15F06725Q0000257 - Customer Service - Instructions to Quoters.pdf

Customer Services Training - Unclassified

U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation

Professional Services Acquisition Unit

Human Resources Division Customer Services Support

RFQ #15F06725Q0000257

May 12, 2025

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

FINANCE DIVISION

PROCUREMENT SECTION

DATE: 05/12/2025

SUBJECT: Request for Quotation (RFQ) No. 15F06725Q0000257

All Interested Parties, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would like to invite your company to submit a quote for this acquisition as outlined in the accompanying Request for Quotation. The Government requests that you issue a “No Bid” response if you do not accept the invitation.

This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) in accordance with FAR 13, Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

The quote shall be submitted on or before 1:00 pm CST on May 27, 2025 by email to the attention of the Contracting Specialist, Robert Bruce rebruce@fbi.gov and the Contracting Officer, Stevon Walker at swalker4@fbi.gov. Ensure that “RFQ 15F06725Q0000257 – Customer Service Support, Human Resource Division” appears in the subject line of ALL your emails regarding this solicitation.

The anticipated schedule of events is:

Release Date: 05/12/2025 Questions due to the FBI: 05/19/2025 @12pm FBI Answers disseminated: 05/21/2025 Final Quote due to the FBI: 05/27/2025 @ 1pm

Sincerely, Stevon Walker Contracting Officer Professional Service Acquisition Unit Procurement Section Finance & Facilities Division

1.0 BACKGROUND

The FBI’s mission is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners; and to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to the Constitution of the United States.

Employ and Recruit talent

Deliver comprehensive Customer Service training for HR professionals within the FBI

1.1 SCOPE

A scope provides a broad description of the intended use of the services and/or products to be acquired in relation to the requirement described in the document.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s scope is detailed below.

1.2 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES/INTRODUCTION

The scope of contractor services requires skilled and experienced personnel with specialized expertise and backgrounds in Customer Service Training.

1.3 CONTRACT TYPE

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is issuing a total small business set-aside, Firm Fixed Price (FFP) type contract to (1) vendor to procure Customer Service Training.

This FFP contract will include (PoP 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026).

2.0 REQUIREMENTS

The Government requires personnel with specialized expertise and backgrounds in Customer Service

The HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Division(s) of the The Federal Bureau of Investigation require(s) the following products /services:

Other/General Training

In support of TAPS Customer Service

The Statement of Work (SOW) (Attachment A) outlines the full scope and requirements of this contract.

3.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The Government anticipates One Base Year (12-months).

The period of performance for the requirement is anticipated to be:

The actual dates of the contract will be established once award has been made.

Base Year 12 Months

4.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

A period of performance is the range of time within which a contractor must fulfill a contract’s requirements.

A place of performance describes the geographical location(s) at which a contractor must work to fulfill a contract’s requirements. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s place and period of performance is detailed below:

MS Teams

Period of Performance: 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026

5.0 HOURS OF OPERATION

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

The Contractor shall receive direction and guidance from the Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) assigned to execute this order.

6.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER

The CO is the appointed authority to bind the Government to the extent of the authority delegated. Direction that will modify the scope, schedule, terms and conditions, funding, or any other action that may modify the order and / or Option Periods as originally entered into with the Government must be provided by the CO.

This order will be administered by:

Name: Stevon Walker Title: Contracting Officer Unit: Professional Services Acquisition Unit (PSAU) Address: 4943 Fowler Road, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898 Email: swalker4@fbi.gov mailto:swalker4@fbi.gov

6.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE

The COR assigned cognizance of this contract is:

Name: TBD

The COR is the primary representative of the Contracting Officer authorized to provide technical direction on contract performance. Individuals other than the COR may be authorized to provide technical direction at the approval of the COR or Contracting Officer. The COR is responsible, as applicable, for:

• Receiving all deliverables, inspecting, and accepting the supplies or services provided hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract.

• Providing direction to the contractor which clarifies the contract effort, fills in details or otherwise serves to accomplish the contractual Scope of Work.

• Evaluating performance; and certifying all invoices/vouchers for acceptance of the supplies or services furnished for payment.

• The Contractor is only permitted to submit invoices against those positions that are fully staffed.

The COR does not have the authority to alter the contractor’s obligations under the contract, and/or modify any of the expressed terms, conditions, specifications, or cost of the contract. If as a result of technical discussions, if it is desirable to alter/change contractual obligations or the scope of work, the Contracting Officer shall review and issue any such changes, via a contract modification.

The performance of work required herein shall be subject to the technical direction of the cognizant POC or his designee with respect to the Contractor which fills in details, suggests possible lines of inquiry, or otherwise supplements the scope of work.

Technical direction provided by other approved representatives is limited to the following under this contract:

• Technical direction includes direction to the contractor which assists the contract in accomplishing the services outlined in the contract; comments on and approval of reports or other deliverables; and direction within scope of the contract.

• The COR/POC do not have the authority to issue technical direction which institutes additional work outside the scope for the contract; constitutes a change as defined in the changes clause;

causes an increase or decrease in the estimated cost of the contract; alters the period of performance; or changes any of the other express terms and conditions of the contract.

“Technical direction” must be confined to the general scope of work set forth herein and shall not constitute a new assignment, nor supersede or modify any other clause of this contract. To be valid, technical direction:

• Must be issued in writing consistent with the general scope of work set forth in the contract.

• Shall not change the expressed terms, conditions, or specifications incorporated into this contract, and

• Shall not constitute a basis for extension to the contract delivery schedule or contract price.

The COR is authorized to:

• Act as a liaison and to coordinate contractor/government activities.

• Arrange for and coordinate the use of government resources (personnel, space, documents, etc.).

• Provide technical guidance in the performance of the contract; and

• Receive, review, and approve progress reports, selected invoices and final reports or other functions of a technical nature.

The authority to officially reject performance is expressly reserved for the Contracting Officer. The COR/POC does not have the authority to alter the Contractor’s obligations under the contract; direct changes that fall within the purview of the clause entitled “Changes” and/or modify any of the expressed terms, conditions, specifications, or price of the contract. If as a result of technical discussions, it is desirable to alter/change contractual obligations or the Specification/Work Statement, the Contracting Officer shall issue such changes in writing and signed.

7.0 FBI SECURITY REGULATIONS

All training is UNCLASSIFIED. Since the Contractor is not visiting or entering federal facility, background verification is not necessary.

8.0 INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO QUOTER

8.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The following instructions are for the preparation and submission of quotes. The Government will strictly enforce all instruction requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a Quoter’s submission being rejected as being materially non-conforming to RFQ requirements. The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the format and content of quotes so that quotes contain all essential information and can be evaluated equitably.

Quoters are instructed to read the entire Request for Quotation document, including any attachments, prior to submitting questions and/or preparing their quote. Omission of any information from the quote submission requirements may result in rejection of the quote.

The Government will evaluate quotes in accordance with the evaluation criteria established in the RFQ. The electronic RFQ documents provided with this solicitation shall be the official documents for this RFQ.

All information submitted is subject to verification by the Government. The Quoter is encouraged to ensure all quote information submitted is verifiable and accurate. If the Government team detects a high degree of unverifiable, contradictory, or unsubstantiated information submitted in the Quote, the Government may end the quote evaluation, and the Quoter may be removed from consideration for award. Falsification of any quote submission, documents, or statements may subject the Quoter to civil or criminal prosecution under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the Unites States Code.

All communications prior to contract award shall only be directed in writing to the CO, Stevon Walker.

Quotes are due to the Government by 1:00 pm CST, May 27, 2025. All required elements of this solicitation shall be submitted by email to the attention of the Stevon Walker at swalker4@fbi.gov and Robert Bruce at rebruce@fbi.gov.

Ensure that “RFQ 15F06725Q0000257” appears in the subject line of ALL your emails regarding this solicitation. Any quotes submitted to any other email addresses will not be accepted or evaluated. HAND DELIVERIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Quotations shall contain a clear statement that the quotation is valid for 180 days.

Submissions shall be made in programs compatible with Microsoft Office 2013 or newer (Word, Excel, and/or PowerPoint), or PDF format. Only UNCLASSIFIED information shall be submitted. Any Quoter submitting proprietary information shall mark that information accordingly. Any quote, modification, revision, or withdrawal of a quote received after the exact time specified for receipt of quotes is "late" and will not be considered and will be ineligible for award. The Government will send confirmation of receipt emails. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to verify receipt if they have not received a confirmation email from the Government.

The quote shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The quote should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Quoter intends to meet these requirements. Quoters shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in their quotation. Quotations that fail to provide full, accurate and complete information may be deemed non- responsive. If the Government determines that no offer is acceptable, the Government will notify vendors of a full or partial cancellation of the solicitation.

All portions of the quote shall be single line spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font for the body, 9- point Times New Roman or 8-point Arial font for the graphics and tables and have one-inch margins. One-inch margins will be used if no template is provided.

The Government is hereby requesting maximum additional discounts and price reductions.

The Quoter shall state in all volumes all assumptions, deviations, and exceptions (ADEs) taken to the terms and conditions of the RFQ. ADEs to the terms and conditions taken shall contain sufficient justification to permit evaluation. Posing ADEs will not automatically cause a Quoter to be evaluated unfavorably. A large number or significant ADE’s not providing benefit to the Government may result in rejection of the Quoter as unacceptable.

The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred or associated with preparation and submission of a quote in response to this solicitation. The FBI reserves the right to mailto:rebruce@fbi.gov make no award. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8, Government Contract Files, the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful Quotes.

The Government’s evaluation of all non-price factors shall be based on a combination of the written quote and other requested documents that were received timely.

8.2 QUOTE ORGANIZATION

The volumes are designed to ease evaluation for the Government. Failure to comply with the Government’s instructions may lead to the Quoter’s response being rejected and ineligible for award. To the greatest extent possible, each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross referencing to other volumes of the quote. Information required for quote evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the quote.

8.3 QUOTE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

8.3.1 OFFICIAL LEGAL BINDING ENTITY

The official Legal Binding Entity is defined as the Quoter’s name as submitted in Block 17a on the Standard Form 1449 with a corresponding Cage Code and DUNS number in System for Award Management website at, https://www.sam.gov that matches the Quoter name on the SF 1449. Unless otherwise noted, "quoter" shall mean the official Legal Binding Entity.

8.4 RFQ QUESTIONS

Questions are due to the Government by 12:00pm CST, May 19, 2025. Questions shall be emailed to swalker4@fbi.gov and rebruce@fbi.gov and shall be submitted using the provided Questions and Answers Template (Attachment D). All questions submitted in any format other than Attachment D may not be answered by the Government. All questions and answers will be provided to all Quoters and those resulting in changes to the solicitation will be included as an amendment to the solicitation prior to the quote due date. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 12:00pm CST, May 19, 2025, will be answered. Questions shall include a reference to which section of the RFQ the question relates to.

Additional official Q&A sessions will not be held for this RFQ. It is extremely important to read the entire RFQ prior to submitting questions.

The Government will respond to questions by May 21, 2025.

9.0 QUOTE CONTENT AND FORMAT

Quoters shall submit a minimum of five (5) separate documents/Volumes, one for the Cover Letter, one for each Volume, and the SF-1449. Quoters shall submit separate documents/Volumes with the following naming conventions:

• Cover Letter

• Volume I- Technical/Management Approach

• Volume II – Past Performance

• Volume III – Price

• Volume IV - SF 1449

There shall be no Price Data contained in any volume other than Volume III (Price).

Quotations shall be submitted in accordance with the instructions listed in this solicitation.

Please see the following chart for Volume page limits. Cover letters and tables of contents within the volumes are not included in the page limits and will not be utilized for evaluation purposes.

Volume Title # Of Copies Max Page Limit N/A Cover Letter 1 1

I Technical and Management Approach 1 10 II Past Performance 1 12 III Price 1 N/A

IV SF 1449 1 N/A

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS to THIS REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

10.0 GENERAL

To be eligible for award, the Quoter shall adhere to all directions and submit the following information to include submittal of all requested documents and volumes.

10.1 COVER LETTER

The Quoter shall provide a cover letter with the following information.

• Quoter Name and Address

• Quoter DUNS number and CAGE code

• Quoter’s size standard based on this requirement.

• Date of Submission

• Solicitation Name and Number

• GSA Schedule Number

Attachment Description Attachment A Statement of Objectives Attachment B Past Performance Information Sheet Attachment C Performance Questionnaire Attachment D Pricing Template Attachment E Questions and Answers Template Attachment G SF 1449

• Indication that quote is valid for 180 days

• Single point of contact and one alternate for all matters deal with the quote, including the following o Name o Title o Telephone Number o Email Address

11.1 VOLUME I – TECHINCAL AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH- FACTOR 1

The Technical and Management Approach shall the Quoter's understanding of the requirement in accordance to the Statement of Objectives. The quote demonstrates a comprehensive and sound approach for management of the requirement (SOO). The Quoter demonstrates a sound, rational, effective, and efficient management approoach to accomplish the requirements as stated in the SOO.

11.2 VOLUME II- PAST PERFORMANCE – FACTOR 2

Using the attached Past Performance Information Sheet (Attachment B) and the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment C), provide two (2) relevant Past Performance experiences or contracts awarded within the past five (5) years providing support similar in contract type, scope, breadth, technical complexity, requirements, dollar value, and experience as a prime contractor. If the Quoter has experience providing similar support to Government agencies (Federal, State, or Local), this is preferred. This Volume may include experience narratives with each Questionnaire, through which the Quoter describes the work performed and applies its relevance to this requirement. These narratives are not to exceed two (2) pages each.

For vendors that do not have 2 examples of past performance, they should affirmatively state such in the past performance volume.

11.3.1 PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION SHEET (PPIS)

The two (2) contracts shall meet the recency requirement as defined in Section 11.5.8. Vendors shall demonstrate how its past performance meets the relevancy definition in Section 11.5.9. PPI sheets shall contain a description of the past performance by specific contract. The Vendor shall also provide a brief narrative describing the relevance of each contract to the proposed acquisition.

The Government is not bound by the Vendor’s opinion on relevancy.

The Vendor shall include current and accurate contact information for at least two (2) points of contact (POC) for each contract listed on a PPI sheet. If necessary, the Government may contact the POCs to verify the information provided in the PPIS (Attachment B) or completed in the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) (Attachment C). The identified POCs for each contract should be familiar with the Quoter’s recent and relevance past performance. A list of typical POCs may include the following (or commercial equivalents):

a. Contracting Officer

b. Contract Administrator with direct oversight of contractor performance

c. Contracting Officer’s Representative

d. Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

e. Quality Assurance Evaluator

f. Program/Project Manager, or equivalent

11.3.2 CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORTS

The Contractor shall provide all available Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) for the contracts submitted in addition to the PPI sheets. CPARs evaluations are excluded from the page limitations.

11.3.3 PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE (PPQ)

Information provided on the PPQs assists the evaluation team in determining the performance confidence assessment. The Vendor is responsible for, not later than 10 days prior to quote due date, sending Attachment C to respondents listed in the PPI who will subsequently complete and submit information to the Government to be received by the quote due date. The Vendor shall complete the PPQ consistent with the PPQ instructions and then forward the entire questionnaire to the POCs listed in the PPI (see Attachment B) for completion. Once the PPQs are completed by the POCs, the information contained therein shall be considered source selection sensitive and shall not be released to the Vendor. The Vendor shall instruct each of the POCs to email the completed PPQs directly to the Contracting Officer, Stevon Walker, at swalker4@fbi.gov and Contract Specialist, Michael Finamore at mjfinamore@fbi.gov.in accordance with the instructions within Attachment B. The instructions in Attachment C also provide the naming convention that shall be utilized by the respondent. The Government reserves the right to contact these sources if they do not submit responses by the RFQ closing date and consider them in making a performance confidence assessment.

11.3.4 RECENCY

The Quoter shall submit PPI on contracts for relevant work performed during the five-year period preceding the date of RFQ release. If any part of the performance falls within the above timeframe, the contract in its entirety may be considered for past performance.

11.3.5 RELEVENCY

The Quoter shall submit information on relevant projects as it pertains to past performance information is a measure of the extent of similarity between the service / support effort, complexity, dollar value, and contract type.

11.3.6 QUALITY

The quality assessment is an evaluation that determines how well the Vendor performed on recent and relevant past contracts. The Past Performance Evaluation Team will review this past performance information and determine the quality and usefulness as it applies to the Past Performance factor evaluation. A quality assessment will only be conducted against the Quoters’ contracts assessed as recent and at least somewhat relevant. The Vendor shall provide PPQs to the POCs that the Quoter lists in the PPI. The POCs shall provide the PPQs directly to the Contracting Officer, Stevon Walker, at swalker4@fbi.gov and Contract Specialist, Robert Bruce at rebruce@fbi.gov in accordance with the instructions within Attachment D.

11.4 VOLUME III – PRICE- FACTOR 3

The Quoter shall submit a completed Pricing Template (Attachment D). The Quoter shall enter its any and all proposed discounts. Pricing shall include a total contract price. The total contract price for the contract shall consist of a 12-month base year.

Vendors are highly encouraged to provide their best pricing with their initial submission as the Government intends to award on initial submission.

12.0 EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

12.1 BASIS FOR AWARDS

This is a best value source selection conducted in accordance with FAR 15.101-1 tradeoff process. The Government intends to award a contract to the responsible Quoter whose Quotation represent the “Best Value” to the Government. The Best Value determination will be based on a tradeoff between the three factors; Technical and Management Approach, Past Performance, and Price listed in descending order of importance.

Submissions will be disqualified if they do not receive a final passing rating. The two non-price factors are significantly more important than Price. As quotes become closer in the ratings on the non- price factors, the price quote will take on a greater importance. Award will be made to the vendor proposing the combination most advantageous to the Government based upon an integrated assessment of the evaluation factors described below.

The Government may award to a higher priced Vendor if their quote represents the overall “Best Value” to the Government. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards if it is in the best interest of the Government. In the event a multiple award is made, workshare will be determined by location or unit.

Any Quoter deemed non-responsible will be deemed ineligible for award. The Government intends to evaluate quotes and award a contract without discussions with Quoters. Therefore, the Quoter’s initial Quote shall contain the Quoter’s best terms for price and non-price factors.

Quoters are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, mailto:rebruce@fbi.gov representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as factors to be eligible for award. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation, and instructions contained in Section 11, may result in the Quoter being removed from consideration for award; this includes incomplete quote submission (e.g., missing Volumes).

12.2 EVALUATION PROCESS

12.2.1 EVALUATION FACTORS

The Government will evaluate all Quotes submitted by a Quoter in accordance with the two (2) non- price factors and the price as stated in this RFQ. The Government will make an integrated assessment of the non-price evaluation factors described below which are listed in descending order of importance and when combined are significantly more important than Price.

Factor 1: Technical and Management Approach Factor 2: Past Performance Factor 3: Price

12.2.2 RATING METHODOLOGY / DEFINITIONS

Factor 1 (Technical Management/Approach) will be evaluated by using the confidence rating system. Factor 2 (Past Performance) will use pass/fail/neutral rating system.

The Government will assess the quote’s relative qualities solely on the factors specified in this solicitation. Accordingly, the Government will conduct an in-depth evaluation of each proposal against the factors and sub-factors established in the solicitation and assign evaluation ratings as set forth in the tables below.

Factor 1 Technical/Management Approach will receive one combined rating from the Table below. This rating is an overall rating for Technical and Management Approach combined with the subfactors.

TABLE 1 – CONFIDENCE RATING

Rating Description

High Confidence The Government has high confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract with little or no Government intervention.

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

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

Factor 2 Past Performance Based on the Recency, Relevancy, and Quality ratings assessed for the past performance references provided, an overall Pass/Fail/or Neutral (as defined at Table 2) will be assessed for each Quoter.

Note: In the case of an Quoter without a record of recent and relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available or so sparse that no meaningful past performance rating can be reasonably assigned, the Vendor may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Therefore, the Offeror shall be determined to have “Neutral Confidence.” A record of “Satisfactory” or “Relevant” will be considered more advantageous to the Government than a record of “Neutral Confidence.”

TABLE 2 – PAST PERFORMANCE

Rating Description

Pass At least three PPQs exhibit recent and relevant past experience with an overall rating of at least satisfactory in most categories rated by the reference.

Fail The Vendor has received the overall rating of unsatisfactory on two or more PPQs.

Neutral The Vendor has no relevant experience or no available experience to review, or the Offeror did not meet the description under the “Pass” rating.

Factor 3 Price – The Quoter shall submit a completed Pricing Template (Attachment D). The Quoter shall enter its any and all proposed discounts. The total contract price for the contract shall consist of the 12-month base year.

Vendors are highly encouraged to provide their best pricing with their initial submission as the Government intends to award on initial submission.

13.0 AWARD

A contract will be awarded to the Quoter who are deemed responsible and most advantageous to the Government and whose Quotes represent the “best value” to the Government. The Government may award to a higher priced Quoter if their quote represents the overall “Best Value” to the Government.

8.4 RFQ QUESTIONS

11.4 VOLUME III – PRICE- FACTOR 3

13.0 AWARD