Questions_-_FINAL__Amendment__0001-FMO_DTFT6015R00003.pdf

RFP: DTFT6015R00003

FMO - Questions

AMENDMENT 0001

To purpose of amendment 0001 is to provide offerors responses to questions asked in a timely manner.

1. Organization of Volumes / Pages 67-68- Section L.7.2 lists the requirements to be included in Volume II Past Performance, to include:

• peer review,

• list of all relevant Government and Commercial contracts,

• contract descriptions

• contract performance

• outline of effort assignment to prime and subcontractors,

• past performance questionnaire, and

• Conflict of Interest Matrix (Attachment J-2 is a 9-page document).

Volume II Past Performance Instructions / Pages 71-73

2. Providing the requirements above will far exceed the 10-page limit set by the RFP for Volume II in RFP Section L.4.1.

a) Will the Government consider increasing the page limit of Volume II?

FTA Response: Yes, the government will increase the page limit for Volume II to 19 pages.

b) Can the Government please clarify which of the above listed requirements are excluded from the page limit of Volume II Past Performance?

FTA Response: None of the requirements are excluded from the page limit of Volume II Past Performance, however the page limit is increased to a maximum of 19 pages.

3. Will the Government consider moving the submission of the Conflict of Interest Matrix from Volume II Past Performance to Volume III Price?

FTA Response: No, the government will not consider moving the submission of the Conflict of Interest Matrix from Volume II Past Performance. Please note the COI is only used to identify if there is a potential or apparent COI, it will not be included in the contract. However, the COI matrix will be sent out for completion for every new task order.

4. Can the Government please clarify whether Offerors are required to include a copy of each Past Performance Questionnaire in Volume II Past Performance?

FTA Response: As noted on pg. 72 of the RFP… The offeror shall request that the representative complete the questionnaire and submit it directly to the government.

Completed Past Performance questionnaires shell be preferably emailed to Contract Specialist, Robyn Jones or mailed.

5. Does the Government require the Conflict of Interest Matrix (Attachment J-2) to be completed and submitted by the prime contractor only, or by the prime contractor and its subcontractors?

FTA Response: Please revisit section H.12 Organizational Conflict of Interest and Section H.13 Notification of Conflicts of Interest Regarding Contractor’s Personnel.

6. This section states offerors must fill out the Conflict of Interest matrix “in accordance with information, as noted Section H. Sections H.12, 13 and 14”. Section H.14 does not seem to be relevant to the Conflict of Interest Matrix, since it discusses requirements for contract program management for supporting the execution and performance of the tasks. Can the Government please confirm whether it intended to include the reference to Section H.14 in its instructions for the Conflict of Interest Matrix?

FTA Response: Section H.14 is NOT included in the instructions for the Conflict of interest Matrix.

7. Can the Government please confirm the numbering of the technical subfactors should be the following?

Subfactor A.1 - Overall understanding the Requirement

Subfactor A.2 - Approach to Grantee Customer Service and Communications

Subfactor A.3 - Approach in executing review and written deliverables in SOW?

FTA Response: Yes, the numbering of the technical subfactors is as outlined above.

. Section M.3.1 states, “Volume I Technical Approach & Expertise – 45 Points”. However, Section M.5 states, “Technical Approach – 85 Points”.

8. Can the Government please confirm the numerical weight of Volume I Technical Approach should be 45 points?

This section states, “Technical Factors A, B, C, D are all equally weighted….” However, the numerical weights provided under M.3.1 do not support this statement, with:

• Factor A Technical Approach and Expertise = 45 points

• Factor B – Qualification and Experience of Personnel = 30 points

• Factor C – Management Plan = 10 points

• Factor D – Past Performance = 15 points (by adding up the points for Subfactors D.1 and D.2)

9. Can the Government please revise the above statement?

FTA Response: Yes the government will revise the above statement as follows:

Section M.5 will be revised to read Technical Approach – 45 Points, not 85 Points. Total points for Factor A & B total 85 points. Clarification: section M.3.2 states, “Technical Factor A, is weighted slightly higher than Factors B, C, D, are weighted, with their respective sub-factors weighted as shown under each factor. In addition, Sub-Factor C.1 corrected to say Subfactors C.1 & C.2 are equally weighted.

10. Can the Government please clarify whether offerors are to provide Contract Descriptions (as stated in Section L.7.2.1) and Performance narratives (as stated in Section L.7.2.2) for each of the contracts in the list of all Government and Commercial contracts required above? Or, are offerors to provide Contract Descriptions and Performance narratives for a selected number of contracts?

FTA Response: As noted in section L.7.2 the offeror shall provide Contract Descriptions and Performance narratives as requested in this section.

11. Can the Government please clarify whether there is a maximum number of contracts offerors are to satisfy requirements in Sections L.7.2.1 and L.7.2.2 for?

FTA Response: NO, there is not a maximum number of contracts, however the information cannot be older than 3 years.

12. Can the Government please confirm whether there is a 3-year past performance limit for the contracts offerors are to satisfy requirements in Sections L.7.2.1 and L.7.2.2 for?

FTA Response: Please see section L7.2 Volume Past Performance Instructions – Offerors shall submit their most recent peer review, and a list of all Government and Commercial contracts (prime and major subcontracts) in performance during the last 3 years, which are relevant to the effort required by this solicitation.

13. Can the Government please provide the number of hard copies and number of electronic copies required for the cover letter?

FTA Response: The government required 6 copies of the proposal; therefore each copy is required to have a cover letter.

14. Can the Government please clarify whether it intended for subsections (c) through (h) to be included under Factor A – Technical Approach, or Factor C – Management Plan?

FTA Response: The government intended for subsections (c) through (h) to be included under Factor A- Technical Approach, NOT Factor C – Management Plan.

15. This section states, “Offerors shall provide an outline of how the effort required by the solicitation will be assigned for performance within the offeror’s corporate entity and among the proposed subcontractors”, to be provided under Volume II Past Performance.

Can the Government please clarify whether it intended for this requirement to be included in

Volume II – Past Performance?

FTA Response: Yes, As stated in section L.7.2 Volume II Past Performance the contract descriptions are listed for #4, Subcontracts.

16. Can the Government please specify whether it intends for this requirement to be fulfilled under both Factors A and C, or can offerors satisfy the requirement once under one Factor? Can the Government please specify which Factor it wants offerors to satisfy this requirement under?

FTA Response: The government intends for this requirement to be fulfilled under BOTH Factors A and C as noted in section M.5 Evaluation Approach (c ) and Factor C Management Plan (a)

17. When does a successful contractor gain access to the financial data base for updates and review?

FTA Response: The contractor will be given access to financial data after contract award.

18. When is the annual update due for the first year of the engagement?

FTA Response: Contractors will update the COR monthly with the status of the reviews through submission of monthly reports and phone calls with the COR.

19. Will a successful contractor be required to update the current FMO Workshop Workbook within the first six months of the engagement?

FTA Response: No, the FMO workshop workbook will be required to be updated but not within the first six months of award.

20. Is an example of a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) available for review and use as a template? Are the FMO Training materials used in prior years available for review and possible reuse?

FTA Response: No, there is no example of the TIP available as a template. The grantee will supply the TIP information at the time of review. The Resource Manual will be available after contract award.

21. Item H10 Reproduction of Reports. Has the production of any report exceeded 5,000 pages per production unit or 25,000 in the aggregate requiring coordination with the Government printing Office (GPO)? If there a set procedure for the GPO request?

FTA Response: No, in the past there have been no reports that exceeded 5,000 pages.

22. How is the NTE amount determined? Is the amount budgeted reflective of prior year actual data?

FTA Response: The NTE is based on historical data and industry information.

23. When a successful contractor begins considering CAP reviews for an "acceptable level of risk" of improper charges and payments, has the FTA pre-determined what represents financial materiality when assessing risks for the CAPs?

FTA Response: No, the level of risk of improper charges and payments is determined on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the circumstances and relevant facts in each case.

FTA does not have a pre-determined level of financial materiality for assessing risks in a CAP review.

24. It appears there are 140 points possible in the numeric evaluation criteria. However, no specific points are assigned to pricing in the evaluation, with only reasonableness and completeness as its criteria. Is this correct?

FTA Response: Numeric evaluation criteria are only 100 points. Volume I – which includes Technical Approach and Qualification of Personnel total 85 points collectively. 45 points for Factor A- and 3- points for Factor which equals 85 total points. Please see page 78, section M3.2 Relative Importance of Factors- Price is not an adjectively rated factor, however, the Price Factor will become the more dominant factor as technical proposals reach technical equality.

25. Does the FTA envision apportioning the Task Order work where each successful bidding contractor performs a discrete percentage of each Task Order, or will the individual Task Orders be assigned to a specific successful bidding contractor?

FTA Response: Task Orders will be bid out and assigned to successful bidding contractor based on FTA need and contractor qualifications.

26. On page 39 lists the qualifications, standards and professional experience of key personnel.

Please clarify, which labor categories are considered key and how many personnel are required in each category?

27. Can overall experience be substituted for transit experience for some team members if the vast majority of the team has transit experience?

FTA Response: See RFP page 50. The number of personnel per position is listed in parentheses.

28. Can experience be substituted for the CPA for Senior Accountants?

FTA Response: No, senior accountants are required to be CPA’s as listed under the key personnel in the RFP on page 40.

29. Other Business factors under L.7.3 indicates, Offerors should include Audited annual reports to stockholders for the last three fiscal years. Are audited financial statements required if the small business can provide other evidence of significant financial resources and sound financial management (i.e. a support letter, bank letter, reviewed financial statements or compiled statements)?

FTA Response: In accordance with the Offerors Participation Agreement with the Small Business Administration’s Section 8(a) program, section I Financial Data there are thresholds were audited annual reports and audited financial statement are required, please review and submit financial information as outlined in this section.

30. L.7.3 indicates that that proposed prices shall be entered onto Attachment J-3 Estimated Workload Data Sheet. We assume the attachment number should be J-1 since J-3 is currently the resume template. Nevertheless, J-1 does not include any fields for entering prices.

Is there another document that proposed prices should be entered into?

FTA Response: The attachment number should be J-1 Estimated Workload Date Sheet. J- 1 A has been created to add fields for entering pricing.

31. Please confirm that it is the government’s intention to have the past performance questionnaire’s to be received by 07/08th @ 4:30pm as listed on page 73 of the RFP.

FTA Response: No, FTA has extended the receipt of past performance questionnaires to July 28, 2015 prior to 4:40PM Eastern Standard time.

32. Key Personnel matrix noted on page 50 of the RFP appears to show the number of positions for each labor category or job title (i.e. Partner/Principle (1); Senior Manager (1); Transit Financial Analyst (1 to 2); Senior Accountant (1 to 2)). Does this matrix show the minimum number of resumes the Offeror should submit for each of the Key Personnel positions? Additionally, is there a limitation on the number of resumes the Offeror should submit for each Key Personnel position?

FTA Response: The matrix on RFP page 50 sets the minimum number of resumes the offer should submit for each key personnel position. Required non-key personnel are listed on RFP pages 40-41. The proposal page limitations are on RFP pages 67-68; and proposal content requirements are on RFP pages 70-75.

33. Under Section L.7.2 “Volume II-Past Performance Instruction”, page 71, it noted the Offerors shall submit their most recent peer review. If the Offeror has not performed work requiring peer review until recently, will the Government accept a statement that the Offeror has a peer review conducted according to AICPA requirements?

FTA Response: In order to be considered a peer review would need to be completed, or in the process of being conducted at the time of proposal submission.

34. If the Offeror is a CPA firm that has not been subject to a peer review, will the Government accept a recent peer review from the Offeror’s subcontractor?

FTA Response: No, the FTA will not accept a peer review from a subcontractor in place of a prime contractor peer review. However, FTA would accept a proposal from a joint venture where at least one of the joint venture partners has had a peer review.

35. Can the Government make available to the Offerors the most recently updated copy of the Financial Management Oversight Resource Manual?

FTA Response: No, FTA will make the FMO Resource Manual available until after contract award.

36. Under Section L.7.3”Volume III Business/Price/Cost Proposal Instructions” ii, page 73, it noted the proposed prices shall be entered into Attachment J 3 Estimated Workload Datasheet. It appears that Attachment J 3 is the Resume Template and Attachment J-1 is the Estimated Workload Data (Microsoft word file). Is the Attachment J 1 Estimated Workload Data the correct attachment to enter the proposed prices and the only attachment to be used for the proposed prices?

FTA Response: The attachment number should be J-1 Estimated Workload Date Sheet. J- 1 A has been created to add fields for entering pricing.

37. Under Section L.7.3 “”Volume III Business/Price/Cost Proposal Instructions”, first paragraph on page 74, it noted “Offerors shall complete the Pricing Labor Rates Table (Attachment J-1- Estimated Work Load Matrix”). The Attachment J-1 is titled “Estimated Workload Data”. Is there another file for entering the pricing labor rate along with the existing Attachment J-1 (titled Estimated Workload Data)?

FTA Response: The attachment number should be J-1 Estimated Workload Date Sheet. J- 1 A has been created to add fields for entering pricing.

38. Under Section L.7.3 “Volume III Business/Price/Cost Proposal Instructions”, page 74 (under “a.

Financial Condition and Capability, 1 (b)”), it noted the audited annual reports to stockholders for the last 3 years should be included with the Offeror’s proposal. If the Offeror has not been required to obtain audited financial statement, will the Government accept that statement?

(Along with a statement from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) certifying financial data is accurate and trustworthy).

FTA Response: Please reference response to question 29.

39. Under Section L.7.2 “Volume II-Past Performance Instruction”, page 72, Item 5, Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment J-4). Is there a limit to the number of Past Performance Questionnaires which the Offeror should obtain/submit for their proposal? Is it acceptable for the Offeror’s subcontractor to obtain/submitted Past Performance Questionnaires for the proposal?

FTA Response: NO, there is not a limit to the number of Past Performance Questionnaires to be submitted. Yes, if the offeror is proposing subcontractor as part of its team.

40. As part of the FMO program service requirements, will the contractor be given access to grantee data in FTA’s existing grants management system TEAM /Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) and OTrak (or its equivalent), as well as grantees’ Single Audit reports?

FTA Response: Yes, the contractors will have access to all the relevant databases upon contract award.

41. RFP C.3, CLIN 0003 Cost Allocation Plan Review- Will the cost allocation plan only be reviewed for grantees that FTA serves as the cognizant agency? Or will all grantees be included in the population pool?

FTA Response: Cost allocation plans will only be reviewed for grantees where FTA serves as the cognizant agency.

42. RFP C.3, CLIN 0003 Cost Allocation Plan Review & CLIN 0005 Financial Capacity Assessment- Given that work performed under those referenced CLINs depends on the reliability of the financial information provided by the grantee, will all FTA grantees undergo Single Audits and therefore, there is a degree of reliance on the financial information provided by the grantees for these reviews/assessments? If not, what does FTA expect in terms of the accuracy and reliability of information provided by grantees for those reviews/assessments?

FTA Response: Grantees are required to undergo single audits if they have received $750K in federal funding; the contractor will work with the regional office and the grantees to obtain any financial information required for the review.

43. RFP C.3, CLIN 0004 Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) - Can FTA quantify the number of AUPs performed in the past fiscal year and the extent (range) of hours incurred on those engagements?

FTA Response: There were two AUP reviews this past fiscal year and the hours of the reviews varied.

44. RFP C.3, CLIN 0004 Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) - Will the past AUP procedures be shared with the contractor when planning for the AUPs to be performed on grantees to ensure some consistency of work performed?

FTA Response: Each AUP scope varies but a sample is included in the FMO Resource Manual, to be provided to the awardee only.

45. RFP C.3, CLIN 0010 Corrective Action Support- Will the contractor be expected to update the finding conditions, corrective actions taken, timeline, and finding status in FTA’s OTrak (or its equivalent)?

FTA Response: Yes, the FMO contractor will be required to update all of the items listed above.

46. RFP C.3, CLIN 0010 Corrective Action Support- Each of the FTA Regional Offices (RO) has its own Single Audit follow up process. Will the contractor be expected to work with the ROs to implement a more holistic process for grantee related findings; including findings from the FMO reviews or will this be a stand-alone separate process from the RO’s Single Audit follow up efforts?

FTA Response: This will be separate from single audit.

47. Part II, Section I.6 TAR Clauses in Full Text- The contractor is expected to provide FTA with an IT security Plan (within 30 days after contract award) and proof of IT Security accreditation (within six months after contract award). Is this required only of the prime contractor or do those requirements apply to subcontractors also?

FTA Response: The requirements apply to any contractors whom will have access to DOT major applications or general support systems.

48. Section L.7.1- The bidder should submit resumes and signed letters of intent for the proposed Key Personnel. Is the letter of intent expected to be signed by each of the proposed key personnel individually or will a consolidated letter certifying the required experience and expertise to accomplish the contract requirements sufficient?

FTA Response: The letter of intent is expected to be signed by each proposed Key personnel individually.

49. Section L.7.2 Past Performance - Is there a minimum number of past performance to be provided as a whole? If more than three past performances are furnished to FTA, is it expected that only three of those will need to provide the Past Performance Questionnaire or is the Questionnaire expected to be completed for each of the past performance furnished?

FTA Response: No, there is not a minimum number of past performances references to be provided. Please see page 73 of the solicitation. The questionnaire is expected to be completed for each of the past performance furnished.

50. Section L.7.3 Business/Price/Cost Proposal- Is the financial condition and financial capability information only required of the prime offeror?

FTA Response: Please see page 74 section 3 Subcontracts for clarity.

51. Section M.3.2. Relative Importance of Factors- The government states that Technical Factors A, B, and C respective ratings are significantly more important than the Past Performance Factor D.

However, the past performance factor is assigned 15 points while the management plan is assigned 10 points. Can the government please elaborate on how the technical factors will be assessed when past performance is not provided?

FTA Response: If past performance is not provided, you are not responsive to the solicitation.

In the event that your company has not had the opportunity to establish period of performance, you will receive a neutral rating. The government reserves its rights to perform additional past performance checks in other databases as CPARS.

52. Attachment J-1- For the transit financial analyst labor category, FTA appears to suggest that there is only one labor category with one labor rate. Given that various tasks are required under CLIN 0005 – Financial Capacity Assessment, will FTA consider more than one labor category with one labor rate for the transit financial analyst position to give FTA the best price, provided that total hours for that category arrive at 13,065 hours annually?

FTA Response: No, there is only one labor category for financial transit analyst. There may be multiple staff conducting the CLIN 0005 Financial Capability Assessment.

53. H.21 Key Contractor Personnel, Pg. 40- Senior Accountant - CPA is required. Are there other designations that qualify such as the Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM)?

FTA Response: No, a CPA is required for the Senior Accountant position.

54. Does the offeror need to provide at least 3 past performances for their proposed subcontractors?

FTA Response: Please see page 74 & 75. The government is only requesting 3 past performances for all offerors which includes prime and subcontractor.

55. What is the estimated timeframe to commence effort based on estimated contract award date of November 11, 2015?

FTA Response: To Be Determined after contract award.

56. Will the weighting of the evaluation on past performance differ if the subcontractor meets proposed experience requirements and the prime contractor does not?

FTA Response: The weighting will not change but each offeror is evaluated independently for the criteria specified in Section M Past Performance is utilized as one factor to help the FTA in evaluating who best can fulfill the requirement. Your past performance should be relevant to the work and relatable to the proposed personnel actually performing the work. Please also see the answer to question 51.

57. For the transit financial analyst labor category description, FTA places emphasis on candidates with financial management experience in the transit industry, and on large, technically complex transit related projects. Additionally, they require experience specific technical expertise in transit related financial management oversight reviews. Can the offeror provide candidates with relevant experience in other technically complex but similar industries?

FTA Response: No, the candidate requires transit experience.

58. Reference to “Lead Contractor” assisting in revising and updating the FMO Manual. Since the Govt. intends to award a minimum of 3 but no more than 5 IDIQs. What is meant by “Lead Contractor” and how determined, since the award is being made to multiple companies?

FTA Response: The Lead Contractor for the update of the FMO Resource Manual and Workshop Workbook Materials will be selected based on the FTA’s evaluation of contractor proposals and determination of which proposal evidences the strongest skill level, best approach and greatest experience in this area. See RFP Sec. M: Evaluation Factors for Award, pages 77-83.

59. Are the cover letter and Executive Summary referenced on page 67 the same thing?

FTA Response: No, they are not. The Cover letter and Executive Summary are 2 separate documents, as described on pages 71 & 72.

60. Is it permissible to include acknowledgement of amendments, a signature of the Offeror’s authorized representative, and a validity period statement on the cover letter? L.4 states that the cover letter “shall identify all enclosures being transmitted […] and shall include no other information.” It seems that the Government wishes Offerors to exclude standard information that is included in the cover letter of almost every proposal.

FTA Response: The first or title page shall be in accordance with FAR 52.215-1, paragraph

(c) (2).

61. Would the Government not prefer a simple CD-R disk in read-only format? CD-RWs can only be rewritten a limited number of times, and take substantially more time to write data to than a hard disc drive. It would expedite the Government’s review process to receive the cost spreadsheet on a read-only disc, and then save the spreadsheet onto a hard disc drive for manipulation.

FTA Response: No, as per solicitation instructions, please submit CDs has defined on page 68 of the RFP.

62. Are resumes required with proposal submission for non-key personnel positions?

FTA Response: Yes, resumes are required for all personnel.

63. Is it acceptable to submit the electronic copies of the proposal in PDF format?

FTA Response: Yes, offerors can submit electronic copies of the proposal in PDF format.

64. Please elaborate what is meant by “Government contract activity’s Pre-Award Monitor”.

FTA Response: This sentence is not affiliated with the RFP.

65. Is there a limit, or recommendation, on the number of contracts to be submitted in the past performance volume?

FTA Response: No, there is not.

66. The instructions state “[…] the Government reserves the right to request the offeror provide cost breakdown to support proposed prices” then lists 7 items (i through vii). Are Offers’ instructed/advised to include one or more of these items in the proposal, or are we going to be requested to provide any or all of this information at a later date?

FTA Response: The offeror is instructed to take into consideration of all of the 7 items when establishing pricing schedule, if required for further analysis FTA will request this information.

67. The instructions state “Information included in this section includes […] representations and certifications made by the Offeror. The Offeror shall provide information in response to the following instructions”. However, the instructions that follow do not provide a place in the proposal to include the representations and certifications; they only point to the now defunct ORCA web site (https://orca.bpn.gov). Where in the proposal the Representations and Certifications to be included?

https://orca.bpn.gov/

FTA Response: Please disregard the reference to the ORCA web site, the Federal Government has transferred over the System for Award Management Database (https://www.sam.gov).

Please utilize this database for your Representations and Certifications information.

68. Are any clauses from section H to be completed and included in the proposal? If so, where shall they be included?

FTA Response: On Page 35 – H12. Organizational Conflict of Interest and page 36 H13 Notification of Conflicts [of interest Regarding Contractor’s Personnel shall be addressed on attachment J-2 Conflict of Interest Matrix. If there is any Conflict Organizational or regarding Personnel; this is where the information is required to be identified.

69. Can Offerors submit, as part of their Volume II Past Performance submission, contract references for major subcontractors (defined as having 10%+ of the total proposed price)?

FTA Response: In accordance with section L.7.2- Volume- Past Performance Instruction;

Yes, the offeror can. Please see page 72 number 3 Subcontracts.

All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

For further information, please contact Robyn Jones Contract Specialist at Robyn.Jones@dot.gov.

End of Amendment 0001 https://www.sam.gov/ mailto:Robyn.Jones@dot.gov