Attachment 11 Questions and Answers.pdf

Question No. Reference Question Category Question # Solicitation or Attachments, and Section Solicitation or Technical Question Answer 1 Solicitation Amendment, Section L Solicitation On the amendment to the Solicitation, what is the reason for the change to the Section L on PASS/FAIL-

Clearance & Business Size which changed the requirement TO "...The Contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract shall have been granted a SECRET security clearance from the DSCA at the time of proposal submission" FROM "The contractor is required to have personnel cleared with a temporary or final SECRET clearance at the contract start date." in the original PWS.

Wouldn't requiring having employees currently with Secret clearance--especially with the specific competencies/experience/qualifications required in key personnel--suggest that such employees will have to be transferred to this new contract when awarded? We want to clarify that this opportunity encourages transferring resources from Contractor's existing DoD contract/s.

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 C. PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II), 1) Secret Facility Clearance Validation Letter from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Revised.

2 Solicitation Amendment, Section L PWS, Security Language p. 26, and Attachment 4 (original and as amended)

Solicitation Would DSCA consider rolling back the requirement to the original, which requires the Offeror currently hold an active Secret Facility Clearance, and for proposed personnel to demonstrate having "SECRET Clearance or ability to attain a DoD SECRET Security Clearance or interim prior to start."? This allows Contractors with the flexibility to staff personnel that best suits DCSA's PWS tasks without being limited to staff currently deployed in existing DoD contracts. Please see Government answer to Question 1.

3 Solicitation Amendment, Section F (Factor 3 - Pricing Volume), p. 10

Solicitation In Section F of the Solicitation, please clarify the instruction that "The Offeror shall also provide pricing in section B of the solicitation." Is this referring to the Schedule in SF1449 to be included in Volume 1 Administrative, or elsewhere?

This refer to in additional submit pricing in the SF 1449 section B CLINs/ Items Numbers.

4 Solicitation Amendment, pages 3-4, table Solicitation Is there a difference between the Small Business Participation Commitment Document required in Volume 2 PASS/FAIL-Clearance & Business Size and Volume 6 SMALL BUISNIESS PARTICIPATION

VOLUME?

There is no difference

5 A. Proposal Volume Requirements, Table - for Volume IV, page 4.

Amended Soliciatation The first line in this cell of the table for Past Performance indicates that Volume IV should include a Past Performance Reference using Attachment 7a. Attachment 7a is the Past Performance Questionnaire. Will the Government confirm our understanding that the reference to Attachment A in line "1)" is in error, and related only to the requirement for PPQ found in the second bullet " 2)"? Past Performance Volume 7a is the Past Performance and 7b is the Past

Performance Questionaire Instructions 6 E. Factor 2 - Past Performance (Volume IV), 3rd

Paragraph, page 10.

Amended Soliciatation This paragraph states the Past Performance contract References completed by the Government

Representitive using the PPQs are requred for contracts not listed in Past Performanc Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). The PPIRS system was retired and has been replaced by the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Would the Government confirm that a project reference listed in the CPARS system is acceptable in lieu of the PPQ?

CPARS system is acceptable in lieu of the PPQ 7 E. Factor 2 - Past Performance (Volume IV), 2nd

Paragraph, page 10.

Amended Soliciatation The end of the first sentence in the 2nd paragraph seems to have been cut off in error. The request seems to ask for "...,reasons why the project is considered relevant by the Offeror, names, email addresses. Would the Government please provide more clarity about whose names and email addresses are required?

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 E. Factor 2 - Past Performance (Volume IV), 2nd Paragraph, Revised.

8 A. Proposal Volume Requirements, Table - for Volume II and III, page 3.

Amended Solicitation The table indicates the Letters of Commitment should be located in Volume II. However, there is a requirement to include "4) Commitment Letters in Volume III. Are these the same document, and does the Government wish to have the same document included as part of both volumes? The government perfereance is to submit the comitment letters in Vol II Pass/ Fail

Criteria.

9 Section 1.5.16 Organizational Conflict of Interest

(OCI), page 5.

Attachment 1-PWS_Revised Now that we have thoroughly reviewed the requirements for this ILMBM opportunity, it does not create an OCI or perceived OCI as the work scope in the PWS of loan processing of FMF to foreign nation allies does not contain procurement or access to contract acquisition information. For example, even though the scope of work includes preparing and submitting US Treasury borrowing and funds control, in alignment with OMB approvals, for inputs to DoD FMFLDF – TAS (11X4122) appropriation, the nature of the loans for distribution of funds to allies and does not create OCI for current and/or future DSCA contracts.

The scope of this effort does not provide unequal access to information, nor impaired objectivity for financial gain for the contract offeror, nor does it create conflict roles using subjective judgement. The creation and processing of foreign loans does not create ground rules bias through the evaluating of acquisition proposals, drafting work scope, nor preliminary studies impacting a future procurement.

Question: Would the Government please confirm our understanding that there is no OCI element for this Loan Processing requirement, and the OCI Provision at 1.5.16 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) should be removed.

The OCI is apart of the requirement, therefore, Government cannot remove the OCI.

10 Section 1.5.16 Organizational Conflict of Interest

(OCI), page 5.

Attachment 1-PWS_Revised If the Government believes that the OCI provision should remain, would the Government please clarify the potential or actual OCI as it relates to support under this program? Please see the Government questions to Question 9.

11 Technical Exhibit 5, Investigation Requirements, Attachment 1-PWS_Revised Would the Government please clarify whether the requirement for a Tier 5 (T5) Investigation is accurate, or whether it should rather be a Tier 3 or Tier 3R for personnel as that is inline with Secret clearance requirements. This requirement is for T3 which is rquired for a Secret clearance

12 Section 1.5.13 Contractor Travel, page 5. Attachment 1-PWS_Revised Would the Government confirm our understanding that the training and training materials requirement is not applicable for this contract and remove this section? Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised

13 Section 1.15.11.1 Key Personnel, page 4 Attachment 1-PWS_Revised Would the Government please confirm that ONLY the offeror's proposed two (2) Key People, one (1) for each labor category (as defined in the Section 1.15.11.1 of the PWS) are required to hold a Secret Clearance at the time of Submission?

Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised Section 1.5.7 Security Requirements: and

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 3 ESTIMATED WORKLOAD DATA.

14 Questions and Responses to Solicitation, Questions, 2nd paragraph, page 2 and Proposal Volume Requirements Table for I Administrative Volume, bullet "9)", page 3.

Amended Solicitation There are 2 differing instructions for acknowlgement of Amendments: In the Proposal Volume Requirements Table on page 3 for I Administrative Volume, bullet "9)"it indicates a written acknowledgement in the cover letter is expected. In addition, the SF30 box does not indicate the requirement for it's submission. However, in the Questions and Responses to Solicitation on page 2, it indicates the signed SF30 must be submitted, and in the Table mentioned above as part of bullet "6)" the SF30 is also listed.

Question: Would the Government please accept the statement in the cover letter as the acceptable method to acknowledge the receipt of all Amendments? The Offeror acknowledged amendments by signing all amendments.

15 Proposal Volume Requirements Table for II Pass/Fail Volume, bullet "1)", page 3.

Amended Solicitation Letters from our Industrial Security Representative can no longer be requested. FCL Verifications are now required to be verified via NISS. Therefore, will a copy of the FCL Clearance Verification found on National Industrial Security System (NISS) which provides the company's address, CAGE Code, and Facility Clearance Level be an acceptable alternative to an offeror's Facility Clearance Validation Letter from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)? Yes, the Government will accept a copy of the FCL Clearance Verification found on

NISS.

16 Proposal Volume Requirements Table for I

Administrative, Cover Letter, page 3 and A.1.7 Labeling, 3rd sentence, page 5

Amended Solicitation In the Table, the only requirement for a "Cover Letter" is indicated for Volume I Administrative.

However, in A.1.7, the instructions indicate the Government wishes a cover letter be inserted in each folder (file). Many of the items required in these additional cover letters are duplicative of the Volume I Cover Letter.

Question: Would the Government consider removing the requirement for a cover letter in each Volume and allow the offerors to submit only the single Cover Letter as described in Volume 1 Administrative? Only a single Cover Letter in Volume 1 required. In addition, a cover letter is required for Vol I, II, III.

17 F. Factor 3 - Price (Volume V) Amended Solicitation Can the Government provide the number of loans expected to be processed on a monthly basis? Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 4 PROJECTED LEVEL OF

EFFORT.

18 F. Factor 3 - Price (Volume V) Amended Solicitation Will the government accept alternative LOEs for the identified CLINs? Yes, the Government accept alternative LOEs for the identified CLINs. Please see

Attachment 1 - PWS Revised TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 3 ESTIMATED WORKLOAD DATA, 1 paragraph.

19 1.5.4 Hours of Operation, 1.5.5 Place of Performance

Amended Solicitation Under 1.5.4 is states this requirement will have a blend of remote and on-site employees. However

1.5.5. states place of performance is at DSCA HQ, Would the government please confirm all work is at DSCA Headquarters? If not, would you please confirm which positions will be remote ? Work will take place at DSCA HQ, with telework available under permissible circumstances as directed by relevant policies and agency requirements.

20 E. Past Performance (Volume IV), 1st paragraph, Amended Solicitation The solicitation states that to be of similar size a contract reference offerors provide as a past performance reference must be at least $10M in value. Based on market research and historical data for similar efforts, would the Government please reconsider reducing this value requirement to better align with the current scope of this effort which is 4 FTE?

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 E. FACTOR 2 - PAST PERFORMANCE (VOLUME IV), Revised.

21 E. Technical Approach & Capability (Volume III), Personnel Matrix, 3rd paragraph, page 12

Amended Solicitation Please confirm that the personnel matrix should be completed with just the two key people (one for each category).

Personnel Matrix should be completed with all labor categories. Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revisd Techincal Exihbit 3 Estmated Workload.

22 5.2, Task 1 Program Management Support- (5.2.1, 5.2.4, and 5.2.6), pages 11 and 12

Attachment 1-PWS_Revised Please confirm that these three deliverables: Project Plan, WBS, and IMF do not apply, due to the nature of the loan processing effort and are not included in the Deliverables Schedule. Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised.

23 HQ003425R0009P00001_Amendment Solicitation

Under "PASS/FAIL-Clearance & Business Size," the solicitation requires: "Secret Facility Clearance Validation Letter from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. The Contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract shall have been granted a SECRET security clearance from the DSCA at the time of proposal submission." Would the Government accept a screenshot from the National Industrial Security System (NISS) portal showing a facilty clearance is active at a SECRET level or higher? Alternatively please clarify how the Contractor should obtain a Secret Facility Clearance Validation Letter from DCSA. Please see Government answer to Question 15.

24 Attachment_1__PWS_Revised Solicitation

Sections 1.5.7., 1.5.8, 1.5.11.1, and 4.2 require contractor staff to have a "SECRET" clearance.

Technical Exhibit 5 requires that a Tier 5 investigation be favorably adjudicated, rather than that a Tier 3 investigation be favorably adjudicated. A SECRET clearance can be achieved with a Tier 3 investigation. Please amend Technical Exhibit 5 to confirm that offerors' staff must only undergo Tier 3 investigations as only a SECRET clearance is required. Please see Government answer to Question 11.

25 HQ003425R0009P00001_Amendment Solicitation

Under "PASS/FAIL-Clearance & Business Size," the solicitation requires "Secret Facility Clearance Validation Letter from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. The Contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract shall have been granted a SECRET security clearance from the DSCA at the time of proposal submission." As it is unknowable which staff will serve over the life of the contract, is it accurate to interpret that only key staff need to have been granted a SECRET clearance at the time of proposal submission, with additional staff being granted the clearance following the beginning of the POP?

Key Personnel shall have been granted a temporay or final Secret celarance at time of proposal. Please see Solicication HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 C. PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II), Security Clearance:

26 HQ003425R0009P00001_Amendment Solicitation

Under "PASS/FAIL-Clearance & Business Size," the solicitation requires "Secret Facility Clearance Validation Letter from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. The Contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract shall have been granted a SECRET security clearance from the DSCA at the time of proposal submission." The skills and experience needed to successfully execute on the contract are rare, but most commonly found at civilian agencies. Many DSCA leaders also have backgrounds from civilian agencies prior to joining DSCA. To allow for competition, could DSCA update the requirement to be that employees must have been granted a SECRET security clearance following contract award? Please see Govrnment answer to Question 25.

27 Attachment_1__PWS_Revised Solicitation

Under 1.4 Period of Performance, the base year begins after the proposal submission date.

Additionally, the final option period FAR 52.217-8 is for seven months, exceeding the maximum permitted under the FAR. Are these February dates intended to be in March? Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised 2 Section 1.4 Period of Performance.

PWS Technical Exhibit 3 ESTIMATED WORKLOAD DATA Solicitation

Can proposed staffing and labor mix include additional labor categories that are not identified as key in addition to the key positions?

Yes, the government is open to alternate labor mix outside of the Key Personnel positions. Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revisd Techincal Exihbit 3 Estmated Workload, first paragraph.

29 Attachment 5, Pricing Template Base Period Solicitation May non-key staff that do not have the qualifications for "Accountant" and "Financial Modeling Specialist" be proposed to provide "Accounting Services" and "Financial Modeling Services"?

Yes, the government will accept proposed non-key staff that do not have qualifications for "Accountant" and "Financial Modeling Specialist" to provide Accounting and Financial Modeling Services.

30 Attachment 5, Pricing Template Base Period Solicitation Please adjust the period of performance for projected start date Period of Performance are estimates

PWS 1.5 General Information: 1.5.2 Quality Assurance: Solicitation

Please confirm the document titled "TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY" is the current QASP on this contract. The QASP is a Government document that is not apart of the solicitation.

32 PWS 1.4 Period of Performance None Solicitation Please adjust periods of performance if the contract is projected to be awarded after February 24, 2025.

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 C. PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II), Small Business Participation Commitment Document, last Paragraph, Revised.

33 PWS 1.4 Period of Performance None Solicitation Please correct "FAR 52.217-8: February 24, 2030 – September 23, 2030" to FAR 52.217-8: February 24, 2030 – August 23, 2030 Please see Government answer to question 27.

34 RFP "Delivery Information" None Solicitation Please adjust periods of performance if the contract is anticipated to be awarded after February 28, 2025 Please see Government answer to question 32.

35 PWS Technical Exhibit 4 Solicitation To what document do the reference numbers in the leftmost column refer? The numbering does not align with tasks. For example, there is no 1.6.1 or 1.2.11 in the PWS. Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised 2 Technical Exhibit 4.

RFP A. PROPOSAL VOLUME REQUIREMENTS C.

PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II) Solicitation

This section refers to "PWS section H-8 section 12 of this solicitation)" for guidance on the how the contractor is to propose a schedule for assessing small business participation. We cannot locate that section: please provide any guidance additional to the instructions in the RFP.

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 C. PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II), Small Business Participation Commitment Document, last Paragraph, Revised.

RFP. 52.212-2 EVALUATION – COMMERCIAL

ITEMS (OCT 2014) “ADDENDUM”;4), 2. Solicitation

This section states that offerors that do not show a sufficiently "substantive" commitment to small business particpation will fail this part of the evaluation and as a consequence, their proposals will not be evaluated. Could the government quantify "substantive"?

Please see Solicitation HQ003425R0009 Amendment 0002 C. PASS/FAIL Criteria (VOLUME II), Small Business Participation Commitment Document, 2. Minimum Quantitative Requirement (MQR) -

38 RFP A. PROPOSAL VOLUME REQUIREMENTS Solicitation Commitment letters are requested for both volumes II and volume III. Should they be included in both? Please see the Government answer to question 14.

Attachment 3 - Personnel Matrix; column C and column D Solicitation What is the difference between "Labor Category" and "Proposed Labor Category"?

The Labor Category is the Government suggested labor category and the Proposed Labor Category is the vendor propsoed labor category on the vendor Federal Supply Schdeule

40 RFP A. PROPOSAL VOLUME REQUIREMENTS.

The Small Business Participation Commitment Document is requested in volume II and volume VI.

Should it be included in both places? Yes

41 HQ003425R0009P00001_Amendment Solicitation Please extend the due date for proposals to six (6) business days after responses to questions. The Government will extend the due date for proposals.

42 Draft PWS Template Solicitation To confirm, there is no Task 5 listed. There is Task 4 and then Task 6. Can the government confirm this is intentional?

Please see Attachment 1 - PWS Revised 2 Section 5.6 Task 5.

43 Draft PWS Template Solicitation Can the government elaborate on the Place of Performance. Are all team members expected to report to the Arlington Office daily? Are Key Personnel required to be onsite at all work hours? Which roles are to be onsite and which are to be offsite?

Work will take place at DSCA HQ, with telework available under permissible circumstances as directed by relevant policies and agency requirements. Personnel should be prepared to be onsite in coordination with DSCA staff and in reference to relevant policies and mission requirements.