Q_A ASCC 20-25.docx

RFQ W91QF0-20-Q-1008

1. RFQ, page 29, subparagraph a – Does the statement, "The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered,” mean that this is a best value or lowest priced technically acceptable based bid?

A1: ‘Most advantageous to the Government’ means Best Value AKA Full-Trade Off.

2. RFQ, paragraph 2.0 – The RFQ states this contract will be executed by one individual. However, if all of the tasks are exercised by the government, that will be one extremely busy individual. Will the government consider allowing two or three qualified individuals to execute a winning contract?

A2: The expectation is one individual; the Government may consider two persons to execute the tasks in the PWS, with the following requirements:

· No additional cost to the Government

· Both individuals are equally, or nearly equally, qualified: the intent is not to have one highly qualified person, and one administrative level person.

· As the tasks are overlapping and interrelated, both personnel must be equally accessible (primary work location of Collins Hall), and equally informed and conversant on the progress and status of all ongoing PWS tasks.

· Travel funding is based on, and forecast for, one person. No additional travel funding is available.

3. RFQ, paragraph 3.1.1 – “USAWC CSL leadership may decide not to execute some of the tasks listed below.” Not knowing which tasks may be exercised, or how many items in a task may be exercised (i.e., only five of ten courses are supported), makes determining how many hours are required difficult. How many hours total does the government expect its lone winning contractor to work on this contract over the course of a year?

A3: The government intends to exercise all tasks and vendors should respond as if all work will be done. However, if the government directs that a specific task is not required, the government will not penalize the vendor. The vendor will determine the number of hours, but the government is projecting 1 FTE.

4. RFQ, paragraph 5.2.3 — According to our research regarding the facility clearance (FCL), a contractor can only apply for a facility clearance "when it is necessary for them to access classified information to respond to a request or perform on a contract. (A company cannot apply for the FCL of its own accord.)” Furthermore, “An uncleared contractor must be sponsored for an FCL either by the U.S. Government or by any other cleared contractor that wants to utilize the contractor’s services on a classified contract.” Will the government sponsor uncleared bidders in order to obtain an FCL clearance, or may the contractor apply for this clearance AFTER being awarded this contract?

A4: Yes. The government will escort uncleared contractor personnel in order to obtain an FCL clearance and the contractor may apply for this clearance after being awarded this contract. Contractor personnel must have a current SECRET clearance and must complete and submit required paperwork for building access, in person, no later than five (5) calendar days after contract award.

5. RFQ, paragraph 8.1 – In this age of COVID restrictions and wide acceptance of teleconferencing, will the government consider relaxing the requirement for on-site weekly coordination meetings to weekly teleconference sessions?

A5: The expectation is to meet in person as limited by USAWC directed Health Protection Condition; or other US Government, USAWC, or CSL directed actions. The USAWC has processes in place to ensure safety of all government and contract employees. Paragraph 3.1.1.9 and 8.1 include flexibility, at the determination of the government, to meet via other means. The government may direct in-person meetings within the safety standards as approved by the USAWC.

Per paragraphs:

3.1.1.9 Meetings. …(the Government may approve telephonic or on-line meetings as appropriate):

8.1 …(the Government may approve telephonic or on-line meetings as appropriate) Weekly meetings with the Government representative is considered a minimum and does not include the required, multiple times a day, interaction with CSL, USAWC, and other team members.

This group of tasks is complex, evolving (within the constraints of the PWS), and collaborative in nature, requiring close, enduring, and timely coordination with CSL, USAWC, and other government personnel. The course development and execution portions of the task require close and enduring coordination with CSL and USAWC leadership, to ensure the material is developed in accordance with government requirements and presented appropriately to the required audiences. Nearly all of the tasks in the PWS require close, enduring, and timely contact with the CSL and USAWC teams to enable dynamic and rapid support to a variety of USAWC classes, programs, and research efforts.

Tasks such as Primary Integrator, Research Support, Project Support, and Subject Matter Expert may involve short notice and rapid response tasking – requiring the contractor to be in close contact with Government personnel, utilizing Collins Hall (or TDY locations with an appropriate CSL or USAWC team) as the primary work location.