Detailed Questions and Answers, supplied by the
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)'s Program Management Office
| Q1 | What topics cannot be discussed under the Federal Acquisition rules? Can we submit a Freedom of Information Request to obtain this information? |
| Al: | The following subjects cannot be discussed, revealed or released, not even under the Freedom of Information Act:
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| Q2: | Will the companies not selected get feedback? |
| A2: | Yes. The letters notifying the companies not selected give instructions on how they may be de-briefed as to why they were not selectee. These briefings are considered procurement sensitive and the government will not release this information. |
| Q3: | What is the period of performance for each contract? |
| A3: | One year (March 10, 2004 - March 9, 2005) |
| Q4: | What happens at the end of the one-year period? |
| A4: | Options are included in each contract for two additional years of performance. The Government may elect to exercise the options if continued support in necessary. However, the overall goal of the project is to turn management of the reconstruction over to the Iraqis, therefore the options may not need to be exercised if this occurs as planned. |
| Q5: | How will the options be funded ? |
| A5: | The options, if exercised, will be funded by the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. |
| Q6: | What is the contract structure ? |
| A6: | Cost plus Award Fee, with the Base and Award fee percentage not to exceed 15 percent of the overall contract price. The predominant approach taken by the contractors was a three percent Base Fee and 12 percent Award Fee, therefore the majority of the fees to be earned under the contract will be based on Government's subjective evaluation of the contractors' successful performance under the contracts. |
| Q7: | Who will manage these seven contracts ? |
| A7: | The contracts will be transferred to the PMO and its Army support cell in Baghdad for management and administration. |
| Q8: | Can you explain the solicitation process ? |
| A8: | This was a best value source selection. The solicitation process entailed a two-phased Source Selection Evaluation Process that evaluated the merit of and confidence in proposals received. The merit ratings ranged from Outstanding to Unacceptable and were based on how well the proposals addressed the solicitation requirements. The confidence rating ranged from "High Confidence" to "No Confidence" and were based on the evaluator's confidence in the Offeror's potential to succeed in their proposed approach. Phase I entailed the evaluation of the Ability to Succeed factor, which evaluated each Offeror's Past Performance and Financial Capability. At the conclusion of Phase I, an Advisory Down-Select notification was issued to all Offerors informing them of the viability of their opportunity for an award. Phase II entailed the evaluation of the Offeror's Management Approach and Cost/Price. There were three sub-factors within the Management Approach factor for the PMO: Organizational Structure; Program Management; and Transfer of Knowledge, Skills, & Assessments. For the SPMO, an additional sub-factor was evaluated, Sector Project Management. The evaluation team evaluated the adequacy of the Offeror's approach for each sub-factor. The Offeror's cost proposal was evaluated for reasonableness, realism and completeness. At the conclusion of Phase II, the Source Selection Authority (SSA) was briefed in a blind format, meaning that the identities of the offerors were unknown until after the decisions were made. Randomly assigned letters were assigned as the means of identifying each Offeror and to prevent any impact on the results of the selection due to the identification of an Offeror. The SSA was briefed on the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the merit and confidence ratings for each sub-factor for each Offeror. |
| Q9: | What were the criteria for selection ? |
| A9: | The Government awarded to the Offeror proposing the best value in terms of management, ability to succeed and cost as it pertained to the solicitation requirements. Within the best value continuum, the Government employed a tradeoff analysis of cost or price and the non-cost factors. |
| Q10: | How will Iraqis be involved ? |
| A10: | Each Offeror was required to describe their approach to assess the knowledge, skills and abilities of potential Iraqi employees, transfer knowledge to the Iraqi Ministries involved, provide employment opportunities for Iraqis, particularly women, and assess and employ Iraqi business for subcontracting opportunities. Each Offeror is required to flow-down a portion of the fees (Base and/or Award Fee) to each subcontractor in order to motivate performance and commitment. |
| Qll: | What countries are involved ? |
| All: | This solicitation was open to companies from the United States, Iraq, Coalition Partners, and troop contributing nations. At the prime contractor level, the contractor for the Electrical Services SPMO support contract is a joint venture between Parsons Energy and Chemical Group of the United States and Parsons Brinkerhoff, Ltd. of the United Kingdom. Additionally, Foster Wheeler, which received the Oil SPMO award is from the United Kingdom. The firms selected for the PMO and other SPMOs were U.S. owned. The limitation to companies from the United States, Iraq, Coalition Partners, and troop contributing nations does not apply at the sub-contractor level, therefore further participation is expected. |
| Q12: | How can small businesses get involved? |
| A12: | Each Offeror is expected to subcontract a minimum of ten percent of the total contract dollars to U.S. Small business firms. Point of contact information for each of the contractor's small business representatives is provided on the Web at renovation.pentagon.mil. |
| Q13: | How did PENREN/C get involved with the CPA contract awards? |
| A13: | The Department of Defense requested that each agency contribute support to the Iraq Reconstruction contracting efforts. The Director of Defense Procurement (DDP) requested that PENREN/C also support this initiative in addition to the Military Agencies. |
| Q14: | How were these contracts awarded so quickly? |
| A14: | First, a team of expert acquisition and project management professionals was put together and worked nearly non-stop for one week developing the acquisition strategy and solicitation packages. Second, the approval process was shortened through the use of a presentation format where all approving officials were briefed on the recommended acquisition approach at one time, in lieu of writing the traditional acquisition planning document that would get routed sequentially through each approving official for review and approval. Third, by posting draft copies of the solicitations as they came available, offerors were poised and ready to respond to the aggressive proposal periods set forth in the solicitations. Lastly, the same team of dedicated professionals supported the evaluation of each proposal leading up to the presentation of the evaluations to the source selection authority and his decisions for award. |
| Q15: | What is the value of the PMO contract (W914NS-04-C-0001)? |
| A15: | US$ 21,610,501 |
| Q16: | What does the statement of work for the PMO support contractor entail? |
| A16: | The PMO support contractor will assist the CPA PMO by providing management oversight of the six Sector PMOs (SPMOs), ensuring coordination and standardization across the sectors. The PMO support contractor will implement and monitor the Overarching Program Management Plan, develop and disseminate PMO management policies and procedures, integrate infrastructure reconstruction efforts across the sectors, assist the PMO in prioritizing construction and non-construction projects, assist the PMO with public affairs and cultural relations matters, and generate performance reports relating to PMO, SPMOs, and the associated construction and non-construction efforts. |
| Q17: | How many companies competed for the PMO contract? |
| A17: | Five Offerors were evaluated |
| Q18: | What does the statement of work for the SPMO support contractor entail? |
| A18: | Each of the SPMO contracts call for dedicated support to the respective offiices in order to manage the unique requirements of the SPMO. The SPMO contractors will provide oversight and coordination for all design and construction activities being performed within the sector. Additionally, the SPMO contractors will implement the Overarching Program Management Plan, implement SPMO management policies and procedures, integrate infrastructure reconstruction efforts within and across the sectors, assist the SPMO in prioritizing construction and non-construction projects, assist the SPMO with public affairs and cultural relations matters, and generate performance reports relating to the SPMO and the associated construction and non-construction efforts. |
| Q19: | What is the total of all SPMO Contracts? |
| A19: | US$ 107,944,371 |
| Q20: | What is the value of the Electricity (W914NS-04-C-0002) SPMO contract? |
| A20: | US$ 43,361,340 for the first year of performance. |
| Q21: | How many companies competed for the Electrical Services SPMO contract.? |
| A21: | Two Offerors were evaluated. |
| Q22: | What is the value of the Public Works & Water (W914NS-04-C-0003) SPMO contract? |
| A22: | US$ 28,494,672 for the first year of performance. |
| Q23: | How many companies competed for the Public Works & Water SPMO contract? |
| A23: | Two Offerors were evaluated. |
| Q24: | What is the value of the Security (W914NS-04-C-0004) SPMO contract? |
| A24: | US$ 8,458,350 for the first year of performance. |
| Q25: | How many companies competed for the Security & Justice SPMO contract? |
| A25: | Two Offerors were evaluated. |
| Q26: | What is the value of the Buildings & Health (W914NS-04-C-0005) SPMO contract? |
| A26: | US$ 10,754,664 for the first year of performance. |
| Q27: | How many companies competed for the Buildings & Health SPMO contract? |
| A27: | Two Offerors were evaluated. |
| Q28: | What is the value of the Transportation & Communication (W914NS*-04-C-0006) SPMO contract? |
| A28: | US$ 8,458,360 for the first year of performance |
| Q29: | How many companies competed for the Transportation & Communication SPMO contract? |
| A29: | Three Offerors were evaluated |
| Q30: | What is the value of the Oil (W914NS-04-C-0007) SPMO contract? |
| A30: | US$ 8,416,985 for the first year of performance. |
| Q31: | How many companies competed for the Oil SPMO contract? |
| A31: | Two Offerors were evaluated |