W56HZV-20-R-0101 Finalized Questions and Answers 1-109.docx

1- RFP Section L-26, pg. 189 The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis. The Continuation of Essential Contractor Services is not identified in Section L as a specific deliverable. However, L-26 requires it to be delivered with the submission (proposal). Will the Government please clarify when this is due, and where in the proposal it should be located, if due with the proposal?

Answer: The references to Continuation of Essential Contractor Services may apply at the Task Order Level. Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests.

2- RFP Section H.12, pg. 36 A small business (SB) subcontracting requirement may be included in a TOR. Does the Government expect a separate subcontracting plan for each TOR or a contract level subcontracting plan that is updated with each TOR?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the TO level.

3 - RFP Section L.5.1 pg. 195 Provide a scanned image of a signed copy of the SF33 cover page, a copy of all completed fill-ins for Sections A through K, and (if applicable) a signed copy of all Amendments to the solicitation. Please confirm that pricing information is not required in Section B, as Pricing is not part of this RFP evaluation.

Answer: Confirming that pricing information is not required in Section B as Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation.

4 - RFP Section H.11.41 pg.34 Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan. Is this plan required with the proposal? If so, what are the submission requirements?

Answer: An Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan is required IAW Section L.2.4.2 and H.11.4.1 in the event an offeror identifies any potential OCI situations prior to proposal submittal.

5 - RFP Section L-26 pg. 189 The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis. Will the Government be providing the referenced attachment for Mission Essential Contractor Services?

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

6 - RFP Section L.4.2 pg. 195 All Offerors (Large and Small Businesses) shall submit Attachment 001 which identifies a list of one or more small business concern(s). Are Offerors required to submit Attachment 001 as an .xlsx file (Excel), or may we provide the required information within a Word or PDF document?

Answer: Attachment 001 may be provided in any acceptable file format listed in L.2.2.2.3 7 - Provide a scanned image of a signed copy of the SF33 cover page, a copy of all completed fill-ins for Sections A through K, and (if applicable) a signed copy of all Amendments to the solicitation. Please confirm that pricing information is not required in Section B, as Pricing is not part of this RFP evaluation.

Answer: Confirming that pricing information is not required in Section B as Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation.

8 - RFP Section B pg. 4-6 Blank spaces under “Amount” column for each Ordering Year. Will the Government please clarify what, if anything, is required to be completed in Section B, and if pricing is required, specifically reference the details of the requirement by Solicitation paragraph(s) and/or Exhibit(s) that demonstrate how Section B is to be completed Answer: Confirming that pricing information is not required in Section B as Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation.

9 - RFP Section H.11.41pg. 34 Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan. Is this plan required with the proposal? If so, what are the submission requirements?

Answer: An Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan is required IAW Section L.2.4.2 and H.11.4.1 in the event an offeror identifies any potential OCI situations prior to proposal submittal.

10 - RFP Section L.4.1.2 USG stated relevance requirement is that the business has to have recent prime contract experience within 3 years of the date of this RFP. However, this RFP is for a 5 year period - as are most USG contracts. Small businesses, by dint of being small, often don't have resources to perform as prime on multiple contracts, so experience tends to be serial and not parallel. In order to provide for a more balanced proposal field, would the USG consider enlarging the relevance period to 5 years, as has often been the norm, instead of 3 years?

Answer: USG has given consideration to this request to extend the recency period to 5 years. However, the determination is to keep the recency period to 3 years.

11 - NP – What Federal Supply Code applies to this solicitation?

Answer: The Federal Supply Code is R425.

12 - RFP Section L.26 Offeror must provide a “written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD”. Offeror must provide a “written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD”. No attachment or reference provided with RFQ. Is there an attachment forthcoming?

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

13 - RFP Section H.11.4.1 H.11.4.1 States the contractor shall provide an Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan when it intends to provide services. Does our offer in response to the solicitation meet this definition? If yes, in which volume will this information be placed?

Answer: An Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan is required IAW Section L.2.4.2 and H.11.4.1 in the event an offeror identifies any potential OCI situations prior to proposal submittal.

14 - RFP Section L.26 525.237-7024 - States “The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis.” Is this required to be provided with our offer for the IDIQ or in response to TO’s? If yes, please provide the referenced document.

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

15 – RFP Section L.4.1.3 Will bidding on a single Category/Task type as defined in Section L.4.1.3 limit the Contractor’s ability to bid on certain types of Task Orders after award of the MA-IDIQ?

Answer: No.

16 - RFP Section L Does the list of small business candidates (Attachment 001) need to be limited to small businesses that would be used in support of the Category/Task as defined in Section L.4.1.3 or can it include small businesses that would be used for any of the work within the Statement of Work (SOW) Section C?

Answer: It can include small businesses that would be used for any of the work within the Statement of Work (SOW) Section C that the offeror “commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract” (Ref L.4.2) 17 - Are bidders allowed to redact pricing from submitted contract documentation?

Answer: Yes 18 - RFP Section L-26 pg.189 Please explain whether the 252.237-7024 Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services Plan is part of the TS3 ERS proposal or designated for future task orders. If it is part of the proposal, please provide the location for the plan in the proposal.

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

19 - Section I Clauses - Will the USG accept those specific pages with fill-ins rather than inserting the entire 119 pages of Section I into Volume 3?

Answer: Yes.

20 - RFP Section L-26 Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services, (b) states “The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis.” Where is the reference to essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD? Can the Government clarify and provide additional guidance on providing a written plan as stated in L-26?

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

Answer: Yes.

22- Please confirm that a Pricing submission is not required for this proposal.

Answer: Confirming that pricing information is not required in Section B as Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation.

23 - Please confirm that if the Experience Contract submitted is a Task Order under an IDIQ, then Offeror should submit executed contract cover sheets and PWSs for BOTH the IDIQ and the task order.

Answer: Pursuant to the “NOTE” between paragraphs L.4.1.4.4.(e) & L.4.1.4.4 (f), the executed contract cover sheets and PWSs must be submitted for BOTH the IDIQ and task order.

24- Please confirm that if a ERS contract is awarded based on a proposal on one Task, the Offeror will still be able to bid on all future ERS task orders for all Task types and Categories.

Answer: Yes. Offerors will still be able to propose on all future ERS task orders.

25 - As there is a heavy emphasis on OCONUS work on the current ERS IDIQ, please confirm there is no OCONUS experience requirement for this Solicitation.

Answer: Experience with a task listed in L.4.1.3 is not required to be performed OCONUS.

26 – RFP Sections H.12, H.13, I-285 52.219-9, L.4.2, M.4.2 35-36, 36, 110-116, 195, 199 H.12.1 This section does not apply if: 1) an approved comprehensive small business subcontracting plan, established under DFARS Subpart 219.7, applies; or, 2) a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required pursuant to FAR 52.219-9(a).Please provide the goals for the subcontracting plan at the IDIQ level.

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the TO level.

27 - RFP Sections H.12, H.13, I-285 52.219-9, L.4.2, M.4.2 pg.35-36, 36, 110-116, 195, 199 H.13.1 A small business (SB) subcontracting requirement may be included in a Task Order Request (TOR). This requirement will apply to both SBs and OTSBs. SBs can propose to meet the SB subcontracting requirement via its own performance. If this requirement is added, the TOR will identify the percentage of fully-loaded labor dollars to be subcontracted to SB concerns for each period of performance, not including any phase-in period. The Government will reject a contractor’s proposal that fails to comply with this requirement at the time of proposal submission. We assume the Subcontracting Plan goals sum to the IDIQ level and those goals are not applicable to every Task Order Request (TOR); Is this assumption correct?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the TO level.

28 – RFP Sections L.4.2, M.4.2 pg.195, 199 All Offerors (Large and Small Businesses) shall submit Attachment 001 which identifies a list of one or more small business concern(s)(which includes the subcategories of Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned SB, HUBZone SB, Veteran-Owned SB and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned SB) that it commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract. SB Offerors may meet this requirement using work they perform themselves. We assume the Small Participation Plan is based on Total Contract Value (TCV) at the IDIQ level. Is this assumption correct?

Answer: Since Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation, offerors are not required to submit the total combined dollar value and percentage of work to be performed by both large and small businesses. Attachment 001 shall include a list of one or more small businesses that would be used for any of the work within the Statement of Work (SOW) Section C that the offeror “commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract” (Ref L.4.2) 29 – RFP Sections L.4.2, M.4.2 pg. 195, 199 Offerors' proposal will be rated either Acceptable or Unacceptable for the Small Business Participation Factor. A proposal with a rating of Acceptable will be considered to be technically acceptable offer for this Factor. An Unacceptable rating will result in being determined a non-qualifying proposal. In the event a proposal fails to address the requirements set forth in Section L.4.2, the proposal will be rated Unacceptable and determined non-qualifying. Please provide the goals based on Total Contract Value (TCV) for the Small Business Participation Plan at the IDIQ level.

Answer: Since Cost/Price is not part of this RFP evaluation, offerors are not required to submit the total combined dollar value and percentage of work to be performed by both large and small businesses. Attachment 001 shall include a list of one or more small businesses that would be used for any of the work within the Statement of Work (SOW) Section C that the offeror “commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract” (Ref L.4.2) 30 - RFP Section L.4.2 pg. 195 All Offerors (Large and Small Businesses) shall submit Attachment 001 which identifies a list of one or more small business concern(s). Regarding Attachment 001, Subcontractors and Vendors will be identified at the Task Order level, not at the IDIQ level. Does Attachment 001 need to be completed with Subcontractor and Vendor information at the IDIQ level?

Answer: Attachment 001 needs to be completed and submitted at the IDIQ level to include small businesses that the offeror “commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract” (Ref L.4.2).

31 - RFP Section L. 4. 1. 3 pg 194 Paragraph L. 4. 1. 3 says "The offeror is limited to propose to only one experience task." Does this mean that after award the offerers will limited to proposing to Task Orders (TO) only to the proposed experience task or will awardee's be eligible to propose to all experience tasks TO's?

Answer: No. Offerors will not be limited to only the proposed experience task. The one task is for evaluation purposes only.

32 - RFP Section L-26 pg 189 (b) The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis. The offeror shall—

(1) Identify provisions made for the acquisition of essential personnel and resources, if necessary, for continuity of operations for up to 30 days or until normal operations can be resumed;

(2) Address in the plan, at a minimum --

(i) Challenges associated with maintaining essential contractor services during an extended event, such as a pandemic that occurs in repeated waves;

(ii) The time lapse associated with the initiation of the acquisition of essential personnel and resources and their actual availability on site;

(iii) The components, processes, and requirements for the identification, training, and preparedness of personnel who are capable of relocating to alternate facilities or performing work from home;

(iv) Any established alert and notification procedures for mobilizing identified ``essential contractor service'' personnel; and

(v) The approach for communicating expectations to contractor employees regarding their roles and responsibilities during a crisis.

Will the Government please provide the proposal location offerors are to provide the information required per Section L-26?

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

33 - RFP Section L pg. 189 L-26 252.237.7024 b) The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform essential contract services listed in Attachment TBD Mission Essential Contractor Services dated TBD during period of risk. Please provide guidance on what specific documentation should be submitted as evidence of the offeror's status as the successor company.

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

34 - RFP Section I and L, I-274(c)(1) Reference: “The Mission-Essential Contractor Services Plan submitted by the Contractor is incorporated in this contract.”

L-26(b) Reference: “The offeror shall provide with its offer a written plan describing how it will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in attachment TBD, Mission Essential Contractor Services, dated TBD, during periods of crisis.”

Does the Government require the Mission-Essential Contractor Services Plan to be submitted with the proposal or should the Plan be submitted in response to Task Orders? If this Plan is required with this IDIQ proposal, in which Volume and Section of the proposal does the Government want the referenced Plan? How do we address the TBD attachment and TBD date?

Answer: Solicitation provision, DFARS 252.237-7024, Notice of Continuation of Essential Contractor Services will be removed from this RFP since it is more applicable to future Task Order Requests. The Government will not be providing such an attachment at the IDIQ level. If applicable, an attachment may be provided at the Task Order level.

35 - RFP Section A.8 pg.3 The offeror shall complete and submit a Defense Audit Agency (DCAA) Pre-award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System Checklist (http://www.dcaa.mil/checklist_and_tools.html) at the time of proposal submission. The link provided in the RFP does not appear to be active. Will the Government provide the DCAA checklist as an attachment to the RFP?

Answer: RFP will be updated in a forthcoming amendment to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L). Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

36 - RFP Section L.4.1.3 pg. 194 Offeror must propose to one experience Task, which can be from any Category. Most of the task areas do not have explicit correlation to the Statement of work, Section C. It is difficult to determine what experience correlates to the Tasks. Can the government provide a cross reference for the Tasks to the areas of SOW that are considered relevant under each task?

Answer: A cross-reference between the Tasks in L.4.1.3 and the ERS SOW/PWS will not be provided. The Government is going to conduct an evaluation of the offeror’s proposed experience for comparability in scope and complexity with Section L.4.1.3 solicitation requirements.

37 - RFP Section H.12 pg. 36 A small business (SB) subcontracting requirement may be included in a TOR. Does the Government expect a separate subcontracting plan for each TOR or a contract level subcontracting plan that is updated with each TOR?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the task order request level.

38 - RFP Section M.4.2 pg. 199 Offerors' proposal will be rated either Acceptable or Unacceptable for the Small Business Participation Factor. Other than submitting Attachment 0001, what constitutes an Acceptable Small Business Participation listing?

Answer: If a proposal adequately addresses the requirements in L.4.2 it will be considered acceptable.

39 - RFP Section L.2.3 Offerors are limited to submitting one proposal with one approach to meeting the requirements of this solicitation. An offeror is defined as an entity competing independently that does not share a common parent with any other offeror or does not have a parent/subsidiary relationship with any other offeror, or is not affiliated with any other offeror (as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101). May an individual member of a joint venture which is submitting an offer in response to this RFP also submit an offer without violating the provisions of this section? Does a “parent” include the non-controlling member (less than 50 % equity owner) of a Joint Venture?

Answer: It was the intent of the Government to consider an individual member of a joint venture to be limited to submitting one proposal, either as prime offeror or a joint venture member (regardless of whether a ‘controlling’ or ‘non-controlling’ member within the Joint Venture). Section L.2.3 will therefore be amended to clarify this.

40 - RFP Section L.4.1.4.4(f) pg.195 In fluid working environments, PWSs often change with work added or removed. Will the Government please clarify if it wants the contract PWS:

a.That was executed upon award, b.The most recent, c.Both, or d.The most comparable PWS issued between award and present day?

Answer: It is the offeror’s responsibility to clearly and accurately relay to the Government the work performed under their provided contract. Whatever PWS or combinations of PWS’ needed to demonstrate and substantiate the work that was performed should be provided.

41 - RFP Section M.1.2.b pg.197 Pricing Requirements; Paragraph M.1.2.b states, “To be eligible for award the Contracting Officer has to reason to believe would be likely to offer other than fair and reasonable pricing;” however, there are no pricing instructions in the solicitation.

How is pricing going to be evaluated? What are the submission requirements?

Answer: Price is not an evaluation factor in accordance with FAR 15.304 (c)(1)(ii)(A).

42 - RFP Section L.4.1.1 USG requires ONE past performance statement as a Prime contractor. However, many small businesses perform the majority of their work as subcontractors, not primes, and it can often take several years to get into the prime position. In the interest of balancing the competitive field, can the USG accept past performance where the SB performed as a subcontractor on similar work and can provide the necessary PP information? With the USG's commendable focus on SB inclusion, such a requirement would actually allow real small businesses to participate.

Answer: The RFP contains an Experience Factor, not a Past Performance Factor. However, the RFP does not require the Contract for recent experience to be a prime USG contractor. A private Industry Contract can be considered. Reference Section L.4.1.1: The Contract must have been performed by the offeror as the prime contractor. In this context, prime contractor is the party that executes an agreement with another party to perform work. A Contract may include foreign, federal, state, local and private industry Contracts.” Sec L.4.1.1 has been revised in Amendment 0004 to clarify that “For example, if you’re a subcontractor on a Government contract, you can provide the contract that you have with the Government’s prime to demonstrate experience as a prime contractor for the company that is a prime contractor for the Government.”

43 - pg.3 and 198 Offer must provide “adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures IAW FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)”. RFQ doesn’t specify volume or evaluation criteria. In which volume will this information be placed? How will Section M apply to this document?

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L) and Section M. Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

44 - 52.230-2 and 52.230-3 - Cost Accounting Standards states “the contractor shall disclose in writing the Contractors cost accounting practices. Is this required to be provided with our offer for the IDIQ or in response to TO’s?

ii. Will the form required by FAR 52.230-1 suffice for this requirement?

iii. Is a cost narrative required for submission?

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L) and Section M. Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

45 - RFP Section FAR 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (d) “The Offeror’s subcontracting plan shall include the following: (1) Separate goals, expressed in terms of total dollars subcontracted, and as a percentage of total planned subcontracting dollars, for the use of small business ” 001 Small Business Participation suffice for a complete response? However, USG small business goals and are not provided, price is not being evaluated and SB pool availability are project dependent. Is there an exemption for providing the items listed in 52.219-9(1), given none of these are available to complete a SB plan? Will responding to the RFQ with only Attachment Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the Task order request level.

46 - RFP Section M.4.2 Section M.4.2 does not give the criteria for how Attachment 001 will be evaluated as either Acceptable or Unacceptable. What criteria will be used to rate submittals of Attachment 001 as either Acceptable or Unacceptable?

Answer: If a proposal adequately addresses the requirements in L.4.2 it will be considered acceptable.

47 - RFP Section H.10 Section H.10 identifies Contractor Manpower Reporting Requirements via Caution-https://cmra.army.mil < Caution-https://cmra.army.mil > . Per DoD Memorandum dated 16 October 2019, titled, “Revised Department of Defense Contractor Manpower Reporting Initiative”, manpower data is to be reported into SAM (System for Award Management) for service contracts that meet the requirements for reporting beginning in 2020. Please confirm if this reporting requirement will be updated to the reporting requirement under SAM.

Answer: This reporting requirement will be updated in Amendment 0004 to the reporting requirement under SAM. CMR Reporting requirements will apply at task order level only.

48 - RFP Section I Request government clarification on when offerors will be required to submit SB Subcontracting Plan, in accordance with FAR 52.219-9 and DFARS 252.219-7003?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the Task order request level.

49 - The NAICS code for the prime contractor is identified as 811111 with a size standard of $8.0M. IAW the Small Business Act, section 8(d) and 13 CFR 121.410, the prime contractor is responsible for selecting a NAICS code for its subcontractors. Does the government intend to evaluate the offeror's SB subcontractors based on this NAICS code included in the solicitation or upon the appropriate NAICS code identified by the offeror specific to the work to be performed by the subcontractor?

Answer: The Government intends to evaluate the offeror’s SB subcontractors based upon a NAICS code that will be requested in Attachment 0001 and matches the work that the subcontractor will perform. Attachment 0001 was revised to request CAGE and NAICS codes of offeor’s SB subcontractors via Amendment 0004.

50 - RFP Section L .4.1.4.4(g) RFP Section L, Paragraph L.4.1.4.4(g) states “The offeror shall provide a written narrative that details the task(s) performed on the submitted Contract(s) and its comparability to one or more of the Tasks listed in Section L.4.1.3. Note: Do not provide a breakdown of comparability of the entire SOW/PWS of the current RFP to each of its submitted Contract(s).” This seems to indicate the offeror should provide a breakdown to the specific tasks in the ERS SOW/PWS to each of its submitted contracts. However, the list of categories and tasks in Section L.4.1.3 does not indicate which ERS SOW/PWS paragraphs apply to each task in Section L.4.1.3. Will the Government please clarify which ERS SOW/PWS paragraphs apply to each task listed in Section L.4.1.3?

Answer: A cross-reference between the Tasks in L.4.1.3 and the ERS SOW/PWS will not be provided. The Government is going to conduct an evaluation of the offeror’s proposed experience for comparability in scope and complexity with Section L.4.1.3 solicitation requirements.

51 - RFP Section L.4.2 Please confirm Attachment 0001 is the only document required for this Solicitation and a Small Business Participation Plan and/or Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required.

Answer: Confirming that Small Business Participation Plan and/or Small Business Subcontracting Plan are not required.

52 - RFP Section L.4.1.4.4(e) and (f) If the proposed contract is a task order issued under an IDIQ, please confirm the IDIQ documents (executed cover page and PWS) is also required in these sections.

Answer: Pursuant to the “NOTE” between paragraphs L.4.1.4.4.(e) & L.4.1.4.4 (f), the executed contract cover sheets and PWSs must be submitted for BOTH the IDIQ and task order.

53 - L.4.1.4.4(e) and (f) If the proposed contract is a task order issued under an IDIQ, and both contracts are required to be submitted, please confirm this is not in violation of Section L.4.1, which states, “[t]he offeror may provide up to one recent Contract,” and Section L.4.1.3 which states “If […] more than one contract is provided, the offerors proposal may be rejected.”

Answer: The Government confirms that providing both an IDIQ and an associated ordering instrument is NOT a violation of L.4.1.3 but rather both together are a single contract.

54 - RFP Section L.4.1.4.4(g) When citing specific work performed on the submitted Contract, provide references to the specific locations within the scope or other substantiating documents, such as paragraph or page number, when possible.” If an IDIQ PWS and Task Order PWS is provided, and the Task Order is the contract an Offeror is providing experience against, please confirm that only the Task Order PWS is required to be annotated against in the written narrative.

Answer: It is up to the Offeror to determine what experience was actually performed and to discuss/annotate against the most appropriate PWS. Sometimes Task/Delivery Order SOW is not clear and/or merely points to IDIQ base contract PWS details, in which case the IDIQ base contract PWS if actually performed, could be referenced. An offeror needs to annotate the specific work it performed that it wants the Government to evaluate for comparability to the proposed Task in L.4.1.3 55 - RFP Section L.5 In the draft, Section L.5.5 Small Business Subcontracting Plan provided guidance on submitting a small business subcontracting plan with specific instruction in L.5.5.4 Dollars and L.5.5.5 Percentages (as well as L.5.5.2 attachment instructions and L.5.5.3 markings instructions). In the final solicitation, Section L.5.5 Small Business Subcontracting Plan that was in the draft was removed. We would like to point out inconsistencies with the released final solicitation and draft portions of the solicitation (attached). Our question/needs clarification on what is the guidance on submitting a SB Subcontracting Plan, and namely is it still required to submit the Small Business Subcontracting Plan with goals expressed in TWO ways: (a) as a percentage of Total Subcontracting Amount and (b) as a percentage of Total Contract Amount?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the Task order request level.

56 - We noticed that the due date of June 21, 2021 was added to the SF33 from the original Solicitation. Were there any other changes made to the Solicitation?

Answer: No other changes were made to the solicitation as indicated in Amendment 0001.

57 - If SB Offeror proposes as a Prime, can SB Offeror also be included as a teammate in another bidder's (including large and small bidders’) Small Business Participation Volume?

Answer: The answer would depend on the nature and definition of ‘teammate’ being used in this question. The offeror is reminded that Section L.2.3 limits each offeror to submitting one proposal. Please note that it was the intent of the Government to consider an individual member of a joint venture to be limited to submitting one proposal, either as prime offeror or a joint venture member (regardless of whether a ‘controlling’ or ‘non-controlling’ member within the Joint Venture). Amendment 0004 revised Section L.2.3.

58 - Is "cross-joining" allowed within the same Category / Task? For example, if a SB is planning to propose as Prime for Task A1, can the SB also join the Small Business Participation Volume of another Offeror who is planning to also submit for Task A1?

Answer: The criteria and evaluation of Experience and Small Business Participation Factors are not interrelated.

59 – RFP Section H.10 – Please clarify CMR reporting requirements as CMRA website is no longer available.

Answer: Service Contract Report (SCR) replaced Contract Manpower Reporting in October 2020.Section H.10 will be revised in amendment 0004 to the solicitation.

60 – RFP Section A.8 – Please confirm the DCAA website link included in A.8. Also, please confirm that the requested DCAA information required should be included in Volume 3 of an Offeror’s Submission.

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L). Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

61 - Section I-186 252.204-7021 CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE CYBERSECURITY MATURITY MODEL CERTIFICATION LEVEL REQUIREMENT, NOV/2020 RFP includes DFAR 252.204-7021 Contractor Compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Certification Level Requirement. At this time, the CMMC certification is not available for any offeror, as the CMMC-AB does not have the certification ecosystem fully in place. What is the intent of the Government’s inclusion of this DFAR? Need to know what this provision requires, and if this ties to being eligible for award or not?

Answer: DFARS clause 252.204-7021 will be deleted from RFP in a subsequent amendment.

62 - Sections L.4.1.4.1, L.4.1.4.1.1, L.4.1.4.1.2 pg.194 L.4.1.4.1 Associated Corporate Entities. The Government may consider the experience of an associated entity if the offeror successfully demonstrates meaningful involvement by the associated entity in the proposed effort. L.4.1.4.1.1 An associated entity may include a parent company, separate corporate division within the same parent company, subsidiary company, a legally affiliated company, etc. The offeror shall provide to the Government a narrative that explains the offerors relationship to the associated entity. The offeror shall support the narrative with legal documentation, including but not limited to corporate papers, establishing the legal nexus between the offeror and the associated entity. L.4.1.4.1.2 The offeror shall provide to the Government a narrative that explains the meaningful involvement the associated entity will provide to the proposed effort. Evidence of meaningful involvement may include a description of the associated entitys resources, such as its workforce, facilities, and/or other resources that will be provided or relied upon in the proposed effort. A Contract will not be considered unless the offeror successfully establishes meaningful involvement by the associated entity in the proposed effort. We are an Alaskan Native Corporation (ANC), comprised of multiple small 8(a) companies, as well as large companies. We are very interested in bidding the ERS IDIQ as an 8(a). In order to select the correct bidding entity, we request clarification related to “meaningful involvement by the associated entity.”

As an ANC, we routinely submit mutual past performance from sister subsidiary companies in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 15.305 (2) (iii). The many companies within our ANC share common corporate leadership and resources, the quality assurance and program management processes, procedures, tools, and overarching management structure that are key to our logistics successes.

For this effort, we want to use one company’s past performance as the basis of our response, while bidding from a different 8(a) company. Our 8(a) company has not participated in the program we want to reference, but both companies benefit from common corporate leadership and personnel often move from one company to another to support different contract efforts. It is possible the sister company may support the 8(a)-company bidding this effort. We assume this constitutes “meaningful involvement”; Is this assumption correct?

Answer: L.4.1.4.1.2 states: “Evidence of meaningful involvement may include a description of the associated entity’s resources, such as its workforce, facilities, and/or other resources that will be provided or relied upon in the proposed effort.” The Government will not perform an assessment of meaningful involvement by the associated entity prior to proposal submission.

63 - Section L, L.4.1.3, C.4.3.4.4 pg.16 L.4.1.3 Task B1- Fleet management support of US Army vehicles (manned or unmanned) C.4.3.4.4 Fleet Planning: The contractor shall develop and maintain a Fleet Plan for specified systems or family of systems. For the purposes of responding, we assume the use of “fleet management" in Paragraph L.4.1.3 equates to Paragraph C.4.3.4.4, Fleet Planning; Is this correct?

Answer: A cross-reference between the Tasks in L.4.1.3 and the ERS SOW/PWS will not be provided. The Government is going to conduct an evaluation of the offeror’s proposed experience for comparability in scope and complexity with Section L.4.1.3 solicitation requirements The RFP will be updated in a forthcoming amendment to define this task more thoroughly in Section L.

64 - Section L L.4.1.3 pg. 194 Task B3 - Supply chain management of US Army vehicles (manned or unmanned) Please define the elements of “Supply Chain Management” as it relates to U.S. Army vehicles for this IDIQ.

Answer: A cross-reference between the Tasks in L.4.1.3 and the ERS SOW/PWS will not be provided. The Government is going to conduct an evaluation of the offeror’s proposed experience for comparability in scope and complexity with Section L.4.1.3 solicitation requirements The RFP will be updated in a forthcoming amendment to define this task more thoroughly in Section L.

65 - Section L.4.2 195 All Offerors (Large and Small Businesses) shall submit Attachment 001 which identifies a list of one or more small business concern(s)(which includes the subcategories of Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned SB, HUBZone SB, Veteran-Owned SB and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned SB) that it commits to providing, to the maximum extent practicable, opportunities for performance under this contract. SB Offerors may meet this requirement using work they perform themselves. Does the Government require a written Participation Plan (narrative) for Volume 2 or only the submission of Attachment 001?

Answer: Only the submission of Attachment 001.

66. Reserved 67- RFP Section A.8 The offeror shall complete and submit a Defense Audit Agency (DCAA) Preaward Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System Checklist (http://www.dcaa.mil/checklist_and_tools.html ) at the time of proposal submission. Offerors having applicable and current information from DCAA or DCMA shall also submit that documentation. Can the Government confirm that a Pre-award Survey is required for offerors that have a current letter from DCAA letter stating their Accounting System is adequate? The question is being asked ass a Preaward Survey is a task completed prior to the DCAA audit/engagement to review the offerors Accounting System so a Preaward Survey for offerors that have a DCAA letter stating their Accounting System is adequate for the collection and segregation of costs is unnecessary.

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L). Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

68 - A.8 Can the Government confirm that a Preaward Survey is required for offerors that have a current letter from DCAA letter stating their Accounting System is adequate? The question is being asked ass a Preaward Survey is a task completed prior to the DCAA audit/engagement to review the offerors Accounting System so a Preaward Survey for offerors that have a DCAA letter stating their Accounting System is adequate for the collection and segregation of costs is unnecessary. Can the Government provide a valid link for the Preaward Survey and Checklist as the current link is not working.

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L). Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

69 - A.8 In order to be considered for award of an MA IDIQ contract and for subsequent cost-type task orders, the offeror shall provide evidence that it has an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures IAW FAR 16.301-3(a)(3). Can the Government define the fund tracking procedures the Government will accept as proof of adequacy beyond the Preaward Survey and DCAA Letter?

Answer: The RFP was updated via Amendment 0004 to address this requirement in the Terms and Conditions Volume (Sec L). Pursuant to regulation (FAR 16.301-3(a)(3)), and in order to be considered for award, offeror will be requested to provide evidence of an adequate financial management and accounting system and fund tracking procedures to accommodate a cost type contract. This evidence may include a letter from either DCMA or DCAA that states that the offeror has an adequate accounting system, or other acceptable evidence.

70 - RFP Section B Does the Government expect offerors to fill in the blanks for pricing?

Answer: Offerors shall not fill in the blanks in section B. Price/Cost is not an evaluation factor in accordance with FAR 15.304 (c)(1)(ii)(A).

71 - RFP Section L.4.1.4 Is it up to the offeror to select the paragraphs and subparagraphs within RFP C.4 Specific Requirements that apply to performance of the selected single Task (A1, C2, etc.) in RFP?

Answer: The offeror is not required to select paragraphs and subparagraphs within the ERS SOW/PWS that it feels correlates to the proposed Task, but it may choose to. A cross-reference between the Tasks in L.4.1.3 and the ERS SOW/PWS will not be provided. The Government is going to conduct an evaluation of the offeror’s proposed experience for comparability in scope and complexity with Section L.4.1.3 solicitation requirements.

72 – RFP Sections L. 4. 1. 3 - L. 4. 4 pg.194 Section L.4.1.3 states Offeror must propose to one experience Task, which can be from any Category. The offeror is limited to propose to only one experience task. If more than one task is proposed or more than one contract is provided, the offerors proposal may be rejected in accordance with M.2.1 (a). Also, L.4.1.4.4 (g) Contract Information states the offeror shall provide a written narrative that details the task(s) performed on the submitted Contract(s) and its comparability to one or more of the Tasks listed in Section L.4.1.3. These two references appear to be contradictory. Question – Will the Government clarify if the offeror can provide written narrative that details the task(s) performed on the submitted contract(s) for more than the proposed task, to include other Tasks from any Category, without being subject to having its offer/proposal rejected?

Answer: Offerors are limited to proposing to one Task in Section L.4.1.3. Amendment 0004 fixed the inconsistency.

73– RFP Section H.12.5.2 pg.36 Submit a Small Business Subcontracting cumulative Goals Spreadsheet listing the goals from each order and mod as well as the cumulative goals to the Contracting Officer through the ERS mailbox: mailto:usarmy.detroit.acc.mbx.wrn-ers@mail.mil. Can the government provide the cumulative goals spreadsheet?

Answer: For subject RFP, such plan is not required. A Small Business Subcontracting Plan will apply at the Task Order (TO) level for any TO that causes the value of a contract to exceed $750,000 and that has subcontracting possibilities. Updates to Small Business Subcontracting Plans may be required at the Task order request level.

74 - RFP Section A.4.1 & A.4.2 A.4.1 states NAICS code, 811111, will be used to all task orders issued and A.4.2…