Fieldwork Services RFP OPM15-11-R-0003 Amendment 0003.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 71

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

04/18/2011

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Boyers Contracting Group 1137 Branchton Rd.

Boyers, PA 16018

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No. Street, county, State and ZIP: Code) (x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

OPM15-11-R-0003

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

2/18/2011

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 1 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATA SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and data specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

1. The above numbered solicitation is hereby amended to incorporate questions and answers beginning on page 2, and additions beginning on page 38.

2. A revised Excel Pricing Workbook has been uploaded to FedBizOpps

3. The due date for receipt of proposals is hereby extended to 3:00 PM on Monday May 09, 2011.

Except at provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

BY ___________________________________________

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous Edition Unusable

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Background Investigations Fieldwork Services Solicitation OPM15-11-R-0003: Amendment 0003

Background Investigations Fieldwork Services Solicitation - OPM15-11-R-0003 Amendment 0003

Question/Answer List

1. General: To provide an equitable basis for pricing comparison will OPM provide the average number of ESIs, personal testimonies, record checks, local agency checks, etc. per case by case type?

This is only an estimate and in no way projects future workloads.

FY 2010 Summary of Sources Per Case Type

Case Type Average Number of Personal Sources/Case

Average Number of Record Sources/Case

Average Total Sources/Case

PRI

SSBI‐PR 6.5 2.6 9.03

Phased SSBI‐PR 3.1 1.8 4.94

MBI* 1.4 1.6 2.96

BI 6.7 4.4 11.11

BGI 6.9 4.8 11.75

BDI 5.2 2.7 7.92

SSBI 9.5 7.3 16.86

SGI 7.2 5.1 12.34

SDI 7.0 5.1 12.05

NACLC 0.1 0.5 0.66

ANACI 0.1 0.5 0.60

Averages have been estimated slightly higher due to an increased level of effort of the new MBI.

2. Page 12, C.2, (e): Does OPM identify cases where an ESI has to be conducted expeditiously because the subject is ready to deploy OCONUS?

When the case is identified to FIS, we will pass the information along to the contractor.

3. Page 12, C.3, (e) and Attachment 2, p. 122: After reading these two sections it is still unclear what the specific training requirements for – 1.) Investigators with OPM experience who have been away for >8 months. 2.) Investigators with OPM experience who have been away for over 12 months. 3.) Experienced Investigators with no OPM experience. 4.) New Investigators (no previous experience in investigations). It appears the description on page 122 is missing some text.

New Investigative Personnel: The training will include, but not limited to four weeks of in class instruction on all aspects of duties, mock interviews (if applicable to the position), a final exam that must be passed with at least an 80% score, and 4 weeks of “On the Job Training” (OJT).

New investigative personnel must receive at a minimum 80 hours pre-training and another 80 hours post-training mentoring with a senior experienced investigative person. Mentoring includes an environment where a trainee‘s work is observed by a senior staff member well versed in FIS investigations, technology, policy, and procedures. Additional post-training audits are required for at least 30 days after the mentoring phase of training for new investigative personnel.

Experienced Investigative Personnel: When the investigative personnel have 18 months or more of consecutive FIS experience (in the respective job title) and less than 8 months of inactivity working FIS investigations, the investigative personnel will only need to pass a verification of experience exam with a minimum score of 80%. OPM will not require the one week OJT for investigative personnel with this level of experience. If the investigative personnel fail to pass the exam with the 80% minimum score or if a break exists of greater than 8 months but less than 12 months, the minimum training required will be following the guidance below.

For investigative personnel with less than 18 months of experience working on the OPM contract conducting FIS investigations, the training will include, but not limited to in class instruction on all aspects of duties, mock interviews (if applicable to the position), a final exam that must be passed with at least an 80% score, and a minimum of one week OJT for all investigative personnel. If the investigative personnel has a break in service of 12 months or more they will be required to attend a complete training program(s) for their respective position (Refer to “New Investigative Personnel” training section above).

For investigative personnel with investigative experience but no experience on the OPM contract conducting FIS investigations, the requirement will be to attend training equivalent to what is reflected in the “New Investigative Personnel” section of this response.

Shared Investigative Personnel: When investigative personnel are shared by multiple contractors working on the OPM contract, each Contractor is required to provide their own training and testing to be incompliance with the criteria set forth above and maintain training and testing records that will be available to OPM upon request. When shared investigative personnel are unable to complete training requirements for any one of the participating contractors, OPM must be notified immediately.

The OJT will be conducted by the contractor and all costs borne by the contractor for this training will be considered a normal business expense. Any supplemental training will also be conducted by the contractor will be considered a normal business expense (remedial training, Handbook clarifications, policy changes etc). All travel costs, lodging costs, meals, tuition as applicable, and incidental costs will be borne by the contractor. The sponsoring contractor of any contractor personnel failing to obtain the 80% score or those leaving the class early will bear the cost for that class.

See amendment to Section C.3. (e) and Attachment 2 - Resume Format, Qualifications, and Training Requirements for additional details.

4. Page 12, C.3, (d): Can OPM provide some estimate on the cost of training if contractors will be responsible to pay for OPM training? Section H. states the OPM training department will publish a training class charge effective October 1 for each fiscal year. What is at charge for fiscal year 2011?

For the purposes of this solicitation, OPM will not be providing any training to Contract Field Investigators. In the future, if/when OPM conducts training for Contract Field Investigators, OPM will negotiate with the awarded Contractors on pricing and process changes.

5. Page 12, C.3, (e): Training will include classroom instruction, a minimum of one week on the job training for investigators with experience and four weeks on the job training for those investigators with no experience. How much time is required for classroom instruction?

Refer to Question #3 for details.

6. Page 23, C.12, (a): On the average how often does OPM require a contractor to obtain additional case information after a case has been closed by OPM?

Out of a total 2021948 completed cases in FY 2010, only 8731 total cases received a request from OPM to obtain additional information after the case had been closed by OPM. This amount is only .43% of the entire yearly case load.

7. Page 38: Regarding contract delivery dates, it reads by CD or 10 days which is for reopens, extensions, triggered ESI’s. Our interpretation of this is when something is sent back to the contractor the contractor will receive a minimum of 10 days to complete the work and turn the case back into OPM.

See amendment to Section F.8 (a)

8. Page 38: Upon notifying the government about a canceled case does the contractor cease all field work at that time or does the field work continue until there is official notification from the Government to stop work and cancel the case?

When a discontinue notice is received from an agency, the Support Contractor enters a case comment and cancels all pending NAC items. Field items are cancelled if they are not yet assigned in PIPS. If items are assigned, a case message is sent to the Field Org responsible indicating a discontinue request was received and that they should cancel their items and transmit any fieldwork already conducted.

9. Page 51: For a reinvestigation for an OPM investigator, will OPM charge the contractor the FIN investigation price in the same way they would for the initial (e.g. its investor there works for 18 months there is no charge)?

On a reinvestigation for an OPM contract investigator, FIS will charge the complete FIN price.

See Section H.15 of the Solicitation.

10. Page 100-101: These pages provide quantity estimates for standard and priority cases based on historical data and anticipated volume for the upcoming years. Do these estimates include cases to be performed by the federal workforce? If so, we would request revised tables to reflect only the quantity estimates for cases to be assigned to contractors, so that offerors can factor a more realistic volume within their technical and price proposals.

Yes.

No, we are unable to predict future volume of work to be handled by contractors.

11. Page 105, M.9, Award: Does OPM intend to make multiple awards from this RFP? If so, does OPM have a limit on the number of multiple awards?

OPM does intend to make multiple awards. There is no pre-defined limit to the number of awards.

12. C.4.E.6: Can we get credentials for a pre-class ride along program and if so, what is the procedure we need to follow?

The referenced site is incorrect. See Amendment to section C.4 (f) (6)

13. F.7.C.5: This section indicates that reduced payment may be made for “unable to contact (UC)” items. How is the validity of a UC item determined and how will the vendor be notified of this determination and any offsets?

The validity of an “Unable to Contact” (UC) item is measured against the standards set forth in the OPM Investigator’s Handbook. The Contractor is to invoice for only the appropriate % of the CLIN price for any RSI product. See section G.6

14. F.8: Please provide details on EPIC processing schedules that might result in delivery delays by the vendors based on OPM’s batch processing schedule/periods.

Monday thru Saturday, except holidays, EPIC Batch processing normally begins at 23:30 (11:30 p.m.). Sunday night EPIC Batch Processing normally begins at 19:30 (7:30 p.m.). This is the normal processing schedule. Contractors must plan accordingly to avoid any delivery delays.

15. F.8: The delivery chart suggests that re-opens and extensions have to be completed by the CD or 10 days whichever is greater while F.8 indicates that they must be completed by the CD?

Which is correct in terms of timeliness?

16. C.15 (m): Regarding the Contractor’s Evaluation Program, references a paragraph C.6.3.

This paragraph does not exist. Please correct or clarify.

See amendment to C.15. (m) which corrected this site to C.7. (c)

17. C.15 (u) and (v): When are the plans indicated in (u) and (v) required?

These plans need to be part of your proposal but can be separate attachments not included in the 50 page limit.

18. L.2(c)(2): This section indicates certain information that must be shown on the “first page” of the proposal. Please clarify if the “first page” can be the “cover page” or “title page” (not included in the page count), or if the information must be included on page 1 of the page-limited portion of the proposal.

This information should be included in a cover letter attached to the technical proposal and is not included in the 50 page limit.

19. L.6.(j).(4) & (5); M.3.(c): Will there be any consideration to excluding the past performances from the overall page count?

Offerors past performance references will not be include in the 50 page limit;

however, offerors are reminded that for past performance purposes they may only submit a list of the most recent three (3) Contracts and subcontracts completed during the last three (3) calendar years that most closely relate to the work specified in this SOW, or other relevant technical experience they wish considered that occurred within the last five (5) years that has not been included under the three (3) year limit.

20. Is OPM software/PIV/VPN MAC OS compatible? (For encryption, etc.) What about using a virtual windows OS using software such as Parallels (Software for MAC)?

It has not been shown to be compatible to this point.

21. If the ability (technical) is demonstrated as acceptable, is volume ability, at least to start, a disqualifying factor?

See amendment to Section(s) L.6 (j) (3) and M.3 (a) (5)

22. Is the contractor able to refuse work if at capacity?

The scheduling will be derived per awardee and will depend upon the capacity of the contractor using but not limited to the FTE, timeliness, quality, price, performance and the needs of the Government and may be revisited annually.

23. Will the contractor perform the SSBI on their own employees?

No.

24. Page 4, Section B.5.: What are the types of records that will be covered as “centralized record checks” once assumed by OPM?

• Military Items (NARA/DPRIS)

• BVS searches (EVEE searches)

• INS/IMM items

• BAR items

• West Law

• Manual DCII item

25. Page 12, Section C.3.E: States that an investigator with no experience be given 4 weeks of on the job training (OJT). Page 122 in Attachment 2 (Training Section) states that a minimum of 80 hours of mentoring with a senior, experienced investigator be completed prior to training and another 80 hours be completed after training. Does this account for the 4 weeks of OJT?

Refer to Question # 3 for details.

26. Page 13, Section C.3 (8).: If OPM class space is filled, can contractor still conduct training?

The Contractors will conduct the training for their personnel.

27. Page 15, Section C.4.F.6 states: If a contractor is enrolled in a training program that requires credentials, they may obtain them from OPM. Can the contractor request that a credential be provided in order to complete the 80 hour pre-training mentoring?

See Amendment to section C.4 (f) (6)

28. Page 14, Section C.4.D: States that inactivity on EPIC will trigger an inquiry to determine if credentials are still needed. Will the contractor have the ability to request that this requirement be waived for investigators in areas with limited work?

OPM will not waive this requirement.

29. Page 41, Section G.4.: We have several questions on this “Contractor’s Invoices” section, as follows:

a. Paragraph (a) appears to state that while the contractor will immediately be responsible for billing on CLINs 101-110, OPM will initially continue to direct pay the Contractor for CLINs 111-121(i.e., the Contractor will not invoice these CLINs). Please confirm this is the correct interpretation, or provide clarification.

A) The Contractor must submit a valid invoice for all work performed under this contract.

See amendment to Section G.4

b. Paragraph (a) – how will billings be handled for CLINs 122-123?

B) Covered in above

c. Paragraph (a) states that OPM will provide an invoice template. If available, we request OPM provide the template as part of this RFP.

C) Yes

d. Paragraph a.2.e. discusses the grace period from the notice to proceed. Will a format for this unique period be included with the invoice template? We are unsure as to how to include the incentives/disincentives in an invoice without those being applied for OPM payment purposes.

D) Further instructions will be provided upon award.

30. Page 53, Section H.7.C (4).: What contractor training materials will the Government approve if the Government is to provide annual IT training for all Contractor employees?

• Government must pre-approve all training materials for investigative personnel.

• The Annual IT training is also a requirement, but up to the present, OPM has allowed the Contractors access to the OPM LMS system strictly for the Annual IT Awareness Training.

• If the Government is providing training, it can be assumed that the training has been approved.

31. Page 54, Section H.9.: This section describes the requirements for a Business Continuity Plan during contract performance. However, there is no evaluation criteria (Section M) for the plan. Please verify that no Business Continuity Plan is required with proposal submission.

Business Continuity Plan will be considered under M.3. (a). (4)

32. Page 64, Section H.24.: Please confirm if Subcontracting Plans are required for all Large Businesses.

Confirmed. Sub-contracting plans are required for all large businesses.

33. Page 64, Section H.24.: Assuming Subcontracting Plans are required of all large businesses, is the plan required to be submitted within the offeror’s Price Proposal? Please clarify both Subcontracting Plan submittal requirements (Section L) and evaluation of plans (Section M).

The subcontracting plan should be submitted as part of the offerors technical proposal but is not included in the 50 page limit.

34. Page 71, Section H.34 (2).: This section references a template for submission of the staffing change report, but we did not locate one as an attachment to the RFP. Please clarify the status of the template as it relates to the proposal submission requirements.

Template for the “Access to OPM IT Systems Staffing Change Report” is Attachment 7 of the Solicitation.

35. Page 71, Section H.35 (e).: This section references an attached technical description on incorporating Section 508 standards, but we did not locate one as an attachment to the RFP.

Please clarify the status of this attachment as it relates to the proposal submission requirements.

See hyperlink in H.35 (a).

36. Page 79, Section I.5 (d).: Is it correct that the contractor deliveries may be required through 06/30/21, even though the contract term is only projected to have a priced ordering period through 07/05/16? Please clarify this difference in dates with respect to Contractor performance and payments.

Deliveries subject to a valid order placed against the contract during the term of the contract, or any valid extension there to, may be required until such time as they are either delivered or the Government informs the contractor that they are no longer required and the contract is closed out. The Government will pay for any such delivery when delivered subject to the terms of the contract taking into consideration of timeliness and quality provisions as with any valid order and delivery.

See amendment to Section I.5 (d)

37. Page 81, Section J.2.: We only identified Attachment #1, Product Descriptions, with the RFP. We request that OPM provide the Attachments 2 thru 5 stated in this section, or provide clarification if none to be provided.

See Amendment to J.2 - Attachments.

38. Page 90, Section L.2.C (4).: Must the offeror quote prices for all listed CLINs, or may the offeror propose prices for only selected CLINs?

Offerors need to provide pricing for all CLINS.

39. Page 94, Section L.3 (b).: Based on the fixed price nature of the work, planned competition and use of price analysis for evaluation (M.4, page 104), we would not normally expect to have executed certificates of current cost or pricing data required upon award. We would respectfully request this requirement be removed from the RFP.

The Government does not require certified cost and pricing data; however we do require other than cost and pricing data to make a valid price reasonableness/realism determination.

40. Page 98, Section L, Past Performance.: Please confirm that contracts with option years completed in the past three years meet the requirements for completed contracts within the last three years period.

Confirmed.

41. Page 122 in Attachment 2 (Training Section): Referencing the 80 hours of pre-training mentoring with a Senior Investigator; Are they required to be with the Senior Investigator during the interview process? How do we report the third party (trainee) involvement with the interview?

Refer to Question # 3 for details.

42. Page 126, Attachment 6.: Please provide OPM’s most current FY subcontracting goals, if those exist beyond the FY06 goals included in the sample plan outline.

The Small business Subcontracting Plan Outline is hereby amended to incorporate OPM's current goals as follows: Total Small Business - 24.33%; Women-Owned Small Business - 5%; Small Disadvantaged Business - 5%; HUBZone Small Business - 3%; Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business - 3%.

43. General: Please confirm Offerors may include a Compliance Matrix that does not count against the 50 page limit for the technical proposal.

44. General: Please confirm the Offerors may include a Table of Contents that does not count against the 50 page limit for the technical proposal.

45. Section A, Page 1: The requirements listed on the Proposal Submission Checklist do not map to the requirements listed in Section L. There are inconsistencies. Please confirm the list of requirements in Section A and Section L

Section L.6 is hereby amended to require that offerors provide a Microsoft Word (Version 2003 or later) electronic copy of their technical proposal along with the already required Adobe PDF version Section L.6 is further amended to require that the offeror's pricing proposal include signed copies of the OF 308, and any SF 30s from any issued solicitation amendment, and a completed copy of the Proposal Submission Checklist.

46. Section B.7, page 5: The Base Period is stated as “Notice to Proceed Date to 09/30/2012”.

For pricing purposes, could the Government please provide an estimated start date to the Base Period?

The projected Notice to Proceed (NTP) date for this solicitation is 7/5/2011, barring any extension by the Contracting Officer (CO) to the current contract.

47. Section B.7, page 9 and Section L, (k), page 100: In Section B, Option Period 4 is stated as “10/1/2015 – 07/05/2016” which is roughly 9 months. In Section L, the number of cases per CLIN for Option Period 4 as compared to the number of cases per CLIN for the Base Period through Base Period 3 indicates that Option Period 4 should be a full year or 12 months. Please clarify the number of cases and period of performance for Option Period 4.

Section referenced is incorrect. See amendment to Section L.6. (l). The estimates may be adjusted yearly.

48. C.3 (g), page 13: What happens if OPM’s training capacity doesn’t meet the needs of Contractor training? Can the Contractor still conduct its own training for the investigative workforce?

See response in Question 4.

49. Section C.3 (g), page 13: The RFP states “The classroom size will be limited and priority for the classes will be given to the Federal personnel. What process will OPM use to ensure equitable assignment of remaining class seats among Contractors? If we are unable to seat our candidates our ability to perform under the terms of the contract could be significantly impacted with potentially negative financial impact and our inability to retain the contract based on our failure of performance standards. Therefore, please confirm the Contractor can hold its own training classes if OPM does not have available seating.

See response in Question 4.

50. Section C.4 (e), page 14: The RFP states “OPM will not provide the Contractor space for administrative purposes including security personnel (Contractor FSO), quality review staff, or other purposes.” Does this apply to the Contractor spaces currently provided to each of the vendors in Boyers or does it apply to additional space?

Applies to both. OPM will not provide any space to the Contractors for this Contract.

51. Section C.6, page 17: Will the contractor be provided the specific elements of this program in order to enable us to perform self-assessments utilizing the same criteria and methodologies?

52. Section C.6, page 17: Please confirm that OPM will both initiate and conduct the contract performance assessment program.

Yes, but this does not alleviate the contractor from initiating and conducting their own Quality Assurance Surveillance Program.

53. Section C.8 (e), page 19: The RFP states “OPM will determine whether the Contractor or Federal investigative staff will conduct the initial investigations into the allegations of falsification. If initial investigation is conducted by the Contractor, the investigation must be completed within seven (7) calendar days.” Please define the scope of an “initial investigation.”

The initial investigation is defined on a case by case basis and specific instructions are provided for each case.

54. Section C.15 (b), page 24: The RFP makes reference to source re-contacts and various methods including re-interview letters attempted by the Contractor. Is OPM reinstating the requirement for vendors to conduct re-interview letters?

Letters are not required. See section C.8 for Reinterview requirements.

55. Section C.15 (c), page 24: The RFP referenced the “Contract Specification Delivery Date in Section F.6.” Section F.6 of the RFP is titled “Ordering.” Should the RFP reference Section F.3?

Please clarify.

F.8

56. Section C.15 (k), page 25: The RFP references Section 3.1.2 a. This section does not exist.

Please clarify. Will the government consider removing the requirement to document Quality and Timeliness from this specific deliverable since it is addressed in (m) in the same section?

Remove reference to Section C.3.1.2.a in C.15. (k)

57. Section C.15 (m), page 25: The RFP references paragraph C.6.3. This paragraph does not exist. Please clarify.

Amended: Remove reference and replace with c.7.(c)

58. Section E.4, page 30: The RFP states “OPM will be the final authority on deciding if a case meets standards.” Will a deficiency rebuttal process still be in place to handle any question of legitimacy of a deficiency?

Yes, the current rebuttal process will remain in effect. It has been determined that Quality Assurance would continue to handle rebuttals.

59. Section F.3 (a) (1), page 32: The RFP states “Cases must be able to be closed (CM) or closed pending (CP) to be considered for timeliness.” Please confirm that in the event third party checks or overseas leads prevent the case from closing this will not result in any timeliness disincentive for the contractor.

If these events are outside the contractor’s control, they will not be held accountable.

60. Section F.3 (a) (8) (a), page 35: In the definition of Quality, the RFP states any deficient case will automatically miss timeliness. What timeliness disincentive will be applied in this case?

See Amendment for Section F.3 of the solicitation.

61. Section F.3 (a) (1) b-c, F.3 (a) (4) a., page 33: Although it appears a case could be penalized twice for late delivery (once on initial delivery and the second if an extension is not completed in 10 days), does this mean that we could be penalized twice for timeliness on one case?

Yes. See amendment to Section F.3 for additional information.

62. Section F.3 (a) (3) a., page 33: With the new quality deduction, will the Government Issue guidance detailing what is a reasonable amount of time to wait on an item before legitimately writing it off?

No. See amendment to Section F.3 for additional information.

63. Section F.3 (a), page 32: Please confirm Contractors will receive the 8% premium (incentive) during the first 180 days of the contract on A service cases.

All incentives/disincentives will be waived unless otherwise modified by the C.O.

See amendment to Section F.3 for additional information.

64. Section F.7 (c) (5), page 37: What would the possible deduction be for UC items?

See Section G.6 (c) of the Solicitation.

65. Section F.3 (a) (8) (a), page 35: The RFP references F.8 for additional timeliness information. This appears to be a circular reference. Please provide the correct reference for this statement.

This is not a circular reference. F.8 is referenced within this section to refer the contractor to the appropriate delivery schedule for the product under consideration.

Timeliness is based on the Contractor's ability to deliver the product within the tabled specifications in Section F.8 and therefore is referenced in this section.

66. Section G.4.a, page 41: Can the government provide an invoice template for Contractors to evaluate?

See amendment to Section G.4 (a)

67. Section H.3 (d), page 47: The RFP states notification of misconduct must be reported within 24 hours; however, Section C.15 (d) page 24 details notice can be made in 1 to 3 days for allegations of misconduct. What is the requirement to report allegations of misconduct (24 hours, 1 day, or 1 to 3 days)?

See amendment for Section C.15 (d)

68. Section H.5, page 48: The requirement to provide title to “all plans, systems analysis and design specifications and drawings, completed programs and documentation thereof” would typically apply to a contract to deliver a software program, and doesn’t appear relevant to a contract to provide background investigations. Therefore, will the Government delete this phrase from H.5.? If not, will the Government please identify what types of systems are expected to have analysis, design specifications and drawings, and also define the term “completed programs”?

See amendment to H.5 (a)

69. Section H.5, page 48: Please confirm that, while the Government may obtain access to Contractor personnel records in the event of an OPM investigation, the ownership of Contractor personnel records shall remain with the Contractor

Confirmed

70. Section H.7 (b) (10), page 52: The RFP states “The Contractor will conduct a random drug test on all Contractor employees prior to working on the contract.”

a. To what does “random” refer? See amendment. A drug test must be conducted.

b. Will this require all current employees and consultants to submit to and pass a drug test prior to performance on the new contract or will there be a grace period?

There will be a grace period. OPM will accept documentation of past successful completed drug testing of current Contractor employees. OPM will not accept any documented drug testing results over 90 days old.

c. If/when the Contractor hires an Investigator from another vendor (already holding credentials), is that Investigator subject to random drug testing?

Yes

d. If/when the Contractor hires a PMO Staff (review, manager, etc.) from another vendor, is that employee subject to random drug testing?

All contractor personnel conducting work on the OPM Contract.

71. Section H.7 (a) (4), page 50: If a contract investigator leaves their sponsoring vendor to work for another OPM FIS vendor does this still count towards fulfilling the 18 month requirement? No. If a contract investigator works for multiple OPM FIS vendors and completes less than the 785 source units for the sponsoring vendor but cumulatively across multiple vendors meets this requirement will payment for the clearance still be waived?

No. The site above is incorrect. See amendment to Section H.7 (b) (4). Refer to Section H.15 of the Solicitation.

72. Section H.10 (g), page 55: Will investigators that previously attended an OPM certified training class and currently have OPM credentials or have had them within the last 8 months be grandfathered from the OPM-FIS approved training?

See response in Question #3.

73. Section H.15 (a), page 58: When a current staff member requires a reinvestigation, is it subject to the guidelines in Section H.7 (4) page 50 or does the vendors pay for reinvestigation?

Also if the staff member has performed for a period of greater than 18 months but leaves within 18 months of the reinvestigation will FIN rates still be waived?

The site within the question above is incorrect. See amendment to Section H.7 (b) (4). Refer to Section H.15 of the Solicitation.

74. Section H.15 (b), page 58: Section H.15 is address on page 50 in Section H.7.B.4. Should H.15 be deleted since the requirement is already addressed?

See amendment to Section H.7 (b) (4). Refer to Section H.15 of the Solicitation.

75. Section H.19 (f), page 61: The RFP states “The Contractor is herewith notified that employee recruiting and employee retention practices shall be monitored on a regular basis.” By what method will the Government monitor Contractor recruiting and retention?

Inspections and Information Requests.

76. Section H.24, page 64; Section I, page 73; Section J, Attachment 6, page 126; Section L;

and Section M: Section H.24 and Section I FAR 52.219-9 (Alt II) indicate large business offerors are to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan with their proposals, and Section J, Attachment 6 provides a Small Business Subcontracting Plan outline; however, submission of the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not addressed in Section L

• In which proposal volume are offerors to submit the Small Business Subcontracting Plan?

• If the Small Business Subcontracting Plan is to be submitted in the Technical Volume, are we correct in assuming it will not be counted against the page limitation for that volume?

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan is to be submitted as part of the technical proposal but shall not count against the 50 page limit. This plan will be evaluated as part of the evaluation of the vendor's corporate capabilities.

77. Section H.24, page 64: A significant amount of background investigation work is performed by independent consultants, rather than subcontractors, because the barriers of entry (particularly for small businesses) due to clearance and training requirements have severely limited the number of companies capable of performing this type of work. For the purpose of evaluating small business utilization, please confirm that the use of consultant investigators can be counted toward meeting the contract's small business goals.

OPM is not able to determine whether there is necessarily a distinction between the term small business subcontractor and independent consultant. From OPM's perspective an independent consultant could well be a small business subcontractor as long as their average annual receipts meets the $9.0 Million threshold specified under NAICS code 561611 as applicable from Section K.1 of the solicitation.

78. Section H.33, page 70: Please confirm that the “Plan to Control Investigative Materials/Security” will be an attachment and thus outside the page count of the technical proposal.

79. Section I, page 73-75: Please add to the RFP the following clauses, which are applicable to the T&M CLINs: FAR 52.232-7 Payments under Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts, and FAR 52.243-3 Changes – Time-and-Materials or Labor-Hours.

See amendment to Section B.7 for Parenthetical changes to CLINs 122 & 123.

80. Section I, Section L: Sections I and L include FAR 52.215-21 and FAR 52.215-20, respectively. Are we correct in assuming that Offerors are not required to submit a subcontractor price analysis as part of the proposal?

Correct.

81. Section J.1, page 80: Please confirm that Section J.1 is a complete list of all documents that are available in the reading room.

The Reading Room contains all of the documents listed in Section J.1 of the Background Investigations Fieldwork Service Solicitation OPM15-11-R-0003.

Additional information available in the Reading Room is listed below:

• FIS Laptop Security Requirements

• Appendix III to OMB Circular No. A-130-Security of Federal Automated

Information Resources.

• Background Investigations Fieldwork Service Solicitation OPM15-11-R-0003.

• FIN Notice No. 10-08 September 1 2010 “Aligned Investigations Reimbursable

Billing Rates for FY 2011”.

• Sample Copy – OMB No. 3206-0005, New SF 86 “Questionnaire for National Security Positions”.

• Example Brochures for soliciting cooperation of Employers, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Educational Institutions.

82. Section J.2, page 81: The list of Attachments does not match the Attachments released with the RFP. Please clarify and confirm all attachments released with the RFP.

See amendment to Section J.2 – Attachments.

83. Section J.2, Attachments, page 81 and Attachment 5: USDOL Wage Labor Determination, page 125: In Section J.2, page 81, Attachment 5 has listed “Department of Labor Wage Determinations: 05-2451, Rev 13, 05-2103 Rev. 10; 05-2247 Rev. 11” but in Attachment 5, page 125, the Wage Determination references Wage Determination No.: 2000- 0309, Revision No: 19, Date of Last Revision: 06/15/2010”.

Could the Government please identify which is the correct Wage Determination and provide a copy of the Wage Determination?

The correct wage determination is 2000-0309, Revision 20, attached and hereby incorporated into the solicitation. All other wage determinations are hereby removed.

84. Section L.3, page 93: Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the technical and price criteria as set forth in Section M. Please confirm the Government does not require Offerors to provide Certified Cost and Pricing Data, due to the existence of adequate competition, which is an exemption under FAR 15.403-1(b).

85. Section L.6 (a), page 95: Please confirm the Cover Letter and Executive Summary are outside the 50 page limit for the Technical proposal.

86. Section L.6 (j) (5), page 98: Please confirm that the 3 Past Performance references are outside the 50 page limit for the Technical proposal.

87. Section L.6 (k), page 99: The Government states “Offerors may propose additional labor categories not included in the pricing worksheet”. In Section B and the Pricing Worksheet there are no labor categories listed. Could the Government please provide the labor categories?

The labor categories are broadly outlined in the CLIN tables, but additional labor categories can be found in the referenced Wage Labor Determination rates referenced in J.2.

88. Section L.6 (k), page 100: Some of the totals for the “Quantity Estimates – Standard Cases” are not adding up correctly. Option Period 1 should be 785,003, Option Period 2 should be 792,853, and Option Period 4 should be 808,788. Please correct.

The site referenced is incorrect. See amendment to Quantity Estimates – Standard Cases Section L.6 (l). The estimates are our approximations and may be updated annually.

89. Section L (k), page 101: All of the totals for the “Quantity Estimates – Priority Cases” are not adding up correctly. Base Period should be 29,022, Option Period 1 should be 29,313, Option Period 2 should be 29,605, and Option Period 3 should be 29,902, and Option Period 4 should be 30,201. Please correct.

The site referenced is incorrect. See amendment to Quantity Estimates – Standard Cases Section L.6 (l). The estimates are our approximations and may be updated annually.

90. Section L.6 (m), page 101: Please provide a timeline for oral presentations. How much time will be given between notice of orals requirements and orals presentations?

At this time OPM has not determined that oral presentations will be necessary.

OPM has left the option open to conduct oral presentations if we determine they are necessary. If such a determination is made we will provide offerors invited to do oral presentation with specific instructions of on how they will be conducted.

91. Section M.3 (4), page 103: Please confirm that the “Implementation/Start Up Plan” will be an attachment and thus outside the page count of the technical proposal.

92. Section M.3 (7), page 103: Please confirm that the “Staffing and Training Plan” will be an attachment and thus outside the page count of the technical proposal.

93. Attachment 2, p. 121: Is there any required training for an incumbent investigator with less than 18 months of activity and no inactivity?

See response in Question #3

94. Attachment 2, p. 121: Are the guidelines the same (refresher at a minimum) when there is a break in service less than 8 months with significant handbook or policy changes?

95. Attachment 2, Page 121: Please confirm the “manager” in the “training requirements” table refers to managers of investigators and managers of reviews.

96. Attachment 2, p. 122: This section does not specify the number of months that an incumbent investigator must be off contract in order to require hold report. Please clarify.

97. Attachment 2, Resume format: Please confirm that full first name, middle initial and full last name (First M. Last) qualify as “Full Name.”

98. Attachment 6, page 126: Please confirm the subcontracting goals shown on page 126 are expressed as percentages of total subcontracted dollars.

Confirmed, however the goal percentages have been updated as specified in the answer to question 42 of this amendment.

99. Attachment 6, page 126: The small business percentages for 8(a) and small disadvantaged businesses are listed as two separate business concerns. The subcontracting plan requirements in FAR 19.704 do not provide for distinction between 8a and small disadvantaged business concerns. Please confirm that Offerors may include the 8a business concern percentage with the small disadvantaged business concern percentage.

This has been revised. See question 42 above.

100. RFP pages 3 and 4; B.3 New Requirements: Regarding the upcoming new SF86, if agencies are allowed to use either form, to allow adequate pricing based on different levels of effort, what are the expected adoption percentages by month/quarter until full adoption? Should the contractor price a blend of SF86 and SF85 case papers for those CLINs for case types that may be submitted on either form?

Percentages are unknown. The level of effort should be similar from a field standpoint, but pricing should be for the 2010 SF-86 and current SF-85 forms.

101. RFP page 33; F.3 (a)(3) a. Disincentive: Will the government please confirm that no more than one quality disincentive of 25% will be levied per case?

No

102. RFP page 35; F.3 (a)(8)(a) Timeliness and Quality Defined: Currently, cases may be returned to the contractor with a rating of “Adequate with Corrections”. Adequate with Corrections does not pertain to this Solicitation. Under the new contract, will OPM consider these cases to be either deficient or non-timely? Yes, these will now be considered deficient and could be not timely. Using the RFP’s definition of deficient, a case returned for correction of spelling or grammatical errors will not be considered deficient; False will the government please confirm that no disincentive will be applied except when items must be reopened or added? No.

Can the government provide a list of reasons for which a case would be rated deficient, other than those instances where the case clearly does not meet handbook requirements? No Will the government please confirm that there will continue to be a dispute or rebuttal process when the contractor does not agree with that rating? Yes. The Contractor must be aware that rework will be completed in accordance with the solicitation delivery schedule.

Will rework timeliness begin at the point of RZ, or in the case of a dispute, will the RZ date be adjusted to account for time spent during that dispute? Rework timeliness will begin at the point of RZ or any work being conducted after the FF event that is needed to bring the investigative product up to OPM Investigator’s Handbook standards, whether initiated by Federal or Contractor staff. The rework timeliness clock will begin on the date of the RZ or the date when rework items are in a pending status in the contractor org. In the case of a dispute, the RZ date or the date associated with any other rework needed, will not be adjusted. Dispute time periods are not related to the delivery schedule for timely rework.

Rework must be completed per the requirement set forth in the delivery schedule in section F.8 of this solicitation.

Will timeliness disincentives be waived if the rating is overturned and the case was initially FFd on time? Typically timeliness disincentives will not be invoiced until the closing action invoice which should occur after the case is closed complete following Federal Review. If the FF event occurred prior to the CD, no timeliness disincentive would have been applied as the closing action invoice cannot occur until the case has closed complete. Quality Timeliness disincentives will apply to rework in the rebuttal process regardless of whether a rating is overturned or not. The Contractor must complete the rework during the rebuttal process. The rebuttal will only be considered for the case rating.

See amendment to Section F.3 of this Solicitation for additional details.

103. RFP page 41; G.4 (1) d: Will OPM reject by line item (that is, by case), rather than rejecting an entire invoice, for a single case error?

Rejection of an invoice is up to the discretion of the government to make the determination that an invoice cam be processed or rejected if a line item is incorrect. If it is determined that the errors are too numerous to render the invoice correct or invoices are consistently incorrect, they may be returned. It is entirely the contractor’s responsibility to submit a true, valid, and accurate certified invoice.

104. RFP page 50; H.7 (b)(5): Will the government please confirm contractors are to submit the list of employees and subcontractors with their proposal?

105. RFP page 70; H.33: Where in the proposal should the Information Technology Systems Security Program Outline be included? It is mentioned in H.33 of the RFP (see references below), but there is no mention of it in Section L.6 Instructions For Preparing Proposals. Will the government please confirm that the Information Technology Systems Security Program Outline should be included as an attachment, outside of the 50-page limit of the technical volume?

106. RFP page 54; H.9: Will the government please clarify that the Business Continuity plan is due to the Government 6 months after award?

A general description should be included in M.3.(4), but the actual plan will be delivered after award.

107. RFP pages 5 through 10, B.7: For contract years 2012 and 2013, ARSI, NACLC, and ANACI cases are billed at a per item rate. For contract years 2014, 2015, and 2016, they are billed at a per case rate. Will the government please confirm the billing unit will be per case in 2012 and 2013, which is the current practice, and not per item as stated in the RFP?"

See amendment to Section B.7

108. RFP pages 5 through 10, B.7: For contract years 2012 and 2013, Non-Confrontational Subject Contact and Special Factors Phone (RSI CLINS) are billed at a per hour rate, but in 2014, 2015, and 2016, they are at a per item rate.Will the government please confirm the billing unit will be per item throughout the life of the contract?"

109. RFP pages 5 through 10, B.7: Special factors (person) is billable at a per case rate for contract years 2012 and 2013, but switches to per item rates for contract years 2014, 2015, and 2016. Bulk record search and Basic record search CLINs (RSI CLINs) are billable at a per item rate for 2012 and 2013, but switch to a per job rate for 2014, 2015, and 2016. Will the government please confirm the billing unit for Special factors (person) will be per item through the life of the contract, and that Bulk and Basic records search CLINs (RSI CLINs) will be per job throughout the life of the contract?"

110. RFP page 35; F.3 (a) (8) (a): "Timeliness defined: Completed cases under this contract are defined as cases in which the Contractor has completed the assigned fieldwork in accordance with all criteria set forth in the OPM Investigator‘s Handbook. For a case to be credited with timely delivery, the Fieldwork Finished (FF) case event date in EPIC must be on or before the case Critical Date (CD).