Question_and_Answer_for_the_RFP-_Final.pdf

Questions and Answers

DTFH61-13-R-00042

QUESTIONS RECEIVED ON TIME AND ANSWERS FOR THE

RFP- DTFH61-13-R-00042

Question 1:

Does the government intend to make single or multiple awards under this contract?

Answer:

The Government “intends” to make multiple awards under this contract, but reserves the right to make only one award if it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government.

We will amend page 68, Section L.2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED IN FULL TEXT of the RFP, and FAR Clause 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984) to reflect.

Question 2:

The government provides labor category and a total award amount of 7.5 M in the RFP. The government requests in attachment J1 fully loaded rates for a 5-year period by RFP labor categories.

Will the government provide labor hours by labor category by year, for pricing purposes?

Answer:

The information that the Government intends to provide to prospective Offerors for pricing purposes is already included in the RFP, except that we are increasing the “potential ceiling” amount identified in Section B.1 of the RFP from $7.5 million to $9.9 million.

Question 3:

What is the expectation of the field response, in terms of nationwide coverage? If there are simultaneous catastrophic events, what is the expectation for the level of coverage?

Answer:

Our expectation for response-time varies depending on type of the event; but it is expected the contractor must have the capability to rapidly deploy to multiple locations if necessary. Under this contract, the purpose of the response team is to conduct damage assessment and to gather scientific perishable information before evidence is lost, in order to determine the nature of the failures—so, improvements in design can be made, codes and standards strengthened, and state of the practice improved. The response team’s work does not involve response and recovery efforts.

Question 4:

What is the expected number of past performance references. Is there a maximum or minimum number of past performance references that FHWA would like to see.

Answer:

The Government has not established maximum or minimum numbers of references required for this RFP. We have created ample opportunities for prospective offerors to include within the 30 page limit of this volume, as many or as few references as is considered necessary to support the proposal.

Prospective Offerors are reminded to read the below citation for the information required by this volume:

RFP Section: L.3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION; Sub-Section: B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS; Sub-Subsection: 2.

VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE.

Additionally, prospective offerors are reminded in the below paragraph that the evaluation under this Volume is based on “the whole of all data received.”

e. All past performance comments received will be taken into account and could affect the overall rating. The overall past performance evaluation is a subjective decision based on the whole of all data received.

Question 5:

Is a unit labor rate sufficient or does FHWA need to see additional information on pricing of materials, software licenses, etc. that are in addition to the rate schedule.

Answer:

At this time, the fully loaded labor rate is sufficient.

However, as per RFP Section: L.3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION; Sub-Section: B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS;

Sub-Subsection: 3. VOLUME III – PRICE AND BUSINESS:

e. ………, in order to determine that offered prices are fair and reasonable, the Government reserves the right to request that the offeror provide cost breakdowns to support proposed prices. Information to support unit prices should include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Salary/wage information with associated payroll expenses, for personnel to be used in performance of the contract;

• Price for equipment, supplies, and consumable materials;

• A breakout of related support costs, such as equipment maintenance, rental, transportation, etc.;

• Overhead costs;

• General Administrative expenses; and

• Profit

The Government may subsequently request the information above from Offerors.

Question 6:

Is the non-field work assumed to be performed fully at the TFHRC?

Answer:

No.

Question 7:

Are SMEs expected to be present at the TFHRC while they perform any work for the contract?

Answer:

No.

Question 8:

Is the program manager expected to perform all of their duties or maintain a significant daily presence at the TFHRC?

Answer:

No.

Question 9:

Are the laboratory facilities at the TFHRC available to the contractors for use on the specific task orders?

Answer:

No. Although this work is related to our overall research program, it does not involve the direct use of the TFHRC laboratories.

Question 10:

Is the role of the contracts manager one that performs high level duties regarding government contracts or a more technical person (engineer) who manages the day to day activities of the related task orders?

Answer:

Yes. The role of the Contract Manager is one that performs high level duties regarding Government Contracts. The Contract Manager will NOT be a direct employee charged under Task Orders issued under the contract. This position is intended to be that of the Offeror’s Point of Contact with the Government for contractual matters, (like receiving and responding to Task Order Proposal Requests (TOPRs) and the person to whom the Government would direct high level contract related communications requiring the Contractor’s attention.

Question 11:

For the evaluation of the past performance, the RFP recommends showing performance through projects during last 36 months. For universities, significant portion of research is in the form of Ph.D.

thesis. Lot of Ph.D. work done prior to 36 months may be very significant in establishing the experience / expertise in case of university researchers, since Ph.D. work sometimes takes 4-5 years and current Ph.D. work may be extension of prior Ph.D. work older than 36 months. I will appreciate if a clarification on this is provided. Since a follow up of a Ph.D. work occurs after much longer than

36 months, it will be in the interest of quality of the proposal to allow using Ph.D. work longer than 36 months towards past performance.

Answer:

The sentiments expressed are appreciated and understood. However, the RFP does not recommend, but requires that prospective offerors show past performance references for actions within the last 36 months. If the referenced research is/was performed under a contract, the contractor’s performance under that contract may be relevant, and not the thesis itself.

As per the RFP:

“The offeror shall submit data for past performance within the past 36 months, and not beyond.” We do not see a need for any further clarifications of this requirement.

Question 12:

Publications, particularly peer reviewed, are universally regarded as proof of past experience/performance when evaluating research quality of a person or group. The solicitation doesn't clarify how publications can be used to show past performance. Can we include publications in the Volume I and II to document past performance, in addition to projects, within page limits? I will appreciate a clarification of this item very much.

Answer:

AS per the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 2.101 - Definitions:

“Past performance” means an offeror’s or contractor’s performance on active and physically completed contracts.”

If the Publication was a deliverable under a currently active or recently physically completed contract, the performance record of the contractor under that contract may be relative Past Performance, but not the deliverable itself.

As per the RFP, Past Performance is to be included in Volume II and is limited to 30 pages. Prospective Offerors are reminded to read the below section in the RFP for the information required by this volume:

RFP Section: L.3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION; Sub-Section: B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS; Sub-Subsection: 2.

VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE.

Question 13:

When explaning technical approach, citation of team member's publications is necessary. Can we include publications (as a Bibliography) in Volume I? Does it still go under 50 pages?

Answer:

If it is necessary to an Offeror to cite a potential team member’s publications in explaining its Technical approach to performing the work, prospective Offerors may include relevant publications as a bibliography or other, and within the page limits specified in the RFP.

Question 14:

Small business plan is required for all Offerors not qualifying as a "Small Business" entity. Is this also required for educational institutions as prime contractor? Most of the educational institutions have more than 500 employees.

Answer:

The Solicitation does not require a Small Business Plan. The Solicitation requires a Small Business Subcontracting Plan from ALL Offerors proposing as a Prime and who do not qualify as a Small Business for the proposed NAICS code. If an Educational Institution falls within that category, it must provide a Small Business Subcontracting Plan with its proposal.

Question 15:

For prime contractor - subcontractor type of arrangement, do we need to provide any commitment letters from subcontractors? If yes, is it part of Volume III?

Answer:

The RFP does not require that the Offeror’s response include commitment letters from potential subcontractors.

The RFP Section: L.3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION; Sub-Section: B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS; Sub- Subsection: 1. VOLUME I – Technical-Paragraph d. Specific areas to be addressed, includes:

“Details of how the contract requirements will be met and the means used to accomplish them (include subcontractors and/or teaming arrangements1).”

It is up to the Offeror to determine whether commitment letters from potential subcontractors are relevant to fulfilling this part of the requirement.

Question 16:

We have been involved in international collaborative research, which can be very beneficial to some of the tasks, particularly involving large scale testing for some tasks. These tests could be done without any costs to FHWA and could complement current efforts. For example, there are large scale wind tunnel testing facilities in other countries that could have substantial contribution to the proposed research. Is there any restriction in including foreign collaboration in the proposed research (if it doesn't require funds from FHWA)? Do we need to include letters of collaboration from International partners in this case?

Answer:

There is no restriction imposed within the RFP on including foreign collaboration in an Offeror’s proposal. Additionally, the RFP does not require Letters of Collaboration from any proposed International partners.

Question 17:

With regards to Volume III, is the labor rate chart required for each subcontract or just for prime that also needs to be applicable to subs?

Answer:

It is the responsibility of the proposed Prime contractor to evaluate the prices proposed by potential subcontractors to determine their reasonableness. As per the RFP, “for an offer to be responsive the offeror shall provide labor rates for ALL labor categories and all years identified in the Labor Price Chart schedule (J.1).” The Labor Rate Chart is required for the contract.

Question 18:

Is there a sample of Volume III that we can use?

Answer:

The Government will not provide a Sample Volume III for prospective Offerors. RFP Section: L.3 PROPOSAL PREPARATION; Sub-Section: B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS; Sub-Subsection: 3. VOLUME III – PRICE AND BUSINESS in paragraph c (Format and Content), lists all of the information that must be included in this Volume.