1305M324R0046 Amendment 0001.pdf

(x)

1305M324R0046 x x

1 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

WAD-NMFS-S

SEATTLE WA 98115

7600 SAND POINT WAY NE BLDG 1

WAD-NMFS-Seattle

07/18/20240001

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

06/28/2024

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The Due Date and Time for Receipt of Offers is hereby extended to 7/25/2024 1700 PT.

Offeror questions are answered through this amendment. A revised Performance Work Statement

(PWS) is attached. Revisions to provisions/clauses are included as applicable.

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

KAYLA JOHNSON

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

1. The Proposal preparation instructions (2) Volume II-Technical Proposal part (C) states: the Table of Contents, List of Tables and Figures, offeror's Performance-Based Quality Control Plan and Resumes are not included in the page limit. Will the Government add the Project Management Plan to the list of materials excluded from the page count?

The Project Management Plan will be excluded from the Technical Proposal page count. The Project Management Plan shall be limited to its own page count of 7.

2. Section 1.5.5. provides an example of a government release due to extenuating circumstances, e.g., the observer provider is unable to deploy an observer to the vessel within a day of the intended fishing trip departure. Does this include up to 24 hours preceding the intended departure time and up to 24 hours after the intended departure time?

Would a provider be required to request a release if an observer is unavailable up to 24 hours prior to the intended departure time? Would a vessel be required to remain in port up to 24 hours from the indented departure time for an observer to arrive?

This extenuating circumstance only applies to the 24 hours preceding the intended departure time. The vessel wouldn’t be required to remain in port up to 24 hours from the intended departure time waiting for an observer to arrive, although the provider may work with a vessel on this issue. For example, if the only flight available into the port landed 2 hours after the vessel wished to depart, the provider could ask if the vessel would be willing to wait for the plane to land.

3. Section 1.5.11 Observer Sea Day and Observer Plant Day states observers work an average of twelve (12) hours per day as the sole Contractor employee aboard privately-owned commercial fishing vessels. Can the government provide the average number of hours an observer works when on land and deployed between trips performing their duties, traveling to and from ports, waiting for vessels, performing data entry, completing mid-cruise debriefings?

This is observer and assignment dependent. If an observer completes all of their duties at sea or while deployed to a shoreside plant, they will have less work for the Government that must be completed between assignments;

perhaps an approximate average of 1 to 2 hours of data entry and data review from their last deployment. The Government cannot provide an average time traveling to and from ports or waiting for vessels, as that is dependent upon how the provider chooses to stage their observers and move them between ports. Mid-cruise debriefings can take approximately between 2 to 4 hours depending on the quality of data and the care the observer has taken for data entry and review.

4. Section 1.5.14 Observer Placement states: The Contractor must not: (c) Assign an observer to vessels in the partial-coverage sectors within the same deployment. Is there text missing from the sentence?

This statement should read “(c) Assign an observer to vessels in the partial-coverage and full-coverage sectors within the same deployment."

5. On average how many hours do trainees spend during the 3-week training attending class and completing homework assignments?

This is dependent upon the trainee’s ability to understand the material and concepts being presented – the Government expects that an average, successful trainee would spend an approximate 8 hours per day attending class and another 2 to 3 hours in the evenings reading and completing assignments.

6. The RFP specifies the proposal submission date on Standard Form 1449 but the PWS does not specify to whom proposals should be submitted. Please will NMFS confirm if the proposal is to be submitted to the CO, Kayla Johnson alone or with the C.S., Novelle Key?

Proposals shall be emailed to Novelle.Key@noaa.gov, Kayla.Johnson@noaa.gov, and Sarah.Waugh@noaa.gov no later than the offer due date and time as indicated in the solicitation and any applicable solicitation amendments. Vendors are responsible for ensuring proposal receipt by the Government.

Due to size limits on incoming email, it may be necessary to send in multiple emails. Multiple emails should be numbered in sequence for tracking (for example, 1 of 3).

7. In Section 5, page 82, font is identified as “elite font”. Does Times New Roman meet this criterion?

Yes.

8. Section 5, page 82, “Format and Content” indicates that the proposal must be double-spaced. Is it acceptable to NMFS to use single-spaced text in tables and figures?

Yes.

9. In Section 4, “1.3.2.4. Physician’s Statement”. Many clinics are staffed by Physician Assistants (PA) to conduct physicals. Will a PA be allowed to conduct required physicals?

Federal regulation states that this must be completed by a Physician, Physician Assistants cannot fulfill this requirement.

10. In Section 4, “1.5.2, Annual Fish ID Training”. Please will the government confirm if the Annual Fish ID training is in person or remote?

Currently, this training is offered remotely.

11. Is there a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) associated with the North Pacific Observers Program (NPOP)?

No, NPOP is not currently subject to a CBA. NPOP is subject to a Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determination (WD), and the most up to date version is included in the Solicitation.

Section 5 - Solicitation Provisions

CAR 1352.215-70 Proposal preparation. (APR 2010)

(a) General Instructions. Proposals are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the proposal shall be clearly and concisely written, neatly presented, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate), and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date of the offer, and the solicitation number. Each volume shall be clearly marked by volume number and title.

(b) Overall Arrangement of Proposal. (1) VOLUME I-BUSINESS PROPOSAL

(i) Volume I, Business Proposal, consists of the actual offer to enter into a contract to perform the desired work. It also includes required representations, certifications, and acknowledgments, if applicable;

justifications for noncompetitive proposed subcontracts;

identification of technical data to be withheld; and any other required administrative information.

(ii) Format and Content. Volume I, Business Proposal, shall include the following documents (in the order listed):

(A) Proposal Form:

(1) Use of the Form-The Proposal Form (Standard Form 1449), is to be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of Volume I. Include one

(1) original signed copy of the form in the original Volume I.

(2) Acceptance Period-The acceptance period entered on the Proposal Form by the offeror shall not be less than the start of the period of performance date.

(3) Signature Authority-The person signing the Proposal Form must have the authority to commit the offeror to all of the provisions of the proposal, fully recognizing that the Government has the right, by terms of the Solicitation, to make an award without discussion if it so elects.

(B) Other documentation identified in Section (A) above.

The offeror shall submit one original of Volume I, marked as such.

(2) VOLUME II-TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

(i) General. (A) Volume II, technical proposal, consists of the offeror's proposal delineating its capabilities and how it intends to perform contract requirements. The Technical proposal will be evaluated utilizing the streamlined evaluation procedures of FAR 12.602 in conjunction with the criteria contained in CAR 1352.215-74 and 1352.215-75, included in this section of the solicitation. The technical proposal shall at a minimum address the requirement set forth in paragraph (iii) below.

(B) In order that the technical proposal may be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, no contractual price information is to be included in Volume II.

However, the type and quantity of labor and materials is to be included in the Technical Proposal, without any associated cost information.

(C) The technical proposal must be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, using elite font, 12 pitch type (or equivalent) and printed, unreduced in size, on 8 1/2" by 11" paper, not exceeding 30 pages, single-sided. Any pages in excess of 30 will be disregarded and will not be included in the proposal evaluation. Failure of the offeror to comply with the page limitations, resulting in the excess pages not being evaluated, shall not constitute grounds for a protest. The Table of Contents, List of Tables and Figures, offeror's Performance-Based Quality Control Plan, Project Management Plan and Resumes are not included in the page limit count. Font size in Tables and Figures may be smaller than 12 pitch. The offeror's Performance-Based Quality Control Plan must be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins, using elite font, 12 pitch type (or equivalent) on 8 1/2" by 11" paper, and is limited to five (5) pages. The offeror's Project Management Plan must be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins, using elite font, 12 pitch type (or equivalent) on 8 1/2" by 11" paper, and is limited to seven (7) pages.

(ii) Format and Content. Volume II, Technical Proposal, shall include the following contents:

(A) Table of Contents

(B) List of Tables and Figures

(C) Technical Proposal

(D) Exceptions and Deviations

(E) Resumes

(F) Offeror's Performance-Based Quality Control Plan

(G) Offeror’s Project Management Plan

These major headings may be subdivided or supplemented by the offeror as appropriate.

(1) Summary. This section shall provide a summary that addresses each of the technical evaluation factors set out in this section.

(2) Technical Proposal. The offeror shall clearly address each of the technical evaluation criteria in this section and, at a minimum, cover each factor.

(3) Exceptions and Deviations. This section shall identify and explain any exceptions or deviations taken to any part of the solicitation or conditional assumptions made with respect to the technical requirements of the solicitation. Offerors should note that taking exceptions to the Government's requirements may indicate an unwillingness or inability to perform the contract, and the proposal may be evaluated as such.

(iii) Specific areas to be addressed:

FACTOR 1 – MANAGEMENT APPROACH

(1) The offeror shall describe its overall management approach for fulfilling the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). It shall include a detailed description how it will successfully perform all technical and business management functions that are necessary to achieve the objectives of this contract.

(2) The offeror shall describe its plan to provide all personnel and other resources necessary to accomplish the functions below. The offeror shall describe in detail their integrated management approach to include:

(a) The offeror’s proposed approach for staffing, controlling, and overseeing the overall management operations within the project. The offeror shall include a Project Management Plan in accordance with Section

1.2.1 of the PWS.

(b) An organizational chart of the offeror’s team indicating the names of required key personnel (Project Manager) other proposed key personnel roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships with senior management, and interfaces with NOAA or other entities. Resumes of Key Personnel are to be included that demonstrates experience as it relates to providing Observer services. Positions listed as Key Personnel are listed in clause CAR 1352.237-75 KEY PERSONNEL (APR 2010) but offerors may propose additional positions. If the offeror intends to subcontract parts of the work, the offeror shall provide the percentage of work to be completed by the subcontractor.

(c) The offeror’s proposed approach to assure compliance with the regulatory body requirements within the PWS (Section 4 - PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT) with a description of how the offeror will comply with the appropriate sections of the Service Contract Act, MMPA, MSA and ESA.

(d) The offeror’s proposed approach for quality control and monitoring quality in Observer data collection requirements and meeting the acceptable quality levels in Section 1.3.6 of the PWS. The offeror shall include a Performance-Based Quality Control Plan showing how it will meet the requirements of the contract, in accordance with Section

1.3.6 of the PWS.

(e) The offeror’s planned approach for controlling travel costs during the contract period.

(f) If the Offeror wishes to team with another offeror for the purpose of this solicitation, the offerors must disclose the teaming arrangement in the technical volume. This teaming arrangement must be in place prior to offer submission. The Offeror must specify the relationship between the Prime Contractor, and the Subcontractor. The Offeror must describe in detail, under past performance, the nature of work this team has performed previously, if applicable.

FACTOR 2 – OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND OBSERVER

SUPPORT SERVICES APPROACH

(1) The offeror shall describe its approach for providing and recruiting qualified Observer candidates and their plan to retain qualified Observers. The offeror shall describe in detail their recruitment plan; where they intend to advertise/solicit diverse and local applicants, how they will ensure their Observer Candidates become fully qualified;

and how they plan on retaining these qualified Observers for future vessel deployments.

(2) The offeror shall describe in sufficient detail its understanding of Observer’s duties and how they plan to ensure compliance with the duties and Standards of Conduct.

(3) The offeror shall describe their proposed approach to providing logistics and operation support for each

Observer for deployment, including:

(a) The offeror’s support for the Observer while in training.

(b) The offeror’s travel and travel payment plan for Observer Candidates and Observers while traveling for training, traveling to land-based assignments and vessel deployments, traveling for briefings and de- briefings.

(c) A detailed description of the offeror’s approach to providing for communications between Observer Candidates and offeror, Observers and offeror, Vessel Owners/Captains and offeror.

(d) The offeror’s approach to making Observers available for investigating circumstances of alleged violations.

(4) The offeror shall describe in detail its proposed approach to adhering to vessel selection, notification, communications, log maintenance, and notification requirements.

(5) The offeror shall describe its approach to ensuring that Observers receive appropriate quarters while assigned and deployed on a specific vessel.

(6) The offeror shall describe its approach to ensuring Observer safety in assigning them to a vessel.

(7) The offeror shall describe its process and procedures in assigning an Observer to a vessel and monitoring an Observer’s conduct and performance.

FACTOR 3 - PAST PERFORMANCE.

The offeror shall provide past performance questionnaires (link for online form:

<https://forms.gle/LZEjPGQe8jn7qN5B6>) to references for relevant work conducted within the past five years. In their proposal submission, the offeror shall provide a list of references with contact information so that the Contracting Officer is aware of past performance evaluation questionnaires released. References should be for recent contracts similar in scope, in whole or in part, to the PWS.

In order for past performance questionnaires to be considered, they must be received by the solicitation closing date. Past performance questionnaires received directly from the offeror will not be considered. The past performance questionnaires shall be submitted online using the link

<https://forms.gle/LZEjPGQe8jn7qN5B6>.

(3) Volume III-Price proposal

(i) Price proposals must generally adhere to the pricing structure established in Section 2 and the Offeror Price Submittal Worksheet attachment included in Section 4. The offeror shall submit one original of Volume III, marked as such, inclusive of a fully completed copy of the Offeror Price Submittal Worksheet attachment in Section 4.

(ii) Each offeror's price proposal must be based on the offeror's own technical proposal, the Government's specifications, and other contractual requirements.

(iii) The Government expects that this contract will be awarded based upon a determination of the Highest Technically Rated Offeror with a Fair and Reasonable Price. However, in order to determine that offered prices are fair and reasonable, the Government reserves the right to request that the offeror provide cost breakdowns to support proposed prices. Information to support unit prices should include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Salary/wage information with associated payroll expenses, for personnel to be used in performance of the contract;

(B) Cost for equipment, supplies, and consumable materials;

(C) A breakout of related support costs, such as equipment maintenance, rental, transportation, etc.;

(D) Overhead costs;

(E) General Administrative expenses; and

(F) Profit

(End of provision)

CAR 1352.215-70 Proposal preparation. (APR 2010)