QA3, N66001-16-R-0180.pdf

N66001-16-R-0180 RFP Questions & Answers

02 May 2017

Question 1: Section L. 2.0. (c) and Section M. (e) Step 2.1 describes the recency requirement as being performed since January 01, 2012. Would the Government accept a past performance reference which is an on-going task order or contract with less than 12 complete months of performance (i.e., 10 months of performance of a 12-month period of performance)?

Answer 1: The Government will “accept” all past performance submitted in accordance with Section L and will evaluate past performance in accordance with Section M. In this example, the work is performed since January 01, 2012. Therefore, the “recency” aspect of the evaluation is not an issue.

Question 2: Will the Government allow additional questions pertaining to Volume III Cost/Price once Phase II has been initiated?

Answer 2: Yes

Question 3: See Standard Form 33. Please confirm it is RFP N66001-16-R-0180 and not RFP N66001- 17-R-0180.

Answer 3: Confirmed.

Question 4: See Standard Form 33, Box 9. Please confirm the Government would like one original and one copy even though the offeror is to submit electronically?

Answer 4: Copies are not required. Standard Form 33, Box 9, will be amended to “0” vs. “1.” All electronic submissions should be made in strict compliance with Section L-349.

Question 5: DD254, please confirm that facility clearance and safeguarding requirements will be defined at the task order level.

Answer 5: This is not confirmed. A DD254 will be issued at the base contract level and may or may not also be issued at the task order level.

Question 6: Page 80 of 99, 52.222-46 states, “…offerors will submit a total compensation plan…” while page 84 of 99, 3.0 states, “A separate total compensation plan is not required…” Please confirm offerors do not need to submit a total compensation plan.

Answer 6: As stated on Pg. 84, “Submission of Volume III in accordance with this provision fulfills the requirement for a total compensation plan discussed in provision 52.222-46, Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees. A separate total compensation plan is not required for either the prime contractor or any subcontractors.”

Question 7: Page 82 of 99 states, “…1” minimum margins…” while Attachment 2 states, “(Note:

Offerors are not to change the spatial structure of this form, i.e. borders, block size, etc.)” Please confirm offerors are permitted to adjust the outer most border of Attachment 2 to fit the 1” margin requirement in Volume II. If offerors are not permitted to change the outer most border, please conform that Attachment 2 will be within in a 0.5” border on the right and left side.

Answer 7: L-317 instructs offerors on submission of their proposals, including specific formatting instructions. These instructions should be followed carefully – including the requirement for 1” margins.

It appears that Attachment 2 already has 1” margins. However, if that is not the case, the following applies: forms included in the proposal submission that are formatted by the Government, and specifically state that the “spatial structure” of the form should not be altered (or a similar instruction regarding formatting), should not be altered. Note that the form was provided in MS Word format vs. PDF format as a convenience to the offeror.

Question 8: Refer to Page 84 of 99, References: If a contract reference cited is an Indefinite Delivery contract, please confirm that CPARs/PPQs at the task order level under that contract are acceptable?

Answer 8: Work performed at the task order level will be evaluated in accordance with criteria in RFP Section M. See RFP Section L-317, Paragraph 2.0 (g) for specific submission requirements.

Question 9: The e-Commerce portal lists as estimate of “416,000 hours” while Page 88 of 99 lists “410,800 hours”. Please confirm 410,800 is the accurate number of estimated hours.

Answer 9: 410,800 is the accurate number of estimated hours. The E-Commerce description has been adjusted to match the RFP.

Question 10: The e-Commerce portal lists the base period as three years with two, one-year options while the RFP lists a two-year base period with three, one-year options. Please confirm the RFP prevails.

Answer 10: It appears this question comes from the synopsis version of the notice posted on the SPAWAR E-Commerce website at an earlier date. The version that is current now (current previous to this Q&A and as of the last amendment), reads as follows: “the prospective contract will have a two year base period and three, one year option periods.”

Question 11: Amendment 0001, Answer 4 states, “does not intend at this point to perform any down select of offers based on…past performance for oral presentations” while Answer 5 states, “No” when asked if offerors submitting a Volume I and Volume II response during Phase 1 will be automatically able to attend orals. Will the Government please confirm that all bidders submitting an acceptable proposal (Volume I (pass/fail) and II) under Phase 1 will attend oral presentations and AFTER orals the Government will rank the vendors and select the top five to submit Phase 2 Volume III.

Answer 11: As with the referenced question from Amendment 0001, this question slightly alters carefully worded language in the RFP, and therefore, cannot be confirmed as 100% accurate. The Government confirms that the language in RFP section M has been reviewed, and all phases of the evaluation will be conducted exactly as described.

Question 12: 48CFR§52.244-2, pgs. 44-46 of 99, Will the Government please confirm that consent to subcontract applies at the task order (not master contract) level insofar as task order details cannot yet be known with certainty?

Answer 12: This statement is not confirmed. FAR 52.244-2(j) states that: “Paragraphs (c) and (e) of this clause do not apply to the following subcontracts, which were evaluated during negotiations: If applicable, approved subcontractors will be inserted at the time of contract award.” In practice, consent to subcontract is usually granted at the base contract level. When a subcontractor is identified subsequent to the initial base contract award, the request and approval process identified in this clause is most often (but not always) implemented via a modification to the base contract as this is much more efficient than going through the process repeatedly on task orders that may follow with the same subcontractor.

Question 13: Section K - Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors, pgs. 67-78 of 99, Will the Government please confirm that Reps and Certs will only be required of the Prime offeror?

Answer 13: Confirmed.

Question 14: RFP states, "Cite references in the following order: work performed by the prime, then work performed by the subcontractor(s)." Are you expecting all RIS (Reference Information Sheet) Past Performance to be structured with both a "Prime" and "Subcontractor" section describing the respective work of each?

Answer 14: Negative. To avoid confusion, the sentence referenced must be looked at in the context of the two sentences that immediately precede it. The RFP statement referenced, from Section L-317, Paragraph 2.0(b), states the following:

“Prepare and submit up to five (5) Reference Information Sheets to explain the recency, relevance and quality of your past performance since 01 January 2012. Cite at least one reference from the prime offeror, no more than one from any subcontractor and no more than five (5) references total. Cite references in the following order: work performed by the prime, then work performed by the subcontractor(s).”

If each RIS is structured with a both a Prime and Subcontractor section (except in response to the questions in blocks 12 and 13 on the RIS that relate to small businesses only), the limit to cite “no more than one from any subcontractor” will most likely be violated (unless only one RIS in total is submitted).

Question 15: After reviewing Amendment 2, you have 2080 man hours for project manager in your chart.

Normally 2080 man hours are for the total year with paid leave, etc. and 1920 becomes the normal work hours you need. Please clarify whether you actually want 2080 for that category?

Answer 15: There are multiple references in RFP Section L-317, including the VOLUME III - PRICE/COST INFORMATION section starting on pages 84, which deal with this topic very specifically.