Answers_to_Vendor_Questions_032814_Set__2.pdf

Answers to Vendor Questions Submitted in Response to the Draft RFP

SET #2

Section I:

PWS:

ELIS Impact Questions

Q.1. Reference PWS Section 4.0 Contractor Tasks/Requirements: In view of the large number of contractor tasks eliminated in the Draft PWS, what percentage reduction in the current staffing is planned?

A. It is unknown at this time because the ELIS rate of deployment is not fixed.

Estimate should be based on the volumes provided on the Schedule of Services and historical volumes.

Q.2. Section B, 3.0 General Scope of Work, Paragraph 3.2 USCIS ELIS Overview, page 8.

Can the government provide an estimated Level of Effort reduction in correspondence/data entry/fee depositing functional areas during the life of this contract?

A. It is unknown at this time because the ELIS rate of deployment is not fixed.

Estimate should be based on the volumes provided on the Schedule of Services and historical volumes.

Q.3. Pages 19-27. File Operations Requirements - Many of the requirements state “remain w/reduced volumes. What is the basis to determine the volumes and/or hours to complete work?

A. It is unknown at this time because the ELIS rate of deployment is not fixed.

Estimate should be based on the volumes provided on the Schedule of Services and historical volumes.

Q.4. I.B. Under the Background section, it states “Under USCIS ELIS, processes under Section 4.2 will be identical; but the volume of work will be eliminated or greatly reduced.”

Please clarify how the Contractor should account for these possible reductions in our staffing plans?

A. It is unknown at this time because the ELIS rate of deployment is not fixed.

Estimate should be based on the volumes provided on the Schedule of Services and historical volumes.

Q.5. Page 3. Schedule of Services of NSC/TSC/CSC/VSC. File Operations - How should contractors estimate labor hours for File Operation based on the anticipated phase in of

ELIS?

A. It is unknown at this time because the ELIS rate of deployment is not fixed.

Estimate should be based on the volumes provided on the Schedule of Services and historical volumes.

Deliverable Question

Q.1. Section B, 5.0 Deliverables, pages 33-65. Are the reports and databases throughout this section available to follow on awardee? Can the government identify any that are incumbent proprietary which have been developed during the current work?

A. Yes, reports and databases are available to awardee. There are no incumbent proprietary reports/databases.

Training Questions

Q.1. I.B. This section states “The Contractor shall complete all mandatory USCIS training annually as specified with Attachment 9.9 or as directed by the COR.”

a. Should the reference to Attachment 9.9 be 8.9?

b. Will the time required by employees to complete mandatory training be billable back to the contract?

If no, how many hours does the government anticipate in mandatory training per year?

A. a) Yes, correct reference is 8.9, b) Mandatory training per attachment 8.9 or as directed by the COR. Mandatory training hours should be included as part of your overhead or rates. Government will provide the list of trainings and approximate length of training time.

Q.2. Attachment 8.9 and PWS Attachment 8.10, Continued Eligibility. This attachment requires mandatory training for contractors as follows:

1. USICS Privacy Awareness Training

2. Security Awareness Training

3. DHS Basic Records Management

4. DHS Electronic Records Management

5. Computer Security Awareness Training

Attachment 8.10 states the certification of the completion of trainings by all contractors shall be provided to both the COR and Contracting Officer.

USIC Security Awareness Training USCIS Integrity Training DHS Continuity of Operations Awareness Training USCIS Office of Safety Training USCIS Fire Prevention and Safety Training

Since the training requirements in these two sections do not match, are we to assume that we should comply with both?

Since this training is mandatory is the time used to conduct this training and the time an employee spends in training billable to the contract? If so, which task area should this be included? If not, how many hours does the government anticipate training to consume?

A. Yes, comply with all mandatory Government training. Mandatory training hours should be included as part of your overhead rates. Government will provide the list of trainings and approximate length of training time.

Q.3. Section I.B. Para G. Mandatory Computer Security Awareness Training. Is the time required to complete this training allowed to be billed to the contract in performance of the work and if so, where will these hours be charged? If no, how many hours does the government anticipate in mandatory training per year?

A. Mandatory training hours should be included as part of your overhead rates.

Government will provide the list of trainings and approximate length of training time.

System Access Question

Q.1. Attachment 8.2. This attachment states “The Contractor shall require onsite personnel to utilize USCIS electronic mail (e-mail), the telephone system and other networks to communicate within the Service Centers, between USCIS operations, and with USCIS SCOPS Headquarters. All these systems are Government provided and subject to audits and monitoring by the Government. The contractor shall notify its personnel that there shall be no expectations of privacy on any USCIS systems.”

Will the Government allow the use of a performance based measurement system used to measure timeliness and accuracy requirements to be accessed by its employees or those of its subcontractor via their computers and internet connections?

Will the Government allow the Contractor to install timekeeping systems in Government facilities for use in capturing an accurate accounting of time by employee for each task area where they are working?

A. a) Performance monitoring software (or any software) may not be installed on government systems or indices unless specifically authorized via designated process by Office of Information Technology and to include System of Record Notification (SORN) or Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA). Not every employee will have internet access.

b) Yes, contractors may install timekeeping system and/or equipment at their own expense within the Service Center facilities. The timekeeping system must connect to the Contractor’s own system and may NOT be connected to the Government network.

The Contractors may also use sign-in/out sheets as coordinated by their Contractor supervisors.

Security Related Questions

Q.1. Attachment 8.10, Background Investigations. The government requires that the Contractor submit a complete package for prospective Contractor employees be submitted which includes 7 different items: DHS Form 11000-6; FD Form 258; Form DHS 11000-9;

Position Designation Determination for Contract Personnel Form; Foreign National Relatives or Associates statement; OF 306; ER-856.

Will employees currently working on this contract that transition to the new Contractor be required to complete all of these forms again?

A. All transfer of “active” contractors will only need to complete the Position Designation Determination (PDD), CODE Sheet, and 11000-6 Non-Disclosure Form to receive Entry on Duty notice. New hires will require a complete security package.

Q.2. Per Section A.2 Representations and Certifications / Facility Clearance, will DHS sponsor a viable Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOSB) prime contractor for the required Facility Clearance? If not, will DHS allow the SDVOSB prime contractor’s subcontractor that has the Facility Clearance to sponsor them upon contract award?

A. The prime shall have an approved facility clearance at the SECRET level prior upon submission of the proposal. If proposed subcontractors are not performing work subject to a SECRET clearance, they do not need an approved facility clearance.

USCIS will not sponsor the prime for a Facility Clearance. Prime contractors may sponsor proposed subcontractors, however the subcontractor shall have an approved facility clearance at the SECRET level prior to award.

Pricing Question

Q.1. Page 2. Schedule of Services for NSC/TSC/CSC/VSC. Data Collection Support - Based on the template the Annual Extended Price is the product of quantity per month times price per form. The quantity column shows a range. To avoid contractors gaming the pricing we recommend a single quantity be identified for price evaluation.

A. For estimate purposes, the maximum quantity should be assumed for input when completing this pricing section. The pricing is by fixed-unit-price, which means the actual invoiced amount for tasks under this CLIN would be reflected by the actual quantity processed in each tier per month.

FDNS Question

Q.1. Section B, 4.1 General Requirements, Paragraph 4.6 Fraud Detection and National Security, page 28. Can the government provide an estimated percentage of reduction in FDNS activities due to IICM implementation during the length of this contract?

A. FDNS cannot at this time state a percentage of change as a result of an IICM implementation. However, we do not anticipate the implementation in the base year of the SCOSS contract.

Section IV:

Q.1. Section IV. Para B.3.5.1.C.1. This section states “The offeror’s proposal shall address relevant (similar in the aggregate) corporate experience as a prime contractor to include all subcontractors/teaming partners in the following areas:…”

Is it the Government’s intention that the corporate experience discussed only be when the offeror served in a prime contractor role and address what subcontractors assisted with the work or is the Prime offeror of the SCOSS effort to provide their corporate experience, regardless of whether it is as a prime or subcontractor, and supplement the section with the subcontractors selected to partner on SCOSS?

A. The offeror’s proposal shall address relevant (similar in the aggregate) corporate experience as a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor to include corporate experience of subcontractors performing work as a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor. If the corporate experience is for work performed as a Joint Venture, discuss the specific partner’s role in the Joint Venture.

Questions from the Pre-Solicitation Briefing:

Q.1. Is the slide presentation available to access?

A. Yes, see the fifth FBO posting for HSSCCG-14-R-00027.

Q.2 What is the likelihood the SB classification/size standard will change in the final RFP?

A. We can confirm that the final RFP will be a SDVOSB set-aside and the size standard will also remain unchanged for NAICS 561110.

Q.3. Will Service Center time & motion studies be provided?

A. No, we do not have time & motion data available to provide.

Q.4. How many people do the current vendor have onsite at each center handling each process?

A. The actual number of staff is proprietary to the current incumbents. Offerors may request workload data which will assist in determining your own proposed staffing.

This workload data is available upon request and will be provided in a CD. Refer to PWS Attachment 8.6 for instructions.

Q.5. Does SDVOSB have to be CVE verified?

A. This only applies to VA SDVOSB set-asides. It does not apply to this procurement.

Q.6. Would the agency be willing to augment the existing equipment with faster scanning devices to onboard to ELIS faster?

A. No.

Q.7. Would the agency be willing to allow for an OFF-SITE production facility with all necessary security for USCIS?

A. No.

Q.8. During the Q&A session, it was mentioned that an award for each group will NOT be made to “Team ABC” and “Team CBA” where the only change would be the prime contractor. How different must the teams be?

A. From the one solicitation, two contracts will be awarded, one contract for the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) and Texas Service Center (TSC) called Group A and one for the California Service Center (CSC) and Vermont Service Center (VCS) called Group B. Offerors may submit a proposal for Group A, Group B or both, however, the Government will not make an award to the same Prime contractor for both awards or where a contractor is a Prime for one Group and a major subcontractor on the other. Major subcontractor is defined as a subcontractor performing over 10% of the total contract value minus ODCs.

Q.9. Will USCIS make an award to group A and B where the major subcontractors are the same but with different primes selected?

A. From the one solicitation, two contracts will be awarded, one contract for the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) and Texas Service Center (TSC) called Group A and one for the California Service Center (CSC) and Vermont Service Center (VCS) called Group B. Offerors may submit a proposal for Group A, Group B or both, however, the Government will not make an award to the same Prime contractor for both awards or where a contractor is a Prime for one Group and a major subcontractor on the other. Major subcontractor is defined as a subcontractor performing over 10% of the total contract value minus ODCs.

Q.10. Can the government provides an expected date by which the ELIS implementation is complete?

A. We cannot provide any expected date with accuracy at this time.

Q.11. Can the government confirm there will be a CLIN for FDNS support to the Texas Service Center?

A. Yes there will be a CLIN; however, this CLIN will be optional and only exercised at the Government’s discretion.

Q.12. Would you consider having a competition for each SCOSS Service Center and setting them aside for other types of small businesses, such as 8(a)?

A. The acquisition strategy remains the same. We can confirm that the final RFP will be a SDVOSB set-aside and the size standard will also remain unchanged for NAICS 561110.