27Feb2018_Questions.pdf

Question

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Questions and Comments Answers

1 N/A N/A For amendment 3, which was posted on February 16, 2018, is this an amendment for a solicitation whose proposals were due August 14, 2017?

Yes, Amendment 3 was issued to revise the terms and conditions and the contractor pricing schedule, provide updated wage determinations, and to extend the proposal due date.

2 N/A N/A How many bid responses were already received for

Solicitation Number: HSSCCG‐17‐R‐00033?

In accordance with Amendment 3 proposal submission is due

7 March 2018.

3 N/A N/A What happened to those responses? It's the offerors responsibility to submit timely proposals by 7

March 2018 or verify their previous proposal is still valid.

4 N/A N/A Were any of those responses rejected and if so can they rebid?

No, Amendment 3 was issued to revise the terms and conditions and the contractor pricing schedule, provide updated wage determinations, and to extend the proposal due date. All eligible 8(a) vendors are welcome to submit proposals.

5 N/A N/A Please confirm that this requirement is being released for competitive bid by all eligible offerors at this time.

This is a competitive 8(a) requirement posted under

FedBizOpps.gov. All eligible 8(a) vendors are welcome to submit proposals.

6 N/A N/A Noting the new equivalent wages identified and in an effort to standardize cost realism, will USCIS identify the SCA categories to which positions shall be categorized?

SCA categories are identified on Attachment 5, Contractor

Pricing Schedule Rev. 2.

7 N/A N/A Is there any way we can find out who the incumbent was in the past years for this specific service?

Yes, the current contract number is HSSCCG‐17‐C‐00015 with

Dextera Corporation.

8 N/A N/A we would like to clarify what the Government desires to receive in response to the Amendment 0003. Is the

Government instructing Vendors to resubmit their entire proposals? Or, is the Government's desire that vendors submit revised price proposal documents only due to the change in format as well as acknowledgement of the revised terms and conditions?

Amendment 3 was issued to revise the terms and conditions and the contractor pricing schedule, provide updated wage determinations, and to extend the proposal due date.

However it's the offeror responsibility to submit timely proposals by 7 March 2018 or verify their previous proposal submitted on 16 August 2017 is still valid.

9 N/A N/A For how long shall vendors state their proposal remain valid after the March 7 submission date?

An amendment will be issued to incorporate a validation date.

10 N/A N/A Will vendors receive a direct answer to questions or will they be posted on FBO?

Q&A's will be posted to FedBizOpps.

11 N/A N/A Does SCA apply to this contract? Yes

12 N/A N/A If yes what labor category does apply to each position. SCA categories are identified on Attachment 5, Contractor

Pricing Schedule Rev. 2.

February 27, 2018

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

Customer Service and Public Engagement Center (CSPED)

HSSCCG‐17‐R‐00033

Answers to Questions Received

Attachment

Number

Section

Number

Page

Number

Paragraph

Questions and Comments Answers

February 27, 2018

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

Customer Service and Public Engagement Center (CSPED)

HSSCCG‐17‐R‐00033

Answers to Questions Received

N/A N/A

Please confirm the following are the current solicitation documents: Attachment 1 PWS dated 8/4/17 Rev 3 posted to FBO on 8/11/17; Attachment 2 Contract Terms and

Conditions (including proposal instructions) dated 2/16/18

Rev 2 pasted on FBO on 2/16/18; Attachment 3 undated no

Rev # posted on FBO on 8/11/17; Attachment 4 Privacy

Clause Requirement undated no Rev # posted on FBO on

8/11/17; Attachment 5 Contractor Pricing Schedule dated

2/1/18 Rev 2 posted on FBO on 2/16/18; Attachments 6 ‐ 8

Wage Determinations posted on FBO on 2/16/18;

Attachment 9 Govt Furnished Property undated no Rev # posted on FBO on 8/11/17 and Attachment 10 undated no

Rev date posted on FBO on 7/27/17.

The current solicitation documents are as follows:

Attachment 1, Performance Work Statement Rev. 3, dated

August 4, 2017, posted on August 11, 2017

Attachment 2, Terms and Conditions, Rev. 2, dated February

16, 2018, posted on February 16, 2018

Attachment 3, Security Requirements, posted on August 11, Attachment 4, Privacy Clause Requirement, posted on August

11, 2017

Attachment 5, Contractor Pricing Schedule Rev. 2, dated

February 1, 2018, posted on February 16, 2018

Attachment 6, WD 2015‐4187 Rev. 8, posted on February 16, Attachment 7, WD 2015‐4281 Rev. 9, posted on February 16, Attachment 8, WD 2015‐5613 Rev. 9, posted on February 16, Attachment 9, Government Furnished Property, posted on

August 11, 2017

Attachment 10, Question Submission Form, posted on July

27, 2017

N/A N/A

Please confirm this solicitation is open to all qualified 8(a) bidders and doesn't reflect a need for only bidders who responded in August 2017 to revise already submitted proposals based on the updated data provided on 2/16/18.

There is no extension posted on FBO indicating a change or temporary suspension of the previous August 16, 2017 due date.

This is a competitive 8(a) requirement posted under

FedBizOpps.gov. All eligible 8(a) vendors are welcome to submit proposals.

N/A N/A

If there is an incumbent contract and staff on that contract are eligible for right of first refusal under 52.222‐17 Non‐

Displacement of Qualified Workers, please provide a list of the qualified dates of service of the existing staff that must be used to determine paid time off benefits under 52.222‐

41 Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) and the provided Wage Determinations. This information is critical to bidders' ability to accurately price the cost of retaining the incumbent staff as required by 52.222‐17.

In accordance with FAR 22.1204(b), the list will not be provided until after contract award.

16 Attachment 1,

7. Key

Personnel 22‐Oct

May additional experience be substituted for the degree for the On‐Site Team Lead?

The minimum skills and requirements must be met.

Attachment 1,

8.1 Transition

Support/In‐

Out Plan 22‐Nov

How many of the 28 required positions (not including the

On‐Site Team Lead) are currently staffed on the incumbent contract? If any are vacant or new, please identify the labor category and location.

This is a new requirement. The current contract contains all the positions listed on RFP, minus one technical writer, plus an additional special assistant.

Attachment 1,

9. Travel 16/22

Does DHS anticipate contract staff will be required to move between the two Mass Ave addresses to complete tasking?

If yes, will DHS reimburse for the cost of this commuting and/or provide contract staff with Metro Smartcards for use only for moving between the two buildings to complete assigned tasking?

In rare instances, contractor employees may be asked to move between buildings. DHS will not reimburse for local travel, which is defined as being within fifty (50) miles of the

USCIS offices located in Washington, DC.

Attachment

Number

Section

Number

Page

Number

Paragraph

Questions and Comments Answers

February 27, 2018

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

Customer Service and Public Engagement Center (CSPED)

HSSCCG‐17‐R‐00033

Answers to Questions Received

Attachment 1, 10.

Government

Provided

Facilities &

Government

Furnished

Property (GFP) 16/22

Will DHS provide a desk/cube and associated equipment for the On‐Site Team Lead?

Yes

Attachment 1, 12.

Performance

Requirements

Summary 17/22

Please further clarify this statement in the referenced section: "The gov. will ask for consideration." What

"consideration" does DHS anticipate seeking beyond noting performance deficiencies in CPARS ratings and comments and not exercising remaining options?

Consideration may be asked in the form of more training, invoice deduction, negative CPAR ratings, etc.

Attachment 2, 52.212‐2

EVALUATION –

COMMERCIAL

ITEMS (OCT

2014) 24/38

Please confirm this statement in the instruction to offerors means offerors are to submit a resume for an actual candidate for the On‐site Team Lead: "qualification statements of Key Personnel Team Lead meeting the requirements of PWS section 7."

Vendors shall submit the team lead qualifications in any format as long as it meets the page and formatting requirements under Additional Instructions to Offerors.

Attachment 2, 52.212‐2

EVALUATION –

COMMERCIAL

ITEMS (OCT

2014) 25/38

The referenced section includes this statement: "An

Offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available will be rated Neutral. A Neutral rating will not advantage or disadvantage an Offeror." Please confirm a past performance rating of "Neutral" will mean the bidder will be rated "Acceptable" related to past performance.

A rating of neutral will not provide an advantage nor disadvantage.

Attachment 2, ADDITIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS

TO OFFERORS: 37/38

The referenced section states: "Proposals shall be submitted using Microsoft Office 2010 including Word

(.docx), Excel (.xlxs)." Please clarify which specific sections of the proposal shall be submitted in Excel (.xlxs). No Excel spreadsheet is posted for offerors to complete.

Vendors are not required to submit sections of their proposals in Excel.

Attachment 2, ADDITIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS

TO OFFERORS: 37/38

The referenced section states: "1) Offeror shall review FAR

Provision 52.212‐3 and complete paragraph (b) or (c) through (r )." Should the offerors response to this requirement be provided as a separate file/document or may it be included as an attachment to the Cover Letter? If included as an attachment to the Cover Letter, please confirm the response FAR 52.212‐3 is excluded from the one page limit for the Cover Letter.

The government has no preference if FAR Provision 52.212‐3 is included with the cover sheet or as a separate attachment.

If included with the cover sheet, or another attachment, it will not count towards the maximum page limit.

Attachment 2, ADDITIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS

TO OFFERORS: 37/38

May offerors include items 1) through 4) (all required proposal sections except the price information) in a single document as long as it is compliant with DHS file size limitations?

The government has no preference how the attachments are submitted, as long as they are in compliance with the instructions to offerors.

Attachment

Number

Section

Number

Page

Number

Paragraph

Questions and Comments Answers

February 27, 2018

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)

Customer Service and Public Engagement Center (CSPED)

HSSCCG‐17‐R‐00033

Answers to Questions Received

Attachment 5 All

Request DHS consider increasing the number of hours estimated for the "Professional" positions to avoid underfunding of those CLINS. There are a maximum of

2080 hours in a typical year. Professional staff are not subject to SCLS and, therefore, even if bidders hire incumbent staff those staff members are not entitled to paid time off benefits based on their original data of service supporting CSPED. "New" non‐SCLS contract staff will receive 80 hours off for federal holidays and typically around 80 hours of paid time off which includes both sick leave and vacation for a total of 160 hours of paid time off.

2080 less 160 is 1920 hours. Using 1840 hours/year to fund the CLINS for "Professional" employees will result in underfunding for those CLINS and will force awardees to stop work before the end of the period of performance if additional funding is not provided at a later date. Request

DHS increase the hours for "Professional" employees to

1920 on Attachment 5.

No, the hours will remain 1840.

Attachment 5 N/A

Should/May bidders convert Attachment 5 to an Excel spreadsheet for submission?

Attachment 5, Contractor Pricing Schedule Rev. 2 shall not be modified.

N/A N/A

Please extend the due date for vendor proposals to no less than 10 business days following publication to the answers to all timely submitted vendor questions or the final solicitation document, whichever is later.

All proposals are due by 7 March 2018.

29 N/A N/A

Will the government specify what needs to be resubmitted

(i.e. signed SF33, updated price schedule, updated technical proposal) by March 7, 2018?

See question 8.

30 N/A N/A Based on our research and communication with non‐ professional incumbent personnel, we understand these personnel are not currently mapped to the 01020

Administrative Assistant labor category. Why is the

Government restricting offerors to price this labor category when the work can be accomplished at a lesser position labor category and cost?

The government selected positions were selected based on the work statement tasks.

31 N/A N/A

Can offerors provide justification to adjust/propose a different labor category for non‐professional personnel?

No, the government requires the specific labor categories and FTEs specified on Attachment 5, Contractor Pricing

Schedule.

32 N/A N/A

Can any qualified company respond to this RFP, or only those that responded to the original solicitation?

This is a competitive 8(a) requirement posted under

FedBizOpps.gov. All eligible 8(a) vendors are welcome to submit proposals.

33 N/A N/A Please confirm that the Offeror should submit a “revised” technical proposal IAW with the revised comments in the

02/16/18 Amendment 3

See question 8.