21R0003 Solicitation Questions Final.pdf

Solicitation Questions

1. Who is the incumbent for this project and what is the contract award number?

True Information Assurance, LLC, Contract #W91QEX-16-F-0003.

Please note the incumbent has graduated the 8(a) program and no longer eligible for this 8(a) requirement.

2. You mention having Top Secret Clearance with SCI Access Facility Clearance on page 28, section 4.2. You also include a DD254. Can you advise if Security Clearance will be given upon contract award to the offeror or if they must have this upon the time of submission?

Please see the requirement on Page 16, Section 1.6.7.3 (Personnel/Facility Security Clearance Requirements.

3. On page 77, Subfactor 2, under staff plans, you ask for "Documentation must be furnished as part of this submission to verify appropriate levels and active status."

Does this include all personnel or just the offeror? Will a CAC Card suffice?

Page 77, under Staffing Plans identifies, the minimum security clearance requirements for both the offeror and personnel must met at time of proposal submission. Documentation must be furnished as part of this submission to verify appropriate levels and active status.

Submission of a CAC, by itself or in conjunction with other documents, may or may not suffice to meet this requirement, and it is solely the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the government receives sufficient documentation in order to evaluate the contractor’s compliance with this requirement.

4. Does the government have a list of specific qualifications for the requested/required resumes for key personnel besides what is listed on page 19, section 1.6.10. No, please use 1.6.10 for the specific qualifications.

Section 1.6.11 Special Qualifications or Certifications: The Contractor shall possess the special qualifications listed below details specific qualifications.

5. In what volume would the government like teaming agreements and/or certifications to be in?

In Volume 1.

6. CLIN 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002 and 4002 are for DOI Support Services. Can the Government remove these CLINs as the support may not be for this solicitation since there is no defined PWS for DOI Support?

The description for the DOI Support Services is updated. Please see Amendment 0002.

Page 13, Section C - Descriptions and Specifications, Part 1 - General Information,

1.5 Period of Performance

7. The Government states that "The period of performance shall be a base period of eleven (11) months from date of contract execution and three (4), twelve (12) month option years." The statement three (4) are in conflict for the number of option years.

The CLINs pages show 9 months + 1 Month Phase-in and four x 12 Months. Can the Government clarify the period of performance that aligns with the CLINs section?

The Period of Performance is:

Phase In/Out, 1 month Base Period, 9 months Option Period 1, 12 Months Option Period 2, 12 Months Option Period 3, 12 Months Option Period 4, 12 Months

The Performance Work Statement (PWS), Section C, will be updated to reflect this same information.

Page 19, Section C - Descriptions and Specifications, Part 1 - General Information,

1.6.10 Key Personnel

8. The Government identified 6 Key personnel and their qualifications that directly map to the current support staff. All these skillset requirements (1.6.11 - 1.6.11.12) will limit competition to this opportunity and provide the incumbent vendor with a huge advantage. Can the Government make this opportunity more competitive and replace the "shall" statement with "prefer to have" for #1.6.11 - 1.6.11.12 to make this more fair? Also, can the number of key personnel be reduced to 3?

The Government remain to contain the language as is and this requirement has six

(6) Key Personnel.

9. It states that questions are due NLT Friday, 16 February 2021 at 10:00 am (EST) but also states that no questions will be answered if received after 1:00 PM (EST) on 16 February 2021. (16 February is Tuesday and not Friday as stated.)

Please clarify due date and time for questions.

All Questions were due by 1:00 p.m. on 16 February 2021. Questions and Answers are posted by 3:00 p.m. 19 February 2021.

Page 76, Section L, Volume 1 - Technical, Sub-factor 1 – Experience

10. To show that the vendor has at least 5 years’ experience of managing contracts with similar size and scope, can the vendor use cumulative of multiple contracts to meet the minimum of 5 years’ experience?

Yes.

Page 76, Section L, Volume 1 - Technical, Sub-factor 1 - Experience, a. Recency

11. The Government states "the contract reference must have been awarded within the last five (5) years; performance must have begun no less than five (5) years; and is still active or was active within the last five (5) years, at time of proposal submission." This requirement is confusing. Is the Government looking for the contract performance to be within the last 5 years meet the Recency requirement? If so, can the statement be revised to "the contract performance of the reference shall be within the last 5 years."

Yes, for clarification the Government has updated the language to reflect the contract performance shall be within the last 5 years.

Page 77, Section L, Volume 1 - Technical, Sub-factor 1 – Experience

12. This solicitation is for 8(a) companies and we would like to be given an opportunity to bid. With most contracts being either 3 years or 5 years, this requirement of 5 year minimum eliminates companies that were created less than 5 years old. Would the Government reconsider the requirement of 5 years to 2 years?

Not at this time.

Page 84, FACTOR 3: PRICE, Basis of Evaluation

13. The Government states that - In addition to the above, the offerors “Surge Support Pricing Sheet” will be evaluated for price balance and reasonability only, using one or more of the techniques defined in FAR 15.404-1. The evaluation of the Offeror’s completed "Surge Support Pricing Sheet” will not be considered part of the offeror’s total overall evaluated price;" Can the Government create an additional CLIN (T&M) for Surge Support so that the vendor can include the pricing information for evaluation that will be consistent from one vendor to another?

The requirement for a separate Surge Support Pricing sheet is consistent with our Policy department.

14. Confirming 1 year (11mos) and 4 option years? There may have been a typo in para 1.4 that stated differently.

Please see the answer to Question 7.

15. Number of cumulative hours = 48K or 25 working years in Technical Exhibit A; is that per year of for the life of the ~5 year life of the contract?

It is “Historical Workload Data” average number of hours throughout previous contracts. Note this is only for information purposes. It’s up to the vendor to determine the number of resources and hours as this is a Performance Based requirement.

16. Can you tell me how many persons are on site executing the current contract?

This is information privy to the incumbent contractor.

17. Would you share the previous contract and award information?

Please see the answer to Question 1.

18. Our intent is to minimize any disruption in the workforce and zeroize gaps in the execution of their responsibilities. Would there be a way to contact the existing and qualified employees to assess their interest in remaining with the contract?

This is up to the incumbent contractor.

19. We are reviewing the above-referenced solicitation and noticed an inconsistency in the posting on beta.SAM.gov and the solicitation document. The beta.SAM.gov post references NAICS 541611 with a size standard of $16.5M. This NAICS is consistent with the code assigned to the sources sought, W91QEX21J2SecurityServices, and reflects what we would anticipate for this type of work. However, the NAICS specified in box 10 of the 1449 is 561210 with a size standard of $41.5M.

The government asserts that the proper NAICS code in our Solicitation #W91QEX- 21-R-0003 is used. If any revisions are warranted, they will be updated appropriately.

Page 78, Section L.b.i.a

20. Can the government please provide clarification on the following language: “a.

Recency – To be considered recent, the contract reference must have been awarded within the last five (5) years; performance must have begun no less than five (5) years; and is still active or was active within the last five (5) years, at time of proposal submission.” Would a contract that was awarded within the last 5 years and is either active or was completed within the last 5 years meet this requirement?

Please see the answer to Question 11.

Page 78, Section L.b.i.a

21. Will the government please confirm that the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) is Attachment 2 in the RFP? Also, can the government please clarify if the contract references used for the PPQs must correspond to the contract references used in the experience section.

In Volume 2, yes.

Page 24, Section 2.7 Key Personnel

22. Will the Government please clarify whether or not Letters of Commitment (LOC) are required from Key Personnel?

Yes, Letters of commitment will be required.

Page 19, PWS 1.6.10

23. Would the government please clarify the number of “Key Personnel” resumes required for PWS Paragraph 1.6.10. Do you require resumes for all employees or one representative resume for each LCAT?

> On-site Program Manager > Physical Security Specialist (personnel operating the LENEL access control system) > Physical Security Hardware Specialist > Information Technology/Information System Specialist > Personnel Security Specialist > Information Security Specialist

Six (6) “Key Personnel” resumes are required. Contractor is responsible for proposing key personnel staffing that meets all requirements of this PWS.

Pages 3-12; 13; 49; 64, Section B – Supplies or Services and Prices; 1.5 Period of Performance; Section F – Deliveries or Performance; 52.217-9(c)

24. Item No 0001-0004 list quantity as 9 months for base year. Period of performance is listed as “base period of eleven (11) months from date of contract execution and three (4), twelve (12) month option years,” Section F lists Delivery Date POP as “1 June 2021 to 31 Mar 2022” (10 months), and 52.217-9 states “total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 57 months”. Will the Government please provide clarity as to the actual or expected Period of Performance?

Please see the answer to Question 7.

Page 15, 1.6.4.1 Surge Capacity

25. Will the government provide estimates of the frequency with which surges requiring either overtime or extra personnel have historically been required?

The Government can’t determine Surge estimates at this time.

Page 19, 1.6.10 Key Personnel; 1.6.11.8; Technical Exhibit A

26. Government states “Physical Security Specialist (personnel operating the LENEL access control system)” under Key Personnel, but in Technical Exhibit A, lists 15,360 hours for Physical Security Specialists (suggesting 8 physical security specialists), 1,920 hours for the PS Hardware specialist (1xFTE) and 3,840 hours for IT/IS Specialists (2xFTE) and in 1.6.11.8 lists a requirement for “5 Physical Security contractors including Hardware Specialists and IT/IS Specialists.” Can the government clarify whether the key personnel requirement for Physical Security Specialist includes 2 physical security specialists who are not the Hardware (1xFTE) or IT/IS (2xFTE) specialists, or only 1 additional person.

Please see the answer to Question 23.

Pages 74, 75, Section L – Page Limitations and Format

27. Government states “Factor 1: technical experience*” with corresponding callout stating “Times New Roman, Size 10 Font, single spaced, 8.5 x 11 (front pages only) format. Will government clarify whether the format provided is applicable to all pages, and what, if any, differing requirements apply to “Front pages”?

This is applicable is to all pages.

Page 76, Section L – a(i)(1): Volume 1 – Technical – Sub-factor 1 – Experience (1)

28. Government states “offer shall submit contract references which demonstrate that the offeror possesses a minimum of five (5) years of experience on recent and relevant service contracts...” Will government clarify whether individual contract references must each have lasted 5 years, or if the aggregate of all experience must demonstrate 5 years’ experience?

Please see the answer to Question 11.

Page 77, Section L – a(i)(1): Volume 1 – Technical – Sub-factor 2 – Staffing Plan & Resumes - (1) Staff Plans

29. Government states “Documentation must be furnished as part of this submission to verify appropriate levels and active status.” Providing documentation to verify the clearance status of personnel will require submission of PII. Due to employee PII concerns, will the government consider removing this requirement? If not, will the government provide a secure venue through which to transfer this information or specify the format in which the information should be provided?

This is a critical requirement and the Government must evaluate this requirement. The Government request to redact any PII information. The Government must be able to determine appropriate levels and active status.

30. Will the government confirm if there is an incumbent currently performing this work, and if so, please provide the name of incumbent and the current contract number?

PWS, Section 1.5, Period of Performance

31. Will the Government confirm the “Period of Performance?” The PWS states the Period of Performance shall be a base period of eleven (11) months from date of contract execution and three (4), twelve (12) month option years. Are there “three (3),” 12 month option years, or “four (4)?”

Section F-Deliveries of Performance

32. Will the Government confirm the “Period of Performance”?

Section B-Supplies or Servicers and Prices; ITEM NO: 0001, 0002, 000, 0004, and 0005 states the “QUANTITY is 9/UNIT is Months. However; the PWS Section 1.5, states the period of performance shall be a base period of eleven (11) months from date of contract execution and three (4), twelve (12) month option years. AND Section F- Deliveries of Performance, state the PoP is “01 JUN 2021 TO 31 MAR 2022” Is the Base Year Period of Performance “Nine (9)”months, OR “Eleven (11) months”?

Section L, - Questions and Answer Period:

33. 1. States: Questions shall be submitted Friday, 16 February 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

(EST). No questions will be answered if received after 1:00 p.m. (EST) on 16 February 2021 Answers shall be provided as an amendment to the solicitation notice as issued via beta.SAM no later than Wednesday, 19 February 2021 at 3:00 p.m. (EST). Please clarify when Questions and Answers are due?

Please see the answer to Question 9.

34. Is the incumbent eligible to bid?

The incumbent has graduated from the 8(a) program and no longer eligible for contract award.

Section 1.6.4.1, Surge Capability

35. Should the contractor price Surge hours in their Pricing Volume?

The requirement for a separate Surge Support Pricing sheet is required and will only reflect the hourly rate for each labor category.

Section 1.6.7.3, Personnel/Facility Security Clearance Requirement

Section B-Supplies or Servicers and Prices;

PWS, Section 1.5, Period of Performance

36. USSOUTHCOM requires the Contractor shall have a valid Top Secret facility clearance at time of award. Given the contract is 8A, will USSOUTHCOM allow a Secret Facility Clearance at the time of award so more 8A companies are eligible to bid?

These requirements must be met at time of proposal submission.

Section 1.6.7.3, Personnel/Facility Security Clearance Requirement

37. USSOUTHCOM requires the Contractor shall have a valid Top Secret facility clearance at time of award. Will USSOUTHCOM accept a team member to hold the Top Secret Facility Clearance at the time of award?

These requirements must be met at time of proposal submission. The Contractor must have their own Top Secret Facility Clearance.

Section 1.6.10, Key Personnel:

38. It is not clear how many key personnel there are. Please clarify the number of each key personnel per labor category?

Please see the answer to Question 23.

Section 1.6.10, Section 1.6.10 Key Personnel:

39. How many resumes are required for each key personnel position?

One resume per each “Key Personnel” position.

Section L, Volume 1 – Technical (i) (1)

40. USSOUTHCOM requires 5 years’ experience on recent and relevant service contracts. Given the contract is 8A, will USSOUTHCOM reduce the number of year experience to 3 years so more 8A companies are eligible to bid?

Please see the answer to Question 11.

41. We understand this is a consolidation of multiple contracts. Is this true? Does the historical work only include one contract, not the work from all sources? Who is/are the incumbent(s)?

42. We noticed an inconsistency in the posting on beta.SAM.gov and the solicitation document. The beta.SAM.gov post references NAICS 541611 with a size standard of $16.5M. This NAICS is consistent with the code assigned to the sources sought, W91QEX21J2SecurityServices, and reflects what we would anticipate for this type of work. However, the NAICS specified in box 10 of the 1449 is 561210 with a size standard of $41.5M.

Would you please clarify which NAICS is correct?

The government asserts that the proper NAICS code in our Solicitation #W91QEX- 21-R-0003 is used. If any revisions are warranted, they will be updated appropriately.

Schedule B, CLINS X0004

43. The eCMRA portal was decommissioned on 19 June 2020. Should the reference for reporting be corrected to SAM.GOV?

The reference to “See website: http://www.ecmra.mil/” is removed from the individual CLIN’s. Service Contract Reporting is now through SAM.gov and is reflected correctly through the Performance Work Statement.

44. CLINS X0004 reference PWS 5.40, but that reference does not exist. PWS Section

5.5 specifies that "ALL contractor labor hours (including subcontractor labor hours) required for performance of services provided under this contract for the USSOUTHCOM via a secure data collection site."

The reference to “PWS 5.40” will be removed from the individual CLIN’s. Service Contract Reporting is now through SAM.gov and is reflected correctly through the Performance Work Statement.

45. Is this the correct reference? Is the secure data collection site SAM.GOV, or will this be a second reporting requirement?

SAM.gov is correct and there are additional requirements for the reporting.

Schedule B, CLINS X0003

46. Please confirm whether the travel CLINS are intended to be FFP as specified, or cost-reimburseable.

http://www.ecmra.mil/

All Travel CLINS are Firm Fixed Priced with a Not-to-Exceed (NTE). Note: The Government will only pay for actuals incurred.

PWS, Section 1 – General, Page 13 of 86

47. Reference "The Contractor shall ensure that all contractor employees and subcontractor employees are medically, dentally, and psychologically fit for performance of their duties." 1) Please clarify that the Government's intent for this requirement is as specified in DFARS 252.225-7987 and is limited to personnel traveling or assigned to the USSOUTHCOM AOR. 2) If the requirement is applicable to the contract, please provide the appropriate criteria, including, but not limited to, the types of immunizations, type and frequency of assessments required for compliance, etc.

The Government remains to keep language as is and the contractor shall ensure all contractor employees are in accordance with aforementioned details as written.

Schedule B, PWS, Section 1.5 Period of Performance, Section F, Deliveries, Pages 3-13 of 86

48. CLINS 0001, 0002 and 0004 specify a period of performance of nine (9) months, but Section 1.5 indicates the base period is for 11 months and Section F, Deliveries, indicate a 10 month period of performance for CLINS 0001, 0002 and 0004, with CLIN 0005 starting 1 month prior, for the total of 11 months. We assume the PWS and delivery schedule is correct and request that the Government correct the CLIN structure to match the PWS and Section F.

PWS, Section 1.6.4.1, Surge; Schedule B, Page 15 of 86

49. Section 1.6.4.1 specifies "The Contractor shall obtain preapproval from the COR prior to any surge hours being worked." and "For short duration surges (less than 20 days), the contractor shall seek remedy by increasing personnel work hours."

1) Will the Government be providing a CLIN for Surge to capture short duration surges?

2) Will longer duration surges be authorized via contract modification and funded by a separate CLIN? 3) If surge activity is not separately funded, and by its nature, is not able to be predicted, will the contractor be authorized to reallocate its staffing from ancillary areas to cover the surge requirement?

The Government has added all Surge CLINS for the Base and Option Periods. Surge will be utilized only “As Needed Basis.” The Government will use the hourly rates of the awarded vendor for Surge.

PWS Section 4.2, Page 28

50. Would the Government please provide the DD-254 the PWS Section 4.2 indicates is included as an attachment?

The DD-254 is available as an Attachment.

Section I, Page 51 of 86

51. The Government has included FAR 52.222-41, 52.222-42 and 52.222-43, but does not provide a Wage Determination. Is this opportunity subject to the McNamara- O'Hara Service Contract Act? If so, would the Government please provide the WD (number, current revision and effective date)?

The Government has included the Wage Determination as Attachment 3.

FAR 52.217-9

52. If the correct base period is 11 months (10 for CLINS 0001-0004 and 1 month for CLIN 0005) as indicate in the PWS and Section G, would the Government please correct the total duration of the contract in FAR 52.217-9?

Please see the answer to question 9 for the correct Period of Performance. FAR 52.217-9 should read “58” months instead of “57.”

Section L, 1 (d), Page 76

53. Reference: "With the exception of the first page, the Offeror shall ensure that the company name, logo, or other company identifying information does not appear in within the Volume 1, Technical." 1) Please confirm that Offerors are to remove all references to the Offeror's name, teaming partner (subcontractor) name, etc. from both sub-factors 1 and 2 of the narrative. 2) Please confirm whether key personnel resumes should be sanitized to remove any reference to companies or programs these personnel have worked on/for. 3) How should offerors provide reference information within Sub-Factor 1? Are contract numbers allowed if they can be traced to the Offeror or teaming partner since that information would provide the identification that is supposed to be excluded?

Please refer to the Solicitation (Page 76) as the information is clear and concise with regards to company information only on the first page. Resumes can reflect companies worked for and contract numbers are allowed.

Section L, 2.a.(1)(a), Recency, Page 77

54. Would the Government modify the past performance requirement to allow work completed within the five year recency period, instead of the current contract award within the last 5 years and ?

Yes, the Government has updated this information.

Section L, 2.a.(1)(b), Relevance, Page 77

55. Would the Government reduce the value of relevance to contracts to $3.5M which is closer to the set-aside threshold in effect during the last five years? The Government specifies the references could come from noncompetitive contracts, but having a $5M threshold will eliminate references from the preponderance of 8(a) offerors with highly relevant contracts.

The Government remains to keep this requirement as is.

56. The period of performance shall be a base period of eleven (11) months from date of contract execution and three (4), twelve (12) month option years. Can the government please clarify if you intend three or four option years?

Please see the answer to question 7.

Section L, 2.a.i.(c),Note, Page 77

57. Reference: "NOTE: The Prime and Teaming Partner or subcontractor may NOT use their experience combined as part of their proposal submittal both for their Technical Experience and Past Performance Proposal submission. Each prime contractor’s experiences should be evaluated solely in determining if an Offeror is technically acceptable. Unless there is an approved SBA joint venture and/or mentor-protégée in place, evaluation of prime and subcontractor technical competency cannot be combined due to affiliation rules that pertain to the Ostensible Subcontracting Rules."

1) Please clarify that the intent of this note is that it is not acceptable to add offeror and teaming partner past performance information together as a single reference.

Rather, past performance or reference information from either entity is allowable as long as they are appropriately identified to the correct entity. 2) We understand that the Ostensible Subcontracting Rule does not preclude an offeror from providing a solution that includes a large workshare for the subcontractor as long as the prime contractor can clearly demonstrate they are not unduly reliant on the subcontractor.

Please confirm this understanding. 3) We also assume this rule does not preclude any offeror from a staffing approach that assumes the capture of incumbent staff to the maximum extent possible. Please confirm this understanding.

Yes, this is correct.

Section L, 2.a.ii.(1), Section M, Evaluation, Staff Plans, Page 77

58. Reference "Documentation must be furnished as part of this submission to verify appropriate levels and active status" Please clarify that the reference to appropriate levels and active status for this paragraph is for the offer/teaming partner FCL documentation and not for all proposed staff. Including documentation for all proposed positions prior to contract award would be unduly burdensome for (8(a)) offerors without incumbent staff.

Please refer to page 16, 1.6.7.3 Personnel/Facility Security Clearance Requirements. This is the standard for this requirement.

Section M, Evaluation, Page 85

59. Reference: "In addition to the above, the offerors “Surge Support Pricing Sheet” will be evaluated for price balance and reasonability only, using one or more of the techniques defined in FAR 15.404-1. The evaluation of the Offeror’s completed “Surge Support Pricing Sheet” will not be considered part of the offeror’s total overall evaluated price; however, if the Offeror’s submitted pricing for Overtime Support is determined to be significantly unbalanced or unreasonable may be considered unacceptable under this factor and therefore unacceptable for contract award."

1) Where are offerors supposed to include this pricing sheet?

2) Will the CLIN for surge support be added?

Please see the answer to Question 13.