Attachment 8.pdf

DTFH61-12-R-00031

Attachment 8

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

Q1. As a part of the evaluation factors there is an oral presentation included after proposal submission. Is that a correct statement? If so, do you want our presentation submitted as part of the proposal?

A1. Oral presentations are not required for the procurement. Section M.1 of the RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.

Q2. Under, M.1, D. SDB Participation, the solicitation indicates that we will be evaluated on D. SDB Participation; however in L. Proposal Instructions, there is no mention of a SDB Participation Plan. If we will be scored on this, where in the proposal should SDB Participation be located?

A2. Section L.4, Volume II, Part IV of the RFP states, “The subcontracting plan will be used to evaluate SDB participation in accordance with evaluation criteria in Section M. In the event the offeror has no such plan, the form shall nonetheless be submitted with “no plan identified” indicated on the form as applicable. Also note, Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Volume II, Part IV of the RFP have been amended to reflect this correction.

Q3. In the cost and business proposal instructions, we are to create Master Subcontracting Plan. That plan is supposed to be in accordance with the format in Attachment 6. We have clicked on all of the links from that attachment and none of them go to a form or format. Can this be provided or is there another link?

A3. Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Volume II, Part IV of the RFP have been amended to reflect this correction.

Q4. Several large firms who will be subs to us on this solicitation are not willing to provide their detailed pricing information to us. Is it acceptable to provide such information in a sealed envelope?

The instruction for Part II of the Cost Volume on page 65 of 77 require that the prime contractor provide pricing information for its subcontractors in the same level of detail as is required for the prime offeror’s pricing. If a subcontractor doesn’t want to provide its detailed pricing information to the prime contractor due to confidentiality concerns, can the subcontractor provide this information to the prime contractor in a sealed envelope that the prime contractor will forward unopened along with its proposal?

A4. Yes, the subcontractor’s detailed pricing information may be provided to the Government by prime contractor in a sealed envelope, which the prime contractor will forward unopened along with their proposal.

Q5. One of our teaming partners / proposed subcontractors is a small business. They intend to propose both through us and on their own as a prime. Is that acceptable?

A5. There is no prohibition against an offerors proposing as both a prime contractor and a subcontractor; however, please note all offerors are to propose on all task areas.

Q6. We are a large business. Can we propose only on a part of the scope? For example, just on Task Areas A, B, and F?

A6. No, offerors cannot propose on part of the scope. All offerors are to propose on all task areas

Q7. What are “Key staff” positions? Are all the listed positions considered key?

A7. Section G.12, (a) states Key Personnel are personnel “considered essential to the work being performed under this contract.” Additionally, Section L.4, Volume I, Part II states “The offeror shall identify key personnel whom they intend to utilize on Task Orders issued.”

Q8. No PI/PM position shown in cost table or listed/referenced elsewhere in RFP.

Are we to identify our PM and provide a resume?

Are we to provide a rate for PM position?

What are qualification requirements for PM?

A8. Section H.4 requests the name of the Contractor’s Project Manager (PM). As such, a resume should be provided. It is necessary to provide a rate for the PM position;

however, there are no specific qualification requirements for the PM. Also, note the revisions to Section L.6.

Q9. Evaluation of Technical/management quals: Is the offeror evaluated on criteria a thru d

(page 75) for all of the technical areas or can offeror address only specific task areas?

A9. All offerors are to propose on all task areas. As such, all offerors will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria state in Section M.

Q10. We understand that Section H. 10, PROTECTION OF INFORMATION AND

LIMITATION OF FUTURE CONTRACTING, applies to both the prime and to subcontractors. In the event that a subcontractor does not provide services on a particular task order that would otherwise create a conflict of interest, will that subcontractor be precluded from participation in an ensuring Government contract?

A10. Based on this scenario, the subcontractor would not be precluded from participation in other Government contract opportunities.

Q11 Based on operating distinctions between for profit companies and universities; there are FAR provisions that are applicable to each type of entity. The current RFP expressly references those FAR provisions that are applicable to for profit institutions. Is it correct to assume that the FAR provisions that are applicable to universities are incorporated by reference into this RFP or must the offeror specifically request them as alternate terms and conditions?

A11. The offeror should specifically request the appropriate alternate FAR provisions.

Q12. FAR 52.242-4 is incorporated by reference. Please advise as to whether certifications with respect to indirect costs consistent with this FAR are required as part of the proposal submittal.

A12. The certifications are not required at the time of the proposal submittal.

Q13. Is the Offeror required to submit completed SF LLL forms for each of its proposed subcontractors?

A13. The SF LLL form is only required for the Prime Contractor.

Q14. Is Section K, Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors or Quoters, required to be submitted as part of the proposal for all sub consultants and/or consultants?

A14. Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors or Quoters are only required for the Prime Contractor.

Q15. Page 62 of the Solicitation, requires the Offeror, other than for its own staff, to provide a letter(s) of commitment and agreement to serve as planned in Volume I of the proposal.

Since offerors are required to provide letters of commitment in Volume II, will the Government consider eliminating the requirement for such letters in Volume I?

Alternatively, if such statements are required in Volume I, may an Offeror provide one letter on behalf of itself and its sub consultants which states that all members of the team are committed and agree to serve as planned on the project?

A15. Letters of Commitment shall be submitted as stated in Volume I and Letters or Statement of Participation for your proposed consultants or subcontractors shall be submitted as stated in Volume II. Letters of Commitment should be provided for individual consultants; however, for subcontractor firms with multiple employees who will be committed as part of this project, a cover letter indicating all of the individuals may be provided.

Q16. Page 66 of the Solicitation, Part IV, indicates that Offerors should submit a subcontracting plan in accordance with the instructions/format in Attachment No. 6.

However, Attachment No. 6 does not appear to provide such instructions or format information. Please clarify.

A16. Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Q17. Section L.5 of the RFP provides the Government’s estimates for travel, other direct costs, and equipment/material, however, Section L.4, Volume II, Part I.d. ii requests other direct costs and travel be itemized. Are the instructions for these cost to be itemized mean that the Government’s estimates for travel, other direct costs, and equipment/ material should to be shown separately in the cost proposal, or does it mean something else? Please clarify.

A17. The reference to itemizing other direct costs and travel costs has been removed from Section L.4, Volume I, Part I of the RFP. Offerors are directed to propose in accordance with the estimates provided in Section L.5

Q18. There are some inconsistencies in the general labor categories listed in L.4, Volume I, Part II (page 62) of the RFP and the Labor Categories listed in the tables in Section L.5.

Should the Offeror use the Labor Categories in L.5 for both the technical and cost proposals?

A18. The offeror should use the Labor Categories provided in L.6 for both the technical and cost proposals. Note, the labor categories listed in Section L.4 have been amended in RFP to be consistent those listed in Section L.6.

Q19. Can staff other than the key staff identified in the technical proposal be included in the Form 1593 Contract Pricing Summary?

A19. Yes, other staff may be listed on the Form 1593.

Q20. Section L.5 of the RFP provides the Government’s estimate for hours and non-labor direct costs, but Section L.4, Volume II did not include instructions to propose a budget by task area. Please confirm the offeror should propose a budget for each separate year of the project and five year summary, by task area.

A20. Yes, the offeror should propose a budget for each separate year of the project and five year summary, by task area. Section L.4, Volume II, Part 1, (d) of the RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.

Q21 Section L.4, Volume II, Part I.d.i. instructs offerors to provide “Loaded labor by labor category and by named individual, to include hours, un-loaded hourly pay rates, and pay escalations.” Is the offeror being asked to show loaded hourly rates and un-loaded hourly rates for all proposed prime and subcontractor staff, or should the offeror show loaded rates in Form 1593 to the extent a prime or subcontractor utilizes loaded rates, and show unloaded labor rates to the extent the prime or subcontractor can segregate its costs into its direct labor and overhead components? Please clarify.

A21 The prime Contractor and all subcontractors are directed to show all load and unloaded hourly rates; however, if the subcontractor cannot segregate labor rates by cost element, they can propose loaded labor rates only and provide the Government with an explanation as to why.

Q22. Should the Offeror include the Section G.12 – Key Personnel listing in its proposal?

A22. Yes, the Offer should include the Key Personnel listing in its proposal.

Q23. Regarding Section L, may proposers provide the electronic copies of the proposal volumes on CDs, instead of via e-mail?

A23. Offerors may include a CD with their hard copy proposal; however, an electronic version must also be submitted via email.

Q24. RFP Section L.4-Proposal Content and Structure, states that “The combined total page count for Volume I shall not exceed 100 pages.” Will covers (both front and back) and dividers (both tab and non-tab) be counted toward the 100 page maximum?

A24. No, covers and dividers will not be counted toward the 100 page maximum.

Q25. It appears that a page may be missing from Attachment 3-Past Performance Questionnaire, which would identify the offeror, contract information, and contact information. Since this is time sensitive, please advise if proposers should add this identifying information to the beginning of the first page of the attachment, or if a cover sheet should be added. If a cover sheet is to be added, will the Government change the page count requirement on page 62 of the RFP under Part III - Past Performance to three pages per submitted questionnaire?

A25. A Contact Information sheet has been added to Attachment 3 – Past Performance Questionnaire.

A26. Section L, Volume II – Business and Cost/Price Proposal, Part II – Subcontracts/ Consultants, indicates that a subcontractor’s pricing elements be presented in the same level of analytic detail as is required for the prime offeror’s internal pricing. Please confirm that any proprietary subcontractor pricing information may be submitted in a sealed envelope as an attachment to the offeror’s proposal submission package

A26. Yes, the subcontractor’s detailed pricing information may be provided to the Government by prime contractor in a sealed envelope, which the prime contractor will forward unopened along with their proposal.

Q27. The link in Attachment 6 for the GSA forms library is incorrect. The GSA has reorganized its website. Could you please provide the appropriate link?

A27. The link provided in Attachment 6 for the GSA forms has been corrected and uploaded accordingly.

Q28. Page 66, Part IV, the Master Subcontracting Plan – the text refers to preparing the plan in accordance with the instructions/format in Attachment 6. However, Attachment 6 or the links do not discuss a subcontracting plan. What is the appropriate reference or additional guidance for the subcontracting plan?

A28. Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Q29. Will additional clarification be provided concerning the requirements to qualify for specific LCATs?

A29. No further information is being provided at this time.

Q30. Will additional levels be provided for LCATs representing junior, mid-level or senior levels (e.g., senior economist, mid-level economist, junior economist)?

A30. Offerors are directed to follow the charts provided in Section L.6 of the RFP.

Q31. Will there be an oral presentation required in addition to the written proposal?

A31. Oral presentations are not required for the procurement. Section M.1 of the RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.

Q32. Will key personnel be identified (e.g., Program management, principal investigators

(PIs), etc.)?

A32. See Section L.4, Volume I, Part II which states “The offeror shall identify key personnel whom they intend to utilize on Task Orders issued.”

Q33. There is not LCAT for program manager, will an LCAT be added or would we use one of the existing LCAT?

A33. One of the existing Labor Categories should be used for the program manager. See

Section L.6 to reflect this change.

Q34. What is the font size for figures and tables?

A34. See Section L.4, Proposal Content and Structure for font instructions.

Q35. Can more labor categories be added that provide necessary expertise beyond those represented by the FHWA’s present LCATS?

A35. The contractor may propose other labor categories they deem necessary to complete the work required under this contract; however, the estimated hours shall remain in accordance with those listed in Section L.6.

Q36. There does not appear to be any other reference to an oral presentation. Can DOT clarify its intentions regarding an oral presentation?

A36. Oral presentations are not required for the procurement. Section M.1 of the RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.

Q37. The requirement indicates that the 100-page limit “includes all resumes, letters, figures, tables, title pages, appendices, and other ancillary materials.” Page 62 requires that “For all personnel who are not currently members of the offeror’s staff, an original letter of commitment and agreement to serve as planned must be submitted with your proposal.”

a. Can FHWA clarify if these letters of commitment count within the 100-page limit?

b. Is a separate letter of commitment needed for each proposed staff person or is a letter of commitment only required for each organization proposed acceptable?

A37. The Letters of Commitment will not count toward the overall page limitation. Note, Letters of Commitment should be provided for individual consultants; however, for subcontractor firms with multiple employees who will be committed as part of this project, a cover letter indicating all of the individuals may be provided.

Q38. Would FHWA consider extending the deadline for submission of the IDIQ for an additional two weeks, to be due on August 31?

A38. The deadline for proposal submission will not be extended at this time.

Q39. For estimating purposes, can you please provide an estimated start date?

A39. The estimated start for this project is late October / early November 2012.

Q40. Page 66, Part IV – Master Subcontracting Plan. The first sentence states that the offeror should submit a subcontracting plan in accordance with the instructions/format of Attachment 6. In review of the attachments, attachment 6 discusses invoicing formats and instructions. Can you please provide an updated Attachment 6 which provides the subcontracting plan instructions/format?

A40. Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Q41. Page 74, clause 52.215-20 pertains to Requirements for Certified Cost or Pricing Data and states that “Submission of certified cost or pricing date is now required”. However, the first full sentence on Page 65 states that the information required is not considered cost or pricing data and will not require certification. We assume that there will be adequate competition for this procurement and thus exempt from submission/certification of Certified Cost or Pricing Data. Please clarify the government’s intent pertaining to cost or pricing certification?

A41 Certified Cost or Pricing Data is not required for this Procurement. Section L.11 of the

RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.

Q42. Please provide a start date for cost estimating purposes.

A42. The estimated start for this project is late October / early November 2012.

Q43. Part IV – Master Subcontracting Plan on page 66 of 77 says “The offeror shall submit a subcontracting plan in accordance with the instructions/format in Attachment No. 6 to this RFP.” However, Attachment No. 6 provides only links to instructions for completing SFs 1034 and 1035. Are there any additional links to the instructions/format for the subcontracting plan?

A43. Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added. Section J.1 and Section L.4, Q44. It has been our experience that goals for SDB participation are usually expressed in terms of percentage of subcontracted value. Please confirm that the Government wants it expressed in this proposal as the percentage of total contract value, as indicated in the evaluation criterion on page 76 of 77.

A44. See Section L.4, Volume II, Part IV Master Subcontracting Plan with regard to SDB

Participation. Also note, Attachment 7, the Subcontracting Plan form has been added.

Section J.1 and Section L.4, Volume II, Part IV of the RFP have been amended to reflect this correction.

Q45. The Labor Categories shown in RFP Section L.6 - Estimated Level of Effort for Task Area F - National and Regional Household Travel Survey, do not cover the range of skills that would be needed to conduct the NHTS and regional add-on surveys. Does the FHWA plan to revise/expand the list of identified labor categories to more fully match the requirements of the task?

A45. Depending on the size and scope of future National and Regional Household Travel

Surveys, the FHWA may conduct some of the required work under this contract and/or may issue separate standalone procurements. The FHWA does not plan to revise the labor categories; the labor categories identified are consistent with the types of work in this area that the FHWA envisions conducting under this contract.

Q46. Related to the previous question, will the FHWA permit the bidder to propose and price additional labor categories (e.g., Data collector, Clerical) or additional labor category levels (e.g., Junior/Mid/Senior Survey Design Specialist) beyond those specified by the

FHWA?

A46. The contractor may propose other labor categories they deem necessary to complete the work required under this contract; however, the estimated hours shall remain in accordance with those listed in Section L.6.

Q47. The estimated level of effort for the labor categories shown in Section L.6 for Task F are unrealistic for the conduct of a National and Regional Household Travel Survey. Does the FHWA intend to revise the estimated levels of effort for the labor categories in this task?

A47. Depending on the size and scope of future National and Regional Household Travel Surveys, the FHWA may conduct some of the required work under this contract and/or may issue separate standalone procurements. The FHWA does not plan to revise the labor categories; the labor categories identified are consistent with the types of work in this area that the FHWA envisions conducting under this contract.

Q48. In reviewing the labor categories provided in the RFP, there seems to be some discrepancy between page 62 and the hours tables starting on page 68. We assume that the labor categories shown in the hours tables are the appropriate categories to be used for the proposal. Can you please confirm?

A48. The offeror should use the Labor Categories provided in L.6 for both the technical and cost proposals. Note, the labor categories listed in Section L.4 have been amended in RFP to be consistent those listed in Section L.6.

Q49. We need confirmation from the CO that Certified Cost or Pricing data is not required.

A49. Certified Cost or Pricing Data is not required for this Procurement. Section L.11 of the

RFP has been amended to reflect this correction.