MODIFICATION
R -- Strategic Management Support Services
- Notice Date
- 2/16/2007
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Headquarters TSA, 601 S. 12th Street TSA-25, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA, 22202, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- HSTS03-07-R-ACQ913
- Response Due
- 2/20/2007
- Archive Date
- 3/7/2007
- Point of Contact
- Quyen Diep, Contract Specialist, Phone 571-227-2997, Fax 571-227-2913, - Marvin Grubbs, Contracting Officer, Phone 571-227-1581, Fax 571-227-2913,
- E-Mail Address
-
Quyen.Diep@dhs.gov, Marvin.Grubbs@dhs.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis and solicitation procurement and a total small business set aside. The Request for Proposal (RFP) number HSTS03-07-R-ACQ913 is to establish multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) to obtain Strategic Management Support Services for the Transportation Security Administration. **************************************************************** This procurement will be conducted using the Transportation Security Administration Acquisition Management System (TSAAMS). Interested parties may learn more about the Acquisition Management System at http://fast.faa.gov. TSA is exempted from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA ? Public Law 107-71) and empowered to use TSAAMS by the same authority. **************************************************************** All interested vendors must contact TSA's Office of Acquisition (OA) for a copy of the RFP, which contains the instructions, Statement of Work, Past Performance Survey, and Non-Disclosure Agreement. The RFP contains all Evaluation Factors that will be used by TSA in considering the technical merit of each response. The RFP also contains instructions on the format of responses, including page length. All interested offerors are hereby made aware that in order to be considered, they must submit a technical and price proposal that covers all aspects of the SOW, not selected parts of the SOW. However, TSA is willing to consider the merit of any proposed subcontracting or teaming arrangements meeting the Limitations in Subcontracting requirements. TSA's primary point of contact is Ms. Quyen Diep, who can be reached at 571-227-2997 or e-mail at Quyen.Diep@dhs.gov. If Ms. Diep is not available, please contact Mr. Marvin Grubbs at 571-227-1581 or e-mail at Marvin.Grubbs@dhs.gov. Please contact Ms. Diep NO LATER THAN February 9, 2007 to receive a copy of the RFP via e-mail only. Any questions about this synopsis/solicitation shall be directed in writing to Ms. Diep. The deadline to submit a technical and price proposal is indicated in the RFP letter and will not be extended unless the Contracting Officer determines that an extension is necessary to maintain the competitive nature of the procurement. **************************************************************** AMENDMENT 08 TO RFP HSTS03-07-R-ACQ913: The purpose of this amendment is to publicize responses to additional questions submitted on February 12, 2007. ***Question 1: Page 8 ? SOW ? Conflict of Interest. The SOW indicates the following: ?This procurement contains a potential OCI. The awardee and all subcontractors/team partners will not be allowed to compete for any integration or implementation requirement outcomes related to work within the SOW?. Assuming the government awards the BPA to multiple firms, if one firm performs work on a TO, then the firm performing the work on the TO would be conflicted from any subsequent follow-on or implementation work, and not ALL firms under the BPA. Can the government clarify the OCI as it relates to firms not involved in the original TO? Answer 1: The OCI applies on a task order basis. ***Question 2: Is TSA going to extend the deadline for Responses? Answer 2: The due date for proposal submission has been extended to February 23, 2007 at 2:00PM EST (see Amendment 06). ***Question 3: On page page 6 of 24 in the TSA Letter, it is stated, ?For any subcontractor or partner performing a critical element of the work, please furnish at least three references of similar projects.? It does not say in the letter that the subcontractors had to send surveys out to their clients. However, in the Q&A response, it was indicated that subcontractors were required to send these surveys out. Since the surveys were not a clear requirement in the RFP, is it possible to get an extension on the past performance survey due date? Answer 3: Per the letter, we require references from the prime and any subcontractor or partner performing a critical element of the work. To help us evaluate those references and the offerors? past performance, we asked the surveys be sent to the references (?To streamline the Government's past performance evaluation process, the offeror shall provide the Past Performance Survey (Attachment 2) to each of the references included in their proposal for completion? on page 6). Also, please note at the bottom of page 6, we state ?Surveys received after the closing date for receipt of proposals will be accepted, but it is imperative that Offerors advise their references that the survey be submitted and faxed in a timely manner.? ***Question 4: On RFP page 5 of 24, Section IV, reference is made to "12-pitch" type font. I am assuming that should read 12-point font. Is that correct? Also, does the 12-point font restriction apply to all text within a graphic? Answer 4: No, the font requirement does not apply to all text within a graphic. ***Question 5:Are you only requiring pricing from the prime? Answer 5: No, pricing from the prime and subcontractors, if any, is required for any work that may ever be ordered under the BPA(s). ***Question 6: In the RFP Letter, Evaluation Criteria 4, Proposed Approach, would you please provide clarification to the language ?developing performance capabilities?? Answer 6: Developing performance capabilities means exactly that. ***Question 7: It requires quite a bit of information to provide a response to this RFP, will the government consider increasing the page limitation for Volume I? Answer 7: No. ***Question 8: Does the title page, table of contents, and cover letter count towards the total page count for Volume 1 and/or Volume 2? Answer 8: Yes. ***Question 9: The fourth paragraph under the Scope of the SOW states, ?The contractor must be capable of providing proven technical support for all specific tasks described under Technical Requirements.? There is no ?Technical Requirements? heading in the SOW. Is the list at the top of page 2 the ?Technical Requirements? or, is the list under ?Demonstrated Specialized Experience? on page 2 of the RFP the technical requirements? Answer 9: The Scope section of the SOW refers to the technical requirements of the BPA. The ?Demonstrated Specialized Experience? section of the RFP lists experience that would indicate the offerors ability to satisfy the technical requirements. ***Question 10: In our response to the RFP, do we have to add summary information regarding our experience in all areas? If so, could the RFP be changed to cover a large portion of the "Technical Requirements"? Answer 10: How much information to provide regarding experience in specific areas is at the offeror?s discretion. No, the RFP will not be changed. ***Question 11: Speaking of Technical Requirements, it's referenced on the first page of the SOW but which section is actually the Technical Requirements section because we did not see a section with that name. Answer 11: See the response to Question 9. ***Question 12: Can the work used for past performance be in currently progress? We have a situation where we are in the 2nd option year of a contract. Answer 12: Yes, current work can be used for past performance information. ***Question 13: With respect to the past performance survey, how are primes to relate (to themselves) the past performances of subs? In other words, there is no way to know who the prime is once a sub's past client submits the past performance survey. Answer 13: Please ask your references to indicate the prime/subcontractor relationship on the surveys in order to provide a better context for the evaluation of the work. ***Question 14: What percentage of the work can be subcontracted to a non small business and still meet TSA's requirements? Answer 14: Please see TSA AMS clause 3.6.1-7 Limitations on Subcontracting contained in the RFP. ***Question 15: Is it possible to receive a few days extension so staff is not working full time on a holiday weekend? Answer 15: The due date for proposal submission has been extended to February 23, 2007 at 2:00PM EST. ***Question 16: Is it possible to receive copies of Q&A submitted by other vendors? Answer 16: All Q&A have been posted on Fed Biz Opps. ***Question 17: The RFP requires "three (3) relevant, recent contract" references. If the offeror is proposing a two (2) or three (3) company team, does TSA want three (3) references from each company, or just three (3) from the entire team? Answer 17: Per the letter, we require references from the prime and any subcontractor or partner performing a critical element of the work. ***Question 18: The RFP states that proposed personnel "must possess or be eligible for a security clearance". What does this mean? Must the offeror propose only personnel who currently have security clearances, or does it mean that the individual's background is such that an investigation would permit granting a security clearance at the required level. In some cases, the required investigation may take up to several months. If an offeror proposed uncleared, but clearable, personnel, would it adversely affect evaluation of its proposal? How can we mitigate such a circumstance? Answer 18: Security clearance requirements, if applicable, will vary with each resultant task order. It is expected offerors will propose qualified personnel with the highest probability of obtaining the required security clearances if they do not already have them. Please note that clearances are not required for a BPA as a BPA does not guarantee orders. Vendors must show evidence that they can provide people that possess or are eligible for a security clearance. ***Question 19: For the past performance, there is a requirement for three surveys to be completed by this Thursday, 2/15/07. We are concerned that the pending winter weather mix may cause issues in the government completing these surveys. Will you provide an extension to our customers who are completing the three surveys? Answer 19: See the response to Question 3. ***Question 20: In our technical response, are we required to provide at least three references per subcontractor or is that the minimum for the team? Answer 20: See the response to Question 17. ***Question 21: The SOW states that, "The awardee and all subcontractors/team partners will not be allowed to compete for any integration or implementation requirement outcomes related to work within the SOW." If the awardee/prime contractor receives a task order under the BPA, and only the awardee/prime contractor performs work on that particular task order, will the subcontractors/team partners who did not perform work under that particular task order not be allowed to compete for any integration or implementation requirement outcomes related to work within the SOW of the task order even though only the awardee/prime contractor performed work on that SOW? Answer 21: See the response to Question 1. ***Question 22: Will TSA negotiate pricing before disqualifying bidders? Answer 22: No. The purpose of this procurement is to establish technically prequalified and competitively priced BPA(s). ***Question 23: Shall we submit one email with our Technical Proposal and one email with our Pricing Proposal or, should we submit one email with our Technical and Pricing proposals in separate documents? Answer 23: How proposals are emailed is at the offeror?s discretion. However, please be cognizant of file size so that the e-mail will transmit successfully. ***Question 24: Does this question in page 1 of the SOW mean that each person must possess these skills or that each group of people submitted by the bidder must collectively possess these skills: ?The contractor must be capable of providing proven technical support for all specific tasks described under Technical Requirements?? Answer 24: It is expected the group of people (i.e. proposed labor categories) proposed must collectively possess these skills. ***Question 25: Can Past Performance from customers who do not return a survey be included in the Technical proposal? If so, do these descriptions count towards the 15 pages allowed? Question and Answer 8 (of Amendment 2 posted on ????, 2007, responses to questions submitted between January 31 and February 5, 2007). Answer 25: Past performance reference information may be included in the Technical proposal regardless whether the reference completes a Past Performance Survey. The past performance reference information is excluded from the page count limitation. ***Question 26: Regarding the Organizational Conflict of Interest section: ?This procurement contains a potential OCI. The awardee and all subcontractors/team partners will not be allowed to compete for any integration or implementation requirement outcomes related to work within the SOW. An OCI mitigation plan will not be considered.? Will the Government remove the restriction stating that an OCI mitigation plan will not be considered and accept a comprehensive OCI Plan that includes an associated corporate firewall, as a suitable means of protecting against organizational conflicts of interest? Specifically, if measures, as agreed to by the Government, are undertaken by the Contractor to firewall the organization within the Contractor performing task order work under this BPA, will this remove the restriction on the other organizations within the Contractor from participating in future procurements associated with these initiatives? Answer 26: Offerors may submit a Mitigation Plan for each resultant task order. On page 8 of the Statement of Work (Attachment 1 of the RFP), the sentence ?An OCI mitigation plan will not be considered? is hereby replaced with ?An OCI mitigation plan will be considered on an individual basis for each task order?. ***Question 27: In the RFP and associated SOW, does ?risk management? apply to project risk, enterprise risk, or external risk? That is: is the task/capability required relative to a system that mitigates risks to TSA arising from this project, or to risk analysis/risk assessment expertise to help evaluate the efficacy of various TSA initiatives/activities in terms of public safety? Answer 27: As it is used in the SOW (the second bullet and numbers 6, 7, and 8 on Page 2 and in the paragraphs entitled "Strategic Planning", "Risk Management", and "Grants" on pages 3 and 4, respectively), "risk" refers to external risk to (or through) transportation (mostly terrorism, not completely excluding other hazards). This includes but is not limited to "evaluat[ing] the efficacy of TSA initiatives/activities"; much broader, in that it may evaluate the efficacy of other actors' activities, or the need for some initiatives/activities where none exists, or the potential efficacy of proposed initiatives/activities, etc.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Transportation Security Administration, 701/601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA
- Zip Code: 22202
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 22202
- Record
- SN01233759-W 20070218/070216220446 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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