140D0421Q0315_Ammendment_1_RFQ_Continuation_pages_0001.pdf

SF 1449 Continuation Pages:

1-CONTRACT LINE ITEMS

CLIN Description Total Item Amount 00010 Labor Hours Base Option 00020 Labor Hours Option Year 1 00030 Labor Hours Option Year 2 Total

Administration Data

NAICS: 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services ($16.50) PSC: PSC: R499 – Support Professional: Other

2 – INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 - RFQ Submission Instructions

Offerors are required to submit both a written Technical Quote and Price Quote to Government officials for the purpose of acquiring services from the Offeror that is fully cognizant of the scope of this requirement and has the capability to complete all requirements described in the solicitation. Quotes which merely quote to conduct a program in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s scope of work will not be eligible for award.

Only one award will be made as a result of this RFQ. The Government intends to evaluate quotes and award an order without discussions with offerors. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

1. Period of Performance

The award period of performance shall be one 12-month base year plus two 12-month option years.

2. Solicitation Inquires and Questions

The government points of contact are Catherine Mattocks, Contracting Officer, CATHERINE_MATTOCKS@IBC.DOI.GOV and Joyce Lee, Contract Specialist, JOYCE_LEE@IBC.DOI.GOV

All questions regarding the RFQ shall be submitted via email no later than 12:00 PM ET on August 11, 2021 to the Contracting Officer.

3. Quote Submission

Quotes must be submitted to the government points of contact via email on or before August 18, 2021 3:00 PM ET.

4. Formatting

Page size 8.5 by 11 inches with at least ½-inch margins. Text shall be in Arial with a minimum fort size 10.

Volume Section Description Page limit 1 Section 1

Section 2 Executive Summary / Cover Letter Technical Volume

2 Section 1 Price Quote N/A mailto:CATHERINE_MATTOCKS@IBC.DOI.GOV mailto:JOYCE_LEE@IBC.DOI.GOV

Section – 1 – Cover Letter / Executive Summary (Volume 1, Section 1)

The Offeror’s Cover Letter for the quote must contain the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the person to be contacted concerning any matter related to the solicitation. Any introductory language which describes the nature of the Offeror, its history, its achievements, or its areas of specialization may be included in this section. Include the following information in your quotes:

1) DUNS number & CAGE Code

2) Company Name mailing address, and website address

3) Date submitted and quote expiration date

4) All the above-cited information for each entity on the quoted team (if a team is quoted)

5) Current GSA Contract Number appropriate to this Solicitation

6) Current Performance Period of the Schedule Contract and list future Schedule

Contract Option Period separately

7) Evidence of current SAM database registration (www.sam.gov)

8) Verify in writing that quoted solution is within the scope of the referenced GSA

Schedule contract(s).

9) Verify in writing that the offeror has read and agrees to comply with all the conditions and instructions provided in the RFQ.

10) Acknowledge each RFQ amendment (if any)

The Offeror should provide an executive summary for the technical quote. In the executive summary, the offeror should highlight the significant factors of its technical quote. The executive summary for the technical approach should be no more than 1 page long.

In the event that the Offeror is planning to quote a teaming, mentor/protégéé, or a subcontracting relationship, narrative statements must also be included for the additional organizations, as well as a clear delineation of tasks that they will be expected to support.

Section - 2 - Technical Quote (Volume 1, Section 2)

Offerors shall provide a Technical Quote that addresses the following:

Factor 1: Technical

1-1 Technical Understanding and Approach

The proposal must describe the Offeror’s understanding of the requirements of the SOW, and its approach to performing the strategic advisory services required by the SOW.

1-2 Experience and Capabilities Summary

The proposal must describe the Offeror’s experience and capabilities with high level technical advice and program support to the Office of the Chief Information Officer http://www.sam.gov/

(CIO) in areas of strategy, performance planning, and senior advisory services required by the SOW.

Factor 2: Past Performance

The offeror shall provide at least three (3) references for similar work as part of their technical submission.

References can be either Government or private sector entities. Included in the references shall be a company/agency name, description of effort, relevant contract number, Point of Contact (POC) name, current telephone number, current email address, physical address, and web site.

If offerors do not possess references relevant to the current technical requirement, the offeror shall affirmatively state they cannot provide required 3 references. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror will receive a rating of neutral.

Price Quote (Volume 2)

The Offeror’s Price Quote shall be a separate volume from the Technical Quote and in a spreadsheet format. Pricing shall include all labor categories and rates. Pricing shall also include all anticipated costs to fully perform all objectives as stated in the solicitation. The Offeror’s proposed prices will be analyzed to determine whether they are reasonable and realistic for the work to be performed; reflect a clear understanding of the requirement; and are consistent with the Offeror’s Technical Proposal

Section 1 – Price Assumptions, Conditions, or Exceptions

Offerors shall indicate, in this section only, if any price related assumptions have been made, conditions have been stipulated or exceptions have been taken with the statement of work as written. If not noted in this volume of the quote, it will be assumed that the Offeror’s quote reflects no price assumptions for award and agrees to comply with all of the terms and conditions set forth herein. It is not the responsibility of the Government to seek out and identify assumptions, conditions, deviations, or exceptions buried within the Offeror’s quote.

Accordingly, any price related assumptions, conditions, or exceptions listed in any other volume or section shall be null and void.

Section 2 – Price Quote

Vendors shall provide labor category and rates for their proposed personnel and shall include the base year and two option years’ pricing.

All pricing shall be in whole dollars only. If submitted, all formulas, lookup tables, and links shall be intact, an no links shall exist to files not included with the proposal. Spreadsheets shall not contain hidden worksheets.

3 – EVALUATION

Addendum/Modification: 52.212-2 EVALUATION--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this RFQ to the responsible Offeror whose quote conforming to the RFQ will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government shall evaluate quotes received based upon the following factors, listed in descending order of relative importance:

Factor 1: Technical Approach

1-1 The Government will evaluate the extent to which the vendor demonstrates a clear and thorough understanding of the SOW.

1-2 The Government will evaluate the efficacy of the vendor’s approach to performing the strategic advisory services required by the SOW.

1-3 The Government will evaluate the extent to which the vendor has the experience and capability necessary to provide high-level technical advice and program support.

Factor 2: Past Performance

The offeror shall provide at least three (3) references for similar work as part of their technical submission. References can be either Government or private sector entities.

Included in the references shall be a company/agency name, description of effort, relevant contract number, Point of Contact (POC) name, current telephone number, current email address, physical address, and web site. If offerors do not possess references relevant to the current technical requirement, the offeror shall affirmatively state they cannot provide required 3 references. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror will receive a rating of neutral.

(b) Contract Award

Contract award shall be made to the responsible Offeror whose quote, in conforming to this RFQ, provides an overall best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government’s objective is to obtain the highest technical quality considered necessary to achieve the project objectives, with a fair and reasonable price. Technical evaluation factors are more important than price. In the event quotes are evaluated as technically equal in quality, price will become a major consideration in selecting the successful Offeror.

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of a quote, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time of acceptance specified in the quote, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the quote’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept a quote (or part of a quote), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of Addendum)4 – CONTRACT CLAUSES

FAR CLAUSES

The following clause(s) are applicable to this requirement:

Incorporated by Reference: FAR clause 52.212–4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2021) and its (Alternate I) paragraphs. .

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. (MAR 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within the term of this contract; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 3 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 3 years.

(End of clause)

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services. (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 3 days.

(End of clause)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CLAUSES:

DIAR 1452.201-70 Authorities and delegations (SEP 2011)

(a) The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to enter into or terminate this contract, modify any term or condition of this contract, waive any requirement of this contract, or accept nonconforming work.

(b) The Contracting Officer will designate a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at time of award. The COR will be responsible for technical monitoring of the contractor's performance and deliveries. The COR will be appointed in writing, and a copy of the appointment will be furnished to the Contractor. Changes to this delegation will be made by written changes to the existing appointment or by issuance of a new appointment.

(c) The COR is not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions:

(1) Promise, award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract;

(2) Waive or agree to modification of the delivery schedule;

(3) Make any final decision on any contract matter subject to the Disputes Clause;

(4) Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor's right to proceed;

(5) Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government.

(d) The Contractor shall comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR's appointment, within 3 days of the occurrence. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the categories defined in paragraph (c) prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer's response issued under paragraph (e) of this clause.

(e) The Contracting Officer shall respond in writing within 30 days to any notice made under paragraph (d) of this clause. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of a direction, or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto, shall be subject to the provisions of the Disputes clause of this contract.

(f) The Contractor shall provide copies of all correspondence to the Contracting Officer and the

COR.

(g) Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, shall be at the Contractor's risk.

(End of clause)

AQD CLAUSE 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).

Included with the electronic IPP invoice shall be an attached itemized (printable) invoice.

"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:

1. Name and address of the Offeror

2. Invoice number and date

3. Delivery Order number

4. Line Item Number

5. Description of line item

6. Price of line item

7. Quantity Delivered and Balance Due

Other Direct Costs (ODC): Other direct costs such as reimbursement for materials, supplies, travel, subsistence, lodging and other direct costs are authorized only to the extent that it is necessary for performance of task orders under this contract. Labor is not permitted to be proposed as an ODC. Allowable other direct costs will be determined by the Contracting Officer at the task order All ODCs will be evaluated in accordance with FAR Part 31, and charges shall not exceed the "Not to Exceed" amount specified in each respective task order CLIN without the Contracting Officers approval.

Travel is not authorized under this order.

Additional supporting documentation MAY BE REQUESTED at the discretion of the COR.

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 the contract 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 custom clause) https://www.ipp.gov/ mailto:ippgroup@bos.frb.org

AQD CLAUSE 2 - SECTION 508

All work shall be compliant with the requirements referenced in these documents including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and 29 USC 794d, sub-part B, Technical Standards, 1194.21.

The Section 508 standards established by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) are incorporated into, and made part of all VA contracts, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure Electronic and Information Technology (EIT). These standards are found in their entirety at http://www.section508.gov. A printed copy of the standards will be supplied upon request. The contractor must comply with the technical standards at 36 CFR 1194.21 24, 26, 31, and 41 in performing this contract.

(End of Custom Clause)

AQD CLAUSE 3 - ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which would give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information.

The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is discovered after award, the Contractor make will a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict.

Remedies - The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract action for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an organizational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the task order for cause or debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

The Contractor further agrees to insert provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause in any subcontract of consultant agreement hereunder.

(End of Custom Clause)

5 – SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

Provisions incorporated at the GSA contract level flow down to this solicitation.

52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference. (FEB 1998)

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

https://www.acquisition.gov/

Ref. Number Title DIAR 1452.215-71 Use and Disclosure of Proposal Information-Department of the Interior. (APR

1984)

DIAR 1452.215-71 Use and Disclosure of Proposal Information—Department of the Interior (APR 1984)

(a) Definitions. For the purposes of this provision and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552), the following terms shall have the meaning set forth below:

(1) “Trade Secret” means an unpatented, secret, commercially valuable plan, appliance, formula, or process, which is used for making, preparing, compounding, treating or processing articles or materials which are trade commodities.

(2) “Confidential commercial or financial information” means any business information (other than trade secrets) which is exempt from the mandatory disclosure requirement of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

Exemptions from mandatory disclosure which may be applicable to business information contained in proposals include exemption (4), which covers “commercial and financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential,” and exemption (9), which covers “geological and geophysical information, including maps, concerning wells.”

(b) If the offeror, or its subcontractor(s), believes that the proposal contains trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, (5 U.S.C. 552), the cover page of each copy of the proposal shall be marked with the following legend:

“The information specifically identified on pages ______ of this proposal constitutes trade secrets or confidential commercial and financial information which the offeror believes to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The offeror requests that this information not be disclosed to the public, except as may be required by law. The offeror also requests that this information not be used in whole or part by the government for any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal, except that if a contract is awarded to the offeror as a result of or in connection with the submission of the proposal, the Government shall have the right to use the information to the extent provided in the contract.”

(c) The offeror shall also specifically identify trade secret information and confidential commercial and financial information on the pages of the proposal on which it appears and shall mark each such page with the following legend:

https://www.acquisition.gov/

“This page contains trade secrets or confidential commercial and financial information which the offeror believes to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and which is subject to the legend contained on the cover page of this proposal.”

(d) Information in a proposal identified by an offeror as trade secret information or confidential commercial and financial information shall be used by the Government only for the purpose of evaluating the proposal, except that (i) if a contract is awarded to the offeror as a result of or in connection with submission of the proposal, the Government shall have the right to use the information as provided in the contract, and (ii) if the same information is obtained from another source without restriction it may be used without restriction.

(e) If a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeks access to information in a proposal identified as trade secret information or confidential commercial and financial information, full consideration will be given to the offeror's view that the information constitutes trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information. The offeror will also be promptly notified of the request and given an opportunity to provide additional evidence and argument in support of its position, unless administratively unfeasible to do so. If it is determined that information claimed by the offeror to be trade secret information or confidential commercial or financial information is not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, the offeror will be notified of this determination prior to disclosure of the information.

(f) The Government assumes no liability for the disclosure or use of information contained in a proposal if not marked in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this provision. If a request under the Freedom of Information Act is made for information in a proposal not marked in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this provision, the offeror concerned shall be promptly notified of the request and given an opportunity to provide its position to the Government.

However, failure of an offeror to mark information contained in a proposal as trade secret information or confidential commercial or financial information will be treated by the Government as evidence that the information is not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, absent a showing that the failure to mark was due to unusual or extenuating circumstances, such as a showing that the offeror had intended to mark, but that markings were omitted from the offeror's proposal due to clerical error.

(End of provision)

52.216-1 Type of Contract. (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Labor Hour contract resulting from this solicitation

(End of provision)

52.216-31 Time-and-Materials/Labor-Hour Proposal Requirements-Commercial Item Acquisition. (FEB 2007)

(a) The Government contemplates award of a Time-and-Materials or Labor-Hour type of contract resulting from this solicitation.

(b) The offeror must specify fixed hourly rates in its offer that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. The offeror must specify whether the fixed hourly rate for each labor category applies to labor performed by-

(1) The offeror;

(2) Subcontractors; and/or

(3) Divisions, subsidiaries, or affiliates of the offeror under a common control.

(End of provision)

52.233-2 Service of Protest. (SEPT 2006)

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

Catherine Mattocks, D52 Acquisition Services Directorate, 381 Elden St. Herndon, VA 20170

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

(c) A copy of the protest served on the Contracting Officer shall be simultaneously furnished by the protester to the Department of the Interior Assistant Solicitor for Acquisition and Intellectual Property, 1849 C Street, NW, Room 6456, Washington, D.C. 20240.

(End of provision) https://www.acquisition.gov/far/33.101#FAR_33_101

6 – LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

Attachment Table

Attachment Number

Title Date

1 PWS

2 Wage Determination