Attach_11_Industry Q__A_Responses_rev1..pdf

UNCLASSIFIED

Question # Document Reference

Page # Section & Paragraph

Solicitation Section Name Industry Questions Government's Responses

1 PWS N/A N/A N/A Are we able to obtain our Top Secret Clearance and Facility upon award?

No, the contractor shall obtain clearances prior to award, per the PWS 1.2, (pg 4), "TS//SCI personnel and services needed to perform the work set forth in this Performance Work Statement (PWS)."

2 RFP N/A N/A N/A

I am reaching out to confirm whether the solicitation for Sign Language Services (SLS) Request for Proposal is open for all Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) companies.

Please see RFP SF30 Amendment 0001 on SAM.Gov for additional information posted on October 2, 2025.

Pricing Proposal

Worksheet N/A

Pricing Proposal

Worksheet

How would the government prefer the pricing be established for the firm fixed price CLINs, as a lot (per month or 12-month) or with a per hour rate visible?

RFP SF 30 Amendment 0005, Attachment 6 has been revised to reflect the total FFP pricing amount for the entire performance period.The offeror shall provide a total value to support the base and option periods of performance.

4 PWS P. 6 of 48 2.1.7

2. Specific Tasks/

2.1 Sign Language Service Performance

Requirements

How does the government observe and collect feedback from clients on interpreter suitability? Describe the concerns raised by clients? How many times in the last year has an interpreter had to be removed from the contract due to client feedback or performance concerns?

RFP SF 30 Amendment 0005, see revised PWS section 2.1, number 8, (pg 6) and the PRS Table, Item 4, (pg 39) of the PWS to describe feedback:

1. The Government collects feedback via quarterly meetings with consumers or case-by-case as reported.

2. Examples of previous service issues and concerns include: lack of soft skills (ex.lack of preparedness) incorrect affect/register matching, inattentiveness to on-call status/environmental cues, and unfilled shifts.

3.The Government will not provide performance feedback from the incumbent contract.

5 PWS P.7 of 48 2.2.2

2. Specific Tasks/

2.2 Place of Performance

Please define ‘same day notice’ in this section of the PWS for contractors to switch from in person to virtual or virtual to in person work settings. D

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised:

1.PWS section 2.2, number 2, (pg 7), The contactor shall be prepared to change locations of services from virtual to in person or vice versa with minimal prior notice, at no additional charge to the Government.

2. PWS section 3.6.2, number 1, (pg 20) Provides an example of a minimal or short notice.

6 PWS P.7 of 48 2.2.2

2. Specific Tasks/

2.2 Place of Performance

Is same day notice to the contractor to change from in person to virtual or virtual to in person delivered during normal business hours?

Yes. RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised the PWS Section 3.1.1, number 2, B,6), (pg 12): The Coordinators shall be available outside normal business hours for last minute schedule changes.

7 PWS P.7 of 48 2.2.2

2. Specific Tasks/

2.2 Place of Performance

Is travel time from a virtual setting to in person or in person to virtual accounted for in the government scheduling process for same day notice to change assignments?

Yes. RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised the PWS Section 3.6.2, (added) number 3, (pg 20) of the PWS: Travel time between virtual to in-person (or vice versa) assignments is accounted for in the Government scheduling process.

8 PWS P.9 of 48 3.3.1

3. General Requirements/

3.1 Staffing and Contractor

Personnel

If CSLI’s interpret an in person mandatory training, does this meet the requirement for completing/attending the training or must the CSLI attend only when not interpreting?

No, this does not meet the requirement. RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, PWS, see section 3.13, number 1, (pg 32), revision, "All badged contractor personnel shall independently comply with mandatory security and training requirements."

SIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES (SLS) HM047625R0035 - INDUSTRY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (Q&A)

9 PWS P.10 of 48 3.1.1.C.1

3. General Requirements/

3.1 Staffing and Contractor Personnel /

C. Resource Management

Historical data upon award to establish initial projections.

The offeror's paragraph reference does not pertain to historical data, but rather to the Resource Management responsibilities of the Contractor Program Manager.

However, the staffing and contracting requirements are stated in the PWS, Section 2.2,number 2, (pg 7) for each performance location to establish initial projections.

10 PWS P.10 of 48 3.1.1.C.2

3. General Requirements/

3.1 Staffing and Contractor Personnel /

C. Quality Control

Please describe actual or illustrative examples of current or previous service issues, and interpreting concerns.

Examples of previous service issues and concerns include: lack of soft skills (ex.lack of preparedness) incorrect affect/register matching, inattentiveness to on-call status/environmental cues, and unfilled shifts.

11 PWS P.11 of 48 3.1.1.E.2

3. General Requirements/

3.1 Staffing and Contractor Personnel/

E. Desired Qualifications

Can years of professional paid experience in interpreting and program management be substituted for educational requirements for the CPM?

No. Per section 3.1.1, number 1, C. Required Qualifications, (pg 12), of the PWS, the government requires the contractor to meet the minumum years of experience. The education is a desired qualification.

12 General Daily Scheduling Coordination What software or scheduling system does the government currently use to receive (INT) requests from customers?

The Government uses email and a sharepoint request form to receive requests from customers.

13 General TDY Notice, Volume, Frequency How many OCONUS and CONUS TDY’s were requested in the most recent period of performance? How much advanced notice is provided for TDY requests?

Per section 3.6.3, (pg 21) of the PWS:

1. The upcoming OCONUS TDYs are currently unknown, but historically, the range has been 1-2 per year.

2. The Government will generally offer 10 days notice or greater for CONUS TDYs. OCONUS TDYs will have generally 21 days notice or greater.

14 General Travel/Deployment What is the typical length of a deployment? What is the maximum length of a deployment?

The typical length of a deployment is 4 months. The longest deployment to date is 6 months in duration.

15 Appendix 3 p. 42 of 48 #0007 Post Award Meetings Who, on the contractor and on the government side, must sign the meeting minutes to meet this requirement?

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised Section 3.4, (pg 17) of the PWS: The CPM or designated authority shall sign the meeting minutes.

16 Appendix 3 P. 44 of 48 #0012 GFE/GFP Please specify what GFE/GFP will be issued under this contract.

Per section 3.6.1, number 1, (pg 20) of the PWS: The Government may issue a CAC-reader to CSLIs as required by remote interpreting assignments.

17 Appendix 3 P. 44 of 48 #0013 Discrepancy Report How many discrepancy reports have been issued in the most recent period of performance?

The Government does not provide incumbent past performance evaluations.

18 PWS P. 15 of 48 3.1.3.I Cancelation Please define “Calendar Hours’ and explain what is meant by 48 calendar hours.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised Section 3.1.2, number 3 Intermittent CSLI, letter I., (pg 15), Appendix 1,(pg 34), Appendix 2 (pg 36) to define 48 calendar hours to mean over 2 calendar days.

Examples: Cancelation for Thursday at 9am must be received BEFORE Tuesday at 9am to be non-billable; or cancellation for Monday at 11am must be received BEFORE Saturday at 11am to be non-billable.

19 PWS P. 15 of 48 3.1.3.J Reference clause/section numbering

Please identify where the clause referenced in this section is located (page and paragraph) 3.2.1. According to the Table of Contents, Section 3.2 is on Page 16 of 48.

Numbering on that page goes from 3.2 to 3.3. We are not seeing 3.2.1, that the CSLI team is required to adhere to in the PWS. Please advise.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised PWS Section 3.1.2., number 3 Intermittent CSLI, letter J, (pg 15) to reflect the correct paragraph reference from 3.2.1 to 3.1.2.

20 General

When there are two same-day requests for service and only one DOS resource CSLI available for that timeframe, what is the government’s process for determining which assignment to cover and is it the government’s role to determine this, or is this decision delegated to the contractor and made by the CPM/CSLI Coordinator? Is a client or mission/project tiering or priority schema used for circumstances like this?

1. The Government decides and assigns priority of requests; priority system is used and will not be delegated.

2. The Government uses a priority system as method to determine multiple same day requests.

21 PWS P. 18 of 48 Is the phase in period support, including badging and training and information handoff to be billed as a firm fixed price or labor hours?

Per Section 3.5.1 (pg 18) of the PWS, during the phase in period support, including badging and training, and information handoff, shall be billed within the firm fixed price CLIN.

22 PWS P. 20 of 48 3.6.2 Hybrid/multi-location work When starting work at one onsite location and transitioning to a different onsite location in the same shift, how is the travel time and travel expense accounted for?

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised PWS section 3.6.2, (added) number 3, (pg 20), which states CSLI that are confirmed to work an assignment with a location change is included within a work shift at a regular rate.

Per PWS, Section 3.7, (pg 23), travel expenses will be billed under the ODC CLIN for travel mileage expenses over the 50 mile radius per the Joint Travel Regulation (JTR)/DTMO website per diem rates.

23 PWS P. 20 of 48 3.6.2 Hybrid/multi-location work How much notice and travel time is expected when an interpreter is instructed to switch from remote to on-site the day of the change?

Per Section 3.6,1, number 5, (pg 20) states:

CSLI(s) on the daily schedule shall be available for last minute assignments and shall watch for computer or phone-based communication (onsite or offsite) for added assignments and messages from the Government.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, revised PWS section 3.6.2, number 1, (pg 20):

The Government may contact coordinator(s) the night before or morning of an assignment, or mid-shift as requirements emerge. (e.g.: CSLI starts shift at NGA Washington at 0800 and is requested to change location at 1000 for a local assignment at DIA. CSLI will travel to new location during shift time to complete assignment. CSLI may return to NGA Washington to complete shift if assignment has ended, or stay for duration of shift if needed at offsite location.)

24 PWS P. 30 of 48 3.12.7.F Information Handling How many contractor personnel have hand carry receipts, and how many times has hand carrying of information been granted or necessary on the current contract?

Zero contractors have hand carry receipts.

25 PWS P. 21 of 48 3.6.4 Deployment

Though not all OCONUS deployments or TDY’s require travel document preparation.

When applicable, how is visa processing time, including time spent going to consulates to apply for and obtain any relevant travel visas, to be accounted for with invoicing and are ODC’s to be used for visa processing fees?

Per Section 3.6.4, number 7 (pg 22) of the PWS, the Government approves an estimated amount of hours for the pre-deployment/TDY requirements. Contractor will record actual hours used and will inform Government if hours are expected to exceed 10% above estimate. ODC CLIN is to be used for fees.

26 PWS P. 21 of 48 3.6.4 Deployment Can contractors be relieved or replaced during deployment for urgent or emergency situations such as illness or a death in the family? If so, what are the conditions for which this would be considered and how is the additional travel expense handled?

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised PWS section 3.6.4 , (added) number 17, (pg 23): Yes, contractors can be relieved or replaced during deployment. The contractor shall be responsible for all expenses incurred to the government. Travel conditions for relief or replacement are unpredictable and are handled case-by-case.

Attachment 10 &

SF1449

Instructions to offerers/acceptable file formats

In several places, instructions on acceptable file formats are inconsistent between Attachment 10 and instructions to offerors in the SF1449, with some listing WORD being acceptable, others listing PDF, and others listing both. Please clarify the acceptable file formats for all submission documents.

Please see the RFP SF30 amendment 0005 (highlighted in yellow) reflecting the following changes:

1. Section 4 Instruction to Offerors language revisions.

2. Attachment 10 Compliance Checklist rev 1.

28 General DOS Hours Calculations Please explain how the total annual FTE hours of 1860 per DOS is calculated

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, Section 4, para 4.5 Volume III, (pg 30), revises the FTE hours from 1860 to 1880.

Per PWS Appendix 1& 2, (pgs 34-36), there are 17 unpaid days listed and 8 additional Federal Holidays, from Nov-Jan in the base and option periods, (17+8=25 unpaid days per year).

Each day = 8 hours, therefore 25 x 8 = 200 hours unpaid hours.

Each FTE = 52 weeks multiplied 40 hours per week = 2080 hours minus 200 unpaid hours = 1880 hours per FTE.

29 General DOS Leave Is a DOS interpreter shift inclusive of annual leave or time off over and above the hours attributed to federal holidays that are removed from the calculation?

Per Section 3.1.2, (pg 13), of the PWS: The DOS CSLI are considered Firm Fixed Rate and a fully-burdened rate with no benefits, annual leave or paid federal holidays offered to DOS CSLI by the Government.

30 General DOS Backfill When a DOS interpreter is on leave, is the expectation to backfill those hours with another interpreter? If so, are those backfill hours utilizing the labor hours CLIN?

Per Section 3.1.2, (pg 13), of the PWS: The DOS CSLI are considered Firm Fixed Rate and a fully-burdened rate with no benefits, annual leave or paid federal holidays offered to DOS CSLI by the Government. The contractor will fill all DOS shifts daily, regardless of specified personnel at the same DOS FFP rate.

Example: If a scheduled interpreter requests off or is out sick, the Contractor will assign a replacement interpreter in their stead to complete the shift.

31 What pain points, if any, is the government hoping to address in this next solicitation? The PWS and solicitation list the Government’s requirements.

Have there been any security incidents over the course of the current contract and if so, are you able to share how many?

The Government does not provide incumbent past performance evaluations.

Please confirm that invoices are to be submitted via email to the NGA Vendor Pay office with copies going to the CO and COR.

Per the clause 5X52.232-9000 in the RFP (pg 19), the Government confirms invoices are to be submitted via email to the NGA Vendor Pay office with copies going to the CO and COR.

34 Please confirm the frequency with which invoices are to be submitted?

Upon contract award, language will be included to state that contractors shall submit invoices within 10 calendar days after the end of each month.

Please confirm that while on OCONUS deployment, contractors have access to postal or mail services, as well as shipping and receiving services like DHL, UPS, Amazon, etc. or other approved methods for shipping and receiving personal items, supplies, and mail services.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised PWS section 3.6.4, (added) number 18, (pg 23): The Government confirms that while on OCONUS deployment, contractors have access to APO/FPO postal or mail services, as well as shipping and receiving services.

Please confirm whether contractors on OCONUS deployment can be assigned to high threat posts.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised PWS section 3.6.4 , (added) number 16 (pg 23): Yes, the Government confirms contractors on OCONUS deployment can be assigned to high threat posts.

Please confirm that the vendor is to use the Department of State per diem rates for OCONUS travel (TDY or deployment) and GSA per diem rates for domestic travel.

Per the PWS, 3.7 Travel, number 1, (pg 23), and 3.6.4 Deployments, number 9, (pg 22), offerors shall use per diem rates per the DoD, Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) and published rates in the DTMO for all travel.

38 RFP

For VOLUMES I and II, do the completed Government templates need to be submitted as separate files from the rest of the volume, or can the Government templates be embedded into one Volume file and submitted together with the rest of the volume requirements as one document?

Yes. the Government templates shall be embedded into one volume file as one document per the instructions as stated in the RFP:

Per the RFP Section 4, para 4.3, (pg 27), Volume I - Technical (Factor 1):

"The Technical Volume shall include the responses to SubFactors 1.1 Technical/Management Approach, 1.2 Key Personnel, and 1.3 Corporate Experience shall be submitted as a word or PDF document."

Per the RFP Section 4, para 4.4,(pg 28), Volume II -Security, Subfactor 2.1:

"The security volume must provide a copy of the current signed/dated/witnessed or notarized Certificate Pertaining to Foreign Interest (SF 328) (Attachment 3) and Completed FCL Government's provided template (Attachment 4)."

Per the RFP Section 4, para 4.4,(pg 29), Volume II -Security, Subfactor 2.2:

"The security volume shall contain a list of the proposed key personnel as stated in the RFP for the performance of the contract with the information indicated below using the Personnel Security Clearance information template (Attachment 5)."

The solicitation instructions state that each resume can be 3 pages, but on the Government-provided template it states “PRIMARY COORDINATOR(S) (3 pages)” indicating 3 pages allowed for all Primary Coordinator resumes. Please confirm that 3 pages is allowed per resume.

Per the RFP Section 4, para 4.3, (pg 27), Sub-Factor 1.2 Key Personnel Resume(s), "Offerors shall provide resumes for each Key Personnel position(s) described in PWS 3.1.1 using the template provided in Attachment 2."

There is a maximum of three (3) pages per resume for each Primary and Alternate Coordinator position separately using the Attachment 2 - SLS_Resume_Format_Key_ Personnel template.

Attachment 2 provided by the Government only has one template Primary Coordinator and one template for Alternate Coordinator, even though offerors are required to submit 2 resumes for each position. Please confirm that offerors are expected to duplicate those sections of Attachment 2 in order to provide 2 resumes for each position and that this will be compliant to submit as it will alter the Government’s provided template to add an additional resume for each of those positions as required.

RFP SF30 amendment 0005 reflects the following revision to RFP Section 4.3, (pg 27-28), Subfactor 1.2, Key Personnel Offerors:

#2. Two Primary Coordinator(s): One (1) located at NGA Washington and 1 at St. Louis.

#3 Two Alternate Coordinator(s): One (1) located at the NGA Washington and 1 at St. Louis.

The RFP Attachment 2 template can be duplicated for each of the resumes for each Primary and Alternate Coordinator candidates, however the template cannot be altered.

Is the cover letter required to be submitted as a separate document from the rest of Volume 1 or can it be included in Volume I of the proposal response?

Per RFP Section 4, Table 4.1, (pg 26), the cover letter will not evaluated and separate from all volumes.

The PWS references labor categories covering intermittent work performed outside the core business hours of 6am-6pm (PWS, Section 3.F.1-7, page 14).

However, PWS Section 3.14, page 32 states that work performed outside those hours shall be provided at “no premium cost.” This creates some uncertainty as to whether different rates should apply for core versus non-core hours, or whether all such work should be billed at the same rate.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, see revised PWS section 3.14, (pg 33): language added “during core hours” and removed “at no premium cost.”

43 Solicaition

The solicitation, on page 28 states that “All non-price factors, when combined, are more important than price for the purpose of the best value determination…” however, with Factor 2: Security being pass/fail, which factor is more important, technical or price? With offerors who fail Factor 2 being thrown out, it is unclear how Factor 1 and Factor 3 compare in importance when no factor is combined.

Please clarify which is more important when not combined - Factor 1: Technical or Factor 3: Price.

Per Page 32. The Security factor is pass/fail. Any Offeror’s proposal who fails any Security sub-factor will not be eligible for award.

RFP SF30 Amendment 0005, pg 32, will reflect the following revised language highlited in yellow:

The Technical Factor 1 is more important than the Price Factor 3 for the purposes of the best value determination as described in below table.

If the Offeror proposal passed the security factor, Tecchnical Factor 1 is more important than price.

44 Solicaition

Please confirm whether:

1.The solicitation is exclusively set aside for certified WOSB firms, or 2.If non-WOSB small businesses may also submit proposals.

This solicitation is a 100 % Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) Program Set-Aside (FAR 19.15). Therefore, only for certified WOSB.