Amendment_4_Questions_and_Answers_v1.xls
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- FBI MS & WEB SUPPORT SERVICES Federal contract opportunity
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- DJF-16-1200-V-MSSUPPORTSVC
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Amendment 4 questions and answers
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| QUESTION | ANSWER | |||
| RFP | B.1 | 21 | Can Task Orders be awarded with durations of longer than one year (not including option years, e.g. can a task order be awarded for 18 months)? | Task Orders will be awarded IAW Federal Acquisition Regulations and the applicable Appropriations Law for the specific Task Order funding provided. |
| RFP | C.2.1.2.3 | 10 | (Materials) "... shall provide all non-Microsoft products and materials necessary to support the order defined deliverables." Does this imply that Contractor must use its own licenses for support products that FBI/DOJ doesn't own (e.g., migration tools)? If so, can the Government add an ODC pricing category? | This will be further defined at the Task Order level. ODC CLINs will be added as required. |
| RFP | C.2.1.2.3 | 25 | "... the CO may determine it is in the best interests of the Government to solicit quotes from all IDIQ holders for specific Task Orders." Does this imply, for example, that an IDIQ holder for Technical Area 1 is allowed to bid on Task Orders in Technical Areas 2 and 3? If so, should our technical response include capabilities for all Technical Areas, rather than only for the targeted Technical Area? | Technical responses should be targeted to the specific Technical Area Offeror is submitting a proposal for. |
| RFP | C.2.1.2.4 | 1 | Based on the new clarification provided in the Q&A posted on 7/7, the RFP now states that offerors may submit a proposal for more than one technical area; it also states that offerors are allowed to submit a proposal for more than one technical area as a prime and/or subcontractor. Does this mean that an offeror can submit as a prime and also as a sub or submit as a sub on multiple bids in the same task area or is an offorer limited to 1 submission per technical area? | Offerors may submit as a Prime in more than one Technical Area and may subcontract to more than one Prime across the Technical Areas. |
| RFP | C.2.2.1 | 34 | In H.12.1.1 section the RFP states that each Contractor and/or Subcontractor submitting a proposal shall have an active TS facility Clearance. This seems to indicate that just one of the team members in a submission is required to have a TS facility Clearance to be eligible for award, but in section M.6 Security (Volume 5) on page 80 the RFP states that Primes and all proposed subcontractors/teammates must have an active and transferable government Top Secret (TS) facilities clearance at the time of security proposal submission. This seems to indicate that all companies involved in one proposal submission must have a TS Facilities Clearance. Please clarify if only one team member has to have the TS Facility Clearance or if all team members have to have a TS Facilities Clearance. | All members of the Team must have an Active and transferrable TS Facility Clearance. |
| RFP | F.2 | 9 | Microsoft Competency requirements are only listed as a must in Technical Area 1. Does this mean that proof of Microsoft Gold level partnership is not required for Technical Areas 2 and 3? | MS competency requirements are only required in Technical Area 1. Gold Level partnership is not required for Technical Areas 2 and 3; however, Per L.11.4.B.2, Offerors must discuss their reachback for technical issues. |
| RFP | F.3 | 2 | Who are the incumbents currently performing this work? Technical Area 1 incumbent(s)? Technical Area 2 incumbent(s)? Technical Area 3 incumbent(s)? | Technical Area 1- Inforeliance, Technical Area 2: TrueTandem, Convergence Technologies, Microsoft and Accenture; Technical Area 3: IntegrityOne Partners |
| RFP | H.12.2.7 | 22 | Place of Performance (POP) does not mention contractor's own facilities. Sections H.12.1.1 and M.6 list the requirement for a TS facility clearance. Should F.3 include Contractor's facilities in the list of POP sites? | a list of contractors facilities is NOT required. |
| RFP | H.12.2.7 | 34 | Can interim TS clearances be utilized by contractor personnel? | Security requirements for contractor personnel will be applied at the Task Order Level, interim clearances may/may not be acceptable, dependent on the agency awarding the Task Order. |
| RFP | H.2 | 48 | The table includes asterisks in both the table header and in several line items, but excludes the first line item ("Small Business"). Please clarify which of these asterisks relates to the footnote in the table. | 40% of all Task Orders awarded to a large business should be subcontracted to small businesses. Further breakdown of the 40% should include subcontracts to the following: SDB-5%; WOSB-3%; HBZone-3%; SDVOSB- 3% |
| RFP | H.21 | 48 | Please clarify how to interpret the footnote to the table. Do the percentages apply to the sum of all dollars that a Prime assigns to its sub-contractors ? Or do they apply to the sum of all dollars awarded to the Prime? | see answer to Q14 |
| RFP | H.21 | 48 | Please clarify the scope of "EIT products." For example, is Contractor held responsible for 508 compliance of Microsoft's products? | Offeror must certify any development or changes to systems and/or products are Section 508 compliant. |
| RFP | H.21 | 75 | Second of two L.8 sections, this one on Advisors. As numbering is off, does this section apply to this RFP? | please clarify. |
| RFP | H.22 | 1 | Will the government allow for inclusion of the Subject Matter Expert labor category for Technical Area 2? The discipline that a SME addresses, as stated in the descriptions in attachment J3, also applies to the requirements in Technical Area 2. | Offerors may propose SME labor categories as an additional LaborCategory |
| RFP | L.11.4 | 48 | Please confirm total percentage target to be sub-contracted to SB: 40% or 54%? | 40% of all Task Orders awarded to a large business should be subcontracted to small businesses. Further breakdown of the 40% should include subcontracts to the following: SDB-5%; WOSB-3%; HBZone-3%; SDVOSB- 3% |
| RFP | L.11.5.2 | 72 | In the last sentence of paragraph 1 you refer to Attachment J-4, which is Key Management Personnel Listing (KMPL). Do you mean J-8, Past Performance Information? | this is correct. L.11.5.2 is being updated to reflect this change. |
| RFP | L.8 | 71 | Please clarify the technical proposal outline, as L.11.4 speaks to the Evaluation Criteria. | Please see L.11.4 Proposal format. Section M is evaluation Criteria. |
| J-2 | Labor Categories | 6 | Does DOJ/FBI intend upon using (or are they currently using) Microsoft FAST Search? | Yes, the FBI currently utilizes MS FAST Search |
| We have to provide discounted burdened labor rates along with proposed burdened labor rates. What factors to be considered to derive discounted burdened labor rates? Is there any specific criteria to calculate discounted burdened rates? | A specific calculation for discounting burdened rates will not be supplied by the Government. | |||
| For different working location, whether any additional cost will be applicable? | Offerors should provide rates for both DC and locations outside the DC Metro Area. Please selecte the appropriate drop down from column F "Work Location" to designate. | |||
| Please explain in details about ‘requirement listing documents’ that pertains to the proposed labor category. | Offerors are to map their proposed labor categories to the applicable section in the RFP. | |||
| Contractor personnel may be required to travel in order to support work required under individual TOs. Please explain travel cost elements to be considered by the contractor. | Travel will be designated at the Task Order level. There are no requirements for the offeror to propose travel costs at the IDIQ level. | |||
| 72 | L.11.5.2 | The last line of the 1st paragraph states “Attachment J-4 does not count against the page count limitation” | Please confirm this should refer to Attachment J-7 instead of J-4. | |
| 72 | L.11.5.1 | If the Offeror has previously had an opportunity to respond to any adverse past performance information, a copy of that response shall be included in the Past Performance submittal. Please elaborate this statement. | If Offerors choose to submit adverse Past Performance as part of their Past Performance Volume, they are also allowed to submit their rebuttal to the adverse rating. | |
| 48 | H.21 | Each IDIQ Prime holder, if not a small business, shall be required per FAR 19.704 to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan for all Task Orders competed under this IDIQ. Please confirm that the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required at the time of IDIQ proposal submission. | This is correct, Offerors are not required to submit their subcontracting plan with their proposal. Subcontracting plans will be required post award. | |
| 74 | L.11.9, L.11.1 | All submissions must be submitted through the Prime Contractor. Prime Contractor is |
required to submit a list of Subcontractors/teammates that they will be teaming with. This list must include the company’s full name (no acronyms) and any passwords for security documents (as applicable).
| e. No file shall be password protected. The information in this volume includes company proprietary information and PII. A subcontractor submitting through the Prime, compromises the privacy of the information. | Offerors may password protect their ARQ and KMPL and submit the passwords directly to the Contracting Officer prior to the close of the RFP. References to "no passwords" has been removed in Amendment 4.. | |||
| 73 | L.11.7 | Every contractor or subcontractor who submits a quote as a Prime Contractor or as a member of a Contractor’s teaming arrangement shall review and comply with FAR Subpart 9.5. Each of the items listed below shall be specifically addressed corresponding to the unique numeric designation. Both the statements provided in section L.11.9 and L.11.1 contradicts. Please clarify. |
| And will the government please amend this section of the RFP to allow subcontractors to submit a separate Section L.11.9 response directly to the CO, with passwords protecting the J-4 and J-5 documents? | Offerors are to address the bulleted list; please clarify the contradiction between L.11.9 and L.11.1; subcontractors may choose to password protect their documents; however, the password protected documents must be submitted as part of the prime's proposal package. Passwords may be provided directly to the contracting officer. | ||||
| 39 | H.16.1 | 1. The RFP section references "the unique numeric designation". The list that follow the sentence is a bulleted list. Factor 2 is included in the RFP requirement but is not in the J-5 Attachment "Acquisition Risk Questions." Please clarify whether Factor 2 should also be addressed in the J-5 Attachment. Will the government please amend this section of the RFP or the J-5 Attachment? | H.16.1 on pg 39 is a numbered list. Please clarify what you are considering as "Factor 2". Attachment J-5 is separate document which must be completed and submitted as part of the Security Volume. | ||
| 70, 73 | L.11.1, L.11.7 | As we read the requirement, all 20 bullet points must be responded to by the Prime and all subcontractors. Will the government please revise the page limit to require a specified number of pages for each entity on the team? | L.11.7 OCI must be filled out and submitted by the Prime. The prime contractor responses should be inclusive of all subcontractors. | ||
| 74 | L.11.7 | Is the requirement for the bidder to address each bulleted point in the list, or is there a missing numeric list? | Offerors are to address the listed provided. The bulleted list has been amended to include numbers. | ||
| Attachment J-8 | 1. Please confirm you need only the agency name and the period of performance for the contracts with FBI or DoJ. 2. Whom you are referring to as "Govenrment contracting officer"? | 1. Please provide all of the information requested in Attachment J-8 including the "Contracting Officer" for the contract identified. | |||
| 1 | B.1 | 2.Are subcontractors required to submit a separate Volume 3 - OCI? Does the 10 page limit is for all the OCI plans incuding the Prime as well as all the subcontractors? or the 10 page limit is for a single OCI plan for a single entity? | Prime contractor OCI plans should addresss their subcontractors. Amendment 4 increases the page limitt to 20 pages. | ||
| 3. Given that we have to respond to each of the 20 bulleted points in our OCI plan within 10 pages is very difficult. Can you pls extend the page limit so that we can provide our detailed plan to comply with the RFP requirements. | Amendment 4 increases the page count to 20 pages. | ||||
| 1. In section M.1 ‘Organizational Experience – All subfactors are equal’ it is not clear what subfactors we are to address in this section. As section M.2.2 Evaluation factors specify ‘Evidence that the organization has current capabilities. Evidence for supporting subcontractors must be provided.’ While Section L.11.4 specifies “B. Organizational Experience: At a minimum, the offeror’s Technical Proposal must discuss:1) How each task will be evaluated for full performance and acceptability of work from the offeror's viewpoint; with support, 2) Any anticipated major difficulties and problem areas, along with potential recommended approaches for their resolution, to include necessary reachback for technical issues and 3) Major logistical considerations; Please clarify what requirements will be evaluated in the 10 page Organizational Experience section. | When Sections L.11.4- in its entirety is combined with M.2.1, the Offeror is provided topics to cover. Please see the following: Offerors shall provide a Technical Proposal that addresses the following two evaluation criteria: |
A. Technical Capabilities and Management Plan, B. Organizational Experience At a minimum, the offeror’s Technical Proposal must discuss:
1) How each task will be evaluated for full performance and acceptability of work from the offeror's viewpoint; with support,
2) Any anticipated major difficulties and problem areas, along with potential recommended approaches for their resolution, to include necessary reachback for technical issues and
3) Major logistical considerations;
The Offeror must define their technical and management approach that satisfies the requirements of the Technical Area the Offeror is submitting a proposal for. Please include a (1) recruiting and retention plan; and (2) a description of your current personnel resources for this effort, which addresses their capabilities and experience relating to the specific Technical Area’s Statement of Work. At a minimum, this section of the proposal must include:
A Transition Plan (2 pg limit-does not count towards overall pg count) Recruiting and Retention Plan (2 pg limit-does not count towards overall pg count) 72 | P a g e Identify specific capabilities and/or certifications for supporting Microsoft products Description of resource planning processes and procedures to support the changing needs of the environment Description and definition of management methods and processes for all types of support activities Description of resource training, skills development and certification approach Description of management and status reporting approaches M2.2. Organizational Experience
1. Evidence that the organization has current capabilities. Evidence for supporting subcontractors must be provided.
| With regards to Amendment 2, L.11.1 Format. May we include a table of contents for each volume, outside of the page limitations? | yes. Table of Contents should not exceed 1 pg. | ||
| With regards to Amendment 2, L.11.2.2 - SF33. Should Volume 1 also include any SF30 forms from RFP Amendments? | yes, Amendment 4 adds the SF30 | ||
| . With regards to Amendment 2, L.11.7 OCI: "...review and comply with FAR Subpart 9.5. Each of the items listed below shall be specifically addressed corresponding to the unique numeric designation." | Bullets have been removed and numbers have been inserted. | ||
| a. What 'numeric designation' does this refer to? The items listed in RFP are bulleted. | see answer for question 42 | ||
| b. 11th bullet item is: "Provide all documents that your employees are required to sign indicating, which employees are required and how often the requirement is." Please clarify exactly what is being requested here. | If your OCI plan includes documents for your employees to sign, they would be identified here. | ||
| c. Last bullet includes "...business activities disclosed in response to 1 above." Does "1 above" refer to the bullet item beginning with "Disclosure of business activities of your company..."? | please clarify your question. | ||
| . With regards to Amendment 2, L.11.9 Security volume: | |||
| a. This volume includes Attachment J-4 (KMPL), which is an Excel file and asks for PII (SSN, DOB). Is the Excel file to be submitted separately? Can it be password protected which is in contradiction to L.11.1.e? The files needs to be protected to meet PII security requirements. | yes. see amendment 4 to the RFP. | ||
| b. Is Attachment J-5 ARQ to be submitted separately, or incorporated into the main body of Vol 5? | Attachment J-5 is a separate attachment. | ||
| Is DOD TS facility clearance acceptable? | yes- as long as it is an Active TS facility clearance. | ||
| RFP contains Sec K Reps & Certs, but that does not appear anywhere in the instructions. Are we to include completed Sec K in the proposal, and if so in what Volume / Section? | Reps and Certs will be pulled electronically by the FBI. Please ensure your DUNS and CAGE Code are accurately reflected in your Cover Letter L.11.2.1 | ||
| The statement in H.13, “Contractors shall be required to have personnel complete Non-Disclosure Agreements and Warrantless Search Agreements.” Does this apply to just onsite personnel or the executive management team for the prime and subcontracting companies? | Please refer to Line of para H.13 on page 36. "all cleared personnel accessing information within FBI-controlled space" | ||
| 1. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, Page 1, B.1 PROCUREMENT OBJECTIVES, “The Government intends to award one IDIQ with multiple awardees for three Technical Areas. Technical Area 2 is set-aside for Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) and Track 3 is set-aside for Small Businesses. Track One is unrestricted and, per FAR 19.704, if an award is made to a Large Business, will require subcontracting with small businesses in accordance with the respective subcontracting plan.” | |||
| a. Question: As used in the RFP, is ‘Track One’ the same as ‘Technical Area 1?’ The terms ‘Track’ and ‘Technical Area’ appear to be used interchangeably throughout the solicitation. | Yes, please see Amendment 3 to the RFP. | ||
| b. Question: Will FAR PART 15, CONTRACT BY NEGOTIATION be used to acquire Microsoft Consulting Services under Track One? | Yes, FAR 15 is applicable. | ||
| c. Question: Will offerors under Track One be required to have a DCAA approved accounting system? | A DCAA approved accounting system is not required by this RFP. | ||
| 1. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, Page 48, H.21 SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN, “Each IDIQ Prime holder, if not a small business, shall be required per FAR 19.704 to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan for all Task Orders competed under this IDIQ.” | |||
| a. Will offerors under Track One/Technical Area 1 be required to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan with their proposal submission for this IDIQ? | Please read line one of para H.21 "each IDIQ rime holder, if not a small business, shall be required …" | ||
| b. Will the prime in Track One be required to meet the minimum small business subcontracting goals? | Please read line one of para H.21 "each IDIQ rime holder, if not a small business, shall be required …" | ||
| 1. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, Page 77, M.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL (VOLUME 1, SECTION2), “1. Evidence of specific methods and techniques for supporting MS products and completing task orders, to include such items as quality assurance, and customer-service.” | |||
| a. Question: Will quality certifications, to include ISO 9001 and CMMI SVCS, be considered as ‘evidence of specific methods and techniques’ and weighted appropriately in the evaluation of the Technical Capabilities & Management Plan, and will those quality certifications be applied to the evaluation of offerors in all three Tracks and/or Technical Areas? | Submitting these certifications as a demonstration of quality assurance and customer service for M.2 is at the discretion of the Offeror. | ||
| 1. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, Page 1, B.1 PROCUREMENT OBJECTIVES, “In order to avoid a narrowing of competition for task orders resulting from a small number of companies “locking up” potential key companies in subcontracting or teaming arrangements on the overall IDIQ contract, Offerors are allowed to submit a proposal for more than one Technical Area as a prime and/or a subcontractor. Evaluations of proposals for the IDIQ contracts will take into account information submitted for both primes and subcontractors. This contracting vehicle shall also be available for use by DOJ and all DOJ components since many of the Microsoft products are also in use at other DOJ components.” | |||
| a. Question: Is it the Government’s intent that, within a single Technical Area, a company may 1) participate as either a prime bidder or a subcontractor but not both, or 2) participate as both a prime bidder and a subcontractor on a single prime team? | please clarify #2. Offerors may submit as a prime and subcontract to other Primes for the same Technical Area. They may also submit as a prime for more than one technical area. | ||
| b. Question: Will companies be allowed to participate as a subcontractor in more than one Track and/or Technical Area proposal submission? | yes. | ||
| 1. Reference J-1_Techncal_Area_2_MCES_Pricing_Template.xlsx and J-2_Techncal_Area_2_MCES_Pricing_Template.xlsx. | |||
| a. Question: What is the difference between these two pricing templates? | Offerors may propose separate labor categories for each technical area. | ||
| b. Question: Was J-1 meant for offerors responding to Track One and/or Technical Area 1? | yes, the nomenclature was corrected in a previous amendment. | ||
| a. Question: Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) 2016 Published Public Sector Pricing does not include any of the labor categories in the pricing templates provided in the solicitation. And none of the labor categories shown in the pricing templates for the solicitation exist on the MCS Published Public Sector Pricing List. Does the Government wish for prime offerors in any Task Area and/or Technical Area to provide MCS Published Public Sector Pricing as a subcontractor, or does the Government intend for non-OEM performance of all services under the labor categories reflected in the solicitation pricing templates? | Offerors should write in OEM specific labor categories under column A and map them to the Government identified labor categories/definitions as defined on the "labor mapping details" tab. | ||
| 1. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, section L.11.3: we request the Government define the difference between a teaming relationship and subcontracting relationship. | the Government utilizes the Small Business Administrations definitions of "subcontracting" and "teaming". | ||
| 2. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, section L.11.9: for the referenced attachments J-4 and J-5, are they to be completed by the prime bidder and the prime’s major (> 25% of work per section L.11.5.1) subcontractors/teammates, or by every named subcontractor and teammate in the prime’s proposal, regardless of anticipated % of work participation? | all subcontractors, teaming partners, etc. must be identified and must submit a completed ARQ and KMPL. | ||
| 3. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, section L.11.1: the Government states that no proposal files are to be passworded, but in section L.11.9 there is a reference for submitting passwords for security documents. Will the Government permit security documents to be passworded, or shall security documents be submitted unpassworded? | Yes, amendment 4 allows the subcontractors to submit their passwords directly to the contracting officer. | ||
| 4. General question: through Amendment 2, the Government has not issued Attachment J-6. Will the Government be issuing Attachment J-6 in the near future, or should prospective bidders assume that J-6 will not be issued? | Draft Task Order 1 will not be released at this time. | ||
| 5. Reference RFP_FINAL_July_6,_2016.PDF, section L.11.5.1: for major subcontractors/teaming partners performing > 25% of effort, we request clarification that the major subcontractor/teaming partner does not complete J-7 and J-8, but rather only information for the 3 references of the major subcontractor/teaming partner are placed with Volume 1, Section 3 of the prime’s proposal. | Offerors' past performance will be rated IAW the requirements of the RFP. L.11.5.1 Past Performance. | ||
| On page 77-78 of the RFP, it seems that the numbering sequence is out of order. Will the Government Please clarify the numbering and requirements related to section M.2 found on pages 77 and 78 of the solicitation? | Amendment 4 corrects this. | ||
| With regard to teaming structures related to Technical Area 2, the solicitation calls for these companies to be Service Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses or Women-Owned Small Businesses. Are these set aside in full for SDVOSB and WOSB or is this specifically for the Prime contractor, thereby allowing non-SDVOSB or non-WOSB to be part of the team as a subcontractor? | this is specific to the PRIME contractor. However, the requirements of 13 CFR 125.6 apply | ||
| 1 | General | Can the Government provide the list of incumbents on the existing contract(s) for each technical area? | T1- InfoReliance T2- Microsoft, TruTandem, Convergence Technologies, Accenture; T3- IntegrityOne Partners |
| 2 | H.2/Pg 25 | What type of task order (TO) contracts does the FBI anticipate issuing under this IDIQ? FFP? T&M? CPFF? | Please see para G.1 contract type |
| 3 | J / Pg 57 | Can the Government provide the J-6 and J-9 attachments? | J-6 will not be provided at this time. Attachment J-9 starts on page 81 of the RFP. |
| 4 | K / Pg 58 | The Government has provided Representations and Certifications in Section K; however, there is no mention in Section L of including a completed Section K in the proposal response. |
a. Does the Government require a completed Section K in the proposal response? If so, in which Volume?
| b. Does the Government require a completed Section K for each subcontractor? | See amendment 4, reps and certs will be viewed electronically by the Government. Please ensure your DUNS and CAGE code are accurately reflected on your Cover Sheet. | |||||
| 5 | L.1.f / Pg 65 | The Government is requesting any and all assumptions, deviations and exceptions (ADEs) to be included in all volumes. Since this is an electronic submission, will the Government accept one separate MS Office file of ADEs applicable to the entire proposal. | Please include relevant ADEs with each volume. | |||
| 6 | L.8 / Pg 67 | In Section L.8, the Government states it contemplates a single award for TA 3. However, in Section H, the Government describes that TOs will be on awarded on a competitive basis. Additionally, with the requirements for annual Small Business certification and potential off-ramp for Small Business awardees, would the Government consider making more than one award for TA 3 in order that the Government may have adequate competition for future TOs throughout the life of the contract? | On ramps/off ramps were removed in amendment 3 | |||
| 7 | L.11.1/Pg 69 | Will the Government allow the inclusion of a title page and table of contents to be included for each volume outside of the page limits? | yes, table of contents must not exceed 1pg. | |||
| 8 | L.11.1.d/Pg 69 | The Government indicates that all files shall be submitted in formats that are readable in MS Office 2007. Will the Government consider receiving PDFs for files containing signatures, such as the cover letter and SF33? | yes. | |||
| 9 | L.11.1.e / Pg 69 | The Government states that no file shall be password protected. Given the requirement for email submission and the sensitivity of the PII data required for the KMPL, will the Government allow password protected files to be submitted for the KMPL included in Security Proposal? | yes | |||
| 10 | L.11.5.1 / Pg 71 | The RFP states “each offeror shall submit a Past Performance Questionnaire (J-7) and Past Performance Information (J-8) for up to three (3) contracts/task orders with the Federal Government and/or commercial customers that demonstrate recent and relevant past performance as a Prime.” In order to provide the most relevant past performance for the IDIQ’s Technical Area 2 and Technical 3, would the Government consider subcontract past performance where the small businesses have performed the majority or significant work on the subcontracts? | yes | |||
| 11 | L.11.1, L.11.5.1, Att J-8 / Pg 69 and 71 | There are inconsistencies between the table, instructions, and attachment J-8 in regards to the page limit allowed for Volume 1, Section 3, Past Performance. Please clarify the page limit for the completed attachment J-7 and J-8 to be included in this section of the proposal. | Amendment 4 corrects this. | |||
| 12 | L.11.5.1, Att J-8 / Pg 71 | There are inconsistencies between the instructions and attachment J-8 in regards to the number of references allowed or required for Volume 1, Section 3, Past Performance. Attachment J-8 states that there should be at least three (3) references. Section 11.5.1 states that up to three are allowed for references for proposed prime contractor and three are required for proposed subcontractors. Please clarify the quantity of references for proposed prime and for proposed subcontractors, to be included in this section using Attachment J-8. | amendment 4 corrects this. UP TO 3 references may be submitted for a subcontractor/teaming partner performing more than 25% of the proposed effort. | |||
| 13 | L.11.5.1 and L.11.5.2 / Pgs 71-72 | L.11.5.1 states “each offeror shall submit a Past Performance Questionnaire (J-7) and Past Performance Information (J-8) for up to three (3) contracts/task orders…” However, the instructions in Section L.11.5.2 are unclear if (1) the completed PPQ should be submit directly from references to the FBI via email; or (2) the completed PPQ should be included with the proposal as stated in L.11.5.1. Please clarify. | PPQ may be sent directly to the contracting officer @ their FBI email. | |||
| 14 | L.11.5.2/Pg 72 | Section L.11.5.2 references attachment J-4 which is the KMPL. Please confirm if the KMPL is to be included in Past Performance Volume or correct the reference to appropriate attachment. | L11.5.2 references J-7. Attachment J-4 must be submitted as part of the Security Volume 5 | |||
| 15 | L.11.6/Pg 72 | The Government indicates that offerors shall complete the Pricing Template (J-1, J-2, AND J-3). Can you please confirm that you only need to submit the Pricing Template that is relevant to the Technical Area that you are bidding on? | this is correct. | |||
| 16 | L.11.6/Pg 72/Attachments J-1 through J-3 | Upon review of the pricing spreadsheets, there is a place for offerors to discount their rates and the evaluation considers the discounts against these rates. However, the template does not provide a space for mapping to any other pre-established rates (for example, GSA IT 70 schedule)? Please revise the template accordingly to pmap to pre-established rates or clarify if the rates to be discounted as the Task Order level versus the IDIQ level. | The template allowed offerors to propose additional labor categories. | |||
| 18 | L.11.7/Pg 73 | We understand that the OCI Plan is required to govern both proposed prime and subcontractors in assure compliance to FAR 9.5. However, are responses to the bullets listed in Section L required for both the prime and subcontractors, or only prime bidders? If so, we request you increase the page limit from 10 pages to 20 pages. | amendment 4 increases the page limit to 20 pgs. | |||
| 19 | L.11.7/Pg 73 | The OCI Volume includes a requirement to “provide all documents that your employees are required to sign indicating, which employees are required and how often the requirement is.” In order to comply with the page limit, we respectfully request that the Government accept a list of the documentation rather than the documentation in its entirety. | yes. | |||
| 1. Will the government allow HubZone small businesses to submit a proposal for Technical Area 2? | Technical Area 2 is set-aside for both WOSB and SDVOSBs. Technical area 1 and 2 are both open to HubZones. | |||||
| 1. If an IDIQ holder in Technical Area 2 or 3 no longer meets the size standard requirement will they be allowed to bid on Technical Area 1 task orders when the task orders are released to all IDIQ holders? | It is at the discretion of the Contracting Officer to release RFQs for Task Orders to all awardee's. | |||||
| 1. In reference to B.1.2 of the RFP, if IDIQ holders in Track 2 or 3 lose their Small Business size status, thereby becoming ineligible to bid on future task orders will the government on-ramp new small businesses? This is especially relevant to Track 3. | Amendment 3 removed the provision for On-Ramp/Off-Ramp. | |||||
| 1. Will on-ramping occur via a new opportunity to submit bids against Track 2 or 3, and will it be opened up to all small businesses, or only those that submitted against the initial IDIQ offering? | Amendment 3 removed the provision for On-Ramp/Off-Ramp. | |||||
| J-4 Key Management Personnel Listing and RFP Final July7 Amendment 2 | 69 | L.11.1 | Section L.11.1 states “No file shall be password protected.” Form J-4 requests social security numbers and other PII for the prime contractor’s executive team, and that of our teaming partners. Will the government provide details on how we should securely submit this information on J-4, or require the information to be submitted upon award? | Amendment 4 allows for password protected documents. Passwords may be sent directly to the contracting officer. | ||
| RFP Final July7 Amendment 2 | 69 and 71 | L.11.1 and L.11.5 | Section L.11.1 states that the Past Performance volume is limited to 3 pages, and section L.11.5 states that subcontractor/teaming partner references should be no more than 3 pages per reference. Will the government please confirm if the page count for the Past Performance volume is 3 pages for the entire volume or 3 pages per reference. | Amendment 4 provides clarification. | ||
| RFP Final July7 Amendment 2 | 73 | L.11.7 | Section L.11.7 states “only companies with acceptable Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Mitigation Plans (for themselves and proposed subcontractors) will be eligible for award.” Please confirm that one OCI Plan with explicit subcontractor compliance for the entire team is acceptable. | yes, this is correct. | ||
| RFP Final July7 Amendment 2 | 73 | L.11.7 | Section L.11.7 states “Each of the | |||
| items listed below shall be specifically addressed corresponding to the unique numeric designation,” but no numeric designations are provided. Will the government please clarify. | amendment 4 corrects this. | |||||
| RFP Final July7 Amendment 2 | 80-81 | M.6 | Will prime contractors be allowed to add subcontractors/teaming partners post-award? | Primes will be allowed to add subcontractors/teaming partners on a limited basis. Primes are encouraged to add ALL subcontractors/teaming partners prior to proposal submission as post award additions require a lengthy security approval process. | ||
| Can the FBI provide a current state diagram to aid in the calculation of resources required to support backend administrative functions? | A current state diagram is not currently available. Presently, the FBI has over 30 Task Orders which will be recompeted on this new vehicle under either Technical Area 2 or 3. | |||||
| Can the FBI provide numbers and types (VM or physical) of systems currently implemented within each environment DEV/TEST etc., including production and COOP? | For Technical Area 3, “Web Support Services,” both virtual and physical servers are currently used to provide collaboration systems and FBI applications. Currently, the FBI’s enterprise SharePoint farm consists of approximately 140 virtual and physical servers, with a typical growth rate of 5-10% per year. Specific information regarding the numbers and types of systems to be supported will be provided in the Requests for Task Order Proposal. | |||||
| Can the FBI verify the presence or non-presence of deployed customizations to the existing environments, if any, then provide the number of and the existence of source code for these customizations? | Currently, the FBI has deployed customizations to the existing environments. Source code for relevant customizations will be provided during execution of resulting Task Orders. | |||||
| Does the Government intend to provide a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) or quality framework as a separate amendment to the Request for Proposal (RFP) so that offerors can align our Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) planning and approach to that QASP or framework? Please advise. | QASP may be required at the Task Order level. | |||||
| B.1 | 1 | Will a sample task order be provided? | J-6 Draft Task Order will not be provided. | |||
| C.1.2 | 4 | Will all personnel be required to have an SCI or will a TS suffice for some Task Orders? | Please see the chart on page 4 C.1.4 Overview of Awards | |||
| 2.3.5.5 | 16 | Will there be 2 sets of test plans, one created by the Contractor and one by the government? | At this time, the Government anticipates that for each engineering and testing effort in support of Technical Area 3, only one set of test plans will be created by the Contractor, in collaboration with the Government. All changes to the system are tested before implementation; test results are witnessed and approved as required by standard change management processes. | |||
| E.8 | 20 | Please provide an estimated number of data deliverables that may be required. | The number of data deliverables will be provided at the Task Order level. | |||
| K.1 | 58 | If a company is current in SAM do they need to submit Reps and Certs? | The Government will view Reps and Cert's electronically. Please ensure your DUNS and CAGE code are accurately reflected on your Cover Sheet. | |||
| L.11 | 69 | Please confirm that the Cover Page, Table of Contents, List of Tables/Figures, Acronyms List, and Cross-Reference Matrix in offerors’ proposals will stand outside the core page limitations of the Technical Proposal. | yes, this is correct. | |||
| L.11.3 | 70 | Will the government consider an additional 2 pages in the Executive summary to provide narrative statements and delineation of tasks for subcontractors? | Yes, L.11.1 has been updated to reflect this change. | |||
| L.11.5.1 | 71 | Please confirm subcontractor references are not included in page counts. | page limitations for subcontractor references are identified in L.11.5.1 | |||
| The solicitation documents provided labor categories for technical area 2 and 3 but not technical area 1. Please provide a labor category sheet for technical area 1. | Labor Category and the Labor pricing template was provided in a previous amendment. | |||||
| Will the DOJ retain ownership of software and licenses? | DOJ/FBI will retain ownership of software and licenses. | |||||
| Will the DOJ retain ownership of devices (laptops,tablets, desktops)? | these will be provided as GFE and ownership will remain with the respective agency sponsoring the Task Order. | |||||
| Will contracting office ordering ability be centralized or de-centralized across all of the DOJ Divisions and Agencies? Also, if de-centralized ordering will be achieved, will individual DOJ Divisions and Agency procurement offices be able to determine which Technical Areas their specific Task Order (TO) requirements will be competed in? | Awarding task orders will be decentralized. The Master IDIQ Contracting Officer will provide input/recommendations as necessary. | |||||
| In order to better follow the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy and Cloud First Policy, and since Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure are required technology capability areas in Technical Area One, we request that “Software as a Service/Platform as a Service/Cloud” technology capability requirements be added to this Modernization and future upgrades section in Technical Area 3 – Web Support Services. | Amendment 4 now includes "Software as a Service/Platform as a Service/Cloud" technology Capability as part of Technical Area 3 Statement of Work | |||||
| The Period of Performance chart lists the Base Period ending on 9/10/2017, which is also the start date for the next period, listed as Base Period +1. Can the Government clarify if this is correct, or should the Base Period end 9/9/2017? | "Base Period+1" references Option Period 1. Amendment 4 corrects the date for the Base period. | |||||
| Will the Government allow a 3-page limit to the Executive Summary in order for Offerors to adequately highlight the significant factors and provide teaming narrative statements with delineation of tasks? | yes, see amendment 4 | |||||
| The instructions for what should be included in the “Technical Capabilities and Management Plan” are unclear because item A in Section L does not provide detailed/specific requirements for the topics to be covered and it does not clearly map to Section M.2.1. Section M.2.1 only provides four (4) requirements, two (2) of which are covered in the Transition Plan and Recruiting and Retention Plan. The bulleted list in Section L.11.4 appears to first address Transition Plan (outside of page count), Recruiting and Retention Plan), and then a series of requirements. Some of those bulleted requirements appear they could apply to Recruiting and Retention Plan. Because the Government will receive numerous bids across the 3 Technical Areas, can the requirements for this section be refined with more clarity and detail to ensure compliant and consistent bids across Offerors submitting proposals? | When Sections L.11.4- in its entirety is combined with M.2.1, the Offeror is provided topics to cover. Please see the following: The Offeror must define their technical and management approach that satisfies the requirements |
of the Technical Area the Offeror is submitting a proposal for. Please include a (1) recruiting and retention plan; and (2) a description of your current personnel resources for this effort, which addresses their capabilities and experience relating to the specific Technical Area’s Statement of Work. At a minimum, this section of the proposal must include:
A Transition Plan (2 pg limit-does not count towards overall pg count) Recruiting and Retention Plan (2 pg limit-does not count towards overall pg count) Identify specific capabilities and/or certifications for supporting Microsoft products Description of resource planning processes and procedures to support the changing needs of the environment Description and definition of management methods and processes for all types of support activities Description of resource training, skills development and certification approach Description of management and status reporting approaches M.2.1 Technical Capabilities & Management Plan
1. Evidence of specific methods and techniques for supporting MS products and completing task orders, to include such items as quality assurance, and customerservice.
2. Ability to address anticipated potential problem areas, and creativity and feasibility of solutions to problems and future integration of new software and technology enhancements.
3. Degree to which the offeror’s proposal demonstrates an understanding of logistics/transition plan, schedule, and any other miscellaneous issues in which the Government should be aware.
4. Quality and effectiveness of the allocation of personnel and resources to include a plan to fill positions in a timely manner, recruit personnel with the required clearances and skills, and retain existing personnel, and provide qualified, specialized and temporary reach-back support.
| Will the Sample Task Order be included in the 20-page limit of the Technical Capabilities and Management Plan described above? Currently, there are no specific instructions in regards to the requirements for responding to the Sample Task Order even though we understand the actual Sample Task Order is coming in a forthcoming amendment. | J-6 draft task order will not be provided. | |||
| Reference, “In the event a subcontractor(s)/teaming partner is proposed, three (3) references no more than 3 pages per reference must be provided for any subcontractor(s)/teaming partner performing more than 25% of the proposed effort in addition to the prime past performance information.” This instruction will likely cause various interpretations across bidders as to how “25% of the proposed effort” is defined, whether by total contract ceiling value, approximate total contract value to each bidder (which is unclear), or by any Task Order awarded. We recommend the Government revise the Past Performance requirement by requesting up to three (3) contracts/Task Orders for the prime and up to six (6) total contracts/task orders for the team (which is inclusive of the prime contractor’s Past Performance, but also includes subcontractor past performance). | The Government has taken your recommendation under consideration; however, the RFP remains unchanged at this time. | |||
| For Security, is it correct to assume the J-4 Key Management Personnel List and J-5 Acquisition Risk Questionnaire forms are outside of the 25 page limit for the Security Plan? | yes | |||
| Are teaming partners expected to provide evidence of active TS-facility clearance as part of the proposal submission? | yes. | |||
| B.1 | 1 | Procurement Objectives | The Government states that offerrors are allowed to submit only one-proposal, while section M.1 'Basis for Award' states that an Offeror can submit more than one proposal. Will the Government Clarify? | offerors may submit a proposal for more than one Technical area; however, each technical area will require a separate proposal. |
| L.1.5.1.1 | 71 | Past Performance (Volume 1, Section 3) | This subsection states "In the event a subcontractor(s)/teaming partner is proposed, three (3) references no more than 3 pages per reference must be provided for any subcontracto (s)/teaming partner performing more than 25% of the proposed effort in addition to the prime past performance information". |
1. Are the three (3) references to be provided by a subcontractor / teaming partner in addition to the 3 references to be submitted by the Prime contractor?
| 2. Would the Government consider modifying the percentage to read more than 20% of the proposed effort? This would allow a SB to propose two (2) significant subcontractors / teaming partners without potentially violating FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Nov 2011). | 1. Yes; 2. | |||||
| L.11.1 and L.11.5.2 | 69, 72 | Past Performance (Volume 1, Section 3) | The proposal format table in section L.11.1 references "Section 3: Past Performance Questionnaire & Past Performance" and is limited to 3 pages. Section L.11.5.2 requires the offeror to forward the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment J-7) directly to each of the individuals listed in the attachment. Please confirm, Volume 1, section 3 should only contain Attachment J-8 for up to 3 contracts and is limited to 3 pages. | yes, this is correct | ||
| L.11.1 and L.11.5.2 | 69, 72 | Past Performance (Volume 1, Section 3) | This section states " In the event a subcontractor(s)/teaming partner is proposed, three (3) references no more than 3 pages per reference must be provided for any subcontractor (s)/teaming partner performing" Should the references be in Attachment J-7 and J-8 format? | yes | ||
| L.1.5.1.1 | 72 | Past Performance (Volume 1, Section 3) | Please confirm the requirement for Attachment J-4) within the Past Performance section. | See amendment 4 correcting this | ||
| L.11.1.e | 69 | Proposal Format | Please clarify the requirement within bullet e; "No file shall be password protected." Attachment J-4 contains PII and should be password protected to ensure security of personnel information. | See amendment 4 removing this requirement | ||
| L.11.1 / L.11.4 | 69, 71 | Proposal Format | Please clarify, does Volume 1 Section 2 reference the Technical Approach or Technical Proposal? | Volume 1 is the Technical Proposal and the Technical Approach is Section 2 of this volume. | ||
| L.11.1.e | 69 | Proposal Format | Please clarify the naming convention for Volume 1. Should offerors reference the Technical Area being proposed in the volume title - or just reference "Volume 1"? | "Volume I Technical Proposal 'Offeror Name'" | ||
| C.1.2 | 4 | Overview of Awards | In the table contained in this section, Technical Area 3 indicates "Primary support of FBI". | |||
| Please provide guidance on what percentage of the work is anticipated to be performed at FBI HQ? What percentage at the CJIS Division in Clarksburg, WV? What percentage is at other locations? | The breakdown of work between locations is unknown at this time. The majority of the work will be on-site within the DC Metro area. | |||||
| F.3 | 22 | Place of Performance | The RFP states "The primary place of performance will be at FBI and DOJ facilities within the Washington DC Metropolitan area; however, services may be required nationwide." |
1. Would the Government provide guidance on what percentage of the work in Technical Area 3 is to be performed at HQ? At the CJIS Division in Clarksburg, WV? Other DOJ/FBI locations?
| 2. Is all work to be performed on-site at DOJ / FBI facilities? | 1. the majority of the work under this IDIQ will be performed on-site in the DC Metro Area. However, there may be limited instances where a Task Order requires work outside of the DC Metro Area. 2. Yes, the majority of the work will be completed on-site at either DOJ or FBI facilities. | ||||
| L.11.9 | 74 | SECURITY | We understand that J-4 Key Management Personal List and J-5 Acquisition Risk |
Questionnaire must be completed for the Prime Contractor and each proposed subcontractor / teaminig partner.
1. Does the Government require a Prime Contractor's subcontractors and teaminig partners submit a separate Volume 5, Security Plan, or are they to operate under the Prime's Security Plan?
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