RFP Q and A.pdf

As of: January 31, 2012

2012 NAIP Draft RFP Questions and Answers

Q: Who are the incumbent contractors?

A: There were six prime contractors. The public notice of contract award can be found at https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c7fdbc6ca524b6a0e460563b66293c4d&tab=cor e&_cview=1

Q: The draft IDIQ RFP states “95% confidence interval of well-defined points tested fall within 6 meters of true ground,” then the horizontal offset between two image segments cannot exceed ±6 meters”. Is the expectation less than 12 pixels shear at 100% or 95%?

A: the horizontal offset is a different requirement than the horizontal accuracy. The offset requirement is a 100% requirement versus the confidence level of the horizontal accuracy - however we are tying the two together by using the same “linear distance” (6m meters in the case of NAIP). We have reworded the paragraph to help clarify the possible misunderstanding.

Q: If an incumbent prime contractor is proposing to submit a proposal, are they required to submit any past performance information or references?

A: An incumbent offeror will have a past performance score on file at APFO will not need to submit any references.

Q: If contractor develops a DEM other than the NED, can the contractor include costs for doing so in its price proposal, or, would such development be done at contractor’s risk (i.e., no guarantee that the Government will purchase)?

A: The offeror should document the proposed ortho production process, including the elevation model, as stated in section L-2.3(c)(4). Any proposed price for the optional DEM purchase will be considered separate from the base proposal (see section C-6.2(f)).

Q: Does the data used to derive the DEM have to be co-collected with the imagery being collected for

NAIP?

A: No. There are no requirements or specifications regarding the elevation model – as long as all other specifications are met (such as horizontal accuracy, image quality, offsets, etc)

Q: If contractor uses or develops a DEM other than the NED, would contractor need to obtain pre-approval from the APFO, since such an effort would most certainly add steps to the orthorectification process and create a risk of delays in the deliverables?

A: Government approval is not required.

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c7fdbc6ca524b6a0e460563b66293c4d&tab=core&_cview=1 https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c7fdbc6ca524b6a0e460563b66293c4d&tab=core&_cview=1

As of: January 31, 2012

Q: We interpret Clause H-3 Ownership of Contract Materials to mean that the Government will have rights to the finished products but will have no rights to the underlying data used to create the deliverables. Can the government confirm this interpretation?

A: Correct. Only the data delivered to the Government under the contract will the data rights be transferred to the public domain.

Q: Satellite sensors collect data at 11 bits, not at 12 bits. Could section 3.3 be changed to allow 11 bits for satellite sensors?

A: When submitting the required sensor samples and related data (see Attachment A), an offeror can request a waiver to this 12-bit requirement but we would like to see a resampled 8-bit product before approving the waiver.

Q: Page 10, item c. Off Nadir Angle for space-based platforms. Aerial frame based sensors typically have field of view of approximately 40 degrees. Frame based sensors tend to have radial displacement/distortion of various features as you go from center of the CCD frame towards the edges, causing effects such as leaning buildings/elevated structures such as trees. Satellites have a very narrow field of view of approx 2 degrees and at orbits in hundreds of kilometers. Our company has conducted several BRDF (Bi-Directional Reflectance Distribution Function) studies to understand the impact of various satellite collection off-nadir angles on the BRDF on feature extraction. We have found that off-nadir angles up to 30 degrees provide imagery that is effective for various agriculture applications including crop classification, crop health determination, etc. We have found similar angles allow for other vegetation applications in forestry. Accepting higher off nadir imagery could result in a cost savings opportunity for the NAIP program. Would the NAIP program office consider up to 30 degrees off nadir for space-based platforms?

A: NAIP is considered more than just an “agriculture” imagery program because of the large non-agriculture funding partners and users. The concern for relaxing the off Nadir requirement is the impacts to areas of large terrain relief, in particular non-agriculture areas. Therefore the NAIP contract remain with the original requirement and continue to be consistent with the IFTN draft specifications developed by the Federal and state user base.

Q: Per the RFP Section B-1, 1.4, we understand that the government will consider optional or alternative award items. May a bidder submit only an optional or alternative bid that offers “new and innovative technical products of improved methods of acquiring or delivering imagery”?

A: We do encourage offerors to submit optional proposals that promote new and innovative approaches. However, the optional approach needs to be in addition to the base offer. We will update the draft RFP to avoid confusion.