Amendment 0003 W9124J22R0008 Atch A Questions_Responses Matrix 28 Jan 2022.pdf

Page Section Paragraph Comment/Rationale Responses 1 71, 75 Proposal

Preparation Instructions

C(2)c C(2)e C3(c)(5)

Page Limits Past Performance: 25 Pages Page limits includes all appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, and other information provided in the proposal.

Certifications & Consent Letters

Question: The RFP does not specifically mention whether the consent letters count towards the page count limit. Since these are administrative in nature, can you please confirm whether or not the Consent Letters count towards the page limit? The justification for not including them in the 25 page count is that they are administrative in nature (granting permission for administrative action) and not substantive to any evaluation factors.

See Revised Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 part C.2.(c), Volume III- Past Performance: 25 pages (Excluding Consent Letters)

2 71, 72 Proposal Preparation Instructions

C(2)(i) C3(b)(2)

C(2)(i) Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with a definition for each.

Question: C(2)(i) requires each volume have a Glossary, but C3(b)(2) Volume II Technical Volume organization does not list a Glossary as a required section. Is Volume II Technical Volume required to have a Glossary, and if so, between which sections should it be included?

See Revised Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 part C.2.(c)...Each Volume shall include at the beginning, a table 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.

3 71, 75 Proposal Preparation Instructions

C(2)(i) C3(c)(5)

C(2)(i) Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with a definition for each.

Question: C(2)(i) requires each volume have a Glossary, but C3(c)(5) Volume III Past Performance Submission Requirements does not list a Glossary as a required section. Is Volume III Past Performance required to have a Glossary, and if so, between which sections should it be included?

See Response to Question #2.

4 Atch C Specific Relevant Contract Format

Question: The numbered items on page 1 do not match the numbered items on pages 2-4; e.g. page 1 lists 10 items, pages 2-4 list 13; on page 2, #2 and #5 seem to be same. Recommend allowing Offeror format for the response, using the numbered items on page 1.

See Revised Atch C with items 1-10.

W9124J22R00008 TCMC PA Instructors Solicitation Questions and Responses

5 70 Proposal Format

2.(a) 2. Proposal Format paragraph (a) states "Offerors shall submit a sanitized electronic copy of their proposal via e-mail".

Question: What does the Government mean here by "sanitized"?

See Revised Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 C.2.(a). The word "sanitized" was removed.

6 75 (d) Volume IV - Price

(d) Under paragraph (d) the Government states "No pricing shall be entered for Surge CLIN, this will be a Not to Exceed CLIN based on negotiated labor rates", but the RFP does not specifically state when the labor rates will be negotiated.

Question 6.a: Can the Government please clarify when surge CLIN rates will be negotiated?

Question 6.b: Will the Government please confirm that no pricing or rate data is to be provided with this proposal submission for Surge CLINs?

Question 6.c: Will any travel or other costs be allowed in the negotiated surge CLINs if required to attract qualified staff for these short-term assignments who may reside outside the San Antonio area?

The contractor shall provide labor rates for PA Instructors for base and all options. The Surge CLIN is a Not to Exceed Number based on the MAX historical hours needed. See Atch D Pricing Matrix.6a- at contract award. 6.b-See added Pricing Matrix for offeror to proposed pricing and rate data for surge CLIN. 6.c-No.

7 76 (d) Volume IV - Price

(4) Under paragraph (4) "Fair Market price requirement for competitively awarded 8(a)", the RFP states "To ensure compliance with this requirement, we will also be evaluating proposals to determine if the price is a fair market price".

Question: Can the Government please clarify how fair market price will be determined given the unique qualifications required by the RFP and limited pool of qualified candidates available for these positions?

IAW FAR 19.807 Estimating fair market price.

(b) In estimating the fair market price for an acquisition other than those covered in paragraph (c) of this section, the contracting officer shall use cost or price analysis and consider commercial prices for similar products and services, available in-house cost estimates, data (including certified cost or pricing data) submitted by the SBA or the 8(a) contractor, and data obtained from any other Government agency.

(c) In estimating a fair market price for a repeat purchase, the contracting officer shall consider recent award prices for the same items or work if there is comparability in quantities, conditions, terms, and performance times. The estimated price should be adjusted to reflect differences in specifications, plans, transportation costs, packaging and packing costs, and other circumstances. Price indices may be used as guides to determine the changes in labor and material costs. Comparison of commercial prices for similar items may also be used.

8 86 PWS 1.6.10 Key Personnel

RFP states that "All contract personnel are considered key personnel".

Question 8.a: Can the Government please clarify if Surge personnel are considered "Key Personnel"?

Question 8.b: If they are considered Key Personnel, does the Government require signed contingent offer letters for surge personnel be submitted with the proposal per Subfactor 2 - Staffing Plan/Key Personnel Qualifications and Experience? Since the schedules, number of hours, rates, and other expenses are not known, contingent offers made at this time may not be meaningful when the surge jobs are negotiated.

See Revised PWS 1.6.10 as follows: Program manager will be designated who shall be responsible for the performance of the work.

9 102 PWS 5.1.10.2.10 There appears to be a formatting error, 5.1.10.2.10 is listed twice. The Government may wish to ensure requirement is stated properly.

See revised PWS Changed the second 5.1.10.2.10 to

5.1.10.2.11 (See PWS vs 13)

10 73

RFP

PWS

PWS

Factor 1, b.

Subfactor 2, i.

Provide Staffing Plan

1.6.10

5.1.10

Will the Government consider reducing the number of resumes required? By assigning all personnel as key personnel and requiring resumes for all personnel, the Government unduly restricts competition. Because of the experience and certification requirements of the Instructors, their is a limited pool of qualified candidates. Finally, current incumbent contractor personnel have signed non compete agreements and thus are precluded from providing resumes, thus reducing the pool of candidates further for competition.

See item 8. Resume required for the contract PM only for proposal phase. (See PWS vs 13)

11 82 1.2.

Background

1.2.2 Course length is forty hours/5 days (30 to up to 50 course iterations annually). Is this based on the Historical data for Fiscal Year 2021? Is there a previous schedule that can be released for an evaluation of surge weeks/months of courses.

Yes this is based on historical data. Yes, see Atch E historical schedule/Student throughput.

12 102 5.1.10 Will the Government reimburse a contractor for any training/orientation required for the initial beginning of the contract. Usually there is a 1-2 day orientation/introduction on similar contracts relevant in size and scope.

A post award conference will be held with the awardee.

Training/orientation for onboarding at MEDCoE is part of the phase-in process.

13 74 Past Performance

3 Will the Government accept past performance from a subcontractor and rate it higher than a neutral rating? Or does all past performance need to be listed from the Prime?

See Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 Volume III- Past Performance- Past Performance information described herein is required on the offeror and all subcontractors, teaming partners, and/or joint venture partners proposed to perform a significant portion (25% or more) of the proposed effort based on the total proposed price. (4) All past performance comments received will be taken into account and could affect the overall rating.

14 2-7, 5 RFP SF1449

Continuation Sheets, Schedule B;

and Attachment D Pricing Matrix, CLIN Pricing Sheet

The Schedule listed in the SF 1449 does not match with Attachment D Pricing Matrix.

The Excel sheet includes a line item for "FAR 52.217-8", but the Schedule B does not.

Further pg. 5 paragraph g states that the "Offerors are not required to enter a price for the six-month period.", but the following paragraph g requires a price input for the option.

Would the Government please confirm that Schedule B does not include a CLIN for FAR 52.217-8 (at the Government's OPTION)?

FAR 52.217-8 is evaluated as part of the Total Evaluated Price (TEP). The Offeror does not enter a price as the formula takes half of the last option period price and adds that to the total evaluated price. However, it is not included in schedule B of the contract until it is exercised.

15 TEP Attachment D Pricing Matrix

For CLIN 0001 Phase In and CLIN 0002 Base Year Instructor Services, the Unit Price and Total Price formulas seem to not full correctly from the "TEP" Sheet.

Would the Govt please confirm that the CLIN 0001 is intended to be one month of the Base Total of the Program Manager and PA Instructor (or one-sixth (1/6) of the price) in TEP Sheet Cell E5? and CLIN 0002 is supposed to be five-sixth (5/6) of the TEP Sheet Cell E5?

Phase in is 30 days (1 Month). Base year is 5 Months. See revised Pricing Matrix.

16 2 Questions and Responses #6;

RFP SF1449

Continuation Sheets, Schedule B;

and Attachment D Pricing Matrix, CLIN Pricing Sheet

Gov't Response In light of the Govt's response that Surge CLINs are "NOT to Exceed" not FFP, will the Government please confirm that the Schedule will be updated accordingly?

The Surge CLIN is based on FFP labor rates with a Not to Exceed for the total hours required each year.

17 TEP SheetAttach D Pricing Matrix

Transition (April 2022)

Would the Government please provide the number of hours for the PM and PA Instructor support in the Phase In (Transition period for 1 Apr to 30 Apr 2022)?

Kindly confirm that there will be 168 hours for the PM and 848 hours for the PA Instructor support as the Government's Pricing Matrix (Amd 0001) did not include transition hours.

PM: 21 work days x 8 hours = 168 hours Instructors: 21 work days x 8 hours/day x 6 instructors = 1008 hours

Yes, Confirm that the phase in period 1 Apr to 30 Apr:

PM: 21 work days x 8 hours = 168 hours Instructors: 21 work days x 8 hours/day x 6 instructors = 1008 hours Total hours: 1,176 See revised pricing matrix.

18 TEP SheetAttach D Pricing Matrix

Base (May - Sept 2022)

Would the Government please confirm the number of hours for the PM and PA Instructor support in the Base Year (1 May to 30 Sep 2022)?

While the Govt provided 800 hours for the PM and 4,800 hours for the Instructors, there are 848 actual work hours for the PM and 5,088 actual work hours for the Instructors during this 5 month period.

May has 21 work days x 8 hours = 168 working hours June has 21 work days x 8 hours = 168 working hours July has 20 work days x 8 hours = 160 working hours August has 23 work days x 8 hours = 184 working hours Sept has 21 work days x 8 hours = 168 working hours Total working hours for 5 month Base = 848 working hours

PM has 848 hours; and Instructors have 848 x 6 = 5 088 hours

Confirmed that 5-month total is:

PM has 848 hours; and Instructors have 848 x 6 = 5,088 hours Total: 5,936.

See revised pricing matrix.

19 TEP SheetAttach D Pricing Matrix

Base (May - Sept 2022)

We have a question about the Amendment 0002 Pricing Template dated 25 Jan shows 1920 hours for Option the Program Manager in Option Periods 1 and 2.

With the addition Juneteenth Federal Holiday, we were expecting a full manyear would be 1912 hours, not 1920 hours (2080 hours minus 80 PTO and 88 Holiday hours) – could you please let us know if that should be 1920 or 1912 hours? If it should be 1912 hours, then should the PA Instructor Support hours be reduced accordingly (11,472 vs. 11,520)?

Corrected to 1912 and 11,472 respectively. See Revised Pricing Matrix.

20 Atch C Specific Relevant Contract Format

The response to Question 4 (which was primarily about the numbering) said to use the Attachment 0001 Atch C document as the revised template for the Past Performance volume.

The spacing in Atch C is double spaced, which contradicts the Instructions to Offerors Section C (Proposal Preparation Instructions), paragraph 2 (Proposal Format), subpara c. (page 70 of the original RFP), which states:

“The proposal shall be organized into four (4) volumes. All text shall be single spaced and black font on white background. Black and white requirement does not apply to graphics, photos, Company stationary and logos.”

To be clear, since the Proposal Format instructions state single spaced, can we infer that we may use single spacing in the Past Peformance volume, as long as the numbering follows the outline of Atch C?

Yes, single spacing can be used. Revised Single Space Template is provided.