Questions and Answers.docx

Q1: Please clarify geographical location of task orders under this contact. Will they be throughout the River Districts or the entire Great Lakes and Ohio River Division territory?

A1: Anywhere within the geographical boundaries of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.

Q2: The minimum mandatory small business requirement for the solicitation is 23%. Developing a Small Business Participation Plan that achieves this high mark, and that also meets the requirements for each small business subcategory, will require extensive market research and subcontractor outreach to small businesses. Please consider extending the bid due date by at least 4 weeks. Please provide a response to this question as soon as is feasible so that Contractors and small businesses can plan the development of their proposals accordingly.

A2: Offerors shall propose their best effort for small business participation to include overall small business, and each socio-economic category of small business (which is also included in the overall small business category). Offerors should make the effort to maximize small business participation. The Evaluation Factor language will have to stress that with this being the case, evaluation will lean most heavily upon extent to which firms are specifically identified in the proposal, extent of commitment to use these firms (enforceable commitments, teaming agreements, letters of intent), complexity and variety of work to be subcontracted, and past performance regarding small business participation.

Q3: PDF pg 67. Paragraph g.c and g.d.1.iii "Offerors shall submit all Government and/or commercial contracts for the prime offeror and each major subcontractor …. which are relevant to the efforts required by this RFP." We are limited to 10 projects under Factor 1. Does the Government want a list of additional relevant projects to answer this requirement? This is likely to be substantially more than 10 projects.

A3: Maximum of 10 projects.

Q4: pdf pg 66, Paragraph g.a.

"a. Evaluation of past performance shall be in accordance with this plan utilizing the forms and questionnaires set forth in Appendix D."

Please provide Appendix D.

A4: Appendix D is the Past Performance Questionnaire, PPQ which is included.

Q5: PDF pgs 39 & 43 Can the Government elaborate on how the Contractor is to price Task Orders following award of the MATOCs and how the Government intends to use the Contractor's unit rates provided in the Price Breakout Schedule? Page 39, section "1 OBJECTIVES", 2nd paragraph, indicates the Government will issue task orders on DD Form 1155 with items from the Contractor's Price Breakout Schedule submitted with this proposal. Page 43, section " 8 LUMP SUM PRICE BREAKOUT BREAKDOWN" indicates that the Contractor shall prepare and submit Lump-sum pricing (with schedule of values based on definable features of work) for each task order. Will task orders be based on the Contractor's unit rates provided in the Contractor's Price Breakout Schedule or will each task order be priced as lump sum with a schedule of values?

A5: Task orders will be FFP and will include a price breakout schedule based on definable features of work for that task order. The Contractor will be required to provide a proposal with sufficient detail to breakdown the cost of each definable feature of work (i.e., labor, equipment, materials). Items proposed to accomplish work shall match the offeror's unit prices on the MATOC price breakout schedule. The schedule of values will be submitted after task order award by the Contractor and updated monthly to facilitate payment of work performed.

Q6: Can the Government provide guidance on how the Contractor should prepare their Small Business Participation Plan? Without knowing the specific scopes of the task orders and geographical locations of the project sites, it is difficult to anticipate which small businesses will be utilized to achieve the 23% small business participation requirements.

A6: When preparing the participation plan to be evaluated as part of the Solicitation, firms must approach the realism of the proposed subcontracting percentages and dollars. If the offeror intends to self-perform specific types of work within the contract and knows that it will subcontract for other specific types of work, it will have to arrive at a typical percentage of what it will self-perform and what it will sub out on a typical project. The participation plan should include a company policy statement about small business commitment. Include an indication of the types of market research the firm utilizes to determine whom it will subcontract for that work that they are not self-performing. The participation plan should indicate how the firm identifies potential sources for subcontracting opportunities, and, if it participates in any type of mentor-protégé relationships with small business. Following the outline of requirements set out in FAR 19.704 is the best approach to ensure that all points are covered, and all assurances are made.