QUESTIONS_AND_ANSWERS_-_5_AUGUST_2016.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – 5 AUGUST 2016

1. The SF30 issued with the original solicitation on 16 July has a date issued (Block 2) indicating 02

Jun 2016 and no specified due date in Block 9. Does the Government intend to issue another

SF30 or should offerors complete the original SF30 as provided?

ANSWER: The due date for proposals is 15 August 2016 at 3:00PM EST.

2. Q&A Response #9 indicates a minimum of 3 PPQs and a maximum of 6 PPQs and that “Past

Performance for prime ONLY”. Para L.3.c states that “Past Performance information described herein is required on the offerors and all subcontractors, teaming partners, and/or joint venture partners proposed to perform 25 percent of the proposed effort based on the total proposed price. “

a. Please confirm whether offerors may provide Specific Relevant Contracts Format (RFP Attach 2) for major subcontractors in Vol III.

b. How many Specific Relevant Contracts Format forms (RFP Attach 2) may be included in Vol III for

Prime contractors and for subcontractors?

c. Confirm whether PPQ forms are for prime contractor projects only?

ANSWER: Maximum total is 6 PPQs, out of which a minimum of 3 PPQs MUST be for Prime;

Bottom line: In any teaming arrangement, the overall responsibility for successful performance rests on the prime. Therefore, it is required that any prime vendor has the qualifications and relevant experience required for successful performance on this contract.

3. ‘Page limit does not include training materials list, instructor resumes, instructor‐training materials, or requires syllabi or lesson plans’ Please confirm that the observation and counseling, forms requested under [Section L, Volume II, Tab F, A.3] do not count against the page limit.

ANSWER: Correct, all exempt.

4. The worksheet asks us to enter the “Government Provided Labor Categories”. Could you please provide those labor categories?

ANSWER: It is up to the offeror to determine what labor categories will be used.

5. Offeror should “submit pricing in both Volume I (in CLIN Structure) and in Volume 5 (Attachment

5 – Pricing Worksheet).” For the Volume I (CLIN Structure) pricing, could the Government clarify which labor category should be used for each CLIN, i.e. what labor category rate should be utilized in calculating the Amount for each CLIN?

ANSWER: It is up to the offeror to determine what labor categories and rates will be used.

6. Due to the time required to develop direct labor rates for labor categories, we respectfully request an extension of the due date till August 22nd.

ANSWER: The suspense will not be extended.

7. Offers may be mailed through a commercial/Government carrier or hand carried. Electronic submissions via email will be accepted. This seems to indicate that proposals can be submitted electronically without hard copies, contrary to instructions provided in section L C.2. Please clarify.

ANSWER: One hard copy with CDs of your proposal SHALL be submitted prior to the closing date and time identified in the FBO Announcement. Please mail your proposal to the following address:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center – Fort Eustis ATTN: Mr. Curtis M. Arthur II (W911S0‐16‐R‐0001) 705 Washington Blvd. Suite 126 Fort Eustis, VA 23604‐5538

Offerors SHALL ALSO submit their proposal via email to the following email addresses:

Mr. Curtis M. Arthur II, curtis.arthur.civ@mail.mil

Ms. Rhoda C. Harrison‐Spence, rhoda.c.harrison‐spence.civ@mail.mil

8. The PWS includes a requirement for 2 years' teaching experience for instructors, while Section L states a requirement of 4 years' teaching experience. Please clarify.

ANSWER: Instructor experience is defined in C‐7.1 of the PWS (corrected as part of PWS

Amendment). Section L should only specify what information must be included in the resumes.

Correct wording for Section L:

Resumes of instructional personnel (by language) who will be available to teach under the contract. Instructor information should not exceed one page per teacher and must clearly convey: the academic credentials (including degrees granted and fields of concentration);

foreign language teaching experience (type of programs and students, locations, and dates);

other relevant work experience; and professional publications and awards. For foreign degrees, vendor must provide an explanation (or documentation, if available) of equivalency to US degrees.

9. As many of the small business offerors have not been required to have an adequacy audit by

DCAA for their government contracts, including DLI, can this be a post‐award requirement?

ANSWER: The DCAA Pre‐Award Survey Checklist was to be completed and sent to the Contract

Specialist and Contracting Officer by 29 July 2016. This will allow for DCAA to start their audit process in a timely manner.

10. Prime contractors must have an accounting system that has been determined adequate by the

Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) for accumulating and reporting incurred costs under cost type contracts in order to compete for cost‐reimbursable award. If this is required to be a pre‐ submission requirement, will DLI & MICC submit the request to DCAA at the request of the

Offeror?

ANSWER: MICC – Ft. Eustis will submit the DCAA Checklist to DCAA.

11. Prime contractors must have an accounting system that has been determined adequate by the

Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) for accumulating and reporting incurred costs under cost type contracts in order to compete for cost‐reimbursable award. This seems to indicate that a

Prime Offeror would be ineligible for cost reimbursable task orders after award without a determination of adequacy, but would still be eligible for an IDIQ award. Could you please confirm?

ANSWER: The determination of adequacy that is completed by DCAA is completed before award of the IDIQ award. That is why the solicitation requested that prospective offerors complete the

DCAA Checklist. Prime offerors would be eligible for cost reimbursable task orders.

12. The current contract requires at least 2 years of experience in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment. Please clarify how many years of experience are required on this contract.

ANSWER: The Contractor must provide instructors who are educated native speakers of the current standard form of the language/dialect they will teach. They are expected to have a facility with learning technologies, including wide use of Internet sources, and the ability to adapt to students with varying learning styles and requiring different learning strategies.

Instructors must possess a Baccalaureate degree or higher or equivalent, and have at least two

(2) years of successful relevant experience in intensive training, teaching adults using proficiency‐oriented methods and materials aimed at ILR skill levels 2 and 3. For the purposes of this contract, intensive training is defined as follows: The student is studying full‐time, four to eight hours per day, with no other duties during the period of his training. Successful, relevant experience of at least four (4) years in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment may be substituted for education.

13. Volume IV – Small Business Participation Proposal – All offerors are required to submit a Small

Business Participation Proposal. If an offeror is bidding as a small business and is proposing no subcontractors, is this still required?

ANSWER: Yes, it would still be required.

14. Could the Government indicate to which AWD code that they have equated to the Language

Instructor?

ANSWER: The Wage Determination is required to be placed into the Solicitation. It is up to the offeror to determine if the required labor categories are exempt or not.

15. In the Pricing Worksheet table, cell A2 refers to Government Provided Labor Categories, should this reference back to the CLINs in Schedule B?

ANSWER: Yes. Offerors pricing on Attachment 5 is a complete breakdown of your proposal. The

CLIN Structure is the overall pricing.

16. Attachment 5 and the Direct Labor Table compare similar information, however there are no direct linkages from the PWS Paragraphs to the Labor Categories to the respective CLINS. Can the government clarify how they would like the labor categories referenced back to the CLINs?

ANSWER: Offerors can reference the labor categories in the CLINs.

17. Reference Section J. The RFP includes a Wage Determination (WD) along with a column in

Pricing Attachment 5 to address WD categories. We believe the required labor categories are exempt and are not subject to WD. Will the Government provide required labor categories and provide their conformance to WD occupation codes?

18. Reference Section L.A.2.The RFP states “2. Electronic submissions via email will be accepted.

Offers shall be mailed through a commercial/Government carrier or hand carried.” Please advise whether submission is electronic (email) or hand carrier (paper binders).

ANSWER: One hard copy with CDs of your proposal SHALL be submitted prior to the closing date and time identified in the FBO Announcement. Please mail your proposal to the following address:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center – Fort Eustis ATTN: Mr. Curtis M. Arthur II (W911S0‐16‐R‐0001) 705 Washington Blvd. Suite 126

Ms. Rhoda C. Harrison‐Spence, rhoda.c.harrison‐spence.civ@mail.mil

19. Reference Section L (multiple references to resumes). The RFP makes multiple references to resumes with respect to supervisors, instructors, languages, and page count, but does not specify how many resumes are required. Please provide specifics on the resumes that are required.

ANSWER: We will not dictate how many resumes are required. Each vendor must read the PWS, examine their individual structure and decide. The Government will evaluate the input as presented as it pertains to capabilities, and breadth of experience and ability to fulfill the requirement.

20. Reference Section L, TAB H, Subfactor 4. Facilities. The RFP requires an offeror to have experience in establishing and running a professional foreign language school. If that facility was established outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area, an offeror is required to provide a video of the school which shows the classroom space and other common facilities. This video requirement, however, will unnecessarily restrict competition for this acquisition. Can this requirement be modified? For offerors who have previously established such schools and have the required experience, but are not currently running such a school, this video requirement cannot be satisfied. We request that the requirement be modified to allow an offeror to provide other types of information to describe its classroom space and the other common facilities that it established? Otherwise, this requirement seems to be unduly restrictive of competition.

ANSWER: This requirement cannot be modified. Getting rid of this requirement would eliminate the Government’s ability to determine whether the offeror has experience running such school.

It is up to the vendor to submit whatever information they believe presents their case and experience.

21. Reference Section C. What ILR level is required for Instructors?

ANSWER: The PWS requires educated native speakers of the current standard form of the language/dialect they will teach.

22. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐3 Scope of Work; C‐3.3. The government states “Management, oversight, and infrastructure must be sufficient to support at least 40 full‐ time individual or small‐group classes simultaneously.” What does the government consider sufficient management and oversight for 40 full time classes? Since the government will be evaluating the proposals for sufficient oversight it must define what it considers sufficient.

Without guidance vendors may significantly under‐ or over‐propose in terms of language training supervisors and other management staff.

The government states “Vendors must have capability for surge or expansion as needed due to increase requirements.” What does the government anticipate to be the maximum one vendor must be prepared for in surge scenarios?

ANSWER: It is up to each vendor to determine what is needed to support the requirement based on their specific situation, expertise, personnel, etc. The Government will not specify a number of supervisors. This is unknown because surge scenarios are unexpected and based solely on world events. Vendors must show the capability to surge if needed.

23. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐4.5. The schedule of classes is stated as 0700‐1800. Would the government consider extending the class schedule from 11 to 12 hours?

This would be a significant cost savings to the government because vendors would be able to use one classroom for two separate task orders using two, six‐hour class shifts. With the current schedule of only 11 hours, vendors are limited to only one task order per classroom, per day.

Therefore for vendors to take on additional task orders, additional space would need to be sourced costing the government more money.

ANSWER: While the Government understands the concern, this is a firm requirement and will not be changed.

24. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐4.7. The government states that “One hour of preparation is required for every three hours of formal full time instruction and will be compensated at the agreed upon instructional rate.” Which CLIN would this be charged to?

XXX1AA or XXX1AB?

ANSWER: CLIN XXX1AA will be used for class preparation hours. CLIN XXX1AB is ONLY for the hourly rates for delivery of training for the first two students in one section.

25. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐7 Instructors and Other Language SMEs;

C‐7.1 & Section L. The government states that four years of experience can take the place of a

Baccalaureate degree and later states that instructors must have “at least four years’ experience in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment.” Please clarify that the requirement for four years of experience only applies if the instructor does not have a baccalaureate degree.

ANSWER: Correct wording: “Instructors must possess a Baccalaureate degree or higher or equivalent, and have at least two (2) years of successful relevant experience in intensive training, teaching adults using proficiency‐oriented methods and materials aimed at ILR skill levels 2 and 3. For the purposes of this contract, intensive training is defined as follows: The student is studying full‐time, four to eight hours per day, with no other duties during the period of his training. Successful, relevant experience of at least four (4) years in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment may be substituted for education.”

26. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐9.2 Key Personnel. The government states “Vendor school must have enough language supervisors to support the number of students/classes awarded to them.” What does the government consider sufficient management and oversight for 40 full time classes? Without guidance on this vendors may significantly under‐ or over‐bid in terms of language training supervisors and other management staff.

ANSWER: It is up to each vendor to determine what is needed to support the requirement based on their specific situation, expertise, personnel, etc. The Government will not specify a number of supervisors.

27. Reference Section C – Description and Specifications; C‐12.2.1 Other Training Configurations.

The government states that the contractor “must not allocate and/or bill any indirect costs to the cost reimbursable travel expenses.” Since it seems the contract is now requiring indirect cost reporting, why are contractors not permitted to apply general and administrative expenses on reimbursable travel?

On the current contract, the $200 stipend does not cover the actual costs to the vendor of making these travel arrangements and incurring the expenses. Vendors are required to pre‐pay flights, hotels, and rental cars. Vendors wait a minimum of 60 days to be reimbursed for these expenses while continuing to incur additional expenses during the time that instructors are still on travel. Therefore this often requires up front financing through credit cards or credit lines that cost vendors additional money. The complexity of the travel and the monitoring of the very detailed receipts required for billing require more labor than the $200 covers. Would the government reconsider allowing G&A and/or handling fees on travel costs for travel administration which historically exceeds the Administrative Fee allowed?

ANSWER: This follow‐on award will keep the $200 / $100 reimbursement – please remember these are per instructor, not per MTT. Allowing G&A may be more costly to the Government since each vendor will charge differently and it will make it impossible for the Government assess. The claim that it takes 60 days for payment should not be an issue here – the Government will not subsidize this – this is the cost of doing business.

28. Reference Section L – A. Proposal Submittal and Inquiries 2. & C. Proposal Preparation

Instructions 2. Proposal Format (c). In A. Proposal Submittal and Inquiries, it states that the offers may be submitted electronically. However in C. Proposal Preparation Instructions 2.

Proposal Format (c) it says that proposal should be separately bound in 3‐ring loose leaf binders.

Which does the government prefer? Email or hardcopy w/CD?

ANSWER: One hard copy with CDs of your proposal SHALL be submitted prior to the closing date and time identified in the FBO Announcement. Please mail your proposal to the following address:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center – Fort Eustis

ATTN: Mr. Curtis M. Arthur II (W911S0‐16‐R‐0001)

705 Washington Blvd. Suite 126

29. Reference Section L – (e) Volume V: Cost/Price (3) Volume Organization (e) Accounting System

Adequacy. Incumbent contractors have not been required under the current contract to have an adequacy review of accounting systems as determined by DCAA. The requirement to have a preapproved accounting system would significantly limit the ability of qualified incumbents, and other small businesses, to bid on this contract. Is a DCAA approved accounting system required at proposal submission? Since the government has asked vendors to provide pre‐award survey does this indicate the government will allow vendors that are not already approved by DCAA to submit and then have a pre‐award audit?

ANSWER: The DCAA Pre‐Award Survey Checklist was to be completed and sent to the Contract

Specialist and Contracting Officer by 29 July 2016. Yes, the government will allow vendors that are not already approved by DCAA to submit and then have a pre‐award audit.

30. Reference Attachment 5 Pricing Worksheet. Since the CLIN structure is requesting prices for total delivered services and not labor categories, how should vendors build up the CLINs using this pricing worksheet? It appears the “Total Evaluated Price” is based on labor hours by category. What labor categories are expected to be used for each CLIN and how many estimated hours (Indirect Rates & Factors, Column N) are associated with each labor category? How should vendors crosswalk the pricing worksheet to the CLIN schedule? Consider that each CLIN requires different labor categories and associated hours.

ANSWER: Offerors pricing on Attachment 5 is a complete breakdown of your proposal. The CLIN

Structure is the overall pricing. Offerors are to provide the labor categories that determine is necessary to complete the services. The labor hours are provided on the CLIN Structure. As stated above, offerors pricing on Attachment 5 is a complete breakdown of your proposal. The

CLIN Structure is the overall pricing.

31. Reference Section I ‐ Contract Clauses. Is a Representation for FAR 52.209‐11, Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under and Federal Law required at proposal submission?

ANSWER: Yes, this is required to be completed at proposal submission. This provision will be made as Full Text so that all offerors can fill out and submit with their proposals.

32. Reference Section J ‐ List of Documents, Exhibits and Other Attachments, Wage Determination

No.: 2015‐4281. Please identify the Occupation Code and Title that the government determined was subject to the Wage Determination No.: 2015‐4281 for this Solicitation.

ANSWER: The Wage Determination is required to be placed into the Solicitation. It is up the offeror to determine if the required labor categories are exempt or not.

33. Reference “Printing shall be easily readable (12‐pitch type or 10 point proportional spacing.)” Does the Government mean that the font size can be 12 or 10 pitch type? Does the

Government have any preference for spacing between paragraphs, such as before and after spacing of a certain number (e.g. After spacing of 6 or 12 pt)?

ANSWER: Yes, either 12 or 10 pitch is acceptable. Yes regarding pitch type. No preference regarding for spacing between paragraphs as long as there is a space in between.

34. Reference “Printing shall be easily readable (12‐pitch type or 10 point proportional spacing.)” Would the Government allow the font in tables and graphics to be smaller than body text, such as 8 pt font?

ANSWER: No smaller than 8 pitch on graphics and tables only.

35. Reference “File names to be “Company Name – Initial” for the first submission. File name of later submissions (if necessary), shall be “Company Name – Revision X’ with X indicating the number of the revision.” Because electronic files of each volume are required, will the

Government allow a more detailed naming convention, such as, “Company Name –

Initial_W911S0‐16‐R‐0001_Vol X,” and “Company Name – Revision X_W911S0‐16‐R‐0001_Vol

X”?

ANSWER: Yes, that naming convention will be acceptable.

36. Reference (e) Page Limit Includes: All appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, etc. (f) Page Limit does not include training materials list, instructor resumes, instructor‐training materials, or required syllabi and lesson plans. Page Limit does not include covers for volumes, tables of contents, glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, indices, title pages, cross reference indices, and section dividers/tables if they are inserted solely to provide ease to the reader in locating parts/sections of the proposal. They will be counted if they contain any other information, i.e., diagrams, extraneous data, etc. Pages marked “This page intentionally left blank” will not be counted. Appendices normally include information not required by the RFP but given as optional additional information; would the Government considered modifying the page limitations to not include appendices?

ANSWER: No changes – there are already sufficient exceptions to page limits.

37. Reference “Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom and 3/4 inch side margins. The

Contractor shall number each page in order to eliminate any confusion.” Can the headers and footers (including page number and solicitation identification information) be outside of the margin requirements (so within the one inch top and bottom margins)?

ANSWER: Yes.

38. The proposal instructions for Volume II content do not specify what TABs A‐E should be; it starts at TAB F. Could the Government please specify TAB A‐E requirements? Or do Tabs cross through all Volumes?

ANSWER: This was corrected with Solicitation Amendment 1.

39. Reference “(b) Three (3) sample course packages (f) Page Limit does not include training materials list, instructor resumes, instructor‐training materials, or required syllabi and lesson plans.” Sample course packages including syllabus, schedules, and hourly lesson plans can be quite extensive. Does the Government intent for these packages in their entirety to be excluded from the page count? May we create the entire basic course packages as separate appendices and make a references in the proposal to the corresponding appendix for each?

ANSWER: Packages are excluded. No separate appendices – the packages are part of the core submission.

40. Reference “c. As an indicator of the breadth and depth of the Offeror's capabilities, this portion of the submission should be as complete as possible, rather than a sampling of available personnel. The number and mix of languages in which the Offeror indicates capability to provide training will be a factor in the award.” Could the Government provide a preferred number and a maximum number of resumes to be submitted for each language in which an offeror has capability?

ANSWER: We will not dictate how many resumes are required. Each vendor must read the PWS, examine their individual structure and decide. The Government will evaluate the input as presented as it pertains to capabilities, and breadth of experience and ability to fulfill the requirement.

41. Reference “C‐9.2.1. These supervisors will oversee instruction or language training support projects, guide the development and execution of curricula, evaluate and mentor instructors and ensure pre‐ and in‐service teacher training as required, oversee the administration of student assessment and feedback sessions, and counsel students. Vendor school must have enough language supervisors to support the number of students/classes awarded to them. ”

What does the Government consider to be the maximum allowable number of language classes per language supervisor?

ANSWER: It is up to each vendor to determine what is needed to support the requirement based on their specific situation, expertise, personnel, etc. The Government will not specify a number of supervisors.

42. Reference “C‐9.2. Language training supervisors must have at least six years of experience in foreign language teaching and proficiency testing and a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). At least 80 percent of supervisors must have academic credentials in second language acquisition or a related field (ideally at a graduate‐level)./or.” Are degrees in fields such as education, intercultural communication or anthropology considered to be degrees in a related field?

ANSWER: If offeror has doubts that a particular degree will be seen as a related field, they should explain how that degree fits the criteria.

43. Reference “C‐9.3. For curriculum development projects, the Contractor must provide oversight and supervision of ongoing work, coordinating with the COR (or designated technical representative to ensure quality control of the process. Are the education and experience requirements for managers of curriculum development projects the same as the ones for language supervisors?

ANSWER: Yes. Any specific requirements will be added to the specific task order request.

44. Reference “(g) Regarding labor costs, the Cost/Price Proposal Section shall be submitted using the Direct Labor Table format below, or other similar comprehensive formats which include the similar information as referenced below. The references in parentheses refer to the subparagraphs below.” Will one or several SCA wage rates be provided for bidding purposes?

ANSWER: The Wage Determination is required to be placed into the Solicitation. It is up to the offeror to determine what wage rates to use.

45. Reference “To ensure that the students are on track to reach the target proficiency levels as measured by the DLPT and OPI, the Contractor must develop and administer level‐appropriate three‐skill assessments throughout the course, to include achievement, pro‐achievement, and proficiency tests and quizzes. Weekly quizzes assessing students’ general class preparedness and mastery of the covered material at the beginning of the course shall gradually give place to increasingly proficiency‐oriented tests later in the course.”

Reference “Each basic course package (#1 & #2) will include… One separate hourly lesson plan

(IAW specifications of par C‐10.4) from each segment above (first six weeks of the course, the three middle weeks, and the last three weeks). While the government expects skill integration in all lessons, the focus for the first plan is grammar, the second plan focus is listening, and the third plan focus is speaking.”

Reference “Pg. 89 “Each basic course package (#1 & #2) will include… A sample of three typical tests, one from each segment of the basic course above. Both achievement and proficiency‐ oriented tests must be included, based on the level of the lesson.”

For the requirement of sample tests included in the basic course packages, does the

Government want both proficiency based and achievement tests for each hourly lesson? Or does the Government want to see examples of either or for each hourly plan, i.e. one achievement and two proficiency tests or two achievement and one proficiency test for each package?

ANSWER: A total of three tests per package must be submitted and among those three tests must be at least one proficiency and one achievement test.

46. Reference “To ensure that the students are on track to reach the target proficiency levels as measured by the DLPT and OPI, the Contractor must develop and administer level‐appropriate three‐skill assessments throughout the course, to include achievement, pro‐achievement, and proficiency tests and quizzes. Weekly quizzes assessing students’ general class preparedness and mastery of the covered material at the beginning of the course shall gradually give place to increasingly proficiency‐oriented tests later in the course.”

Reference “Each basic course package (#1 & #2) will include… One separate hourly lesson plan

(IAW specifications of par C‐10.4) from each segment above (first six weeks of the course, the three middle weeks, and the last three weeks). While the government expects skill integration in all lessons, the focus for the first plan is grammar, the second plan focus is listening, and the third plan focus is speaking.

Reference Pg. 89 “Each basic course package (#1 & #2) will include… A sample of three typical tests, one from each segment of the basic course above. Both achievement and proficiency‐ oriented tests must be included, based on the level of the lesson.”

Does the Government mean that offerors should provide either an achievement or proficiency test focused solely on grammar for the first plan (first six weeks of the course), listening for the second plan (the three middle weeks), and speaking for the third plan (the last three weeks)?

ANSWER: The specific requirements of focus of grammar, listening and speaking apply only to the lesson plans. The tests do not have to match.

47. Reference “C‐7.1. The Contractor must provide instructors who are educated native speakers of the current standard form of the language/dialect they will teach, possess a Baccalaureate degree or higher or equivalent, and are experienced in teaching adults using proficiency‐ oriented methods and materials aimed at ILR skill levels 2 and 3. Successful, relevant experience

(at least four years’ experience in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment) can be substituted for education. For the purposes of this contract, intensive training is defined as follows: The student is studying full‐time, four to eight hours per day, with no other duties during the period of his training.”

Reference “a. Resumes of instructional personnel (by language) who will be available to teach under the contract. Instructor information should not exceed two pages per teacher and must clearly convey: the academic credentials (including degrees granted and fields of concentration); foreign language teaching experience (at least four years’ experience in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment) (type of programs and students, locations, and dates); other relevant work experience; and professional publications and awards. For foreign degrees, you are required to submit documentation from a private US credentialing evaluation service.”

Question: Section C states that 4 years of experience can be substituted for education, but

Section L states that proof of four years of experience must be in the resumes. Is the four years of experience required, regardless of an instructor holding a Baccalaureate degree or higher? Or does a degree mean that instructors can have less experience (for example, two years of experience in teaching the target language to adult learners in an intensive, proficiency‐oriented environment)?

ANSWER: Instructor experience is defined in C‐7.1 of the PWS (corrected as part of PWS

Amendment). Section L only specifies what information must be included in the resumes.

Correct wording for Section L:

Resumes of instructional personnel (by language) who will be available to teach under the contract. Instructor information should not exceed one page per teacher and must clearly convey: the academic credentials (including degrees granted and fields of concentration);

foreign language teaching experience (type of programs and students, locations, and dates);

other relevant work experience; and professional publications and awards. For foreign degrees, vendor must provide an explanation (or documentation, if available) of equivalency to US degrees.

48. In the Organization Structure Change History within Volume III, how is “the time of performance of relevant present or past efforts or between conclusion of recent past efforts and this source selection” defined?

ANSWER: Under this solicitation, it was stated that offerors shall not go back any farther than three years for relevant past performance.

49. In addition to the 3 page limit per reference, is there a page limit for Volume III as a whole or the other sections of Volume III (such as the summary page, consent letter verification, etc.)?

ANSWER: No.

50. Reference Area Wage Determination (AWD) Code. If the position is non‐exempt then the offeror shall provide the five digit AWD code for the corresponding position title.” Could the

Government provide the applicable occupation code(s) and title(s) for the solicitation?

51. Reference “C‐7.1. The Contractor must provide instructors who are educated native speakers of the current standard form of the language/dialect they will teach, possess a Baccalaureate degree or higher or equivalent, and are experienced in teaching adults using proficiency‐ oriented methods and materials aimed at ILR skill levels 2 and 3.“ Would the Government consider that an instructor meets the teaching experience qualifications mentioned above if s/he has taught English as a Second Language instead of his/her own foreign language?

ANSWER: No. Instructors must have relevant experience teaching the target language.

52. Reference “C‐7.1. The Contractor must provide instructors who are educated native speakers of the current standard form of the language/dialect they will teach, possess a Baccalaureate degree or higher or equivalent, and are experienced in teaching adults using proficiency‐ oriented methods and materials aimed at ILR skill levels 2 and 3.“ Would the Government consider an online college degree from an accredited US higher education institution to meet the above‐mentioned education requirement mentioned above?

ANSWER: As long as degree is from an accredited institution, then yes.

53. Please clarify the discrepancy between foreign language teaching experience as stated in C ‐ 7.1 and Tab G subfactor 3 on pg. 111. Is it two or four years of experience?

ANSWER: Two years (minimum) of relevant experience.

54. If an Offeror chooses to include an executive summary in Volume II, can it go in the beginning of the proposal rather than in the second part of Vol II?

ANSWER: If an offeror chooses to do an Executive Summary, it would go at the beginning of

Volume II.

55. In order to be rated “acceptable” in the small business participation factor, must small business offerors meet all MICC Office of Small Business Program (OSBP) goals shown on page 109? If not, what is the standard in terms of attainment of the stated OSBP goals to be considered

Acceptable? Good? Outstanding?

ANSWER: The goals that are on page 109 are for the Small Business Subcontracting Plan. The

Small Business Subcontracting Plan are only required for Large Businesses to provide. Therefore, Volume IV – Small Business Participation Proposal does not have to follow those goals.

56. Section L.C.3 (e) (3) (g) beginning on page 116 requires offerors to provide labor hours by labor category by PWS. This is basically a request for a basis of estimate for undefined requirements

(as to size, complexity) on an indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery contract, and is therefore intractable. Will the Government consider revising this requirement and provide labor hours per labor category you would like priced?

ANSWER: Filling out Attachment 5 – Pricing Worksheet will be used instead of the table in this section. The labor hours are provided on the Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) that are in

Section B of the Solicitation. It is up to the offeror to provide the required labor categories for these labor hours.

57. It is our intent to issue each of our subcontractor teammates either a Firm Fixed Price/Level of

Effort (FFP/LOE) or Time & Materials (T&M) subcontract. As such, our presumption is that as an

FFP/LOE or T&M subcontractor executing no cost reimbursable efforts it will not be necessary for these teammate companies to submit an unsanitized cost proposal for their non‐cost reimbursable efforts in the same detail as required of the prime contractor..... We further presume that these subcontractors would not be required to submit any basis for their direct and indirect rates. Instead, each of these subcontractors would submit a sanitized cost proposal that would include their fully burdened rates in attachment 5. Is this acceptable?

ANSWER: The Government has no involvement on any agreements between primes and subcontractors. The Government should not receive any cost information from a subcontractor

– this contract will only work directly with prime vendors.

58. Attachment 5 does not have a column to indicate the company to which the rate applies. Are offerors allowed to modify the worksheets to add company information?

ANSWER: Please incorporate your total overall rates into the worksheet. Do not modify the worksheet.

59. Are offerors permitted to separate/group the rows in the worksheets in Attachment 5 by CLIN?

ANSWER: No, do not separate/group the worksheets in Attachment 5 by CLIN. Please fill out separately.

60. Amendment 1, section L‐A.2 states that electronic submissions via email will be accepted. Is email allowed only in lieu of the CD submissions, or both the CD submission and the hard copy submission?

ANSWER: One hard copy with CDs of your proposal SHALL be submitted prior to the closing date and time identified in the FBO Announcement. Please mail your proposal to the following address:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center – Fort Eustis ATTN: Mr. Curtis M. Arthur II (W911S0‐16‐R‐0001) 705 Washington Blvd. Suite 126 Fort Eustis, VA 23604‐5538

Offerors SHALL ALSO submit their proposal via email to the following email addresses:

61. Will the Government provide a conformed solicitation?

ANSWER: The Government will provide a conformed solicitation to this posting.

62. C‐9.2 Key Personnel: Does the government intend to require the Academic Advisor to have five years teaching experience and an additional five years of advising/teaching experience?

ANSWER: Yes.