Revised Questions and Answers.docx

Q1. Will the Government accept Contractor format of the PPI Sheet (RFP, Attachment 4) which conforms to the format requirements for Volume II [see attachment to this document]?

A1. Any format is acceptable as long as it conforms to Attachment 4 PPI and it is within the five page limit.

Q2. Will the Government please confirm that two past performance references in a prime’s proposal will be considered complaint and responsive?

A2. Yes, two is acceptable, but no more than three.

Q3. Will the Government provide the email address to which the Offeror is expected to send the welcome e-mail with the registration instructions required for the demonstration, no later than the proposal due date?

A3. The email address for the welcome e-mail will be kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil and mark.restad.1@us.af.mil. It will then be forwarded to the tech team for evaluation.

Q4. The first paragraph states that the one-hour recorded lesson presentation must cover (first hour, Introduction & Review, Presentation, and Guided Practice); however, the following paragraph states that the instructor must provide an introduction, presentation, guided practice, application, and feedback and conclusion, as outlined in the lesson plan which is a two hour lesson plan according to Appendix 5. Can the Government clarify this discrepancy and if the recorded plan should include only the first hour lesson outlines (introduction, presentation, guided practice), or all outlines ( introduction, presentation, guided practice, application, and feedback and conclusion)?

A4. The recorded plan must include only the first hour of the lesson (introduction, presentation, and guided practice). The feedback and conclusion are not required, see Amendment 0001.

Q5. Is the Government asking the Offeror to develop a PowerPoint presentation (minimum of 10 and maximum of 15 slides) that covers the entire 2-hours lesson outlines (introduction, presentation, guided practice, application, feedback, and conclusion) or that only covers the recorded 1-hour lesson presentation demonstration?

A5. Yes. The PowerPoint presentation must cover all objectives and samples of behavior stated in the lesson plan. The instructor must provide an introduction, presentation, guided practice, application, feedback, and conclusion, as outlined in the lesson plan, covering all two hours of the lesson plan.

Q6. Is the Government expecting the contractor to include the cost of curriculum development in its overall per hour cost? Or will the Government have a separate contract for material development and updates required for in class use?

A6. As stated in paragraph 3.1.4 of the PWS, “the contractor will update and/or develop classroom slides and activities in the target language that support each lesson plan. In accordance with paragraph 8.2 of the PWS, “the hourly rate must cover instruction of students and all functions necessary to operate the Virtual School as outlined in this Performance Work Statement.” This includes the update and/or development of classroom slides and activities.”

Q7. Will the Government provide a separate CLIN for labor hours in support of PWS 3.1.4., 3.4.3.2., 3.4.3.8, 4.1.7, and 5.2.6, ?

A7. No. In accordance with paragraph 8.2 of the PWS, “the hourly rate must cover instruction of students and all functions necessary to operate the Virtual School as outlined in this Performance Work Statement.”

Q8. The main contractor for only provided the Instructors. As a subcontractor we know how the platform works and the courses because we did the job directly, however the contractor will not be able to answer about us in the past performance, because we were not the main contractor. They will not be able to answer about the technical questions since they provided everything. However, the platform and materials that we have are much better than the ones provided under that contract. Our platform is more robust, our materials are state of art developed by editorials and subject matter expert. Would be possible for us to bid on this contract even when we were subcontractors?

A8. Yes, subcontractor added in Table 5 of Amended Addendum 52.212-2, see Amendment 0001.

Q9. We have also some question about the price, the agency is requesting price per unit. We are adding the unit price and the cost per 60 minutes hour, however if the language lessons are 50 minutes or 45 minutes our price decreases. For the unit price, would you prefer per 60 minutes or per session? In our proposal we will add both prices but in the documents as far we understand the price is per 60 minutes, is that correct?

A9. In accordance with the PWS Appendix Four, “each class is 2-hour in duration with a 10-minute break.” In accordance with PWS paragraph 8.2, course units will cover “eMentor courses at an hourly rate per course hour unit.” The government is requesting offerors bid an hourly rate for an hour of instruction (course units), which covers “instruction of students and all functions necessary to operate the Virtual School.”

Q10. It is stated that there is an expected “student throughput of 1,050 students, supported by 18,953 course hours.” Do these 18,953 course hours include prep time, or is that the total of classroom instruction hours?

A10. The 18,953 course hours will cover classroom instruction.

Q11. Can we be provided with eMentor curriculum prior to award, and when?

A11. No. IAW PWS paragraph 3.1.3, “within 15 days of the contract [Period of Performance] PoP date, the Client will provide the contractor English versions of all syllabi, and lesson plans.” In addition a sample lesson plan is provided at Appendix 5.

Q12. What is needed for an instructor to be considered certified in the defined requirements in PWS 3.4.3.1-12?

A12. The contractor will certify instructors who meet all requirements and are trained by the contractor to fulfill responsibilities defined in PWS paragraph 3.4 and subparagraphs.

Q13. Given that there is a requirement for a transition/phase-out plan, will the government consider a phase-in period at contract start?

A13. No. IAW PWS paragraph 3.3.2, “on Day One of the contract PoP start, the contractor is responsible for beginning the scheduling process for students available to take courses in the ‘Top 20’ most frequently scheduled languages.”

Q14. In Attachment 1, regarding the technical proposal, it is stated that lesson demonstrations will take place in either Bulgarian, French, or Spanish. Is it up to the offeror to decide which language the demonstration will be in?

A14. Yes, The offeror may select Bulgarian, French, or Spanish.

Q15. Would the government consider a past performance effort as relevant if it involved a virtual school and online instruction (not specifically online language instruction)?

A15. IAW Addendum to FAR 52,512-2 Evaluation instructions, Table 5, past performance is based on the offeror’s experience “providing language instruction.”

Q16. In Attachment 2, Table 5, it states that a Past Performance effort “must be done as the prime contractor, or, if a member of a joint venture, the Offeror must have contributed at least 50% of the effort” as a characteristic for relevancy. Would a Past Performance effort be considered relevant if the offeror performed as a subcontractor for 100% of a task order that meets the rest of the relevancy requirements regarding size and scope of work?

A16. Yes, subcontractor added in Table 5 of Amended Addendum 52.212-2, see Amendment 0001.

Q17. Re Attachment 1 - Section L Instructions, Past Performance - Volume 3.(a), 3.(b)., and 3.(c).: Under Section (a) Volume Organization, the Government has listed Summary and Organization Structure Change History as separate sections. However, (b) Summary Page states the information to be included in this section is the Organization Structure Change. Will the Government clarify that Summary and Organization Structure Change are the same section?

A17. The offeror should provide information on “changes in the organization of the offering company” and “how these changes impact the relevance of any efforts identified for the past performance evaluation. This information should be summarized in (3) Summary Page and detailed in (5) Organization Structure Change History.

Q18. Re Formatting: Will the Government confirm only Volume II – Technical Proposal is to be double spaced?

A18. Yes.

Q19. Re Submission: Will the Government confirm proposal submission is via email to ryan.schnepf@us.af.mil and Kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil ? Attachment 1, Volume 1 - Section B.1.(g). Communications references post-submission communication, but the method of proposal delivery is not included within the solicitation.

A19. Yes, corrected in Amended Addendum 52.212-1, see Amendment 0001.

Q20. Would the government consider excluding the table of contents, glossary, and summary pages from the 50-page limit of the technical proposal (Volume II)?

A20. No, we have increased the Technical Volume page limit to 75. Corrected in Amended Addendum 52.212-1, corrected in Amendment 0001

Q21. Would the government consider extending the proposal due date?

A21. No.

Q22. In PWS 4.3 Helpdesk Support, it states that “the contractor shall actively monitor and support every class that runs.” Does this mean that a helpdesk technician needs to be present in every class or that they can simply be on call outside of the virtual classroom?

A22. The contractor will determine how best to meet helpdesk support requirements outlined in the PWS. IAW PWS paragraph 4.3, “One or more members of the helpdesk team will be on call whenever classes are in session (thirty minutes prior and throughout the class session).” The paragraph further states, “Within three minutes’ notification of any technical issue during class that the eMentor instructor cannot immediately resolve, a technical support representative will remotely access the classroom to address the system, hardware, and/or software problems or failures.”

Q23. Reference: Attachment 1; Attachment 4 PPI; Section (m)B.3(e), Page 6. Discussion: Per the instructions, PPI references are limited to 5 pages each. Attachment 4 is 3.5 pages without the requested information, leaving only 1.5 pages for a response. Font in Attachment 4 is 11pt TNR, single space. Question: To ensure each offeror has the ability to demonstrate their full capabilities and relevancy, will the Government please consider: Allowing single spacing in the PPI references, not counting the instructions; OR Allowing the offeror to use the font size/spacing used in Attachment 4.

A23. There is no spacing or font requirement for the Past Performance Volume only the Technical Volume.

Q24. Reference: Attachment 1; Section (m)B.3(d); Page 6. Discussion: (d) Performance Surveys/Questionnaires: …The offeror shall send out the PPQ (RFQ, Attachment 5), using the Past Performance Evaluation Cover Letter provided within same attachment, to each of their references. “…the Past Performance Team will contact the points of contact identified in the PPQs. A telephone interview will be conducted utilizing the Present/Past Performance Questionnaire.” Question: Please confirm that the customer POCs shall complete the PPQs and send them directly to the POCs identified in the solicitation. Please also confirm that the Past Performance Team will then contact the POC to discuss the customer provided responses in the completed PPQs.

A24. Yes.

Q25. Reference: Solicitation; Section Supplies or Services and Prices/Cost, Item 0001, Supplies/Services; Page 3. Discussion: NON-PERSONAL SERVICES: Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) eMentor Course Delivery and Management Support Services. In accordance with (IAW) Performance Work Statement (PWS) dated 27 May 2020. Question: Please confirm 27 May 2020 should be 9 June 2020, IAW the PWS that was released with this solicitation.

A25. Yes, corrected in Amendment 0001.

Q26. Reference: Attachment 1; Section (m)B.2.SF 3(5); Page 5. Discussion: (5) The offeror will provide a sample PowerPoint presentation for the “Involvement in Conflicts” lesson – minimum of 10 and maximum of 15 slides with embedded web site links, developed IAW PWS paragraph 3.1.4 and Appendix 5. Question: Please confirm that the 10-15 slides allotted for the “Involvement in Conflicts” PowerPoint presentation are not included in the Volume 2 Technical Proposal page limit.

A26. The slides are included in the Technical Volume page limit. We have increased the page limit to 75. Corrected in Amended Addendum 52.212-1, corrected in Amendment 0001.

Q27. Reference: Attachment 1; Section (m)B.2. SF2(1); Page 4. Discussion: (1) Key Personnel. The offeror will submit resumes for the two qualified personnel intended to fill the two positions designated as key personnel IAW PWS paragraph 7.1 and PWS Figure 7.3. Question: Please confirm resumes are not included in the 50-page limit and may be identified as non-counted pages or included as an appendix.

A27. The resumes are included in the Technical Volume page limit. We have increased the Technical Volume page limit to 75. Corrected in Amended Addendum 52.212-1, corrected in Amendment 0001.