Q_A Attachment.pdf

Question Answer The EWAAC Portal is a '.com' website and provides no links back to a '.mil' site or documentation attesting to its authenticity.

How does a vendor know that the site really is certified for proprietary data and CUI? If a responsible Defense Industrial Base (DIB) listed this site as 'in scope' for their CMMC Level 2 Assessment based only on the solicitation saying to use it and the site saying 'certified for CUI data' that company would fail their assessment. Please provide a credible attestation as to the validity of the EWAAC Portal to host proprietary and CUI data. This usually requires a Share Responsibility Matrix and specific information about the security protocols for the site as well as a formal, legal attestation from the organization claiming it is certified for certain types of data.

The portal is an IL5 environment, since it is all directed back to a .mil platform.

Labeling has been adjusted to more appropriately reflect the initial portal page.

Subfactor B- Do offerors need to demonstrate proficiency in all areas of subfactor B or in one or more areas? L-3.3 says "Offerors shall demonstrate proficiency in ONE OR ALL of the below technical capabilities (Armament/Weapons Development, Enterprise Analytics, Innovation Hub)"; but M-3.2 says "Offeror responses shall be evaluated relative to the offeror's knowledge and ability to address ALL facets of the technical requirements listed in this section."

Offerors need to only show proficiency in one of the technical work elements in Subfactor B: Technical. All submitted elements will be evaluated, but only one is required to meet requirements under Subfactor B to meet requirements.

1. EWAAC Instructions page 2 Dedicated and unique EWAAC email (Section L-1.2j). This paragraph does not seem to be in Section L. Can the government please clarify?

Please ensure that you have the most up to date version of the solicitation package for FA865625RB001. Section L-1.2j does not exist in that version.

2. Section L-1.3d – Each input shall define acronyms and abbreviations for clarity. Will the government please provide an additional 2 pages for acronyms and abbreviations in order to adequately satisfy this requirement?

No. There is more than sufficient space in each fillable text field to define acronymns.

Table L-1.3: Can you confirm the page number limitations for each of the volumes? All responses are to be submitted within the portal, so there are no page limitations as there have been with previous EWAAC On-Ramps. Supplemental documents requested within Section L also do not have page limits.

Are there any requirements for page margins, font, font size, images, headers, footers, etc? With regards to the supplemental documents submitted with your proposal (i.e. OCI plan, SubKtr plan, etc.) no, there are no set requirements.

What is the format of the post award conference? Will contractors submit questions and receive written answers only? Or will there be a virtual or in person meeting to discuss the Q&A?

The original intent is to hold virtual meetings. However, if the number of offerors is too great, the Government may hold the PAC as a Q&A submittal where contractors will submit questions and receive written answers only. Your confirmation of those answers will conclude the PAC for your company.

One of the references stated that there should be an "attached Excel guide titled Staffing Proposal/Price Template", but that is not one of the documents posted for download on the EWAAC Portal or on SAM.GOV. Is this a required document and if so, how can it be downloaded?

Ensure that you are reviewing the correct solicitation labeled FA865625RB001. The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

Section L.4.1.3 indicates that a “Completed Staffing Proposal/Price submission is required for the post-award conference†and Section M.4.1 – General Instructions indicates that a “Staffing Proposal/Price Template†must be completed. Will this template and instructions for completing the template be provided in the EWAAC portal?

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

LogiCore is writing to request clarification regarding Solicitation FA865625RB001, specifically related to the set-aside status indicated within the document. On page 13 of 79, under the section “FAR Clauses Incorporated by Reference,― clause 52.219-27 (Notice of Set-Aside for, or Sole-Source Award to, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns) is referenced. We would appreciate confirmation as to whether this opportunity is set aside exclusively for SDVOSB concerns, as eligible under the SDVOSB program.

Thank you for your time and assistance in confirming this matter. Please let me know if any additional information is required to facilitate the clarification.

This requirement is solicited as full and open. The clause in question only exist in the basic IDIQ so that is can be incorporated in all applicable delivery and task orders.

Volume 1, Section I, Contract Documentation, requires the Offeror to submit Sections A-K with all fill-ins completed. Section III also requires the Offeror to submit Sections A-K completed. Does the Government want Sections A-K included in both sections of Volume 1?

Offeror should only submit the SF33 Sections A-K with all fill-ins completed where it shows L-2.1 Section I Contract Documentation in the portal at Volume I.

Refer to Section L-2.4, Section III Administrative, for instructions on how to fill in the SF-33 Sections A-K.

The RFP directs Offerors to use the sample contract value of $10M for the SB Subcontracting Plan. 52.219-9 Alt II requires a plan with a separate part for the basic contract and separate parts for each option. Please clarify how Offerors should allocate the $10M contract value across the base and option period.

Offerors should allocate $10M each option period.

Section B of the Solicitation requires the Offeror to fill in its price for each CLIN. However, Section L-4.1.1 states, "The Government intends to pay $1,000 for the post-award conference." Is the Offeror to leave Section B blank and provide only its completed Staffing Proposal/Price submission for the post-award conference?

This contract is for an multiple-award IDIQ type contract. Therefore, pricing is established at the delivery order level.

Section B should be left blank for this solicitation.

Section L-3.0 states, "Section I (Narrative Summary) and Subfactors A and B shall be provided in accordance with Table L-1.3 and in writing on the EWAAC Proposal Response Guide and within the specified submittal date of the RFP." No file titled "EWAAC Proposal Response Guide" was included as part of the solicitation. Will the Government provide a Proposal Response Guide for this effort? Additionally, there is no mention of page, word, or character count associated with the proposal organization. Please advise on space limitations per section.

There is no file entitled "EWAAC Proposal Response Guide" and an amendment to the solicitation will be issued to rectify this discrepancy.

Section M-4.1 states, "To be eligible for award for the first delivery order, offerors shall provide the following: a. Staffing Proposal/Price Template

i. The template must be completed". Previous On-Ramps included a Staffing Proposal/Price Template. Will the Government provide a template for this effort?

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

Section L-1.3, Bullet d states, "Each input shall define acronyms and abbreviations for clarity." Please advise if "input" refers to spelling out the first use of each acronym; if spelling out the first use of acronyms, is it required by volume, section, and/or subfactor? Should offerors include an acronym list? If an acronym list is required, please advise if each volume should include its own acronym list and if it is included in the page/word/character count.

Spell out acronymns on first use per volume. No acronymn list is required.

Section L-1.4 states, "Company name and proprietary information notices shall be included in the Volume I narrative summary." The Proposal Organization (Table L-1.3) has the Narrative Summary included as Section 1 of Volume II. Please advise as to whether the proprietary information notice should be included in the Volume II narrative summary or in a different section of Volume I.

It shall be included in Volume I.

Given that many aspects of submission depend heavily on navigating and understanding the EWAAC vendor portal, recommend that the Government do a virtual training on end-to-end use of the portal.

Training videos/materials will be developed for using the portal post on-ramping.

Would you provide instructions on how we can gain access to the Excel template for cost proposal submission? The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

We are unsure of CLIN structure. Should the delivery order proposal be broken out in the model contract format with three Contract Line Items?

No. This contract is for a multiple-award IDIQ type contract. Therefore, pricing is established at the delivery order level.

Section B should be left blank for this solicitation.

Would it be possible to provide a response to our question regarding the excel template for cost proposal submission ASAP as we would like to have as much time as possible to prepare our response to this proposal? Thank you.

All questions and answers will be posted on 14 November 2024 at 12pm CDT per Section L-1.1a of the RFP package.

Does the portal REQUIRE that Offerors complete Volume I before proceeding to Volume II, and other subsequent Volumes? Is there any way to view the Volume III section, for example, before completing Volumes I and II?

The portal has been updated and allows moving through the volumes without completion.

Section L-4.1.3 requests a completed Staffing Proposal/Price submission for the post award conference. Is there a template provided or should we use our own format?

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

In our original write-up we had several figures and graphics included. In the EWAAC portal we could not include these for Volume II. How can we make sure this is included to ensure the write-up fully includes these visuals?

Subfactors A and B are evaluated on text inputs only. Please refer to L-1.2 b.

We do not yet have a DCAA approved system but we use Quickbooks. We are in the process of seeking out a DCAA audit to meet this requirement. Is this a deal breaker if the DCAA audit is not completed prior to this submission?

No, this is not a requirement for award;

however, without an approved system the offeror will not be eligible to bid on cost type contracts. Please refer back to Section L-4.2.4.

Can the Government clarify the page count requirement for the proposal submission? All responses are to be submitted within the portal, so there are no page limitations as there have been with previous EWAAC On-Ramps. Supplemental documents requested within Section L also do not have page limits.

it is stated that this is an LPTA basis for award. Can the Government please clarify how this will work? As there is no stated SOW to provide pricing against.

As long as an offeror is able to satisfy the requirements of the RFP package, the offeror will be considered technically acceptable. Furthermore, all offerors must submit a price for the minimal order (participation in the post award conference) which must equal $1,000.

Regarding Digital Engineering capabilities, will the Government accept a roadmap approach that achieves full Digital Trinity implementation within the 2-year period, or must all capabilities be in place at time of award? (This impacts Section M-3.1)

Yes, the Government will accept a roadmap approach that achieves full Digital Trinity implementation within the 2-year period.

For Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) requirements, will the Government specify which commercially available software tools are considered acceptable within the "Tech Stack"?

No. There is no specific acceptable software. Capability will be evaluated.

Can the Government clarify the expected timeline for contractors to achieve IL4/IL6 cloud environment certifications if not currently held? This impacts our migration planning approach.

This is not part of the IDIQ evaluation process.

Regarding the Innovation Hub requirements (M-3.2.3), will the Government provide specific ICD 705 compliance requirements for the developmental operations environment, or should contractors propose their standards?

Specific requirement guidance will not be provided. Please refer to Section L-3.3.3.1.

For contractors submitting a Digital Trinity roadmap plan, how will the Government evaluate past performance where only partial Digital Trinity capabilities were demonstrated?

If you do not have relevant past experience within the past 5 years, your road map should detail how you intend to develop and achieve said capability within 2 years for that missing capability.

Will the Government provide the Government Reference Architecture (GRA) mentioned in SOO 5.1.4 during the proposal phase, or will this be provided post-award?

GRA may be provided at the order level as required, but will not be provided at the IDIQ level.

For the initial $1,000 post-award conference delivery order, can the Government clarify if this will be executed as Firm Fixed Price or Cost Plus Fixed Fee?

Firm-Fixed Price.

For the initial $1,000 post-award conference delivery order, can the Government clarify if this will be executed as Firm Fixed Price or Cost Plus Fixed Fee?

Firm-Fixed Price.

Given the broad scope of weapons systems development, can the Government clarify if program-specific OCI mitigation plans will be required for each delivery order, or if the base contract OCI plan will suffice?

The base OCI mitigation plan at the IDIQ level will suffice.

Given the broad scope of weapons systems development, can the Government clarify if program-specific OCI mitigation plans will be required for each delivery order, or if the base contract OCI plan will suffice?

The base OCI mitigation plan at the IDIQ level will suffice.

Will the Government consider allowing incremental submissions through the EWAAC portal prior to the final due date to verify successful upload and formatting?

Submissions can be updated and/or resubmitted until closeout of the RFP.

For the Digital Trinity capabilities, if proposing a roadmap in lieu of current capabilities, are there any specific milestones or interim checkpoints the Government expects to see within the 2-year timeline

There are no milestone requirements. The roadmap will be evaluated at the 2 year mark or upon completion to ensure Digital Trinity compliance.

When demonstrating technical competency in one area (Armament/Weapons, Enterprise Analytics, or Innovation Hub), will the Government consider experience from both prime and subcontractors collectively to meet the minimum criteria?

IAW M-3.2b, "Offerors shall describe their direct (organic, in-house, or subcontracted) capability to perform technical functions associated with technical areas..." Work performed AS a subcontractor can be used to describe technical proficiency, but work performed BY subcontractors can not.

Can you clarify which proposal elements are to be input directly into the EWAAC portal fields versus uploaded as attachments?

Please follow the instructions on the portal.

Will the Government allow embedded tables and graphics within the OCI Mitigation Plan, or should these be included as attachments?

Yes, tables and charts related to the OCI mitigation plan can be embedded within the OCI mitigation plan.

Will each Delivery Order require its own OCI Mitigation Plan specific to the task, or will the base IDIQ OCI plan be applied? The base OCI mitigation plan at the IDIQ level will suffice.

For companies proposing a Digital Trinity roadmap, will this be reviewed/updated at each option period? The Digital Trinity Roadmap will be reviewed 2 years from the date of the initial delivery order (the minimal order guarentee) IAW M-3.1.

M-3.0 (par. 2) states " Each experience example shall relate to an entity (e.g. prime, subcontractor, etc.) that in relation to the work element outlined in the Statement of Objectives (SOO)."

Could you please clarify this sentence?

The instructions ask for clarification if your proficiency was as a prime or a subcontractor for the work being used as experience.

What all is required to complete sections A-K on the solicitation. It seems several of the sections are informational and no response is needed. Can you provide clear instructions on what is expected for these sections? Is the signature of the SF33 all that is required or is there additonal entries required on the form for those sections? Specifically is anything required to be filled in for Sections B & F?

Instructions are provided in Section L. No entries are required in Sections B&F as this is an IDIQ contract. These fields will be populated at the delivery/task order level.

Please confirm that submitted pricing should only reflect $1K as designated for the post-award conference. Confirmed

Section M-4.1 (General Instructions) requires completion of a Staffing Proposal/Price Template, which does not appear to be included in the attachments for the solicitation. Please advise where this attachment/requirement may be located.

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

Section L-1.3 details instruction and organization of the proposal volumes. Does the government intend to disclose page and font limitations for the written volumes of the solicitation?

All responses will be made in the EWAAC portal, so there will be no page and font limitations. The table is there only to illustrate how your final package will be organized by the portal once completed.

If we're a small business, what do we submit for Volume IV (Other than Small Business offerors shall submit the Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with Section L-5.)?

If you are a small business, you are not required to submit a small business subcontracting plan. However, you do need to identify that you are a small business and therefore exempt from submitting a small business subcontracting plan.

For completing the staffing proposal for the post-award conference, can we have multiple attendees so long as the total spent is less than $1000?

Yes. The post-award conference can be attended by whoever you want as long as the cost equals to $1,000.00.

SOO paragraph 5.1.6 What are the software tools to be used that are defined by the government? This information will be provided at the delivery/task order level on a requirement specific basis.

Sub-factor B Technical For software installation, do personnel need to be previously authorized to install, or just qualified for installation?

This question does not provide enough detail to answer sufficiently.

Does the Government have page limits for each of the factors/sub-factors? The Government has character limits for each factor/subfactor as defined within the EWAAC portal.

Does the Government envision that all Task Order awards will be issued under LPTA guidelines? Only the basic IDIQ will be awarded under LPTA guidelines. Delivery/Task ordes will be awarded using guidelines based on what is in the best interest of the Government for the specific requirement.

The term “ecosystem†is used throughout the solicitation. How does the Government define “ecosystem†? What is the Government’s value proposition (i.e., what motivates an organization to join the ecosystem) for the intended DE ecosystem?

Please refer to the SOO section 5.1 for answers pertaining to DE Ecosystem.

It is understood that WOSA is consistent with Modular Open Systems Architecture (e.g., 10 U.S.C. 4401) with the added requirement of Government/Vendor partnership. Is that understanding correct? And how does the Government envision that partnership under EWAAC?

Yes, Weapons Open System Architecture (WOSA) should be a gov't/vendor partnership that enables the use of this framework throughout the weapons enterprise for all similar requirements.

Could you provide L-2.1 Section I Contract Documentation example? Contract doumentation refers to the contract that was provided for your company to review, sign, and return that you accept the Government's terms and conditions, "Solicitation -

FA865625RB001"

Could you provide a L-2.3 Section II Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements example There are no samples of this document.

List any exceptions on a word document and upload into the portal.

Could you provide a L-2.4.2 Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan example? There is no specific template; use the OCI Mitigation Plan Checklist attached to the RFP package as a guide.

Could you provide a L-2.4.4 Identification and Assertions example? There is no specific template.

Does an offeror need to provide an OCI mitigation plan if they've identified no existing or potential conflicts? If an OCI mitigation plan is still required, what does the plan need to cover for offerors who have identified no existing or potential conflicts?

A OCI mitigation plan is required per L-

2.4.2. A Checklist was provided as an

attachment to the RFP package.

If the offeror is not a CAS-Covered contractor and does not intend to bid on cost type contracts, do they still need to provide DCMA and DCAA POCs?

Submit DCMA and DCAA POCs, if known.

If the offeror is a Small Business (i.e., <1500 employees under NAICS 332993), do they need to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in Vol IV?

If you are a small business, you are not required to submit a small business subcontracting plan. However, you do need to identify that you are a small business and therefore exempt from submitting a small business subcontracting plan.

In Volume IV, the EWAAC Portal identifies the Small Business Subcontracting Plan as a "Required" document for submission. If the offeror is a small business and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required, what should the contractor enter in this field in order to submit their proposal package?

If you are a small business, you are not required to submit a small business subcontracting plan. However, you do need to identify that you are a small business and therefore exempt from submitting a small business subcontracting plan.

No indication of section page count limits or font size is provided in Section L. Are there any restrictions on page count, font size or other formatting?

There are no page counts or font sizes, only character limits for responses within the portal.

L-3.3 says, "Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 6.0." Paragraph 6.0 is "Other Considerations". Should the text say, "Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 5.0."?

Correct; an amendment to the solicitation will be issued to rectify this discrepancy.

Volume I; Section III refers to Reps and Certs, however we cannot locate any Reps and Certs or Section K within the RFP documents provided. Could you please provide guidance on where the Reps and Certs are located.

Section K is referenced in the document titled "Solicitation - FA865625RB001".

Clause 52.204-8 in Section K needs to be filled out where applicable.

I have a user that is locked out of MFA, how do I get the account reset to get logged back in? Please send an email to the notated Government POCs in Section L and we will reach out to the Systems team on your behalf.

Section Sect L-3.0, page 8: Section L stipulates that responses to Volume II, Section I (Narrative) and Subfactors A & B will provided in accordance with the EWAAC Proposal Response Guide (RPG), however, there is no RPG provided with the governments solicitation documents. Will the government be providing an updated RPG for offerors to provide their response to Volume II - Technical?

There is no file entitled "EWAAC Proposal Response Guide" and an amendment to the solicitation will be issued to rectify this discrepancy. Subfactors A and B can be submitted at portal vol II.

Section Sect L-5.0, page 3: Section L-5 states that "You are proposing on a solicitation with the NAICS code 332993, Ammunition (except small arms) Manufacturing". Can the government confirm that this is the only NAICS code that services will be provided under for each Delivery Order or that there will be other services associated with other NAICS codes solicited such as Digital Material Management, Digital Engineering Services to include IT and Cyber Security?

The NAICS code 332993 will only be used to determine the socio-economic size standard of the company at the IDIQ level.

There will be work accomplished on EWAAC that would theoretically fall under a different NAICS code. However, only one NAICS code is allowed per contract and the Contracting Officer determined that this one fits the overall scope the best.

Section Sec L-1.4, page 5: The solicitation states company name and proprietary information notices shall be included in Volume I, narrative summary, however, the narrative summary is listed within section L-3.1 within Volume II. Can the government clarify if the Narrative Summary is to be provided in Volume I or Volume II?

Company name and proprietary information shall be included in Volume I and the narrative summary shall be included in Volume II. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

Section Sec L-7.0, page 16: In the previous EWAAC pre-solicitation there was a requirement to develop and provide an EWAAC unique email address. However, the requirement is not listed in the final Request for Proposal (RFP). In Section L-7.0 Initial Delivery Order, it states “The CO will notify Offerors after award by email to the EWAAC unique email address of the date and time of the post-award conference.― Can the government confirm if there is a requirement to provide an EWAAC unique email address.

This language will be removed in an amendment to the solicitation as there is no longer a requirement for EWAAC unique email address.

Section Sect L-4.2.4, page 14: Section 4.2.3 highly encourages offerors to provide evidence of their DCAA audit report stating they have adequate accounting system. It also requests that offerors provide its indirect rate pools and associated bases for those rates. This level of detail is typically not provided in offerors accounting system approval letters, or included in the detailed audit report of an Accounting System. Indirect Pool and Base information is typically only required when assessing proposed indirect rates as part of a cost analysis and not needed for Accounting System substantiation. Would the Government consider removing the instruction to provide indirect rate pools and associated bases for those rates?

Indirect rate pools and bases are not required at the IDIQ level. The solicitation will be amended to remove this language.

1) The standalone Section L attachment states: "Section I of this solicitation may contain the three Cost Accounting Standards clauses at FAR 52.230-3, 52.230-4, 52.230-5, and/or 52.230-6. The resultant contract shall contain only those clauses required based on the Offeror's response to the Section K certification titled Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification (National Defense)." For clarity, does this mean those clauses do not apply if bidder is proposing a commercial product firmed-fixed price approach?

EWAAC is not intended for use for commercial contracts.

Are FAR/DFARS clauses (whether incorporated by reference or full-text) self-deleting if bidder proposes a commercial product firm-fixed price approach and the clause is inconsistent with such an approach (e.g., with respect to CAS applicability or data rights in commercial software)?

EWAAC is not intended for use for commercial contracts.

Section H in the full solicitation file does not incorporate 52.204-7 by reference but the standalone Section M attachment does. Is 52.204-7 incorporated?

52.204-7 is incorporated by reference on pg 72 of the solicitation document entitled "Solicitation- FA865625RB001" in Section L.

Within the portal, if we need to remove an attachment that has already been attached, how do we do that? This capability has been added and there is now a "trash can" icon for that functionality.

Section L-1.4 PROPOSAL FORMAT states that “Proposals shall be submitted via the EWAAC Portal at https://www.ewaacportal.com by responding to the associated RFP FA8656-25-R-B001, (see the EWAAC Portal for Instructions). Company name and proprietary information notices shall be included in Volume I narrative summary.― Should this be Volume II?

Company name and proprietary information shall be included in Volume I and the narrative summary shall be included in Volume II. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

Section L-3.3.2.1 SUBFACTOR B-2-1: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) TOOLS states “Example which could be used to demonstrate a proficiency IAW Sec M para 3.2.2.1 include (but are not limited to) the following….Leveraging DoD’s investment in High-Performance Computing Centers― But then Section M-3.2.2.1 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) TOOLS states that the evaluation criteria is “Offeror has met the requirement for this category by demonstrating the ability to leverage DoD High Performance Computing Centers.― Is use of the DoD High Performance Computing Centers the only way to satisfy this requirement, or are additional examples allowed as implied by the “not limited to― in section L?

Additional examples are authorized to satisfy the requiremement.

In the SOO there are two section 4.3.2. Should the second be labelled 4.3.3? Noted. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

Regarding FAR Clause 252.234-7002 Earned Value Management System (May 2011) as stated in the solicitation provisions incorporated by reference. Will this clause be applied:

a) To all task orders since the total value of the IDIQ over the 10 years will exceed $50 Million, meaning that all task orders regardless of value will need to follow earned value management practices?

b) When the cumulative value of all task orders awarded to a vendor exceeds 50 Million dollars, such that once the cumulative value exceeds $50 million the vendor will follow earned value management?

c) Only if a single task order awarded to a vendor exceeds $50 Million?

The clause will only be applied at the delivery/task order when applicable.

In section M-4.1 the Government states that “To be eligible for award for the first delivery order, offerors shall provide the following: a. Staffing Proposal/Price Template.― We did not see a template in the final documents provided will the Government please provide this template?

Table L-1.3, Proposal Organization, does not include any page count or character limit information. Section L directs only that the volumes will be submitted via the EWAAC Portal and that any EN’s, if issued, shall contain page limits. Can the government clarify the format and length of each of the 4 volumes that will be uploaded to the EWAAC Portal.

Section L does not state the following: margins, line spacing, font type and font size in volume text, table text, captions, and graphics. What are the requirements?

Is only text allowed to be submitted into the pre-formatted documents in the Portal or are graphics and tables allowed inside the documents?

Please clearly state the Period of Performance

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand alone document.

There is no page limit. Character limits are listed in the portal. There are no requirements lists for the text as the text will be controlled when entered into the portal. The Period of Performance is 09/09/2021- 09/08/2031

Volume I requests the offeror to confirm if there is or isn't an actual or perceived OCI. Is an OCI Mitigation Plan required with the proposal submission if the offeror certifies that it has no real or perceived conflicts of interest?

A OCI mitigation plan is required per L-

2.4.2. A Checklist was provided as an

attachment to the RFP package.

Additionally, per L-2.4.2, An offeror proposal may be deemed unawardable if the offeror is unable to mitigate an actual or apparent OCI or fails to present a compliant OCI Mitigation Plan. An Offeror's proposal may not be awardable, if the offeror cannot provide a compliant OCI Mitigation Plan.

The draft contract, Section B notes the pricing agreement to be FFP for all CLINs. Is a milestone payment plan acceptable to meet the invoice requirements?

A milestone payment plan is not acceptable on the IDIQ level, but may be acceptable on the TO/DO level at the discretion of the ordering office.

Section L-3.3 SUBFACTOR B: Technical states "Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 6.0". 1_EWAAC_SOO_7.31.24_Rev_41.pdf Section 6.0 (and 6.1 and 6.2) is labeled "Other Considerations". Would the government please clarify that "Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 5.0 Work Elements"?

Correct; an amendment to the solicitation will be issued to rectify this discrepancy.

The SOO has two section 5.2's - Armament/Weapons Development and Enterprise Analytics. Please confirm the appropriate numbering of the sections.

Noted. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

The SOO section, 5.2 Enterprise Analytics, has subelement 5.2.3 which states, "Generate concise and reporting and analysis products…" Please clarify if there is a missing word or words after the first "and" in that sentence.

SOO should read, "Generate concise reporting and analysis products such as…" The "and" will be removed. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

The solicitation lists two different ordering periods, both listed as Ordering Period 1, with dates listed as Award - 9/9/2026 and 9/10/2026 - 9/9/2031. Please clarify if both these periods are intended to be Ordering Period 1 or if they should be numbered differently.

Noted. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

We have reviewed the solicitation, SOO, Vendor On-Ramp Instructions, Section L&M and all documentation provided with the request for proposal for Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract on-ramp. The contract design is aligned to demonstrate proficiency aligned to specified factors and submission of multiple volumes. To prepare a compliant proposal and prepare all volumes we are requesting an extension to 20 December 2024.

No extensions will be issued at this time.

Solicitation section L-4.1.1 a requires a statement from offeror that it affirms and acknowledges the Government's intent to pay $1,000 for the PAC. There is no section in the EWAAC portal to upload for L-4.1.1.a. Where is offeror to upload this?

The referenced template is included within field and is not a stand alone document.

Section L-4.1.1.b. requires that the Offeror must provide a statement as to how it will comply with DFARS Clause 252.242- 7006, but here is nowhere to upload this in the portal. This section of the portal requests you only to check a box. Where is offeror to upload their compliance statement?

The referenced template is included within the EWAAC portal itself as a fillable text field and is not a stand-alone document.

The instructions (L-3.3 SUBFACTOR B: TECHNICAL) state “Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 6.0.― This section of the SOO is Other Considerations, Security (6.1) and Data Rights (6.2). Is this the correct SOO paragraph offerors must demonstrate a complete understanding of or did the government mean to point to 5.0 Work Elements?

If the government expects offerors to demonstrate an understanding of 5.0 instead of 6.0, please confirm offerors should focus only on the relevant area within section 5.0, rather than addressing the entire section since the portal specifies that offerors must meet one Technical area in Subfactor B to be eligible for an award, rather than requiring responses to all three sections. For example, when addressing Subfactor B-1, we would demonstrate our understanding specifically of SOO 5.2.

Noted. An amendment to the solicitation will be issued to correct this error.

In the portal, on the screen for Volume I submissions, section L.2.1 allows us to delete our uploaded file and replace it with a new one. However, L-2.4.2 and L-2.4.4 do not give us the option to delete. Will the government update the portal to provide the option to delete files from these two sections?

This capability has been added and there is now a "trash can" icon for that functionality.

For the Contract Documentation requirement SF33. Are we only expected fill out the Section A items outlined, and just keep exactly what is filled out in all other sections through Section K. Or are we expected to draft our own independent SF33 in all the Sections through section K?

Fill out the provided SF 33 as applicable.

Be sure to address fill-in fields within section K.

Section L-3.3, Page 10: Could the Government please confirm that it will consider the qualifications and experience of Offeror’s sister companies and affiliates, as outlined in FAR 15.305(a)(2) and supported by U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions, where such qualifications/experience will be relied upon during contract performance? (Relevant Case Citations: B3H Corporation, B-409992, December 22, 2014, and AGL Constructors, LLC, B-408881, March 30, 2014)

No, the Government will not consider experience of the offeror's sister or affiliate companies. Section L-3.3 states that the "Offeror shall demonstrate proficiency..." and only those proficiencies of the offeror will be considered.

L-4.2, pg. 14: Could the Government please clarify how to present the requested elements in sections L-4.2.1 through L-4.2.7 of the cost/price introductory documents and descriptions for Joint Ventures (JV)? Should this information be presented individually for each JV member, or only by the managing member of the JV?

Only the managing member needs to submit requested information. Award will be made to only the managing member, not to each individual member of the joint venture.

Section L-3.3, Pg. 10: Could the Government please confirm that it will consider the qualifications and experience of Offeror’s sister companies and affiliates, as outlined in FAR 15.305(a)(2) and supported by U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions, where such qualifications/experience will be relied upon during contract performance? (Relevant Case Citations: B3H Corporation, B-409992, December 22, 2014, and AGL Constructors, LLC, B-408881, March 30, 2014)

No, the government will not consider experience of the offeror's sister or affiliate companies. Section L-3.3 states that the "Offeror shall demonstrate proficiency..." and only those proficiencies of the offeror will be considered.

Section L-4.2, Pg. 14: Could the Government please clarify how to present the requested elements in sections L-4.2.1 through L-4.2.7 of the cost/price introductory documents and descriptions for Joint Ventures (JV)? Should this information be presented individually for each JV member, or only by the managing member of the JV?

Only the managing member needs to submit requested information. Award will be made to only the managing member, not to each individual member of the joint venture.

Section M-3.0, Pg. 2: Second paragraph of Section M-3.0 Factor 1: Management / Technical Proficiency, states, “The offeror shall provide recent / relevant experience in at least ONE area of Subfactor B. However, M-3.2.a, Subfactor B:

Technical, states: “Offeror responses shall be evaluated relative to the offeror’s knowledge and ability to address ALL facets of the technical requirements listed in this section.― Please clarify.

Offerrors qualify by meeting the minimum indicated requirements in each area but will be evaluated on all areas submitted.

Replace "listed" with submitted.

Section L-3.3, Pg. 10: Third paragraph of Section L-3.3 Subfactor B: Technical, states, “Offerors shall demonstrate proficiency in ONE OR ALL of the below technical capabilities...― Section M-3.2.a, Subfactor B: Technical, states, “Offeror responses shall be evaluated relative to the offeror’s knowledge and ability to address ALL facets of the technical requirements listed in this section.― Please clarify.

Offerrors qualify by meeting the minimum indicated requirements in each area but will be evaluated on all areas submitted.

Replace "listed" with submitted.

Section M-3.0, Pg. 2: Second paragraph, Section M-3.0 Factor 1: Management / Technical Proficiency, states, “The offeror shall provide recent and relevant experience for all focus areas of Subfactor A...― Section M-3.1 Subfactor A: Digital Trinity Capabilities, states, “...ALL the Digital Trinity categories...†Are “focus areas†the same as “categories†?

Focus Areas and Categories are synonomous.

Section H, Pg. 12: Section H, Eglin-H100On Ramp IV (October 2024), states, “The Government intends to establish an awardee group under the EWAAC effort. The Government will initially establish the awardee pool by competitively awarding multiple-award IDIQ contracts. Initial awardees of the EWAAC effort will be awarded contract with a base ordering period of two (2) years. After the base period the Government reserves the right to award an option of three (3) years followed by an option of five (5) years. Section B, Supplies or Services and Prices or Costs, of the Model Contract appears to have CLINs for a base period (0001, 0002, and 0003) and one option period (1001, 1002, and 1003). Will the awarded contract have the CLIN for the five-year option period (2001, 2002, and 2003)?

Noted -- The CLIN structure should begin at 1001 the option line item will be 2001, 2002, 2003 and will be corrected via an amendment to the solicitation.

Section L, Pg. 1: Second paragraph of Section L states, “All contractors that provide a responsive, qualified, and unique proposal...†What constitutes a “qualified†proposal? Is “qualified†the same as “responsible†as referenced in Section L.2.4.1 Contract Administration / Information?

A responsive, qualified, and unique proposal is one that fully addresses all aspects of Section L.

Section I, Pg. 20: Section I, FAR Clause 52.211-11, Liquidated Damages—Supplies, Services, or Research and Development.

Is the Government going to require liquidated damages for failure to deliver supplies or perform services? If so, what is the amount for para (a) of this clause?

This information will be provided at the ordering level on a requirement specific basis.

Section L-4.1.2, Pg. 14: Can the Government clarify whether the four (4) LCATs proposed in the Staffing Proposal for the post-award conference are exclusively for the conference and will not be utilized again, or if they will also be evaluated and awarded as part of the IDIQ contract for future task/delivery orders?

This is only used for the Post Award Conference and onboarding to this IDIQ and must equal $1,000 no matter how many LCATs are used. Future task order/delivery orders are decentralized and executed independently.

Section L-4.1.2, Pg. 14: Can the Government confirm whether the four (4) LCATs proposed for the post-award conference will be interviewed during the conference to verify that they meet required qualifications, education, and experience?

No, the LCATs will not be interviewed.

Section M-3.1.3, Pg. 4: Will there be requirements for integrating analytics with specific existing systems or data repositories?

If so, which ones, and are there interoperability standards we should adhere to?

This information will be provided at the ordering level on a requirement specific basis.

Section M-3.2.2, Pg. 6: How will success in the analytics function be measured? Are there performance metrics or KPIs that we should target to demonstrate acceptable proficiency in analytics?

This information will be provided at the ordering level on a requirement specific basis.

Section L-4.2.6, Pg. 15: For Joint Ventures, can the Government confirm that Offeror’s are to provide the DCMA and DCAA contact information for the managing member only?

Only the managing member need to submit requested information. Award will be made to only the managing member, not to each individual member of the joint venture.

Section M-3.2.2, Pg. 6: Is there an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) within the analytics solution? If so, are there preferred ML models, AI techniques, or automation tools that the government recommends?

There is no emphasis given and there are no tool preferance or recommendations.

Section L-5, Pg. 15: If a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required, will the EWAAC portal allow Small Business Offerors to bypass this requirement, or should we submit a document stating that the plan is not applicable in order to complete our proposal submission? Please clarify.

You should be allowed to bypass this requirement and leave blank. We are working with the Helpdesk to confirm.

With that said, uploading a document stating 'not applicable' is an acceptable work around.

Section L-2.4.1.1, Pg. 6: Where should Offeror’s upload Section K – Representations, Certification, and other statements? There is no section within the EWAAC Portal identified.

Section K is referenced in the document titled "Solicitation - FA865625RB001".

Clause 52.204-8 in Section K needs to be filled out where applicable. This is then uploaded in Volume I

Section L-1.4 states that "Company name and proprietary information notices shall be included in Volume I narrative summary" Is this intended to mean Volume II narrative summary since there is no place to enter a narrative summary in the portal for Volume I?

Noted. Company name shall be included in Volume I and the narrative summary shall be included in Volume II. An amendment will be issued to correct this error.

Section L-2.1: Part 14 of the SF33 requires the offeror to fill-in the dates and number of the associated amendments. Would the government please confirm that the amendments are for the FA865625RB001 EWAAC On-Ramp IV and therefore, as of 7 November, there have been no amendments?

There have been no amendments as of 13 November

Section L-3.3 states "Offeror responses to Subfactor B (Technical) shall be specific and demonstrate a complete understanding of SOO paragraph 6.0". Does the Government mean SOO paragraph 5.0, Work Elements?

Noted -- Your notation is correct. An amendment will be issued to correct this error.

Section L-4.1.1.b states that "A compliance statement that demonstrates how the Offeror intends to comply with DFARS Clause 252.242-7006. A definitive statement is required regardless of the current status of the Offeror’s accounting system". However, the EWAAC Portal only allows a yes or no check box with no space to insert text to demonstrate how the Offeror intends to comply. Is the Yes or No check all that Government requires to be compliant?

Yes

Section L-4.1.2 states that "The Government will review the pricing submissions for completeness and compliance with Section L of the solicitation. Offerors must submit the requirements in para 4.1.1.a and 4.1.1.b. Failure to do so can result in an Offeror being excluded from award." The EWAAC Portal allows the Offeror to enter Labor Category, FBLR, and Hours. Cost is summed by the algorithm and there are no other places to submit supporting documentation. Is the EWAAC Portal entry of Labor Category, FBLR, and Hours all that is required to successfully meet L-4.1.2?

Yes, and the total cost must be $1000 for this onboarding effort.

Section L-4.2.1 states "The Offeror shall provide an Index/table of contents to include, as a minimum, summary descriptions of estimating, purchasing, and accounting systems; any deviations to estimating, accounting practices, or Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Disclosure Statement". The EWAAC Portal does not have an entry point for this Index/table of contents. Is there another way to submit this Index/table of contents to be compliant with this requirement?

The index/table of contents is not required. The Offeror should identify within the portal if they have a purchasing, estimating, and accounting systems. They may provide evidence of such systems within the portal. An amendment will be done to correct this.

Section L-4.2.2 states "The Offeror is highly encouraged to provide evidence of such approval." The EWAAC Portal has Yes/No checkboxes for this question. If the answer is No, is it safe to assume no further evidence is warranted?

Correct.

Section L-4.2.3 states "Offerors are highly encouraged to provide a summary description of their purchasing system or methods". The EWAAC Portal has Yes/No checkboxes for the question "Does the offeror have a Government approved purchasing system?" If the answer is No, there is no entry to offer a summary description of the non-Government approved system that we are using. Is it the Government's intent to allow us to submit our summary description via another method or is it safe to assume no summary description is needed if our system is not Government approved?

Correct, no summary description is needed for non-gov't approved systems.

Section L-4.2.4 states "The Offeror is…