Section M DFS_Amend 1_TC.pdf

Section M – Evaluation Criteria

Disaster and Failure Studies Support Services Solicitation #: 1333ND24QNB730225

M.1 General Instructions

Proposals shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the instructions contained in Section L of this Request for Proposals (RFP). Each submission will be evaluated against the evaluation factors listed below.

M.2 Basis for Award

The Government intends to award an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract to the Highest Technically Rated Offerors with Reasonable Prices (HTRO-RP) for each IDIQ contract track. There may be one or more awardee for each track.

The Government reserves the right not to make an award for any reason. This could include if, in the opinion of the Government, none of the submissions would provide satisfactory performance at a price that is considered fair and reasonable and/or economically feasible, or if agreement between the Government and Offeror on the terms and conditions cannot be reached within the timeframe established by the Contracting Officer (CO). Any exceptions or deviations by the Offeror to the terms and conditions stated in this RFP for inclusion in the resulting award may make the proposal unacceptable for award.

M.3 Award Without Discussions

In accordance with FAR 15.306(a)(3), the Government reserves the right to award without discussions or exchanges. Offerors are strongly encouraged to submit their best technical solutions and price in response to this RFP.

M.4 Phased Evaluation Process

Evaluation will consist of two phases. Offerors should note that this phased approach is not the advisory multi-step process referenced by FAR 15.202.

Phase I will assess Factor 1: Demonstrated Prior Experience. Phase I will not consider price, and the Government will advise Offerors of their likelihood of success following Phase I evaluations. Following Phase I evaluations, the CO will advise Offerors whether or not to proceed to Phase II of the competition. The decision to proceed to Phase II is entirely voluntary. Offerors will not receive a pre-award or post-award debriefing following Phase I, and the voluntary decision not to proceed to Phase II precludes further consideration for any opportunity for award, pre-or post-award debriefing following announcement of award. However, if Phase I offerors who elect not to proceed then follow up with the CO after contract awards occur, then the CO intends to provide an informal feedback session to the offeror as time permits.

The CO will not establish a competitive range following Phase I as defined by FAR 15.306(c); however, if discussions with Offerors are required following Phase II evaluations, the CO may establish a competitive range if they so choose to engage in discussions with Offerors comprising the competitive range, as applicable.

Phase II will assess Factors 2 and 3. Phase II will also consider price (by way of a fair and reasonable determination only) and the proposed small business subcontracting plan, as applicable, (by way of confirming compliance with requirements and obtaining Small Business Administration concurrence) in making the IDIQ contract award decision.

All Offerors are advised that the Government may establish a competitive range following Phase II if the CO determines that negotiations are warranted. The competitive range may comprise one or more IDIQ contract tracks. This means that the CO may establish a competitive range for a single IDIQ contract track and award the remaining contract tracks without establishing a competitive range and engaging in discussions.

As indicated elsewhere in this RFP, the CO reserves the right to issue one or more awards without engaging in discussions if appropriate. If the Government determines the number of proposals that would otherwise be included in any competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the CO may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals in accordance with FAR 15.306

(c) (2).

M.5 Evaluation Factors

The Government will evaluate Offeror’s proposal submissions against the following evaluation factors using confidence ratings:

Factor 1 – Demonstrated Prior Experience

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s responses to the questions identified in the RFP’s Phase One Instructions to Offerors to assess the extent to which the offeror has demonstrated prior relevant experience to the requirements of this IDIQ contract. The Government’s confidence level in the offeror may be increased if elements of the offeror’s prior experience included work with disasters or natural hazards, with other Federal agencies, and as a prime contractor instead of as a subcontractor. Additionally, experience of the offeror may increase the Government’s confidence level in an offeror as compared to experience of an offeror’s subcontractor.

Factor 2 – Mock Task Order(s)

The Government will assess its confidence that the offeror will be successful in performing the requirements of the IDIQ contract considering the following:

The offeror’s demonstrated understanding of the mock task order requirements, The offeror’s proposed approach to perform all aspects of the mock task order

SOW, inclusive of technical methods and proposed level of effort The offeror’s proposed travel estimates, including the methodology and basis for the estimates The qualifications of the offeror’s proposed mock task order key personnel

Factor 3 – IDIQ Management Approach

The Government will assess its confidence that the offeror will be successful in performing the requirements of the IDIQ contract considering the following:

The offeror’s proposed labor categories for the IDIQ contract, including their alignment with the requirement labor categories identified in the IDIQ SOW and the applicability of any additional labor categories proposed

The qualifications of the offeror’s proposed IDIQ-contract-level key personnel For Small Businesses Only: the offeror’s plan to ensurediscussion of how the offeror would ensure that the limitations on subcontracting rules (see FAR 52.219-

14) would be complied with.

M.5.1 Relative Order of Importance

The factors are listed in descending order of importance.

M.6 Rating Scale

The Government will use the rating scale defined in Table 1 to assign ratings to each individual evaluation factor. The Government will not assign an overall confidence rating to each offeror. This evaluation may be done holistically, and the assigned rating will inherently consider an overall assessment of risk.

Table 1 – Confidence Ratings

Confidence Rating Definition

High Confidence The Government has high confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract.

Some Confidence The Government has some confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract.

Low Confidence The Government has low confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, or will be successful in performing the contract.

M.7 Consideration of Price (LCAT Rate Card)

For the purposes of this solicitation, price is not rated and is not ranked in the order of evaluation criteria. Rather, the Contracting Officer will evaluate price for fairness and reasonableness. Price in this context means the labor rates proposed. This evaluation will not result in a total evaluated price as there is no total price to evaluate at the IDIQ level.

Fair and reasonable labor rates proposed will be used to establish Maximum Rates on IDIQ contracts if awarded and will apply, for the life of the IDIQ, to all task order types issued (e.g. Firm-Fixed Price, Time and Material, Labor Hour).

The Government intends to have adequate price competition for each scope category but may also consider any other price analysis techniques listed in FAR 15.404-1. The fair and reasonableness price determination will include the base period and all option periods. The Government will also evaluate compliance with the applicable wage determinations.

M.8 Consideration of Small Business Subcontracting Plan (for Other Than Small Businesses only)

For the purposes of this solicitation, Other than Small Business Offeror’s small business subcontracting plans are not rated and are not ranked in the order of evaluation criteria.

Rather, the Contracting Officer will evaluate the proposed plan for adherence to the requirements identified in FAR 52.219-9(d). The Contracting Officer may hold discussions with only apparent successful offerors regarding Small Business Subcontracting Plans as needed to obtain Small Business Administration concurrence for the plans.