12f_Synopsis Solicitation X Search_Clauses Criteria.docx

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation 70Z03926QCGA00007

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

i. This is a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Part 12, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation will not be issued.

ii. Solicitation number 70Z03926QCGA00007 is being issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ).

iii. This solicitation document and the incorporated provisions and clauses reflect those in effect through Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Revolutionary Overhaul https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul

iv. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) number is 561312 and the business size standard is $34 million. The proposed acquisition is being conducted as 100% Small Business Set-aside on a restricted basis.

v. The Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure shall include a total of two (2), with each CLIN representing the executive search per schoolhouse. Anticipated CLIN structure for each ordering period is shown in the table below:

vi. Description of Requirement: The requirement is to engage a highly respected executive search firm with robust higher education expertise and a nationally proven track record of tailored client support and effective results placing leaders at academic institutions.

vii. Anticipated dates and service period of performance will be outlined in the SOW.

viii. The provision at FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (SEP 2023) applies to this acquisition and is further tailored in the ADDENDA of this combined synopsis/solicitation.

ix. The provision at FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items (NOV 2021) applies to this acquisition and is further tailored in the ADDENDA of this synopsis/solicitation.

x. Clause at FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (Deviation Date April 20, 2026) is applicable to this acquisition and additional addenda are contained herein.

xi. Additional terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition are contained herein.

xii. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is not applicable to this acquisition.

xiii. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure their quote is received and complete by the QUOTE DUE DATE OF June 12, 2026 by 08:00am Eastern Standard Time (EST). Offerors are hereby notified that if your quote is not received completely by the date, time, and location specified (see below) in this announcement, it may not be considered as compliant to the due date referenced above. Quotes shall be emailed to the following addresses: Alfred.Chaney@uscg.mil and Katherine.m.discenza@uscg.mil.

xiv. All vendor questions must be submitted in writing via email to the Contracting Officer no later than June 08, 2026 by 12:00 PM.

Questions received after this deadline may not be addressed.

All questions and corresponding answers will be compiled and issued as an amendment or attachment to this RFQ so that all potential Quoters receive the same information.

Individual responses to questions will not be provided. It is the responsibility of all quoters to monitor for any amendments to this solicitation.

xv. Contract type: Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

Addenda

Addenda to FAR 52-212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items and FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

The Government intends to award without discussions. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary.

A cover sheet (not to exceed one (1) page) shall be included for all submissions. The cover letter shall be included on Volume I and include the quoter’s name and address; U.S. Coast Guard solicitation number; Unique Entity Identifier (UEI); CAGE number; quoter’s point of contact including their phone number and e-mail address, and the date the quoter’s submission expires. Minimum acceptable font size is no smaller than eleven (11) point and no smaller than ten (10) point for tables, charts, or graphs.

It is the quoter’s responsibility to ensure sufficient time is provided for electronic submissions to be processed through the Government’s electronic point-of-entry. The quoter shall acknowledge the solicitation and all amendments thereto.

The quoter shall submit two (2) volumes.

Volume I shall contain the quoter’s response to Factor 1, Search Approach and Factor 2, Prior Experience. Page limits will be strictly adhered to. Any pages beyond the limit of the entire volume, will not be evaluated. For example, if the page limit to Factor 1 and Factor 2 combined are five (5) pages, and your volume I contains eight (8) pages, the last three (3) pages of Volume I will be removed and will not be evaluated.

Volume II shall contain the quoter’s response to Factor 3, Price.

Volume I – Search Approach and Prior Experience

Factor 1 – Prior Experience (Five (5) Page Limit).

Quoters shall demonstrate in their quote the following for the firm and the personnel who will be assigned to the engagement:

· Access to a national network of higher education academic leaders.

· Proven record of academic dean and senior leader recruitment for accredited four-year higher education institutions.

· Successful placement of academic deans and senior leaders within accredited four-year higher education institutions over the last 5 years.

· Provide quantity of successful academic dean searches, successful academic dean placements and at which accredited four-year universities/colleges.

Factor 2 – Search Approach (Five (5) Page Limit)

Quoters shall demonstrate in their quote the following:

· Approach to your search process from initiation to candidate placement for academic deans. Provide your tools and/or platforms, processes for personalized candidate sourcing and vetting of those candidates, and timelines from initiation to candidate placement.

· Approach to building a robust candidate pool while ensuring qualified, talented, and proven academic dean(s) are identified.

· Approach to building academic dean candidate relationships and facilitating candidate engagement.

· Approach to assessing cultural compatibility between academic dean candidates and a university or college.

· Approach to engagement with an institution’s leaders and search committee.

Volume II – Price

Factor 3 Price

Quoters shall complete Attachment A (Price Input). Failing to follow instructions may have an impact on the Total Evaluated Price. The quoter shall provide their total quoted price for each CLIN. All pricing data shall be spelt out and broken down with the quote provided.

Cells have not been locked and some cells contain formulas. Only cells in gray may be filled in by the quoter.

The quoter shall populate their firm’s name (Cell A/B2) and their price per CLIN, Cells: C4 & C5. The number of searches per CLIN shall not be adjusted.

The total evaluated price will be the total of CLIN 0001.

Evaluation Criteria

Basis of Award

The Government intends to award one order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) to the Government utilizing a trade-off evaluation process among price and non-price factors. Best value trade-off will be based on the following evaluation factors: Factor 1, Prior Experience, Factor 2, Search Approach, and Factor 3, Price.

Prior experience is more important than Search Approach, and when combined are significantly more important than Price.

Factor 1 Prior Experience

The Government will assess its level of confidence of the Offeror’s prior experience through:

• Demonstrated national presence in higher education academic leadership recruiting and placement.

· Demonstrated expertise in higher education and the role, function, and capabilities required of academic leaders.

· Proven track record of executive recruitment for accredited four-year higher education institutions.

· Their successful placement of Dean or higher executive level personnel within accredited four-year higher education institutions within the last 5 years.

Factor 2 Search Approach

The Government will assess its level of confidence for each quoter based on their approach to:

· Search process from initiation to candidate placement.

· Personalization of the communication used for candidate sourcing and vetting.

· Ensuring qualified, talented, and proven academy leaders are identified.

· Assessing the cultural compatibility between candidates and a university or college.

· Engagement with an institution’s leaders and search committee.

Factor 3 Price

The Government will evaluate quotes to verify the accuracy of the quoter’s Total Evaluated Price (TEP) provided in Attachment A and will determine whether their proposed TEP is fair and reasonable. The TEP will be calculated by adding CLIN 0001. Adequate price competition is anticipated to support a determination of a fair and reasonable price.

Rating Scheme

The Government will assess its level of confidence for non-price evaluation Factor 1, Prior Experience using the following ratings:

The Government will assess its level of confidence for the non-price evaluation Factor 2, Search Approach using the following ratings.

Clauses

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far; www.dhs.gov/acquisition-policies-regulations#

(End of clause)

Source Clause Number

Clause Title

Date

FAR

52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements

JAN 2017

FAR

52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications

DEC 2014

FAR

FAR

FAR

52.212-4

52.222-41 52.222-50 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services Service Contract Labor Standards Combatting Trafficking in Persons

APR 2026

APR 2026

APR 2026

Invoicing Instruction Addenda 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items

Payment Info: Electronic Submission of Payment Requests:

(a) Definitions. As used in these instructions –

(1) “Payment request” means a bill, voucher, invoice, or request for contract financing payment with associated supporting documentation. The payment request must: comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), “Content of Invoices” and the applicable Payment clause included in this contract. In addition, discount offerings and small business status if available shall be stated. If travel was allowable and approved, components in accordance with FAR 31.205-46 shall be provided.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause, the Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). Information regarding IPP, including IPP Customer Support contact information, is available at www.ipp.gov or any successor site. Combined Synopsis/Solicitation 70Z03926QCGA00007.

(c) The Contractor may submit payment requests using a method other than IPP only when the Contracting Officer authorizes alternate procedures in writing in accordance with Coast Guard procedures.

(d) If alternate payment procedures are authorized, the Contractor shall include a copy of the Contracting Officer's written authorization with each payment request.

(e) IPP enrollment information is at https://www.uscg.mil/fincen/IPP/.

(End of clause)

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights (April 2024) (DHS-USCG DEVIATION 14-01, Revision 1)

(a) This contract and employees working on this contract will be subject to the whistleblower rights and remedies established at 10 U.S.C. 4701 and Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) 3.900 (DEVIATION) through 3.905 (DEVIATION).

(b) The Contractor shall inform its employees in writing, in the predominant language of the workforce, of employee whistleblower rights and protections under 10 U.S.C. 4701, as described in HSAR 3.900 (DEVIATION) through 3.905 (DEVIATION).

(c) The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in all subcontracts.

(End of clause)

Provisions

52.252-1 Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far; www.dhs.gov/acquisition-policies-regulations#

(End of provision)

NOTE: Some provisions contain disclosures that must be completed and returned with Offeror’s response.

52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEPT 2006). Deviation Date April 15, 2025

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from IAW Cover Sheet Notice for Filing Agency Protests.

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of provision)