ADaPTS RFQ Questions_Responses (FINAL 01.16.2025)_locked.xlsx
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This file contains Questions and Answers related to the DHS Architecture, Development, and Platform Technical Services (ADaPTS) 2.0 BPA solicitation. The Q&A primarily addresses prior experience requirements, small business participation, and pricing structure clarifications.
Key details include confirmation that this is a recompete of a multiple award BPA with four current incumbents (ECS Federal, LLC; Booz Allen Hamilton; Sevatec, Inc; and Techflow, Inc). DHS plans to make 4-6 BPA awards and will utilize a partial small business approach rather than a traditional small business track. The government clarifies that ADaPTS is limited to DHS Headquarters use and is not a department-wide vehicle. Regarding pricing, vendors must map their GSA Schedule labor categories to the government's identified categories, and can map a single GSA category to multiple SOW categories if appropriate. Several questions sought clarification on the $40M prior experience requirement and whether prior experience could come from subcontractors, but DHS indicated these details would be addressed in the final solicitation.
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RFQ Contractual
| # | REFERENCE | QUESTION | GOVERNMENT RESPONSE |
| 1 | Instructions Evaluations, Section 6 Table, Page 17 | Will the Government permit Q&A sessions before the submission of quotes for each phase? | DHS may add additional Q&A sessions |
| 2 | General | Is this a new requirement or a contract re-compete? If re-compete, what is the current contract number and who is the incumbent? | It is a recompete of a multiple award BPA. The four (4) BPA holders are |
ECS Federal, LLC; Booz Allen Hamilton; Sevatec, Inc; and Techflow, Inc.
| 3 | General | Will ADAPTS have a separate small business award track from Unrestricted? If so, how many are anticipated? | No, DHS will not have a separate Small Business Track in the traditional sense. DHS will utilize a partial small business approach for this procurement, which will be explained in the instructions in the final solicitation. |
| 4 | Section 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience | (Targeted to Select Tasks) on page 21 states "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor. Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner." Please clarify the minimum number of prior experience examples that must be submitted by the Prime Contractor. | The Final solicitation will outline the experience requirements for this procurement including the minimum experience requirements. |
| 5 | Section III Evaluation Criteria, 2.4 Ratings Definitions, on page 27 | Defines High Confidence as follows "The Government has high confidence that the Quoter’s recent/relevant prior experience demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in providing requirements similar scope and complexity of the specified SOW Task." |
| As written, it appears a separate rating will be given to each of the six specified SOW Tasks outlined in SECTION II – INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS. Please confirm each of the six experience examples will receive a separate rating. If so, please then clarify how the government will provide a combined overall confidence rating for Prior Experience in order to identify Offerors who will proceed to Phase 3. | The Final solicitation will clarify how confidence ratings will be applied to the evaluation criteria. | |||
| 6 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Evaluation Criteria, Section 4.2, Page 29 | Can the Government confirm that Prior Experience submissions of work performed by the Prime Contractor of ADaPTS 2.0 will receive higher confidence ratings than submissions of work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner? | Please see responses to Questions 4 and 5. | |
| 7 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Evaluation Criteria, Section 4.2, Paragraph 1, Page 29 | Section 4.2 of the Evaluation Criteria states: "Quoter’s quotation will be evaluated to determine the extent to which their Prior Experience demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in providing requirements similar in scope, and complexity of the Select Task." |
Offeror recommends updating this language to include size to reduce risk to the Government and ensure that offerors can perform the work within the ADaPTS scope of work. Will the Government consider updating this requirement to the following?
| "Quoter’s quotation will be evaluated to determine the extent to which their Prior Experience demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance in providing requirements similar in scope, size, and complexity of the Select Task." | Please see response to Question 4. | ||
| 8 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section 9.1, Page 22 | Prior Experience supporting enterprise data platforms is a significant need for the ADaPTS mission. Prior experience in this area could help the ADaPTS evaluation team identify bidders who are able to perform this critical work. Would the Government consider adding additional Select Tasks to the prior experience, to include the following: |
g) Integration with Database and Applications (SOW Task 17 - Section 3.17)
h) Analytics and Reporting (SOW Task 18 - Section 3.18)
| i) Data Standardization, Quality, Business Intelligence, and Analytic Support (SOW Task 20 - Section 3.20) | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 9 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Evaluation, Section 9.1, Pages 21-22 | ADaPTs BPA is meant to give DHS access to a breadth of highly qualified contractors. To meet the mission of this BPA, awardees and subcontractors should allow for a diverse group of contractors. If quoters are supporting multiple quotations as both a prime and subcontractor, please confirm that the same Prior Experience submissions can not be utilized on multiple quotations? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 10 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Section 9.1, Last Paragraph, Page 22 | The Government states: "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor. Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner. To be considered, experience cited may not be older than 3 years from the date of the quotation. The Quoter is permitted to submit on-going projects as prior experience if 12 months of performance, at a minimum, under the on-going contract has been completed and if the Quoter clearly describes the stage that the project is at/what has been completed under performance to date. Prior Experience examples shall be as a prime contractor or subcontractor on previous or current projects/task that are similar in scope, and complexity to specific Task as described in the Statement of Work (SOW)." |
Will the Government clarify if contract references are required to be submitted by the Prime Contractor/Offeror on ADaPTS 2.0? Offeror recommends the following update to this requirement:
| "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor of ADaPTS 2.0. Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner. Prior Experience examples shall be as a prime contractor or subcontractor on previous or current projects/task that are similar in scope, size, and complexity to specific Task as described in the Statement of Work (SOW)To be considered, experience cited may not be older than 3 years from the date of the quotation. The Quoter is permitted to submit on-going projects as prior experience if 12 months of performance, at a minimum, under the on-going contract has been completed and if the Quoter clearly describes the stage that the project is at/what has been completed under performance to date ." | Please see response to Question 4. | ||
| 11 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Section 9.1, Pages 21-22 | Will the Government consider adding or increasing the minimum contract value required for Prior Experience references so quoters can adequately exhibit their ability to manage large scale, complex, and fast paced projects similar to ADaPTS 2.0 in alignment to the following recommendations? |
Require Prior Experience references submitted for the following Select Tasks to have a minimum total value of $50 million:
a) Program and Project Management (SOW Task 1 – Section 3.1)
b) Application, Service and Cloud Architecture Support (SOW Task 3 – Section 3.3)
c) Application and Service Design, Implementation and Migration (SOW Task 4 – Section 3.4)
d) Platform Support and Disaster Recovery (SOW Task 8 – Section 3.8)
| e) Security Engineering Services (SOW Task 12 – Section 3.12) | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 12 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To ensure the appropriate level of confidence on such a large and important BPA for the Department, would the Government update the requirement to only allow prior experience from the Prime offeror in its performance as the Prime contractor? This will ensure those bidding on this requirement and following call orders have the experience to properly support without a huge reliance on supporting team members for performance. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 13 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation - 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | Please clarify how many of the six "examples" are required from the prime? |
| Can an offeror use multiple experiences from a sub-contractor to satisfy this requirement? | DHS is considering all of the suggestions WRT Prior Experience. | |
| 14 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024) |
Page 21, Instructions – Phase 2
| 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | How will the government determine the number of awardees, since there is a range of 4-6 provided? | The results of the evaluation will determine the number of awardees. In addition, the Government reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of BPA awards based on the results of the evaluation. |
| 15 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024) |
Page 21, Instructions – Phase 2
| 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | Section 9.1 instructions state: The Quoter is permitted to submit on-going projects as prior experience if 12 months of performance, at a minimum, under the on-going contract has been completed and if the Quoter clearly describes the stage that the project is at/what has been completed under performance to date. Can the government change from 12 months to 6 months which is common practice for government solicitations? | Please see response to Question 4. |
| 16 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024) |
Page 21, Instructions – Phase 2
| 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | If offerors do not differentiate between Government Site, Contractor Site, and Remote Site work locations on their GSA schedule can they submit a single rate to cover all 3 performance locations or two rates to cover government site and contractor site? | Quoters must submit rates that the Government can clearly verify on the quoter's GSA schedule contract. | ||
| 17 | For Factor 2 - Prior Experience, f) Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater. | Can the government confirm that only IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) are acceptable and offerors cannot use Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) at the contract level? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 18 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | For Phase 2 Prior Experience, it's unclear if all 6 experience examples must be from the prime contractor or if some can be from subcontractors. The instructions state "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor. Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner" which is ambiguous. Can the government be more specific on how many must come from the Prime and how many can come from subcontractors? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 19 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation (12.04.2024).pdf |
Section 9.1.(1).f), Prior Experience, page 22 Text Reference: "Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater” Given the government’s requirement in 11.3 Minimum Quote Participation, would the Government add a requirement for Volume II – Prior Experience relative to Task Area “f” that requires the offeror to demonstrate a minimum bid rate of 50% of the vehicle task orders for the IDIQ/BPA referenced? Would the Government adopt the following recommended language as a new paragraph to section 9.1.1?
Recommended Language to include in Section 9.1: (4) For the Prior Experience example used to support requirement “f”, the Quoter must provide an assertation that they bid on more than 50% of the IDIQ/BPA vehicle orders. The provided POC/reference for this Prior Experience example should be able to reasonably affirm the bid rate on the vehicle, ensuring that the Quoter has a proven track record of actively responding to IDIQ/BPA requirements.
Benefit to the Government: An offeror’s demonstrated ability to be awarded a seat on a contract vehicle is significantly different from their demonstrated participation in support of the requirements. Using these thresholds enables the Government to validate the offeror’s ability to bid in support of ADaPTs 2.0. It further conveys to offerors that DHS expects awardees to fully participate by submitting awardable proposals to future Task Orders.
| Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 20 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation (12.04.2024).pdf |
Section 9.1.(1).f), Prior Experience, page 22 Text Reference: " Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater” We recommend the Government consider removing the "and/or Task Order" language from section 9.1.1.f to ensure clarity and consistency in the requirements. This adjustment would better align with the objective of having the offeror demonstrate their capability in successfully managing an IDIQ or a BPA, which inherently involves greater complexity than a single task order.
Recommended Language to replace current language for 9.1.1.f: f) Management of an IDIQ contract or BPA contract where the Total Value of awarded Task Orders to the offeror is $40M or greater
| Benefit to the Government: This enhances the Government's ability to select contractors with proven experience in managing the complexities and interdependencies of an IDIQ/BPA (including working with other contractors on the vehicle) thereby reducing the risk of project mismanagement to DHS. | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 21 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation: Section II, 9.1, Factor 2 - Prior Experience, Page 22 | Please confirm that a BPA can be used as an example of prior experience for one or more of the a) through e) tasks identified at the top of page 22. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 22 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation: Section II, 9.1, Factor 2 - Prior Experience, Page 22 | Please confirm that prior experience managing an "IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater" does not have to be similar in scope and complexity to any specific SOW task. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 23 | Overview, Instructions, Evaluation - Section II, 9.1 Factor 2: Prior Experience, Page 22 | Under item 2, it is stated that each example must include the name, period of performance, and dollar value. However, under item 1, while prior experiences are required to meet the scope and complexity of the referenced task areas, there is no mention of a size threshold. Given that the threshold for small business task orders is set at under $20M TCV, it would benefit the Government to require prior experiences to meet a minimum size threshold of $20M in addition to the scope and complexity criteria. Will the Government consider implementing this change? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 24 | Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section II, 9.1 Factor 2: Prior Experience Page 22 | Can the Government confirm and allow that prior experience examples may consist of contracts or orders for the performance of actual technical requirements? Specifically, can a master contract vehicle (e.g., Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) or Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract) that includes one or more task orders awarded and performed under the vehicle, supporting a single customer or program, be grouped and counted as one Prior Specialized Experience project example? Please confirm if the Government is amendable to this approach. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 25 | ADAPTS+2.0+Overview+Instructions - 9.0 Instructions - Phase 2 Page 22 | The requirements state, "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor. Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner." We recommend that for bullet F in section 9.1 (1), “f.) Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater, to be considered relevant, the prime submitting the example as recent prior experience as a prime contractor and must show total contract obligation (current/actual dollar obligated) of at least forty million dollars. Examples from the prime offeror as a prime contractor will increase the Government’s confidence. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 26 | 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | Please confirm that the project submitted for Task F needs to be relevant to the ADaPTS 2.0 SOW. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 27 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024) |
Page 21, Instructions – Phase 2
| 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | Section 7.0 states that prior experience must be a completed project (1 Completed Prior Experience example per Select Task for a total of six (6)). This conflicts with section 9.1, which states that on-going projects are permitted as long as they have at least 12 months of performance. We recommend removing the word "completed" from section 7.0. | Please see response to Question 4. |
| 28 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024) |
Page 21, Instructions – Phase 2
9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) The solicitation states on page 21, "The Quoter shall submit one (1) example of prior experience for each of the following Select Tasks (for a total of six (6))"
Please confirm that quoters are permitted to use the same contract as an example for fulfilling multiple selected tasks.
| For Example, we propose to use Contract A as the basis for three two-page examples for each of the following tasks: a) Program and Project Management (SOW Task 1 – Section 3.1) b) Application, Service, and Cloud Architecture Support (SOW Task 3 – Section 3.3) c) Application and Service Design, Implementation, and Migration (SOW Task 4 – Section 3.4) | Please see response to Question 4. | ||
| 29 | Overview Instructions, 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks), Page 22 | Paragraph - Prior Experience examples shall be as a prime contractor or subcontractor on previous or current projects/task that are similar in scope, and complexity to specific Task as described in the Statement of Work (SOW). |
| How many of the Prior Experience examples must come from the Prime? Recommend at least 3 must come from the prime. | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 30 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Section 9.1, Pages 21-22 | Will the Government consider adding or increasing the minimum contract value required for Prior Experience references so quoters can adequately exhibit their ability to manage large scale, complex, and fast paced projects similar to ADaPTS 2.0? Recommend updating Select Task f) to the following: | ||
| f) Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M $200M or greater | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 31 | 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks) | Please confirm that for Task F, the value of the IDIQs and BPAs total awarded task orders must exceed $40M and not the total value of the ceiling of the BPA/IDIQ. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 32 | Overview Instructions - 9.1 Factor 2 – Prior Experience (Targeted to Select Tasks), Page 22 | Paragraph f) Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater |
In section 1.0 "Overview Small Business Approach", page 4 of Overview Instructions and Evaluation Factors, states: "The Government shall set aside orders for small business concerns when the estimated value of the award is $20 million or less", however, in Factor - 2 Prior Experience states bidder must exhibit experience in management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater that applies to both small and large business bidders on small and large business set asides.
| For small business set aside, may the government consider the dollar threshold for factor "f" to be $15M or greater to allow more true small businesses (not Joint Ventures or CTA's) fair competition? | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 33 | Phase II | Does the $40mm Total Value apply to total award value or total incurred value? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 34 | Phase II | Will the government consider lowering the $40mm Total Value for those competing as small businesses? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 35 | Overview Instructions/Evaluation Page 21 | Do offerors have to provide six distinct corporate experiences OR can we use the same project more than once for the Prior Experience requirement? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 36 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation, Page 22 Section 9.1, Page 29 Section 4.2 | To ensure that prior experience demonstrates the real capability of the offering team to perform the work, would the government consider requiring that only prior experience from the Prime Contractor be permitted? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 37 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation, Page 22 Section 9.1, Page 29 Section 4.2 | If "Prior Experience must be submitted for work performed by the Prime Contractor", can the government clarify whether prior experience for EACH of the six "Select Tasks" must be for work performed by the Prime Contractor? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 38 | Instructions to Quoters, Section 9.1 | Can the Government confirm that the same project can be used as prior experience for more than one (1) task? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 39 | Draft RFQ Overview, Section 9.1, page 22, paragraph 2 | The reference paragraph states that an on-going project as prior experience may be submitted if there is 12 months of performance. We recommend this be lowered to 6 months as there is measurable and relevant performance of the Contractor after this period. This approach further increases competition at the BPA level. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 40 | Instructions to Quoters, Section 9.1 | Will the Government confirm that prior experience examples submitted by Subcontractors/Teaming Partners carry the same weight as prior experience submitted by the Prime? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 41 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation (12.04.2024).pdf |
Section 1.1, Small Business Considerations, page 3 Text Reference “The Government reserves the right, however, to pursue a partial set-aside of up to three (3) of the six (6) BPA awards for small business concerns to small business(es) deemed capable of meeting the requirements” Given the government’s focus on securing and onboarding high-quality vendors to support the ADaPTS mission, would DHS consider adopting two tracks – one for small businesses and another for large businesses with each track including distinct past performance requirements. This approach would create two qualified pools of capable bidders, ensuring robust support for DHS HQ’s high-priority, complex requirements while also helping DHS achieve its small business goals.
Examples of potential criteria for each track are outlined below:
Size of Prior Experience Examples:
o Offerors on the Small business track could submit examples with a smaller total value (e.g. $12M or more) o Offerors on the Large business track could submit examples with a larger total value (e.g. $50M or more)
Usage of Subcontractor Prior Experience Examples:
o Examples for Prior Experience on the Small business track may utilize subcontractor examples to demonstrate ability to deliver across the selected Task Areas o Examples for Prior Experience on the Large business track would need to come solely from the Prime Contractor to enable a more accurate assessment of their ability to deliver or oversee subcontractor delivery on ADaPTS contract requirements
Usage of the same Prior Experience Examples across multiple Task Areas:
o Offerors on Small business track could utilize the same Task Order or Contract to support responses to multiple Task Areas o Offerors on Large business track would need to provide six (6) distinct Prior Experience examples from different contracts/Task Orders.
| Benefit to the Government: This approach will establish rigorous, but achievable standards for small businesses to support ADaPTS requirements and support the consistent evaluation of offerors capabilities and experiences across business sizes. | No, DHS will not have a separate Small Business Track. Also, see the response to Question 3. | |
| 42 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation, |
Section 9.1.(1).f), Page 22 - Prior Experience Text Reference: "Management of an IDIQ contract/BPA and/or Task Order(s) with a Total Value of $40M or greater" To ensure clarity and consistency in the requirements, can the government confirm that the Total Value of $40M or greater applies to each Prior Experience example submitted for each of the selected Task Areas (a-f)?
Recommended Language to include in section 9.1: Each contract submitted as part of the prior experience must have a total contract value of no less than $40M to demonstrate the offeror's capability in managing large-scale and complex task orders.
| Benefit to the Government: Ensures that the Government selects offerors with proven experience in managing substantial and complex projects, thereby enhancing the likelihood of successful project execution. This threshold enables both small and large businesses with relevant, significant experience to compete, ensuring a diverse pool of qualified contractors capable of meeting the Government's needs. | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 43 | Instructions Evaluations, Section 9.1 (1), 1st Paragraph Page 22 | This section defines prior experience as a past or current project/task of similar size, scope, and complexity to a specific task in the SOW. Will the Government accept a BPA/IDIQ example as a prior experience reference? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 44 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf - Page 22, 2nd paragraph | "Prior Experience may also be submitted for work performed by a Subcontractor/Teaming Partner." Does this sentence refer to (a) work performed by the current Prime offeror, on a previous contract on which it served as a sub-contractor, or (b) work performed by a proposed sub-contractor on the ADAPTS BPA is also acceptable for submission? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 45 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf, 7.0 Quotation contract page 19 | Regarding the Prior Experience evaluation criteria: please clarify how many project references must be from the prime vendor and that be more than 50% of the required references. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 46 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions++Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf, 7.0 Quotation contract page 19 | Regarding the Prior Experience evaluation criteria: Does the government expect all 6 task area project citations to be from different projects? | ||
| Our recommendation is to require no less than 3 projects be used across the 6 tasks. | Please see response to Question 4. | |||
| 47 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation, Page 21 Section 9.1, Pg 29 Section 4.2 | To allow for innovative experiences potentially not yet represented in government experience, would the government consider allowing offerors to provide commercial prior experience references in addition to those from government sources? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 48 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation, Page 22 Section 9.1, Page 29 Section 4.2 | To ensure that prior experience references are of sufficient size and scope to demonstrate the offeror’s capability to successfully perform the task requirements, would the government consider implementing a minimum contract value threshold of $25M for each reference? If no, would the government consider implementing such a requirement just for large business offerors? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 49 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To ensure the appropriate level of confidence on such a large and important BPA for the Department, would the Government update the requirement to only allow prior experience from the Prime offeror in its performance as the Prime contractor? This will ensure those bidding on this requirement and following call orders have the experience to properly support without a huge reliance on supporting team members for performance. | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 50 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section 9.1, Page 21 | Can the Government confirm quoters may combine multiple task orders on a single IDIQ/BPA to submit as one Prior Experience example? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 51 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section 7.0, #3, Page 19 | To provide enough differention to more easily evaluate better approaches, will the Government consider increasing the page limitation for the Technical Scenario response to 20 pages? | DHS believes 10 pages is sufficient. Thus, DHS declines to accept this recommendation. | |
| 52 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Section 1.0 (5) - BPA Level, Page 4 | ADAPTs is used to rapidly address challenges at DHS with short term periods of performance for Task Orders. The total contract value of $20M as a threshold for Small Business does not consider the period of performance of each task order. |
| In order to reduce risk to the Government and increase competition for short periods of performance that require quick rampups and delivery in a complex environment, would the Government consider updating this requirement to "The Government shall set aside orders for small business concerns when the estimated value of the award is less than $4 million per year."? | DHS intends to update language to state that the Government may set aside orders for small business concerns when there are two or more small business BPA awardees. The final solicitation will address this matter as appropriate. | |||
| 53 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section 10.3, Paragraph #7, Page 24 | Given the extensive list of Labor Categories for the BPA, please confirm offerors are allowed to use the same Labor Category from their GSA Schedule more than once when mapping to the SOW Labor Categories. If a "one to one correlation" is required, this will cause issues with offerors ability to submit a quotation within the stated procurement timeline. Offerors would need to excessively modify their GSA schedules to have the ability to complete the LCAT mapping, presenting significant risk to the Government in regards to competition and procurement delays. | DHS confirms that the “one-to-one correlation” means that the Quoter may only map one GSA labor category to each SOW labor category. Quoters are not restricted from mapping a single GSA labor category to multiple SOW labor categories, should the mapping be appropriate. | |
| 54 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation, Section 10.3, Paragraph #7, Page 24 | We acknowledge that the GSA MAS Special Item Number (SIN) 54151S for IT Professional Services reflects the predominance of the work that is expected under this BPA. However, due to the wide-ranging scope of the BPA labor categories that could cover multiple GSA SINs (i.e., Cloud Platform Engineer, Graphic Artist, etc.), would the Government consider allowing bidders to utilize additional SINs (518210 & 541511) where necessary under their GSA Schedule when mapping to BPA labor categories and to avoid a scope issue with GSA? | DHS intends to use a multi-SIN approach. The SINs for the BPA are IT Services, SIN 54151S providing the applicable professional services (e.g., labor categories) and Cloud Related Professional Services, SIN 518210C (e.g., Cloud Engineer Labor Categories). The final BPA will include the ANCILLARY and OLM SINs to maximize post award flexibilities. | |
| 55 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To ensure a thorough response to each of the 3 requirements in the technical scenario of the RFP, would the Government consider increasing the page limitation from 10 pages to 20 pages? This will allow for a more comprehensive response to satisfy the detailed 3 requirements that were laid out in the DRAFT RFP and allow the Government to better evaluate their confidence and distinguish between vendor responses. | DHS believes 10 pages is sufficient. Thus, DHS declines to accept this recommendation. | |
| 56 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To provide confidence in an Offerors ability to staff and manage a large prime BPA like ADaPTS 2.0 and to align with requirements on similar procurements from the Department, would the Government consider updating the key personnel requirement to state the BPA Program Manager must be a current employee of the Prime contractor and add a requirement to include a signed Letter of Commitment? | DHS will reconsider the evaluation of the BPA PM. | |
| 57 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | Will the Government please confirm that small business offerors must re-represent their size status as part of their proposal submission? As DHS is consistently a strong small business advocate, requiring a recertification will help to make sure that all awards going to small businesses are in fact being awarded to current small businesses and not Other Than Small Businesses who have yet to recertify their size on their GSA contract as required in FAR 52.219-28. | Small Business Quoters do not have to recertify their size status. | |
| 58 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To prevent companies from submitting multiple bids as either a prime contractor and a subcontractor on multiple teams, please confirm companies are only permitted to participate in the ADaPTS 2.0 solicitation as part of one single team. | ||
| DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | ||||
| 59 | RFQ Attachment 1: ADaPTS 2.0 SOW Appendix A - BPA LCAT Descriptions LCAT Appendix, Page 1 | Could the Government please confirm equivalent experience or training can be substituted for a degree across all LCATs, and if so, please confirm 1 year of experience is equivalent to 1 year of education and vice versa? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 60 | RFQ Attachment1 ADaPTS 2.0 SOW Appendix A - BPA LCAT Descriptions | The rows that begin “Subject Matter Expert” appear to be separate from the Solution Architect LCAT. Will the government clarify whether Subject Matter Expert LCATs are independent or must meet extended requirements of the base Solution Architect LCAT. | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 61 | RFQ Attachment 2_Pricing Schedule_12.04.2024 | Can the contractor add a tab to propose additional BPA LCATs and Discounted Rates from its GSA MAS SIN 54151S Contract Vehicle it feels would be advantageous to the government during the life of this contract. | Based on anticipated requirements, DHS has selected the appropriate LCATS for the BPA. Thus, DHS declines this recommendation. | |
| 62 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To ensure a thorough response to each of the 3 requirements in the technical scenario of the RFP, would the Government consider increasing the page limitation from 10 pages to 20 pages? This will allow for a more comprehensive response to satisfy the detailed 3 requirements that were laid out in the DRAFT RFP and allow the Government to better evaluate their confidence and distinguish between vendor responses. | DHS believes 10 pages is sufficient. Thus, DHS declines to accept this recommendation. | |
| 63 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To provide confidence in an Offerors ability to staff and manage a large prime BPA like ADaPTS 2.0 and to align with requirements on similar procurements from the Department, would the Government consider updating the key personnel requirement to state the BPA Program Manager must be a current employee of the Prime contractor and add a requirement to include a signed Letter of Commitment? | DHS will reconsider the evaluation of the BPA PM. | |
| 64 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | Will the Government please confirm that small business offerors must re-represent their size status as part of their proposal submission? As DHS is consistently a strong small business advocate, requiring a recertification will help to make sure that all awards going to small businesses are in fact being awarded to current small businesses and not Other Than Small Businesses who have yet to recertify their size on their GSA contract as required in FAR 52.219-28. | Small Business Quoters do not have to recertify their size status as part of their quotation submission for the ADaPTS 2.0 BPA competition. However, vendors are required to notify DHS if their size status changes as a result of a re-representation required by GSA either during the BPA competition or after receiving a BPA award. | |
| 65 | ADaPTS 2.0 Overview, Instructions, Evaluation; Section II Instructions to Quoters | To prevent companies from submitting multiple bids as either a prime contractor and a subcontractor on multiple teams, please confirm companies are only permitted to participate in the ADaPTS 2.0 solicitation as part of one single team. | ||
| DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | ||||
| 66 | RFQ Attachment 1: ADaPTS 2.0 SOW Appendix A - BPA LCAT Descriptions LCAT Appendix, Page 1 | Could the Government please confirm equivalent experience or training can be substituted for a degree across all LCATs, and if so, please confirm 1 year of experience is equivalent to 1 year of education and vice versa? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 67 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions+ +Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf, section 1.0 Overall Small Business Approach. | With respect to the requirement for the contractor to possess an active DCSA approved Top Secret (TS) Facility Security Clearance (FCL), does this requirement extend to subcontractors and contract team arrangement (CTA) partners? | DHS confirms that the lead and each member of a Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) is required to submit documentation demonstrating a Top Secret Facility Clearance when submitting a Phase I Quote. | |
| 68 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions+ +Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf, section 6.2, Instructions for Quotation Preparation. | May bidders assume the instructions to use "Times New Roman or Arial 10-point font or larger for tables and text in headers/footers" also applies to the body of the proposal documents? | Please see Section 6.2 Instruction for Quotation Preparation, Item 7, where font type/size for text is addressed. | |
| 69 | ADaPTs+2.0+Overview+Instructions+ +Evaluation+(12.04.2024).pdf, sections 7.0 Quotation Content and 10.3 Factor 5 - Price. | With respect to bidders mapping/crosswalking their GSA MAS labor categories to the "Government's identified labor categories to be utilized," will DHS add additional columns in the Attachment 2 Pricing + Schedule Excel file or would DHS amend the section 7.0 Quotation Content to add a fifth appendix to be used for providing this information, i.e., Appendix 5: LCAT Mapping? | Please review the Pricing Schedule. Each tab in the pricing schedule has a column for mapping. | |
| 70 | Small Business Involvement: How will DHS enforce small business participation in complex, high-value tasks? | Please see the response to Question 52. | ||
| 71 | Instructions, Page 4 | Under (5) BPA Order Level, the Government writes that all orders $20M, or less, will be set aside. Q: Would the Government consider reducing that total to $5M to allow small businesses who's prime partners are large businesses so these small businesses can compete - qualify, pursue and capture these tasks? | Please see the response to Question 52. | |
| 72 | Instructions, Page 4 | Under (5) BPA Order Level, the Government writes that all orders $20M, or less, will be set aside. Q: Would the Government consider exceptions to this rule so as to allow small businesses who's prime partners are large businesses so these small businesses can compete - qualify, pursue and capture these tasks? | Please see the response to Question 52. | |
| 73 | RFQ | Please confirm that bidders will be considered compliant if proposing one GSA Labor Category for multiple Government Suggested Labor Categories due to the limited numbers of GSA Labor Categories on the bidders' GSA schedule. | DHS confirms that the “one-to-one correlation” means that the Quoter may only map one GSA labor category to each SOW labor category. Quoters are not restricted from mapping a single GSA labor category to multiple SOW labor categories, should the mapping be appropriate. | |
| 74 | RFQ | Can industry expect there will be an RFI, a draft PWS, Q&A available and/or any other documents provided to industry prior to TO release? | DHS intends to release a DRAFT RFQ and to have additional Q&A. | |
| 75 | RFQ | What will the estimated acquisition timeline be for an average task order? The timeline between industry notification to TO release? | The estimated timeline for industry notification (i.e. an RFQ) and Call Order award will vary based on many factors. | |
| 76 | RFQ | For recompetes of ADaPTS 1.0 task orders, will the previous task order and associated documents be provided to Industry? If so, how will they be provided? | All Call Order RFQs, for both new requirements and recompetes, will be issued with sufficient information and documentation to allow BPA holders to respond to the request. | |
| 77 | RFQ | Will the Government be sharing previous ADaPTS task order information - Name, scope of work, sub-agency, location, period of performance, Government PM/PjM POC, Contracts Rep POC, total contract value and contract number? Suggestion: Capture and share this data to each prime awardee to ensure each are best aware, thus best prepared, to respond to task orders. Observation: This would promote greater competition. | All Call Order RFQs, for both new requirements and recompetes, will be issued with sufficient information and documentation to allow BPA holders to respond to the request. | |
| 78 | RFQ | Will ADaPTS 2.0 be designated a preferred or mandatory contract by DHS? | ADaPTs 2.0 BPAs are not mandatory for use. | |
| 79 | RFQ | Will there be a Small Business Plan included in the Solicitation? If so, what are the categories and percentages for each category? | This matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 80 | Price | Why was Tab 5's Remote Pricing Sheet left blank within the Attachment 2 Pricing Schedule xls? | Tab 5, Remote, of the Pricing Schedule is not blank. | |
| 81 | RFQ | If bidding as an Other than Small will a Small Business Subcontracting Plan be required with the Phase 3 submission? | This matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 82 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | Since the Government is planning to make Small Business Awards on the DHS ADaPTS 2.0 BPA contract vehicle, are Large Businesses going to have a small business participation targets for each Task Order that is released to large business BPA holders? Knowing this in advance is helpful to how Industry will team for this opportunity. | This matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 83 | RFQ | Can a single Large Business compete and be awarded as both a Small Business (via a Joint Venture and/or CTA) and as a Large Business? | DHS will consider this recommendation. | |
| 84 | RFQ | With the requirement of bidding of at least 25% of opportunities annually. Is annually based on calendar year or PoP? Also, if during the annual period there are fewer than 4 task orders available to "Other than Small" does a company not bidding 25% of those task orders constitute grounds for off ramping? | DHS will review this language and update as required. | |
| 85 | RFQ Instruction | Will DHS require Small Business to recertify when submitting their responses? | Please see the response to Question 64. | |
| 86 | RFQ Management Scenario | Section "10.1 Factor 3 – Technical Scenario" references Technical Scenario (Attachment 3), however, the Technical Scenario document is named "Attachment 1 – Technical Scenario" | DHS will review and deconflict if needed in the final solicitation. | |
| 87 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | The definitions between "High", "Some" and "Low" confidence are subjective and could be interpreted differently by evaluators. Can the government further clarify and provide more quantitative criteria for distinguishing between confidence levels? | DHS does not plan to update/expand the rating definitions with the potential exception of the rating for Prior Experience. | |
| 88 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | Can the government further clarify and provide more quantitative criteria for evaluating relevance/similarity of experience? | Please see response to Question 4. | |
| 89 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | Can the government further clarify and provide more quantitative criteria for the Technical and Management Scenarios Evaluation? Currently the criteria seem very broad and subjective with very limited detailed scoring criteria which could allow for inconsistent evaluation between reviewers. | DHS does not plan to update/expand the rating definitions with the potential exception of the rating for Prior Experience. | |
| 90 | RFQ Instructions Evaluation | Regarding Price Evaluation: The criteria states price becomes more important as technical quotes become comparable, but provides no clear threshold or criteria for when this occurs. Would DHS define clear thresholds for when price becomes more important? | DHS will consider this recommendation. | |
| 91 | RFQ; I. Overview; 1.0 Overview Small Business Approach | If there are 6 qualified small businesses that receive high scores, would the Government consider awarding to all small businesses? | Please see responses to Questions 3 and 14. | |
| 92 | RFQ; I. Overview; 1.0 Overview Small Business Approach | For those small businesses that do not receive a small business set-aside BPA and will compete with other than small businesses for the remaining BPA awards, would the Government consider providing a small business scoring credit to help level the playing field? | DHS does not plan to utilize a small business scoring credit. | |
| 93 | Can an offeror bid both as a Large Business and as a Mentor Protegee JV? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | ||
| 94 | RFQ, Section 5.0, Page 26 | Can an offeror leverage a wholly owned subsidiary's Top Secret Facility Clearance? | No, the Quoter must have an Active TS FCL through DCSA and cannot use that of its subsidiary. | |
| 95 | RFQ, Section 5.0, Page 26 | Can the government confirm if an offer would be accepted from a CTA where only one partner as a Top Secret Facility Clearance? | DHS confirms that the lead and each member of a Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) is required to submit documentation demonstrating a Top Secret Facility Clearance when submitting a Phase I Quote. | |
| 96 | SOW | Based on the current ADaPTS Task Orders can the government share how many of these would have fallen in the $20m and under category which would make them a Small Business set-aside? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 97 | Pricing Schedule | Since there is no official designation for "Remote" on the GSA schedule, what methodology will be used to ensure that the "Overhead burden" rate reduction can be evaluated fairly across all bidders? Can the government provide further information that all bidders can use to come up with the "Remote" rate? | Quoters must submit rates that the Government can clearly verify on the quoter's GSA schedule contract. | |
| 98 | SOW | Utilization of ADaPTS 2.0 by DHS Components - How will DHS HQ market ADaPTS 2.0 to the DHS Operating Components? | ADaPTs is limited to DHS Headquarters. It is not a Department-wide vehicle. | |
| 99 | General | Can the Government please clarify whether or not other DHS Components can use the DHS ADaPTS 2.0 contract to support their enterprise Technical Support Services requirements as long as it fits into the ADaPTS scope of work description? | ADaPTs is limited to DHS Headquarters. It is not a Department-wide vehicle. | |
| 100 | SOW | Will the Utilization of ADaPTS be "Mandatory for Consideration" by HQ and the DHS Operating Components? | ADaPTs is limited to DHS Headquarters. It is not a Department-wide vehicle. It is not mandatory for use or for consideration. | |
| 101 | SOW | Recompetes of existing ADaPTS Task Orders - Can the government share the pipeline of current DHS ADaPTS Task Orders that are planned to be recompeted under ADaPTS 2.0 & their expected Task Order release dates? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 102 | Pricing Schedule | Will the government be open to suggested additional labor categories to be more specific and cover contemporary capabilities such as CX/UX, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Data Analytics, Data Curation, Edge Computing, etc.? |
| Some suggestions are to create a labor category for "Interaction Designer," "Human Centered Design / Customer Experience Engineer" and 'Usability Tester" | Based on anticipated requirements, DHS has selected the appropriate LCATS for the BPA. Thus, DHS declines this recommendation. | |||
| 103 | SOW section 2.1 Applicable documents | Will the government provide bidders with a bidders library with the latest version of all of the documents listed in SOW section 2.1 Applicable Documents? | DHS will consider this recommendation and the matter will be addressed in the final solicitation as appropriate. | |
| 104 | ADaPTs 2.0 Overview Instructions Evaluation (12.04.2024).pdf |
Section 10.3, Factor 5 – Price; page 24 Text Reference: “For each labor category, ensure that there is a one-to-one correlation between the SOW labor category descriptions provided SOW, Appendix A of the RFQ, and the current GSA MAS Schedule, SIN 54151S labor category names provided within the quote.” Please confirm that the “one-to-one correlation”…
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