Virtual_Industry_Day_Qeustions_and_Answers.pdf

Question Number

Question Answer

1 Having audio issues, so I am leaving the webinar. Is it possible you send me a recording of this webinar or will it be available on line?

The slide presentation, attendee list, and questions/answers will be posted to the sources sought announcement as an amendment.

2 If the Corps does work for the Department of Veterans Affairs with this tool, will you follow the Kingdomware Decision and honor using SDVOSB and VOSBs?

This is subject to further discussion with our Contracting and Office of Counsel. Selections will be based upon technical qualifications relative to the requirement, which is primarily to support the DoD Medical Program.

Awardees may or may not have SDVOSB and VOSB designation, but because the DoD does not require this designation it will not be a requirement for selection on the base indefinite delivery contracts. If a USACE district needs to perform work on behalf of the VA using the MFAES tool, and if the district’s interpretation of the ruling is that it applies, I would suspect that they would either only evaluate firms that have this designation or (if no SB firm has that designation) they would be unable to use MFAES. However, not every requirement is appropriate for small businesses depending on the size/complexity of the project. At this point in the acquisition we can only speculate what other districts would decide to do for task order selection with respect to this ruling.

3 When do you anticipate to advertise the final solicitation? Our current scheduled date for synopsis release is 14Nov18. This date is subject to change.

4 the Corps does work for the Department of Veterans Affairs with this

SDVOSB and VOSBs?

See above.

5 When do you anticipate to advertise the final solicitation?

Mid to late summer.

6 If the Corps does use this contract for VA task orders, will you honor the Kingdomware Decision and go to SDVOSB and VOSBs first?

7 My question relates to the SBA ruling that took effect on June 30, 2016 that allows for similarly situated first tier subcontractors to contribute to the 50% Is it your/USACE’s intent to follow this ruling as part of the solicitation?

We will need to look into this to make a determination. We will respond to this when/if the solicitation is issued.

8 Can we get the copy of this PP presentation?

Briefing will be provided.

9 Will you be utilizing PPQ or CPARs to evalutate past performance? And if so, will CPARS be evaluated equally to a PPQ?

PPQs specific to the key projects being submitted are preferable since they should be fully relevant to the requirement. However, the government reserves the right to obtain past performance information on other relevant and recent projects from PPIRS/CPARS or any other reliable source available. The weight of any past performance information will depend on how relevant and recent (as defined in the Source Selection Plan) the projects are with respect to the requirement. We should not be asking the firm to propose CPARS information since it is readily available to the government.

10 Can we get the copy of this PP presentation?

11 Does non-military healthcare facility work count as relevant experience?

We do VA and a lot of non-federal hospital work.

We are currently in the process of discussing selection criteria. If it is decided that VA/non-federal hospital work will be considered, it will be given relatively low relevance compared to DoD medical experience.

12 Does non-military healthcare facility work count as relevant experience?

We do VA and a lot of non-federal hosptial work.

13 This is Hafeez Ahmadi from VTC (Veracious Technical Consultants):

We have 9 years of on ground experience in Afghanistan in engineering and construction and can support Prime contractors in Field Survey, Engineering Studies and local support. Will the small business concern will be an evaluation criteria for award for Prime contractors?

The specialized experience, technical competence, past performance, etc. of any key subcontractor to a prime firm will be evaluated as part of the prime firm’s overall proposal. The utilization of Small Businesses as a percentage of the overall work is a secondary evaluation criteria that only comes into play as a tie-breaker if two firms are considered equally technically qualified in the primary selection criteria.

14 Will you evaluate VA experience equal to DOD healthcare experience?

15 Is the Sources Sought due date extended to Jan 16, 2018 by 4:30pm central as indicated on fbo.gov? It was mentioned early on in this presentation that the sources sought due date has passed.

The sources sought due date was 16 JAN 2018. This will be extended to allow firms to review these questions and answers.

16 One of the Evaluation Criteria is "Knowledge of Locality." Most SBs may not have worked in foreign locations. What weightage will be given to this?

Evaluation Criteria is in the process of being defined. At this point, due to SB restrictions in working overseas, it will likely be that the ‘bar’ will be lowered appropriately for those firms who are proposing as a SB (such as having a variety of projects within CONUS). Knowledge of Locality has traditionally been weighed less than Specialized Experience & Technical Competence, Professional Qualifications, Past Performance, and Capacity (lowest among all primary selection criteria).

17 Please explain the requirement for small business to develop a small business contracting plan

Guidance from EP 715-1-7: “A subcontracting plan, in accordance with FAR

19.704 and 52.219-9, should not be requested from each firm that responds to a synopsis. This would be burdensome, as well as impractical since the firms do not have a complete statement of work at this point. Prime A-E firms can, however, be asked to indicate the estimated percentage involvement of each SB and SDB firm on the team. A formal subcontracting plan is only required from the firm selected for negotiations.”

18 One of the Evaluation Criteria is "Knowledge of Locality." Most SBs may not have worked in foreign locations. What weightage will be given to this?

19 Will all task orders be competed among contract holders?

Firms will be selected among contract holders. The selection official is given broad discretion regarding which firm to select for a given requirement. A number of factors will be considered to include: qualifications relative to the requirement, equal distribution of work among awardees, and bench-building of competencies. Small businesses will be looked at closely for requirements with estimated fees of $400K.

20 Why VA work is not considered relevant?

Some design criteria are used for both DoD and VA. However, some criteria are quite different. The team is evaluating the relevance that VA experience should be given for this acquisition.

21 Will you be utilizing PPQ or CPARs to evaluate past performance? And if so, will CPARS be evaluated equally to a PPQ? Many of our clients have expressed frustrations with doing both PPQs and CPARS.

22 Please explain the requirements for small business to submit a small business subcontracting plan

23 How can you not give credit for design and construction of a medical facility that just happens to serve the Veterans it is the same set of consumers. If you stove pipe experience how can a business grow?

See above. Also, the primary purpose of this acquisition is to select and award to the firms that are most technically qualified to meet the requirement. We cannot alter the requirement to meet the needs of growing businesses.

24 If you're in a Mentor/Protégé agreement, how do you provide a PPQ or CPARS? Can the large business provide the CPARS?

A firm proposing under a Mentor/Protégé arrangement would submit key projects in their SF330 that they worked on as separate firms (for example, projects 1-3 would have been performed by Firm A and 4-6 performed by Firm B). The PPQs would be sent out, answered, and received relative to these projects. The government would reserve the right to consider CPARS information on the large business partner though the information would be only partly relevant since it wouldn’t give you the whole picture of how the partnership may perform.

25 As long as the PPQ is within the stated timeframe, can we use previously signed PPQs? The customer frustration ALSO deals with customers signing a PPQ each time a new solicitation asks for a PPQ.

Yes, you may use previously signed PPQs so long as the project being submitted as a key project meets the relevant and recent requirements of the Source Selection Plan/Synopsis.

26 Or stated differently, if your newly formed JV and/or Mentor Protégé has no complete projects (as a JV or Mentor/Protégé), can you use the CPARs of the large business?

27 If you're in a Mentor/Protégé agreement, how do you provide a PPQ or CPARS? Can the large business provide the CPARS?

The government will pull the CPARS, it is not submitted with your technical submittal

28 PPQs normally are sent from client directly to the CO. Are you looking for the first page of the PPQ to simply provide notice of what to expect or the entire PPQ?

Yes, a copy of the document sent to the client would be sufficient for the proposal.

29 If the Corps does work for the Department of Veterans Affairs with this

SDVOSB and VOSBs?