QA_4.13.17.pdf

Answers to Questions on Full Proposals under HSHQDC-17-R-B0003 Received before 4/13/2017

No Additional Questions and Answers will be Posted.

Question 1: Is there any possibility of DHS granting an extension to the April 18, 2017 deadline date – possibly granting a delay of two weeks (end of April)?

Answer 1: Unfortunately, the Government is on a strict timeline due to funding restrictions and cannot extend at this time.

Question 2: The HSHQDC-16-R-B0004 announcement says the email to be used by the subcontractors for cost volumes shall be submitted to the email address provided by each individual call (Page 22 of 32 of B0004). Will that email address be provided later or do you have the email we should provide the subcontractors to use?

Answer 2: Please submit subcontractor cost volumes to BAA16-B0004@hq.dhs.gov. Please have your subcontractors label each cost volume with the name and number of the proposal it is being submitted for.

Question 3: We are partnering with a university. They have raised a number of issues in the T&C’s of the potential contract. (12.6 Intellectual Property – university would need FAR 52.227-14 to include Alt.

IV) and (12.7 Publication of Research Results – university would not be able to accept the award if the publication pre-approval clause was flowed down) How are these two clauses being handled by other university partners? Are these acceptable?

Answer 3: Intellectual property clauses are negotiated at the time of award based on each awardee’s asserted rights and any other applicable conditions. Generally FAR 52.227-14 Alt. IV is included in contracts with universities as primes or subs. However, this would need to be finalized during the negotiation of the award.

A contract resulting from this BAA Call can be written so that HSAR 3052.205-70, ALT 1, paragraph (b), which requires Contracting Officer pre-approval of publications does not apply to university subcontractors; this will also need to be finalized during the negotiation of the award. However, the language in Section 12.7 of HSHQDC-16-R-B0004 which requires that a copy of materials for publication be submitted to the Contracting Officer and Program Manager 60 days before publication for review applies to all awards and will not be waived.

Question 4: Our White Paper was submitted under TTA #1, Type 2 due to a clerical error. Technically, the proposed effort is more in line with TTA #2, Type 2 because the proposed effort is specifically for Algorithm development. May we proceed to submit the proposal under TTA #2?

Answer 4: If in your judgement, a proposal based on an already submitted and evaluated white paper, would be more appropriately evaluated under another TTA, you may submit under that TTA. Please coordinate with the BAA Helpdesk to ensure that you are able to complete the submission using the different TTA by the due date and time for full proposals. The BAA Helpdesk has advised that this process will take at least a week. Additional time will not be granted to allow for submission under a different TTA. Please note that this will result in assignment of a proposal number different from your white paper number. Please ensure that the text of your proposal references the previous white paper number.

Question 5: Is it correct to assume that the Prime Offeror will only include the prime's costs in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Cost Volume and each subcontractor under the prime will provide their own Cost Volume (Part 1 and 2) via the email to be provided as captured in the BAA HSHQDC-16-R-B0004 instructions on

Answers to Questions on Full Proposals under HSHQDC-17-R-B0003 Received before 4/13/2017

No Additional Questions and Answers will be Posted.

Page 21 and 22? The total cost of the proposed effort (prime and subs) shall, however, be captured in the Technical Volume Quad Chart.

Answer 5: Each prime offeror should, at a minimum, include the overall subcontract costs for each sub in their cost proposal. A subcontractor may either submit its own detailed cost proposal to BAA16- B0004@hq.dhs.gov or the prime contractor may include the subcontractor’s detailed cost information with their proposal. If the subcontractor submits their cost proposal separately, the prime contractor’s proposal must clearly note that this is the case. The subcontractor’s cost proposal must be as detailed as the prime offeror’s proposal and must be submitted by the same deadline.

Question 6: The BAA instructions call out that both the Technical Volume and the Cost Volumes (Part 1 and 2) are to be submitted in PDF only. Is this a hard requirement or can the cost volumes be submitted in excel format with the requested content? It would seem the excel format would be beneficial for the DHS review team to see the calculations but will comply as needed.

Answer 6: Please submit the cost volume as a PDF in accordance with the BAA Call instructions to ensure it is able to be uploaded to the BAA Portal. If a proposal is selected for funding, a copy of the Cost Volume in Excel will be requested as part of the negotiation of the award.

Question 7: Are CVs included in the 30 page limit? We wanted to include 3 CVs...some of them are multiple pages long.

Answer 7: CVs are included in the 30 page limit. You may provide an abbreviated CV for each key personnel and note that the full CV is available upon request. If your proposal is selected for funding, the longer CV may be requested.

Question 8: The government asks for a list of deliverables in 3 locations in the Proposal requirements.

Once in the section titled SOW, once in the section titled deliverables and again in the Assertions table (assertions do not count in 30 page limit). Can we combine the section titled "deliverables" with the "assertions table" to reduce the page count assuming that we still identify deliverables in the SOW?

Answer 8: No, do not combine the sections on “deliverables” and the “assertions table.” The two sections have different purposes. However, you may reference the deliverables section of your proposal in the SOW section on deliverables (or vice versa) rather than listing the deliverables in both the SOW and the deliverables section.

Question 9: The proposal instructions request “documentation proving ownership or possession of appropriate licensing rights to all patented inventions to be used for the proposed project.” Our licensing agreements for patents average 12 pages. Would a one-page statement from the Inventor/Assignee be sufficient, or is this something that could be asserted in Volume 1, but produced in Volume 2 where there is no page count?

Answer 9: Volume 1 should include the basic information listed in HSHQDC-16-R-B0004 Section 9.6 under patents. Backup documentation including a copy of the licensing agreements may be included in Volume 2.

Please note that no additional questions will be answered between now and the due date for full proposals.