13-R-Z056-0003.doc

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

The following items are applicable to this modification:

Part I:

Questions received in response to Solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056

NOTE: Part I of this amendment provides a list of questions and answers/comments received in response to this solicitation. The questions and answers/comments are provided for all potential offerors to review but shall not be considered to be terms and conditions of the solicitation. All revisions to the solicitation resulting from consideration of these questions by the Government (and other revisions, as required) have been incorporated into the solicitation as specified in Part II of this amendment. Offerors are cautioned to review the entire solicitation including amendments and attachments (if applicable) to ensure a complete understanding of the requirements of this solicitation.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PROBLEMS CREATED BY NECO UNAVAILABILITY AND AMENDMENT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Amendment 001 and the Solicitation were released via the NECO website prior to the extended outage. A revision of Amendment 001 (including the DD 254 with Amendment 002 in the filename) was released via FBO. Will all subsequent Amendments be posted to FBO to avoid concerns with the NECO website?

2. The revision to Amendment 001 posted to FBO with the DD 254 named Amendment 002 did not contain an SF30 signature page for completion. Will only one signature page be required in our proposal submission for Amendment 001 and the DD 254 or will a SF30 also be sent for Amendment 002? Will responses to questions be contained within Amendment 003 or will it be named Amendment 002?

3. Reference Amendment 0002 which did not include a Standard Form 30 and is a reposting of the Solicitation and Amendment 0001, as stated in FedBizOps.gov and GovWin. Since Amendment 0002 is a reposting and there is no SF 30 for Amendment 0002, there are no documented changes identified. What was the purpose of the reposting?

4. Reference Amendment 0002 which did not include a Standard Form 30. Also reference the RFP, Section L, page 68 of 74, which states in part: "In addition, offers consist of and shall include the following items as part of Volume II: Solicitation cover sheet with appropriate blocks completed by the offeror, Solicitation pricing pages completed by the offeror, Acknowledgement of solicitation amendments pursuant to FAR 52.215-1 (if not previously acknowledged)."

5. Since there is no SF 30 to sign to acknowledge receipt of Amendment 0002, is a signed statement in the offeror's format acknowledging receipt of Amendment 0002 sufficient to satisfy this response requirement; or, does the Government intend to provide a SF 30 for Amendment 0002?

Response for 1 through 5: Due to the inability to access NECO for the foreseeable future, all documents associated with this procurement will be posted to FEDBIZOPPS. The solicitation, amendments and documents associated with this solicitation were re-posted to FEDBIDOPPS on 25 JULY 13, Amendment 0002. The DD254 is being DELETED in its entirety and replaced with a corrected copy in a later Amendment. Since an SF30 is not available with Amendment 0002, there is no need to provide anything for amendment 0002 in your proposal. ALL other and future amendments shall be acknowledged in the proposal submission. All future amendments will be posted directly to FedBizOpps.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE LABOR CATEGORIES AND DoD 8570:

6. Are any of the proposed Labor Categories covered by the Service Contract Act?

Response: No. All are considered to be Professional Services.

7. Do the personnel performing on the contract have to meet the labor category description requirements or are they provided as a guideline?

Response: It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the personnel performing under this contract meet the requirements for the labor category that they are working under, as defined in this solicitation.

8. Regarding DoD 8570, please provide the level of training and certification that is required per Labor Category.

Response: If a Labor Category requires a DoD 8570 certification, it must have IAT Level II certification, such as Security+ unless it’s specified, for example Senior Information Assurance Engineer requires IAT Level III certification, i.e., CISSP, and Help Desk Tier I Technician requires IAT Level I certification, i.e., A+/Network+. Please review Required Experience/Certifications in Section 5.0 Minimum Qualifications in the PWS.

9. Reference: PWS section 5.0 Minimum Qualifications, DoD 8570 (labor categories table)

Question: DoD 8570 is shown for all positions listed in this table. Please clarify the specific certifications outlined in DoD 8570 requirements as it applies for this project for the following clinical labor categories.

· Clinical Informatics/IT Specialist

· Junior Clinical Informatics/IT Specialist

· Nurse Information Management Specialist

· Pharmacy Information Management Specialist

· Subject Matter Expert (Functional) I

10. Reference: PWS section 5.0 Minimum Qualifications, DoD 8570 (labor categories table)

DoD 8570 is shown for all positions listed in PWS Section 5.0. Please clarify the specific certifications outlined in DoD 8570 requirements as it applies for this project for the following labor categories:

· Advanced Technology Project Manager

· Database Administrator

· Help Desk Manager

· Help Desk Tier 1 Technician

· Help Desk Tier II Technician

· Help Desk Tier III Technician

· Information Assurance Engineer

· Junior Information Assurance Engineer

· Junior Network/Systems Security Engineer

· Junior Telecommunications Technician

· Junior Web Developer

· Lead Video Teleconferencing Support Specialist

· Mobility Administrator

· Network Engineer

· Network/System Security Engineer

· Program Manager

· Project Analyst

· Senior Database Administrator

· Senior Database Engineer

· Senior Information Assurance Engineer

· Senior Mobility Administrator

· Senior Network Engineer

· Senior Network/System Security Engineer

· Senior Program Manager

· Senior Software Engineer

· Senior System/Server Engineer

· Senior Systems Architect

· Senior Telecommunications Engineer

· Senior Telecommunications Program Manager

· Senior Telecommunications Technician

· Senior Trainer

· Senior VTC Specialist

· Senior Web Developer

· Subject Matter Expert (Technical) I

· Subject Matter Expert (Technical) II

· System Architect

· System Operator

· System/Server Engineer

· Systems Analyst

· Telecommunications Technician

· Trainer

· Video Teleconferencing Support Specialist

· Web Developer

Response for 9 & 10: If a Labor Category requires a DoD 8570 certification, it must have IAT Level II certification, such as Security+ unless it’s specified, for example Senior Information Assurance Engineer requires IAT Level III certification, i.e., CISSP, and Help Desk Tier I Technician requires IAT Level I certification, i.e., A+/Network+.

11. Reference: PWS section 5.0 Minimum Qualifications, DoD 8570 (labor categories table)

How long will the contractor have to ensure all personnel/labor categories comply with the required DoD 8570 training and certifications?

Response: All contractor personnel must comply with the contract requirements at all times, beginning on the effective date of the task order that they are working under.

12. Reference: PWS section 5.0 Minimum Qualifications, DoD 8570 (labor categories table)

How long will the contractor have to ensure all personnel/labor categories comply with the required technical certifications (e.g. CCNA, CISSP, etc)?

Response: All contractor personnel must comply with the contract requirements at all times, beginning on the effective date of the task order that they are working under.

13. All positions in the Section 5.0 - Minimum Qualifications table mandate a DoD clearance (meeting the DoD 8570 requirements). Will the Government confirm that all positions require a clearance, and provide the number of current support personnel with the required clearances per labor classification?

Response: Yes, all positions require a clearance prior to the start of the contract. The number of current support personnel with the required clearances per labor classification is not needed in order to submit a proposal.

QUESTIONS REGARDING SECTION B, THE LEVEL OF EFFORT AND PRICING OF THE SOLICITATION:

14. Will the Government please provide an estimated distribution of labor categories and hours by work location?

Response: That level of detail is not needed at this point in time. That level of detail will be provided at the task order level.

15. Does the Government require Offerors to price the entire labor category table of 1,279,960 hours or can Offerors price a different mix of labor categories and hours as a representation of our technical approach to the Performance Work Statement?

Response: Offerors must price the level of effort (labor category and hours) provided in the solicitation. No alternative proposals are allowed.

16. Should we submit Cost Plus Fixed Fee rates only for each Labor Category? Or should we submit one set of Cost Plus Fixed Fee rates for every Labor Category, and a second set of Firm Fixed Price rates for every Labor Category?

Response: For proposal purposes, the Cost Plus Fixed Fee amount is being used to establish the contract “not to exceed” ceiling amount. If a task order is issued as a fixed price order, the analysis of the fixed price will be completed at the task order level. There is no need to submit fixed prices since this is not a time-and-material or labor-hour contract and the requirement cannot be defined well enough at this basic contract level to allow for a fixed price submission.

17. Can you provide the breakout of Labor Categories and hours that will be utilized at locations outside of the National Capital Area?

18. Section 2.0 provides all the locations to be supported by this effort. Can the government provide information of the on-site support required at all the listed locations? Specifically, what labor categories and estimated hours will be associated at each location?

19. Please provide the geographic distribution of the workload by labor category.

Response for 17 through 19: Please refer to Section B, LOE – Level of Effort, for the total level of effort (labor category and annual hours) needed in order to submit a proposal. The specific level of effort required will be delineated on task orders. The successful awardee will be expected to be able to provide the full level of effort whenever it might be ordered within the ordering period of the contract. Also, please refer to Section C – Descriptions and Specifications, Performance Work Statement, Section 1.0.

20. Volume II – Price/Cost : The section states that Volume II Price/Cost Proposal shall include separate price/cost and pricing information for each time period specified below:

Year One:

01 November 2013 through 31 October 2014

Year Two:

01 November 2014 through 31 October 2015

Year Three:

01 November 2015 through 31 October 2016

Does the Government expect a Monthly roll up of Price/Cost within the period, or will a total cost/price of each period suffice?

Response: A total cost plus fixed fee for each period will suffice. The total CPFF of all 3 periods shall be inserted into SECTION B, CLIN 0001, representing the total “not to exceed” value of the entire contract.

21. Reference page 2 of 74 of solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056, ITEM NO 0001, titled SUPPLIES/SERVICES: Please clarify the use of this format. Should the offeror quote a single value for all years of the contract, base period plus options?

Response: Item No 0001 is for the entire ordering period

22. The Government has not provided a preferred format, excel sheet, or other similar instructions on the method to be used in submitting the detailed pricing as requested in the Solicitation. Will the government provide a proposal specific formatted excel spreadsheet to be used for the price proposal?

Response: No. Interested offerors calculate their costs in a variety of ways so the specific format would not work for all and is deemed to be unnecessary. A breakdown of all costs (direct labor, fringe, overhead, G&A, etc) plus the fixed fee, shall be presented in the offerors format. It would be a benefit to be as clear as possible in that breakdown so the evaluators can understand how the CPFF amounts were calculated.

23. Can the Government provide the current staff levels and current hours per year per labor category according to the table on page 3 of the Solicitation? Can the Government provide the current staffing levels and labor hours per facility location listed in the Solicitation?

Response: That information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

24. Can the Government provide the time frame the Government estimates that the work load will increase from the existing staffing levels up to the “Estimated Total Hours” as provided on page 3 of the Solicitation?

Response: That information is not necessary for submission of a proposal. The specific level of effort required will be delineated on task orders. The successful awardee will be expected to be able to provide the full level of effort whenever it might be ordered within the ordering period of the contract.

25. Page 5 the Government states; “If substantially fewer than __**___ hours of said services are so employed, the fixed fee shall be equitably reduced to reflect the reduction of work”. Can the Government specifically define the method and the specific mathematical approach and values on how it will reduce the fee rather than just “equitably reduced”?

Response: That information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

26. Shall cost breakdowns of subcontractors be submitted in sealed packages with the prime vendor to be sent directly to the Government?

Response: Per Section L, Volume II (e): Any and all subcontracts identified in the Non-price proposal shall be identified and priced in the price/cost proposal. Subcontracts (regardless of dollar value) shall be adequately documented. Subcontractor cost breakdowns may be submitted in separate sealed envelopes.

27. Will the Government give more consideration to vendors that propose indirect rate ceilings?

Response: No. There is no preference.

28. Reference page 71 of 74 of solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056, paragraph (2)(d): If the offeror submits a quotation that includes estimated travel cost how will the government evaluate the price quotation against other offers that do not include travel costs?

Response: Per section L, Volume II (d): The Government does not anticipate any Travel and/or Material costs. For evaluation purposes the Government will utilize $0.00 (for Travel and/or Material) in determining the total evaluated cost of a proposal. However, if an offeror proposes costs of Travel and/or Material those costs will be included in the total evaluated price/cost of the proposal.

29. Reference page 6 of 74 of solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056, paragraph 2.0: This paragraph indicates that, in addition to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda and the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, there are approximately 58 other facilities or organizations at various location from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, Maryland to Virginia, Delaware to West Virginia. Please explain how the government expects the contractor to support facilities and organizations at remote locations in order to perform touch maintenance and solution implementation when the government does not anticipate any travel or material costs to be included in the quote.

Response: The contractor is required to provide Information Technology (IT) and Information Management (IM) Services to the Department of Defense Joint Medical Facilities in the National Capital Area (NCA)/National Capital Region (NCR), with the majority of services required at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Bethesda, MD and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (FBCH), Fort Belvoir, VA. Work may be performed at the Hospitals and other organizations and Clinics that make up the National Capital Area (NCA). The other sites will be supported remotely or be coordinated via on-site IT POCs with minimum travel around the I-495 beltway or within 50-miles from WRNMMC or FBCH which is considered local. No material costs are anticipated as all material is Government Furnished Property.

30. Reference: Section III Proposal Content, (2) Volume II Price/Cost Identification of Ratios, page 72 of 74 and page 74 of 74. Question: Referenced sections appear to conflict, please advise – will uncompensated overtime be utilized in this evaluation?

Response: Per Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award, (2): Uncompensated overtime and uncompensated overtime rates will not be used in the evaluation. SEE PART II FOR CHANGE TO provision “IDENTIFICATON OF RATIOS” in Section L.

QUESTIONS REGARDING SECTION C, PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT:

31. Would the government consider providing further description of the scope of the Information Technology (IT) and Information Management (IM) Services to the Department of Defense Joint Medical Facilities in the National Capital Area (NCA)/National Capital Region (NCR), i.e. number of professionals that need to be supported, full list of systems, historical number of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 calls, number of laptops, servers or mobile phones as part of the contract, so offerors may identify possible efficiencies in the solution to potentially optimize number of labor hours.

Response: Please review responses in Questions 32 through 37. In addition, the numbers of mobile devices are:

MiFi: 585

Cell Phones: 518

BlackBerry: 3,475

Pagers: 5,031

Code Blue: 50

32. Can the Government please provide the estimated number of user at each of the locations support will be required?

Response: Total number of users supported- -approximately 23,117

33. How many PC’s/peripherals are supported by this effort?

Response: approximately 19,673

34. How many Help Tickets are generated on a monthly basis?

Response: approximately 8,408

35. How many users are supported?

Response: approximately 23,117

36. How many servers are supported?

Response: approximately 764

37. How many network devices are supported?

Response: approximately 3,919

38. What is the expected coverage for Help Desk Support (normal business hours and/or extended shifts)?

Response: The Helpdesk operation hours at WRNMMC are from 0630 to 2330, Monday-Friday, and from 0700 to 1530 on the weekends including Federal holidays. The Helpdesk operation hours at FBCH are from 0630 to 1830, Monday-Friday, no weekends or Federal holidays on-site coverage.

39. What is the list of primary work locations for the contractor team?

Response: Three primary work locations are WRNMMC in Bethesda, Maryland; FBCH in Ft. Belvoir, VA; and Dalecarlia, Maryland.

40. Will the Government provide an inventory of Help Desk, ITSM, and Network Monitoring tools that are currently in use within the environment?

Response: EMC SMARTS, GWI (iSupport), ServiceNow, Remedy, LogRhythm, EM7, Cisco LMS, OPNET, SolarWinds, HP OpenView, etc.

41. What is the Healthcare Informatics Mission?

Response: Healthcare Informatics plays a critical role in military healthcare. In general, Healthcare Informatics supports military medicine through outstanding patient-centered care, innovation, and excellence education and research. Healthcare Informatics provides support including but not limit to AHLTA, CHCS, Enterprise Essentris, PACS, Smart Suite, Integrated Operating Rooms, Clinical Kiosk, and other clinical applications in the NCR.

42. Has the network domain consolidation taken place between the Navy and Army (Is there only one network domain used for all operations, or are there separate networks?)

Response: No, the network domain consolidation hasn’t taken place between the Navy and Army. JMED domain was implemented and has been in operation for WRNMMC, FBCH and jointed facilities in the NCR. There are three separated networks for providing services to Navy Medicine and Army Medicine in the NCR.

43. PWS, section 2.0, page 7 of 74: The Point of Presence for tenant commands, lists NAVMISSA as one of the commands. Question: Since NAVMISSA is located in San Antonio, TX will the Government request a presence in San Antonio?

Response: No, the contract does not require a presence in NAVMISSA HQ in San Antonio. The IT service may be required remotely.

44. PWS 4.3.7, Page 12 of 74: Message Center Support: What is the system currently in use to support the functionality of the Message Center? Does the reference to "classified messages" imply that the messaging center is connected to the SIPRNET?

Response: The Message Center is currently being used for routing classified message. Systems include a classified network, printers, workstations, etc. Yes, it has a SIPRNet connection in the Message Center.

45. Section 3.0 Objective : The solicitation states that that the contractor shall provide on-call support for each of the following areas:

Information Systems Engineering Support (ISE)

Information Assurance/System Security Support (ISS)

System Operation and Maintenance (SOM)

Information Management Support (IMS)

Applications Development Support (ADS)

Shall the contractor assume normal business hours (8:00-5:00 pm EST) On-call support? Or will the Government provide more clarity with this requirement?

Response: 24x7 On-call support is required including weekends and Federal holidays. On-call support is still required during normal IT operation hours as backup.

46. Is there a report of IT service by location performed and frequency?

Response: Majority of the IT services in Section 4.0 of the PWS will be performing at WRNMMC and FBCH.

47. Is there system documentation available to proposing contractors?

Response: See responses to questions 31 through 37 above.

48. Is there a Helpdesk system in place (i.e., Remedy) with reports available to proposing contractors where we can identify service ticket/call volume and type?

Response: Yes, GWI aka iSupport is being used for one network and ServiceNow is for the other network

49. Will the government be providing the necessary office space as well as the equipment? (3.0 pg. 8)

Response: Yes

50. Reference: Section 4.5.1. Question: Is an executed Business Associate (BA) agreement required for these support services? If so, can the government provide a copy as part of the procurement effort?

Response: An executed Business Associate (BA) agreement is not required for these support services.

51. Is the Service Contract Act applicable to this solicitation? If so, could the Government please incorporate the appropriate Wage Determinations?

Response: Not applicable to this solicitation.

52. Reference page 2 of 12 of Amendment 0001, titled: 8(a) SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE: If a team is composed of several certified 8(a) companies as well as other business as teammates can all of the certified 8(a) companies acting together share the requirement to perform 51 percent of the labor?

Response: Please refer to FAR clause 52.219-14: Limitations on Subcontracting

53. Reference: 4.4 Information Management Support Services (IMS): Information Management Support encompasses IT support in the various clinical areas such as Pharmacy, Radiology, Dental and Ophthalmology. In this area, the Contractor will be expected to provide IT subject matter expertise in the various clinical disciplines and support of the overall clinical informatics effort. The Contractor will also be tasked to provide support for major efforts to further the clinical capabilities in a variety of hospital functional areas.

Do clinical information support tools need to support enhanced diagnostic capability, or are they documentation of care systems?

Response: Yes, clinical information support tools support enhanced diagnostic capabilities.

54. Reference: 4.4 Information Management Support Services (IMS): Information Management Support encompasses IT support in the various clinical areas such as Pharmacy, Radiology, Dental and Ophthalmology. In this area, the Contractor will be expected to provide IT subject matter expertise in the various clinical disciplines and support of the overall clinical informatics effort. The Contractor will also be tasked to provide support for major efforts to further the clinical capabilities in a variety of hospital functional areas.

Is there a requirement for evaluating “best practice” protocols across the healthcare spectrum?

Response: Yes, best practice protocols are assessed based upon other healthcare organizations that provide the same level of care as WRB.

55. Reference: 4.5.2. Administrative and General Decision Support Software/ Clinical Protocol and Quality Assurance Decision Support Software: The Contractor shall support the NCA/NCR staff in the planning, analysis, troubleshooting, integration, installation, operation, maintenance, training, documentation, and administration of Administrative and General Decision Support Software. The same tasks apply to the Clinical Protocol and Quality Assurance Decision Support Software for the Clinical research staff.

What are the specific clinical requirements? Are they treatment protocol requirements?

Response: A decision support system that will utilize data mining, metadata, input from multiple sources to predict and provide interventions for specified medical disease processes. Treatment protocol requirements are dynamic and based upon best practice.

56. Reference: 4.5.2. Administrative and General Decision Support Software/ Clinical Protocol and Quality Assurance Decision Support Software: The Contractor shall support the NCA/NCR staff in the planning, analysis, troubleshooting, integration, installation, operation, maintenance, training, documentation, and administration of Administrative and General Decision Support Software. The same tasks apply to the Clinical Protocol and Quality Assurance Decision Support Software for the Clinical research staff.

Is the Quality Assurance piece specific to IT functionality, or specific to clinical practice?

Response: Clinical practice.

57. Reference: Section 4.0. Question: Does the government own all of the projects HW and SW as GFE? If so, please provide relevant details.

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal however see responses for questions 31 through 37 above

58. Reference: Section 4.0. Question: Does the government hold all the services contracts for this project (i.e., phone plans)? If so, please provide relevant details.

Response: Yes, the government holds all the services contracts for this project. This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

59. Reference: Section 4.0. Question: Will the contractor be expected to own or hold any HW, SW, or service contracts during the life of this project? If so, please provide relevant details.

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal however no, the contractor won’t be expected to own or hold any HW, SW or service contracts during the life of this contract.

60. Reference: Section 4.1. Question: Will there be any assessments, studies, planning or BRP efforts ongoing and need to be picked up mid-stream by a new contractor? If so, please provide relevant details.

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

61. Reference: Section 4.3.2. Question: Will the contractor be expected to work in existing help desk spaces or will they be required to provide their own?

Response: Please reference Question 49 above.

62. Reference: Section 4.5. Question: Is there a specific methodology the government prefers when performing development efforts (i.e., Waterfall, Agile)?

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

63. Reference: Section 4.5. Question: To reduce risk, is there a specific CMMI accreditation level the contractor must support (i.e., CMMI Level 2 or 3)?

Response: No

64. Reference: Section 4.5.3. Question: Are there any GIS prototypes or solutions the government has implemented now? If so, what are they and what tools are being used?

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

65. Will the government please provide Tier 1-3 service level performance?

Response: See details described in the Sub-section of 4.0 and Labor Category description.

66. What certifications are required for Tier 2 and Tier 3 agents? Upon hire, what is the time period until the agent is required to get certification completed?

Response: See Labor Category Required Experience and Certifications in the PWS

67. If the government expects the contractor to provide IT support to all of the facilities and organizations identified in the solicitation, what should the contractor use as a means to estimate frequency of “touch” support to these facilities?

Response: Except the two core locations, WRNMMC and FBCH, the average of support is once a week or less.

68. Are all support systems (e.g. Phone, ACD, Remote Access, etc.) GFE? Are any to be provided by the contractor?

Response: See Section 3.0 Objective in the PWS for GFE tools.

69. What are the required hours/days of support for the Help Desk (Tier 1)? For Tier 2 and Tier 3?

Response: Section 2.0 of the PWS covers operation hours per site and response to question 38 above.

70. Are all Tier 1 contractors required to work on government site? Can support be provided remotely?

Response: All Tier I Contractors required working on government site(s). Majority of the Contractors will be working from WRNMMC or FBCH. No support shall be provided remotely.

71. What are the current help desk metrics being reported?

Response: See response to question 38 above

72. What are the current operational service desk statistics (e.g. number of calls per day, week, month, quarter; average resolution time per day, week, month, quarter; number of tier 1, 2, 3 calls per day, week, month, quarter; Severity 1, 2, 3 calls per day, week, month, quarter; count of types of calls per day, week, month, quarter; count of remote and on-site requests per day, week, month, quarter; etc.)?

Response: See responses 31 through 37 above

73. What systems/tools are being used today to track and report on service desk metrics?

Response: ServiceNow, GWI, T-Metric and Remedy

74. What Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is the contractor required to meet?

Response: Contractor is required to meet all of the services requirements based on the PWS. It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the personnel performing under this contract meet the requirements for the labor category that they are working under, as defined in this solicitation.

75. Is there a standard PC configuration/image? If so, who is responsible for the creation, build, test, and change management of standard and custom desktop software images, including Office related software packages and business applications? Is it correct to assume that creation, build, test, and change management of these images will be the responsibility of the government or performed by another contractor on a different contract?

Response: Yes, there are standard PC configurations/images. The task shall be provided by the Contractors under the same contract.

76. Do the users of GFE PCs have administrative access to their devices? Are the users of GFE PCs able to install non-approved applications onto their assigned workstation/laptop?

Response: No, users do not have administrative access. No, the users do not have the permission to install approved or non-approved applications.

77. Have CAC/PIV readers been implemented across the enterprise as a part of authentication process when logging in? If not, is there a plan to do so during this period of performance?

Response: Yes, CAC readers have been implemented across the enterprise as a part of authentication process when logging in.

78. What is the current desktop Anti-virus solution?

Response: McAfee Anti-virus Enterprise services.

79. What is the current number of Mobile Devices (broken down by type/brand) in the environment?

Response: MiFi: 585; Cell Phones: 518; BlackBerry: 3,475; Pagers: 5,031; Code Blue: 50

80. Are the Mobile Devices on a standard refresh cycle?

Response: Yes

81. Besides BES tools, are there any other systems/tools used today to administer, track and report on mobile device management?

Response: SharePoint database and American/Skytel Messaging Systems

82. Is there a GFE Asset Management tool/system currently used?

Response: This information is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

83. What is the expected number of requests for mobile devices (e.g. number of requests/calls per day, week, month, quarter; severity, priority)?

Response: See responses to questions 31 through 37 above

84. What is the ticketing system currently in place?

Response: See response to question 73 above.

85. Will the government consider the use of an offsite call center?

Response: No

86. There are two Help Desk Managers. Are there two help desks, and where is each one located?

Response: WRNMMC and FBCH

QUESTIONS REGARDING SECTION L, “INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS”

87. The RFP for Past Performance states the following: “To demonstrate its past performance, the offeror shall identify up to three (3) of its most relevant contracts or efforts within the past five (5) years, and provide any other information the offeror considers relevant to the requirements of the solicitation”. Are we limited to 3 past performances or can we provide more past performances?

Response: Response: Per (1) Volume I – Non-price Proposal (a) Past Performance: To demonstrate its past performance, the offeror shall identify up to three (3) of its most relevant contracts or efforts within the past five (5) years, and provide any other information the offeror considers relevant to the requirements of the solicitation. To further clarify, NO MORE THAN 3 references shall be submitted.

88. With regard to Past Performance, the solicitation refers to “scope, magnitude, and complexity of the requirement”. Please define the term “magnitude”.

Response: Magnitude refers to the size of the effort provided under the reference. The closer the reference comes to the level of effort (FTE) found in this solicitation, the more relevant the magnitude is considered.

89. Is the government accepting past performance from subcontractors or team members other than the prime contractor?

90. Can government describe in greater detail how government will weigh and evaluate subcontractor past performance based on workshare?

Response for 89 and 90: Per Section L, Volume I – Non-price Proposal, (a) Past Performance: Offerors should provide a detailed explanation demonstrating the relevance of the contracts or efforts to the requirements of the solicitation. If subcontractor past performance is provided as part of the three (3) of its most relevant contracts or efforts, the subcontractor past performance will be given weight relative to the scope, magnitude and complexity of the aspects of the work under the solicitation that the subcontractor is proposed to perform. Therefore, the offeror’s proposal should detail clearly the aspects of the work in the solicitation that the subcontractor is proposed to perform.

91. In regards to section L II (5): The proposal instructions state “The cover sheet, table of contents (not to exceed one page per volume)”. Comment (Internal to the Team): If the prime feels their TOC will be larger than one page, we should ask a question requesting more of an allocation for the TOC

Response: SEE PART II FOR CHANGE TO Section L, II Requirement for Proposal Content, (5) Page Limitations

92. With regards to the past performance, would the Government allow contractors to use currently on-going contracts with an initial award made longer than the past five years?

93. Will the Government consider allowing contractors to use past performance that have completed in the past three years regardless of when they were awarded?

Response for 92 and 93: Per Section L, Volume I – Non-price Proposal, (a) Past Performance is clear on its face. The offeror shall demonstrate relevant past performance or affirmatively state that it possesses no relevant past performance. Relevant past performance is performance under contracts or efforts within the past five years (from solicitation issue date) that is the same as or similar to, the scope, magnitude, and complexity of the work described by this solicitation.

To demonstrate its past performance, the offeror shall identify up to three (3) of its most relevant contracts or efforts within the past five (5) years, and provide any other information the offeror considers relevant to the requirements of the solicitation. Offerors should provide a detailed explanation demonstrating the relevance of the contracts or efforts to the requirements of the solicitation.

94. Does the Government require Customer Satisfaction Surveys? If so, please provide a preferred template.

Response: No. Please refer to Section L, Volume II, (a) Past Performance: The offeror should complete a “Past Performance Information Form” for each reference submitted. The form is an attachment to the solicitation. The forms will count toward the Volume I page limit described above. For additional information regarding a particular reference beyond that which will fit on the form, the offeror may continue onto another sheet of paper. Such continuation sheet(s) for submitted references will count toward the Volume I page limit.

Please refer to Section J – List of Documents, Exhibits and Other Attachments, Attachment IV- -Past Performance Form

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE “ON-SITE VS OFF-SITE” INFORMATION FOUND IN SECTION L:

95. Page 71 of the RFP indicates that 100% of staff will be at Contractor Facility. Staffing working at contractor facilities seems to contradict other instructions and guidance in the RFP. Please confirm the work location(s) for contractor staff.

96. Please provide clarification on whether the rates that we submit are for Government site (on-site) or for Contractor site (off-site).

97. The section states that For proposal purposes, the following ratios of On-site (Contractor facility) and Off-site (Government facility) labor performance are established for all labor categories:

ON-SITE

OFF-SITE

100%

0%

The solicitation states that the contractor is required to provide Information Technology (IT) and Information Management (IM) Services to the Department of Defense Joint Medical Facilities in the National Capital Area (NCA)/National Capital Region (NCR), with the majority of services required at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC).

Will the Government confirm that the work is to be performed on-site, at the contractor facility?

98. Are all personnel to be located on Government site(s)? Can you provide the specific site location(s)?

99. Section L.III.2.c states “For proposal purposes, the following ratios of On-Site (Contractor facility) and Off-Site (Government facility) labor performance are established for all labor categories: On-Site 100%, Off-Site 0%.” Section C.1 states that the “majority of services” will be required at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. This seems to conflict; are vendors to price labor rates for the Contractor facility while providing services at Government facilities?

100. Are all task orders to be provided at government site (on-site) or will some tasks be performed at contractor site (off-site)? If the latter, can the government specify which tasks will be performed at contractor site?

101. Reference: In (2) Volume II –Price/cost, (c) “For proposal purposes, the following ratios of On-site (Contractor facility) and Off-site (Government facility) labor performance is established for all labor categories: ON-SITE: 100% OFF-SITE: 0%.” Please verify if this is correct percentages for on-site and off-site labor performance.

102. On Page 71 of 74 (2)(c), the ratio of On-site (Contractor facility) to Off-site (Government facility) labor performance indicates 100% of labor performance is to be priced to occur On-Site (at the Contractor facility). Is this ratio accurate, or does the government intend for the offeror to price 100% of the labor performance to occur at the Government facility, which would be defined as Off-site in the Solicitation?

103. Reference the RFP, Section L (2) (c) on page 71 of 74, which states in part: " For proposal purposes, the following ratios of On-site (Contractor facility) and Off-site (Government facility) labor performance are established for all labor categories: ON-SITE: 100%, OFF-SITE: 0%."

104. Please clarify place of performance -- contractor or Government facility.

105. Reference page 71 of 74 of solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056, paragraph (2)(c): Does the ratio between on site (contractor’s facility) and off site (government facility) indicate the government’s intention that the contractor will not have any space provided at any government facility to achieve the objectives of this effort?

106. Is the place of performance at the government site or contractor site?

Response for 95 through 105: SEE PART II FOR CHANGE TO Section L, Volume II, (c): On-Site vs. Off-Site. The ratios were inadvertently switched when the solicitation was created.

QUESTIONS REGARDING SECTION M:

107. Section M: The narrative describing evaluation factors states: “an offeror whose past performance demonstrates either a low expectation or no expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort will be considered ineligible for award.” Question: Please provide the past performance ratings and their associated definitions so the offeror may understand ratings.

Response: This information is not needed in order to submit a proposal.

108. Section M: The narrative describing evaluation factors states: “For all other non-price factors or subfactors, an offeror’s proposal must be determined to be acceptable or better in order to be eligible for award.” Question: Please provide the non-price ratings and their associated definitions so the offeror may understand what constitutes a rating of “acceptable” as well as ratings that are “better” than acceptable.

Response: This information is not needed in order to submit a proposal.

109. “Additionally, offerors are cautioned that the Government may decide not to evaluate the technical proposal of an offeror whose price/cost proposal is significantly higher than the total evaluated price of another offeror rated acceptable or higher…” What percentage difference constitutes “significantly higher?”

Response: This information is not needed in order to submit a proposal

110. Reference: Section M, Evaluation Criteria and Basis for Award, (2) Non Price Factors, page 73: Question: Please provide specific evaluation criteria the Government will utilize to determine how the non-price factor Management/Technical Approach will be determined to be “technically acceptable or better.”

Response: This information is not needed in order to submit a proposal

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE DD254:

111. The attachments to the RFP include the DD Form 254 for facility clearances. The form indicates that a facility clearance, at the Secret level, is required, however all the work is to be accomplished at government facilities. Are you requiring the vendor to have a facility clearance at the Secret level? If the answer is yes, can the prime vendor use a subcontractor’s facility for the clearance?

112. There is a requirement for personnel working on-site to have a Secret clearance and some positions require a Top Secret clearance. If assigned personnel do not have the appropriate clearances, will they be allowed to work on-site while undergoing the clearance process?

113. Do they have to meet the requirements prior to starting or is there a “grace” period – can they attain the required certification and /or clearance in the first six months after hire.

114. The subject solicitation DD254 block 1(a) indicates the requirement for a Secret Facility Clearance. Block 13 requires all persons working Information Assurance to be cleared at the Top Secret level. Shouldn’t those two be in agreement?

115. Also, is TOP secret a requirement as the DD 254 indicates that it is at Secret level? OUR TS/SCI is being processed so I assume

116. The DD-254 specifies the prime contractor needs a SECRET Facility Clearance (FCL); however, we have noticed that the Information Assurance Personnel listed in the statement of work require a TOP SECRET clearance, which would imply that the prime contractor actually requires a TOP SECRET FCL in accordance with the NISPOM. Please confirm that: 1) only a SECRET Facility Clearance is required as stated in the DD Form 254; and 2) no higher than a SECRET clearance is required for any personnel.

117. Amendment 2: The amendment references Attachment V, but the revised RFP does not include Attachment V. Is the DD-254 provided with the amendment Attachment V?

118. Section C.5: The access level listed on the DD 254 does not match the highest level of classified personnel required by the RFP in Section C.5. The current DD 254 reflects only Secret, while the highest access required by contractor operations will be at the Top Secret level. According to the RFP, all Information Assurance positions will require access at the Top Secret level. Will a revised DD 254 be issued to revise the highest level of classified access to Top Secret?

119. Is all the work performed on a government site, per the DD254? If yes, it seems that the definition of “On-Site” in Section L is in conflict. On-Site is stated as Contractor facility. Please clarify.

120. DD 254 issued with Amendment 2 calls for SECRET clearance, but the RFP document 5.0 Minimum Qualifications calls for Top Secret for the 3 labor categories in the IA Engineer family. Please reconcile.

121. Is Secret Facility Clearance required at the time of proposal submission?

Response for 111through 121: Secret clearance is needed at the time of proposal submission. The prime vendor cannot use a subcontractor’s facility for the clearance. The DD254 is being DELETED in its entirety and replaced with a corrected copy in a later Amendment.

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

122. What is the due date for questions? (The document states 20 June, but solicitation is dated after 20 June.)

Response: The time and date for receipt of questions in regards to ONLY Amendment 0003 of Solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056 is listed below in PART II. The time and date for receipt of proposals is listed below in PART II

123. Are the period of performance hours the same as the operating hours of for each location in para. 2.0? (including 24/7 locations?)

Response: No

124. Who is the incumbent?

Response: SpecPro Technical Services, LLC, San Antonio, Texas

125. What is the current contract number?

Response: N00189-11-D-Z027

126. On page 69 of the RFP, Important Notes (2), it talks about non-employee personnel preparing the proposal. Does this apply to subcontractor personnel assisting with proposal writing?

Response: No

127. How is the CIO's department organized? Will the Government please provide a copy of the current CIO Department Organization Chart?

Response: This information is business sensitive so it will not be provided at this point in the procurement process and is not necessary for submission of a proposal.

128. Is the incumbent allowed to bid on this procurement?

Response: Not as a prime contractor

129. Re: RFP, p. 68: We typically ship our proposals by FedEx; is FedEx able to access the compound to deliver our proposal to Building 2B? If not, what other carrier(s) is/are able to access the compound?

Response: Yes

130. Where would you like the offeror to place the response to IMPORTANT NOTE (2) “Participation in creation, formulation, or writing of any portion of the proposal by a non bona fide employee of the offeror” from page 69 of 74 within the proposal? Shall it be included in the unlimited page count Volume II Price/Cost Proposal?

Response: Since this would require a Certification, per section Important Notes (2), it shall be included in the Representations and Certifications as part of Volume II.

Part II:

Solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056 is hereby amended as follows:

1. DD254 is DELETED in its entirety and will be corrected and replaced in a later Amendment.

2. Section L, (2) Volume II – Price/cost, (c) is DELETED in its entirety and REPLACED with:

(c) For proposal purposes, the following ratios of On-site (Contractor facility) and Off-site (Government facility) labor performance are established for all labor categories:

ON-SITE

OFF-SITE

0 %

100%

3. Section L, (2) Volume II – Price/cost, IDENTIFICATION OF RATIOS provision is hereby DELETED in its entirety.

4. Section L, II. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSAL CONTENT, (5) Page Limitations is hereby DELETED in its entirety and REPLACED with:

(5) Page Limitations

Volume I, “Non-price Proposal,” is limited to a maximum of 30 pages for non-price factors, inclusive of any charts, diagrams, and/or other graphics. Each “page” is defined as one sheet, 8 ½ “ x 11”, with at least one inch margins on all sides, using a font with a point size of 12 or greater (e.g., "Times New Roman" style with 12 point font). Lines shall, at a minimum, be single-spaced. Pages shall be consecutively numbered. Multiple pages, double pages, two-sided pages, or foldouts will count as an equivalent number of 8 ½" x 11" pages. The cover sheet, table of contents, tabs, and dividers will not count toward the page limit. The one exception to the font size requirement shown above include the following: (1) the " past performance information form" may be completed with a point size of 10 or greater and (2) text contained in the Non-Price Proposal graphics and charts may be point size of 10 or greater. Pages submitted in excess of the page limitations described above will not be evaluated.

5. The time and date for receipt of questions in regards to ONLY Amendment 0003 of Solicitation N00189-13-R-Z056 is 2:00PM (local time/Philadelphia, PA) on Tuesday, 13 August 2013.

6. The time and date for receipt of proposals has changed to 2:00PM (local time/Philadelphia, PA) on…