Responses.pdf

Alliant Solicitation TQ2006MCB0001 Government Responses to Questions

November 1, 2006

ALLIANT EMAILBOX AND WEBCAST

SOLICITATION TQ2006MCB0001

GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

GENERAL ISSUES

Question 1: Has Alliant published of list of information system technology hardware to be purchased off the contract. Our hardware is used for data collection of time and labor and secure access to facilities and machines etc. We want to make sure we will be included on the Alliant list.

Answer: As Alliant is a services contract, there is no list of information system technology hardware to be purchased off the contract.

Question 2: We are a hardware manufacturer of open systems based time clocks and data collection hardware that integrate biometrics and smart cards technology. Is this type of product included in the Alliant procurement scope; would one company be selected for this category or would we have to partner with another firm?

Answer: Alliant is a services contract. There is no requirement for hardware at the Basic Contract level.

Question 3: Does the RFP prohibit an offer for software or hardware only? The FEA DRM and TRM specify certain standards where IT services have a software aspect but not necessarily a service aspect.

Answer: Alliant is a services contract. There is no requirement for software or hardware at the Basic Contract level.

Question 4: Does a hardware manufacturer of open systems fit into the Alliant scope? Is there a published list of in-scope hardware for Alliant?

Answer: Alliant is a services contract. There is no requirement for hardware at the Basic Contract level.

Question 5: For offers involving software, is it required that the offer also include a proposal for software or systems design?

Answer: Alliant is a services contract. There is no requirement for software or systems design at the Basic Contract level.

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AFFILIATES

Question 6: Regarding L.11.3 vs M.3(f), please clarify whether GSA will accept and evaluate proposals from distinct, separate "legal entities" that have their own unique Tax ID number, DUNS number, CAGE code and DCAA/DCMA.

Answer: Section L.11.3 has been deleted.

Question 7: Please clarify whether GSA will accept and evaluate proposals from distinct, separate "legal entities" that fall under a common parent company; and that more than one of these separate legal entities under the same parent company could receive awards.

Answer: GSA will accept and evaluate proposals from distinct, separate "legal entities" that fall under a common parent company. More than one of these separate legal entities under the same parent company could receive awards.

Question 8: Regarding affiliates, is the contractor required to provide a commitment letter for each Affiliate division or subsidiary, or one letter per Business Area identifying all participating divisions or affiliates and their meaningful relationships? That is, is each business unit required to provide a commitment letter or will one letter from the Business Area satisfy the requirement.

Answer: Offerors may choose whether to provide a single commitment letter per Affiliate division/subsidiary or one letter per Business Area identifying all participating divisions or affiliates; however, letters should be broad enough to demonstrate commitment at the highest levels of the Offeror’s company and specific enough to demonstrate the commitment of specific resources needed to provide high quality service and solutions on Alliant.

Question 9: Section L.12.3, Folder F. Past Performance, (f) Affiliates – allows companies to bid Past Performance of Affiliates where an Affiliate is defined by three very different definitions – first, as FAR 2.101; second as internal divisions within an Offeror; and third, subsidiaries of an Offeror. Is it very normal for a company, the size of which would be bidding the unrestricted portion of Alliant, to have subdivisions that align to various markets, customers, lines of business, groups, geographies, etc, if only for reasons for span of control, focus on industry specialization, service / product definition, etc. It would seem to defeat the purpose of bringing together multiple capabilities of a medium to large company needed to cover the broad range of services required under Alliant to have to secure “letters of commitment” and to justify a “meaningful relationship” among internal divisions that would normally work together and provide support to one another and who may even be governed by a common set of

November 1, 2006 pricing rates, management staff, etc. Please consider relaxing the requirement for formal letters and justification to apply only to affiliates as defined by the FAR or for CTAs, or provide clarification and justification for this requirement.

Answer: The Government has considered relaxing the requirement for “Letters of Commitment” to demonstrate a “meaningful relationship” between the Offeror and its Affiliates and the Government has decided not to relax the requirement. When the Government considers past performance information for an “affiliate” the Government needs to ensure that consideration of the affiliate’s past performance information is relevant to the prime contractor.

Question 10: REF: L.11.3 Rejection of Multiple or Alternate Offers. We understand this provision to mean that multiple or alternate offers from "affiliates" as that term is defined in FAR 2.101 will constitute a material nonconformity and will result in all of the offers from the affiliated entities being rejected. If this is not correct, please define the term "single prime contractor" and clarify the intent of L.11.3.

Question 11: Will task orders be competed among all selected members of the alliant contract holders or just between a selected subset determined by the GSA? If yes, then how are the subsets chosen?

Answer: Task orders will be competed following the Fair Opportunity procedures specified in FAR 16.505(b)(1) and the exceptions to Fair Opportunity in FAR 16.505(b)(2).

Question 12: Are sole source awards of task orders anticipated? If not, what incentive exists for a company to bring a customer to Alliant only to have it competed?

Answer: It is the intent of the Alliant Program Office to ensure that sole source awards are only contemplated when explicitly allowed under the exceptions to Fair Opportunity in FAR 16.505(b)(2). As customers become familiar with Alliant, we can expect increased numbers of task orders to come to the vehicle, which will increase opportunities for all Alliant industry partners.

Question 13: Once a company is on the GWAC approved list, are the Federal agencies utilizing this contract allowed to do sole source awards as they do on the GSA schedules?

Answer: Task orders will be competed following the Fair Opportunity procedures

Question 14: Will TOR’s be issued according to a contractor’s profile (based on the range of services offered) or will contractors be required to respond to all TOR’s issued across the entire contract?

Answer: Task orders will be competed following the Fair Opportunity procedures

Question 15: Why are subcontractors not being reviewed in the initial proposals?

Answer: It is the intent of GSA to provide prime contractors with the flexibility to develop the best possible solutions for particular requirements, including the ability to team with those partners which make the most sense for a particular solution.

Question 16: How extensive will the evaluation be of the subcontractors after the prime has been awarded the contract? What is the time frame for that process?

Answer: The Government will not evaluate individual subcontractors for award of the Basic Contract; however, the Government will evaluate individual subcontractors when proposed on individual task orders issues against the Alliant Basic Contract.

Question 17: How extensive is the subcontracting evaluation process?

Answer: The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s Small Business Subcontracting Plan and related goals (See Section M.7), as well as the Small Business Subcontracting Goal Statement in Section L.12.3, Folder G (See Section M.5.1(e).)

Question 18: Without signed sub-agreements there are no teeth in it. The prime can then go to any sub and the subs do not benefit in the process.

Answer: If a prime does not have an approved purchasing system, consent to subcontract will apply at the task order level. It is the intent of GSA to provide prime contractors with the flexibility to develop the best possible solutions for particular requirements, including the ability to team with those partners which make the most sense for a particular solution.

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Question 19: Will the Government mandate in the contract a maximum pass-through fee from the Prime to the Subs? This is becoming a more common provision in contracts and benefits both the Government and Subcontractors to insure that Prime contractors get the funding to the source that is doing the work.

Answer: The Government will not mandate in the contract a maximum pass-through fee from the Prime to the Subs.

Question 20: Who will be responsible for the supervision, direction and control of assigned employees?

Answer: The Contractor is responsible for the supervision, direction, and control of their employees, as Alliant is not a personal services contract.

Question 21: Must a bidder offer services in all three areas, ie. Infrastructure, Application & IT Management?

Answer: An Offeror must be able to assure the Government that it can provide services in all areas of the statement of work, either through its own internal resources or through external resources, as described in Section L.12.4, Folder H, and Section M. 5.2.

Question 22: Is the contractor required to have GWAC, MA-IDIQ, BPA, and/or GSA schdule to prime Alliant.

Answer: Offerors are not required to have GWAC, MA-IDIQ, BPA, and/or GSA Schedules to prime Alliant.

Question 23: Does GSA not wish to recognize mid-sized business? This does not follow what L. Doan and the Presidential consul has been talking on the Hill, just this past week.

Answer: Currently, the FAR only defines two types of business: Small and Other- Than-Small. The Alliant RFP has been expressly designed such that companies of various sizes who provide excellent solutions and can inspire confidence that they will be able to do so in the future can compete successfully for award.

Question 24: Won't the Alliant program make the IT Schedule obsolete?

Answer: The Alliant program is a keystone of GSA’s GWAC portfolio. GWACs are only one of the GSA’s sources of supply for customers. Others include the

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Schedules program and GSA’s various telecommunications contracts. The IT Schedule is designed to provide convenient access to commercial IT products and services and will continue to do so. GSA expects that there will continue to be IT requirements which are better suited for the IT Schedule than the Alliant GWACs.

Question 25: Are you still eligible to submit a response to the solicitation if you only have commercial experience and no fed government experience and will you have an equal opportunity to be included on the Alliant Award?

Answer: Offerors may submit commercial experience and no Federal government experience for past performance and be considered for award; however, Offerors must have an adquate cost accounting system to be considered for award, as well as meeting all other solicitation requirements to include receiving a positive responsibility determination.

Question 26: Would GSA also try to on-ramp companies who really believe they bring "Best in Class" technology with in future.

Answer: GSA will continually monitor the use of the Alliant GWAC. If GSA determines that it is in the best interest of the Government to exercise the “On- Ramp” provisions in the Basic Contract, then awards will be made to companies under the same criteria as were used in the initial award of the Basic Contract. (See the newly numbered Section H.22.)

Question 27: Please clarify/explain the on ramp/off ramp provisions

Answer: The on-ramp and off-ramp provisions are described in the newly numbered Sections H.21 and H.22.

Question 28: Ref. Acceptability Review M.4 - What will cause a proposal to fail (other than missing information).

Answer: The Government has described the Acceptability Review in Section M.4, along with examples of what would cause a proposal to fail.

Question 29: H. 20 Off Ramp ...subparagraph (a) talks about not exercising options.

However I do not see any option provisions in the RFP.

Answer: Options are described in Section F.2 and Section I.8.

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Question 30: What will be the criteria for apportionment of task orders between the two Alliant contracts and related, will Alliant SB be able to bid "up" on Full and Open task orders?

Answer: As part of the standard acquisition planning process, the Ordering Contracting Officer must determine the most appropriate contracting vehicle to meet their particular requirement. Alliant and Alliant Small Business are separate contracts. As such, contract holders on one will not be able to bid on task orders issued under the other.

Question 31: How many copies of the proposal shall be provided on CD-R?

Answer: As described in Section L.11.1, one electronic proposal shall be submitted.

The Government has not instructed Offerors to submit copies.

Question 32: Can a large prime be a subcontractor to a small business on this contract?

Answer: How a potential Offeror decides to structure itself is a business decision for the particular Offeror. If a potential offeror decides to submit a Proposal in the form of a Contractor Team Arrangement, it may do so, provided that the Proposal meets the requirements of the Solicitation. The Government, however, will not be evaluating Contractor Team Arrangements that are based upon a prime/sub-contractor arrangement. As such, a “large” company and a “small” company can submit a Proposal together; but they cannot do so in the form of a prime/sub-contractor relationship.

Question 33: What is the value of this contract?

Answer: The ceiling value for the Alliant contract is $50B. The ceiling value for Alliant Small Business is $15B. (See Section B.4)

Question 34: Must primaries identify in the submitted proposal the names and locations of our intended small-business subcontractors, or may that list be developed after award?

Answer: There is no requirement to identify the names or locations of intended small-business subcontractors. GSA’s expectations for small business subcontracting plans is expressed in Section M.7.

Question 35: Can you please confirm whether or not the Government has color printing capability?

November 1, 2006

Answer: The Government has color printing capability, but proposals may or may not be printed.

Question 36: Will the evaluation team be evaluating the proposals online (i.e., using the soft copies provided by the bidder) or will the proposals be printed for evaluation purposes? If a printed version is going to be used will the printing be in color or black and white?

Answer: Evaluators may choose to print or not to print copies of proposals. The rest of the Government’s evaluation process and tools are confidential.

Question 37: How will the evaluators review the submissions? Soft copy (using a monitor), in color print outs, or in black and white print outs

Answer: Evaluators may choose to print or not to print copies of proposals. The rest of the Government’s evaluation process and tools are confidential.

Question 38: Is this a paperless acquisition or does GSA intend to print off copies for review/evaluation?

Answer: Evaluators may choose to print or not to print copies of proposals.

Question 39: Section C.3.4.1 For Small Businesses with no prime Networx or Satcom II vehicle, can we prime Alliant and be a subcontractor on those two contract vehicles?

Answer: Section C.3.4.1 authorizes contractors to use government sources of supply in accordance with FAR 51.101 and encourages contractors to use GSA’s Networx and Satcom II contracts if acquiring telecommunications, wireless, or satellite products and services as part of a larger IT solution. There is no requirement to be a prime or subcontractor on those contract vehicles.

Question 40: Section G.2, for marketing of GSA ALLIANT contract vehicle, how long is it anticipated that the process will take for a contracting officer in good standing to gain signing delegation authority from the Administrative Contracting Officer? Section G.4 There is a reference to contractors participating in various trade shows hosted by GSA to facilitate outreach efforts, presently what are the planned locations and dates of these outreach activities?

Answer: The locations and dates of outreach activities are to be determined and are likely to change over the course of the potential ten year life-cycle of Alliant.

The time required to obtain a Delegation of Authority varies from case to case, but generally can be accomplished in one to three business days.

Question 41: Section H.21 During the open season process, will the government consider allowing the remaining prime contract holders to resubmit revised or discounted price rates to remain competitive and offer customers best value?

Answer: Contractors are always free to discount their rates, regardless of whether or not an “On-Ramp” is taking place.

Question 42: How likely is it that existing ANSWER and Millennia contract holders will win Alliant?

Answer: There is no preference given to holders of particular contracts.

Question 43: Though Alliant is primarily for IT services, if there are task orders that require hardware, can an awarded Alliant contractor use a small business for that hardware task.

Answer: An Alliant contractor may propose a small business to fulfill a hardware requirement on an individual task order.

Question 44: Federal agencies have an urgent need to conduct disaster and contingency planning to ensure continuity of operations in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. The deployment of physically diverse network facilities, including the use of physically diverse infrastructures across networks is a critical communications network component and is required under OMB directive. To comply with this requirement, federal agencies will need to call upon a variety of skill sets, including IT services, network planning, construction, etc. Does GSA believe that this function is covered under Alliant or another contracting vehicle?

Answer: GSA believes that this function, as it relates to IT services, is covered under Alliant.

Question 45: Has consideration been given to changing the NAICS code to permit a larger number of small business to compete under the small business solicitation? As you are no doubt aware, the size standard associated with the current NAICS code is $23M.

Answer: There will be no change to the NAICS code. GSA carefully considered the NAICS code and deemed it appropriate for this acquisition. The Small Business Administration has approved GSA’s use of this NAICS code for the Alliant procurement.

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Question 46: Due to the amount of companies competing in the Washington DC area, we would like to know if GSA would allow companies in the area to submit proposals to the Washington DC GSA Office.

Answer: Proposals must be submitted according to Section L.11.2.

Question 47: Is the solicitation released on September 29 considered a final solicitation or do you envision releasing another version?

Answer: The solicitation released on September 29th is considered not a draft solicitation and is therefore considered a final solicitation; however, Offerors must acknowledge receipt of amendments as they may effect changes in the September 29th posting of the solicitation.

Question 48: Where can we find an example of a completed Alliant RFP?

Answer: The final RFP for Alliant may be found on FedBizOpps at the following site: http://www2.fbo.gov/spg/GSA/FSS/9FG/TQ2006MCB0001/listing.html.

Question 49: Who will have access to our completed proposal? Specifically, who will view our Section J Attachment Spread Sheets and Past Performance Tables?

Answer: The Government evaluation team will review proposals. Also, as stated in Section M.10, the Government may use contractor acquisition support personnel in the evaluation process; however, such personnel will not be evaluators and will have signed applicable non-disclosure agreements.

Question 50: Section J, Attachment 6, Table 1. GSA’s existing GWACs no longer have active Program Managers. The Program Management responsibilities rest within Jim Ghiloni’s organization; the functions are being performed by the contracts organizations.

Who should industry consider the PM for GSA’s existing GWACs, Jim Ghiloni?

Answer: In the absence of an otherwise identified Program Manager for an existing GWAC, industry can refer issues, questions, or concerns to Jim Ghiloni, jim.ghiloni@gsa.gov.

Question 51: What is the anticipated volume of Alliant task order RFPs per month?

November 1, 2006

Answer: Due to the diverse usage patterns of the ANSWER and Millennia predecessor contracts, it is impossible to anticipate the monthly volume of task orders on Alliant.

Question 52: What is the typical response time for Alliant task order RFPs?

Answer: Response time will vary based upon the particular requirement and will be described in individual task order requests.

Question 53: What is the range in size of task orders?

Answer: Due to the diverse range of sizes of existing task orders on the ANSWER and Millennia predecessor contracts contracts, it is impossible to anticipate the range of task orders on Alliant except as generally described in Section I.6.

Question 54: Does the level of task order bidding activity trend heavier or lighter at any time during the month or quarter?

Answer: There is no way to anticipate the task order bidding activity trend.

Question 55: Generally, how soon does task work start after award?

Answer: The start date will begin after the post-award conference described in Section G.6.1.

Question 56: How does the GWAC Alliant Program differ from the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program?

Answer: General information on GSA GWACs, including links to helpful training courses regarding issues such as this, can be found at http://www.gsa.gov/gwacs.

Question 57: Is it possible to obtain a list of agencies utilizing this contract?

Answer: See Section G.2 for authorized users of this contract.

Question 58: Is it possible for a contractor to bid only the collections and billing aspects of “Financial Management” under Section C.3.2.6, or will more comprehensive services be required of a contractor?

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Answer: An Offeror must be able to assure the Government that it can provide services in all areas of the statement of work, either through its own internal resources or through external resources, as described in Section L.12.4, Folder H and Section M.5.2.

Question 59: Do you anticipate that any Task Order Requests (TOR’s) will be placed specifically soliciting debt collection or related services?

Answer: Debt collection, in and of itself, would be outside the scope of Alliant.

Alliant is an IT solutions contract. Work related to financial services is allowed only in the context of a broader IT solution.

Question 60: Section G.3.1 states: “The Government has appointed a Program Manager, who shall perform various programmatic functions for the overall success of the Alliant program.” Could the Government elaborate on the Program Manager’s roles and responsibilities as it did for the Contracting Officer and Administrative Contracting Officer?

Answer: The Contractor Program Manager’s responsibilities are described in Section H.2.1.

Question 61: Mr. Jim Ghiloni stated that one of the goals and/or objectives of Alliant is to “Create pathways to success for effective industry partners” (“GSA Expo - Alliant Overview” on 5/30/2006). The evaluation criteria for Alliant seem to be biased against the smaller mid-tier companies. Considering that it will generally be larger companies who will receive more favorable evaluation in several categories, it appears less likely that there will be a fair distribution of awards to mid tier Contractors with revenues in the $24 M to $50 M range. Considering the conflict between Mr. Ghiloni’s statement and the evaluation criteria, how will GSA provide pathways for success in the competition for the Basic Contract for those companies which are just above the financial cutoff of $23M?

Answer: At the presentation in question, the following goals and objectives for the Alliant program were identified:

• Provide integrated IT solutions to satisfy customers’ evolving needs

• Ensure service continuity

• Sustain access to best-in-class solutions

• Meet socio-economic goals

• Support the President’s Management Agenda

• Complement other GSA contracts

• Create pathways to success for effective industry partners

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The final Alliant RFP has been constructed to meet all of these goals and objectives.

Question 62: At the September CSA luncheon, where you spoke about GSA Alliant, you indicated that the final RFP would specifically address the concerns of mid-sized companies (i.e., companies with annual revenue exceeding $23 million and with fewer than 1500 staff) regarding this procurement. Upon careful review of the final RFP, I do not see how the concerns of mid-sized companies are addressed. How are the concerns of mid-sized companies, which were raised at the CSA luncheon as well as other forums over the past two years, addressed in this RFP?

Answer: The Alliant RFP has been carefully constructed so as not to preclude best Offerors of any size from a chance at winning award, if their proposals are most advantageous to the Government. The nature of the evaluation factors, combined with the expansion of the expected award pool from 15-20 to 25-30, ensures this.

Question 63: Do you have an expected award date established for Alliant?

Answer: The final award date will depend upon the quantity and quality of offers received. GSA hopes to make final award in Summer 2007.

Question 64: Once awarded, must a prime contractor respond to every task order, or can the prime respond to some and not to others?

Answer: The prime is not required to bid on every task order, but is required to submit a “no-bid” response when choosing not to bid.

Question 65: Must a prime contractor’s proposal respond to all service areas to be compliant?

Answer: An Offeror must be able to assure the Government that it can provide services in all areas of the statement of work, either through its own internal resources or through external resources, as described in Section L.12.4, Folder H and Section M.5.2.

Question 66: Can a company be a subcontractor to one or multiple primes as well as compete for selection to be an Alliant Small Business prime?

Answer: How a potential Offeror decides to structure itself is a business decision for the potential Offeror. If an Offeror decides to submit a proposal in the form of a Contractor Team Arrangement, it may do so, provided that the Proposal meets the requirements of the Solicitation. The Government will not be evaluating Contractor

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Team Arrangements that are based upon a prime/sub-contractor arrangement.

Accordingly, a Proposal that lists its proposed sub-contractors may be ineligible for award for not following the requirements of the Solicitation. Notwithstanding the above, the same company can submit Proposals under Alliant and Alliant-SB, provided that the Proposals submitted meet the applicable requirements for these contracts as reflected in the Solicitations.

Question 67: Is it a requirement for contract award to have a top secret facility clearance?

Answer: It is a requirement for award on the Alliant Basic Contract (not the Alliant Small Business Basic Contract) that the company have a top secret facility clearance.

Question 68: Section H.4.1 begins by stating that the Government contemplates leasing under the contract however the Government will not assume the role of lessee. The last sentence of this section H.4.1 states that leasing is prohibited under Alliant, even though the Government is not assuming the role of lessee. Can you please clarify these statements as they seem inconsistent.

Answer: Leasing may be part of a solution proposed by an Offeror; however, under no circumstances will the Government be the lessee.

Question 69: To be on an Alliant Team as a sub, must the sub currently have a GSA schedule?

Answer: How a potential Offeror decides to structure itself is a business decision for the potential Offeror. If a potential Offeror decides to submit a Proposal in the form of a Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA), it may do so, provided that the Proposal meets the requirements of the Solicitation. The Government will not be evaluating CTAs that are based upon a prime/sub-contractor arrangement.

Accordingly, a Proposal that lists its proposed sub-contractors may be ineligible for award for not following the requirements of the Solicitation. Notwithstanding the above, neither the Offeror nor its subsidiaries have to have a GSA Schedule for the Offeror to be considered for award.

Question 70: We are a small business and we are interested in finding out if GSA still plans to issue an Alliant procurement for small business as was originally planned and if so approximately when do you anticipate it coming out?

Answer: The final RFP for Alliant Small Business was released on September 29, 2006.

Question 71: TQ2006MCB0001 refers to Alliant full and open and TQ2006MCB0002 refers to Alliant small business. Each appears to be an independent procurement.

Accordingly, Alliant Small Business awardees will not automatically be allowed to submit proposals under Alliant full and open task orders ? Rather if a small business wants to participate under Alliant full and open the small business must submit a proposal under Alliant full and open now ?

Answer: Alliant and Alliant Small Business are two separate solicitations, which will result in two separate contracts.

Question 72: The 09/29/06 Cover Letter Subject Line reads as follows:

Request for Proposal (RFP) #TQ2006MCB0002. The Address to send proposals reads:

RFP #TQ2006MCB0001 [should be 2]. Also the Address in the Cover Letter is slightly different than the one shown in: L.11.2 Packing and Distribution, Page L-6 Which is the correct instruction? [should include RFP reference ?]

Answer: Alliant and Alliant Small Business are two separate solicitations with distinct numbers and different cover letters. The Alliant solicitation number is TQ2006MCB0001. The Alliant Small Business solicitation number is TQ2006MCB0002. The cover letters accompanying each solicitation are correct.

Question 73: The cover letter references two different Solicitation numbers:

TQ2006MCB0002 and TQ2006MCB0001 Which is the correct number for the small business procurement?

Answer: The Alliant Small Business solicitation number is TQ2006MCB0002.

Question 74: We are interested in knowing something about the initial forecasted business base for Alliant. Would the Government share with Offerors the following information: (1) the overall estimated contract value by type of work and agency; (2) the current estimated ratio (%) of Cost Reimbursable vs Time And Materials task orders based on dollar value of the task orders.

Answer: GSA does not have data to support projections by type of work, by agency, or by task order type due to the differences in usage patterns between the predecessor contracts, ANSWER and Millennia.

Question 75: How will GSA evaluate prime qualifications and the prime team mates as submitted?

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Answer: The evaluation criteria are described in Section M.

Question 76: In numerous discussions with competitors it has been noted that the submission time frame is relatively short a 60 period would be more in line with such an important bid.

Answer: The Government released the solicitation on September 29th and the due date for receipt of proposals is November 17th. The Government considered this ample time to prepare a proposal.

Question 77: Would the Alliant contract be in direct competition with 8(a) STARS contract functional area 2 - for any task orders?

Answer: The Alliant contract is not in direct competition with 8(a) STARS.

Question 78: Will the Alliant proposals be evaluated by the government or by a third-party contractor?

Answer: Alliant proposals will be evaluated by the Government. Also, as stated in Section M.10, the Government may use contractor acquisition support personnel to assist in the process; however, such personnel will not be evaluators.

Question 79: Is a GSA FSS contract considered to be a GWAC?

Answer: A GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract is not considered to be a

GWAC.

Question 80: Is GSA anticipating an extension with the amendments? And if so, how long will the extension be?

Answer: GSA is not anticipating an extension with the amendments.

Question 81: Any general guidelines for "Evaluation criteria"?? What determines which vendors will be selected?

Answer: The evaluation criteria are described in Section M of the solicitation.

Question 82: Does GSA require a company to have a minimum annual revenue to be a prime?

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Answer: GSA does not require a company to have a minimum annual revenue to be a prime.

Question 83: Should interested firms bid on the total requirement or portions?

Answer: Interested firms must bid on the total requirement, as specified in Section L.

Question 84: May bids be submitted electronically?

Answer: Instructions for submitting proposals is stated in Section L.11.

Question 85: Please discuss how the GSA will help industry market the "Alliant" vehicle to federal clients?

Answer: GSA will communicate information about the Alliant program to federal clients in a number of ways, including but not limited to: electronic media (email, web, etc.), print media, presence at conferences and trade shows, direct client outreach.

Question 86: The FEA TRM references ebXML as a emerging standard. ebXML includes 5 independent ISO standards. Which ebXML standard is GSA interested in receiving offers for?

Answer: Offerors need not specify a particular standard at this time.

Question 87: If a firm has GWAC vehicle like VA GITTS; CIO SP2 and GSA Schedule 70, what is the advantage of gaining access to Alliant SB vehicle. Is it the broader set of service categories?

Answer: GSA Schedule 70 is not a GWAC. GSA cannot comment on the reasons why a firm might choose to bid or not bid on Alliant Small Business.

Question 88: Please clarify the need for the Alliant GWAC given that there are already excellent GSA GWAC's that exist and that customers can use to purchase services described in the Alliant GWAC RFP?

Answer: The Alliant GWAC is specifically designed as a successor contract to ANSWER and Millennia which expire in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Question 89: why not comment on the method of evaluation?

Answer: FAR Part 15 competitive negotiations procedures utilizing the “best value” trade-off approach will be used. See Sections M.2 and M.3(d).

Question 90: How important is CONUS vs OCONUS work?

Answer: If two Offerors have an identical rating and one Offeror has OCONUS experience while the other Offeror does not, the Offeror with OCONUS experience will be rated more highly.

Question 91: According to B.11, the Government states that OCONUS work may be anticipated, can GSA provide current statistics on work performed under ANSWER and Millennia on OCONUS versus CONUS?

Answer: The Government has significant OCONUS work on each GWAC.

Question 92: There is a significant connection between this IDIQ and the Federal Enterprise Architecture initiative. Are the OMB E-Government people involved in the development of the requirements of this IDIQ?

Answer: GSA has briefed OMB on the status of Alliant and on its use of the Federal Enterprise Architecture. The requirements for Alliant were developed by GSA.

Question 93: Does the Alliant Schedule for Large Companies require a cerain % set aside for small business subcontracts

Answer: The small business subcontracting goals are described in Section H.10.

Question 94: How will you determine which TORs to compete on which contract - ALLIANT large or small?

Answer: As part of the standard acquisition planning process, the Ordering Contracting Officers must determine the most appropriate contracting vehicle to meet their particular requirement.

Question 95: You mentioned an estimated number of Alliant awards. Is there an expected number that will be Alliant (full & open) and that will be Alliant SB?

November 1, 2006

Answer: The estimated number of awards for Alliant is 25-30. The estimated number of awards for Alliant Small Business is 35-40. The final number of awards will be determined based upon the quality and quantity of offers received.

Question 96: The RFP states that the GSA will use the support of an outside contractor to help evaluate proposals. What is the name of the firm, and have they signed an NDA with the GSA?

Answer: GSA will not officially announce the names of the outside contractors who are supporting this acquisition; however, any outside contractor supporting this acquisition will have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with GSA. Such personnel will assist in the evaluation process in a support capacity, but will not be evaluators.

Question 97: Page H-10, paragraph H.20 (Off Ramp): Is there is any metric associated with the degree of participation in responding to task order requests?

Answer: There is no specific metric associated with the degree of participation in responding to task order requests.

Question 98: Will large businesses that do not promote small business involvement in Alliant task order opportunities/contract performance be subject to contract cancellation through the ramp-on/ramp-off provision?

Answer: Perhaps. However, it is the Government’s intent that prior to exercising the “Off-Ramp” it will work with the applicable Alliant Contractor as to how that Contractor can meet its proposed small business sub-contracting goals before the Government implements an “Off-Ramp,” or otherwise take other contract administration actions.

Question 99: Will IT racks, enclosures and NOC and Ops Center furniture items be needed under the Alliant Full or Small Business solicitations? If so, since this category isn't evident in the RFP, what is the best way for us to participate and respond to the

RFP?

Answer: The items described would be considered within scope, as long as they were integral components of an IT solution. The text of Section C.3.4 has been changed to clarify this.

Question 100: L.13 Title, GSA Form 527 -- For publicly traded companies, can offerors substitute their certified annual report in lieu of GSA Form 527? If not, are there any

November 1, 2006 substitute form of information that would be acceptable? Regarding the time frame for the GSA Form 527 would the latest contractor FY be acceptable?

Answer: A GSA Form 527 is required. There are no substitutes. The latest fiscal year is acceptable.

Question 101: General, H.5 Permits. What permits does the Government anticipate for Alliant GWAC?

Answer: Permits will be designated, as needed at the individual task order level.

The type of permits that may be required will depend upon the specific requirements of the task order itself.

Question 102: B.10 Labor Subject to the Service Contract Act. Pg. B-5 – two paragraphs. The 2nd Draft Solicitation stated in B.3. that – “The labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus exempt from SCA.”

The final Solicitation document states at B.10 that – “The Basic Contract’s labor categories are considered bona fide executive, administrative, professional labor and generally exempt from SCA.” It further states that – “To the extent that any labor is subject to the SCA and within the scope of an Order and the Basic Contract, the OCO must identify such work under a separate CLIN on the Order and apply wages in accordance with FAR 22.10, Service Contract Act Wage Determinations.” This final solicitation has expanded the contract labor categories, for the most part, to 4 levels.

With the addition of the multiple levels, it is clear that several would be considered non-exempt positions, particularly at the “entry level”. The 2nd paragraph noted that to the extent labor is SCA and within the scope, it should be considered SCA at the task level.

Please advise how an order can be considered subject to SCA when the Basic Contract is not? This leaves sole discretion to the OCO, creating inconsistent identification of labor categories as SCA.

Answer: The labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus are exempt from the Service Contract Act (SCA). At the individual task order level, special labor categories may be added. The U.S.

Department of Labor ultimately decides whether the SCA is applicable in any particular situation.

Question 103: B.10 Labor Subject to the Service Contract Act (SCA). The phrase, “generally exempt from the SCA,” does not appear to be an “affirmative determination.”

Please state definitively that ALL the Labor Categories listed in the Section J, Attachments 2 and 3, are exempt from the SCA; OR please identify which labor categories are subject to SCA and provide the applicable Wage Determinations.

November 1, 2006

Answer: The labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus exempt from the Service Contract Act (SCA). At the individual task order level, special labor categories may be added. The U.S. Department of Labor ultimately decides whether the SCA is applicable in any particular situation.

Question 104: B.10 Labor Subject to the Service Contract Act (SCA). Does the Government agree that the following labor categories are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the SCA? (1) Administration/Clerical; (2) ERP Analyst; (3) Groupware Analyst; (4) Help Desk Specialist. If not, please provide the SCA Wage Determinations (WD) Offerors are to use when pricing the labor categories in Section J, Attachments 2 and 3.

Answer: The labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus exempt from the Service Contract Act (SCA). At the individual

Question 105: Section B.9 (10?), LABOR SUBJECT TO THE DAVIS BACON ACT:

Which labor categories can typically be reclassified by the OCO to fall under the requirements of Davis Bacon Act? [Comment: T&M rates need to be compliant with wage determination at bid, or renegotiated on each TO as determined by the OCO.]

Answer: Application of the Davis Bacon Act is governed by FAR 22.402. Alliant is a “non-construction” contract, which means that GSA does not believe that the Davis Bacon Act applies at the Basic Contract level. Accordingly, none of the labor categories under the Basic Contract are classified to fall under the Davis Bacon Act.

However, it is still possible for a task order placed under the Basic Contract to contain some “construction,” in which case, depending upon the specific facts for that Order, the Davis Bacon Act may apply at the task order level.

Question 106: Section B.10, LABOR SUBJECT TO THE SERVICE CONTRACT ACT (SCA): Which labor categories can typically be reclassified by the OCO to fall under the requirements of Service Contract Act? [Comment: T&M rates need to be compliant with wage determination at bid, or renegotiated on each TO as determined by the OCO.]

Answer: The labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus exempt from the Service Contract Act (SCA). At the individual

Question 107: Must a prime contractor’s proposal respond to all labor categories to be compliant?

Answer: Offerors must respond to all labor categories to be compliant.

Question 108: There appears to be a conflict between Section L.11.3 and Section M.3.(f). Can GSA clarify why multiple submissions are allowed by the same legal entity?

BASIC CONTRACT PLAN

Question 109: can small business discuss sub contract relationships in the Basic Contract Plan?

Answer: A small business can discuss subcontract relationships in the Basic Contract Plan; however, it is sufficient to identify areas of expertise (as related to Section C) to be provided by external resources in order to supplement core capabilities. A list of subcontractors and their respective merits is not necessary and will not be evaluated. The focus should be on your methodology for acquiring, managing and overseeing subcontractors— the “how” vs. the “who.”

Question 110: If, in order to show that we can expand our ability to support you in IT areas wherein we are not currently strong (i.e., in our Contract Plan writeup), we include (as a sub) one or more large businesses with strong capabilities in those areas, is that acceptable?

Answer: It is acceptable to include one or more large businesses with strong capabilities in IT areas where you are not current strong to show that you have the ability to fulfill the breadth of requirements in Section C; however, a list of contractors and their respective merits is not necessary and will not be evaluated.

The focus should be on your methodology for acquiring, managing and overseeing subcontractors— the “how” vs. the “who.”

Question 111: On page L-18, in the last paragraph of subsection (1) Internal Resources, the RFP states, “If applicable, the offeror shall provide evidence of an approved purchasing system by submitting the DCAA/DCMA-issued approval letter.” We respectfully ask the Government how a potential bidder would know if they are DCAA/DCMA approved? And if we are not do we have to be approved to be considered for award? By using the word system, is the government referring to a process or procedure, or an actual software system?

Answer: An approved purchasing system is desired, but not required, in order to be considered for award. It is the collective methodology including policies, November 1, 2006 procedures and performance related to the contractor’s purchasing of material and services, subcontracting, and subcontract management from development of the requirement through completion of subcontract performance. Software may be a component of the purchasing system. Offerors should contact their cognizant ACO regarding the approval documentation. See FAR 44.

Question 112: Section L (a) (1) requires contact details (tel/email) to be included in the resumes of key personnel. Is it the Government's intention to contact these key personnel during the evaluation process?

Answer: It is not the Government’s intention to contact these key personnel;

however, the Government reserves the right to do so if deemed necessary and appropriate during the evaluation process.

Question 113: To propose on the Basic Contract, a Contractor Team Arrangement is defined as (joint ventures and/or SBA Mentor-Protégé Arrangements. You may include proposed subcontractors in your Basic Contract Plan in a limited context for consideration as an evaluation factor under the subfactor for 'Resources.' Is this an accurate statement of the relationship between a prime and subcontractors under Alliant?

Answer: The Government will not be evaluating proposed subcontractors for the Alliant Basic Contract. The Government will not be evaluating past performance information regarding proposed subcontractors. In the limited context of the Basic Contract Plan, the Government will be evaluating how a prime contractor intends to supplement its “core” capabilities, which may be through contractor team arrangements or subcontracting. Because there are no specific technical requirements to evaluate at this time, the Government does not intend to evaluate what these specific additional resources will be (i.e. a list of proposed subcontracts is not beneficial or useful.) The focus should be on how the prime contractor will augment its core offerings so that it can propose on orders that include requirements from all three component areas.

Question 114: Reference: CD-R 3, Folder H - Alliant Basic Contract Plan. Is it allowable for the offeror to use 11"x17" paper as long as each 11x17 sheet counts as 2 pages?

Answer: It is allowable for the Offeror to use 11x17 paper as long as each 11x17 sheet counts as two pages.

Question 115: Is it the Government’s intent to have the Statement of Work requirements addressed ONLY in Folder H: Alliant Basic Contract Plan (for Alliant) and Folder H:

November 1, 2006

Alliant SB Basic Contract Plan (for Alliant SB)? Please clarify the Government’s intent to evaluate responses to the Statement of Work requirements.

Answer: The Government is evaluating the Statement of Work requirements in both Past Performance and the Basic Contract Plans for both Alliant and Alliant Small Business.

Question 116: According to Section L.12.2, Folder D, last line first paragraph:

"Notwithstanding the above, the Government will consider proposed subcontractors in the limited context of evaluating an Offeror's Alliant SB Basic Contract Plan under Section M.5.2, when evaluating the subfactor "resources". Since M.5.2 says that you will evaluate the Offeror's ability to deliver relative to identified gaps, does this mean that you will look at past performance of proposed subcontractors? If the answer is "yes", how is this different from accepting formal teaming arrangements from the beginning? If the answer "no", than how will the Government evaluate subcontractors in M.5.2 w/o past performance?

Answer: For the Alliant Full and Open solicitation, the Government will not be evaluating past performance information for proposed subcontractors on Alliant.

(For the Alliant Small Business (SB) solicitation only, the Government will evaluate efforts for which the Offeror was the prime or performed as a first-tier subcontractor where the Offeror had complete (turnkey) responsibility for a separately identifiable part of an overall system or service.)

Question 117: Are you requesting a separate write up…