Solicitation QAs for Posting.docx

Solicitation N65236-16-R-0021 Program Support Services for DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO)

Questions and Answers

1. Question: Can you please clarify the Presolicitation notice for the subject effort? The E-commerce (and FBO) announcement begins by saying that the Solicitation is “hereby released”, but goes on to say that the synopsis is for information and planning purposes ONLY and projected date for RFP release is within the next 30 days. Also, the PWS document posted is labeled as a DRAFT. Please advise whether there will be a FINAL RFP and PWS posted for this solicitation.

Answer: The Pre-Solicitation description was posted on 18 April 2017 along with a copy of the Draft PWS. Pre-Solicitation information remains for historical purposes only. The Solicitation description was posted on 12 May 2017 along with the RFP as issued, RFP Exhibit A (CDRLs A001 through A016), and RFP Attachments 1A through 10. Date information has been added to the description block and the title of the Draft PWS posted with the Pre-Solicitation has been updated to “Pre-Solicitation Draft PWS” for clarification.

2. Question: Could you please clarify the due date and time for questions to be submitted on the referenced solicitation?

Answer: Solicitation questions will be accepted until COB (5:00 PM Eastern) 22 May 2017.

3. Reference: Page 7 of 147, 5252.216-9218 Minimum and Maximum Quantities (Jul 1989) Comment: The paragraph states that “the maximum quantity is the total estimated amount of the contract” and “is not to be exceeded”, but it does not state what the total estimated amount of the contract is. On page 4, the contract maximum value is listed as “TBD”.

Question: Will the government provide the total estimated amount of the contract?

Answer: Prior to evaluation and awardee selection, the Government is unable to provide the total estimated amount of the contract. The maximum amount will be identified in the contract award and is not required for submission of offers.

4. Reference: page 129 of 147 under Factor A: Technical Capability, paragraph 4 Comment: The RFP states “For each contract cited on Attachment 1B, line 6 requires the contract type and total contract amount (ceiling), and line 7 requires the final amount invoiced or amount invoiced to date. The invoiced amount for each reference shall meet or exceed $7 million (and $1.5 million for each significant subcontractor). CAUTION: Although a total contract amount may meet the relevancy requirement of $7 million (and $1.5 million for each significant subcontractor) stated above for line 6, if the invoiced amount stated in line 7 does not meet or exceed $7 million (and $1.5 million for each significant subcontractor), no credit will be given for that contract.” Emphasis is added on the requirement of the Prime to meet $7 million invoiced.

Question: Given the delay in task order award on the current TTO IDIQ, in order that the offerors may submit the most relevant past performance, would SSC-LANT consider modifying the invoice amount required to $5 million?

Answer: No, the relevancy requirement will remain as $7 million for the Prime and $1.5 million for each significant subcontractor. Contracts that do not have an invoiced amount of at least $7 million ($1.5 million for each significant subcontractor) will not be considered relevant and no credit will be given for that contract.

5. Reference: Page 11 of 147, 5252.237-9600 Personnel Qualifications (Minimum) (Jan 1992) – Management Analyst 3 (Key) Comment: The Education requirement for the Management Analyst 3 labor category is listed as a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry, Math or Engineering. However, the Experience requirements for the LCAT are more broad and lean towards an education background of BS or BA in Business or Finance. It is noted that on the recent RFP issued by SSC-LANT for DARPA I20, the Education requirement for the Management Analyst 3 (Key) LCAT was modified to be more in line with the Experience and Specific experience requirement of the LCAT and to be consistent with the requirements for the LCAT in other Offices within the Agency.

Question: Will the Government consider revising the Education requirements for this LCAT to allow an MBA or a BA or BS in Business or Finance to be more in line with the Experience requirements?

Answer: The Education requirements for the Management Analyst 3 labor category have been reviewed and will not be revised. The labor category descriptions are in line with DARPA/TTO requirements.

6. Reference: 5252.237-9600 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS (MINIMUM) (JAN 1992) Para 7. Page 44.

Comment: “Management Analyst 3 (Key): Education: Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry, Math, or Engineering, with some management courses preferred.”

Question: Would the Government consider recharacterizing this labor category as Non Key personnel and instead characterize Management Analyst 2 a Key personnel? Being an outstanding and successful Management Analyst at DARPA TTO is not dependent on having a technical BS degree in Physics, Chemistry, Math, or Engineering. Alternatively, would the Government consider substitutions for another degree, such as a BS in Biology?

Answer: The Government will not re-characterize the RFP identified labor categories. Offerors shall propose in accordance with the RFP as released.

7. Reference: 5252.237-9601 KEY PERSONNEL (DEC 1999) (d) List of Key Personnel. Page 49.

Comment: Recommend replacing “Management Analyst 3” with “Management Analyst 2”.

Question: Would the Government consider replacing Management Analyst 3 with Management Analyst 2, which is more representative and realistic of DARPA TTO requirements?

Answer: The Government will not revise the identified Key Personnel labor categories.

8. Reference: L-317.b Proposal Format. Page 127.

Comment: The proposal format does not provide Volumes, such as in 2014, in which the RFP asked for Volume I Other Factors and Volume II Business Proposal.

Question: Does the Government prefer to have the proposal submitted in separate volumes? If so, will the Government please update the RFP Proposal Format instructions?

Answer: Offerors shall solely propose in accordance with the format and content requirements identified in provision L-317.

9. Reference: L (Factor-1). Page 135.

Comment: The RFP requests a Team Summary Chart for Factor F, sub-section 1 in a page limited section.

Question: Given the potential size of the chart, will the government consider making the chart exempt from page limits?

Answer: The Government has revised the maximum page count under provision L-317, paragraph (b) Proposal Format, Factor F Cost Proposal Narrative, from 15 pages to 16 to provide sufficient space for the team summary chart as reflected in AMD 0001 to the RFP.

10. Reference: Attachment 5a Question: Will the government please provide instructions or a clarification on the purpose of cells C77, C78, and C79 of the Contractor Data Input tab? Are they duplicates in some form of cells C73 and C74?

Answer: Attachment 5A is hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. Cells C77, C78, and C79 are now removed from the Contractor Data Input tab.

11. Reference: Section C, 8.2.1. Page 28.

Comment: The RFP states all key personnel “shall have a current Department of Defense security classification at the TOP SECRET level.” However in the Labor Qualifications under security clearance for key personnel it states “This individual shall possess or have the ability to obtain a TOP SECRET clearance with Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI).

Question: Will the government please clarify if key personnel require a current Department of Defense security classification of the TOP SECRET LEVEL or the ability to obtain a TOP SECRET clearance with SSBI?

Answer: Key personnel must have a TOP SECRET clearance prior to starting work. If an individual identified as key personnel does not currently possess a TOP SECRET clearance, they must at a minimum have an SSBI completed - which will give them the ability to have a TOP SECRET clearance granted quickly.

12. Reference: Attachment 6.

Comment: The formula is missing from Attachment 6 for instructions and formula as it is a picture of the chart.

Question: Can the Government please provide an Attachment 6 in an excel file or formula for the cells under the percentage proposed?

Answer: Attachment 6 is hereby provided as an excel file and issued as a part of AMD 0001.

13. Reference: Attachment 5A and Attachment 5B.

Comment: The RFP states work will be CPFF Completion or CPFF LOE, in Attachment 5A and 5B there is a check marked only for CPFF and LOE.

Question: Will the Government please modify and update the formula in Columns G and H of the summary tab to reflect that the CPFF Completion and LOE are checked?

Answer: Attachment 5A and Attachment 5B are hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. The Summary Tabs now reflect the contract order types of CPFF Completion and LOE.

14. Reference: Attachment 1B.

Comment: The RFP states that if submitting multiple orders under a single GSA, GWAC, DoD-wide contract or BPA in order to meet the relevancy threshold for a contract reference, offerors shall clearly identify the dates of performance and dollar amounts for each order.

Question: Does the dollar amount refer to ceiling amount, funded amount, or invoiced amount?

Answer: Please refer to L-317 Factor A paragraphs 3 and 4.

15. Question: According to the RFP, all proposed individuals must meet educational requirements, however there are inadequate labor categories that recognize that careers, either military or other, with significant R&D and SAP experience would bring added value to the Tactical Technology Office. Would it be possible to add labor categories (SME’s, Sr. Program Analysts) that do not require engineering degrees but recognizing practical experience and learning that could be obtained through other means are useful, even valuable in the areas of R&D or Operational experience to TTO Programs?

Answer: No additional labor categories shall be added to the RFP. The labor categories included in the RFP have been utilized by DARPA/TTO on the previous contracts and have been sufficient. Labor category waivers will be considered at the Task Order level.

16. Question: Page 122 of 147 of the RFP, PART I—COST LABOR INFORMATION: (1) 2nd paragraph states that “All labor categories shall be escalated for the option years. Offerors shall use an annual labor escalation rate of 2.0% for each option year for the Service Contract Labor Standards labor categories…” Given that the base period covers 5 years, please clarify if the 2.0% escalation shall be for each contract year of the base period, or if it only applies to the 6-month option period.

Answer: Yes, the 2.0% escalation shall be for each contract year of the base period. The RFP has been updated in AMD 0001 to clarify where to apply escalation and remove the option language.

17. Question: Page 3 identifies the Option (Item No.’s 1001 and 1002) Ordering Period as 6 months. Page 52 reflects a POP of 26-JAN-2018 to 25-JAN-2023. Could you please confirm this POP is a typo and should be 26-JAN-2023 to 25-JUL-2023?

Answer: The Ordering Periods for Option CLINs 1001 and 1002 are hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. CLINS 1001 and 1002 now reflect an Ordering Period of 26-JAN-2023 to 25-JUL-2023.

18. Question: Should the Offeror submit the SB Subcontracting Plan and Attachment 6 as a separate file outside of any of the factors (A-F) OR should this be included in Factor F: Cost/Price Proposal Narrative?

Answer: Please refer to L-317. The Small Business Subcontracting Plan is a separate file that includes the Small Business Subcontracting Plan, plus Subcontracting Plan Matrix, Attachment 6.

19. Question: Attachment 6 (Small Business Subcontracting Plan Matrix) is currently a pasted picture. Is it the Government's intent to have Offerors recreate this chart/matrix in Excel format so that we are able to complete the attachment? If not in an Excel format, would the Government please provide direction on how they would like this attachment formatted and completed?

Answer: Attachment 6 is hereby provided as an excel file and issued as a part of AMD 0001.

20. Question: Should an Attachment 1A be submitted separately for each Contract Reference; or is it the Government's intent to have one (1) consolidated Attachment 1A for the Prime? If it is the Government's intent to have one (1) consolidated Attachment 1A for the Prime, would the Government allow us to reformat the attachment so it stays within the one (1) page maximum?

Answer: Attachment 1A submittals shall not exceed the RFP identified one (1) page maximum. The Government will allow the contractor to modify the form as needed to accommodate all contract references.

21. Question: The Section L pricing requirements require that Offerors follow FAR 52.215-20 Alternate IV for submittal of pricing information, which indicates that (a) no certified cost or pricing data is required and (b) no data other than cost or pricing information is required for submission (due to the Government not updating this section to include additional data). This is in conflict with the pricing models, which require full rate buildup information inclusive of all direct and indirect cost data. Would the Government please clarify what cost or pricing data, if any, is to be included in our Cost Narrative and Pricing Models?

Answer: “Certified” cost and pricing data are is required as identified in the RFP. The provision of full rate buildup information inclusive of direct and indirect cost data is required. Please refer to 52.215-20 (b) which states “the offeror shall submit other than certified cost of pricing data and supporting information prepared in accordance with Attachment 5A and 5B.” Please also refer to Provision L-317 Factor F.

22. Question: Page 32, Paragraph 9 of the RFP specifies that “All Contractor personnel with supplied government facilities shall be located at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, VA”, yet the “RATES” tab of the subcontractor pricing model (Attachment 5B) specifies that the location for Government site work is Washington, DC. Could you please specify the location in which Government site work will take place?

Answer: Attachment 5A and Attachment 5B are hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001.

23. Reference: Section F, Deliveries or Performance, page 52 of 147 Comment: The CLIN 1001 and 1002 POP is listed in this section as 26 Jan 2018 TO 25 Jan 2023. However, based on Section B it appears that CLINS 1001 and 1002 are 6 month ordering options.

Question: Will the Government please clarify if the POP for CLINs 1001 and 1002 should be Jan 26, 2023 – July 25, 2023?

Answer: The Ordering Periods for Option CLINs 1001 and 1002 are hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. CLINS 1001 and 1002 now reflect an Ordering Period of 26-JAN-2023 to 25-JUL-2023.

24. Reference: Attachment 5A Pricing Model Prime- Contractor Data Input Tab, Rows 73- 74 and 77-79 Comment: Rows 73 and 74 require the contractor to input a Fee and Profit percentage. Rows 77-79 appear to be duplicative requests.

Question: Will the Government please provide definitions and expectations for the values to be provided in C77 – C79?

Answer: Attachment 5A is hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. Cells C77, C78, and C79 are now removed from the Contractor Data Input tab.

25. Reference: Section L-317 VAR1 Submission of Proposals (VARIATION), Factor F Cost/Price Proposal - (5) Professional Employee Compensation Plan Comment: The last bullet in item 5 requires contractors to complete “Benefit Summary” and “Salary Data” charts and advises that they are contained in Attachment 5A, Pricing Model. After review, there are no charts with those headings in the Workbook.

Question: Will the Government please advise where we may find the Benefit Summary and Salary Data charts?

Answer: Attachment 5A is hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. A Benefit Summary tab and Salary Data tab are now included in Attachment 5A.

26. Reference: L-317.b. Page 126-127.

Comment: The RFP’s instructions for submitting electronic files does not show allowance for a title page, table of contents, acronym list, or glossary. The 2014 submission had these elements.

Question: Does the Government desire a title page, table of contents, and acronym list for the proposal, typically not including in page count, and will it provide an amendment if these pages are required?

Answer: The Government does not desire a title page, table of contents, and/or acronym list for the proposal.

27. Reference: Attachment 1B Comment: Attachment 1B in compliance with the format and font requirements is one page Question: When the content exceeds the1pg limit, how will the government allocate the page count? Should we apply the actual length of the form to the 59 total page limit for the amplifying data, if necessary?

Answer: The page limit for Attachment 1b is 1 page and the page limit for the amplifying information is 59 pages. Provision L-317 states that any page that exceeds or fails to meet the total page limit requirements will not be evaluated.

28. Reference: Section F. Page 52.

Comment: The Base Period of Performance CLIN 0001-0003 (5 years) is from 1/26/2018 through 1/25/2023. The Option 1 Period of Performance CLIN 1001-1003 (6 months) is also from 1/26/2018 through 1/25/2023.

Question: If Option 1 is a possible 6 month extension, what are the correct delivery dates?

Answer: The Ordering Periods for Option CLINs 1001 and 1002 are hereby modified and issued as a part of AMD 0001. CLINS 1001 and 1002 now reflect an Ordering Period of 26-JAN-2023 to 25-JUL-2023.

29. Reference: Attachment 5B. RFP Page 123.

Question: May offerors manipulate Attachment 5B Pricing Model Sub from CPFF and LOE to Labor Hour rates for a more accurate cost buildup that will account for all cost elements of the subcontracted labor to include direct labor, fringe, overhead, and inclusive of fee?

Answer: No, subcontractor information shall be provided in accordance with Attachment 5B.

30. Reference: 5252.237-9600 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS Para 7. Page 44.

Comment: The RFP states the Key Labor Category Management Analyst 3 must possess a “Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, Chemistry, Math, and Engineering, with some management courses preferred.”

Question: Will Bachelor’s Degrees in other technical fields (i.e. biology or business) be considered acceptable, or must the degree be in one of those four subjects?

Answer: The Education requirements for the Management Analyst 3 labor category have been reviewed and will not be revised.

31. Question: Will the government consider limiting the requirement for subcontractor proprietary sealed packages to only significant subcontractors? Many small businesses lack the administrative capacity and/or cost accounting systems to respond to the level of detail required in Attachment 5B.

Answer: No, Attachment 5B shall be submitted by all offerors proposing labor hours. In accordance with 52.215-20, “any subcontractor that is proposed without assigned labor hours, regardless if labor rates are provided, is considered an “unpriced” subcontractor and will not be included as part of the evaluation nor will they be an approved subcontractor in any resulting award.”

32. Question: The Government placed all the Program Manager hours at Contractor site on the Attachment 5A Pricing Model_Prime. Would it be acceptable to the Government for an offeror to move the Program Manager hours to Government site?

Answer: All hours must be bid in accordance with the Pricing Model.