15-223-SOL-00185_Atch_8_Instructions_to_Offerors_and_Evaluation.pdf

15-223-SOL-00185 Atch 8 Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation

1. Basis for Award (Best Value)

Basis for Award – The Government will award one or multiple Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer, conforming to this solicitation, is determined to provide the best value to the Government. For the purposes of the solicitation, best value will be determined using a trade-off methodology. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the lowest priced offeror.

The Government also reserves the right to award without discussions and to make awards based upon initial offers; thus, offerors should ensure that their proposal represents their best offer. The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. If the Contracting Officer determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer 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.

The Government will assess the relative risks associated with the proposal. Risk is defined as the likelihood that the Government will be negatively impacted by the offeror’s failure to meet the negotiated performance requirements related to business, technical, management, schedule, or cost.

(b) General – In order to determine the offer providing the best value, the following factors and risk assessment will be considered:

• Factor 1 – Technical approach o Sub factor 1 – Ability to Meet Requirements of IDIQ o Sub factor 2 – Ability to Meet Requirements of the Task Order

• Factor 2 – Relevant Experience

• Risk Assessment: Past Performance

• Price

(1) Technical Evaluation Factors 1 and 2 (and subfactors) are listed in descending order of importance, but, when combined, are significantly more important than price. Factors 1 and 2 (and subfactors 1 and 2) will be evaluated adjectivally and categorized as Excellent, Highly Satisfactory, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory. On the basis of these factor- and subfactor-level ratings, an overall proposal-level adjectival rating will be assigned.

(2) Past Performance: The Government will evaluate past performance as a risk assessment; not as a weighted technical evaluation factor. Past Performance will be given a rating of Low Risk, Neutral, or High Risk.

(3) Price will not be a numerically weighted factor in the evaluation of proposals, nor does the importance of price bear a linear relationship to the technical proposal. The importance of price in the evaluation for award will increase with the degree of equality in the technical evaluation ratings for each proposal.

2. Submission Instructions

Offerors shall submit all questions via email to Jake O’Hatnick at Jacob.ohatnick@fda.hhs.gov. FDA must receive the written questions no later than the date and time indicated on the fbo.gov combined synopsis/solicitation 15-223-SOL-00185. FDA reserves the right to not answer questions received after this date and time. Further, FDA will not answer questions submitted to individuals other than the above named contact. No phone calls please.

Offerors shall submit proposals electronically to Contract Specialist, Jake O’Hatnick at Jacob.ohatnick@fda.hhs.gov, no later than the date and time specified in block 8 of the SF1449 posted with the solicitation. The subject line of the email shall be clearly marked as Response to RFP No. 15-223-SOL-00185.

For the entire proposal, text color shall be black. Color may be used in graphics or charts for greater clarity at the offeror’s option. Text in graphics and charts shall be no smaller than 9- point Arial Narrow; text in tables shall be no smaller than 9-point Arial. Offerors shall use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch (210mm by 297mm) paper, single-spaced pages with margins no less than one inch on each border and shall number each page consecutively. The size and font of headers and footnotes are not dictated. No fonts may be condensed.

The Technical (Volume 1) and Business (Volume 2) Proposals shall be kept separate from each other. Technical Proposals must not make reference to pricing data in order that the technical evaluation may be made strictly on the basis of technical merit.

Technical proposals are limited to20 pages. The following are excluded from the 20 page limit:

• Cover Sheet, signed by official authorized to bind the offeror

• Executive Summary, (optional)

• Table of Contents

FDA will not evaluate information submitted in excess of the page limitations. Business proposals have no page limitation.

All documents in the Technical and Business Proposals shall be submitted in both pdf and native formats, i.e., Microsoft Word and Excel. Failure to submit documents in native formats may result in exclusion of the proposals from the competition.

mailto:Jacob.ohatnick@fda.hhs.gov mailto:Jacob.ohatnick@fda.hhs.gov

3. Volume 1 – Technical Proposal Instructions and Evaluation Factors

Factor 1: Technical Approach 3.1.

3.1.1. Sub Factor 1: Ability to Meet Requirements of the IDIQ

Instructions: The first section of the technical proposal shall consist of the following:

The Offeror shall provide a technical approach that clearly and completely addresses the task areas set forth in the IDIQ Statement of Work. The IDIQ technical approach shall describe its overall understanding of and approach to the type of services that the Offeror would expect to deliver and perform as a result of the award of this contract including its demonstrated capabilities to satisfy the complete range of the technical requirements. The Offeror’s narrative shall clearly demonstrate its ability to identify the key determinants of successful performance in each Task Area and its ability and commitment to incorporate them into its overall approach.

Evaluation of Factor 1, Sub Factor 1: The FDA will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror’s proposal demonstrates an understanding of the Task Areas set forth in the IDIQ SOW and its approach satisfies the complete range of technical requirements in a manner that is technically sound, logical, and likely to be effective in achieving FDA’s ELN objectives. The FDA will also evaluate the Offeror’s ability to identify the key determinants of successful performance in each Task Area and its demonstrated ability to incorporate them into its overall approach. The Government will evaluate the extent to which:

• The Offeror’s narrative demonstrates that it understands the IDIQ requirements and has presented sufficient capabilities to provide the required services;

• The Offeror’s software meets the requirements of the IDIQ.

3.1.2. Sub Factor 2: Ability to Meet Requirements of the Task Order

Instructions: The second section of the technical proposal shall consist of a narrative description of the offerors understanding of the task order requirements and its specific approach to perform the work in compliance with applicable standards and requirements. The narrative shall clearly describe the Offeror’s understanding of the task order pilot and how the offeror intends to satisfy the requirements of the SOW.

Evaluation of Factor 1, Sub Factor 2: The FDA will evaluate the extent to which:

• The Offeror’s narrative demonstrates that it understands the Task Order requirements and has presented sufficient capabilities to provide the required services;

• The Offeror’s software meets the requirements of the Task Order.

Factor 2: Relevant Experience 3.2.

Instructions: The third section of the technical proposal shall consist of a detailed narrative description of four (4) relevant experiences, which demonstrate the relevance of the work performed in terms of type, scope, complexity, and size to the requirements of this solicitation. At least two (2) of the citations must be from the Prime. For each experience cited, the Offeror shall include the following information:

• Name of contracting activity (Federal Government agency, local government, commercial customer)

• Contract Type

• Total contract value, and subcontract value (if applicable)

• Performance role: (Prime/Sub-Contractor)

• Narrative description of the specific work that the Offeror (or its team member) performed.

• Narrative highlighting the relevance of the work performed in terms of type, scope, complexity, and size.

• Period of Performance: All citations must be for contracts that are either being currently performed or have been completed within the past three years.

Evaluation of Factor 2: The FDA will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror demonstrates that it has performed work that is substantially similar to this requirement in type, scope, complexity, and size.

Risk Assessment: Past Performance 3.3.

Instructions: The Offeror shall provide the past performance questionnaires (Attachment 4 to the IDIQ) to representatives from the relevant experience citations submitted in response to Factor 2, Relevant Experience. The representatives will submit the completed and signed questionnaires to the Government POC listed in Attachment 4 by the closing date and time of this solicitation.

Risk Assessment: The Government will assess the relative risk associated with each offer.

Performance risks are those associated with an offeror’s likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror’s record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be a product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror’s performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers relevant information.

When assessing performance risk, the Government will focus on the past performance of the offeror as it relates to all acquisition requirements, such as the offeror’s record of performing according to specifications, including standards of good workmanship; the offeror’s record of controlling and forecasting costs; the offeror’s adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the offeror’s reputation for reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the offeror’s business-like concern for the interest of the customer.

If the performance information contains negative information on which the offeror has not been previously been given an opportunity to comment, FDA will provide the offeror an opportunity to comment on it prior to its consideration in the evaluation, and any offeror comment will be considered with the negative performance information.

The Government will consider the currency and relevance of the information, source of the information, context of the data, and general trends in the offeror’s performance. The Government may rely upon data from sources other than the references submitted by the Offeror.

An Offeror without a record of past performance, or for whom information on past performance is not available, will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably, but will be given a neutral evaluation.

4. Volume 2 – Business Proposal Instructions and Evaluation Instructions: Business Proposals shall consist of the following elements:

• SF1449, and any amendments, signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror

• Completed Attachment 3 ELN Pricing Worksheet

• Narrative addressing the general standards of a responsibility determination as specified in FAR 9.104-1.

• Copy of the offeror’s representations and certifications in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, or a statement that they have been completed electronically.

• Statement concerning the small business size status under the selected NAICS code for the offeror and the OEM of the proposed software solution.

Specific Instructions for Completion of Attachment 3:

Attachment 3 ELN Pricing Worksheet consists of the following tabs:

• Summary

• Task Order Pricing Sheet

• Lic&Maint Volume Discounts

• Licenses & Maintenance IDIQ

• Services IDIQ

• Labor Category Descriptions

• Assumptions

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all calculations in the ELN Pricing Worksheet are correct and accurate. The Pricing Worksheet shall clearly show all calculations. Hidden cells or cells linked to external worksheets are not permitted.

Summary – The Summary tab shows the total proposed price of the 5.5 year IDIQ contract based on the estimated quantities provided in the worksheet plus the price of Task Order 1.

Task Order Pricing Sheet – Offerors shall propose a firm fixed price for Task Order 1. The firm fixed price shall be broken down into services and licences/maintenance elements, using the IDIQ unit pricing from the Services IDIQ and Lic&Maint Volume Discounts tabs. Offerors are encouraged to offer any and all discounts for goods and services provided under this task order.

Lic&Maint Volume Discounts - Offerors shall propose unit pricing for licenses and maintenance for all ordering periods of the IDIQ, clearly depicting all volume discounts available at the ranges specified.

Licenses & Maintenance IDIQ – Offerors shall apply the discounted unit pricing for licenses and maintenance from the Lic&Maint Volume Discounts tab to the estimated quantities provided for all IDIQ ordering periods. The estimated quantities are provided for evaluation purposes only.

Services IDIQ – Offerors shall propose fully burdened labor rates for each of the labor categories for all IDIQ ordering periods, and apply the fully burdened labor rates to the estimated quantities provided. The term “fully burdened” means that the proposed labor rates shall be inclusive of direct wages, all applicable indirect costs such as fringe benefits, overhead, and general & administrative expenses, and profit. The estimated quantities are provided for evaluation purposes only.

Labor Category Descriptions – The tab contains labor category descriptions for the labor categories listed under the Services IDIQ tab.

Assumptions – Offerors shall list any assumptions made in the preparation of the Attachment 3 ELN Pricing Worksheet.

Evaluation of the Business Proposal: The Government will assess whether the offeror is eligible for award, in part, based on the information provided. Additionally, the Government will evaluate the Contractor’s ability to meet the Government’s requirements at a fair and reasonable price. As part of this evaluation, the Government will evaluate both IDIQ and Task Order 1 pricing. Specifically, the total evaluated price is calculated as the sum of IDIQ pricing for all ordering periods plus the total Task Order 1 price.

4. Volume 2 – Business Proposal Instructions and Evaluation