A2-QuestionsResponses-Release3-5AUG2016.pdf

Alliant 2 Unrestricted Questions & Responses #3 5AUG2016 Solicitation # QTA0016JCA0003

Alliant 2 Unrestricted Official RFP Questions & Responses #3

Note to Interested Offerors: The Alliant 2 acquisition team provides the following questions and responses to clarify common questions and address common concerns that have arisen since the Alliant 2 RFP issuance on 24 June 2016.

Please check the FedBizOpps website on a daily basis for important announcements regarding the Alliant 2 RFP.

Please note that the Government cannot furnish specific advice on individual offers nor respond to questions which are outside the scope of the Alliant 2 RFP or are otherwise unintelligible.

Offerors are encouraged to thoroughly read the plain language of the Alliant 2 RFP for guidance in addressing questions or concerns, and all posted Questions and Responses regarding the Alliant 2 RFP before submitting new questions.

QUESTION TOPICS

● GENERAL

● PROPOSAL FORMAT TABLE

● RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

● CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION (POST AWARD)

GENERAL

QUESTION 1: If a small business Offeror submits a proposal on BOTH the Alliant 2 Unrestricted and Small Business GWACs, may the original A2SB J.P-2 and J.P-3 completed templates be submitted in the Unrestricted proposal, since the forms are materially the same between the two solicitations?

RESPONSE: Yes, only if you are following the instructions from both RFPs, such as J.P-2 requires completion of Part I, even if you have the accurate PSC on the FPDS-NG. Also, be aware that all offerors, regardless of size, must meet the Alliant 2 Unrestricted PSC and LET dollar thresholds on the J.P-2 and J.P-3 submissions, e.g., $8M PSC, $1M LET, among other different evaluation standards from Alliant2SB. Additionally, the J.P-1 Scoring sheets for each solicitation must be submitted separately.

QUESTION 2: May an offeror hand deliver the proposal to San Diego on the due date as specified in the RFP Section L.3.4, AND mail a duplicate/identical proposal to the mailing address specified?

RESPONSE: This is acceptable, as long as the submission is IDENTICAL, and one is marked as ORIGINAL, and the other marked as DUPLICATE.

QUESTION 3: Are there any minimum specifications for hardware, platforms, or operating systems to access the files on the DVD?

RESPONSE: The Government is on a Windows 7 environment with standard configuration elements and drivers.

QUESTION 4: Is it acceptable for the offeror to include hyperlinks within the single PDF per project reference for the PSC and LET code project documentation to make it easier for the Government to review our packages?

RESPONSE: Yes, it’s acceptable to have hyperlinks within the PDF document if it is an internal link that navigates to a point within the document. The hyperlink cannot be utilized for redirecting the evaluator to outside the PDF document, such as to a website or other internet location.

QUESTION 5: Does the exception for multiple submissions include being a subcontractor under an Alliant 2 Small Business proposal for either the Corporate, i.e. Parent or the subsidiary/division?

RESPONSE: Review the Alliant 2 Small Businesses for any exceptions. Alliant 2 Unrestricted is separate and distinct procurement from the Alliant 2 Small Business procurement.

QUESTION 6: We are a recently certified SBA HUBZone contractor and Woman-Owned Small Business. We would like to contact potential primes both large and small. Can you please provide company names and emails, company contact information?

RESPONSE: Interested parties may go to the GSA GWAC site at www.gsa.gov/gwacs and see the current list of Contract Holders to contact. No other list is available.

QUESTION 7: Will someone be available at the GSA Office in San Diego on Saturday or Sunday to receive proposal submission deliveries? Can proposals be delivered prior to Monday, 29 August 2016? Is an appointment required for in-person delivery of proposals?

RESPONSE: Proposals may be received prior to the proposal due date, and no appointment is needed for in-person delivery. No one will be available on weekends to receive proposals. The facility is open from Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time. The Offeror is cautioned to allow ample time to go through US Courthouse security when delivering proposals in-person.

QUESTION 8: Are businesses that are large and submitting proposals on Alliant 2 Unrestricted also able to participate on the Alliant 2 Small Business joint ventures?

RESPONSE: No. Refer to the A2 Small Business questions and responses.

QUESTION 9: If information provided in support of PSC & LET projects contains confidential and/or proprietary info, is this information subject to FOIA? How will the GSA ensure this information won't be released?

RESPONSE: GSA exercises due care in dealing with proprietary / confidential information. If a proposal includes privileged information and is appropriately marked as such (for example, pages marked with a legend indicating the contents are “proprietary” and/or “business confidential”), those documents will be treated under the exemptions contemplated in the FOIA.

QUESTION 10: Can you explain the RFP Section I clause matrix and how the new Master Contract column compares with the flow down clauses?

RESPONSE: The clauses noted in the MASTER CONTRACT column applies to the Master Contract. All other columns are flow down clauses specific to contract types may apply to the Task Orders issued off the Master Contract.

QUESTION 11: If the government issued a contract award with "signature on file" in the signature block, will GSA consider it a valid document for verification purposes?

RESPONSE: Yes, we will accept an award document presented to us that shows the “signature on file.” However, the J.P-2 and J.P-3 must have actual signature, or e-signature (including CAC Authenticated Electronic Signature).

QUESTION 12: Will newly formed JVs be considered?

RESPONSE: Yes, a small business newly formed Joint Venture is permitted to offer on Alliant

2. However, for a newly formed “Other than Small Business” JV, the experience by the JV entity would not exist therefore no points will be granted. For Small Business JV, please refer to ALTERNATE SECTION L.5.1.5-Alt Exclusive to Small Business Concerns SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTOR TEAMING ARRANGEMENTS (CTA), for claiming points for experience for PSC/LET. A DUNS must be created specific to the named JV, and be registered in the SAM.gov.

QUESTION 13: Does the Government intend to provide additional narrative on the scope of the PSCs?

RESPONSE: No.

QUESTION 14: Who are the "authorized representatives" mentioned in the RFP Section L.5.5.1(3)(B), Basis of Estimate?

RESPONSE: The “authorized representatives” referred to are government personnel performing the evaluation of the Basis of Estimate.

QUESTION 15: LET No. 10 indicates “Virtual Networking (Includes SDN)”. What does SDN signify?

RESPONSE: Software Defined Networking.

PROPOSAL FORMAT TABLE

RFP Section L.4.1

QUESTION 16: Should the mergers/acquisition and contract novation documentation (L.3.2) be placed in the applicable PSC or LET citation?

RESPONSE: Yes, refer to the RFP Section L.4.1.

QUESTION 17: For ease of review, we plan to impose a unified pagination scheme in the footer of the PSC and LET supporting documents, to avoid confusion between multiple documents with conflicting page number scheme, and add number notations (done in a red font color to emphasize the addition) to the support documentation to link the highlighted sections with the indexing in the J.P-2/J.P-3? Is this acceptable to the Government?

RESPONSE: Yes, the Offeror should exercise its own discretion regarding formatting; the specific examples noted in the question above would not disqualify a submission.

QUESTION 18: Does the Government require the paper copy of the J.P-1 Document Verification and Self Scoring Worksheet to be contained in a binder?

RESPONSE: No, the paper copy of the J.P-1 can be submitted in the envelope along with the DVD submission.

QUESTION 19: Will the Government please confirm that Offerors are required to submit only one paper copy of an "Original" populated J.P-1 Attachment, and no other copies?

RESPONSE: Yes. One paper copy of the J.P-1 is required.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

RFP Section L.5.1.4 / L.5.4

QUESTION 20: If an evaluation element (PSC or LET) is performed by an entity with a Meaningful Relationship to the Offeror as defined in the RFP Section L.5.1.4, please confirm that the corresponding Meaningful Relationship Commitment Letter included as part of Volume I is all that is required to verify that the Offeror may claim that Relevant Experience Project.

RESPONSE: No. The RFP Sections L.5.2.2 and L.5.2.3 provides submission requirements for PSC/LET experiences.

QUESTION 21: May we claim credit for Relevant Experience Projects where the required contract documents (e.g. Award document, Contract, SOW) are labeled FOUO (or higher)?

RESPONSE: Yes, but all required documents must be unredacted to substantiate the claimed points.

QUESTION 22: Would summary SOWs, signed by the customer Contracting Officer, be allowable in these circumstances to help in the evaluation?

RESPONSE: No. A summary Statement of Work (SOW) would not be acceptable.

QUESTION 23: Is a grant from a US federal agency acceptable as a PSC / LET project?

RESPONSE: No, grants are not acceptable.

QUESTION 24: In situations where a divestiture has occurred, and the originally performing element of the company did not retain a contract in the separation, can it still claim past performance credit as the prime for the period prior to the divestiture (assuming it still meets the RFP relevancy requirements)?

RESPONSE: No. Only the legal entity holding the Contract at the time of proposal submission may claim the credit.

QUESTION 25: If Offerors are proposing a Task Order project awarded against an IDIQ do we need to include an award form for the IDIQ itself? Or will the Task Order award form suffice?

RESPONSE: Award document and SOW from the Task Order is needed, since it provides the specific requirement details.

QUESTION 26: Will the Government accept excerpts from proposals to meet the requirement verification of PSCs/ LETs?

RESPONSE: No, the Government will not review proposals in response to the Task Order

PWS.

QUESTION 27: Please confirm that the verification forms are not required if the FPDS-NG Report and CPARS reflect the points claimed?

RESPONSE: The J.P-2 and J.P-3 are always required. The J.P-2 is not required to be signed if the FPDS-NG Report reflect the points claimed, but it still requires a completed Part I regardless.

QUESTION 28: May a small business JV proposing on Alliant 2 Unrestricted claim credit for PSCs / LETs using proposed subcontractors, as allowed with Small Business CTAs?

RESPONSE: No. Offerors proposing as a JV must offer as a JV. Combinations of JVs/CTAs are not acceptable, e.g., a JV utilizing subcontractors that are not members of the JV; or a Prime/Sub CTA utilizing a JV as a subcontractor.

QUESTION 29: For the PSC forms signed by the COR, does the Contracting Officer need to acknowledge the email from the COR?

RESPONSE: No. The email to the Contracting Officer by the COR is sufficient.

QUESTION 30: Can we use a PSC past performance IDIQ contract that has no awarded task orders?

RESPONSE: No. The IDIQ Contract cited must have a Project that has been issued and performed under it. See the definition of “Previously Performed” under the RFP Section L.5.7.1.

QUESTION 31: Will the Government accept deliverables, architecture documents, etc to demonstrate the work to validate scoring on PSCs / LETs?

RESPONSE: No. The Offeror may provide contract SOW/PWS, modifications and FPDS-NG Report documents.

QUESTION 32: Do "organizational risk assessment" points consider subcontractors listed in the subcontracting plan?

RESPONSE: No.

QUESTION 33: In terms of meaningful relationship if you have two companies under the same holding/parent company that are wholly owned subsidiaries, can the team up to leverage the experience, systems and certifications of each other for the Alliant 2 Unrestricted or Alliant 2 SB track?

RESPONSE: Yes, subject to all other restrictions of the RFP.

QUESTION 34: If a past performance citation is listed in the FPDS-NG Report with an incorrect PSC Code, and an Offeror seeks credit for a different PSC Code, and the Offeror completes the J.P-2 for the appropriate PSC Code and the CO/COR agrees and signs the J.P-2 -is that citation eligible for credit?

RESPONSE: Yes, as long as the CO/COR agrees and signs the J.P-2 for the appropriate PSC Code citation.

QUESTION 35: Is it acceptable to provide a more general contract value (e.g., over $1M, $8M, $10M, $20M, $100M) consistent with the thresholds presented in the RFP (e.g., "Over $1M" for LETs)?

RESPONSE: No. The obligated value or actual dollars are to be provided.

QUESTION 36: Is it permissible to claim PSC Group Relevant Experience for a project that had a total contract value below $8 million upon award but that later had the contract value increased to above $8 million through contract modifications? And if so, are we permitted and/or required to provide copies of contract modification documents in addition to the original contract award document to substantiate our claims?

RESPONSE: Yes, the last FPDS-NG Report for the project, and copies of contract modifications are acceptable. The same would apply for LET Relevant Experience (except the threshold for LET projects is $1M).

QUESTION 37: We had planned on getting signatures only on one J.P-2, because the FPDS-NG Report is inaccurate. We have FPDS-NG Reports that substantiate every scoring element on the J.P-2; however, they do not have every field that is shown on the J.P-10. Is the FPDS-NG Report considered “Complete,” if it substantiates every scoring element on the J.P-2?

RESPONSE: Yes, the FPDS-NG Report is Complete and Accurate if the J.P-2 entries validates with the FPDS-NG Report. But once again, even so, PART I is required for submission.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION (POST AWARD)

QUESTION 38: Must a contractor have an approved purchasing system to be awarded a Cost Requirements-based task order?

RESPONSE: Generally, no. However, please check with the Ordering Contracting Officer for orders for specific needs on the purchasing system.

QUESTION 39: 1a. After how long/how often will GSA assess engagement? 1b. Upon assessment, if 5 (out of 60) vendors do not meet engagement performance measures, will GSA replace these 5 vendors with 5 "new" vendors? 1c. If so, what does that "replacement" process look like?

RESPONSE: There is no set point in time for doing an Open Season. The Open Season will be treated as a Full and Open procurement, and the consideration to do an Open Season is not just based on a number of contractors being replaced but also on other detailed factors mentioned in the RFP.

QUESTION 40: While COTS software is mentioned several times in the RFP, how will software licenses be purchased via ODC's as a separate task order award by other procedures?

Will the government outline those those procedures in the RFP?

RESPONSE: COTS licenses that are integral to and necessary for the IT services-based effort may be addressed as an ODC and procured within the same single Task Order.

QUESTION 41: In the RFP Section G.8, the Government is indicating they want a contractor to assign committed Program and Contracts Managers. Is it the Government's intent that these positions be dedicated to the Alliant 2 GWAC?

RESPONSE: No, the Program and Contracts Managers do not need to be dedicated. However, the Contract requires an individual be named for the roles identified for purposes of correspondence on program and contractual matters.

QUESTION 42: The RFP Section F does not provide insight regarding travel, attendance at meetings and associated costs. The RFP Section G.13 does however state that "...attendance at Government conferences and meetings at no additional cost to the Government." Please clarify.

RESPONSE: The GWAC Program may hold up to 4 Program Review Meetings which are mandatory for the Contractor representatives to attend. Contractor travel costs shall not be directly charged to the GWAC Program.

QUESTION 43: Are any of the Standardized IT Labor Categories covered under the SCA/DBA? If yes, would the maximum rate apply?

RESPONSE: No. The SCA/DBA are considered Ancillary Support and the maximum rates would not apply.

QUESTION 44: In the RFP Section B.11.2 Cost Reimbursement, the last sentence states "Contractors will be required to submit a cost proposal with supporting information for each cost element, including, but not limited to, Direct Labor, Fringe Benefits, Overhead, General and Administrative (G&A) expenses, Facilities Capital Cost of Money, Other Direct Costs, and Profit consistent with their cost accounting system, provisional billing rates, and forward pricing rate agreements." Please confirm that reference to "provisional billing rates" includes proposed provisional billing rates.

RESPONSE: Yes, when applicable and agreed by the Ordering Contracting Officer.

QUESTION 45: Typically, Large Businesses have multiple DUNS/Cage Codes associated to specific performance locations and the awarded Cage Number at the Umbrella level does not necessarily correspond to the location performing under the various task orders. Would the Government consider revising the language to address this concern to " The Contractor shall ensure the DUNS/CAGE number assigned to the covered Task Order(s) is applicable to the company's performing entity."

RESPONSE: No. The DUNS Number used on GWAC Orders must be consistent with the DUNS Number under the Master Contract. Maintaining a consistent DUNS Number for Orders to the Master Contract facilitates identifying the Awardee, associated Dollars and Orders in the various government systems such as, but not limited to, the electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), the Past Performance Information Retrieval System, the FPDS-NG Report, the

SAM.gov, and USAspending.gov. The CAGE code is permitted to change based on the performance location.

QUESTION 46: The RFP Section G.11.1 states in part "...DBAI shall be at no direct cost to the GWAC Program; however, if required and approved by an OCO under an individual Task Order, DBAI may be charged as a direct cost to the government. If DBAI is included as part of indirect costs as part of its disclosure statement, is that acceptable?

RESPONSE: Yes. When applicable, ensure that the OCOs are aware that Defense Base Act Insurance (DBAI) is included as part of indirect costs as stated in the Offeror’s Disclosure Statement.

(End of Alliant 2 Unrestricted Questions & Responses #3 5AUG2016)