Attachment_2_-_LRFQ_160548_Quote_Instructions_Eval_Criteria.pdf

Attachment 2 –Quote Instructions & Evaluation Criteria LRFQ 160548 – End Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System

QUOTE INSTRUCTIONS

I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The offeror shall respond to all aspects of the End Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System scope of work as presented in the Letter Request for Quote (LRFQ). The following are a list of all documents that should be submitted as outlined below:

Volume I: Technical quote Volume II: Business quote Volume III: Business Ethics, Conflict of Interest and Compliance Program Volume

Electronic Submission: Submit an electronic copy of the quote via e-mail to Kelli King at Kelli.King@cms.hhs.gov and Rico.Batte@cms.hhs.gov. A Microsoft Excel version of any financial charts provided with the business quote should be included with your submission.

The electronic submission of your quote, including attachments, should use data compression such as WinZip and/or Zip files compatible with Microsoft Office Suite (if file size necessitates).

Indexing: TAB indexing shall be used to identify all sections. Each volume shall be organized such that an extensive search of required documents is not necessary to review the quote.

Page Size, Typing, Spacing and Page Numbering: Page size shall be 8 ½ by 11 inches. The pages shall be numbered. Please print on both sides if possible (each side of the paper counts as one page). Type font shall not be less than Times New Roman 12-point with a single space between lines and double spacing between paragraphs. Margins shall be no less than one inch.

Graphs and tables shall be no less than 8-point type and single-spaced. The Contracting Officer, at his/her discretion, shall have the authority to waive minor deviations from the above specifications.

II. TECHNICAL QUOTE INSTRUCTIONS

The written technical quote shall describe the offeror’s approach to meeting the requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW). To facilitate technical quote review and evaluation, the offeror shall follow the format shown below:

Chapter A: Technical Understanding and Approach Chapter B: Management Approach and Staffing Plan Chapter C: Personnel Qualifications Chapter D: Past Performance (attachment, not counted towards page limit) Chapter E: 508 Product Accessibility Template (PAT) (attachment, not counted toward page limit)

The total page limit for the Technical Volume is 30 pages. Technical content shall be included in the page limit and shall not be included in appendices. Resumes shall be limited to one single-sided page each and shall be included as an appendix, which will not be counted toward the page limit. In mailto:%20Kelli.King@cms.hhs.gov mailto:%20Kelli.King@cms.hhs.gov mailto:Rico.Batte@cms.hhs.gov addition, past performance information shall be provided as an appendix and will not be counted toward the page limit.

A. Technical Understanding and Approach

The offeror shall provide a clear and concise explanation of its technical approach proposed for this contract. This must be complete and cover all aspects of the Statement of Work (SOW). The offeror shall provide sufficient detail in the proposal to indicate their technical understanding of the capability of performing the requirements in the SOW.

B. Management Approach and Staffing Plan

The quote shall describe how the project will be organized and managed, how tasks will be sequenced and in what time frames, and what management control and coordination mechanisms will be utilized to assure the timely and successful conduct of this project, demonstrating clear lines of authority for each task and subproject. The management plan shall address the procedures to be employed in handling a number of different tasks that are proceeding simultaneously. The proposed management plan shall specify resource allocation and milestone measures by tasks and subtasks. This shall include a matrix of hours committed to the project by labor category by task and a list of available time of key project personnel that incorporates information on other bids on which key personnel are involved. The offeror shall also clearly describe the sequence for how the task is accomplished.

The management plan shall indicate if any of the tasks of the contract will be subcontracted and, if so, whether or not subcontractors are providing expertise not available in the offeror’s firm.

The Management and Staffing Plan shall describe how any subcontractor work will be monitored and corrected, if necessary.

C. Personnel Qualifications

This portion of the limited written quote shall describe the educational background, professional experience, and special qualifications which directly relate to the personnel to be involved in this task order. When consultants or subcontractors are to be used, their special qualifications, educational background, and experience shall be included. The quote shall specify how the personnel employed under this contract will be integrated organizationally and what their responsibilities and percentage of time under the purchase order will be.

Key Personnel:

The Project Director shall be noted as Key Personnel. The offeror may designate other staff as key personnel as deemed necessary. Offerors shall provide resumes for all key personnel.

For key personnel, the following information is requested:

• Describe functions and duties with respect to the task order.

• Describe relevant training and experience.

• Specify percent of time in person-years to be allocated to this project.

• Provide (in an appendix) a current resume indicating relevant specific experience and education. List on each resume all employers/clients for whom the individual has performed similar work in the past two years. Resumes shall be a maximum of one single-sided page each and will not count against the page limit.

• Provide a letter of commitment for any key personnel not presently employed by the offeror or its subcontractor(s). The letter of commitment shall include the date of availability and how long the individual’s commitment is binding, and must be signed by the individual and a corporate authorized official.

Letters of commitment will not count against the page limit.

Offerors shall designate the positions listed below as key personnel.

• Project Director/Principal Investigator

This position provides executive direction for the accomplishment of all work to be completed under this contract. The Project Director shall have total responsibility and authority for all operations, staffing decisions, and for binding the entity to contract modifications. The Project Director requires a thorough knowledge of and extensive experience with supervision and management of multi-disciplined work groups. Experience shall include project management role with government or private sector entities and the processing of work related items over an extended period of time with ongoing review. The Project Director shall be capable of effectively communicating with individuals representing various professional disciplines and service providers. The Project Director must be keenly aware of deadlines and time schedules to meet CMS requirements.

D. Past Performance (attachment, not counted towards page limit)

a. Definitions:

Relevant – Relevant past performance information is described in FAR 42.1501, General. For the purposes of this solicitation, ‘relevant’ is also past performance information which is similar in size, scope and complexity to this contract.

Significant Subcontractor – A subcontractor performing major or critical aspects of the requirements relevant to the prospective contract.

b. Instructions:

The Offeror and all its significant subcontractor(s) identified in the proposal are required to provide a summary to disclose all of the following for the past performance information with a period of performance end date within the last past 3 years of the date of this solicitation:

1. All CMS contracts/task orders greater than the simplified acquisition threshold

2. All relevant contracts/orders entered into with:

• Other Federal Government Agencies,

• State Agencies,

• Local Governments, and

• Commercial Customers

The Offeror’s and proposed significant subcontractor(s) summary shall provide the following information.

1. Customer or Agency

2. Contract number (if applicable);

3. Point of Contact (Contracting Officer or other for Commercial Contract);

4. Approximate total contract value;

5. Contract period of performance, by base and option year(s);

6. Description of contracted services/supplies; and,

7. Relevant (Y/N)

• If the past performance is relevant, how the disclosed contract’s past performance information is relevant to the subject solicitation.

8. Additional Info: If performance was documented as less than satisfactory, the Offeror shall provide a summary of the identified issues, steps taken to resolve the problem and processes in place to improve future performance.

The below table should be used when providing a summary of the past performance information:

Customer (Agency)

Contract

POC Total Contract Value

Period of Performance

Description of Services/Supplies

Relevant (Y/N)

Additional Info

Offerors and proposed significant subcontractors without relevant Federal government past performance experience may ask customers to submit no more than three (3) Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) for the same or similar work directly to the Contracting Officer (See Attachment ). It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure timely return of any/all PPQs to the Contracting Officer in accordance with the proposal due date and time established within this solicitation. Contracts may include those entered into with the State/Local Governments and/or commercial customers.

E. 508 Product Accessibility Template (PAT) - (not included in the 30-page limit) (BPA) found at: http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html

The offeror must provide the PAT as part of Volume Ia.

The response must address the following:

http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html

a. Demonstrate conformance to the established EIT accessibility standards for the applicable product or service identified in the statement of work (SOW).

b. Identify any non-conforming product or service.

c. Determine what enhancements to be made in order to comply the 508 accessibility standards.

d. Any additional detailed information necessary for determining applicable Section 508 accessibility standards conformance.

e. Document EIT products or services that are incidental to the project, which would constitute an exception to Section 508 requirements.

f. Provide a binding statement of conformance.

III. BUSINESS QUOTE INSTRUCTIONS

This section shall set forth your proposed price base on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) arrangement for the entire period of performance. Categories and amounts for labor, materials, travel, and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) are required. The offeror shall segregate costs for each task, as well as provide a table, which reflects a comprehensive view of total costs associated with all the tasks.

The subcontractor analysis (if applicable) shall contain:

(A) Appropriate price analyses to establish the reasonableness of proposed subcontract prices;

(B) Include the results of these analyses in the form of a subcontract negotiation memorandum reflecting:

• The principal elements of the subcontract price negotiations:

• The most significant considerations controlling establishment of initial or revised prices;

• The reason cost or pricing data were or were not required;

• The extent, if any, to which the Contractor relied on the subcontractor’s cost or pricing data in determining the price objective and in negotiating the final price;

• The extent to which it was recognized in the negotiations that the subcontractor’s cost and pricing data were not accurate, complete or current; the action taken by the Contractor and the subcontractor; and the effect of any such defective data on the total price negotiated;

• The reasons for any significant difference between the Contractor’s price objective and the price negotiated; and,

(C) A description of the extent to which price competition was obtained, or justification for its absence.

(D) Statement as to whether the proposed subcontractor is on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal

Procurement and Non-procurement Programs.

Proposed travel (if applicable) shall be broken out into number of trips, number of travelers and duration of trip (including transit time) for each destination. Cost detail shall be shown for all items, including commercial transportation, daily per diem rates, personal mileage, daily car rentals, etc.

An explanation and basis shall be provided for each item of “Other Direct Costs” proposed such as materials, reproduction costs, etc. Also include any assumptions that were made in preparing the business section of the proposal.

IV. BUSINESS ETHICS, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND COMPLIANCE PROPOSAL

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Oct 2015)

General: In accordance with FAR 9.5, the Government must ensure that an Offeror and its proposed Subcontractor(s) is/are free of all Organizational/Personal Conflict of Interest (hereinafter collectively or individually referred to as COI). The Business Ethics, Conflicts of Interest and Compliance information is so material to the award of this contract that a proposal failing to provide the requirements identified in Attachment 4, Contractor Business Ethics, Conflicts Of Interest and Compliance Program Requirements, may be ineligible for award.

Volume III: The Offeror/Subcontractor(s) shall submit Volume III: Business Ethics, Conflict of Interest and Compliance, with its proposal.* Attachment 4, Contractor Business Ethics, Conflicts of Interest and Compliance Program Requirements and Attachment 5, Contractor Personal Conflicts of Interest Financial Disclosure Template, contain the proposal submission requirements for Volume

III.

The Offeror/Subcontractor(s) must provide adequate substantive detail in order for the Government to conduct an independent analysis of the provided information. Where the Offeror/Subcontractor(s) indicates that no COI exists for a given contract, then for each indication, the Offeror/ Subcontractor(s) shall provide rationale and facts in support of said indication.

*Subcontractor(s): The same information shall be submitted in Volume III, Appendices, for each subcontractor.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

V. BASIS FOR AWARD DETERMINATION

The Government will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of each quote utilizing the “tradeoff” process to determine which quote offers the best combination of technical capabilities and price to the Government. The Government reserves the right to award based upon initial quote; therefore, the initial quote should contain the offeror’s best terms. The Government also reserves the right to conduct exchanges with fewer than all Offerors.

Quotes will be evaluated on their demonstrated capability to meet the evaluation Technical Factors listed below, which are listed in descending order of importance (Factor 1 is more important that Factor 2, Factor 2 is more important than Factor 3, etc.). The offeror shall provide its approach to performing the requirements set forth in the SOW for each of the evaluation factors. All evaluation factors, other than cost or price, when combined, are more important than price. However, as the degree of technical equality increases between quotes, price will become more important. The combined price for the base period and option periods will be utilized in determining the best value.

A) Technical Understanding & Approach

B) Management Approach and Staffing Plan

C) Personnel Qualifications

D) Past Performance (Evaluated but not scored)

E) 508 Compliance (Evaluated but not scored)

F) Business Ethics, Organizational and Personal Conflicts of Interest (Evaluated but not scored)

Quotes which do not comply with the minimum requirements outlined in the contract request will not be considered further. Quotes that merely restate the requirements, promising to carry out requested activities without providing substantive descriptions of anticipated approaches to the work, will be downgraded. Similarly, quotes that merely present extensive discussion elaborating on general principles (i.e., textbook examples) will also be downgraded.

CMS will utilize an adjectival rating methodology, developing an overall adjectival rating for each offeror based on the ratings for each criterion listed below.

VI. TECHNICAL QUOTE EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. Technical Understanding and Approach

The Government will evaluate the degree to which the offeror clearly and thoroughly demonstrates that it is capable of performing the requirements of the SOW. The offeror’s proposed approach for ensuring achievement of timely and acceptable performance must be well-documented and reasonable in consideration of the SOW. The quote shall be responsive to the LRFQ in all respects and reflect the ability to comply with all requirements stipulated in the

SOW.

B. Management Approach and Staffing Plan

The management plan and description of the organizational structure and staffing approach is to be comprehensive, specific, and feasible and shall clearly demonstrate that the offeror is able to complete the tasks described in the SOW. The quote should demonstrate the offeror’s ability to hire and retain qualified staff for the proposed labor categories. The management plan shall indicate which activities, if any, would be subcontracted and how any subcontractor work would be monitored. The offeror shall demonstrate its ability to control, manage, and effectively communicate with any proposed subcontractors. CMS also expects the offeror to indicate how CMS’ standards for high quality work can be met on time, while the offeror handles competing obligations.

C. Personnel Qualifications

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s quote with respect to the relevant skills of personnel as demonstrated in their educational background, professional experience, and special qualifications in carrying out projects that directly relate to the tasks described in the SOW. If consultants or subcontractors are to be used, their special qualifications, educational background, and experience must also be included. Project organization will be reviewed in terms of the specificity and nature of the responsibility and authorities of key personnel.

D. Past Performance

CMS will evaluate the Offeror’s and proposed significant subcontractor(s) past performance information (See submission for definitions of relevant and significant subcontractor), which is expected to demonstrate the likelihood that the prospective contract will be performed successfully.

The CO reserves the right to limit its review of past performance information to what he/she has been determined to be relevant. The Offeror is advised that the Contracting Officer, using sound business judgment, may consider Federal contract past performance to be more relevant than State Agencies, Local Government or Commercial Customer performance assessments.

In the case of an Offeror without a record of relevant past performance, or for which information on past performance is not available, the Offeror’s Past Performance may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably.

E. 508 Compliance

Evaluation of Product/Service for Section 508 standards Compliance In accordance with the terms of the Provision entitled "Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (January 2010)" HHSAR Provision No. 339.203-70(a), the Government is seeking to determine that EIT products and services proposed support applicable Section 508 accessibility standards http://www.hhs.gov/web/508. Offerors will be evaluated on the following factors:

A) The submission of the Product Accessibility Template (PAT) B) Ability to demonstrate compliance with the established EIT accessibility standards

VII. BUSINESS QUOTE EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. Price Analysis

A price analysis will be performed to determine which quote offers the best value to the government.

VIII. CONFLICT OF INTEREST REVIEW

1. In the event that Business Ethics, Organizational and Personal Conflicts of Interest

(hereinafter collectively or individually referred to as COI) and/or Compliance information is required and/or submitted, it will be reviewed for the apparent successful Offeror, but not receive a score/rating. Business Ethics, Conflict of Interest and Compliance Submission by Offeror/Contractor, Attachment 4 (and 5. as applicable), and the information contained therein, will be reviewed by the Contracting Officer, in accordance with CMS Clause 9 and the Instruction section of this solicitation, in order to make a determination whether the Offeror meets the COI requirements. Additionally, the Contracting Officer may use other information, besides that disclosed by the offeror, in the Contracting Officer’s evaluation of conflicts of interest.

2. In accordance with FAR 9.504(e), “The contracting officer shall award the contract to the apparent successful offeror unless a conflict of interest is determined to exist that cannot be avoided, neutralized or mitigated. Before determining to withhold award based on conflict of interest considerations, the contracting officer shall notify the contractor, provide the reasons therefor, and allow the contractor a reasonable opportunity to respond.”

3. CMS will not enter into a contract with an entity that CMS determines has, or has the potential for, an unresolved COI unless CMS determines that it is in the Government’s best interest to do so. If the Contracting Officer finds that it is in the best interest of the United States to award the contract, notwithstanding an unresolved conflict of interest, a request for waiver shall be submitted by the Contracting Officer in accordance with FAR 9.503.

http://www.hhs.gov/web/508

4. In cases where conflicts of interest cannot be avoided, neutralized, or mitigated satisfactorily, or waived when it is in the Government’s best interest to do so, the Contracting Officer shall preclude the offeror from consideration for contract award.

5. This procurement will not be awarded to a contractor that has a financial interest in private health insurance issuers or Non-Federal governmental Plans.