Questions - Attachment I - RFP Offeror Questions and Clarifications Template.pdf

Identifier Technical, Cost, or Admin Draft - Sources Sought / RFP

Section and Page Reference Question or Clarification Request Offeror Recommendation (if any)

1 Technical Not provided Is it mandatory to use the provided template (attachment J) for answer to all questions (Sections 1-3)? 2

Yes, Attachment J includes all sections of the draft RFP/Sources Sought

Notice questions which can be found in the RFP. I have extracted those questions and added them to appropriate tab of Attachment J. Therefore, all vendors who are replying to these questions are using the same format

(Attachment J)

1 Technical Not provided Please clarify the submission instructions for the SSN response due on December

6th. 3

Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

1 Technical Not provided

We have experience in large professional support services for DOS and we expect that it will exceed the 5-page limit. Can we please have additional pages to respond to this SSN?

Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

1 Technical Not provided Are we required to answer the questions in Part 1 in our Capability Statement?

Specifically, Question #10 where we are required to provide resumes? 5

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

1 Technical Not provided Are resumes for Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager required for the RFI response due 12/6?

Resumes are not required for the SSN/Draft RFP. The resumes will be required during the actual RFP in each vendor's response as they are submitting their candidates for Program Manager and Deputy Program

Manager.

2 Technical Not provided Are there specific focus areas or priority regions within the OCONUS locations that are anticipated to receive higher levels of activity or support requirements?

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. IF YOUR

COMPANY is unable to carry out work in ANY of those countries, please identify in your response.

2 Technical Not provided

Given the "Best Value Tradeoff" methodology, could the U.S. State Department elaborate on the specific criteria for technical merit that will be significantly weighted in the evaluation process?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

2 Technical Not provided

Can more details be provided on the expectations regarding the minimum qualifications and background checks for Third Country Nationals and Local

Nationals employed under the contract?

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

2 Technical Not provided

Are there established guidelines for compensating overtime or supplemental hours for OCONUS locations, or should contractors propose these based on host-country labor laws?

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

2 Technical Not provided

Does the U.S. State Department have any insights into recent challenges related to recruitment, retention, and turnover for contractors in these roles, particularly in high-risk areas?

No

2 Technical Not provided Could the U.S. State Department clarify what constitutes "projects of similar size, scope, or complexity" to demonstrate past performance?

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

2 Technical Not provided

Are there anticipated restrictions or logistical hurdles regarding international travel (including visa acquisition) for contractor personnel under this contract, particularly in high-risk areas?

As stated in the SSN/Draft RFP, acquiring visas is the requirement for the company and USG assistance is not provided.

2 Technical Not provided

What specific U.S. State Department-mandated training programs, such as

HTSOS-C or FACT training, are necessary for personnel, and what flexibility exists around scheduling?

FACT and HTSOS-C is eligible for Third Party Contractors, at the request of the Regional Security Office.

2 Technical Not provided Will the U.S. State Department give preference to or require the use of subcontracting or teaming arrangements for any specific services or tasks?

Subcontracting is at the discretion of the company. This is not an evaluation factor.

2 Technical Not provided

To ensure service continuity, could the U.S. State Department provide more guidance on the phase-in and phase-out requirements for transitioning contractors and personnel?

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

2 Technical Not provided Is there flexibility in adjusting labor rates to account for differences in cost of living, hazard pay, or other situational factors for OCONUS locations?

The Department of State uses the Department of State Standardized

Regulations (DSSR) for these additional uplifts. The % is based on the location where the Third Party Contractor will be supporting

2 Technical Not provided What specific performance metrics or quality assurance benchmarks does the

U.S. State Department expect to see in the proposal?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

2 Technical Not provided Are there any lessons learned or specific past performance issues related to similar contracts that could inform how potential risks should be addressed?

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

2 Technical Not provided Are there additional compliance requirements, such as country-specific legal obligations or special clearances, that the contractor must be prepared to meet?

As stated in the Terms and Conditions of each award, your company is required to have a license to do business in the country for which you will be responding to each individual RFP when a solicitation for each country comes out.

3 Technical

Page 3 of the draft RFP states "Set-Aside: TBD

(based on Market Research from the Sources

Sought notice)". Conversely, page 5 states "Set-

Aside: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small

Business (SDVOSB)". Additionally, page 3 states "

The purpose of this notice is for market research purposes in order to support a possible follow-on acquisition and/or assistance decisions and to identify potentially qualified Small Business concerns that are interested in, and capable of, performing the work as stated in this notice."

Please confirm that this Sources Sought notice is being used to determine whether there will be a single set-aside in the final Request for Proposal for all

BPAs being awarded or if there will be small business and large business BPAs.

The business type from the responders of this SSN/Draft RFP will determine if there is a set-aside determination for the actual RFP.

Page 3 of the draft RFP states "Basis of Award:

The Government anticipates issuing multiple

Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) as a result of the solicitation

Would the government please share information on all current contracts that will be consolidated into this BPA.

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

Page 3 of the draft RFP states "Basis of Award:

The Government anticipates issuing multiple

Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) as a result of the solicitation

For this BPA, please clarify whether INL will be seeking professional services and subject matter expertise Contractor support for existing requirements, new requirements, or a combination of both.

All three

4 Admin p.5 Place of Performance: “Domestic and

Overseas”

Can the USG provide a list of potential countries and/or regions where staff are likely to be located?

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

# SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

4 Cost p.6 B-004 Labor Rates (c): “Each NTE fully-loaded hourly labor rate consists of an unloaded hourly labor rate, any labor-related direct costs (e.g., any direct fringe benefits, any direct bonuses), applicable indirect costs, and profit amount. It does not include any other costs. Any other costs that are part of the Contractor’s established compensation plan and consistent with FAR part

31 shall be allocated separately as an ODC (other direct cost) or as a Material at the Call level.”

Can the USG confirm whether they will allow separate fully loaded rates proposed for expatriate, TCN, and local staff labor categories?

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

4 Cost p.6 B-004 Labor Rates (c): “Examples of such costs, if applicable, that shall be allocated separately as an ODC or Material, are post hardship differential pay and danger pay.”

Can the USG confirm that post-differential and danger pay costs are fully exclusive of the fully loaded labor rates and may be billed separately?

The Department of State uses the Department of State Standardized

Regulations (DSSR) for these additional uplifts. The % is based on the location where the Third Party Contractor will be supporting. Post

Differential and Danger Pay are separate CLINs on the awards.

4 Technical p.13 Scope (providing TPC personnel with skill levels for tasks to be performed): “Resumes shall contain a signed statement from the individual granting permission for his/her resume submitted for con- sideration. If resumes are provided for individuals not presently under the

Contractor’s employment, an agreement between the Contractor and the individual shall be provided. Employment agreements must contain specific salary quotations, not salary ranges.”

Will the USG kindly remove the requirement to provide specific salary quotations as this BPA is envisioned to utilize Time & Material and Firm-Fixed

Price type call orders? Recommend the USG remove the language "Employment agreements must contain specific salary quotations, not salary ranges.”

The employment agreement when resumes are provided on the BPA call level are asked to ensure price reasonableness.

4 Technical p.17 Leave: “In regards to vacancies, a

Contractor is expected to provide a minimally qualified replacement within 30 business days.”

Can the USG confirm if this refers to providing qualified candidate profiles within

30 days or fully onboarding a replacement within 30 days? Recommend the USG clarifies that the Contractors are expected to provide profiles for minimally qualified replacements, as onboarding and deployment processes may range depending on location, selected candidate current security clearance, and other factors.

Feel free to provide a standard procedure. We understand it may vary.

4 Technical p.17 Work Hours: “Some TPC personnel may be required to work alternate eight-hour shifts as specified elsewhere in this contract.”

Could the USG provide additional information on this statement and its application to Contractors? Recommend the USG clarify the application of this clause for Contractor understanding of work hours expectation.

TPC personnel maybe allowed to flex time to ensure a full 40 hour work week, but not an 8 hour workday. This is not common, but allowable.

4 Technical p.18 Key Personnel PM duties and responsibilities: “Maintain, as a deliverable, a staffing level of 95% or higher at least 100% of the time (including those employees currently being processed by DS).”

Could the USG clarify if the 95% staffing level metric includes personnel who have been hired but are pending clearances? Recommend the USG clarify the application of this clause for Contractor understanding of work hours expectation.

This relates to the backfill process and providing qualified resumes in a timely matter so the position isn't vacant for a significant period of time.

4 Cost p.26 G-05-1 Ordering Procedures, Cont’d:

“OCONUS proposals shall include all of the associated life support items related to the position as specified per the SOW. This may include, but not be limited to, post differential, danger pay (Reference NOTE B). Further, other allowances maybe authorized, such as transportation, communication, housing, travel, facilities, etc. (Reference NOTE C)

NOTE C: If applicable, all transportation, communication, housing monthly stipends will be provided on a cost reimbursable basis under

“Travel/ODCs.”

Can the USG confirm whether allowances may be billed exclusive to the loaded hourly labor rates on a cost reimbursable basis? And if so, will the pricing template provided be updated to include this information? Recommend the USG confirm allowances may be billed exclusive to loaded hourly labor rates and update price template to include travel ODCs.

The Department of State uses the Department of State Standardized

Regulations (DSSR) for these additional uplifts. The % is based on the location where the Third Party Contractor will be supporting. Post

Differential and Danger Pay are separate CLINs on the awards.

4 Cost p.33 Taxes and Custom Fees: “Tasks ordered under this contract support foreign assistance projects funded principally by Foreign Assistance

Act funding. Under the Foreign Assistance Act, the Contractor shall not pay any taxes, import, or customs fees to the government of the host-country or aid receiving nation(s) unless procedurally allowed.”

Could the USG clarify if the Contractor will be eligible for VAT exemption in

OCONUS countries where staff have official duty stations? Recommend the USG clarify how Contractors will not have to pay taxes, import, or customs fees unless procedurally allowed.

The Third Party Contractors are employees of your company and therefore not government employees. They would be following the tax regulations of your HR staffing procedures.

4 Cost p.35 H-10 Government-Furnished

Property/Information and H-11 GFE and Space

(on site): “The U.S. Government is not required to furnish any property to the Contractor in performance of tasks issued hereunder. The U.S.

Government will attempt to furnish whatever information or property it may have in sup- port of any Call issued but there is no assurance that information or property thus furnished is accurate or complete. The Contractor is solely responsible for providing all necessary personnel, supplies, equipment and property and knowledge of the operating environment required for each Call.

H-11 Government-Furnished Equipment and

Space (On-Site) For Contractor personnel performing work on Government premises, the

Government shall provide: on-site office space, furniture, telephone service, and any other necessary supplies and equipment.”

Can the USG confirm if Contractor staff will be issued laptops by the USG?

Recommend the USG clarify whether laptops and other GFE will be provided to

TPC staff by the USG.

GFE provided would be indicated on the individual BPA call's Statement of

Work. 97% is provided.

4 Technical

p. 42 H-19-3 Public Trust Certification Processing:

“DS/IS/IND shall provide Contractor security personnel guidance and training for the submission of security packages. Contractor personnel requiring public trust certification should be initiated for processing as quickly as possible; however, submission of security packages will not be accepted without the

Program Office Approval Notification, if required, as noted above. The security package must be submitted to DS/IS/IND at least 80 days prior to an individual’s proposed deployment. “

Could the USG clarify if the 80 days requirement for submission of security package before deployment will be waived during the transition period for new recruits? Recommend the USG clarify the 80 days requirement for submission of security package does not apply for new recruits during the transition period.

We ask that you are diligent with your security paperwork submission and checking the system to ensure you have not missed an approval notice.

4 Cost p.53. 652.237-72 Observance of Legal Holidays and Admin Leave: “When the Department of

State grants administrative leave to its

Government employees, assigned contractor personnel in Government facilities shall also be dismissed.”

Could the USG clarify whether administrative leave hours for early dismissals granted by DOS may be billed to the contract? Recommend the USG allow administrative leave for early dismissals to be billable to the contract.

Guidance will be provided by the Contracting Officer for this and relates to any leadership guidance provided regarding Direct Hire leave.

4 Technical p.53. 652.237-72 Observance of Legal Holidays and Admin Leave: “If administrative leave is granted to contractor personnel as a result of conditions stipulated in any “Excusable Delays” clause of this contract, it will be without loss to the contractor.”

It appears that the "Excusable Delays" clause referenced in the draft RFP is not present in the document. Could the USG provide this "Excusable Delays" clause to Contractors? Recommend the USG add the excusable delays clause to clarify when admin leave that is not at cost to Contractors.

Guidance will be provided by the Contracting Officer for this and relates to any leadership guidance provided regarding Direct Hire leave.

4 Technical p.67 Rating of Past Performance: On p. 61 indicates “An important factor indicating similarity to the scope of this RFP shall be the extent to which the cited services involved long-term consulting / professional services, and support to other federal agencies. Work in which proposed key personnel participated shall be considered more relevant than work in which they did not participate.”

Could the USG clarify the statement "Work in which proposed key personnel participated shall be considered more relevant than work in which they did not participate"? Would the USG prefer to see past performance from the key personnel rather than the contractor?

Guidance will be provided by the Contracting Officer for this and relates to any leadership guidance provided regarding Direct Hire leave.

4 Cost p.68 Price Analysis:

Could the USG clarify the number of federal holidays allowable? On page 68 of the draft RFP, it is stated that there are ten federal holidays, but on page 51 of the draft RFP, there are 11 federal holidays listed. Recommend that the USG clarify that 11 federal holidays are allowable, as OPM currently indicates.

Recommend that the USG clarify that 11 federal holidays are allowable, as OPM currently indicates.

SSN/Draft RFP has been updated to reflect 11 federal holidays.

4 Cost N/A - general question

Could the USG confirm whether deployment costs such as HHE can be billed on a cost reimbursable basis? Recommend the USG confirms that deployment costs may be billed on cost-reimbursable basis.

FAM regulations for non USG employees will be followed.

4 Cost N/A - general question

Could the USG confirm whether allowances for dependents may be billed on a cost reimbursable basis? Recommend the USG clarify allowances for dependents may be billed of cost-reimbursable basis.

FAM regulations for non USG employees will be followed.

4 Cost N/A - general question

Could the USG confirm whether local labor law requirements (e.g., 13th month) can be billed on a cost reimbursable basis? Recommend the USG clarify payments for local labor law requirements may be billed on cost-reimbursable basis.

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

4 Technical Attachment A BPA Call SOW Template: Uplifts Can the USG clarify what is the expected content for this section of a SOW?

Recommend the USG clarifies expectations for content of SOW for this section.

The SSN/Draft RFP provided a template for each section of the BPA call's

Statements of Work. We are requesting your feedback to the template to determine if we are missing a section.

4 Cost Attachment C Labor Category and Pricing

Mapping:

Can the USG confirm whether Contractors may provide different billing rates across HR/DC, CONUS, and OCONUS based on whether the personnel is an expat, TCN, or Local National? Recommend the USG clarify expectation of different fully loaded LCAT labor rates for expat, TCN, and local national types of personnel and update pricing templates accordingly.

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

5 Admin

Part 1 Capability (page 2) Part 1 - Capability

Response Questions (page 4)

Part 4 - Response Summary and Deadline (page

70)

Part 1 Capability Response Questions #10 requests resumes of potential program managers and deputy program managers, but is not mentioned in Part

4 Response Summary. Allow resumes to be submitted with the Sources Sought

Response, as an additional attachment and does not count against the 5 page capability statement limit.

1. Are resumes required as part of the submission?

2. If so, do they count against the 5 page limit of the capability statement?

Resumes are not required for the SSN/Draft RFP. The resumes will be required during the actual RFP in each vendor's response as they are submitting their candidates for Program Manager and Deputy Program

Manager.

SSN, Factor 3: Corporate Experience & Past

Performance p.61 and Technical Evaluation

Factor 3: Corporate Experience & Past

Performance p.66

Would the Government respectfully consider adjusting the past performance requirements to 1) remove the 50+ FTE size threshold and 2) the stipulation that two past performances must come from the Prime contractor?

These changes would enable capable SDVOSBs to leverage both their own relevant experience and the substantial expertise of their partners to ensure robust competition while maintaining the Government’s ability to award to a team with proven capabilities and a strong record of performance.

The Prime Contractor is awarded the BPA, therefore, the requirement is needed.

7 Admin Sec M-010, Part 4, Page 70 Is there an expected timeline of when the final RFP will be released? February - March 2025

7 Admin Sec L-011, page 58 Is the requirement that the entire proposal is limited to a total of 50 pages

(minus the page limitation exclusion's), or each volume is limited to 50 pages

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

7 Admin Sec C-03-10, page 14; C-03-12, page 14 & 15

Is it possible to provide a current template/example of current deliverables (e.g. -invoicing, reporting SIRs, labor hours, etc.? This would enable us to align with a

"Best Practices" format, should that be your preference.

Include your company's response to this question in Attachment J regarding your company's policy.

7 Admin Sec G-05-1, page 29

Is it possible to identify the specific CONUS/OCONUS locations where support is required? This may affect our pricing strategy as it relates to "Post Hardship

Differential Pay and Danger Pay"

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

7 Admin Sec C-03-9, pages 18 &19

Is the PMP certification required (for the PM/DPM) if you served at the Colonel-level Project Manager, or General Officer-level Program Executive Officer?

Further can a Master's degree in a natural science, and/or a Master's degree at one of the Services Senior Service College's (Army, Navy, Air Force) acceptable to meet the minimum educational recruitments.

This will be considered.

7 Admin Sec H-07, pages 33 & 34

Can there by an identification of all the host countries permits, licenses, and appointments necessary to ensure a smooth transition as part of the "Start of

Work" activities

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

7 Admin Set-Aside determination, page 3 If there is a direct relationship with an ANC, is it possible to do a Direct Award if they have more than three SDVOSB's on the team?

The RFP will result in multi BPA awardees.

8 Admin Part 1, page 3; Part 2 Section A page 5 Please clarify whether this requirement is set aside for SDVOSB concerns.

The business type from the responders of this SSN/Draft RFP will determine if there is a set-aside determination for the actual RFP.

8 Cost, Admin B-004, page 6; C-04-01, page 21; Content:

Volume I, page 59

Please clarify whether a decision has been made to solicit these requirements via FSS or if this decision is still outstanding. There are multiple references to FSS in the draft.

The FFS will be strongly considered.

8 Admin Part 4, page 70

Is it the government's intent that prospective offerors provide responses to all questions and all comments on the draft RFP using Attachment J exclusively or should offerors prepare a more detailed document and utilize Attachment J as summary?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

8 Admin Part 1, page 4; Part 4, page 70 Attachment J does not include items 1, 2, and 5 through 10 as described in Part

1. Please clarify how this information should be provided.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

8 Admin Part 4, page 70 - 71 Please clarify whether Additional Documents must be submitted by Dec. 6 at

12:00 Eastern or whether a different deadline applies.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

8 Admin Part 4, page 70 - 71

Please clarify whether the 5-page limit applies to the Capabilities Statement only or include the Evaluation Plan, Onboarding/Offboarding, and Transition Period documents.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

8 Admin Section 2 (all pages)

We have many specific questions and comments on the draft RFP. Should those be included on Attachment J, Part 2 (i.e., as new rows) or using a copy of

Attachment I? If the latter, may this be submitted along with Attachment J?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

9 Admin 4, 39, 55 Is it possible to receive a sponsorship for a facility clearance if awarded this contract?

Yes, that will be considered.

9 Technical 4, 5 Will past corporate experience be acceptable for projects of similar size? Yes

9 Technical 4, 5

When stating the firms experience with the US government, may we use experience of an individual within the firm rather than the entire firm? May we also include clients we worked with (on no specific contract), that are prime contract holders?

Name and agency will be requested.

9 Technical 4, 5

Regarding the need to subcontract or team, if we are unsure at this point, will we have the ability to utilize subcontractors after a contract has been awarded, if necessary?

Subcontracting is at the discretion of the company. This is not an evaluation factor.

9 Technical 5, 27, 38, 58 In what countries do you expect to conduct operations under this contract?

The current countries we have Third Party Contractors working in and supporting the US Embassy are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central

African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jerusalem, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. There are 32. The other 128 individuals work in the DC region.

10 Technical 63

The solicitation reads, “Offeror should submit an original and one copy each of proposal for a total of three hard copy proposals.” Does the Government for a total of “six” hardcopies” or two hardcopies of each volume?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

10 Technical 4, 70

Can the Government clarify if the Capability Statement is a separate document from the Capability Q&A requested? Does the Capability Q&A count as part of the 3-5 page total for the Capability Statement?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

10 Technical 4 Please confirm that question 2 and question 8 are duplicate questions.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

10 Technical 70 Are the 3 Tabs requested for Attachment J – Part 4 Response Summary to be a separate volume from the Capability Statement?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

10 Technical 4 Can the Government please clarify whether or not you want resumes submitted with the Sources Sought request? Or is this for the future RFP?

Resumes are not required for the SSN/Draft RFP. The resumes will be required during the actual RFP in each vendor's response as they are submitting their candidates for Program Manager and Deputy Program

Manager.

1. RFI Page Reference Page 70, Government states Capabilities Statement should be 5 pages, however there was no page limit given for:

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

2. In Attachment J – Part 4 - Response Summary, we would like clarification that the Cover Page Tab is only to be filled out with the information requested in

Column A.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

12 Admin Pg 39, under H-19-1 Additional Security

Requirements

Draft Sources Sought RFP states: Offerors must possess an active Top Secret (TS) Facility Security Clearance (FSC) at time of submission; proposals that do not have an active FCS will be non-compliant and not considered for contract award.

Question: If we do not currently have a Facility clearance, but are able and willing to obtain one, is sponsorship assistance in acquiring an FCL an option?

Yes, that will be considered.

13 Admin

Part 4 - Response Summary and Deadline -

Sources Sought and Draft RFP (ATTACHMENT J –

Part 4 Response Summary)

Under Additional Documents Highly Recommended, 1) Capability Statement states, ensure it is no more than five (05) pages of 8.5" X 11".

Question: Please confirm that the five (5) page limit only applies to 1)

Capabilities Statement and does not apply to 2) Evacuation Plan, 3) Onboarding and Offboarding, and 4) Transition Period.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

13 Admin

Part 4 - Response Summary and Deadline -

Sources Sought and Draft RFP (ATTACHMENT J –

Part 4 Response Summary)

Under Additional Documents Highly Recommended, 1) Capability Statement states, ensure it is no more than five (05) pages of 8.5" X 11".

Question: Please confirm that the bidder may use up to ten (10) pages versus five (5) pages for the Capabilities Statement.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

14 Technical Part 4 Response Summary - Additional

Documents

Please clarify if the the Capability Statement with the 5-page limit is inclusive of the Evacuation Plan, Onboarding and Offboarding, and Transition Period. Or, should narrative for these items be separate from the Capabilities Statement and separate attachments required for submission?

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

14 Technical Part 4 Response Summary - Additional

Documents

We are aware Resumes are required for the capability statement, please confirm they are excluded from the 5-page limit?

Resumes are not required for the SSN/Draft RFP. The resumes will be required during the actual RFP in each vendor's response as they are submitting their candidates for Program Manager and Deputy Program

Manager.

15 Admin Part 4 – Response Summary and Deadline -

Sources Sought and Draft RFP, page 70

As explained in the Sources Sought Notice, TPG would like to request additional pages for the Capabilities Statement. A 15-page limit would allow us to adequately describe our capabilities relevant to the Draft RFP.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.

15 Admin Part 4 – Response Summary and Deadline -

Sources Sought and Draft RFP, page 70

The Government has listed the four documents highly recommended for submittal as part of the SSN response, including the Capabilities Statement, Evacuation Plan, Onboarding and Offboarding, and Transition Period. However, other than the Capabilities Statement, the page limits for the remaining three documents have not been provided.

This is a Sources Sought/Draft RFP. The only response from vendors should include Attachment J. Each vendor should provide Attachment J (which includes three tabs) as their response to the SSN/RFP. If your company feels they need to add more information to the response via a separate document, please keep the pages under 15 pages.