Additional_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

# RFQ Reference QUESTIONS ANSWERS

1 Section M, Paragraph 1, Page 46.

Factors 1 and 3 uses the words “completed contracts” to refer to acceptable Go/No Go criteria. However, the word completed is defined as either finished and/or ended. Can the SEC further clarify intent for using the word “completed”? For example, a company is in the third year of a five year contract supporting requirements very similar to those of this SEC solicitation. The engagement is current and on-going with two years remaining on the POP; however, the engagement is not “completed”. Would this particular customer engagement reference be acceptable to meet the Go/No Go criteria for Factors 1 and 3? Additionally and in the same vein, it is acceptable for industry to provide Past Performance references for ongoing/current customers and not only “past” or “completed” customer references.

See Section M.1, PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

2 Section M.1

We are wondering if a contract at exactly 4 million dollars qualifies? Also, we have a contract that was bridged and the Period of Performance was extended, and is over the 4 million dollars with the bridge (continued work, this was not re-competed) We are curious if this qualifies?

See Section M.1 - Factor 1 in PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

3 Section C.5.1.1 Subtask 1.1

Program Management Support, last bullet used to say Integration Support is deleted. However the next section C.5.1.2 Subtask 1.2 Project Management first bullet notes Integration Management. Is this included or not?

Integration Support was not listed in Section C.5.1.1. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

4 Section L.3, 2nd paragraph

States, “an incomplete RFP Compliance Matrix will consider the proposal unresponsive.” However, there are over 125 areas that have additional requirements within these designated areas. This equates to approximately .25 to .5 pages to cover only the requirements, excluding the TOC, cover letter, Resumes and Past Performances for the Technical. Excluding the page count for the RFP Compliance would alleviate in providing sufficient page space for responding to the requirements.

See Section L.7.d.i - PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

5 General February 16, 2015 is Presidents Day. Our offices will be closed. Is it the government’s intention to extend beyond this date?

Yes, the revised proposal due date is 12:00PM EST, February 20, 2015. See PMO RFP - Final- Rev 1

Section M, Paragraph(s) M.1, Page(s) 46.

Please define "completed" in terms of an executed SF-1449 that is in progress? i.e. Terminology clarification and replacement of the term "completed" to "executed" is requested.

See response to Question #1

7 Section H.1, Attachment 4, Page 23

Attachment 4, Contract Personnel Non-Disclosure Agreement referenced in Section H.1 is missing from the final solicitation. Is it OK to reference the one in the draft RFP?

Attachment 4 is included in Amendment 2

8 Section L.1, Paragraph 2, Page 43

According to the Federal Government's Calendar, February 16 is a federal holiday (President's Day). Please confirm the 16th is the correct proposal submission date.

See response to Question #5

9 Section L.1, Paragraph 2, Page 43

Please confirm that the Government will accept PDF files for the submission of this proposal. Government does not have a preference

10 Section L.7.2, Page 46 The last item in the table ("Achieved benefits to the customer") is lettered "K". Please change to "M" so "K" is not repeated. Table has been revised. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

11 Section L.6.c, Page 45

The draft RFP provided the SF 1449 to complete with a due date of 1/28/2015. The amendment revised the due date to 2/16/2015 but did not provide a revised SF 1449. Please provide a revised SF 1449.

SF 1449 cannot be revised, therefore Amendment 1 was issued.

Please submit a completed SF 1449 as it was issued

12 General

When a small business prime is awarded a small business contract for this solicitation, how must the 51% small business work share requirements be met? 51% per individual Task Order or 51% over the entire IDIQ contract?

Entire IDIQ contract

13 Section L.6.C.ii, Page

Please confirm that the 5 page limit is referring only to financial ability portion of the price proposal. Correct

14 Section M.1 Factor 1, Please confirm that the term "IT Project and Program Management" is one of three support services areas and that it is not two separate support services areas (e.g., "IT Project" OR "Program Management").

Correct. IT Project management or IT Program Management

15 Section M.1 Factor 1, Please confirm that the term "completed" within Factor 1 means that all Option Years of the contract must be finished (e.g., the contract ended prior to this proposal's due date) in order to satisfy that portion of the requirement.

See response to Question #1

16 Section H.6

States: “The prohibition against performing work that “directly relate(s) to the Contractor’s performance of work under this Contract” refers only to work involving the evaluation, assessment, and development of specifications for the automated procurement system provided by the Contractor.” Based on this information, does the OCI restriction only apply to the Task Orders under this IDIQ that will involve the automated procurement system?

OCI restriction is applicable to all Task Orders that involve program proprietary or procurement sensitive information.

Section L.7.2, Paragraph(s) 1, Page(s) 45

States “(3) federal contracts” are required for past performance.

Would the SEC consider allowing the submission of non-federal and commercial contracts as acceptable past performance for this

RFP?

No, not at this time

Section M.1, Paragraph(s) 2 - "Factor 2 - Prime Experience", Page(s) 46

States “one or multiple Federal contract(s)” are required for Factor

2. Would the SEC consider allowing the submission of non-federal and commercial contracts as acceptable past performance for this RFP?

No, not at this time

19 Section C.4, Paragraph 1, Page 6

Based on the incumbent list provided, can we add a subcontractor not on the incumbent list, but may have a potential conflict of interest at the Task Order Level? Would an OCI plan articulating that any task orders containing direct OCI issues with a subcontractor’s performing work be firewalled from said teammate be acceptable?

There are no restrictions on team or subcontracting arrangements, however, any OCI issues must require an acceptable Mitigation Plan by the Government

20 Section L.7.2, Paragraph 3, Page 46

If we have CPAR scores for all of our past performance including the three submitted with this proposal, do we also need to have a completed past performance questionnaire?

All available past performance information, including but not limited to CPARS and past performance questionnaire, will assist the Government to perform a thorough evaluation. This will reduce assessed risk and increase confidence in a offeror's capability to perform successfully.

21 Section L.1, Paragraph 2, Page 43

The due date, February 16th is a Federal holiday, would the SEC consider February 18th as the submittal date? See response to Question #5

Section L.5, Paragraph(s) 1, Page(s)

Please clarify the compliant sequence of information: 1) Go/No- Go Factors, 2) Compliance Matrix, 3) Exceptions/Deviations/Assumptions, or 1) Go/No-Go Factors, 2) Exceptions/Deviations/Assumptions, 3) Compliance Matrix.

1) Go/No-Go Factors, 2) RFP Compliance Matrix, 3) Exceptions/Deviations/Assumptions. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev

Section M.1, Paragraph(s) 1, Page(s)

Please clarify “completed”? Is the requirement that the contracts need to be closed/ended for the work to be considered “completed”? Will the government accept an ongoing contract with completed option periods as satisfying this requirement?

See response to Question #1

Section L.7.3, Page(s) 46 and Section M.4, Paragraph(s) 5, Page(s)

Please clarify the need for the additional 4 Key Personnel on an IDIQ where the task orders have not been identified.

Task Orders will be issued soon after IDIQ awards. Offerors must possess the capability to perform work upon award in all SEC regional office locations, if required, and provide all personnel, including Key Personnel

25 Section L.7, Paragraph d.i., Page 45

This item states that “Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 11) and resumes are excluded from page count”. The Past Performance Questionnaires are now being sent directly to Mr. Han. Do we also include them in our proposal?

Questionnaire responses shall be sent directly to contact listed by the proposal due date and should not be included in the proposal.

See Attachment 11 - Past Performance Questionnaire - Revised - Rev 1

Section M.2, Paragraph 2nd paragraph after item c, Page 47

States “The Government reserves the right to limit the number of IDIQ awards to these small business interests based on evaluation results.” Please clarify. Does this mean that the government may choose NOT to proceed to the second phase?

Government intends to proceed to the second phase

Section L.7.1, Paragraph 2, Page 45, Amendment 1 – Questions and Answers, Question #223

Question #223 asked “Would the Government consider moving [the requirement “capability to provide continuity and maintain the necessary staff resources/labor categories to perform the work on this requirement.” (Technical Factor L.7.3.c)] so that it will be included with and evaluated under Technical Factor 1”, with the Government’s answer of “No, not at this time.” However, the Final RFP has been updated to include this requirement in Technical Factor 1, pg. 45, paragraph 2. Can the Government please confirm this requirement will be evaluated under Technical Factor 1?

Correct, it will be evaluated under Technical Factor 1. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

28 Amendment 1 The extended proposal due date of February 16, 2015 is a Federal holiday. Would the Government consider moving the proposal due date to February 13, 2015?

See response to Question #5

29 Section L.6.c.i, Paragraph 1, Page 44

We are required to include a completed and signed copy of page 1 of the SF 1449. Is the original SF 1449 from the Draft RFP the form we should submit in our proposal?

See response to Question #11

30 Section L.6, Paragraph c.ii, Page 44

Our D&B report is 21 pages and our financial statement is over 30 pages. We recommend SEC remove the requirement for D&B and financial statements to be included in the 5 page limit.

See response to Question #211 on Question and Answers document provided on Amendment 1

31 Sections L.7.2 and M.1, Pages 45 and 46

Please clarify the definition of “completed” as opposed to “performed.” See response to Question #1

32 Section L.2, Pages 45 and 46

Please clarify that the date of PPQ submission to the government will coincide with the proposal submission date. See response to Question #25

33 Section C.5.12, Page 17

Section C.1 lists 11 task areas. Section C.5 addresses specific task areas. Paragraph C.5.12 addresses Task Management. The paragraph numbering makes it appear that C.5.12 Task Management is included in Section C.5 as part of the specific task areas. Can we presume that paragraph C.5.12 is meant to be a separate section (to be renumbered as C.6, and subsequent paragraphs to be renumbered accordingly) and that it is addressing how the contractor will manage tasking? If not, are we to understand there are 12 task areas and paragraph C.5.12 is part of specific tasking in section C.5?

Task Order list has been revised. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

34 Attachment 2, Section 1.4, Page 2

We presume that paragraph (b) should read: The IDIQ maximum for this contract, inclusive of all orders issued in the five-year base ordering period is $180,000,00, so as to be consistent with Section I, 52.216-19 Order Limitations (OCT 1995). Is this correct?

Correct, See Attachment 2 - Task Order Instructions - Revised - Rev 1

35 Sections C.1.5 and 5.11, Pages 5 and 16

Task Area 11 has two different titles. On page 5 (C.1.5), it is titled “Communication and Knowledge Management.” On p. 16 (C.5.11) is titled “Communication, Logistics and Knowledge Management.” Which heading would the government like us to use to describe Task Area 11?

Task Area 11 title has been revised. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

36 Section L.6, Page 44 Pricing requires a contract start date. Can we assume a date of 1 June 2015 as contract start date for pricing purposes? If not, what date should be use?

We are anticipating award date between April and May. Assume June 1 as contract start date for pricing submission purposes

37 Sections H.2 and L.2, Pages 23 and 43 Please clarify how the selection process will work. Selection process is clearly stated in the RFP

Section F.1 - Period of Performance, Paragraph 1, Page 19

Ref Q&A 210. It was stated in the response that the Period of Performance will be stated on IDIQ award. For direct comparison of offeror's rates, can the government please provide an estimated start date to use?

See response to Question # 36

Section L.5 - Exceptions, Deviations, Assumptions, Paragraph 1, Page 44

Can the Government please clarify the order to be the Go/No-Go Factors, Attachment 10 - RFP Compliance Matrix, and then followed by Exceptions, Deviations, Assumptions?

See response to Question #22

Section L.5 - Exceptions, Deviations, Assumptions, Paragraph 1, Page 44

If the offeror has Pricing Assumptions, Terms and Clarifications, should these be included in the Price Proposal and not the Technical Proposal?

Yes

Section L.7.1 Technical Factor 1: Technical Capability, Paragraph 2, Page 45

Ref Q&A 44 and 238. Please clarify small business subcontracting plan vis a vie subcontracting plan large business requirement and it's location in the proposal. L.7.1 refers to a subcontracting plan. Q&A 44 and 238 indicate the small business subcontracting plan as a subcontracting plan.

1. Is the 'subcontracting plan' in L.7.1 the small business subcontracting plan or different?

2. If the same, since it typically contains pricing information, can it be provided as part of the Price Proposal instead of the Technical Proposal?

Subcontracting Plan is not required for small businesses. Teaming and subcontracting agreements for small businesses do not require a Subcontracting Plan. Technical information provided in the Price Proposal will not be considered

Attachment 8 - Labor Category Descriptions - Revised

Can the Government please provide the minimum years of project experience required for the Quality Assurance Manager? Right now it states, "* project experience"

Corrected, See Attachment 8 - Labor Category Descriptions - Revised - Rev 1

43 Ref Q&A 210

It was stated in the Q&A response that the Period of Performance will be stated on IDIQ award. For pricing purposes and direct comparison of offeror's rates, can the government please provide an estimated start date to use? Should offerors bid their rates per Gov. fiscal year?

See response to Question #36

44 Section C.4, Page 6

Is the offeror correct in assuming that any work under this IDIQ requiring access to CA ClarityTM PPM 13.2 will constitute a potential OCI risk and will necessarily preclude the prime offeror from any downstream work not associated with this IDIQ?

Depending on the level of access to the information in CA Clarity PPM tool, vendors are not necessarilly precluded from participating in all downstream work unless an OCI is present. An acceptable Mitigation Plan is required where an OCI issue may exist.

45 Section C.4, Page 6 Will the Government please confirm that a TO associated with Task Areas 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 will necessarily constitute an OCI risk for offerors planning on bidding downstream SEC work?

Not all TOs under these Task Areas constitute OCI risks. The specific OCI risks will be identified and assessed at each Task Order level. An acceptable Mitigation Plan is required where an OCI issue may exist.

46 Section M.2,Page 47

If the Government does not plan to assign a rating for price proposals, how will the Government evaluate offerors' pricing in relation to the non-price factors? For example, is the Government planning on performing a pair-wise comparison for pricing with other offerors?

Awards will be made based on best value to the Government, all things considered IAW the solicitation.

47 General

In follow-on task orders, will the Government specifically assign labor categories for individual task orders? If the answer to the previous question is no, is the offeror correct in assuming that we will be able to propose our own labor mix?

It will be determined on a case-by-case basis

48 Section L.7.1, Page 45 Will the government provide the desired outcomes for each task area of the SOW?

The Offerors shall state the benefits and intended outcome of the Offerors' technical approach.

49 Section M.3, Page 47

Section 1.6 references the objectives of the solicitation and Attachment 9, QASP include performance objectives. Do these sections contain the objectives referenced in section M.3, Evaluation Criteria? I f not, please provide additional detail on SEC's objectives if these are not the objectives SEC is referring to in Section M.3, Evaluation Criteria.

Section C.1.6 describes the goal and scope of the intended services. QASP is not part of the evaluation criteria for the IDIQ award. QASP will be used during Task Order delivery to assure vendors' quality of service. Offerors shall reference Section M in its entirety for proposal evaluation criteria.

50 Section M.3, Page 47

Will the Government provide guidance on how they will score offeror technical proposals? For example, will the Government use a color rating, numerical rating, or adjectival rating system to score and rank offeror technical proposals?

This is an internal process. All offerors will be evaluated IAW the solicitation.

51 Section M.4, Page 47 and 48

Will the Government provide guidance on the relative weighting of the technical factors within the offeror's technical proposal? See Section M.2 in PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

52 Section L.7.2, Page 45 Is the offeror correct in assuming that the prime offeror can provide 3 past performances and include additional past performances for subcontractors?

No, Offeror shall provide three (3) past performances, however, at least one must be Prime's past performance.

53 General

The due date of February 16, 2015 is Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day which is a federal holiday. Will the government consider extending the due date for proposals to February 27, 2015?

See response to Question #5

54 Attachment 11, Paragraph 2, Page 1

Can we assume that the Past Performance Questionnaires (Attachment 11) are due the same date and time as proposals are due?

See response to Question #25

55 Section C.4, Page 6 Can this OCI be mitigated? If not, please define “follow-on work.” Yes, an acceptable Mitigation Plan is required where an OCI issue may exist

56 Section C.4, Page 6

Is this a requirement at the IDIQ or the task order level? If at the IDIQ level, is this to be submitted with the proposals? If so, in which volume of the proposal should this be included and will this be added to Sections L and M as an evaluation criteria?

OCI Mitigation Plan will be required for specific Task Orders where OCI risks may exist.

57 Sections C.5.12.5 and H.36, Pages 18 and 36

Please confirm if these two sections are related. Under paragraph C.5.12.5, is it the Government’s intent for the incumbent contractor to support work an additional 120 days if needed? If so, will there be an overlap in service (ex: 30 to 69 days under the existing and follow-on contract)? If services are required any time up to 120 days after contract expiration, will the existing order be extended through the transition phase?

Section H.36 is deleted. See PMO RFP -Final - Rev 1

58 Section E.1, Page 19

Considering the multiple locations, does the Government intend to assign a COR at the IDIQ level and/or COR(s) at the task order level? If both, how will this affect the annual contractor performance assessments; will they be submitted by the COR at the IDIQ level and/or the COR directly assigned at the task order level?

COR will be assigned at IDIQ and Task Order levels. Contractor Performance assessments will be conducted at IDIQ level, with consideration of peformance on all Task Orders

Sections F.1 and Clause 52.217-9, Pages 19 and

Sections F and I seem to contradict in the length of the IDIQ.

According to FAR Part 16.505(c), task-order contracts for A&AS cannot exceed five (5) years total. Please clarify the total duration and period of performance of the IDIQ and Task Orders in total.

The IDIQ ordering period will be five (5) years, however, may be extended up to six (6) months, IAW with Clause 52.217-9

60 Section F.1.3, Page 20 Considering the ability to telework, will contractors be able to access SEC networks remotely?

If off-site performance is permitted, access to SEC networks will be provided, as needed

61 Section G.2, Pages 20 and 21

This clause is confusing – how does this “new task” differ from any other potential tasks orders that may come out under this IDIQ? Or are all tasks under this IDIQ to be considered non-severable?

All Task Orders are considered non-severable

62 Section H.2, Pages 23 and 1

As a small business, we are certain that this program can be supported 100% by small businesses within multiple socioeconomic categories. Please provide the methodology and rationale used to derive the 62.5% set-aside for small businesses.

Is this 62.5% of the total contract value ($180M) or of the combined total value of all task orders awarded under all IDIQs awarded?

It is anticiapted that at least five (5) of eight (8) awards may be issued to a small business, which is 62.5%. There are no minimum dollar or percentage threshold set-aside of the estimated total contract value of $180 million

63 Section H.4, Page 24

Is this an extension of FAR Clause 44.201-1, Consent Requirements? If so, can the Government please explain the applicability of this clause to the contemplated IDIQ contract?

Please confirm whether this applies to agreements with individuals (as opposed to corporate entities) operating as independent contractors?

IDIQ awards resulting from this solicitation constitutes Contracting Officer approval of subcontracts. Changes to subcontractor after IQID award requires Contracting Office approval

64 Section H.9, Page 28

In lieu of requiring specific certifications, would the Government consider increasing the number of required years of experience and/or providing an equivalence - for instance, GS-15 / SES, or O5/O6 for the military?

No, not at this time

65 Section H.9, Page 28 This seems like a stringent requirement for a lower level Project Manager. Recommend that the Government change this requirement to DAWIA Level I.

No, not at this time

66 Section H.9, Pages 27 and 28

Please clarify the significance of the statement “required for IT Programs” as it relates to key personnel proposed at the IDIQ level for this contract. Has this effort been deemed an IT Program, as it is used in H.9.1? If not, does this only apply at the task order level?

Section H.9.1 has been resived. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1. IT experience for key personnels is required for management of IT projects and programs. The Senior Program Manager who is acting as the Contract Manager does not require IT experience.

Section I, Clause 52.216-22 and 52.216-

Will an initial task order be issued to all successful awardees for the minimum order of $1000 at time of award? If this is the case what is the intent of the first order? Will it to be in support of a Kick Off meeting; which is not a requirement or deliverables (example: QCP, which is due within seven days after contract award)?

Initial Task Order, with obligation amount of $1,000, will be issued to all IDIQ holders. If IDIQ holders are awarded additional Task Order during the ordering period, the initial Task Order will be deobligated

68 Attachment 4 Please provide the correct Attachment 4 to the final RFP. See response to Question #7

69 Attachment 6 In which part of the proposal should offerors include the completed Attachment 6? Include in Price Proposal

70 Section L.5, Page 44 Can the Government please clarify whether this should come after Attachment 10 (Compliance Matrix) within offerors’ proposals? See response to Quesiton #22

71 Section L.6.c.iii, Page 45, and Q&A #28

Section L.6 of the RFP references documents that should be included within the Price Proposal. Placing the statement that offerors “must meet all requirements in A-J” within Section L.6.c implies that offerors must show, within their price proposals, how they meet all the requirements in Sections A-J. A majority of this, however, will be included within the Technical proposal. This question was addressed within the first round; it was not, however, clearly answered. Request the Government delete this sentence from the solicitation.

Offeror must meet all of the technical requirements of the RFP in order for their Pricing Proposal to be considered

72 Section L.7.d.i, Page 45 Please clarify whether this reference to past performance refers to the entire Technical Factor 2: Past Performance (as stated in L.7.2)?

Correct

73 Section L.6.c.ii, Page 44 Is the “statement explaining how the price was derived” meant to be included within the 5 page limit? Yes

74 Section M.1, Page 46

Will the Government consider either 1) removing Go/No-Go Factors 1 and 2, or 2) removing Technical Factor 2 so as to avoid duplicative information? If not, will the Government allow offerors to reference the same efforts in both sections?

The offerors may reference the same efforts in both sections.

75 Section M.1, Page 46 Will the Government consider removing Project Experience as one of the Go/No Go factors? No, not at this time

76 Section M.1, Page 46 Please provide the rationale for choosing to emphasize these SOW tasks over others. Will the Government consider adding the other SOW tasks to Go/No-Go Factors 1 and 3?

No, not at this time

77 Section M.1, Page 46 Please provide additional information as to how offerors may show they satisfy this Go/No-Go factor. Ex: is there a particular number of contracts that must have been completed in these areas?

Offerors are responsible for submitting the required information for Section M.1

78 Section M.1, Page 46 and Section H.2

$4 million seems to be an arbitrary number. How did the Government arrive at this value? Why is the threshold for small and large businesses the same? How can you determine it fair and reasonable to hold small business to the same criteria as large business? Will the Government consider decreasing the threshold for small business to $3.5 million or less?

Go/No Go factors were established based on market research and will not be changed at this time

79 Sections M.2 and M.5, Pages 47 and 49

Please provide clarification as to the correct “Price Evaluation Factors for Award”. Please also provide the criteria to be used in support of cost realism or confirm that this information was entered in error and the Government does not intend to perform a cost realism analysis. FAR Part 15.404-1(d) states that “Cost realism analysis is the process of independently reviewing and evaluating specific elements of each offeror’s proposed cost estimate to determine whether the estimated proposed cost elements are realistic for the work to be performed; reflect a clear understanding of the requirements; and are consistent with the unique methods of performance and materials described in the offeror’s technical proposal.” It also states that this type of analysis should be performed on cost-reimbursement contracts and competitive fixed-price incentive contracts or, in exceptional cases, on other competitive fixed-price-type contracts.

Price Analysis will be performed based on Offerors Price Proposal submission, including Attachment 7 - Pricing Sheet - Revised.

80 Attachment 2, Section 1.6.1, Page 2

What methodology will be used to determine the urgency, simplicity, complexity, etc. of each order? Will there be a certain percentage of orders to set-aside for small businesses; if so, will this percent be 62.5% or more?

See response to Question #62

81 Section M.1

States that “Prime must have successfully completed at least one

(1) contract in the IT Program Management Office(PMO), IT Portfolio management…” Our company has an ongoing prime contract with a Federal Agency in the IT Program Management office service area ( contract commenced 2 years ago). Based on our good performance, the government has exercised their option years and we are in option year 2 of the contract. We have executed over $4 million in the base year as well as option year 1 and have excellent CPARS rating for this contract. Could the government confirm that this contract experience could be used to suffice Factor 1 of the GO/NO-GO factor?

See response to Question #1

82 General Is it the Government’s intention that all four Key Personnel will commence on Day 1 of the contract at SEC?

No, Task Orders will determine Key Personnel and period of performance

83 General

Is it the Government’s intention that only the Senior Program Manager be a current or contingent hire employee of the Prime Contractor? Must all Key Personnel be a current or contingent hire employee of the Prime as well?

Senior Program Manager must be a current or contingent hire of Prime. Remaining Key Personnel can be current or contingent hire of Prime or team/subcontractor

84 Section L.6.(c)(ii), Paragraph 1, Page 50

The answer to question #56 stated, “Subcontractor financial statement or D&B report is not required.” However, the requirement remains unchanged in the final RFP and still requests information regarding the financial ability of the Offeror and its subcontractor(s). Does the answer to Question 56 supersede the solicitation requirement?

"Information regarding the financial ability of the Offeror and its subcontractor(s) to fulfill the requirements of the contract (such as a current financial statement or a D&B report, etc.) shall be submitted". However, subcontractor information is not required if the Prime can demonstrate this soley. It is up to the Offeror provide all necessary information in order for the Government to evaluate accordingly

85 Section L.5, Page 44

This instruction on the location of the Exceptions, Deviations, and Assumptions conflicts with the instructions in section L.3.

Specifically there are two orders in which offerors are instructed to present required proposal components. Will the Government please clarify which order is the compliant sequence of information: 1) Go/No-Go Factors, 2) Compliance Matrix, 3) Exceptions/Deviations/Assumptions, or 1) Go/No-Go Factors, 2) Exceptions/Deviations/Assumptions, 3) Compliance Matrix.

See response to Question #22

86 Section M.1, Page 46

Within “Factor 3 – Project Experience” is the requirement for offerors to have, “…successfully completed contracts…”. Will the Government please confirm that ongoing project meet this requirement as well?

Yes

87 Section M.4, Paraggraph 5, Page 48

In response to part a) of question 226, the Government clearly responds that letters of commitment are only required for contingent hires. However, the Government did not clarify whether or not Key Personnel resumes are representative rather than contractually-obligated Key Personnel since there is no Task Order to be awarded. Will the Government confirm that all Key Personnel resumes other than the Sr. Program Manager are representative of the Key Personnel that the offeror can provide?

See response to Question #83

88 Section L.7.2

It is understood that the Prime needs to submit at a minimum one Past Performance as a Prime Contractor. However for the second one , can one of the past performance from the Prime be for the work performed as a sub contractor

No

89 Section L.7.3 If additional resumes are submitted (a) for Key Personnel and (b) other labor categores will them be evaluated

One resume is required for each Key Personnel position.

Additional resumes will not be evaluated

90 Section L.7.3 Is the signed letter of commitment part of the page count? Letter of commitment is exempt from page limitation

Section L.7.2, Paragraph(s) 1, Page(s)

The offeror is being asked to submit 3 federal contracts for past performance in this section. Whereas, section M.1 Go/No-Go Factors requires minimum 1 contract for Factor 1-Contract Experience and minimum 1 contract for Factor 2-Prime Experience. Please explain this difference?

Offerors must meet all factors in Section M.1 in order to be considered for an award. Section L.7 provides specific factors that will be evaluated if Offeror has demonstrated they have met the requirements of Section M.1

92 General

If a project past performance is used to satisfy the go/no-go criteria in first pages of the technical response, must that same past performance be used as 1 of the 3 submissions in the past performance volume, or can different projects be used?

Different projects can be submitted by the Offeror

93 Section C.4, Page 6

Is work currently performed at the SEC for EDGAR Auto Certification considered a conflict of interest to PMO work under the solicitation Task Orders? If so, will a COI Mitigation Plan be acceptable?

OCI does not exist at the IDIQ level, however, OCI may exist at Task Order level. If OCI does exist, an acceptable Mitigation plan is required

94 Section L.7.3, Page 46 Are Letters of Commitment included as part of the page count for the resumes? Letter of commitment is exempt from page limitation

95 General Should contractors provide multiple resumes for the Key Personnel positions of PM, PM II, PM III and CPIC Analyst? See response to Question #89

96 Section M.4 Can the past performance be for the work performed as a sub contractor See response to Question #88

97 Section F.1.3, Page 19 Has the government made a determination if the additional sites will require on-site personnel? This is critical to how to deliver on the contract task orders.

Estimates cannot be provided at this time, however, it is expected that majority of the requirements will occur at SEC headquarters.

However, IDIQ contract holders shall possess the capability to perform work in all SEC regional office locations if required. The official place of performance will be determined in each Task Order.

98 General Is there a requirement, upon award, that a contractor must respond to all the task orders identified?

IDIQ contract holders shall possess the capability to perform work in all SEC regional office locations if required. However, eligible IDIQ award holders can choose to respond to specific Task Orders

99 General

Has the government determined how task orders will be delivered to the small companies versus the large companies? Will small businesses have the ability to compete on all task orders while large businesses will be restricted to just large specified task orders?

Task Order set asides have not been determined at this time.

Large businesses, if any, can only participate if Task Orders are solicited on a unresitricted basis

100 General Will small businesses be able to use non-specified sub-contractors, meaning those not identified in the proposal submission, on their team to respond to task orders after award?

See response to Question #63

101 General Can the government clarify if when task orders come out after award, will they identify the specific socio-economic group that can respond or will it just be for small business to respond?

Task Order solicitations will specifiy the set aside, if any

102 Section L.4, Page 44 Is the government considering a down-select process using the oral presentation to get to the final 8 or so contractors awarded?

The Government may establish a competitive range. Oral presentations may be required.

103 Section L, Paragraph L.1, Page 43

Since the due date of February 16 is a federal holiday, will the government please extend the due date to February 17? See response to Question #5

104 General Does the SEC have a centralized function for demand capture? Not at this time

105 General What tools, workflow, or automation does the SEC use around performance management? None at this time.

106 General What version of SharePoint does SEC currently use? Currently SharePoint 2010, However an upgrade to 2013 will occur during this contract.

107 General Does the System Development Life Cycle currently support Agile projects? Not at this time

108 General What percentage of projects in FY2014 were Agile? Percentage is not available

109 General What tools, workflow, or automation does the SEC use around Enterprise Architecture? None at this time.

110 General

Would the government provide a copy of documents describing the existing System Development Life Cycle process (e.g., baseline governance processes, tailoring procedures, artifact templates)?

These documents will be provided, as needed, with the requirements of individual Task Orders

111 Seection L, Paragrapgh 2Page 41

The Proposal due date falls on a Federal Holiday. Please indicate how the government intends to issue proposal delivery receipts to the offeror.

See response to Question #5

112 Seection L, Paragrapgh 2, Page 43

Please provide clarification on the document format and version (if applicable) of the Technical Proposal and Pricing Proposal submission (ex. PDF, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel).

Government does have a preference

113 Section H.9.1, Page 27 That the qualifications for the Senior Program Manager be amended to allow substitution of experience for education, specifically 15 years of experience in lieu of a Master’s Degree.

Years of experience cannot be substituted for degree or certification requirement. See Attachment 8 - Labor Category Descriptions (Revised)

114 Seection H.32, Page 34 Please indicate what the intended use for RSA Tokens is and confirm that government furnished equipment includes desk telephones.

RSA Tokens will be required for contractors that are approved to perform off-site

115 SF 1449, Block 8 That the government amends Block 8 to match the Due Date indicated in RFP Section L – Instructions to Offerors, Page 43 See response to Question #11

116 SF 1449, Block 10 Please provide a revised copy of the SF 1149 with the revised 62.5% for Small Business per Amendment 1 See response to Question #11

117 Section M.1, Page 46 Factor 2 – Prime Experience – Does this imply that a Prime with

2.5 years’ experience on one contract and 4 years’ experience as Prime qualifies with 6.5 years “combined”?

If the experience overlap, it will count as one.

118 Section M.1, Page 46

Factor 3 – Project Experience – Since Factors 1 & 2 state “Prime” does “Offeror” in Factor 3 mean all team members? For example Prime has successfully completed contract in IT Project or Program management support and sub team members have successfully completed IT Program Management office (PMO), CPIC/Portfolio Management does this qualify the Go/No-Go? Can you please provide your definition of the term “Offeror

For Factor 3, both prime and team members' experience are acceptable. See PMO RFP - Final - Rev 1

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