RS3_Industry_Day.pptx

Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3)

Industry Day & Pre-Solicitation Conference

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Katie Thompson Contract Specialist December 16, 2014

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Overview of Program and Objectives

Draft Solicitation

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Pre-Submitted Q&A

Industry Day Q&A

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Agenda

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The goal of this event is to provide potential offerors with information regarding the program objectives, to walk through the draft solicitation, and to answer questions regarding the draft solicitation

The Government will not hear formal proposals from industry as the purpose of the Industry Day is only to facilitate communications and answer questions regarding the program and contract process

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Disclosures

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The acquisition strategy and solicitation have not yet been approved

Everything discussed today is NOTIONAL and is NOT to be considered binding. Everything discussed today, including the solicitation and any Q&A, is subject to change or cancellation

Offerors shall refer ONLY to the final solicitation

The draft solicitation is not a request for proposals, is not an authorization to begin work, and does not commit the Government to purchase any services

Disclosures cont.

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Program and Objectives

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Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3) will provide knowledge based professional engineering support services for programs with Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) related requirements to include Engineering Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Logistics Acquisition and Strategic Planning Education and Training

Requirement

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Customers may include various Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) customers, other Program Executive Offices (PEOs), other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies and all federal agencies

Requirement cont.

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Requirement cont.

Objectives To fulfill the void for various expiring MA IDIQ contracts to provide APG and other customers one contract vehicle that offers streamlined processes and fulfills requirements for programs with C4ISR-related needs

To ensure Government has access to contractors with capabilities to successfully perform C4ISR missions

To reduce cost to the Government by streamlining the IDIQ award process and to reduce bid and proposal costs allowing contractors to concentrate resources on cost effective task order competitions

The estimated maximum ceiling amount, including the optional ordering period, is $37.4 Billion

Multiple award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (MA IDIQ) contract vehicle $500 minimum guarantee

Task order contract types will include both firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement and will be determined at the individual task order and contract line items

Business Arrangements

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Five year ordering period with one optional five year ordering period Option to be exercised for those contractors that have performed successfully on task orders Task order performance may be required up to five years after ordering period expiration

Off-ramps may occur in years three and eight of contract Contractors that have not submitted an acceptable task order proposal in 36 months, have had two or more cost overruns, have poor performance, or have not met small business participation goals within 5% may be off-ramped See Clause H.3 of the solicitation

On-ramps may occur in years three and six of contract To increase competition To gain access to new technologies or capabilities

Business Arrangements cont.

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Individual deviation from FAR 15.304(c)(1) and waiver from DoD Source Selection Procedures paragraph 2.3.1.1 Implements 10 U.S.C. 2305(a)(3)(A)(ii) Require evaluation of cost Not meaningful at the base contract level due to the broad scope of requirements

Individual deviation from FAR 15.304(c)(4) and waiver from DoD Source Selection Procedures paragraph 2.3.1.2.3 Require evaluation of small business participation plans Evaluation at the task order level instead will benefit the Government, the contractors, and small businesses by encouraging contractors to submit more accurate and meaningful goals based on information about the specific requirements of the task order

These waivers and deviations have not yet been approved

Waivers and Deviations

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Timeline

Acquisition Strategy Approval

Industry Day

16 DEC 2014

FEB 2015

Solicitation Approval and Release Proposals Received Evaluations Complete Contract Approval

MAR 2015

APR 2015

JUN 2015

JAN 2015

Contract Award

JUL 2015

Draft Solicitation

Standard Form 33

Block 9 – Due date and time

Block 17 – Shall be signed by offeror

Section A – Solicitation Form

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CLIN structure Based on contract type Includes CLINs for optional ordering period

Army Contractor Manpower Reporting (eCMRA) to be included on every order Not separately priced

Contractor’s Progress, Status, and Management Report (CDRL D001) to be included on every order Not separately priced

Section B - Services

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PWS is intentionally broad Shall be C4ISR-related

Places of performance may include CONUS, OCONUS, or any combination

Services not within scope are clearly identified

Service areas listed under technical requirements (C.3) are EXAMPLES only

Section C – Performance Work Statement

Specific security requirements will be defined at the order level

Program Management Reviews (PMRs) will be hosted by the Government

CDRLs listed are EXAMPLES only

Section C – Performance Work Statement

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Section D does not apply

Section E – Inspection and Acceptance Standard clauses

Section F – Deliveries or Performance Standard clauses Ordering period Defines criteria for option exercise Contractors may be required to continue services under an order up to five years after the expiration of the ordering period (FAR 52.216-22) Period of performance for orders will be identified in the order Request for Proposal (RFP)

Sections D, E, F

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Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) clauses To be filled in for each individual contractor upon base contract award

CPARS requirement

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) will be included in each order

Standard clauses

Special invoicing instructions may be required and included for many orders

Section G – Administration Data

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Ordering procedures

Orders restricted to small businesses

On-Ramps/Off-Ramps

Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) and Technical Guidance Letters (TGLs)

Small business participation reports

Fee

Section H – Special Requirements

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Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) Requirement

Travel requirements

Requirements related to Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs)

Safety and environmental considerations

Requirements for the use of non-Government advisors

Requirements regarding hours of work

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Requirements regarding Government site closures

Additional clauses may be included in orders Examples: TBC, SOFA, TESA, Tax Clauses, Data and IP Clauses, etc.

Other considerations Additional CLINs may be included on orders Requirements regarding bid and proposal costs Requirements regarding off-ramp costs

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FAR, DFARS, and AFARS Clauses

Many clauses are incorporated by reference View full text at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm

Some fill-in clauses are completed for the base contract

Some fill-in clauses are included and will be filled in at the order level as applicable

FAR 52.219-9 – Small Business Subcontracting Plan Large businesses are required to submit with proposal

Section I – Contract Clauses

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Exhibit A – CDRL D001 No action required for proposal submission - Will remain in awarded contract

Attachment 0001 – Small Business Participation Shall be completed and submitted with proposal - Will be removed in awarded contract

Attachment 0002 – Fee Shall be completed and submitted with proposal - Will be removed in awarded contract

Attachment 0003 – Cost Shall be completed and submitted with proposal - Will be removed in awarded contract

Attachment 0004 – SAMPLE Small Business Participation Report No action required for proposal submission - Will remain in awarded contract

Section J – List of Attachments

Includes some clauses by reference

Includes FAR 52.204-8 To be completed and submitted with proposal

Section K – Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements

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General Instructions Communications shall be in writing ONLY to the Contract Specialist or the Contracting Officer

No assumptions, terms, conditions, caveats, or exceptions

Due date/time for question submission

Format, volume, and page requirements

OCI requirement

Standard provisions

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Section L – Instructions to Offerors

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L.2.1 – Cover Letter

Point of contact for proposal

Affirmative statements

Administrative information

Signed SF 33

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Section L – Cover Letter

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L.2.2 – Volume 1, Corporate Experience

Three examples of contracts OR orders

Administrative data

Description of requirements and how they are the types of C4ISR-related services required in the RS3 PWS

Description of tasks/activities performed by the offeror under the contract/order

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Section L – Corporate Experience

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Minimum requirements Demonstrate offeror has performed the types of C4ISR-related services in the RS3 PWS with three examples Minimum period of performance of reference shall be 2 years Some part of performance occurred within 3 years of the date of the solicitation Percentage of effort ($) performed by offeror is at least 30% Requirements of the contract are the types of C4ISR-related services in the RS3 PWS Activities performed by the offeror are the types of C4ISR-related services in the RS3 PWS

Offerors are not required to demonstrate experience that covers the entire scope of the RS3 PWS. Experience shall be demonstrated in one or more of the five technical areas defined in C.3.

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Section L – Corporate Experience

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L.2.3 – Volume 2, Small Business Participation May be deleted from solicitation if waiver/deviation is approved

Submit Attachment 0001 ONLY

Use data from the same three examples submitted for Volume 3, Past Performance

Offerors shall state if they have no recent or relevant past performance

Section L – Small Business Participation

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Offerors shall state if they did not have small business participation goals on any of the examples submitted for Volume 3

Minimum requirements Demonstrate offeror has complied with goals in at least three small business categories for each example Demonstrate offeror has complied with small business participation that meets, exceeds, or is within 5% of TOTAL small business participation goals for each example

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Section L – Small Business Participation

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L.2.4 – Volume 3, Past Performance

Three examples of recent and relevant contracts or orders May be the same or different examples submitted for Corporate Experience

Administrative data

Description of tasks or activities performed by the offeror

Narrative – Description of how the contract is relevant

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Section L – Past Performance

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Self-assessment – Address performance in terms of technical, schedule, cost, and small business utilization Provide explanation for any requirements not met

Identify any terminations, notice of default, settlements, show cause notice, cure notice, suspension/debarment, security violations/incidents, violations of FAR 32.006 For any contract/order, not limited to examples submitted for past performance Submit copies Provide narrative explanation and corrective action State if none of the above were received

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Section L – Past Performance

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State if offeror has no recent and relevant past performance examples to submit

Instructions regarding past performance of a corporate entity or intra-divisional company other than the corporate entity or intra-divisional company that will perform the work on RS3

Instructions regarding past performance of a predecessor company if offeror only has past performance as part of a predecessor company

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Section L – Past Performance

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L.2.5.1 – Volume 4, Part 1, Fee

Submit Attachment 0002 ONLY

Requirement to be considered in Phase 1 Propose fee of 7% OR LESS (12% OR LESS for experimental, developmental, or research work)

Proposed maximum fee rate will be incorporated in Section H for each contractor upon contract award

Section L – Cost/Price

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L.2.5.1 – Volume 4, Part 2, Cost/Price May be deleted from solicitation if waiver/deviation is approved

Submit Attachment 0003 and Cost Narrative

Three labor categories Direct labor rate and fee only

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Section L – Cost/Price

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Cost Narrative shall include sufficient information for the Government to determine cost realism

May include FPRA, FPRR, DCMA/DCAA Audit, or other statement of current rates FPRP shall NOT be sufficient

“Other statement” may include payroll records, paystubs, or market salary survey data For realism, if using market salary survey data, offerors are encouraged to propose within the range of the 25th-90th percentile

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Section L – Cost/Price

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M.1 – General Information Multiple award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle Large businesses and small businesses will be ranked separately Approximately 30 large businesses and 20 small businesses If a tie, all offerors in the tie will receive contracts There will NOT be two “suites” of contracts A small business may compete on both restricted orders and unrestricted orders Seamless transition from small business to large business during the life of the contract

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Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award

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M.2 – Basis for Award Combination of source selection approaches on the best value continuum

Corporate Experience and Small Business Participation will be rated as Acceptable or Unacceptable Offerors shall receive ratings of Acceptable to be considered for award Rating of “Unknown (Neutral)” will be considered equal to Acceptable for Small Business Participation

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Section M – Basis for Award

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Past performance and price will be evaluated using a tradeoff methodology

Past performance is significantly more important than price

Offerors shall receive a minimum rating of “Satisfactory Confidence” to be considered for award

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Section M – Basis for Award cont.

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The Government will pay up to 3% premium for a “Substantial” performance confidence rating over a “Satisfactory” performance confidence rating

Example 1 Offeror A: 7% maximum fee, Substantial Confidence Offeror B: 4% maximum fee, Satisfactory Confidence Offeror A will be ranked higher

Example 2 Offeror A: 7% maximum fee, Substantial Confidence Offeror B: 3% maximum fee, Satisfactory Confidence Offeror B will be ranked higher

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Section M – Basis for Award cont.

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M.3 – Two Phase Process

Phase 1 Only offerors that meet ALL of the following requirements will be considered for award in Phase 1 Corporate Experience – Acceptable Small Business Participation – Acceptable (or Unknown) Past Performance – Satisfactory or Substantial Confidence Maximum fee of 7% OR LESS (12% OR LESS for experimental, developmental, or research) Proposed costs are fair, reasonable, and realistic

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Section M – Two Phase Process

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Phase 2 IF the Government determines Phase 2 is necessary, proposals that do not meet the criteria for Phase 1 may be considered for award in Phase 2 The Government reserves the right not to conduct Phase 2 if sufficient awards are made in Phase 1 Insufficient awards is less than 15 small business and/or less than 25 large businesses The Government will only accept proposal revisions in Phase 2 as a result of discussions No new or amended solicitation will be issued for Phase 2

Section M – Two Phase Process cont.

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M.4.1 – Factor 1, Corporate Experience

Government may use data obtained from other sources

Proposal will be evaluated as Acceptable or Unacceptable Acceptable – Proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation. Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.

Unacceptable – Proposal does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation. Proposal is unawardable.

Section M – Evaluation Factors

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M.4.1 – Factor 2, Small Business Participation May be deleted from solicitation if waiver/deviation is approved

Proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the following Acceptable – Proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable – Proposal does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Unknown (Neutral) – No recent/relevant performance record is available or the offeror’s performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned.

If an offeror states they have no recent/relevant performance to submit and the Government obtains information from another source, the information may be used to determine the rating for that offeror

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Section M – Evaluation Factors

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M.4.3 – Factor 3, Past Performance

Government will evaluate using the proposal, PPIRS, and any other sources available

If an offeror states they have no recent/relevant performance to submit and the Government obtains information from another source, the information may be used to determine the rating for that offeror The Government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure problems found in the proposal or otherwise

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Section M – Evaluation Factors

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M.4.3.1 – Past Performance, Relevancy

Relevancy will be determined for each example proposed, then the Government will determine one overall relevancy rating based on the average of the relevancy ratings Very Relevant – Present/past performance effort involved essentially the same scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires (i.e. 3 or more of the 5 technical areas) Relevant - Present/past performance effort involved similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires (i.e. 2 of the 5 technical areas) Somewhat Relevant - Present/past performance effort involved some of the scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires (i.e. 1 of the 5 technical areas) Not Relevant - Present/past performance effort involved little or none of the scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires (i.e. 0 of the 5 technical areas)

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M.4.3.1 – Past Performance, Confidence

Confidence will be determined based on the relevancy and how well the contractor performed on the contracts/orders Substantial Confidence – Based on the offerors recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort Satisfactory Confidence - …the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort Limited Confidence - …the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort No Confidence - …the Government has no expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort Unknown Confidence (Neutral) – No recent/relevant performance record is available or the offerors performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned

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M.5 – Fee

The Government will evaluate the proposed fee to determine if maximum proposed fee is 7% or less (12% or less for experimental, developmental, or research work)

If not, proposal may be evaluated in Phase 2 IF the Government determines Phase 2 is necessary

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M.5 – Cost

The Government will evaluate cost in accordance with FAR 15.404-1 Fairness, Reasonableness, Realism

Realism The Government will determine a probable cost Government may adjust for cost realism if sufficient rationale is not provided Government may use external sources BLS, DOL, DOS, DCAA, DCMA, etc.

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Task order Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and awards shall be specific to the requirements of the order and may include additional instructions and requirements

CLIN numbering at the order level may differ from the base contract

PWS specific to the order requirements shall be included in each order

All of the sections discussed above may include additional clauses and/or special requirements at the order level

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Task Orders

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Break

Please submit your questions in the drop box.

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Questions & Answers

The following Q & A are NOT binding. ONLY the final solicitation shall govern.

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The Q & A is based on the draft of Sections C, L, and M that was posted to FedBizOpps on 21 Nov 2014

A draft of the entire solicitation was posted on 10 Dec 2014

Another draft will be posted as soon as possible to address any changes outlined in the following Q & A, and other changes determined necessary by the Government

Q & A

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Your question may not be represented word-for-word May be duplicated in another question The intent of the question may be duplicated in another question Question may have been clearly answered during review of draft solicitation Question may require more time for the Government to provide a meaningful answer Answers to these questions will be posted to FedBizOpps as soon as possible

REMINDER: The drafts and Q&A are presented for informational purposes only at this time. The draft and Q&A are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Offerors shall refer to the final solicitation.

Q & A

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Reference: C.1

Question: Will the awardees be required to bid on Task Orders issued under the IDIQ? Or will the decision to bid be at the Contractor's discretion?

Answer: The decision whether or not to propose in response to task order RFPs will be at the discretion of the contractor. However, the Government intends to conduct off-ramps. See Clause H.3 of the draft solicitation for further information.

Question 1

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R: C.1.2, C.3, L.2.2.1

Q: The scope and potentially supported activities/organizations outlined by the Government is sufficiently broad, that any single offeror’s ability to reflect similarly broad capability across potential Technical Requirements within the proposal constraints outlined throughout Section L is unlikely. In fact, the note at the bottom of page 19 and above the Section L.2.3 header effectively acknowledges this circumstance. However, and as the note specifies, “experience in one or more areas” seems insufficiently discriminate. Would the Government consider offering more specific discriminators as evaluation criteria, which offerors might use in assessing our capabilities against the 211 scope areas and in determining appropriate teaming/subcontractor relationships?

A: The service areas listed under each of the five technical requirements in the PWS are examples only. The scope and proposal requirements are intentionally broad. See M.4.3.1 for information regarding how the Government will evaluate relevancy.

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Question 2

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R: C.1.2.3.4

Q: What percentage of ancillary construction will the Government permit a Prime Contractor to perform directly or through a qualified Sub-contractor?

A: Construction services are not within scope of this contract. The Government does not intend to specify an allowable percentage for ancillary services. See C.1.2.3.

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Question 3

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R: C.3

Q: Under each of the 5 technical requirements sections only a list of support areas are provided with no description or definition of each leaving it up to interpretation. Does the Government intend to provide a more definitive description of what these support services consist of?

A: No, the service areas listed under each of the five technical requirements are only examples.

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Question 4

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R: C.3

Q: Will the Government consider adding task items throughout the PWS? Does the Government intend to provide any further definition/qualifier as to what they would consider appropriately “C4ISR-related?”

A: The scope of the base contract PWS is intentionally broad. However, examples of potential task areas are included in the PWS.

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Question 5

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R: C.3

Q: Will the Government make single or multiple awards to cover the scope of work?

A: The Government intends to issue a multiple award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract vehicle. See Section L Clause 52.216-27 and Paragraph M.1.1 of the draft solicitation.

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Question 6

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R: C.3.2, L.2.5.1.2

Q: Please confirm that “experimental, developmental or research work” is synonymous with work that is in scope with C.3.2.

A: This is incorrect. The Contracting Officer will determine if work is "experimental, development, or research work" for each task order based on the specific requirements of the order.

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Question 7

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R: C.3.3 & C.3.4

Q: How many domains does a company have to rate acceptable in, in order to receive an award?

A: The draft solicitation states "Experience shall be demonstrated in one or more area(s) of the RS3 performance work statement." See Sections L.2.2.2 and M.4.1 of the draft solicitation.

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Question 8

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R: C.3.4

Q: Section C.3.4 was formerly labeled “SETA Services” – is the work now described in the most current Section C.3.4 still considered SETA? How does the Government intend to define SETA efforts relative to the PWS?

A: No. "Acquisition and Strategic Planning" support services more accurately describes the technical requirements in C.3.4. The term "SETA" will no longer be used for the RS3 contract.

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Question 9

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R: C.3.4

Q: Will the government please clarify whether it will or will not set aside all PWS areas under “Acquisition and Strategic Planning Services” for small businesses?

A: Orders for acquisition and strategic planning services will be restricted to small businesses in accordance with Clause H.2 of the draft solicitation.

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Question 10

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R: C.3.4

Q: Are the elements grouped in C.3.4 exclusively the representative requirements that commonly result in impaired objectivity or unequal access OCI issues, or will OCI-type work be spread across the other four PWS sections (C.3.1, C.3.2, C.3.3, C.3.5)?

A: Acquisition and strategic planning type services are susceptible to creating OCI situations. However, OCI situations may arise on any type of contract or task order.

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Question 11

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R: C.3.4

Q: What will the process be to determine which contractual opportunities/requirements that will commonly result in impaired objectivity or unequal access OCI issues?

A: The contract will include language addressing OCI situations and mitigation. See Clause H.9 of the draft solicitation.

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Question 12

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R: C.4

Q: Does the Government intend to award Time & Materials type contracts under RS3?

A: No. See Section B of the draft solicitation.

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Question 13

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R: C.4.1.3

Q: Does the Government intend to limit fees associated with purchase of ODCs?

A: Other costs including, but not limited to, travel and material costs, may be on Cost (no fee) CLINs. The contract type for each order/CLIN will be determined at the order level based on the requirements.

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Question 14

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R: C.4.2.1

Q: What levels of security clearance are anticipated tor support of this IDIQ?

A: Security requirements will vary and will be defined for each task order.

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Question 15

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R: C.4.4.1

Q: "At a minimum, such data shall be compatible with the Microsoft Office 2003® and Microsoft Office 2007® family of products, and Microsoft XP® and Microsoft Vista® network protocols." Effective April 8, 2014, Microsoft no longer supports Microsoft XP® and Microsoft Office 2003®. We suggest that Microsoft XP® be replaced by Microsoft Windows 7®, and that Microsoft Office 2003® be removed from this section, so that Microsoft Office 2007® is the minimum required Microsoft Office version.

A: The Government will review the requirements and revise the solicitation to reflect the most appropriate compatibility requirements, likely as recommended above.

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Question 16

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R: C.4.4.1

Q: Since it is stated that all program requirements, contract actions and data interchanges shall be conducted in a digital enviornment, will Offerors need to deliver all the program requirements in order to provide for the integrity and non-repudiation of the signer (i.e certified electronic signatures)

A: Digital signatures as well as handwritten signatures on scanned documents shall be accepted by the Government. Sections C and L will be revised for clarity.

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Question 17

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R: C.4.4.2

Q: Does the contractor need to descript his Quality Control System with in his proposal offering?

A: No, this is not a requirement of the solicitation.

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Question 18

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R: C.4.4.2

Q: Quality Control focuses primarily on products and does not reflect Quality Control for services. Please expand this section to include requirements for Quality Control Plan covering Services.

A: The Government will consider revising this section of the PWS.

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Question 19

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R: C.4.5

Q: Please confirm that the costs for contractors to support PMRs shall be borne by individual awarded task orders.

A: Costs related to managing the RS3 contract as a whole may not be invoiced to an individual task order.

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Question 20

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R: C.4.6

Q: As it relates to Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI), may a Contactor provide the Contracting Officer an OCI mitigation plan, that shows the Contractor has sufficiently firewalled its organizational resources, to permit the Contractor to perform Engineering Services for a given Task Order and in so doing, be eligible to provide non-requirements Engineering Services under a subsequent Task Order?

A: The requirements for and acceptability of OCI mitigation plans will be determined by the Contracting Officer for each task order.

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Question 21

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R: C.4.6

Q: Will the Government please confirm that Offerors may no-bid a task order to avoid an actual or potential Organizational Conflict of Interest?

A: Confirmed. Clause H.1 will be revised for clarity.

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Question 22

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R: C.4.6

Q: Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation describes aspects of performance that would affect a company’s ability to propose on programs. Are there any programs that participated in the development of this acquisition and expected to create an OCI? Are there any companies that due to their involvement in the development of this solicitation are precluded from participating in the RS3 acquisition as a prime?

A: The Contracting Officer is not aware of any OCIs related to the base RS3 contract. No contractors are involved in the development of the RS3 solicitation. However, offerors/potential offerors are required to comply with the requirements in L.1.3 of the solicitation regarding potential OCI situations.

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Question 23

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R: C.5.1

Q: Please confirm that the costs for contractors to report to eCMRA shall be borne by individual awarded task orders.

A: The eCMRA CLIN will be "not separately priced" (NSP) on task orders. See Section B of the draft solicitation.

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Question 24

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R: C.5.2

Q: Since the Governments requirement in C.4.4.1 requires all work products to be submitted electronically, will the government change the verbiage in C.5.2 to remove the words “hard copy”?

A: Some deliverables may be required to be submitted both electronically and in hard copy, depending on the requirements of the order.

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Question 25

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R: Fee

Q: FAR 15.404-4 (2) “Profit” states, “Both the Government and contractors should be concerned with profit as a motivator of efficient and effective contract performance. Negotiations, aimed merely at reducing prices by reducing profit, without proper recognition of the function of profit, are not in the Government’s interest.” Suggest the Government stress competition to propose the “best competitive price” under the task order specified conditions. By allowing contractors to propose an appropriate fee percentage, contractors are encouraged to utilize creative approaches to reduce costs, mitigate risks and develop efficient models for contract execution. All elements of cost; direct labor, material, and overhead, can be addressed in a comprehensive manner to create more affordable alternatives for the Government. While lower fee structures may be more appropriate for service-related tasks, the more complex, higher risk systems-related tasks would warrant a higher fee commensurate to the risk of that work. GSA OASIS and other large, broad scope IDIQs and GWACs do not contain fee caps. Why does the Government propose fee caps that are lower than the existing FAR limitations on CPFF tasks?

A: The Government has determined, based on the scope of the PWS and the historical data for these types of services, a fee of 7% or less (12% or less experimental, developmental, or research) to be fair and reasonable. The Government anticipates adequate competition.

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Question 26

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R: Fee

Q: What is the expected cap fee for Cost Reimbursement Task Orders?

A: The maximum fee for cost reimbursement task orders will be the contractor's proposed maximum fee in accordance with Clause H.6 of the solicitation.

One of the criteria required to be considered in Phase 1 of the evaluation is to propose a fee of 7% OR LESS (12% OR LESS for experimental, developmental, or research work) for cost reimbursement task orders and cost reimbursement contract line item numbers (CLINs). Offerors that propose a fee above 7% (12% for experimental, developmental, or research work) shall not be considered for award in Phase 1. See L.2.5.1.2.

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Question 27

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R: General

Q: Is there an incumbent for this effort?

A: This contract will replace several smaller MA-IDIQ contracts at ACC-APG, including R2-3G, S3, TIES, TAOSS, and WEBS.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 28

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Can a company that receives a contract award as a Small Business bid on Full & Open Task Order solicitations?

A: Yes. Clause H.1 will be revised for clarity.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 29

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Is it envisioned that any of the Task Orders will be segregated for competition toward the SBA social economic categories [8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, VOSB]?

A: Awards will not be reserved based on socio-economic categories. See Section M.1.1.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 30

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: How can teaming arrangements and subcontracts be represented as bids in the proposed RS3 bid methodology? Or will teaming only take place at the RTEP level?

A: The Government will not evaluate subcontractors, teams, or teaming arrangements for the base contract. Subcontractors shall be evaluated in accordance with the order RFP.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 31

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: SETA has been set aside for small business; if we prime, does this present an OCI issue from Large Business teams?

A: "SETA" has not been restricted to small businesses.

Award of an order for acquisition and strategic planning services (PWS paragraph C.3.4) may preclude the contractor from submitting proposals in response to solicitations or working on other Government contracts and/or orders, as either a prime contractor or sub-contractor, for procurements, contracts, and/or orders on which contractor personnel are providing acquisition and strategic planning support services. This restraint also applies to future contracts and/or orders when employees have privileged information that may subject the contractor to a conflict of interest. The contractors attention is directed to FAR Subpart 9.5 Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest. The Government may require, with proposals for these orders, 1) A signed Non-Compete agreement for any new work on which contractor personnel may provide acquisition and strategic planning support services, or 2) an OCI mitigation plan outlining the contractors plan to avoid and/or mitigate any potential or current OCI issues. See Clause H.9 of the solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 32

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Given the general title of this requirement is there a narrowing of the services APG will be looking to contract (possibly by NAICS code)or are we to assume everything that falls to service is up for consideration?

A: While the scope of the PWS is intentionally broad, it does outline the scope of the contract. The applicable NAICS code is 541712. The assumption that "everything that falls to service is up for consideration" is incorrect.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 33

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will the Government allow Primes who win RS3 IDIQ contracts to team together for RS3 task order competitions?

A: Task orders shall be issued on a single award basis. However, a prime RS3 contractor may subcontract to another prime RS3 contractor.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 34

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will other DoD Agencies have the ability to issue Task Orders under this vehicle?

A: There is a possibility that other agencies may be delegated procurement authority in the future, however at this time ACC-APG is anticipated to be the only agency to issue orders.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 35

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Please confirm that the only rate that will be incorporated as a ceiling in the IDIQ Contract will be Fee.

A: Confirmed. See L.2.5 of the draft solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 36

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Are these questions and answers going to be provided via FedBizOps in written form?

A: Yes, all slides presented at the RS3 Industry Day will be posted to FedBizOpps prior to close of business today (December 16, 2014).

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 37

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: What is the process/method for joining a team post-award?

A: Subcontracts shall be in accordance with FAR clause 52.244-2 -- Subcontracts. There are no additional restrictions on subcontracting specific to this contract.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 38

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Please confirm that individual task orders may combine CLINs for “experimental, developmental or research work” (both labor and fee) and CLINs for work that is NOT “experimental, developmental or research work” (both labor and fee).

A: This is possible, depending on the specific requirements of the task order.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 39

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: The Industry Day presentation indicated the Government's desire to limit the small business awardees to 20. Given the scope and size of this IDIQ, limiting the small business awardees to only 20 may constrain competition, especially in SETA support areas such as test or acquisition. Would the government consider opening up the small business awards to enable more competition across the scope of the PWS?

A: No, the Government anticipates adequate competition given the stated anticipated number of awards. See M.1.1.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 40

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will the government consider adopting an aspect of the S3 program requiring the prime to perform a minimum of 20% of the awarded task order value? This mitigates the negative effect of “prime shopping” on small businesses and ensures they have the capability to bid on new opportunities by teaming with incumbents and still ensures they maintain some element of the work ensuring organic growth?

A: The Government will not require a minimum percentage of work to be performed by the prime contractor. However, proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR clause 52.215-22 -- Limitations on Pass-Through Charges - Identification of Subcontract Effort.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 41

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: What system does the government intend to use for releasing task order RFPs? What is the likely average turnaround time for TO responses?

A: Task order RFPs will most likely be released via e-mail. The timeline for awarding a task order will depend on the complexity and dollar amount of the task order.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 42

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Can a company submit a SBSA proposal under the 541712 exemption C as an under 1000 employee size standard?

A: No, the NAICS code is 541712. The exceptions do not apply.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 43

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will the SSES-NG be sunset by this contract? When do you anticipate other contracts sun -setting?

A: At this time sunset of the SSES-NG by RS3 is not planned. Timeframes for the sunset of other contracts has not yet been determined.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 44

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: When do you anticipate awarding the first Task Order?

A: As soon as possible following contract awards.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 45

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will CECOM be instructed by the ARMY (AMC) to use the RS3 contract exclusively?

A: No.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 46

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Has the Acquisition strategy been approval? If not what is the projected date for approval? Will the contracting office release a time table for RS3 starting with December 2014-2015?

A: No, the acquisition strategy and solicitation are being reviewed concurrently.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 47

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: When will a full RS3 Final PWS be released? Does contracts office expect it be released separately or as part of draft RFP?

A: The final PWS shall be in Section C of the final solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 48

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: What is the dollar ceiling for RS3?

A: The anticipated maximum ceiling amount, including the optional ordering period, is $37.4 Billion.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 49

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: What type of funds are expected to be used in support of RS3 effort?

A: The type of funds will be determined for each order depending on the customer and the requirements of the order.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 50

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will solicitation be operated and awarded out of the ACC-APG HQ CECOM Contracting Center?

A: No, ACC-APG is not part of HQ CECOM. The former HQ CECOM Contracting Center merged with the former HQ RDECOM Contracting Center to form the Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG). The contract will be awarded and operated out of ACC-APG.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 51

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Is CECOM expected to be the primary user of the RS3 contract?

A: CECOM will be one of the primary users of the RS3 contract.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 52

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Does contractor need to identify specific Program Manger within the proposal?

A: No, a Program Manager is not required to be identified with the proposal for the base IDIQ. A Program Manager may be required to be identified in a proposal for a task order.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 53

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Since industry has only received sections C, L, and M can we assume that there will be no sample task requirement for this solicitation?

A: There are no sample task requirements in the solicitation for the base contract.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 54

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will the Government consider changing the NAICS code to encompass other services in the PWS?

A: Regulations require the Government to assign one NAICS code for the predominance of the services.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 55

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Can the examples for Experience, Past Performance, and Small Business Participation be different examples? Freedom to present different sets of contracts, or partially different sets across these areas allows the offeror to present a broader look at its Corporate experience, and provides the Government with a more complete picture of offeror experience and performance.

A: The examples for Corporate Experience and Past Performance may be different, or the same. The examples for Small Business Participation shall be the same examples that are submitted for Past Performance.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 56

ACC-APG

R: General

Q: Will the Government consider the reservation of some number of awards IAW with FAR 19.5 for 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB?

A: Awards will not be reserved based on socio-economic categories. See Section M.1.1.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 57

ACC-APG

R: L

Q: At the CECOM APBI 2014 Bryon Young received questions regarding high level approaches to RS3 acquisition. In response to the general question surrounding teaming for RS3, he indicated this acquisition is a prime only evaluation. This seems to contradict aspects of the draft solicitation document. Will the government confirm their definition of “Offeror” is prime and teammates (subcontractors, vendors, partners etc.). Section L.1.3 directs offerors to … “disclose any potential OCI situations with itself, subcontractors, partners or any other offeror as it applies to this solicitation”.. Section L.2.1 requires an affirmative statement that the offeror is not aware of any OCI with itself, subcontractors, partners or any other offeror as it applies to this solicitation.”

A: The Sections referenced are related to OCIs. While subcontractors will not be evaluated for the base contract, offerors are still required to comply with the solicitation regarding OCIs, including potential OCI situations as a result of an offeror's subcontractors performing under other contracts.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 58

ACC-APG

R: L.1.1

Q: When is "late"; the date and time listed in Block 9 of the SF 33 or are we to follow FAR 15.208(b)(1)(i) for electronic submissions?

A: Both of these apply to the determination of a "late" proposal.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 59

ACC-APG

R: L.1.1

Q: Offerors are instructed to submit the proposal via e-mail with a size limitation of 9MB per e-mail. Given the size of the effort, it is highly likely that the Government will receive dozens of Offers resulting in a significant strain on the ACC-APG e-mail servers. Has the Government considered allowing submission via the Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) portal?

A: Yes, the Government will continue to consider all options for submission of proposals and determine the most appropriate method. Offerors shall comply with the instructions in the final solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 60

ACC-APG

R: L.1.1

Q: Clarify if the offeror is permitted to use COTS compression tools such as PKZIP to submit proposal. Clarify if 9MB limit refers to compressed or non-compressed file size. Also, define tools and versions if permitted.

A: Offerors shall not submit .zip files. The solicitation will be revised to reflect this restriction.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 61

ACC-APG

R: L.1.1

Q: If the documents contained in the proposal exceed the 9MB e-mail size, are multiple e-mail submissions allowed?

A: Yes, the solicitation will be revised to reflect this change.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 62

ACC-APG

R: L.1.3

Q: "All communications shall be conducted only in writing and directly to the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer as identified in the Standard Form 33. Offerors shall not contact any other Government personnel other than the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer identified. Contacting any other Government personnel other than the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer identified may result in an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) and may result in an offeror being excluded from competition and award." What specific date does this clause become effective?

A: This language is effective as of the date of the first draft solicitation release. Note: Contact with Government personnel is not prohibited in general. Contact with Government personnel other than in the contracting office regarding the RS3 acquisition, requirements, or solicitation is prohibited.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 63

ACC-APG

R: L.1.3, L.2.1(d)

Q: Please confirm that OCI disclosure for this proposal is only required as related to potential conflicts associated with the award of the contract itself (e.g. third party advisory services related to this specific procurement) and that potential OCIs related to future individual and, as yet, unknown task orders will be handled on a case by case basis upon issuance of specific task order RFPs such that it is much more clear as to whether an OCI does or does not exist.

A: Confirmed, Section L will be revised for clarity.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 64

ACC-APG

R: L.1.5

Q: In this section the Government indicates the proposal validity period is “One Year.” Please clarify, is this comment with respect to proposal validity period for the IDIQ Proposal or does this validity period equally apply to the responses to subsequent Task Orders as well?

A: This applies to the proposal for the base contract. Requirements for task order proposals shall be specified in the task order RFP.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 65

ACC-APG

R: L.1.7

Q: To more clearly communicate the details associated with the proposal submission, will the Government increase the page count to allow offerors to add a summary for each volume?

A: No, the Government shall not accept a summary for each volume.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 66

ACC-APG

R: L.1.7

Q: This paragraph states that the cover page, table of contents, and glossary pages are included in the maximum page count limits. This may be overly restrictive. For example, for Volume 1, Corporate Experience, one (1) cover page, one (1) table of contents page, and three (3) examples of relevant contracts at two (2) pages each totals eight (8) pages, the maximum allowable page count. This leaves no room for a glossary or an introductory section to provide an overview of the three (3) example programs. Will the Government consider excluding the cover page, table of contents, and glossary pages from the maximum page count limits?

A: No, the additional 2 pages are allowed for any cover page, table of contents, glossary, introduction, etc. the offeror wishes to provide. However, these additional documents are not required. For Corporate Experience, the Government shall only evaluate each example provided within the two page limitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 67

ACC-APG

R: L.1.7

Q: Please confirm that the Government can read Microsoft office 2010 or 2013 files.

A: Confirmed, offerors shall refer to the final solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 68

ACC-APG

R: L.1.7

Q: The RFP states that Microsoft Office 2003 software or higher shall be used to create the required files, but the file name requirements specify .doc and .xls extensions. Are .docx and .xlsx extensions allowable?

A: Yes, offerors shall refer to the final solicitation.

UNCLASSIFIED

Question 69

ACC-APG

R: L.1.7

Q: Will the Government allow for the Cost Proposal to be on 8.5” x 14” paper if necessary?

A: No, offerors shall…