USACE S25-0001 PCO Support Questions - RFI REV1.pdf

QUESTIONS FOR SOURCES SOUGHT ON S25-0001 – PCO OPERATIONS AND

REGULATORY BUSINESS PROCESS SUPPORT. (NOTICE ID: W912HQ25S0041)

Technical and pricing questions on the PWS for S25-0001 – PCO Operations and Regulatory Business

Process Support. (Notice ID: W912HQ25S0041) These questions are categorized to facilitate clarity and alignment with acquisition practice area.

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

General Requirements and Scope

1. Can the Government clarify the anticipated volume of ad hoc reporting requests by business line

(e.g., Regulatory, Navigation, Natural Resources Mgmt. (NRM)? It is expected that the distribution of ad hoc reporting requests by business line will vary over the performance period. Generally, Regulatory and

Navigation have more requirements than other business lines, however, as those business line dashboards get built out, other business lines will have larger ratios of monthly task counts. PWS includes the following information: Respond to approximately 5 requests monthly for assistance to generate or assist with reporting, formatting, and general reporting support. Requests will come through the COR.

2. Are there existing documentation or technical references for current dashboards and data pipelines (e.g., RPM, QFIT, MSC) available to contractors? The availability of existing documentation varies depending on the maturity and originator of existing dashboards and data pipelines. Generally, it can be assumed that most existing dashboards do not have documentation or technical references.

However, many of the datasets will have supporting documentation that can be requested and made available for tasks as assigned.

3. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to assess success in each business line dashboard? KPIs for the contract are included in the PWS in Table 3, QASP, PRS #5, The Contractor shall meet the requirements of the task. Individual business line dashboard/metrics success will be determined by COR QA inspection of the contractor’s solution/deliverable per each task. Each task will have active participation of the COR and individual business line data manager upon contractor request, in addition to no less than bi-weekly check-ins per PRS #1 in the QASP.

4. Will the contractor have access to historical datasets for trend and variance analysis, and if so, for what time span? The contractor will have access to all available data as required for each task.

5. What is the Government’s expectation for AI/ML integration—are there preferred platforms or models currently used? The DoD and USACE are still working out AI implementation. All AI activities will comply with DoD and USACE IT and Security requirements.

Data Sources and Integration

6. Will the Government provide secure access credentials to all required systems (e.g., CEFMS, P2/PROMIS, EDW, ORM, CPTrack)? Yes.

7. Are there existing API endpoints or middleware in place for accessing real-time/live data from these systems? Most data systems have existing API endpoints or middleware that are available and can be modified as needed for the execution of this contract. The Government will work with data owners to establish API endpoints or middleware for any real-time/live data sets found not to have sufficient APIs.

8. Is there a current data dictionary or data governance policy in place across USACE systems?

There is not a singular data dictionary across USACE systems. USACE data governance policy is found in ER 25-1-110, dated 31-JUL-2013, Enterprise Data Management Policy that provides the foundational

USACE policy on data governance roles, stewardship, standardization, architecture, and lifecycle procedures. EC 11-1-115 dated 30-SEP-2022, Data Integrity & Standardization Guidance underpins and operationalizes guidance consistent with ER 25-1-110. Both documents are publicly accessible from the

USACE Publications portal.

9. Can the Government confirm whether Power BI Gateway access will be provisioned by USACE or managed by the contractor? Power BI Gateway access will be provisioned by USACE.

Scheduling and Primavera P6

10. Is there a standardized template or baseline configuration for project schedules in Primavera? Yes.

11. Are schedule assessments expected to use automated tools, or is manual review required?

Reference section 3.2.4 Task 4, the requirement is to leverage automated tools for project schedule analysis as permitted by government Cyber Security standards.

12. What type of AI/ML tools are acceptable under DoD cybersecurity guidelines for schedule analysis? The DoD and USACE are still working out AI implantation. All AI activities will comply with

DoD and USACE IT and Security requirements. Schedule data is considered CUI, therefore, only

NIPTgpt, CAMOgpt, ADVANTAs gpt can be used. AI systems that can be used for CUI will be made available using the required Common Access Card (CAC)(ref PWS Section 4.2.1.1). COTS systems like

ChatGPT and Copilot can be used for all publicly available data and must be approved by the COR prior to use.

Dashboard Support

13. For Power BI dashboards, will the Government provide a centralized workspace, or will the contractor deploy within their own tenant? The Government will provide a centralized workspace.

14. Are specific templates, visual standards, or UX/UI guidelines required for dashboard development? Dashboards shall be compliant with Section 508 standards. Beyond Sec 508 compliance, the Contractor can recommend visuals and UX/UI to maximize the value to Gov.

15. Is there a backlog of existing dashboard bugs, fixes, or enhancements that need to be addressed immediately upon contract award? Some existing dashboards will require fixes and/or enhancements. A consolidated list of the existing backlog is not currently available and will be developed with the COR and Contractor upon contract award.

Reporting and QA/QC

16. What frequency and format are required for QA/QC reporting on project and program data quality? QA/QC report requirements vary depending on the deliverable. Reporting frequency, timing, and format are listed in Section 9. Deliverables, Table 4 in the PWS.

17. Will the Government require support for automated data validation routines or data anomaly detection? The Gov does not expect overarching support for data validation or data anomaly detection under this contract. If data quality checks become necessary, the COR will coordinate with the data owner and Contractor to determine a path forward. There may be requirements to create scripting or reporting to find anomalies.

Communication and Deliverables

18. Is the contractor expected to attend all meetings virtually, or will some require on-site presence?

All meetings can be attended virtually. However, some in-person meetings may be approved by the COR as needed.

19. Will there be a designated point of contact from each business line to support requirement gathering? Yes, in addition to a Contracting Officer Representative.

PRICING QUESTIONS

Labor Categories and LOE

20. Will the Government provide or approve specific labor categories (e.g., Data Scientist, Project Scheduler, BI Developer)? This information will be provided as part of the solicitation.

21. Are there estimated Level of Effort (LOE) hours per task area or monthly task order ceilings?

The Government will not provide LOE information at this time.

22. Can the Government provide historical spending data or burn rate for the prior or similar contracts? The Government estimates to be able to provide historical information during the solicitation phase.

Surge Support

23. How many surge events are anticipated annually under Task 5.1? Surge CLINs will be awarded if available tasks exceed the currently awarded (in the base or option year) task count pending availability of funding.

24. Should the offeror include pricing for surge support in the base contract, or will this be handled via separate CLINs? Surge support will be handled as separate CLINs.

Travel

25. What is the typical frequency and duration of required travel under Task 1, and are there specific locations beyond HQUSACE? Travel will be on a limited Ad Hoc basis. Travel would be to HQUSACE in Washington, DC.

26. Is the $25,000/year travel ceiling a firm-fixed price or is it subject to adjustment? For the base year, the travel ceiling is a firm-fixed price. If $25,000 is insufficient, the Contracting Officer would engage with the Contractor for requirement validation, justification, and contract modification.

Equipment and Software

27. Will the Government furnish all hardware, software licenses (e.g., Power BI Pro, APEX, Primavera P6), and secure connections? Yes.

28. Should contractors budget for any software or infrastructure hosting (e.g., sandbox or test environments)? No.

Invoicing and Payment

29. Will invoicing be time-and-materials (T&M), firm-fixed-price (FFP), or hybrid per task? Tasks are Firm Fixed Price.

30. Can the Government confirm the invoicing frequency (monthly, bi-weekly, milestone-based) and whether it must be submitted via WAWF or email? Invoicing can be submitted for accepted work either monthly, or bi-weekly at the Contractors discretion consistent with FAR 32.905 and Section 10 in the

PWS. Invoices shall be delivered by email to the address provided in the PWS.

DETAILED AI QUESTIONS: All questions can be referred to “Winning the Race – America’s Action

Plan July 2025 from the POTUS along with OMB signed memo from April 3, 2025, M-25-21 to all heads of executive departments and agencies

A focused list of AI-related technical questions regarding the PWS for S25-0001 PCO Operations and

Regulatory Business Process Support. These questions cover AI strategy, security, tools, compliance, and performance expectations.

AI-SPECIFIC TECHNICAL QUESTIONS (see information above regarding AI)

Policy, Strategy, and Governance

31. Does USACE or HQ PCO have a defined AI/ML strategy or roadmap that the contractor should align with? All USACE Strategy will follow DOD, Army, and USACE Policy.

32. Are there restrictions on the types of AI/ML models (e.g., supervised, unsupervised, NLP, deep learning) that may be employed? Yes. All uses must comply with CIO G6/Army cybersecurity requirements.

33. Are contractors permitted to use generative AI tools (e.g., large language models) for analysis, summarization, or dashboard narratives? All uses must comply with CIO G6/Army cybersecurity requirements.

34. Does the Government have an approved AI use policy or governance framework for federal contractors? In development. If finalized during the contract period, the Contracting Officer will provide this information after award.

35. Are there any AI ethics guidelines or transparency requirements the contractor must adhere to?

Yes.

Data Access, Security, and Compliance

36. Will the AI analysis be restricted to on-premise datasets, or is cloud-based AI analysis allowed under this contract? Yes, on premise.

37. Must all AI models be hosted within the DoD environment, or can FedRAMP-authorized commercial platforms (e.g., Azure Government, AWS GovCloud) be used? IL5 and greater.

38. Are there existing Authority to Operate (ATO) pathways for deploying AI/ML applications within the USACE environment? All uses must comply with CIO G6/Army cybersecurity requirements.

39. Will AI-generated outputs be considered CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information), and if so, are there labeling or access requirements? Yes. Labeling and use will be inherent to the application that employs it. Please see PWS.

40. Does the Government have a preferred or approved toolset for AI development (e.g., Azure ML, Python libraries, Jupyter, Databricks)? No.

Schedule Analysis and Predictive Modeling

41. For Task 4 (Schedule Support), what specific outcomes are expected from AI integration (e.g., risk scoring, predictive forecasting)? Schedule health Analysis could be a potential outcome.

42. Are historical schedule baselines and performance data available to train predictive AI models?

Possibly. Yes.

43. Will the contractor be expected to create custom AI models, or should off-the-shelf models/tools be used? Off-the-shelf will be used.

Dashboards and Reporting

44. Is the contractor expected to implement AI-powered narrative generation (e.g., auto-generated insights within dashboards)? No. Use is permitted within our Power BI Environment.

45. Will anomaly detection or trend forecasting using AI be required in the dashboards (e.g., for budget overruns or schedule slippage)? AI can be used for this,but is not required.

Performance and Evaluation

46. What metrics will the Government use to evaluate the effectiveness of AI tools or models delivered? See deliverables Table

47. Are there existing benchmarks or performance baselines to compare AI-supported results to legacy/manual processes? Yes.

Ethical and Responsible AI

48. Will there be any constraints on the use of external datasets (e.g., open government data or pre-trained models)? There are no constraints on the use of external datasets following approval from the

COR.

49. Does the Government for localized insights require model interpretability tools or explainability in the AI outputs (e.g., SHAP for broader understanding, or LIME for localized insights)?

50. Is the contractor responsible for monitoring and maintaining AI model performance over time

(e.g., retraining, drift detection)? The contractor is not responsible for monitoring and maintaining AI model performance over time beyond the performance period of the contract including option years.