Industry Questions and ERA Answers
The following questions were derived from industry responses to ERA Requests for Information and Request for Comment, questions submitted via e-mail to the ERA Program Management Office, and questions submitted at the ERA Industry Day Conference. Responses are subject to change. Additional questions and answers may be added over time.
| No. | Questions | Response |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Has NARA made any decisions about the hosting or physical location of the system? | NARA is currently evaluating different options for the hosting/location of ERA. At this time, all options are under consideration. |
| 2 | In serving the public's need for records research, is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 a critical requirement for system architecture? | Yes. ERA services will need to be Section 508 compliant. |
| 3 | What Federal IT architecture standards will influence the development of the ERA? | The NARA Enterprise Architecture will be compliant with the Federal Enterprise Architecture. ERA must be compliant with the NARA Enterprise Architecture. NARA Enterprise Architecture-related documentation will be available by the release of the draft RFP. Final NARA Enterprise Architecture-related documentation will be available by the release of the final RFP. |
| 4 | What archival preservation strategy is required by NARA for the ERA system? Migration? Emulation? Standard Formats? Encapsulation? | NARA will not preclude any preservation method proposed. NARA believes that there are many potential solutions to the challenges associated with long-term preservation of electronic records. |
| 5 | Will NARA provide representative collections (sample data) similar to those used for empirical validation of prior research, e.g., digital line graph data, tiger/line files, etc. Examples? | NARA will not provide sample data to proposers. NARA will provide representative data for use by the those proposer(s) who are awarded this solicitation. The type of data provided will span the spectrum of business records in electronic form. |
| 6 | Will the need to store some classified records in ERA dictate the development of two physically disconnected systems? | Proposers should address in their proposals how they will handle classified and sensitive information. |
| 7 | What is the highest level of classification anticipated for ERA? | TS/SCI is the highest level anticipated for national security information. However, proposers should be aware that there are records with other, non-national security related sensitivities that ERA will need to manage. These include Title XIII (Bureau of the Census) and other types of restricted information. |
| 8 | Will there be an RFI #3? If so, when is it expected to be released and what is expected to be requested? | At this time, there are no plans for a third RFI. However, all major solicitation activities will be announced on the ERA acquisition web page at the following URL: http://www.archives.gov/era/acquisition-information.html (inactive) and Fedbiz ops |
| 9 | Do you intend to do an RFP in phases or for an overall 10+ year program? | The contract period of performance will be 7 years. Currently, we are expecting to issue a RFP for all phases, Base contract (System Analysis and Design Phase) and five (5) optional Increments. |
| 10 | Why would NARA require cost information for a fixed price contract? | NARA intends to evaluate costs for cost realism purposes. NARA also expects that the proposer will incorporate cost, rather than price, into its earned value plan. |
| 11 | NARA referenced the possibility of two (2) contract awards for the systems analysis/design phase. If there are two (2) awards, should we assume a schedule slip to permit evaluation of analysis/design deliverables and the award of the development/implementation phase? | NARA has factored the time necessary for the downselect into its schedule. |
| 12 | Should a company with a niche solution submit it to NARA or must they only seek a prime contractor willing to include it in their proposal? | NARA is seeking an integrated solution and is not prepared to take on integration responsibility for discreet components or niche solutions. Companies with niche solutions should partner with other companies as necessary. |
| 13 | How many awards for the design phase? | There will be either 1 or 2 Base Contract Awards. Any ERA contract award will include a Base Contract for Systems Analysis and Design and five (5) options for development of increments. NARA will exercise the first option in the contract of the contractor who wins the design downselect. |
| 14 | You stated that you are interested in meeting with technology vendors specifically, but are you willing to entertain meeting with integrators that are providing similar work and scope elsewhere as well? This would allow for a discussion on best practices used and pitfalls to avoid. | All companies interested in a one-on-one exchange with NARA are welcome to schedule such a meeting. See the following URL for information on opportunities for one-on-one exchanges between Industry and NARA on ERA: http://www.archives.gov/era/ acquisition/vendor-meeting.html (inactive) |
| 15 | You indicated that there would be two (2) acquisitions (development, and then Operations and Maintenance). If you win the first, are you precluded from bidding on the second? | Currently, NARA does not anticipate precluding the developer from competing for the operations and support contract. |
| 16 | What are examples of acceptable past performance that is of "similar size and scope" to ERA? | ERA is an example of an enterprise-wide business systems modernization effort. Large, strategic systems integration projects within government or private-sector organizations would be similar in scope to ERA. |
| 17 | What is the relationship between AAD and ERA? | AAD is a legacy system that provides access to electronic databases currently in NARA holdings. While it was funded by the ERA program, it provides only interim capability of limited scope until the deployment of ERA, which will replace its functionality in totality. |
| 18 | What are the incremental steps that are foreseen throughout the life of the procurement? | The ERA Acquisition Schedule is posted at the following URL: http://www.archives.gov/era/ /acquisition/schedule.html Updates to the acquisition schedule will be posted to this URL. Additionally, notice of key acquisition-related events will be posted on the FedBizOps web site. |
| 19 | Will evaluation factors give additional weight to contractors who have been evaluated or assessed above CMM Level 3? | At this time, evaluation factors do not give additional weight to contractors who have been evaluated or assessed above CMM Level 3. |
| 20 | Will evaluation factors give additional weight to contractors who bring software to the table at no additional cost to the Government? | At this time, evaluation factors do not give additional weight to contractors who bring software to the table at no additional cost to the Government. |
| 21 | Will NARA procure the hardware and software licenses necessary to implement the contractor's design through the design contract, or will NARA procure these products through other contract vehicles? | Bidders should factor the costs of all necessary hardware and software licenses into their proposals. |
| 22 | Can NARA provide detailed load information, to include volumes, types, and sensitivities of files to be ingested and stored in ERA as well as the expected user access loads? | Estimated data and workload volumes will be supplied at the time the RFP is released. |
| 23 | With respect to the Concept of Operations, which of these processes, if any are not in use today? | All scenarios within the ERA Concept of Operations are necessary and within the scope of the ERA system. |
| 24 | What activities identified in the Concept of Operations are the most time consuming today? What activities identified in the Concept of Operations involve the largest number of staff? With respect to the user classes defined in the Concept of Operations, are there any user classes not active in the process today? | NARA is conducting a Business Process Reengineering effort that will define as-is and to-be models for NARA processes. This information will be made available as government furnished information to those contractors selected for the design phase. All user classes identified within the ERA Concept of Operations are active and within the scope of the ERA system. |
| 25 | Is NARA able to provide any additional information on performance criteria or workflow requirements? | This data will be made available at the time the Draft RFP is released. |
| 26 | Will the scope of ERA include conversion of physical documents into electronic format? | The scope of ERA does not include conversion of physical documents into electronic form. The ERA is not a document imaging system. |
| 27 | Has the Independent Validation and Verification contractor already been selected or will that be a separate acquisition conducted closer to the time of the ERA award? | Independent Validation and Verification work is outside of the scope of the current solicitation. |
| 28 | Will the contractor that is selected for the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) increment be the same contractor for the remaining four (4) development optional increments? | It is NARA's intention to award the second and later increments to the contractor selected for the IOC increment. However, the increments will be awarded as options on an increment-by-increment basis, subject to availability of funding, and based on an evaluation of the contractor's performance on each increment. |
| 29 | Will NARA be able to guarantee the funding for each optional increment once the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) contractor is selected? | The initial award and all options will be subject to availability of funding. |
| 30 | Would the operations and support contract include the effort for continuing development related to new formats and technology replacement due to obsolescence? | The NARA ERA PMO expects all software development and technology refreshment, including development to support preservation of new records formats, will be performed under the Development Contract through Full Operational Capability. |
| 31 | Other than industry day will NARA allow potential bidders to meet with and discuss ERA technical requirements with technical staff? | See the following URL for information on opportunities for one-on-one exchanges between Industry and NARA on ERA: http://www.archives.gov/era/acquisition/vendor-meeting.html (inactive) |
| 32 | Has NARA estimated the funding needed to implement the ERA project and if so is that funding in its budget? | NARA has requested estimated funding for its projected costs for the ERA Program. NARA will not discuss nor release specific budget information. |
| 33 | Will NARA issue a bidders list? | A list of companies who are interested in participating in the ERA solicitation is included at the following URL: http://www.archives.gov/era/acquisition/vendor-list.html (inactive) If you would like to add your company's name to this list, please follow the link at that URL. |
| 34 | How will the RFI be reviewed? | The ERA program office has reviewed all RFI submissions to determine whether industry understands the ERA and the extent to which solutions exist. This information is being used to refine the ERA acquisition approach. |
| 35 | Will we get a feedback or assessment from NARA on our RFI responses? | NARA will not provide feedback on any RFI responses. |
| 36 | If we submitted a response to an RFI will we be notified directly of events itemized in the tentative schedule such as the Industry Day, Draft RFP and Industry Conference? | Vendors interested in such events should frequently check the ERA Acquisition Web Page at the following URL: http://www.archives.gov/era/acquisition-information.html (inactive). NARA will also post notice of significant ERA Acquisition events to the FedBizOps system at the following URL: http://www.eps.gov/. |
| 37 | In the event a contractor responded to RFI 1 would it be necessary to respond to RFI 2 in order to remain on the bidders list? Please clarify? | Participation in preliminary ERA acquisition events (RFIs, Industry Conference, Draft RFP) is not necessary in order to respond to the final ERA RFP. |
| 38 | Can a company be listed on the ERA web site without responding to the RFI? | Yes. If you would like to add your company's name to the list, please see the instructions at the following URL: http://www.archives.gov/era/acquisition/vendor-list.html. (inactive). |
| 39 | Could you please clarify the CMM Level 3 requirement? | Currently, the ERA PMO intends to require that the prime contractor's organization performing the work be independently evaluated or assessed at a Software CMM Level 3. If a subcontractor is involved in software development, they will be expected to conform to the prime contractor's processes. NARA does not expect that all team members (for example, COTS vendors) meet the CMM Level 3 requirement. Prior to issuing the RFP, the ERA Program Office will re-evaluate the CMM Level 3 requirement based on responses received to ERA RFIs and the ERA Draft RFP. |
| 40 | Will NARA accept questions submitted after the RFI response due date? | Yes. Questions can be submitted at any time. Those questions that NARA answers will be posted on the ERA Web site. |
| 41 | What is the basis of the $130M estimate that appeared in NARA testimony to Congress a few years ago? Will NARA publish the budget (or expected budget) per year including the operations contract for ERA so industry can include cost in design/architecture trade studies? If yes, please provide this information at the earliest opportunity. | NARA will not discuss nor release budget information. |
| 42 | Will contractors that win this solicitation need to report on progress using earned value? | NARA intends to evaluate contractor performance using earned value. Currently, NARA anticipates that the bidders will need to supply an earned value plan, populated with appropriate information in their proposals. The earned value management system used by the contractor must be EIA 748-A compliant. |
| 43 | Can you provide a list of all legacy systems at NARA that provide electronic records preservation capability at this time? | Information on NARA legacy systems will be provided as government furnished information to the companies to whom design contracts are awarded. At this time, NARA believes that ERA represents such a dramatic departure from the agency's current preservation capability, that information about these systems will be of limited value to bidders in preparing proposals for this solicitation. |
| 44 | If system features had to be prioritized into multiple releases, how would they be allocated? | NARA will provide information on the requirements to be met by each increment of ERA with the draft RFP. Final allocation of requirements to increments will be provided with the release of the final RFP. Proposers may recommend different allocations in their proposals provided that NARA objectives for each increment of the system are met. |
| 45 | What features are deemed critical to the success of the project? | Final ERA requirements will be available at the time the final RFP is released. A draft version of these requirements will be made available with the Draft RFP. |
| 46 | What security policies are going to affect ERA? | Draft security requirements will be included in the Draft RFP. Final ERA requirements, including final security requirements, will be available at the time the final RFP is released. |
| 41 | RFI #2 refers to GOTS software. This reference was added since RFI #1. Does NARA have some specific software in mind? | NARA does not have specific software in mind. |
| 48 | Can NARA provide its enterprise architecture? | NARA Enterprise Architecture-related documentation will be available by the release of the draft RFP. Final NARA Enterprise Architecture-related documentation will be available by the release of the final RFP. |
| 49 | Who are the external users of the system today? | Please see the ERA Concept of Operations for descriptions of the user classes. |
| 50 | What type of rights is the Government expecting for data and software developed under this contract? Does NARA intend to supply to the winner of the Systems Analysis and Design phase the deliverables produced by the down-selected contractor? | NARA intends to obtain Government Purpose Rights with respect to all software and technical data developed under this contract. Government purpose rights allow the Government to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display or disclose software, software documentation or technical data within the Government without restriction; and to release or disclose computer software, software documentation, or technical data outside the Government and authorize persons to whom release or disclosure has been made to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose the software, documentation, or technical data for Government purposes. Government purpose rights includes the right to use data or software for competitive procurements, but excludes release for commercial purposes. Further, Government purpose rights does not cover any software or data developed by the contractor or any other party prior to performance of this contract. |
| 51 | How does NARA plan to manage communications with the Government during the Systems Analysis and Design phase? How will NARA ensure equitable treatment of the two (2) competing teams? | NARA selected a design competition in its acquisition strategy in order to increase the chances of developing a design for ERA that will meet its unique requirements for the longevity and authenticity of the records that the system must manage. The competition also allows the Government to see two (2) teams in action and factor their ability to perform into the evaluation for the selection of the company or team that will develop the system. The design phase competition will require significant NARA resources in order to manage two (2) teams of contractors developing preliminary designs. NARA intends to balance the available Government resources with the contractor requirements for access to subject matter experts, but has not finalized its plan for how to ensure equitable treatment for both teams of contractors. We are researching this area and invite contractor feedback on how to do this. |
| 52 | What are NARA's plans for managing the Award Fee process for this contract? | The initial Award Fee Plan will be written by the proposer and must be tied to the proposer's performance work statement. The Government will identify in the Draft RFP the relative weights associated with cost, schedule, and performance that must be factored into the award fee plan by the proposer. |
| 53 | Why is the Operations and Support contract a separate contract? | Operations and support for the ERA system is planned as a separate contract for the following reasons: to promote additional competition across a broader set of potential suppliers; operations and support contractors typically adhere to different cost models and possess different skill sets than would a developer, which would provide an opportunity for the Government to acquire better value for this service; the separation will encourage a cleaner reporting of problems from the operations team to the developer; there might be a tendency to under report problems that are found during operations if both contracts are managed by the same company; by separating the contracts, risk is reduced to each by making them smaller; and, it will enable the separate contractors to concentrate on what they do best. |
| 54 | How can we be sure that incumbent NARA contractors will not have an unfair advantage in this competition? | ERA is NARA's most important strategic initiative. The development of this system poses major technical challenges, not the least of which are unprecedented requirements for longevity and authenticity of records the system must manage. NARA needs the best that industry has to offer to build this system, so it has planned numerous acquisition/communication activities:
Moreover, while there are multiple incumbent IT contractors at NARA, some of whom have worked on NARA's legacy electronic records preservation systems, it is important to note that NARA's vision for ERA is a radical departure from its previous systems. ERA requirements were built from the ground up from first causes, and NARA did not use predecessor systems as a baseline from which to develop requirements. Given this, all of industry, incumbent or not, will receive ERA requirements at the same time, with the draft RFP. Regarding incumbents, one (1)company needs to be mentioned. Integrated Computer Engineering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Systems Corporation (ASC), is providing program management support to the ERA PMO. This company has a conflict of interest provision in its contract with NARA that prevents it from bidding on any ERA contracts for which it provides pre-award support. This company is ineligible to bid on the contract under discussion, and it also is ineligible to bid on the ERA operations and support contract. All contract employees working for ASC have signed non-disclosure agreements. |
| 55 | Is ERA required to provide for handling of classified or sensitive materials? If so, will the government bear the expense to gain facility clearance or clearance for its personnel? | ERA will need to provide ingest, preservation, and access capabilities for records at all levels of national security classification and sensitivity. Contractor costs for obtaining cleared facilities will be born by the contractor. The developing contractor will need cleared personnel . Contractor costs for obtaining personnel clearances will be born by the contractor. |
| 56 | Where will the work be performed? At a NARA site or another location? | All ERA development work will be done at the contractor site. NARA will provide a small amount of space at its College Park, Maryland, facility for contractor staff who need access to subject matter experts or ERA Program Management Office staff. |
| 57 | Will there be small business set asides or socioeconomic goals associated with this solicitation? | There will be socioeconomic goals associated with this solicitation and they will be identified in the draft RFP. Proposers will need to develop a plan for meeting these goals. |
| 58 | Your Concept of Operations mentions "templates." What is a "template"? | A template is an abstraction or articulation of the properties of a record, set of records, or a transaction involving records, which must be controlled. For a fuller explanation of templates, please view the following PDF presentation  . |
| 59 | What is the timetable for on-on-one exchanges between NARA and Industry? | At this time, NARA will conduct one-on-one exchanges with industry through May 9, 2003. |
| 60 | Does NARA have a preferred prime system integrator or would they recommend a list of prime integrators? | No, the ERA Program Office does not have a preferred prime system integrator and will not recommend potential teaming partners, or provide lists of potential bidders. The ERA PMO is conducting a full and open competition. A list of companies that are interested in the ERA acquisition and have volunteered their contact information is posted on the ERA Acquisition web site at: http://www.archives.gov/era/ acquisition/vendor-list.html. (inactive) |
| 61 | Regarding web site posting of the Requirements Document (RD), when do you plan to post the materials referenced in Section 1.4, such as:
|
The Requirements Management Guidance and Requirements Management Plan are internal documents used by the ERA Program Office to control the process of developing the RD. They will not be provided to industry. The FP and EA will be made available with the RFP. The IRD will be provided at contract award. The final RD will provide a context diagram with information describing the interfaces between external systems and ERA. There are no plans to separately post this information to the ERA Acquisition web site in the interim. |
| 62 | A 23% target for small business is an acceptable target for smaller programs. However for this large a program, a goal of 23% prevents effective teaming of large corporations by eliminating a necessary work share. Would NARA consider reducing the small business content? And the small business usage by second tier subs should be included. | NARA has revised the ERA Program small business goal from 23% to 12%. This goal will be applied against the total dollar value of each optional increment awarded. Specifically, 12% or more of the Prime Contractor's total dollar amount of each optional increment awarded should be awarded to small businesses through meaningful value added subcontracts or purchase orders, etc. NARA may make this goal an element under the award fee plan. |
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