RFP_Solicitation_0002.docx

Document Number 140A1623R0004 A0001 Document Title Business Support Services (BSS)

Table of Contents

SF-33 Blocks Continued

Block 10 The Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) as a 100% set-aside for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs).

Block 15 Delivery locations will be defined at the Task Order (TO) level.

Block 18a Payment will be defined at the TO level.

Section A - Solicitation

A.1 Solicitation Type This requirement is being solicited in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The Government does not intend to enter into discussions with offerors but reserves the right to do so, if deemed necessary. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 15.101-1, Tradeoff Process.

A.2 Set-Aside This requirement is 100% set-aside for ISBEEs. Prime offerors must meet the eligibility requirements as stated in the Buy Indian Act and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services with a small business size standard of $1621.5 million. The offeror may propose alternate NAICS.

Prime offerors must also meet the limitation on subcontracting requirements as stated in FAR 52.219-14 and Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR) 1452.208-3.

A.3 Contract Type The Government anticipates awarding multiple Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. Individual TOs may be awarded on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Labor Hour (LH), or hybrid FFP/LH basis. Travel may be included on individual TOs as a direct reimbursable allowable fee in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). No fees may be applied to travel.

The IDIQ contracts will consist of five years with no options.

A.4 Contract Dollars Limitations During the life of this contract, the government is not obligated to purchase services above the guaranteed minimum for this entire period of performance for this IDIQ contract, which is $2,500.00. Please note that this minimum guarantee will not apply to IDIQ contractors that are off-ramped in accordance with section H.2 of this solicitation.

The contract ceiling for this entire period of performance for all IDIQ contracts combined is $200,000,000.00.

A.5 Individual Task Orders The Contractor shall perform work under this IDIQ as specified in written individual TOs issued by a Contracting Officer (CO). TOs may be issued by any CO in the Department of the Interior or Indian Health Service.

The following information will be included in each individual TO that is issued against the master IDIQ Contract:

· Date of order

· Contract number and order number

· Labor category, description, quantity in terms of hours, and unit price in terms of hours

· Travel (if required), not-to-exceed amount

· TO Statement of Work

· Delivery or performance schedule

· Place of delivery or performance

· Accounting and appropriation data

TOs shall not include language that is contradictory to that of what is included in this master IDIQ Contract. In instances where language contradicts between the TO and IDIQ level, the IDIQ shall take precedence and be the binding terms of the contact and order.

Section B - Supplies or services and prices/costs

B.1 Statement of Work (SOW) See Attachment 1 - SOW for full details of this requirement for Business Support Services.

B.2 Pools Labor categories are broken in to “Pools”. Each Pool represents a group of related labor categories and a broken down as Human Resources, Project Management, Acquisition, Administrative/Financial, and Subject Matter Experts. Contractors may propose one Pool, multiple Pools, or all Pools. No contractor will be penalized during IDIQ evaluation for the number of pools they do or do not propose. Successful contractors will receive one IDIQ regardless of the number of pools that they were awarded. Contractors may not participate in task order competitions for pools that they were not awarded.

The Contractor shall state which Pools they are proposing under Factor 1 – Technical Capabilities.

B.3 Pricing Schedule Offerors shall provide fully burdened, fixed-price labor rates for each of the labor categories (in the pools being proposed) listed in Attachment 2 IDIQ Pricing Schedule. Positions may have multiple levels associated with one position to cover different job duties, responsibilities and salary requirements.

B.4 Labor Rates The Contractor shall provide pricing for each pool being proposed and all labor categories within that pool. The Labor Categories are further defined in Attachment 3 Labor Category Descriptions. The proposed fully burdened, fixed labor rates will be available for ordering under all resultant TOs. The labor category rates shall be for District of Columbia locality Rates (for purposes of calculating wage rates subject to the fair labor standards act), and the rates proposed will become the maximum threshold that the Government will pay for the labor category under this contract and all subsequent individual TOs. Contractors are expected to adjust their rates accordingly at the TO level. Labor rates may be discounted at the TO level; however, in the base year, no additional sums will be payable on account of any escalation in the cost of labor or because of the Contractor’s failure to properly estimate or accurately predict these prices or difficulty of achieving the results required by the TO.

The pricing schedules in Attachment 2 shall reflect labor categories and fully burdened hourly labor rates for on-site personnel (on location or remote). Fully burdened hourly labor rates are inclusive of profit, fringe benefits, salary, general and administrative, and indirect costs. In addition, the fully burdened on-site hourly labor rates shall reflect that all services performed are on a Government site and the Government is providing all necessary equipment, materials, and other items necessary to perform these services. Location of personnel and the ability to remote work will be provided at the TO level.

Wage determinations and labor rates will be TO dependent. Updated Department of Labor WDs will be included, if needed, at the TO level. The contractor will be able to propose changes to the labor rate as determined by the WDs as the TO level.

B.5 Productive Direct Labor-Hours The Contractor can only charge the Government for productive direct Labor-Hours which are defined as those hours expended by Contractor personnel in performing work under the IDIQ Contract/individual TOs. This does not include sick leave, vacation, Government or Contractor holidays, jury duty, military leave, or any other kind of administrative leave such as acts of God (i.e. hurricanes, snow storms, tornadoes, etc.), Presidential funerals, or any other unexpected Government closures.

Productive direct Labor-Hours may still be applicable in cases of national emergency or other disaster recovery operation as Contractor personnel may be required to work from their home on either Government furnished equipment or using their personal computer.

Labor categories and fully burdened hourly labor rates that are within the scope may be added to the IDIQ as needed throughout the life of the IDIQ. As the Government fully anticipates all applicable labor categories will be established at the award of the IDIQ, this shall be a rare instance to add a labor category at the IDIQ level.

B.6 Travel Travel may be included on individual TOs as a direct reimbursable with a not-to-exceed (NTE) amount. General and Administrative (G&A) costs are allowed for travel. Contractor shall provide supporting documents for all travel costs with submitted invoices.

Individual TOs will identify the specific place(s) of performance. If travel is required to a location that is over fifty (50) miles one-way from the individual TO place of performance and the individual TO includes funding for travel; then, allowable direct reimbursable travel charges may be invoiced in accordance with the current Federal Travel Regulations. Fee, profit, or general and administrative fee will not be allowable on travel expenses.

All reimbursable travel must be submitted to and approved in writing in advance by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or CO. Requests for travel shall include at a minimum:

1. Name and title of traveler

2. Purpose of travel

3. Dates of travel

4. To/From Locations

5. Mode of transportation

6. Estimated total travel costs broken down by transportation, lodging, meals & incidentals

B.7 Federal Travel Regulations Travel costs incurred for transportation, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses (as defined in the regulation cited in FAR 31.205-46) shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rates in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the Federal Travel Regulation.

The Contractor may be reimbursed for travel to provide support at a Government site or other site as may be specified and approved by the COR under this effort. All travel shall be pre-approved in writing by the COR prior to commencement of travel. Consultant shall provide supporting documentation and a detailed breakdown of incurred travel costs with each invoice.

B.8 Non-Personal Services The resulting contract(s) will be for non-personal services, under which the contractor is an independent contractor. The Government may evaluate the quality of professional services provided. The Contractor is required to indemnify the Government for any liability producing act or omission by the Contractor, its employees and agents occurring during contract performance. The Contractor shall maintain medical liability insurance, which is not less than the amount normally prevailing within the local community for the specialty concerned.

Section C - Description/Specifications/Statement of Work

See Attachment 1 - SOW

Section D - Packaging and Marking

1. Use of this section is not required as this is a Contract for services and the Government does not anticipate packaging or marking requirements for deliveries. However, specific submission requirements for reports will be designated at the individual TO level.

2. All pre-award written and electronic correspondences shall include the solicitation number: 140A1623R0004

All post-award written and electronic correspondences, invoices, and all other documents shall include the master award number.

For submission of questions and proposals, see Section L.

Section E - Inspection and Acceptance

E.1 Inspection and Acceptance Inspection of the Supplies/Services provided hereunder shall be made by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) or any Inspectors designated by the Contracting Officer (CO). The place of inspection for reports required under this contract shall be at the addresses for deliverables set forth in Section F. Final acceptance of Supplies/Services shall be made by the COR designated in the contract or as specified in individual TOs.

E.2 Authorized Representative for Inspection and Acceptance Services to be inspected and accepted by the COR, whose duties will be delegated by the Contracting Officer.

E.3 Correspondence To promote timely and effective administration, correspondence shall be subject to the following procedures:

1. Technical correspondence (where technical issues relating to compliance with the requirements herein) shall be addressed to the COR with an information copy to the CO and the Contract Administrator (CA).

1. All other correspondence, including invoices, (that which proposes or otherwise involves waivers, deviations or modifications to the requirements, terms or conditions of this SOW) shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer with an information copy to the COR.

E.4 Points of Contact Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

1. The Contracting Officer’s authorized technical representative, for this effort is as follows:

{Will be provided at IDIQ contract award.}

1. The COR is the individual within the Program Management function who has overall technical responsibility for this effort. The COR supports the CO and the CA during administration of this effort by:

1. Making final decisions regarding any recommended rejection of deliverables;

1. Providing technical clarification relative to overall workload matters;

1. Providing advice and guidance to the Contractor in the preparation of deliverables and services;

1. Providing acceptance of deliverable products to assure compliance with requirements.

1. The COR also provides technical direction to the Contractor, i.e., shifting work emphasis between areas of work; fills in details, or otherwise serves to accomplish the purposes of this effort. Technical direction shall be within the general statement of work for this effort. The COR does NOT have the authority to and may NOT issue any technical direction which:

1. Constitutes an assignment of work outside the general scope of this effort;

1. Constitutes a change as defined in the “Changes” clause;

1. In any way causes an increase or decrease in cost or the time required for performance;

1. Changes any of the terms, conditions, or other requirements of this effort; and

1. Suspends or terminates any portion of this effort.

1. All technical direction shall be issued in writing by the COR or will be confirmed by the COR in writing within 10 calendar days after verbal issuance. A copy of the written direction shall be furnished to the CO and the CS.

1. In addition to providing technical direction, the COR will:

1. Monitor the Contractor’s technical progress, including surveillance and assessment of performance, and recommend to the CO and CA, any changes in the requirement;

1. Assist the Contractor in the resolution of technical problems encountered during performance; and

1. Perform inspection and acceptance or recommendation for rejection of Contractor deliverables and identify deficiencies in delivered items. This does not replace any other quality assurance inspection requirements that are specified elsewhere within this SOW.

f) If in the opinion of the Contractor, any instruction or direction issued by the COR is outside of their specific authority, the Contractor shall not proceed but shall notify the CO in writing within 5 working days after receipt of any instruction or direction, with an informational copy to the CA.

Contracting Officer

a) All contract questions and concerns will be directed to the CO. The CO is the only individual with the authority to financially obligate the government and to make changes to original terms and conditions of this contract

The Contractor is responsible for notifying the contracting officer of any potential issues or concerns – technical, scope or financial, concerning this contract.

The CO for this effort is as follows:

Jeffrey Pearson Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Email: Jeffrey.Pearson@bia.gov

Contract Administration

a) The CA for this effort is as follows:

Nancy Shah Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Email: Nancy.shah@bia.gov

E.5 Permits and Licenses In performance of work under each individual TO, the Contractor must, without additional expense to the Government, be responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses and permits, and for complying with any Federal, State, and municipal laws, codes, and regulations applicable to the performance of the work.

E.6 Confidentiality All information regarding the procedures developed under each individual TO must be regarded as sensitive information by the Contractor and not to be disclosed to anyone outside the Contractor’s organization without the written permission of the Contracting Officer.

E.7 Quality Assurance The COR or designated inspector will review, for completeness, preliminary or draft documentation that the Contractor submits, and may return it to the Contractor for correction. Absence of any comments by the COR will not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of this work statement. Final approval and acceptance of documentation required herein shall be by letter of approval and acceptance by COR. The Contractor shall not construe any letter of acknowledgment of receipt material as a waiver of review, or as an acknowledgment that the material is in conformance with this work statement. Any approval given during preparation of the documentation, or approval for shipment shall not guarantee the final acceptance of the completed documentation.

Section F - Deliveries or Performance

F.2 Period of Performance The period of performance for the initial IDIQ(s) will be five (5) years from the effective start date listed on each respective contract.

F.4 IDIQ and Task Order (TO) Period of Performance For those TOs issued before the expiration of the IDIQ contract, the period of performance may extend up to twelve months after the expiration of the IDIQ contract.

F.6 Deliverables and Submittals Deliverables/Deliverable Schedule will be provided at the individual TO level.

Section G - Contract Administration Data

All invoices shall be submitted via https://www.ipp.gov on a monthly basis or in accordance with individual TOs.

G.1 Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) (April 2013) 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 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:

· A copy of the Contractor’s invoice shall be included with the IPP invoice. If no invoice is attached, the Invoice will be rejected;

· List of deliverables;

· Timesheet - Number of hours worked with corresponding labor category and rate information;

· Any additional information requested at the individual TO level.

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment. The Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) within 3 - 5 business days of a TO award date. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email ippgroup@bos.frb.org or phone (866) 973-3131.

If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting invoices for payment, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation.

(End of Local Clause)

G.2 Federal Holidays Unless otherwise notified in writing by the CO or COR, no services will be required on the following list of observed federal holidays. An up-to-date list of all federal holidays for each calendar year is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/.

The Contractor shall observe Inauguration Day as a holiday for Washington, D.C. based Contractor employees. Federal Agencies in the Washington, D.C. metro area are closed on Inauguration Day. However, Inauguration Day is not observed outside of the Washington, D.C. area and Contractor employees in those areas should report to their established duty station. NOTE: If a Public Holiday (observed on a specific calendar date) occurs on a Saturday, the holiday is observed on the preceding Friday; if the holiday occurs on Sunday, the holiday is observed by the Federal Government on Monday.

If Government facilities are closed nationwide or in specific locations for other than listed holidays by direction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Order of the President or other Official Government entity, Contractor staff shall not report to Government facilities (except for positions designated as 24/7). If Government offices close early and federal employees are dismissed, the COR in consultation with the Program Managers and/or the Contracting Officer will make a determination on a case-by-case basis regarding dismissal of Contractor employees.

G.3 Reporting Matters Involving Fraud, Mismanagement, Waste and Abuse Anyone who becomes aware of the existence or apparent existence of fraud, waste and abuse in BIA funded programs is encouraged to report such matters to the DOI Inspector General’s Office in writing or on the Inspector General’s Hotline. The toll-free number is 1-800-424-5081. All telephone calls will be handled confidentially. One may also fill out an online form at http://www.doi.gov/oig/index.cfm. Additionally, the IG may be contacted through its mailing address:

U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General 1849 C Street NW - Mail Stop 4428 Washington, D.C. 20240

G.4 Payment for Unauthorized Work No payments will be made for any unauthorized supplies and/or services or for any unauthorized changes to the work specified herein. This includes any services performed by the Contractor of their own volition or at the request of an individual other than a duly appointed Contracting Officer. Only a duly appointed Contracting Officer is authorized to change the specifications, terms, and conditions under this effort.

Section H – Special Contract Requirements

H.1 Pools As described in Section B, Labor categories are broken in to “Pools”. Each Pool represents a group of related labor categories and a broken down as Human Resources, Project Management, Acquisition, Administrative/Financial, and Subject Matter Experts. Contractors may propose one Pool, multiple Pools, or all Pools. No contractor will be penalized during IDIQ evaluation for the number of pools they do or do not propose. Successful contractors will receive one IDIQ regardless of the number of pools that they were awarded. Contractors may not participate in task order competitions for pools that they were not awarded.

H.2 Off-Ramping The Government reserves the unilateral right to Off-Ramp Contractors from the IDIQ. Off-Ramping is a mechanism by which the Government can remove contractors who do not provide competitive proposals, and/or the Government determines that they are otherwise not viable to continue as an IDIQ holder under the BSS program. Off-Ramping from the IDIQ will be accomplished via Termination for Convenience of the IDIQ. If a IDIQ contractor is off-ramped while it is performing active TOs, those TOs may be terminated (for convenience or, if applicable, default), or the IDIQ may be put in a hiatus status with no new TOs awarded until the active TOs are complete and the IDIQ can be terminated for convenience.

Below are example conditions that may lead IDIQ contractors to be removed from the IDIQ:

· The IDIQ contractor does not submit any proposals despite having received four requests for proposal that are within the ordering limitations established in this solicitation under FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations.

· The IDIQ contractor submits proposals that are consistently much higher than competitive proposals. The IDIQ contractor proposed prices are greater than the mean average proposed price by more than 50% for three proposals in a row.

· The IDIQ contractor receives an adverse past performance rating on an IDIQ/TO CPARS, if after the IDIQ contractor uses its opportunity to address the adverse past performance, the Government is still unsatisfied with performance.

Any IDIQ contractor(s) who have been Off-Ramped are not entitled to receive the minimum guarantee established at the time of IDIQ award.

H.3 On-Ramping The Government reserves the right to utilize an On-Ramping concept, consistent with FAR 16.504(c)(1)(ii)(A), to maintain sufficient competition among the IDIQ awardees by adding IDIQ contractors after the original source selection is made. This will be done by requesting and evaluating proposals in a manner consistent with the original solicitation. The Government may determine at any time that it would be in the Government’s best interest to initiate an open season to add contractors to any pool(s) referenced under the IDIQ’s SOW (Attachment 1).

If the Government initiates an open season, a notice will be published in SAM.gov in accordance with FAR Part 5, Publicizing Contract Action. Any open season solicitation issued will adhere to all Federal procurement law current at the time of solicitation, and the award decision under the open season solicitation will be based upon substantially the same evaluation factors/subfactors as the original solicitation. The On Ramp solicitation will identify the target number of new contracts intended to be awarded in response to the On Ramp solicitation notice. The terms and conditions of any resulting awards will be materially the same as the existing awards to the original IDIQ awardees. Any new awards will end at the same time as the existing term for all other IDIQ contracts. Immediately upon on-ramping, the new IDIQ contractor will be eligible to submit a proposal in response to any TO solicitation and receive TO awards with the same rights and obligations as any other IDIQ contractor.

H.4 Contractor Identification Each contract employee shall identify themselves as a Contractor under this contract both orally and in writing. All Contractor emails (to include the emails from the Government account) and all other written correspondences, shall state the following in their signature line:

The above identification requirement also applies to the following:

Under no circumstance shall the Contractor state or imply that they are acting on behalf of the Government.

H.5 Key Personnel Key Personnel at the IDIQ level consists of the IDIQ Program Manager. A resume shall be provided for the IDIQ Program Manager under Factor 3. IDIQ Program Manager resume does not count to any page count limitation.

Key Personnel at the TO level will be listed within the individual TO.

Certain skilled, experienced, professional and technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work under this contract. These individuals are defined as "Key Personnel" and are those persons whose resumes were submitted and marked by the vendor as "Key Personnel" in response to the positions designated as “Key Personnel” within the TO requirements. During the first six (6) months of performance, no substitutions shall be made of accepted key personnel except for sudden illness or death, or termination of employment. The Government shall accept substitutions only if in compliance with the “Substitution of Key Personnel" provision identified below.

All Contractor requests for approval of substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the COR and the Contracting Officer at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date, whenever possible, and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. Proposed substitutes should have comparable qualifications to those of the person(s) being replaced. The COR and the Contracting Officer will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing.

If the Government agrees to the substitution during the first six (6) months of this contract, the replacement personnel shall sign a letter of commitment to cover the difference of the six-month period, as required under this contract.

H.6 Personnel Performance and Replacement The Government reserves the right to assess the qualifications and acceptability of any individual proposed by the Contractor for any position, and may require the Contractor to replace an individual whose qualifications and suitability are judged deficient with written notification.

Indian Affairs shall have and exercise complete control over granting, denying, suspending, and removing employment suitability clearances for Contractor employees and prospective Contractor employees. If the Government receives an unsuitable report on any Contractor employee after processing his or her forms, or finds a prospective Contractor employee unsuitable or unfit for his or her assigned duties, the COR will advise the Contractor that the employee shall be considered ineligible for contract performance.

Where temporary favorable suitability determinations have been granted, the Government Contracting Officer may request the Contractor to immediately remove any contract employee from the contract who has failed to receive a favorable suitability determination, whose continued employment is deemed contrary to the public interest, inconsistent with the best interests of security, or is identified as a potential threat to the health, safety, security, general well-being or operational mission of the agencies, bureaus, and its population. The Contracting Officer may also request the Contractor to immediately remove any contract employee from the contract should it be determined that the individual being assigned to duty has been disqualified for suitability reasons, or has been found to be unfit for performing duties during their tour(s) of duty.

Contractor personnel under this contract shall not be: (1) Placed in a position where they are under the supervision or evaluation of a Government employee; and (2) Placed in a position of command, supervision, administration or control over Government personnel, or personnel of other Contractors. Given the nature of the contract requirements and the working environment, it may be necessary for Government and Contractor personnel to work as a team to accomplish work objectives, share knowledge, and work in a mutually supportive role. This should be accomplished while preserving the non-personal services nature of the contract. The operational need to work in concert should be accomplished in a manner consistent with preserving the management responsibilities of the Contractor. Working in a team environment, may require the Government to provide collaboration among the contract personnel which will require work direction from the Government. Work direction means a communication to Contractor personnel that directs or approves approaches, documents, presentations, or refinements to work; fills in details or otherwise completes the general description of work or documentation items; shifts emphasis among work areas or tasks; or furnishes similar instructions to Contractor personnel. Work direction includes requiring analyses and development of other products within the scope of work for the contract.

The Contractor is at all times responsible for the quality of Contractor personnel work. It is the direct responsibility of the Contractor to perform all tasks normally associated with an employer-employee relationship, e.g., completing time cards, resolving quality of work issues, ensuring high motivation and morale, and resolving Government-identified Contractor performance concerns. To ensure effective and efficient services, the Contractor supervisory personnel need to establish and maintain work procedures that facilitate close and continuous coordination with agency Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (CORs), and other program management personnel. The Contractor supervision of Contractor personnel must also reflect the need to sustain a high-performing, highly motivated, and responsive team. The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor personnel are adequately trained, possess the requisite experience, and are otherwise fully qualified to provide the high level of support required by agency prior to being assigned to this contract.

H.7 Security Requirements All Contractor personnel will be required to successfully pass a minimum background investigation for any requirement performed under the IDIQs and all Contractor personnel shall comply with Federal laws, regulations, standards, regarding information and information system security. All security requirements and clauses included in the IDIQs will also be applicable and flow down to any TOs awarded under the IDIQs. Security clearance consists of the DOI background check, taking the Federal Information Systems Security Awareness Training (FISSA) training and obtaining a security card.

H.8 Use of Government Computer System All personnel accessing the Government computer systems can expect their computer activities to be monitored. There should be no reasonable expectation of privacy in the use of any Department of the Interior system. The following notice is posted and provided to each individual upon entry into the IA computer system:

“THIS IS A NOTICE OF MONITORING OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS. This system and all related equipment may be used only for official US Government business and limited personal use authorized in the Department of the Interior Policy on Limited Personal Use of Government Office Equipment. Notwithstanding this or any other policy guidance, this system may not be connected to the Internet, in any way, unless authorized by the Office of the Secretary. Unauthorized use of this computer system will subject you to disciplinary action or other penalties. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for this purpose.”

Property Rights – IA will own the intellectual property rights to any software developed on its behalf and will retain the right to use, modify, reproduce, perform, display, release, or disclose the data in whole or in part for any purpose, or to have or authorize others to do so. Generally, FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General, and its alternates will be used in the contract. However, deviation from this policy may be necessary as circumstances warrant.

IA data may not be removed from premises without COR written authorization.

The Contractor shall not be allowed to keep any IA Trust Data or copies of Trust Data, reports (draft or final copies). At the time of completion of the project, the Contractor will return electronic and hard copy data and documents which the Contractor created under this Service Contract.

H.9 Dissemination of Contract Performance Information The Contractor must not publish, permit to be published, or distribute for public consumption, any information, oral or written, concerning the results or conclusions made pursuant to the performance of this contract, without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. Two copies of any material proposed to be published or distributed must be submitted to the Contracting Officer for approval.

H.10 Mandatory Requirement for Contractor Return of all DOI-Owned and Leased Computing and Information Storage Equipment

(a) Within sixty (60) days after the end of the contract performance period or after the contract is suspended or terminated by DOI or by the Contractor for any reason; or within a time period approved by DOI, the Contractor must return all DOI-owned and leased computing and information storage equipment.

(b) Within seventy-five (75) days after the end of the contract performance period or after the contract is suspended or terminated by DOI or the Contractor for any reason, the Contractor must provide DOI with Certification of Verified Return of all DOI-Owned and Leased Computing and Information Storage Equipment. This certification must be provided by a third party firm approved by DOI in advance. All costs and resource allocations required for this third party service must be the sole responsibility of the Contractor.

H.11 Disclosure of Information Information made available to the Contractor by the Government for the performance or administration of this effort shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the written agreement of the Contracting Officer

If the Contractor is uncertain about the availability or proposed use of information provided for the performance or administration, the Contractor shall consult with the COR regarding use of that information for other purposes.

The Contractor agrees to assume responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of Government records, which are not public information. Each offeror or employee of the Contractor to whom information may be made available or disclosed shall be notified in writing by the Contractor that such information may be disclosed only for a purpose and to the extent authorized herein. The Contractor assumes responsibility for maintaining knowledge of and compliance with all Federal, state, and local laws, policies, and procedures regarding data confidentiality and privacy, such as the Federal Education Rights to Privacy Act.

All Contractor employees shall sign and submit a copy of the Non-Disclosure Agreement. The Non-Disclosure agreement that will be required to be signed will be provided after award.

The details of any security safeguards that the Contractor may design or develop under this contract are the property of the Government and shall not be published or disclosed in any manner without the Contracting Officer’s written consent. Likewise, the details of any security safeguards that may be revealed to the Contractor by the Government in the course of performances under this contract shall not be published or disclosed in any manner without the Contracting Officer’s written consent. Any information made available in any format shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract. Information contained in such materials shall not be divulged or made known in any manner to any person except as may be necessary in the performance of this contract. Disclosure to anyone other than an authorized officer or employee of the Contractor shall require written approval of the Contracting Officer.

Any information with personal identifiers shall be accounted for upon receipt and properly stored before, during and after processing. In addition, all related output shall be given the same level of protection as required for source materials.

The Contractor shall be held liable for any and all damages resulting from any inappropriate disclosure of information/data by its employees or via any system used by the Contractor. Should the Contractor become aware of the need for additional safeguards, the Contractor must immediately notify the COR.

H.12 Non-Personal Services and Inherently Governmental Functions Pursuant to FAR 37.1, no personal services shall be performed under this SOW. All work requirements shall flow only from the COR to the Contractor IDIQ Program Manager or Project Manager, if one is assigned to an individual TO. No Contractor employee will be directly supervised by the Government. All individual employee assignments, and daily work direction, shall be given by the applicable Contractor supervisor. If the Contractor believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action.

Pursuant to FAR 7.5, the Contractor shall not perform any inherently governmental actions under this SOW. No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. No Contractor employee shall state orally or in writing at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with this SOW, Contractor employees shall identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work. In all communications with other Government Contractors in connection with this SOW, the Contractor employee shall state that they have no authority to in any way change this SOW and that if the other Contractor believes this communication to be a direction to change their contract, they should notify the Contracting Officer for that contract and not carry out the direction until a clarification has been issued by the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor shall insure that all of its employees working on this SOW are informed of the substance of this article. Nothing in this article shall limit the Government’s rights in any way under the other provisions of this SOW, including those related to the Government’s right to inspect and accept the services to be performed under this SOW. The substance of this article shall be included in all subcontracts at any tier.

H.13 Personal Conflicts of Interest and Procurement Integrity The Contractor shall ensure that all personnel assigned to the contract sign permanent non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and procurement integrity certifications as required by the Contracting Officer at the TO level. Permanent is defined as active for the live of the TO or for as long as an individual works under TO. All personnel assigned any resulting task(s) shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing of any potential conflicts of interest that may be perceived through their performance on the resulting task(s). The Contracting Officer will determine if the particular individual or group of individuals will be excluded from any task(s). In the event such a determination is made, the Contracting Officer will provide immediate oral notification (followed by written notification within five calendar days thereafter) of the individuals and the situation that precludes their performance under the resulting task(s). The Contractor shall immediately (within five calendar days after receipt of oral notification) remove the individual(s) from the task(s) and identify their replacement. Potential organization conflicts of interest issues shall be carefully scrutinized and dealt with in accordance with FAR 9.5 “Organizational and Consultant conflicts of Interest”.

H.14 Closeout The Offeror shall work in a timely and efficient manner with the Federal Government to close out TOs after completion of the tasks and to close out the IDIQ contract after all TOs have been closed. This will be an item addressed in the Offeror's past performance rating in CPARS. It is incumbent upon the Offeror to provide a current Point of Contact who will work diligently with the Contracting Officer or Contracting Officers Representative upon final delivery/acceptance to accomplish all documentation necessary to close individual awards.

H.15 Emergency or Special Event Services Occasionally, the Contractor may be required to perform and/or provide services outside the normal hours of duty. These occasions will be infrequent and require services be performed after normal working hours in the evening and/or weekends (Saturday and Sunday). The COR and the contractor will mutually agree upon any/all deviations to the schedule based on each individual TO.

H.16 Government-Furnished Property Government Furnished Property (Material, Equipment, and/or Information) is to be provided at the individual TO level.

H.17 Contractor Interfaces The Contractor and/or his subcontractors may be required as part of the performance of this effort to work with other Contractors working for the Government. Such other Contractors shall not direct this Contractor and/or their subcontractors in any manner. Also, this Contractor and/or their subcontractors shall not direct the work of other Contractors in any manner.

The Government shall establish an initial contact between the Contractor and other Contractors and shall participate in an initial meeting at which the conventions for the scheduling and conduct of future meetings/contacts will be established.

H.18 Limited Use of Data Performance of this effort may require the contractor to access and use data and information proprietary to a Government agency or Government contractor which is of such a nature that its dissemination or use, other than in performance of this effort, would be adverse to the interests of the Government and/or others.

Contractor and/or contractor personnel shall not divulge or release data or information developed or obtained in performance of this effort, until made public by the Government, except authorized by Government personnel or upon written approval of the Contracting Officer (CO). The Contractor shall not use, disclose, or reproduce proprietary data that bears a restrictive legend, other than as required in the performance of this effort. Nothing herein shall preclude the use of any data independently acquired by the Contractor without such limitations or prohibit an agreement at no cost to the Government between the Contractor and the data owner which provides for greater rights to the Contractor.

H.19 Hours of Work Contractor personnel performing on individual TOs issued under the IDIQ Contract shall maintain a work schedule to normal business hours except as otherwise described in the individual TO Statement of Work or authorized by telework agreement. The core Government business hours are 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM Local time, Monday through Friday. Services at onsite Government locations shall not occur on Federal holidays or weekends unless authorized in writing in advance by the CO and COR. Core hours define when all employees are expected to be working. Based on the requirements of the individual TO, flexible hours around the core hours may be worked outside of the normal duty hours. The Contractor personnel duties shall be performed during normal business hours covering core Government business hours; however, when necessary, the Contractor personnel shall be required to provide services outside the normal hours of duty. These occasions will be infrequent and may require services to be performed after normal working hours in the evening and/or weekends. The CO, COR, and the Contractor will mutually agree upon any/all deviations to the schedule.

Section I – Contract Clauses

ALL FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) and DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ACQUISITION REGULATION SUPPLEMENT (DIARS) CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS HEREIN ARE UPDATED AND EFFECTIVE AS OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION CIRCULAR (FAC) 2023-01 effective December 30, 2022.

I.1 Clauses FAR 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 address:

https://www.acquisition.gov/

FAR CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE