1333ND24QNB680549docx.docx

Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) /1333ND24QNB680549

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.

The solicitation number is 1333ND24QNB680549 and this solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-05 dated May 22, 2024.

1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010)

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to both the Contract Specialist Joni Laster at joni.laster@nist.gov and the Contracting Officer Forest Crumpler at forest.crumpler@nist.gov. Questions should be received no later than five (5) calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.

(End of Provision)

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334515 – Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals with a small business size standard of 750 employees.

This acquisition is being solicited as a total small business set aside. Only quotations from small businesses shall be accepted.

BACKGROUND:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Photonics and Optomechanics Group (POG) ) studies a compact on-chip spectrometer based on photonic integrated circuit with thin-film lithium niobate platform. Current focus areas include high speed electro-optic dual drive phase modulator; electro-optic intensity modulator; traveling wave optical isolator. The group develops electro-optic frequency comb readout system for measuring a temperature, displacement and length with sensors such as photonic micro-ring resonator, chip-scale optomechanical accelerometer, and atomic vapor cell. As part of the research on the on-chip spectrometer systems, a vector network analyzer for characterizing electro-optic modulator is required.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:

The following documents and forms are hereby provided as attachments. The purpose of these attachments is for reference and to provide specification requirements to the Contractor for quotation purposes only.

Attachment #1: NIST Requirements

All offerors shall provide a firm-fixed-price quotation for the following line item(s):

TOTAL:

FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INSTRUCTIONS

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Quotation Preparation Instructions

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration

In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, the awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award.

Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAY 2024) with its offer. The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (v) of this provision.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

Offerors shall submit their electronic quotations, via email, so that NIST receives them not later than August 15, 2024 @ 11pm EST. E-mail quotations shall be submitted directly to the Contract Specialist at joni.laster@nist.gov and the Contracting Officer at forest.crumpler@nist.gov

Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of email communications. Offerors quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox set forth above.

Quotations:

Technical Quotation (Vol. I) Price Quotation (Vol. II), Terms and Conditions (Vol. III)

Incomplete quotations may be considered non-responsive and removed from further consideration. Quotations shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, 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, and the solicitation number.

Volume I - Technical Quotation:

The offeror shall submit an electronic technical quotation, via email. The technical quotation shall address the following:

Minimum Requirements:

The offeror must submit a technical description or product literature for the product it is proposing, which clearly identifies the manufacturer, and clearly demonstrates its proposed product meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described in the required specifications, by providing a citation to the relevant section of its technical description or product literature and if applicable, evidence that the Offeror is authorized by the original product manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included.

The offeror must not simply state they will meet or exceed the requirement; evidence must be provided.

Volume II - Price Quotation:

The offeror shall submit an electronic copy of the completed price quotation. The price quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The offeror shall propose a separate firm-fixed-price, FOB Destination, for each CLIN. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due. Contractor shall state express warranty coverage (if applicable).

Volume III – Terms and Conditions Provisions

Offerors shall provide a completed copy of all provisions listed below:

1. 52.225-2 Buy American-Supplies Certificate (Nov 2020)

2. 52.225-18, Place Of Manufacture (Aug 2018)

Note: The provisions can be found below under PROVISIONS in full text and shall be included with the offeror’s quotation.

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1(b) (11)):

If the contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:” [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the contractor to identify in their quotation any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order.

Note: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an Offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the proposed price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant purchase order, not the terms and conditions of the Offeror’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

NAICS Code If the Offeror’s representations and certifications do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, Offerors must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation.

(End of provision)

Provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this procurement. The evaluation criteria included in paragraph (a) of the provision are as follows:

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Government intends to award a single purchase order (PO) from this solicitation utilizing simplified acquisitions procedures in accordance with FAR part 13. The Government reserves the right not to award a PO and to make an award without discussions based solely upon initial quotes.

Evaluation Factors Award shall be made to the responsible offeror who: (1) Meets all required technical specifications as determined by a review of documentation submitted in accordance with this solicitation; (2) proposes the lowest price. Award shall be made to the lowest priced, technically acceptable offeror.

An Offeror's failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the Offeror's lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

Technical Capability: No prototypes, demonstration models, used or refurbished instruments will be considered. Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed equipment meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offerors technical description and/or product literature does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not meet the requirements.

Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be entirely compatible with the technical portion of the quotation.

(End of provision)

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference.

All FAR provisions and clauses may be viewed at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far All CAR provisions and clauses may be viewed at https://www.acquisition.gov/car

PROVISIONS

FAR 52.203-18 Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements – Representation FAR 52.204-7 System for Awards Management FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services – Representation FAR 52.204-29, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders—Representation and Disclosures FAR 52.209-2, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representation FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services FAR 52.225-4 w/ALT I, Buy American-Free Trade Agreements Israeli Trade Act Certificate FAR 52.225-18, Place Of Manufacture FAR 52.225-25, Prohibition On Contracting With Entities Engaging In Certain Activities Or Transactions Relating To Iran-Representation And Certifications FAR 52.229-11, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference FAR 52.252-5, Authorized Deviations in Provisions

FULL TEXT FAR PROVISIONS

Additionally, the following full-text provisions are required to be completed and returned with the solicitation response:

FULL TEXT FAR PROVISIONS

52.225-2 Buy American Certificate.

Buy American Certificate (Oct 2022) (a)

(1) The Offeror certifies that each end product, except those listed in paragraph (b) of this provision, is a domestic end product and that each domestic end product listed in paragraph (c) of this provision contains a critical component.

(2) The Offeror shall list as foreign end products those end products manufactured in the United States that do not qualify as domestic end products. For those foreign end products that do not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, the Offeror shall also indicate whether these foreign end products exceed 55 percent domestic content, except for those that are COTS items. If the percentage of the domestic content is unknown, select “no”.

(3) The Offeror shall separately list the line item numbers of domestic end products that contain a critical component (see FAR 25.105).

(4) The terms “commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item,” “critical component,” "domestic end product," "end product," and "foreign end product" are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled "Buy American-Supplies."

(b)Foreign End Products:

(b)[List as necessary]

(c) Domestic end products containing a critical component:

Line Item No. ___ [List as necessary]

(d) The Government will evaluate offers in accordance with the policies and procedures of part 25 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.225-18 Place of Manufacture (August 2018)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— “Manufactured end product” means any end product in Federal Supply Classes (FSC) 1000-9999, except—

(1) FPSC 5510, Lumber and Related Basic Wood Materials;

(2) Product or Service Group (PSG) 87, Agricultural Supplies;

(3) PSG 88, Live Animals;

(4) PSG 89, Subsistence;

(5) PSC 9410, Crude Grades of Plant Materials;

(6) PSC 9430, Miscellaneous Crude Animal Products, Inedible;

(7) PSC 9440, Miscellaneous Crude Agricultural and Forestry Products;

(8) PSC 9610, Ores;

(9) PSC 9620, Minerals, Natural and Synthetic; and

(10) PSC 9630, Additive Metal Materials.

“Place of manufacture” means the place where an end product is assembled out of components, or otherwise made or processed from raw materials into the finished product that is to be provided to the Government. If a product is disassembled and reassembled, the place of reassembly is not the place of manufacture.

(b) For statistical purposes only, the offeror shall indicate whether the place of manufacture of the end products it expects to provide in response to this solicitation is predominantly- [ ] (1) In the United States (Check this box if the total anticipated price of offered end products manufactured in the United States exceeds the total anticipated price of offered end products manufactured outside the United States); or [ ] (2) Outside the United States.

(End of provision)

FULL TEXT CAR PROVISIONS:

CAR 1352.233-70 Agency Protests (APR 2010)

(a) An agency protest may be filed with either: (1) the contracting officer, or (2) at a level above the contracting officer, with the appropriate agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999)

(b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: Forest Crumpler, CONTRACTING OFFICER 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(c) Agency protests filed with the agency Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:

ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO)

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(d) A complete copy of all agency protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.

(e) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.

FAX: (202) 482-5858

(End of clause)

CAR 1352.233-71 GAO and Court Of Federal Claims Protests (APR 2010)

(a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed.

(b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims.

(c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.

FAX: (202) 482-5858

(End of clause)

CLAUSES

FAR 52.202-1 Definitions FAR 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper FAR 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance FAR 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance FAR 52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications FAR 52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information System FAR 52.204-30, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders—Prohibition FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Products and Commercial Services FAR 52.219-4 Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns FAR 52.225-8 Duty-Free Entry FAR 52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations FAR 52.247-35 F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee`s Premises

FULL TEXT FAR CLAUSES

FAR 52.212-5 - Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services:

(1) 52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements (Jan 2017) (section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions)).

(2) 52.204-23, Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab Covered Entities (Dec 2023) (Section 1634 of Pub. L. 115-91).

(3) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. (Nov 2021) (Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232).

(4) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015).

(5) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Mar 2023) ( 31 U.S.C. 3903 and 10 U.S.C. 3801).

(6) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) ( 31 U.S.C. 3553).

(7) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) (Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78 ( 19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).

(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (Nov 2021) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note).

52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2020) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program representation (Mar 2023) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2).

52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755).

52.222-19, Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (FEB 2024) (E.O. 13126).

52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015).

52.223-23, Sustainable Products and Services 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) (E.O. 11246).

52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Nov 2021) (22 U.S.C. chapter 78 and E.O. 13627).

52.226-8, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving (June 2020) (E.O. 13513).

52.225-1, Buy American-Supplies Act 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Feb 2021) (E.O.’s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury).

52.226-8, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving (May 2024) (E.O. 13513).

52.229-12, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements (FEB 2021).

52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer— System for Award Management (Oct 2018) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

(End of clause)

CAR PROVISIONS & CLAUSES FULL TEXT CAN BE ACCESSED AT:

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48cfrv5_02.tpl

CAR 1352.201-70, Contracting Officer's Authority (APR 2010) CAR 1352.209-72, Restrictions Against Disclosure (APR 20210) CAR 1352.209-73, Compliance with the Laws (APR 2010) CAR 1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest (APR 2010) CAR 1352.246-70 Place of Acceptance (APR 2010)

(a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract.

(b) The place of acceptance will be:

100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD. 20899

(End of clause)

NIST LOCAL CLAUSES

NIST LOCAL-53 Contract Performance During Changes in NIST Operating Status Unless otherwise stated in the contract terms and conditions, normal days of business operation are Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. However, throughout the contract period of performance, there may be circumstances beyond the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), that will impact normal days of business operation, such as inclement weather, power outages, etc. In circumstances such as these, the Contractor must call the appropriate NIST campus status line to verify the operating status:

Gaithersburg Campus Operating Status Line:

(301) 975-8000

(800) 437-4385 x8000 (toll free)

Boulder Campus Operating Status Line:

(303) 497-4000

During a lapse in appropriation, access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems, will be limited to excepted personnel for both Federal employees and Contractor personnel. If performance of the contract is onsite and/or requires Government interaction, unless you have been, or are notified that you are to work under an excepted status, you will automatically enter a temporary work stoppage. The work stoppage shall remain in effect until the lapse is resolved and notification is provided via the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/ and/or the NIST operating status lines. Additionally, Contractors are encouraged to monitor public broadcasts or the Office of Personnel Management’s website at www.opm.gov for the Federal Government operating status.

NIST will provide notification to all contractors that are determined to have excepted status. All excepted contractors are required to continue performance and communicate with the appointed Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for further guidance, or NIST Contracting Officer if a COR is not appointed.

Contractors with supply or service contracts that are fully funded at the time of contract award and do not require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel in a manner that would cause the government to incur additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue performance.

(End of clause)

NIST LOCAL-54 ELECTRONIC BILLING INSTRUCTIONS

NIST requires that Invoice/Voucher submissions are sent electronically via email to INVOICE@NIST.GOV.

Each Invoice or Voucher submitted shall include the following:

(1) Contract number;

(2) Contractor name and address;

(3) Unique entity identifier (see www.sam.gov for the designated entity for establishing unique entity identifiers);

(4) Date of invoice;

(5) Invoice number;

(6) Amount of invoice and cumulative amount invoiced to-date;

(7) Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN);

(8) Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies/services delivered;

(9) Prompt payment discount terms, if offered; and

(10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract.

(End of clause)

NIST LOCAL-56 INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM-ALTERNATE I (DEC 2022)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS

FOR EXISTING CONTRACT ACTIONS INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORMALTERNATE I (DEC 2022)

Upon written notice from the contracting officer the following supersedes all other instructions for the submission of payment requests. Accordingly, following written notice payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP).

"Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable payment request or invoicing instructions, Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is https://www.ipp.gov.

Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice: SEE NIST LOCAL-54 for documentation requirements.

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register, access, and use IPP for submitting payment requests. If not already enrolled, the Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email within three to five business days of the addition of the contract award to IPP. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email:

IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov or phone (866) 973-3131.

If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting payment requests, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation. Contact the contracting officer for more information on submitting a waiver request.