SimCtr Offeror RFP Questions Final_14May21.pdf

W9113M-21-R-0060 Simulation Center Questions and Answers - May 12, 2021

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Question Number

Subject Reference (PWS Section/Proposal)

Contractor Question Government Response

1 We are an SBA-approved 8(a) JV. Please confirm that per SBA guidelines the JV does not need an additional FCL since the two entities each have a FCL.

Per 13 CFR 121.103(h)(4) (facility security clearances), a joint venture may be awarded a contract requiring a facility security clearance where either the joint venture itself or the individual partner(s) to the joint venture that will perform the necessary security work has (have) facility security clearance. Note that 13 CFR 121.103(h)(4)(i) and (ii) also state: (i) Where a facility security clearance is required to perform primary and vital requirements of a contract, the lead small business partner to the joint venture must possess the required facility security clearance; and (ii) Where the security portion of the contract requiring a facility security clearance is ancillary to the principal purpose of the procurement, the partner to the joint venture that will perform that work must possess the required facility security clearance.

2 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 3.0 Network Admin/Analyst I says it requires degree AND 5 years experience. This is a change from current contract and will eliminate half the current staff. Should this read OR instead of AND?

The RFP will be changed to use the word "OR" (the word "AND" will be replaced with the word "OR"); see RFP Amendment 2

3 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 4.0 Network Admin/Analyst II says it requires degree AND 7 years experience. This is a change from current contract and will eliminate current staff. Should this read OR instead of AND?

The RFP will be changed to use the word "OR" (the word "AND" will be replaced with the word "OR"); see RFP Amendment 2.

4 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 6.0 System Admin/Analyst I says it requires degree AND 5 years experience. This is a change from current contract and will eliminate half the current staff. Should this read OR instead of AND?

The RFP will be changed to use the word "OR" (the word "AND" will be replaced with the word "OR"); see RFP Amendment 2.

5 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 7.0 System Admin/Analyst I says it requires degree AND 7 years experience. This is a change from current contract and will eliminate half the current staff. Should this read OR instead of AND?

The RFP will be changed to use the word "OR" (the word "AND" will be replaced with the word "OR"); see RFP Amendment 2. Note that it is assumed that the labor category in question is System Admin/Analyst II, which requires 7 years experience.

6 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 8.0 Security Lead says 10 years specialized experience. Should this read 5 years?

The USG has determined that a minimum of 10 years experience for this position is required to met the RFP requirements. The 10 year experience requirement will stand.

7 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 16.0 Military operations specialist doesn't have an 8570.01 certification requirements? Should be IAT-1 with CE

The Military Operations Specialist category does not require 8570 certification, therefore IAT-1 CE is inapplicable.

NOTE THAT THE USG RESPONSES ARE INFORMATIONAL ONLY - OFFERORS MUST RELY UPON THE PUBLISHED FINAL SOLICITATION

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8 PWS Section 2.0.3, Asset Management, page

Is this systems Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) or is this an application that the contractor must/will develop? If this is GFE, can you provide what the application is?

The system in question is not government furnished equipment; a potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal.

9 PWS Section 2.0.5 Technical Support, Problem Resolution, Does the SimCtr use an automated action request application for generating trouble tickets such as BMC Remedy?

A potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal (a potential offeror must determine how it will respond to this PWS requirement).

10 PWS Section 2.1.2 File Back Up, page 17

Where is the alternate site and is it capable of automated data back up or is it manual?

In accordance with the cited PWS section, the awardee contractor shall maintain an offsite full library of backup data, documentation, and master files at an alternate site in accordance with safeguarding levels described in the DD 254. A potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal (a potential offeror must determine how it will respond to this PWS requirement).

11 PWS Section 3.0 Configuration Management, page

Does the SimCtr us an automated Configuration Management Database Software and if so, what is it?

A potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal (a potential offeror must determine how it will respond to this PWS requirement). Note that it is assumed that PWS Section 3.3 is the section in question.

12 Section L L-2.b, Page 75 of 97 and L-2.c

What is the deadline for everyone to request a DoD SAFE "Guest" drop off link?

The solicitation will be amended with a new RFP closing date of June 11,2021;

also, an Offeror shall request DOD SAFE Guest access no later than three business days before the RFP closing date.

13 Section L Section L, Page 82 of 97

It appears that the numbering of the volumes are off for the Cost/Price volume. Can the government please change this to read (4) Volume IV - Cost/Price?

Inadvertently the RFP cites to Volume III, which should read Volume IV and will be changed; see RFP Amendment 2. See also Government response to Question #44.

14 Section L Section L Volume 2

(a) (ii), page 81 of 97

It appears that the Total Professional Employee Compensation Plan is in page count for Volume III - Management. A Total Professional Employee Compensation Plan is going to take quite a few pages with that being said we would ask that the government move this requirement to the list of outside page count.

Yes, the Total Professional Employee Compensation Plan will be excluded from the page count; see RFP Amendment No. 2. See also Government response to Question #16 and Question #17, respectively.

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15 Section L Section L-2 Proposal Submission Requirements; #4 Volume III- Cost/Price (a) (iii) Section 3 Status of Systems, Page 82 of

In order to be audited by DCAA or DCMA to determine if a company has an adequate accounting system a government contracting officer must request the audit be performed. Many times, in small business set aside opportunities the government will request the Pre-Award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System be performed by DCAA after award of the contract. For several small businesses, an official audit of their accounting and purchasing systems have not occurred but their accounting system design and processes and procedures comply with all applicable laws and regulations. For this solicitation is the Government requiring the prime and subcontractors to have a DCAA audited accounting system as an award criterion? Or can a bidder submit a DCAA Proposal Adequacy Checklist as a part of the proposal verifying their accounting system meets DCAA requirements?

Given that the resulting contract will be a cost-type arrangement, per the cited the RFP Section L provision, "the lack of an adequate accounting system will render the prime offeror ineligible for award, and that cost reimbursement subcontracts cannot be issued to any subcontractors whose accounting system has not been determined adequate by DCAA." (Note that this RFP Section L provision encompasses DFARS 242.7502 which addresses how the cognizant contracting officer, in consultation with the auditor or functional specialist, shall determine the acceptability of a contractor's accounting system and approve or disapprove the system, as well as the use of a pre-award accounting system survey to assist in making that decision). Regarding the first question, per the cited RFP Section L provision, an adequate accounting system is required.

Concerning the second question, "yes", the noted checklist should be submitted along with a cost/price proposal..

16 Section L Section L Volume 2

(a) (ii), page 81 of 97

Would the Government please confirm the response to this Section L requirement does not count against the page limitation?

It is unclear which section of the RFP this question addresses (the referenced RFP Section 2(a)(ii) is not presented on page 81 and is related to the labor resource mix); it appears that this question is geared toward RFP Section 3(a)(ii). Note that the Total Professional Employee Compensation Plan will be excluded from the RFP proposal page count limitation (see Government response to Question No. 14); however, an offeror' s response to the labor resource mix (see VOLUME II - TECHNICAL, TAB 1: Technical Approach, Section 2, Labor Resource Mix) is counted toward the RFP page count limitation (see also Government response to Question #14).

17 Section L Section L Volume 2

(a) (ii), page 81 of 97

Would the Government please include this section in the list that starts on page 76 of items that are excluded from page count?

See Government response to Question #14 and Question #16, respectfully.

18 Section M From page 91, Section M Factor 2:

Management:

Would the Government please include section D containing the definitions of significant weaknesses, significant strengths, strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies or would the Government please confirm the definitions to be used are on page 95?

The finding definitions are stated in RFP Section M-3, Para. 2, Table 2 and Table 3, respectively, which will be used (reference to "Section D" is inadvertently included in the solicitation under the Technical Factor and Management Factor, respectively, and will be deleted under RFP Amendment No. 2). See RFP Amendment No. 2

19 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1, page 2 section 1.0

Curious to why the PM is an IAM III, does the government require the PM to be actively involved in the IA/RMF process?

As noted in the cited labor category, the Program Manager labor category requires a IAM-3 certification.

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20 Attach 02B Attach 02B_Sub_Cost_Prici ng_Matrix_01 Apr 2021 tab 1, Would the Government please confirm that each subcontractor must submit a complete Cost/Price Volume to include a cost narrative?

Per RFP Section L instructions for the Cost/Price factor, only major subcontractors are required to submit a cost proposal; however, the prime contractor must submit a cost narrative explaining the role of each team member (whether a minor subcontractor or a major subcontractor, respectively. See RFP Amendment No. 2, which provides a definition for "major subcontractor"; see also Question #33.

21 Attach 02B Attach 02B_Sub_Cost_Prici ng_Matrix_01 Apr 2021 tab 1, Would the Government please identify exactly what subcontractors are to include in their Cost/Price Volumes as some of the current requirements in section L seem to only pertain to the Prime offeror?

This question is unclear; the RFP Section L (as amended) describes what a prime contract offeror must provide and what an applicable subcontractor (such as a major subcontractor) must provide as part of an overall solicitation submission.

22 Labor Category Description

Attachment 1 Can the Offeror substitute years of experience for labor category degree requirements? (e.g. 4 years for Bachelor’s degree, 2 additional years for Master’s degree)

No, see RFP Labor Category requirements.

23 Section M M-2.2.c; Transition Plan

How does the government intend to transition this contract? It is the contractor's responsibility to propose the best approach to executing a seamless transition plan; a potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal. Per RFP Section M the proposed approach will be evaluated and will be incorporated into the resulting contract.

24 Section M M-2.2.c; Transition Plan

From the time of notification of award, when does the 30-day transition period begin?

The transition period will begin from the effective date of the contract.

25 Section M M-2.2.c; Transition Plan

Will there be overlap between the outgoing incumbent contractor and the incoming contractor team during the 30-day transition period? If so, how many days of overlap will there be?

While it is anticipated that an overlap will occur, a potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal (a potential offeror must determine how it will respond to this PWS requirement). See also Government response to Question #26.

26 Section M M-2.2.c; Transition Plan

Is the outgoing incumbent contractor team required to work with the incoming contractor team to help ensure a smooth transition? If so, at what time is the outgoing incumbent contractor team required to begin working with the incoming contractor team?

While it is anticipated that the incumbent contractor will be involved with the transition period, the Government will not dictate how the contractor teams will communicate. Additionally, a potential offeror must decide how to best approach this PWS requirement in its proposal (a potential offeror must determine how it will respond to this PWS requirement as it is an offeror's responsibility to ensure a plan is in place for a seamless transition). See also Government response to Question #25.

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27 Section M M-1; Evaluation The RFP (M-1, page 89) states, “If the offeror is a joint venture, SBA approval of the joint venture agreement must be obtained in order for the offeror to be eligible for contract award.” However, per the Final Rule (85 Fed. Reg. 66147), effective November 16, 2020, SBA approval is no longer required (and will not be given) to joint ventures that are pursuing an 8(a) competitive award, which SimCtr is. Please clarify this requirement.

SBA no longer approves joint ventures for competitive 8(a) actions. 13 CFR 124.513( e) states, "When a joint venture between one or more 8(a) Participants seeks a sole source 8(a) award, SBA must approve the joint venture prior to the award of the sole source 8(a) contract. SBA will not approve joint ventures in connection with competitive 8(a) awards (but see §124.501(g) for SBA's determination of Participant eligibility)". 13 CFR 501(g) states that SBA will determine eligibility based on 8(a) program criteria after the apparent successful offer is identified for a competitive 8(a) contract. Note that RFP Amendment 2 will add the following text, "For 8(a) competitive actions, SBA will not determine eligibility of the offeror including JV status until after the apparent awardee is selected. If the apparent awardee is a JV, then the 8(a) JV partner will be required to submit/certify additional information related to the JV.”

28 Section H H-10 Clauses Incorporated by Reference

52.219-29 Notice of Set-Aside for, or Sole Source Award to, Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business Concerns, MAR 2020.

Is the reference to Clause 52.219-29 included in the RFP in error?

Please clarify.

FAR 52.219-29 has been deleted, see RFP Amendment 1.

29 Section L L-2.d Proposal Submission Requirements

The RFP states: Each volume shall be clearly labeled with its title and a copy number (e.g., copy 1 of 2).

Question: With this being an electronic proposal submission via DoD SAFE and email, will the Government remove this requirement?

No, this requirement will remain; however, as an RFP amendment, the solicitation will be clarified to state that an offeror shall label each copy number (such as "1 of 2") in the file name. See RFP Amendment 2.

30 Will the Government consider the inclusion of Past Performance Information to be submitted with the offeror’s proposal?

No, past performance information is not required and will not be accepted by the Government.

31 Section L L-2.e Technical Volume

Will the Government exclude the resumes from the 30-page limit for the technical volume?

No, resumes are counted towards the RFP page count limitation.

32 Labor Categories Description

Attach 01 Small companies generally do not have internal labor categories (especially new JVs). Please clarify that we simply state we do not have internal labor cats and that we do a custom cost build-up of the RFP requested labor cats only.

If internal labor categories are not used, then an offeror shall provide a statement that internal labor categories are not used and all labor categories are in accordance with the RFP.

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33 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

para iii: Cost Proposal Worksheet

For Tab 4 (e)(i); the RFP does not show a paragraph (e). Did the government intend the reference to be Tab 4 (d)(I1). Regarding the reference to “major subcontractor”, how does the Government define the major subcontractor (a specified dollar amount to be contracted or % of work to be contracted)? Please clarify.

A major subcontractor is defined as any subcontractor whose total proposed labor CPFF, inclusive of the base effort and all options, constitutes at least 20% of the entire team’s total labor CPFF for the base effort and all options. See RFP Amendment No. 2, which will add this definition. See also Question #20.

34 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Staffing Table & Cost Model

The cost model states that we must allocate 338,000 hours, but the total hours in the RFP Staffing Table including surge only adds to 238,160.

Please clarify.

As noted in Footnote 1 accompanying the resource mix table in RFP Section L under the Technical Factor, the estimated total DPPHs for this effort (Base Period [Year 1-3], Option Period 1 [Year 4], and Option Period 2 [Year 5]) is 338,000 DPPHs as broken out in the bullets immediately below the footnote (note that the estimated DPPHs are for proposal purposes only). Additionally, as provided in the accompanying bullets below Footnote 1, the surge total is 124,800 (74,880+24,960+24,960).

35 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Staffing Table & Cost Model

The cost model implies that 1920 is an FTE, however, the RFP Staffing Table shows 2080 hours an FTE. Please clarify.

As noted in the RFP Cost Model under the Base Labor CLINS Tab, 2080 is a common DPPH amount that accounts for a 52 work week year at 40 hours per week, which is consistent with the resource mix under RFP Section. Also, it is assumed that "1920" is meant to read "1980."

36 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Staffing Table & Cost Model

The cost model formulas provide for one standard FTE per labor cat, when the Staffing Table in the RFP shows there to be various headcounts across the labor categories. Please clarify.

Correct, the cost model formula is for one (1) FTE. The staffing table is provided to show the allocation of hours for each labor category. It is the offeror's responsibility to ensure the headcount is appropriate for the labor category and that its Cost/Price volume is consistent with its non-cost/price position of its proposal.

37 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Staffing Table & Cost Model

The cost model formulas provide for one standard FTE per labor cat, when the Staffing Table in the RFP shows there to be various headcounts across the labor categories. Please clarify.

See Government response for Question #36, which addresses this question.

38 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Govt Cost Model

In the Excel worksheet under the Surge labor CLIN tab row 31 all the totals sum incorrectly. Also, Column F has cells that don’t sum properly.

Inadvertently Line 30 was left out of the total, and Column F does not sum correctly, which will be corrected in the amended RFP. See RFP Amendment 2.

39 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Govt Cost Model

Under Excel TAB Rollup of Hrs & Rates – Surge row 26 does not add up all the rows. Please resolve.

Inadvertently Line 26 was not included in the summation, which will be corrected in the amended RFP. See RFP Amendment 2.

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40 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Govt Cost Model

Since we might have various subs at various prices and burden rates will the government consider splitting out the multi-FTE labor categories to one FTE per line so we have a place to input the individual sub rates?

The prime contract offeror must ensure that all of the labor categories are properly accounted for in the proposal. If multiple line items are needed to ensure individual sub rates are accounted for, then a summary tab must be provided to ensure that the proposal shows the total labor hours for a specific labor category. Since the attachments are provided as a guide only, the contractor is ultimately responsible for proper calculation and verification of all formulas and links in each workbook.

41 Section L L-2 2.c (d) TAB 4;

Govt Cost Model

Since we might have various subs at various prices and burden rates will the government consider changing the cost model to not use composite rates? Using composite rates for the surge will eliminate the ability of the prime to provide the best person for the solution since it will be an average and not represent the range of rates that the prime or subs might have available.

The composite rate requirements will remain as stated in the RFP; the RFP will not be amended.

42 Section M M-1 Page 89;

Evaluation

Specifically, M-1 (page 89) states “If the offeror is a joint venture, SBA approval of the joint venture agreement must be obtained in order for the offeror to be eligible for contract award.."

However, effective November 16, 2020, SBA approval is no longer required (and will not be given) to joint ventures that are pursuing an 8(a) competitive award. Please confirm the Government will update the information in the solicitation.

See Government response for Question #27, which addresses this question.

43 Section K Section K, Clause 52.204-8, paragraph (a)(2); NAICS Code

Regarding the NAICS code and corresponding size standard, there’s mention of the NAICS code is 541715, but the applicable size standard is 1,250 employees. However, the applicable size standard to 541715 is actually 1,000. There are three exceptions, two of which have a size standard of 1,250 and one of which has a 1,500 employee size standard. In the RFP, it is not clear if any of these exceptions apply here.

As noted in RFP Amendment 1, NAICS Code 541715 with the 1250 employee exception for Guided Missiles and Space vehicles is applicable and the most appropriate for this acquisition. As detailed in the SBA Table of Size Standards - Footnote 11(d), research and development for guided missiles and space vehicles includes evaluations and simulation, and other services requiring thorough knowledge of complete missiles and spacecraft (the awardee for the Simulation Center contract must have an intimate knowledge of both research and development and supported systems in order to integrate the SimCtr PWS requirements into projects supporting both internal and external customers). See also Government response to Question #45 below.

44 Section L L-2.2.c(4);

Cost/Price

The solicitation labeled (4) VOLUME III - COST/PRICE. Is it the Government’s intent to label this section Volume IV?

See Government response for Question #13 above.

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45 Amendment A-1, B page 2 The RFP states that NAICS defined as "Research and Development in the Physical , Engineering and Life Sciences", is being used to identify this effort. Would the government consider changing the NAICS to 541513 for "Computer Facilities Management" that is more reflective of the work as defined in the PWS?

See Government response to Question #43 above..

END OF DOCUMENT

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