NAE DRAFT RFP Industry Q and A - 12Jan2022.pdf

Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) Support Services DRAFT RFP Questions and Answers #1, Posted 18 January 2022

N68520-21-R-0005

# Document (PWS, RFP, Attachment)

Reference Paragraph Industry Question Government Response

1 RFP Section L, Part A 1.0 (pg 97 of 117)

Due to the number of attachments and complex instructions, will the Government permit interested bidders to submit more questions, due not later than 24 November at 1600 EST?" Additional time will reduce the number of questions after the Final RFP is released.

Questions may be submitted to the Government at anytime, however, it is the Government's discretion whether questions received after the requested submittal date will be answered. All questions that are answered will be made available to all potential Offerors on SAM.gov.

2 RFP

Incorporated Clause “5252.211-950

LEVEL OF

EFFORT (COST

REIMBURSEMENT

Section B (pg 5 of 117) identifies Option CLINs 0002 and 0004 for increased capacity (10%) in labor and Travel/ODCs, respectively. The hours for CLIN 0002 are not included on Page 6 of 117, where it states “The level of effort estimated to be ordered during the term of this contract is 1,400,640 man-hours of direct labor including authorized subcontract labor, if any. The contractor shall not, under any circumstances, exceed one hundred (100%) percent of the total level of effort specified in this basic contract.

The estimated composition of the total man-hours of direct labor by classification is as follows: CLIN 0001: 1,400,640 man-hours.”

(1) Will the Government update pg. 6 of 117 to include CLIN 0002 as 10% of the CLIN 0001 hours? (2) Will the Government confirm CLINs 0002 and 0004 will be awarded as 10% of the cost proposed for CLINs 0001 and 0003, respectively? (3) Will the Government confirm no pricing information needs to be submitted within Volume 3 for CLINS 0002 and 0004? If pricing information is required for CLINs 0002 and 0004, will the Government update Volume 3 instructions and Attachment L10 with the information needed to submit pricing for these CLINs?

1. Options CLINs are not included in the total man-hours until the CLINs are exercised. The Government will include language in Clause 5252.211- 9503 Level of Effort to clarify that the man-hours listed do not include the 10% surge and that those hours will be added upon Option exercise.

2. Yes, the 10% will be automatically calculated as 10% of CLINs 0001 and 0003, respectively.

3. Per Attachment L10, the 10% is automatically calculated and no additional information is required.

3 RFP

Section B (pg 6 of

117) CLIN 0005 for Data: NSP

CLIN 0005 states “Data: NSP”. We understand NSP to mean “not separately priced.” However, there is an estimated cost and Amount shown for this CLIN. Will the Government confirm that offerors should mark “N/A” for the “ESTIMATED COST” line?

No costs need to be proposed for CLIN 0005. Section B, CLIN 0005 will be updated in the final RFP to remove the "Estimated Cost".

4 Multiple Multiple

In reviewing the Draft RFP, Section B, the SOW, and Section J Attachment 2 (Workforce Qualification Staffing Plan), the Government has identified eight different Labor Categories with varying levels of experience (Junior, Journeyman, and Senior) to define the labor requirements for the NAE PWS. The LCATS reflect the skills of an advisor, analyst, manager, assistant, or consultant. These labor categories are not sufficient to execute the tasks of the PWS. Will the Government add journeyman and senior level labor categories for “engineer” and for “scientist”? Engineers and scientists have a different set of education, qualifications, experience, and skills than those defined for the current LCATs and are needed to execute the tasks of the PWS.

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

5 RFP

Section C, SOW paragraph 4.2 (pg 13 of 117)

Section C, SOW, 4.2 Compatibility (pg 13 of 117) states “The current operating environment required for this contract includes:”

and then provides environment details including Windows 10. In anticipation of future environment evolutions during the life of the IDIQ, will the Government add “but is not limited to” at the end of this statement?

The Government does not intend to revise the language in SOW para 4.2 Campatibility.

6 RFP Multiple

Section 5.0 of the SOW outlines the minimum Personnel Qualifications to include level of education, training, experience, and clearance. SOW Section 5.6 defines the three experience levels (Junior, Journeyman, and Senior) of LCATs. Section 5.7 defines the NAE Concentration Areas. SOW Section 2.0 defines the NAE Teams. SOW Section 5.8 lists the labor categories, experience requirements and the functional descriptions of each. These requirements are cross-walked into Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan.” However, there lacks explicit reference / linkage to applicable sections within Section L, Section 2.3 Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes).

(1) Will the Government add a section into Attachment L5 – Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes) to explicitly require demonstrated experience relevant to SOW Section 5.7 and SOW Section 2.0 to create an explicit linkage between the SOW, the Staffing Plan, Personnel requirements, and Section L proposal instructions?

(2) Will the Government update each of the labor qualification categories in PWS 5.8 to include “Knowledge and Experience relevant to NAE Concentration Area (SOW 5.7) and as it relates to the NAE Team (SOW 2.0) as defined in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan for the corresponding position.”?

(3) Will the Government add a bullet into Section L, Paragraph 2.3 that states “Relevant Experience in NAE Concentration Area (SOW Section 5.7) and NAE Team (SOW Section 2.0)”?

(4) Will the Government add into Section M, for Volume 2B, Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes)” that “Relevant experience as it relates to the corresponding NAE Concentration Area and NAE Team may be considered a strength if the relevancy is advantageous to the Government”?

1. The Government does not intend to revise Section J, Attachment L5 Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes).

2. Please see the final RFP for addition of revised SOW language.

3. The Government believes the current language already articulates this requirement.

4. Demonstrating experience as it relates to the NAE Concentration Area is a minimum requirement of the solicitation as articulated in Section C, SOW Para 5.0. Meeting a minimum requirement is not considered a strength.

7 RFP SOW Paragraph 5.6

The professional employee definitions for a journeyman described in paragraph 5.6, of the SOW (Pg 18 of 117) defines a journeyman as an individual with 3 to 15 years of experience. This range is much too large of an experience range for a single experience level; the capability of an individual with 3 years of experience varies so significantly from an individual with 15 years of experience that the Government will be unable to clearly define the performance expectations for journeyman. Moreover, the price for this experience range varies so wide that it will be problematic for the Government to reasonably perform a cost evaluation. Will the Government change the experience levels of Junior, Journeyman and Senior to a “Leveling” construct that is widely used for Navy contracts? For example, use Level I to denote 0-5 years of experience; Level II to reflect 6-12 years of experience; Level III to reflect 12-20 years of experience, Level IV to reflect 20-25 years of experience and Level V to reflect more than 25 years of experience.

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

8 Attachment L10 Column AN

Attachment L10, titled, “Cost_Price SpreadSheetrev3” includes Column AN titled Over/At or below FTE on the sheet for pricing for each contract year. No reference to this column is included in the instructions sheet. Column AN includes a formula that simply returns a value “above FTE” for any value greater than or equal to 1921 hours, otherwise the value of “At or Below FTE” is returned.

Will the Government confirm the inclusion of Column AN was to provide the Government verification that offerors accurately developed their Attachment L10 cost models per instructions? If so, please note, the formula only calculates based on a 1920 man-year. However, there are partial FTE (i.e., values not equal to 1920) included in Section J, Attachment 2.

The Government confirms that Column AN is used to ensure the hours do not exceed the 1920 hour man-year. As noted in the instruction Offerors shall not type data in the shaded cells. The shaded cells are calculated automatically.

9 Attachment L10 Rows 6-22

Attachment L10, Cost-Price Spreadsheet includes a partial list of the LCATs under the prime for each of the five Ordering Periods and includes entries for the number of hours for each LCAT. Will the Government please confirm that this is an example and that all LCATs and hours to be proposed are included in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan”, with allocations between the prime contractor and subcontractors, as applicable?

Please see the final RFP for the revised Attachment L10.

10 Attachment L10 N/A Attachment L10 Cost-Price Spreadsheet includes a partial list of the LCATs under the prime for each of the five Ordering Periods and includes entries for the number of hours for each LCAT. Will the Government add a column into each of the ordering periods to annotate the position number as detailed in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan”?

Please see the final RFP for the revised Attachment L10.

11 Attachment L10 Column C

Attachment L10 Cost-Price Spreadsheet includes a partial list of the LCATs under the prime for each of the five Ordering Periods and includes entries for the number of hours for each LCAT. For Column C, Employee Name, will the Government please confirm that for all Key Personnel annotated with an “X” in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan” offerors must propose the names of actual qualified personnel that will serve in each of these Key Personnel positions within Attachment L10? This will ensure that all offerors nominate qualified key personnel for each of the key personnel positions defined in Section J- Attachment 2.

No, Offerors must provide a name in Attachment L10, Column C for the 16 Key Personnel listed in Section L, Part B, Para 2.3.

12 Section J - Attachment (L11)

Direct Hourly Labor Rate

Section J - Attachment (L11), titled, “Personnel Acknowledgement of Commitment” is required for all Key Personnel. Attachment L11 requires offerors include in that document the employees “Direct Hourly Labor Rate.” Will the Government remove this information from this attachment as the direct labor rate for the person will be included in the cost volume? This will ensure there is no pricing data is outside of the Cost Volume.

The Government requires the Direct Hourly Labor Rate on Attachment L11. Attachment L11 is part of the Cost Volume.

13 Section J, Attachment 2 CVN-RT Subteam

Will the Government add the following three positions to Section J, Attachment 2: (Position 1) Key Personnel - with resume required: Yes; Team: CRT-USN; Subteam: CVN-RT; Concentration Area: Readiness (CVN); LCAT: Advisor, Senior; Clearance:

Secret, Location: Norfolk, VA; Site: Govt; and LOE: 1,920. (Position 2) Key Personnel: No; Team: CRT-USN; Subteam: CVN-RT;

Concentration Area: C5I (CVN); LCAT: Analyst, Journeyman; Clearance: Secret, Location: Norfolk, VA; Site: Govt; and LOE:

1,920. (Position 3) Key Personnel: No; Team: CRT-USN; Subteam: CVN-RT; Concentration Area: Readiness (CVN); LCAT:

Analyst, Journeyman; Clearance: Secret, Location: Norfolk, VA; Site: Govt; and LOE: 1,920?

The Government's requirement is accurately stated.

14 Section J, Attachment 4 DD254 General Will the Government release a current DD 254 to reflect access to CUI or ACCM material? The draft DD 254 form dated DEC 1999 is no longer in use. A revised DD254 will be included in the Final RFP release.

15 Section J, Attachment 4

DD254

Block 11a (pg 4) and Block 1b

Will the Government clarify if classified information will be processed or produced at a contractor facility? The guidance on page 4 indicates it will with the following statement "Block 11a – 11a: All classified information/material shall be provided by the contractor facility or Government Contracting Agency (GCA) and safeguarded at the approved actual performance site." Block 1b.

list "None" for safeguarding which contradicts the above statement.

A revised DD254 will be included in the Final RFP release.

16 RFP Section L

The very stringent criteria for acceptable contract experience exhibits, the number of key personnel resumes required (particularly for an IDIQ), and the overall complexity of this RFP seem to be designed to narrow the number of bidders to a very small field.

Bidders other than the incumbent that pursue this opportunity will expend extensive resources (hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours) to submit a compliant and responsive bid with a very low probability unseating the incumbent. Recent RFPs released by OPNAV and SECNAV accomplished the objective of narrowing the field to a small number of viable offerors and generated the competition needed to obtain "best value" with a Two Step RFP process - Step 1 being a short 2-page submission demonstrating corporate experience and Step 2 being more in-depth with full technical and cost volumes. This approach has the added benefit of not escalating industry's G&A rates in future years driven by the costs of responding to complex Government RFPs.

Would the Government consider a Two Step process similar to the process used in OPNAV and SECNAV solicitations to efficiently identify viable candidate offerors and generate "best value" through competition consistent with the basic tenets of the FAR?

The Government does not intend to change the source selection process articulated in the RFP.

17 RFP Section L, paragraph

2.0 (pg 97 of 117)

Section L, paragraph 2.0 (pg 97 of 117) states “When foldout pages are used they must not exceed 11 x 17 inches and will be counted as 1 page. Drawings may be provided separately and may be any size but should be folded to approximately 8.5 x 11 inch standard size and will count as 1 page.” These specifications are appropriate for hardcopy submissions; however, they are not possible with electronic file submissions. Will the Government remove the folding requirement and clarify that the use of 11 x 17 pages is allowed for drawings, graphics, figures, and tables, that any 11 X 17 page will only be counted as 1 page, and that the font size for drawings, graphics, figures, and tables can be no smaller than 10 pt?

The folding requirement will be removed from Section L but requirements for page size and font still apply to electronic submittals.

18 RFP Section L, paragraph

2.0 (pg 97 of 117)

Section L, 2.0 (pg 97 of 117) states “Proposals must be formatted using a Times New Roman 12 pt Normal font (no reduction permitted), single-spaced with 1-inch margins all around, and formatted for standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper.” Some of the Government-provided templates for proposal responses (L3, L4, L5, L6, L8 and L11) are formatted with less than 1-inch margins. The RFP also states that when using Government supplied templates, “no modifications to font or scaling required”. Will the Government confirm that an offeror is to use the templates as provided without modifying the margin?

The templates may be used as provided.

19 RFP

Section L-Part B

(3.0) (3.2) (b), (pg 105 of 117)

Section L-Part B(3.0) (3.2) (b), (pg 105 of 117) states “Escalation: Rates for years 2 through 5 will automatically be calculated for each labor category by an escalation factor embedded in the Cost/Price Spreadsheet (L10). This escalation factor is determined by an averaged Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Cost Index (ECI). If the Offeror proposes an escalation factor that differs from the rate provided in Attachment (L10), provide a narrative to explain the derivation of the escalation percentage applied to the rates for each year and the index utilized.” Given the acute challenges in attracting and retaining talent across the industry and signifcantly higher inflation rates, simply providing a narrative to explain escalation rates lower than the BLS ECI increases the likelihood of unsuccessful performance. Will the Government add language: “offerors are cautioned that proposing lower than the BLS ECI escalation rates may be considered a risk as there is potential for unsuccessful contract performance. Unrealistic cost proposals may result in a re-evaluation and concurrent rescoring of technical proposals. Such re-evaluation based on cost or realistic cost analysis could negatively impact the rating and ranking of the proposal”? This language has been incorporated in other Navy solicitations.

Please see the final RFP for revised language.

20 RFP Section L, paragraph

3.0 (pg 99 of 117)

Section L, 3.0 (pg 99 of 117) establishes Small Business Utilization in Volume 2A. However, Section M, (pg 114 of 117) shows small business utilization to be evaluated as part of 1.0. Will the Government update Section L to move Small Business utilization into its own Volume as it is an Acceptable / Unacceptable evaluation? This will also increase the clarity of Volume 2 as it is evaluated on an adjectival rating scale.

Please see the final RFP for revised Section M.

21 RFP Section L, paragraph

3.0 (pg 99 of 117)

For Section L, 3.0 (pg 99 of 117), the Government requires the use of Attachment L3 for the Small Business Utilization submission, which is stated to be part of Volume 2A. However, Attachment L3 requires the inclusion of cost information. Will the Government move Small Business Utilization to its own volume and confirm Attachment L3 will not be evaluated or visible during the Technical factor evaluation as an offeror’s total price can be derived by the information included in Attachment L3 by the dollar value and percentages of the total.

The Technical volume was divided into Volume 2A and Volume 2B to ensure separation of cost information.

22 RFP Section L, paragraph

3.0 (pg 99 of 117)

Will the Government revise the solicitation and remove the Small Business Utilization element to Volume 1 as the evaluation criteria for Corporate Experience and Small Business Utilization are both considered (Acceptable/Unacceptable in meeting RFP requirements)?

Small Business Utilization will remain an element of Volume 2. Please see the final RFP for revised Section M.

23 RFP Section L, paragraph

3.0 (pg 99 of 117)

Section L, 3.0 (pg 99 of 117) states “Proposal information must be structured such that its Volume/paragraph number matches the Proposal Instructions Volume/paragraph number provided in section “Part B Specific Instructions” to which it is responding, although the Offeror may add lower tier subparagraphs. The Offeror must provide reasons it will not provide information for a particular paragraph.” Part B Specific Instructions does not include optional response requirements. Will the Government confirm all offerors must address all Part B requirements for a proposal to be deemed compliant?

Offerors must comply with the instructions provided in the solicitation.

24 RFP

Section L, Part B,

1.1 Contract

Experience Criteria and Attachment (L1)

The first paragraph says "The Offeror shall identify and submit up to two (2) contract references that meets the 1.1.1 Contract Experience Criteria…" and Attachment (L1) has tables for 2 contracts, but then para 1.1.1 says "The Offeror shall use a single contract to demonstrate its contract experience with Professional Program Management/Support Services criteria..." Does this mean that only one or both contract references must meet the criteria individually or can the 2 references satisfy the criteria in the aggregate?

The Offeror must demonstrate that it meets the criteria with a single contract. The Offeror may submit two contract references for consideration, but cannot agregate the experience of the two contracts to meet the criteria. The Government will only evaluate the second contract reference if the Government evaluates the first contract as Unacceptable.

25 RFP

Section L, Part B,

1.1.1 and Section M, Part C, 3.0, Other Evaluation Definitions

The criteria listed in Section L say that the contract example used in the Corporate Experience must have been performed for "at least three years consecutively" and Section M defines recency as "...3 Years Prior to the Solicitation Release Date." This means that the offeror's experience must have started no later than 3 years prior to the solicitation date and must still be in work at the time of the solicitation. Consequently, a 3-year contract that started 3 years and 1 day before the solicitation is therefore deemed unacceptable. This along with the other very specific criteria in para 1.1.1 that effectively describes the incumbent's contract, will severely limit the number of vendors that have acceptable corporate experience examples and appears to be an unreasonable set of criteria. Will the Government modify the recency definition to 5 years or eliminate the minimum number of years of experience in

1.1.1. to avoid inhibiting competition and increasing the likelihood that the Government will receive enough offers to obtain the "best value" it seeks?

Please see the revised Section M Recency definition in the final RFP.

26 RFP Section L, Part B, 1.1.1

The criteria listed in Section L say that the contract example used in the Corporate Experience must show performance of "...at least $20M per contract year (all costs associated with manpower)". Does the current incumbent's contract meet this criterion and does this mean that the value of this IDIQ is at least $100M?

Please see the final RFP for revised Section L criteria.

27 RFP Section L, Part B, 1.1.1

Does the term "manpower" in paragraphs b. and c. refer to support services related to Navy/Marine Corps manpower (e.g., MPTE, Total Force, OPNAV N1, etc)? Please see revised final RFP for removal of the word manpower.

28 RFP Section L, Part B,

1.1.1 What is the definition of "...manpower support services…"? Recommend revise for clarity. Please see revised final RFP for removal of the word manpower.

29 RFP

Section L, Part B, paragraph 1.1.1

(Contract Experience Criteria)

(pg 101 of 117)

Section L, Part B, 1.1.1 (Contract Experience Criteria) states “The Offeror shall use a single contract to demonstrate its contract experience with Professional Program Management/Support Services criteria specified below where Part (c) states, "The Offeror managed manpower support services at a minimum of 7 sites.” Offerors could interpret the word “sites” as individual buildings within the same naval base, city, or county, which does not enable the Government to evaluate an offeror's corproate experience in staffing in different geographic locations. Will the Government update the solicitiation to clarify the language relating to a minimum of 7 sites to read a “minimum of 7 different geographic locations separated by at least 100 miles”?

Please see the final RFP for revised Section L language.

30 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Postion 112 (Analyst, Senior) is identified as a KP position in support of NAE Strategic Planning. Will the Government update the solicitation so that Position 112 is a full-time FTE (1,920 hours)?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

31 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Will the Government update the solicitation so that the resume requirement for Position 116 (Analyst, Senior) in support of Strategic Communications is not required until contract award?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

32 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 126 is a KP (Analyst, Senior) in support of the RCT that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 126 as part of proposal response?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

33 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 139 is a KP (Advisor, Senior) in support of the Total Force Team that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 139 as part of proposal response?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

34 RFP

Section A.2 (5) and Section L, Part B, 2.3, (5)

The Government anticipates award of the IDIQ 30 days prior to start of the performance start date, giving the awardee the opportunity ample time to recruit and hire qualified personnel (including incumbent personnel that the Government desires to retain) prior to start. Will the Government consider removing the requirement for key personnel resumes in the RFP for the IDIQ and only require them for the task orders?

No, a reduced number of key personnel resumes will be required at the IDIQ level for evaluation purposes.

35 RFP Section L, Part B, 2.3, (5)

In almost every transition to a new contractor, there are some incumbent personnel that the Government values and wishes to retain.

Recognizing this fact, the new contract company often recruits and hires some of those incumbent personnel. This benefits the Government by providing stability in the workforce and reducing the loss of corporate knowledge. In this RFP, the Government requires resumes for 16 key personnel in the proposal for the single award IDIQ, with very stringent requirements for substitutions.

Because all prime and subcontractor incumbent employees have signed non-compete agreements with their current employers, no other vendor will be able to include any incumbent personnel in their staffing plan other than the incumbent contractor. This means that if the IDIQ is awarded to a vendor other than the incumbent, the Government will lose access to the 16 current incumbent key personnel, thereby increasing the risk to the transition and loss of valuable corporate knowledge. However, if the Government removed the requirement for key personnel resumes in the IDIQ proposal, it will allow an awardee the ability to recruit and hire incumbent personnel that the Government wishes to retain. Is the Government aware that all incumbent personnel have signed non-compete agreements, and therefore will be unavailable to the Government if the awardee is a contractor other than the incumbent contractor? Will the Government eliminate the requirement for key personnel resumes in the IDIQ RFP in order to give itself the opportunity to retain valued incumbent personnel, maintain some stability in the workforce and reduce risk to the customer?

No, the Government procures services and as such is not privy to internal contractor employments agreements.

No, a reduced number of key personnel resumes will be required at the IDIQ level for evaluation purposes.

36 RFP Section L, Volume 2B, Paragraph 2.3

The previous RFP for the current contract required 32 resumes for Key Personnel for immediate performance under the contract. For this solicitation, the Government drastically reduced the number to 16 Key Personnel resumes. While the Government also designates 27 Key Personnel in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan”, it also states “NOTE: The Offeror shall not provide resumes for the remaining 27 key personnel positions outlined in the Statement of Work. The successful Offeror shall provide the remaining 27 key personnel resumes at Task Order award.” As a result, the Government cannot verify or evlauate the qualifications of the other 27 Key Personnel proposed until after the contract is awarded. Will the Government: (1) increase the Key Personnel resumes from 16 to at least 25 key personnel resumes? (2) Require offerors to submit a staffing table as part of the WorkForce section of teh Technical Proposal for any non-resumed key personnel to demonstrate their ability to meet the remaining Key Personnel requirements immediately upon award, to include substantiating experience, education, and qualifications ? (3) require offerors to annotate and certify in the staffing table whether the proposed non-resumed Key Personnel meets, exceeds, or significantly exceeds the LCAT requirement. This will allow the Government to evaluate the strength of all key personnel and not just the resumed key personnel.

1. The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

2. Please see final RFP for revised Section L.

3. No, the Government does not intend to add this as part of its source selection process.

37 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 12 is a KP (Database Analyst, Senior) in support of the AMSRR Team that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 12 as part of proposal response?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

38 RFP Section L, Part B, 2.3, (5)

The Government requires resumes for 16 key personnel in the proposal for the single award IDIQ, with very stringent requirements for substitutions. Aside from the facts that this requirement heavily favors the incumbent, will discourage potential offerors, and will inhibit competition for the IDIQ, it make the incumbent's 16 key personnel unavailable to the Government should any other offeror than the incumbent be awarded the IDIQ. The key personnel LCATS may be critical to subsequently awarded task orders, but have no function at the IDIQ level. If the Government removes this requirement from the IDIQ RFP, it will enable an awardee who is not the incumbent to recruit and hire incumbent personnel that the Government desires to retain, but would otherwise be unavailable to the Government. This will reduce transition risk to the Government and provide some of the stability the Government needs (per Section H). Will the Government consider removing the 16 key personnel resume requirement from the IDIQ RFP in order to avoid heavily favoring the incumbent, discouraging competition, and allowing the Government access to valued individuals in the event another offeror is awarded the IDIQ?

No, a reduced number of key personnel resumes will be required at the IDIQ level for evaluation purposes.

39 RFP Section L, Part B, 2.4, (g)

The IDIQ will have an ordering period of 5 years, but the incumbent's contract has a singular PoP end at the beginning of the ordering period. Section L says that Government requires a transition plan that "...ensures a smooth workplace changeover from an incumbent with no loss of service and minimal loss of corporate knowledge...". How will the Government ensure incumbent personnel are available for a smooth workplace changeover for task orders that are awarded after the incumbent's period of performance and throughout the 5-year ordering period?

The transition will occur 30 days upon contract award during which the incumbent will be available to participate.

40 RFP Section L, Part B, Para 2.4

Section J - Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan” requires 43 Key Personnel, however only 16 resumes are required. To verify offerors are ready to provide resumes for 27 Key Personnel upon award as required, will the Government add a “Key Personnel Staffing Table” requirement in the Section L, 2.4 Management Approach that requires offerors to include the name of each of the non-resumed key personnel nominations, along with at a minimum, the individual’s years of experience, specialized experience, education level, location, ability to start on day one, and whether a current employee or signed contingent offer? This will allow the Government to assess an offeror’s ability to staff the Key Personnel requirements as part of the technical evaluation rather than post-award.

Please see final RFP for revised Section L.

41 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 16 is a KP (Advisor, Senior) in support of the CAT/CFO Team that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 16 as part of proposal response?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

42 RFP Section L, Part B, 2.3, (5)

Most industry-leading Government contracting firms interpret the requirement for multiple key personnel resumes as an indication that the Government desires to maintain the incumbent staff, and because incumbent contractors require their employees to sign non-compete agreements, they are unavailable to any other offeror. So, such a requirement appears to be designed to retain the incumbent contractor. Will the Government consider removing the requirement for key personnel resumes in the RFP for the IDIQ in order to generate competition and provide the Government a true "best value" choice?

No, a reduced number of key personnel resumes will be required at the IDIQ level for evaluation purposes.

43 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 45 is a KP (Advisor, Senior) in support of the Current Readiness Team that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 45 as part of proposal response?

The Government has reviewed the question and the Government requirement will be reflected in the final RFP.

44 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Will the Government update the solicitation so that the location for Position 79 (Database Analyst, Senior) reflects Charleston, SC or PAX River, MD? No, the Government will not be updating the solicitation to relect Pax

River or Charleston, SC.

45 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

Position 85 is a KP (Advisor, Senior) in support of the Future Readiness Team that does not require a resume. Will the Government update the solicitation so that a resume is required for Position 85 as part of proposal response?

Please see final RFP for revised Section L.

46 RFP

Section L, Part B,

2.3 Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes)

(pg 102 of 117)

The LCAT for Position 102 is currently listed as Analyst, Senior and is identified as a KP position in support of the NAAC/FRAG.

Will the Government update the solicitation so that Position 102 reflects the LCAT of Advisor, Senior? Please see final RFP for revision to Section J, Attachment 2.

47 RFP Section L, paragraph

3.0 (pg 99 of 117)

Section L, 3.0 (pg 99 of 117) limits the length of individual resumes to 4 pages. The specified resume template (L5) contains several lines of text providing instructions for completing the template such as “Starting with current position and working backward:

Identify name and address of employer, dates of employment, position titles, specified duties and responsibilities as they relate to the labor category for which the employee is proposed. Add additional tables as necessary.” Will the Government confirm offerors may remove the instructional text from the template?

Yes, Offerors may remove the instructional text from the template.

48 RFP

Section L, Part B, 3.1(g) (pg 104 of

117)

Section L, Part B, 3.1(g) states, “The Offeror (and subcontractors) shall complete and submit Attachment L10, titled, “Cost_Price Spreadsheetrev3”. No other format will be considered.” Will the Government confirm all offerors must propose the Labor Categories, hours, work locations, and Govt/Ctr site requirements exactly as specified by position in Section J, Attachment 2?

Yes, please see Section L, Part B, paragraph 3.4.2 and the revised L10.

49 RFP Section L, Para 3.1(h)

Section L, Para 3.1(h) states, “the Offeror (and subcontractors) shall complete and submit Attachment (L11), titled, “Personnel Acknowledgement of Commitment” for all key personnel identified in Section L, Part B, Para 2.3 (employed by the Offeror or Offeror’s subcontractor if the Offeror is awarded the contract). Will the Government confirm that Attachment L11 is required for all 43 Key Personnel prescribed in Section J-Attachment 2 “NAE Workforce Qualifications Staffing Plan”?

No, in accordance with Section L, Part B, Para 3.1(h), offerors shall submit Attachment L11 for all key personnel identified in Section L Part B Para 2.3 which lists 16 positions. Not all 43.

50 RFP Section L, Para 3.1(h)

Section L, Para 3.1(h) states, “the Offeror (and subcontractors) shall complete and submit Attachment (L11), titled, “Personnel Acknowledgement of Commitment” for all key personnel identified in Section L, Part B, Para 2.3 (employed by the Offeror or Offeror’s subcontractor if the Offeror is awarded the contract). Will the Government modify the L11 attachment to include a means by which the offeror and/or employee confirms the person proposed meets the Labor category requirements as defined by the solicitation?

No, the Government does not intend to change the L11 requirements.

51 RFP

Section L, paragraph

3.4.1 (pg 107 of 117)

In Section L, 3.4.1 (pg 107 of 117), the Government provides an ODC estimate of $575,000 for each year. Does this estimate include both travel and material costs or will material costs be handled under a separate CLIN?

The ODC estimate includes Travel and Materials. Both Travel and Maerial will be covered under CLIN 0003.

52 RFP

Section M, Paragraph 3.0 (pg 113 of 117)

Section M highlights a Government tripwire when proposed fully burdened labor cost exceeds $300K annually per employee. Given the scale of NAE staffing, the multiple LCAT requirements which are cited as requiring senior level military (O5-O9) or GS experience (GS14-SES), and the intense competition for the type of talent needed to support NAE, would the Government remove this tripwire requirement from the solicitation or increase the tripwire due to the highly specialized experience requirements? The Government would still be able to maintain significant contract cost control through the establishment of average LCAT rates to be utilized in the Task Orders combined with the ability to evaluate each offeror’s overall price as part of the overall source selection.

No, the Government does not intend to remove the requirement in Section M, Part B, Para 3.0.

53 RFP

Section M-Part B (3.0), (pg 113 of

117)

Section M-Part B (3.0), (pg 113 of 117) states “The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s Total Compensation Plan provided in Section L, Part B, Para 3.3 and in accordance with the U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics Employer Cost Per Employee Compensation in accordance with FAR 52.222-46.” Offerors whose fringe benefits are below industry standards are unlikely to recruit, hire and retain talent, which poses a risk to the NAE. Will the Government add language: “offerors are cautioned that proposing fringe benefit rates that are lower than market standards may be considered a risk as there is potential for unsuccessful contract performance. Unrealistic cost proposals may result in a re-evaluation and concurrent rescoring of technical proposals. Such re-evaluation based on cost or realistic cost analysis could negatively impact the rating and ranking of the proposal”? This language has been incorporated in other Navy solicitations.

Please see RFP, NAVAIR clause 5252.215-9511.

54 RFP

Section L, Part B, Paragraph 1.1 (pg

100 of 117)

Under Section 1.1 Contract Experience Criteria, Section 1.1.1 outlines four specific criteria (a-d) to which an offeror shall use a single contract to demonstrate its contract experience with Professional Program Management/Support Services. The requirement listed in part (c) states, “The Offeror managed manpower support services at a minimum of 7 sites.”. Given the overseas staffing requirement for this solcitation, will the Government modify the requirement in Part (c), to state, “The Offeror managed manpower support services at a minimum of 7 sites, with at least one of the contract references providing overseas staffing support.”?

No, the Government does not intend to revise this requirement as requested in this question.

55 Section J, Attachment 2 Row 146

Position 146 listed in Section J, Attachment 2 provides critical overseas mission support in Japan. Though the LCAT prescribed for Position 146 is an Advisor, Journeyman, a gap in this position would negatively impact the NAE due to the lengthy on-boarding and approval process to meet SPOT/SOFA requirements that would likely result in a significant delay in staffing this position. Will the Government modify the solicitation to include Position 146 as a Key Personnel position with a resume required in the proposal response?

No, the Government does not intend to make this a Key Personnel position.

56 RFP

Section L, Paragraph

2.4 - Management Approach

Section L, Paragraph 2.4 outlines seven different elements (a-g) required within an offerors Management Approach. Given the requirement to provide overseas staff support, will the Government add an eighth response area as part (h) that requires offerors to demonstrate the ability to meet overseas staffing requirements?

No, the Government does not intend to revise this requirement.

57 RFP

Section L, L1 Part A, 1.0 General (pg

97 of 117)

The fifth paragraph under Part A General Instructions 1.0 states, “Throughout these instructions, a “principal subcontractor” is defined as a subcontractor who provides at least 20% of the proposed total price/cost (excluding the Offeror’s profit/fee), for the contract or provides one or more Key Personnel. “JV Team member” is defined as one of the entities that make up a joint venture (JV) formed for the purpose of responding to this solicitation.” In Section L, Part B, Volume 1: Corporate Experience requires offerors to complete Attachment L1. The instructions tab of Attachment L1, states, “List the name of the Principal Entities proposed for this solicitation. Add rows as necessary.” Will the Government clarify the definition of “Principal Entity” as it relates to Attachment L1 – Table T-1 Offeror Summary since “Principal Entity” is not defined on page 97 of 117? In addition, will the Government confirm that if the Prime offeror is providing both contract references, they would include their company information in both rows of Attachment L1 – Table T-1 Offeror Summary?

Please see final RFP, Section L, Part A, Para 1.0 for definition of Principal Entity.

58 RFP

Attachment L2 – Contract Experience

Substantiation – CRS (P1) and CRS

(P2)

Row 17 (ID number 12) requires offerors to enter, “CAGE code/DUNS and physical location as shown on the contract document for this contract reference (Contract reference should be at the same physical location and with the same CAGE code and DUNS as the prime entity identified in Block 15A on Standard Form (SF) 33, Solicitation, Offer, and Award or the JV member identified in the documentation demonstrating the JV is a legal entity, unless the Offeror provides an acceptable explanation based on the considerations in Volume 2 (Contract Experience)).” Will the Government update the instructions for the ID number 12 to allow other contract award documents such as Block 17a of the SF 1449, Block 7 of the SF 26, Block 15A of the SF 33, or Block 8 of the

SF30?

Yes, see the final RFP for updated language.

59 RFP

SOW Paragraph

6.8.1 Strategic

Planning

To fully encompass the wide variety of strategic planning efforts, would the government consider modifying the types of products to reflect the following: The NAE strategic planning process supported by the Contractor will produce/update NAE strategic documentation to include, but not limited to, the NAE Charter, NAE Strategic Plan, Annual Implementation Action Plans (or similar sub-Strategic Initiative plan) and the Organizational Structure and Governance (OSAG) document?

Yes, see the final RFP for updated language.

60 RFP

Section L, Part B, Volume 2A, paragraph 2.1

In Volume 2A: Small Business Utilization, the RFP requires offerors to complete and submit Section J, Attachment 3 titled, “Planned Small Business Participation”. Section J, Attachment 3 was not included in the Draft Solicitation documents. Will the Government please provide Section J, Attachment 3?

Volume 2A requires Offerors to submit Attachment L3, which was included with the Draft Solicitation. Section J, Attachment 3, is a placeholder for the Small Business Plan to be attached to the final contract award.

61 RFP Section J (pg 86 of 117).

Section J lists Attachment 5 – COR Appointment Letter is listed within the List of the Documents, Exhibits, and Other Attachments, however, Attachment 5 was not included in the Draft RFP package. Will the Government please provide Section J, Attachment 5?

Attachment 5 will be removed. COR responsibilities will be reflected in clause 5252.201-9501.

62 RFP

Section L, Volume 2B. Section 2.3 – Workforce (Key

Personnel Resumes), Paragraph 2

Section L, Volume 2B, Section 2.3 – Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes) states, “The Offeror shall complete and submit Attachment (L5), titled, “Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes)” for the following sixteen (16) required key personnel position numbers identified in Section J Attachment 2.” Section L, Paragraph 2.3 (pg 102-103-117) states, “For the proposed named Key Personnel identified above, provide a resume of the work assignments, training, etc., that demonstrates the experience and specialized qualifications of each key person proposed. Resumes shall contain, at a minimum, the following information: Employee Name; Years of employment experience in chronological order including narrative description of duties and responsibilities; Current position, title, and employer; Educational History; Institution Name, degree or certification earned, and year for all degrees or certifications earned; and Current level of security clearance and status (final, interim, or pending).” Within Section J Attachment 2, each position is mapped to Team, Subteam, Concentration Area, Location, Site, and LOE. Will the Government add to the bullets within the Section L, Volume 2B, Section 2.3, Paragraph 2 requirement to include as a new bullet, “Team, Subteam, and Concentration Area alignment the employee is proposed to support IAW Section J Attachment 2; Geographic Location where the work is to be performed; Proposed worksite for the proposed employee (Government or Contractor site); and the proposed Level of Effort.”? This will create a direct alignment between the Section L requirements and the Section J Attachment 2 requirements.

The Government does not intend to revise this Section L requirement.

63 Attachment (L5) I – General.

Section L, Volume 2B, Section 2.3 – Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes) states, “The Offeror shall complete and submit Attachment (L5), titled, “Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes)” for the following sixteen (16) required key personnel position numbers identified in Section J Attachment 2.” In reviewing Section J Attachment 2, all positions also include a mapping to Team, Subteam, Concentration Area, Location, Site, and LOE. However, within the resume template, Attachment (L5), there does not appear to be a place to add this information. To ensure proposed Key Personnel address the Section J, Attachment 2 requirements, will the Government add five (5) rows in the General Section of Attachment (L5) to allow offerors to enter (1) Position Number, (2) Team / Subteam / Concentration Area, (3) Geographic Location, (4) worksite (Government or Contractor site), and (5) Proposed Year 1 Level of Effort (hours)? This will create a direct alignment between the Section L requirements, Attachment L5 requirements and the Section J Attachment 2 requirements.

The Government will update Attachment L5 to include this information.

64 RFP

Section L, Volume

2B: Technical, Paragraph 2.3

The first paragraph of Section 2.3 titled, “Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes)” outlines 16 required key personnel position numbers in which offerors are to submit a resume. The last paragraph of Section 2.3 states, “The Offeror shall not provide resumes for the remaining 27 key personnel positions outlined in the Statement of Work. The successful Offeror shall provide the remaining 27 key personnel resumes at Task Order award.” This would indicate that there are a total of 43 Key Positions. However, in reviewing Section J, Attachment 2, there are only 39 total positions that are marked as Key Positions. Will the Government update Section J, Attachment 2 to reflect the four additional Key Personnel positions?

Please see final RFP for revision to Section L, Part B, Para 2.3 to change to 37 total positions.

65 Attachment (L5) IV. Work Experience:

Section L, Paragraph 2.3 Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes) states that resumes shall contain at a minimum, the following information: Employee name; Years of employment experience in chronological order including narrative description of duties and responsibilities; Current position, title and employer; Educational history; Institution name, degree or certification earned, and year for all degrees or certifications earned; and Current level of security clearance and status (final, interim, or pending). Section IV of Attachment (L5), titled, “Workforce (Key Personnel Resumes)” states, “Starting with current position and working backward:

Identify name and address of employer, dates of employment, position titles, specified duties and responsibilities as they relate to the labor category for which the employee is proposed.