Draft_RFP_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Question Number

Page Number

Section Paragraph Question / Comment Government Response

1 9 B.4 2

B.4 Task Order Pricing – paragraph 2 says labor rates contained in Attachment J-2 are ceiling rates. Attachment J-2 is the labor category descriptions. Does the Government mean Attachment J-6, contractor-provided rates?

No, paragragh 2 should have referenced Attachment J-1 which will be completed at time of award with each successful Offeror's agreed to ceiling rates.

Attachment J-6 is where the Offeror will propose ceiling rates. The final RFP is correct.

2 11 B.5 1 We understand $3B to be the ceiling for all domains. Does the Government have a better estimated ceiling value specific for the Satellite domain?

Historical data indicates approximately $200-250 million is awarded for Satellite Domain-related activity over a five year period.

3 19/20 C.3.3

The RFP requirement as stated in Section C.3.3 "Data Collection and Surveys" is unclear. What specific type of support is being requested? What does "data collection refer to? (1) Collection of information needed for surveys or (2) collection of scientific observations for scientific investigations? For example, is the paragraph referring to collecting user surveys on a particular product to assess whether the product is useful? The words, "...evaluating and employing state-of-the-art-data collection technologies" appears to suggest collecting satellite science observations and truth data sets. What specifically is the paragraph describing as needing collecting?

Paragraph 3.3 requirement scope includes support for both; 1) the collection of science, technology, and product needs and requirements as well as, 2) the collection of scientific observational and measurement data for scientific investigations, both of which may be called "surveys".

4 28 F.6 e

Report deliverables for the Monthly Contract Status Report (Section F.7.1) is due on the 15th calendar day of each month, and the Monthly Task Order Status Report (Section F.7.2) is due on the 10th calendar day of each month, or as specified in the individual task order(s). Relative to a Contractor's cost recognition cycle and to benefit the Customer and offer consistency, would the Customer consider a delivery date for each of these deliverable to the 15th calendar day of each month.

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

5 39

H.8(c) Observance of Level Holidays and Excused Absence

Industry does not observe the same holiday schedule as the government. The place of performance specified in a task order may include contractor facilities. Please modify the phrase “In the event that Contractor’s personnel are authorized by the Government to work during the holiday…” to read “In the event that Contractor’s personnel are authorized by the Government to work during the holiday at a government site….”

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

Industry Questions and Answers on Draft Request for Proposal

6 39

H.8(d) Observance of Level Holidays and Excused Absence

The place of performance specified in a task order may include contractor facilities. Please modify the phrase “…the Contractor agrees to continue to provide sufficient personnel to perform critical tasks already in operation…” to “…the Contractor agrees to continue to provide sufficient personnel at a government site to perform critical tasks already in operation….”

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

7 40

H.8 (f) Observance of Level Holidays and Excused Absence

During a furlough of government employees, invoicing and payment of active contracts that are funded is not dependent upon the special legislation that may or may not pay the furloughed government employees during the furlough period. We request that H.8 (f) be removed from the solicitation. No changes to the current language in this section are anticipated at this time.

8 52

Section J List of Attachments

N/A

J.1 Ceiling Hourly Rate Table by Labor Category attachment is missing.

Was this intentially not included in the DRFP package? Yes, the Ceiling Hourly Rate Table by Labor Category

Attachment, J-1, will be completed prior to award for each successful Offeror to reflect the agreed to ceiling rates for that Offeror and included in each individual contract. Please see page 52, Section J, List of Attachments for this notation.

9 64 L 10 Table entries for Volume 1: Section numbers are inconsistent with those in RFP Section L.10.1. Please correct them.

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

10 64 L.10 Table

In the Administrative Volume, Section IV is listed in the table without a title. In the previous draft, Section IV was identified as the Professional Employee Compensation Plan. Is this item a requirement in the 6/1/16 draft? This is not a requirement of the RFP.

11 64 L.10 Table Please confirm there is no Section IV for the Administrative Volume.

Confirmed. This is a typo and was corrected along with the Table Section numbers for Volume I.

12 64 L.10 Table

Will the Government be providing additional information or instruction on areas of potential Organizational Conflict of Interest relative to this contract to assist in the preparation of the Table L.10 Volume I, Section V - OCI Mitigation Plan? See Amendment A0001 for revisions to the final RFP.

13 64 L.9.2 3rd Will the Government allow Offerors to use foldouts 11" x 17" within their proposals? If so, will the Government allow them to count as 1 page?

All submissions shall be electronic. No foldout pages are allowed.

14 64-67

L.10 Format and Instructions for Proposal Submission and L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative

All

Section IV under Vol I Administration is blank. Please confirm this is a typo in numbering and that Section IV should be OCI Mitigation Plan, Section V should be Representations and Certifications and Section VI should be Teaming Agreements and Joint Venture per L.10.1.

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

15 64-67

L.10 Format and Instructions for Proposal Submission and L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative

Vol I Section VII in L.10 references Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures while L.10.1 only references Joint Ventures. Please confirm if signed teaming agreements should be included in Section VI.

Teaming Agreements are not required. Please see final RFP for revisions from the Draft RFP.

16 65 L L.10

Administrative Volume requires Teaming agreements (Section VII). No information is provided describing what specific information is required in the teaming agreements. The previous draft RFP contained some specific detail required. Is this specific detail no longer required? Are there any specifics required in the Teaming Agreements? Teaming Agreements are not required. Please see final RFP for revisions from the Draft RFP.

17 65 L.10 Table

In the Administrative Volume, Section VII heading says teaming agreements and joint venture; in the description of Section VI on p. 67, the only guidance is about joint venture; are we still required to submit signed teaming agreements for subcontractors? Teaming Agreements are not required. Please see final RFP for revisions from the Draft RFP.

18 65 L L.10

The Section C Statement of Work is 13 pages in length. In order to adequately respond to these requirements in our Corporate Experience and Commitment (Volume II), we respectfully request that the page limit be increased to 30 pages (this was the previous Draft’s technical volume limit).

The page limit for that volume has increased to 25 pages.

19 65 L.10, Past

Performance

The page limit for Past Performance citations (Volume IV) is stated "2 page limit per reference for Sections I and II. The total for Sections 1 and II combined shall not exceed 16 pages." Would NOAA consider relaxing this requirement by increasing the number of allowable pages per Past Performance reference to 3 pages while retaining the overall total page limit of 16 for this volume?

See Amendment A0001 for revisions to the final RFP.

The page limits have been revised, however the limit for Section II is 2 pages per reference.

20 65 L.10 Table

There are seven Sections listed along with page limitations. However, only six sections are identified with titles along with page limits and Section IV is not given a title. There is a narrative description in subsequent pages for six sections only. Is there an error in numbering?

If not, please identify and describe Section IV and its page limit. Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

21 65 L.10 Table

A 10 page limit for describing the requirements of L.10.3.1 through L.10.3.5 may not allow for an adequate description and evaluation to discern the characteristics of bidders. Will the Government consider increasing this page count to 20 pages?

The page limit for that volume has increased to 25 pages.

22 65 and 67 L.10 and L.10.1 Table and

Paragraph 9

Section L.10 identifies Section VII of the Administrative Volume as "Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures;" Section L.10.1 specifies only Joint Ventures, please clarify.

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

23 65 and 69 L.10 and L.10.3 Table and last paragraph.

L.10 specifies the requiremnet for a Small Business Subcontracting Plan "excluding the Master Subcontracting Plan." Section L.10.3 also refers to a Master Subcontracting Plan "specific to this requirement." Can the Government elaborate on the requirements specific to the Master Subcontracting Plan as opposed to the Small Business Subcontracting Plan?

Master Subcontracting Plans are described in FAR 52.219-9.

24 66 L 10.1 Section II, Item, second item (b) – Provisions/Clauses Question - Should this be numbered (c), not (b)?

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

25 66 L 10.1 Section II, Item (c) Provisions/Clauses. Question - What part or section of the RFP does the term “Provisions” refers to?

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

26 66 L.10.1 Section 3 1

The RFP requests financial information (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statements, statement of retained earning, and certified copy of the line of credit). Section M does not show any evaluation of this information. Can the Government clarify how this information will be used in the evaluation criteria?

This information will not be used as evaluation criteria but to demonstrate the Responsibility of the company.

27 66 L.10.1, Section II Please provide confirmation and locations where signatures are required for a. Contract Administration Data and b. Provisions/Clauses. Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

28 66 L L.10.1

L.10.1 Section III requires an Offeror to provide financial statements, balance sheets, etc. for the Offeror's past fiscal year and current reporting period as of the date of the proposal, as well as a certified copy of the Prime's Line of Credit to demonstrate Financial Responsibility. Please confirm a publicly traded company may submit its prior fiscal year Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Annual Report (Form 10-K) to demonstrate Financial Responsibility, in lieu of the above. If the documentation includes the required information it may be submitted.

29 66

L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative

Please clarify what the offeror is expected to provide in Section G – Contract Administration Data. Volume I - Administrative, Section II – Solicitation Documents, b. - Contract Administration Data is unclear since Section G has no fields to complete.

Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

30 66

L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative

For Section II – Solicitations Documents, the second "b. – Provisions/Clauses,” will the final RFP identify which provisions and clauses of the RFP the government would like addressed in this section. Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

31 66 L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative 1

On p.66, please confirm that section c. Authorized Negotiations should be included in the executive summary.

Yes, this should be included.

32 66 L.10.1 Volume I - Administrative 2

On p.66, there are two section b in Section II. Please confirm that these should logically be numbered a.,b.,c. Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

33 68 L.10.3.3 1

The section states, “The Offeror shall provide the resume of the proposed Program Manager (identified as key personnel in accordance with Section H.14).” Is the Program Manager résumé part of the 10 page count?

No, exceptions to the page limitations are, if required: cover pages, key personnel resume, and indices/tables of contents.

34 69 L.10.4.1 1

Under Section I – Contract Descriptions, item b states: Government contracting activity, current address, Procuring Contracting Officer's name, email address, and telephone number. i. Please clarify what is meant by “government contracting activity."

“Contracting activity” means an element of an agency designated by the agency head and delegated broad authority regarding acquisition functions.

35 69 L.10.4.1 I

Under Section I – Contract Descriptions, item d states: Government contract administration activity, if delegated, the Administrative Contracting Officer’s name, current e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers. i. If we are quoting a subcontract, do we substitute the prime contractor’s contract manager’s details rather than the CO? Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

36 69 L.10.4.1 I

Under Section I – Contract Descriptions, item d states: Government contract administration activity, if delegated, the Administrative Contracting Officer’s name, current e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers. i. ii. If we are using a subcontract citation, do we send the past performance questionnaire to our prime contractor or the government contracting activity? Please see the final RFP for revisions from the Draft

RFP.

37 69 L.10.4 N/A

An IDIQ contract may be a relevant Past Performance reference at the contract (Program) level since it demonstrates the ability to manage a variety of tasks and subcontractors. The individual tasks issued under that contract may be separately relevant since any given task may address one or more different SOW elements. Is it therefore allowable to submit an IDIQ contract itself and one of its tasks as separate Past Performance references? Yes, past performance may be submitted for task orders and/or the IDIQ contract.

38 70 L.10.5 N/A How are subcontractors priced in this proposal? Subcontractors are not separately priced.

39 70 L.10.5 N/A Are subcontractors required to submit pricing at the contract level? No.

40 72 M.2 4

Section M.2 indicates the Governmnt anticipates awarding at least two contracts for each socio-economic categories. Does this mean two per category defined in the table, Type of Business and Goal % in section L.10.3 table?

No, the categories envisioned for the reserve feature are: small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, women-owned small business, and HubZone small business concerns.

41 73 M.3 All

Section M does not discern the relative order of importance across the subfactors of Corporate Experience and Commitment, Management Approach, and Past Performance, nor within the factors within Management Approcah to include Organization, Task Order Management, Resources, Communication, and Quality. Understanding the relative order of importance (or a point score allocation scheme or other method to discern the basis of selection) helps firms decide if and how to bid. Can the Government provide more detailed information on the evaluation criteria accordingly? There are no subfactors within the factors listed in

Sections L and M.

42 N/A J-6 N/A Can a bidder provide different rates for each contract type (CP, FFP, T&M, LH)? No

43 N/A J-6 N/A

Can a bidder provide rates for rates for Customer site and contractor site? No, at the IDIQ Level, the Government is only reviewing one ceiling rate for reasonableness so the Offeror should provide one rate per category that reflects the highest potential rate.

44 N/A J-6 N/A

A breakout by element of cost of overhead, fringe, G&A, and fee typically is provided only for cost reimbursable contracts. Is the Customer requesting a similar breakout by element of cost for overhead, fringe, G&A, and profit for Firm Fixed Price, Time & Material and Labor Hour type contracts as well?

The government is requesting the rate buildup for ceiling rates at the IDIQ level to aid in determining resonableness of the ceiling rates only.

45 N/A N/A N/A

We understand it is not possible to determine the amount of work an individual company could receive in a multi-award environment.

However, it would be helpful to have some indication of the level of work expected at the satellite domain program level. Can the Government provide any estimates, historical data, or other information to help bidders size the program? Such sizing information allows a bidder to better respond in its management, past performance, and price submissions.

Historical data indicates approximately $200-250 million is awarded for Satellite Domain-related activity over a five year period.

46 N/A Attach J-2 i All

Based on our understanding of the work that will be performed for NOAA under the upcoming ProTech contract, we see a significant risk around the current set of labor categories. With the critical impending NOAA Satellite launches in the fall, new data streams that need to be integrated this year, advanced technical target architectures to be defined, etc., as well as the requirements by some of the current organizations and programs that staff being interviewed and hired must have technical degrees plus years of similar experience, we believe that current NOAA programs and future milestones will be at a high level of risk without more criteria around these labor categories. Specifically, we believe much of the current work cannot be accomplished by junior and semi-skilled staff who have no educational requirements, or minimal with four to sixteen years of experience. Attachment J-2 indicates that there are no minimum educational requirements associated for any of the labor categories and levels.

In the June 1st Industry Day presentation, NOAA expressed an interest in avoiding a “race to the bottom.” Increasing the educational requirements to be consistent with the complexity of the work would help accomplish that along with ensuring a wide range of resources are available to support the mission. Would the Government please consider mandating baseline educational requirements for all or some labor categories and all or some levels?

An additional, higher, level of labor category has been added to the final RFP. Minimum educational qualifications will be included in task order equirements when appropriate.

47 Would the Government please consider mandating baseline educational requirements for all or some labor categories and all or some levels? No, the Government is not considering this.

Satellites Draft - Master List