RISE_Questions_and_Answers_Final.pdf

RISE BFI Questions and Answer

Introductory talk. OVERVIEW

1. Can we get slides from the presentations? [several received]

a. Yes, the Government intends to release presentations, subject to Operational Security

(OPSEC) considerations.

2. It appears that government has little slack in awards scheduling. Could the proposal prep and eval be moved to the left?

a. The Government does not currently intend to accelerate the schedule.

3. Have the GSA/OASIS been considered for the RISE effort?

a. GSA/OASIS has been considered and determined as not suitable for the RISE effort.

4. The desire for teaming was stated multiple times, but it was unclear how evaluation factors incorporated this desire; make explicit?

a. Teaming is encouraged but it is not required.

5. Would commercial suborbital flight be acceptable risk reduction and TRL strategy within this contract?

a. In general, the Government will make this determination on a case-by-case basis during the source selection.

6. The SOW includes design and fabrication of spacecraft. Does this imply that AFRL/RV will be moving to a new acquisition approach where they no longer procure spacecraft buses and hand them to the STRIVE/RISE contractor for AI&T ? i. e. Will the RISE contractor design and deliver the buses?

a. At this time the Government is not anticipating a change to its acquisition approach. The

Government’s current acquisition strategy does not preclude these options.

7. Will the contract award timelines slip if the EAGLE launch slip beyond April 2018 and therefore potential still performing ops?

a. The EAGLE launch date will not impact the RISE acquisition schedule.

8. Will the shift to smaller, more frequent launches & payloads drive demand for risk/Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) capabilities? e.g. Formal risk management plans.

a. Risk management plans are mission dependent. Historically, the Government manages task order risk at the program level.

9. Will the slides be published in FedBizOps?

a. Please refer to the answer provided in question one.

10. Will there be a flow down of mission assurance program?

a. Please clarify and resubmit this question; the intent is not clearly understood.

b. The question was not resubmitted before the deadline.

11. Can we get a list of all industry participants? (by company and if possible by POC, & email)

a. We will work with the appropriate Government offices to determine whether this information is releasable.

b. We encourage you to follow up with the AFRL Small Business Development Office for further information.

12. Can we get a copy of the presentation slides from the day?

a. Please refer to the answer provided in question one.

13. TO 01: Is GOCO approach for facilities an acceptable approach or philosophy?

a. GO/CA (Government-owned, contractor-assisted) is an appropriate description for this effort.

14. TO 02: When necessary, can surge personnel support be provided by offsite personnel-assuming proper clearances.

a. The nature of some work may require that personnel be on-site, while other work may be appropriate for off-site personnel to support.

15. TO 05: Is NTSIL expected to be self-contained or will coordination with other labs be expected?

a. NTSIL is expected to be self-contained. However, if resources from other facilities are required, it will be possible to coordinate their use instead of duplicating the effort at

NTSIL.

b. The Government will work with the RISE contractor to facilitate the coordination.

16. TO 01: Are RISE contractors expected to supply personnel to FULLY staff the briefed facilities/labs or are some positions held by Government personnel and/or non-RISE contractors?

a. The RISE contractor is required to staff appropriately to meet all requirements in the task order statement of work

b. Government and contractor personnel do operate side-by-side in the same facilities.

17. Overview: Regarding Cost/Price: How will the government evaluate the offerors cost/price?

Will the government require offerors to price a GPM (Government Pricing Model) that specifies hours by labor category and/or direct labor rates? Or will the government require offerors to price the Task Orders? Or a combination of both?

a. Detailed instructions will be provided in Section L.

b. The offeror is expected to price task order(s), however the Government is still developing how the cost/price factor will be evaluated.

18. Overview: 30 Days of overlap for transition from STRIVE to RISE is high cost risk. Suggest you plan for 90 days. Otherwise industry will interpret "30-day transition " as "wired for incumbent "

a. The Government desires and expects competition.

b. Given past experience and current operational constraints, we believe that 30 days is adequate for the transition. The Government will continue to consider the option of extending the transition period through the acquisition planning phase.

19. TO 04: Is it anticipated that support will need to be onsite with key partners? Or can surge @ those sites be supported by local surge capabilities?

a. The nature of some work may require that personnel be on-site, while other work may be appropriate for off-site personnel to support.

20. Is Task Order 4 already being worked on STRIVE?

a. Yes, the scope of work for TO 004 is currently captured within the STRIVE contract.

21. Please describe the GPS signal generator test equipment that is currently used, and what new or additional equipment do you anticipate for NITSL?

a. We have both existing equipment, equipment on-order, and equipment will be ordered in the future.

b. A representative list of key support equipment will be included in the RFP.

22. Please describe your modeling and sim software. Is it COTS or GOTS? What programming languages are used to develop and maintain the software?

a. There is both COTS and GOTS software currently used.

b. A representative list of key S/W will be included in the RFP.

23. Are your contract technicians unionized?

a. AFRL/RV does not specify whether contract employees are members of unions or not. This is left up to the discretion of the contractor.

24. UNP: How does RISE contractor support University Nanosats, given that the universities build the spacecraft? Is this full-time or part-time support?

a. The RISE contractor will provide subject matter expertise (SME) and assistance to the

Government. In addition the contractor will provide guidance and advisement during university competitions to include support of AI&T at AFRL.

25. NTS-3: You mention partnerships with AFRL/RY. Are there plans to expand user requirements to the Joint DOD community?

a. DoD user requirements and civil requirements, as appropriate, are taken into consideration in developing strategies for technical development and space experiments

26. What would we be bidding in the proposal? TO#1,2, ...UNP? Or a sample

a. These will be the actual task orders, not samples.

b. Offerors will provide a proposal for all task orders. A listing of required documents will be given in Section L.

27. UNP: what is the level of RISE contractor involvement in the UNP program?

a. Please see response provided to question 24.

28. AGT: Does the current STRIVE contractor have any Intellectual Property on AGT solutions to date?

a. No.

29. Do big companies subbed to a small company for sensor design work incur OCI issues?

a. Every situation is unique and the Government will evaluate OCI on a case-by-case basis.

30. NTS-3: Will the components be integrated at the NTSIL or by a prime?

a. This is to be determined.

31. NTS-3: Does the scope of the Phase III SBIR segment include command & control of NTS-3 Bus, payload or both?

a. Payload command and control is part of the scope of the SBIR.

b. Bus command and control is to be determined.

32. AGT: what support (current) for SMC/GP might be considered potential OCI?

a. Every OCI situation is unique and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

33. Is the ratio of engineers-to-technicians on STRIVE currently 2:1? Given the emphasis on Assembly, Integration & Test, how will that ratio change on RISE?

a. Manpower allocation will be unique to each offeror’s particular approach.

34. Would multiple award be considered with a $340M combined ceiling?

a. No. Current strategy is single award, IDIQ.

35. Are the UNP projects focused solely on the spacecraft and mission? If so, what ground system do the universities use for integration, test, launch, and operations? (i.e. Are they build by universities, procured, or provided by RISE?)

a. In most cases, universities have their own ground systems. The AI&T is conducted in

AFRL facilities under AFRL supervision.

36. NTS-3: What is the role for Braxton vs. RISE contractor with regard to the ground system? Will

Braxton be installing and maintaining or will it be handed over to the RISE contractor at some point?

a. RISE contractor support for the ground system is limited to systems engineering support to ensure appropriate integration of the ground system with the space segment.

b. It is not intended at this time that any proprietary ground system will be provided to the

RISE contractor.

RISE TOUR – Building 595

37. Are there other areas on base that can process classified payloads?

a. Yes there are.

38. Is RISE looking for assistance with payload integration?

a. Yes. Contractors are intimately involved in SSP operations with government personnel.

39. Will the RISE contractor have to support 24 hour operations for flight ops?

a. Yes, as needed.

40. Government and Contractors, how many support RISE in total?

a. That will be determined upon contract award.

41. SHARC distance to radius?

a. SHARC is a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) mission.

42. Who is responsible for maintaining the equipment? Original equipment manufacturer or contractor, or combination, provide example.

a. Combination of Government and contractor personnel. Contractors are SME’s.

43. What launch vehicle is used for orbit?

a. The vehicle is dependent on mission need and launch availability.

44. What ground system and ground networks are the SSP & UNP projects using and would they fall under the RISE contract?

a. In general, the SSP Ground architecture will leverage multiple existing and emergent commercial capabilities in an R&D environment.

Sent Post Industry Day

45. There appears to be a disconnect between the draft task orders and the Basic Statement of Work (SOW) with regard to Program Management. Specific examples include:

1. TO 0002 paragraph 3.5 states, “The contractor shall perform Program Management requirements in accordance with Section 3.6 of the Basic Statement of Work.” The Basic Statement of Work addresses Program Management under Section 5, not Section 3.6.

2. TO 0003 paragraph 3.5 states, “The contractor shall perform Program Management requirements in accordance with Section 3.5 of the Basic Statement of Work.” The Basic Statement of Work addresses Program Management under Section 5, not Section 3.5.

3. TO 0004 paragraph 3.5 states, “The contractor shall perform Program Management requirements in accordance with Section 3.5 of the Basic Statement of Work.” The Basic Statement of Work addresses Program Management under Section 5, not Section 3.5.

4. TO 0001 does not address Program Management at all

Please ensure the final RFP release includes the correct SOW references in all task order documents, and ensure that Program Management requirements are addressed in all task orders.

a. The Government has taken the comments in to consideration and will ensure task orders contain appropriate references and requirements.

46. Basic Statement of Work (SOW) paragraph 5.2 is very confusing in its use of the terms Critical Personnel and Key Personnel. Specific examples include:

1. Paragraph 5.2.1 states that all personnel directly performing the tasks in Task Order Requirements Section are designated as either Critical Personnel or Key Personnel. There is no “Task Order Requirements” Section as such in the Basic SOW. Should we interpret the “Task Order Requirements” Section as referring to the sample task orders? If so, is it the government’s intention that all personnel assigned to perform direct work on any RISE task order are to be considered Critical Personnel or Key Personnel, and subject to the requirements attending to those categories?

2. Paragraph 5.2.2 addresses the requirements for managing Key Personnel. There is no corresponding paragraph that addresses the requirements for managing Critical Personnel.

Please define the term “Critical Personnel” and the requirements for managing Critical Personnel, including requirements surrounding replacement of Critical Personnel assigned to the RISE contract.

3. Paragraph 5.2.2 specifically identifies three Key Personnel positions – Contract Program Manager, Chief Engineer, and Lead Software Engineer. This seems to contradict the statement in Paragraph 5.2.1 that all personnel directly performing the tasks in Task Order Requirements Section are designated as either Critical Personnel or Key Personnel. We strongly recommend you identify the specific positions characterized as Key Personnel, and use a different term to address other types of personnel, such as those performing tasks in the Task Order Requirements Section.

a. The Government has taken the comments in to consideration and will ensure that terminology is clear and consistent throughout the documents. The government will clarify the distinction between critical and key personnel.

b. The Government intends to retain three (3) Key Personnel positions in the basic SOW;

however, will review if critical personnel positions are required in addition. If critical personnel positions are required they will be identified.

c. The current contract strategy for RISE awards the Basic IDIQ contract and up to five (5) Task Orders on day one (1) of contract award. The five (5) task orders presented during Industry Day are intended to be evaluated for contract award during the RISE source selection.

47. Would you post the evaluation criteria as you expect it to be in either Draft RFP or the Final

RFP?

a. Yes; we will post the evaluation criteria as part of the Draft and Final RFP release. The criteria continue to be refined at this time.