Industry_Questions.pdf

Solicitation DJJI-13-RFP-0817, ALS Quality Assurance Support

No.

RFQ

Section Vendor Question DOJ Response

1 C.1.2 The solicitation identifies several non-ALS programs for which the

Civil Division utilized the QA contract in the past. How many such programs are anticipated for this contract? Fewer than 5? More than 5 but fewer than 10?

Although this number is unpredictable, the government anticipates more than 5 but fewer than 10.

2 C.3 W ill sufficient notice be provided for travel outside the United

States to enable contractor employees to obtain passports should they not currently have one?

We expect the contractor to provide a qualified individual who already has a valid passport. However, the likelihood of

Contractor personnel being required to travel abroad in support of this contract is very slim.

3 C.4.2.3 Given that the work is onsite at the DOJ facility, is the

Government paying for parking at that facility for contractor employees.

No.

4 C.4.2.4 The solicitation identifies a wide variety of reports that must be created and delivered at varying frequencies and states that the cost associated with creating and delivering these reports is not separately billable. The magnitude of this requirement is undefined and extremely open-ended. Can the government provide some better defined guidance concerning this commitment? For example, in the past has this required more than a single dedicated overhead position?

The government anticipates that the reporting requirements can be met using less than a single full-time overhead position.

5 C.4.2.7 Must each Contractor employee have already cleared the Contractor Personnel Security Process at the time of

Contract Award, at the time of Task Order Award, or only prior to the person’s actual commencement of work on a project?

Prior to the person’s actual commencement of work on the contract.

6 C.5.2 The solicitation identifies 11 ALS functional product areas that require QA. Can the selected offeror use its own proprietary software systems to perform this work? W ill the incumbent leave behind systems that can and/or must be used?

The selected offeror can use whatever software systems it chooses to perform its QA tasks if those systems satisfy government requirements. The selected offeror is not required to use any systems that the incumbent may leave behind.

7 C.5.2.11 W ill the process reviews identified in the solicitation be performed in the Greater W ashington DC area?

The government anticipates that these reviews will occur substantially, but not exclusively, in the Greater Washington

DC area.

Vendor Questions and DOJ Responses, June 17, 2013

RFQ

Section Vendor Question DOJ Response

8 E.1 “(b) The Government shall have thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of each invoice to inspect and accept items delivered/work performed under the task order. Rejected work and/or comments on all deliverables will be provided to the Contractor by the COR.”

G.3.4 Interest on Overdue Payments, Pg 39

“(b)….For the purpose of determining the due date for payment and for no other purpose, acceptance will be deemed to occur on the last day of the above stated inspection period.”

Question: These two statements would suggest that there is a 60 day delay from the date the invoice is submitted and the date of payment; i.e., the end of the inspection period of 30 days marks the acceptance that marks the date for determination of prompt payment within 30 days of invoice receipt. Interest would be paid once the invoice has been outstanding for more than 60 days. Is this a correct interpretation of these statements?

Question: If an invoice is submitted and rejected for some reason not having to do with the acceptance of the deliverable, how does this impact the payment process?

Per FAR Part 52.232-25, “Prompt Payment”, the due date for making invoice payments by the designated payment office is the later of the following two events:

(A) The 30th day after the designated billing office receives a proper invoice from the Contractor.

(B) The 30th day after Government acceptance of supplies delivered or services performed.

Payment is not due until the 30 day after receipt of a properth invoice from the Contractor.

9 F.4 If a Contractor were to have PTO but have fewer holidays, is it sufficient to require employees to work at Contractor Facilities on holidays that are observed by the Government but not observed by the Contractor? It may be difficult for the Contractor to try and administer alternative holiday schedules for different employees.

No. Contractor personnel must adhere to the federal holiday schedule.

10 G.3.1 W ill DOJ provide a sample invoice to be used as a template by new contractors?

No. The format of the invoice is left to the contractor’s discretion as long as it meets the requirements of

Section G.3.1.

11 H.1 Question: W ould you please provide an example and explain how a firm-fixed price task order would operate under this contract? Is the price negotiated with the Contractor?

If the Government was ordering equipment, it might procure said equipment via a firm-fixed-price order. If so, the price of said equipment would be negotiated with the contractor.

However, the likelihood of issuing firm-fixed-price task order against this contract is extremely low.

12 H.5 For budgeting purposes, can you give an estimate of the cost and time to put a new employee through the security process?

No. Offerors will need to make their own assessments based on the security clearance requirements of

Section H.5, particularly Section H.5.1.2.2.

RFQ

Section Vendor Question DOJ Response

13 H.5.1.2.4 For a new Contractor, are these activities expected to take place prior to the overall contract award in April 2013, or during the transition period.

During the transition period.

14 H.5.1.2.4 “(5) As directed by the COR …”

“(6) As directed by the COR …”

Question: Given the monetary liability for failure to comply with pre-screening and investigation procedures (please see

H.5.1.2.6(c) ), will this direction by the COR be provided in writing so that the

Contractor will have constructive notice?

With respect to (5), direction will be provided by the COR via email.

With respect to (6), the Contractor should review all forms prior to submitting them to DOJ without waiting for COR direction.

15 H.5.1.2.6 “(a)…The Contractor shall make every effort to preclude incurrence of costs by the Government for security investigations for replacement of employees, and in so doing, shall assure that otherwise satisfactory and physically able employees assigned hereunder remain in contract performance for at least one (1) year.”

Question: W ould you please explain what is considered “every effort” and provide examples of anticipated actions on the part of the Contractor? For example, assume an SCA employee receives a job offer above the SCA rates. Given that the contract is bid based on SCA rates, what response would you anticipate on the part of the Contractor?

No, it is the Contractor’s responsibility to determine how to best retain its personnel.

16 H.11 Is all technology provided to the Contractor that is legally the property of the Government or to which the Government has

“unlimited rights” (see H.9) considered to be supplied by the

Government to the Contractor? If not, would you please describe the information technology that the Government anticipates supplying to the Contractor?

Yes.

17 K.1 “(a)(2) The small business size standard is $10.0 million.”

Question: Is the size standard a requirement that must be satisfied ONLY at the initial contract award or is it a requirement that must be satisfied in each year of the contract, including option periods?

Representation as a small business under the NAICS code need only to be made prior to award.

RFQ

Section Vendor Question DOJ Response

18 Attachment (1) CLIN Item Description Annual Qty/Amt

1400 Information Technology Items

1401 Information Technology Equipment $1,000

1402 Information Technology Software $800

1403 Information Technology Supplies $100

Question: W ould you please explain what these items represent?

A server to support eDiscovery can cost $20,000, a forensic disk duplicator can cost $8,000, and eDiscovery software that provides the capability of handling the eDiscovery requirements under this contract can cost more than $100,000 for annual license fees and may not include license seats. If this is the annual IT budget for this contract, does this mean that the Government is providing eDiscovery software, such as IPro, and all related IT equipment?

Question: Are all required components for a technology solution for the DOJ covered as expenses to the DOJ? For example, if MS

SQL Server is utilized in a solution or some other licensed component or necessity like hardware, does the DOJ expect to be billed for these components or does the DOJ expect that all costs would be included in the bid?

These items may include purchases such as:

- Yearly software maintenance agreement on a QA software already in use.

- Upgrades to the existing QA software that is offered by software vendor.

- Storage media such as DVDs, Hard Drives, etc.

The Contractor must propose a hardware / software solution that it will bring to the contract, at no cost to the government, to satisfy the government’s requirements at the time of award. Over time, if the government requires the

Contractor to implement a new hardware / software solution due to changes in our environment, then that new solution may be paid for by the government. If so, the government would then acquire ownership of and unlimited rights in said solution.

19 Attachment

(10)

Senior Quality Assurance Reviewers (b) Qualifications. Two years of work experience, including one year experience in QA/QC or automated litigation support, preferably in the areas of electronic discovery, imaging, coding, database review for accuracy and completeness, full-text database reviews, and case management.

Question: Are the qualifications provided the benchmark against which the personnel costs will be assessed? If personnel have superior qualifications, does the Government anticipate that the

Contractor will only pay the Contractor’s employees based on the qualifications provided in Attachment 10?

The qualifications provided in attachment 10 are the minimum qualifications for each candidate. More qualifications are always a plus for the contractor but will not impact the CLIN price for those individuals.