Final_RFP_Q A_Set_2.docx

Question and Answer Set 2 for NBACC FFRDC Final Solicitation HSHQDC-15-R-00050

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS—the Government provided responses to Questions 1 through 25 via Question and Answer Set 1 for the NBACC FFRDC Final Solicitation HSHQDC-15-R-00050 that was attached to Amendment 000008 and was provided to the general public via the posting of Amendment 000008 on Federal Business Opportunities website on May 14, 2015.

Question 26—in reviewing the last set of responses to questions 1, clarifies where and how proposals are to be delivered. Can you advise if there is a size limitation on the files to be sent by email, or if there are any security restrictions applicable to the submission? Can the email address accept zip files, or files sent by a File Transfer system?

Answer 26—The Government has reviewed the above question and provides the following answers.

a. Is there a size limitation on files to be sent via email?

The DHS/S&T Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has stated that there is a 50MB total limit for attachments to emails. However, DHS/S&T OCIO also has indicated that they, personally, have seen any that large but have seen them reach a maximum at 32MB.

b. Are there any security restrictions applicable to the submission?

According to the DHS/S&T OCIO, if the scanning engine detects threats in embedded files like PDF, they will be stripped off. The DHS/S&T OCIO recommends to prospective Offerors that they do a security scan of the files prior to submission to the Government.

c. Can the email address accept zip files, or files sent by File Transfer System?

DHS/S&T OCIO has stated that Zip files are allowed to be sent to the Government. To verify the previous statement, the Government tested the system with a password-protected ZIP file and the file made it through to the designated person’s email inbox. It is important be mindful that there have been circumstances where password protected zip files have been rejected because the scanning/inspection engine cannot decrypt the files to scan for threats. It is recommended that prospective Offerors not wait until the last minute to submit their proposals to the Government. It is highly recommended that prospective Offerors, when submitting their proposal, follow-up with the Government personnel to confirm that the Government has received its complete submission. The Government (through the Procuring Contracting Officer and Ms. Cindy Christian from DHS/S&T/Office of National Laboratories (ONL) will review the submissions when received and will confirm with prospective Offerors that the Government has received a complete submission and that it is readable/workable. Ms. Christian’s contact information is provided below:

Ms. Cindy Christian

DHS/S&T/ONL

Phone: (202) 254-5357 Email: cindy.christian@hq.dhs.gov

The Procuring Contracting Officer’s contact information can be found in the solicitation documentation.

The DHS/S&T OCIO also states that files that use links to Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. will not work. The link will be received but accessing these kinds of online file storage sites is blocked by proxy.

Q&A Set 2 to Final RFP for NBACC FFRDC Page 1