time and Material or Fixed Price Task Orders will result from this solicitation.” Please clarify the type of contract that will result from this solicitation.

Hybrid IDIQ

4. For budgeting purposes, please provide the Periods of Performance for each of the three hypothetical tasks.

Assume a start date of June 13, 2016 Task 1: 1 year from award Task 2: 2 years from award Task 3: 3 months from award

5. Item B.3 under Section B includes subcontractors and consultants under Other Direct Costs, “Other Direct Costs for the purpose of this contract shall include: travel of contractors, subcontractors, and consultants…”, and further into the RFP under “Additional Cost Proposal Instructions, Section L - Item C (5), it states that “The labor mix breakdown provided in clause B.1 includes prime contractor hours and subcontract/consultant hours. Labor will not be reimbursed as an Other Direct charge.” Can you please clarify these two conflicting statements and confirm whether subcontractors and consultants are considered part of the labor mix or an Other Direct Cost?

For evaluation purposes the labor matrix will be used. Subcontractor labor can be reimbursed as an Other Direct Cost.

6. Section L.13 (specifically, pages 78-79), which provides instructions for the preparation of Volume II (Price Proposal) contains several items--see, for example “Section 2.1 Loaded Labor Rates: (Prime Contractor, Subcontractors and Total Team)” in the table on page 78, (3)(i)(1) [“Provide a summary showing each team member's contribution to the total hours proposed.”] on page 78, and (3)(i)(7) [“Subcontractor/Consultant. For each labor category in each year offerors shall provide a build-up showing the various elements of costs (inclusive of all applicable prime contractor indirect cost and profit) which comprise its subcontractor/consultant labor rate.”] on page 79—that imply subcontractor and consultant hours are to be priced as part of the 19,490 hours for each contract year. (a) Please confirm that subcontractor and consultant hours are to be priced as part of the 19,490 hours for each contract year. (b) Please clarify if a separate hourly labor rate schedule is required for each subcontractor and for consultants in addition to the labor rate schedule for the prime offeror.

(a) Yes

(b) No

7. For Hypothetical Task 2, please specify the target population of the survey. In particular, does it include graduate students currently enrolled? Recently completed? Or both?

Currently enrolled graduate students.

8. The “Task-specific Technical Instructions” for Hypothetical Task 3 require that the contractor format tables and figures in accordance with the NCSES Science and Engineering Indicators Style Guide. Can NCSES provide offerers with a copy and/or link to these guidelines?

Yes, document attached.

9. Will NSF require each bidder to submit a Small Business subcontracting plan for the IDIQ itself and/or any sample task orders, if so will NSF provide the Agency’s subcontracting goals for this procurement as well as the appropriate NAICS Code for this proposal and a sample NSF Small Business subcontracting template?

IDIQ itself – no plan for hypothetical tasks or actual task orders

10. In regard to the description of offerer’s experience in the Work Plan section, is it acceptable to include a description of a current study which has a reference to a publicly available website but not a report?

Yes

11. For Hypothetical Task 2, how many items should we assume will need to be developed to measure the "quality of life" construct?

This choice and its implications should be part of the proposal.

1. What is the beginning date of the period of performance? Base Year: L.11 June 13, 2016 L.C.2 - May 16, 2016, or L.14 Contract Year 1 (March 1, 2016 through February 28, 2017)?

06/13/2016

2. Is this contract a time and materials, indefinite quantity contract as stated in L.3 52.216-1 or is it a hybrid IDIQ contract that allows for Time and Material or Fixed Price Task Orders, as stated in L.13, Volume II - Price/ Proposal, B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS 1)?

Hybrid

3. H.3 NSF120 KEY PERSONNEL FOR AWARD (AUG 2010) states Key Personnel “Will be determined at the task order level.” L.7 NSF130 KEY PERSONNEL FOR SOLICITATION (AUG 2010) states “The offeror will specify in the proposal those employees considered to be essential to the work to be performed.” Which is correct?

Both, IDIQ – will have key personnel (running the overall program) Task Order – may also have key personnel

4. Please provide Appendices C and D referenced in Section C.2.b references.

Provided to CO in this response

5. L.13 Volume II - Price/ Proposal, B(i) requires the offerors' proposed loaded rates for the Prime Contractor, Subcontractors and Total Team. For each labor category in each year, offerors shall provide a build-up showing the various elements of costs which comprise the labor rate(s). Subcontractor labor cost buildup is normally submitted by the subcontractor in a sealed package directly to the government. Is this acceptable?

Yes

6. Refer to L.6 NSF090 INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFFEROR TO SUBMIT PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION (MAR 2012). Please provide the email address for submitting the Contractor Performance Evaluation Survey.

sdonley@nsf.gov

7. Hypothetical task # 1- Will there be any breakout rooms required in addition to the General Session Room? What Audio Visual costs should be provided for this task?

1) No.

2) All those necessary for the proposer’s planned workshop format; the costs will depend on this and the proposed location.

8. For each of the three hypothetical tasks identified, can NSF please clarify the contract type and period of performance?

All Hypothetical tasks will be Time and Materials task orders Assume a start date of June 13, 2016 Task 1: 1 year from award Task 2: 2 years from award Task 3: 3 months from award

9. Section B.1 – Fixed Rates for Services – Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract states that the period of performance is a base of 60 months, as does section F.2 – Period of Performance. Section C.2 – Scope in the Description/Specifications/Statement of Work attachment states that the period of performance is one base year and four one-year options. Can NSF kindly clarify if the IDIQ period is a base of 60 months, or a base and options?

Base is 60 months

10. May the electronic copies of the proposal volumes be submitted in PDF format?

Yes

11. Section L, Part B.1. (Instructions for the Price Proposal) on page 77 of the RFP document states that individual Task Orders will be issued as discussed in Section F.3, although F.3 is “Place of Performance.” Can NSF kindly clarify the reference?

Disregard sentence “Individual Task Orders will be issued as discussed in Section F.3 of this solicitation.”

12. The required Master Index is not included in the table which details the structure of the Price Proposal in Section L.B.2 (page 78 of the RFP document). Please clarify where in Section 2.0 (Cost Volume Outline) the Master Index should be included.

Front of the Volume

13. In the Price Proposal, please clarify the difference between the required List of Figures (Section 2.0 (iii)) and the List of Tables (Section 2.0 (iv)).

Tables are tabular presentations of data.

Figures are non-tabular presentations that accompany text. They include, but are not limited to, charts, graphs, diagrams, and maps.

14. In the Price Proposal, should section 2.0 (vi) CD simply acknowledge that a CD submission has been included?

Yes

15. In the Price Proposal, can NSF kindly clarify what information is requested for Section 2.2, Other Supporting Documentation? (Section L.B.(ii), page 79 of the RFP document)

Vendor Determined

16. A Subcontracting Plan is required in both section 2.3(Subcontracting Plan) and Section 2.5 (Other Business Factors) per the table detailing the Price Proposal elements in Section L.B.2, page 78 of the RFP document. Can NSF please clarify in which section of the proposal the Subcontracting Plan should appear? Section 2.3 is identified as “Exceptions” on the following page.

Section 2.5

17. There are no instructions provided for Section 2.5 (Other Business Factors) of the Price Proposal, cited in the table in Section L.B.2 on page 78 of the RFP document. Can NSF please clarify what is required for this section?

Information of Financial Condition and Capability, Subcontracting Plan and Small Disadvantaged Business Participation

18. Section I.2 on page I-2 (page 25 of the RFP document) states that the Contractor’s Representations and Certifications from SAM will be incorporated into the contract. Can NSF kindly confirm that offerors are not required to complete Section K of the RFP?

Yes

19. Can NSF please provide clarification on what cost information is required for each hypothetical task and where in the price proposal this information should be included?

Simple spreadsheet showing all labor categories used and number of hours, hourly rate and extended totals , include in Volume II(at the end)_

20. On page 4 under the Business Proposal Instructions in Hypothetical Task 1, the last bullet states that “Attendees who are nonfederal employees are entitled to $280 reimbursement for travel days and $480 for days attending the workshop”. Can NSF confirm that the rates identified are the maximum daily rates allowed for each day of travel per employee?

These are rates for workshop participants, not for employees. For workshop participants these are the maximum daily rates.

21. Under Section L – Volume I – Past Performance, there are references to Attachments 1, 2, and 3. Is the DACS15P1048-Performance Evaluation form Attachment in reference to Past Performance Attachment 1? Will NSF please provide Attachments 2, and 3?

Yes, yes

22. Please clarify how the contractor will access the data from NCSES surveys and/or other existing data sources?

Data needed to complete task orders will be accessed via the internet or through arrangements made for each relevant task order.

23. Will NSF provide government furnished equipment to access NSF network remotely?

No

24. Does NSF expect the contractor to use NSF hardware/software and analytic tools for data analysis?

No

25. If a project that is used for past performance has a Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR), can that be used instead of the Past Performance Questionnaire to avoid the administrative burden for the COR?

No

Please provide the referenced “Attachement3, Contract Listing” Yes – will be upload Is there a required past performance template? If so, please provide See Past Performance Evaluation file Where in the proposal should the completed Representations and Certifications (Section K) go?

Government will download Rep and Certs from GSA’s SAM website