DTRT5716R20008_-_Amendment_No._A0002.pdf

(x)

DTRT5716R20008

x x copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT

THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

V221

Cambridge MA 02142-1001 55 Broadway, V-221 Off-Site Eng & R&D Contracts Branch U.S. DOT/Volpe Center

V221

Cambridge MA 02142-1001 55 Broadway, V-221 Off-Site Eng & R&D Contracts Branch U.S. DOT/Volpe Center

10/04/2016A0002

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

08/26/2016

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

1. See the attached continuation sheets for details.

2. Please acknowledge receipt of this Amendment with the submission of your proposal.

3. All other terms and conditions of the Solicitation remain unchanged.

RECOVERY: NON-RECOVERY

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Elizabeth A. Segal

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

DTRT5716R20008

Amendment No. A0002

1. The purpose of this Amendment is to revise sections of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and provide responses to the questions received in response to the RFP. The questions and responses are provided as Attachment No. 1 to this Amendment.

2. Attachment No. J.1 – LABOR CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS AND QUALIFICATONS, is hereby amended as follows:

• Junior Program Analyst – The Years of Specialized Experience is corrected to read “0” in lieu of “3”

• Entry Level Program Analyst – The Years of Specialized Experience is corrected to read “0” in lieu of “3”

3. Section L, Paragraph L.3 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR TECHNICAL PROPOSAL AND COST AND BUSINESS PROPOSAL PREPARATION, starting on page 83 of the RFP, any and all references to the positions of Senior Program Management Analyst, Program Management Analyst, Junior Program Management Analyst, and Entry Level Program Management Analyst, are hereby corrected to read “Senior Program Analyst”, “Program Analyst”, “Junior Program Analyst”, and “Entry Level Program Analyst”.

4. Section L, Paragraph L.3.D. PROPOSAL FORMAT, Page 84, subparagraph 2. Text, the fifth sentence, “Print must be spaced at 6 lines per inch” is hereby deleted in its entirety.

5. Section L, Paragraph L.4.D. Indirect Rates, Page 90, the first paragraph is hereby corrected to read as follows:

“The Government expects that the preponderance of work will take place at the Offeror’s facility, but some task orders will be performed at a Government facility. The labor hours have been allocated to the Contractor Site.”

6. Section L, Paragraph L.5.D. PARTS OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, ORAL PRESENTATION, Page 107 of the RFP, is hereby amended as follows. The Presenters for the Presentation of Management Approach is corrected to state that the Presenters are to be the “Program Manager and/or up to three Senior-level staff members”.

DTRT5716R20008

Amendment No. A0002

7. Section L, Paragraph L.5.D. PARTS OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, PART B - PAST PERFORMANCE (VOLUME II), Page 112, the first paragraph is hereby corrected to read as follows:

From the above list, the Offeror must select no more than five contracts that the Offeror considers the most relevant in demonstrating its ability to perform the proposed effort. This list of the five most relevant contracts must be separated from the above list and clearly identified. The Offeror shall provide summaries of the five most relevant contracts (including any information on the problems encountered on the contracts and the Offeror’s corrective actions). The total page limit for the summaries is 15 pages (three pages per contract). This page limit does not apply to the list of other less relevant contracts required, past performance evaluation reports, or any information submitted by the Offeror to demonstrate that it has made its best efforts to ensure that customers provide past performance reports to the Government. Copies of the final or most current past performance report must be submitted for the five most relevant contracts. Copies of reports on other than the five contracts considered most relevant by the Offeror should not be submitted as part of the proposal, but may be obtained by the Government if the Government considers the contracts relevant.

8. Please acknowledge receipt of this Amendment with the submission of your proposal.

9. All other terms and conditions of the Solicitation remain unchanged.

ATTACHMENT NO. 1

SUBMITTED QUESTIONS WITH THE CORRESPONDING ANSWERS

SOLICITATION NO. DTRT5716R20008

CAPITAL INVESTMENT ANALYSIS SUPPORT

Q.1 Please reference RFP page 40 on uncompensated overtime.

How will the government measure the uncompensated overtime assignable to a job (task or other contract)?

Suppose for example, an employee works on three jobs in the course of a week, 10 hours on job 1, some each day, Monday thru Friday, 20 hours on job 2, some each day, Monday thru Friday, and 12 hours on job 3, some each day, Monday thru Friday.

To which job will the government assign the 2 hours of uncompensated overtime? What is the method that it uses to make that determination?

A.1. The Government does not assign uncompensated overtime. A Contractor would work uncompensated overtime on a task order only if the practice is consistent with its established accounting practices. Uncompensated overtime would apply to professional labor or non-Service Contract Act employees. Uncompensated overtime does not apply to employees that may be covered by the Service Contract Act and covered under the U.S.

Department of Labor Wage Determination provided as Attachment No. J.3 in the solicitation.

Q.2 I wish to enquire whether, interested contractors are allowed to select the areas they wish to provide services to DOT/Volpe Center, from within the 13 task areas as defined under Solicitation No. DTRT5716R2008; or are restricted to providing services to the overall task areas to be qualified to submit proposal for consideration.

A.2. Interested Contractors are required to provide services for all 13 task areas in the Statement of Work of the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Q.3. Can a subcontractor’s past performance count toward the 5 recent contracts requested for this proposal?

A.3. Yes. The Offeror shall follow the instructions for Past Performance in Section L of the RFP. The Offeror shall provide a list and summary of up to five of the most relevant contracts with work performed by either the Prime Offeror or a Subcontractor proposed to perform over 20 percent of the hours in the Cost and Business Proposal.

Q.4. Do all offerors have to bid for all 13 task areas or may they select a few from the list to be awarded?

A.4. Yes. Offerors are required to propose on all 13 task areas.

Q.5. Will certain task areas be more prone to facility clearance requirements than others? If so, please list them.

A.5. The requirement for a facility clearance will be determined at the task order level.

Q.6. Section L.4.D requests each Offeror to submit 20 resumes. Other than the Program Manager, are any of these Key Personnel and/or be placed on the contract upon award, or is the purpose to display the Offer’s staffing resources?

A.6. The Program Manager is the only individual to be identified as Key Personnel under the contract. The purpose of the other resumes is to identify the Offeror’s staffing resources.

Q.7. In Exhibit A of Section L.4.D, are Offerors to put their company name under Company Affiliation?

A.7. Yes.

Q.8. Are signed Letters of Intent required for the award of this Master Contract or is the government requesting LOIs as a display of the Offeror’s staffing resources?

A.8. The Letters of Intent are required to be submitted in the Offeror’s proposal. The letters will be used by the Government in its evaluation of the Offeror’s staffing resources.

Q.9. Would the government please elaborate on why signed Letters of Intent must include the candidate’s salary?

A.9. The candidate’s salary is used by the Government’s in its overall evaluation of the Offeror’s cost proposal.

Q.10. Will all work locations be in the Massachusetts area? Will telecommuting or working offsite entirely be acceptable for the TOs on this contract?

A.10. Section F, Paragraph F.14 PLACE OF CONTRACT PERFORMANCE (JUL 2016), states in part, as follows: “[t]he Government anticipates that the preponderance of work will be performed at the Contractor’s facility. In addition, work may be performed on some task orders at the FAA Headquarters Buildings in Washington, D.C., as required. … Some task orders, however, may require performance at a Government facility, and authorization will be provided in writing by the CO at the time of Task Order award. …”.

Telecommuting or working off-site will be acceptable at the task order level.

Q.11. “ … is (there) an incumbent in place for your current oppty noted in FBO:

Sol#DTRT5716R20008 "Capital Investment Analysis Support (CIAS)" Can you confirm if there is an incumbent in place and the contract# if you have that information.”

A.11. The current Contractor that is supporting work similar to the CIAS requirement is Jerry Thompson & Associates, Inc., Contract No. DTRT57-12-D-30007, for Financial Analysis and Support Services.

Q.12. What is the estimated ceiling of the IDIQ? Considering we are a small business with a primary NAICS of 541611, we’d want to make sure we remain small for the duration of the contract.

A.12. The Government cannot provide that information at this time.

Q.13. We do not have an approved cost accounting system. Are businesses without an approved cost accounting system still eligible to win the IDIQ and bid on only FFP/T&M task orders?

A.13. Yes. Businesses without an approved cost accounting system are eligible to receive a contract award. However, businesses without an approved cost accounting system will only be allowed to propose on FFP task orders. T&M task orders cannot be issued under the awarded contracts.

Q.14. Does the organization already have a CPIC program in place and is it being executed?

A.14. No.

Q.15. Is there an incumbent? If so, what is the contract number(s).

A.15. Yes. The incumbent is Jerry Thompson & Associates, Inc., performing work under Contract No. DTRT57-12-D-30007 for Financial Analysis and Support Services.

Q.16. Are Joint Venture entities eligible to bid on this requirement? Are the JV required to have previous past performance or will the venturing firms past performance be eligible as past performance?

A.16. Yes, assuming that the Joint Venture has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Joint Venture has to be approved by the SBA prior to the submission of proposals. The venturing firms past performance will be eligible as past performance submissions.

Q.17. At the submission of proposal are the Prime vendors required to have the DCAA review the accounting system for adequacy for cost-reimbursement contract? Or, will this be a requirement at the Task Order level? Certain small size vendors are eligible for waiver from DCAA review, what documentation is sufficient for such situations.

A.17. Prime Offerors are not required to have the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) review its accounting system before the time of submission of proposals. This will be a requirement at the task order level. The small business vendor will be required to have an accounting system that is determined to be adequate for cost-reimbursement contracts, whether that determination is made by DCAA, and/or another Government agency, in order to submit a proposal on cost-type task orders.

Q.18. Does a un-populated JV require review of its accounting systems by DCAA? Since JV ventures are required to employ and perform the contract requirements, the direct/indirect costs are to be borne by each venture. What is government’s requirement for JV bids?

A.18. The Government’s requirement for accounting system acceptability for JV bids will be the same as any other small business Offeror.

Q.19. At the bottom of the list of hours on page 86 it shows "Total Contractor -Site Hours".

Should we assume that for proposal purposes, all hours should proposed as contractor-site?

A.19. All hours are to be proposed for the Contractor-Site. However, the Contactor should provide its methodology for the development of its Government-Site Overhead rate(s). The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.20. Will excel versions of the schedules be provided, or should we create our own excel schedules based on the schedules provided in the PDF version of the RFP?

A.20. No. Excel versions of the schedules will not be provided. Offerors should create its own schedules based on the schedules provided in the PDF version of the RFP.

Q.21. Please confirm the number of senior-level staff allowed during the Presentation of Management Approach Topic, which is part of the Management Approach evaluation criteria.

A.21. Offerors may use up to three Senior-Level staff members during the Management Approach presentation. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.22. Please confirm that senior-level staff permitted to participate in Orals includes only those proposed staff / resumes with the word ‘Senior’ included in the labor category name identified in the RFP.

A.22. No, not necessarily. Offerors can include proposed Staff/Presenters based on that individual’s experience that they consider “Senior”.

Q.23. The table for proposed technical staff indicates a “Total Staff” of 2 for Senior Systems Engineer and “Required Resumes” of 3 for Senior Systems Engineer. Please confirm this is accurate.

A.23. Yes. Two Senior Systems Engineers are required for the proposal, but three Senior Systems Engineer Resumes are required.

Q.24. Please confirm that in the RFP Language on Page 111 the reference to ‘list of relevant contracts’ is intended to include a list of all relevant contracts of the prime offeror and any major subs that fit the criteria cited (over 20 percent of the hours in the Cost and Business Proposal). If major subcontractor contracts are not to be included in the full list, then please explain how offeror should meet the intent of the language in the RFP, if the offeror plans to use relevant contracts from their major subcontractors.

A.24. Yes. The ‘list of relevant contracts’ is intended to include a list of all relevant contracts of the Prime Offeror and any major subcontractor that fit the criteria cited (over 20 percent of the hours in the Cost and Business Proposal). The Government cannot tell the Offeror how it should meet the intent of this language in the RFP.

Q.25. Please confirm that references to Junior “Program Management Analyst” (throughout the proposal) and Junior “Program Analyst” in the Labor Category descriptions and qualifications (page 127) are the same position. Please confirm which name we should use for this position.

A.25. Junior “Program Management Analyst” and Junior “Program Analyst” are synonymous and the same labor category. Offeror shall use “Junior Program Analyst” in its proposal. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.26. Please clarify the following statement: “…support in alignment of budget and Delphi databases.” This sentence implies that there may be more than one budget database. If so, can you please identify them?

A.26. The FAA uses a variety of data streams and databases for its financial records and recordkeeping. These include: PRISM, CASTLE, Corporate Work Plan, Simplified Program Information Reporting and Evaluation (SPIRE), Federal Personnel/Payroll (FPPS), Reimbursable Analysis Tool, Project Management Tool Kit, and others. With all the supporting systems listed here, there is generally a relationship to the DELPHI databases. Depending on the phase in the budget cycle, the FAA uses other tools for budgeting which also may interface with DELPHI.

Q.27. Could the Government please explain in detail what is meant by “maintenance of financial data”?

A.27. Part of Information Assurance is database maintenance. Database maintenance is activity designed to keep a database running. The maintenance of databases is generally performed by people who are familiar with the database system and the specifics of the particular database, although some maintenance tasks can be performed by people who do not have experience.

Databases are used to maintain a library of information in a well-organized, accessible format. They usually are not static because changes are constantly being made as material is added, removed, and moved around. People may also change parameters within the database, decide to use different indexing systems, and so forth. Over time, this can cause the database to start to malfunction. Database maintenance is used to keep the database clean and well organized so that it will not lose functionality.

One important aspect of maintaining a database is simply backing up the data so that, if anything happens, there will be another copy available. Some database systems actually do this automatically, sending a backup to another location every day, every week, or within any other set period of time. Backups are usually not enough, however.

Database maintenance includes checking for signs of corruption in the database, looking for problem areas, rebuilding indexes, removing duplicate records, and checking for any abnormalities in the database that might signal a problem. The goal is to keep the database operating smoothly for users, so that ideally they never need to think about maintenance issues. A database that is not maintained can become sluggish, and people may start to experience problems when trying to access records.

Q.28. Can the Government please clarify what tools will be used?

A.28. Tools and systems for use in cost accounting and reporting include: Funds Control Module (FCM), Cost Accounting System (CAS), Labor Distribution Reports (LDR), DELPHI, Reports, Analysis, and Distribution System (RADS), Controller Workforce Plan (CWP), Risk Assessment Tool (RAT), Microsoft Office tools, and others.

Q.29. Please clarify whether contractors will be required to provide any information technology technical services (e.g., Oracle integration, system maintenance, database administration) for Delphi.

A.29. Financial Management Systems Analysis is required to design and recommend software solutions to meet FAA operational concepts and provide information assurance.

Systems design and financial management principles will support solutions to the FAA budget formulation and execution process.

Specifically, these processes include: organizational management, cost accounting, capitalization, asset management, reimbursable agreement management, cost management, cost overhead and burdening allocations, program and project management, and financial reporting.

Analysis will solve complex business problems across several Oracle Federal Financial application modules and business process flows, develop complex test plans and direct testing strategies for financial applications, and design and implement complex system interfaces, reports, and conversions, as well as the processes, procedures, and recommend software changes to ensure data integrity.

Analysis will require implementation of the full lifecycle of a Federal financial Oracle-based database environment (such as DELPHI) including experience with federal/DOT financial business functions and operational concepts.

Q.30. Please identify the software/platform on which the Corporate Work Plan (CWP) tool is built. Please also identify the tool’s primary purpose and the top three to five key items that it tracks.

A.30. The Corporate Work Plan (CWP) process is the FAAs method to implement projects in support of the Capital Investment Plan (CIP). The CWP toolset is primary management software used by the FAA for requirements identification, internal budget preparation, implementation planning, resource estimating, project tracking and performance measuring of Facilities and Equipment projects. The CWP toolset is based on commercial;

off-the-shelf product, Oracle Primavera P6 Enterprise Portfolio Management. The FAA has implemented custom modules that utilize Oracle’s Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Application Programming Interface.

Q.31. If the contractor develops a new idea for improved performance in collaboration with the client, please confirm that the Government reserves the right to award the work directly to the prime contractor that proposed the idea.

A.31. No, that is not correct. All Contractors shall be provided fair opportunity to be considered for each task order to be issued unless one of the exceptions stated in Section G, Paragraph G.4, of the contract applies.

Q.32. Please confirm that the Government will work with the contractor to establish an invoicing schedule at the task order level.

A.32. Yes. The Government will work with the Contractor after award of a task order on the invoice submission process.

Q.33. The solicitation states "Under cost-type task orders, food and other miscellaneous expenses will be reimbursed at the prevailing FTR reimbursement rates." Please confirm that this statement is referring to per diem rates. Please confirm that the statement also applies to FFP task orders.

A.33. Yes. Those items would be considered part of the per diem rates. This statement does not apply to FFP task orders.

Q.34. Under the "Limitations on Subcontracting" clause (FAR 52.219-14), does the 50% rule for the Prime cover the life of the contract and all tasks, or by each separate task order awarded?

Might some tasks be more than 50% of the Prime's effort, and some less, and that an average over the life of the contract would determine the 50% rule?

A.34. The 50 percent rule covers the life of the contract.

FAR 52.219-14 states as follows:

“(c) By submission of an offer and execution of a contract, the Offeror/Contractor agrees that in performance of the contract in the case of a contract for—

(1) Services (except construction). At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern.”

Q.35. Will Volpe consider adding additional Key Personnel? Is there any benefit of the bidder to present additional Key Personnel?

A.35. No. The only Key Personnel identified under the contract is the “Program Manager”.

No, there is no benefit of the Offeror to propose additional Key Personnel. Page 81 of the RFP states as follows: “An Offeror that takes exception to any term or condition of the solicitation in its proposal may be eliminated from consideration.” Additional Key Personnel will be specified under individual task orders.

Q.36. To clarify the level-of-effort notification requirement, please confirm that the contractor should notify the Contracting Officer 30 days prior to exceeding 75% of the obligated level of effort.

A.36. Yes. The Contractor shall notify the Government in accordance with Section H, Paragraph H.5 LEVEL-OF-EFFORT NOTIFICATION, on page 45 of the RFP.

Q.37. Please clarify the following sentence: “Offerors should ensure that their subcontractors also submit the required number of copies even if the subcontractor sends its proprietary proposal data directly to the Government.” Please confirm this requirement is not intended to require subcontractors to separately submit copies of their prime’s proposals.

A.37. The subcontractors shall follow the instructions in the RFP. If subcontractors have information that it considers proprietary, this “unsanitized” information should be submitted, with the required number of copies, directly to the Government and/or provided to the Prime Offeror in a sealed package for the Prime Offeror to submit with its proposal to the Government. If this is the case, subcontractors should also submit a “sanitized” version of its cost proposal to the Prime Offeror so it can evaluate the subcontractor’s proposal submission. The subcontractors should not be submitting any copies of the Prime Offeror’s proposal.

Q.38. Please confirm Table of Contents pages are excluded from any page limit.

A.38. The Table of Contents pages are excluded from the page limit in the Technical Proposal.

Q.39. In Section L.4 Instructions for the Cost and Business Proposal nor Attachment J.1 - Labor Category Description and Qualifications, there is no mention of acquisition-related labor categories, although it is one of the 13 task areas mentioned in Section C.3. Is this an omission, or does the government actually not need acquisition support labor categories?

A.39. Offerors shall submit its cost and business proposal in accordance with the labor categories as indicated in the RFP, which include the positions: Administrative Support I and Administrative Support II. In addition, Offerors and/or subcontractors, shall propose “Administrative” labor, if any, in accordance with its approved accounting practices.

Q.40. Subcontracts section on page 90 and 91 of the RFP, the first paragraph indicates if subcontractors have an accounting system that has been approved by a cognizant audit agency (usually DCAA), then the subcontractor’s proposal MUST be submitted as a CPFF type subcontract. HOWEVER, the 09/14/16 webinar seemed to indicate that the subcontractor could be T&M or Labor Hour regardless of the aforementioned DCAA requirement as listed in the RFP. As such, those subcontractors would only be subject to Schedule's 1 and 2 versus 3, 4, 7 and 9. Could the Government please clarify the guidance on this issue?

A.40. The first sentence of the question is correct. Subcontractors that have an approved cost accounting system MUST be submitted as CPFF-type. The second sentence of the questions is not correct. The Government anticipates that only Consultants will be proposed under T&M or Labor Hour subcontracts. The schedules shall be provided in accordance with the instructions in the RFP.

Q.41. Exhibit A; Resume Checklist. Please confirm if this completed checklist should be included with Proposal.

A.41. Yes. A completed checklist is required.

Q.42. If narrative is required to address cost-realism for proposed labor category, where should this narrative be attached?

A.42. The narrative should be included in the appropriate section of the Offeror’s Cost and Business Proposal.

Q.43. Please confirm the vendor’s Presentation of Approach is to be presented by the Program Manager and/or up to three Senior-level staff members.

A.43. The Offeror’s Presentation of Management Approach is to be presented by the Program Manager and/or up to three Senior-level staff members. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.44. The instructions state: "Offerors may not use company senior or general managers or other employees or consultants to make any part of the oral presentation, including responding to questions, unless these individuals have been proposed to play a role as Program Manager or Senior Staff" Please clarify the definition of Senior Staff eligible to present. For example, could a member bid as a System Training Specialist with 15 years of experience represent "Senior Staff" during oral presentations?

A.44. Yes, if the Offeror determines this individual has the experience it determines to be “Senior” level.

Q.45. Please confirm additional labor categories beyond the ones listed on page 110 may be bid.

A.45. No other labor categories other than those stated on Page 110 of the RFP shall be proposed, except for Administrative labor that is used based on an Offeror’s and/or subcontractor’s approved accounting practices. Page 81 of the RFP states as follows: “An Offeror that takes exception to any term or condition of the solicitation in its proposal may be eliminated from consideration.”

Q.46. The solicitation states "The letter must include a commitment from the individual to perform the work (as required) for the duration of the base period of performance”. Please confirm that the statement above applies to key personnel only.

A.46. This statement refers to all individuals for whom resumes will be submitted in the Technical Proposal.

Q.47. Please confirm the commitment/resume validity letter to accompany resumes will not be counted towards staffing narrative page count or resume page count.

A.47. The commitment/resume validity letter will not be counted towards the narrative page count or the resume page count.

Q.48. Is it acceptable or required to submit past performance for subcontractors?

A.48. Yes. The Offeror shall follow the instructions in the RFP when submitting past performance for subcontractor’s evaluations. The Offeror shall provide a list and summary of up to five of the most relevant contracts with work performed by either the Prime Offeror or a Subcontractor proposed to perform over 20 percent of the hours in the Cost and Business Proposal.

Q.49. In the Order of Importance section, it appears weighting criteria for evaluation could change based on responses. Could the government please clarify initial scoring details for Technical, Cost, and Business Proposals? For example, are there points/percentages associated with subsections in each volume?

A.49. The Government is only obligated to tell Offerors the relative order of importance of the technical evaluation factors. The weighting of the criteria will not change. The actual weights of the individual technical evaluation factors will not be provided.

Q.50. Attachment J.1 states specific Senior Staff that do not align to the same labor categories on page 110, can the government please clarify if the staff listed in the table should be Senior?

A.50. If the question is referring to the various “Program Analyst” labor categories, the RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002. Also see Question No. 25. There are labor categories in Attachment No. J.1 for which resumes are not required.

Q.51. Page 110 identifies 13 Task Areas for Resumed Staff Members. There are only 12 Task Areas shown in the Table requiring resumes. Is the table correct?

A.51. The Table on Page 110 does not show task areas. The Table identifies the Labor Categories that are required to be proposed in the RFP and the required resumes for those positions. Also see Question No. 25.

Q.52 Is there a procedure or process for how the government will want to receive a subcontractor’s pricing info separately from the prime, and together with the prime?

A.52. The subcontractors shall follow the instructions in the RFP. If subcontractors have information that it considers proprietary, this “unsanitized” information should be submitted, with the required number of copies, directly to the Government and/or provided to the Prime Offeror in a sealed package for the Prime Offeror to submit with its proposal to the Government. If this is the case, subcontractors should also submit a “sanitized” version of its cost proposal to the Prime Offeror so it can evaluate the subcontractor’s proposal submission.

Q.53 Does the term “offeror” refer to the prime contractor only, or the prime contractor including its subcontractors?

A.53. The terms “offeror” and “prime contractor” are synonymous. These terms do not refer to subcontractors.

Q.54 Page 87 states that the annual salary should be divided by 2087. As an example, the annual hours for the PM and Change Management Specialist is 1880. Does that mean that 1880 does not equal a full time time employee?

A.54. No. The 1,880 labor hours would be considered a productive labor year, assuming that the 207 labor hour difference is for 10 Federal Holidays, Annual Leave, and Sick Leave.

Q.55. Is there a format that the government would like the Labor Build-Up? (Word, Excel) A.55. No. The Government doesn’t require a particular format as long as the information is provided in a detailed format.

Q.56. Does the government want all solicitation documents from major subs? If no, what, if any should they provide?

A.56. Yes. The Government requires that all the appropriate solicitation documents be submitted for all proposed subcontractors as discussed in the RFP.

Q.57. On page 84, it is stated that the "print must be spaced at 6 lines per inch" but it also states that the "text font must be no smaller than 12 point". These two statements are incompatible with each other since a 12 point font aligns approximately with 5.1 lines per inch on a page. Did the government intend to require that the font should be no smaller than 10 point?

A.57. No. The Government requires that the “text font may be no smaller than 12 point.”

The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.58. Would the Government consider removing the requirements for addresses being listed in resumes for any educational institutions, employers, experience, and specialized training?

A.58. No. Addresses are required to be listed in the resumes for educational institutions, employers, experience, and specialized training. The information on the resume needs to be verified.

Q.59. May subcontractors submit CPARS directly to the Government since the Offeror is not allowed to see subcontractor CPARS?

A.59. The subcontractor would not be submitting the CPARS evaluation directly to the Government. The Government uses the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) as the primary method to complete performance evaluations. The Volpe Center is able access completed past performance evaluations in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

Q.60. The Admin I labor category is not represented on schedule 6, was it omitted intentionally?

A.60. Yes. Schedule 6 should be completed to include individuals for whom resumes have been submitted to the Technical Proposal. A resume is not required for the Administrative Support I labor category.

Q.61. Section L.5.B (page 106) indicates that the page limit for the Past Performance section is 15 pages for the 5 relevant contracts with no limit on the required list of other current contracts for the past performance reports. In section L.5.D (page 112), the solicitation indicates that the Offeror must select no more than 5 contracts from the list of the relevant contracts and provide summaries on them. These summaries are limited to 10 pages (2 per contract). Please clarify the discrepancy between these two limitations.

A.61. There is a typographical error. The correct number of pages is 15. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.62. Is this a new requirement? If not, please provide name of incumbents and contract numbers.

A.62. No. The current Contractor that is supporting work similar to the CIAS requirement is Jerry Thompson & Associates, Inc., Contract No. DTRT57-12-D-30007, for Financial Analysis and Support Services.

Q.63. The key 5 most relevant past performance document have two different page limitations:

Section L.5.B page 106 indicates a maximum of 15 pages; Section L.5.D page 112 indicates 10 pages (two pages per contract). Please confirm which one applies.

A.63. There is a typographical error. The correct number of pages is 15. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.64. Does the list of past performance contract in the past 5 years have to include all contracts issued on or after November 2012 or the entire calendar year of 2012?

A.64. The list of past performance contracts would include a list of all relevant contracts in the past five years would be from 2011 and five years prior to the RFP issue date of August 26, 2016.

Q.65. Under the labor category of program analyst, could you please elaborate on the “other related fields”. Would a degree in economics or statistics qualify?

A.65. Yes, a degree in economics or statistics would qualify.

Q.66. Please confirm the number of Senior Staff members that will make the oral presentation for the Technical understanding.

A.66. The table on Page 107 of the RFP states “Program Manager and, at a minimum, three Senior-level staff members”.

Q.67. Please confirm whether the statements below are contradictory:

• “There is no limitation on the number of slides that an Offeror may use. However, the Government will not consider the slides as stand-alone documents or evaluate the information on the slides except as visual aids to the oral presentation” (page 108).

• “The Government will not accept for evaluation any documentation in addition to the information submitted with the proposal or the slides as provided on the day of the oral presentation” (page 108).

A.67. The statements are not contradictory. The second bulleted statement would refer to items such as company brochures, publications, or any other similar public relations-type documents.

Q.68. Please confirm whether the technical Q&A presenters would be excluded from participating in the Q&A for the Management Approach or vice versa.

A.68. The Technical Q&A presenters must be presenters during the Offeror’s Presentation of Technical Understanding. The Management Approach Q&A presenters must be presenters during the Offeror’s Presentation of Management Approach. The Senior-level staff members may present in both the Technical Understanding and Management Approach presentations.

Q.69. Is it required that we allocate the hours across all of the Labor Categories listed in the table on page 86 or is it required that we allocate the hours across the twenty resumes in accordance with the table on page 110.

A.69. Offerors are required to allocate the labor hours across all of the Labor Categories listed in the table on Page 86 of the RFP.

Q.70. The total staff for the Senior Systems Engineer Labor Category is 2; however the required resumes are 3, exceeding the total staff. Please confirm this is correct.

A.70. This is correct. Two Senior Systems Engineers are required for the proposal, but three Senior Systems Engineer resumes are required to be submitted.

Q.71. Please provide clarification that the annual salary should be divided by 2,087 hours instead of the customary 2080 hours.

A.71. The annual salary should be divided by 2,087 hours as stated on Page 87 of the RFP.

Q.72. EXHIBIT A: RESUME CHECKLIST indicates 20 positions which require resumes, but evaluation M.2.B. FACTORS FOR EVALUATION states 19. Please clarify which positions are evaluated under this solicitation.

A.72. The 20 positions are the Program Manager, which is one person, and the 19 technical staff members relative to the SOW. All 20 positions are to be verified under this solicitation.

Q.73. Under section L.4.A, the Government states “To facilitate Cost and Business Proposal preparation, a Checklist is provided for use by the Prime Offeror and each subcontractor. The Checklist must be completed and submitted as part of the proposal”. Is the Government referring to EXHIBIT B?

A.73. Yes. EXHIBIT B: CHECKLIST FOR SCHEDULES AND OTHER INFORMATION is on Page 93 of the RFP.

Q.74. Please confirm Exhibit B is required in Volume I, Section I.

A.74. EXHIBIT B: CHECKLIST FOR SCHEDULES AND OTHER INFORMATION,

should be included VOLUME I - SECTION II – DATA OTHER THAN CERTIFIED

COST OR PRICING DATA

Q.75. Should responders follow the narrative instructions in section L.4.D for SECTION II - DATA OTHER THAN CERTIFIED COST OR PRICING DATA or EXHIBIT B?

A.75. Offerors shall follow the narrative instructions in Section L.4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COST AND BUSINESS PROPOSAL, starting on page 85 of the RFP.

EXHIBIT B: CHECKLIST FOR SCHEDULES AND OTHER INFORMATION, is provided to facilitate Cost and Business Proposal preparation. The Checklist is provided for use by the Prime Offeror and each subcontractor. The Checklist must be completed and submitted as part of the proposal.

Q.76. EXHIBIT B details the signed letters of intent (LOI) for planned new hires, but PART A – STAFFING (VOLUME II) lists the detailed requirements for the LOI. Please confirm LOI’s should be included in Part A of Volume II.

A.76. The signed Letters of Intent should be included in PART A – STAFFING (VOLUME II) of the Technical Proposal.

Q.77. The Government requires LOI’s for all Resumes, but only the Program Manager is identified under the Key Personnel clause in Section I, Paragraph I.7. Does the Government view any other positions as Key Personnel?

A.77. The Program Manager is the only individual to be identified as Key Personnel under the contract. Additional Key Personnel will be specified under individual task orders.

Q.78. Please confirm Attachment No. J.5 and Exhibit C are not required if CPARS is available.

A.78. The last paragraph on Page 112 of the RFP states as follows:

“Offerors must send a Client Authorization Letter (Exhibit C) and a Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment No. J.5), to all non-Federal Government references listed in the five most relevant sources to assist in the timely processing of past performance evaluations. Client Authorization Letters must be mailed (or sent electronically by e-mail) to individual references to allow a reasonable period of time for completed past performance evaluations to be received by the Volpe Center by the due date of proposals.

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that Client Authorization Letters and Past Performance Questionnaires are completed and returned to the Volpe Center Contracting Officer no later than the proposal due date. Offerors shall also include a copy of all completed Client Authorization Letters or e-mails as part of its Past Performance submission. Offerors may use the Client Authorization Letter and Past Performance Questionnaire for the Federal Government agencies that have not completed past performance evaluations in CPARS.”

To further clarify your question, the Government uses the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) as the primary method to complete performance evaluations. Completed performance evaluations may be accessed in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

Q.79. C.2 Introduction identifies “competitive sourcing and labor analysis” as a function of ABP-300. However, the scope of work does not appear to include tasks related to those functions. Does Volpe intend to include support for those key functions through CIAS?

A.79. If required, specific CIAS task orders will identify the need for “competitive sourcing and labor analysis”. There is a history of the FAA requiring these studies, but the need has not surfaced recently. This may include an Air Traffic Controller Staffing plan or analysis, a facility Technical Operations Maintenance Staffing Plan or analysis, or a Research and Development Engineering Staffing Plan or analysis. The requirement may be regional or national in scope. The CIAS solicitation labor categories describe all the skills needed to perform analysis and planning related to staffing studies.

Q.80. Section L.5.B states the total overall page limit for the summaries of the Offeror's 5 most relevant contacts is 15 pages. However, the first paragraph on page 112 indicates the “total page limit for the summaries is 10 pages (two pages per contract)". Is the page limit for the relevant contracts summaries 15 or 10 pages?

A.80. The correct limit for the page summaries is 15 pages. The RFP has been amended.

See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.81. There appears to be references to four separate named 'lists of contracts' requested for the Past Performance section (Required List of Other Current Contracts, List of Relevant Contracts, List of Five Most Relevant Contracts, and List of Other Less Relevant Contracts Required). Can you please clarify the correct names of the lists we should provide, and of those, which are within page count for the Past Performance Section (and which are not)?

A.81. Page 106, Section L, Section L.5.B. PAGE LIMITS, states as follows:

“The maximum number of pages that may be submitted is as follows:

1. Staffing: The Staffing narrative may not exceed five pages. Resumes submitted may not exceed three pages per resume, subject to the same font size and margins as noted above.

2. Past Performance: The total overall page limit for the summaries of the Offeror's five most relevant contracts is 15. There is no limit for the required list of other current contracts, for past performance reports, or for any information submitted by the Offeror to demonstrate that it has made its best efforts to ensure that customers provide past performance reports to the Volpe Center.”

Q.82. With the goal of ensuring the prime can deliver 50% or more of the work as effectively as possible, please advise if it is acceptable for the Offeror to provide additional named staff than appears in the column titled "Total Staff" in the RFP. For example - the RFP suggests that 4 total staff of Senior Financial Cost Analysts are required, with 3 resumes required of the Offeror.

If the Offeror chooses to respond under the assumption that 4 total staff is the equivalent of 4 FTEs, and provides rationale for how the equivalent 4 FTE work could be split among 6 total people (of which 3 would be resources with resumes, as required), would this approach be deemed acceptable?

A.82. The Government cannot advise an Offeror how to prepare its proposal. Offerors shall prepare its proposal in accordance with the instructions in the RFP, or as amended.

Page 81 of the RFP states as follows: “An Offeror that takes exception to any term or condition of the solicitation in its proposal may be eliminated from consideration.”

Q.83. Does the total staff listed in the table in L.5.D (i.e., 25 total staff) represent the total staffing required? It does not appear to match the allocation of hours in Schedule 7 (page 102).

For example, for most labor categories with 600 hours, a position is not listed in the table in L.5.D, likely because it is a part time position). However, the Change Management Facilitator as an example only has 600 hours but does have a position listed in L.5.D.

A.83. The solicitation is used as a general guideline to evaluate the Offeror’s capability required on the contract. This guideline is used for a typical cadre of staff under the contract. Specific staff numbers required may differ and will be determined on a task by task basis.

Q.84. The tables containing the "Years of specialized Experience" for the Junior and the Entry- Level Program Analyst both indicate that 3 years of specialized experience are required.

However, the "Experience Requirements, following each position's table, does not include a definition of the Specialized requirements similar to Senior and Mid-Level Program Analyst. It appears as this is a typo, and the "Years of specialized Experience" for the Junior and the Entry- Level Program Analyst should be 0. Please confirm that this is the correct value to use.

A.84. The years of specialized experience for the Junior Program Analyst should be “0”.

The years of specialized experience for the Entry Level Program Analyst should be “0”.

The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.85. Section L.5.B states the total overall page limit for the summaries of the Offeror's 5 most relevant contacts is 15 pages. However, the first paragraph on page 112 indicates the “total page limit for the summaries is 10 pages (two pages per contract)". Is the page limit for the relevant contracts summaries 15 or 10 pages?

A.85. The pages for the most relevant contracts is 15. The RFP has been amended. See Amendment No. A0002.

Q.86. Would Volpe consider changing the font requirement to no smaller than 11 point font?

A.86. No. Text font must be no smaller than 12 point. However, text included on figures, charts, and/or matrices may be reduced to 8 point.

Q.87. Can you please indicate placement of where the Cover Page should go in relation to the Title Page?