Draft_solicitation_combined_questions_sheet_-_final_3_21_16_V2.pdf

Questions Answers Was this a follow-on requirement? If so, could you please provide the incumbent contract number for this opportunity? The current contract is GS-23F-9755H/GST0213CJ0044.

Please confirm that the due date for response to the subject RFI is March 20, 2016. 3/4/2016 is the correct date for all responses.

My question presumes the final RFP will be substantially the same as the draft.

If after initial evaluations there is no clear choice for the source selection authority to choose as the awardee, will the leading offers be reevaluated and re-color coded so that a clear choice for the source selection authority is apparent from the evaluations?

In accordance with FAR Clause 52.212-1 it is the Government's intent to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

Will there be a pre-bid conference for this solicitation? If so, will this information be posted on the solicitation updates?

There will NOT be a pre-bid conference for this requirement.

On the Addendum to 52.212-2 – Evaluation – Commercial Items paragraph 1.1 (page 68), would the government consider a multi-award IDIQ to ensure competitive pricing at the Task Order level?

A multi-award IDIQ will not be considered. Competitive pricing submitted at the time of proposal submission will be used to determine best value.

On the Addendum to 52.212-2 – Evaluation – Commercial Items paragraph 2.3.2.A.

(page 71) and paragraph 2.5 (page 75) the government states that both the staffing and proposed pricing will be evaluated based on Task Order 0001, does the government intend to award Task Order 0001 simultaneously with the award for the

IDIQ?

The Government does NOT have intention to award Task Order 0001 simultaneously with the IDIQ. Task Order 0001 will be updated from the draft solicitation. Task Oder 0001 will be used as a sample task order for evaluation purposes only.

On the Addendum to 52.212-2 – Evaluation – Commercial Items paragraph 2.4 Factor 2 – Past Performance (page 72), the Government discusses “recent and relevant record of performance in supplying the services that meet the task order requirements”. Will the government place greater preference on commercial/private past performance or government/DoD past performance? If so, can you please specify the weighting?

Higher relevancy will be assigned for contracts that are most similar to the scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires and may contribute to an overall higher relevancy rating for the offeror .

Section 8.a. of Attachment 2, the DD 254, states that the place of performance for classified work shall be:

Ref 8.a.: ACTUAL LOCATION:

(1) SAF/MG; 1790 Air Force Pentagon, Room 5E1073; Washington, DC 20330

(2) SAF/MG; 1500 W. Perimeter Rd., Ste. 4170; Andrews AFB, MD 20762

(3) SAF/MG; Maxwell AFB, AL 36112 Please confirm that all classified work shall take place at the three aforementioned government locations

Work, including classified work,depending on the need,will be completed at varying Air Force wide locations and is not limited to the three mentioned locations.

Is there a RFQ posted for this project at this time? No, the request for proposal has NOT been posted.

Does the Air Force plan to set a certain percentage of this IDIQ aside for small businesses?

The Government does NOT intend to set aside any portion of the requirement. This will be competed on a full and open competition basis.

Has a set-aside determination been made yet ?

The Government does NOT intend to set aside any portion of the requirement. This will be competed on a full and open competition basis.

The heading lists the staffing plan "for the base IDIQ and Task Order 0001". Please specify what staff should be provided for the "base IDIQ".

The staffing categories are being left to the vendor to develop.

Can the Government estimate the number of projects and the range in the level of effort for these projects? Or what percentage or basis of estimate can contractors anticipate in terms of surge level of effort?

The total number of projects is unpredictable at this time and there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. Currently, the surge capacity is estimated to be less than 10% of the total value of the contract.

How does the Government plan to reflect the desire for industry best practices in Section L, and in turn, evaluate and value the ability to provide industry best practices in Section M?

The Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation Criteria do not specifically identify a discrete evaluation factor for industry best practices.

If there is no Government furnished equipment (desktops or laptops), will licenses of iGrafx be available to the contractor as furnished by the Government or shall the contractor factor in pricing to accommodate this toolset?

At this time the Government does not intend to provide laptops and computers. iGrafx licenses will be provided on limited bases for contractor personnel use. See PWS section 1.2.2.3

Does the Government also require the contractor to be a CPI certifier? No.

How many Black Belt and Green Belt courses does the Government estimate per year? How long does the Government expect each course to be? What is the estimated number of Air Force attendees per year for each of these courses (i.e. how many Air Force personnel are Green Belt and Black Belt training each year)? At what locations does the Government expect the contractor to deliver these courses?

The contractor will not be conducting formal classroom Black Belt and Green Belt courses under this requirement.

Training and mentorship to Government employees may take place on specific projects or at the C-Suite level.

Does the Government intend for the contractor to use Green Belt and Black Belt training materials already being used by the Air Force, or for the contractor to provide our own training materials?

The Government intends for the vendor to provide training materials that may be required for specific projects or senior leadership mentoring. A formal Green Belt and Black Belt curriculum is not a requirement of this solicitation.

Is the reference to CPI mentorship in Task 3 of the Task Order 001 defined as the training courses for Green Belt and Black Belt training, or does the Government intend for CPI mentorship to be more than just the delivery of the training courses?

Task Order 0001 is being revised. The Government intends to evaluate a revised sample Task Order 0001 for evaluation purposes only when the Final Solicitation is released.

Where does the Government want contractors to address our knowledge, capability and approach to Strategy Alignment and Deployment Support in the Technical and Management Approach Volume? Please address under the Technical Volume.

Are BEA-compliant architectural documents stored in formats other than iGrafx or Visio (e.g. System Architect, etc.)?

Other formats are used by the Government. The use of those formats will be defined in individual task orders.

Does the Government use Microsoft Project Server/Enterprise?

No, the government does not use Microsoft Project Server/Enterprise.

Will the current incumbent have a transition-out plan available to the Government and the new contractor when the period of performance ends on the current contract? Yes, for ongoing projects.

Is a transition-out plan required for every task order of the IDIQ over the potential five year period of performance of the IDIQ?

No. Some projects will have definitive starts and stops. A transition out plan will be required for continuing projects at the time a new successor contract is awarded.

Does the fact that the contractor’s Firm may be succeeded by a different Firm at the end of the task order’s period of performance imply that there may be more than one award for the IDIQ, or that the Government may re-compete the IDIQ prior to the execution of any of the option years?

Only one ID/IQ award is planned. The Government does not plan to recompete the IDIQ between option years. The IDIQ will be awarded to one vendor.

What positions and labor categories does the Government view as key? Will the Government require the submission of resumes for any key personnel?

This solicitation does not address Key Personnel. The Offeror should propose qualified personnel for all positions.

For the labor categories that require Master Black Belts and Black Belts, is there a ratio of Black Belts to Master Black Belts that the Government anticipates is best suited for this contract? The offeror should propose their best approach.

Will the Government confirm that the contractors must provide certified Master Black Belt and Black Belt trainers and facilitators? If so, how will the Government ensure the contractor will provide certified Master Black Belt and Black Belt personnel who have CPI training experience and have been certified by a recognized third-party certification body?

We expect to see reflection of those skills within the contractor proposal. As individual task orders and requirements are defined, we would expect to see certifications and credentialing provided by the contractor.

What is the estimated mix of work on Government site versus on Contractor site? Dependent upon the requirements of each Task Order.

How will the Government recognize this importance of quality in Section M, and in turn, evaluate and value the proven capability to deliver quality?

The Government will recognize the importance of quality in Section M.

Is there a dollar ceiling for this IDIQ contract? Yes there will be a ceiling to this contract.

Would the Government consider limiting or only requiring the SECRET clearance requirement to those contractors who will be working on the contract full-time and an extended length of time, and for tasks that will involve classified material? Will an “interim” SECRET clearance be acceptable for anyone supporting tasks that involve classified material?

No. All personnel working on this contract must have appropriate clearance required. Per the IDIQ PWS and individual Task Orders, required security requirements are identified. We do not intend to issue "interim" Secret clearances. All contractor personnel must maintain the level of security required for their contracted duties for the life of the contract

Does the 8 point limit for the text also apply to graphics?

8 point minimum applies to all text throughout the proposal.

What are the estimated level of effort for each of the 3 tasks and period of performance for this initial Task Order?

we expect to see reflection of those skills within the contractor proposal. As individual task orders and requirements are defined, we would expect to see certifications and credentialing.

Would the Government define “substantial contracting effort” as 20 to 30 percent of the work being profiled in the subcontractor’s past performance? And would the Government allow for all of the most relevant subcontractor past performance to be identified and evaluated? The Government is in the processess of drafting the RFP.

Would the Government add percentage of work performed by the contractor or subcontractor as an additional data element for each Past Performance citation? No Does this requirement apply just to the prime contractor? If so, suggest the Government limit this requirement to the Program Manager and any other key personnel held by the prime contractor. This question is unclear to the Government.

Would the Government include sources such as third-party analyst rankings and ratings, awards from the Federal Government and independent Industry organizations, in areas of relevance to the PWS, to validate technical competency and provide additional rationale for an evaluation rating of the contractor’s technical approach?

Yes, these are helpful indications of qualifications of contractors.

What existing analysis or reports have been completed as part of earlier MHA reductions that may be available to the contractor? Is the 25% reduction a manpower or budget reduction to the MHA account?

Task Order 0001 will be revised and is just a sample for evaluation purposes in the final solicitation.

Could the Government please provide a listing of all field operating activities of other organizations outside of the HQ AF that are included in this scope? Projects are Air Force wide and may extend across DoD.

For open-ended requirements such as 1.1.1.16 and 1.1.1.18, what is the basis of estimate for determining level of effort? Will the Government allow the contractor to make assumptions based on previous engagements?

The Government cannot locate 1.1.1.16 and 1.1.1.18. This question is unclear.

Could the Government clarify what is the scope of 1.1.2.1? SAF/MG, all MHA, or all AF business processes?

Task Order 0001 will be revised and is just a sample for evaluation purposes in the final solicitation.

Outside of the focus of Task 1, are there other known tasks that are outside or beyond the scope of the current incumbent? Are there other areas that will be a focus of the new contract? The scope of this IDIQ is defined within the PWS.

Will direction be given to the contractor on any work from organizations outside of SAF/MG or DCMO?

The scope of the task orders and who the contractor will be working with will be set out in the task orders under the IDIQ. Contractual direction will be given by the contracting officer and/or the COR.

Could the Government please list all contractor positions that will be expected to support the PMR 1.2.6.8.1? This will depend on the offeror's approach.

Will the training be offered to a specific AFSC or be spread out as the Air Force desires?

This will be dependent on the requirements of Task Orders.

Questions