The file's text, extracted by GovTribe without its formatting.
Question #
| Page |
| Section |
| RFP text |
| Comment / Question |
| Recommended CO Responses |
| The RFP includes the phrase “distributed within the last 90 days” in defining the current LCM. Please clarify what the contractor should do if the most recently distributed LCM policy is older than 90 days. |
| The government will require the offeror/contractor to use the latest version of the LCM. Once a new version of the LCM is released, the offeror/contractor shall absorb/incorporate a new LCM version into their operation within the ninety (90) day time frame. |
| 2. |
| 20 |
| C.3.1.2 Development Management Requirements (CLIN 0001) |
Item 41 states “the Government Product Owner shall designate specific user stories as “Must Do”, “High Delighter, or “Delighter”. “ Please confirm the relative priority of user stories is:
#1 – Must Do #2 –High Delighter #3 –Delighter Confirmed -- "Must do" user stories are the highest priority and "delighter" are the lowest priority.
| 3. |
| 39 |
| H.1.3 Technical Lead |
| The RFP labor category descriptions do not list a Technical Lead labor category. Will the government identify a labor category for Technical Lead? |
| Technical Lead (TL) is considered to be a role, and not a specific labor category; TL would likely fall below PM and provide oversight/ coordination/direction of technical staff specifically. TL may spearhead initiatives to adopt and implement new development/test methods for the team, investigate use of new tools, etc. |
TL role could be given to an individual assigned to varying labor categories, but the expectation is that the TL is a senior, highly experienced technical architect/engineer/developer/etc.
| 4. |
| 66 |
| J.2.1-1, Attachment 01 |
| The Government provided a WBS in Attachment 01 that drives the BOE and Cost Structure of the response. Is the Offeror free to expand on the WBS while ensuring the RFP provided WBS format and structure remain intact? |
| WBS format provided can and should be expanded to the minimum required lower levels of WBS detail per the cost proposal table instructions. Offeror is free to expand further; however, the provided WBS sequence/numbering is to be maintained. |
| 5. |
| 20 |
| C.3.1.2 Development Management Requirements (CLIN 0001) |
Item 41 states “the Government Product Owner shall designate specific user stories as “Must Do”, “High Delighter, or “Delighter”. “ Please confirm the relative priority of user stories is:
#1 – Must Do #2 –High Delighter #3 –Delighter Confirmed -- "Must do" user stories are the highest priority and "delighter" are the lowest priority.
| In the last paragraph of this section, the Government indicates that questions received up until June 29, 2015 at 11:00 am will be answered. Given that offerors will not have access to the attachments in J.2.2 until after that date and a comprehensive technical review of the SOW, task orders, WBS, and other sections of the RFP cannot be completed until after these are received, will the Government extend the deadline for all questions to 5 business days after distribution of the attachments? |
| Yes. All questions in relation to the attachments are due to the CO by 12:00 p.m. EDT 7/13/2015. |
In the second and third bullets and the paragraph that follows, the RFP states “Page Submission: double sided (paper copy)” and “For paper copies a single sheet of paper will count as two pages.” It also states “A page printed on both sides shall be counted as two (2) pages. Submission as double-sided printing/copying on recycled paper is encouraged.” Please respond to the following: a) Please clarify whether a single sheet of paper printed only on one side is counted as one page or two. b) Please clarify whether double-sided printing is a requirement or encouraged.
a) It will be counted as two (2) pages if printed only on one side. b) "Shall" "Required " to print double-sided
| 8. |
| 80 |
| L.4.1.1 Number of Volumes/Copies and page number limitations |
| Is there a specified layout for the Small Business Participation Plan or will any layout work as long as we address the items in Factor 4? |
| It is imperative all information for Factor 4 be addressed. The format for the Small Business subcontracting plan may be in the format preferred by the Offeror. |
| 9. |
| 80 |
| L.4.1.1 Number of Volumes/Copies and page number limitations |
| In Section L.4.1.1 there is a page limit of 150 for Volume II which is to include the SBSP. Can a company Master Subcontracting Plan that goes with an Individual Subcontracting Plan be submitted as an addendum to this volume and not be included in the page limit? |
| The Small Business Contracting Plan shall be submitted as part of the Technical Volume II. This plan does count against the page limit count. Do not submit as an addendum. |
| 10. |
| 80 |
| L.4.1.1 Number of Volumes/Copies and page number limitations |
| Should the SBPP be submitted separately or apart of any specific volume? |
| Extract from the RFP: Volume II Technical Approach (to include management plan, staffing plan, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan) |
| Are the cover letter (letter of transmittal), title page, table of contents, glossary, Executive Summary, Key Personnel resumes and Cross Reference (Traceability Matrix) excluded from the Volume II page count of 150 pages? |
| 1. Cover letter, title pages, table of contents, glossary, resumes, and traceability matrix are excluded from the page count/limitation. Executive Summary will count against the page limitation and page count. 2. Resumes shall be included in an attachment (a separate file) to the technical Volume II and will not count towards the technical proposal page count. |
| Please verify that the Cross reference (traceability Matrix) should contain columns identifying RFP Sections mapped to the Offeror’s Proposal Sections. |
| The traceability Matrix shall contain columns identifying RFP Sections mapped to the Offeror’s Proposal Sections. |
| 13. |
| 82 and 83 |
| L.5.2 and L.5.4 |
| The RFP identifies a 1-page Executive Summary for Volumes II and IV. Please verify the Executive Summary may be tailored for each volume to explain the characteristics and format of the offeror’s approach to that volume? |
| The Government would expect each volume to have an executive summary. The executive summary may be tailored for each volume. |
| 14. |
| 83 |
| L.5.3 Volume III – Basis of Estimate (BOE) |
The RFP states “The Offeror must describe the staff hours required to complete those tasks for both the prime Offeror and any interdivisional transfer (IDT) or subcontractor in compliance with the Work Breakdown Structure. Written rationale to support the labor hour estimates is also to be provided.” Please confirm:
a) offeror format is acceptable for BOEs
b) b) there is no page limit for this volume
a) Offeror format is acceptable. b) There is no page limitation for this volume.
| 15. |
| 98 |
| L.4.1.1 Number of Volumes/Copies and page number limitations |
| In Factor 4: Subcontracting Plan the RFP states we will be evaluated on meeting the minimum requirements of Section L-12, but L-12 does not specify any requirements with regard to the SBPP. Please clarify. |
| L.12 does not address the subcontracting plan. See M.8 Factor 4 for subcontracting plan requirements. Disregard the reference to section L-12 in table M -2 of Factor 4. The Offeror is required to submit a subcontracting plan that demonstrates that ten percent of the services price will be set aside for small businesses (via sub contracts). The RFP will be amended to reflect a section L-13 identifying the Offeror shall set-aside ten (10) percent of the services/labor price for small business. |
| Please clarify the Periods of Performance for Tasks 1 through 6. The RFP states to assume a start date of 25 September 2015 for a base Period of 24 months. However, other areas of the RFP appear to identify dates that conflict with this statement. For example, |
| The Government's intent is to award an IDIQ contract on or before 9/25/2015. The IDIQ will be awarded with a base period and eight (8) option periods. Offerors can expect the Government to issue task orders accordingly to the requirements identified in the task orders identified in the RFP appendices. There is no guaranteed date for a specific task order to start. Dates are provided for planning purposes at this time. The actual period of performance will be formalized at the time a specific task order is issued. |
| Task IV identifies a Maintenance Lead/Technical Liaison as a key position. However, the task also is identified as a sample task with a start date that is only notional for the purposes of the proposal. Given that proposing a key person necessarily involves hiring and committing an individual to this task to the exclusion of other potential employment or commitments, will the Government allow offerors to provide a resume that is representative of the qualifications, education, and experience we will provide, rather than a specific individual? |
| Yes, a representative resume is sufficient. The contractor will propose formally a management/staffing plan if and when the Task Order 4 is issued by the Government. |
| Please confirm that Task Order 5 requires only a BOM with costs and no other written response. |
| Task Order 5 will be issued as a bulk task order with a set dollar amount. When there is a requirement for COTS during the specified period of the task order performance, the Offeror /Contractor will submit the requirement via the BOM process for the Government to review and approve the equipment or software to be purchased by the contractor. |
| Please confirm that Task Order 6 requires only the plug number ($14,000 per year) and no other written response. |
| Task Order 6 will be issued as a bulk task order with a set dollar amount ($14,000.0). When there is a requirement for the contractor staff to travel during the specified period of the task order performance, the Offeror /Contractor will submit the travel requirement with cost of the travel to the COR for review and approval to travel. The Contractor will submit a numbered travel request for each individual trip/travel. |
| Are there any personnel security clearance requirements? |
| If the Government identifies an individual who will need access to the FBI facilities and or systems, that individual will require a current top secret clearance to be unescorted at the FBI Lab. Personnel identified as "Key Personnel" shall have a Secret clearance. LBI only for non-key. Have to verify that this is consistent with the RFP. At this time there is no requirement for contractor personnel to be performing support or services within a FBI facility or on an FBI system. |
| Are there any small business subcontracting goals that the contractor will be evaluated against besides the 10% requirement for services labor (Development)? |
| If the Offeror is a large business, they will only be evaluated on a small business plan of 10 percent services labor. This is not applicable to a small business. |
| Will the Government please specify the clearance level for all personnel (key and non-key)? |
| If the Government identifies an individual will need access to the FBI facilities and or systems, that individual will require a current top secret clearance to be unescorted. Personnel identified as "Key Personnel" shall have a Secret clearance. LBI only for non-key. At this time there is no requirement for contractor personnel to be performing support or services within a FBI facility or on an FBI system. |
| Will the Government make available to offerors the version of all software and tools being employed within the scope of this procurement? |
| MS Visual Studio 2013 is in use today. |
Actipro 1.0.89.0 DevExpress 13.2.7.0 GoDiagram 5.1.0.4 Crystal Reports -- version delivered with MS Visual Studio 2013
CODIS installation currently uses WIX. For task order III, CODIS 8.0 is expected to use a different installation packaging software product that is supported. The offeror will recommend a COTS installation package software product for Government approval to use in CODIS 8.0.
| Will the Government please confirm that all work will be performed at Contractor site? |
| Yes. |
| Will the Government please provide the version of Pickles and SpecFlow/NUnit in use today? |
| The latest version is not available for formal release at this time |
| Item #61 states, "Featured-level test cases are the Government’s preference to automated testing using SpecFlow. Manual feature-level test cases will be used in case automated test cases do not exist." Should this be re-phrased to "Feature-level test cases should be automated where possible"? |
| The Government expects for offerors to create feature-level automated tests where possible. |
| Item #86 states, "Offeror shall provide co-located workstations within development suite for Government/PMO co-located personnel including phone access. Provide permanent space for four (4) plus hotel/temporary space for two (2). Work stations are defined as the following: Desks or Work surfaces, chairs, whiteboards, phones, internet/external connectivity for Government laptop computers, printer/copier access, and computer workstations connected to the development network shall be provided. The workstations should be comparable to the specifications of the workstations used for CODIS development." Will the Government please confirm that offerors’ are to propose workspace for four (4) full-time and two (2) part-time Government personnel at its facility? |
| The Offeror shall provide a total of 4 co-located workstations within the development suite. 2 workstations are for full-time Government personnel and 2 workstations are for part-time personnel. |
| Will the Government please confirm that all work will be performed at Contractor site? |
| Yes. |
| With regard to the section referencing Technical Support SLAs, will the Government please clarify whether the hours noted are "business hours" or overall hours? If the Government’s expectation is that “hours” indicates overall hours not just business hours, are we correct in assuming that the successful offeror will be required to provide technical support on a 24x7 basis? |
| There is no 7/24 requirement. Business hours in this case are 8AM to 5PM EST Monday through Friday except for Federal Holidays |
| The Government states that offeror’s facilities must be within 35 driving miles of Quantico, Virginia. It is stated later that, “Offerors proposing a shorter distance from the FBI laboratory will be considered exceeding this requirement”. Will there be a graded or flat scale for the “exceeding” rating given to offerors with offices closer than 35 miles? For example, if an offer is 10 miles away from Quantico, another is 15 miles away, and the last 32 miles, would they be ranked in decreasing levels of “exceeds” or will all be provided with the same “exceeds” rating? |
| The offeror proposing a distance less than 35 miles will be considered the Offeror "exceeds the requirement". |
Section H indicates that the Key Personnel for the IDIQ are the Program Manager, Contract Administrator, and Technical Lead. The Task Orders identify additional personnel.
1. Should the offeror provide resumes for all key personnel (IDIQ and task orders)?
2. Can the offerors assume that the Program Manager that is key in the IDIQ is the same as that in Task Order 1 and Task Order 2?
3. As Task Order #4 is a sample task order – do the same provisions apply to the key personnel in this task order?
Offerors should provide resumes for all key personnel (IDIQ and task orders).
The Program Manager that is key position in the IDIQ is the same as that in Task Order 1 and Task Order 2.
For Task Order IV only, the offeror may submit a representative resume for the key position.
| This section requires the first page of offerors’ proposals to contain the information listed under item (2). Does the Government consider the first page of the proposal the proposal binder cover or the title page that would be included inside of the binder and on the first page of the electronic copies to be provided? |
| First page will be considered the binder cover. A separate title page may be provided. Neither shall count against the page limitation identified in Volume II. |
The offeror will meet the requirements by submitting formal generic (redacted with no identifiers of the offeror’s company) volumes and submitting the sanitized CDs for the technical team to use.
| This section requires 10 CDs containing a, “generic technical…proposal (removing logos, names, and other identities that a reviewer would be able to tie to a specific company or team of companies.” During evaluation, how will offerors be guaranteed of evaluation traceability if there are no identifying elements within its proposal? |
| The government will identify each generic proposal with either an alpha character or a number that will be cross referenced to the unsanitized volumes. |
| This section indicates that CD submissions of the Technical Volume should be “generic” – that is without any company names, logos, etc. To remove all reference to companies on proposing teams, should offerors remove resumes from these generic proposals or just remove the name of the offering company from their resume? |
| The resumes do not need to be sanitized by removing names of individuals; references to company names should be sanitized. |
| The solicitation states that, “Individual resumes, on average, should not exceed three pages.” Will the Government please confirm that it is satisfactory to submit proposals where some resumes that are longer than three pages, and others that are shorter so that the average page limit is three pages? |
| The Government will allow the Offeror to submit resumes in an average of three (3) pages (i.e. Some can be shorter some can be longer than three pages). |
| Is there a required identifier that offerors should use in their generic proposals? |
| The government will identify each generic proposal with either an alpha character or a number that will be cross referenced to the unsanitized volumes. |
| Are any non-generic electronic or hardcopy versions of the technical proposal required or is this volume only to be submitted in generic form? |
| The government will identify each generic proposal with either an alpha character or a number that will be cross referenced to the unsanitized volumes. |
| Offerors are referred to an attachment for the Basis of Estimate format. However, none is provided. Will the Government please provide a format for the Basis of Estimate? |
| Reference is to the WBS structure in RFP Attachment 1 posted on FEDBIZOPS, not to a specific document template. |
| 39. |
| WBS Tab |
| Cost Proposal Format Tables |
| To what extent are offerors allowed to modify the WBS format? Are offerors allowed to modify the WBS elements provided (i.e., add, delete, consolidate elements), or should offerors only add to the provided WBS elements to match their proposed solutions? |
| Offerors shall add lower levels of WBS detail per the cost proposal format instructions and in line with the specifics of their technical approach; Offerors may expand to additional levels of detail beyond the minimum required; Offerors may not delete from or reorder WBS structure provided. |
WBS format provided can and should be expanded to the minimum required lower levels of WBS detail per the cost proposal table instructions. Offeror is free to expand further; however, the provided WBS sequence/numbering is to be maintained.
| The solicitation states, “Copies of oral proposal are to be delivered in MS PowerPoint 2007 to the Contracting Officer prior to commencing the proposal.” Will the Government please clarify that offerors should submit their orals slides after they have been notified that they have been determined to be in the competitive range? |
| Those Offerors who are contacted by the CO to participate in an (oral presentation) oral proposal shall submit their presentation to the CO three (3) day prior to the date they are to make the presentation. The RFP will be amended to reflect this change. |
| The table of contents for section L indicates that the Small Business Participation Plan will be discussed in Section L.12, but L.12 is the release of information section. Consequently, the solicitation provides no guidance on the contents of the Small Business Participation Plan. Will the Government clarify what it intends for offerors to include in the Small Business Participation Plan? |
| Cover letter, title pages, table of contents, glossary, resumes, and traceability matrix are excluded from the page count/limitation. Executive Summary will count against the page limitation and page count. |
| There is an additional requirement to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan with the Price Volume. Will the Government clarify what it intends for offerors to include in the Small Business Participation Plan? |
| There are four (4) non-price factors, and Small Business Participation Plan is one of the non-price factors. There is no requirement to submit a SBSP with the price volume. It should be submitted in the Technical Approach Volume II. Offeror shall be required to show the small business participation and dollars allocated to small business. This will occur after contract award. |
| Does the government expect a response to this task order? All travel will occur at the direction of the government and the RFP dictates a travel amount for the purposes of the proposal response. |
| Task Order 6 will be issued as a bulk task order with a set dollar amount ($14,000.0). When there is a requirement for the contractor staff to travel during the specified period of the task order performance, the Offeror /Contractor will submit the travel requirement with cost of the travel to the COR for review and approval to travel. The Contractor will submit a numbered travel request for each individual trip/travel. |
| The Government requires that, “At least ten (10) percent of the services labor (Development) shall be subcontracted to a minimum of one Small Business.” Will the Government please confirm that labor hours, not dollars, will be used to evaluate whether or not offerors meet this requirement? |
| The ten (10) percent set-aside is for dollars not hours. |
| 45. |
| 129-130 |
| Appendix III Task Order 3 - Development Support CODIS 8.0/9.0) Enhancement 13 |
| Will the Government please provide the versions of MS Visual Studio using C# and several COTS development components such as DevExpress, ActiPro, GoDiagram, and Crystal Reports in use today? |
| MS Visual Studio 2013 is in use today. |
Actipro 1.0.89.0 DevExpress 13.2.7.0 GoDiagram 5.1.0.4 Crystal Reports -- version delivered with MS Visual Studio 2013
CODIS installation currently uses WIX. For task order III, CODIS 8.0 is expected to use a different installation packaging software product that is supported. The offeror will recommend a COTS installation package software product for Government approval to use in CODIS 8.0.
| 46. |
| 105 |
| Figure 1 CRW Architecture |
| Will the Government please provide the version of MS SQL in use today? |
| CODIS currently operates with SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012 R2. For task order III, CODIS 8.0 is expected to support SQL Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014. |
| 47. |
| 82 |
| L.5.2.1 |
| Offeror shall submit ten (10) CDs of generic technical (Volume II) proposal (removing logos, names or other identities that a reviewer would be able to tie a proposal to a specific company or team of companies |
| As resumes are provided as an attachment to Volume II, please clarify if offerors are to remove the names of present and past companies of employment from the resumes. |
| The government would like for all resumes attached with the sanitized volume, to be sanitized also, by removing name of company. |
| 48. |
| 83 |
| L.5.2.3 |
| L.5.2.3 Staffing Plan |
| Is this meant to be L.5.2.2? |
| Yes, staffing plan should be L.5.2.2. |
| 49. |
| 78 |
| L.4.1 |
| For paper copies a single sheet of paper will count as two pages. |
An 11” x 17” is a two-sheet equivalent (with regards to the page count limitations).
If a single 8.5"x11" sheet counts as 2 pages and a single sheet of 11"x17" is a 2-sheet equivalent, does this mean that an 11"x17" page counts as 4 pages?
If so, please note that the back side of foldouts are not typically printed double-sided and we request that foldouts only count as 2 pages.
Offerors shall not submit fold out in the technical Volume II.
| 50. |
| 78 |
| L.4.1 |
| Each volume in the proposal shall include a copy of the cover letter (letter of transmittal), title page and table of contents. The table of contents shall list sections, subsections and page numbers. Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used. |
| Please allow the cover page, transmittal letter, table of contents, and glossary all to be excluded from the page count. |
| Cover letter, title pages, table of contents, glossary, resumes, and traceability matrix are excluded from the page count/limitation. Executive summary will count against the page limitation and page count. |
| 51. |
| 78 and 80 and 21 |
| L.4.1 and L.4.1.1 and C.3.1.2.66 |
| Program Management Plan (PMP), Security Plan and resumes are included as attachments and not included in this page count. |
II Technical Approach (to include management plan, staffing plan, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan)
The Program Management Plan (PMP) shall be completed within thirty (30) business days from contract award and within thirty (30) business days of the initiation of any option award.
| The table on page 80 states that the management plan is included in the 150 page count yet the text on page 78 states that the PMP is excluded from the page count. Additionally, Section C.3.1.2, item 66 states that the PMP is a data deliverable due 30 days after contract award. Please clarify. |
| The PMP will be a required deliverable after contract award in response to the respective Task Order issued. |
| 52. |
| 80 |
| L.4.1.1 |
| A cover shall accompany the proposal to set forth any information that the Offeror wishes to bring to the attention of the Government. |
| Please clarify if this cover is the cover page for each volume or a separate cover page for the entire proposal. |
If this is a separate/different cover page, does this count in the page limitations?
The proposal shall be accompanied by a cover letter (letter of transmittal) prepared on the company’s letterhead stationery. The cover letter (letter of transmittal) shall identify all enclosures being transmitted and shall be used only to transmit the proposal and shall include no other information. The cover page will not count against the page limitation identified in various volumes. The cover page is a transmittal of the offeror's proposal overall.
| 53. |
| 79 and 82 |
| L.4.1.1 and L.5.2.1 |
| II Technical Approach (to include management plan, staffing plan, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan). |
Offeror shall submit ten (10) CDs of generic technical (Volume II) proposal (removing logos, names or other identities that a reviewer would be able to tie a proposal to a specific company or team of companies.
| Please confirm that all 10 soft copies of the technical volume are to have the company names and logos removed such that the Government will not be receiving a soft copy of Volume II that represents the two hard copies being supplied. |
| The 10 copies of the CD (Technical) are to be generic (sanitized) to remove the identification of the respective offeror. |
| 54. |
| 90 |
| M.4 |
| The four (4) non-price factors are Technical Capability, Management Capability, Past Performance, and Small Business Participation Plan, which are listed in descending order of importance. All non-price evaluation factors when combined are significantly more important than the price factor. |
| Will the Government provide the weighting factors for each of the non-price factors? For instance, is Technical Capability weighted twice as much as Management Capability and Management Capability twice as much as Past Performance? |
| They are listed in the RFP in descending order of importance. |
| 55. |
| 85-86 |
| L.5.5 |
| (All) |
| Are offeror's permitted to submit any past performance references from any of our subcontractors? |
If so, are subcontractors' past performance references required to be instances where the subcontractors are performing in the capacity of prime contractor for the references in question?
The past performance is in relation to the Prime Contractor. It is imperative the Prime Contractor possesses the skills and experience required to ensure the CODIS program is successful.
| 56. |
| 66 |
| J.1 |
| All attachments are provided to share information. They are not to be construed as formal or what the final document may represent. |
| Can the Government please clarify which RFP attachments are not final? |
| Contractor is to consider all documents are essential and required. Consider the documents as final for proposal purposes. The current information may be changed prior to an award or the issuance of an individual Task Order. |
| 57. |
| 79 |
| L.4.1 |
| The word processing documents shall be organized at the major section level of the proposal volume to which they belong, and further partitioned into separate word processing documents at the subsection or lower level, as required for convenient viewing. |
| Please confirm that within each volume, subsections (such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.1.1, 1.2.1, etc.) text should be embedded as separate word documents. |
| Each volume should be its own Word doc. No document should be "embedded" in any other document. |
| 58. |
| 74 and 81 and 82 |
| L.4 and L.5.1 and L.5.2 |
| (iii) A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and agreement to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item. |
The Offeror shall state in all proposal volumes any exceptions, assumptions, or deviations taken to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. Any exceptions, assumptions, or deviations to the terms and conditions taken shall contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation. All benefits to the Government shall be explained for each exception or deviation taken. Such exceptions, assumptions or deviations will not, of themselves, automatically cause a proposal to be termed unacceptable. A large number of exceptions, assumptions, or deviations, or one or more significant exceptions, assumptions, or deviations not providing benefit to the Government may, however, result in rejection of the proposal(s) as unacceptable. All proprietary software issues must be included in all proposals. Requests for exceptions, assumptions, or deviations, and their justifications will not be counted in the page number limitations specified.
• Exceptions and Assumptions. Must include any proprietary software issues.
| Is the correct place to discuss exceptions within the cover letter which would be in accordance with the cited FAR clause (52.215-1 (c)2))? |
| The Government would prefer the Offeror identify the exceptions and assumptions in each respective executive summary for each Volume in the proposal. |
| 59. |
| 82 |
| L.5.2 |
| • Cross reference (Traceability Matrix). |
| Please allow this item to be excluded from the page count and provided as an attachment similar to the resumes as this item will consume many of the allowable pages. |
| Cover letter, title pages, table of contents, glossary, resumes, and traceability matrix are excluded from the page count/limitation. Executive summary will count against the page limitation and page count. |
| 60. |
| 79 and 81 |
| L.5.2 |
| I Contract Format |
L.5.1 VOLUME I – STANDARD FORM OF CONTRACT
| Please clarify if Volume I is to be titled "Contract Format" or "Standard Form of Contract" |
| Volume 1 will be titled "Standard Form of Contract". |
| 61. |
| 79 and 81 |
| L.4.1.1 and L.5.1 |
| II Technical Approach |
L.5.2 Volume II – Technical Response to Requirements
| Please clarify if Volume II is to be titled "Technical Approach" or "Technical Response to Requirements" |
| Volume II will be titled "Technical Approach". |
| 62. |
| 82 and 83 |
| L.4.1.1 and L.5.2 |
| • Staffing Approach |
Offeror shall provide a staffing plan in their proposal that demonstrates the ability to fill personnel vacancies within 21 calendar days from the position becoming vacant Is the staffing plan required of L.5.2.3 the same as the information being asked for by the 4th bullet in L.5.2?
Also, please confirm that the staffing plan is included within the page limitations or if it is to be provided as an attachment to Volume II (outside the page count).
Yes, Staffing Plan and Staffing Approach are the same. Yes, it is part of the page count.
| 63. |
| 83 |
| L.5.2 and L.5.2.3 |
| The Offeror must describe the staff hours required to complete those tasks for both the prime Offeror and any interdivisional transfer (IDT) or subcontractor in compliance with the Work Breakdown Structure. Written rationale to support the labor hour estimates is also to be provided. See attachment |
| It appears that the last sentence is incomplete. Please clarify. |
| See Contract Attachment 1 for WBS currently posted on FedBizOPPS. |
| 64. |
| 98 and 72 and 79 and 82 |
| L.5.3 |
| Small Business Participation Plan proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements as instructed in Section L-12. |
L.12 Small Business Participation Plan
II Technical Approach (to include management plan, staffing plan, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan)
• Plan for managing subcontracts for cost and schedule and performance.
| It appears that the Small Business Subcontracting Plan should be included within Volume II. However Section L-12 contains no instructions regarding this plan; rather it covers Release of Information. Does the Government wish for offerors to include our SB Plan as an attachment to Volume II (outside the page limit) or is this to be included within the L.5.2 bulleted item "Plan for managing subcontracts for cost and schedule and performance." ? Please clarify. |
| Extract from the RFP: Volume II Technical Approach (to include management plan, staffing plan, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan). This plan will count against the page limitation for Volume II. |
| 65. |
| 71-72 |
| L. |
| L.1 Special Notice to Offerors |
L.2 Confidential Information L.3 General L.4 Proposal Volume Requirements L.4.1 Format and Instructions for Proposals L.5 Contract Format L.5.1 Volume I Standard Form of Contract L.5.2 Volume II – Response to Technical Requirements L.5.3 Volume III – Basis of Estimate Volume L.5.4 Volume IV – Cost/Price Volume L.5.5 Attachments L.6 Amendments to Proposal L.7 The Contract L.8 Instructions to Offerors L.9 Offeror Responsibilities L.10 Incurring Costs L.11 Release of Information L.12 Small Business Participation Plan L.13 Past Performance
| Please note that many of these section numbers do not match the actual numbered sections. For instance, L.7, L.12, L.13, etc. Please clarify. |
| There will be an amendment issued to correct the section numbering. |
| 66. |
| 1 |
| SF33 |
| SF33 |
| Does the Government intend to provide a completed SF-33? (All of the blocks are blank.) |
| Yes. See the original RFP. Double click on the inserted SF 33. When double clicked, the adobe will open it up and you will see the populated information. |
| 67. |
| (all) |
| L. |
| N/A |
| Can the Government please provide proposal delivery instructions (address, point of contact for receipt of proposals, date/time proposal is due, etc.)? |
Is there a different address for hand delivering the proposal versus mailing it?
Yes. See the original RFP. Double click on the inserted SF 33. When double clicked, the adobe will open it up and you will see the populated information.
| 68. |
| 83 and 100 |
| L.5.4 and Appx I |
| Assumed Start Date. For the purposes of this proposal, the assumed start date shall be FY2015, September 25, 2015. |
Commencement Date (for purposes of proposal): October 1, 2015.
| Please clarify which date is to be assumed as the start date for proposal submission. |
| The Government's intent is to award an IDIQ contract on or before 9/25/2015. The IDIQ will be awarded with a base period and eight (8) option periods. Offerors can expect the Government to issue task orders accordingly to the requirements identified in the task orders in the RFP appendices. There is no guaranteed date for a specific task order to start. Dates are provided for planning purposes at this time. The actual period of performance will be formalized at the time a specific task order is issued. |
| 69. |
| 137 |
| Appendix III, Task Order 3, Enhancement 16, para 8 |
| The Offeror needs to support the evaluation of changes in search strategy as the NDIS database grows and the number of NDIS core loci increases |
| Is CODIS going to expand the number of STRs to 20 (from 13) by 2017? Wouldn't this be a requirement under this contract? |
| The number of FBI NDIS core loci will increase in the future. These additional loci are already accepted and uploaded into the CODIS software. The Offeror needs to support the evaluation of changes in search strategy as the NDIS database grows and the number of NDIS core loci increases. |
| 70. |
| 22 |
| C.3.1.2 |
| Full compliance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Electronic Institute Alliance (EIA) Standard 748. Financial systems and earned value process shall be independently certified. |
| Please clarify the requirement for "full compliance" with ANSI Standard 748. Task orders can be issued as various contract types, and according to the standard, full EVMS reporting is only ever done under cost-reimbursement or incentive type contracts. The need for earned value management is well understood, but we recommend the removal of the requirement to be compliant with the standard. |
| The Government will identify EVM requirements by Task Order at the time they are issued. As of now, Task Orders 2 and 3 (Appendices) will require EVM. |
| 71. |
| 83 |
| L.5.3 |
| The Offeror shall address, in detail, the six (6) task orders (provided as appendices) or derived by a future Statement of Work. |
| Will the Government please clarify the statement "…or derived by a future Statement of Work?" |
| This RFP is in support of an IDIQ contract vehicle. The Government anticipates releasing new task orders in the future under this contract. |
| 72. |
| CF- B |
| Attachment 2 |
| "Cost Format B is not required for vendors" |
| Please clarify this instruction. Cost Format B requires offerors to quote materials, which may be obtained from "vendors." |
| Cost matrix shall include pricing of prime, IDTs, and subcontractors; "Vendors" here refers to providers of items for direct purchase (e.g., COTS, etc.,) and not labor hours/services. |
| 73. |
| CF- E |
| Attachment 2 |
| "Labor categories included in Cost Format F shall reflect those categories proposed by the prime, IDTs and subcontractors." |
| Cost Format F requires direct labor cost and labor rate for the prime and its subcontractors. Prime contractors will most likely not be able to provide the direct labor cost for subcontractors. |
Is it acceptable for the prime contractor to input the proposed fully burdened rate(s) from its subcontractors in lieu of the "direct labor cost"?
No, Direct Labor Costs is what the Government requires.
| 74. |
| CF - I |
| Attachment 2 |
| "Cost Format I shall be used to populate a rate table of fully-burdened labor rates for the designated labor categories and experience levels per Contract Year for the entire 10-year contract term, for application to all task orders on the contract." |
| Please clarify the purpose of this table and how it relates to "B.5 - LABOR RATES". |
Will the table be incorporated into the awarded contract?
Are the proposed rates to be utilized for pricing FFP and T&M task orders?
The answer is yes to both to both questions.
| 75. |
| 81 |
| L.5.1 and L.5.1.2 |
| This volume of the proposal shall consist of Sections A, D, E, F, G, H, I, and K of the solicitation document (including amendments as submitted to the Offeror). |
L.5.1.2 Sections D, E, F, G, H, and I By incorporating the provisions set forth in Sections D, E, F, G, H, and I of the solicitation document into Volume I of the proposal, the Offeror is agreeing to comply with these provisions.
| L.5.1 specifies that Volume I should include A,D,E,F,G,H,I, and K. However, L.5.1.2 in the title and text excludes section K. Should section K be included in Volume I? |
| No, there will be a separate Section K. Contractor shall submit section K as Part 1 of the proposal. |
| 76. |
| 98-99 |
| Table M-2 |
| Small Business Participation Plan proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements as instructed in Section L-12. |
Small Business Participation Plan proposal does not clearly meet the minimum requirements as instructed in Section L-12.
| Section L-12 does not pertain to the SB Participation Plan. Please clarify. |
| L.12 does not address the subcontracting plan. |
See M.8 Factor 4 for subcontracting plan requirements. Disregard the reference to section L-12 in table M -2 of Factor 4. The Offeror is required to submit a subcontracting plan that demonstrates ten percent of the services price are set aside for small businesses (via sub contracts). The RFP will be amended to reflect a section L-13 identifying the Offeror shall set-aside ten (10) percent of the services/labor price for small business.
| 77. |
| 34 |
| E.3 |
| Incorporates FAR Clause 52.246-11 - Hire/Level contract Quality Requirement. |
| Will the Government be providing the specific list of specifications that are to be incorporated into this clause? Will separate lists be provided for individual Task Orders? |
| There will be a RFP amendment to remove clauses if not applicable to the issuance of an IDIQ contract |
| 78. |
| 56-61 |
| I.1 |
| 52.237-7 |
| This section includes the following clauses which do not appear to be applicable to this solicitation, including: |
52.216-10 - Incentive Fee 52.216-11 - Cost Contract - No Fee 52.216-12 - Cost-Sharing Contract - No Fee 52.222-47 - SCA Minimum Wages and Fringe Benefits Applicable to Successor Contract Collective Bargaining Agreements (CEA) 52.228-1 - Bid Guarantee 52.228-2 - Additional Bond Security 52.228-11 - Pledges of Assets 52.228-14 - Irrevocable Letter of Credit 52.229-2 - North Carolina State and Local Sales and Use Tax 52.229-10 - State of New Mexico Gross 52.237-7 - Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance 52.250-1 - Indemnification Under Public Law 85-804 52.251-2 - Interagency Fleet Management System Vehicles and Related Services
Please consider removing any clauses that would not be applicable.
There will be a RFP amendment to remove clauses if not applicable to the issuance of an IDIQ contract "matrix" FAR Part 52.3.
| 79. |
| 62 |
| I.2 |
| 52.216-18 Ordering, "Such order may be issued from Award through 9/30/2015." |
| Please confirm that Orders may be issued through 9/30/2025 if all options are exercised. |
| Yes |
| 80. |
| 98 |
| M.8, Factor 4, Table M-2 |
| Small Business Participation Plan proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements as instructed in Section L-12. |
| L-12 page 88 refers to “Release of Information” and not a Small Business requirement. Can the government state what the ‘minimum requirements’ are for small business participation? |
| L.12 does not address the subcontracting plan. See M.8 Factor 4 for subcontracting plan requirements. Disregard the reference to section L-12 in table M -2 of Factor 4. The Offeror is required to submit a subcontracting plan that demonstrates ten percent of the services price are set aside for small businesses (via sub contracts). The RFP will be amended to reflect a section L-13 identifying the Offeror shall set-aside ten (10) percent of the services/labor price for small business. |
| 81. |
| 7 |
| C.3.1.1 |
| 7) Propose an all-inclusive development plan and schedule to satisfy every development objective identified in the IDIQ and respective TOs. |
| Please confirm that the development plan and schedule is delivered post award (not with the proposal). |
| The plan should complete enclosed task orders within base period; beyond that, plan should address how offeror will work to ensure completion of future task orders, etc. |
| 82. |
| 82 |
| H.1.1 |
| The Offeror corporate management structure shall guarantee a senior Program Manager on a full–time basis who is dedicated only to this IDIQ (and future task orders). The Program Manager is not to manage or assist with other company projects. The Offeror may be responsible for. |
| The last sentence is incomplete. Please clarify. |
| H.1.1. Program Manager |
The Offeror corporate management structure shall guarantee a senior Program Manager on a full–time basis who is dedicated only to this IDIQ (and future task orders). The Program Manager is not to manage or assist with other company projects. The Offeror’s Program Manager’s duties include, but are not limited to:
1) Providing all reporting information identified and required in this RFP or follow-on task orders.
2) Resolving issues related to overall contract performance.
3) Attending meetings and conferences identified in this RFP and follow-on task orders.
| 83. |
| 29 and 39 |
| C.17 and H.1 (and Task Orders) |
| Offeror is required to submit all resumes for key personnel with the Offeror’s technical and cost proposal, per Section H. The Offeror may not replace key personnel without prior written approval of the CPDIS CO. The Government may define additional key personnel (during the life cycle of the contract) or required for a specific TO during the RFQ task order issuing process. |
The Offeror shall identify the persons selected to fill the roles of Offeror’s Program Manager and Contract Administrator and Technical Lead for the IDIQ as Key Personnel. These individuals shall represent the Offeror as points-of-contact for the Government Contracting Officer (CO) to help resolve issues and perform other functions that may arise relating to this IDIQ requirement. The Government may identify other key personnel at a later date (at the issuance of an RFQ for follow-on task orders). For the task orders enclosed in the appendices of this RFP, the Offeror shall identify in their proposal and provide resumes for the key personnel as specified, in addition to those roles identified here.
| Do Key Personnel have to be unique across the IDIQ and TOs? |
| Yes. Personnel identified as “Key” will apply across the IDIQ contract and the oversight/ participation to the subordinated Task Orders issued. |
| 84. |
| 22 |
| C.3.1.2 |
| 74) Program will be a Category III program per Office of IT Policy and Planning (OIPP)’s Earned Value Measurement (EVM) Policy for IT Projects. Category III programs require the following: |
| It’s not clear which of the subsequent items are associated with the EVM policy, as they follow the same sequence of numbers. Can the government please clarify which of the requirements 75-89 on subsequent pages are associated with the EVM Policy for IT Projects? |
| This policy establishes whether FBI IT investments are required to comply with EVM requirements; the actual/operational EVM requirements are per the RFP and ANSI standard. |
| 85. |
| 22 |
| C.3.1.2 |
| 75) Program will be a Category III program per Office of IT Policy and Planning (OIPP)’s Earned Value Measurement (EVM) Policy for IT Projects. Category III programs require the following: |
| Can the government please provide a copy of or link to the policy referenced? |
| This policy establishes whether FBI IT investments are required to comply with EVM requirements; the actual/operational EVM requirements are per the RFP and ANSI standard. |
| 86. |
| 107 |
| Appendix 3, Enhancement #1 |
| Requirements are still evolving related to messaging between the State CJIS Systems Agency (CSA), the CODIS Server, and the CJIS Message Manager. See https://www.Governmentbiospecs.org/ebts.html for more information on the Government CJIS Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS). |
| This link appears broken. When clickingthe link a security warning is received. If the warning is accepted, a http 404 "not found" error is received. Can the government provide a copy of this information? |
| Please see https://www.fbibiospecs.cjis.gov/EBTS/Approved. |
| 87. |
| 25 |
| C3.3.3 |
| general question |
| Instead of purchasing hardware and/or software, can the offeror use a FedRAMP certified cloud computing environment? |
| Offerors may propose using a cloud-based data center for the purpose of CODIS development. The Offeror must demonstrate how all accessibility, performance, and security requirements will be satisfied. |
| 88. |
| 12 |
| C.3.1.1 |
| Propose an all-inclusive development plan and schedule to satisfy every development objective identified in the IDIQ and respective TOs. |
| Please clarify the term "all-inclusive" for the development plans and schedules. Agile methodologies, as requested to be used, rely on scheduling in detail only for short interations in the near term and only high level for further out. Does this conflict with providing an all-inclusive development plan and schedule? |
| All of the objectives identified in Task Order III need to be completed with the base two year period of performance. The Offeror needs to create a development plan and schedule that can reasonably demonstrate that all development objectives will be completed within the period of performance. |
The plan should complete enclosed task orders within base period; beyond that, plan should address how offeror will work to ensure completion of future task orders, etc.
| 89. |
| 141pp |
| Appendix 4 Schedule |
| (general) |
| Agile methodologies, as requested to be used, rely on scheduling in detail for short iterations in the near term and only at a high level for longer periods of time. Schedule components such as lower level tasks and resources are not identified until each individual sprint plan is identified. Please clarify if the schedule elements listed are intended to be for each Sprint schedule or the overall Task Order schedule. Is this a management deliverable schedule or a development schedule? |
| Schedule and EVM is to encompass and represent all work on the development CLIN. Offeror shall propose a sound, feasible approach for scheduling (with EVM) in an Agile environment. |
| 90. |
| 10 |
| C.3.1.1 |
| 18) Each test phase during development lifecycle shall include an associated test plan with the following information |
s) Provide formal CODIS training to participants involved in the Government and User Acceptance Tests for both the Development and Maintenance phases if identified in a task order.
| Can you specify the mode of delivery for UAT and GAT training? (Hands-on, Instructor-Led, Computer-based, etc?) |
| The delivery mode for UAT and GAT training is expected to be hands-on, instructor led training in a classroom environment. |
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