Attachment_No._1_-_Amended_RFP_Question_Answer_Doc.pdf

DTFH6116R00016 Amendment No. 1 - Attachment No. 1

Question

Number

RFP

Section

Question Answer

1 General Can you provide a start date? The contract award date will be September

2016, but the effective date for the period of performance will be October 2016.

2 General Will FHWA consider extending the deadline for this solicitation, DTFH6116R00016?

No.

3 General Would FHWA consider incorporating FAR Provisions for

Educational Institutions?

The terms and conditions are established for the requirement, program, and type of contract. As such, under a multiple award IDIQ all contracts must have the same terms. With that said, you may propose exceptions. However, we do intend to award without discussions and exceptions to the terms would prohibit the

FHWA from making an award to your business without discussions.

4 General Are there any incumbent contractor(s) currently performing these services. If so, could I please find out the contractor name and contract number?

No, this is a new requirement.

5 General If subcontractors are not proposed in the original IDIQ submission and are required to complete future task orders, will we be allowed to add them to the IDIQ agreement or on a task order basis?

Please refer to FAR 52.244-2 for guidance on adding a subcontractor not included in the IDIQ agreement.

6 General Is FHWA seeking to select one Contractor for the whole IDIQ contract, which will be the only organization, allowed to receive and execute individual Task Orders or, is FHWA selecting

Contractors for each individual Task Order?

This is dependent upon the evaluation of proposals. It is anticipated that the FHWA will award multiple full and open competition

Contracts and one Small Business Set Aside

Contract.

7 General Is the July 22 deadline for the general IDIQ contract or just for the

Task Order on “The Impact of Vehicle Based Technology on

Roadway Departure Crashes”?

This is the deadline for both the RFP and the

Task Order Proposal.

8 General Page 41, (e), Would FHWA also permit Universities to use graduate students with student visas?

Yes. However, please refer to Section H.12 for further information on the contractors responsibility with regard to alien status..

9 General Page 60, (5): 52.232-7 Payment under Time and Materials and

Labor-Hour Contracts. Can FHWA consider provisions for

Universities? Universities typically track hours on an allocation basis and will have a very hard time complying with this provision. If not, would FHWA accept an estimate of hours by staff by approved rate?

No. That clause does not include alternates or separate payment provisions for Educational

Institutions (EI). Payments under Time and

Materials contracts may be made only for direct hours worked. Please see FAR 52.232-7.

10 General Allowable Cost and Payment. Several of the provisions listed in this section are often associated with Cost Plus Fixed Fee

Contracts. Since this contract allows for Fixed Price and Time and Materials task orders, would FHWA consider removing these provisions?

Neither discussion on Page 19 or Page 47 indicates provisions for costs and payment consistent with a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract.

Cost Reimbursable task orders will not be issued under the IDIQ.

11 General Page 1 of the TOPR Instructions to Offeror: Lists Section 1 of the

Technical Proposal as limited to a total of 15 pages, however page

80 lists it as not to exceed 20 pages. Please clarify.

The error is on Page 80. The task order proposal is limited to 15 pages. Please see the amended

RFP.

12 General Will this contract have any funds reserved as a set-aside?

Regardless, we would like to approach larger firms to attempt a partnership on this project. Is there an approved procedure for contacting potential bidders or should we just refer to the interested firms list?

One award is being set aside for a small business. Please refer to 52.219-7 and Section

M.1.

13 Exhibit J.1 Should the prime submit a blended rate for each labor category or individual rates from each firm?

Only one fully burdened labor rate is expected per labor category. The way that rate is calculated depends on the pricing/accounting practices of each offeror.

14 Exhibit J.1 Do the labor categories listed need to have an active PMP now or at the time of a task order proposal?

Only the Program Manager is identified as requiring an active PMP. The active PMP is required for the IDIQ. As such, your proposal will not be found to meet the standards required if your proposal does not include a PM with an active PMP with your proposal.

15 Exhibit J.1 Should “ITS Principal Investigator” read “Senior Transportation

Engineer/Planner” instead, or is the Project Manager’s

Professional certification not a requirement for the Senior

Transportation Engineer/Planner labor category?

These are two distinctly different labor categories. The Program Manager category requires a PMP certification. There is no substitute for the PMP for the Program Manager.

16 Exhibit J.1 In Exhibit J.1, the labor category description for the Senior

Transportation Engineer/Planner says "The ITS Principal

Investigator shall have an Active Project Management

Professional certification." Can the FHWA clarify - is a PMP

No. An active PMP is only required for the

Program Manager. The attachment J.1 has been corrected.

required for the Senior Transportation Engineer/Planner position?

17 Exhibit J.1 Exhibit J.1: Page 17 of the solicitation indications, “All draft submissions and the final must be reviewed by an editor on the

Contractor’s staff before being sent to the COR for review.”

However, Exhibit J.1 does not include a labor category for a

Writer/Editor. Similarly, the labor categories listed do not include other labor categories for support staff such as Graphics or 508-compliancy staff that are necessary to produce the potential deliverables for this contract. Would FHWA allow the addition of these labor categories?

The qualifications for the labor category

“Technology Transfer/Marketing Specialist” provides sufficient breadth for the necessary staff to produce quality products from the

Contractor. No additional labor categories shall be considered.

18 Exhibit J.1 Would FHWA consider allowing the labor category, “Research

Psychologist/Human Factors Specialist” to be split into a high and low version so that proposers can provide two rates – a lower rate for more junior staff in this category and a rate for more senior staff?

No. However, offerors can propose staff with such qualifications at a lower rate without having to create new labor categories.

19 Exhibit J.1

& J.2

Exhibits J.1 and J.2 do not include a labor category for general support staff such as desktop publishers, editors, etc. In general, can labor categories be added to Exhibit J.2?

No. Refer to Response #15.

20 Exhibit J.4 Does the Standard Form LLL need to be completed by subcontractors and independent consultants for inclusion in the proposal response?

The SF-LLL disclosure form shall be completed by the reporting entity, whether sub awardee or prime Federal recipient, at the initiation or receipt of a covered Federal action, or a material change to a previous filing, pursuant to title 31

U.S.C. section 1352.

In other words, it must be reported for the

PRIME and subcontractors alike, but it is the responsibility of the prime contractor to complete.

21 Exhibit J.6 Exhibit J.6 (Page 2 of 12, 3rd paragraph) there is a reference to:

The FHWA Safety Program features a Roadway Departures

(RwD) roadmap of activities to guide the portfolio of RwD related research – could you provide a copy for reference?

No copy will be provided. General information about the Roadway Departure Program is published on the FHWA website. The details of the roadmap include pre-decisional and procurement sensitive items. The statement is simply intended to convey that this project is a component to a broader program.

22 Exhibit J.6 1. Says "The subject line of your email and all correspondence must include the TOPR number found on the cover page", but the only number shown is the RFP solicitation number. Is that the number to be referenced?

Please use the solicitation number for your subject line (DTFH6116R00016). The RFP has been corrected to remove the reference to

“TOPR.”

23 Exhibit J.6 Is the period of performance for this TO 14 months as noted in the

Deliverables Schedule table, or 18 months as listed on page 5 under 2.0 Period of Performance?

The deliverables schedule table is correct. The

Period of Performance is set at 18 months to allow for a four month review period, in which a formal FHWA document review process is performed.

24 Section B Page 3 of 92, Section B, last sentence states: Inclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expenses, is not allowable. Please clarify – are we not allowed to charge our federal approved indirect rate to materials and travel?

No, since the IDIQ has fixed price and time & material pricing, indirect burdens do not apply.

However, indirect burdens such as a material handling fee would apply if substantial materials were expected to be stored and maintained by the contractor. Therefore, the pricing will not be updated.

25 Section B.2 Page 3, B.2 Schedule of Rates, Educational Institutions typically have low overhead rates but apply those rates to all costs including travel. Can FHWA address how Universities should address these costs related to federal uniform guidance for

Universities?

The Federal Uniform Guidance for Universities is not applicable to the both contracts governed under the Federal Acquisition Regulations

(FAR) and Fixed Price (FP) or Time and

Material (T&M) Contracts. This RFP is being procured under the FAR with FP and T&M pricing. Therefore, it is not applicable.

26 Section B.2 The referenced solicitation has conflicting information regarding the allowance of indirect cost recovery under Time & Material funding mechanism:

B.2 states that “Travel and materials will be reimbursed at cost.

Inclusion of indirect burden amounts or fee on material costs, including travel expenses, is not allowable.”

However, FAR 52.232-7, Payments under Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts. (AUG 2012), (b) Materials, item ii(d), states that indirect costs are allowed.

Please see the answer to question 24. The clause stated allows for indirects to be “paid” if applicable. Since the only indirect rate allowed under a T&M contract is a material handling fee, and no materials are to be stored by the contractors, there is no need for an additional fee. Should a task order require the contractor to store and maintain supplies, the contractor may negotiate a material handling fee for that task order.

Please advise which is applicable.

27 Section C Task E states that the contractor is to provide IRB support.

Whose IRB oversees research done on-site at TFHRC?

"Institutional Review Board (IRB) – to provide services compliant with 45 CFR 46 in the protection of human subjects involved in cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, and achievement experiments and analysis."

There is no incumbent IRB at TFHRC.

Contractors are encouraged to procure or team with institutions that can provide IRB services.

28 Section C.5 Page 12. C.5 Progress Reports, Would FHWA allow submittal on the 10th calendar day of the month instead of the 5th to allow for collection of input from subcontractors.

The RFP has been amended to reflect the “15 th

29 Section C.6 Will the FHWA consider making the ISO certifications required under (d) optional if the prime contractor is able to demonstrate that it has established internal standards for quality control and IT management programs that are acceptable to FHWA. While it is appreciated that these certifications represent one method of assuring quality products and services that meet the customer requirements, these particular certifications are not widely used in the transportation sector, especially for academic and research based assignments. We believe that requiring strict adherence to these standards without allowing for acceptable alternatives would have the undesired consequence of limiting qualified firms from competing for the services.

The RFP has been amended to reflect that the contractors must demonstrate competency equivalent to the ISO and CMMI standards.

That is to say that the actual certifications are no longer required.

30 Section C.6 It is respectfully requested that FHWA consider making the

SCAMPI accreditation for the prime contractor under (e) optional if the prime contractor has a teaming partner in a subcontract role with this accreditation who can support tasks that require this appraisal method for software development, process improvement, or similar. SCAMPI accreditation requires extensive cost (over $100,000 to obtain with continuing annual cost to maintain the accreditation) and will limit the number of firms who can compete on this solicitation. Although the

SCAMPI method may be important to the delivery of individual tasks, we do not believe it would improve a prime’s ability to manage and oversee the contract as a whole. Again, we believe that requiring strict adherence to these standards without allowing for an accredited team in a subcontract role to support tasks that

Agreed. Please refer to Response #24.

require this appraisal method would have the undesired consequence of limiting qualified firms from competing for the services.

31 Section C.6 The RFP states that Contractors must have ISO 9001 and 20000 certifications along with a CMMI-DEV v.1.3 Maturity Level 3 rating. It is our understanding that these certifications are very expensive to obtain (average cost is $150,000 for the 9001 alone) and certification can take a long time. Universities and most businesses performing transportation research would have a hard time meeting this requirement and these certifications are not typically required for transportation research projects. This requirement will make it very difficult for Universities and many businesses to respond. Would FHWA consider removing this requirement or consider the requirement only when issuing task orders where it is appropriate?

Please refer to Response #29.

32 Section C.6 Are the ISO 9001 and 2000 certification requirements correctly listed for this contract? If so, what is the reason for this requirement?

Please refer to Response #29.

33 Section E.2 Page 15, E.2 Government Acceptance Period, second paragraph mentions both 10 calendar days for final review and 30 days for final review, can FHWA please clarify?

The second sentence referring to 30 calendar days is an error. Please see page 15 of the amended RFP

34 Section G.2 Page 19, G.2 Notification of Expenditure of Funds, can you please confirm this is only applies to T&M Task Orders?

Correct, this term only applies to T&M task orders.

35 Section

H.15

Page 40, H.15 Dissemination of Contract Information. If FHWA incorporates FAR Provisions for Educational Institutions and right of publication (see question 1), how is the information in H.15 addressed.

The terms of the contract are the same for the

IDIQ and specific for the program. As such, Section H.15 will not be changed.

36 Section

H.18

Page 42, H.18 Organizational Conflict of Interest and Limitation on Future Contracting: “(a) The Contractor is expressly prohibited from competing on any statements of work developed in whole or in part by the Contractor during the performance of the contract and for a period of sixty months from the end date of this contract as a prime Contractor, Subcontractor or Consultant.”

a. What constitutes developing a statement of work “in part”? Will FHWA explicitly state the intent of any requests so we know when we are contributing to a scope of work “in part”?

The FHWA COR will ensure that there is no exposure to components that are developed into a statement of work. The COR will review each

TOPR before it is released to determine if there is the potential for the development of future procurement items, and will remove such components from the TOPR prior to its release.

37 Section I Will FHWA permit offerors to incorporate the FAR/TAR alternate clauses prescribed for Educational Institutions (EI) in its subcontract agreements with EIs? The EI-prescribed clauses are designed to address, among other things, EI’s inability to accept restrictions on publication of information that could trigger export control requirements that impede the dissemination of research results in the academic community, and EI’s ability to assert copyright in any data rights first produced in its performance of a contract for basic or applied research, and EI’s unique accounting/audit procedures.

The awardees are required to flow down clauses to their subcontractors that are within the contract. As such, the Government will not extend different rights under the contract to the subcontractors. The alternate clauses, per the

FAR and TAR, for EIs apply when the

Government is contracting directly with an EI.

Granting additional, by the contractor, rights to the subcontractor not allowed under the terms of the contract could result in a breach of contract.

38 Section I Page 71 Key Personnel: Are any individuals that are proposed for the three categories listed in the table (i.e., Program Manager, Senior Transportation Engineer/Planner, and Program Assessment

Specialist) considered Key Personnel or is it up to the contractor to identify which individuals within the three categories are considered Key Personnel?

Each individual proposed in the three categories is considered to be key personnel.

39 Section L.3 Proposal Format: Can the proposal include an 11 X 17 fold-out page?

No, please refer to Section L.3.

40 Section L.3 In the RFP (L.3.(d)), pg. 79 instructions indicate that “Text shall be printed using Times New Roman or Arial font, size no less than 12 point.”

In Task Order Instructions, J.6 under Item 1 General Instructions

“Arial size 11 font shall be used”. Is it allowable to prepare the

TO response in 11pt. font?

FHWA acknowledges the error in J.6. Arial or

Times New Roman 12 point font is the minimum size. Please see the amended J.6 attachment.

41 Section L.3 This section contains instructions for text that is “ancillary to the main text”. Can we assume that graphics, tables, and charts may also be in a font smaller than 12 point, as long as it is fully legible?

Text embedded inside a graphic may be smaller than 12 point, but it must be legible.

42 Section L.4 Page 80 of the RFP, L.4 Proposal Content, and Configuration, Part III – Task Order Proposal (Technical Approach) – Not to exceed 20 pages. Page 1 of Exhibit J.6 General Instructions indicates Section 1 - Technical Proposal is limited to a total of 15

– Please clarify the page limit for the Technical proposal of the

Sample Task order.

See Response #11.

43 Section L.4 Page 81 L.4 Proposal Content and Configuration: For the Master

Staff Matrix, can you please confirm what is meant by the phrase

“staffing levels proposed”. Is that in reference to the anticipated level of effort or the labor category, or something else? Please clarify.

“Staffing levels proposed” refers to the labor categories, and the staff within each category that is proposed.

44 Section L.4 Instructions say the Task Order Proposal is not to exceed 20 pages.

In the Exhibit J.6, General Instructions 1., the Technical Proposal is limited to a total of 15 pages. Which is correct?

See Response #11.

45 Section L.4 "This section indicates to complete J.2 with the fully burdened rates and estimated number of hours; however, J.2 does not include columns for hours, only rates. Typically for IDIQ RFPs, a set number of hours are listed by labor category that we are to bid.

Please confirm that no labor hours are to be proposed. "

Labor hours are intentionally omitted and are not to be proposed. Please see Section M.2 (c) for more information on how the pricing will be evaluated.

46 Section L.4 Page 81 L.4 Proposal Content and Configuration: Part II: Can resumes be provided for staff in addition to the Key Personnel?

No, Please see the amended Section L.4.

However, offerors shall show that proposed staff have the relevant experience, education and expertise to successfully perform the work required in the RFP

47 Section L.4 Page 82, Volume II, What is the anticipated start date for Year 1? The contract is anticipated to start by mid-

September 2016.

48 Section L.4 Page 82, Volume II Rates, please clarify if the fully burdened rates will apply to T&M, FFP, or both types of task orders.

The fully burdened rates apply specifically to

T&M task orders. However, FP task order proposal requests will ask for detailed pricing to include discounted fully burdened rates and hours to demonstrate how the total price was reached.

49 Section L.4 Page 82, Volume II, (b), (2), the text references an estimated number of hours for each position; however J.2 does not include columns for hours, only rates. Please clarify.

This section has been amended to remove the references to hours.

50 Section L.4

Proposal

Content and

Configurati on

Please clarify that the Government requires 2 original proposals, 2 CDs to be delivered for each proposal, 1 CD for Volume I and a separate CD for Volume II, and an emailed copy of the proposal.

Yes, that is correct. Please see section L.4

51 Section L.4 Proposal

Content and

Configurati on

If the e-mailed proposal is received on time, but there is a delay in receipt of the paper copy, will the proposal be deemed late, and therefore not considered?

No, if either the e-mailed or paper copy are received by the deadline, the proposal will be considered timely, and therefore accepted.

52 Section L.4

Part II

Staffing and

Managemen t Approach

Will the Government negatively evaluate an individual being proposed in more than one Key Personnel position?

The solicitation and request for key personnel is intended to line up with the labor categories and rates for individual personnel. As such, it is not advisable to choose this approach as the tracking of multiple labor rates and labor categories for one person would be difficult to justify and document what time was spent under which labor category.

53 Section L.4

Part III –

Other

Financial /

Organizatio n

Information

Which subsections of Part III information should be completed only by the Prime?

All subsections of Part III should be completed by the Prime only.

54 Section L.4

Part IV

Small

Business

Subcontracti ng Plan

Given the execution of the contract will be through task orders after contract award and the unknown nature of the mix and specific requirements of the task orders to be procured by the

Government under this project, proposed subcontracted work percentage estimates are fictitious. Will the subcontracting plans requested in Part IV be used during contract execution as requirements for small business subcontract allocation targets?

Yes, the approved plan will be included as an attachment to the contract. Further, you will have to report your subcontracting plan status semi-annually during performance per FAR clause 52.219-9.

55 Section L.8 Please confirm that offerors are permitted to hand deliver proposal submissions to the mail room/visitor’s center at the DOT building’s main entrance at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.

That is not prohibited by the RFP, but also is not recommended. There is no guarantee that a representative from the Office of Acquisitions and Grants Management will be available to receive your proposal, nor is it our responsibility to be available to receive your proposal by hand.

Marked couriers such as FedEx or UPS can deliver to the exact location specified in the

RFP.

56 M.2 On the technical factor, will a proposal be evaluated more favorably if it includes personnel or an approach that exceeds the

RFPs minimum requirements relevant to that criterion, as opposed to a proposal that merely meets the RFPs minimum requirements?

Yes.

57 Section

M.2, J.1

If the government is not willing to release the estimated workload through the IGE, will the government please disclose the historical workload for the incumbent contract(s). Absent this information, it will be difficult to provide accurate pricing without significant contingency built in.

See the ceiling amount listed on pages 2 and 3.

You are encouraged to provide your most competitive rates for each labor category.