SFSIAQ16R0001__Q_and_A.docx

SFSIAQ16R0001

Language Instruction/Curriculum Development/Testing Services Solicitation Questions & Answers

1. Can you please tell us how many total awards will be issued?

Awards will be made at the discretion of the Government and will be determined by the amount of awards that will be most advantageous to the Government. See section B.1.

2. Can a small business be part of two teams? For example Team one : Business A who is a prime and has a subcontractor B. and Team two: Business C, who is a large business with Business A as a subcontractor?

Companies can submit as a prime or a subcontractor on both the small business side and the unrestricted side, however, no one (1) company shall be awarded under more than one (1) IDIQ as either a subcontractor or a prime.

Small businesses can win an award under the unrestricted portion of this solicitation.

3. Will the instructors' requests be divided on a percentage basis between the small business and large business?

In accordance with section C.13 of the solicitation, the partial set-aside will allow for the small business to capture up to 35% of the amount of positions required to meet the base year staffing needs. All requests after the initial transition to the new contracts will be made in accordance with programmatic needs, regardless of the incumbent’s business size. See section C.4-Staffing Plan and Requirements.

4. Will the Government please clarify how many PPQs are required, and from whom they are required?

Section M.2 (Evaluation Factor 2-Past Performance) has been amended to reflect “For each individual proposal…”. Proposals should have 6 PPQs with any variations following the information provided in Evaluation Factor 2.

5. Are the 5-page limits for the Executive Summaries in addition to the volume page limits (40 for Volume 1, and 15 for Volume 2)?

Yes.

6. No mention is made of tables of content, lists of figures and tables, glossaries, dividers or other items typically provided to ease reading and review. Does the Government desire these items, and if so, are they excluded from the page limitations for the volumes?

These are desirable and are excluded from the page count.

7. Are the Representations and Certifications excluded from the page limit for this volume?

This has been amended, please see section L.3

8. Are the SF-33s/SF-1449, as appropriate, and subsequent amendments excluded from the page limit for this volume?

No. However, the only required documentation from the SF-33 are those specific pages identified in the solicitation (e.g. signature page, etc…).

9. Where in the proposal does the Government desire offerors to put this part of the solicitation when completed?

Preferably towards the beginning of the proposal but there is no requirement as to where it is placed.

10. Does the Government consider it a possibility that they will only award to small businesses where that is supported by the outcome of evaluations and rank ordering of offerors?

Yes, the Government recognizes that small businesses may be awarded in both, the partial set-aside and unrestricted portions.

11. Will the Government please clarify the requirements for the MSRs?

The reports will be performed and submitted in accordance with section F.6- Status Reports.

12. Are there two "tracks," meaning a Small Business company must choose whether they are submitting a proposal under the SBSA track or the Unrestricted track? Must a Small Business wishing to compete under both tracks submit two separate proposals?

See answer 2.

13. Will small businesses that do not win the one award exclusively set aside for small business not win at all, or could they win under the unrestricted basis?

See answer 12.

14. What percentage of the overall contract will be set aside for Small Business?

See section C.13-Right of First Refusal.

15. How many awards will be made in total? (One for Small Business and how many for unrestricted?)

The Government will make its determination as to what is in its best interest based on the evaluation of proposals submitted.

16. For unrestricted offerors, the Tier Three pass/fail evaluation point requires offerors to provide a table of languages currently teaching/taught compared to Appendix A. How many of the Appendix A languages must offerors have taught to be considered "passing" this tier three requirement?

All languages listed in Appendix A are required. Within the lifetime of the current contract, FSI has taught all languages listed in Appendix A and will continue to teach these languages under the newly awarded IDIQs, once this solicitation is complete.

17. For Small Business offerors, the Tier Three pass/fail evaluation point requires offerors to provide a table of languages currently teaching/taught compared to Appendix A. How many of the Appendix A languages must offerors have taught to be considered "passing" this tier three requirement?

See answer 16.

18. Please define the difference between the tier three requirement for unrestricted offerors and the tier three requirement for Small Business offerors.

See answer 16.

19. The unloaded labor hourly rate and the unloaded overtime labor hourly rate - can they be an average of the proposed labor category rates for each position? (Rates vary due to merit increases, length of time with our company at FSI, etc.)

No. The rates must be the minimum unloaded amount the contractor will receive for that particular CLIN under both of the unloaded rates. However, as this is required to be the minimum the contractor receives at all times, a company can increase said rate due to company policies (e.g. merit, length of time, etc…)

20. If a Prime offeror has more than one company as subcontractors, will the Government allow more than 6 past performance contracts (Three from the prime and 1-3 from each subcontractor, totaling more than 6?)

No. Six (6) past performance submissions are what is required and it can be divided amongst the amount of subcontractors within the proposal. However, the prime will have to submit three (3) of the six (6) past performance references. Should a company have more than three (3) subcontractors, there will need to be a submission of only one (1) per subcontractor. The correction has been made in amendment A001 in section M. 2-Evaluation Factors.

21. Will a small business be able to prime the small track and subcontract under the large track?

See answer 12.

22. Will a large business be able to sub under the small track and prime on the large track?

See answer 12.

23. Will businesses be able to sub under multiple bids on the large track?

See answer 12.

24. Is there an estimation of the number of OCONUS travel hours per contract year? In what locations will the OCONUS immersion courses be performed? Will the government reimburse for Hazard Duty and Post Differential pay while overseas (if applicable)?

OCONUS travel for immersion training fluctuates from year to year depending on enrollments and programmatic needs. Participation is strictly voluntary (see CLIN 1). No travel within this contract will require hazard duty or post differential pay.

25. Will the government accept SAM Representations and Certifications as an Acceptable response to the REPS and CERTS requirement?

See answer 7.

26. Does the “5 business day” resume submission process begin the day of notification, or the next business day?

Next business day.

27. For CLINs 29-30: “It is essential that an Onsite Program Manager and Alternate Onsite Program Manager are available for both locations of delivery" – does this mean that the company submit 2 PMs and 2 APMs (1 set for Arlington, and 1 set for Wilson Blvd)?

Yes. Offerors shall designate 2 PMs and 2 APMs for each location (4 designations total). However, these 4 designations do not require 4 separate individuals. See section C. 3 (CLIN 29). “APM duties are not billable and are only applicable in the absence of the primary PM.” This position is only a backup and can be the opposite locations PM (i.e. PM for location 1 is the APM for location 2 and vice versa.). PMs can have staggered hours to cover the core duty hours for the PMs.

28. What is the Government’s definition of “industry standard certifications”?

Industry standard certifications for foreign language teaching, curriculum development and testing: as broadly defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) (F1562-14 Standard Guide for Use-Oriented Foreign Language Instruction, F2889-11 Standard Practice for Assessing Language Proficiency)

Industry standard certifications for program management: as broadly defined by the Project Management Institute global standards (Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide).

29. Does the Government have a standard resume template that offerors should use to consistently display candidates' qualifications across all proposals/offerors?

No.

30. Does the Government mean a signed SF-33 instead of the mentioned SF-1449?

Yes. See amendment A001.

31. If a contractor employee is designated to a different CLIN than when originally employed, will the contract company be notified and, if so, will the associated billable rate be adjusted? (For example, if a Language Instructor I (CLIN I) is also a Certified Tester and devotes more than part-time to any of the CLINS 9-15, will that employee's status be changed to the corresponding new CLIN, allowing us to pay him/her at that CLIN's hourly rate?)

Contractors cannot be moved internally from CLIN to CLIN. Positions in a certain CLIN will have to be “opened” to all awardees and the most qualified candidate will be recommended by the Government after the review of resumes and possible screening meetings (see section C.4-Staffing Plan and Requirements). Those CLINs that perform supporting ancillary duties to testing and curriculum development will not perform such duties in more than an infrequent or part-time capacity.

32. If the Government only awards one PM position to a contractor, how will that PM be onsite for 9 hours per day without going over the maximum 40-hours per week?

The Government anticipates that PMs provide professional services and can exceed 40 hours per week. See answer 27.

33. Does the Government mean the Past Performance write-ups are included in the 40 page count for Volume 1, or by "past performance references" does the Government mean that the past performance write up does not count against the page count?

No. See section L. 3-Additional Instructions.

34. It appears to us that the following criteria are to be evaluated in the evaluation of Volume I, Quality (Technical) only, not in Volume II, Cost: Understanding and Approach, Personnel Qualifications, Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Subcontracting Management Plan. If so, these four sub-factors should be deleted from the evaluation of Volume II, Cost. Does the government agree?

The identification of the sub-factors’ importance is simply a note in order for all offerors to understand the relative order of precedence. This has nothing to do with the pricing volume and submission of the volumes should be, as explained in section M.

35. This contract will be awarded as an IDIQ. It is assumed that at that time position allocations and funding will be made by task order. Since we cannot estimate contract funding at this time, should we provide our subcontracting goals as percentages?

This has been amended in A001 and identifies that all small business subcontracting plans will be based on the prime vendor, under the unrestricted side, receiving 65% of the proposed amount of contractors in the base year. This will allow for a baseline evaluation of all Small Business Subcontracting Plans.

36. These CLINs are not defined in the RFP. What specific cost does the government want to see here? Is this a fixed labor rate per day for labor during an immersion trip or other travel? If so, why would we not bill the government the rate associated with the labor CLIN for the person travelling? Or, is this a fixed rate per day for M&IE. If it is M&IE, how can this cost be estimated now as the JTR rates vary by destination? More clarity on this RFP requirement will be greatly appreciated.

This is a blanket daily travel rate. Awardees will be allowed to bill for this when a contractor travels and is paid for the travel day (even though the contractor is not technically working).

37. How did the government arrive at 1,880 hours for these positions?

1,880 hours (maximum 2,080 hours less 80 hours for holidays, 80 hours for vacation, and 40 hours for sick leave) as productive hours.

38. The combination of FSI’s approval and badging processes usually takes 10 to 14 business days, minimum. Does the “five (5) business days” mean the contractor must submit a resume for a replacement instructor to FSI within five (5) business days?

Yes.

39. Non-labor direct cost elements, unit costs, quantities, and costs for each period of performance within the task order’s period of performance. What does this sentence mean?

This is explained in section C.12-Small Business Subcontracting Plan. **See example. These are costs that should be identified in the Small Business Subcontracting Plan, if not included in the fully loaded labor rates.

40. Could the government please provide more clarity on the date for award of the new contract, the start date, length and availability of funding for the transition period, the end date for the present contractors and the dates of the Base Year?

Please see section F.1- Period of performance. All timelines are dependent on the exact duration of the procurement process, and no funding will be available for expenditure until the beginning of the awarded IDIQ. However, the IDIQ and task orders may be awarded with period of performance that begins at a later date Ex: IDIQs and task orders may be awarded and funded in July with an effective start date in August. Funds will not be available for use until that August date.

41. The RFP is silent about the period of time allocated for the transition in activities. The RFP specifies a 45-day transition out period. Should we plan on a transition in period of 45 days, also?

The transition period is contingent upon the award timeframe. Companies should include their recommended timeframe within their TIP.

42. Section C/11., page 54 of the RFP requires that an Unrestricted Offeror also describe how management communications will occur in a separate Subcontract Management Plan. To avoid unnecessary duplication and to make the proposal evaluation more efficient for the government, may we address management and communications with our subcontractors (if any) only in the Subcontract Management Plan?

No. These must be addressed in their own respective sections.

43. Section F/3. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan requires that the contractor implement their Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the contract. To avoid unnecessary duplication and to make the proposal evaluation more efficient for the government, may we address our quality assurance activities only in the QASP?

No. The TQP and the QASP should be addressed in their own respective sections.

44. Please confirm that proposal front-end matter (e.g., cover letter, table of contents, table and graphic lists, acronym list, compliance matrix) is not included in the 40-page limit for Volume I and the 15-page limit for Volume II.

No, these are not counted against the page limit.

45. Please confirm that the 5-page maximum Executive Summary is not included in the 40-page limit for Volume I, and the 15-page limit for Volume II.

The Executive Summary is included in the page limit.

46. The answers to the required sections of the Small Business Subcontracting Plan could easily fill most or all of the 10-page limit for both the Subcontract Management Plan and the SB Subcontracting Plan. Can a page adjustment be made for these plans? Can the government set a 10-page limit on the SB Subcontracting Plan and perhaps 5 pages for the Subcontract Management Plan?

Yes. This has been amended in section L.3-Additional Instructions.

47. Prior sections of the RFP (C/11 and 12) refer to these as two separate plans. Is it the intent of the government that these are indeed two plans each attached to Volume I?

Yes. The Subcontract management plan and the small business subcontracting plan are separate plans attached to Volume I

48. The SLS language instructor contract is rare in terms of complexity and magnitude of language instruction (with DLI being the only comparable program). Would the government consider changing this requirement to two (2) contracts/task orders with relevant past performance within the past five years?

No.

49. Are you able to advise if there is an incumbent contractor for this requirement? If so, could you please provide the incumbent contract number for this opportunity? If not, is this a new requirement?

The list of incumbent contractors can be found in section F.7-Transition Plan and Incumbent Contractor Companies

50. Please clarify the number of past performance contracts/ task orders to be provided/allowed by the prime contractor and how many are allowed/required for each subcontractor or JV partner.

See answer 4.

51. Please clarify the meaning of “the three entities” referenced above and confirm whether past performance questionnaires are to be sent to a single POC for each past performance project?

The “entities” being referred to are the 6 references to support the offerors past performance. This has been amended in A001.

52. Since representations and certifications are required in Volume 2 and, depending on formatting, these clauses require approximately 15 pages, will the government consider excluding representations and certifications from the Volume II page limit or removing the page restriction for Volume 2 completely?

See answer 7.

53. The instructions to offerors require an executive summary to be included in both volumes which “shall not exceed five pages.” Does the five-page executive summary count toward the volume page limitations (40 pages for Volume I and 15 pages for Volume II)?

See answer 5.

54. There appear to be conflicting instructions on submission of an SF33 and SF1449 offer. Paragraph L.3 provides instructions on completing an SF1449, while paragraph L.6 provides instructions on completing an SF33. The government has provided an SF 33 with this solicitation. Please clarify the required SF type and clarify instructions accordingly.

See answer 30.

55. Please confirm that offerors are to follow instructions in section C.12 for completing the small business subcontracting plan and that completion of the government provided ACQ Model Plan is an acceptable format.

Yes. This is correct.

56. Please clarify below requirements as they relate to references required for subcontractors and indicate where they are to be provided or remove if not applicable.

Submitted with the Small Business Subcontracting Plan as that is where this requirement is written.

57. Please confirm whether the 10 page maximum number of pages is for both the Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan or if each Plan is allowed 10 pages.

See answer 46.

58. Please provide instructions on which volume and section of the proposal the offeror’s table of languages should be located and indicate whether it is included within the respective page limitations for that volume?

Volume I and yes this is included in the page limitations.

59. For purposes of submitting proposed rates in the Price Volume, is completion of the format and “fill-ins” provided in Section B.3 (RFP pages 27 and 28) an acceptable format or does the government desire replication of the B tables (RFP Pages 5 through 26)?

Section B.3 will be acceptable.

60. Paragraph 3 states that ‘the contractor shall implement the QASP developed as part of its proposal’. However, since Government customers usually develop Quality Assurance Surveillance methods, as described under Section F4, to monitor contractor’s performance, shouldn’t the contractors/bidders develop a Quality Control Plan (which would be monitored by the Government Quality Assurance Surveillance) instead of a QASP’?

No.

61. Section L. Paragraph 4 and 5 provide instructions to the requirements and structure of the Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

Would the government consider including proposal preparation instructions for the structure of the following plans:

· Staffing Plan to include Recruiting and Retention

· Quality Control Plan

· Management and Communication Plan

· Transition Plan

No.

62. Should the contractor have a Facility Clearance, access to JPAS, and Facility Security Officer (FSO), since the contractor will process the initial security paperwork for contract staff to obtain Public Trust, and to work on the Government site?

No. This solicitation only requires a low risk public trust for all those providing services.

63. Based on the solicitation, we do not have the data to apply COLA and DBA to our indirect rates. COLA and DBA are usually ODC’s because they would only pertain to OCONUS support. Can you please clarify if these cost will be deemed ODC’s in execution at the TO level?

See amendment A001, this has been deleted.

64. The solicitation provides a Standard Form (SF) 33 but not an SF-1449. Please clarify: are both an SF-33 and SF-1449 required? Can the Government provide the SF-1449 or amend the solicitation to reflect the need for the SF-33 only plus any forms provided with amendments.

See answer 30.

65. Can offerors provide an introductory narrative in addition to the list of Past Performance references? If so, will this narrative be excluded from the 40-page limit for Volume I?

Yes offerors can provide this but it will not be excluded from the page limit.

66. Please clarify: is the Executive Summary excluded from the 40-page limit for Volume I?

See answer 5.

67. Please confirm that offerors not proposing as a Joint Venture should provide 3-5 past performance references vice 6.

See answer 20.

68. The requested sample resume #15 is for the Key Program Manager / Alternate Key Program Manager. Please clarify—are offerors to provide a single sample resume for Program Manager (either Key or Alternate)?

The Program Manager can be the Alternate for the secondary location. Only one resume for the PM will be required.

69. For the Volume II 15-page limit, please clarify that this page limit does not include the Executive Summary, Standard Forms, Section B or Section K, or otherwise.

These documents are part of the page limit.

70. For the Volume I 40-page limit, please clarify if the Executive Summary is included in this page limit.

See answer 5.

71. For the Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan 10-page limit, please clarify if this page limit is 10 pages each or 10 pages total for the two plans.

See answer 46.

72. Section L specifies that the offeror should provide 3-5 past performance references, while Section M specifies 6 references. Please clarify.

See amendment A001.

73. Can the government provide a historical estimate of the number of small classes and number of large classes each year?

No. This varies due to enrollments and global political conditions.

74. Please clarify if ACTFL equivalents to the ILR scale are allowable for proficiency testing of contractor personnel.

Yes – ACTFL equivalents to the ILR scale are allowable for establishing proficiency levels of contractor personnel.

75. Please clarify if ALTA is an allowable provider of language proficiency testing.

No. ALTA scores and their equivalents to the ILR scale are not allowable for establishing proficiency levels of contractor personnel.

76. The “Language Tester II” and “Language Examiner II” both require FSI-provided certificates. Given that only the incumbent staff would possess these certificates, would the Government consider removing the FSI-provided certificate requirement as to ensure non-incumbent firms have a fair opportunity to submit a compliant proposal?

Language Tester II and Language Examiner II are not required to have certification to be qualified for the position, but are required to attain certification once they are on board.

77. Please clarify which "instructional technology" is currently utilized at the SLS.

Representative hardware and software currently utilized for instruction in SLS include but are not limited: SMART Boards, iPads, laptops, flip cams, SMART Notebook software, Adobe Connect, Air server, third-party apps, YouTube, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, Articulate storyline, Shutterstock, Go Animate, audio, photo, and video editing software, Skype, Google hangouts, Soloist, and Virtuoso.

78. Please clarify if the government meant DLPT instead of "DLAB".

Yes – Confirming DLPT under Additional Preferred Qualifications of CLIN 9.

79. The SOW states “A minimum English proficiency level of a 3:3 on the ILR proficiency scale. ". Will the government accept an equivalent as measured by TOEFL or CEFR (Central European Framework of Reference) scale?

Yes – Equivalent as measured by TOEFL or CEFR scales are acceptable.

80. The SOW states “…and edit foreign language and/or English instructional materials". Please clarify whether a Curriculum Developer is required to have a Target Language proficiency. In Section C. 5, it states that only CLIN1 to CLIN 12 require foreign native or near native proficiency.

CLINs 17-22 – proficiency levels in English or a foreign language are required to be flexible based on project needs. Proficiency level requirements will be provided at the time of the request to fill a position. Amended in A001 to General Requirements in section C.4-Position descriptions.

81. Please clarify which foreign language/dialect the Editor must be proficient in.

See answer 80.

82. To facilitate the pricing of CLIN 151 – 158, are there representative locations that should be used to support the proposed rate for domestic and international travel, as the travel expenses will vary significantly between two domestic locations, as well as two international locations. Or, would the government consider providing a fixed rate to assume for both domestic and international travel, for pricing purposes, with specific pricing by location on a task order basis?

The CLINs specify rates for domestic travel and international travel. The fixed rate for each is what the contractor will receive when travelling to any location that falls under the two categories. This will be a firm fixed price regardless of CLIN or specific location.

83. Also, should the Daily Travel Rate bid include the additional compensation for the non-classroom like immersion activities, as well as all travel and M&IE expenses? Or will the compensation be billed via the labor CLIN?

M&IE is billed separately with fixed government M&IE rates. These CLINs are solely to provide compensation for travel when the Government requires it. Immersion training does not fall under these CLINs, as identified in the solicitation.

84. Will the prime contractor be required to report on the unloaded rates to the government during the performance of the contract?

Not on a regular basis but the Government reserves the right to request such a report at any time during the life of the IDIQ and ensure unloaded rates being provided to contractors are consistent with the proposed unloaded rates.

85. How does the Small Business indicate which category they are bidding on?

The remaining Small Businesses will automatically be moved to the unrestricted side after the partial set-aside is awarded. There will be no need for delineation.

86. If a Small Business is bidding on the Unrestricted Award in addition to the Small Business Award, is the Small Business required to provide Small Business Subcontracting plan?

No. Small Businesses are only required to do this if they choose to subcontract with other small businesses. Only Large businesses are required to provide the documentation in order for them to show how they will help support the Department’s small business goals. In essence, a small business is already addressing that goal as they are providing an award to a small business.

87. Please confirm that FSI requires each contractor to provide 2 PMs, each billable under CLIN 29, each of which will serve as the APM at one of the two locations.

Yes, 2 PMs are intended for the base year however, the designation of APMs comes from the offeror, the example provided in the solicitation is one possible option.

88. The solicitation states that one award is reserved for small business under 611630, but other "awards" may be provided on an unrestricted basis. Does this mean that an Unrestricted Offeror can have any NAICS code? How many total awards is FSI intending on making?

One award is solely set aside for a small business leaving the unrestricted side open to all businesses including large businesses. The NAICS code 611630 is applicable to all awarded IDIQs. Additionally, refer to answer 15 for further information.

89. This seems to favor large business in that it is automatically being assumed that large business will capture the majority of the positions from the onset of the contract and that small business may possibly capture only 35% of positions after large business has taken the majority of positions. Why not the Small Business awardee having the right of first refusal first, with competition opening up for the remaining positions after the Small Business achieves 35% of the positions. What happens if another small business is awarded an IDIQ in the unrestricted category? It is indicated that this rule only applies to the base year. Does this limit apply to option years as well?

The right of first refusal is fair competition for all awardees, regardless of size, to capture as many positions as they can for the new contract. However, should only one small business be awarded, they will be guaranteed 35%. In the method the Government is using, the small business set-aside has a greater ability to capture more than 35%. After the initial right of refusal process, the percentages are subject to fluctuation due to fair opportunity for new positions.

90. The Contractor Company shall deliver a Transition Plan at proposal submission. The Offeror shall address a Transition In Plan (TIP), Transition Quality Plan (TQP) and a Transition Out Plan (TOP).May this be submitted as an exhibit and not part of the 40-page count?

No, this is part of the proposal and will be counted in the 40 page limit.

91. Please confirm how many Past Performance references and Questionnaires are required for the prime contractor and the sub-contractor.

See answer 4.

92. Are contractor companies required to provide at least three (and no more than five) resumes for each position? Is this a strict requirement? Language under section F implies this is as a preferred range, and not a required range.

Correct. 6 past performance references are preferred.

93. Please confirm that DBA insurance is a direct cost, as it will only be applied for occasional overseas immersions, will be reimbursed to the contractor by FSI, and therefore should not be included as an indirect cost in the fully burdened hourly rate.

Correct, DBA is a pass through cost and will be billed separately from labor rates and only performed on occasional immersion and non-immersion travel. See answer 63.

94. There has been confusion as to when a tester is considered to be part of this CLIN. Many teachers are trained as testers and their duties change to testing but they are not allowed to be classified under that CLIN. At what point is a tester considered to be solely categorized under the tester CLIN?

Full time Testers MUST be certified and solely perform testing duties, whereas there are testing support functions that will not be a significant portion of the Language Instructions CLINs’ and be performed as ancillary duties with no requirement for certification. Also, see answer 31.

95. Teachers often move from a teaching assignment to participating in curriculum development as their primary duties. At this time, they are not considered to be part of the CLIN but remain in the Instructor category. Please clarify what happens when a teacher moves from instruction to curriculum development and when they are considered to be categorized under this CLIN.

See answer 31.

96. Considering there are no independent certifications for instructors, testers, or curriculum developers in proprietary language services, what type, and to what degree, does the government expect of continuing education?

Formal continuing education credits are not required, but are encouraged by the Government.

97. For purposed of calculating the burdened rate for all positions, should the offeror use 1880 hours as the total billable hours for each position?

Yes. See section C.4-Staffing Plan Requirements.

98. Given that 4 current small business contract holders are performing to these requirements today why would the government not make this a 100% small business set-aside pursuant to the FAR instructions? Was a Sources Sought notice issued and how many qualified small business responded?

An RFI was posted and the Government assessed the market in relation to the new requirements added to this solicitation.

99. Will the government provide GS equivalency rates for all requested positions? Additionally, will the government indicate which labor categories the positions fall within under the Service Contract Act?

No and no, the offeror will make that determination and provide rates accordingly. See section B.3-Procurement Specific.

100. Given that this requirement is exceptionally broad, please explain how sub-factor 3 will be evaluated and what type & quantity of written documentation is sufficient to meet the requirement.

See sections L and M.

101. Will the government please specify in detail what supporting document is required and provide an adequacy evaluation criteria for each type of documents required?

Document requirements and evaluation criteria are address throughout the solicitation.

102. Given that the CLIN structure has changed from the previous contract, does the Contractor employees Right of First Refusal include transitioning to a higher or lower CLIN when appropriate?

Companies are tasked with mapping Right of First Refusal candidates to the new CLINs within this solicitation. Once the awarded companies have captured and mapped the personnel, the companies will then provide the proposed CLIN with the candidates resume for review by the Government, in order to ensure the individual meets the new qualifications specified in this solicitation.

103. Is the Alternate Onsite Program Manager position billable throughout the base and option years?

See CLIN 29 in section C.5-Position Descriptions

104. What is the procedure if a company loses an employee because the employee resigns in order to work for another company on this contract in the same position but at a higher pay rate? Will the original company be afforded an opportunity to backfill that position? Or, will the new company now retain and invoice for that position?

See section C.4-Staffing Plan and Requirements.

105. This section states that “The TIP shall include, but not be limited to:… A list of costs associated with each major milestone ”Does the Government consider these costs indirect or direct costs? If they are considered direct costs, to what CLIN should these costs be charged? If they are considered indirect costs, wouldn’t these costs be captured in the proposed fully loaded rate and therefore not be required to list here?

All costs should be included in the fully loaded hourly rate. The TIP is how the offeror proposes to transition from the old contract to the new one.

106. Please explain how Task Orders will be released to the small business and unrestricted awardees. Do you expect circumstances where you will direct Task Orders to an awardee?

Task Orders are obligated by positions and the Government’s needs. Task Order’s will be provided once the right of first refusal has been completed and the awarded companies identify how many of every position they captured. Following that, all newly opened positions will follow section C.4-Staffing Plan and Requirements.

107. Please clarify if there is the goal/number to demonstrate language experience for all Appendix A FSI/SLS Languages in order to pass the Tier Three pass/fail requirement.

See answer 16.

108. Please clarify where the Tier Three Table of Languages teaches/taught in comparison to Appendix A goes in the proposal.

Volume I.

109. Please clarify what is meant by Omnibus Goals. Please clarify if these are the goals for this contract or the FY 2016 Department subcontracting goals listed in 652.219-70 (b).

Goals listed in 652.219-70 (b).

110. Please clarify that Reps and Certs are only required if not in SAM, and if required hard copy, increase the amount of pages for Volume II.

See answer 7.

111. Please clarify if there is a requirement for an SF1449 and where should it be included in the proposal.

See answer 30.

112. Please clarify if the requirements for Past Performance Reference/Questionnaires is for 3-5 or 6 references.

See answers 4 and 93.

113. The Evaluation Criteria in 52.212-2 (a) states that Technical and past performance, when combined, are more important than price. In 1. Basis of Award, it states that all evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. Please clarify if Technical and Past Performance combined is more important or significantly more important than price.

More important.

114. The Evaluation Criteria in 52.212-2 (a) states the following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Quality, Past Performance, Price. Technical and past performance, when combined, are more important than price. In 2. Evaluation Factors, it states that Offerors will be evaluated based on Quality, Past Performance and experience, and price. Please clarify the evaluation factors.

See answer 114.

115. Please clarify if the QASP and Transition Quality Plan are the same or different items.

Different items. See answers 42 and 43.

116. Please clarify if you are requiring a Transition Out Plan to be submitted with the Volume I - Technical Proposal and is part of the 40 page count.

Yes and yes.

117. The model for the SB Subcontracting Plan is 15 pages. Please clarify if the 10 page maximum for the Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan are for each individually (total 20 pages) or together (total 10 pages).

The model has instructions that can be removed; it is a template for companies to use when submitting this plan. Additionally, see answer 46.

118. Please clarify that the "entities" mean the COR and Contracting Officer - and that there are only two listed, vs three.

See answer 51.

119. The required qualifications for the Onsite Program Manager stipulate that they must have “3 or more years of experience as a foreign language instructor, tester, curriculum developer, or similar role”. Will candidates with 3+ years of experience teaching ESL/EFL be considered (i.e. a native English speaker)?

Yes – candidates with 3+ years of experience teaching ESL/EFL will be considered.

120. "Immersions may consist of one or more days of activities that take place outside of the Washington area, either domestically in the United States or overseas, and contain substantial non-classroom-like activities that foster practical, natural use of the language." How much work does the Government expect to take place overseas? Can the Government provide an approximate number of OCONUS immersions per year?

See answer 24.

121. "Foreign Language Proficiency: Candidates provided by the Contractor Company must be educated native or near-native speakers of the language (preferably Level 4 or higher on the ILR proficiency scale). The Contractor Company must submit documentation that describes the candidates' ability to speak and teach the specific foreign language. Documentation shall include the candidate’s current resume and a written interview summary from the Contractor Company confirming that the candidate’s ability to speak and teach the foreign language has been verified and meets the level specified in the respective CLIN the candidate is being proposed for." Does the Government require offerors to submit the written interview summary for each candidate with their proposal? If yes, can the Government please exclude these summaries from the 40 page limit in the Technical Volume?

The written interview summary is only for when the company is backfilling a position and is not part of the proposal submission.

122. In Section F, Subsection 7, "Transition Plan and Incumbent Contractor Companies," the Government listed a subcontractor as one of the current incumbents. Could the Government please provide the names of all active subcontract incumbents under each Prime?

No. All primes were listed.

123. The RFP states: "*All entities must ensure uniform application of one compensation plan across all contract staff working under this contract. If applicable, contract staff employed by subcontractors shall receive the same compensation plan/fringe benefits detailed in the technical proposal." Does the Government require that each compensation plan component, including, for example 401K plans and health insurance, be exactly the same or similar for the prime contractor and all of their subcontractors?

Yes these should be the same. Every employee working under one award (for either the prime or a subcontractor of that awardee) shall receive the same compensation plan.

124. If one teammate offers a 401K plan and another teammate does not, can other elements in the compensation package be used to account for the difference, such as different health insurance packages and other compensation benefits?

No.

125. How will “continual training” be measured in the proposal and award?

The Government encourages continual training but it is not a sub-factor in the solicitation.

126. Are contracting companies expected to provide training examples (i.e. schedules, topics, certification opportunities) as part of the proposal submission?

That is the offeror’s decision.

127. Are contracting companies expected to provide reports of ongoing training attendance?

No.

128. "The fully loaded billable hourly rate proposed for each labor category/position. These fixed, fully burdened hourly labor rates include but are not limited to: direct labor (including employee compensation), applicable indirect expenses, and profit. The rates must also reflect expenses for contract management, including the preparation of invoices, cost and technical proposals, contractor status reports, etc. but must exclude travel, other direct costs, and associated General and administrative (G&A) expenses. Other than travel costs, the Government will not recognize any additional costs which are not made a part of these rates." The RFP states that “…Travel/ODCs and associated G&A expenses are excluded from being part of the fully loaded billable hourly rate”. But the following sentence reads “Other than travel costs, the Government will not recognize any additional costs which are not made part of these rates”. This sentence does not include ODCs and depending on which one is the correct RFP language, it will impact how offeror’s propose their G&A expenses associated with Travel/ODCs.

This is amended in A001.

129. "The Contractor Company will be judged as successful in performing the language training function if the following items are completed successfully, including but not limited to: ... 2. Providing orientation and training to ensure Contractors are up-to-date with industry standards for effective language teaching, testing, curriculum development, and/or project management." Does USG require offerors to provide a detailed schedule and list of topics for the orientation and training provided to instructors? Is the Government interested in seeing a detailed schedule and list of topics for the orientation and training provided to instructors?

This is at the discretion of the offeror.

130. "The Executive Summary in each volume shall be identical. The purpose of the Executive Summary is to present a brief introduction and overview of the offerors’ entire proposal. The Executive Summary shall be written so that a lay person can easily grasp the essence of the approach being proposed and the offerors’ management concept. The Executive Summary shall not exceed five (5) pages and shall contain no price information." To confirm, the Executive Summary shall be no more than 5 pages in addition to the 40-page limit for the technical volume and the 15 page limit for the price volume, meaning that the 5-page executive summary is not included in the page count for each volume, correct?

See answer 5.

131. "The Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Full Scope only) shall be submitted as appendices to the Technical/Management volume and shall have a 10 page maximum number of pages. The Subcontract Management Plan and the Small business Subcontracting Plan will not be counted against the 40 page limit for the technical proposal." Does the Government mean that The Subcontract Management Plan and the Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Full Scope only) shall be no more than ten pages each (total of 20 pages for both plans) or ten pages total?

See answer 46.

132. Will the Government be requiring Service Contract Act Rate for any categories of labor? If so, which Wage Determination release shall the businesses use?

The principal purpose of the services and positions within this solicitation have not been associated with the SCA.

133. "The TIP shall include, but not be limited to:...A list of costs associated with each major milestone" Our assumption is that we have to identify the types of expenses associated with each milestone but not provide dollar amounts, is this correct?

Correct.

134. What is the expected length of the transition in period that the Government is anticipating?

See answer 41.

135. Can the Government please provide more detail regarding the TIP requirement of "testing the Contractor Company operational processes for verification of full operational capability?"

See Amendment A001. This has been removed.

136. "For each individual partner company in the proposal, the Offeror shall identify six (6) contracts/task orders with the Federal Government and/or commercial customers that demonstrate recent and relevant past performance. If the Offeror is sub-contracting with another entity or submitting a proposal as a Joint Venture, then three of these should come from the primary contractor and three from the sub-contractor/Joint Venture partner. Recent is defined as within the last three years. Relevant is defined as work similar in complexity and magnitude of the work described in this Performance Work Statement." For small businesses, 6 past performance contracts within the past 3 years that are relevant in size and scope is a significant requirement. Would the Government consider reducing the total number of past performance contracts required for the Prime from 3 to either 1 or 2, if subcontractors can provide the remaining 4 or 5?

See answer 20.

137. In order to ensure that hourly labor rates for each CLIN across all contractors are fair, can the Government please provide the equivalent GS (General Schedule) levels (e.g. GS-9 equivalent) for the requested CLINS?

No.