Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA)

Vendor Questions and Census Answers
Draft RFP

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This page was updated on June 15, 2005 (response to #117 was updated).

NOTICE TO OFFERORS - The Government response to your questions is provided as information only and may not reflect the exact formal RFP language or Government position at the time of release of the formal RFP. In cases where language and position differ, the formal RFP language and position takes precedence.

May 2, 2005
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 5, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 8, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 13, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 14, 2005)

1. QUESTION: Please confirm that a cover/transmittal letter, table of contents, acronym list, and title page with proprietary disclosure wording will not count in the stated page limits for the May 9, 2005 mini-proposal deliverables.

RESPONSE:

1. The FDCA Project Management Office (PMO) confirms that a cover/transmittal letter, table of contents, and title page with proprietary disclosure wording will not count in the stated page limits for the mini-proposal deliverables. The Census Bureau will not evaluate any additional information pertaining to the Prime Systems Integrators' capabilities included in these sections of the mini-proposal.
2. The FDCA PMO would prefer mini-proposal responses that do not use extensive acronyms, instead providing responses in "plain English" and in full text. Accordingly, responding Prime Systems Integrators are encouraged to provide a response with limited use of acronyms - the acronym listing will count against the page limit.



2. QUESTION: Please confirm that the FDCA PMO will acknowledge its receipt of the May 9 (mini-proposal), May 12 (funding estimate), and May 16 (draft RFP comments), e-mail deliverables via return e-mail.

RESPONSE: The FDCA PMO confirms that it will acknowledge its receipt of all e-mailed pre-solicitation deliverables via e-mail response.

May 5, 2005
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 2, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 8, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 13, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 14, 2005)

3. QUESTION: Just to clarify, is the Field Data Collection Automation Program (FDCA) Solicitation Number YA1323-05-RP0009 (as noted in Section L.9), or 52-SOBC-5-XXXX, as noted on the cover of Section C?

RESPONSE: The Field Data Collection Automation Project (FDCA) Solicitation Number is YA1323-05-RP0009 as noted in Section L.9. Section C will be corrected in the formal RFP release.



4. QUESTION: Can a vendor submit multiple questions in the Question/Comments block per form or is the Government expecting only one question per submission of this form?

RESPONSE: A vendor may use the Question/Comments block on a form to submit multiple questions/comments, but should number each individual question/comment to facilatate the Project Management Office's review and response.



5. QUESTION: We would like to request an extension of the due date for the ROM estimate from May 12 to May 16, the same date that comments and questions are due for the draft RFP. This will give industry more time to evaluate the draft RFP sections and improve its estimate for the FDCA PMO's consideration. Also, we note that there is no due date for the request for industry's suggestions about the pricing structure in the Sec. B pricing section. We would suggest that the target date for these comments also be on May 16 for your convenience.

RESPONSE:

1. We grant the request for an extension from May 12 to May 16, 2005 for vendors to provide the ROM estimate of costs, which the Project Management Office (PMO) will use for informational purposes only. As previously stated, the PMO will not use or consider this ROM estimate in the evaluation of vendor responses to the Pre-Solicitation Notice.
2. The PMO accepts the proposed due date of May 16, 2005 for vendors to submit their suggestions related to the pricing structure in the Sec. B.

June 8, 2005
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 2, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 5, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 13, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 14, 2005)

Section C: Statement of Work

6. QUESTION: BOC Requirements for DAPPS infrastructure for the 2010 Census, Section 4, System Architecture, is it the intent that DAPPS be physically located across two of the U.S. power grids or is the intent to have the redundant DAPPS environments be supported by two independent power sources? [Appendix J]

RESPONSE: The requirement for the DAPPS infrastructure to be located across two U.S. power grids is not final. The power requirements for FDCA hardware and infrastructure on which DAPPS will run should be designed to be fault tolerant and redundant to minimize the impact of a commercial power loss.



7. QUESTION: In Section C.2 Overview, subparagraph 2 discusses preparatory operations to include "recruit and train enumerators." Please specify the requirements for the FDCA contractor to recruit and train enumerators. [C.2]

RESPONSE: The FDCA contractor has no direct responsibility for recruiting of staff for the Regional Census Centers, Puerto Rico Area Office, or Local Census Offices. The Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS) contract includes the activities necessary to provide the systems and services for recruiting office and field staff for the 2010 Census. The reference to recruiting shown in this subparagraph reflects the fact that 2010 Census preparatory operations include recruiting activities. The FDCA contractor's involvement in recruiting is limited to providing the telecommunications and IT infrastructure that these offices will use to carry out various recruiting activities.

The current training requirements under the RFP cover the development of training for applications produced by the FDCA contractor. The Census Bureau plans to have its own employees provide the actual training for enumerators and other staff, in part through use of training packages and/or computer-based applications provided by the FDCA contractor. Expanding the level of training support provided through the FDCA contract remains an option for future consideration.



8. QUESTION: For requirements purposes, is the PRAO to be treated as an RCC? Are there any special requirements for the PRAO beyond support requirements involving the Spanish language? [C.3]

   RESPONSE: The Puerto Rico Area Office (PRAO) is larger than a Local Census Office, but smaller than a Regional Census Center (RCC). For costing purposes only, it should be treated like an RCC. There are no other specific requirements for the PRAO except that the applications for the entire Office Computing Environment for PRAO shall be in Spanish.

   
   

9. QUESTION: The DRFP states the LCO peak office staff will be around 60. Is it expected that the number of workstations (PCs and laptops) will be more, less, or equal to the number of workstations used by the LCO for the last Decennial? [C.3 pg.9]

RESPONSE: The typical Local Census Office staff level will be around 60 people spread over 2 shifts. The hardware for the LCOs will depend on the Offerors' solution for FDCA. For an example of the number of PCs utilized in Census Bureau's design of the 2006 Census Test, refer to the documentation in Section J.



10. QUESTION: There is a reference to video in Section C.4 under Telecommunications. Please specify the video requirements. [C.4]

RESPONSE: The offerors shall provide a fully integrated video conferencing capability with the integrated voice and data for the RCCs.



11. QUESTION: Can there be multiple concurrent users of a single mobile computing device? [C.5.1.1.17]

RESPONSE: Individual mobile computing devices will not have multiple concurrent users, but may support multiple user accounts based on the FDCA contractor's solution.



12. QUESTION: There appears to be a word missing after the word "extended." [C.5.1.4.11]

RESPONSE: Section C.5.1. contains the following revision: "The MCE shall store Census map (spatial) data files containing all blocks of the field worker's assignment plus an extended area as appropriate for the assignment area to be determined."



13. QUESTION: Please clarify the meaning of using coordinates gathered by manual means (note - this functionality shall not require the field staff to input the longitude and latitude numbers manually). If coordinates are gathered manually, how is the enumerator supposed to enter the coordinates in the mobile application, if not manually? [C.5.1.4.2] Moreover, how should this latitude and longitude information be retrieved if not available through the mobile device (GPS signal not available)? [C.5.1.4.5] How does this line up with C.5.1.4.2.

RESPONSE: To clarify this requirement, we have revised Section C.5.1. as follows: "The FDCA contractor's MCE solution shall allow the collection of housing unit geographic location data by a single user action on an electronic map (i.e., map spotting) by GPS when available, or by alternate means when GPS is not available for each existing or new structure."



14. QUESTION: There are multiple references to a "case" in this document. For clarity, please confirm that the term "case" always refers to an address. [C.5.1.5.10]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau uses the term "case" in reference to an individual living quarters (housing unit or group quarters) that requires some type of contact (telephone or personal visit), such as by an enumerator to: 1) obtain a completed questionnaire if the respondent did not return a completed one by mail, or provide their census data through the Internet or by telephone (Non-Response Follow-Up); 2) conduct an interview for the Census Coverage Measurement (CCM Personal Interviewing); 3) conduct reinterview or other quality assurance activities; or 4) carry out a variety of other "paper-based" enumeration activities. We use the term "case" to ensure a complete understanding of the status of the actual workload, since any individual "address" may have one or more cases associated with it. For example, a multi-unit apartment building with only a single basic street address (e.g., no apartment designations) may have multiple cases in the Non-Response Follow-Up Operation.



15. QUESTION: This requirement is in the context of data collection questionnaires. Does this requirement also apply to the MCE Address Canvassing user interface? In other words, are there additional language requirements (other than English) for the MCE Address Canvassing user interface? Must the Address Canvassing Help Desk also support additional languages? [C.5.1.5.11]

RESPONSE: For stateside and PRAO operations, the data collection instruments (questionnaires) for each operation, with their internal help screens need to toggle between Spanish and English; see Section C.5.1.5.11 and C.5.1.5.12. For all operations in Puerto Rico, the entire OCE must be in Spanish only; see Section C.5.1.1.22 and C.5.2.1.2.2. FDCA help desk support must be accessible to both stateside and PRAO staff in both English and Spanish as specified in Section C.5.4.2.9.



16. QUESTION: Request a 48 hour mean time rather than an 24 hour mean time to repair for MCEs due to difficulties associated with rural areas. [C.5.1.9.1]

RESPONSE: The requirement is clarified in section C.5.1.9.1 as follows: "The FDCA Contractor shall propose a process to ensure that MCE capability for each crew leader and enumerator is maintained fully operational. This process shall include the specific metrics to be gathered, with recommended threshold limits for alarm and corrective actions, to support the maintaining of the full operational capability of the MCE."




Section L: Instructions, Conditions, and Notices



17. QUESTION: The desired response date in Attachment L.2 is shown as XXXX. According to Section L.16.1.5.2, this date is July 8, 2005. Also, the desired response date in Attachment L.3 is shown as July 15, 2005. According to Section L.16.1.6.3.2, this date is July 8, 2005. Please clarify the dates on Attachments L.2 and L.3.

RESPONSE: The dates in Attachments L.2 and L.3 will be revised in the formal RFP to the desired response date of July 8, 2005 to be consistent with the section L references.




Section C: Statement of Work



18. QUESTION: What supplies will the Government provide as GFE within the RCC, PRAO, and LCO locations? [C.5.2]

RESPONSE: The requirement is revised to reflect the removal of the term GFE.



19. QUESTION: Please provide the list of GFE hardware and software that will be made available to the Offeror. [C.5.2.1]

RESPONSE: Section G of the formal RFP is revised to indicate GFE. The revision is as follows: "The Government has an enterprise license agreement with Oracle Corporation through 2013 that allows for use by the Government or contractors performing work under a Government contract. The quantities sited are dependent upon the number of licenses already distributed.

The Government will make available to the Contractor, the use of the following products by up to 9,000 Government employees/Contractors:

• Oracle Database Enterprise Edition;
• Oracle Application Server Enterprise Edition;
• Advanced Security;
• Label Security;
• Partitioning;
• Diagnostic Management Pack;
• Tuning Management Pack; and
• Change Management Pack.

In addition to access by up to 9,000 specific users, the Government also allows access to the products listed above for 100 processors.

The Government will provide for the following development tools for up to 200 developers:

• Internet Developer Suite;
• Discoverer Desktop Edition; and
• Programmer.

The Government will make Oracle Database Lite available to the Contractor for use on up to 500,000 devices."



20. QUESTION: Where is the GFE space located for the RCC, PRAO and LCO infrastructure requirements? What is the size of this GFE space for build out? [C.5.2.1]

RESPONSE: The RCC space will be located relatively near the Census Bureau's permanent Regional Offices. The Census Bureau has not determined the final location of the temporary offices (RCCs, PRAO, and LCOs) required for 2010 Census. See Section J for a map of the Census 2000 RCC locations, and sample RCC and LCO floor plans from the Census 2000 and the 2004 Census Test.



21. QUESTION: The DRFP states, Upon closeout of each RCC, PRAO and LCO or upon repair/replacement of any equipment during operations, the FDCA contractor shall de-install, degauss or otherwise sanitize (to include tracking and reporting on items sanitized) all systems and storage that maintained any data to render the data completely unrecoverable in whole or in part, and dispose of all equipment, systems, and other deliverables provided by the FDCA contractor as specified by the Government. Will the Government provide the specific degaussing and sanitization specification in the final RFP? [C.5.2.1.2.8]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau IT Security Program Policy states, at Section 5.3.1.5: "Unclassified information stored on electronic media considered excess to the owner's needs must be completely erased (e.g., overwritten three times, erased with commercial grade degaussing equipment, or subjected to a media sanitization software process) or the media rendered non-functional through shredding or other physical destruction." We will post this entire document to the reference library on the FDCA website.



22. QUESTION: Should the exception report example 4) read "work not yet shipped or received"? [C.5.2.1.6]

RESPONSE: Yes, it is critical for management to know the status of all work within the office environment. This also includes knowing what work has not been shipped from the office and what work has been shipped, but not received at the data centers.



23. QUESTION: Please provide additional information regarding the Census HQ Cost and Progress (C&P) System, including the interface definition. [C.5.2.1.6.10]

RESPONSE: This requirement is for informational purposes only and for technical considerations. This is a requirement of the FDCA contract and the Offeror shall not include this in their cost proposal. We will provide the technical details of this requirement after contract award.



24. QUESTION: Please provide additional information regarding the Census Staffing Authorization application, including the interface definition. [C.5.2.1.6.11]

RESPONSE: This requirement is for informational purposes only and for technical considerations. This is a requirement of the FDCA contract and the Offeror shall not include this in their cost proposal. We will provide the technical details of this requirement after contract award.



25. QUESTION: What does the acronym LDS stand for? [C.5.2.2.12.4]

RESPONSE: The requirement at C.5.2.2.12.4 is removed in the formal RFP and no longer applicable.



26. QUESTION: Please provide additional information regarding the Applicant Geocoding System, including the interface definition. [C.5.2.2.4.4]

RESPONSE: The Applicant Geocoding System resides in the Census Bureau's Bowie, Maryland facility. Interface to this system is accomplished via http protocols (i.e., access via web browsers from a user's OCE).



27. QUESTION: Please provide additional information on the business processes related to checking out work to DRIS. [C.5.2.2.9.11]

RESPONSE: The business process to check work out to DRIS is undefined since the DRIS contracted is not yet awarded. The formal RFP is therefore revised as follows: "The FDCA contractor shall work with the Census Bureau and the DRIS contractor to develop a solution to check work out to DRIS for further processing from within the FDCA OC function."



28. QUESTION: In the final RFP, please clarify this requirement for proper estimations. [C.5.2.3.1]

RESPONSE: The RFP is revised as follows to clarify this requirement: "The FDCA contractor shall design, create, deliver, maintain, and support an asset tracking system for all assets within the FDCA solution as part of the OCE."



29. QUESTION: Please identify quantity of E-size printers required for the HQ and NPC. [C.5.2.5]

RESPONSE: Details on the exact quantity of E-size printers Census will require for NPC and HQ are not yet known and will be address post contract award. For costing purposes Offerors should treat NPC and Census HQ as an RCC to determine quantities of E-size printers required.



30. QUESTION: Please provide additional information about the Geography programs noted in this section, including a list of the hardware and peripherals to be supported. [C.5.2.5.5]

RESPONSE: Exact details and specifications of the hardware and peripherals are not defined at the current time. We will provide the technical details of this requirement after contract award.



31. QUESTION: Please specify the media graphics workstation requirements. [C.5.2.6&7]

RESPONSE: Exact details and specifications of the graphics workstations are not defined at the current time. We will provide the technical details of this requirement after contract award.



32. QUESTION: In this section, RCC, PRAO and LCO LAN cabling is identified as a contractor responsibility and elsewhere (Section C.5.2.1) the RCC, PRAO and LCO space build out, including telecommunications readiness (e.g., LAN cabling), is described as being performed under GSA contract. Please clarify. [C.5.3.1.1]

RESPONSE: Sections C.5.2 and C.5.3 specify that GSA is responsible for space buildout (i.e., HVAC, electric, furniture, etc.) and not telecommunications. The FDCA contractor is responsible for LAN cabling and telecommunications, both within the built out spaces and external to those spaces. However, the FDCA contractor shall provide GSA the specifications of their solution's power requirements, space requirements, LAN wiring type and routing, AC needs, etc. in advance of space acquisition by GSA for their planning requirements.



33. QUESTION: If it is the FDCA contractor's responsibility to install the telecommunications cabling from the Telco closet to the GSA leased room(s) in the building where an RCC, PRAO, or LCO is located, please provide a set of assumptions (length of cabling, construction requirements, etc.) to guide the estimation of this cost. [C.5.3.1.1]

RESPONSE: The LAN solution for the offices will depend on each Offerors' implementation of the FDCA requirements. The Government therefore cannot make assumptions regarding cabling or the need for cabling by the FDCA contractor. For the Offeror's estimation purposes, Section J of the formal RFP is revised to show typical space assumptions for RCCs and LCOs.



34. QUESTION: We agree that the Census Bureau should require a 99 percent availability of network capability and resources and be able to utilize a backup telecommunications capability in 1 hour or less. However, the Census Bureau should consider removing the MTTR requirement of 4 hours or less for all components used to provide the Telecommunications solution to greatly reduce disaster recovery costs with minimal increase in risk. [C.5.3.4.3]

RESPONSE: To clarify this requirement the formal RFP is revised as follows: "The FDCA Contractor shall propose a process to ensure that FDCA Telecommunication's capability is maintained fully operational. This process shall include the specific metrics to be gathered, with recommended threshold limits for alarm and corrective actions, to support the maintaining of the full operational capability of the FDCA Telecommunications capability."



35. QUESTION: Does the 24-hour MTTR include data recovery, any affected transmissions, or both? If so, please consider modifying the minimum requirement to specify that the MCE should be restored to its exact state just before the last connection with the host system rather than just prior to the failure because these devices operate in a disconnected state, so retrieving information lost just before the point of failure may not always be possible or, more important, cost-effective. This question also is relevant to requirements C.5.1.9.1 and C.5.2.6.2. [C.5.4.1.13]

RESPONSE: To clarify this requirement the formal RFP is revised to require that the FDCA Contractor shall propose a process to ensure that their solutions are maintained fully operational. This process shall include the specific metrics to be gathered, with recommended threshold limits for alarm and corrective actions, to support the maintaining of the full operational capability of their solutions.



36. QUESTION: Note that the subsection following C.5.4.2.2 is numbered out of sequence, and may require the renumbering of the remaining subsections.

RESPONSE: The section numbering is corrected in the formal RFP.



37. QUESTION: Is the Learning Management System expected to serve as a short term solution only for the decennial census or as a long term sustainable solution that will continue beyond this program?

RESPONSE: Learning Management System (LMS) references in the RFP are limited to the scope and duration of FDCA only. Note that the requirements in the final RFP's Section C do not specifically require the delivery of a LMS, but allows each Offeror the flexibility to propose an LMS if they feel it is beneficial to their respective solution. Solutions shall be SCORM compliant as appropriate.



38. QUESTION: In order for the Government to minimize both the risk of component and/or system downtime and also to minimize the administrative overhead (both contractor and Government) incurred with SLA reporting and validation, we recommend that an SLA for overall system availability be established at 99 percent, and that a monthly report be provided by the contractor that shows the percent availability of each component and the total availability of all components in the aggregate. The contractor should be encouraged to monitor component availability electronically. More granular requirements such as MTTR and reporting on impact to shared functionality or resources by offices or groups of field staff greater than 20, should be removed. [C.5.4.5.2]

RESPONSE: To clarify these performance requirements the formal RFP is revised to require that the FDCA Contractor shall propose a process to ensure that their solutions are maintained fully operational. This process shall include the specific metrics to be gathered, with recommended threshold limits for alarm and corrective actions, to support the maintaining of the full operational capability of their solutions.

Additionally, the grouping requirement is not removed in the formal RFP but updated as follows: "The FDCA contractor shall calculate and report uptime and mean time to repair (e.g. time from problem report to restore unit to exact function just prior to the failure) metrics separately for problems impacting shared functionality or resources affecting office staff or groups of field staff greater than 20."



39. QUESTION: Will there be an independent certification agent? If so, will the Government hire the independent certification agent? [C.5.5.1]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau IT Security Officer (ITSO) currently functions as the certification agent for Census Bureau systems. The ITSO reports directly to the Chief Information Officer and maintains independence from program areas. Due to the size and diverse locations of Decennial Census 2010 operations, the ITSO is exploring the use of an independent certification agent to assist in Certification & Accreditation activities. If used, an independent certification agent would be hired and managed by the Census Bureau under the direction of the ITSO.



40. QUESTION: These sections reference levels or types of certification and accreditation (certifiable, fully certified, "modified"). A "modified" certification and accreditation is to be performed for the development, test, and 2008 Dress Rehearsal solutions. Please clarify what is meant by "modified" in this context. Is an Interim Authority to Operate (IATO) acceptable for Dress Rehearsal, or will full accreditation be required? [C.5.5.1, C.5.5.1.4]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau (and all contractors) must follow the requirements for Certification & Accreditation as detailed in NIST Special Publication 800-37. Due to the unique nature of the Decennial Census, the 2008 Dress Rehearsal will undergo the C&A process, and will receive an Interim Authority to Operate (IATO) provided any residual risks are at an acceptable level to authorize processing. We will remove the term "modified" from the RFP as it is not a designation actually used by our IT Security Office.



41. QUESTION: Cites http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/ Within this website is the following high-level requirement: This standard (that is, "FIPS 201") specifies the architecture and technical requirements for a common identification standard for Federal employees and contractors. The overall goal is to achieve appropriate security assurance for multiple applications by efficiently verifying the claimed identity of individuals seeking physical access to Federally controlled government facilities and electronic access to government information systems. Does the Bureau's future planning include the deployment of PIV smart cards to comply with the FIPS201 requirements cited for identity management, during the FDCA contract period of performance? If so, does the Bureau envision providing smart cards to the enumerators, crew leaders, etc.? Will enumerators be issued PIV smart cards by the Census at Census cost? If the Contractor is to be responsible for the cost of the smart cards … Who (Contractor or Census) is responsible for enrolling the enumerators into the PIV program? Who (Contractor or Census) will be providing the smart cards? [C.5.5.2.2]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau is mandated to comply with HSPD-12 (including FIPS 201). Due to the unique nature of the Decennial Census, the Census Bureau is developing specific guidelines relating to Decennial field operations, and will post such guidelines to the FDCA website as available. At the present time, the Census Bureau does not envision requiring smart cards for enumerators and crew leaders. There will, however, be a smart card requirement for selected Local Census Office employees based on position sensitivity and risk.



42. QUESTION: The DRFP states, The FDCA contractor shall house the FDCA systems and equipment at secure FDCA support facilities that have been approved by the Department of Commerce Office of Security at Census. All systems housed at these facilities shall be required to be certified and accredited in accordance with NIST 800-37. Can the systems and equipment be housed at a contractor-owned facility that meets the certification and accreditation requirements? [C.5.5.3.5, FDCA Support Facilities, page 57]

RESPONSE: Contractor-owned facilities may be utilized as "FDCA Support Facilities" provided that the Government's security requirements, as stated in Section C.5.5.3 and elsewhere in the draft RFP, are fully met.



43. QUESTION: The DRFP states, The FDCA contractor shall submit paperwork for new FDCA employees at least two (2) calendar weeks before they commence work under this contract. Necessary forms will be furnished by the Government at contract award and will be made available to the FDCA contractor as needed during the life of this contract. We recommend that the Census Bureau consider a shorter or interim clearance process so that quick-response needs can be met. [C.5.5.4.1.9, FDCA Contractor Hired Management, Technical and Maintenance Staff, page 59]

RESPONSE: The Government's personnel security processing requirements under this contract cannot be changed. The required security forms will be requested as a part of final proposals such that immediate processing of the winning vendor can be expedited to meet the quick response required.



44. QUESTION: This section states the FDCA contractor shall be responsible for the security for "general access to the RCCs, PRAO and LCOs." However, other references indicate that GSA is responsible for the physical security of these facilities. Please clarify. [C.5.5.5.5]

RESPONSE: GSA is responsible for physical security of the RCCs, LCOs, and the PRAO. If the FDCA contractor proposes other facility(ies) as part of their solution (e.g., a NOC, etc.) that is not co-located in an existing Government facility, then the FDCA contractor shall be responsible for all security relative to those facilities, including physical security, providing that the Government's security requirements, as stated in Section C.5.5.3 and elsewhere in the draft RFP, are fully met.



45. QUESTION: Please clarify how the Government will provide the FDCA contractor the data to build the required Health, Safety and Security reports. [C.5.6.17.3]

RESPONSE: These requirements are removed from the RFP.



46. QUESTION: Is the Government referring to the wlnsight EVMS tool in this section? [C.5.6.6.9]

RESPONSE: Yes. The requirement is changed in the formal RFP to reflect "wInsight."




Section J: Attachments



47. QUESTION: In the Operations Milestone Schedule and Scale document, the Table Notes at the bottom of page 3 estimates 455 LCOs, 12 RCCs, and 1 PRAO, for a total of 468 offices. In the exhibit under the heading Census 2010 Production, Open Remaining LCOs the total number is 462. Please provide the correct total number of offices. [J Sec 1]

RESPONSE: The correct total for the number of temporary offices (RCCs, PRAO, and LCOs) that we plan to open for the 2010 Census is 468. We have corrected the total shown in section J.



48. QUESTION: In the Operations Milestone Schedule and Scale document under the heading Census 2010 Production, the Early LCOs are estimated at 120. Are these 120 LCOs a subset of the 462? Do the 120 Early LCOs remain open through September 2010? [J Sec 1]

RESPONSE: The total number of LCOs that we plan to open for the 2010 Census is 455, which includes the 120 Early LCOs. We will determine the specific dates for closing individual LCOs from the status of their data collection activities. We anticipate closing LCOs starting in September 2010. Early LCOs will close on the same schedule as the 335 LCOs that opened at a later time.



49. QUESTION: In the "Evaluations/Experiment Operations - Coverage Measurement" section of the Operations Milestone Schedule and Scale document, quality control activities are scheduled for "March 06". Please clarify the correct timeframe. [J Sec 1]

RESPONSE: This represented an erroneous entry in the document, which we have now removed. Coverage Measurement has multiple operations, each with its own distinct quality control phase. Generally, the quality control phases start 2 weeks after main operation begins and continue for 2 weeks past the end of the main operation.




Section L: Instructions, Conditions, and Notices



50. QUESTION: The RFP states, The oral presentation slides for Technical and Program Management Approaches should be constructed in accordance with the page limitations in the table in Section L.16.1.2, written Proposal Organization, and L.16.2, providing specific instructions for material to be presented during orals...Currently, the DRFP includes no Section L.16.2. Does the Government intend to include Section L.16.2 in the final RFP? Alternatively, is the reference to the page limitations in the table in Section L.16.1? [L. 16.1.7.1, Volume III, Section 1: Oral Presentation Format, page L-19]

RESPONSE: The Government has not established a specific page limitation for the Oral presentation slides, other than the requirement that the Offeror must be able to cover all of the material within the time established for Orals. The Government does not intend to include a Section L.16.2, so we have revised the RFP accordingly.



51. QUESTION: Should NAICS code 541542 read 541512? [L.15 (a) & (b)]

RESPONSE: We have corrected the RFP, which now shows the correct NAICS code 541512.



52. QUESTION: We identified some inconsistencies in Section L references related to the number of volumes required in the written proposal. Specifically, There are four proposal volumes defined in L.16.1. Recommend the statement in L.16 (a) "A three-volume written proposal" be changed to "A four-volume written proposal" [L.16 (a)]. L.16(a) states that a three-volume written proposal shall be submitted by offerors in accordance with Section L.9. However, the L.16.1 table reflects four volumes. Should L.16(a) state that a four-volume written proposal shall be submitted by offerors in accordance with Section L.9? [L.16(a), Written Proposal, Oral Presentation/Discussions, and Prototype Development Instructions, page L-5]

RESPONSE: We have corrected the RFP to reflect the instructions to provide a four volume written proposal.



53. QUESTION: Recommend that Offerors be instructed to include:· A 3-page Overview and Summary to Volume I, the Similar Experience/Past Performance volume· A 5-page Executive Summary to Volume II, the Technical, Management and Key Personnel Approaches volume. It is also recommended the page count for these summaries be excluded from the overall page limitations of the respective volumes. [L.16.1 ]

RESPONSE: Offerors may provide whatever overview or summary they believe will benefit the presentation of their proposal, but they pages will still count towards the specified limitation. The Government believes the current page limit provides sufficient space for all volumes.



54. QUESTION: The table in L.16.1, Volume I states that the "Project Description/Approach portion" of the Attachment L.1 template is not to exceed one page. Which part of the Attachment L.1 Similar Experience Matrix Template is the "Project Description/Approach" portion? [L.16.1, L.16.1.5.1(a) ]

RESPONSE: We inadvertently omitted the Project Description/Approach from the template. The revised RFP Attachment L.1 template now includes Item 13: Project Description/Approach, which should not exceed one page.



55. QUESTION: Request allowing the inclusion of a cover letter, title page, table of contents, list of figures, acronym list, and compliance matrix, and excluding these items from the established page limitations for each volume. [L.16.1, L.16.1.3 ]

RESPONSE: We will revise the RFP to reflect that the Offeror my include these items, and that they are excluded from the page limitations.



56. QUESTION: The Program Management Approach has a page allocation of 30 pages. Does that 30-page allocation apply only to A. FDCA Management Approach? Are B. Org Structure, C. Org Resources, D. CWBS and Project Schedule, and E. Subcontract and Subcontract Participation Plan excluded from the 30-page allocation? Please clarify. [L.16.1, Written Proposal Organization, page L-7]

RESPONSE: We have revised Section L.16.1 to reflect the exclusion of the P/CWBS, Project Schedule, and the Subcontract and Subcontract Participation Plans from the page limitations. The FDCA Management Approach, Organization Structure, and Organization Resources will continue to count towards the total page limitation.



57. QUESTION: The project schedule is not specified in MS Project. Is it expected to be delivered softcopy in MS Project? L.16.1.2

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.2 to reflect MS Project as an acceptable format. Offerors should provide all items in L.16.1.2 in softcopy only.



58. QUESTION: Can the Orals Presentation be provided in PowerPoint vs. Word?

RESPONSE: Yes. We will revise Section L.16.1.2 to reflect PowerPoint as an acceptable format.



59. QUESTION: Recommend that the format options for Volume IV, Cost Proposal, include the option to use Microsoft Word for cost narrative. [L.16.1.2-Volume IV]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.2 to reflect Microsoft Word as an acceptable format.



60. QUESTION: Are additional project summaries required? What is the format and where should they be included in the proposal? [L.16.1.3 ]

RESPONSE: We do not require additional project summaries.



61. QUESTION: In order to evaluate the full capabilities of each team, recommend the instructions in this section be changed to allow teammate Similar Experience and Past Performance to be included. [L.16.1.5]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.5 to allow teammates' Similar Experience and Past Performance.



62. QUESTION: Request that the Census Bureau expand the similar experience scope to allow the inclusion of commercial contract experience as well as foreign government contract experience in the proposal. This modification will enable the Census Bureau to gain a broader understanding of the Offerors' capability. [L.16.1.5.1, Volume I, Section 1 Similar Experience Project References]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.5.1, Volume I, Section 1 to allow inclusion of commercial contract experience as well as foreign government contract experience.



63. QUESTION: Is July 8, 2005 the date by which offerors are required to submit their list of Past Performance References in a Microsoft Word file? May this list be emailed to dir.fdca.pmo@census.gov?

RESPONSE: Yes, July 8, 2005 is the due date for Offerors to submit their list of Past Performance References in a Microsoft Word file. Offerors should email this list to dir.fdca.pmo@census.gov.



64. QUESTION: There are multiple references discussing the Offerors' MCE prototype and field testing. Section L.16 (a) states the prototype will be field tested during the technical exchange period; The anticipated milestones in Section L.14 state the prototype is due February 3, 2006, and evaluation of the prototype will occur February 6 - March 10, 2006. Please clarify the anticipated dates for the following:·; Section L.16.1.6.1.1 states the contractor's prototype should be made available at the end of the technical exchange period for field-testing; Contractor delivery of completed Assignment files. [L.16.1.6.1.1]

RESPONSE: We have outlined below our planned schedule for the prototype evaluation and technical exchange process.

• Prototype Development/Technical Exchange: September 26, 2005 - December 2, 2005
• Prototype Test Demonstration by Offeror: December 5-9. 2005
• Prototype Delivered to Government: December 16, 2005
• Evaluation of final proposals and prototypes: February 6, 2006 - March 17, 2006


65. QUESTION: Appears the last sentence in this paragraph "... requirements for Office Operations ..." should read "... requirements for Telecommunications ..."

RESPONSE: We have revised the RFP to correct this statement.



66. QUESTION: First paragraph states that offerors shall provide a written outline of the Program Management Plan with the initial proposal. Is the Program Management Plan excluded from the 30-page limitation? [L.16.1.6.2.1, Volume II, Section 2: FDCA Management Approach, page L-15]

RESPONSE: The Program Management Plan is not excluded from the 30-page limitation. See the response to comment #71 for items that are excluded.



67. QUESTION: What is the distinction between the Subcontracting Plan and Subcontract Participation Plan? Is it allowable to address the total requirements of L.16.1.6.2.5 in a single combined Subcontracting and Subcontract Participation Plan? [L.16.1.6.2.5]

RESPONSE: The Government requires two plans. See Section L.16.1.6.2.5 for an outline of the distinction between the two plans.



68. QUESTION: The DRIS RFP allowed this subsection to not be page limited. Will that also apply to the FDCA Procurement? [L.16.1.6.2.5]

RESPONSE: We have modified the RFP to reflect no page limitation for Subcontracting Plan and Subcontracting Participation Plan.



69. QUESTION: Specifies submission of Key Personnel / Past Performance Questionnaires. Are these required for all Key Personnel proposed or only the 5 required by the government? [L.16.1.6.3.2]

RESPONSE: We have revised Section L.16.1.6.3.1 to require Key Personnel / Past Performance Questionnaires for 10 key personnel. Offerors must provide questionnaires only for the 10 Key Personnel identified.



70. QUESTION: Is July 8, 2005 the date by which offerors are required to submit their list of Key Personnel Past Performance References in a Microsoft Word file? May this list be emailed to dir.fdca.pmo@census.gov? [L.16.1.6.3.2]

RESPONSE: We have revised to the RFP to reflect the correct date, which is July 8, 2005 for submitting the list of Key Personnel. Microsoft Word provides an acceptable format for submission of this list, which should be emailed to dir.fdca.pmo@census.gov.



71. QUESTION: In order to better enable the Government to evaluate each competitor's key personnel and overall FDCA solution, we recommend the oral presentation be re-scoped and conducted prior to the competitive range determination. For example, a one-day oral presentation consisting of 3 hours of briefing/demonstration and 4 hours of discussion/impromptu Government-presented scenarios would allow the Government to interact with each team's key personnel and could provide the Government valuable information to use in the competitive range determination. An oral presentation conducted after the competitive range determination (per the draft RFP) does not provide this benefit. [L.16.1.7, L.14]

RESPONSE: The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) specifies that discussions (i.e. Orals) cannot take place prior to a competitive range determination.



72. QUESTION: The preparation of charts to support 3 days of oral presentations that "expand on and enhance the written information provided" in the written proposal is a substantial and important task. In order to allow sufficient time for preparation, request that the delivery date for Volume III Oral Presentations be extended two weeks to July 29, 2005. [L.16.1.7, L.16.1]

RESPONSE: We have approved this request for an extension, with the Orals briefing materials now due on August 15. The formal RFP will reflect a schedule that provides sufficient time for submission and execution of Oral Presentations.



73. QUESTION: How small a font size can be used in graphics and tables for the Oral Presentation charts?

RESPONSE: As stated in L.16.1.3: "1) text included in graphics may be reduced to 9 point font, 2) Table text must maintained in 11 point font."



74. QUESTION: The last session of the Oral Presentation on Day 3 is identified as "Remaining Technical and Cost Discussions." Please provide guidance regarding the cost discussions requirement. [L.16.1.7.1.2]

RESPONSE: Cost discussions may address those items related to their Basis of Estimate and any other areas each Offeror deems salient.



75. QUESTION: Since this section only discusses Similar Experience requirements, recommend the phrase "Key Personnel" be deleted from the section title. [L.16.1.7.1.4]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.7.1.4 as follows: "Volume III : Oral Presentation of Similar Experience."



76. QUESTION: This subparagraph directs Offerors to discuss their "Phase I approach". Please clarify what Phase I refers to. [L.16.1.7.1.5 (a)]

RESPONSE: This was an error in the draft RFP. We will delete the phrase "Further, Offerors should discuss the Phase I approach." from the formal RFP.



77. QUESTION: In order to allow sufficient time to issue, receive and evaluate subcontractor proposals, request that the delivery date for the Volume IV Cost Proposal be extended two weeks to July 29, 2005. [L.16.1.8, L.16.1]

RESPONSE: We have approved this request for an extension, with the Cost Proposal now due on August 15. We will revise the formal RFP to reflect this new due date.



78. QUESTION: To establish a baseline over all offerors, we recommend that the Census Bureau provide a plug number for travel for use in evaluating proposals. [L.16.1.8, Volume IV, Cost Proposal, page L-25]

RESPONSE: The Government will not provide a "plug number" for travel since each Offeror's proposed solution and management approach may require varying amounts of travel. Each Offeror shall propose travel cost with supporting rationale and assumptions.



79. QUESTION: We recommend that the Census Bureau include Sections L.16.1.8.3 and L.16.1.8.4 in the outline for the Business Volume in RFP Section L.16.1.8.1.

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1.8.1 to reflect this suggested change.



80. QUESTION: This section requests an individual schedule of security costs. Please define those security-related costs that are expected in this schedule. [L.16.1.8.1 (b) (3)]

RESPONSE: Offerors must separately identify in their proposal all costs related to security. Since each Offeror's solution will impact the specific security items required, the Government cannot list the full domain of possible items that may relate to security. For a treatment of security costs related to IT investments and IT investment planning, we recommend you refer to guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB300 reporting, A-11, etc.).

See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/infopoltech.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov/b-1-information.html etc.



81. QUESTION: Please clarify whether the offeror should propose an award fee or incentive fee for those CLINs that the offeror bids as CPAF/CPIF. Include instructions to the offeror on how to propose award and incentive fees and any other risk-sharing proposals. [L.16.1.8.1, Volume IV, Section 1: General Information, page L-25]

RESPONSE: We will revised Section L.6 as follows: "The Government anticipates a contract structure with multiple incentives applied to various elements such as Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF), Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), and Firm Fixed Price (FFP). The cost reimbursement line item will be 'completion' and not 'term.' Offerors shall propose for Government evaluation the contract type for each contract line item and the incentive arrangements for each incentive line item. The purpose of the "hybrid type" contract is to motivate the Contractor to strive for outstanding performance and results in all areas of the contract."

June 13, 2005
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 2, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 5, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 8, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 14, 2005)

82. QUESTION: We request that the Government provide flexibility by allowing the contractor to use commercial pricing for hardware, software, and services that are supplied to commercial clients today and that determine their price reasonableness by market forces rather than cost buildup. [L.16.1.8.1, Volume IV, Section I: General Information, page L-25]

RESPONSE: The FDCA RFP does not preclude this flexibility. Each Offeror may use an approach to pricing for their solution that they believe is most advantageous.



83. QUESTION: Request that the Government allow flexibility in providing cost breakdown data, especially when dealing with commercial items and services. Many IT services are delivered today and are bundled to include labor, technology, and other costs. Providing that breakdown by direct cost would be difficult. [L.16.1.8.1.b, Cost Proposal General Requirements, page L-27]

RESPONSE: A bundled amount is acceptable only in instances when cost breakouts for commercial IT items and services are not under the control of the prime (and subcontractors). For these instances, the Offeror shall note this in a footnote reference.



84. QUESTION: There appear to be differences between the Key Personnel subsections listed in the table in L.16.1 and the detailed proposal preparation instructions in L.16.1.6.3. To make the instructions consistent, please subdivide Section L.16.1.6.3 as follows: L.16.1.6.3.2 Key Personnel Letters of Commitment, containing the requirements currently listed in the draft RFP under L.16.1.6.3.5.; L.16.1.6.3.3 Key Personnel/Past Performance Questionnaire, containing the requirements currently listed in the draft RFP under L.16.1.6.3.2.; L.16.1.6.3.1 Key Personnel Resumes, containing the requirements currently listed in the draft RFP under L.16.1.6.3.1, L.16.1.6.3.3, and L.16.1.6.3.4.· [L.16.1-Vol II, L.16.1.6.3]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L.16.1 in the formal RFP for clarity. Please note that Section L.16.1.6.3.1 now requires Key Personnel/Past Performance Questionnaires for 10 Key Personnel.



85. QUESTION: The numbering of sections and subsections within Volume II is inconsistent. Recommend the following organization: ·Subsection A - Field Staff Op; Subsection B - MCE; Section 1 - Technical Approach; Subsection D - Telecom; Subsection E - Support; Subsection F - Security; Section 2 - Program Management; No changes to subsections listed; Section 3 - Key Personnel; No changes to subsections listed. [L.16.1-Volume II]

RESPONSE: We have revised this section in the formal RFP for consistency.



86. QUESTION: The Subcontracting Plan and the Subcontract Participation Plan may include business sensitive (pricing) data. Accordingly, it is recommended these documents be moved to the Volume IV Cost Proposal. [L.16.1-Volume II, L.16.1.6.2.5]

RESPONSE: The Government considers and will handle the Offerors' entire proposal as proprietary. Therefore, we will provide the appropriate level of protection from disclosure, without the need for relocating the subject plans as requested.



87. QUESTION: Please clarify these section's references to "(MAR 2000)." [L.4 and L.5]

RESPONSE: "Mar 2000" reflects the revision date of the FAR regulation cited, i.e., March 2000.



88. QUESTION: L.16.1.5.1 says, in part, "Volume I shall present evidence of the Offerors' Similar Experience as a Prime Systems Integrator on up to ten (10) contracts performed in the past five (5) years." Are we correct in the interpretation that ONLY the prime's similar experience may be used for these citations? [L-11]

RESPONSE: We will revise the formal RFP to allow consideration of the Offerors' similar experience as a Prime Systems Integrator to include any teaming arrangements, or subcontracts.



89. QUESTION: L.16.1.6.3.2, says that an Offeror shall contact references for key personnel to request completion of individuals' questionnaires using the template in Attachment L.3, but does not say whether just one reference per key person is desired or whether multiple references are permitted. This could be handled either in the referenced paragraph or in the table in L.16.1. Please clarify whether only a single individual past performance questionnaire can be requested for each key person or whether one or more questionnaires can be requested. [L-18]

RESPONSE: Offerors may use multiple references for each person designated as key personnel.



90. QUESTION: Section L.15 calls out NAICS Code 541542 as "Computer Systems Design Services". In checking with each of the DoC website on NAICS Codes, and the SBA website on size standards by NAICS Code, each has "Computer Systems Design Services" as NAICS Code 541512, versus 541542. We believe this is a drafting error, and that the code should be 541512. Please verify. [L-5]

RESPONSE: The formal RFP is revised to reflect NAICS Code 541512.



91. QUESTION: L.16.1, lower right column, says, "In the proposal, provide the list of references with complete contact information." Are we correct in our belief that the Government wants only a list of the information contained in Section 10, parts a. and b.? [L-6]

RESPONSE: Yes. The Government only wants a list of the information contained in Section 10, Parts a. and b.



92. QUESTION: The table in paragraph L.16.1 shows Volume II as being organized, within the Technical Approach, into SIX sections, beginning with Field Staff Operations, and ending with Security. Section L (page L-14.) shows a slightly different organization. Namely, paragraph L.16.1.6.1 shows Technical Approach to Field Staff Operations as a super-category of the following now FIVE sections, beginning with Mobile Computing Environment Approach. These differences drive different outlines of our response. Please clarify as to which structure takes precedence for our response. [L-7]

RESPONSE: The formal RFP is revised to make all the sections compatible. The correct structure is as follows:

• Technical Approach - Section 1 - Mobile Operations, Office Operations, Telecommunications, Support, Security, Logistics Analysis, Telecommunications Analysis.
• Program Management - Section 2 - FDCA Management. Approach, Organization Structure, Organization Resources, CWBS & Project Schedule, Subcontract and Subcontract Participation Plan.
• Key Personnel - Section 3 - Individual's Performance Questionnaire, Resumes, Letters of Commitment.


93. QUESTION: In the second paragraph, please clarify the use of the term "real-time" in relation to Section C requirements. [M.3.2.2]

RESPONSE: For clarification, a real-time as opposed to a delayed or batched approach may be needed to address dynamic operating conditions in the field (e.g., network monitoring of the voice and data telecommunications architecture, reaction to critical system element failures, quick problem identification and resolution, etc.) The Government will therefore evaluate each Offeror's entire technical approach in part on how well they understand and address any need for real-time components for Census field operations.



94. QUESTION: The Technical Approach Factor has 10 subfactors. Are these subfactors equally weighted, or are some more important than others? [M.3.2.2]

RESPONSE: The Government will not weight or rank the bulleted items under Section M.3.2.2. Instead, the strengths, weaknesses, deficiencies, and risks of all bulleted items in aggregate will determine the overall assessment of the Technical Approach.



95. QUESTION: The section states that the Supportability factor evaluation includes "Accounts for language needs at all levels." Please clarify. [M.3.2.2]

RESPONSE: The RFP Section C requirements specify the need for Spanish language in specified situations. Each Offeror should therefore address how their entire solution at all levels (e.g., Mobile Operations, Office Operations, Telecommunications, Support, Security, and Management) accommodates language needs.




Section B: Supplies/Services and Prices/Cost



96. QUESTION: For costing purposes, how many help desk calls should we assume for Address Canvassing and for NRFU?

RESPONSE: Help desk call volume will depend on each Offeror's implementation of the FDCA requirements. Please see the documents in Section J - Workload Performance & Capacity Planning for the schedule of operations and the number of field staff involved in each of these operations to assess the number of help desk calls that may be generated based on the intuitiveness and reliability of the proposed solution.




Section C: Statement of Work



97. QUESTION: What are the required equipment types and counts for the RCCs and LCOs? Do these counts include on-site spares?

RESPONSE: Equipment types, counts and sparing uniquely depend on each Offeror's implementation of the FDCA requirements. Please see the documents in Section J - Workload Performance & Capacity Planning to determine the equipment counts appropriate to the proposed solution.



98. QUESTION: Will DAPPS utilize existing Census gateways to interface to external systems such as Treasury?

RESPONSE: To address your comment, we will revise Section J to add the following document: "Decennial Applicant Personnel and Payroll System (DAPPS) Architecture for 2010, DRAFT."



99. QUESTION: Does encrypted Title 13 data on a device or encrypted Title 13 data on removable media need to be handled and tracked as Title 13 data?

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau requires the tracking of any FDCA devices and media as Title 13 even if the Title 13 data residing on them is encrypted, until such time that the devices and/or media have undergone an acceptable sanitization procedure.




Section L: Instructions, Conditions, and Notices



100. QUESTION: There is a statement in this paragraph that "Offerors shall send their list in a Microsoft Word file." What is the expected content of this list, and to whom does it get sent? [Pg L-13, L.16.1.5.2 Volume I, Section 2: Past Performance Questionnaires]

RESPONSE: Section L16.1.5.2 is revised as follows: The Offerors shall contact past performance references directly and request that they complete and submit the attached past performance questionnaires to the Government by July 8, 2005. The Offerors shall request their references to mail their completed questionnaires directly to the Government address listed in Section L.9, or faxed to the number listed on the questionnaire, or more preferably e-mail them to dir.fdca.pmo@census.gov. The Offerors shall submit in a Microsoft Word file by July 8, 2005 the list of references to whom they have provided questionnaires for completion and submission to the Government for the FDCA project. The Government will provide the Offerors by July 12, 2005 with receipt information for their references for use by the Offerors' in following up with non-responding references. After July 15, 2005, the Government will conduct additional follow-up with references to help facilitate receipt of non-received past performance questionnaires. Attachment L.2 (Organization's Performance Questionnaire) provides the questionnaire the Offerors will send to their references.



101. QUESTION: This table could lead one to believe that the offeror is required to submit each of the files in both Native Microsoft format as well as Adobe PDF format. Is the offeror required to submit all files in both Native Microsoft Format as well as Adobe PDF? [Pg L-8, L.16.1.2, Table of Electronic Submission Requirements and File Naming Conventions]

RESPONSE: The Government requires these documents in both formats. The PDF version provides protection of the original integrity of each Offeror's proposal as Census Bureau uses it to conduct our evaluation. The MS Word version allows the incorporation of each Offeror's proposal into the Census DOORS system for traceability to the FDCA requirements.



102. QUESTION: Volume II Section 2 (Program Management) requires that a CWBS and Project Schedule be submitted, is Microsoft Excel acceptable for the CWBS format and Microsoft Project acceptable for the Schedule?[ Pg L-8, L.16.1.2, Table of Electronic Submission Requirements and File Naming Conventions]

RESPONSE: We will revise Section L to reflect that Microsoft Excel is acceptable for the CWBS and that Microsoft Project is acceptable for the Schedule.




Section M: Evaluation Factors



103. QUESTION: Please identify the Census Integrated Product Teams. [M.3.2.3]

RESPONSE: The reference to Integrated Product Teams is removed from Section M.




Section C: Statement of Work



104. QUESTION: Along with identifying the "peak office staff will be around 60" for each LCO, please state the expected peak staff for an RCC. [C.3 pg. 10]

RESPONSE: In the final RFP, Section J - Workload and Performance is updated to contain a document that details RCC staffing assumptions along with other assumptions required for the Offerors to prepare a cost estimate. Staffing levels are estimated at 181 people over 1 shift. Second shift staffing is not yet determined but will be smaller than the first. Offeror's should use the first shift staffing level for cost estimation purposes.



105. QUESTION: The DRFP states, All data collection questionnaires and the supporting help screens on the FDCA contractor's MCE solution shall be required in both Spanish and English. Note - Different versions of Spanish may be used stateside and in Puerto Rico; additional languages may be requested after contract award. Please provide the versions of Spanish that must be supported. [C.5.1.5.11]

RESPONSE: The Census Bureau will provide the appropriate Spanish-language translations once we have the final content and questionnaire items determined for the 2010 Census.



106. QUESTION: The DRFP states, The FDCA contractor shall ensure that the OCE they provide for the RCCs/PRAO and LCOs be able to effectively and efficiently operate within the constraints of the physical, environmental, and operational conditions of the field offices. Please define the minimum requirements of the RCC/PRAO and LCOs. [C.5.2.1.2.6]

RESPONSE: As stated in Section C.5.2.1, the contractor will have input into the requirements for leased space for the RCCs, PRAO, and LCOs. Specifically, this section states: "The space build out, under GSA contract, will require power and telecommunication requirements from the FDCA contractor related to the FDCA deliverables and GFE." Section J provides information about the location of the RCCs, the possible locations of the LCOs, the physical sizing estimates, the estimated staffing levels, and the high-level operational schedule. You may refer to this information for planning purposes.



107. QUESTION: The DRFP states, The FDCA contractor shall design, develop, provide, update, and maintain a Space Leasing and Property Management Tracking System (SLPMTS) providing read/write use capabilities for Census Bureau users and FDCA contractors for the duration of the Space Leasing and Property Management process. Users of the system will include, Census Bureau staff, FDCA contractors, and other personnel, as appropriate. What are the specifications for this system? Will the Government provide the minimum requirements for the SLPMTS? [C.5.2.1.2.17]

RESPONSE: To further clarify this requirement the RFP is revised as follows: "The FDCA contractor shall provide a management information system which tracks the search, acquisition, build-out, opening, facility maintenance, and closure of space for each Regional Census Center (RCC), Local Census Office (LCO) and the Puerto Rico Area Office (PRAO). This system, hereafter referred to as the Space Tracking System (STS), shall have initial modules related to the process of space acquisition (e.g., tracking status of space search, delineation of the search areas, issuance of statement for offerers {SFO}, identification and acceptance of SFOs by lessors, etc.) Subsequent modules related to tracking the build out of the space, space lease status and infrastructure (i.e., lease and rental information; electric, heating and air conditioning, voice and data wiring and cabling, delivery and setup of furniture and office/computer/voice equipment, etc.), facility maintenance, and the facilities' closeout process shall be timed as appropriate to the planning needs related to the RCCs, PRAO, and LCOs; (see Section J - Operations Milestone Schedule and Scale). The STS shall be accessible at the Census HQ, RCCs, LCOs, and PRAO with read and/or write access capabilities as appropriate for Census Bureau staff, FDCA contractors, and other designated personnel."



108. QUESTION: Please provide additional information regarding the Census HQ Cost and Progress (C&P) System, including the interface definition. [C.5.2.1.6.10]

RESPONSE: This system is currently being designed and no details on the interface are available at this time.



109. QUESTION: Please provide additional information regarding the Census Staffing Authorization application, including the interface definition. [C.5.2.1.6.11]

RESPONSE: This system is currently being designed and no details on the interface are available at this time.



110. QUESTION: Please provide additional information on the business processes related to checking out work to DRIS. [C.5.2.2.9.11]

RESPONSE: The business process to check work out to DRIS is undefined since the DRIS contract is not yet awarded. The check-out function provides the tracking and status information about completed cases (electronic or paper) transmitted between the LCOs and DRIS. The formal RFP is therefore revised as follows: "The FDCA contractor shall work with the Census Bureau and the DRIS contractor to develop a solution to check work out to DRIS for further processing from within the FDCA OC function."



111. QUESTION: In the final RFP, please clarify this requirement for proper estimations. [C.5.2.3.1]

RESPONSE: The RFP is revised as follows to clarify this requirement: "The FDCA contractor shall provide and support an asset tracking system for all assets within the FDCA solution as part of the OCE."




Section J: Attachments



112. QUESTION: In the list of Section J documents, the document entitled "LCO Example Organization Chart (2006 Census Text - Austin, TX)" contains the LCO floor plan, and not an LCO organization chart. Please provide the LCO Example Organization Chart. [J Sec 6]

RESPONSE: This is a hyperlink error on the Website, which we will correct.




Section L: Instructions, Conditions, and Notices



113. QUESTION: This paragraph requires Offerors to discuss their organizational structure in terms of its interaction with "various Census Groups". Within this context, please provide a listing of and/or organization charts for the "various Census Groups". [L.16.1.6.2.2]

RESPONSE: Section L.16.1.6.2.2 is revised as follows: "The Offerors shall describe their planned Organizational Structure for the FDCA program. Considerations to address include reporting structure, team organization, division of responsibilities, and interaction with the Census Bureau organization."



114. QUESTION: In order to make the Volume IV proposal preparation instructions clearer, easier to respond to, and easier to evaluate, please delete the existing Section L.16.1.8.2 and move the text of that section to be the second paragraph under Section L.16.1.8.1, Volume IV Section 1: General Information. Also, the first sentence of this paragraph should start "Eight (8) hard copies…" Then, we recommend the Volume IV sections be [re-titled] as follows:· L.16.1.8.2 - Volume IV Section 2: Additional Exhibits·; L.16.1.8.3 - Volume IV Section 3: Explanation of Pricing·; L.16.1.8.1 - Volume IV Section 1: General Information [no change]· [L.16.1.8]

RESPONSE: We have made significant revisions to Volume IV. Please see Section L of the formal RFP for details.



115. QUESTION: Calls for Volume III Oral Presentations to be due on 7/15/05, yet the orals are scheduled for the Sept 12-26 time period. Is it the Government's intention to require the orals presentation materials to be included with the mid-July submission, even though the oral presentation will occur about 60 days later? Further, the instructions on page L-9 call for submission in Word and Adobe Acrobat formats, while the instructions on L-19, L.16.1.7.1, contemplate "presentation charts", which could be some other format, such as Microsoft Power Point. Please clarify the due dates and formats of the orals material. We recommend that the oral presentation material be submitted in Power Point, and that each offerors' presentation material be submitted not later than 31 August 2005 so that offerors may focus their concentration first on the development and submission of the written proposal, then to focus on the development of the oral presentation. [L-8]

RESPONSE: Oral Presentation materials are due on August 15, 2005. Oral Presentations, as a part of Discussions, are scheduled to take place between September 5, 2005 and September 23, 2005. These Orals will not include the "Prototype." Final Discussions, which will include "Orals" on the Prototype, are scheduled to occur between December 12, 2005 and December 16, 2005. Section L is revised to allow PowerPoint for Oral Presentations.

June 14, 2005
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 2, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on May 5, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 8, 2005)
      (Go to Q&As posted on June 13, 2005)

116. QUESTION: Recommend the "Process" evaluation subfactor be eliminated from the Technical Approach Factor. The first five bulleted items under the Process heading are equivalently discussed as evaluation factors in M.3.2.3 Program Management. the last bullet can be moved to the Logistics evaluation subfactor.

RESPONSE: The RFP reflects the following changes: [1] moving one bullet from "Process" to "Logistics" within Section M.3.2.2; [2] moving one bullet from "Process" to "Supportability" within Section M.3.2.2; [3] eliminating the remaining bullets under "Process;" and [4] clarifying the 9th bullet (pertaining to risk) in Section M.3.2.3, Program Management.




Section C: Statement of Work



117. QUESTION: What is the underlying technology of the Census Bureau Wide Area Network?

RESPONSE: The underlying technology of the Census Bureau's Wide Area Network (WAN) consists of a variety of technologies. The WAN consists of private fiber, point to point links; TLS (10/100/1000 Mbs), and telco MPLS. With the exception of the private fiber links, all WAN links are encrypted, at a minimum, to meet the FIPS 140-1 standard. If necessary, details of the WAN topology may be provided in more detail after contract award.



118. QUESTION: What are the requirements/restrictions for establishing connectivity between the FDCA WAN and the Census Bureau WAN?

RESPONSE: The requirements/restrictions for establishing connectivity between the FDCA WAN and the Census Bureau WAN will depend on the Offerors' solution for FDCA. The Census Bureau WAN topology cannot be provided until after contract award due to IT Security considerations.



119. QUESTION: Would you please characterize the data communication requirement between the Census Regional Office and the associated 2010 RCC? Is this primarily an e-mail communication requirement or is a data transfer/special application interface required?

RESPONSE: The Regional Census Centers (RCCs) are established for purposes of managing the census operations, including direct supervision of LCO activities. The Regional Offices (ROs) will continue to manage the Census Bureau's current survey operations. We currently have not defined a requirement for communication between the RCCs and the ROs, however, should we later require one, the FDCA contractor would have responsibility for it.



120. QUESTION: The list of LCOs for 2000 assigns the LCOs to one of five categories, A-E. Would you please define the distinguishing characteristics for each category?

RESPONSE: In general, the categories used for Census 2000 reflected the characteristics of and operations associated with the Local Census Offices (LCOs). The LCO types ranged from large city urban to very rural, with different operations depending on their characteristics. For example, the urban LCOs would NOT include operations such as "Update/Leave" or "List/Enumerate", which were designed to enumerate rural areas where delivery of individually addressed mailing pieces was difficult to accomplish. They also differed in size, based on the expected mail response rates. In inner city areas, we generally have lower response rates than we do in suburban and rural areas. Since NRFU is the largest census operation, we established the LCO areas with the idea of ensuring reasonable NRFU staffing levels to manage. As a result, the sizes of the LCOs were relatively small in the urban areas, with larger sizes for suburban LCOs, and even larger for rural and very sparsely populated areas. For example, major cities had multiple LCOs covering their jurisdiction, while in suburban areas, LCOs may have covered an entire county, with more rural LCOs consisting of multiple counties. In very sparsely populated areas, an LCO may have covered significant part of an entire state. If you look at Section J, you will find a Census 2000 LCO boundary map and list of LCOs, which can help provide definition to differential size of LCOs. The pay rates for these offices also varied based on cost of living, difficulty of the enumeration, and other factors. Our Field Division has not yet defined the categories of LCOs for the 2010 census.




Note: Questions 121-124 were posted late in the afternoon on June 14, 2005.



121. QUESTION: For pricing purposes are all of the 455 LCOs, 12 RCCs and 1 PRAO offices open through September 2010 or does a ramp down profile apply? If a ramp down profile applies, please provide that profile.

RESPONSE: The LCOs close over a period of approximately 60 days (September - October 2010). The PRAO will close along with the LCOs. The RCCs stay open approximately 1 year longer. For planning purposes, consider the RCC closeout during the month of December 2011.



122. QUESTION: DRFP states that one similar experience project should demonstrate key personnel working together. This requirement seems to limit the offerors’ flexibility in assembling the best overall team of skilled professionals for the FDCA program, regardless of whether they have worked together before. We suggest removing the requirement for a past performance reference where the team or members of the team have worked together.

RESPONSE: We have removed this provision from Section L.16.1.7.1.4 of the RFP.



123. QUESTION: Since the CWBS AND WBS DICTIONARY ARE ALSO DELIVERED IN THE Cost Volume, please define the level of detail required to be in the Management Volume as well.

RESPONSE: The Government has expanded this section to include the Program Work Breakdown Structure (PWBS) and the Contact Work Breakdown Structure (CWBS). The PWBS is primarily created and owned by the Government. The Contractor’s Project Manager primarily owns the CWBS. In the final RFP, the Government provides a framework for levels 1, 2, and 3 of the PWBS. Offerors shall submit their CWBS WITH THE Management volume of the RFP.



124. QUESTION: Although this paragraph is entitled “CWBS AND Project Schedule”, there is no specific guidance relating to the project schedule requirement. Please expand on the requirement for a project schedule.

RESPONSE: Requirements C5.6.4.17 through C.5.6.4.25 provide further instructions concerning the Master Integrated Project Schedule and its linkage with the CWBS.