QandA_Amendment0003.pdf

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) III Solicitation W900KK-21-R-0035

Solicitation Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Q # Question Answer

164 Attachment D – DD254 attachments, 20 July 2021, 44 pages, This file starting on page 5 of the document is labeled “CUI” on the header and footer. This file was publicly available on beta.sam.gov for download. In addition, there are pages further into the document marked as “Unclassified/For Office Use Only”.

Question:

Does this document contain Controlled Unclassified Information? Or is this document incorrectly labeled?

Reference to CUI removed from Attachment D, DD254 attachments.

165 In support of Volume IV, Factor 4, Price, Major Subcontractors are permitted to submit their Total Compensation Plans.

Per L.7.4.5, “Subcontractors are permitted to submit their portion of the Total Compensation Plan directly to the Government utilizing the DoD SAFE. Subcontractors shall identify prime contractor to ensure information is connected with its proposal.”

Question:

Can Major Subcontractors submit a standalone Total Compensation Plan (TCP) document or do they have to submit the TCP within a copy of Volume IV, Price that includes the Executive Summary, TOC, and Cross Reference Matrix?

Subcontractors can submit a standalone TCP but they shall identify prime contractor to ensure information is connected with appropriate prime contractor proposal.

166 Per L.7.5.5, One of the bullet items that the authorized official has to certify is “The offeror and subcontractors have validated Facility Security Clearances or the capability to obtain any necessary clearances based on the offeror’s proposed approach (as stated within the DD254 [Section J of the solicitation, Attachment D]).”

Additionally, the Answer to Question 8 in Amendment 0002 states that “The awardee will be required to have a Top Secret Facility Clearance prior to performing under the contract.”

Question:

To comply with L.7.5.5, do all team members have to have the same minimum Top Secret FCL as the Prime?

To comply with L.7.5.5 offerors are required to, at a minimum, certify to their capability to obtain clearances necessary to perform the requirement not have them at proposal submission.

It is unclear what is being referred as team members but as stated in the answer to question 8 (Amendment 0002 posting), the SETA III requirement requires a Top Secret Clearance so the contractor can work efforts at and have employees cleared as high as Top Secret to meet our program requirements. However, not every position is required to have Top Secret clearance.

Base PWS Section 6.2.2 states that clearances can range from Secret to Top Secret. Work performed will dictate the appropriate clearance level.

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) III Solicitation W900KK-21-R-0035

Solicitation Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Q # Question Answer

167 Section L.5.2.1 contains conflicting requirements between two bullets regarding marking proposals with “CUI”. One bullet contains a “shall” statement and the other bullet contains a “should” statement.

This section states:

“Failure to comply with the following general requirements may result in rejection of the proposal unless otherwise stated with “shall.”

Proposals shall be marked with appropriate Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) markings in accordance with policies identified at https://www.dodcui.mil/.

Each page should include the Offeror’s name, proposal volume number, file name, date, solicitation number (and amendment, if applicable), and “Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)” in the header and/or footer.

Question:

Where CUI is government created or owned information that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls consistent with applicable laws, regulations and government wide policies. Innovate Now does not have any CUI data contained in our proposal submission.

We do have company proprietary information, and have clearly marked this in the footer of our proposal pages. Is the Government requiring all bidders to include CUI markings in header/or footer of their proposal submissions?

From the Government’s perspective each offerors proposal is Controlled Unclassified Information as it contains source selection information that is used by the Government for the purposes of evaluating its proposal. Further, the Army Contracting CUI Guidebook considers Contractor Proposals a contracting document that contains CUI. As such, we require each offeror’s proposal to be marked with CUI markings.

Additionally, paragraph L.5.2.1 has been updated to be more clear about the CUI requirement.

https://www.dodcui.mil/