revised solicitation.doc

Contract Number: TBD

Solicitation No. 123A9420R0001

B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449

This document consists of the following sections:

B.1 - Continuation of Block 16-ADMINISTERED BY

B.1.1 - CONTRACTING OFFICER

The Contracting Officer (CO) has the overall responsibility for the administration of this contract. The CO alone, without delegation, is authorized to take actions on behalf of the Government to amend, modify or deviate from the contract terms, conditions, requirements, specifications, details and/or delivery schedules; issue task orders against the contract; make final decisions on disputed deductions from contract payments for nonperformance, or unsatisfactory performance; terminate the contract for convenience or default; and issue final decisions regarding contract questions or matters under dispute. However, the CO may delegate certain other responsibilities to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). All delegated duties will be specified in writing by a COR Appointment and Delegation Notice.

[End of Text]

B.2 - DESIGNATION OF CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

The Contracting Officer hereby designates as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR):

[TO BE DESIGNATED UPON AWARD]

The COR shall be responsible for administering the performance of work under this contract. In no event, however, will any understanding, agreement, modification, change order, or other matter deviating from the terms of this contract be effective or binding upon the Government unless formalized by proper contractual documents executed by the Contracting Officer prior to completion of the contract.

The Contracting Officer shall be informed as soon as possible of any actions or inactions by the Contractor or the Government which will change the required delivery or completion times stated in the contract, and the contract shall be modified accordingly.

On all matters that pertain to the contract terms, the contractor shall communicate with the Contracting Officer. Whenever, in the opinion of the Contractor, the COR requests effort outside the scope of the contract, the contractor shall so advise the COR. If the COR persists and there still exists a disagreement as to proper contractual coverage, the Contracting Officer shall be notified immediately, preferably in writing if time permits. Proceeding with work without proper contractual coverage may result in nonpayment or necessitate submittal of a contract claim.

[End of Text]

C - CLAUSES

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items.

As prescribed in 12.301(b)(3), insert the following clause:

Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (Oct 2018)

(a) Inspection/Acceptance. The Contractor shall only tender for acceptance those items that conform to the requirements of this contract. The Government reserves the right to inspect or test any supplies or services that have been tendered for acceptance. The Government may require repair or replacement of nonconforming supplies or reperformance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. If repair/replacement or reperformance will not correct the defects or is not possible, the Government may seek an equitable price reduction or adequate consideration for acceptance of nonconforming supplies or services. The Government must exercise its post-acceptance rights-

(1) Within a reasonable time after the defect was discovered or should have been discovered; and

(2) Before any substantial change occurs in the condition of the item, unless the change is due to the defect in the item.

(b) Assignment. The Contractor or its assignee may assign its rights to receive payment due as a result of performance of this contract to a bank, trust company, or other financing institution, including any Federal lending agency in accordance with the Assignment of Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3727). However, when a third party makes payment (e.g.,use of the Governmentwide commercial purchase card), the Contractor may not assign its rights to receive payment under this contract.

(c) Changes. Changes in the terms and conditions of this contract may be made only by written agreement of the parties.

(d) Disputes. This contract is subject to 41 U.S.C. chapter 71, Contract Disputes. Failure of the parties to this contract to reach agreement on any request for equitable adjustment, claim, appeal or action arising under or relating to this contract shall be a dispute to be resolved in accordance with the clause at FAR 52.233-1, Disputes, which is incorporated herein by reference. The Contractor shall proceed diligently with performance of this contract, pending final resolution of any dispute arising under the contract.

(e) Definitions. The clause at FAR 52.202-1, Definitions, is incorporated herein by reference.

(f) Excusable delays. The Contractor shall be liable for default unless nonperformance is caused by an occurrence beyond the reasonable control of the Contractor and without its fault or negligence such as, acts of God or the public enemy, acts of the Government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, fires, floods, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, strikes, unusually severe weather, and delays of common carriers. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing as soon as it is reasonably possible after the commencement of any excusable delay, setting forth the full particulars in connection therewith, shall remedy such occurrence with all reasonable dispatch, and shall promptly give written notice to the Contracting Officer of the cessation of such occurrence.

(l) Termination for the Government’s convenience. The Government reserves the right to terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for its sole convenience. In the event of such termination, the Contractor shall immediately stop all work hereunder and shall immediately cause any and all of its suppliers and subcontractors to cease work. Subject to the terms of this contract, the Contractor shall be paid a percentage of the contract price reflecting the percentage of the work performed prior to the notice of termination, plus reasonable charges the Contractor can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Government using its standard record keeping system, have resulted from the termination. The Contractor shall not be required to comply with the cost accounting standards or contract cost principles for this purpose. This paragraph does not give the Government any right to audit the Contractor’s records. The Contractor shall not be paid for any work performed or costs incurred which reasonably could have been avoided.

(m) Termination for cause. The Government may terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for cause in the event of any default by the Contractor, or if the Contractor fails to comply with any contract terms and conditions, or fails to provide the Government, upon request, with adequate assurances of future performance. In the event of termination for cause, the Government shall not be liable to the Contractor for any amount for supplies or services not accepted, and the Contractor shall be liable to the Government for any and all rights and remedies provided by law. If it is determined that the Government improperly terminated this contract for default, such termination shall be deemed a termination for convenience.

(n) Title. Unless specified elsewhere in this contract, title to items furnished under this contract shall pass to the Government upon acceptance, regardless of when or where the Government takes physical possession.

(q) Other compliances. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, executive orders, rules and regulations applicable to its performance under this contract.

(r) Compliance with laws unique to Government contracts. The Contractor agrees to comply with 31 U.S.C. 1352 relating to limitations on the use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracts; 18 U.S.C. 431 relating to officials not to benefit; 40 U.S.C. chapter 37, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards; 41 U.S.C. chapter 87, Kickbacks; 41 U.S.C. 4712 and 10 U.S.C. 2409 relating to whistleblower protections; 49 U.S.C. 40118, Fly American; and 41 U.S.C. chapter 21 relating to procurement integrity.

(s) Order of precedence. Any inconsistencies in this solicitation or contract shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order:

(1) The schedule of supplies/services.

(2) The Assignments, Disputes, Payments, Invoice, Other Compliances, Compliance with Laws Unique to Government Contracts, and Unauthorized Obligations paragraphs of this clause;

(3) The clause at 52.212-5.

(4) Addenda to this solicitation or contract, including any license agreements for computer software.

(5) Solicitation provisions if this is a solicitation.

(6) Other paragraphs of this clause.

(7) The Standard Form 1449.

(8) Other documents, exhibits, and attachments.

(9) The specification.

(t) [Reserved]

(u) Unauthorized Obligations.

(1) Except as stated in paragraph (u)(2) of this clause, when any supply or service acquired under this contract is subject to any End User License Agreement (EULA), Terms of Service (TOS), or similar legal instrument or agreement, that includes any clause requiring the Government to indemnify the Contractor or any person or entity for damages, costs, fees, or any other loss or liability that would create an Anti-Deficiency Act violation (31 U.S.C. 1341), the following shall govern:

(i) Any such clause is unenforceable against the Government.

(ii) Neither the Government nor any Government authorized end user shall be deemed to have agreed to such clause by virtue of it appearing in the EULA, TOS, or similar legal instrument or agreement. If the EULA, TOS, or similar legal instrument or agreement is invoked through an “I agree” click box or other comparable mechanism (e.g., “click-wrap” or “browse-wrap” agreements), execution does not bind the Government or any Government authorized end user to such clause.

(iii) Any such clause is deemed to be stricken from the EULA, TOS, or similar legal instrument or agreement.

(2) Paragraph (u)(1) of this clause does not apply to indemnification by the Government that is expressly authorized by statute and specifically authorized under applicable agency regulations and procedures.

(v) Incorporation by reference. The Contractor’s representations and certifications, including those completed electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM), are incorporated by reference into the contract.

(End of clause)

D - DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS OR ATTACHMENTS

E. SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

The point of contact for this RFP is:

Tim Nyberg

Contracting Specialist, USDA- FSIS

Email: timothy.nyberg@usda.gov Deadlines:

QUESTIONS:

All questions must be submitted via email to Tim Nyberg (timothy.nyberg@usda.gov) by 5:00 P.M. (ET), 12/3/2019. The subject line of the email must be the solicitation number. Questions received after the deadline on 12/3/2019 may not be answered. Questions will not be answered over the phone or submitted by any other means. Questions must be submitted using the attached “Question Submittal Form.” Responses to questions will be posted via an amendment on FBO.

PROPOSALS:

Proposals are due by 5:00 P.M. (ET) Eastern Standard Time on 12/12/2019. Proposals must be submitted via email to timothy.nyberg@usda.gov. The subject line of the email must be the solicitation number. Proposals will not be accepted by any other means. Late proposals will not be considered. Offerors will receive an email confirmation that their proposal was received and whether it was on time or late.

Proposal Submittal Instructions:

Responses submitted in a paper form are unacceptable. Failure to comply with this requirement will jeopardize the possibility of receiving an award for the contract due to noncompliance with the terms of the solicitation. You must submit your electronic (email)proposal, and any supplemental information (such as spreadsheets, backup data, technical information), using any of the electronic formats and media described below.

In addition, contractors are notified of the award via an electronic Notice of Award e-mail. The award document will be attached to the Notice of Award e-mail.

Acceptable Electronic Formats (Software) for Submission of Offers

1. Files readable using the current Microsoft* Office version Products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access. Spreadsheet documents must be sent in a format that includes macro, and format information. Print or scan images of spreadsheets are not acceptable. Please see security note below for caution regarding use of macros.

2. Files in Adobe* PDF (Portable Document Format) Files: When scanning documents scanner resolution should be set to 200 dots per inch, or greater.

E-mail Submission Procedures: For simplicity in this guidance, all submissions in response to a solicitation will be referred to as proposals.

a. Subject Line: Include the solicitation number, name of company, and closing date of solicitation.

b. Size: Maximum size of the e-mail message shall not exceed ten (10) megabytes. Only one email is permitted unless otherwise stated in this paragraph or in writing by the Contracting Officer.

Each emailed electronic proposal must include everything that is requested in the solicitation. At a minimum this will include a signed and scanned SF-1449, Solicitation, Contract, Order for Commercial Items, depending on the requirements of the solicitation.

The offer will be date and time stamped by the Microsoft Outlook Email system, which will be the official record of receipt for the submission.

Security Issues, Late Proposals, Unreadable Proposals

1. To avoid rejection of a proposal, vendors must make every effort to ensure their electronic submission is virus-free. Submissions or portions thereof submitted and which the automatic system detects the presence of a virus or which are otherwise unreadable will be treated as “unreadable,” and the proposal will be rejected.

Password protecting your offer is not permitted. The Contracting Officer will file the offer electronically which will allow access only by designated individuals.

Proposal organization:

Proposals must NOT EXCEED MORE THAN 25 single-sided pages; including all sections of the proposal (i.e., technical proposal, etc.). Any pages in excess of 25 pages will not be evaluated.

Font Size: Font Size: 12 Minimum Font Type: Calibri, Times New Roman, Arial and/or any other “similar” font type.

Proposals must include a cover sheet that provides the following information:

· Company Name

· Point of Contact, to include email and phone number

· DUNS Number

· Statement that includes acknowledgement of latest amendment number (if applicable). Failure to acknowledge the most recent amendment number, may render an offeror’s proposal non-responsive.

· Identification of any teaming arrangements, joint ventures, mentor-protégé relationships, subcontracting relationships, etc.

· Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) – The offerors must identify any possible OCIs and plan to mitigate any OCI issues, if they exist. If there is no potential OCI, offeror’s must provide a written statement indicating this. If the OCI mitigation plan is deemed unacceptable, the offeror will not be eligible for award.

· Assumptions

Evaluation Criteria and Instructions:

The government intends to award a single no-cost contract to the offeror. Evaluation factors are listed in order of importance, with most important listed first.

The government intends to award upon initial proposals received.

Offerors responding to this solicitation, must submit proposals in accordance with the page limitations.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

Factor 1- Corporate Experience

Offerors are required to provide three (3) examples of corporate experience. The government will not accept more than three (3) examples. Offerors must complete the attached relevant experience form and submit with their proposal. Two (2) of the three (3) corporate experience examples provided must be from the offeror acting as the prime and one (1) of the examples must be for a Government agency. Relevant experience examples submitted must have been awarded within the past three (3) years and have a minimum of one (1) year of performance.

Factor 2- Past Performance

The government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance. The past performance evaluation will be based on the CPARS evaluations for the three (3) corporate experience examples submitted under the Corporate Experience factor. If CPARS evaluations are not available, the offeror must provide the attached past performance questionnaire (PPQ) to the point of contact (POC) listed on the relevant experience form. The POC is to submit the completed PPQ to the listed contract specialist by the due date and time for proposals. The government reserves the right to accept late PPQ submissions. The government reserves the right to contact POCs for verification or additional information. The government will not accept PPQs submitted by the offeror.

Offerors will have an opportunity to address any adverse past performance history, if they had not already been provided the opportunity to do so. offerors who do not have any past performance history will not be rated favorably or unfavorably, but will instead receive a Neutral/Unknown rating for past performance.

Since past performance evaluation is based on CPARS evaluations and/or PPQs, offerors are not required to submit any documentation in their proposal under this factor. The government will not review any information submitted by the offeror under this factor. The government reserves the right to use data provided by the offeror and data provided by alternative sources in conducting its assessment of past performance history.

Factor 3 - Technical Approach

Offerors must submit their technical approach to meeting the requirements and accomplishing the tasks outlined in the statement of work (Attachment 01). Offerors must display a clear understanding of the requirements.

Proposals submitted by offerors that include the following statement, or similar, without any supporting information, may be determined to not have a clear understanding of the requirement and will not be considered:

“The offeror understands the requirements and the submitted quote has met all stated objectives.”

Offeror’s must provide their written technical approach to the SOW included in attachment #01 of the solicitation. Any assumptions made in preparing a response to the SOW must be clearly stated in the cover sheet. The technical approach must include the process, methodologies, and techniques utilized to develop a list of suitable hotels, a list of companies/hotels that you do business with, examples of the type of information/reports you provide, how your process adheres to Government travel regulations (Government travel rates, GSA fedrooms), cancellation process, advance-payments and pre-authorization policies and minimums.

In addition, the offeror shall provide a detailed Project Plan/Schedule work plan for implementation of an example event; a schedule for completing the effort, including key milestones, the flow of activities from start to completion, and approach for meeting milestones and documentation requirements. The offeror should justify the feasibility of specific approaches, methods, techniques and tools used for delivering on schedule and ensuring that deliverables and services are of high quality, while describing any mitigating risks/problem areas, and contingency plans for unforeseen events that may occur on-site (bed bugs, filled room block, amenities included in LOI are not provided, etc.).

Factor 4- Management/ Staffing Plan

Offerors shall provide a management/staffing plan that describes the organizational structure, staffing plan, policies, procedures, and techniques for efficiently managing the proposed work. The management plan shall discuss interrelationships of technical management and business management, and subcontract management. Offeror’s must discuss managing multiple tasks simultaneously in different subject areas and must address plans for interfacing with Agency project managers, the CO/CS, and the COR. The offeror shall discuss its plans for addressing any problems that arise as a result of the proposed organization structure, or poor and/or non-performance of subcontracted portions of the contract.

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award a zero dollar/no-cost contract to the responsible offeror whose proposal is responsive to the solicitation based on trade-offs.

Evaluation Factors are listed in descending order of importance:

FACTOR A - Corporate Experience

FACTOR B - Past Performance

FACTOR C – Technical Approach FACTOR D – Management/Staffing Plan

FACTOR A- Corporate Experience

The government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror’s examples demonstrate similar experience as described in the statement of work. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s demonstrated relevant corporate experience performing work that is similar in size, scope and complexity to the requirements established by the SOW.

FACTOR B – Past Performance:

The Government will evaluation the offeror’s performance under the three (3) Corporate Experience examples provided under factor 1. A strong history of favorable relevant past performance may be more advantageous to the government than a less relevant record of favorable performance.

FACTOR C- Technical Approach

The government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror’s technical approach presents a sound understanding of the type of work to be performed and the approach is feasible and likely to be effective. The Government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror’s project plan/schedule work plan presents a sound understanding of event planning.

FACTOR D- Management/Staffing Plan

The Government will evaluate whether the offeror’s management/staffing plan is sufficient enough to provide the necessary support needed to perform the requirements outlined in the statement of work. The plan will be evaluated to determine that the offeror’s approach to mitigating risk is appropriate and that there are clear lines of communication between the Government, contractor and subcontractors.

PAGE