A21_RFP 20R0007_Questions and Anwers_2.pdf

Solicitation W912HQ20R0007

Questions & Answers

Q1: Is there a current incumbent and contract for these services?

If so, could you provide contract number and/or current awardee?

A: This is a New Requirement for the Army corps with no incumbent currently or previously providing these services.

Q2: Please provide clarification or direction as to how Offers are to respond to S20-0046 CYBER READINESS SERVICES? After review of the solicitation documents I found no supporting documentation that specifies how to order the proposal response (e.g order of response, page limits, format, style, etc.) . Will your office be providing that direction?

A: Please refer to Proposal Content in RFP letter. Offerers shall provide a narrative explaining how they propose to accomplish PWS requirements. Narrative should correspond with PWS paragraphs. And proposal limited to total of 20 pages, exclusive of resumes. Technical proposal shall include past performance information. There is no preferred font style, the Government preferred font size is 11.

Q3: Could you please confirm the response due date as on beta.SAM it is given July 14, 2020 and in document “A21_Combined Synopsis Solicitation W912HQ-20-R-0007” it states that The closing date for the delivery of a response to this combined synopsis/solicitation is on or before 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 15 July 2020 ?

A: The closing date for the delivery of a response to this combined synopsis/solicitation has been extended to on or before 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 24 July 2020.

Q4: I wanted to find out if I could use subcontracting past performances as part of my submission for this solicitation and if teaming was allowed?

A: Submission of past performance as a subcontractor is acceptable.

Q5: Does the Government intend to award the first task order with the award of the overall contract or use the task order for evaluation purposes only?

A: Yes, First Task Order will be issued with the award.

Q6: Reference, A21-Appendix B - PWS S20-0046 Cyber, page 4, table 4.5.; the Government shows labor categories for "Alliant Category" and these categories appear to have a code associated with each category. Were these categories developed by the incumbent or previous contract using a GSA Alliant contract?

A: This is a new requirement for USACE. The GSA Alliant labor categories are proposed equivalent labor categories that offer the Government a benchmark to fill the identified key positions.

Q7: The travel budget identified appears to be very specific as the value is annotated down to the penny. Did the Government develop this budget or was this developed by a current or previous contractor on another contract similar to this scope? If so, will this contractor be OCI'd from this RFP?

A: This is a new requirement, travel will be negotiated and award firm fixed price at the task order level. The PWS language has been updated with amendment.

Q8: It appears the labor categories have been developed from GSA Alliant contract, will GSA Alliant contract holders be eligible or OCI'd from this RFP given the labor categories are derived from this contract?

A: The Government utilized Alliant labor categories as a benchmark, the Government did not utilize a GSA Alliant contract. This requirement is a 100% women-owned small business set-aside under NAICS code 541511.

Q9: The PWS contains the "DRAFT" watermark as if this were developed by a current contractor and in-turn used by the Government. If so, will the contract that developed this PWS be OCI'd from this RFP?

A: No contractor had any part in preparation of PWS. This was a final DRAFT and watermark have been removed with the solicitation amendment.

Q10: Is there a page limit for the IDIQ response?

A: Limit your technical proposal to a total of 20 pages, exclusive of resumes. Technical proposal shall include past performance information.

Q11: Is there a page limit for the TO response?

A: TO response is to be included in the technical proposal.

Q12: Is there a preferred font size or style?

A: There is no preferred font style, the Government preferred font size is 11.

Q13: It is understood that the vendor must complete a WOSB certification prior to submitting the offer. Our firm has recently renewed our certification (as a 100% woman-owned WOSB). We confirmed with the SBA today, due to the current pandemic, that the SBA has extended agency certifications through October 2020. This means that the SBA will not recognize the role of an authorized official to certify and date the certificate and, thus, we would not have something signed and dated by them. Therefore, would the USACE like to:

a. Conduct a formal review with its own authorized official before Oct 2020; or,

b. Assist our compliance to the RFP (“an authorized officer of the WOSB sign and date the certification. Once the certification is complete, you must upload it to the WOSB Program Repository”) by permitting our firm to request that USACE sign and date a WOSB certification for us to load into the WOSB Program Repository before the submission date; or,

c. Would the current certification status and associated documents within the WOSB Program Repository (Blockedhttp://certify.sba.gov) suffice in consideration that we are unable to submit applications for the new certification process until July 15, 2020?

A: Government refers to FAR 19.1503.

Q14: Are there cloud/FedRAMP requirements expected to be included in the task orders?

A: No, not at this time.

Q15: Are the terms “Traditional Security” and “Physical Security” used interchangeably within this solicitation? Is it correct to say that TO 1 will not include a traditional/physical security review?

A: Traditional Security encompasses several security disciplines which include physical security. The TO 1 will include a review of the Traditional Security STIG and comparisons of processes and documentation that are currently in use by USACE. TO 1 is documentation oriented. There will be no on-site review of Traditional/Physical security in the first TO.

Q16: How many, or what percentage of, task orders would be expected to be classified vs.

unclassified?

A: An estimate is 20% or less. No classified work in the first TO.

Q17: We expect that the buyer is subject to Limited Notice Phase IV CCRIs, however:

a. How much lead time is expected for a CONUS TO (issuance to award to onsite action)?

b. How much lead time is expected for an OCONUS TO (issuance to award to onsite action)?

A: For limited or No Notice CCRI, support will be needed ASAP. For planned engagements, lead time for OCONUS would be at least 3 months; CONUS at least 6 weeks.

Q18: Will additional time consuming conditions (such as annual training or other buyer-required obligations) be considered when determining the lead time to responding to future task orders?

a. Are said buyer-required obligations already included in the estimated times from the Appendix D Table 1 (Contract Labor Rates)?

b. Are the estimated hours shown in Appendix D Table 1 per project or per year?

A:

a. No. Neither DOD 8570 training and industry certifications nor baseline IA/Cyber certifications are included in the estimate. Offerors must comply with all requirements before work on the contract, including the specific “computing environment” certifications associated with each technology area. All are listed in the RFP.

b. The projected hours are estimates for each year.

Q19: Will there be a briefing and a Q&A process for Task Orders to allow vendors to understand each project thoroughly?

A: This will be an IDIQ SATOC. Questions from the awardee will be allowed on the task orders.

Q20: Is the buyer planning (or open) to requesting that the successful vendor conduct the work virtually for as many unclassified task orders as possible?

A: Yes, Task Order 1 is virtual.

Q21: Are the task orders ever expected to overlap or will they always be spread throughout the year?

A: No, they are not expected to overlap, however, there could be an instance in which a no-notice CCRI commences during an existing (planned) effort.

Q22: Does the buyer see the nine roles detailed in the Contract Labor Rates table as each being fulfilled by separate individuals or may one individual fill multiple roles during a single engagement?

A: Not more than two technology areas per individual and all requirements for training and certifications must be met for both technology areas. Time does not allow for one person to perform more than two technology reviews.

Q23: Task Order 1 states that the place of performance will be the CTR premises. In consideration of the current national emergency, and that the secure CAN-PC capability will be used for the vendor connections, is it a requirement that the CTR premises be a vendor-owned structure?

A: For the first TO the government is open to alternative sites as long as data protection guidelines are followed. The TO 1 will not be conducted at a government location; meetings will be telcon and web meetings.

Q24: The PWS is marked as “draft”. Is the PWS a “draft”?

A: The “DRAFT” has been removed, the PWS is a final copy and is now dated 1 July 2020.

Q25: In PWS Table 4.5, what is “Alliant Category”?

A: Alliant is the GSA Government Acquisition Contract that was utilized as a benchmark for the corresponding labor categories.

Q26: Is the due date July 14 as BetaSAM lists, or July 15 as RFP lists?

A: A: The closing date for the delivery of a response to this combined synopsis/solicitation has been extended to on or before 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 24 July 2020.

Q27: Certification through the SBA is not available until 07/15/20. Is the currently recognized self-certification through the WOSB Program Repository acceptable with evidence of the expiration date from the SBA?

A: Yes, the current self-certification is acceptable;all documents need to be uploaded to the portal.

Q28: Will the Government provide an MS-Excel file for pricing? Or should we convert the “A21- Appendix+D+S20-0046+Labor+Rate+Pricing” into MS-Excel?

A: An excel spreadsheet is provided with the solicitation amendment.

Q29: What is the level of effort associated with in the first table in Att. D page 1? Is it for the Base Year?

A: Hours listed on Appendix D are a rough estimate of the number of hours for each skillset required for the contract ordering period. Estimate of requirement is ~5 task orders per year which are estimated to sum up to roughly the amounts shown in Appendix D each year.

Q30: In Factor 2: Past Performance the requirement states “On-going contract must be at least 50% complete…” Does this mean that a contract with a base year and four option years must have 2 ½ years of performance, or just 6 months of the base year? The requirement for 50% completion seems unfair due to the variation of contract periods of performance and penalizes contractors with long-term contracts. We suggest replacing the requirement with “one year of performance” vs. “50% complete”.

A: 50% complete would refer to the base period.

Q31: Also, the evaluation for Factor 2 states “A current project is defined as one with at least one invoice paid.” How does an “on-going” contract correlate with a “current” project?

A: This requirement has been removed in the solicitation amendment.

Q32: Is the USACE Cyber Readiness contract a Firm Fixed Price contract or a Firm Fixed Price Level of Effort contract?

A: This is a firm fixed price contract.

Q33: Is the Labor Rate template (Form W912HQ-20-R-0007 Contract Labor Rates) provided for the evaluation of Task Order 1 only?

A: GSA Alliant labor categories are proposed equivalent labor categories that offer the Government a benchmark for the five year ordering period.

Q34: Will labor hours be specified by ACE for each subsequent task order?

A: No, the Contractor will propose labor hours for the work specified in each task order PWS requirement.

Q35: We understand virtual work is to be conducted. Where will contractor employees have access to the SIPRNET to upload reports?

A: The first TO is unclassified only and work is virtual. For future task orders, SIPR access will be specified. (Access will be provided to contractor personnel who meet requirements when on-site with the government during an assessment of classified systems.)

Q36: PWS states "Draft - 20 May 2020". When is the final draft expected?

A: The PWS is final, “draft” has been removed.

Q37: Given that there are only two weeks to the proposal due date (July 15, 2020), and questions need to be answered, will the Government please extend the proposal due date to July 29, 2020?

A: The closing date for the delivery of a response to this combined synopsis/solicitation has been extended to on or before 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 24 July 2020.

Q38: RFP states on page 3 "On-going contracts must be at least 50% complete as of the release date of this solicitation." Please confirm that 50% means current period of performance (e.g., January 1 - December 31).

A: Agree, 50% means current period of performance.

Q39: Are there any portions of this document that levy requirements specifically for the proposal response? For example, are we supposed to make a statement about Representations and Certifications in our proposal? If so, which Volume?

A: The Offeror shall complete the Representations and Certifications in the System for award Management (SAM) electronically. Joint ventures shall register in SAM under the legal corporate name of the Joint Venture.

Q40: "RFP states on page 3 ""Performance recognition documents received within the last five years on projects relevant to this PWS such as awards, award fee determinations, customer letters of commendation, and any other forms of performance recognition."" How will this be evaluated? Is it advantageous if this information is included / disadvantageous if not included?

This is not mentioned as an evaluation factor for past performance on pages 6 and 7. "

A: These documents will not be evaluated independently but will be considered in evaluating overall risk associated with a particular offeror.

Q41: In table 4.5 there is a column headed "Alliant Category". Does this refer to the Alliant contract? Is this relevant for this opportunity?

A: The Government utilized Alliant labor categories as a benchmark only and does not refer to the Alliant contract.

Q42: On page 1 the PWS states "Not using Government or incumbent contract staff for this work provides…" Is there an incumbent for this effort?

A: This is a new requirement so there is no incumbent. The PWS language refers to incumbent baseline IT support contract.

Q43: Please identify preferred font size and page limits.

A: Limit your technical proposal to a total of 20 pages, exclusive of resumes. Technical proposal shall include past performance information. There is no preferred font style, the Government preferred font size is 11.

Q44: In lieu of IASAE III certs for Architecture (ISSAP) and Engineering (ISSEP), is the Government willing to substitute Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and IASAE II and IAM and IAT Levels III, and has performed 100 CCRIs and Team Lead functions for a minimum of 50 CCRIs, and has been certified by DISA and Reviewer Certification Program (RCP) to perform official CCRIs as a Team Lead and technology reviewer?

A: Yes, must be certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs (in the same technology area).

Q45: In lieu of CSSP Auditor or CISSP certs, is the Government willing to use a combination of IAT III and CEH or Security Fundamentals Professional Certification (SFPC), RCP training, has experience conducting CCRIs, and has been certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs?

A: Yes, must be certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs (in the same technology area).

Q46: We suggest that the HBSS Reviewer should include a CISSP as an or cert the same as all other Reviewers. We also suggest the Government include DISA’s HBSS 201, 301, and 501 certs, the reviewer be RCP trained, has performed a minimum of 100 CCRIs, and has been certified by DISA to conduct HBSS Reviews.

A: Certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs (in HBSS) is acceptable with HBSS 201, 301, and 501

Q47: In lieu of a CISCO certification for VTC / VOIP is the Government willing to include CCRI VVOIP inspection support and be accepted in lieu of other certs in combination with RCP training, performed a minimum of 100 CCRIs conducting a minimum of 50 VVOIP Networking reviews, and has been certified by DISA to conduct VVOIP Reviews?

A: Yes, must be certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs (in the same technology area).

Q48: In lieu of RHCSA, RHCE, or RHCA Certification, is the Government willing accept 10+ years of experience with Red Hat and UNIX, RCP training, performed a minimum of 100 CCRIs, and has been certified by DISA to conduct UNIX Reviews?

A: Yes, must be certified by DISA to conduct CCRIs (in the same technology area).

Q49: The RFP states that “All small businesses that are interested in submitting an offer on a solicitation that has been set aside for WOSBs under the WOSB Program must complete a certification prior to submitting the offer. This includes checking all of the boxes and having an authorized officer of the WOSB sign and date the certification. Once the certification is complete, you must upload it to the WOSB Program Repository (go to www.sba.gov/wosb) along with all other required documents.” Is this process needed if the offeror is already certified at certify.SBA.gov?

A: Pursuant to FAR 19.1503(b)(3), offerors must have all required WOSB eligibility documents in the WOSB Program Repository currently available at Certify.SBA.gov, at the time of their initial offer on the instant procurement. The list of required documents is provided in FAR 19.1503(c). Solicitation amendment language has been revised.

Q50: The RFP requires that “Offerors shall submit past performance information following the format listed below for a maximum of three contracts or subcontracts completed or on-going within the last two years from the release date of this solicitation. On-going contracts must be at least 50% complete as of the release date of this solicitation.” Would the Government consider changing this to “within the last three year” and either eliminating the “50% complete” requirement or changing it to “20% complete”?

A: The requirement in the RFP remains.

Q51: Can the Government provide an Excel template for Attachment D: Labor Rate Pricing Schedule?

A: An excel spreadsheet is provided with the solicitation amendment.

Q52: Is there an incumbent currently performing this work? If so, who is it? And what contract number/task number are they working under?

A: This is a New Requirement for the Army corps with no incumbent currently or previously providing these services.

Q53: Will we be creating network/computing diagrams? If so, what product will be provided for creating these drawings?

A: Yes, In MS Visio, USACE will provide software and license to access via CAN-PC (Virtual PC to run on Vendor PC).

Q54: Is there a template or firm requirements for the technical documents to be developed for inspectors?

A: Current templates will be provided but part of the requirement is to determine sufficiency of current documentation to meet the STIG requirements and CND Directives

Q55: Are there any particular cyber frameworks being employed/used currently? Is part of the evaluation to set forth a framework recommendation? Can this task also be a team or is this to be one individual? Is the list of hardware/software in previous sections, the same list of elements that would be subject to this evaluation?

A: This task is expected to be a team, cannot be one person. The framework is CCRI.

Q56: Will teaming partners past performance be acceptable as part of the proposal submission?

If not, will their past performance be used as part of a JV?

A: Past performance of teaming partners is acceptable. The submitted Offeror shall maintain the ability and resources to support 51% or more of this requirement as the prime contractor

Q57: If using a JV, will a SWAM certification be sufficient for the primary stakeholder of the JV or do both need to be SWAM certified?

A: Both need to be WOSB certified.

Q58: A21-Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Number: W912HQ20R0007 – Request for Proposals states that the due date is 1300, 15 JUL 2020. The cover sheet for S20-0046 Cyber Readiness, states that the due date is 1300, 14 JUL 2020. When is the proposal due?

A: The closing date for the delivery of a response to this combined synopsis/solicitation has been extended to on or before 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 24 July 2020.

Q59: Will Extended Work Week (EWW), i.e., Overtime, be authorized, given that the expected work week is 50 hours (5 days/week 0700-1730)? (Section 4.3, Hours of Work, Appendix B, Performance Work Statement (PWS))

A: No, work may be coordinated to be performed 8 hours per day during the normal business hours of 0700-1730. On-site schedules may vary from the initial TO

Q60: Given that this is a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract, if more than five (5) evaluations are tasked in a year and/or the evaluation team is used for other tasks will the contract value be adjusted? (Ref Para 1.1, Appendix B, Performance Work Statement)

A: No. All task orders will be firm fixed price.

Q61: Given the “Game day Support” scenario provided in the PWS - “Typically “Game Day Support” lasts one month prior to assessment and two weeks onsite with inspectors and an additional week afterward for reporting/recommendations.” (PWS Section 3.2.2) – the burn rate in this scenario will rapidly consume the estimated hours (Appendix D). Is there consideration for expansion of billable hours to support this activity?

A: No. All task orders are firm fixed price. The individual task order PWS will include enough details for the awardee to price accordingly.