Questions_R-0060_Answered.docx

1. Will the government provide the applicable Wage Determination Schedule?

The government intends to remove the SCA language in an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

2. On Attachment P1 – Cost Summary Worksheet, on the Summary tab there are cells for information on CLINS X001-X005, however there is a CLIN X000 – Working Capital Fund in Section B. Can we add a line to this summary to account for those costs?

The Government will be issuing an amendment to the solicitation revising CLIN structure, please monitor www.fbo.gov.

3. On Attachment P1 – Cost Summary Worksheet, on the Cost Summary Spreadsheet tab, it is requested that we enter data for the base and option years. Does the government want to see each year broken out by CLIN, or just a sum total for each year?

For proposal purposes, the Government requires each year broken out by CLIN.

4. On Attachment P1 – Cost Summary Worksheet, on the Cost Summary Spreadsheet tab – can we switch the lines for Overhead and Fringe Benefits to more accurately show the application of those rates based on our DCAA approved rate structure?

Making that change would be acceptable to show DCAA approved rate structure.

5. Please provide clarity on the exact number of past performance references expected. Section L, Volume 2: PAST PERFORMANCE, sub-section 2.1 states “the offeror shall submit three (3) summaries of past performance similar in size, scope, and/or complexity, which are ongoing or were completed within the last five (5) years for itself and its principal subcontractors and critical team members, if any.” Are we to interpret this to mean that if we have a principal subcontractor or critical team member that we are to submit 3 references for the offeror (us as Prime) and 3 references for each principal subcontractor and each critical team member? Or are we to interpret this to mean that in combination we are only to submit 3 total references inclusive of the offeror and our principal subcontractors and team members? If 3 references are required from each entity, does the page count remain at 3 pages per past performance summary regardless of the number of past performances required to be submitted?

At least 3 total references with at least one from the prime, work as a subcontractor may be submitted.

6. Please provide clarity on whether past performance as a subcontractor can be submitted. Section L, Volume 2: PAST PERFORMANCE, sub-section 2.1 states “The offeror shall submit three (3) summaries of past performance similar in size, scope, and/or complexity, which are ongoing or were completed within the last five (5) years for itself and its principal subcontractors and critical team members, if any. Commercial contracts may be included. All summaries should be efforts that were performed as a prime contractor.” Are we to interpret this to mean that for the Offeror’s (us as Prime) past performance references that we may only submit references where we, the offeror, performed as a prime contractor? Further, if we are submitting references of a principal subcontractor or team member, must the reference they are submitting have been for work they (the principal subcontractor or team member) performed as a prime or will work they performed as a subcontractor on a recent and relevant contract be permitted?

Reference Question 5.

7. Question: The proposal delivery date/time are stated to be 10 October 2016 at 2:00 local time; hard copy submission is required. Per Section C, paragraph 11.2, the submission date is a Federal Holiday (Columbus Day). As a result, hard copy delivery will not be possible after 7 October or before 11 October. To preclude unnecessary travel before or during this holiday weekend, request the Government extend the delivery date until 13 October at the earliest.

The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov. as this will be addressed.

8. According to the proposal submission requirements on page 1. Submission deadline is 10 October 2016 (with a hand deliver option) however, this is a Federal holiday (Columbus Day). Would the government consider extending the submission deadline to 11 October 2016?

Reference Question 7

9. The due date for this effort is a federal holiday, Columbus Day, October 10. Could the Government consider an alternative due date?

Reference Question 7

10. Page 94, Volume 2: Past Performance: states that “all summaries should be efforts that were performed as a prime contractor”. In an environment that relies heavily on teaming relationships, there are some small businesses that rely deeply on subcontracting efforts and may not have 3 recent priming contracts that are similar in size and magnitude to this effort. Would the Government consider allowing the Past Performances to be equally complex sub-contracting efforts?

Reference Question 5

11. Page 93, Management Plan, Section 1.3.4 Small Business Utilization Strategy – as this is a small business set aside, and per FAR 52.219-14, on a service contract, a small business must perform “at least 50% of the cost of the contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern”, would the government agree this section would be redundant and unnecessary? Could the Government consider removing this section?

No. This section is required and will not be removed.

12. Page 30, Section 15.0 Personnel Qualifications, lists SCA in parenthesis on four of the labor categories; does the Government intend to provide us with a Wage Determination for this solicitation?

Reference Question 1

13. Page 89, Section 3.0 Paragraph 2, last sentence states: Proposal pages beyond the specified maximum limit will not be reviewed as part of the evaluation” but the table below states that page counts are “recommended”. Could the Government clarify if page counts are recommended or required?

The government intends to remove that language in an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

14. Section A – Page 2 - (1) indicates that “This acquisition is a 100% Small Business Set-Aside that will result in placement of a single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract. Both completion and term task orders will be issued under this single award task order contract.” Section M – Page 106 – 1.0 General also states that “The Government expects to select one Offeror on the basis of its proposal providing the “best value” to the Government, all factors considered.” However, the Government has cited in Section H – Page 55 – the DFARS clause at 252.216-9507 FAIR OPPORTUNITY PROCEDURES (NAVAIR)(AUG 2001) which implies individual task orders will be competed under the subsequent IDIQ contract. We believe the inclusion of DFARS 252-216-9507 was cited in error. Would the Government please confirm that our understanding is correct or provide clarification?

The government intends to remove this clause in an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

15. Page 98, Price/Cost - 3.4 states “The Offeror shall provide a Total Compensation Plan in accordance with FAR 52.222-46 for each proposed professional employee.” We assume this requirement applies only to the prime offeror. Please confirm that our understanding is correct.

This applies to every offeror, not only to the Prime. Every company must have a Total Compensation Plan in accordance with FAR 52.222-46 for each proposed professional employee.

16. Section B, Level of Effort Labor Category table (p. 10-11) and Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 3.7.2 Labor Hours (p. 100-101) identify the Administrative Assistant, Graphics Artist, Technical Writer III, and Travel Clerk III as Service Contract Act (SCA) covered labor categories. However, FAR clause 52.222-41 Service Contract Act of 1965, As Amended has not been included in the solicitation. Will the Government confirm that the solicitation is covered by the Service Contract Act and identify the applicable wage determination?

Reference Question 1

17. Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 1.3.4 SB Utilization Strategy (p. 93) and Section M, paragraph 1.3 Management Plan (p. 108) identify a requirement to address a Small Business Utilization Strategy. Since this is a small business procurement, will the Government remove this requirement from the solicitation?

Reference Question 12

18. Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 2.1 (p. 94) states, “The offeror shall submit three (3) summaries of past performance…” Will the government please clarify if the requirement is to submit three (3) summaries for the Prime and three (3) summaries from each principal subcontractor and critical team member, or three (3) total summaries for the proposal?

Reference Question 5

19. Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 2.1 (p. 94) states, “…for itself and its principal subcontractors and critical team members, if any.” Will the Government please define critical team members?

“Critical Team Members” will be changed to “Critical Subcontractors.” Critical Subcontractors are defined as subcontractor that performs a critical function in the performance of the resulting contract, whether it is technical or financial, and/or that have important roles in any high or medium risk areas identified in the Offeror’s proposal. The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on FedBiz Ops (FBO).

20. Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 3.7.2 Labor Hours (p. 100-101) provides two Labor Hours tables. The Annual CLIN Hours Per Year table’s “Total Hours” column reflects the total number of hours from the previous 5 Year Ordering Period table’s “Total Hours” column. Will the government correct the Annual CLIN table “Total Hours” column?

This table will be corrected in the coming amendment, please watch for this on www.fbo.gov in the coming days.

21. Section M, Part B, paragraph 2.0 Past Performance (p. 108) identifies the third aspect of past performance evaluation is to evaluate overall quality to include “utilization of small business” (sub element 5). Since this is a small business procurement, will the Government remove sub element 5) “utilization of small business” from the past performance evaluation?

Reference Question 12

22. Section M, Part B, paragraph 3.5 tripwire table (p. 110) identifies the hourly tripwire rates by functional area. The column in the table for “Solicitation Labor Category” has been left blank. Will the Government provide the solicitation labor categories that belong in each functional area?

The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation that will address this in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

23. Section L 3.7.2 Labor Hours. The RFP states that for evaluation purposes, the contractor shall propose the labor categories/hours as outlined below and then shows a matrix breaking out labor categories by the various CLINS. However on Attachment P1 Cost Summary Spreadsheet, Summary Tab, it appears to be asking only for the final, 5-year total summarized for each CLIN. Does the government need to see the pricing broken out by labor category and CLIN? And if so, should that be a separate attached spreadsheet, or included in Attachment P1 on the Summary Tab?

The Government will be issuing an amendment to the solicitation revising CLIN structure, please monitor www.fbo.gov.

24. Section L, Part B, paragraph 1.3 Management Plan, contains the following redundancies:

paragraph 1.3.1.7 and paragraph 1.3.3 require the same information; paragraph 1.3.1.8 and paragraph 1.3.2.1 require the same information; paragraph 1.3.1.9 and paragraph 1.3.5 require the same information. Does the Government require the topics of these paragraphs to be addressed in both places or can a reference to the succeeding paragraphs be mentioned in the paragraphs within Section 1.3.1?

The Government requires the topics to be answered in both places.

25. Page 15, Section 3.3.2, “Provide weekly labor planning for civilian and military personnel using MS Excel and Navy ERP to…”. Is MS Excel the only required tool to be used in conjunction with Navy ERP for the weekly labor planning inputs; can the Contractor use other tools with Navy ERP for the entries?

Other tools may be used in conjunction with Navy ERP but they must be compatible with current MS Excel reporting. The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

26. Page 22, Section 9.2, “Web sites/servers hosted/located in contractor facilities, or outside NAVAIR enclave, will transition to NAVAIR architecture in accordance with Legacy Shutdown guidance.” Is it permitted for the Government to direct the transition of legacy platforms to conform to the NAVAIR architecture without providing the means/funding for this to occur? Depending on the scale, the transition can be very costly to Small Businesses.

This is a NAVAIR requirement, as such the transition would be a governments cost.

27. Page 22, Section 9.3, “Any tools developed that will be hosted by NMCI…will be certified for NMCI…” Certifying Agency costs can be high; will the Government provide funding or reimburse the Contractor for certification costs?

This is a NAVAIR requirements and a government owned system. These would be developed at Government cost.

28. Page 94, Section L – Past Performance, 3.2 – “For all contracts identified, the offeror will complete items numbered 1 through 8 on page 1 of the Past Performance Questionnaire Package for Services (Attachment P3) and forward the 2 pages to that contract customer’s Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).” Traditionally, Questionnaires are required only for contract references that do not have current CPARS posted. Would the Government consider amending this requirement so only contracts without current (within the past 12 months) CPARS submit Questionnaires?

All offerors must complete the Past Performance Questionnaire Package for Services (Attachment P3).

29. Page 99, Price/Cost, 3.5 Use of Government Furnished Property – this section of the RFP states that the offeror must provide a list of all GFE, GFI, and GFP that will be required during the duration of the contract, including part numbers and where it will be located. It seems that this requirement gives an advantage to the incumbent contractor as only they will know the specific locations and part number of what is currently being used within the CI&IDS program office. Would the government consider removing this requirement or provide a list of what is currently being used within the program?

Government Furnished Property is a cost factor and as such must be considered when reviewing proposals. The Government requires this information to understand and plan for what may be required by the contractor to perform the duties within the SOW. This is an opportunity to request GFE,GFI, or GFP if necessary.

30. Section C, paragraph 8.1 Government Furnished Property (p. 21) states the government “…will provide 40 spaces at its facility for this effort.” However, Section L, Part B, sub paragraph 3.7.2 Labor Hours (p. 100) states a work-year is defined as 1,920 hours and total estimated hours is 432,000 for the entire effort (five years). Dividing the annual hours by 1920 hours results in 45 FTEs. Will the government clarify where the remaining five (5) personnel will be seated?

The government will provide up to 40 spaces onsite and 5 spaces may be offsite or at contractor facility.

31. Section C, paragraph 13.1, Personnel Security (p. 29) states all Key Personnel must obtain a Secret clearance within sixty days of award. Paragraph 15.0 Personnel Qualifications, subparagraph 3 (p. 30) states all Key Personnel must have appropriate security clearance at time of award. Will the Government please clarify when security clearances are required for Key Personnel?

Key personnel must have appropriate clearance at time of award; non-key personnel must be able to obtain appropriate clearance within one year after contract award. The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.

32. Section C, paragraph 13.1 Personnel Security (p. 29) states all personnel required to work at the Government’s site must, at a minimum, obtain an Interim Secret Clearance. Paragraph 15 Personnel Qualifications, subparagraph 3 (p. 30) states all non-key personnel must be able to obtain the appropriate security clearances as stated on the DD Form 254 within one year after contract award. Paragraph 3.0 Technical Requirements (p. 14) last sentence, states requested services are to be performed onsite at NAWCAD facilities. Will the Government please clarify where personnel who do not have a clearance will be working while they are waiting for their clearance?

Contractor’s will sit at the Government facility while clearance is being processed but may have limited access

33. Section L, Part A, proposal recommended page limits table (p. 89) has a recommended page limit of 10 pages for a workforce narrative. Section M, Part B: Specific Information, sub paragraph 1.2 Workforce (p. 107) does not define what is required in the workforce narrative. Will the Government define the requirements of the workforce narrative?

Offerors shall provide a narrative describing the qualifications of the program manager and any other key personnel of the organization that are being proposed for this effort, detail their specific experience in meeting the requirements of the SOW and how they plan to retain these personnel.

34. Section L, Part A, paragraph 3.0 Proposal Content and Volumes, provides an example Cross Reference Matrix (CRM) (p. 90). Since all of the CLINS are identified as being applicable to all of the SOW elements, will the government provide the specific CLIN mapping to the SOW subparagraphs so that the offeror can properly fill out the Cross Reference Matrix?

The government intends to issue an amendment to the solicitation that will address this in the coming days so please watch for this on www.fbo.gov.