prod.nais.nasa.gov · web viewsection l.16.2, table l-2 directs the offeror to submit the volume...

Human Resources Integrated Professional Services (HRIPS) Solicitation NNJ15541361RQuestions and Answers from Draft C, L, M and DRD’s

Question No.

RFP Section Reference Language Question Answer

1 L.16.2, Table L-2

Volume III: Templates and Narrative Format

Will the government confirm the formats for the Price Factor Template and Narrative as MS Word and MS Excel, respectively?

Section L.16.2, Table L-2 directs the Offeror to submit the Volume III Template in Word and the Narrative in Excel. Table L-2 will be corrected to direct Offerors to submit the Volume III Template in Excel and the Narrative in Word.

2 L.16.2, (b) and (c)

(b) "For hardcopies, multiple volumes may be submitted in the same binder, if each volume is tabbed and labeled, unless otherwise stated in this section." and (c) "Volumes shall be separately bound in 3-ring binders that permit the volume to lie flat when open."

Can the government clarify the conflicting instructions for binder submission and if multiple volumes may be included in one binder?

Section L.16.2 (b) states that “...multiple volumes may be submitted in the same binder… unless otherwise stated in this section” Section L.16.2 (c) states that “Volumes shall be separately bound in 3-ring binders…” In the interests of conserving offeror bid and proposal cost, the Government will allow offerors to place multiple volumes in one three ring binder. The RFP will be updated to remove conflicting language.

3 Section L, Attachment L-3

"The resume shall not exceed two pages...9. Evidence of commitment to the program."

Will the government consider allowing another page to be added to the resumes to include Letters of Commitment for Key Personnel, or excluding Letters of Commitment from page count?

The RFP will be updated to state that Letters of Commitment are excluded from the Key Personnel Resume page count. The page count for the Key Personnel Resume will remain at two pages. The Letter of Commitment should be no more than one page in length.

4 L.8.(b) (b) A page is defined as one side of a sheet, 8 1/2" x 11", with at least one inch margins on all sides, using not smaller than 12 point type.

We request that font sizes smaller than 12 point type be allowed in tables and graphics to allow for a more substantive discussion against the voluminous DRD, L, M, and SOW requirements. We recommend 10 pt Arial Narrow be allowed for tables for and figures.

Offerors shall use no smaller than 12 point type on tables and graphs in their proposals per Section L.16.2(c) of the RFP.

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5 L.16.1(e ), L.16.2(b), and L.17.1

Table L-1, L-2, and the L.17.1

Please clarify where the OCI plan belongs, and what its page restrictions are.

The OCI Plan requirements will be clarified in the final RFP.

6 L.16.2(b) Table L-2, Volume I, Items Excluded from Page Limit

Please clarify what the Government means when it states the "Organizational Chart" is excluded from the page limits. The offeror may choose to include more than one organizational chart for purposes of easing evaluation and describing the organizations, lines of communication with our JSC counterparts, and lines of authority within our team.

Table L-2 in the final RFP will be updated to state that the Government will accept multiple Organizational Charts as part of the proposal. The Organizational Charts will NOT be excluded from page count.

7 General General Our group did NOT submit a response to the synopsis by the September 11 date. With that, is it still permissible for our group to submit a proposal in response to the solicitation?

Yes, once the final RFP is posted, any SBA certified 8(a) company may submit a proposal. A response to the synopsis posted on August 28th is not a prerequisite to submit a proposal. The Final RFP will be released around 10/16/2015. Please refer to the HRIPS procurement website for the current schedule and links to Pre-Solicitation Synopsis.

8 General General How would the 22 FTE’s be broken into skill sets? For example how many contract specialist do they anticipate needing versus admins, HR Specialist, Engineers, Developers, trainers, etc...?

It is up to the Offeror to propose the skill mix, direct or indirect, to successfully complete the work per the contract once the contract is awarded. The government does not anticipate that any Contract Specialist direct labor positions are required on this contract; reference the Standard Labor Categories direct positions and skill mix provided in the RFP. Also reference Table L-3 of the RFP which is provided as a reference of anticipated Standard Labor Categories for the Statement of Work. However, note that Table L-3 provided does not guarantee future work of those Standard Labor Categories; they are provided as a reference. If the Offeror is proposing indirect

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labor in performance of Statement of Work, the accounting system is left to the discretion of the Offeror to account for these personnel. Generally, indirect labor is accounted for in indirect expenses. For your reference, the current contract is posted in the technical library on the HRIPS procurement website. http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/hrips/

9 C-1, 2.0 SOW How many internal and external hires do they average per year?

Johnson Space Center averages 150 internal and 85 external hires per year. An internal hire occurs when a civil servant is hired from one JSC organization to another JSC organization. An external hire occurs when a person that is not currently on the JSC payroll is hired into a JSC organization.

10 C-3. 3.3 How much travel is expected per year? Travel averages 15-18 trips per year with 12-15 in HRIS and an average of 3 trips in HR Operations, however, this can vary from year to year based on need. The current HRMODSS contract is stored in the Technical Library for reference.

11 C-3, 3.4 Did they share their Safety and Health Program so we can assess if ours aligns with theirs?

The Safety and Health Plan of the incumbent contractor will not be provided for review because it is considered business sensitive. The successful Offeror will have to provide the Government with their proposed Safety and Health Plan during phase-in in accordance with DRD HRIPS-01. The negotiated S&H Plan will be incorporated into the contract in Section J.

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12 C-7, 5.10.1 What types of databases are being used? Will new resources receive training on how to use these systems?

Section C.5.10.1 lists examples of the different databases used in the NASA Human Resources office. The NASA HR civil servants will provide training to the HRIPS contractor on an as-needed basis.

13 C-9, 5.12.1 How many NASA College Scholarship Funds are given out annually?

There have been five scholarships given each year for the last two years across all of NASA.

14 C-11, 6.1 How many training courses are offered per year?

The Human Resources Training and Development Office averages approximately 200 training courses and professional development events per year. Offerors are cautioned that this estimate is not a guarantee of future courses and events.

15 C-12, 6.9 How many professional development sponsored events are offered per year?

The Human Resources Training and Development Office averages approximately 200 training courses and professional development events per year. Offerors are cautioned that this estimate is not a guarantee of future courses and events.

16 C-12, 6.11 How many professional engineering FTE's are anticipated?

The current HRMODSS contract has 1 professional engineering FTE, but this may change in the future. It is up to the Offeror to propose the skill mix to successfully complete the requirements.

17 C-13, 6.12 What does this statement mean "The Contractor shall perform Emergency Life Support Appartus (ELSA) training"? Are we to have this type of skill set on the contract or sub it out as needed?

Section C.6.12 states that “The Contractor shall "coordinate" Emergency Life Support Apparatus (ELSA) training". It does not state that the contractor will "perform" the ELSA training.

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18 C-14,15, 7.2 How much of this work is going to be advanced development and database administration?

The majority of the work in Section C.7.2 is expected to be designing, developing, coding, and configuring ColdFusion applications and SQL databases.

19 General General Can the government confirm that this will be a single award IDIQ that will issue multiple task orders? Can the government expound on how they intend to issue Task Orders?

The Government plans to issue a single award IDIQ contract with multiple firm fixed price task orders. The Government will request the contractor to submit a price proposal for each task order. The Government will award each task order once a negotiated price has been deemed fair and reasonable. See RFP Section I.13 TASK ORDERING PROCEDURE

20 SOW 3.1- 14 It has been identified that the contractor will be required to staff positions within 15 days of TO issuance. The industry standard is 30 days that allows for time for a new hire to negotiate an offer and then terminate their current contract (14 days’ notice) before processing.

Will the government consider extending to 21 days versus 15?

No, due to the criticality of the positions on the contract, the government will keep the requirement at 15 days.

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21 SOW 9.0 Will the staffing of the NASA Exchange/Starport, using Non-Appropriated Funds, be identified as a single Task Order versus periodic inclusions within multiple task orders?

If the requirements for the Exchange/Starport are within scope of an established Task Order, then the work for Exchange/Starport may be added to that existing Task Order. If the requirements are out of scope of the established task orders, then a new Task Order may be initiated.

22 Pg. C-1- Under the Program Manager Education requirement, is the requirement for a Bachelor’s Degree inclusive of 7 years of experience?

A correction has been made to the HRIPS SLC Guidelines to read as follows: It is desirable to have either a Bachelor’s Degree and at least 7 years of experience in a related area or a Master’s Degree and at least 5 years of experience in a related area; or 9-11 years of equivalent experience without a degree.

23 General General Is there a requirement for Government Security Clearance for any of the personnel assigned to this contract?

There is currently no requirement for a Government Security Clearance for any personnel assigned to this contract. However, the contractor will have to comply with FAR Clause 52.204-9 PERSONAL INDENTITY VERIFICATION OF CONTRACOTR PERSONNEL (SEP 2007) which will be included in the final RFP.

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24 Section C’s Attachment C-1

Standard Labor Categories table lists a Deputy Program Manager position. However, Section L’s Table L-3 does not list this position. Will NASA require a Deputy Program Manager as part of the labor solution?

The RFP will be updated. The Deputy Program Manager SLC will not be included in the HRIPS contract.

25 Reference: JSC Data Requirements Description (DRD), HRIPS-02, Management Operating and Staffing Plan:

DRD, HRIPS-02 states this is to be submitted with the proposal. Will NASA confirm the Management Operating and Staffing Plan as outlined in HRIPS-02 is to be included in the proposal submission and not after contract award?

DRD HRIPS-02 is to be included in the proposal submission per Section L.17.1(a).

26 Reference: JSC Data Requirements Description (DRD), HRIPS-02, Management Operating and Staffing Plan:

The distribution is to two different addresses: the BR2/Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer Representative. Can NASA clarify if Offerors should send the Management Operating and Staffing Plan to both of these offices individually by proposal submission date or to just include the Management Operating and Staffing Plan within the proposal?

First Submission of the DRD HRIPS-02 is with Proposal to the CO in accordance with Section L.10 (c). Any subsequent submissions after contract award should be submitted to both the CO and the COR.

27 Reference: JSC Data Requirements

The information requested might take considerable page count – is the Management Operating and Staffing

The Management Staffing and Operating Plan is included in the page count for Volume I per Section L.16.2(b).

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Description (DRD), HRIPS-02, Management Operating and Staffing Plan:

Plan a part of Volume I’s 35 page limit or will it be excluded?

28 L.17.2 (c) Is the Past Performance Information.xlsx document counted towards the 40 page limit for the Past Performance volume? Does NASA want Offerors to submit the Past Performance Information.xlsx document as a separate attachment?

The Past Performance Information.xlsx document is included in the 40-page page limit and should not be submitted as a separate attachment.

29 Reference L.17.2 (c):

Are the Consent Letters for each subcontractor, teaming partner, proposed program manager and/or joint venture partner counted towards the 40 page limit for the Past Performance Volume?

The Consent Letters for each subcontractor, teaming partner, proposed program manager and/or joint venture partner will be excluded from the 40 page limit for the Past Performance Volume II, however the consent letters are not expected to exceed one page each. See Attachment L-1 of the final RFP.

30 Reference L.17.2 (f),

Safety and Health Data states: “If an offeror self-insures, provide and certify the same information (except the experience modifier rate history) with the signature of the responsible corporate

Are electronic signatures acceptable for submission?

The Government will accept electronic signatures as long as signature is from a responsible corporate officer or official.

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officer or official.”31 Reference

L.17.2 (f)Safety and Health Data states: “Offerors shall provide the following performance data with explanatory remarks on relevant contracts performed in the last three years.”

Does the Government want Offerors to provide the safety and health data information for each relevant contract that Offerors have performed on within the last three years? Or does the Government want the health and data information for the contracts we are submitting as past performance references?

Offerors shall provide Environmental Data and Safety and Health Data with explanatory remarks on relevant contracts performed in the last three years.

32 General General Is there a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) associated with this contract?

There is no Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) associated with this contract.

33 General General The “Anonymous Questions to the Contracting Officer” link on the http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/HRIPS/ webpage isn’t currently working and shows a “404 – File or Directory Not Found” error message. Will this link be available when the final solicitation documents are officially released to the public?

The link has been checked and is currently working. Please contact the contracting officer by email if you continue to have issues.

34 L.16.2 (b) Proposal Arrangement states: “For hardcopies, multiple volumes may be submitted in the same binder, if each volume is tabbed and labeled, unless otherwise stated in this section. For soft copies, each volume shall be

Can the Government clarify the difference between a “hard copy” and a “soft copy” volume?

The “hard copy” volumes are the physical paper copies in binders. The “soft copy” volumes are in electronic form saved to electronic storage media. The RFP will be updated to replace the work "soft" with the word "electronic" in reference to volume copies.

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placed in its own folder.”

35 Table L-2, Volume II

Past Performance’s Format states: “Native Format for Environmental and Safety Data”.

Will the Government clarify what a “Native Format” means?

Native format are copies of the original documents in the format created by the authoring application, like DOC or XLS.

36 Table L-2, Volume III

Price Factor. The Narrative section’s format is listed as MS Excel. Can the Government confirm that Offerors are to submit the Price Factor Narrative in an MS Excel document format?

Please refer to Answer #1

37 Table L-2, page L-9

In Volume III, Price Factor, the format for Templates and Narrative appear to be reversed.

Would the Government please change the format for the Narrative to be Word and the format for the Templates to be Excel?


38 Section L.16.2, page L-9

The RFP states multiple volumes may be submitted in the same binder.

Did the Government intend to allow multiple copies or multiple volumes in the same binder?

Please refer to Answer #2. The Government intends to allow multiple volumes in the same binder.

39 Section L.16.2(f), page L-11

The electronic files are to be submitted in Word and/or Excel format.

Would the Government please confirm that documents requiring signatures, such as the cover letter, SF33, SF30 (if applicable) are acceptable in PDF format?

The documents requiring signatures, such as the cover letter, SF33, SF30 (if applicable) are acceptable in PDF format.

40 Section 1, page L-24

Reference is made to a CBA in the instructions for the pricing model.

Is a Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable for this contract?


41 Section L.17.3, Price

Per the paragraph “Specific Guidelines” on

How will members of a Joint Venture be classified? Will the cost volume

A Joint Venture will be classified as a single, distinct legal entity that is proposing as the prime offeror. The joint venture will

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Factor – Volume III

page L-16, the price instructions apply to the prime offeror and all major subcontractors and major interdivisional organizations.

requirements for major subcontractors also apply to members of the Joint Venture that exceed $1,000,000 in annual revenue?

submit the cost volume requirements. If the joint venture teams with a subcontractor that exceeds the estimated $1M in contract value of this procurement, the subcontractor will also be required to submit the cost volume requirements. The $1M threshold does not refer to annual revenue of the subcontractor, but the annual contract value (for this particular contract) of the subcontractor."

42 Excel Pricing Model

The FBR requires a buildup of 53 labor categories, but the TOPT-SR only has hours allocated to 20 labor categories.

Will NASA be evaluating the hours/dollars in the TOPT-SR or an amount of hours applied to all 53 labor categories?

Section M.2.3 Price Factor (Volume III) states, “For purposes of proposal evaluation and source selection, the proposed price shall reflect: a). the application of the offeror’s FBR’s to the Government provided labor resources (hours and SLCs) for all contract years; b). the application of the offeror’s indirect rate(s), if applicable, to the Government provided NLRs for all contract years; and c). the application of the offeror’s profit rate to both the aforementioned labor and NLRs for all contract years.” NASA will be evaluating the hours/dollars in the TOPT-SR for source selection; however, NASA also intends reviewing all the fully burdened rates in the FBR to determine if they are reasonable.

43 Table L-1. Cross Reference from Section L to Section M

Table addresses Sections L.17.1(c) and M.2.1(c) as Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Plan. L.17.1(c) is Contract Phase-In Approach and Section M.2.1(c) is Phase-In Plan. OCI is not addressed in Sections L.17.1 or M.2.1.

Would NASA please include the OCI requirements in Section L.17.1 and M.2.1?


44 Section Section L.17.2. (a) Part 1: Is it the Governments intent to Part 1: The RFP will be updated and now identifies the Program 11 of 26


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L.17.2(a); L.17.2(d)

states “Provide information from organizations and companies for which your company has previously performed work, in order for the Government to obtain appraisals of past performance. Offerors, including joint ventures, major subcontractors (subcontracts with an estimated annual value greater than $1,000,000) and the proposed program manager shall each provide information on up to five past contracts (subject to the page limitation constraints).” Section L.17.2. (d) states “In addition to the information above, Offerors, any major subcontractors, as defined above, the proposed program manager, and any other

have the Program Manager submit past performance references?

Part 2: Please clarify whether the Government requests past performance from the Program Manager in addition to the corporate offeror's past performance references, or is the Program Manager only required to submit past performance references in the event the offeror does not have relevant past performance?

Part 3: If past performance references are required for the Program Manager, are his/her past performance references included in the “up to five (5)” past performance references contract limit, which includes the references from the corporate entity?

Manager as Key Personnel. Past Performance references are required for the proposed Program Manager in accordance with Section L.17.2.

Part 2: The Government requests past performance references from the Program Manager in addition to the organizations and companies submitting proposals.

Part 3: The past performance references for the Program Manager are in addition to the references for the corporate entity.

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organizational entity (parent or affiliated company, division(s), business units, or segments of your company, which is considered to provide meaningful involvement in contract performance, shall each submit the Past Performance Questionnaire, Attachment L-2, to all of the point of contact references required in paragraph C above. The Offeror is responsible for ensuring that all references are directed to return two copies of each questionnaire directly to the Contracting Officer in a sealed envelope, by fax, or e-mail to the contact identified in provision L.10 “Proposal Marking and Delivery.”

45 Attachment C-1, page C-1

The Program Manager’s requirements of “or 9-

Would the Government please clarify the years of equivalent experience for


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11 years of equivalent experience” conflicts with the Deputy Program Manager’s requirements of “or 10-12 years of equivalent experience.”

these two labor categories?

46 L.16.2 (c), Page L-10, First Bullet

3rd sentence states, “Text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork and photographs shall be no smaller that 12 point text size.”

Would the Government change the requirement to no smaller than 10 point text size?


47 C.7.1 Human Resources Information Systems Development. In order to provide NASA and its customers with successful, state-of-the-art human resources information systems, the Contractor shall be proficient in human resources information technology with advanced competencies in information systems including, but not limited to: Cascading Style Sheets – Level 3 (CSS3), HyperText

How many staff are currently providing services which require these proficiencies?

There are currently 4 staff on the HRMODS contract that support these requirements.

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Markup Language (HTML) 5 responsive layouts, JQuery, Cold Fusion 9 or later, Adobe Creative Cloud and Connect Tools, Oracle Aqualogic/WebCenter, Oracle databases, Microsoft SQL 2005 or later, Windows and MAC operating systems, and IBM Cognos.

48 C 7.2 Human Resources Information Systems Development. The Contractor shall provide initial and advanced development, database administration and associated support for Human Resources applications, tools, and services developed or maintained for HRISO, Center, Agency, and other non-NASA Federal agencies.

How many non-NASA databases are maintained by HRISO staff?

There are no non-NASA databases at this time.

49 C 7.5 Human Resources Information Systems Development. The Contractor shall

What role does NASA IT have in the management of the blade servers?

We no longer use a blade server configuration. We are now on Virtual Memory (VM) server appliances. Statement of Work section 7.5 will be changed to the following: The Contractor shall configure, manage, and secure the HRISO applications within

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configure, manage, and secure the HRISO applications within the dedicated HRISO server resources located in building 46. The server resources consist of 25 servers in a blade configuration housing the HRISO development, staging, test, and production environments for HRISO applications and databases.

the dedicated HRISO server resources located at White Sands Test Facility (WTSF) and in building 46. The server resources consist of 2 VM server appliances housing the HRISO development, staging, test, and production environments for HRISO applications and databases. The Contractor shall manage the applications and databases hosted on the servers.

50 C 8.5 Workforce Planning & Analysis. The Contractor shall recommend, design, and implement workforce restructuring or rebalancing strategies to assure that short-, mid-, and long-term objectives can be achieved.

Is the Government or any contractor providing these services currently?

These services are currently being performed in a collaborative team environment (to include both civil servants and contractors) under the HR MODSS Contract.

51 L.16.2 (c ) Proposal Arrangement, May fonts other than Arial 12 be used Please refer to Answer #4

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Page Limitations, Copies and Due Dates. Sections of the proposal which are page limited shall be prepared and submitted using non-compressed Arial font with single-spaced 12 point text printed on both sides of the sheet with a one-inch margin on all sides in accordance with Microsoft Word default settings.

for headings?

52 L.16.2 (c ) Proposal Arrangement, Page Limitations, Copies and Due Dates. Text in diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs shall be no smaller than 12 point text size.

Please consider allowing Arial 10 to be used in graphics. Arial 12 is quite large and makes creating clear graphics very difficult.


53 L.17.2 (d) Past Performance - Volume II. The Offeror is responsible for ensuring that all references are directed to return two copies of each questionnaire directly to the

Please clarify that one email will be sufficient.

The Government will accept one email containing the past performance questionnaire.

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Contracting Officer in a sealed envelope, by fax, or e-mail.

54 L.17.2 (a) Past Performance - Volume II. Offerors, including joint ventures, major subcontractors (subcontracts with an estimated annual value greater than $1,000,000) and the proposed program manager shall each provide information on up to five past contracts (subject to the page limitation constraints).

Should we take this to mean the government wants to see information for [at most] a TOTAL of five contracts for the offeror team, or [at most] five contracts from EACH offeror member (e.g., 5 contracts from the prime, 5 contracts from each major subcontractor, and 5 contracts from the proposal program manager, equaling 15+ examples)?

Please refer to #44. Section L.17.2 states, "Offerors, including joint ventures, major subcontractors (subcontracts with an estimated annual value greater than $1,000,000) and the proposed program manager shall each provide information on up to five past contracts (subject to the page limitation constraints)."

55 L.17.2 (b) Past Performance - Volume II. Offerors shall consider the relevancy and relevance, as they relate specifically to this solicitation.

Will the government provide more information on past performance contracts they would consider relevant to this solicitation (e.g., contract value thresholds, threshold on number of personnel assigned, to what extent the past performance should match up with the SOW tasks)?

All information on past performance can be found in Section L.17.2 Past Performance (Volume II) and Section M.2.2 Past Performance Factor (Volume II).

56 L.17.3 ( c ) Price Factor - Volume III. Offerors are required to develop a contractor team composite FBR per SLC,

A list of Labor Category Guidelines was provided in Section C, as Attachment C-1. Only some of those labor categories are represented in Section L, Table L-3 which lists the LCAT hours.

Section C Attachment C-1 is a collective list of all SLCs that could be used to meet the needs of the contract requirements. Table L-3 lists the SLC's that are currently being used on the contract.

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per contract year, and then apply those rates to the respective hours provided in Table L-3.

Please explain this discrepancy.

57 L.17.3 Price Template Instructions, a. Fully Burdened Rates Template (FBR). Offerors are required to identify the percentage of incumbent workforce that they intend to pay at their current incumbent direct labor rates by SLC.

Will NASA provide non-proprietary historical information such as average composite direct labor rates and approximate seniority profiles of incumbent personnel to all interested parties in order to increase the probability of realistic pricing?

A list of the incumbent labor rates and seniority levels have been posted to the HRIPS Technical Library.

58 L.16.2 (b) Table L-2: Overview of Proposal Volumes, Page Limitations, Copies, and Format. Items Excluded from the Page Limit: Environmental and Safety Data, Past Performance Attachments, Key Personnel Resumes, and Insurance Carrier Information

Please clarify what is included in "Past Performance Attachments."

Past Performance Attachments includes the Past Performance Consent Letters, Past Performance Questionnaires and Key Personnel Resumes.

59 L.16.2 (b) Table L-2: Overview of Proposal Volumes, Page Limitations, Copies, and Format. See Table L-2

Is the 1 page of introductory material included in the 40 page limit?

Title pages, table of contents, cross-reference matrices, glossaries, acronym lists, page tabs, and section dividers that do not contain information that can be construed as proposal information will not be counted as part of the page limitations.

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All other proposal information is counted in the page limits except those items mentioned in Section L.16.2(b), Table L-2, Items Excluded from the Page Limit. Please also refer to Answer #3.


Please consider requiring a page limitation per past performance reference, rather than for the entire volume. A page limit for the entire volume favors Offerors with fewer teammates, and thus fewer past performance references.

The SLPT has considered the request but will not change the page limits in Volume II Past Performance.


The Formats for Volume III Templates and Narrative appear to be reversed.


62 Section L.16.1, part (d), pg L-8

Which labor categories are considered “Key”?

Please refer to Section H.3 of the Request For Proposal

63 Section L.17.2, part (a), pg L-13

The wording of the solicitation is not clear with regard to the total number of past performance references the Government requires. Is there a minimum and/or maximum number of references that the Government is expecting? Also does the government require that the program manager provide a past performance contract as well?

Please refer to Answer #54. See RFP Section L.17.2(a)

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64 Section L.17.2 (c.)

What level deep does the Past Performance Matrix need to address? Example - S.O.W. - 5.13.4

When completing the Past Performance Matrix of Relevant Experience, the offeror shall address and complete the SOW section to the top WBS level (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc.) in which they have relevant experience.

65 Section 17.2 (f.)

For the additional documentation on Environmental and Safety and Health Data; will this count as part of the page count for Past Performance?

Section L.16.2 (b), Table L-2 indicates that Environmental and Safety Data are ‘Items Excluded from the Page Limit’ for Volume II.

66 Section L.17.3, part (b), para 2, pg L-16

The solicitation requires that offerors map their internal labor categories to the NASA SLCs. For those offerors that do not maintain internal labor categories, is it acceptable to use the solicitation labor categories and descriptions in lieu of labor mapping?

If an Offeror does not maintain internal labor categories, the Government will accept usage of the SLC’s listed in the solicitation; therefore, labor mapping is not required.

67 Section L.17.3, part (b), para 3, pg L-16 and L-17

The second sentence of the paragraph appears to be a run-on sentence and/or is missing information from a list. Will the Government please clarify?

There appears to be an error in formatting. The final RFP will be updated to remove (a).

68 Excel Pricing Model (EPM), tabs TC(a) and TC(b)

Are major subcontractors required to propose rates against all labor categories?

Major Subcontractors are required to provide labor rates for the SLCs that are relevant to the work they will perform in accordance with the instructions in Section L.17.3.A Subcontractor that exceeds the estimated $1M in annual contract value on this particular contract is considered a major subcontractor.

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For tabs TC(a) and TC(b), is the offeror required to submit a rate against every labor category on each tab or is the offeror expected to determine which labor categories are Exempt or Non-Exempt and only price the applicable labor categories on each tab?

The offeror is required to determine which labor categories are Exempt or Non-Exempt and complete the respective TC templates. For example, the offeror may place the Project Manager’s direct labor rate in TC(b) and not in TC(a). The Project Manager is listed in the TC(a) but no direct labor rate would be proposed on this template. The entire list of SLCs are provided as a place holder as a matter of convenience so that the offeror may complete the templates for the applicable exempt or non-exempt personnel. The list is provided in its entirety so that there would be no omissions. Note that the offeror must provide fully loaded rates for all the SLCs listed in the FBR; this requires the offeror to determine rates as applicable for exempt and non-exempt personnel.


What is the relationship between the rates on tabs TC(a)/TC(b) and the FBR tab?

Tabs TC(a) and TC(b) include proposed year one contract rate column. NASA expects to see the proposed year one rates to be included in the direct labor rate column for year one of the FBR. Note that the proposed direct labor rate is not the same as the proposed fully burdened rate.

71 Excel Pricing Model (EPM), tab TC(a):

For non-incumbent offerors, tab TC(a) appears to only allow for DOL WD or CBA to be used as justification for direct labor rates. May offerors use other sources such as representative personnel, salary survey data,

Offerors may use other sources of data as a basis for direct labor rates based upon their proposed management and technical approach.

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Question No.


contingent hire letters, etc. as the basis for direct labor rates?

72 Section M No weighting is given to the relative importance of each evaluation factor against other factors. Will the Government clarify how the proposal is to be evaluated?

Please reference Section M.2 Streamlined Procurement Evaluation Factors for Award (Performance Price Tradeoff (PPT) or Limited Tradeoff (LTO). For those offerors who are determined to be "Acceptable" under the Technical Acceptability Factor, tradeoffs will be made between Past Performance, and Price. Past Performance is significantly more important than price.

73 M 2.2 Program Manager, if currently employed, may have preference that employer not be contacted, how will Government address this issue?

If the Program Manager prefers that their current employer not be contacted at proposal submittal, then the Program Manager shall notate the request and provide an alternate reference to verify employment.

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Question No.


74 General General Please provide a timeframe for release of this requirement. Also does NASA see any conflicts to this requirement such that a vendor is precluded from participation as prime or sub and to win this program and the Business Management Services solicitation NNJ15554115LA Program, another evolving 8(a) procurement as well?

The Government intends to post a Request for Proposal on or around October 16, 2015. Please frequent the HRIPS procurement website for schedule updates at http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/HRIPS/.

At this time, NASA does not forsee a potential conflict that would preclude an offeror from proposing to both HRIPS and the Business Management Services procurements. Please see RFP Section H.2 LIMITATION OF FUTURE CONTRACTING (NFS 1852.209-71)

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prod.nais.nasa.gov · web viewsection l.16.2, table l-2 directs the offeror to submit the volume...

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