RFIs Answered Updated 01SEP23 W4W Rev 2.pdf

Request for Information Worksheet

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Requirement Information

Requirement Description Solicitation Number Contracting Officer

Work for Warriors W912JV23Q0007 Christine I. Campbell

Questions and Answers

Number Question

1 Does the cover page and table of contents count as pages against our 10-page quote?

Answer A cover page and table of contents will not be included in the 10 page total; however, no other pages will be excluded from the 10 page limitation for submission. All quote information/detail/data must fit into the 10 page limit.

2 Is this a brand new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services.

Answer There is a current contract. W912JV20P2016. And the magnitude of the expected work is the same as the current contract.

The statements and directions for travel in this section don’t support a travel amount, especially with a constraint on travel in the final sentence that says “travel shall be tracked to ensure the contractor does not travel in excess of the limits specified in TE3”. Based on the information provided within the Solicitation, will the Government be providing a Travel CLIN for anticipated travel on the contract?

Answer No, we won't have a travel CLIN but will cover travel cost. The vendor should quote *$0* for travel. The government will add $45,000 Not to Exceed onto each vendor quote per period of performance during evaluation and award to cover any travel expenses that will need to be billed under Paragraph. 1.4.11, 1.4.11.1 and 1.4.11.2 of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). See PWS amendment 01SEP23. Changes have been made under para 1.4.11.1.

(Property) it specifically states “The Government will make space available at government facilities to meet with clients, but will not provide a dedicated workstation, computer, or other equipment to include office supplies”. There is a cost associated with workstations (laptop, computer, printer, peripherals, office supplies, ink, paper….) and IT Hardware/Software lifecycle management support to achieve stated PWS requirements (data analytics, reports).

Answer Yes there are costs associated with office supplies and office equipment. These costs should be included in the submitted quote using the CLIN structure provided. No other CLIN will be used to account for these costs to the contractor.

Resume Building requirement: The contractor shall provide opportunities for training courses on federal resume building or have a qualified bench of applicants. The certificate required is the Certified Federal Resume Writer (CFRW) taught exclusively for Certified Federal Job Search Trainers (CFJST) and Certified Federal Career Coaches (CFCC). Courses are taught online or in person. Certification must be completed within six (6) months of contract award. Based on this requirement, we are asking the following questions:

Answer

In Section 5.2.3.4 second sentence states “The certificate required is the Certified Federal Resume Writer (CFRW)”. Our research demonstrates this certificate is ONLY offered after completing and having both the Certified Federal Job Search Trainers (CFJST) and Certified Federal Career Coaches (CFCC) courses. Will the government allow for one of the three certifications provided or is the government specifically requiring the CFRW which is a combination of three certificates?

Answer No. the CFRW is the requirement. If an employee needs to complete the CFJST or CFCC training first, then they need to complete the prerequisites first.

6 In Technical Exhibit 2, Deliverables Schedule it lists the deliverable for Section 5.2.3.4 as turning in the Certified Federal Resume Writer (CFRW) only. Please clarify the conflict of guidance between the language of the Deliverable Schedule (TE2) and PWS Section 5.2.3.4 language.

Answer There is no conflict. Submit the CFRW certificate within 6 months. Completion of any other prerequisite documentation is not required for submission to the government.

7 These requirements have a significant cost associated with attendance. Will the government provide a CLIN to bill against to meet this requirement?

Answer no.

9 Should a certification expire within the stated period of performance or should hired personnel require an update to achieve the CFRW certification will government allow for the offeror to bill the cost of re-certification or certification to meet contractual requirements?

Answer Contractor pricing for the contract should include all expected expenses. It appears the CFRW is a 3 year certification. Contractors are encouraged to include costs associated with recertification in their quotes. The government will not provide any funding in addition to the contract after award.

10 Marketing materials are required, and the government has stated they will not provide artwork, printing capability, or supplies to meet this requirement. Will an updated funding CLIN be provided to bill the marketing materials requirements?

Answer no. Include anticipated costs within each CLINs to meet the requirements of the PWS.

Are there any staff currently performing this work?

a. If so, how many have been required at each location?

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Number Question

Answer Total effort for this contract is expected to be 16,500 man hours per year as stated in the PWS. Support will need to be provided for all regions.

How, the contractor achieves that is up them. The Clackamas region will require more support, it is located in the most populus region.

12 How many clients did each region serve in 2022?

Answer The government approximated the number of anticipated man hours required to support the program. Client information is not available.

13 What is the Army NGB Oregon Work for Warriors program’s relationship with WorkforWarriors.org for the State of Oregon?

Answer There is no relationship.

14 What percentage of work is expected to be completed at the Government’s site?

Answer That is situationally dependent on the region and what is going on. Coordination will need to occur with the COR post award for any requirements needing in-person attendance at a government site.

15 Are resumes and/or letters of intent required in our response?

Answer No. Employee qualifications will be evaluated prior to contract performance, but will not evaluate them for award. See FAR 52.212-2 in the solicitation documents.

Under Factor 2 of the Evaluation (Section 52.212-2), the solicitation states, “The quoter shall submit information (no more than 5 years’ worth) of contract experience references…” Can the Government clarify the 5 years' worth of contract experience statement?

a. Are offerors only allowed to submit past performance(s) that were completed within the past five years?

b. Are offerors allowed to submit multiple past performances that were completed within five years?

Answer Offerors can submit any contract experience related to the W4W. However, the expectation is that experience is submitted within the past five years. Yes, multiple past performances can be submitted.

Is this proposed work covered by the Service Contract Act (SCA)?

a. If so, what is the corresponding SCA labor class to the labor categories identified in the solicitation?

Answer Yes the work is covered by the SCA. See response below.

18 In alignment with FAR 52.222-42, as prescribed in 22.1006(b), will the Government provide this information for both labor categories identified in the solicitation: Employee Class and Monetary Wage-Fringe Benefits?

Answer The following are the closest wage resemblance for the positions in the solicitation.

Contract Manager: wage determination number 15095; wage and fringe benefits $33.31 Outreach counselor: wager determination number 15090; wage and fringe benefits $28.03

19 Are technical, price, and past performance separate volumes?

Answer no.

20 Will the government provide detailed instruction regarding the volumes, contents of the volumes, and their respective page limits?

Answer See FAR 52.212-1 addendum in the provisions and clauses. No further guidance will be provided.

21 A collective ten-page limit would prohibit a fair and competitive evaluation of vendors' full capabilities and experience relevant to the requirement.

Would the government consider a ten-page limit for technical and separate volume for past performance with its own respective page limit?

Answer A ten page limitation will not prohibit fair and competitive evaluation and will not consider changing the 10 page limit. However, submission of reps and certs will not apply to the 10 page limitation.

22 Which positions are required to obtain or hold this certification?

Answer The outreach counselors.

23 What is the current level of full and parttime W4W contractor positions?

Answer See response to question 11.

24 Is the number contractor positions to cover all regions different in this solicitation than the current level of contracted positions?

Answer no.

25 Which contractor positions are currently vacant?

Answer not applicable.

26 CLINs 0001 - 3001 state they are the service support. Will the government provide CLINs for the Travel and ODCs for each ordering period?

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Answer No, Reference Answer 3 for travel and Answer 4 for any supplies required to perform the services.

27 The government provided estimated travel in TE3. Will the government provide a "Plug" or NTE number for bidding purposes? Variances in estimating travel could make for an unbalanced evaluation of offerors.

Answer Yes, Reference Question 3.

Questions are due on Friday, 9/1; Monday, 9/4 is a federal holiday, and the proposal response date is Friday, 09/08. Questions will need answering, possible solicitation amendments, and vendors will require time to revise responses based on Q&A outcomes. Will the government consider a 1-week extension to the solicitation due date, changing from Friday 09/08 to Friday 09/15?

Answer This project is on a very tight timeline to award. Extension is not being considered at this time any delays could result in no award.

Would the Government consider accepting a statement that an offeror's Reps & Certs are up-to-date as filed at SAM.gov in lieu of providing them as part of the Offeror's proposal response? If not, will the Government please confirm that submitted Reps & Certs will not count against the identified proposal page count?

Answer See answer to question 21. They will not be counted toward the 10 page limit.

30 Is there a limit or minimum requirement for past performance information (e.g., required number of examples) submitted?

Answer the only limit is the 10 page limit for the quote.

Will the Government please modify its approach to considering an offeror's past performance as a first-tier subcontractor to be consistent with the requirements set forth in 13 CFR 125.11(c)(4), which states: When evaluating the past performance of a small business concern [...] a contracting officer shall consider the concern's experience and rating of past performance as a first-tier subcontractor.

Answer Yes. The Solicitation will be amended to include past performance of small businesses who performed on a contract as a first tier subcontractor with a subcontracting plan and who has received a past performance rating from the prime contractor. This past performance shall be submitted within the quote in accordance with 13 CFR 125.11(c) to be considered.

"Given the short interval between the earliest expected release date of Government Q&A response and the submission deadline, would the Government please extend the response deadline to allow offeror's time to consider and factor in any changes required by the Government's answers?"

Answer See answer to question 28

Would the Government please reconsider the NAICS (561330) assigned to this solicitation? NAICS 561330 is designated for Professional Employer Organizations, which are primarily engaged in co-employment relationships with client businesses or organizations and specialize in non-placement related HR and personnel management, such as payroll, payroll tax, benefits administration, workers' compensation, and unemployment, etc. compliance. NAICS 561330 does not cover employment or educational assistance support services. Given the nature of the solicitation (which includes advisory and training work), we believe that 541611 and/or 541612 would be more appropriate for this requirement.

Answer We are not considering changing the NAICS code at this time.

34 What is the Occupational Code used for the counselors or a representative GSA Grade and Step?

Answer See response to question 18.

35 "Would the Government please confirm that a separate contract CLIN will be provided for travel in the final contract? Should offerors submit estimated travel costs (or an NTE figure) based on the travel estimates provided in PWS Technical Exhibit 3?"

Answer Reference Answer 3 in regards to travel

Would the Government please provide a CLIN (or CLINs) for approved expenses, such as printing costs, social media subscriptions, website hosting, resume tools, etc. as required or implied by the various requirements of the PWS (e.g., 5.2.6 Presentation and Marketing Material)? In the absence of adding a CLIN, would the Government please confirm if/how a contractor will be required to seek approval and/or be reimbursed for such expenses or whether such expenses will be paid for by ORNG?

Answer All expenses shall be incorporated in the given CLINs per period of performance. No additional CLINs will be provided and the government will not reimburse above agreed upon pricing at the time of award.

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Notes

General Notes and Information