Q and A for SO SFSIAQ11R0008

Questions and Answers – Stability Operations Solicitation

SFSIAQ11R0008

1. Are teams led by a small business allowed to participate…in other words, are subcontractors allowed?

See C.5. There will be no subcontracting. Joint Ventures or Formal Teaming Agreements vetted via SBA may be allowed. In this instance, it is mandatory that the Small Business socio-economic status is not altered and maintained.

2. Can you direct me to the section of the document that tells us how to respond, we are confused as to how to respond to this opportunity. Proposal, etc.

Pay particular attention to section C “Statement of Work”, section L “Instructions” and section M “Evaluation Criteria”. Section L will give you instruction on what to submit, how and when.

3. The actual time of each of “Helpful Behaviors I, II, and III series of lectures is longer than what’s been described in the BPA document (1 Hour). The objectives described are generally the same as the objectives delivered for the Helpful Behaviors I class in the current Iraq Familiarization course, which allow 4 hours to accomplish those objectives. Does this proposal (1 hr.) intend to establish an hourly rate for this training? Or, is it intended to accomplish those student performance objectives in a one hour period?

Yes, more than one hour/per hour.

4. In Section C.5 it states “No part of the services to be performed under this agreement may be subcontracted, and no obligation or duty arising out of the individual order may be transferred, or assigned, without the prior authorization of the Contracting Officer.”

Does this mean we must perform 100% of the work or can we form a team and that team is approved by virtue of being awarded the contract?

See answer for #1.

5. Can you tell me if this opportunity Stability Operations SFSIAQ11R0008 has an incumbent?

This is a new initiative. The prior work was accomplished by a host of individuals under numerous types of contractual vehicles.

6. L.2.4 - How many Volumes should be submitted?

a. Should there be a Technical and Price Volume?

Please ignore L.2.4; it is redundant from the first sentence in L.2. You will need to submit an original and 3 copies of your proposal. Please separate your technical and pricing as described in L.2.2.

7. L.3 – Special attention is directed to the requirements for technical and past performance reports to be submitted in accordance with these instructions –

a. Section L or M does not give any instructions for past performance Please disregard this section and focus only on what is asked for in section C and M.

8. How many courses of each program will be taught each year and how often?

The RS 500 Foundations course of two week duration will be offered 15 times during the FY 11 year with approximately one week between each iteration. Afghanistan FAM RS 415 of one week duration is offered 24 times in FY 11; Afghanistan Field AR 421 of one week duration has 12 iterations ; and Interagency Integrated Field Exercise RS510 of six days of duration is offered 12 times. For Iraq, FT610 Iraq Fam. will be offered for 5 days each most weeks of the FY 11. AR420 Iraq PRT Orientation is scheduled monthly for one week each.

9. Are the classes taught in any particular order?

The Afghanistan courses are iterative starting with the RS415, followed by AR421 and, then, RS 510. The latter two are only required for USG personnel posted to field operations. There is no required sequence for the two Iraq courses although it is preferred that FT610 IRAQ Familiarization course be attended prior to attending the AR420 Iraq PRT Orientation.

10. Will there ever be a time when a course is taught multiple times simultaneously?

For long term Dari and Pashto language students at FSI, an abbreviated version of RS415 and AR421 is delivered in one day segments titled as Afghanistan RS 416 (an Area Studies class). At the same time, the regular RS415 and AR421 are being held.

11. What is the average length of time given to teach each course?

The average is 5 days (40 hours over a five-day week.)

12. Who was the Incumbent?

See Question #5.

13. Is there any Security Clearance Requirement for the instructors?

No, not at this time.

14. . In Section C.5 it states “No part of the services to be performed under this agreement may be subcontracted, and no obligation or duty arising out of the individual order may be transferred, or assigned, without the prior authorization of the Contracting Officer.” What will be the process to obtain prior authorization to subcontract and will 1st tier subcontractors be permitted to subcontract to 2nd tier subcontractors or Independent Consultants as well?

See answer for #1.

15. Section C.6 states “The instructor must utilize an existing course design or create a course design.” Is there an existing and approved Program of Instruction (POI) for all courses?

Yes.

16. Section C.6 requires the contractor to participate in a team approach to overall course design, meet with Course Coordinators and Course Delivery Teams, provide feedback to the Coordinators in a “one-on-one” setting, and participate in after-action reviews. Are these billable hours in addition to the stated length of the requested courses or should contractors figure these costs into their fully burdened labor rates?

Yes, applicants should include costs for feedback and consultations in their fully loaded rates.

17. C.7 states payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of each workshop and receipt of a proper invoice. Will the government stipulate the terms NET+30, NET+45?

Yes, all invoices are paid according to “Prompt Payment Act” requirements.

NET 30 days.

18. C.7 states that when classes exceed the normal size the contractor may be required to accommodate the increase in a variety of ways such as repeating the presentations. Will these additional hours be billable?

Yes.

19. C.7 states all travel will be IAW the JTR/FTR. There is no CLIN provided for travel rates. Can this be bid as Cost Plus or will the government provide expected travel requirements so contractors can adequately develop their price proposal?

You will not need a price proposal for travel. If there is a need to travel for these courses, all travel will be paid for by the government according to JTR/FTR.

20. Section 5.3 states all courses are taught on a continual basis throughout the year. Can the government provide a proposed schedule to help contractors determine min/max effort for personnel?

No, see Question #8.

21. Section L refers to Clause 52.237-1. Will the government allow a site visit prior to the proposal submission deadline?

A site visit is not required.

22. Will the government provide more details in Section L on how the proposal should be organized: page limits, volumes, resumes, etc.?

The proposal shall be submitted so as to cover all requirements as stated in the solicitation. There are no page limits, font requirements, etc. It is recommended that the proposing contractor use brevity, clarity and a sense of restraint in answering all requirements. Endless charts, spreadsheets, adjective laden discussions will only delay the award.

23. Will the government provide more information on the requirement to provide Past Performance information: format, min/max number, how recent, etc.?

See Questions #7.

24. Section L.6.c.8.d states the RFP states that “Proposals in response to this solicitation will be valid for the number of days specified on the solicitation cover sheet.” However, this information does not appear on the solicitation cover sheet. What is the required validity period for proposed rates?

The proposal shall be valid for 120 calendar days.

25. Paragraph B.3 states: “The Contractor shall provide a per hour fully loaded labor rate to include design, preparation, and delivery as outlined in Section C.” Does this mean that the Government will not allocate separate funding for the development of training materials? For example in Section C.6.1.3 Key USG Actors at the Strategic Level in R&S Efforts: 1.5 hours - means that the labor rate provided for conducting the 1.5 hours of instruction will need to include the time necessary for the development of instructional materials, no matter how many times the instructional block is presented?

Yes, the hourly rate must include the development of materials for a session.

26. Section C.4 states that, “With this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), the Foreign Service Institute is actively seeking individual contractors for a variety of regular work schedules or occasional, intermittent activities.” Will companies putting forward a pool of SMEs be considered?

Yes, we want resumes.

27. Will individuals put forth to teach a certain CLIN be required to teach every course in the CLIN or are you looking for individuals to handle only specific sub-CLINs (i.e. specific courses within a CLIN)? Should we be proposing individuals against CLINs or specific sub-CLINs?

Proposed instructors may bid for various sub-CLINs.