Attachment_O_Industry_Day_Draft_Pre-Sol_Q As.pdf

AFCAA Cost Estimating Modeling Support Industry Day and Pre-Solicitation

Questions and Answers

# Question: Answer:

What type of contract vehicle will be established?

This will be solicited full and open on www.fbo.gov without a set-aside. The contract type will be a hybrid

Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) and Firm Fixed Price

(FFP).

Will the RFP include sample tasks, if so will they be awardable with the initial contract?

There are no sample tasks, as this is not a task order type contract (i.e., Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite

Quantity) and there will be no task orders issued under the terms of the contract. The Government has detailed all tasks in the Performance Work Statement

(PWS). Only Task 7 is applicable to a specific period

(i.e., Option Period 2), which is clearly described in the draft solicitation.

What is the anticipated funding level for the base period? A. Has funding already been allocated for this contract? B. What are the anticipated funding sources?

The Government will not provide a specific funding level or range of funding for the Base or any other period. Offerors are expected to propose appropriate costs and prices consistent with their unique technical and management approach.

A. Yes

B. This is an R&D contract utilizing Air Force

3600 type funding

How do you plan to address OCI?

a. Mitigation allowed

i. Within a company (firewalled employees)

ii. Within the team (firewalled companies and their employees)

b. Mitigation not consideration

Offerors will be required to identify any known OCI concerns as part of their proposals. The Government will address any identified OCI issues in accordance with the terms of the solicitation.

Will this be a single award or multiple awards?

a. If multiple awards will it be at the Contract level or by commodity (e.g., each commodity is lot)?

The Government intends to make a single contract award for this requirement.

Are the tasks in Section 3 expected to be completed in the sequence in which they are laid out?

a. If not will the sequence be defined in each subsequent task order?

b. Or will the contractor be allowed to establish the sequence based on the unique requirements of the tasking?

The PWS reflects that Tasks 1 through 6 will be ongoing throughout the period of performance. Please see response above for Item 2 concerning the applicability of task orders.

Have you already established the initial work plan for the Base Period?

A high level summary Plan of Action and Milestones

(POA&M) will be included in the solicitation.

Offerors shall use this document to develop a Notional

POA&M that describes their proposed approach to meet all PWS and contract requirements. The offeror’s Draft POA&M will be evaluated by the

Government as part of the offeror’s Technical

Capability proposal volume. After contract award, the

POA&M will then be a ‘living document’ that will be updated by the contractor based on the Government’s guidance and mission.

Section 8.0 stipulates security requirements and processes. Will work space in a classified environment (TS for Space Systems and

SECRET for all others) be made available by

AFCAA or will the work be required to be performed at the contractor’s facility?

See revised PWS and DD254 that outlines all security requirements. For the TS level requirements, the

Government will provide TS space/equipment via

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with another

Government Agency.

All Secret data will be handled at the contractor’s facility.

Do you anticipate requiring resumes for the

Integrated Program/Technical Manager and/or commodity-specific task leaders demonstrate that the required knowledge skills and abilities

(KSA) are resident on the proposed team?

Yes, resumes will be required for all key personnel proposed for this effort and the Program/Technical

Manager for the contract and for each of the commodity-specific areas will also be required. The

PWS outlines the KSAs for the subject matter expert

(SME) positions.

In section 3.3.1, does “non-AF programs” include programs outside of the DoD but relevant in terms of technology?

Yes.

Will the CEM commodity specific templates be included as CDRL on subsequent contracts?

Yes. The Government anticipates that the commodity-specific templates may be included as

CDRLs on subsequent contracts.

Will the data collecting be done primarily by the Contractor Staff?

Yes, the Contractor has the responsibility of completing these tasks with minimal Government oversight. The Government will be hold open communication with the Contractor and will provide clarification or guidance through the Technical

Direction Memorandums (TDM) that will be issued for travel or other tasks that are assigned within the scope of the contract.

Subject Matter Experts (SMES) noted in PWS

4.0 outlines the KSA per commodity – does the candidate must have experience in all areas listed? Example: 4.4.1 for the Software

Engineer/Systems Analyst states the candidate must have at least five years of progressive systems engineering experience. Must have experience in the following subject areas: 1)

Technical – AIS/DBMS system requirements analysis, systems analysis, software design, software analysis, computer programming, engineering, system design, management of information technology systems. 2) Cost –

Knowledge of cost drivers that drive common cost estimating methodologies. Does the candidate have to have at least five years’ experience in all of these areas?

The SMEs, as well as any other individual, must fully meet or exceed the specific years and type of experience for the particular SME or commodity area.

In this specific commodity area, Software

Engineer/Systems Analyst, an individual with only computer programming experience would not meet the experience requirement.

The minimum of five years of progressive engineering experience does not require that the individual have five years dedicated to each specific area (e.g., 8 separate subject areas x 5 years each = 40 total years of experience); but the individual must demonstrate the progressive experience across each of the separate subject areas. For example, an individual would not be considered to meet the progressive experience requirement if four of the years were dedicated exclusively to computer programming, as the remaining year of experience would not represent a sufficient amount of progressive experience across the seven other subject areas.

The knowledge of cost drivers does not require experience as a dedicated cost estimator or analyst, but the individual in this example must have at least five years of that cost knowledge within the applicable technical area. Knowledge of cost drivers in design of packaging and handling equipment would not satisfy the requirement under Software Engineer/Systems

Analyst.

It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the qualification documents (i.e., resumes) clearly demonstrate the individual fully meets the requirements for the subject area(s) they will perform under during the contract.

Will this requirement be a joint effort with other organizations such as CADE or other AFCAA divisions or organizations?

No. While the contractor will be required to cooperate with other organizations, this is not a joint effort. The contractor will be responsible for performing all PWS requirements itself, and may at times include performing in either a lead or support role when required to interface with other CEM related organizations. It is anticipated that the contractor’s personnel will meet with the CADE team or other organizations on a regular basis to fully support this effort.

15 Has the NAICS code been posted?

Posted under the FBO.gov Special Notice: 541712 --

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except

Biotechnology)

Does the Government plan to release a draft

Section L and Section M?

Yes, tentatively the Government is finalizing these sections and will post them on the FBO Special

Notice.

Does the Government envision requiring past performance questionnaires as part of the review of past performance?

Yes. The use of Past Performance Questionnaires is anticipated. The RFP will explain the past performance requirements in detail.

How will the Government evaluate the relevancy of past performance?

The Government will evaluate the past performance, to include relevancy, per Section M of the solicitation.

How does the Government plan to evaluate the qualifications of personnel as reflected in the

PWS?

Qualifications of Personnel, will evaluate the qualifications and experience of the offeror's proposed key personnel for the following positions: Integrated

Program/Technical Manager; Weapon System

Commodity Task Leaders; and Subject Matter

Experts. The offeror will also be evaluated on its extent and level of commitment to ensure the availability and assignment of its proposed key personnel to the contract for a minimum of twelve

(12) months after contract award, as well as its proposed approach to replace any key personnel during contract performance with individuals of comparable qualifications and experience to those originally proposed by the offeror.

Will the Government require resumes for all proposed personnel, is it required to propose staff in each labor category?

Yes, for the Key Personnel as follows: Integrated

Program/Technical Manager (1); Weapon System

Commodity Task Leaders (9 commodities); and the

Senior Cost Estimators (9 commodities). It is the discretion of the vendor as to proposing personnel acting as the commodity lead and the senior cost estimator.

Are bidders required to have seniors, journeymen, and juniors for every commodity type?

The Government will evaluate the reasonableness and completeness of the offeror's proposed approach to plan, staff, monitor, and manage the effective and efficient performance for all requirements called for under the solicitation. The evaluation will include the offeror's proposed approach for staffing, to include recruitment and retention and the experience and education levels of the proposed personnel.

Has a goal been established for small and/or disadvantaged business subcontracting (ref.

Industry Day event for AFCAA R&D for ‘Cost

Estimating Modeling (CEM) briefing, slide

#16)?

The small business subcontracting goals will be detailed in the RFP.

Would the Government consider requiring

Compensation Plans to augment the cost realism analysis (ref. Industry Day event for

AFCAA R&D for ‘Cost Estimating Modeling

(CEM) briefing, slide #19)?

The solicitation will address the specific content requirements for an offeror’s proposal, as well as how that content will be incorporated into the evaluation of proposals. FAR Provision 52.222-46, Evaluation of

Compensation for Professional Employees will be included in the solicitation, and plans indicating unrealistically low professional employee compensation may be assessed adversely as one of the factors considered in making an award.

What is the Government’s judgment on an acceptable level of uncompensated overtime

(ref. Industry Day event for AFCAA R&D for

‘Cost Estimating Modeling (CEM) briefing, slide #19)?

The Government will not specify a particular level that is acceptable, as uncompensated overtime may be offset by other compensation or employment conditions. The Government intends to use the uncompensated overtime information provided by the offeror to consider the risks to contract performance associated with proposed uncompensated overtime.

As a clarification, are bidders expected to provide a version of their Price/Cost Proposal with blank spaces to replace the values in their primary submission (ref. Industry Day event for

AFCAA R&D for ‘Cost Estimating Modeling

(CEM) briefing, slide #20)?

Two versions of the offeror’s Cost/Price proposal volume shall be submitted. One version shall be marked “Redacted,” which must be identical to the full Cost/Price proposal volume, with the exception of all price or cost information being redacted.

The Government intends to include an Excel spreadsheet as part of the RFP to be completed by offerors for submission with their Cost/Price proposal.

The technique for redactions in the spreadsheet will be specified in the RFP. However, the RFP will also explain that the narrative portion of the offeror’s

Cost/Price proposal shall use the redaction feature of

Adobe Acrobat to obscure the applicable text or graphics, rather than using blank spaces, which would cause unacceptable discrepancies in page count and page layout between the full and redacted versions of the narrative. Regardless of the redaction methodology, the redacted version of the offeror’s proposal shall NOT include any cost or price information, to include, but not be limited to direct labor rates, indirect rates, fee, or any salary information for individuals not yet employed by the offeror, but with whom a formal Letter of Intent signed by both parties is in place.

In the draft RFP (FA7014-16-R-5004), section

4.1.1 (page 17) indicates "... and possess at least a "Masters of Science/Masters of Arts" is required for the Overall Program/Technical

Manager. Is there any substitutions (i.e.

additional years of experience) for the Masters of Science/Masters of Arts requirement? Please also clarify if a Master's degree in Business

Administration (MBA) and/or a Master's degree in Engineering Management (MEM) satisfy the requirement for a Master’s of Science/Masters of Art education level.

The required for a Master’s Degree was deleted. The

PWS was revised to read: The Integrated Technical

Manager must have a minimum of 3 years managing projects of comparable scope to the CEM effort. The

RFP will reflect the revision for the Integrated

Technical Manager. Similar clarification will be included for other personnel requirements. There will be no substitution of experience for any degree requirements, nor substitution of education for any experience requirements.

In the draft RFP (FA7014-16-R-5004), section

8.2 (page 31), is a TOP SECRET (TS) clearance required by any other commodity group other than Space and Launch Systems weapon system commodity area?

No. This is the only commodity area that will need the

Top Secret clearance. This is also defined in the

DD254 and PWS.

The Government does not anticipate requiring access at the TS/SCI level.

How will the contractor transmit classified data back to government at the end of the contract?

The Government anticipates this will be accomplished by delivery of the classified data using either removable media and/or removable hardware certified for the applicable security level.

Will the RFP Include language on Indexing and

Data Warehousing?

Yes. The Government will provide the applicable language in the formal solicitation.

Will the Government provide guidance on protecting unclassified data, to include business data?

Yes. The Government will provide the applicable language in the formal solicitation. The contractor will be expected to abide by the specific terms of each

Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) it enters with

Government and commercial data providers. Due to the sensitive nature of the unclassified data that will be stored and handled by the contractor in performance of the contract, the Government will include evaluation of an offeror’s methods and processes to protect that data from unauthorized access and/or disclosure will be considered

How should the contractor address the possibility of aggregate data becoming classified?

The Government recognizes the possibility of aggregate data becoming classified, and the contractor will be responsible for compliance with DD 254 and

NISPOM requirements.

Will the Government sponsor the Contractor personnel assigned to the project to be issued a

CAC?

Yes, the Government intends to sponsor issuance of a

CAC for contractor personnel assigned to the project, and this language will be included in the PWS.

QUESTION AND ANSWERS FROM PRE-SOLICITATION:

Please clarify that CLINs 0006, 1006 and 2006 represent the total costs, fee, and amounts for the preceding 5 CLINs. If not then please advise what these CLINs are for.

As outlined on Tab 1 of the Total Proposed Pricing the legend clearly shows that this is the Fixed Fee

CLIN. This CLIN is for the fee only.

Please advise if offerors are to propose travel and ODC amounts or if NTE amounts will be provided by the Government for proposal purposes.

The Government will provide not to exceed amounts for the travel and ODC CLINS.

Please clarify if CLINs 0003, 1003 and 2003 should be Not Separately Priced (NSP) or should the amounts for these CLINs be broken out from CLINs 0002, 1002 and 2002.

Corrected to be Not Separately Priced (NSP) for these

CLINS

Attachment_B_CEM_Fee_Schedule_20160504:

Is this file to be completed by offerors based on proposed fee amounts or are these ceiling fee rates established by the Government for bidding purposes?

- Why are the amounts in worksheet titled

“BASE PERIOD”, column B divisible by 10?

Shouldn’t the divisor be based on how many quarters there are in a contract period of performance which is 8 versus 10 for the Base and Option 1 periods and 4 versus 10 for Option

2?

- Within that same worksheet for Option 1 regarding column B, the equation shows

“=M$3/10” but should show “=M$18/10”.

This is only an example and the Gov't will complete this Fee Schedule after contract award. The formula shows smaller withholding for 7 of the 8 months then a larger withholding for the 8th month to ensure that all contractual obligations are met and provided to the

Gov't before the contractor can submit an final invoice for the fixed fee that was withheld.

The CLIN description PWS reference between

0003 and 1003 are not consistent with CLIN

2003. Which is correct?

Corrected

Within Section I of the DRAFT RFP, it contains the following flow-down clause: 252.219-7003

Small Business Subcontracting Plan (DOD

Contracts) Oct 2014. As delineated in

FBO.gov, the assigned NAICS Code for this procurement is 541712. Under the SBA’s

NAICS Code size standards dated 26 February

2016, the size standard is 1,000 employees. If a

Prime Contractor who proposing this effort qualifies as Small Business under the noted

NAICS code, please confirm that in accordance with FAR 19.702 (b)(1) that Subcontracting plans are not required from Small Business concerns who are proposing the effort as a

Prime Contractor.

This area needs to be addressed IAW the instructions to offerors (ITO); however, to do that if the business is listed as a SB concern then the subcontracting plan will not be required for this effort.

Will this be a throughput (defined by the

Government) dollar amount or is it up to the offeror to determine the amount. If it is the up to the offeror does the government plan to provide requirements definition in the final

RFP?

These CLINS address a surge that covers all the task areas and should be proposed by the vendor. It is listed as a separate CLIN to be priced covering all task areas for support and if the Government needed the additional support it will be exercised.

In section 4.5, why are there two paragraphs defining journeyman level engineer/cost estimators for ICBM, 4.5.3 and 4.5.9? Which position description should we use?

Corrected in the PWS.

In section 12.a, Offerors are advised that technical and cost/price data submitted to the government in response to this solicitation may be released to non-government advisors for review and analysis. This sentence is repeated.

Corrected in the PWS.

On page 54 of 102, Attachment H is the

AFCAA CEM POA&M Draft, then Attachment

H and H1 are identified as TDM Template and

Instructions. Which is which?

Corrected attachments

Table 1: Page limitations: What "Course

Instructors outlined in the PWS Section 4.5"?

PWS 4.5 has Journeyman Level Engineer/Cost

Estimator descriptions/qualifications.

Corrected and deleted wording on instructors.

Based on guidance provided in PWS 8.3.2 and

ITO 2.2.2, please clarify which Space Systems positions require a Top Secret clearance and whether clearances need to be final prior to proposal submission or prior to commencing work.

All clearances will need to be final before proposal and any work being done on this contract. The key personnel or team leads for each commodity to include the Space Systems needs to have the CV or representative Resume submitted. For the Space

Systems it must be at the TS level and it must be a final TS clearance.

Please confirm that the POA&M required in the

Technical volume, Subfactor 2 should be consistent with Attachment F which includes a

12 month period, i.e., not required to provide a plan that covers the entire 24 month Base period.

This now is Attachment L to the PWS and it was given for the base option period. The Gov't is providing this to get the vendor started on the project.

This is a 'living' document and will be updated by the vendor as directed by the Gov't; however, the contractor is to provide the POA&M IAW Sections L

& M for the Technical Approach Subfactor 2. The full description of how this subfactor is met is provided.

Please confirm that "Displays" as referenced in this section encompass Tables and Figures.

Yes, this would include any tables, figures, graphics or charts as a ‘display’.

The Executive Summary is not mentioned in

4.1.2.1 or 4.1.2.2. Please confirm that it is to be placed prior to the SF1 section

Yes, it is to be in Volume I - usually vendors add this as their first section to the volume. Vendor discretion to where it is but must be in Volume I

This table includes resumes; may the resumes be placed in an Appendix within Volume I as opposed to part of the primary text? Resumes can be referenced from the SubFactor 4 Section.

As long as the limitation is not exceeded the 30 pages that will be accepted.

States: Any past performance information submitted over the maximum five (5) contracts

(including prime and subcontractors) will be disregarded in its entirety.

This conflicts with the 3 references cited in

4.2.1 and Table 1, Section 3.3.1.

Corrected to 3 references in the solicitation

There are contradicting dates in the RFP: 2.8 of

Section L says “Period of Acceptance of

Offers: The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for Ninety (90) calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.” But

2.1.1(d) of section L says “The proposal shall remain valid for a minimum of 270 days from the due date for receipt of proposals shown in

Section A of the solicitation.” What are the correct period for how long the proposal shall remain valid, 90 or 270 days?

Corrected to be 270 days

Section L references paragraphs that don't exist

(4.5.3.2.1, 4.4.3.1.1).

Corrected

How is Acceptability determined in the case where the submitting firm is a small business, thus no Small Business Plan is required?

All vendors are to address Factor III Small Business

Plan. If the offeror is a small business in this NAICS code then they are to address it with a statement noting that it is not required for this effort to submit a

Small Business Plan; however, even if they are a small business they still must meet the 5% small business participation for Small Disadvantaged

Businesses (SDB) IAW 4.3. If the offeror is a small business and is also a SDB then a statement validating that the 5% is met and the offeror shall provide a copy of the SAM.Gov record showing the offeror is a small business in the NAICS code 541712.

Providing a description similar to what is above will be acceptable for Factor III, Small Business Plan.

Section M002 Evaluation Factors: (2).

Conflicting information: the first 2 sentences state the order of importance, but the last statement indicates all sub-factors are equal in importance. There is a comma at the end of the sentence, so something might have been cut off?

Corrected

M002 Technical Approach (2) indicates there are more than 4 subfactors ("Subfactors 1,5,6,7, and 8 are of most importance.") .

Corrected

M002 Cost/Price evaluation section still has what appears to be notes/placeholder inputs and is not yet finalized. Will a draft section be sent out for review prior to RFP release?

That was the format of the solicitation from PD2 and it was spacing errors from the system. Will correct for final RFP.

M002 Executive Professional Compensation plan has several blank paragraph numbers. Is this section still under construction?

This section is complete and outlines the requirements for the Executive/Professional Benefit Package

PWS 4.5.3 & 4.5.9: Both sections are titled

ICBM. The qualifications are exactly the same except the last 2 sentences of 4.5.9 are added. Is this an error and should ICBM only be listed once under 4.5? If so, which is the correct qualification description?

Corrected – See # 40

Section L 4.2.1.2 States that the maximum number of contracts for Past Performance is five (5); however, Section L 4.2.1 states that the maximum is three (3) – which is correct?

Corrected – no more than 3 references are required.

When does the Government anticipate the date of contract award announcement and the date of contract start?

TBD

Reference Attachment F AFCAA

POA&M. Will the Government provide an updated POA&M template in the final

RFP? The template runs from May 2016 to

April 2017.

Yes, the Government is providing the updated

POA&M to start Sept.

Reference Attachment F AFCAA POA&M;

PWS 3.1.2 Task 2; Deliverable 4. Please provide clarification regarding the POA&M.

a) Row 12 – What is meant by Full Template –

Historical/Retroactive. Are we to interpret that to mean there are 3 Aircraft programs that require data collection and normalization activities with the end result of cost/technical data templates completed?

b) Row 18 – What is meant by Full Template –

As of Today

c) Row 24 – What is meant by Focus Areas –

As of Today

d) Row 31 – Studies. There are numerous studies listed. PWS 3.3.1 states that “the

Contractor will be allowed to execute the task as additional CEM related efforts in both Base Period and option

Periods.” Should we interpret that to mean we can add FTE to accomplish the added scope?

The templates are meant to capture data over time.

Programs of interest will be at different points of the life cycle and we will want to go back in time on some programs (historical/retroactive) and on other programs we will only be interested in capturing data at the current point in time (as of today)

a) Means we are looking for the templates to be completed for 3 aircraft programs to include all data from previous milestones (i.e. if the program of interest is currently going to MS C, we would like the templates to be completed as much as possible for data as it existed at MS A and MS B).

b) As of today means we are only interested in capturing the data elements associated with the program as they are known today, no attempt to go back and populate the data elements with historical data.

c) Focus Areas are specific areas we would like a deeper dive on (something like Cybersecurity for example)

In Section L page 72, Section 3.3.1 Page

Limitations: it states "Blank pages, title pages, cover pages, table of contents, tab indexing, glossaries, list of tables and figures, and subcontractor consent letter(s) are no included in page limitation."

Later on in Section 4.1.2.1 Volume

Organization: it lists a general outline of: (1)

Table of Contents, (2) List of Table and

Drawings, (3) Glossary, (4) Cross Reference

Matrix.

Matched with the information provided, does the Cross Reference Matrix count against page limitations?

No, it will not count against the page limitations.

Updated in the Instructions to Offerors.

In Section L page 73, Section 3.3.4 CD-ROM or CD-R Copies: It states "Each volume shall be in a different directory on a CD. One electronic copy of the proposal shall be submitted in the following formats..."

Is it the Government's intention that all 4

Volumes (Technical Approach, Past performance, Small Business Participation, and

Price) all be placed on one (1) CD-ROM or CD-

R and given to the Government for the electronic portion of the submission?

Yes, to have one (1) CD-ROM or CD-R with all of the proposed volumes is acceptable. The proposal on the

CD-ROM or CD-R should mirror the hard copy proposal and be clearly identified and properly labeled.

In Section L page 81, Section 4.4.6 Volume

Organization it lists the inclusion of 3 (three) separate documents/templates as attachments

(L-1 Cross Reference Matrix, L-2 Past

Performance Information Form, and L-3 Past performance Cover Letter and Questionnaire).

Is it the government’s intent to release those with the FRFP of this solicitation?

Yes, these will be part of the formal RFP. Attachment

L-2 of the Instructions to Offerors will be used as the references for Volume III the Past Performance

Volume. L-3 will be a questionnaire that will be returned by the point of contact (POC) or reference identified by the vendors and must be submitted by the Government POC at the same time as the date and time of the proposal.

In Section L page 81, Section 4.4.6 Volume

Organization (for Price) it lists that in Section 2 that "Section L: L-1 Cross Reference Matrix

See separate attachment".

Is this separate attachment meant to be the template used for the Cross Reference Matrix mentioned as part of the Volume I Organization in Section 4.1.2.2, and is this attachment meant to be embedded in the final softcopy of Word document for the Technical Volume?

Yes, these will be part of the formal RFP.

The PWS paragraphs 3.1.1, 5.0 (Deliverable 3), and Attachment A for PWS 3.1.1 reflects the requirement to have all necessary

Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs) completed and signed in order to ensure full and open access at a minimum to all Department of

Defense (DoD) ACAT I program data, past and present, with no limitations, within 6 months of contract award. However, the associated Data

Source/OEM NDAs are bi-lateral agreements wherein the awardee of this contract is only one of two parties that must sign for the agreement for the NDA to be complete/fully executed.

Also, since each NDA is contract-specific, any existing Data Source/OEM NDAs must be initiated/revised anew. Since the awardee cannot force the other party to sign the bi-lateral

NDA, a 20% quarterly fixed fee reduction and/or termination of the contract for not meeting this standard appears unreasonable.

Can the PWS requirement/standard and associated penalties be revised to address only that portion of the NDA that the awardee can control?

The Government will take into account/consideration and will allow for good faith attempts to initiate the

NDAs and/or will allow the contractor to provide documentation (emails, letters, etc.) between the CEM contractor and the data source (Federal or commercial) that shows or indicates the process has been initiated and the delays or resistance to provide the information is on the other party or Government entity.

For this reason open communication between the awardee (Contractor) and the COR or Program

Manager is essential for mission success in all areas.

Reference - Section 4.3 Volume III, FACTOR

III Small Business Plan (NTE 10 pages)

Question - Does the government require a small business plan from small business offerors?

All vendors are to address Factor III Small Business

Plan. If the offeror is a small business in this NAICS code then they are to address it with a statement noting that it is not required for this effort to submit a

Small Business Plan; however, even if they are a small business they still must meet the 5% small business participation for Small Disadvantaged

Businesses (SDB) IAW 4.3. If the offeror is a small business and is also a SDB then a statement validating that the 5% is met and the offeror shall provide a copy of the SAM.Gov record showing the offeror is a small business in the NAICS code 541712.

Providing a description similar to what is above will be acceptable for Factor III, Small Business Plan.

Reference - Section 4.1.2.1 is repeated in the outline for both Technical “Volume

Organization” and then “Technical Risk.”

Question – Separate from the potential edit to outline numbering, please clarify where the discussion of Technical Risk should fit in the organization of the technical volume. Does the government require a discussion of Risk in one particular Subfactor or should the offerors include a discussion of risk in all Subfactors?

The responses should address any risk associated with the factors or subfactors based on the proposed solution or any area where the Contractor has knowledge of potential risk.

Reference CLIN 0003 - Data support to CEM

IAW Par 3.1 and 5.0 – The deliverables outlined in section 5.0 seem to be closely associated with each task area included in other

CLINs.

Question - Please clarify what content and cost you expect offerors to include in this CLIN.

This will be a not separately priced CLIN and has been corrected on the price worksheet.

Reference - Section 3.3.1 Page limitations, Representative Resumes and Past Performance

Question - Past performance volume is limited to three (3) per team but the draft solicitation affords a 40 page maximum page limit.

Resumes are limited to 30 pages and are required for all key personnel. Would the government consider changing the resume limit to 40 pages and the past performance limit to 30 pages?

The Representative Resumes or CVs will be listed as an Appendix to the Technical and will not have any page limitations to the submission due to it is the vendor’s discretion to propose the personnel to support the effort so the Government will allow the vendors to provide resumes or CVs for all proposed personnel.

Reference - Section M002, Factor 1, Subfactor

4 (ii) "Measure of Merit: This requirement is exceeded when the offeror’s proposal meets the requirement and demonstrates or substantiates: Includes a resume for two or more of its proposed Key Personnel that clearly explains how the individuals exceed the required KSA for the applicable Key Personnel positions.”

Question - Please clarify if multiple resumes that exceed the required KSA for each Weapon

System Commodity Lead position are needed to exceed this standard, or if offerors are limited to one resume per position.

The Government does not require two or more resumes for the same Key Position. Clarification: The offeror could exceed the requirement by providing resumes for 2 or more of the Key Personnel positions that exceed the minimum level of KSAs required for the position.

Reference Section - 4.7.1 States “The following personnel are considered key personnel by the government:” The supporting table states

“Weapon System Commodity Leads/Senior

Cost Estimators/Analysts - 4.0, 4.3 & 4.7.1.”

Paragraph 4.0 refers to the nine (9) weapons systems commodity areas in paragraph 3.0 while Paragraph 4.3 identifies eleven (11)

Senior Cost Estimators/Analysts (in 4.3.1 to

4.3.11).

Question – Understanding that offerors may meet multiple KSAs in section 4.3 with different combinations of Key Individuals based their approach, please confirm that the government has identified these eleven (11) senior Weapon System Commodity

Leads/Senior Cost Estimators/Analysts and the one (1) Integrated Technical Manager as Key.

The Government is looking for software expertise that covers the 3 areas identified in 4.3

REF. Page 17 of 102, SEC 3.3, Perform

Studies/Analysis and Develop Methods and

Other Analytic Approaches for Cost Estimating.

Question – Can the government provide an anticipated number of studies in year or option period for bidding purposes?

The POA&M is a living document and the studies will be based on initial findings and AFCAA mission which at this time cannot be determined for the actual number of studies. With this effort being CPFF the overall expense to work any studies will be submitted and approved as an allowable cost based on the

Government’s guidance.

As a clarification, are bidders expected to provide a version of their Price/Cost Proposal with blank spaces to replace the values in their primary submission (ref. Industry Day event for

AFCAA R&D for ‘Cost Estimating Modeling

(CEM) briefing, slide #20)?

Update on Question #25 about the pricing: The vendors will complete the Pricing Worksheet

(Attachment I to the PWS) as well as a Technical

Cross Reference Matrix. The Government will use this matrix to evaluate the proposed workforce, hours and labor categories that will be assigned to complete the tasks IAW the PWS. Both the Pricing Worksheet

(Attachment I) and the Technical Cross Reference

Matrix (Attachment M) will be required to evaluate the price/cost for this requirement. Attachment M will not have any rates or any pricing information only the proposed labor category, Reference Area, Task # associated with the labor categories and estimated hours to complete the tasks.