B-CLM_Projects_QA.pdf

Vendor Question Government Answer

1. As the RFP was released a day later than planned, would the Government please consider extending the due date of the SWAG scenario slide submission to March 22nd?

Yes.

2. Could the Government please confirm the IDIQ Staffing/Management Plan is due at the date/time of the Offeror’s SWAG presentation?

The Staffing/Management Plan is due on March 22nd along with the SWAG scenario presentation. See 2.5.2.

3. In the Draft RFP questions and comments, the Government stated that the ID/IQ ceiling would be provided in the official solicitation. Could the Government please provide the ID/IQ ceiling information?

The ceiling will be $50 million, the DD 1449 has been updated accordingly.

4. What is the estimated number of Task Orders that will be released under the ID/IQ?

There is no estimate at this time.

5. Would the Government schedule the oral presentation (SWAG Presentation) for the following week (week of April 2nd) given that the week of presentations falls on spring break for a large portion of the metro area?

No, the SWAG presentations will not be rescheduled.

6. Would the Government please clarify what types of changes to the proposal would require authorization from the knowledgeable representative described in Section 4.1.1 be required to respond?

In accordance with 4.1.1, the offeror should send a knowledgeable representative with authority to make changes in the event a response to the Government’s question results in a proposal change. Therefore the Offerors should send a representative who make material changes on behalf of the company.

7. Once the Government has provided Notification to proceed to Step 3, would the Offeror have the opportunity to ask further questions regarding Steps 3 and Step 4 at that time?

No, there will not be another question and answer period.

8. Does the Government have an estimated number of ID/IQ awardees?

The Government intends to award two (2) IDIQ’s.

9. What measurements should the Offeror use to define size, scope, magnitude, and complexity? Is size, scope, magnitude, and complexity based on the SWAG scenario?

The Offeror should utilize the Performance Work Statement to define size, scope, magnitude, and complexity. The SWAG scenario gives offerors an inside look to how requirements for the awarded IDIQs will be solicited

10. This section lists Attachment 4, 4. B-CLM Projects Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

The QASP has been added.

Would the Government please clarify if it plans to provide this file to the prospective Offerors?

11. Would the Government please confirm that, in accordance with the Instructions document, section

4.7.2 - IDIQ Pricing Sheet (Attachment 9), Offerors are required to complete this tab with Off-site Rates, exclusively.

Yes, please provide off-site pricing exclusively.

12. Cells E1 and J3 lists a period of performance for Task Order 0001 that is in the past. Would the Government please provide and updated period of performance for Offerors to use in their price estimates?

The solicitation has been amended to correct the period of performance on the pricing worksheet.

13. Cell B19, which is related to travel expenses, has a comment instructing Offerors not to change the amount. Will the Government please provide not-to-exceed travel amounts for both On-site (cell K19) and Off-site (cell N19) work?

The Government has amended the pricing sheet. The Government only requests off-site pricing.

14. Columns G (Labor Hours per Year) and H (FTE).

Would the Government please confirm that it is acceptable for Offerors to add separate columns for Labor Hours and FTEs for each site (On-site and Off-site)? As an example, separate columns would be needed if an Offeror plans to propose a certain individual as the Program Manager (PM) but would like to split the PM's hours between both sites.

The Government has amended the pricing sheet. The Government only requests off-site pricing.

15. Row 15 (Total Annual Labor Cost). Please confirm that Offerors may update the formulae in this row.

To refer to the Total Labor Cost columns.

Please see the updated pricing sheet.

16. Could the Government please clarify if the Total Evaluated Price (TEP) will be the addition of the Total Labor Cost columns for both On-site and Off-site work?

The TEP is only applicable to the task order and it only applies to labor and travel. Please see the corrected pricing sheet.

17. Could the Government please clarify if the Total Evaluated Price (TEP) will include travel and its associated handling rate for both On-site and Off-site work?

The TEP is only applicable to the task order and it only applies to labor and travel. Please see the corrected pricing sheet.

18. Can the PowerPoint slides submitted for the oral presentations include notes in the notes pages?

Yes.

19. Can the PowerPoint slides submitted for the oral presentations be updated after the oral presentations for final submission?

No, the slides may not be updated once they are submitted.

20. Attachment 1 Section 3.3.2 states “when text is included within displays, it may be no smaller than 8 point.” Can the government please clarify the term “displays” (i.e. does this include images, graphics, and tables)?

Displays means images, graphics, and table.

21 Attachment 1 Section 3.3.2 states “Oral presentations shall be single slide per page, no less than 18 font.” Will the government please consider a minimum text size of 14 point? This will allow offerors to compose dynamic slides that include a mix of displays and text to accurately depict the SWAG Scenario approach.

The Government will accept 14 point font size, but that is minimum.

22. The solicitation lists out 3 different key personnel associated with specific LCATs. Are these personnel deemed key for the governing at the IDIQ level, or for the SWAG scenario staffing plan as well?

At the IDIQ level

23. Attachment 1 Section 3.3.7 states “Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation for each.” Will the government please confirm that a glossary is required for the SWAG Scenario, and if so, does it count against the page limit?

Yes. The glossary does not count against the page limit for the SWAG scenario.

24. Will the government please confirm that Volume I – Staffing/Management Plan is due 21 March 2018, and if staffing plan applies to governing IDIQ?

Could it be due when offerors present at orals?

The Staffing/Management Plan applies to the IDIQ as a whole and it is due on 22 March 2018.

25. Will the government please confirm that Volume I – Staffing/Management Plan is for the IDIQ or the SWAG Scenario, or both?

The Staffing/ Management Plan is for the IDIQ as a whole. The offerors should propose what labor categories they believe are appropriate for the SWAG Scenario per the SWAG Scenario Evaluation Criteria.

26. Attachment 1 Section 4.1 describes the SWAG Technical approach. Section 4.1.3 states “Supplemental Pages. Offerors shall submit a written technical proposal to address the areas prescribed in paragraphs 4.5.1 to 4.5.7 below.”

Section 4.5 identifies requirements for Volume II, Factor I - Technical Proposal (Oral Presentation). Will the government please clarify what will be addressed in the supplemental pages for the SWAG Technical Approach?

There are no supplemental pages for the SWAG scenario. Paragraph 4.1.3 has been removed.

27. Attachment 1 Section 4.2.2 states “Offerors shall provide resumes for all personnel identified as key personnel in Appendix 1 of the PWS, Attachment 3).” Will the government please consider increasing the page limit for the Staffing/Management Plan so Offerors can meet the defined requirements for the Staffing Plan and include resumes for all key personnel?

The resumes do not count against the 5 page limit for the Staffing/Management Plan.

28. Does the government intend to provide Attachment 4 – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan? Or is this something the offeror provides as a recommendation to the government?

See the answer to question 10.

29. Will the government be providing a plug number for travel?

Yes, please see the amended pricing sheet.

30. Attachment 03 B-CLM PWS Projects, Can the government please confirm that Attachment 3 is Appendix I, Labor Category Descriptions, referenced in Section 3.11 Key Personnel?

Attachment 3 is the PWS. Appendix I is in the PWS and that is where Key Personnel are identified.

31. The proposal due date is April 25 with a validity period of 120 days, since the proposals will only be valid until August 25, 2018 can the government please confirm when the expected award date is?

The Government cannot confirm the expected award date, the necessary information has been provided.

32. Can the government please define how the Time Limit described in Attachment 01 Section 4.1.2 will be divided between the presentation (Section 4.1) and the government’s exchanges (Section 4.1.1)?

The SWAG Scenario presentation will be a maximum of 1.5 hours. Then the Government will convene for one

(1) hour then the Government will commence exchanges with the Offeror if exchanges are deemed necessary. The Government will review additional slides and supplemental pages prior to concluding the technical evaluation.

33. Given this is a multi-award contract, the ceiling could be $100M+ to be consistent with other contracts of similar scope and complexity. What is the expected value for this opportunity?

See answer to question 3.

34. Will the government please confirm if potential offerors have the opportunity to no bid on all opportunities under the Multiple Award IDIQ?

Per the ordering guide (attachment 5), awardees are required to perform a minimum of 1 (one) task order per year.

35. The solicitation lists Attachment 4 as “B-CLM Projects Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

See answer to question 10.

(QASP)”; however, this was not included in the solicitation posted on fbo.gov.

Can the Government provide this document?

36. This section specifies, “Oral presentations shall be single slide per page, no less than 18 font.”

We assume that for displays or graphics included in the oral presentation, the 8 point and clear legibility requirement also in paragraph

3.3.2 applies. Is this assumption correct?

See answers to questions 20 and 21.

37. Offerors must provide resumes for key personnel. We assume these resumes are excluded from the 5-page limit for the IDIQ Staffing/Management Plan. Is this assumption correct?

See answer to question 27.

38. It is not clear how the content of the 150-page Oral Presentation slide deck and the 25 supplemental pages differs. Should the supplemental pages address only paragraphs

4.5.1 through 4.5.7 (as stated in paragraph 4.5.3), while the 150-page slide deck addresses the PWS in Attachment 3?

The supplemental pages provide offerors the opportunity to provide further details to its technical approach. The information should be the similar in content.

39. Will offerors be able to refer to the supplemental pages during their Oral Presentations, or are offerors limited to information provided in the slide deck?

Offerors can refer to its supplemental pages for further explanation;

however, during the presentation, the Government will not review the pages. The reference requested by the offeror will be reviewed at another time.

40. Will the Government allow offerors to provide more than one Federal reference so long as a minimum of one industry reference is provided?

Yes.

41. Attachment 1, Paragraph 4.6.1.2 If the offeror was a subcontractor on the submitted contract, can it provide a point of contact from the prime contractor if a Contracting Agency/Customer POC is not available?

Yes. Suggest sending a PPQ to confirm performance. Ensure you get the Prime’s consent.

42. Attachment 1, Paragraph 4.6.1.3This section permits offerors with teaming arrangements to provide additional information “including any relevancy in past performance information”. It is not clear exactly what information the Government requires here. We are concerned that offerors with such teaming arrangements will use this requirement to subvert the 15-page limit on past performance. Will the Government

Updated paragraph 4.6.1.3 to limit each submitted teaming arrangement summary to one page per arrangement.

limit the information to be provided regarding teaming arrangements to a list of relevant contracts? We recommend that further information about past performance relevancy be included within the write-up for any of those contracts that used as one or more of the five permitted past performance references.

43. This section refers to the Deliverables Table as Table 2; please confirm that this reference should be to Table 1.

Updated to show table 1.

44. The Deliverable Table omits the Travel Expense Report from paragraph 4.4. Please confirm that this should be included.

Included in updated PWS.

45. Attachment 8, paragraph 6.0- This paragraph states, “See B-CLM Projects IDIQ Basic Contract.” Does this refer to the PWS in Attachment 3? If not, can the Government clarify and provide any missing document?

Yes. Attachment 3 – BCLM Projects

46. What is the page limit for Supplemental pages? The page limit for supplemental pages is listed Attachment 1, Instructions to Offerors, Table 1.

47. Instruction states that the “offerors shall submit a written proposal to address the areas prescribed in paragraphs 4.5.1 to 4.5.7 below”.

However, the paragraphs 4.5.1 to 4.5.7 are instructions, and not requirements.

Can the Government clarify what requirements are to be covered by the “Supplemental Pages”?

Updated to 4.5.4 to 4.5.7 shall be covered in the supplemental pages.

48. Task Order 0001 Pricing Sheet E1, J3- What is the significance of the stated PoP from 22 Feb – 21 Feb? According to Attachment 8, TO 0001 is a one-day meeting between the Offeror Program Manager and the Government. Will the Government please clarify the Period of Performance and Scope of Task Order 0001?

The period of performance has been corrected, please see the corrected pricing sheet.

49. Will the Government please elaborate on the differences between the Post Award Conference—which are to be held at no cost to the Government—and the TO 1 Kick-Off meeting as described in Attachment 8?

Per 42.501, a post award orientation aids both Government and contractor personnel to (1) achieve a clear and mutual understanding of all contract requirements, and (2) identify and resolve potential problems. The kick-off meeting will be a similar effort.

50. When evaluating an Offeror’s Industry experience, does the term “Offeror” include all Team Members, or just the Prime?

The prime and teaming members

51. The Government makes reference to a DOTMLPF-P Implementation Plan, a term which has specific meaning in an SDDP context.

Does the Government prefer Offerors use the BCAC Capability Implementation Plan (CIP) instead?

DOTMLPF-P is common terminology in both BCAC and SDDP.

Use BCAC CIP.

52. The SF1449 indicates a $15M size standard.

Will to government please deconflict the apparent paradox of an Unrestricted solicitation with a $15M size standard limitation?

The SF 1449 specifically references the size standard for small businesses under the applicable NAICS code. It’s a mandatory fill-in for the SF 1449 and not relevant to this acquisition.

53. How should Offeror’s submit the completed Reps and Certs as found on pages 12-45 of the Solicitation? Is it acceptable to have these questions answered in Prime Offerors SAM.gov entry?

Offerors can turn in their SAM print out to meet this requirement instead of filling out the RFP.

54. Attachment 1, section 4.7.2 states “The Offeror shall complete and submit the IDIQ Pricing Sheet with fully burdened off-site rates” and does not mention on-site rates. In Attachment 9, row 7 of the Instructions tab states “The offeror will provide separate pricing for locating personnel at Gov't and Contractor facilities.”

Please clarify whether offerors must provide fully-burdened on-site rates in addition to off-site rates? If so, please confirm that offerors should list both on-site and off-site rates on the B-CLM PROJECTS IDIQ PRICING tab of attachment 9?

Offeror’s will provide off-site pricing only. Attachment was updated.

55. Page 2 of the Past Performance Questionnaire indicates 3 references are to be provided.

However, Attachment 1, page 9, Section 4.6.1.1 indicates 5 references are allowed. Section

4.6.1.4 on page 10 indicates at least one PPQ per cited work effort is preferred. Will the Government please clarify if there is a minimum or maximum number of PPQs expected/allowed, and the relationship between PPQs and work efforts cited in the Past Performance Volume?

Updated PPQ to say five (5) instead of three (3).

One PPQ per cited work is preferred, if more than one is received per cited work that is acceptable. Offerors are cautioned that any PPQ’s received in a timely manner will be considered in the evaluation of past performance.

56. How do the Industry Experience references in Attachment 1, page 9, section 4.5.6 (1 Federal, Industry experience is the offerors opportunity to explain WHAT industry experience they can offer the up to 3 industry) relate to the 5 contract work efforts mentioned in 4.6.1.1 on the same page?

Government, specifically commercial experience. Past Performance is the Government’s opportunity to evaluate HOW the offeror performed on similar efforts.

57. The Travel Cost assumption in cell B20 is blank. Is that the Government’s intention? If not, please provided an updated pricing worksheet with a non-zero travel cost assumption.

See answer to question 5.

58. General instruction #11 refers to an Other Direct Costs assumption cell and/or material cost assumption amount, but no such cell or assumption amount exists on the IDIQ or TO1 tabs. Will the Government please clarify?

There is no ODC CLIN on this contract, please see the corrected pricing sheet.

59. 6.1 states “No GFP is anticipated for this Task Order”. Will the Government consider a re-write similar to “While no Government Furnished Property (GFP) requirements are contemplated at the IDIQ level, GFP may be specified on a case-by-case basis on individual Task Orders if FOUO work is required to be performed on Contractor site? Also, GFP laptops will be made available during times Contractors make use of hoteling space within Government facilities.”

Government laptops are not GFP.

There will be no GFP on this contract.

60. 4.2.3 Supplemental pages are in the Step 1 instructions section, but are not referenced in Table 1 under the “PAGE LIMIT” column for Step 1: SWAG Technical Approach (Oral Presentation). Will the Government please confirm Supplemental Pages are not required at Step 1 and should be in 4.5.2 of Step 3?

Updated the instructions. There are no supplemental pages for the SWAG scenario. Removed paragraph 4.1.3.

61. May text included within displays, be smaller than 18 point font?

Text within the displays can be as small as 8 point font.

62. Is the Task Order 0001 Staffing Plan excluded from the 5 page limit?

A Staffing Plan is not required for Task Order 0001.

63. Is the Task Order 0001 Staffing Plan excluded from the 25 page limit?

A full staffing Plan is not required for Task Order 0001. Per paragraph 4.2.3 Offerors shall prove a cross reference matrix that assigns labor categories and FTEs IAW the PWS

64. In 5 pages offerors must adequately describe to the Government to complete all required tasks IAW PWS requirements; provide a well-defined

The staffing plan for TO 0001 is just the cross reference matrix – see paragraph 4.2.3.

Staffing Plan to document/identify qualified personnel to support this PWS, minimize impact on recruiting and retention to incentivize employees to meet or exceed requirements;

supply resumes all key personnel identified in Appendix 1 of Attachment 3; and provide a Task Order 0001 Staffing Plan with a cross reference matrix that assigns proposed labor categories and FTEs IAW with the PWS. Will the Government raise the page limit to 15 pages so companies can adequately demonstrate their approach to managing and staffing these requirements?

Staffing/Management plan has been increased to 10 pages.