Final_Questions_Responses_N6133125R0001.pdf

Solicitation Q&A N6133125R0001

No further questions in response to the solicitation will be answered as of 31 January 2025.

Question from Cayuse Technologies on 1/15/2025:

1. “I have reviewed the published documents and have not been able to locate the Request for Proposal with instructions to o erors. Would you please advise where that is located, or provide if it is still to be released?”

Government Response 1/16 – “The solicitation document should be available now”.

Questions from Dawson Ohana on 1/24/2025

1. Should O erors include the signed SF33 and any amendments in Volume IV?

Government Response 1/27: Yes.

2. Can O erors include a title page for each volume in addition to a cover page?

Government Response 1/27: Title pages should not be included.

3. The table in section 3.0 describes a price proposal narrative; however it is not addressed under section 3.3. Will the Government please confirm O erors should include a price narrative in Volume III?

Government Response 1/27: A solicitation amendment will be issued to remove the requirement for a price proposal narrative.

4. The solicitation does not explicitly mention whether a iliate company experience will be considered in the evaluation of past performance. DFARS 215.305(a)(2) was updated on November 15, 2024, to include a new subparagraph (C), which mandates that contracting o icers consider relevant past performance information provided by a iliates of small business o erors during proposal evaluations. Will the Government please confirm o erors are permitted to include past performance from a iliate companies as long as the a iliate will have meaningful participation in the awarded contract and that such experience be evaluated and scored equally to the o eror's own past performance?

Government Response 1/27: O erors are permitted to include past performance from a iliate companies that will have meaningful participation. This past performance information, if submitted, will be considered during proposal evaluation. However, the past performance for the a iliate shall not count as one of the three (3) past performance records for the Prime O eror if three past performance records are available. All past performance references will be evaluated equally.

5. Could you clarify the past performance requirements for the prime contractor? Specifically, does the prime contractor need to submit three past performance references regardless of whether our subcontractor provides one past performance reference? Alternatively, would it be su icient for the o eror to submit three references total, including one from a subcontractor?

If three past performance records are available for the Prime Contractor, three past performance records should be submitted. Past performance records for subcontractors may be submitted in addition. If three past performance records are not available for the Prime Contractor, it would be su icient for three past performance records total to be submitted, to include one from a subcontractor.

6. Section L 3.3.1.vi requires "O erors shall fully complete and submit the Price Summary Format Excel Spreadsheet Attachments for the IDIQ, J.8 and the Task Order, J.9. O erors shall break out the profit dollar amount for the Task Order in the Attachment, J.9." However there does not seem to be any place within the RFP and attached documents that specifies the scope of work and/or level of e ort for the task order to be proposed on J.9. The labor table provided in L.1 appears to be IDIQ LOE ceiling limits, not actual LOE for the first task order. Is it the intent that o erors will provide a first task order price (J.9) that encompasses the entire LOE detailed in table L.1? We request the government provide further guidance to detail the task order requirements so that o erors may provide a fully informed cost proposal.

Government Response 1/27: The Base Year Level of E ort shown in Table L.1 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1 in Attachment J.9. In terms of scope of work, Attachment J.1 – PWS applies to the IDIQ and all Task Orders. Therefore, TO 1 encompasses all Task Areas of support in the PWS.

7. Does the requirement for portfolio submission (for Graphic Artists or Illustrators Qualifications ) apply to the proposal submission and if so, should the portfolio be included as part of the proposal document or submitted as a separate attachment? Additionally, if attachments are permitted, can a hyperlink be used as part of the attachment or would it need to be a PDF document?

Government Response 1/27: The portfolio submission applies to the proposal submission and should be submitted as a separate attachment. Hyperlinks will not be permitted.

8. The solicitation document references the title of this RFP as: ‘Corporate Operations Support Services’, while the Performance Work Statement (PWS) identifies the title as 'Corporate Operations Department Program Support.' Will the Government clarify which title is accurate for this solicitation?

Government Response 1/27: The title for this solicitation is “Corporate Operations Support Services”.

Questions from Five River Analytics on 1/24/2025

1. Will the Government please allow O errors to submit four Past Performance references to demonstrate a range of PWS requirements?

Government Response 1/27: O erors should submit three (3) Past Performance references for the Prime Contractor that are relevant, including details about how it is similar in scope and complexity to this solicitation's PWS. Additional Past Performance references for subcontractors will be permitted.

2. Will the Government please allow a 1-page introduction for Volume II - Past Performance (Factor 2)?

Government Response 1/27: No.

3. Section 3.1.3 states "O eror shall propose sta ing in accordance with the labor hours identified in Section B", however Section B does not detail hours. Please clarify which hours estimate O erors are to use in proposing their sta ing?

Government Response 1/27: Section L - 3.1.3 of the solicitation will be amended to state: "O eror shall propose sta ing in accordance with the labor hours identified in Table L.1 below".

4. Paragraph 3.3.1, iv states "O erors shall apply their mark-up rates (e.g. overhead, general and administrative, fringe, profit, etc.) to the unburdened ceiling amounts identified in Table L.2 below." Table L.2 provides unburdened ceiling amounts. Because these are FFP CLINs, will the Government please remove the requirement to complete the Attachment J.8 at the IDIQ-level?

Government Response 1/27: No. J.8 shall be completed to show the proposed pricing including burdens for the five-year IDIQ.

5. Attachment J.10 requires O erors to provide their proposed labor mix and supporting rationale. Within which volume should this attachment be submitted?

Government Response 1/27: The labor mix table in Attachment J.10 should be completed and included under Volume I - Technical Approach.

6. Does the Government want a Sta ing Plan at the IDIQ-level using the hours in table L-1 in RFP section 3.1.3 or at the TO-level with hours proposed by the O eror?

Government Response 1/27: The sta ing plan Attachment J.7 should be submitted at the IDIQ level.

7. The Sta ing Plan requires an RFP Labor Category to be listed as well as years of experience, degree, and certifications. However, no RFP Labor Categories or job descriptions are provided in the RFP. While there is a Task Area Breakout in paragraph 3.1.3 for labor hours, it is unclear what types of personnel should be bid per task or what requirements there are for the personnel (i.e., years of experience, certifications). Can the government please provide a list of RFP Labor Categories and job descriptions for the labor hours provided in Table L.1 to be able to complete the Sta ing Plan?

Government Response- 1/28: The Government is not going to provide the labor categories/job descriptions. Please refer to the Task Area Breakout Table L.1 under Section L, Paragraph 3.1.3 of the RFP.

8. For the labor hours listed in paragraph 3.1.3, Table L.1, the labor hours provided for tasks 3.2.1 (c), 3.2.2 (a), and 3.3.1 amount to additional hours beyond a full FTE-1080, 250 and 100 hours, respectively. Can the government confirm that these hours are overtime hours and should be bid as such?

Government Response – 1/28: The Government is not anticipating overtime.

Additional hours beyond a normal FTE should be bid as a part-time FTE.

Questions from Five Rivers Analytics on 31 Jan 2025:

9. Per the Government's response to Question 2 on page 6, "It is the intent for both the IDIQ and TO 1 to share the same PoP", and Question 7 on page 7, "The first TO will be a twelve month PoP covering all PWS Task Areas included in Attachment J.1 – PWS. The Base Year Level of E ort under Table L.1 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1. The Government intends to award the first TO at the same time as the IDIQ, but reserves the right to award at a later date." Will the Government please clarify if the TO 1 PoP is 1-year or 5-years?

Government Response: The Period of Performance for TO 1 is twelve months.

10. Will the Government please confirm the portfolio for the Graphics and Arts Illustration Support Key Personnel is outside of the Volume I - Technical page limit?

Government Response: The portfolio for the Graphics and Arts Illustration Key Personnel is outside of the Volume I – Technical page limit.

11. Per the Government's response to Question 6 on page 2, "The Base Year Level of E ort shown in Table L.1 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1 in Attachment J.9." Will the Government please clarify that since TO 1 equates to the base year scope that it should also equate to the base year in Table L.2 as well as the base year IDIQ pricing?

Government Response: The Base Year Labor Mix in Table L.1 shall be utilized for TO

1. The Base Year unburdened amounts in Table L.2 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1.

12. Per the Government's response to Question 8 on page 7, "The estimated unburdened ceilings in Table L.2 are for the IDIQ ceiling. O erors shall utilize the Base Year unburdened ceilings in Table L.2 for pricing TO 1", and Question 9 on page 8, "O erors shall include separate rows for the elements (travel and material) included in Table L.2 and then apply their mark-up rates and costs (i.e., Fringe, Overhead, G&A, profit, etc.) as applicable in Attachment J.8. The Base Year amounts included in L.2 shall be included in Attachment J.9 for TO 1. Mark-ups and burdens shall also be applied to the unburdened amounts for J.9. The Government will not specifically evaluate the mark-up rates, but will utilize the total burdened price to determine the TEP." Will the Government please clarify if O erors are supposed to use the Direct Labor in Table L.2 to price TO 1?

Government Response: Yes, see answer above.

Questions from Old Harbor Solutions LLC on 1/24/2025

1. Are the hours listed on Page 58 of the Solicitation, L.1 Estimated IDIQ Task Area Breakout, “3.0 Overall Support” associated with the Key Personnel Program Manager?

Government Response 1/27: The hours for 3.0 “Overall Support” are associated with the Key Personnel Program Manager.

2. Will the Government confirm there are 3 Key Personnel Resumes required to satisfy the requirements of 3.1.3 Element C - Personnel Approach ((1) Program Manager, (1) Facilities Engineering Technician, and (1) Graphic Artist / Illustrator)?

Government Response:

Government Response 1/27: Yes, a Key Personnel Resume for each Key Personnel position is required.

3. There are multiple labor categories included in the solicitation that will be designated as

SCA. If bidders are required to determine the exact SCA labor categories in their proposal, there is a risk that current employees on sta may not fall into the labor category selected by the bidder. The risk in this situation is current / incumbent employees will be required to take a pay reduction if a bidder selects a lower-level labor category than is currently being worked. Will the Government consider providing the SCA labor categories and SCA Occupation Code to be proposed to avoid this uncomfortable situation for the employees and a high risk of immediate employee turnover?

Government Response 1/27: The Government will not provide the SCA labor categories and occupation codes to be proposed.

4. Section 3.0 Proposal Organization and Content of the solicitation states that a Price Proposal Narrative should be submitted, however there are no narrative instructions. Can the government please provide guidance on the information they would like to see within the Price Proposal Narrative?

Government Response 1/27: A solicitation amendment will be issued to remove the requirement for a price proposal narrative.

5. The resulting contract is designated to be firm-fixed-price (FFP). If all hours proposed are not worked due to employee turnover and position vacancies on certain sections of the SOW (i.e. clerical work), will the government de-obligate these hours and associated price when this occurs?

Government Response 1/27: Yes, the Government will take deductions if there are vacancies longer than 30 days.

6. Will the government please confirm if invoicing will be on a firm fixed price monthly basis (i.e. the same monthly firm fixed price amount) or will invoicing only be for actual hours worked?

Government Response 1/27: Invoicing will be on a firm fixed price monthly basis.

7. Will the government please provide the PWS or direction as to which labor categories and hours should be included in the task order pricing?

Government Response 1/27: Please refer to Section J Attachment J.1 – PWS and the Solicitation L.1 hours and tasking breakout for the Base Year.

8. Do Personnel providing Personal Assistance Services (PAS) require any medical or similar certifications?

Government Response 1/27: No.

9. According to RFP page 59, Table L.1 Estimated IDIQ Task Area Breakout, 3.5.2 Fingerprinting is allocated 180 hours per year. However, Section 3.5.2 of the PWS states, “The Contractor shall support nationwide (including United States territories) SWFT fingerprinting at existing Contractor locations for up to 190 personnel annually, averaging 16 scans per month throughout the period of performance.” Will the Government confirm that 180 hours are the correct allocation for this labor category/PWS section per year?

Government Response 1/27: Confirming that 180 hours is the correct annual allocation for the Fingerprinting tasking at Table L.1, Task Area 3.5.2.

10. Is the Contractor allowed to hire a third-party solution for the fingerprinting requirements in Section 3.5 of the PWS as long as they are SWFT compliant?

Government Response 1/27: If the prime intends to subcontract any portion of the PWS, this shall be stated in the technical proposal and clearly identified as a subcontractor.

Questions from Pololei Solutions, LLC on 1/27/2025

1. CLIN 0001 states “Corporate Operations Support Services (COSS) - Direct Labor, Travel, and Material.” Under many acquisitions, Labor CLINs and Travel, Material, ODC CLINs are separate. Will the Government confirm if it is the intention to have a single CLIN for labor, travel, and material?

Government Response 1/27: Yes. The intent is to have one CLIN for labor, travel, and material. Priced SLINs may be used on Task Orders to delineate separate amounts under the Parent CLIN.

2. Section F identifies the Period of Performance (PoP) as 01 Dec 2025 to 30 Nov 2030.

Can the Government please clarify if this is the IDIQ PoP only, or the PoP for both the IDIQ and TO 1? If it is only for the IDIQ, will the Government please clarify the PoP for TO 1?

Government Response 1/27: It is the intent for both the IDIQ and TO 1 to share the same PoP.

3. The referenced section states “O eror shall propose sta ing in accordance with the labor hours identified in Section B.” Section B does not provide any labor hours. Can the Government please update Section B to include labor hours? Or, can the Government please clarify where the labor hours can be found?

Government Response 1/27: Section L - 3.1.3 of the solicitation will be amended to state: "O eror shall propose sta ing in accordance with the labor hours identified in Table L.1 below".

4. Given the amount of requirements to be addressed under Element B – Management

Approach, will the Government please increase the page limits for Element B to 20 pages? Or consider combining the total pages for Elements A and B to 40 pages collectively, so that o erors may utilize pages space as needed?

Government Response 1/27: No. O erors shall adhere to the page limits provided in Section L, paragraph 3.0.

5. Table L.1 is included in Section L, but there are no references throughout the solicitation regarding how it should or will be used. It does not require o erors to use it, and it does not state that o erors will be evaluated against it. Based on L.1’s title “Estimated IDIQ Task Area Breakout,” can the Government clarify if this is the level of e ort (LOE) o erors are to use for the IDIQ Pricing? If so, what LOE should o erors use for the TO Pricing?

Government Response 1/27: The hours in Table L.1 shall be utilized for the IDIQ pricing.

The hours for the Base Year in Table L.1 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1.

6. The first row of Table L.1 states “3.0 Overall Support” which presumably aligns to

Section 3 “Requirements” of the PWS. Since Table L.1 does not include a Program Manager position, but the Program Manager is considered Key Personnel, can the Government please confirm if this row should align with the Program Manager position?

Government Response 1/27: The hours for 3.0 “Overall Support” are associated with the Key Personnel Program Manager.

7. It is understood that this is a single award IDIQ, where Task Orders (TO) will be issued for specific work. Attachment_J.9 requires o erors to provide TO pricing. However, the RFP does not explicitly state what the first TO will consist of, and whether the TO pricing in Attachment_J.9 will be awarded when the IDIQ is awarded or if it is for evaluation purposes only. Therefore, it is not clear to o erors what the basis for the TO pricing in Attachment_J.9 should be. For planning purposes, can the Government please clarify what the requirements are for TO 1, and therefore what should be priced for TO 1? And when that TO will be awarded? If not all PWS services will be required under TO 1, can the Government please clarify when the services would be required under a separate

TO?

Government Response 1/27: The first TO will be a twelve month PoP covering all PWS Task Areas included in Attachment J.1 – PWS. The Base Year Level of E ort under Table L.1 shall be utilized for pricing TO 1. The Government intends to award the first TO at the same time as the IDIQ, but reserves the right to award at a later date.

8. Can the Government please clarify if the estimated unburdened ceilings in Table L.2 are for the IDIQ ceiling, and not for TO 1? Or are these estimated amounts for TO 1?

Government Response 1/27: The estimated unburdened ceilings in Table L.2 are for the IDIQ ceiling. O erors shall utilize the Base Year unburdened ceilings in Table L.2 for pricing TO 1.

9. Section L.3.3.1 Item iv. states “O erors shall apply their mark-up rates (e.g. overhead, general and administrative, fringe, profit, etc.) to the unburdened ceiling amounts identified in Table L.2 below.” Once mark-up rates are applied, will the Government please clarify where o erors are to provide the information from Table L.2, as there is not a location in Attachment_J.8 or J.9? Additionally, can the Government please clarify how these mark-ups will be evaluated, as Solicitation Section M.4, Factor 3, Price Proposal, does not state that Table L.2 will be evaluated or how it will be evaluated.

Instead, it states that J.8 and J.9 will be evaluated.

Government Response 1/27: O erors shall include separate rows for the elements (travel and material) included in Table L.2 and then apply their mark-up rates and costs (i.e., Fringe, Overhead, G&A, profit, etc.) as applicable in Attachment J.8. The Base Year amounts included in L.2 shall be included in Attachment J.9 for TO 1. Mark-ups and burdens shall also be applied to the unburdened amounts for J.9. The Government will not specifically evaluate the mark-up rates, but will utilize the total burdened price to determine the TEP.

10. RFP Solicitation Section M.4, Factor 3, Price Proposal, Item b. The referenced section states “The total evaluated price (TEP), for evaluation purposes, will be calculated by adding IDIQ Section B CLINs plus the total amount for the first Task Order (Attachment J.9). The Government will use the TEP in its award determination.”

Adding the IDIQ Section B CLINs plus the total amount for the first TO (Attachment_J.9) seems that it would create an over inflated price because it will count TO 1 cost, plus the IDIQ ceiling cost as priced in Section B. Will the Government please clarify how the TEP will be calculated and evaluated?

Government Response 1/27: Both the Section B pricing for the IDIQ and J.9 pricing for TO 1 need to be considered. Confirming that the pricing for the IDIQ Section B CLIN will be added to the pricing included in J.9 to calculate the TEP. As stated in Section M, Factor 3, paragraph (c), the Government will calculate the Median and standard deviation of all proposals. Any proposal that falls above one standard deviation from the Median will be considered unreasonably high and both the price and technical proposal will be eliminated from evaluation.

11. However, price reasonableness will be evaluated, and o erors who more than one standard deviation above the median (the middle value) will be deemed as too high.

Can the Government please clarify if this same approach will apply to prices more than one standard deviation below the mean? If this approach is applied to pricing that is too high, it seems that it would be applied to pricing that is too low, as low pricing can put awardee at performance risk and therefore the Government at risk.

Government Response 1/27: The Government will not evaluate whether O erors proposal prices are too low. The intent of price reasonableness evaluation is to determine whether an O eror’s TEP is too high.

12. Can the Government clarify if the labor described in this section (J.1 COSS PWS 3.2

Corporate Operations Support) is for the IDIQ or for TO 1?

Government Response 1/27: J.1 applies to the IDIQ and all Task Orders. Therefore, PWS

3.2 also applies to TO 1.

13. J.1 COSS PWS 3 (e) discusses both Contractor-operated vehicles, and Government

Furnished Vehicles. However, PWS Section 3.2.1 (c) states the Government will provide vehicles. Can the Government please confirm that contractor provided vehicles are not required?

Government Response 1/27: Contractor provided vehicles are not required.

14. RFP Attachment J.8 requires o erors to provide hours for each LCAT, for each period of the contract. As all work will be done under individual TOs and not at the IDIQ level, is it necessary to include hours and therefore total costs (hours multiplied by rate) at the IDIQ level? If the hours, and therefore the totals remain, how will the Government evaluate price, the IDIQ totals (J8) or TO totals (J9)?

Government Response 1/27: It is necessary to include all hours and total costs at the IDIQ level. All labor categories, hours, total costs, and mark-ups/burdens shall be included in J.8 for each period of the contract. All labor categories, hours, total costs, and mark-ups/burdens for the twelve month period of performance for TO 1 shall be included in J.9. The Section B CLIN 0001 pricing will take precedence should there be any discrepancies with any other pricing information submitted. The Government will add the pricing for CLIN 0001 and TO 1 (J.9) to calculate the TEP. The TEP will be used in the Government’s award determination.

15. Can the Government clarify if the labor mix in Table 1 is based on the historical labor mix of the incumbent contract? Or is the labor mix a Government estimate for all o erors to utilize?

Government Response 1/27: The Labor Mix in Table L.1 is based both on historical hours and the Government estimate for future requirements. All O erors shall utilize the Labor Mix in Table L.1 for pricing.