Questions and Answers RFP 75D301-21-R-71848.pdf

RFP #75D301-21-R-71848

Amendment 0001

Dated Issued: May 17, 2021

Questions and Answers

RFP #75D301-21-R-71848 Amendment 0001

“DNA Plating and Storage Services”

1. Question: L.5 (pg. 58) L.5.1 Proposal Contents- The RFP states that there should be three sections in Volume I - Technical Proposals: Then it states, the technical proposal shall be divided into three sections.

i. Section 1 - Technical Proposal for the Basic Contract

ii. Section 3 - Technical Proposal for Task Order 1

Would the Government please advise as to what section 2 should consist of?

Answer: RFP has been corrected to “The technical proposal shall be divided into two sections.” “Section 3” has been corrected to “Section 2”

2. Question: L.5 (pg 58) L.5.2 Proposal Contents- The RFP states that there should be three sections in Volume II - Business Proposal: Then it states, the business proposal shall be divided into three sections.

i. Section 1 – Task Order 1

ii. Section 3– Response to Clause L.14(a), (b) and (c).

Would the Government please advise as to what Section 2 should consist of?

Answer: RFP has been corrected to “The business proposal shall be divided into two sections.” “Section 3” has been corrected to “Section 2”

3. Question: L.5 (pg 58) L.5.3 Proposal Contents- The RFP states that there should be three sections in Volume III – Past/Present Performance. Then it states, the Past/Present

Performance shall be divided into three sections.

i. Section 1 – Past/Present Performance Narrative

ii. Section 2 - Other Administrative Data

Would the Government please advise as to what Section 3 should consist of?

Answer: RFP has been corrected to “The Past/Present Performance shall be divided into two sections.”

4. Question: L.6, L.8 (pgs 59, 60) Proposal Page Format- Will the Government please clarify what is excluded from the page limit, as there is conflicting information between

L.6 page 59 and the bottom of page 60 under the "Basic Contract.” On page 59 (L.6), it states that

“Cover pages, tables of contents, responses to the Pricing Tables in Appendix B, and resumes do

NOT count towards the page limitation” while on page 60 (L.8) it says “The written technical proposal is limited to twenty (20) pages, including the cover page and table of contents.

Answer: The language “including the cover page and table of contents” has been deleted from page 60 in the area referenced.

5. Question: B.1 (pg 2) Purpose- On page 2, B1, the RFP states that the Government intends to make a single award as a result of this Request for Proposal, but on page 57, it states that the

Government contemplates awarding a multiple award IDIQ (FAR 52.216-1). Will the

Government please clarify intent?

Answer: The language on page 57 under FAR 52.216-1 has been corrected to read as follows:

FAR 52.216-1 Type of Contract (Apr 1984)

The Government contemplates awarding a single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite

Quantity (IDIQ) Contract resulting from this solicitation. Task Orders will be performance-based and issued on a Firm-Fixed-Price basis.

(End of Provision)

6. Question: B.7 (pg 3) Task Order Pricing- On page 3, section B.7, the RFP states that “task orders issued under this contract will be Fixed-Price.” However, throughout multiple points in the RFP, there is language indicating that a resulting award will be managed in more of a cost-reimbursable fashion. For example, On Page 63 of the RFP (Section I.9 Business Proposal

Instructions), the data requirement for the proposal appears to be for the provision of cost information as would be for a cost reimbursement proposal submission. In addition, Task Order

1 on page 65 states that “The Offeror must identify the labor category(s)

………………………… and any other proposed associated costs, for calculating the proposed cost for this effort. Subcontractor rate information shall also be included, if applicable. List all

Other Direct Costs necessary for the performance of this task order.”

Please confirm that the pricing that should be proposed should be on a fixed price or fixed unit price basis and not on a cost reimbursement basis.

Answer: Task orders under this IDIQ will be issued on a Firm-Fixed-Price basis.

7. Question: B.7 (pg not specified) Task Order Pricing- Please confirm that the requirement for price analysis and reasonableness of the Fixed Price proposals will be based on the comparison of the proposed prices IAW with 15.305 – Proposal Evaluation for each of the CLINS referenced in the Task Order. Please also confirm that analysis of cost data is not applicable due to the competitive nature of this acquisition and any prices being provided are commercial prices

IAW FAR 2.101.

Answer: Per the RFP, pg 69, The Government will perform a comparative assessment

(a.k.a. trade-off) of each offerors' proposed cost/price of the task order relative to each offeror's technical score for Section 1 and Section 2 and past/present performance risk assessment to determine the best value. Offerors shall provide a detail cost proposal for

Task Order 1.

8. Question: B.9 (pg 3) Place of Work and Government Furnished Equipment- On page 3, Section

B.9, the RFP states that “Computers used by Contractor personnel shall meet CDC’s standard software and security configuration before logging onto CDC’s network.” Will the Government please provide a link to where those guidelines can be found.

Answer: This will be provided on an as-needed basis.

9. Question: L.5.2 (pg 58) "ii. Section 3– Response to Clause L.14(a), (b) and (c)."

Please clarify what section this intends to reference. "Section L" ends with Clause 11 (L.11)

Answer: Language has been corrected to read “Response to Clause L.9(a), (b) and (c)”

10. Question: L.8, A, (pgs 60-61) Basic Contract- I have a question related to the Technical

Proposal (L.8, A, Basic Contract pg 60-61) and is related to Section C, V, Task Area 4 and 4.1 pg 7). Is there any indication of whether the requested DNA plates are each unique plates or batches of plates with the same DNA samples and plate layout? The minimum and maximum units are presented in Attachment J2, Items 5 and 6. If there is any indication, it will help determine the equipment and labor required for preparing these DNA plates.

Answer: Batches of plates with same DNA samples and plate layout unless a custom plate is requested (which is rare). Sets requested vary from year to year, on average 1-2 a year.

11. I have an additional question important for the Business Proposal. Item 7 (Ship DNA to researcher) listed in Attachment J2 lists the units as "Box" while all other units related to the

DNA format references a plate "each". Can you please define the "box" unit here? Is this the shipping box or a box here is the same as a plate?

Answer: 1 “box” is defined as 1 plate of 92 samples. Yes, for item 7 box is the same as a plate.