Questions_and_Answers__1-20_to_Solicitation_0027.docx

Questions and Answers to Solicitation N64498-18-R-0027 Amendment 1 to the solicitation will follow and will include the following questions/answers No. 1-20.

Amendment 1 will also extend the closing date of the Solicitation to 11 July 2018.

1. Page 21 of 99, Section C – 14.0: Are offeror’s required to propose to the labor categories and hours presented in the LOE table?

ANSWER: The RFP states “For the purposes of preparing a cost proposal, the Offeror should assume that the following number and mix of labor hours will be required over a sixty (60) month contract ordering period. The total estimated composition of the total man hours of direct labor is as follows: [LOE CHART]”. The RFP will be amended to include the following statement “Offerors are to propose on the labor categories and hour estimates provided in the LOE. Offerors who propose other than the specified LOE may be considered nonresponsive.”

1. Request to know if Offeror’s questions and the Government’s answers, that don’t require a modification to the RFP, can be posted in FedBizOps as they come in/are adjudicated or in batches once or twice a week. If not, request to know if extension(s) can be made at the due date minus 14 calendar day if posted questions are not yet fully answered. Given the requirement for hard copy submissions and the associated processing time and proposal production and shipping costs for sealed packages, either of these two approaches would be very helpful.

ANSWER: Answers to questions and revisions to the RFP, if required, will be posted as quickly as possible to allow interested vendors time to develop their proposals.

1. Page 74 of 99 lists “252.215-7009 Proposal Adequacy Checklist JAN 2014” in the CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. Would the Government consider waiving this requirement? If not, please advise where (in what volume) offerors are to provide this information, and please confirm that the checklist is excluded from any proposal page limitations.

ANSWER: 252.215-7009 Proposal Adequacy Checklist is not required for this procurement and shall be removed from the RFP in Amendment 1.

1. Page 81 of 99, Section L.2.3, requires electronic (CD-ROM) copies of each volume. How many CD copies are required for each volume?

ANSWER: One (1) CD per volume should be submitted. The CD should be submitted with the volume that is labeled “original”. CDs for “copies” are not required.

1. Page 83 of 99, Section L.3.2.1 states: “If the individual is not currently employed by the Offeror, include a letter of intent signed by both the offeror and the contingency hire.” Please confirm that Letters of Intent are not required for currently employed subcontractor personnel.

ANSWER: Correct, a letter of intent is not required for employed subcontractor personnel. However, a letter of intent would be required if the individual is not currently employed by the subcontractor.

6. Would the Government please confirm Offerors should submit Attachment 4: Declaration of Non-Collusion Certification in Volume I, Proposal Documents?

ANSWER: This is correct. Offerors should submit Attachment 4: Declaration of Non-Collusion Certification in Volume I, Proposal Documents.

7. Would the Government please confirm that (per page 80, L.2.1 Paragraph 3 - list of exclusions from page limitations) the entire “Subfactor C – Small Business Subcontracting Commitment” is excluded from the technical proposal page count (including section L.3.3.4.2 SMALL BUSINESS COMMITMENT PAST PERFORMANCE narrative)?

ANSWER: Supporting documentation such as Attachment 3 (Small Business Participation Commitment Document) and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan are excluded from the page limit. Any narrative associated with the subfactor is not excluded.

8. Page 79 of the RFP, L.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS states, “Cost/pricing information should only be present in the Cost Volume.” Page 84 Section L.3.3.4.1 requires completion and submission of the SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION COMMITMENT DOCUMENT (SBPCD) (Attachment 3), which requires dollar value amounts to be shown. Would the Government please clarify whether Attachment 3 should in fact be included in Subfactor C as part of Volume II, or if it should be included in the Cost Volume?

ANSWER: Attachment 3 should be included as part of the Volume II submission found within Subfactor C.

9. Page 79 of the RFP, L.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS states, “Cost/pricing information should only be present in the Cost Volume.” Page 85 Section L.3.3.4.2 “Small Business Commitment Past Performance” lists the requirement for Large Businesses to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan, which per FAR 52.219-9 requires dollar values to be shown in the plan. Would the Government please clarify which Volume the Government intends for offerors to submit the Small Business Subcontracting Plan?

ANSWER: The Small Business Subcontracting Plan should be included as part of the Volume II submission found within Subfactor C.

10. Section L.2, On page 80 of the first paragraph states “…single-spaced at 1 with spacing before and after paragraphs set at -0- and left aligned paragraphs.” Would the Government please confirm that if Offerors set the Paragraph spacing for both Before and After the paragraph at 0 pt, there is not a need for a hard return between paragraphs, and the proposal submission would still be deemed compliant?

ANSWER: There should be a space between paragraphs. Section L will be revised accordingly to say: “Proposals shall be prepared on standard 8-1/2” by 11’ paper, set at single-spaced with 1” width spacing before and after paragraphs and 0” left and right Indent.”

11. Attachment 3 to the RFP, the Small Business Participation Commitment Document, includes both a Data Validation List (i.e., drop-down menu) on the Direct Labor tab and formulas on the Summary tab that will total values for a given subcontractor in only one socio-economic category. It is not uncommon for small businesses to be eligible for multiple socio-economic categories (e.g., both SDVOSB and VOSB), but the Attachment 3 will not total the figures in this manner. May offeror change the drop-down menu and/or formulas in the spreadsheet to better display their commitment to small business participation?

ANSWER: Offerors are not allowed to change the sheet or double count the socio-economic categories. Please note that an updated/corrected Small Business Participation Commitment Document has been provided and the Offerors shall use the revised document.

12. Multiple instructions to offeror, such as that found in L.2, state that the “Non-Cost/Price Volumes of a proposal shall not contain any reference to cost.” Volume 2, Technical Approach, Subfactor C, Small Business Subcontracting Commitment, however directs that the SBPCD be included in this Non-Cost volume. The SBPCD contains both the offeror’s total cost proposed, as well as proposed costs by socio-economic category. Would it not be more appropriate for the SBPCD to be an attachment to Volume IV, Cost/Price, than Volume II, Technical Approach?

ANSWER: Attachment 3 should be included as part of the Volume II submission found within Subfactor C.

13. May offerors whose corporate offices are not located in Philadelphia ship their proposals to the point of contract listed in Block 7 of the SF-33? If so, please confirm whether USPS/UPS/FedEX is able to ship to this location, and whether the POC will be available to receive package on Friday, 22 June and/or Monday, 25 June.

ANSWER: Proposals should be mailed in accordance with RFP Block 9 to the point of contact in Block 7.

14. Please confirm whether or not offerors are to proposed indirect burdens in addition to the ODCs in CLIN 0002. There appears to be a conflict between Note 5 on page 3 (“… the Government will add the Offeror’s proposed indirect burden costs to the stated base support costs”) and CLIN 0002 on page 4 (“This is a Not-To-Exceed (NTE) amount).

ANSWER: Yes, the offeror should proposed indirect burdens to the Not-To Exceed amount identified in CLIN 0002.

15. Regarding page formatting, L.2.1 states that “Foldout may be used for… material only that could not be depicted otherwise on a standard 8 ½” by 11” paper … [and] shall not exceed 11” by 17”. L.2.3(e) states “when printed … each spreadsheet shall not exceed 8.5 x 11 inch paper.” Since the Cost Summary is a large spreadsheet, would the government consider allowing 11” x 17” for the Cost Summary.

ANSWER: Yes, the cost summary can be submitted on 11”x17” per Section L.2.1 (page 80 to the RFP) that states “Foldouts shall fold from left to right (sideways), shall not exceed 11”x17” and shall count as two pages.

16. Sections A Note 1, C.11, and F contain information regarding the period of performance and the ordering period, but all such references are relative to an undefined planned award date. For pricing purposes, a planned award date is necessary to calculate various cost factors, such as indirect rates and escalation. Would the government please specify a planned award date, or should offerors stated an assumed award date within the 180 day proposal validity period (e.g., 01 October, 2018) in our proposal?

ANSWER: Offerors should assume that award will be within the 180 proposal validity, roughly around November 2018.

17. Section L.3.3.4.2 directs large business offerors to “provide Individual Subcontracting Reports (ISRs) submitted within the last three years for up to three relevant contracts.” For ID/IQ contracts, such as SeaPort-e, ISRs report data at the ID/IQ level. The Seaport-e portal, provides reporting at the Task Order level. Would the government consider accepting data at the Task Order level to supplement the ISR, such as Small Business Subcontracting Data exports from the SeaPort-e portal?

ANSWER: Yes, the Government will accept data at the Task Order Level.

18. RFP Page 82, Section L.3.1 Volume I: Proposal Documents states “This volume is the Offer’s contractual commitment, complete in every respect and ready for acceptance by the Government.” The description indicates that the information requested under (Page 86) L.3.5.1 Completed Standard Form (SF) 33 Solicitation offer and award document, as well as L.3.5.2 Completed RFP requested would be included in Volume I, as well as the L.3.1.1 Transmittal/Cover Letter. Should the documents described in both L.3.5.1 and L.3.5.2 (RFP Page 86) be included in Volume I OR should this be provided as an Attachment to Volume IV- Cost/Price Proposal?

ANSWER: The documents described in both L.3.5.1 and L.3.5.2 (RFP Page 86) should be included in Volume I.

19. RFP Page 87, Section L.3.5. Completed RFP, paragraph 4 states “NO COST/PRICE INFORMATION SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN ANY VOLUME OTHER THAN THIS COST VOLUME.” Per FAR 52.219-9 (d) (1), The Small Business Individual Subcontracting Plan contains subcontracted dollars. Should the subcontracted dollars be removed and only show the small business subcontracting percentage based on total contract value?

ANSWER: The Small Business Individual Subcontracting Plan shall be submitted with subcontracted dollars.

20. RFP Page 84, L3.3.4.1 Small Business Participation Commitment Document (SBPCD), RFP Attachment 3: Small Business Participation Commitment Document (Excel File). When small businesses are added to Attachment 3- SBPCD spreadsheet, the SB Participation total or the socio-economic total is incorrect. When the SB subcontractors are added to the Direct Labor or ODC tab we must select one SB classification. A small business can have multiple small business classifications. If the SB option is selected for all of the small businesses, the SB Participation total is correct but there will be no socio-economic total. If you add an extra entry for a small business showing their additional socio-economic classification, then the socio-economic total is correct but the SB participation total is incorrect. Will the government send a revised spreadsheet or can the vendor revise the spreadsheet to show the correct SB Participation and socio-economic totals?

ANSWER: Offerors are not allowed to change the sheet or double count the socio-economic categories. Please note that an updated/corrected Small Business Participation Commitment Document has been provided and the Offerors shall use the revised document.