N0018920RZ012-0001.docx

N0018920RZ012

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION A - SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

The following have been added by full text:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The amendment contains a list of questions that were received in response to this RFP and their respective answers. If any of the questions do not contain an answer, please wait for the next amendment for answers to those questions. Similarly, if you submitted questions that are not included below, they will be posted in a subsequent amendment.

1. Is there an Award Ceiling (minus the $3M for Travel + ODC’s already specified) for RFP N0018920RZ012?

Answer: There is not an award ceiling established for the resultant contract(s).

2. Our research suggests that only one TO for approximately $487,000 was awarded on the original IDIQ (to SAIS). Is this correct?

Answer: No, it is not correct.

3. If not, are you able to specify any other amounts?

Answer: That information can be provided through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

4. Can the contracting team share the reasons that the Customer would like to put this effort up for a re-compete, given the paucity of TOs leading up to this point?

Answer: See answer to question 2.

5. Is there an estimated or hoped-for number of TO’s predicted for the upcoming IDIQ?

Answer: There is not an estimated/preferred number of task orders predicted for the resultant contract(s).

6. What are the evaluation criteria for the competition to win a seat on this upcoming IDIQ?

Answer: See evaluation criteria in Sections L and M.

7. Will site visits to competitors or demonstrations at the Customer’s site be part of the selection process?

Answer: No, site visits or demonstrations will not be part of the source selection criteria.

8. Will a comprehensive list of questions/answers be shared publicly?

Answer: Yes, questions and answers will be shared via amendments.

9. Upon reading through the documentation provided on NECO it would seem that we are required to provide an estimate that is slightly more accurate than a ROM. Is this determination correct or is a ROM sufficient?

Answer: Offerors are to provide an accurate cost estimate, that if the Non-price/cost and price/cost are determined to be the best value and accepted by the Government, is legally binding.

10. Will there be any requirements for which terrain database to use?

Answer: When wargaming exercises are done over land, a terrain database is used. However, the Navy does not usually need this type since they will done over water.

11. Reference Section A, Para. E.) states "The deadline for submitting questions regarding this RFP is 12:00 PM EST on 23 March 2020." Section L states "...should submit one consolidated list of questions concerning the solicitation via email to the solicitation point of contact, NO LATER THAN 2:00 pm, Philadelphia time, on 20 Feb 2020." Please confirm the deadline for submitting questions is 12:00 PM EST on 23 March 2020.

Answer: Prior to Amendment 0001, the deadline for submitting questions was 23 March 2020. As a result of this amendment, the deadline for submitting questions has been moved to 30 March 2020.

12. Reference SF33 Item 12 - The RFP does not request a specific validity period for bids so the standard 60 days applies. Will the government define the the desired minimum bid acceptance period of bids or should the Offeror use 60 days?

Answer:

13. Section B clause LOE(g) states ""For any resultant fixed-price task orders, the hours proposed shall be considered against the MAC program’s Estimated Total Hours."" The CLIN Table in Section B is limited to CPFF labor CLINs applicable to labor (0001 and 0002).

Section H Task Order Procedures state ""At the discretion of the Ordering Officer, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) or Firm Fixed Price (FFP) task orders may be issued under this contract.""

Section L 52.216-1 Type of Contract states ""The Government contemplates award of a multiple cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF), indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract resulting from this solicitation.""

While the clauses in Section B and H define the allowability and process for issuing FFP Task Orders under the IDIQ contract, the CLIN Table in Section B does not list FFP CLINs and Section L does not state the IDIQ contract resulting from this solicitation will be a hybrid contract allowing the issuance of both FFP and CPFF Task Orders.

Will the contract resulting from this solicitation be a hybrid allowing issuance of FFP or CPFF Task Orders? If yes, please update the language at 52.216-1 and provide an updated CLIN Table.

14. Substitution Criteria: For all the experience levels required, one year of full time formal education may be considered the equivalent of two years of work experience. However, education may only be used to substitute one-half of the total required minimum experience.

Substitution criteria is provided to equate years of formal education for work experience. Will the Government provide substitution criteria to equate years of work experience to education? For example, 4 years of work experience may be considered the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree and 6 years of work experience may be considered the equivalent of a Master's degree.

15. Section J states a list of the following attachments:

I. QASP

II. CAP – Cost Type, Indefinite Delivery III. Corporate Experience and Past Performance Information Form IV. Contract Security Classification Specification, DD 254 (DRAFT) V. Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs), DD 1423

Section J notes Attachments I-QASP and II-CAP, but these attachments were not provided in the posted Solicitation. Please provide copies of Attachments I and II.

16. Reference Section L - "** Submission of proposal on a DVD or CD shall be in Microsoft Excel Format. In addition, offers consist of and shall include the following items as part of Volume II: Solicitation Cover Sheet… Solicitation pricing pages...

Acknowledgement of solicitation amendments… Representations and Certifications...

Small Business Subcontracting Plan..."

While the note in Section L limits documentation applicable to Vol II to Microsoft Excel Format. To support the additional submission requirements for Vol II, will the Government update the reference noted to read "... shall be in Microsoft Excel Format for detailed pricing information and in searchable PDF format for other required information?"

17. Reference Section L - Table of Contents: The table of contents should provide detail sufficient to allow the important elements to be easily located. The use of tabs and dividers is encouraged."

"The cover sheet, table of contents (not to exceed one page per volume), tabs, and dividers will not count toward the page limit."

Will the Government allow submission of a Compliance Matrix to map RFP task/evaluation factors to further support the Government's desire for "detail sufficient to allow the important elements to be easily located" as part of the items excluded from the page count defined in L.II?

18. Reference Section L - Volume I, “Non-price Proposal,” is limited to a maximum of 15 (fifteen) pages in length inclusive of any charts, diagrams, and/or other graphics. ... The cover sheet, table of contents (not to exceed one page per volume), tabs, and dividers will not count toward the page limit. The one exception to the font size requirement shown above is that the "corporate experience and past performance information forms" may be completed with a point size of 10 or greater.

Section L.III(c) Socio-Economic Plan.

While the specific format for submitting Corporate Experience and Past Performance is provided by Section J, Attachment III, Corporate Experience and Past Performance Information Form, a desired format is not provided for the Socio-Economic Plan. Also, the Socio-Economic Plan is clearly segregated from the consolidated response for Corporate Experience and Past Performance dictated by Attachment III.

Questions:

(a) Will the Government provide a form or format for the Socio-Economic Plan to ensure consistency of this proposal content requirement across all Offerors?

(b) Will the Government stipulate the pages associated with submission of the Socio-Economic Plan are outside the 15 page limit and allow the Plan to be submitted as an attachment to Vol I with additional page count assigned?

19. Reference Section L - Paragraph two of the Corporate Experience section states "… the offeror shall identify up to 5 of its most relevant contracts…" Paragraph four instructs the submission of the "Corporate Experience and Past Performance Information Form" for each reference but then states "Only a single set of up to three references shall be submitted." Further, the NOTE in this section states "Accordingly, offerors shall submit a single set of corporate experience and past performance information (maximum of 5 of its most relevant contracts) to satisfy the submission requirements for both factors."

Per the Section L instructions, the references an Offeror uses in its Corporate Experience and Past Performance response are provided via the Attachment III Corporate Experience and Past Performance Information Form. As such, it appears that up to five Attachment III's may be provided to satisfy the requirement for Corporate Experience and Past Performance. Therefore, should the language in Paragraph four "Only a single set of up to three references shall be submitted." be updated to "five references"?

20. Reference Sections L and M - "To the extent that an Offeror is proposing a subcontractor on a cost-reimbursement basis, the documentation substantiating the accuracy of the subcontractor's proposed direct labor rates is also required."

"... Offerors shall submit a total compensation plan setting forth salaries and fringe benefits proposed for the professional employees who will work under the Contract, including first-tier subcontractor employees."

"If the offeror is proposing subcontracts on other than a CPFF basis, the offeror should submit information as to whether the rates for the subcontractors are fixed based on a firm bilateral agreement with the subcontractor or merely proposed. In addition, the offeror shall explain why it believes the subcontractor can perform at those rates."

"The Government will evaluate the offeror’s total compensation plan for professional employees employed under the contract, including first-tier subcontractor employees, to ensure that it reflects a sound management approach and understanding of the contract requirements."

Based on the preponderance of the language in Section L pertaining to subcontractor information, it appears that if subcontractors are performing on other than a CPFF basis the Offeror is to provide a price analysis for each subcontractor which must provide adequate justification for the subcontract type proposed and data to support assertions that each proposed subcontractors' rates are realistic and reasonable for the work to be performed. Please confirm.

If the above is true, please confirm that subcontractors performing on other than a CPFF basis may provide non-proprietary labor rate submissions to the Offeror for inclusion in the Offeror's Vol II, and are not required to provide sealed packages containing direct labor rate substantiation, total compensation plan, nor other company proprietary data directly to the Government.

21. Reference Section M – “A rating that is less than a “Satisfactory Confidence” rating in the Past Performance evaluation factor will render a proposal ineligible for award consideration as submitted.""

"For all non-cost factors (other than Past Performance), an offeror’s proposal must be determined to be Acceptable or better in order to be eligible for award. A rating that is less than “Acceptable” in any non-cost evaluation factor and/or less than a “Satisfactory Confidence” rating in the Past Performance evaluation factor will render a proposal ineligible for award consideration as submitted."

In order to ensure all Offerors have a common understanding of the rating system the Government is using for Corporate Experience, Past Performance, and Socio-Economic Plan, will the Government please provide the following:

(a) Definition of "Satisfactory Confidence" as it relates to Past Performance and any other levels of Confidence that may be associated with this evaluation criteria.

(b) Definition of "Acceptable" as it relates to Corporate Experience and Socio-Economic Plan.

22. Reference Section A – “ D.Although the awardee(s) of this requirement must be cleared at the Top Secret/SCI level of security clearance"

Reference Section J – DD254 Block 10. Contractor Will Require Access to:

While Section A references "cleared at the TS/SCI level" the DD245 block 10 Item e.(1) Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) is not checked. Will the Government be updating the DD254 to check black 10.e(1) to allow SCI access?

23. Reference Section A. - B.) "Proposals shall be sent to…" Reference Section G.) METHOD OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION "Faxes, e-mails, and/or responses through NECO or any method other than Hard Copy format are not acceptable."

In order to support national emergency measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic such as the directive to telework and isolate where possible, will the Government consider amending instructions for deliver to allow Offerors to submit proposals via electronic methods vs. delivering a hard copy?

The following have been modified:

SOLICITATION FORM

A.) Proposals are due on or before close of business (12:00 PM EST) on 13 April 2020.

B.) Proposals shall be mailed to Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk Philadelphia Office as follows:

FLC Norfolk Philadelphia Office

RFP#N0018920RZ012

Attn: Erin Kilrain, Code 270.2A 700 Robbins Ave., Building 2B Philadelphia, PA 19111-5083

Or emailed to Erin.Kilrain@navy.mil

C.) The point of contact for this solicitation is:

Erin Kilrain

(215) 697-9617 Erin.Kilrain@navy.mil

D.) Although the awardee(s) of this requirement must be cleared at the Top Secret/SCI level of security clearance, this requirement, to include the PWS found in section C of this RFP, is unclassified. Proposals submitted in response to this RFP SHALL NOT include any classified material. Inclusion of any classified material may result in rendering a proposal unawardable.

E.) All questions regarding this requirement should be submitted to Erin Kilrain via email to the address listed above. The deadline for submitting questions regarding this RFP is 12:00 PM EST on 30 March 2020.

F.) The Multiple Award Contract incumbents for this requirement are as follows:

G.) METHOD OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION (SEP 2015)

The NECO website has a "submit bid" button next to the solicitation number. DO NOT use the "submit bid" button on NECO to submit your proposal. Offerors shall follow the method of proposal submission set forth in the Section L “Submission of Proposals”.

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND NOTICES TO BIDDERS

The following have been modified:

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS (BEST VALUE/TRADE-OFF)

I. GENERAL

In addition to instructions to offerors contained elsewhere in this solicitation, the following instructions are provided.

Initial proposals and any modifications thereto are to be submitted to the Contracting Officer on or before the closing date and time cited elsewhere in this Request for Proposals. Faxes, e-mails, and/or responses through NECO or any method other than Hard Copy format are not acceptable.

Hand-carried proposals are not encouraged. The Contracting Office is located on a secured compound. Only personnel with current DoD Common Access Cards (CACs) or appropriate military credentials will be able to access the compound. There will be no ability to drop off the proposals outside the compound.

Offerors shall submit their proposals in two separate volumes as follows:

Volume I Non-price Proposal Original and 1 electronic copy*

Volume II Price/Cost Proposal Original and 1 electronic copy**

*Submission of proposal on a DVD or CD shall be in PDF format which should be searchable. In the event of a discrepancy between the hard copy and the electronic copy, the hard copy will govern. The offeror shall ensure that electronic submissions are virus-free.

** Submission of proposal on a DVD or CD shall be in Microsoft Excel format. In the event of a discrepancy between the hard copy and the electronic copy, the hard copy will govern. The offeror shall ensure that electronic submissions are virus-free. Subcontractors may email their un-sanitized cost build-up (provided in Excel format) to erin.kilrain@navy.mil. However, their email containing the spreadsheet must be received by the established closing time for the submission of offers. Please structure the cost breakdown spreadsheet(s) so that the total direct labor cost, total fringe, total overhead, total G&A, total fee, etc., are tallied in separate columns in the spreadsheet. Also, please provide the fully burdened rates for each labor category by showing the cost buildup and calculation withi the spreadsheet.

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).

Representations and Certifications completed by the offeror in accordance with instructions contained elsewhere in this solicitation. If the offeror has completed all of the representations and certifications required by this solicitation in SAM in accordance with FAR 52.204-8 and DFARS 252.204-7007 ALT A, then the offeror need not submit the hardcopy Representations and Certifications.

The offeror’s Small Business Subcontracting Plan (this Plan not required for Small Business offerors).

The following percentages for small business subcontracting are the DoD Statutory Subcontracting Goals:

Small Business=34% Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)=5% Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)=5% Service-disabled Veteran-owned Small Business (SDVOSB)= 3% HUBZone=3%

The completion and submission of the above items will constitute an offer (proposal) and will be considered the offeror’s unconditional assent to the terms and conditions of this solicitation and any attachments and/or exhibits hereto. Alternate proposals are not authorized. An objection to any of the terms and conditions of the solicitation will constitute a deficiency (see FAR 15.001) which will make the offer ineligible for award.

Potential offerors are encouraged to carefully review all solicitation requirements and, if they have questions concerning the solicitation, should submit one consolidated list of questions concerning the solicitation via email to the solicitation point of contact, NO LATER THAN 12:00 pm, Philadelphia time, on 30 March 2020 Questions should be submitted as early as feasible prior to the above date and time; questions received later may be answered at the discretion of the Navy.

Volume I Non-price Proposal

This volume shall address Corporate Experience, Past Performance and Sociao-Economic Plan and include all information required for proposal evaluation.

This volume of the proposal shall exclude any pricing/cost information, except for the information required to be provided under the Socio-economic Plan factor, that would reveal the total costing/pricing detailed in Volume II of the proposal.

Each page of each copy should include the following legend:

Source Selection Information - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Volume II Price/Cost Proposal

This volume shall include the completed solicitation documents and a complete and detailed price/cost breakdown with all supporting information. Each page of each copy should include the following legend:

Source Selection Information - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

IMPORTANT NOTES:

(1) Offerors shall respond to all requirements of the solicitation document. Offerors are cautioned not to alter the solicitation.

(2) In the event any person who is not a bona fide employee of the offeror participated in the creation, formulation, or writing of any portion of the proposal, a statement to this effect shall be included in the proposal. Such statement shall identify the name of the person who is not a bona fide employee, that person’s employment capacity, the name of the person’s firm, the relationship of that firm to the offeror, and the portion of the proposal in which the person participated.

II. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSAL CONTENT

(1) Do not include CLASSIFIED data in your proposal.

(2) Introduction and Purpose - This section specifies the format that offerors should use in proposals submitted in response to this solicitation. The intent is not to restrict the offerors in the manner in which they will perform their work but rather to ensure a certain degree of uniformity in the format of the proposals for evaluation purposes.

(3) Each volume should contain the following items in addition to the other information required by this solicitation:

address and phone number DUNS and CAGE of offeror Identification of original signature copies

Table of Contents: The table of contents should provide detail sufficient to allow the important elements to be easily located. The use of tabs and dividers is encouraged.

(4) Requirements for Style: Each offeror shall submit a proposal that clearly and concisely sets forth the contractor’s response to the requirements of the solicitation. Unnecessary elaboration or other presentations beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the offeror’s lack of cost consciousness. Elaborate artwork, expensive paper or bindings, and expensive visual or other presentation aids are neither necessary nor desired. The proposal shall contain all the pertinent information in sufficient detail in the one area of the proposal where it contributes most critically to the discussion. When necessary, the offeror shall refer to the initial discussion and identify its location within its proposal.

(5) Page Limitations

Volume I, “Non-price Proposal,” is limited to a maximum of 15 (fifteen) pages in length 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 (not to exceed one page per volume), tabs, and dividers will not count toward the page limit. The one exception to the font size requirement shown above is that the "corporate experience and past performance information forms" may be completed with a point size of 10 or greater. Pages submitted in excess of the page limitations described above will not be evaluated.

Volume II, “Price/Cost Proposal,” is not page limited.

III. PROPOSAL CONTENT

(1) Volume I – Non-price Proposal

Volume I of the proposal shall include all information required for the evaluation of the offeror’s Non-cost Proposal. It shall exclude any reference to the cost aspects of the proposal.

Each page of each copy should include the following legend:

Source Selection Information - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

The Non-cost evaluation factors are listed below in descending order of importance with corporate experience and past performance being of equal importance and the socio-economic plan being significantly less important than any other factor:

(a) Corporate Experience

The offeror shall demonstrate relevant corporate experience. Relevant corporate experience is experience within the past five years that is the same as, or similar to, the scope and magnitude of the work described by this solicitation.

To demonstrate its corporate experience, the offeror shall identify up to 5 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 shall provide a detailed explanation demonstrating the relevance of the contracts or efforts to the requirements of the solicitation. If subcontractor experience is provided as part of the 5 of its most relevant contracts or efforts, the subcontractor experience will be given weight relative to the scope and magnitude of the aspects of the work under the solicitation that the subcontractor is proposed to perform. Therefore, the offeror’s proposal shall detail clearly the aspects of the work in the solicitation that the subcontractor is proposed to perform. It is the offeror’s responsibility to adequately explain the relevance of a reference provided for a subcontractor’s corporate experience/past performance to the effort that the subcontractor is proposed to perform under the solicitation.

The corporate experience references will be evaluated in the aggregate in order to allow offerors who may not have the entire scope and magnitude of the requirement under one individual contract to still be considered acceptable if experience with the full scope and magnitude of the requirement can be demonstrated within the allotted number of references as described above.

The offeror should complete a “Corporate Experience and 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. Relevant references submitted under the Corporate Experience factor will also be considered in the evaluation of Past Performance. Only a single set of up to three references shall be submitted.

The corporate experience proposed for each offeror will be used to assess the extent of the offeror’s understanding of the scope and magnitude of the requirement and the extent of risk of unsuccessful performance.

NOTE: The Corporate Experience factor is defined by what relevant experience the offeror has gained under specific contracts within the five years immediately preceding the submission of its proposal; while the Past Performance factor, identified below, is defined by how well the offeror has performed over those five years. The primary focus of the Past Performance evaluation will be on those contracts identified in the proposal that are found to be relevant to the solicitation’s requirements. While Corporate Experience and Past Performance are separate evaluation factors, they principally focus on different aspects of the same contracts. Accordingly, offerors shall submit a single set of corporate experience and past performance information (maximum of 5 of its most relevant contracts) to satisfy the submission requirements for both factors.

(b) Past Performance

The offeror shall demonstrate relevant past performance or affirmatively state that it possesses no relevant past performance. Relevant past performance is performance under contacts or efforts (within the past five years) that is of similar scope and magnitude to that which is described in the solicitation (as defined under the Corporate Experience factor). The Government will evaluate the relevant references submitted under Corporate Experience factor. Only a single set of up to 5 references shall be submitted.

The offeror should address its past performance in complying with requirements of the clauses at FAR 52.219-8, "Utilization of Small Business Concerns," and 52.219-9, "Small Business Subcontracting Plan."

(c) Socio-Economic Plan

The offeror shall address the extent of participation of small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, historically black colleges or universities and minority institutions, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses in performance of any resultant contract. The solicitation, however, does not require participation by such entities. The offeror shall provide targets, expressed as dollars and percentages of total contract value, for small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, historically black colleges or universities and minority institutions, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses in any of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Major Groups as determined by the Department of Commerce. The targets may provide for participation by a prime contractor, joint venture partner, teaming arrangement member, or subcontractor. Targets will be incorporated into and become part of any resultant contract.

If the offeror fails to provide targets for the contract and/or any of the seven socio-economic factors, the offeror's proposal will be evaluated at zero percent and/or zero dollars for the contract and/or any socio-economic factor for which a target is not provided. However, an offeror that provides no socio-economic plan in response to this factor may be considered ineligible for award.

(2) Volume II – Price/Cost

Each page of each copy of Volume II should include the following legend:

Source Selection Information - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

The Cost Proposal in Volume II shall include the solicitation pricing pages completed by the offeror and a complete and detailed breakdown of the offeror’s cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) with all supporting documentation. The offeror’s cost proposal shall not deviate from the level of effort set forth in Section B of the solicitation. The cost proposal shall support the Non-cost proposal. The cost proposal shall include all elements of cost and such other cost information as considered appropriate to support the offeror’s proposal. The burden of proof for establishing the realism of all proposed costs rests with the offeror. The cost and pricing information shall be completed in accordance with the following:

(a) Separate cost and pricing information shall be submitted for each of the 5-years in the ordering period specified in the Solicitation Section B – Supplies or Services and Prices.

(b) Supporting data including labor rates and hours, burden rates, material lists and costs, travel charges, and “other direct costs” used in developing the price/cost breakdown shall be furnished. The supporting data for “other direct costs” shall include an itemization of those costs and an explanation and justification for each cost so itemized.

(c) Uncompensated Overtime. Uncompensated overtime is not encouraged as work schedules averaging more than 40 hours per week can, over a period of time, lead to degradation of performance. Pursuant to FAR 52.237-10, “Identification of Uncompensated Overtime,” offerors are reminded (1) “Whenever there is uncompensated overtime, the adjusted hourly rate (including uncompensated overtime), rather than the hourly rate, shall be applied to all proposed hours, whether regular or overtime hours”, (2) “All proposed labor hours subject to the adjusted hourly rate (including uncompensated overtime) shall be identified as either regular or overtime hours, by labor categories, and described at the same level of detail. This is applicable to all proposals whether the labor hours are at the prime or subcontract level. This includes uncompensated overtime hours that are in indirect cost pools for personnel whose regular hours are normally charged direct.” In that 52.237-10 requires that the offeror’s accounting practices used to estimate uncompensated overtime be consistent with the offeror’s cost accounting practices used to accumulate and report uncompensated overtime hours, each offeror proposing on the basis of uncompensated overtime should provide evidence of that consistency. Also, pursuant to FAR 52.237-10, each offeror proposing on the basis of uncompensated overtime is required to include a copy of its policy addressing uncompensated overtime with its proposal. To the extent that an offeror is proposing on the basis of uncompensated overtime, the offeror shall explain why the use of uncompensated overtime will not degrade the level of technical expertise required to fulfill the Government’s requirements.

(d) Direct Labor Rates. In order to verify the realism of the offeror's proposed direct labor rates, all offerors should submit, as part of their Cost Proposal, documentation substantiating the realism of their proposed direct labor rates. To the extent that an Offeror is proposing a subcontractor on a cost-reimbursement basis, the documentation substantiating the accuracy of the subcontractor’s proposed direct labor rates is also requested. Acceptable documentation may include the following:

(1) Payroll data (if proposing current, named employees)

(2) Actual billing records showing direct labor rates (if proposing current, named employees).

(3) Copies of signed Letters of Intent that indicate agreed upon annual salary (if proposing named, new hires)

(4) Copies of current or prior fiscal year DCMA Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA), the offeror’s Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (FPRP), Provisional Billing Rate Approval or Provisional Billing Rate Submission, whichever is most recent.

In addition to the foregoing, the offeror should explain why it believes its proposed direct labor rates are realistic for the requirements to be performed, considering the technical and experiential qualifications necessary to accomplish the taskings.

In accordance with FAR 52.222-46 “Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees,” Offerors shall submit a total compensation plan setting forth salaries and fringe benefits proposed for the professional employees who will work under the Contract, including first-tier subcontractor employees. Supporting information should include data such as recognized national and regional compensation surveys and studies of professional, public and private organizations used in establishing the total compensation structure. The compensation levels proposed should reflect a clear understanding of work to be performed and should indicate the capability of the proposed compensation structure to obtain and keep suitably qualified personnel to meet mission objectives. The salary rates or ranges must take into account differences in skills, the complexity of various disciplines, and professional job difficulties. Offerors are cautioned that lower compensation for essentially the same professional work may indicate lack of sound management judgment and lack of understanding of the requirement. Professional compensation that is unrealistically low or not in reasonable relationship to the various job categories may impair the Contractor’s ability to attract and retain professional service employees, and thus, may be viewed as evidence of failure to comprehend the complexities of the contract requirements. Failure to comply with these provisions may constitute sufficient cause to justify rejection of a proposal.

(e) Indirect Costs. In order to verify the realism of the Offeror’s proposed indirect rates, all Offerors should submit, as part of their Cost Proposal, documentation substantiating the accuracy of its proposed indirect rates. To the extent that an Offeror is proposing a subcontractor on a cost-reimbursement basis, the documentation substantiating the accuracy of the subcontractor’s proposed indirect rates is also required. Acceptable documentation may include the following:

(1) Copies of current or prior fiscal year DCMA Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA), the offeror’s Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (FPRP), Provisional Billing Rate Approval or Provisional Billing Rate Submission, whichever is most recent.

(2) If none of the documentation identified in paragraph (1) above is available, historical indirect data, to include provisional rates, actual incurred rates, and annual incurred cost claims (if submitted), shall be provided for the three years prior to the Offeror's current fiscal year. This data should include the all of the Offeror's indirect rates as applicable to the Offeror's accounting system. If proposing indirect rates significantly different from recent incurred rates, Offerors shall include a detailed explanation and supporting cost data (including budget information).

If the offeror is proposing subcontracts on other than a CPFF basis, the offeror should submit information as to whether the rates for the subcontractors are fixed based on a firm bilateral agreement with the subcontractor or merely proposed. In addition, the offeror shall explain why it believes the subcontractor can perform at those rates.

(f) For proposal purposes, the following ratios of Contractor facility and Government facility labor performance are established for all labor categories:

**See PWS**

(g) The offeror shall use the following estimated costs for travel and material amounts in preparing its cost proposal. These estimated amounts will be used as common evaluation amounts in all offerors’ proposals; the amounts specified below include no associated indirect costs. The offeror shall include the estimated travel and ODC costs specified below in its cost proposal, and load the costs appropriately with indirect costs. The estimated amounts below, plus indirect costs, as determined cost realistic by the Government, will be used in the evaluation of proposals, and will be included in resultant contracts as “not-to exceed” amounts under which the offeror will be permitted to invoice its actual costs.

Travel ODCs

**See PWS**

(i) Travel estimated above is for travel and subsistence associated with performance under any resultant contract which will be reimbursed in accordance with the PWS text entitled “Reimbursement of Travel Costs.”

(ii) ODCs estimated above is for incidental material and special materials as defined in the PWS text entitled, “Allowability of Material and General Business Expenses” and elsewhere in the solicitation.

(iii) Any offeror having an accounting system which includes, within its indirect costs, travel and/or material shall specifically state this fact within the cost proposal.

(h) Any and all subcontracts identified in the Non-cost proposal shall be identified and priced in the cost proposal. Subcontracts (regardless of dollar value) shall be adequately documented. Subcontractor cost breakdowns may be submitted in separate sealed envelopes.

(i) If the offeror is currently being audited, or has been audited, by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), the name and location of the assigned DCAA office should be furnished with the cost proposal.

(j) The offeror shall demonstrate that, as required by FAR 16-301-3(a)(3), its accounting system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract. If the offeror has an accounting system that has been determined by DCAA to be adequate for a cost reimbursement contract, the offeror should provide documentation of DCAA’s determination. If an offeror’s accounting system has not been determined, by DCAA, to be adequate for determining costs applicable to cost reimbursement contracts, the offeror will be considered ineligible for contract award. If the offeror’s accounting system has not been determined by DCAA to be adequate for determining costs applicable to cost reimbursement contracts, the offeror shall complete and submit an SF 1408 attached hereto as part of the Volume II, Cost Proposal.

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