20 Responses to Industry Feedback.xlsx
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- Attached to
- DCSA Background Investigation Fieldwork Services Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- HS0021-22-R-0003
About this file
This is a solicitation for background investigation fieldwork services. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is seeking proposals to provide nationwide fieldwork support to complete background investigations for federal agencies. Offerors must comply with instructions in Attachment 01 and pricing terms in Attachment 03. Proposals are due by the date indicated in the solicitation posting. The agency will evaluate proposals according to the criteria in Attachment 02. If selected, the contractor must perform services described in Attachment 04 and comply with provisions and clauses identified in Attachment 06. This is a competitive solicitation open to all responsible contractors to support background investigation requirements.
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Round 1
| RFP Attachment # | Page # | Question/Comment | Proposed Change (if applicable) | Government Response |
| 01 | 1 | Attachment 1, Page 1, Section 2 |
(1) If one of the awardees is issued a stop work order for a security breach, performance issue, or similar concern, will DCSA halt background investigations under that contract until the stop work order is resolved, will the increased workload be shifted to the remaining active awardee, or will a special emergency procurement be issued for new vendors in order to avert growing a backlog of timeliness concerns?
| (2) If either awardee receives a stop work order and the substantially increased workload is shifted to the remaining awardee, will that awardee be granted a waiver period to perform on the increased volume of work? | What the Government does in such a situation would be highly context-sensitive, and the Government declines to speculate further. Note, however, that the language of clause 52.216-19 allows a Contractor to decline any task order or series of contract actions totaling more than $90M within a 90-day period. | ||
| 01 | 2 | The following statements from Attachment 01 Instructions to Offerors, page 2 seem to contradict each other. |
Statement 1.) “The Government will evaluate proposals received in response to solicitation no. HS002122R0002 first. Once the Government has determined the awardee under this solicitation (but before making award) the Government will then exclude that Contractor from consideration for award under HS002122R0003 using the authority of FAR 6.202(a).”
Statement 2.) “If an Offeror submits a single proposal in response to both solicitations HS002122R0002 and HS002122R0003, and the Offeror is deemed to be within the competitive range for both solicitations, the Offeror may choose to respond to the Government with a single response on behalf of both proposals, or with unique responses for each unique proposal.”
| Question: Will the Government please confirm that it will be concurrently evaluating proposals in response to solicitation numbers HS002122R0002 and HS002122R0003, but will not determine the awardee under solicitation HS002122R0003 until after the awardee has been determined under solicitation number HS002122R0002? Similarly, will the Government please confirm that it will NOT only evaluate proposals under HS002122R0002, and then after determining the awardee, evaluate proposals under HS002122R0003? | The Government can confirm that evaluations will occur concurrently, not sequentially, across solicitations, and that an awardee will be determined under solicitation no. HS002122R0002 before solicitation no. HS002122R0003. This language within Attachment 01 has been revised accordingly. | ||
| 01 | 3 | II. PROPOSAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: Table defines the written volumes "...document with 11-point or higher Times New Roman (TNR) or Calibri font." However, graphic/chart and table text fonts and sizes are not defined. |
| As allowed for the slides, will the Government also allow graphics/charts and tables text to be 10-point or higher Times New Roman (TNR) or Calibri font for the written proposal? | Yes. (See Attachment 02, Section II.) | ||
| 01 | 4 | II. PROPOSAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: "Offerors may include cover pages for each volume but are not required to do so. Cover pages will not count against any page limits." However, Tables of Content and Glossaries are not defined. |
(1) Will the Government consider allowing Tables of Content and Glossary for each volume and that these will not count against any page limits?
| (2) Will the Government allow each written volume’s Table of Contents to be excluded from page count? | Yes, that would be acceptable. Attachment 01, section II. has been updated accordingly. | |||
| 01 | 4 | Per Attachment 1 Amendment 02, Items 3, 4 & 5 indicate a requirement for an Oral and Written submission, would the Government confirm that the written portion of these volumes is solely what is provided in the Slide Deck and that a narrative discussion for each volume should not be provided? | Yes, the slide deck covers the written requirements for subfactors A, B, and C. No additional narrative is required. (Note that this material is now referred to simply as Volume 3, not Volumes/Items 3, 4, and 5. See Attachment 01, section II.) | |
| 01 | 4 | Will DCSA consider distributing the list of panel attendees from DCSA for the Oral Presentations in advance of the presentation to the vendors? | Generally speaking, the Government anticipates that oral presentations will be attended on the Government side by the Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist, and the members of the Technical Evaluation Team. | |
| 01 | 5 | (1) Please confirm which Volume the completed Solicitation Document 06 Provision and Clauses is to be included in the written submission. |
(2) The Cover Letter requires the inclusion of items listed in FAR 52.212-1(b). Item (8) of FAR 52.212-1(b) also requests a complete copy of representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3. Is this in addition to the RFP document Provision and Clauses? If so, can the cover letter reference the representations and certification available on SAM.gov? (1) The cover letter shall contain any completed provisions the Offeror is required to provide. (See Attachment 01, III.1.A.)
(2) Per the instructions within provision 52.212-3, Offerors that have completed their annual representations and certification in SAM only need to complete and submit paragraph (b) of that provision. (See Attachment 06.)
01 5 Per the Instructions, "Evaluations. For each project, either a PDF copy of applicable Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Evaluations or a completed Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) Template (Attachment 11) submitted by a third-party reference in PDF format."
Some Agencies use contractor evaluation systems similar to the CPAR system (e.g., Contractor Performance Evaluation Assessment (CPEA)).
Question: Would the Government consider an Agency specific contractor evaluation response in place of the CPAR or PPQ? Add wording in table (page 5) and in paragraph 4.B.i on page 11 to:
| "Evaluations. For each project, either a PDF copy of applicable Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Evaluations, or similar Agency specific contractor evaluation, or a completed Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) Template (Attachment 11) submitted by a third-party reference in PDF format." | The Government agrees to consider agency-specific Contractor evaluations in place of the CPARS evaluations, as this would not significantly impact the evaluation approach or nature of the documentation received. (See Attachment 01, II.6.) | ||
| 01 | 5 | REMINDER: Offerors must submit written materials in zipped folders organized by volume. Offerors must not place a period (“.”) within the name of any file or folder, as such documents may be stripped by the DCSA server. |
| Please clarify if submission is by email. If so, please define if there is an email server file size limitations. Please define the Government POC whom is to receive the proposal submission. If submission is not by email, please define submission method, e.g., Google Drive. | Offerors must submit written materials via email to the point of contact referenced in the solicitation posting. The DCSA email server file size limitation is 10 MB. (See Attachment 01, II.) | ||||
| 01 | 5 | Will the government please clarify if each project is allowed 3 pages for a total of 9 pages max? | C. Commitment to Small Business. PDF format, not to exceed three (3) pages for each project with 11-point or higher TNR or Calibri font. | The Government will allow three (3) pages total, one (1) page per past-performance project identified in section III.4. (See Attachment 01, II.7.C.) | |
| 01 | 5 | The RFP states "REMINDER: Offerors must submit written materials in zipped folders organized by volume." |
Will the government allow a the minimum number of zip files (one or more) to submit all volumes, as long as the contents of the zipped file(s) are organized by volume? If not, please confirm that the Proposal Slide Deck should be divided into separate files, per volume, for submission. 1. For ease of tracking and organizing, please prepare each volume within its own zip folder as instructed by Attachment 01, II.
2. No, Offerors should not divide the Proposal Slide Deck into separate volumes. The Proposal Slide Deck should be submitted as one complete document. Attachment 01, II., 3. - 5. have been revised to rename Volume 3 as "Oral Presentation" and remove each subfactor as its own volume, aligning to section III.3. of that attachment. Therefore, Offerors should submit the complete slide deck as Volume 3.
| 01 | 6 | Section III.1.A.iv refers respondents to section III.1.D for information regarding OCI. Section III.1.D pertains to Subcontracting Plan. Can the government provide additional information on which activities or current contracts would be considered OCI, such as work on current CPOC or NBIS contracts/projects? | The reference "III.1.D." has been edited to read "III.1.E.," which discusses the OCI Risk Mitigation Plan. OCI is also discussed in section 1.15 of attachment "04 Performance Work Statement." (See Attachments 01 and 04.) | |
| 01 | 7 | "Prepared presentation – Up to 90 minutes to address management approach, quality control, and corporate experience. This time may include" | ||
| This appears to be incomplete. Is there more information intended for this instruction? | The incomplete language has been removed. (See Attachment 01, III.3.A.i.) | |||
| 01 | 7 | Will the government arrange a communications check a day or two before the offeror's presentation date? | Yes. The Government will include information about pre-presentation communications checks when it notifies Offerors of their scheduled timeslots for oral presentations. (See Attachment 01, III.3.E.) | |
| 01 | 7 | Would the Government define which videoconference platform will be utilized for the Oral Presentations? | The Government anticipates conducting oral presentations using Microsoft Teams. | |
| 01 | 8 | (1) III.3.C - The Final RFP specifies a 20-pt TNR font for text in the presentation to restrict the amount of written detail on a slide. A font size requirement is not specified for graphics. |
(2) "not to exceed 50 pages in length with 20-point or higher TNR or Calibri font" (p. 4) Will the government allow 11-point font or higher in graphics? Will the government allow 11-point font or higher in tables?
(3) The RFP instructions give a 20-point font limit but the template provided also uses 17-point and 14-point font size (e.g. slide 13). Please clarify if these font sizes are allowed. Given that graphical depictions of a bidder’s solution have the impact of limiting written text by visually condensing content, will DCSA specify a smaller font size (for example, 10 pt.) so that graphics/tables can communicate usefully? For reference, GSA FEDSIM, whose proposal responses are typically oral presentations, uses a standard minimum font size of 10-pt TNR for graphics and tables, and 12-pt TNR for text. The Government will allow 18-point or higher Times New Roman (TNR) or Calibri font for text and 10-point or higher TNR or Calibri font for tables and graphics in the slide deck for oral presentations. (See Attachment 01, II.3.B.)
Attachment 10 has been modified to include no font size smaller than 18 points for text (except for headings).
01 9 Referring to the following: Understanding how the offeror intends to meet the requirements of PWS 5.4. AND 5.5. from a strategic perspective.
(NOTE: In requesting the foregoing quality control information, the Government seeks to understand how the Offeror intends to meet the requirements of PWS 5.4. and 5.5. from a strategic perspective. The Government does not seek a point-by-point recitation of tasks from PWS 5.4. and 5.5., and will not evaluate proposals for this information.)
| Please clarify what is meant by "will not evaluate proposals for this information." | The Government will evaluate to ensure the approach would meet the requirement as stated in Attachment 01, not to ensure that Offerors have exhaustively addressed each task under PWS 5.4 and 5.5. | ||||
| 01 | 9 | "Be for background investigation services provided to a Federal agency;" If the corporate experience is applicable to illustrating work that is similar in size, scope, and complexity, but is not specifically for background investigation services provided to a Federal agency, would the Government please allow for discussion of such experience? | There are programs requiring similar capabilities, especially around nationwide staffing, case assignments, resource allocation, and program management, that are not background investigations program but do show broad scale abilities to manage and staff the DCSA program. We propose the Government allow for discussions of such programs in the Corporate Experience portion of the presentation. | The Government declines to expand the definition of acceptable corporate experience for purposes of this source selection. | |
| 01 | 11 | Section 5, DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS, Small Business Participation: "The overall small-business participation goal for this requirement is 30% of the total (proposed) contract value." However, Attachment 13 Small Business Participation Matrix_Final Instructions 6 b (Goal Calculation) state "This total shall match the total dollars specified in the solicitation." |
| Please confirm that the allocated dollars in Attachment 13 are based on the offeror's estimated quantity of work across all job types for the first full year of work, multiplied by the Offeror’s Year 1 unit price for each job type shown as displayed in RFP Attachment 14. | The Price Workbook has been updated with "plug-in" quantity estimates for all 5 contract years, and the total evaluated price now factors in out-year prices. (See Attachment 14.) Therefore, the goal is 30% or more of all five contract years based on the estimated quantities in Attachment 14. | ||||
| 01 | 11 | What is the Government’s position on offerors bidding as a prime on one procurement and as part of a joint venture on the second procurement? | The prime on one contract will not be permitted to participate as part of a JV prime on the other, as this would still allow for performance risks that the Government is attempting to avoid by maintaining two distinct Contractors. (See added language under Attachment 01, I.2.) | ||
| 01 | 11 | "The following specific goals also apply to the total contract value and may be used to help comprise the 30% goal: At least five percent (5%) of the total value to small disadvantaged businesses." | If yes, this is a significant amount of utilization for socioeconomic subsets that are often difficult to meet especially on programs with significant security requirements. We propose making these small business subset goals percents of the subcontracted small business dollars. | Small-business subcontracting goals identified within the Background Investigation Fieldwork Services solicitation are representative of DCSA's agency goals and comply with Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government.” As long as Contractors make a good-faith effort to meet the defined goals in their subcontracting plans, they will be in compliance. | |
| 01 | 11 | "The PPQ Template, completed and submitted by an employee of the client organization with first-hand knowledge of the Offeror’s work on that project. (The Government will not accept PPQs submitted by anyone other than an employee of the client organization.)" |
(1) All individuals with first-hand knowledge of our performance as a subcontractor on a Federal Background Investigations program have left the company. Please confirm the PPQ can be filled out and submitted by a former employee of the client who has first-hand knowledge of the contractor's performance.
(2) With the impacts of COVID and industry fluctuations in the past several years, must the provided contact be a CURRENT employee?
(3) As a subcontractor to a current prime on the DCSA Background Investigations program, how should we address a PPQ to be filled out by what is essentially a competitor for this procurement?
(4) For subcontractors on the current DCSA Background Investigations program, how does the Government intend to address the inherent conflict of interest between Prime contractors filling out PPQs for their subcontractors on the program? (2) Change language to: "Contact information for an employee of the client organization during the period of performance with first-hand knowledge of the Offeror's work on that project." (1) and (2) To help ensure the integrity of the information, the PPQ must come from a current employee of the client organization. While the Government understands the concern driving this question, it will not accept PPQs from former employees.
(3) and (4) Ultimately, this must be a decision for the Offeror to make. PPQs are optional, not a prerequisite to submitting a proposal. Offerors that do not submit any past performance information will be evaluated as having "Neutral" past performance, which will have no impact on the Government's overall evaluation. Moreover, pursuant to FAR 15.306(b)(1)(i), the Government is required to communicate with Offerors, for purposes of establishing the competitive range, "whose past performance information is the determining factor preventing them from being placed within the competitive range. Such communications shall address adverse past performance information to which an offeror has not had a prior opportunity to respond."
02 5 Referring to: Hiring or contracting, and retaining, capacity to provide nationwide support sufficient to meet the Government’s requirement despite constant fluctuation in workload.
(Response must include the estimated time to reach full performance capability, not to exceed one (1) year following award.)
(1) Please clarify what is meant by "full performance capability".
| (2) Will reaching full performance capability sooner than one year following award be evaluated more favorably than meeting the not to exceed one year requirement? | Full performance capability occurs when the Contractor has the ability to receive work from DCSA at a nationwide level and complete fieldwork as assigned. The Contractor will have one year after award to achieve this requirement. They will not be evaluated more favorably if they achieve full performance in less than a year. | |||
| 02 | 5 | Per Amendment 2, 01 Instructions to Offerors Section C. Security Plan, iii., it states that “If the Offeror has never received an SVA, address this in the plan and provide a brief explanation.” However, in Amendment 2, 02 Evaluation Process – Page 5 Section 2 Factor 2: Security it only states the Government will confirm "The Offeror received a rating of at least “Marginal” in response to its most recent Security Vulnerability Assessment". Would the Government explain the evaluation process for vendors with ratings compared to vendors that provide a plan and an explanation? | The Government will confirm that the Offeror received a rating of at least "Marginal" in response to its most recent Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) or that the Offeror explained in its security plan that it has never received an SVA. (See Attachment 02, II.2.) An Offeror that has never received an SVA will not be evaluated as "Unacceptable" unless it otherwise fails to meet any of the security requirements. | |
| 02 | 8 | Under Factor 6, the RFP states, "The total evaluated price will be automatically calculated within the Price Workbook. It | ||
| represents the Government’s estimated quantity of work across all job types for the first full year of work, multiplied by the Offeror’s Year 1 unit price for each job type." Please confirm that proposed escalation beyond year one in columns E, G, I and K will not factor into the total price evaluation. This removes any ambiguity in the price evaluation. | The Price Workbook has been updated with "plug-in" quantity estimates for all 5 contract years, and the total evaluated price now factors in out-year prices, including escalation. (See Attachment 14.) Offerors should note that these estimates are highly speculative and being included exclusively to ensure an "apples-to-apples" price comparison among Offerors. | |||
| 04 | 1 | Section 1 Introduction, Subsection 1.3 Objectives, 3rd bullet - indicates transition from current BI case processing to NBIS with understanding DCSA will likely use both legacy and NBIS systems at some point during the life of the contract. |
(1) Can the Government provide more information as to timeline or work-process impacts as a result of the transition to NBIS, that current and prospective BI providers may have as a result of also performing work for the Government on NBIS development?
(2) Would the Government acknowledge that in order to evaluate pricing effectively, all vendor pricing should be the same instead of pricing to a potential unknown (TWF 2.0) and therefore, confirm that vendors should submit estimated pricing assuming the current BI model for the duration of the contract?
(3) Would the Government confirm that if a transition to NBIS occurs, new pricing will be requested at that time? (1) Not at this time.
(2) The Contractor should propose pricing based on the current case types and products identified in the price workbook. (See Attachment 14.) Note that Offerors are proposing firm-fixed prices, not "estimates."
(3) At this time, the Government cannot confirm whether or when repricing may occur.
| 04 | 2 | Section 1.4 indicates continuous vetting may replace periodic reinvestigations during the anticipated contract period of performance. Would the Government identify the requirements for this to occur? | DCSA will provide more details on continuous vetting once the policy is finalized. | |
| 04 | 6 | The responsibility of the Records Liaison Officer is to report record access issues in accordance with paragraphs 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 which discuss access to criminal history records. Can the Records Liaison Officer also coordinate with DCSA to obtain access to other records types such as those related to DOD Cleared Contractors for employment records or security files? | Would the Government designate a contact that would assist or facilitate Contractor access to employment records and other record types non-criminal related when Contractor is unable to resolve the access issue? | The Records Liaison Officer is encouraged to coordinate with DCSA if they experience issues collecting records. |
| 04 | 7 | The Government received several variations of the following question: |
Could the Government clarify if PWS section 1.15. applies to Contractors who are current subcontractors on contract HS002120C0002, and current subcontractors on the current DCSA fieldwork services contract? The Government has revised the first paragraph under PWS section 1.15. to read as follows: "Due to the potential of an ensuing real or perceived organizational conflict of interest (OCI), the prime Contractor under this contract may not participate in any capacity under DCSA contract number HS002120C0002, or under any future DCSA solicitation or contract for the provision of case processing operations center services." (See RFP Amendment 04.) The Government has also made corresponding changes to H.1 and H.2 under Attachment 06.
No Contractor is permitted to serve as a prime Contractor under one contract while performing in any capacity under the other contract. However, a subcontractor under one contract may work as a subcontractor under the other, as the OCI risk would be mitigated in this case.
| 04 | 7 | Is it allowable for a Contractor (Prime or Subcontractor) under the new DCSA Fieldwork Services IDIQ to have a subsidiary or parent company that is a Prime or Subcontractor on DCSA contract number HS002120C0002? | No, as the significant OCI concerns would still exist. Neither the prime Contractors serving under contracts resulting from solicitations HS002122R0002 and HS002122R0003, nor their parent companies or subsidiaries, are permitted to perform work under DCSA contract no. HS002120C0002 or under any related future DCSA contract for the provision of case processing operations center (CPOC) services while concurrently performing work under these BI Fieldwork Services contracts. (See Attachment 06 at H.1 and H.2.) |
| 04 | 7 | It seems that the NBIS contract would similarly have "significant potential of an ensuing real or perceived organizational conflict of interest (OCI). |
Can the Government please clarify why the NBIS contract allows for participation by a current prime fieldwork vendor?
| In accordance with FAR 9.5 the Government has performed a comprehensive OCI analysis of the Fieldwork Services contract as it relates to the NBIS other transaction agreement (OTA) and does not see the potential for a real or perceived OCI to arise as a result of award of the Fieldwork Services contracts. Further, Offerors who are unable to certify that no OCI exists are required to submit an OCI mitigation plan for review. | |||
| 04 | 8 | 1.20.1. Can the Government provide estimated investigator headcounts or case volumes required at the start of phase-in? | No. The Government is providing historical workload data and estimated case data volume in order for Offerors to propose to the Government how many investigators are needed. At the start of phase-in, workload assignments will be based on a review of the Contractor's capacity at that time. |
| 04 | 8 | "1.20.1. Duration. The ramp-up period, which may last up to six months, begins upon award of the basic contract and ends once the Contractor has met all prerequisite requirements to the satisfaction of the Government. The Government will not issue any task orders during the ramp-up period. Once the prerequisite requirements are met, the KO will issue a notice to proceed (NTP) and a task order. At this point, the six-month phase-in period will commence, during which the Government may limit workload |
assignments until it has full confidence in the Contractor."
(1) Will the existing Prime Contractors all receive bridge contracts to maintain program performance during ramp-up and phase-in periods?
(2) How will workload demands be met during the period of limited workload assignment until the Contractor has the full confidence of the Government?
| (3) Will the Government please confirm that ordering will continue through the current BI contracts until staffing and workload parity can be achieved between the two awarded contractors for this solicitation? | The Government declines to speculate within the context of this solicitation on how it would respond each scenario, but can confirm that it will take appropriate action to prevent a lapse in service. | |||
| 04 | 9 | Does DCSA supply the VTC software? If so, is there an option to use the Contractors instance of ZoomGov? | DCSA will not supply the VTC software. (See Attachment 05, Technical Exhibit A, section 10.) | |
| 04 | 9 | Are interconnections allowed to BIES? Will DCSA issue PIV cards to all users (possibly 500 or more) ? If so, who manages the PIV Cards (for new accounts, lockouts, PIN changes, etc.) | Personal identification verification (PIV) cards and common access cards (CACs) will be used to access the Background Investigation Enterprise Systems (BIES). PIV cards are issued and managed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and CACs are issued and managed by DCSA. Connections to BIES require prior approval through the ATO process. | |
| 04 | 9 | Can daily case updates be provided from BIES to the Contractor through an .xml file download or other formatted file type? This allows a way to efficiently update the Contractor's Case Management System? If not, then how does the Contractor maintain the manifests, cases, metric, etc? | DCSA is currently looking into the .xml file capability. The Contractor is expected to create their own process to maintain manifests and cases. DCSA will make performance metrics available to the Contractor. | |
| 04 | 9 | What Capacities of cases can the Contractor expect during the Phase-In Period? | Contractor case volume throughout the life of the contract, to include the phase-in period, is contingent upon the volume of cases ordered by DCSA's customer agencies. It will also be dependent on the Contractor's capacity to handle work. As Contractor capacity grows to full operating capability, more work can be assigned. | |
| 04 | 9 | What types of cases can the Contractor expect during the Phase-In Period? | The Contractor case mix throughout the life of the contract, to include the phase-in period, is contingent upon the case types ordered by DCSA's customer agencies. | |
| 04 | 15 | Section 3.1.3. This section mentions the use of the uncooperative and constrained law list. Will there be a stated regularity of when this list will be provided to the Contractor? | This list is always available to the Contractor and is updated periodically based on feedback provided by the field. | |
| 04 | 15 | Section 3.1.2. Will there be a requirement to notify DCSA FIRE Outreach when non-law enforcement entities reject the Digital Signature Form? | These will be handled on a case-by-case basis. | |
| 04 | 15 | Section 3.1.4. This section discusses Website Search Use. Given the knowledge that The Work Number search often develops many employment records, would DCSA consider making this part of the DCSA automated searches on cases with extension to Contractor for unlisted employment record coverage? | At this time, The Work Number is not being considered for exclusive Federal management. | |
| 04 | 15 | In consideration of transition to Trusted Workforce 2.0, does DCSA expect to add additional states under statewide law checks to be completed by Federal staff during the contract terms? | Additional states may be added to the statewide law checks from time to time. Changes will be communicated through a modification. | |
| 04 | 18 | 4.1. "The Contractor is responsible for any fees that are associated with obtaining records to provide a complete report of investigation." As the Contractor will be obtaining records from medical-care providers and large-volume law enforcement agencies can the Government provide the following: |
(1) Any details on limits or exceptions for record costs deemed unreasonable where obtaining records would not be required due to cost?
(2) would the Government consider record-cost reimbursement or standardized acceptable commercial pricing limits for records obtainment? (1) There are no limits or exceptions for law records. Refer to the Investigative Policies and Procedures located in the reading room for other fees.
(2) No, the Government will not consider this at this time.
04 19 5.2.5. "The Contractor will provide witness appearances as required. This work will be FFP based upon the estimated number of work hours, to include travel (see technical Exhibit F for the estimated level of effort)." Technical Exhibit F does not contain estimated level of effort for witness appearances and travel to provide FFP pricing.
(1) Will the Government provide additional volumes and rates to estimate level of effort for witness appearances for inclusion in case-level FFP?
(2) Does the Government intend to reimburse Contractors at the hourly rates provided in response to this solicitation?
(3) In addition to travel hours, will the Government reimburse Contractor for travel costs for witness appearances (airfare, mileage, etc.)? Please provide estimated level of effort for witness appearances and travel to provide FFP pricing. (1) When and if a witness appearance is necessary, the Government will estimate the level of effort and request a price proposal from the Contractor that incorporates ceiling rates established within the IDIQ. The Government would then issue a task order for this work (following any negotiations). If the actual LOE were to vary significantly from the estimated LOE, the Contractor may be eligible for an equitable adjustment.
(2) The job would be firm-fixed-price, with pricing based on the proposed labor categories and number of hours.
(3) No, the Government will not separately pay for travel costs.
| 04 | 22 | What qualifies a mentor for DCSA? Are there specific qualifications one must meet? | Mentors are experienced investigators who are selected/approved by their supervisors. |
| 04 | 22 | Section 5.5.2.2. Are there restrictions on how the observations are to be completed? For example, if certain observations can be accomplished by utilizing approved video/telephonic methods, would the Government deem this acceptable? | The evaluation must match the method of activity. For example, in-person investigative work must be observed in person. |
| 04 | 22 | Section 5.5.2.2. Are there minimum expectations in regards to the number of interviews and/or record retrievals which are to be observed? If so, would the Government provide the minimum values? | The Contractor is required to conduct one observation of each investigator annually. (See Attachment 04, 5.5.2.2.) |
| 04 | 23 | Also, see 05 Technical Exhibits section C. Shredding/Destruction On-site page 62. |
(1) What size or standard must be met for case material shredding/destruction?
| (2) What are the shredding/destruction of case material certification/validation requirements? | The Contractor shall provide for the destruction of paper by shredding to the agreed upon specifications (meeting or exceeding the standard 1/2” X 1/2” -1 1/2” pierce and tear). The Contractor should follow the destruction requirements in Technical Exhibit E. (See Attachment 05.) | ||||
| 04 | 25 | PWS 5.7.1 states the Contractor will submit its written QCP with its proposal and under PWS 1.20.2 it states as a pre-requisite requirement a quality control plan (QCP) must be submitted during the ramp up period. Please clarify if a QCP is to be submitted upon proposal or during the ramp up period. | The Contractor will submit a quality control plan (QCP) within 30 days of the contract effective date and submit QCP updates within five (5) business days. (See Attachment 04, 1.20.2. and 5.7.1., and Attachment 05, Technical Exhibit H.) | ||
| 04 | 25 | Will the Contractor be required to us PIPS or will DISS be an allowed alternative | The Contractor is required to use PIPS. | ||
| 04 | 26 | IT is assuming we will send and receive all cases via BIES. What will be the scoping and assignment process in BIES? | The Government intends to maintain a relatively equal allocation of workload between Contractors performing this requirement as long as performance requirements are met. | ||
| 04 | 29 | Section 6.3.1.1. Will Contractors have visibility the same day a job is initially assigned to a Contractor in DCSA’s system? | No, the Contractor will see the cases assigned to them the day following scheduling. | ||
| 04 | 29 | Section 6.3.1.2. In regards to delivery date, specifically time of day, what impact, if any, do time zones have? For example, would an ET event need to be entered by 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time in order to be recognized for that specific day? | Yes, the ET event needs to be entered by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time in order to be recognized for that specific day. All of the batch processing, no matter where, would all be in EST. | ||
| 04 | 29 | Section 6.3.1.2. Currently, the Contractor is responsible for ET action/event, however, the entry is not always accepted in the system and ends up reflected in the daily no ET report. Would the Government consider a method to ensure uniform application of ET on all cases in PIPS? For example, if the system did not accept the entry will the Government manually adjust and recognize the ET date based on Contractor notification of the entry error? | Ensure uniform application of ET on all cases in PIPS. | The Government will work with the Contractor if there is a problem identified with the case process. | |
| 04 | 32 | PII is listed as an inspection that will be assessed; however in attachment 5 under exhibit J PII is not listed as an inspection. If the PII Policy acknowledgements will be inspected, would the Government provide specific parameters for this inspection? | The inspections listed in Technical Exhibit J are the only inspections that will be included in the incentive process. DCSA reserves the right to conduct other inspections that will not be part of the incentive process. |
As stated in Attachment 04, 6.5.2., PII inspections included in incentives calculations include the following: Shredding (on-site), Shredding (in-house), Packaging and Manifesting, and Daily Manifesting. Parameters for these inspections are found in Attachment 05, Technical Exhibit J. - Attachment 2.
| 04 | 32 | As VTC is eligible for an inspection incentive and subject to inspection, can the Government provide current and forecasted VTC rates/volumes, current VTC policies/exceptions, and any anticipated changes to rates/volumes and policies/exceptions? | The Government does not provide estimates based on investigative methodology (in-person, VTC, telephone) as each case can be addressed using investigative policies and procedures. |
| 04 | 33 | Section 6.7 - Will a Priority Premium exist for Item Priorities? | Priority premiums for Items are currently not a product that customer agencies can order. |
| 04 | 38 | 7.1.1.95. is dated 5/1/2022. |
(1) Is this a draft policy subject to change prior to 5/1/22 publishing?
| (2) Is there a legacy policy that will be replaced on 5/1/22 that can be provided with a summary of substantive changes being incorporated on 5/1/22? | This policy is not subject to change. The policy provides former guidance that is being rescinded. | ||
| 04 | 46 | Item 5, Exhibit H, calls for an initial staffing plan with proposal submission IAW PWS 5.6. No such requirement is found in 5.6 or in the proposal instructions. |
| Question: Will the government please confirm that a Staffing Plan is NOT required with submission of the initial proposal? | Correct, a staffing plan is not required with the proposal, as staffing will be addressed within the oral presentation. However, one must be submitted within 30 days of contract award. (See Attachments 04, 5.6.6. and 05, Technical Exhibit H.) | |||
| 04 | 58 | Would the Government confirm that the inspections listed in Exhibit J are the only inspections that will take place? Previously, Domicile, PII acknowledgements, GFE / FSO report, Training and Records were listed as inspections but they are not included in Exhibit J. Would the Government confirm that Exhibit J is complete and accurate or if these will be inspected, will the Government provide the parameters for each inspection? | The inspections listed in Technical Exhibit J are the only inspections that will be included in the incentive process. DCSA reserves the right to conduct other inspections that will not be apart of the incentive process. | |
| 04 | (1) Section 6.4.1 - Will a discontinued case be subject to DCSA quality review? |
(2) Section 6.5.1 - In regards to Q&T Performance Incentives, will discontinued cases be eligible to be counted towards this incentive?
| (3) Section 6.7.1 - Will discontinued cases be eligible to be counted towards this incentive as the PRT incentive seems to indicate? | Discontinued cases will only be considered eligible for the incentive if ALL items have been completed/FF and meet Q&T expectations. | Discontinued cases are not evaluated. | ||
| 05 | 2 | During the continuous monitoring phase, if it is determined that a non-compliant control if the Government notices that POA&M close-out are being delayed or not resolved in the expected manner, will there be consequences either fiscally or contractually that will be implemented to show the importance of IT Security? | The timeline will depend on the complexity of the image and the requirements. Each ATO package will be assessed individually. All non-compliance issues are handled on a case-by-case basis. | |
| 05 | 3 | Once a formal response is written from a remediation standpoint, is the timeline of implementing this response then dictated by the 8510 requirement of 15 days for a high/critical and within 30 days for a low/moderate? | These issues will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The timeline will depend on the complexity of the image and the requirements. Each ATO package will be assessed on each individual basis. | |
| 05 | 4 | What is the process of validating this software being installed? Is it done once connected to the DCSA VPN? | This question is unclear. The timeline will depend on the complexity of the image and the requirements. Each ATO package will be assessed on each individual basis. | |
| 05 | 5 | Can a Contractor use a VDI Desktop furnished by the contractor, in place of a laptop furnished by the Contractor, as the DCSA approve device to connect to DCSA Information Systems, i.e. BIES? | Contractor devices, hardware, and software must be assessed through the ATO process. | |
| 05 | 5 | What is the average turn-around time and what kind of process is this for getting new images setup and approved? | The timeline will depend on the complexity of the image and the requirements. Each ATO package will be assessed on each individual basis. | |
| 05 | 5 | What is the current approved version of Microsoft Windows? How often does this approval occur? | Work stations/laptops must use Windows 10 Enterprise 20H2. | |
| 05 | 6 | Technical Exhibit A, 10.1 - Does the Government have a preferred percentage of use/maximum for conducting interviews using ACMS or ZOOM for Government? | The use of VTC is dependent upon the policies and procedures that governs its use. | |
| 05 | 11 | For initial investigator training, do all modalities (VTC, in-person, classroom, etc.) need to be used or can there be a handful to choose from? If so, what has to be used at a minimum? | The Contractor is required to develop its own investigator training program and record its methodology. There is no minimum requirement for modality/platform use. | |
| 05 | 11 | Are the requirements outlined in the Technical Exhibit B Background Investigation Training Requirements the same as the specified Performance Accountability Council Background Investigator Training Standards? | The majority of requirements outlined in Technical Exhibit B are based on the National Training Standards and the National Training Standards Implementation Plan. Some requirements are levied by DCSA. | |
| 05 | 11 | B.1.5 notes Training Records to be provided by the 10th of the month, which coincides with the Deliverables chart Item 3 on Page 46, however, sections 3.3, 3.3.1, and 3.4 (pages 15 & 16) state within 24 hours of DCSA Request. Page 16 Section 4.2 of the requirement also states 24 hours at the request of the COR and includes additional documents. Would the Government confirm that the monthly report should consist of Investigator training as described in TE-B sections 3.2, and 3.3 along with dates individuals covered under 3.4 were deemed compliant with the NTS? Should investigative support personnel training as outlined under TE-B 4.2. be included in the monthly report? | The required training shall be shown in the monthly report, and supporting documentation retained by the Contractor shall be made available upon request. | |
| 05 | 11 | "1.3. If the Contractor chooses to develop (or already maintains) a learning management system, the Contractor must coordinate usage under this contract with DCSA and meet all necessary DCSA IT requirements prior to utilization." |
| Are the DCSA IT accreditation requirements the same for the Investigative Service Provider’s (ISP) case management system (CMS) and the ISPs learning management system (LMS), if they are two separate systems? The LMS will hold DCSA training material and individual training results whereas the ISP’s CMS would hold some Subject PII and components of the field work information. | Please provide the specific DCSA IT requirements for the learning management system. | All Contractor-managed systems will be covered by the ATO process. | |
| 05 | 15 | What qualifications must be met to be considered a senior staff member/senior experienced investigative person? |
| Can this be a contract investigator or must it be an employee of the Contractor? | Senior staff member qualifications are defined by the Contractor. | |||
| 05 | 15 | Are there specific metrics/indicators that needs to be reviewed for post-training audits after the 30 day mentoring phase of training for new investigative personnel? | There are no requirements per the National Training Standards and/or the National Training Standards Implementation Plan. | |
| 05 | 15 | For the 6 week new investigator training, can we assume this includes the mentorship as well? | Yes, this assumption is correct. (See Attachment 05, Technical Exhibit B.) | |
| 05 | 15 | Section 3.2. Does the minimum of six weeks encompass the OJT component, or is that in addition to the outlined timeframe? | OJT is included in the six-week time frame. | |
| 05 | 19 | Will all submissions to DoDCAF be granted an interim eligibility once submitted or will the vendor be notified once granted an interim? | Yes, however Vetting Risk Operations will make the interim determination. Once that occurs, the DISS system will send a notification that the eligibility has been updated. | |
| 05 | 19 | In addition, for assigned IT privileged uses or those with system administrative responsibilities, will they need a final determination eligibility/TS prior to working the contract? | Details regarding Interim Eligibility can be found in Attachment 05, Technical Exhibit C, section 2.5. | |
| 05 | 20 | Please provide the time required on the Government's side to transition incumbent investigative personnel from the incumbent to the new awardee to include credentialing, training verification, PIV/CAC cards and Win2Go stick assignment, etc. to ensure accurate pricing of the transition period. | The process generally takes six months or less to complete but is dependent on the scope and volume of the Contractor's submission of materials. (Note that the solicitation does not request pricing specific to a transition period.) | |
| 05 | 21 | Exhibit C |
All Contractor personnel supporting this contract shall be U.S. Persons and shall possess and maintain a TOP SECRET clearance/eligibility determination based on a favorably adjudicated T5 or T5R; be within investigation scope and/or currently enrolled in Continuous Evaluation (CE) / Continuous Vetting (CV) at the time of proposal submission and throughout the life of the contract to include all potential option years identified in this PWS.
(1) Please clarify the definition for "contractor personnel supporting this contract" .
(2) Does this requirement also include shared services personnel (EX: HR/Finance) who might currently be cleared at the T3 level, and do not access BIES materials?
(3) If so, is there a grace period after contract award which would allow sufficient time for these individuals to be favorably adjudicated for at least an interim T5 determination? (1) Contractor personnel are employees of the vendor who cleared to work on the contract.
(2) All personnel supporting this contract must meet the clearance/eligibility requirements indicated in the solicitation.
(3) The security clearance process will occur during the ramp-up period.
| 05 | 23 | Technical Exhibit C, 3.3 - "Contractor is prohibited from using reference to this contract, classification, clearances, accesses, (collateral and/or sensitive compartmented information), even by unclassified acronyms, in advertisements, websites, capabilities, fliers, promotional efforts, or recruitment of employees." Is DCSA willing to change this to permit potential vendors to use? | This change will not be considered at this time; however, if, during performance, this need arises, a request can be formally submitted to the Government for consideration. |
| 05 | 27 | Section 2.3 - Would all of the items shown in Technical Exhibit F be eligible for item level ordering? | Yes. |
| 05 | 27 | Fieldwork ordered at the item level will be specific to individual case items and will be ordered completely separate from case-level orders. Item level orders will be assigned only to the secondary or non-primary Investigative Unit associated with the case. The PIU for a case is the Contractor that was assigned the case by the Government. All fieldwork assigned at the item level may be billed for 100% of the price when the item is completed with a valid result. |
Does DCSA anticipate a significant overlap between cases ordered at the case and item level?
| Such as splitting the items on a T5 between vendors/the Federal staff because of resource locations/availability or is item level ordering intended for a separate case population? (such as a mechanism to order CV Alert follow up once it becomes required). | The Government may split cases between a Contractor and Federal staff at its discretion (e.g., if the Federal staff did not have capacity at the right location to complete the work). | ||||
| 05 | 28 | As TESIs are not eligible for Item-Level billing on Tier 4, Tier 4R, Tier 5, and Tier5R cases, can the Government provide any rates or averages for which TESIs are ordered on these case types? For example, 20% of Tier 5 cases in 2021 required a TESI. | If no data can be provided regarding the number of times TESIs are ordered on these case types, please consider allowing Item-level billing for TESIs on Tier 4, Tier 4R, Tier 5, and Tier5R cases so that Prime Contractors are not pricing with information unavailable to other bidders. | The Historical Data is available in the reading room. | |
| 05 | 31 | Regarding Item Level Payment, excluding TESI's, does DCSA consider UC as a valid result and is the intent to pay 100% of the Item price or does DCSA intend to follow the TESI model of invoicing for 25% of the item-level price? | UC would be considered a valid result as long as all attempts to obtain the information are properly documented. | ||
| 05 | 35 | Technical Exhibit E, 11 - in the use of fax machines to transmit PII, are e-fax services of any kind allowable? Are there restrictions around the use of e-fax, and how does the Government define what e-fax means (i.e. delivered to email or delivered to fax server). If not, is it required for anyone faxing materials to confirm whether the recipient uses an e-fax type of service? | "Fax" in the current definition includes traditional fax machines via a phone line. E-fax capabilities have not been approved and are under consideration. |
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