20170503 - Solicitation Q&As for Posting.docx

Solicitation N65236-16-R-0001 Advanced Analytics Technical Solution

Questions and Answers #1 through #9

Posted on 3 May 2017

1. Question: Will the Government accept questions concerning the solicitation as issued?

Answer: Questions pertaining to solicitation N65236-16-R-0001 must be submitted in writing. Questions may be emailed to the Contract Specialist at calvin.howard@navy.mil or they may be posted to the SPAWAR E-Commerce site at https://e-commerce.sscno.nmci.navy.mil. It should be noted that the RFP identified the timeline for RFP questions in solicitation provision L-317.

2. Question: Is there a deadline for submitting questions concerning the solicitation as issued?

Answer: Solicitation Provision L-317 VAR1 (Submission of Proposals) (Variation) states the following: The contracting office shall be contacted by email within ten days of release of the RFP if any part of these instructions is not understood or for any required RFP clarifications.

3. Question: Is there a way to get onto your email list of interested bidders so that we receive any updates or other communications from your office?

Answer: As indicated on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website, updates to this procurement and all associated documents will be made available on the SPAWAR e-Commerce website. Interested parties should register on the SPAWAR e-Commerce website and subscribe for this procurement to receive notices of updates.

4. Question: Reference RFP, Page 8, Section 1.2 Scope and RFP Attachment 13, Delivery Order 0001 Statement of Work - Can the Government please clarify exactly how many software licenses are required per year per CLIN?

Answer: Per PWS Section 3.2.6.1, “AATS software user licenses for the IW shall provide all of the required software licenses for the server and client software components that comprise the AATS software, not including operating system licenses.” Per Section B, CLIN 0001 provides for an initial buy of nine software user licenses for engineering and logistics activities, and 2574 software user licenses for the follow-on fielding of the AATS software to the Marine Corps operating forces. CLINs 0005 through 0008 provide for sustainment of all licenses delivered under CLIN 0001. CLIN 0011 provides for purchase of additional software user licenses in lots of 100, and also provides for the sustainment of those licenses through the end of the contract performance period. Based on the aforementioned, no revision to the RFP is required.

5. Question: - In PWS section 3.2.5.3 the Government discusses a Map Display, but does not discuss how that geospatial layer will be obtained. Does the Government have an existing geospatial server that the offeror will connect to?

Answer: The Topographic Production Capability (TPC) Family of Systems (FoS) provides the geospatial server for users of the Intelligence Workstation (IW) when operating in a connected environment at certain echelons. However, please refer to PWS 3.2.5.10.10 which states, “The software shall allow the user operating in a DIL network environment to use the map display capabilities of Section 3.2.5.3 utilizing local map imagery.”

6. Question: Reference page 133- 134, Factor B. Can the Government confirm that only contracts where services were performed supporting the proposed software are viewed as relevant? If so, would the Government consider modifying Factor B (and C) to put more emphasis on the actual technical services performed by expanding it beyond just the proposed software? This would allow for a wider range of competitive service providers with direct IC experience to participate, and minimize execution risk for the Government. It would also mitigate a possible scenario where evaluation could be perceived slanted towards current incumbent(s) with software currently used within the IAS. We recommend the Government consider using the same caveat for the services as they do for the IAS baseline by increasing relevance of services performed in supporting software similar to the proposed software.

Answer: As stated in provision L-317, “Relevant” is defined as prior contract efforts performed for efforts similar in scope to the requirements identified under Subfactors B1-B3. Additionally, the more relevant the referenced work performed is to the service requirements of this contract, the more valuable the experience is to the Government. The Government will not modify Factors B and C. There is no existing software on the IAS FoS program baseline that fulfills the AATS requirement.

7. Question: Attachment 4A (Prime Pricing Model) indicates that positions other than Program Management could be performed at a Contractor Site. It is our understanding that all work associated with this program must be performed at a secure Government location, therefore can the Government please clarify how work on CLIN 0009 can be performed at the Contractor site?

Answer: As indicated in PWS Section 3.4.3, CLIN 0009 provides for contractor development of software upgrades and software capabilities in response to feedback from the end-users from the fielding and deployment of the AATS software, and the subsequent day-to-day use of the AATS software. Per the pricing model, it is the Government’s expectation that this software development effort will be performed at the contractor’s facility.

8. Question: It is our understanding that the IAS FoS program is currently in the process of a hardware refresh for the IW laptop which will be delivered prior to the award of the AATS solicitation but after the proposal due date. A new laptop with more powerful processing, RAM, BUS & storage would provide a significantly more robust hardware platform for potential bidders, ultimately aiding in the capabilities of the AATS software.

Can the government provide as an amendment to the AATS solicitation the approved requirement specifications of the upcoming IW laptop?

Alternatively, because the award date is nearly a year from now, would the government consider extending the AATS solicitation due date until the new Laptop hardware award to update (Attachment 6), specifications?

Answer: Attachment 6 of the RFP takes into account the projected hardware refresh. As a result, there is no necessity to extend the solicitation due date.

9. Question: - The referenced PWS sections describe requirements for standard systems and software lifecycle services. Some of the offerors may have a great deal of experience providing these services in a secure DoD environment using the Risk Management Framework, but may not have performed these services specifically on the proposed AATS software on the IAS baseline or similar baseline.

The requirement appears to disqualify otherwise highly-qualified teams who:

a) can clearly demonstrate relevant experience with systems and products similar to those being proposed, with baselines simillar to the IAS baseline, and at a scope that is similar to the AATS contract;

b) propose a combination of software products that meet requirements but may not have been previously integrated into the IAS or similar baseline; or

c) propose newer tools and technologies that meet the requirements and provide value to the Government, but may not have been integrated into the IAS or similar baseline.

In order to maximize the competitive field, will the Government consider revising the language to include such teams?

Answer: As stated in provision L-317, “Relevant” is defined as prior contract efforts performed for efforts similar in scope to the requirements identified under Subfactors B1-B3. Additionally, the more relevant the referenced work performed is to the service requirements of this contract, the more valuable the experience is to the Government. The Government will not revise the Factor B evaluation criteria.