Questions_and_Answers_0001.docx

Government Answers to Industry Questions (Amendment 0001)

1. Solicitation Section L, paragraph 4.3.10.1 refers to the Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) goal. Please confirm that the SDB goal is referring to 5% of the total proposed subcontracted value, not of the total proposed contract value.

Yes, the SDB goal is referring to 5% of the total proposed subcontracted value.

2. Solicitation Section H page 42 of 87, ADDITION OR SUBSTITUTION OF KEY PERSONNEL (SERVICES) (NAVAIR)(OCT 2005) paragraph (c), asserts the Government's desire for no key personnel substitutions or additions during the term of the contract. The Level of Effort table on page 4 of 87 depicts four labor categories for key personnel. Please confirm that the same 30 key personnel employees shall be bid for all five years of the contract for a total of 284,640 hours.

Per Solicitation Section L, paragraph 2.2.3, “The Offeror shall submit resumes for all key personnel proposed to begin working under Task Order 0001 upon contract award, as noted in Attachment 9.” Therefore, there are 28.5 key personnel required at contract award, with one key position available under the IDIQ for additional surge for which Offerors are not required to submit a resume. Confirm, the same 28.5 key personnel shall be bid for all five years of the contract.

3. Solicitation Section A page 2 states an anticipated performance start date of 1 August 2017 (subject to change) whereas Section F, page 29 defines the Delivery Period beginning on 21 August 2017. Please confirm that offerors are to develop their cost proposals using the data from Section F, page 29 with a start date of 21 August 2017.

Offerors are to develop their cost proposals using the data from Section F, page 29 with a start date of 21 August 2017. Section A, page 2 will be updated to reflect this. (See Amendment 0001)

4. Given the disproportionate number of positions and key personnel located in the Mid-Atlantic region (VA/MD/DC), the worldwide dispersion of other positions, and the location of the KO in Patuxent River, MD, will the Government accept an offer that locates the PM in Norfolk?

The location requirement for the PM will not be changed.

5. Due to the complexity of this effort and the re-posting of all solicitation documents will the Government be willing to extend the deadline?

Yes. The Government will extend the proposal due date to 03 October 2016. (See Amendment 0001)

6. Per Table L4, page 71 or 87, Key personnel for Sr. Analyst = 9.65 Total FTEs. Per Attachments 9, the Key Sr. Analyst FTE's denoted equals 9.50 FTEs. Please clarify.

Table L4 outlines the labor categories and the total FTEs of each labor category required at contract award for Task Order 0001. The “*” symbol denotes Key labor categories, one of which includes the Sr. Analyst labor category. However, there are two Sr. Analyst positions (#91 and #92 located on Attachment 9) that are allocated at approximately 0.075 man-years each, which are not considered Key Personnel but are still included in the FTE total for Sr. Analyst LCAT in Table L4. Please note that Attachment 9 has been updated to show the LOE for these two positions at 0.075, vice rounding to 0.08. (See Amendment 0001, Attachment 9)

7. Per Attachment 8, Sections 2.8 Database Analyst labor category description states, “Database Analyst positions that are designated as “Key Personnel” shall also have working knowledge and the training of Naval Aviation maintenance and supply processes and their data systems.” Per Table L4, page 71 of 87 in the RFP, Database Analyst labor category is not designated as Key. Also, per Attachment 9, there are zero Database Analysts marked as Key Personnel. Can you please confirm that there are zero Database Analysts considered Key on this contract?

The labor category “Database Analyst” on this contract are not considered Key; however, the labor category “Sr. Database Analyst” is considered Key. The language in Attachment 8, Section 2.8 has been updated. (See Amendment 0001, Attachment 8)

8. We kindly request a two-week due date extension. This extension is requested as a result of the significant differences between the Draft RFP and Final RFP, and the substantial amount of “SOW sample tasks” required to be addressed. In addition, the requirement for key resumes is significant. This short period of time allotted for proposal preparation provides the incumbent contractor a significant competitive advantage and thus, hinders fair competition and the ability for the Government to receive the maximum amount of qualified proposals.

Yes. The Government will extend the proposal due date to 03 October 2016. (See Amendment 0001)

9. RFP Section 2.1, states that No fold-out pages are allowed. Would the Government consider allowing foldout pages for displaying POA&Ms required in Section 2.3.3, Transition-In Plan?

Yes, fold-out pages are allowable to display POA&Ms required in Section 2.3.3. (See Amendment 0001)

11. Are subcontractors permitted to cap their rates to the Prime Contractor for this proposal in an effort to stay within Tripwire guidance?

If an offeror chooses to cap a rate, they must provide an H-clause or an adequate certification that the cost will be a mutually agreeable unallowable cost on the contract. FAR 31.201-6 and 52.216-7.

12. Are Prime Contractors permitted to cap their own rates and those of their Subcontractors in an effort to stay within Tripwire guidance?

See the answer to Question 11.

13. Should the Navy change the overall tripwire limit during the performance period, would offerors be permitted to reprice at that time to incorporate new guidance?

The tripwire rates at time of Solicitation are the tripwire rates applicable to this effort.

14. Should offerors assume the tripwire rates provided are for the base year only? If so, what escalation rate should we apply to the tripwire rates for the option years?

As Section M, Part B, Paragraph 3.6.1 states, “Any calculated fully burdened annualized labor rate exceeding NAVAIR's Functional Area tripwires may require additional review and approval.” This includes all years, not just the base year. Please see Attachment 13, Fully Burdened Labor Rates, for more information.

15. Can we bid for a portion of the requirement or do we have to subcontract with the incumbent?

Per the Solicitation, this is a full and open competition. Offerors that only submit for a portion of the work will not be considered.

16. The NAE Staffing Plan requires a fully staffed proposal with 33% of the personnel being Key, is there any way to reconsider/revisit the staffing/key personnel requirement in the NAE RFP to allow for greater competition?

This contract supports complex and integrated efforts to assess, analyze, facilitate and produce and/or improve critically required readiness across Naval Aviation. The senior personnel perform an indispensable role in the success of the NAE in support of Navy and Marine Corps leadership. These billets support efforts across multiple nonhomogeneous cross-functional teams that work directly with leadership at the USN and USMC O-9 level. The importance of these key personnel demands necessary scrutiny of qualifications and stability of the workforce in order to provide the right quality of services.