MCC-15-RFQ-0046_0001.pdf

5. PROJECT NO.

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR AC- KNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 10-83)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

BY

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 NSN 7540-01-152-8070

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(If applicable)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

(X)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 23

See Block 16c.

Millennium Challenge Corporation Contracts and Grants Management Division 875 15th St, NW Suite 200 Washington DC 20005

Millennium Challenge Corporation Contracts and Grants Management Division 875 15th St., NW Suite 200 Washington DC 20005

To all Offerors/Bidders MCC-15-RFQ-0046

X

X X

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to the questions received for the solicitation number in box 9A.

See next pages

Jennifer Crouse, Contracting Officer

CONTINUATION PAGE

14a) MCC hereby extends the submission of quotes to be received no later than Thursday, April 2, 2015, 2PM EST.

14b) Section B.3 - MCC hereby deletes the request for General and Administrative Rate for the Base Period through Option Period Four and inserts the Quoter shall submit fixed fully loaded hourly rates in its quote that includes wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. The quoter should provide an annex to B.3 that provides the breakdown of the fully loaded rates. See illustrative example below:

14c) L.3.4 PRICE QUOTE (NO PAGE LIMIT) – VOLUME III MCC hereby deletes d) proposed General and Administrative (G&A) Rate and inserts d) provide breakdown of the fully loaded rates. See illustrative example below:

14d) Past Performance – Volume II Page Limit not to exceed 10 pages.

14e) Key Personnel revised qualifications are as follows:

Principal – Level IV

Qualifications: A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, preferably in a technical field (not a requirement). An advanced degree, preferably in management, policy or law or related technical field, is highly desirable. 15+ years of relevant and progressively more responsible experience in any corporation or organization. Must have excellent demonstrated experience in project and contract management, with demonstrated experience in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout. Possess excellent verbal and written communications skill in English. Knowledge of additional MCC language such as Spanish or French is a plus. Must be a senior executive in the firm to be able to access the best qualified technical specialists for the global network for each call order on time.

Program Manager – Level IV

Qualifications: A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or an advanced degree, preferably in management or engineering or a related field, is highly desirable. 15+ years of relevant and progressively more responsible experience in any corporation or organization.

Must have excellent demonstrated experience in project and contract management, with demonstrated experience in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout. Must possess excellent verbal and written communications skill

Labor Category Fully Loaded Rate BPA Ceiling Rate Net Fully Loaded Rate Administrative Assistant 50.00$ 5% 2.50$ 47.50$ Architect 150.00$ 5% 7.50$ 142.50$ Architectural Engineer 175.00$ 5% 8.75$ 166.25$ Construction Supervisor 175.00$ 5% 8.75$ 166.25$ Contracts Manager 85.00$ 5% 4.25$ 80.75$ Cost Estimator 85.00$ 5% 4.25$ 80.75$ Engineer 100.00$ 5% 5.00$ 95.00$

Discount

Labor Category Fully Loaded Rate BPA Ceiling Rate Wages Overhead G&A Profit Administrative Assistant 50.00$ 45.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Architect 150.00$ 145.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Architectural Engineer 175.00$ 170.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Construction Supervisor 175.00$ 170.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Contracts Manager 85.00$ 80.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Cost Estimator 85.00$ 80.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$ Engineer 100.00$ 95.00$ 1.00$ 1.00$ 3.00$

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 2

in English. Knowledge of additional MCC language such as Spanish or French is a plus. Must be a senior executive in the firm to be able to access the best qualified technical specialists from the global network for each call order on time.

Senior – Level IV is hereby added to Section H.2 Non-Key Personnel

Senior - Level IV

Qualifications: An advanced degree, in engineering or a technical field. 15+ years of relevant and progressively more responsible experience in any corporation or organization. Must have excellent demonstrated experience in project and contract management, with demonstrated experience in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout. Must possess excellent verbal and written communications skill in English. Knowledge of additional MCC language such as Spanish or French is a plus.

Duties and Responsibilities: Responsible for day to day execution of project activities and contract requirement and deliverables.

Leads and directs technical projects with overall responsibility for technical accuracy and appropriateness. Manages/ solves technically complex problems. Uses advanced techniques, theory, precepts and practices. Plans, coordinates and directs larger and more important technical and consulting projects or projects with many complex features. Must have demonstrated experience working in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout. Has worked well in diverse cultural settings.

14f) Section H.2 Non-Key Personnel

For levels I, II and III MCC will allow a relevant Bachelor’s degree.

14g) Section L.2.4 Quote Content and Submission Instructions

“Quotes should clearly demonstrate that the Contractor understands both the technical requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW)” is hereby replaced with “Quotes should clearly demonstrate that the Contractor understands the technical requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW).”

14h) MCC inserts the following:

In SECTION L.3.2 TECHNICAL CAPABILITY – VOLUME I

L .3.2.1 Socioeconomic Status Preference

MCC is committed to encouraging maximum practicable opportunity for small, HUBZone small, disadvantaged small, women-owned small, veteran-owned small and service disabled veteran owned small business concerns in the performance of this BPA. As a result, this RFQ includes a preference for small businesses. All responding Contractors whose size status is “other than small” shall submit a Small Business – Subcontracting plan and/or Contractor Teaming Agreement with its quote. In a teaming arrangement, the Government will consider the leading Contractor’s (team lead) socioeconomic status as the team’s status. The Government will review the size standard of the prime and subcontractors and/or Team Members at time of RFQ closing. The Contracting Officer will compare the self-certification against what is designated within SAM, and in the event of a conflict, may refer any final Small Business determinations to the Small Business Administration.

In SECTION M.2 – EVALUATION FACTORS AND SUBFACTORS

MCC RE-NUMBERS PRICE AS FACTOR 4: AND INSERTS FACTOR 3: SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS PREFERENCE

FACTOR 3: SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS PREFERENCE

MCC will evaluate socioeconomic status as follows: The greatest preference will be to establish BPAs with small team leads or prime Contractors. The next preference will be to establish BPAs with other than small team leads or prime Contractors that demonstrate aggressive small business subcontracting goals.

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 3

FACTOR 4: PRICE

The Government will examine quotes for reasonableness and completeness. Quoters are requested and encouraged to provide any discounted pricing.

IN SUMMARY TECHNICAL CAPABILITY – VOLUME I SHOULD CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING:

L.3.2 Factor 1 – Technical Capability and the sub-factors remain unchanged.

Added – L.3.2.1 Socioeconomic Status Preference

14i) Additional responses are in the following table:

NO. SECTION QUESTIONS RESPONSES

1 GENERAL What is a Blanket Purchase Agreement? 13.303-1 General.

(a) A blanket purchase agreement (BPA) is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing “charge accounts” with qualified sources of supply (see Subpart 16.7 for additional coverage of agreements).

B Would MCC be willing to structure Call Orders to accommodate more than one BPA awardee that, collectively, would meet the Call Order scope? It is not uncommon on transportation projects to engage technical and financial advisory firms separately on a project.

No, MCC is seeking firms that can achieve the entire statement of work under the Blanket Purchase Agreement; specific call order statements of work will not divided among BPA awardees. MCCs expectation is that quoters team with other firms.

B Can Quoters submit a Quote for a portion of the RFQ scope rather than for the all the Tasks in the RFQ scope? Our firm has particular expertise in aspects of the scope covering financial advisory, public-private partnerships and alternative project delivery methods, strategic program development and the financial elements of project screening and feasibility analysis, and we would be able to collaborate with other technical firms that have BPAs to deliver individual Call Orders.

See answer 2.

4 C Section L.3.2 requires that the Technical Quote should address Section C of the RFQ. Please could you confirm whether this part of the Quote should also address the other Sections of Part V (Tasks)?

The technical quote should demonstrate a clear understanding of all of Section C – Statement of Work.

5 B For the cost, MCC has requested a G&A rate. As a commercial items vendor, we do not have G&A. In lieu of G&A, can we provide fully loaded rates?

Section B.3 - MCC hereby deletes the request for General and Administrative Rate for the Base Period through Option Period Four and inserts the Quoter shall submit fixed fully loaded hourly rates in its quote that includes wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. The quoter should provide an annex to B.3 that provides the breakdown of the fully loaded rates. L.3.4 PRICE QUOTE (NO PAGE LIMIT) – VOLUME III MCC hereby deletes d) proposed General and Administrative (G&A)

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 4

https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2016_7.html%23wp1074768

Rate and inserts provide breakdown of fully loaded rates

6 B Are we required to provide rates for every LCAT in the table? Yes.

7 B “Call Orders will be awarded as Firm Fixed Price and Time & Material with a Not-to-Exceed (NTE) ceiling of $6.5 million as stated under FAR Part 13.5.” Is the $6.5M ceiling applicable to each BPA (i.e., a contract capacity), or is that the maximum call order amount? Is there a maximum ceiling for all the call orders placed under the BPA each year, or over the life of the

BPA?

FAR 13.303-2 Establishment of BPAs do not a ceiling to be established. FAR 13.500 authorizes use of simplified procedures for the acquisition of supplies and services in amounts greater than the simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $6.5 million ($12 million for acquisitions as described in 13.500(e)), including options, if the contracting officer reasonably expects, based on the nature of the supplies or services sought, and on market research, that offers will include only commercial items. Therefore, call orders will not exceed $6.5 million.

8 B Please clarify that the rates to be provided in response to item (a) are fully loaded rates to include all direct and indirect rates, and profit. Are offerors to include the rates only, or also provide a narrative describing the build-up of these rates?

See answer 5.

9 B Please confirm that the “net BPA rates after discount” required for item (c) will be included in any basic contract, and used as the basis for negotiating pricing for both Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Time and Materials (T&M) call orders.

Yes, the fully loaded rate after discounts will be included in the BPA and will be used for call order requirements. It will be at MCCs discretion to request further discounts at the call order level.

10 B How will the Government determine that an offeror’s proposed rates are “reasonable and complete”, particularly if offerors are not required to provide a narrative supporting the rate build-up

See answer 5. MCC will perform a rate analysis using historical information eg., Federal Supply Schedules, its internal IDIQ task orders awarded for similar labor categories etc. Completeness: Does quote provide all the pricing data that is necessary to adequately evaluate the quote? Does the quote include sufficient supporting documentation to substantiate the proposed rates? Reasonableness: Does quote’s structure reflect the firm’s actual methods of cost accounting? Does the method of applying subcontractor and prime contractor markups and fee reflect normal industry practice?

11 B During the current BPA(s) how often did you determine there was a need to exercise the rights under the Onramp/Offramp (open season) Provisions?

Annually, in accordance with FAR 13.303-6 Review of Procedures

12 C The list of countries at www.mcc.gov is extensive. Please provide an estimate of where the current funded call orders are expected to be awarded, or a percentage of the award dollars that will be spent in various countries or regions.

MCC is unable to provide a list at this time, quoters are encouraged to follow our Board decisions on newly eligible countries.

13 C The list of countries at www.mcc.gov is extensive and some countries still have a high corruption index or travel restrictions. Is there a percentage of call orders that each BPA holder will be required to pursue annually or over the life of the BPA?

MCC is seeking quoters who have the bandwidth to propose on all call order requirements, to the extent practical.

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 5

http://www.mcc.gov/ http://www.mcc.gov/

14 General Are resumes or biodata required to be submitted with the proposal for non-key personnel?

No.

15 H Are Non-disclosure agreements required to be submitted with the BPA proposal? If so, for which positions?

No.

16 H Will any employees be subjected to any level of security investigation prior to award of the BPAs, or will security requirements only be determined when a call order is issued?

Security requirements will be determined at the call order level.

17 M The government states that throughout the evaluation they will consider “correction potential” when a deficiency is identified. How will the Government utilize any “correction potential” that is identified when making an award decision?

MCC will contact the quoter to address negative past performance.

18 General The government states “The Call Orders to be issued under each BPA will be based on statements of work defining specific requirements.” Taking into consideration how the Call Orders will be issued, we need to address this in the development of our cost proposal. (1) Does the Government intend to compete every Call Order under each BPA? (2) What are the selection criteria for Call Orders? (3) Does the Government anticipate Call Order periods of performance for a 12 months or less, or for multiple years?

Yes, every call order requirement will be competed amongst the BPA awardees for each sector.

Evaluation Criteria will be defined at the call order level. Period of Performance can range from 30 days to 5 years depending on the requirement.

19 L What is the page limit for Past Performance – Volume II? 10 pages.

20 General Will holding this Energy BPA preclude companies from responding to future RFPs advertised by MCAs overseas?

No.

21 General What is the maximum fee amount for this 5-year contract? There will be no fee amount associated with the awarded BPAs.

22 L Could MCC please confirm that Offerors are to provide an illustrative matrix of key and non-key personnel that fit the qualifications of the labor categories in B.3, but are not required to provide a name for each labor category and level in B.3.

Quoters should submit a personnel matrix with names that includes Key and Non-Key positions at levels II, III and IV only. Names are not required for Section B.3.

See last page of this amendment for an example.

Quoters should read each RFQ to determine if labor categories or sub sectors should be included in the matrix.

23 B The end of Section B.3 lists a G&A rate with a blank dollar figure. Should this have been a percentage instead? Should the Option period rates be viewed as a cap, not necessarily the quoters’ current G&A rates?

See answer 5.

24 H Section H.1 requires BS degrees for all labor categories, including the administrative assistant. A number of the labor categories would not normally require a BS to enter the field.

Would a BA or an advanced degree be allowed for the technical positions not associated with engineering or science? Would an AA degree be allowed for the administrative/clerical position?

For levels I, II and III MCC will allow a relevant Bachelor’s degree.

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 6

25 L Is there a page limitation for Volume 2 (Past Performance)? See answer 19.

26 General Are non-US firms eligible to bid? Yes but all quoters must be registered in www.sam.gov.

27 H Page 36-38 of the RFQ states that Key Personnel are Level IV and only lists two key personnel. Under the section heading of Non-Key Personnel, only Level III, Level II, and Level I personnel are listed. Therefore, for Level IV on the cost table on page 4 are only 2 key personnel to appear? It seems that would not be the case since the other cells would have been shaded. Assuming that there are Level IV rates to be filled in for all the labor categories, what are the Level IV qualifications requirements (labeled “Senior” in the cost table column heading) and how do they differ from Level III (labeled “Sr. Specialist”)?

Yes, there are only two Key Personnel positions and those individuals should be Level IV. Senior - Level IV - Qualifications: An advanced degree, in engineering or a technical field. 15+ years of relevant and progressively more responsible experience in any corporation or organization. Must have excellent demonstrated experience in project and contract management, with demonstrated experience in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout. Must possess excellent verbal and written communications skill in English.

Knowledge of additional MCC language such as Spanish or French is a plus.

Duties and Responsibilities: Responsible for day to day execution of project activities and contract requirement and deliverables. Leads and directs technical projects with overall responsibility for technical accuracy and appropriateness. Manages/ solves technically complex problems. Uses advanced techniques, theory, precepts and practices. Plans, coordinates and directs larger and more important technical and consulting projects or projects with many complex features. Must have demonstrated experience working in all stages of a project cycle – from conceptual stage to construction and closeout.

Has worked well in diverse cultural settings. Please see qualifications for Level III as noted in the RFQ.

28 L Page 60: Quoters should submit a personnel matrix illustrating key and non-key personnel with experience in the sub sectors.

Should the matrix include experts at the senior, senior specialist, specialist and analyst level for each category?

Is there any limit on the number of experts to be shown for each category?

May bidders provide resumes of non-key personnel as well as key personnel?

See answer 22. There is no limit on the number of experts, resumes of non-key personnel are not required.

29 General If MCC discussions with threshold countries or compact negotiations/documentation require support provided under more than one BPA (e.g. water and energy or water and transport), will MCC procure the required services under a single BPA, or divide the work by sector?

BPAs will be awarded by sector under its respective RFQ. Call order requirements will be procured under the sector specific BPAs, sector requirements will not be combined.

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30 B Page 9, onramp/off ramp provisions:

Individual subconsultants are not considered full “subcontractors” by our organization. Thus we assume that we can add individual subconsultants to individual task orders at any time. Please confirm that individual subconsultants can be added or removed at any time to respond to call orders.

Please confirm that host country firms can be added to individual call orders and are not subject to the onramp/off ramp provisions.

At the call order level, RFQs may contain a request for additional labor categories.

31 L Page 62, L.3.4 Price quote: Please confirm that subcontractor firms may provide their own G&A rates as part of the build up to the loaded hourly rates.

See answer 5.

32 B Will the MCC permit quoters to include additional labor categories for cooperating country nationals (CCN), including CCN – Architect/Engineer, CCN – Sector Specialist, and CCN – Administrative?

Yes, if required at the Call Order Level, see Section H.10 Additional Labor Categories

33 B Given that there are 38 labor categories and each one can have up to 4 for rates, how will MCC evaluate quoters for cost reasonableness and completeness?

See answers 5 and 10.

34 B Given that there are 47 labor categories and each one can have up to 4 for rates, how will MCC evaluate quoters for cost reasonableness and completeness?

See answers 5 and 10.

35 B How will MCC evaluate best value for firms that submit quotes during the onramp/offramp (open season)? Will these quotes be evaluated against the four BPA holders?

MCC will utilize the same evaluation criteria from the original RFQ. No, it would be a new RFQ number.

36 B It appears that the “Planner (Urban/City)” labor category is duplicative of the “Urban Planner” labor category. Please clarify.

delete Planner (Urban/City)

37 B Given that the BPA will be used for threshold and compact programs, will MCC clarify that each Call Order under this BPA will be limited to $6.5 million or did MCC anticipate higher value Call Orders?

See answer 7.

38 General Will MCC confirm that only one person is required against each proposed labor category for the personnel matrix?

Yes, one person is required but additional can be added, if the quoter has the capacity. MCC will allow more than one person allocated to a labor category if they meet the qualifications.

39 H Will MCC allow the Project Manager IV to have a BS degree in Management or a related field if the Principal IV has a BS degree in Engineering?

See 14e.

MCC-15-RFQ-0046 0001 8

40 B For the cost, MCC has requested a G&A rate. As a commercial items vendor, we do not have G&A. In lieu of G&A, can we provide fully loaded rates?

See answer 5.

41 B Are we required to provide rates for every LCAT in the table? See answer 6.

42 H For the Program Manager position, would MCC accept candidates with non-engineering degrees?

See 14e.

43 General Is there a list of eligible countries permitted to bid on these Request for Quotes

No, this is a full and open competition requirement, all firms can bid if they meet the requirements in Section I - Contract Clauses.

44 L VOLUME I – TECHNICAL CAPABILITY : Is there a page limitation for the CVs of personnel that will be included in the appendix to the 30 page technical quote?

No, MCC is only requiring resumes for the two Key Personnel positions.

45 General Are Consortiums permitted (i.e. Association between firms to respond jointly).

If yes, is there a limit to the number of members of the said Consortium?

Firms may respond jointly in accordance with FAR

9.601 Contractor Teaming Arrangement.

46 General Would MCC consider a small business set aside for one of the four awards or for an additional award to bring the total number of awards anticipated to five?

FAR Part 19 – Small Business Programs only applies in the United States and its outlying areas and this requirement is for services in MCC eligible countries which are overseas.

47 B Please advise if the bidders are required to complete the exhibit at Section B.2 as part of its bid or if this is something that will be completed by the contracts office after award and/or at the time Call Orders are issued.

If bidders are required to complete this exhibit as part of its bid, please provide further instructions to the industry on what data MCC is looking for (for example estimated labor hours; plug figure for estimated other direct costs).

No, B.2 is how funds will be obligated at the call order level.

48 B Third paragraph in the section first paragraph under the heading Onramp/Offramp (open season) Provisions: states:

“Any team changes require a new or modified Contractor Teaming Agreement signed by all members of the Team.”

(Emphasis added)

Question: Our firm most often signs teaming agreements with our subcontractors bilaterally and we do not share those agreements with all team members for various proprietary, strategic, managerial, and confidential reasons. We would like to request that MCC either remove this requirement or make it more light-handed such as “signed by all members of the Team if the prime contractor so chooses.”

Contractor Teaming Arrangements must be signed by all parties, i.e., Prime w/Team 1 signed and Prime w/Team 2 signed or Prime w/ Team 1 and 2 signed.

49 L Would MCC please provide more information related to what details it would like to see from bidders relative to labor

See Section L – Instructions of the RFQ.

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categories, subcontract details, and other details it may require in the technical proposal?

50 I Would MCC consider allowing offerors the opportunity to submit their proposal by email in PDF format but provide Word and Excel files of the same on a CD ROM or other electronic format along with the offerors’ hard copy submissions? Our experience is that doc and docx as well as xls and xlsx files do not always convey well and can over burden servers. Submitting in PDF can also ensure compliance, such as with page limitations.

Yes, MCC will allow PDF format in addition to Word and/or Excel files.

51 B Under this section MCC states “Quoters should submit a personnel matrix illustrating key and non-key personnel with experience in the labor categories in Section B.3.

Question: Section B.3 includes 2 key personnel categories at Level IV; 1 non key personnel at the Level I; and 35 categories of personnel at the Levels IV, III, II, and I which represent an additional 140 non-key personnel positions.

See answer 22.

52 L Please confirm that MCC would like offerors to provide a personnel matrix under Section L.3.2 illustrating:

- 2 key personnel at Level IV;

- 1 non-key personnel at Level I; and

35 non-key personnel at Level IV or Level III, as illustrative examples of the types and expertise of individuals the offeror can bring to MCC as typically the lower Level II and Level I personnel provide specific support to the Level III and Level IV personnel and are approved at the Call Order stage and typically don’t represent the basis for an open competition award.

See answer 22.

53 L Please confirm that MCC desires to see the resumes of only the two Key Personnel and no others.

Confirmed.

54 General If we currently hold another BPA or multiple BPAs with MCC (e.g. Threshold Support), can we apply for these new BPAs?

Yes.

55 General Does MCC plan to reserve any of the BPAs (under any of the three RFQs) for small businesses?

No.

56 L Submitting hard copies may be onerous for businesses headquartered out of the DC region. Would you be willing to change this to require only electronic submissions?

No, MCC requires hard copy submission to ensure receipt of quotes.

57 General Are contractors to assume that the fully burdened labor rates are to include allowances such as hardship and danger pay?

Danger Pay will be addressed at the call order level, if applicable.

58 General Can the due date for questions be extended a few days after the pre-proposal conference?

No, MCC will issue Amendment 0001 after the conference.

59 General Can a firm with an IDIQ contract and/or BPA or multiple BPAs with MCC be allowed to bid on this BPA?

Yes

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60 General Can a subcontractor to a Prime Contractor with an IDIQ contract with MCC bid on this BPA as a prime?

Yes, if allowable under your contract arrangement with the Prime.

61 General If a firm provide services to MCC under an IDIQ task order, can the firm provide services to MCC under a BPA call order for the same country?

It depends. At the Call Order level, the Quoter would have to submit to MCC a risk mitigation plan that demonstrates that there is no conflict of interest.

62 General Is this set aside for small businesses? See answer 46.

63 General MCC will issue BPAs for the Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, TSV, and Energy sectors. Will quoters be eligible for multiple awards across the three sectors?

Yes.

64 General Can we assume that responses to requests for clarification asked under this BPA solicitation will also apply to the requests for quotation for the other 2 sectors (Water, Sanitation and Irrigation; Energy)?

Yes.

65 General MCC has provided different deadlines for submission of questions related to the RFQs and in preparation for the Pre- Proposal Conference. Will both sets of questions be addressed in an addendum? Will additional questions be accepted at the Pre-Proposal Conference?

Yes and Yes and they are contained in this amendment.

66 L If deemed necessary due to the complexity, volume, or timing of the responses to quoter requests for clarification, will MCC consider an extension to the submittal due date to allow quoters time to incorporate the responses into their submittals?

MCC hereby extends the submission of quotes to be received no later than Thursday, April 2, 2015, 2PM

EST.

67 B Article B.2 provides Contract Line Items by billing rate period, starting with the Base, and then including periods 1-4. Are these considered option periods?

No, the period of performance for the BPA is for five years. B.2 provides the period that specific rates are valid. Call Orders may contain option periods.

68 B Section B.3, Billing Rate Table Base Period. For pricing purposes, what award date should be assumed for the beginning of the period of performance? Would 1 July 2015 be an acceptable date?

Yes, this is reasonable to assume.

69 B The labor categories for the Water, Sanitation and Irrigation BPA do not include Architectural Engineer, Risk Analyst, or Sector Technical Specialist, but these labor categories are included in the BPAs for Energy and for Transportation and Vertical Structures. Does the Government want quoters to add those 3 categories to the WSI BPA?

No

70 B Pricing is to be provided on tables by billing period. Is MCC requesting one set of rates per year, irrespective of whether Call Orders are issued as Lump Sum or Time & Materials, or does MCC want two sets of rates? Similarly, would it be acceptable to offer different discount rates for Call Orders issued as Lump Sum vs. Time & Materials?

MCC is requesting one set of rates per billing period regardless of contract type.

71 B The RFP requests (L3.4) fully loaded hourly rates. Is it correct that this is to include all indirect rate and profit?

See answer 5.

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72 B As per L.3.4, if discounts are provided, are the pricing tables to be presented twice, both with and without the discount?

See answer 5.

73 B Section B.3, labor categories. Please clarify MCC’s definition of an “Architectural Engineer.” In using the term “Architectural Engineer,” does the Government refer to a Structural Engineer specializing in buildings? Or does the Government require another type of engineering discipline?

Architectural Engineer is responsible for designing the systems of a building – such as structural systems to transmit forces to the ground as well as other functional building systems that include systems for efficient indoor energy use and safe air quality; etc.

Yes. Structural Engineer specialized in building is one primary aspect. However, other engineering disciplines that are applicable to buildings such as electro-mechanical systems would also apply..

74 B Section B.3 labor categories. “Architectural Engineer” is listed both in the general Labor Category and also with the TVS Sector Specific labor categories. Are these meant to be the same rate? If not, would the Government clarify the difference between the two? Similarly for Planner (Urban/City) vs. Urban Planner and Health and for Safety Specialist vs. Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, please indicate if these should have the same rate or clarify the differences between the labor categories.

No. The same rate may not apply. Architects are responsible for designing the aesthetics and spatial details of a building – the building’s size, shape, space utilization, and site requirements. Architectural engineers are responsible for designing the systems of a building – structural systems, electro-mechanical systems; etc.

Delete Planner (Urban/City)

Delete Occupational Health and Safety Specialist

75 B Section B.3, labor categories. Please clarify MCC’s definition of a “Political Economy Expert.”

A political economy expert is one who can use tools and techniques to analyze the interaction between politics and economic processes focused particularly on the sectors in which MCC is investing. Such analyses are critical for MCC’s sector work to understand soft issues that drive sector issues, who the decision makers are, who the key stakeholders are, how political powers are aligned, etc. The expert should able to help recommend MCC create, sustain and transform the sector over time.

76 B Section B.3, General and Administrative Rate. If some team members representing certain labor categories have a G&A rate, while other labor categories representing other team members do not have a G&A rate, can this be noted in the section B.3 by providing separate labor rate tables by team member?

See answer 5.

77 B B.4 BPA Objective. Is there an aggregate or per contract ceiling amount for the BPAs, either annual or life of contract?

See answer 7.

78 B Onramp/Offramp Provisions. The paragraph states that “Teams that are substantially changed may be reevaluated to determine if they still represent the best value to the Government and may be evaluated against newly proposed teams during the open season.” Are existing teams that have no changes, or changes that are not substantial, also subject

No.

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to evaluation against newly proposed teams during the open season?

79 B The RFQ encourages discounts. If the Call Orders are issued as competitive, can discounts be applied by Call Order?

See answer 9.

80 B B.5 Ordering Procedures. Is there a limitation on the duration of individual Call Orders?

Call Order shall not exceed five (5) years.

81 B B.5 Ordering Procedures. Will Call Orders be negotiated or competitively procured?

Call Orders will be competed amongst the sector BPA awardees.

82 B Article B.5 states that all purchases will be in accordance with FAR 13.303-5. Under this provision, all purchases must be under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($150,000) unless the Government establishes a higher threshold. Can we assume the $6.5 million higher threshold has been approved as the maximum order limit?

See answer 7.

83 M Section C, Subsection III Scope. MCC has limited the number of awards to no more than 4. How will MCC determine whether to award fewer than 4 contracts?

See M.3 Evaluation Methodology in the Request for Quotation.

84 C Section C, Subsection IV Services. Please confirm that contract holders of the Environmental and Social Performance (ESP) IDIQ are also eligible for award of this BPA

Confirmed.

85 F F.1 Period of Performance, states the period of performance is date of award through June 30, 2020. Will the end date of June 30, 2020, remain regardless of the date of contract awards, or will the contract be awarded with a 5-year period of performance?

The BPAs will be awarded for a five (5) year period.

86 G G.1 Labor Rates. Clause G.1 identifies the labor rates as ceiling rates, whereas the Labor Rate Schedules in Section B identify rates as billing rates. Please clarify.

The established maximum ceiling rates will be contained in the BPA. Billing rates will be established at the call order level.

87 H H.1 Qualifications of Principal – Level IV. Is an advanced degree required for the Principal position? The RFQ states the qualification is, “A minimum of a BS degree…complemented by an advanced degree.”

88 H H.1 Qualifications of Principal – Level IV. If an advanced degree is required, will MCC accept additional years of management experience (say 5 or 10) or longevity with the firm, in lieu of the advanced degree, which would be reasonable given the duties and responsibilities of the position?

89 H H.1 Principal Duties and Responsibilities. The RFQ indicates the Principal is the main point of contact for the BPA and “call orders under the BPA.” This appears to conflict with the Program Manager Duties and Responsibilities (page 37), which requires the Program Manager to be the main point of contact “for the management of the call orders under the

The Principal should have overall knowledge of the services being performed at the Call Order level but not be involved in the day to day activities. Under MCC-15-RFQ-0046 Page 36 it is hereby corrected from

- Main point of contact for the management of the

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BPA.” Also, this differs from the WSI sector RFQ, where the Principal’s duties and responsibilities are to be the main point of contact for the BPA, but not the BPA Call Orders. Would the Government clarify the Principal’s duties and responsibilities as a point of contact for the BPA Call Orders?

BPA and call orders under the BPA to Main point of contact for the management of the BPA.

90 H H.1 Key Personnel. For Program Manager Duties and Responsibilities the RFQ states the PM “Monitors project production and schedules to ensure projects are completed on schedule, on budget, and to the highest quality possible.”

From a professional liability insurance perspective, the language included is problematic as it is contrary to industry standards. Acceptable alternative language would include “....shall Monitor project production and schedules for compliance with schedule and budget requirements, and in accordance with the degree of professional skill, quality, and care ordinarily exercised by members of the same profession currently practicing in the same location under comparable circumstances

MCC hereby deletes “ and to the highest quality possible” inserts “in compliance with the schedule and budget outlined in the Technical Direction provided by the Contracting Officer Representative or Project Monitor’

91 H H.1 Qualifications of Program Manager – Level IV. May a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture be substituted for a BS degree?

92 H H.1 Qualifications of Program Manager – Level IV. May a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture be substituted for a BS degree in Engineering?

93 H H.1 Program Manager Duties and Responsibilities. The 7th sentence says “Performs technical and coordination checking of project deliverables.” Does the Government intend that the Program Manager is literally responsible for personally checking all project deliverables, or would the Program Manager be allowed to manage project deliverables checking performed by the project team?

On behalf of the firm and the project team, the Program Manager is ultimately responsible for quality and consistency of deliverables.

The Program Manager is the principal point of contact with MCC in representing quality, completeness and timeliness of all deliverables. We expect all deliverables to go through the firm’s QA/QC process and for the Program Manager to represent the team’s and firm’s overall quality, completeness and timeliness of all deliverables.

94 H H.2 Non-Key Personnel. The qualifications by levels for the non-key personnel do not specify the qualifications or the duties and responsibilities for Senior – Level IV. Would the Government please provide this information?

See answer 27.

95 H H.2 Senior Specialist – Level III Qualifications. The qualifications state a minimum of BS degree in a relevant technical field is required. For some labor categories (e.g., Language Interpreter, Architect) a BA or BArch degree may be more likely to have been conferred. Would the Government allow any type of Bachelor’s degree to satisfy this

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requirement, rather than only a BS, provided the Bachelor’s degree is in a relevant technical field?

96 H H.2 Specialist – Level II and Analyst – Level I Qualifications.

Similar to the question above, would the Government allow any type of Bachelor’s degree to satisfy the requirement, rather than only a BS, provided the Bachelor’s degree is an a relevant technical field?

97 H H.2 Administrative/Clerical – Level I. Would the Government allow for a waiver from the BS requirement to satisfy this requirement, rather than requiring a minimum of a BS degree in any discipline? Given the nature of this labor category, there are situations where skilled Administrative/Clerical staff may not have a BS, or other type of Bachelor’s degree, in any discipline

98 H H.4 MCC 52.204-70 Security Requirements for Contractor Personnel (May 2013). Will the duties of the key personnel necessitate the level of security clearance requiring status as a US Citizen or Permanent Residence Status, and preclude use of non-US Citizens?

No.

99 H H.4 MCC 52.204-70 Security Requirements for Contractor Personnel (May 2013), Section G. Does the requirement to provide a list of “… all contractor candidates…” apply to all candidates that might participate in provision of services over the life of the BPA, or is this clause intended to apply to specific Call Orders?

This is intended, if applicable, at the call order level.

100 H H.10 Additional Labor Categories: Please confirm that bidding contractors should not propose additional labor categories as a part of their quote submission.

Confirmed.

101 L L.2.3 Electronic Submission via E-Mail: Are there any restrictions on the total size of e-mails (e.g., less than 30 MB)? If a submission would exceed the size limit, should quoters split the files into multiple e-mails?

The total size of the email should not exceed 15 MB.

If emails exceed 15 MB, quoters should submit multiple emails and note in the subject Email X of X

102 L L.3.2 Technical Capability – Volume I, Subfactor 2 – Management/Team Structure. Is MCC requesting that staff be named for every labor category in the Tables in Section B or a sampling of Illustrative staff? If we are to name staff for every labor category, this could be a significant amount of information as there are 177 non-key personnel categories/levels, assuming all categories are unique. We understand we are to provide resumes only for the key personnel. What level of detail should Quoters provide for the qualifications, specialized experience and technical competence of these non-key personnel?

See last page of this amendment for sample key and non-key personnel matrix.

103 L L.3.2 Factor 1 – Technical Capability, Sub-Factor 2 – Management/Team Structure. The RFQ states that “Quoters should submit a personnel matrix illustrating key and non-key personnel with experience in the labor categories in Section

See answer 22.

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B.3.” The labor categories in Section B.3 define the key and non-key personnel positions, so we are not clear what the matrix is to show. Is the Government asking quoters to provide information on how the non-key personnel meet the experience requirements for their labor categories and levels? Is the Government asking quoters to simply indicate what labor category/level each person falls under? Assuming the names of the key and non-key personnel were provided in the rows of the matrix, what would the column headings be?

104 L L.3.2 Technical Capability – Volume I, Subfactor 3 – Key Personnel Qualifications. Per Page 67 evaluation criteria, any “alternates who will perform in the absence of the designated BPA Project Manager must be identified.” Does the Government require resumes to be submitted for these alternates? Does the BPA Project Manager refer to the Principal or the BPA Program Manager

Yes. BPA Project Manager should read BPA Program Manager.

105 L L.3.3 Past Performance – Volume II. Is there a page limit for Volume II? If so, what is the limit?

See answer 19.

106 L L.3.3 Past Performance – Volume II. In addition to the five examples of relevant contracts, may quoters present other past performance information, such as awards or information on CPARS or PPIRS ratings?

Yes, as long as it does not exceed 10 pages.

107 L L.3.4 Price Quote (no page limit) – Volume III. How does MCC want the Proposed BPA discounts presented? If rates are ceiling rates, wouldn’t the discounts be negotiated at the Call Order stage?

See answer 5. MCC may request further discounts at the call order level, if it is in the best interest of the government.

108 M M.2 Evaluation Factors, Factor 3 Price. Evaluation Factor 3, Price, indicates that pricing will be examined for reasonableness and completeness. Given the number of labor categories, how will pricing be evaluated?

See answer 10.

109 General Will MCC respond to questions received in accordance with section L.2.5

Yes, under Amendment 0001.

110 General Has MCC determined that for these solicitations that the Prime Contractor is not obligated to provide maximum opportunities for small business participation and that MCC does not intend to establish any goals for small businesses for the solicitations and the resulting contracts? If this is the case please clarify how this action is consistent with the FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—in the solicitations concerning small businesses.

See additional Evaluation Criteria in 14h.

111 C Page 16, Phase II: Project Definition, Paragraph 1: “Concept Paper for each, describing the (i) project rationale, activities, and costs; (ii) sector context and regulatory environment; (iii) existing preparatory work, including sector investment plans;

(iv) expected benefits and beneficiaries; (v) environmental

This BPA is not structured or intended to replace or be duplicative of the ESP IDIQ. The purpose of this BPA is to be complementary and where necessary supplementary to the ESP IDIQ. MCC’s core ESP

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and social risks; (vi) mechanisms in place or contemplated to ensure sustainability; and (vii) proposed implementation arrangements.”

Page 19, IV. Services, Paragraph 1: “MCC has an existing Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracting vehicle for the provision of services in Environmental and Social Performance (ESP). However, selected tasks in ESP that are directly linked to an infrastructure project, as specified in Section V, may be required under call orders.”

The aspects of the scopes of work seem to involve the same work scope elements of the IDIQ ESP contractors. There appear to be similar overlaps in the ongoing stages of Compact development and implementation. How will the work of this contractor be different or orchestrated simultaneously with an ESP contractor?

activities are expected to be done by firms identified through the ESP IDIQ.

112 C Page 17, 609(g) Funding, 4th bullet.