SeaPort-NxG_Q&A_17_APR_2018.pdf

SeaPort-NxG Q&A, 4.17.18

SeaPort-NxG Questions and Answers 17 April 2018

Q121. RFP Page # 62 Paragraph 1, Section 5.4.2 Evaluation Factor 1- Technical Capability, it says “….. Offerors are required to submit a description of no more than one of the subcategories listed below in either engineering support or program management support in direct support of Department of Navy DoN, i.e., one description of support provided in the area of system engineering and process engineering support not one from engineering support and another from program management support in support of DoN…..” Question: If we select a DON contract reference to address any one subcategory, does the reference need to cover all the words in the subcategory? For example, if we select “Software Engineering, Development, Programming and Network Support”, does the reference need to cover all these 4 areas? A typical software engineering contract would cover software engineering, development and programming. However, it may not cover Network Support. Is this acceptable?

A121. The experience does not have to cover all the words in the description.

Q122. Can the Government tell me if my specific contract would qualify?

A122. The Government cannot make specific assessments on the adequacy of qualifying experience for individual companies as part of the question and answer process. Based on the definitions of recent and relevant experience provided in L.5.4.2, it is the responsibility of the offeror to demonstrate that they are technically qualified. See A117.

Q123. RFP page 2 of 67 Section B, CLIN MINIMUM/MAXIMUM QUANTITY AND CLIN VALUE chart: Please note that CLIN 4000 has been skipped over in the chart though it appears in other areas of the RFP.

A123. Both CLINs 4000 and 8000 do not appear in the table “CLIN Minimum/Maximum Quantity and CLIN Value” because there is no quantity or dollar amount associated with these CLINs. They are for the delivery of data and are not separately priced.

Q124. Draft RFP states, “Offerors are encouraged to exceed the minimums and are directed to review Section M on the evaluation of this information as they determine their subcontracting goals. Section M does not address subcontracting.

A124. The Subcontracting Plan will be reviewed as pass/fail. There will be no subjective evaluation of the subcontracting goals. Section L.5.4.2.b will be corrected in the final RFP.

Q125. Section L makes reference to describing Offeror experience with respect to major areas of support, service areas, subcategories, and Functional Areas of Section C of the DRFP:

L.4.3.I(a) states that “Offerors shall provide information which will show evidence of previous experience providing direct support to the DoN in a least one of the areas listed in Section C.

L.5.4.2(a) states “There are two major areas of support, engineering support services and program management support services. Each of the two major areas is further broken down into subcategories. Offerors are required to submit a description of no more than one of the subcategories listed below in either engineering support or program management support in direct support of Department of the Navy (DoN)” L.5.4.2(a) also states “Offerors shall specify the specific Functional Area (SOW Paragraphs C.3.1 and C.3.2) that the offeror’s experience correlates with.” Please clarify if Offerors should specify only if an experience relates to a major functional area (i.e. C.3.1 - Engineering Services or C.3.2 - Program Management Services), OR if Offerors should further specify which subcategory/service area an experience relates to.

A125. Offerors should indicate the subcategory and major functional area. The final RFP will clarify this requirement.

Q126. L.5.4.2.b states that “Large Businesses are required to submit a subcontracting plan, which contains the above goals.” Is a DCMA-approved DoD Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan acceptable to fulfill this requirement, or are Offerors required to submit an individualized plan?

A126. A DoD Comprehensive Subcontracting plan is acceptable; it must be approved by DCMA and a copy provided with the proposal.

Q127. On page 58 of the draft RFP for N00178-18-R-7000, Section 2.0, para 2.1: States that proposals must be submitted to the following email address seaportnextgen.fct@navy.mil .

Our question is how do we know that the proposal was received ok? Do we get an email receipt or email confirmation? We want to assure that our proposal was received successfully with a documented receipt.

A127. In order to know that their proposals have been successfully submitted, Offerors should include a delivery receipt with their email.

Q128. Based on the requirement to indicate DCMA office in the cover letter, are you requesting for our company to indicate a DCMA office with which we have an existing relationship or the DCMA office which we would have a relationship based on the requirements of this solicitation? Our company has no existing DCMA relationship established as a subcontractor on our current Navy contract. We've not had a prime contract of sufficient value so we've not established a DCMA relationship. Please advise how we should document this on the cover page of our response to the solicitation.

A128. DCMA offices are assigned based on the geographical location of the company; you will have the same DCMA office for all of your DoN contracts. Even though you have not performed as a prime, you can identify the cognizant DCMA office for your location by using the web page identified in Section L.5.2.

Q129. Will the Government be issuing a ceiling labor rate applicable to all contractors?

A129. No, not at the MAC level.

Q130. Page 9 Section C.6: Can the government confirm that Subcontractors can/may be allowed access to the portal before they make direct submission of information to the government (i.e. on contract award)?

A130. After the MAC award, subcontractors will have to obtain access to the portal before they will be able to make a direct submission to the Government in response to a task order solicitation.

Q131. Page 53 Section K, 52.230-1 Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification Note: Per the note, this requirement does not apply to small business, will small businesses have the opportunity to bid on all contract type task orders including cost plus and flexibly priced contracts?

A131. Small business will have the opportunity to propose on all contract type task orders;

however, a favorable DCAA accounting system audit is required to be eligible for the award of cost-reimbursement type orders. See the note in Section L.5.2 for further information.

Q132. Page 59 Section L 3.5: Will the government be evaluating proposals for breadth and depth? We recommend removing this requirement as "no more than one" description of services may be provided, limiting the ability to demonstrate breadth and depth.

A132. The Government will not be evaluating depth and breadth; L.3.5 will be revised in the final RFP.

Q133. Page 61 Section L 5.2 Note: Will the government accept a third-party audit (by a private-sector accounting firm to include completion of SF 1408) as the “pre-award survey of the offerors accounting system”? Does a successful third-party audit enable a contract holder to bid on all TOs to include cost type and flexibly priced contracts?

A133. No, the accounting system audit must be conducted by DCMA and DCAA.

Q134. Page 62 Section L 5.4.2 b: Please confirm that for the purposes of this procurement, the list of agencies at: http://www.doddacm.mil/4th-estate-agencies.html is the complete list of 4th estate agencies.

A134. The Government cannot make this confirmation.

Q135. Can you confirm whether or not at this time there is a need for pre-proposals or capabilities statements to be submitted?

A135. Pre-proposals or capability statements are not required.

Q136. Questions 18 and 37 (and associated answers) discuss Team Members and adding Team Members. My question: If a company wants to add a Team Member, does that company also have to have certifiable performance in direct support of the Navy?

A136. No, the requirement to demonstrate recent and relevant experience in direct support of the DoN applies to only prime offerors not to their team members. See also A61.

Q137. Reference: L.5.1, pg. 61 states - The completion and submission to the Government of an offer shall indicate the offeror’s unconditional agreement to the terms and conditions in this solicitation. Question: Does the Government require a written statement in the Offeror’s cover letter or does the submission of the proposal imply the offeror’s unconditional agreement to the terms and conditions in this solicitation?

A137. The Offeror’s signature on the SF33 implies unconditional agreement as long as there are no noted exceptions in the proposal.

Q138. Reference: Page 7, Section C.3.1 – “Engineering Services : a) engineering disciplines to technically support the research and development of new and existing Naval capabilities and systems; b) technically support development of significant alterations to existing systems;

c) support integration and interface of existing equipment or software into different applications or platforms to support the warfighter, and support evaluation of foreign or non-developmental systems, equipment, and technologies” Question: We believe that not all subcategories in Engineering support services will meet all three criteria a, b and c. Therefore, is it acceptable if chosen subcategory meets at least one criterion out of a, b and c.

A138. Yes.

Q139. Reference: Page 7, Section C.3.1 – “Engineering Services : a) engineering disciplines to technically support the research and development of new and existing Naval capabilities and systems; b) technically support development of significant alterations to existing systems;

c) support integration and interface of existing equipment or software into different applications or platforms to support the warfighter, and support evaluation of foreign or non-developmental systems, equipment, and technologies” Question: Please explain the term “system”. Is it referring to application or network or hardware or software?

A139. The term system has been used broadly in the statement of work and covers anything from a ship or weapon system to the integration of hardware and software.

Q140. Is there an incumbent contractor currently providing these services? If yes, who is it?

A140. There are currently over 3,000 SeaPort-e MAC primes. See also A72.

Q141. Will a detailed description of each subcategory pertaining to the two major areas of support be included in the final RFP (Reference Page 62 of 67, Section 5.4.2a.)?

A141. No, these areas are intentionally broad which is consistent with the intended scope of SeaPort-NxG.

Q142. Reference Draft RFP Page 63 of 67, Section 5.4.2b., Subcontracting, states that 20% of the total amount must be subcontracted to small businesses, but the minimum requirements to be allocated to each small business type only totals 14.5%. Will the Government please confirm which percentage is correct?

A142. Large Business Offerors are to subcontract at least 20% of the total dollars obligated under the contract. Within that 20%, there are goals for certain socio-economic groups that are a minimum of 14.5%. The remaining 5.5% has no further designation other than small businesses.

[END OF 17 APRIL 2018 Q&A]