PACTS III Questions and Answers Received.pdf

Question #

Date Question

Submitted Document Page.

No Sec. Para. Question/Comment Government Response

1 6/7/2022 RFI 3(A)(2)

There is one particular question that we believe is unfair to ask SDVOSB or any company for that matter.

That question is: “If so, how many months do you estimate to acquire a secret clearance?”

As you are aware, a company cannot obtain a facility clearance (FCL) until it has a contract in hand that requires it to have an FCL and the awarding agency sponsors the contractor. The timeline to process a contractor’s FCL is entirely in the hands of the government – outside the control of the contractor. There is no way for the contractor to estimate how long it will take them to obtain a Secret clearance. There are excellent small businesses including SDVOSBs who can add tremendous value to DHS and provide outstanding and cost-effective support on PACTS III vehicle – the only thing holding them back is a facility clearance. We commend you for thinking about this question and considering keeping this procurement accessible to companies who are eligible for facility clearance, they just need to be sponsored. However, we respectfully request that you remove this question on timelines. No contractor will be able to answer this truthfully because they have no control over the process.

Thank you for your email that expresses concern for one of the questions we have chose to include in our RFI. The document “# 70SBUR22I00000032” that is posted on sam.gov is a Request for Information (RFI); not a formal solicitation. The purpose of this RFI is to gather responses to the questions that are included in it. These responses will in turn help us form the strategy for a potential follow-on contract to acquire services similar to PACTS II. I do not believe it is necessary to remove this question from the RFI since the public is not under any obligation to provide a response to it if they so choose. If your company is not able to provide a response to that particular question then you are not mandated to by any means.

However, I do invite you to respond to any other questions you feel comfortable with if you would like.

2 6/7/2022 RFI

Is the Government considering allowing qualified set-asides other than SDVOSBs to respond to this upcoming RFI release to determine if another set aside, such as WOSB or even SB, may be considered for final use of another set aside at RFP release? Or has the acquisition strategy already been determined to be released only to SDVOSB qualified companies?

At this time, a SDVOSB vehicle is what is being contemplated, however there is nothing precluding other than SDVOSBs from responding to the public RFI.

3 6/7/2022 RFI

I’m trying to find the RFI for PACTS III and was hoping you could help. I’m on the PACTS III page on Sam.gov but the Attachments/Links section is just giving me the spinning blue wheel. Are you able to either point me to another location or send me the RFI please?

I did just check the page on SAM.gov and the attachments are able to load, perhaps it is just your browser. Either way, attached is a copy of the documents for the RFI.

4 6/9/2022 RFI

Our company has SDVOSB JV named Company “X” and our entity has Facility clearances but the JV doesn’t have it. So our question is, does this require any Facility Clearance at the time of proposal submission or is there any limitation/restrictions for JV submission?

The document “70SBUR22I00000032” that is posted on sam.gov is a Request for Information (RFI); not a formal solicitation. The purpose of this RFI is to gather responses to the questions that are included in

it. These responses will in turn help us form the strategy for a potential follow-on contract to acquire services similar to PACTS II. Since we have not formulated our strategy for this possibly follow-on contract, I am unable to answer your question since it has not yet been determined.

5 6/14/2022 RFI 3(A)(6)

I have a quick question regarding the PACTS III Sources Sought that was released. Question 6 requests past performance "for the NAICS codes listed in question #1 above within the last three years." If the past performance was not under one of those NAICS, rather 611519, but elements of the contract clearly had program and site management requirements and including dozens of SCA employees, can we write our performance and cite the NAICS codes difference while drawing parallels to 541611?

If your company can provide services similar to what is currently being provided under PACTS II using a NAICS code that is not listed, then please state that NAICS code in question 1. For question 6, describe your past performance for the NAICS code you listed for question 1. If you are not familiar with PACTS II, it consist of two primary functional categories that include the services described below.

Functional Category 1 (Primary NAICS: 541611) Program Management Services - Administrative management, general management consulting services, process, physical distribution, and logistics consulting services Technical Services - engineering services, environment, technical, and other scientific consulting services. Functional Category 2 (Primary NAICS: 561110) Administrative and operations services, financial planning, personnel, billing, and recordkeeping Court reporting and stenotype services

6 6/14/2022 RFI

I am working on a response for the RFI 70SBUR22I00000032 (PACTS III) that is due on June 17, 2022.

There isn’t a draft PWS attached to the notice in SAM.gov and I am trying to answer all of your questions without understanding the scope of this effort. Would you please send me a copy of the draft PWS or post it in SAM.gov so I can access it there and complete your RFI?

We do not have a draft PWS. At this time, we anticipate the scope of PACTS III to be similar to PACTS II which includes the two functional categories described below.

Functional Category 1 (Primary NAICS: 541611) Program Management Services - Administrative management, general management consulting services, process, physical distribution, and logistics consulting services Technical Services - engineering services, environment, technical, and other scientific consulting services. Functional Category 2 (Primary NAICS: 561110) Administrative and operations services, financial planning, personnel, billing, and recordkeeping Court reporting and stenotype services

7 6/14/2022 RFI

After reviewing the RFI, I have a few questions that will likely be answered in an Industry Day. That would lead to the first basic question, is such an Industry Day for PACT 3 forthcoming before pre-solicitation. I see the agency is asking for our preference of a BOA, BPA, or IDIQ. However, without first knowing what the agency will require to procure - that question is a little tricky. Each acquisition strategy has its pro's and con's. Without knowing specifically the services DHS would like to place on this vehicle, I'm a little challenged to give a good response. Can you shed any light on the matter?

We do intend on having an Industry Day for this requirement in the future. The services we would like to procure for PACTS III may be similar to the ones that are currently on PACTS II. These include two functional categories as described below:

Functional Category 1 (Primary NAICS: 541611) Program Management Services - Administrative management, general management consulting services, process, physical distribution, and logistics consulting services Technical Services - engineering services, environment, technical, and other scientific consulting services. Functional Category 2 (Primary NAICS: 561110) Administrative and operations services, financial planning, personnel, billing, and recordkeeping Court reporting and stenotype services

PACTS III Questions and Responses

8 6/15/2022 RFI

Since we have not responded to this opportunity in the past, we would like to request 45-minute MS Teams call to learn more about your timing and anticipated needs. In addition to confirming receipt of this response, could you please tell us the best person to coordinate this discussion with?

Thank you for providing your response to our RFI. We appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. The timing and anticipated needs of our requirement are not firm; therefore, I would like to refrain from meeting at this time. If and when we firm that information up, I will reach out to my team with your request. Additionally, for your awareness we do intend on having an Industry Day. This forum will enable you to collect more information on our requirement as it takes shape.

9 6/17/2022 RFI Is this a new requirement or contract renewal? If re-compete, what is the current contract number and who is the incumbent?

This requirement is intended to be a follow-on to the existing PACTS II contract which expires on 2/28/25. The document found at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/PACTS-II_0.pdf includes all the vendors that are currently on PACTS II and their associated contract numbers. Note that the following vendors are no longer part of PACTS II:

- Functional Category 1: R3 Government Solutions Inc.

- Functional Category 2: Szanca Solutions

10 6/17/2022 RFI Will the Government be changing the Solicitation Number upon RFP release? Yes 11 6/17/2022 RFI Will the Government consider a set-aside for (8a, HUBZone, EDWOSB, etc.)? The government will take this into consideration, with decision provided in final RFP release.

12 6/17/2022 RFI When does the Government plan to release the RFP? Undetermined at this time, but will be made publicly available at the time of APFS record release.

13 6/17/2022 RFI Will the Government be making the award for this requirement in FY22? This is not a FY22 requirement. Details on award timeframe will be made publicly available at the time of APFS record release.

14 7/11/2022 RFI Would it be possible for the government to consider this for a non-competitive 8(a) procurement? Lastly, we are looking to support any other requirement that may fall under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

Anticipated set aside information for PACTS III will be published on the APFS. The size of this requirement is not intended to be under the simplified acquisition threshold.

15 7/11/2022 RFI Was there a J&A and contract extension issued to the current PACTS II contract? If so, until when? Any PACTS II questions will need to be directed to the PACTS II team that conducted the acquisition.

PACTSII_ADMIN@hq.dhs.gov is the email address.

16 7/11/2022 RFI Will the PACTS III solicitation be issued within the next 12 months? Solicitation date for PACTS III has not been determined yet. However, once published, the APFS record will provide this information.

17 7/13/2022 RFI

We have been contacted by several organizations regarding the upcoming DHS PACTS III contract. After further review, we are definitely interested in the requirements and developing our team to pursue, however, we did not respond to the RFI in order to meet the cutoff date. Do you anticipate this being limited to only the respondees or still open to all SDVOSB bidders?

We do not anticipate the final RFP being limited to only those who responded to the RFI.

18 7/14/2022 RFI Do you have a few minutes to answer some general questions?

Due to the number of contractors interested in PACTS III, we are unable to hold individual meetings at this time. However, we are still conducting market research and any information related to an industry day will be publicly provided.

19 7/19/2022 General I am reaching out to see if there are any updates on the status of the PACTS III contract. Our company responded to the June RFI, and I have been asked to check on projected timelines moving forward. Any additional information would be truly appreciated.

We do not have publicly available projected timelines at this time. However, once the APFS record is published, updates to the timeline will be available to industry.

20 7/20/2022 In reviewing the PACTS II, I see that the ordering period has been extended into 2025, do you anticipate that a solicitation for PACTS III will be released around Q4 2023 or later?

Timelines have not been made publicly available as of yet, however they will be captured in the APFS record that will be published soon.

21 7/22/2022 General Would it be possible for the PACTS III procurement to include a NAICS code with a higher revenue size standard than the currently listed NAICS code of 541611 at $21.5 million dollars in annual receipts? We appreciate your recommendation and the response to our RFI and will take it into consideration.

22 7/22/2022 General Is the timeline of this being released on or about December 2022 correct or do you anticipate it being pushed into the 1st or 2nd quarter(s) of calendar year 2023?

The solicitation date for PACTS III has not been determined yet. However, once published, the APFS record will provide this information.

23 7/22/2022 General Do you see this as being a truly “best value” acquisition strategy or do you anticipate this being more oriented toward “Lowest Price/Technically Acceptable” type of procurement? We hope this will be a true Best Value effort.

We are not able to answer this question since we are still conducting and analyzing market research and this portion of the strategy has not yet been determined. We recommend that once published, you review the final solicitation which will detail this information for you.

24 7/29/2022 General Contractor "X" remains interested in the upcoming PACTS III solicitation, to that end, we are curious as to whether PACTS III will be solicited this fiscal year or in fiscal year 2023? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

The timeline for PACTS III has not been publicly announced at this time. However, updates on solicitation release will be provided once the Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) number is released.

25 8/1/2022 General Please provide us an update on subject acquisition There is no publicly available update at this time. Updates will be available when APFS record has been publicized.

26 8/8/2022 RFI Is the government engaging with industry on this opportunity, or are there upcoming industry days planned for this future vehicle?

We do intend on having an Industry Day for this requirement in the future. The date has not yet been determined but will be announced to the public once it is known.

27 8/8/2022 RFI

I just wanted to reach out regarding the PACTS III RFI from back in June. I understand that the current contracts were extended out to 2025 and I haven’t seen anything posted recently on the re-compete on APFS. Based on this, I was just wondering if this is being looked at for FY23 or maybe even FY24? It seems like those contract extensions do provide a little time so I just wasn’t sure if any kind of timeline had been established.

The APFS record has not been release yet. Once it is the details on the award timeframe will be made publicly available through the APFS record.

28 8/8/2022 General Will draft documents be published, if so, when? Yes, we do intend on releasing draft documents. Once it is the details on the award timeframe will be made publicly available through the APFS record.

29 8/8/2022 General Will there be two functional categories for this procurement or will the configuration be different?

We are not able to answer this question since we are still conducting and analyzing market research and this portion of the strategy has not yet been determined. We recommend that once published, you review the final solicitation which will detail this information for you.

30 8/8/2022 General What is the anticipated release date for the solicitation? The APFS record has not been release yet. Once it is the details on the award timeframe will be made publicly available through the APFS record.

31 8/8/2022 General What is the anticipated start date for PACTS III? The APFS record has not been release yet. Once it is the details on the award timeframe will be made publicly available through the APFS record.

8/10/2022 General

Can you please clarify if the government intends to issue PACTS III in this or next Government Fiscal Year? Our research indicates that PACTS II was extended and PACTS III will not be recompeted until 2025. Is this accurate?

The timeline for PACTS III has not been publicly announced at this time. However, updates on the award timeline will be provided once the Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) number is released.

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