PRESTO FAQs.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Procurement of Research Evaluation and Statistics Task Orders (PRESTO)

Solicitation #: 91990022R0054

1. Teaming Arrangements

1.1 Can Joint Ventures (JV) be formed between Phase I and Phase II?

No, a JV is a separate legal entity. Offerors must establish any JV in advance and remain consistent across both phases. Offerors may not form JVs between Phase I and Phase II.

1.2 Is prior experience of a sub-contractor permitted?

All demonstrated prior experience must be specific to the Offeror either as a prime contractor on another contract or as a subcontractor on another contract. NOTE: Because teaming arrangements are formed at the task order level, Offerors may not include any prior experience performed by a potential subcontractor.

1.3 If I’m not selected for PRESTO, can a PRESTO prime contractor still propose my firm as a subcontractor on future task orders?

Offerors who are not selected for PRESTO may still serve as a subcontractor for a PRESTO prime contractor on future task orders.

1.4 Can teaming arrangements be formed at the ID/IQ level?

Aside from JVs, no other team arrangement involving Prime/Subcontractor relationships as noted in FAR 9.601(2) are permitted at the ID/IQ level. Teaming arrangements including

Prime/Subcontractor relationships will be permitted at the task order level, and once PRESTO is established a PRESTO Prime Contractor may team with any entity regardless of whether that entity is a part of the PRESTO ID/IQ. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that prime contractors in both the Unrestricted and Restricted competitive pools have the requisite experience in their respective category or categories.

2. Approved Purchasing System and Adequate Accounting System

2.1 Did the Government remove the requirement for a cost accounting system that was initially presented in draft documents?

Yes. The Government revised the language related to cost accounting systems. To be eligible to receive a Cost Reimbursement task order, contractors must furnish evidence that they have an adequate system at the time the task order is competed in the applicable PRESTO scope category.

Section L is revised to note that contractors with evidence of an adequate cost accounting system may provide such documentation with the PRESTO business volume submission and may not be asked to repeat that information at the task order level.

2.2 Did the Government remove the requirement of an approved purchasing system?

Yes. The Government revised the language to remove the requirement of an approved purchasing system at the ID/IQ level in order to remove barriers to competition and ensure broad competitive pools across all categories and business classifications.

3. Small Business

3.1 How does the Government anticipate setting aside task orders for PRESTO?

The Government will conduct market research for task orders issued through the PRESTO ID/IQ.

If two or more small businesses within a category demonstrate a capacity to perform the work, the requirement maybe set-aside for small business in the Restricted pool. Given the wide array of services that PRESTO supports, it is not possible to determine further set aside percentages.

3.2 For the small business socioeconomic contract and subcontract goals, if a firm has multiple socioeconomic classifications, would the multiple certifications count toward each socioeconomic goal (i.e., HUBZone and WOSB)?

Multiple small business designations may count toward the small business goals.

4. Submission Instructions

4.1 Should I submit a separate RFP Supplementary Information form for each category that I am responding to? For both phases?

Only one form is required per Offeror regardless of the number of categories selected. The RFP

Supplementary Information Form is only required for Phase I.

4.2 Can I change the subcategories or tasks that I respond to between Phase I and Phase II?

For Offerors advised to continue to Phase II of the PRESTO ID/IQ source selection process, proposal submissions must continue to address the same subcategories and tasks within the categories previously identified in Phase I. No additional categories, subcategories, or tasks may be addressed that were not previously identified in Phase I of the solicitation (RFP Supplementary

Information).

4.3 What information does IES want to see on the cover page?

The Government has included instructions for the cover page and does not require any additional information other than what is included. The Government will not evaluate technical information included in the cover page as a means to circumvent page requirements.

5. Evaluation

5.1 Does responding to more than one category provide an advantage over Offerors who respond to only one category?

No, the Government will evaluate each category submission independently in accordance with the evaluation methodology described in Section M. Responding to more than one category is a business decision that each Offeror must make, and there is no competitive advantage to responding to multiple categories.

5.2 Is there an advantage to responding to the upper limit of subcategories/tasks?

No, Offerors should respond to the number of subcategories or tasks that they are most competent in, within the ranges established in the RFP.

5.3 Will CPARS be evaluated as part of demonstrated prior experience?

No, demonstrated prior experience is different than past performance and will not include an evaluation of CPARS ratings.

6. Task Orders

6.1 If I’m awarded a PRESTO ID/IQ contract, am I only able to bid on Task Orders related to the subcategories or tasks that I addressed in my response?

No, once awarded an ID/IQ contract for a particular category vendors are eligible to respond to any Task Orders issued within that category.

6.2 If I am a PRESTO ID/IQ awardee, and I am listed under one of multiple categories associated with a task order competition, am I required to have an ID/IQ contract across all categories to respond to the RFQ?

No. As long as you are an ID/IQ holder in at least one of the identified competition categories, you are eligible to respond to a task order competition that crosses multiple categories provided you otherwise meet the task order competition requirements (e.g., set-aside considerations, cost accounting standards, etc.).