ATTACHMENT A - SECTION L & M.pdf

SECTION L

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

Proposals

The preferred method for proposals to be submitted in response to this solicitation is via e-mail to Brian.Wilkins@atf.gov.

All offers, whether received by U.S. mail or email, must be postmarked and received no later than the closing date specified in Block 8 of the SF 1449. Offers received after the closing date will be rejected.

Except as specifically provided in an order, all postage and fees related to the submission of information, including but not limited to forms, reports, supporting, supporting documentation, etc. shall be paid by the Contractor. The Government shall not be responsible for costs associated with proposal preparation

52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB

1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer (CO) will make the full text available. Be cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the Offeror and submitted with its proposal/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 proposal/offer. Also, the full text of a provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses:

http://www.acquisitions.gov/far

(a) The Government may award without discussions with the offeror; therefore, the offeror is cautioned to examine the solicitation in its entirety and to ensure that its quotation is complete, containing all necessary information/all required documentation, in all respects. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions and to permit the offeror to revise its proposal(s).

(b) The Offeror shall submit an electronically signed and dated offer, by 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday February 18, 2020 to Brian.Wilkins@ATF.gov or to the mailing address provided within the solicitation. All contractor’s questions are due by Monday February 10, 2020, 3:00PM EST. No questions will be addressed after this date.

(c) Offers/Proposals received after the time and date specified for receipt will be considered LATE.

mailto:Brian.Wilkins@ATF.gov

1. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

(a) To be considered for selection, the Offeror must submit a complete response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) using the sequence and format provided herein. All pages must be identified with the Offeror’s name and Solicitation number.

(b) For the electronic submission, the offer/proposal shall be in uncompressed files submitted via email.

(c) The electronic version of the text shall be in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Portable Data Format (PDF).

(d) Information shall be confined to the appropriate section to facilitate independent evaluation. The technical proposal should be clear and concise, logically assembled, numbered, indexed and cross-indexed to applicable parts of the RFP as appropriate. The page limits shall include any diagrams, figures, tables, or reference material.

(e) Contractors must complete the following clause - “ATF- 50 Limitations on Subcontracting under Small Business Set-Aside” on page 21 of the Solicitation.

2. FORMAT

(a) Submissions. Submissions shall be on 8 ½” x 11” (with no fold-outs) white paper and printed only on one side of the paper. The text shall have 1” margins on all sides, be single-spaced; font style Times New Roman; font color black; and font size 12. Illustrations (e.g., graphics figures, graphs, and tables) shall be in portrait format with font colors other than black allowable and font sizes 12, 10, and 9 are considered acceptable. The Offeror’s company name (no logos), the date, solicitation number, section shall be included on each page of the proposal/offer (may be included in a header/footer). All pages of the proposal/offer shall be numbered, using a uniform-paragraph-numbering system. Page numbers, headers and footers may be outside the page margins, and are not bound by the font, color and point-size requirement.

(b) The Offeror shall present all information relevant to each factor in the appropriate section. The Offeror shall insert its company’s name in the filename. At the end of each section, the Offeror may include any “Exceptions” that they take with the requirements, constraints, and terms and conditions. Any exceptions taken shall clearly identify the RFP Section, paragraph, and requirement/objective, constraint, or terms and conditions to which exception is being made and include appropriate supporting rationale for each exception. The Government is not obligated to accept such exceptions to the RFP, and these may render the Offeror’s proposal unacceptable. Offerors must submit four separate volumes listed below:

(c) Requirements

Section

Section/Tab Title

Number of Hard Copies (if mailed)

Page Limits

I

Introduction (Table of Contents, Executive-Level Summary, Corporate Qualifications), ORCA Certification or other Certifications and Representations

II

Pass and Fail Criteria for Mandatory Factors Based on Statement of Work contractor Must Provide details

III

Technical Management/Financial Capabilities

IV

Past Performance

3 Pages per Reference

V

Price

3. CONTENT

3.1 Section I – The Offeror is requested to provide the below information.

3.1.1 Introduction & Table of contents for easy reference.

3.1.2 Executive-Level Summary. Provide a letter formally transmitting the offer/proposal. Identify the name, address, e-mail address, telephone and facsimile transmission number of the person(s) who has the contractual authority and can be contacted concerning any questions about this offer/proposal. Also, include the following as attachments to the letter:

(a) A document containing the following information:

- Name, address, telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address, and cage code of the contractor and of any corporate affiliate at which work is to be performed.

- The Offeror shall demonstrate its technical experience and past performance, as well as that for all proposed subcontractors or team members, in performing tasks similar to those identified in the Statement of Work (SOW).

3.1.3 Section I - ORCA Certification in accordance with FAR Part 52.212-3. This tab shall contain a completed copy of your company’s ORCA Certification or proper DUNS Number that will allow the government to download your ORCA information.

3.1.4 Section I - Exceptions/Alternatives (Terms and Conditions).

(a) Offerors are cautioned that they take exception to any Terms and Conditions of the solicitation at their own risk. The Government may, at its option, reject an offer/proposal which contains any such exceptions.

(b) Nonetheless, any exception taken by the Offeror, at its own risk, shall be identified in this tab. The Offeror shall clearly identify the paragraph and term or condition to which the exception is being made and include the appropriate rationale for any such exception.

(c) Suggested, optional wording changes (to include clarifications and addenda) to any terms and conditions of the solicitation shall be identified in this part. The Government may at its option accept or reject any such changes. If accepted, it may be necessary to amend the solicitation and to discuss the changes with other Offerors.

(d) If no exceptions are taken, the Offeror shall include the following statement in this part of the proposal: “[Name of Offeror] takes no exception to any terms and conditions of Solicitation No. 15A00020R00000017.

3.1.5 Section I Contractor must register under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) number 721110 Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels within the Systems Award Management (SAM) database).

(a) When so required by FAR Part 44, the offeror's proposal shall identify all subcontracts/consultant arrangements proposed. Specifically, the following information shall be provided to the Contracting Officer:

(1) Company name of each subcontractor, or the individual name in the case of independent consultants;

(2) Names of each subcontractor corporate officers:

(3) Name of each subcontractor's key personnel for this contract effort, including each individual's level of effort; and

(4) Scope of work to be performed by each subcontractor/consultant.

(b) Throughout the term of this contract, the Contractor shall obtain prior written authorization from the Contracting Officer for any additions, deletions or changes in subcontract/consultant arrangement entered into for the purpose of performing this contract effort. The Contractor shall furnish the Contracting Officer with the above-specified items of information for any subcontract /consultant arrangement that the Contractor proposed subsequent to contract award.

(c) ATF reserves the right to request the contractor to terminate any subcontractors, individual subcontractor employees, subcontractor principals, or consultants, for malfeasance or other appropriate cause (e.g., theft, criminal record(s), ties to organized crime, etc.).

(d) The provisions of this clause do not preclude any requirements regarding subcontracts that may be set forth elsewhere in this solicitation/contract.

(e) Complete applicable blocks on the cover sheet, SF 1449. Indicate your DUNS number in Block 17a.

3.2 Section II - Pass and Fail Criteria for Mandatory Factors

MANDATORY FACTORS THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED ARE AS FOLLOWED:

The following factors are pass/fail factors. Any offeror that fails any one of these factors will receive no further consideration and will not be considered for award:

1. Hotel/motel rates are within Government per diem rates

2. Hotel must be located within a 10-mile driving distance to NCETR, 3750 Corporal Road, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama 35898.

3. Hotel must have at least one occurrence of past performance with groups, with a minimum standard as having accommodated a group block of 25 rooms or greater for at least a 1-week duration within the last 24 months.

4. Proposals from third party companies will not be accepted unless the third party company produces a written agreement with the proposed lodging location.

If the offeror receives a Pass rating for the above factors then Responses will be evaluated on the basis of the following evaluation factors:

3.3 Section III – Technical Management/Financial Capabilities

Must show understanding of applicable requirements, acceptability of proposed schedule, availability and completeness of resources, and proposed responsiveness to ATF’s operational requirements.

The following requirements will be considered by the Government in determining the offeror’s technical rating and should be clearly addressed with the submitted proposal. The lack of one or more of these items listed below does not disqualify an offeror’s proposal from being considered for award.

3.3.1 Offeror shall provide narrative description demonstrating ability to meet Section 4.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS 4.1 Compliance documents under the Statement of Work.

3.3.2 Offeror shall provide narrative description demonstrating ability to meet Section 5.0 REQUIREMTNTS 5.1a) Lodging Facility and Must have amenities of ATF's assigned rooms under the Statement of Work.

3.4 Section IV – Past Performance

3.4.1 The Offeror shall provide references for Contracts/Orders with the Federal Government and/or commercial customers that demonstrate recent and relevant past performance of similar scope, size and complexity of the services identified in the SOW. Recent is defined as within the last three years. Relevant is defined as work similar in complexity, magnitude, and type of work describe in the Statement of Work.

3.4.2 The government may consider the past performance of other companies when they are team members, affiliates, or significant subcontractors, who will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the acquisition; however, the offeror must clearly explain how these other companies will be significantly involved in the proposed contract. The Offeror shall provide a detailed summary of the work performed for each past performance reference submitted. Where possible, ATF intends to interview each reference provided to verify project scope, dollar value and obtain additional past performance information. The Solicitation Number is already identified on the past performance surveys.

3.4.3 The Offeror shall provide telephone, fax, and email for the points of contact for the technical and contractual personnel with each referenced project as well as a description of the referenced contracts/task orders.

3.4.4 Contract Descriptions. The description of each contract and subcontract shall include the following information in the task order listed:

(a) Contract number.

(b) Title of Program/Project.

(c) Contract Type.

(d) Period of performance.

(e) Awarded price.

(f) Final or projected final, price.

(g) Original delivery schedule.

(h) Final or projected final, delivery schedule

(i) Government/Commercial Contracting activity, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

3.4.5 The Government may also consider information obtained through other sources. Past Performance information will be utilized to determine the quality of the contractor’s past performance as it relates to the probability of success of the required effort. In this section the Offeror will include demonstrated and relevant corporate experience, including subcontractors and teaming partners, in performing projects requiring the type of services solicited.

3.4.6 If the contractor has no past performance, it will be evaluated as Neutral.

3.5 Section V – Price

3.5.1 The Offeror shall provide complete pricing see ATTACHMENT B – PRICING TABLE.

3.5.2 Though price is not rated, price reasonableness will be determined by the contracting officer.

Issuance of this solicitation does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government. This request does not commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the submission of a proposal or for any other costs incurred prior to the execution of a formal contract unless specifically authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer. Attention is directed to the fact that a Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit or obligate the Government to the expenditure of public funds should a contract result by reason of a response to this request for proposal.

SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

a. BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD:

The award will be made based on Trade-Off process in accordance with FAR Part: 15.101-1.

The best overall (i.e. best value) proposals that are determined to be the most beneficial to the Government with appropriate consideration given to the evaluation factors:

The Offeror must clearly demonstrate that all requirements of the SOLICITATION are met. The Offeror must also address all information requirements of the Solicitation.

The evaluation process will be carried out so as to assess how advantageous the contractor’s proposal is in reference to the technical evaluation factors. One of several stated adjectival ratings will be assigned in order to express judgement on each technical evaluation factor. These technical factor ratings will be assigned to facilitate an overall technical rating for the proposal, which combined with the evaluated price, will be used to determine the proposal deemed to be most advantageous to the Government. The proposal price will be evaluated but no adjectival rating will be applied.

Mandatory Factors (Pass or Fail)

The contractor’s proposal will be evaluated with respect to the Mandatory Factors.

Mandatory factors will be assigned a Pass/Fail rating to determine responsiveness to the solicitation. Any offerors that omit a mandatory factor or fail to affirm a mandatory factor, will be eliminated from competition and will not be considered for award.

The Mandatory Factors must all be met before any Technical Capabilities, Past Performance or Price are evaluated.

The following factors are pass/fail factors. Any offeror that fails any one of these factors will receive no further consideration and will not be considered for award:

1. Hotel/motel rates are within Government per diem rates

2. Hotel must be located within a 10-mile driving distance to NCETR, 3750 Corporal Road, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama 35898.

3. Hotel must have at least one occurrence of past performance with groups, with a minimum standard as having accommodated a group block of 25 rooms or greater for at least 1-week duration within the last 24 months.

4. Proposals from third party companies will not be accepted unless the third party company produces a written agreement with the proposed lodging location.

If the offeror receives a Pass rating for the above factors then Responses will be evaluated on the basis of the following evaluation factors:

The evaluation of proposals will be based on the following factors, which are listed in descending order of importance: (1) Technical Management/Financial Capabilities (of the SOW), (2) Past Performance, and (3) Price.

Basis for Award

Order of Importance:

1. Technical Management Capabilities

2. Past Performance

3. Price

Technical Management Capabilities and Past Performance are in descending order of relative importance (Technical Management Capabilities is more important than Past Performance). Technical Management/ Capabilities and Past Performance (when combined) are significantly more important than Price, which is not rated. As the technical quotations approach equality, price will become more important in making the award determination. In the event that two or more quotations are determined not to have any substantial technical differences (i.e. are technically equivalent), award may be made to the lower priced quotation. It should be noted that award may be made to other than the lowest priced quotation if the Government determines that a price premium is warranted due to technical merit. The Government may also award to other than the highest technically rated quotation, if the Government determines that a price premium is not warranted.

1. Technical Management Capabilities

The Government will evaluate the degree to which the Offeror effectively demonstrates knowledge, understanding and technical ability to successfully perform and manage the requirements of the Statement of Work. All factors under Statement of Work (SOW) Section 5.1 must be addressed.

SOW) Lodging Facility

• Hotel must be FEMA Certified and have passed State Fire Marshall’s safety inspection (Copies of these document must be submitted with proposal).

• Hotel must be able to reserve a maximum of 45 rooms for either (20) one-week periods or

(10) two-week periods for specific dates known months in advance by NCETR training programs; the NCETR training schedules are typically determined by late summer for the proceeding federal fiscal year beginning October 1.

• Hotel must have at least one designated point of contact with the authority to make decisions on behalf of hotel.

• Must have staff personnel available 24 hours a day to assist with any emergency;

• Must be “pest-free” (e.g. no rodents, roaches, ants, bed bugs, or the like).

• Students and instructors must be housed in same hotel.

• Students and Instructors must be extended the same guest services and perks as bon-government guests for the standard rate published on the website for the respective hotel.

• There shall be no undo sleep disturbing noises such as refrigerator or diesel trucks left to run all night, loud music, laughing, or making similar noises that would be disturbing to a person’s ability to sleep.

• Prefer to have shuttle for free airport pick-up/delivery.

• Operable on-site washer/dryer units for use by occupants. One set per one hundred rooms is acceptable.

• Provide a reasonable equipped on site work-out facility

SOW) Amenities of ATF’s assigned rooms

• Central air conditioning and heating that will provide ventilation necessary to maintain comfort; if room utilities fail for more than four hours, other than the result of an area wide outage, the Contractor shall relocate personnel to another room of the facility of equal or greater value at no additional cost to the Government. The heating and air-conditioning units must be clean, free of dust, dirt, and debris, and free of offensive odors. Heating and cooling levels shall be adjustable by the occupant of each room.

• Provide refrigerator, microwave (preferred).

• Room size shall be 400 square feet or larger and possess quality at a level normally expected of a first class hotel/motel; the Contracting Officer (CO) reserves the right to determine the acceptability of the accommodations offered; Rooms will be furnished and equipped according to the industry standard of the single occupancy room to include a full bath with shower, bed, color television, touch tone telephone, dresser or chest of drawers with mirror, bedside table(s), an occasional table, (2) occasional chairs. Also needed is an enclosed or open front closet or cubical for the placement of hanging clothes which includes a hanging rod not less than 32” in length. A simple wall mounted hanging rod or bracket is not acceptable. All items of furniture must be clean, free of dust, dirt, and debris, and all items of furniture must be in good repair, functional, and sturdy. When room size precludes sufficient room to move between the bed and other furniture items, the room-furnishing plan shall be modified in such a manner that will provide unobstructed passage.

• Each room shall include bathing and toilet facilities that are continuously kept clean. There shall not be any evidence of black mold, soap scum, or any other substance that can be removed by cleaning. The glazing of the tub shall be intact, clean, free of mold, odor free condition, and properly applied. A bacteriostatic chemical that is effective against the bacteria normally found in this environment shall be used as a disinfectant. Such facilities shall be equipped with hand and bath towel rods, a shower curtain or doors, soap dish in the shower/tub, shower head which provides a proper water stream of sufficient quantity to comply with the minimum 3 gallons per minute flow rate, and tub/shower drain that is sufficiently free flowing to prevent water from pooling in the shower/tub while bathing.

The toilet shall be equipped with a split/closed seat that is firmly attached to the fixture and has a flushing mechanism that performs the function without undue refill time, continuous running of water, or erratic operation.

• Walls shall be clean and finished with paint or durable wall covering. Walls shall be free from peeling, damage, scars, and marks. Rooms designated as “no smoking rooms” must be free from any residual odor and contamination caused by the previous use of tobacco products;

• Ceiling shall be clean and finished with acoustical tiles or with paint. Heating and air-conditioning supply or exhaust vents must be free of dirt, dust, and other substances that can be removed by cleaning. Ceiling shall be free from damage, scars, and marks. The same “no smoking” room provisions apply as stated for “Walls” above;

• Floors in the sleeping room shall be carpeted/wood/ commercial vinyl and clean. Floors shall be free of dirt, dust, stains, noticeable burns, cuts, tears, smudges, and marks.

Flooring must be free of stains, debris, dust, dirt, tears, smudges, marks, and must be cleaned under the beds, under the wall mounted HVAC units, behind furniture, at the base of the walls, and under free standing furniture.

• Sleeping rooms shall be furnished with adequate lighting.

• Windows shall be covered by drapes and blackout lining or drapes and window shades, or drapes and venetian blinds. Windows that can be opened must be fitted with screens and be lockable. Drapes, blinds, and screens as appropriate must be clean, in good repair, and free of offensive odors.

• Services such as normal hotel/motel support services such as wake up calls, ice machine, and vending machines for beverages and snacks shall be provided.

• Telephone (no cost for local and toll-free calls), color television and high-speed wireless data connection for internet connectivity in each room (hardwired or room set up with multi-computer hard-wired).

• Provide full daily housekeeping service; to include bed making, carpet and bathroom cleaning, trash emptying, and replenishment of disposable supplies (drinking glasses, toilet tissue, facial tissue, two bars of antibacterial soap (may be 1.5 ounce of stand hotel industry size for each person, ice container, etc) and shall be provided 5 days per week.

• Clean towels daily. Each occupant will be provided with two hand towels and two bath towels and two wash cloths per person per day to include change of bathlinens per room daily.

• Clean linen-Bed Linens will be exchanged at least 2 times per week and upon change of occupant. Each room must have available an extra pillow with case and extra blanket per person. All bed linens shall be clean, free of stains, and in good repair.

• Security – Must have at least one of the following: pass key entrance capabilities; dead bolt or latch on accommodation entrance doors; peep holes; security cameras; or lighted public areas;

No room doors shall lead to the exterior of the hotel;

• Prefer to have a conference room or meeting space available to accommodate a maximum of 36 individuals. The class requiring rooms for (10) two-week periods anticipates meeting space usage on Sunday evenings between the two business weeks and Wednesday evenings of the second business week. The class requiring (20) one-week periods anticipates meeting space usage on an as needed basis, such as when Redstone Arsenal closes due to inclement weather.

• Provide ample free “near room” parking.

• FEMA compliant with the Hotel/Motel Fire Safety Act – Public areas, and lodging accommodation rooms will have smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, emergency alarm system.

Technical Management Capabilities will be evaluated qualitatively by assigning the following ratings:

Rating Definition

Exceptional

Proposal contains numerous strengths and no weaknesses, indicating that the proposed effort will significantly benefit the Government.

Very Good Proposal contains numerous strengths and few minor weaknesses that can be easily corrected, indicating the proposed effort will benefit the Government.

Strengths offset weaknesses.

Satisfactory Meets the requirement, however, may contain some weaknesses that can be corrected without major revisions, indicating the proposed effort will meet the government’s requirements.

Unsatisfactory Deficiencies were found in the Non-Price Factors. Proposal fails to meet Government’s requirements. Requirements can only be met with major changes to the proposal.

The evaluation process will be carried out so as to objectively judge how advantageous the proposal is in reference to the technical evaluation factors outlined in the solicitation Section M.

One of several stated adjectival ratings (e.g., excellent, good, etc.) will be assigned in order to express judgment on each major evaluation factor except for price. These ratings will be assigned to facilitate a final rating so that proposal can be ranked in order of preference deemed to be most advantageous to the Government.

Past Performance History, based on comments/references by current and previous customers as well as other business information available to the Contracting Officer.

The quality of the contractor’s recent and relevant past performance will be evaluated to assess the offeror’s probability of meeting the solicitation requirements. The Government will first evaluate the submitted references to determine the relevancy and recentness of the past performance information. This evaluation will be based on the degree to which the contract descriptions, Past and Present Performance Survey, and other past performance information demonstrates relevant/recent experience compared to the requirements of this solicitation in terms of similar size, scope, and complexity. Next the Government will evaluate the degree to which the performance of those efforts demonstrates an overall performance and quality record that supports an expectation of successful achievement of the solicitation requirements. The Government may use information provided by the contractor in their proposal submission, information in both Government and commercial databases and other information available as ATF determines is reasonable.

If the contractor has no past performance, it will be rated as Neutral.

The Past Performance factor will be rated as follows:

(a) Recency: Recent is defined as contract performance within the past three years from the date proposals are due. The following ratings will be used for Past Performance Recency:

Adjectival Rating Description Recent Contract Performance occurred within the past three years from the date proposals are due.

Not Recent Contract Performance did not occur within the past three years from the date proposals are due.

(b) Relevancy: Relevancy includes, but ise not limited to, the following: similarity of product/service/support, complexity, dollar value, contract type, use of key personnel (for services), and extent of subcontracting/teaming. The following ratings will be used for Past Performance Relevancy:

Adjectival Rating Description Relevant Present/past performance effort involved similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires.

Not Relevant Present/past performance effort involved little or none of the scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires.

(c) Performance Confidence Assessment: For past performance contract references determined to be both recent and relevant, the Government will evaluate the degree to which the performance of those efforts demonstrates an overall performance and quality record that supports an expectation of successful achievement of the solicitation requirements by assigning a performance confidence assessment rating as follows:

Performance Confidence Assessments Rating Method

Adjectival Rating Description Substantial Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Satisfactory Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Neutral Confidence No recent/relevant performance record is available or the offeror’s performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned.

The offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the factor of past performance.

Limited Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

No Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has no expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

Price, though price is not rated, price reasonableness will be determined by the contracting officer. Price reasonableness will be determined by comparing Government Past History from previous procurements. Pricing must be at or below the standard per diem rate for the first thirty

(30) days of lodging. Rate after the first thirty (30) days of Lodging should be reduced to 55% below per diem. This is not mandated, but note final pricing will be used for determination of award purposes.

The Offeror’s Price proposal will not receive an adjectival rating. The price evaluation will assess the accuracy, completeness, and reasonableness of the price proposal. This process involves verification that prices are included for all solicitation requirements, figures are correctly calculated, and prices are reasonable and presented in an adequate format. A proposal complying with solicitation requirements with the lowest price may not be selected for award if a higher-priced offer is determined to be the most advantageous to the Government.

The Government will evaluate price proposals for the purpose of making an award by adding the total price of all options to the base price. Evaluation of options does not obligate the Government to exercise the options. If the Government determines that any separately priced line item(s) is significantly unbalanced, the proposal may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line items is significantly over or understated as indicated by the application of cost or price analysis techniques.

Pricing for the optional tasks will also be evaluated. The exercise of optional tasks and deliverables will be at the sole discretion of the Government.