Q_and_A_MSR012_(2).pdf

Amendment 2

HSCG23-15-R-MSR012

Questions and Answers

1. Do we need a Facility Clearance to be eligible to bid for this

Answer: No

2. What is the minimum and maximum bid price for this contract?

Answer: There is no minimum and maximum bid price. In accordance with page 25 of the RFP, offerors shall distribute labor hours among labor categories to support their technical approach and management approach.

3. For the first year budget, should it be for the stated 10 months or for the full year? If no, then it is safe to provide a 10 month budget for the remaining four years?

Answer: Only the base period is ten (10) months. The remaining four (4) option periods are twelve (12) months each.

4. I am trying to find the solicitation document for Sol. NO. HSCG23-15-R-MSR012. The one that has Sections A-M so that I can see how to develop this proposal response.

Answer: HSCG23-15-R-MSR012 is a combined synopsis/solicitation. The information that would be in Sections A-M, is in attachments 1,2,3 and 5.

5. We did not see any SF 1449 or SF 30. Are offerors not required to sign these?

Answer: The documents were not issued as part of the subject solicitation. Therefore, a signature is not required.

6. Is electronic response to this solicitation acceptable? If so, please provide response submission requirements.

Answer: Yes, an electronic response to this solicitation is acceptable. In accordance with the solicitation, submit proposals via e-mail to Ms. Newby and Mr. Ferguson. When responding, include the title “HSCG23-15-R-MSR012” in the subject line of the e-mail.

7. Is WD (Service Contract) applicable to the solicitation? If so, please provide applicable WD

Answer: The Service Contract Act is not applicable to the subject solicitation.

8. Since EO 13495 is applicable, we request information on Length of service of Incumbent

Employees.

Answer: The government does not have this information.

9. To limit advantage to incumbent, we request that key Positions (PM and Alternate PM) information (length of service, compensation, name and contact information) be made available to prospective offeror.

Answer: This information cannot be provided.

10. PWS Section 2.2.1.7 states on- and off site IT support:

1. Is this 24/7/365 support or during normal business hours.

Answer: Normal business hours only.

2. How many users will require this support?

Answer: All CG-REG staff, which is approximately 56 people.

11. Will equipment and remote access to contractor personnel be provided for providing this support?

Answer: See 5.1 of attachment 1 (Statement of Work) for resources that will be provided by the government. Remote access is not authorized for this support.

12. Is all the work to be performed onsite or can some portion of the work be telecommute or offsite.

Answer: Some work may be performed off-site as long as there is no additional cost to the government. The contractor must furnish all equipment and must get prior approval from the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

13. Are all the contractor personnel (PM, APM and other administrative support personnel) located in one single location or multiple locations/wings/annexes/etc.

Answer: All contract personnel supporting this solicitation will be in the same building. The exact locations within the building cannot be provided at this time.

14. How many workstations will be provided by the government for onsite contract performance.

Answer: The exact number of work stations that will be provided is dependent upon the number of proposed labor categories. Currently, 20 workstations are provided.

15. PRS 1.0 states that in accordance with Section 8.0 of the PWS "Contractor shall be responsible for furnishing prompt responses of less than one hour for informational and clarification requests of submitted deliverables on an ongoing basis" ----> is the contractor expected to respond in less than 1 hour to requests that are received during normal business hours or for requests received round the clock?

Answer: The contractor expected to respond in less than one (1) hour to requests that are received during normal business hours.

16. We believe the incumbent (Rolling Bay, LLC) contract has been extended for additional 2 month. Please provide modification value of extended period of performance.

Answer: This information is not relevant to the subject solicitation and is proprietary.

17. Can you tell me if there is an incumbent contractor currently performing work for this requirement? If so, could you please provide their company name and contract number?

Answer: Yes there is an incumbent (Rolling Bay, LLC). They are currently performing a task order for these services. The task order number is HSCG23-09-D-MRP175/HSCG23-

14-F-MSR066.

18. Has a contractor performed similar work to this for the government in the past? If available, please provide the incumbent contract number.

Answer: Yes, please refer to question #17

19. If you are unable to provide a contract number, is it safe to assume this is a new requirement for the government?

Answer: Please refer to question #17

20. The Solicitation Synopsis, paragraph XV, requires submissions via email. Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-1 Sub-paragraph A.1) on page 23 of 47 states that Volume I “must be submitted as a pdf file.” Later, Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-1, Sub-paragraph B) on page 25 of 47 states that “The proposal must be submitted on 8.5 inch by 11 inch pages” and that “All pages will be printed in black and white.” Can the government please confirm that electronic submission (pdf files) is sufficient and that no paper submission is required.

Answer: Electronic submission is sufficient and required. Paper submission is not. The Government will print proposals in black and white on 8x11 inch paper.

21. Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-1, Sub-paragraph A.1., Technical Approach), on page 23 of 47 requires offerors to describe the “Technical Approach to accomplish the requirements in Sections 2.1.1 and 2.2.1 of the PWS” and later states that “only Sections 2.1.1 and 2.2.1 will be evaluated.” (emphasis added) Later, Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-2, Sub-paragraph [b], Technical Approach) on page 27 of 47 states that an offeror must demonstrate “a thorough understanding of sections 2.1.1 and 2.2.1 of the PWS.” Can the government please confirm that an offeror should not describe a technical approach for accomplishing the requirements of PWS 2.1.2?

Answer: Offerors need not describe a technical approach for accomplishing the requirements of PWS 2.1.2.

22. Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-1, Sub-paragraph A.2., Management Approach), on page 24 of

47 calls for the offeror to ensure “that proposed key personnel” possess appropriate skills to “perform the duties described in the PWS.” The paragraph continues, “In accordance with the PWS the Program Manager and their alternate shall be designated as key.” The PWS says nothing about “key personnel” or “Program Manager” or “alternate Program Manager.”

Additionally, Attachment 5, section 4.1.1 refers to a “Project Manager” and states that individual is key but makes no reference to a “Program Manager” or alternate. Could the government please clarify?

Answer: Both the Program Manager and Project Manager are key personnel. Attachment 5 (Additional Terms and Conditions) has been revised accordingly. For the incumbent contractor, the Program Manager is David.B.Gibson@uscg.mil and the Project Manager is Ryan.S.Sonner@uscg.mil.

23. Attachment 2 (FAR 52.212-1, Sub-paragraph B) on page 25 of 47, states that “All pages will be printed in black and white.” All of our text will be black, but we may want to include some diagrams/graphics which incorporate color. Are we prohibited from doing so?

Answer: Vendors are not prohibited from incorporating color into the proposals. However, the Government will only print proposals and evaluate them in black and white.

24. In Attachment 5 (Additional Terms and Conditions), the last line of Section 4.1.2 refers to Safety Training and Outreach Programs and associated personnel. There is no mention of these Programs in the PWS. May we assume this statement does not refer to this RFP?

Answer: Yes, that is a correct assumption. The requirement has been removed from attachment 5 (additional terms and conditions).

25. The Performance Work Statement, Sections 4.3 and 8.0, states the Monthly Progress Report and DHS Clearance Update are due “no later than the 10th” of the following month. On other Coast Guard contracts the government requires the Monthly Progress Reports “no later than the 15th” of the following month to coincide with invoice submission. Would the government consider amending these deliverable due dates to “no later than the 15th” for consistency?

Answer: Yes – See revised PWS amending the deliverable due date.

26. USCG currently has 70 active rulemaking projects, how many rulemaking projects will be assigned to this contract?

Answer: Contractors will be involved in all active rulemaking projects to some degree (mostly technical editing).

27. We have rulemaking experts located across the country, would you allow some subject matter experts to telework? And if so, what percentage of the time will they have to be located at the USCG office?

Answer: Refer to question #12.

28. Is the Government going to provide an SF 33 or SF 1449?

Answer: No. Please refer to question #5.

29. Can the Government verify that the completed contract clauses (FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items) should be included in Volume II Price Proposal and are not a part of the page limit?

Answer: No, it is not part of Volume II and does not count against its page limit. As required in the solicitation posting, “Offerors are advised to include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items with their offers, or verify that information required by this provision is listed on the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov.”

30. Will a Cover Page, Table of Contents, List of Figures, and/or Compliance Matrix be counted towards the page count?

Answer: All of the above documents except the cover page will be counted towards the page count.

31. On page 25 of the RFP, it states “All pages will be printed in black and white.” Will the

Government accept graphics and logos to be in color?

Answer: Refer to question #22.

32. Can the Government provide the historic number of contractor personnel on the incumbent contract?

Answer: The Government estimates, but does not guarantee, that 27,292 labor hours will be required to perform the requirements of the PWS for the base year only. The Government also estimates, but does not guarantee, that 37,000 labor hours will be required for each option period of the contract. See also question #14.

https://www.sam.gov/

33. Regarding PWS 2.1.2.2, does the CG-REG reference library refer to a SharePoint site? If not, what type of software system is used?

Answer: It refers to the SharePoint site.

34. Regarding PWS 2.1.2.2, approximately how many documents are maintained on the CG- REG reference library?

Answer: Over 500 documents are maintained on the CG-REG reference library.

35. Regarding PWS 2.1.2.3, how many annual steering and advisory committees will this contract support?

Answer: 0-3 a year.

36. Regarding PWS 2.1.2.4, does the “CG-REG website” refer to the public facing website?

Answer: No, it’s an internal website for USCG employees.

37. Regarding PWS 2.2.1.7, can the Government clarify “on- and off-site Information Technology (IT) support?” a) what location does “off-site” refer to? b) IT support could entail several tasks, what specific IT support will be required? (i.e. networking, SharePoint development, help desk type, software development, etc.) c) Does the Government require support for the migration of Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint, as mentioned in PWS 2.2.1.7?

Answer:

(a) Intended to be on-site only. PWS was revised accordingly.

(b) Only SharePoint development and assisting in updating and navigating the CG-REG website

(c) No

38. Who is/are the incumbent firm(s) currently supporting this requirement for USCG?

Answer: The incumbent firm is Rolling Bay.

39. When does the current contract for the incumbent(s) conclude?

Answer: The current contract concludes September 2015

40. Does USCG expect to have a formal transition period for technical handoff from the incumbent(s) to the firm(s) that will be selected under this procurement process? If so, what is the expected duration of the transition period?

Answer: No transition period is anticipated.

41. For the requirements described in Section 2.0, how many contractor staff does USCG expect to be located on-site @ USCG?

Answer: Refer to question #14.

42. Are any personnel for the incumbent(s) currently on-site and if so, what are the labor categories for these staff members?

Answer: Yes, incumbent personnel are on-site. The labor categories cannot be provided.

43. Section 2.1.2 states that the Contractor shall provide administrative services to include “…maintaining physical and digital regulatory documents…” Does USCG currently have a system upon which similar documents currently reside? If not, does USCG expect the Contractor to create and provide a system for this purpose?

Answer: The USCG has a system in place.

44. Section 2.1.2.2 states that the Contractor shall “…maintain and update the CG-REG reference library.” Where does the CG-REG reference library currently reside and in what format?

Answer: It is on CG-REG’s SharePoint site and is mostly word, excel and power point files.

45. What are USCG’s expectations in terms of the type of labor categories required by this project and the number of staff needed within each labor category? Which, if any, labor categories will be considered as key personnel for this requirement?

Answer: Answer: The Government estimates, but does not guarantee, that 27,292 labor hours will be required to perform the requirements of the PWS for the base year only. The Government also estimates, but does not guarantee, that 37,000 labor hours will be required for each option period of the contract. See also question #14. The number of staff within each labor category cannot be provided. In accordance with attachment 5 (additional terms and conditions), the Program Manager and Project Manager are designated as Key by the Government.

46. What does USCG expect in terms of the level of effort (hours) by labor category that may be required under this project?

Answer: Answer: The Government estimates, but does not guarantee, that 27,292 labor hours will be required to perform the requirements of the PWS for the base year only. The Government also estimates, but does not guarantee, that 37,000 labor hours will be required for each option period of the contract. See also question #14.

47. Does USCG have a detailed hypothetical rulemaking task that can be provided in order to determine the level of effort that may be required by this project?

Answer: Rulemakings vary greatly in complexity so it is difficult to break down a hypothetical task. However, it is expected that a technical editor will be assigned to every rulemaking project while contract economic and environmental analysis support will be required on fewer projects. Documents can range from hundreds of pages long preamble document to a 5 page rulemaking project proposal. A good example of a more complicated rule is the Dry Cargo Residue rulemaking on regulations.gov.

48. Is a security clearance required for any of this work, either on-site or off-site?

49. Will CG-REG provide documentation on the current performance measurement process?

Answer: The current performance measurement process is very similar to the PWS for the subject solicitation.

50. Is the work to be performed at the Government site, Contractor site, or both? If the work is to be performed at both Contractor site and Government site, how many project FTE does the Government expect to work on Government site?

Answer: The work is to be performed at the primary place of performance (government site).

See also question #12 and #14.

51. According to the combined synopsis/solicitation paragraph (v), "Offerors shall provide pricing for appropriate labor categories, rates, and hours for the services specified in Attachment 1, "Performance Work Statement (PWS)..." However, no labor categories were indicated. This appears to create an unfair advantage for the incumbent. Can the Government provide more clarity on the current labor categories for this work?

Answer: The government cannot provide current labor categories for this work.

52. Can Offerors use a font size less than 12 point font for graphics, tables, headers/footers, and the cover page?

Answer: Offerors may use a font less than 12 point for graphics, tables, and header/footer only.

53. Is the Table of Contents included in the page count for Volumes 1 and 2?

Answer: Yes

54. Since only sections 2.1.1 and 2.2.1 of the PWS will be evaluated, are offerors required to address the other sections of the PWS in the Technical Approach?

Answer: See question #21.

55. Should Offerors include the Representations and Certifications (FAR 52.212-3, 52.222-22, HSAR 3052.209-70) in Volume 1 or Volume 2)? Can the Representations and Certifications be included as appendices that do not count toward the page count?

Answer: The Representations and Certifications may be included as appendices that do not count toward the page count.

56. Is there a specific number of people you are envisioning to complete the work?

Answer: The Government has disclosed its estimate of total labor hours required.

57. Does the CG-REG have preferred labor roles in place for this contract that they would like to continue utilizing for future contracts?

Answer: The Government would not disclose the labor mix which is the basis for its price estimate. Furthermore, the Government is open to more efficient and effective approaches.

58. Is there a proposed number of hours needed to complete the work?

Answer: See question #46

59. Of the total number of hours, how many (either approximate number or percentage) will be needed to complete the mentioned off site requirements? The on site requirements?

Answer: The government did not estimate the number of hours needed off-site and on-site.

60. Will these ideally be part time or full time positions?

Answer: The government cannot reveal the make up of its estimate. Offerors shall distribute labor hours among labor categories to support their technical approach and management approach.

61. Is there a page limit for responses, or any further formatting specifications?

Answer: Yes. See attachment 2 for further details.

62. Confirm Key Personnel. Does the Government require a Program Manager with Alternate as noted in Attachment 2, page 24 of 47. Or does the Government require a Project Manager as noted in Attachment 5, page 1, paragraph 4.1.1?

Answer: See question #22

63. Does the Government make a distinction between their use of the term Program Manager and

Project Manager?

Answer: For the instant procurement, the project manager manages the technical portion of the requirements and the program manger manages contractual/admin requirements.

64. Is the Government expecting the actual name(s) of each Key Personnel to be noted in their resume? Or, can that information remain anonymous?

Answer: Yes

65. Are Letter of Commitments required along with Resumes?

66. Is there a requirement for U.S. Citizenship?

Answer: All personnel performing work under this PWS shall be Untied States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence.

67. Is there a requirement for Security Clearance?

68. Will the Government allow 2 of 3 Past Performance to come from the Sub/Teaming Partner or do at least 2 have to come from the Prime?

Answer: The government will allow 1 of the 3 past performance questionnaires to come from a subcontractor or teaming partner.

69. Will the Government provide information about the Incumbent on this contract?

Answer: See question #17.