Respond_to_Questions_ver_1.pdf

Response to Questions for Solcitation S-AQMMA-17-R-0193

1. Will the Government please specify the applicable Wage Determination (WD) schedule for each SCA labor category? Attachment G in Section J only provides the Washington DC wage determination schedule (should be Revision 6), however we understand a large portion of this effort will be performed in Charleston, SC. Will the Government please clarify which labor categories in Section J are SCA labor categories, and their applicable location(s)? ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment G

2. Since OCONUS allowances vary over time, will the Government please confirm the reimbursable CLIN is used for all Travel expenses includes: DBA Insurance, Quarters Allowance, Cost of living allowance, and hardship / danger pay (if applicable)? ANS:

The CLIN will only include danger pay if applicable.

3. We understand 5% of the contract will be designated for Washington and Bangkok, Thailand. Will the employees in Washington and Bangkok be permanently assigned there (and thus not be eligible for travel cost reimbursement)? ANS: The employees will be permanently assigned.

4. We understand 5% of the contract will be designated for Washington and Bangkok, Thailand. However, locations are not specified in the Section J, Labor Categories. Can the Government please update Section J to indicate the location of all labor categories?

ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment I

5. The Base Year figure in the first column shows "$125" -- is this supposed to read "$125K"? ANS: It should read $125K FOR TRAVEL

6. The Government has provided plug numbers for Travel. Will the Government be providing a CLIN for Travel? Will the Government be providing an ODC CLIN as well?” ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment E

7. The requirements of the Pricing Volume (III) are not specified in Section L. Will the Government please update Section L to delineate the requirements of the Pricing Volume? ANS: Please see revised Section L

8. The level of effort in the RFP of 136 FTEs appears to be substantially less than the current effort. Should some of the LCATs include more than 1920 hours per category? If so, will the Government please update Attachment E? ANS: The specific number of hours required for each labor category will be identified in the task orders that will be issued once the contract is in place. The level of effort is expected to be equivalent to 300 FTE per year.

9. This section indicates proposed price will be determined by multiplying the estimated quantity for each CLIN in Section B. However Section B does not contain the CLIN structure. Was it the Government's intent to reference Section J, Attachment E? ANS:

YES

10. Since the SCA rates are increased periodically by the Department of Labor, can the Government please confirm that offerors shall bid the current SCA rates in effect today and that during contract performance the successful offeror will increase the respective base SCA rates (plus applicable indirect costs) whenever the SCA rates are increased by the Dept. of Labor. ANS: OFFERORS SHOULD USE THE DOL WD THAT’S IN

THE SOLICITATION

11. The referenced paragraph discusses a direct award. Is this paragraph applicable since this is a competitive RFP? ANS: REMOVED

12. What is the estimated award date? Will the Government please confirm the transition timeline shall be in accordance with Task 1 - Transition, Start-up and administration contained in Section J? ANS: The transition is expected to be completed in 90 days after award

13. Are all the incumbent employees U.S. citizens? ANS: No, please refer to page 5, paragraph 3 of the solicitation

14. It appears there is a word missing--will the Government please clarify this requirement for the plan of operation? ANS: Please refer to Section L , page 60, para (f)

15. NAICS code 541219 --Other Accounting Services is listed on FBO but not in the solicitation. Will the Government please confirm this NAICS code and the size standard? Will the Government also confirm this is an 8(a) set aside? ANS: This is an SBA 8 (a) set-aside

16. The RFP headings, paragraphs and subparagraphs do not follow a logical letter/number sequence, so paragraph numbers cannot be used as reference to requirements text. Will the Government be correcting the RFP/Section L/Section M outline? If not, for purposes of the Cross-Reference Matrix, will the Government accept RFP page numbers only as reference? ANS: Yes, page numbers can be used as references.

17. There appears to be a discrepancy whether the Past Performance Volume should be included as Tab (A) 8 in Volume I, or if it is Volume II Past Performance Risk Assessment, as described in Section M--please clarify. ANS: Should be included in Volume II

18. There appears to be a discrepancy whether the Resumes should be included as Tab (A) 7 in Volume I, or if it is Volume IV Contractor Resumes, as described in Section M--please clarify. ANS: SHOULD BE VOLUME I

19. Will the Government please clarify if the requirement is to provide only three (3) resumes: one (1) Project Manager and two (2) Assistant Project Manager(s); and not for the additional labor categories of Accountant, Business Process Analyst, Systems Accountant, Database Administrator, Management Analyst and Help Desk Analyst?

ANS: While the government only requires the offeror to submit resumes for KEY PERSONNEL , the Project Manager and Assistant Project Managers, it is incumbent on the offeror to submit resumes for other labor categories to demonstrate their experience and capabilities supporting the broad scope of financial services and administrative support required by the government.

20. In H-016, key personnel are listed as Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, and Technical Lead. The Technical Lead position does not appear anywhere else in the solicitation or Section J. ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment F, page 40 Technical Lead ( Key Personnel)

21. To relieve the Government from the administrative burden related to verifying the characters per line/lines per page requirement, will the Government please consider the following standard font and style requirements for legibility and ease of evaluation:

Times New Roman or Arial, minimum font size "10 pitch"? ANS: YES, Times New Romans 10 or 12 Pitch will be acceptable.

22. Section M indicates the Financial Statement should be sealed in an envelope. Are we only required to provide a hard copy of the Financial Statement as there is no equivalent method to "seal" the statement on the electronic submittal? ANS: Yes, hard copies will be acceptable.

23. In Block 12 of the SF 33, a time period is not specified on the cover sheet (60 calendar days is the default), and p. 65 (d) refers to the solicitation cover sheet. Will the Government confirm the validity period of the offer? ANS: Should read 90 days

24. If the Government requires personnel security clearances up to TS/SCI, the contractor facility clearance must be Top Secret, not Secret as stated on p. 28. Will the Government please confirm that the contractor must hold a Top Secret facility clearance at time of proposal submittal? ANS: Please refer to the DD 254, Section J, Attachment H

25. Please confirm that financial statements for subcontractors are not needed. ANS: NOT

REQUIRED

26. Does the Government consider each of the labor categories to be a distinct CLIN?ANS:

YES

27. The DD 254 states that the COR would like to receive is a copy of the employees JPAS summary page. But, it is actually a misuse of JPAS to print or take a screenshot of JPAS data. Please advise if this language will be revised or updated. ANS: Please refer to what’s on the bidder’s DD 254 Section J, Attachment H.

28. The DD 254 states that investigations happen every five (5) years, but the current DSS policy calls for periodic reinvestigations for a TS clearance every 6 years. Our understanding is that this policy will be reviewed and updated at the end of December 2017 to see if it will remain in effect or change back to every 5 years. Please advise if the DD 254 will be revised or updated. ANS: We do know that there is a DSS (Defense Security Service) notice that states Tier 5 PR’s will be done at the Six year vice Five year mark and this will be re-visited by Dec 31, 2017. We do not have any further guidance and will continue to abide by the statutes DSS sets forth pertaining to contractor investigations. Further guidance is posted on www.dss.mil concerning this effort

29. The labor category requirements for the Project Manager and Assistant Project Manager currently require for the individual to possess a Top Secret (TS) Clearance. The specific http://www.dss.mil/

Department of State experience and TS clearance heavily favor the incumbent contractor and thus inhibits competition. Will the Government please revise the requirements for the Project Manager and Assistant Project Manager to allow proposing personnel with a Secret Clearance that can be upgraded to a TS clearance upon contract award? ANS:

REFER TO THE BIDDER’S DD254, Section J, Attachment H for clearance information.

30. Given the question submittal deadline of Friday, 30 June and the upcoming Federal holiday, we understand we may not receive answers to questions until the week of 10 July. Will the Government please consider a two-week extension to 31 July to allow offerors sufficient time to make any necessary changes to our proposal, based on answers to questions? ANS: PROPOSAL DUE DATE changed to August 10, 2017, 1:00 p.m., e.s.t.

31. Please clarify the inconsistency in key personnel replacement time periods. ANS: Should read First 90 days

32. Please clarify if substitute personnel will be approved based upon adherence to the labor category qualifications for which they will fill, not as compared to the skills and abilities of the individual they will be replacing. ANS: Personal shall be approved based upon the Labor Category

33. Please clarify the overall instructions for the text pages. Using 10 point font as instructed will be make it very difficult to maintain 65 characters per line without very wide margins. In addition, does the character count include spaces or no spaces? ANS:

Please refer to question #21 above

34. Proposal graphics and tables represent a proposal ‘best practice” and are most effective when color representations are applied. Please clarify or consider removal of this requirement. ANS: Removed

35. Do the signed Teaming Agreements count against the overall page count of Volume 1?

ANS: NO

36. Please clarify which positions will need a clearance and at what level. ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment H DD 254..

37. Please clarify the Facility Clearance required for the Prime Contractor to submit a valid proposal and if currently a Secret Facility clearance would be acceptable for initial submission that could then be elevated to Top Secret. ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment H DD 254.

38. Please clarify where resumes should be included, Volume IV or Tab (A) 7. ANS: Please place in Volume I

39. How many resumes should be included in Volume IV? The three indicated in Volume IV or the eight described in Tab (A) 7 – Resumes? ANS: While the government only requires the offeror to submit resumes for the Project Manager and Assistant Project Managers, it is incumbent on the offeror to submit resumes for other labor categories to demonstrate their experience and capabilities supporting the broad scope of financial services and administrative support required by the government.

Volume I

40. Are two separate packages required, one with the technical proposal and CD’s and one with the other volumes? ANS: NO, there are three, Volumes 1. Technical, Volume II Past Performance, and Volume III Price

41. “If the Contractor has an Active Top Secret Facility Clearance please indicate either Yes of NO? If no response is given to this question then the government will address it as meaning NO for that contractor”. This appears at a random location in the document.

Please explain? See section l(b)(1) Tab (A) 1page 58/59 ANS: Moved to section H-30 (f)

42. Will a Letter of Commitment satisfy the requirement for “Employment Agreement”?

ANS: Yes

43. Is a Past Performance Questionnaire to be submitted by each offeror related to their past performance contract references? ANS: YES

44. Will the Government add the wage determination for North Charleston to the solicitation? ANS: Please refer to Section J Attachment G

45. Will price be subject to a risk assessment rating ANS: Government not clear on your question

46. Can a proposal which receives a score of 70 points or more in the Second step of establishing the competitive range be judged as technically unacceptable in the Third step? ANS: Government not clear on the question you are asking

47. Will the Government consider releasing Attachment E, Labor Categories, as an Excel spreadsheet? ANS: Not at this time

48. Should the Training Program include a discussion of training related to Tasks 1, 2, 3 and 4? ANS: The government is interested in the training programs the offeror has provide for their employees and the frequency of the training provided. Tasks 2, 3 and 4 are provided to give the offeror an indication of the work. The offeror may include a discussion of the training related to those tasks.

49. Text pages shall be no more than 54 lines of text, with no more than 65 characters per line using the portrait page orientation………”Can you translate these requirements to a font style and font size? ANS: Government not clear on your question

50. Government’s estimate of labor categories and number of positions include 1-Nework Specialist I and 2-Network Specialist II. These labor categories are not listed in Section J, Attachment F. Please clarify which labor categories and staffing levels should be used.

ANS: Please refer to revised Section J, Attachment F

51. Does the Government expect the Offeror to provide a direct response regarding the approach to perform Tasks 1, 2, 3 and 4? ANS: No. Task 1 is the task statement for the transition. Tasks 2, 3 and 4 are provided to give the offeror an indication of the work.

52. Section L (pages 56 & 57) specify Past Performance is to be Volume 2 and Resume’s to be Volume 4 but page 60 &61 state that Past Performance and Resumes’ are to be included as a Tab in Volume 1. Please confirm that Past Performance is to be in Volume 2 and Resumes are to be Volume 4. ANS: Please refer to revised Section(s) L & M.

Past Performance should be placed in Volume II, while Resumes should be placed in Volume I

53. Section L (page 58) states that Contractor Teaming Arrangements should be included in the proposal. Please confirm that these agreements can be placed in an Appendix for Volume 1 and are outside the 75-page limitation. ANS: Yes, place in Volume I

54. Will cover sheets, tables of contents, cross-reference tables/matrices, and acronym lists be exempt from the page restrictions? ANS: Yes

55. May we use a lesser font size for tables and figures as long as it is legible? ANS: Please refer to Question #21 above

56. Do OCI plans count against the page limit? Should they be included as part of Technical Volume I? ANS: Government is not clear of the question you are asking

57. Some of the labor categories indicate involvement in capital planning, OMB 300 preparation, business case development, drafting project justifications for capital IT investment projects, and tracking EVMS. The Financial Management Analyst series in particular indicates support to the chair for the source selection evaluation process for four major capital IT projects. Are we precluded from using as a subcontractor for the subject RFP a company involved in the development of these systems? ANS: Please refer to revised Section J, Attachment F .

58. The Payroll Systems Analyst category indicates the analysts will perform development and implementation of financial/payrolls systems and system changes. The category further states the analysts will prepare feasibility studies and may assist with new software requirements and enhancements. Our understanding is the ongoing payroll system development is performed under a separate contract. Is it the Government’s intent to move this development work to the contract awarded from the subject solicitation?

ANS: These labor categories may be identified in tasks for Payroll Systems Support.

59. The Software Engineer series of labor categories indicates the software engineers will assist in engineering analysis for estimating relative software costs, defining requirements, and assessing risks. The category also requires experience with RFMS, GFMS, Travel Manager, and eTravel.

• Question 1: Are these the only systems the software engineer supports, develops requirements for, and estimates costs? ANS: No, these are some of DoS’s financial software systems

• Question 2: Please identify the companies involved in the development of systems supported and if there are known conflicts precluding their involvement as team members in this solicitation. ANS: Information cannot be provided

60. Please identify the companies – if any - involved in the development of the statement of work for this solicitation? ANS: Information cannot be provided

61. Are any 3rd parties providing ongoing procurement support during the evaluation of proposals? If so, for the avoidance of OCI issues, please identify them. ANS: No, companies are providing procurement support during the evaluation of the proposals.

62. H-016 indicates there are three labor categories considered key for this proposal: Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, and Technical Lead. Section L, 3rd paragraph indicates “Only 3 resumes shall be submitted (See Volume IV)”. Section L Tab A(7) – Resumes indicates a longer list of eight labor categories to consider as key and submit resumes. Please clarify the number of resumes to submit with the proposal. Also, please clarify the positions considered key personnel. ANS: The government only requires the offeror to submit resumes for the Project Manager and Assistant Project Managers, and Technical Lead.

63. Tab (A)3 indicates “Note at this date the only cleared persons are the Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, and Senior Business System Analyst.” We understand current operations have a number of systems personnel who hold Top Secret clearances and others holding Secret Clearances. In addition, we understood at a minimum all contractor personnel working at the Department of State facilities required Moderate Risk Public Trust (MRPT) clearances. Please clarify the positions requiring clearances and the level of clearance required.

ANS: All positions to be filled will require the individual to have at least a Moderate Risk Public Trust certification, see DD 254.

64. Tab (A)3 indicates “Note at this date the only cleared persons are the Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, and Senior Business System Analyst.” In Section J, we could not find a labor category description for the Senior Business System Analyst. Please provide as appropriate ANS: Please refer to page 4 of the attachment

65. Section L includes FAR 52.215-20. Is a certificate of current cost required? As a competitive, FFP/labor rate contract, is this requirement applicable? ANS: REMOVED

66. Is there an applicable service contract act correlation already established for the labor categories on this contract? If so, please provide. ANS: No

67. Section I includes requirements for subcontractors to provide Certified Cost or Pricing Data.

Is this applicable/required given the contract cost type? ANS: REMOVED

68. Does the Program Manager/Officer position as part of Key Personnel require a Top Secret Clearance? ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment H, DD254

69. What kind of security process can we expect on the government side as far as onboarding new employees? How long does it typically take for new hires to start? Do new employees go through a background investigation where it can add additional time and prevent he or she from starting quickly? ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment H, DD254

70. The Quality Control Plan "needs to demonstrate the offeror's understanding of the broad range of the CGFS functional requirements and the quality assurance/controls necessary for the different functions." This contradicts the evaluation criteria from Section M (page 75) which states "the Quality Control Plan must be "specific to the overall program of running a labor hour contract, to assure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified." Will the Government evaluate controls related to the contractor's proposed quality control program/QMS for performing the work based on contract requirements, or evaluate the contractor's understanding of the controls that are a part of the Government's existing ISO 9001 QMS?

ANS: The government will evaluate the controls related to the contractor’s proposed quality program/QMS.

71. The government did not provide any of their ISO 9001 QMS documentation in the solicitation, nor is it publicly available. If the Government is evaluating an offeror’s understanding of the controls that are a part of the Government's existing ISO 9001 QMS, please provide sufficient documentation so that non-incumbent offerors have equal access to this information. Because this information is necessary to meet the solicitation requirements, will the government provide offerors with this documentation? If not, please confirm that evaluation will be limited to only to the contractor's proposed plan/controls as related to a contractor’s QMS and/or quality approach for running a labor hour contract. ANS: The offeror does not require specific knowledge of the CGFS Quality Management System (QMS) documentation. The offeror needs to demonstrate their understanding of an ISO 9001 QMS and methods for identifying and reporting deficiencies.

72. Per the RFP requirements, according to Section L, “the prime contractor or prime joint venture shall provide a financial statement certified by an independent accountant within the last two years. The contractor shall put atop each page the words financial statement. These pages shall not be counted against the total page numeration for that technical volume.” However, according to Section M, “the contractor shall seal its financial statement in an envelope.” Can the Government please clarify if offerors should provide their financial statements in the Volume I Technical Proposal or in a separate sealed envelope? ANS: Offerors shall provide their financial statements in a sealed envelope.

73. Will contractors currently supporting the modernization of the Global Financial Accounting and Payroll Systems be prohibited from bidding this contract as a prime or subcontractor? ANS:

This effort is an 8(a) competitive set-aside.

74. Will contractors who designed, operate and manage the Momentum system be prohibited from bidding on this contract as a prime or subcontractor? ANS: This effort is an 8(a) competitive set-aside.

75. Would the Government please consider removing FAR clause 52.215-12 Subcontractor Certified Cost or Pricing Data so that commercial items offerors can participate in the procurement? ANS: REMOVED

76. Per Section L, the RFP states, “…the offeror has included the requirement signed teaming agreements in Volume I.” Can the Government please confirm offerors may include the fully-executed Teaming Agreements as an attachment to Volume I, excluded from page count? ANS:

YES

77. Reference: 6(F) ‘Color representations shall be avoided;’ can the Government please clarify this requirement? Please confirm tables and graphics may include color? ANS: YES

78. Are offerors to include past performance in Volume I Tab (A) 8 or in Volume II Past Performance? ANS: Past Performance should be in Volume II

79. Would the government further provide the Resource Allocation by Location for each of the Labor Categories? ANS: The specific number of hours required for each labor category will be identified in the task orders that will be issued once the contract is in place. The level of effort is expected to be equivalent to 300 FTE per year.

80. Would the government provide the list of DoS Training Courses as referenced within ISO 9001? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

81. Would the government provide comprehensive list of the Key Performance Indicators being utilized today? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

82. Would the government provide details on the IT infrastructure to be supported by this contract including the following information? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

a. Type of equipment (e.g. server, router, firewall, printer, desktop PC, etc.)

b. Location of equipment

c. Quantity of equipment

83. Would the government provide technical diagrams describing the IT infrastructure supported under this contract including documentation that describes how the infrastructure supported under this contract is connected to other DoS IT infrastructure (e.g. DoS-IRM ESOCs) ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

84. Would the government provide an inventory of the applications used at the CGFC? Which of these applications are supported (for application operations and maintenance) by this contract? Which are supported by another contract and which contract/vendor supports them? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

85. Would the government clarify the scope boundaries between the CGFS contractor and the JFMS (Momentum) O&M contractor? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

86. Would the government clarify the scope boundaries between the CGFS contractor and IRM – Vanguard contractors that support DoS’ IT infrastructure? ANS: This information is not necessary in order for the offeror’s to submit their proposal.

87. Does the government require 3 past performances with 2 being a labor hour contract? Please clarify past performance requirements. ANS: Please refer to Past Performance requirements located in Section L

88. On page 8 in section C.3 ,Scope of Work, the task descriptions for subsections C.3.1- C.3.4 for the sample Task Orders in section J (Attachment A-D) are different and broader than the descriptions provided in the actual attachments A-D. The evaluation factors in Section M page 75 Tab (A) Volume I Quality Control Program paragraph 4 states that the QCP inspection system shall cover the examples seen in section “J” of this request for proposal. Can the government clarify which scope statement is correct? ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment(s) B, C, & D.

89. Please list the number of expected Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) per labor category.

ANS: The specific number of hours required for each labor category will be identified in the task orders that will be issued once the contract is in place. The level of effort is expected to be equivalent to 300 FTE per year.

90. There is a Program Manager and Project Manager LCAT listed with 1920 hours with the Project Manager listed as key. Can the government please clarify the requirement and expectation on the Program Manager LCAT. ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment F

91. Please confirm that the Est. Hourly rates to be provided are for the Charleston, SC area.

ANS: Yes, unless otherwise specified.

92. CLINs 099-102. The labor categories for Help Desk Support – Overseas. Are these positions actually located overseas or in Charleston, SC? ANS: The positions are located overseas.

93. The evaluation of a compensation plan is discussed. In the Contractor’s proposal, what volume should the compensation plan be included in? ANS: This be placed in Volume

III PRICE

94. Please clarify and confirm that the government’s requirement is for the facility clearance requirement to be of a Top Secret. ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment H

DD254.

95. Regarding Solicitation SAQMMA17R0193, Section M, Evaluation Criteria, Tab (A) 4, pg 75, paragraph 2: Please confirm that the instructions of "[t]he contractor shall explain what certification it has received as substantiating a process certification" indicates that the offeror should have knowledge and understanding of process certification, and that it is unnecessary for the offeror to possess the process certification specified (in this case, ISO 9001:2008). ANS: Please refer to revised Section M

96. Section F-008 of the RFP mentions an 8 hour day but states time period of 5am to 6pm. Can the government clarify the actual time period for the 8 hour day when support will be required on-site? ANS: Should read form 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

97. Key personnel cannot be changed for at least 90 days, per one section of the RFP. However, Section H-022 of the RFP states a time period of 180 days. Can the government confirm the restriction that a contractor must conform to, in case circumstances require a change in personnel? ANS: 90 DAYS

98. For planning purposes, can the government provide an estimation in terms of percentage of staff required that would need to be cleared vs. non-cleared, to support the contract?

ANS: Please refer to Section J, Attachment I