Section_L_-_Instructions_Tracked_Changes.pdf

SECTION L

FIELD OFFICE SUPPORT SERVICES

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS

L.1.1 RESPONSIBILITY

This contract shall be awarded only to a responsible prospective Contractor. To be determined responsible, a prospective Contractor must:

a) Have adequate financial resources to perform the contract, or have the ability to obtain them;

b) Be able to comply with the required or proposed delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration all existing commercial and governmental business commitments;

c) Have a satisfactory performance record;

d) Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics;

e) Have the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills, or the ability to obtain them (including, as appropriate, such elements as production control procedures, property control systems, and quality control measures applicable to materials to be produced or services to be performed by the prospective Contractor and Subcontractors;

f) Have the necessary production, construction, and technical equipment and facilities, or the ability to obtain them; and

g) Be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and Regulations.

L.1.2 Addendum to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors- Commercial Items (April 2014)

A. Addendum to Paragraph (e)“Multiple offers”. Paragraph (e) “Multiple offers “ is deleted in its entirety. Multiple offers will not be included

L.1.3 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Proposals shall be submitted electronically following the instructions in L.1.4. All proposals and past performance questionnaires must be received by the offer due date and time listed in block 8 on page 1 of this RFP.

L.1.4 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSSION

Proposals must also be submitted electronically via the PBGC Secure Proposal site. To submit your proposal, follow these steps:

1. Encrypt your file(s) (password protect). Send password to CO in a separate email to POCs identified in step 4 below.

2. Go to https://pbgc.leapfile.com.

3. Select “Secure Upload.”

https://pbgc.leapfile.com/

4. Enter e-mail addresses (separated by commas) for CO and their designee and select “Start.”

a. Dan Swart – swart.dan@pbgc.gov

b. Matt Donahue – donahue.matthew@pbgc.gov a.c. Patrick McFarlane – mcfarlane.patrick@pbgc.gov

5. Enter your contact information.

6. Enter your message and description of submission (this information will be included in notification sent to CO and their designee). Click the notification checkbox to ensure you receive notification when the file is downloaded by the Procurement Officer.

7. Select the upload method, Regular or Enhanced. Regular upload works with all browsers and enhanced upload works with Java enabled browsers.

8. Select the file(s) to send (use the Browse buttons).

9. Press the Upload & Send button.

9.

You will receive an automated system confirmation of a successful upload, and an automated system email when the Procurement Officer downloads your submission.

L.1.5 FACSIMILE SUBMISSION

Proposals submitted via facsimile will not be considered.

L.1.6 LATE PROPOSALS

Complete electronic versions must be received before THE TIME AND DATE SPECIFIED FOR RECEIPT. If the proposal is received at the destination after the time and date specified for receipt, the proposal will be considered late and will be dealt with in accordance with the late proposal provision of FAR 52.212.-1.

L.1.7 QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE RFP

All questions and inquiries from prospective offerors for information about any aspect of this RFP shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer (CO). Questions or inquiries are to be submitted October 11, 2018 at 5 PM EST. Any question or inquiry received after that date may not be answered before the proposal due date. Responses will not be provided to questions or inquiries received telephonically or via facsimile.

Prospective offerors are instructed to submit their questions or inquiries in writing following the Excel spreadsheet template provided in Attachment H.

Responses will be published by amendment to the RFP. Responses to questions and inquiries will be provided to all firms solicited, giving due regard to the proper protection of proprietary information.

Prospective offerors are warned against contacting any PBGC personnel other than the CO prior to award of a contract resulting from this RFP. If such contact occurs and is found to be mailto:swart.dan@pbgc.gov mailto:donahue.matthew@pbgc.gov prejudicial to competing firms, the offeror making such contact may be excluded from award consideration.

L.1.8 PROPOSAL FORMAT

General Instructions

The Written Proposal shall use the specific format below. These instructions assist in performing a fair and equitable evaluation of all proposals. The Government may determine that proposals not following the directions as unacceptable and may reject such offers from further consideration. The Written Proposals shall use:

• 8.5 by 11-inch pages;

• 12 point or larger, Times New Roman style font;

• 10 pitch print or larger for graphs, figures and tables

• 1.25- inch left hand margin, .75- inch right hand margin and 1-inch margins at both the top and bottom for each page.

• All pages single spaced.

• Every page sequentially numbered; and

• Page numbers shall be centered in the bottom margin.

The written proposal shall be accompanied by a cover letter (letter of transmittal) prepared on the company’s letterhead stationery. The cover letter (letter of transmittal) shall identify all enclosures being transmitted and shall be used only to transmit the proposal and shall include no other information.

The Offeror shall submit a Written Proposal addressing the evaluation factors listed in Section M. All offers shall be evaluated preliminarily to ensure compliance with the requirements set forth in this solicitation, which include the following:

The written proposal shall be submitted in three four (34) separate volumes:

Each of the volumes must be prepared and submitted in separate electronic files, so the evaluation of each part may be conducted independently.

Volume I – Technical Volume Volume II – Price/Business Volume

Part A – IDIQ Business/Price Proposal Part B – Task Order #1 Price Proposal

Volume III- Small Business Participation Volume IV- Small Business Subcontracting Plan

L.1.9 PAGE LIMITS

Below are the page limits associated with each section of the offeror’s proposal. PBGC will not evaluate or consider any pages that exceed the page limits listed for each item in the table below.

Resumes are limited to 2 pages each. The following items are not included in the page limit totals identified below: Resumes (should not exceed 2 pages each), commitment letters and are not included in the page limits listed in the table below. Ccover pages, tables of contents, attachments, and tabs, . and commitment letters for non-key employees are not included in the count.

Submission Page Count Volume I1- Technical Volume 50 Pages (includes Transition Plan

& QCP)

Volume I1 – Past Performance Summaries 2 pages per summary. Not included in 50 page limit.

Volume II -Cost/PricePrice/Business Volume No page limits Part A – IDIQ Business/Price Proposal No page limits Part B- Task Order One Price Proposal No page limits Volume III -Small Business Participation No page limits Volume IV – Small Business Subcontracting Plan No page limits

L.1.10 EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL VOLUME (VOLUME I)

The Offeror shall respond as outlined in L.1.9 above. For each Technical Volume Part, the Offeror shall fully address the following evaluation factors. The offeror shall provide responses which address the evaluation factors and subfactors for the IDIQ and Task Order One as listed below. The major sections of the Technical Volume shall be organized based on the factors listed below:

Factor 1 – IDIQ Technical Understanding and Approach Factor 2 - Management Approach to Task Order 1 Subfactor 1: Transition Plan.

Subfactor 2: Management Approach.

Subfactor 3: Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel.

Subfactor 4: Quality Control Plan.

Factor 3- Corporate Experience Factor 4: Past Performancet

Offerors’ proposals shall address all aspects of the Government’s technical requirements. and provide a cross reference to the location of each requirement in the requirements document to ensure that all technical requirements are satisfied. Offerors who provide details that substantiate how their proposal meets the requirements of the PWS will be considered for a rated higher rating than Offerors whose proposal contains unclear or ambiguous language, or that merely paraphrases or restates the Government’s requirements.

In order that the technical proposal may be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, no pricing information is to be included in the technical proposalvolume. No materials shall be incorporated by reference that are not included in the technical proposalvolume. Each proposal volume section should stand alone.

The Government will not assume that Offeror(s) possess any capability, understanding, or commitment not clearly described in its proposal. It is an Offeror’s responsibility to submit a well-written proposal, with adequately detailed information that clearly demonstrates an understanding of and the ability to comply with the PWS requirements to allow for a meaningful review.

Offerors shall identify any exceptions, deviations, or assumptions made and provide sufficient description, including explanation of benefits to the Government, to permit evaluation.

Exceptions, deviations, and assumptions which do not provide significant benefit to the Government or which the Government finds unacceptable may preclude an offeror’s proposal from further consideration.

L.1.10.1 TECHNICAL FACTORS (VOLUME I)

Factor 1 – IDIQ Technical Understanding and Approach

Technical understanding and approach shall will be evaluated to determine the degree to which the offeror possesses the ability to meet all the requirements of the ID/IQ PWS. The Offeror must address each element of the PWS separately with discussion and/or examples that clearly demonstrate their ability to meet the elements. An Offeror who simply states they will perform the work and complete the requirement or paraphrasing the OBA procedures manual will be considered non-responsive and subsequently will be determined technically non-compliant and be eliminated from further consideration for award. Additionally, simply repeating the language set out in the solicitation will be considered insufficient.

Factor 1 response shall address and be organized by these PWS Sections:

5.1 Benefits Administration

5.2 Administrative Support and Document Intake

5.3 Participant Database Building Support

5.5 Customer Contact Center (CCC)

5.6 Enhanced Participant Locator Service

12.5 Surge or Contingency Support

12.6 Transition In/Out

12.7 Training

12.8 Security and Privacy

Factor 2 - Management Approach to Task Order 1

Offeror must describe their approach to address each of the elements subfactors described below.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s Management Approach to Task Order 1 to determine the extent to which it gives the Government confidence that the PWS requirements will be met within required timeframes. The Offeror must address each of the following subfactors.

Subfactor 1: Transition Plan.

The Offeror must submit a detailed transition plan for staffing and moving the identified work to the appropriate locations within a 30-60 day timeframe. The transition plan shall specify how the plan accomplishes the immediate transition of work from the Coraopolis location to the Euclid location due to the short timeframe and constraint of the lease expiration. Higher ratings will be provided to Offerors who provide specific examples of recent (within the last 3 years) of staffing transitions performed for similar clients in addition to transition plans which identify potential risk, risk mitigation, near-term hiring capabilities to meet an effort of this size address how current performance and customer service levels will be retained.

Subfactor 2: Management Approach. The Offeror must include a Management Approach that demonstrates their ability to meet the PWS requirements and meet or exceed the customer service expectations and performance requirements. The Offeror’s management approach shall provide a staffing plan with clear lines of authority for non-key personnel and shall address how the Offeror will manage the following elements:

1. turnover,

2. employee retention,

3. performance of employees,

4. teaming partners, and subcontractors.

The Offeror shall submit details delineating where subcontractors or teaming partners will be used.

Subfactor 3: Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel. The Offeror shall submit resumes (not to exceed 2 pages each) for the following key personnel: (1) Program Manager.

For Euclid, OH: (1) (1) Program Manager, (31) Project Managers, ; (63) Assistant Project Managers, ; and (31) Technical Support Assistant . personnel. For Miami, FL: (1) Project Manager; (2) Assistant Project Managers; and (1) Technical Support Assistant. Resumes should clearly indicate location that each will be assigned. Separate key personnel shall be provided for each of the locations. The resumes must comply with the information requested format provided in Attachment F and must clearly demonstrate that each meets the minimum qualifications for the stated labor category in Section H. Proposed personnel who exceed the described minimum qualifications shall be rated higher than those that meet the minimum qualifications and/or not currently employed by the Offeror.

The Offeror shall also indicate for each proposed individual whether the key employee is:

(1) Currently employed by the contractor.

(2) Planning to join the company

(3) A subcontractor or teaming partner

Letters of commitment are mandatory for proposed key personnel that are not currently employed by the offeror, or subcontractor/teaming partner.

Subfactor 4: Quality Control Plan. The Offeror shall submit a Quality Control Plan that covers the services in the overall IDIQ as well as Task Order 1 which provides the Government with confidence that quality inspections meet or exceed the QASP standards and rework will be minimized or avoided.

Factor 3- Corporate Experience

Corporate experience is an additional confidence indicator that the Offeror has the capability to obtain the necessary resources and expertise needed to meet the ID/IQ tasks. The Offeror’s corporate experience must clearly describe their capabilities and operational capacity in meeting the requirements outlined in the solicitation. Teaming partners and/or subcontractors must have the corporate experience, capability, financial stability and operational capacity to perform the scope of work for which the Offeror has proposed them. The Offeror shall identify aspects of the solicitation in which they will performed the work as either the primary or the subcontractor.

Corporate experience shall be evaluated on assessed strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies to determine the degree the experience meets or exceeds our PWS current and future requirements.

Factor 4: Past Performance

Describe the experience and capability of your organization in conducting relevant work.

“Relevant” is meant to convey similarity in subject matter, dollar value, complexity, and magnitude. This includes experience obtained through government contracts or corporate clients providing similar service.

Offerors shall provide a summary of the most relevant three (3) similar contracts performed by the proposed prime contractor and one (1) similar contract performed by each subcontractor or teaming partner during the last three years (as of the RFP due date) consistent with all task areas (or appropriate task areas for each subcontractor or teaming partner) detailed in the Task Order.

PAST PERFOMANCE

REFERENCE INFORMATION

CONTRACT X

Contractor Name Contract Title Customer Government Agency/Organization

Contract and Task Order Numbers Total Contract Value Total Obligations to date Allocation of Contract if a Subcontractor

Contract Type (e.g., FP, T&M, LH, CR)

Period of Performance Current Contract Status (e.g., Completed, In Progress)

Customer Reference Name Customer Reference Phone Number

Customer Reference e-mail Address

Customer CO Name Customer CO Phone Number Customer CO e-mail Address Brief Contract Description Brief Narrative Identifying why the Contract is Relevant to the Performance Areas of this Solicitation

Offerors shall use the PBGC Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment G) to solicit past performance information from three of their customer references. The following process is to be followed to ensure the completed PBGC Past Performance Questionnaires are provided to the CO for the past performance evaluation.

Offerors are to complete Part I of three the PBGC Past Performance Questionnaires for their customer references. Offerors are to provide the PBGC Past Performance Questionnaires to their three customer references, requesting that they complete Part II of the Questionnaire and e-mail the completed Questionnaire directly to the PBGC CO and designee listed in L.1.4 step 4 (not to the offeror) as soon as possible, but prior to the proposal due date. Offerors shall instruct their customer references to include the RFP number listed in block 5 of the Standard Form 1449 in the subject of their e-mails to the CO and designee.

Failure of the CO to receive a completed Questionnaire directly from the customer reference, or by the proposal due date, will preclude evaluation and result in the assignment of a “Neutral/Unknown” past performance rating for that contract.

L.1.11 COST/PRICE/BUSINESS (Volume VOLUME II)

The Offeror shall provide a complete Price Proposal and a complete Section K (Certifications and Representations) in accordance with the solicitation. The Offeror's Business/Price ProposalPrice/Business volume, must include the following items/documents:

(a) The Proposal Form, SF 1449, "Solicitation, Offer and Award." The Proposal Form is to be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of this volume. The acceptance period entered on the Proposal Form by the Offeror shall not be less than 120 calendar days from the date specified for the receipt of offers. The person signing the Proposal Form must have the authority to commit the Offeror to all of the provisions of the proposal, fully recognizing that the Government has the right, by terms of the solicitation, to make an award without further discussions.

(b) Offer Validity Statement – The Offeror shall make a clear statement that the proposal is valid for no less than 120 calendar days from the closing date of the solicitation.

(cb) The Offeror's Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors (Section K) are to be completed and included in this volume.

(dc) Existence or appearance of potential conflicts of interest. Offerors must disclose to the Contracting Officer any personal or business relationships with Government personnel, or financial interests, which could present the appearance of an existing or potential conflict of interest. Failure to do so, if such become known by other means could result in a determination of non-responsibility prior to award, or termination of the contract after award.

(ed) The Pricing section of the proposal shall consist of two separate Parts –Part A & Part B.

Part A shall provide a completed Section B, “IDIQ Pricing Schedule” for the Base Year plus all four Option Periods in accordance with the template provided in Section B of the RFP. Part B shall provide a completed Section B “Task Order #1 Pricing Schedule” for the Base Year plus all four Option Periods in accordance with the template provided in Section B of Task Order One. Failure to complete the entire Section B, inconsistency between Section B rates and the pricing rates will render the pricing proposal unacceptable.

The proposed labor rates shall be evaluated but not scored. The price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and fair and reasonable in relation to the labor categories proposed and the solicitation requirements. Proposed prices must be entirely compatible with the technical proposal.

The offerors proposed rates will also be considered in the context of price risk and affordability.

In this context, price risk is the Government’s level of confidence of the offerors ability to perform as proposed based on:

a) The rate information provided by the offeror and gathered from other sources

b) The completeness of the offerors rate documentation and traceability to the offerors proposal

c) The reasonableness and realism of the offerors proposed rates

d) The degree of stated or implied cost risk passed to the Government

e) The offerors financial capability to execute the contract

Pricing information shall include:

Part A: IDIQ Pricing Response

The FOSS IDIQ itself will not carry any costs but will dictate the overall pricing for Task Orders issued against it. For all periods of performance of the IDIQ, please provide proposed prices.

These prices will form the basis of all pricing for task orders issues against the IDIQ for the life of the contract and resulting Task Orders. A pricing template is provided in Section B representing minimum information required by offerors.

Pricing information for each location must include

• • Labor category title

• • Fully burdened hourly rate (for Govt.-site provided)

• The cost of the Program Manager and Administrative Assistant are not identified as direct bill labor categories but should be included in the general and administrative or overhead expense.

• Other Direct Costs are estimated.

Part B: Task Order One Pricing Response

The offeror shall propose pricing for conducting work under the task order and reflect the current pricing reflected in the overall IDIQ pricing response from Section B Pricing Schedule.

Discounted Task Order prices are allowed and encouraged. A pricing template is provided, representing minimum information required by offerors.

Pricing information must include: or overhead

• • Labor category title

• • Fully burdened hourly rate (for Govt.-site)

For the firm fixed price CLIN, the offeror shall provide detailed information for the basis of the pricing to be used for evaluation purposes only.

L.1.12 SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION (VOLUME III):

L.1.12.1 The small business participation factor, as used in this solicitation, assesses the offerors plan to maximize opportunities for small business in the performance of the solicitation requirements.

L.1.12.2 Definitions:

• Participant, as used in this factor, includes the offeror as well as any subcontractor.

• Participation, as used in this factor, includes the work (dollars) performed by the offeror, as well as the work (dollars) of any subcontractor.

• Recent, as used in this factor, is defined as any contract action where services or deliverables were performed or still being performed anytime within three (3) years of issuance of this RFP.

L.1.12.13.1 STRICT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT: THE OFFEROR SHALL

SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION, OR ITS PROPOSAL WILL BE

REMOVED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION AND WILL NO LONGER BE

ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD:

• A completed Contract Participation Matrix.

The offeror’s proposal shall include a Contract Participation Matrix. The Contract Participation Matrix shall identify:

• Each proposed participant, including:

o Full Company Name o CAGE Code o DUNS Number o Each Socio-Economic Category for which the participant qualifies, i.e., Small

Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), HUBZone certified Small Businesses (HUBZone), Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

(SDVOSB).

o Total Dollars allocated to the participant.

• The total dollars proposed to each category (Small Businesses (SB), SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, and Other than Small

• The total participation dollars (total dollars proposed to Small Businesses + total dollars proposed to Other than Small Businesses).

• The percentage of participation (goal) for each socio-economic category.

• The proposed subcontractor’s written certification of size and socio-economic status for each proposed subcontractor. However, for HUBZone certified subcontractors, the offeror shall provide evidence of HUBZone certification using one of the methods in FAR clause 52.219-8(d)(2).

• Documentation demonstrating the offerors commitment to small business. This documentation shall also address historical small business performance.

L.12.1.2 Definitions:

• Participant, as used in this factor, includes the offeror as well as any subcontractor.

• Participation, as used in this factor, includes the work (dollars) performed by the offeror, as well as the work (dollars) of any subcontractor.

• Recent, as used in this factor, is defined as any contract action where services or deliverables were performed or still being performed anytime within three (3) years of issuance of this RFP.

L.12.2 The offeror’s proposal shall include a completed Contract Participation Matrix. The Contract Participation Matrix shall identify:

• Each proposed participant, including:

• Full Company Name

• CAGE Code

• Each Socio-Economic Category for which the participant qualifies, i.e., Small

Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), HUBZone certified Small Businesses (HUBZone), Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB).

• Total Dollars allocated to the participant.

• The total dollars proposed to each category (Small Businesses (SB), SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, and Other than Small

• The total participation dollars (total dollars proposed to Small Businesses + total dollars proposed to Other than Small Businesses). The total participation dollars shall equal $100,000,000.00.

• The percentage of participation (goal) for each socio-economic category.

Note: Small Business participation shall include total dollars allocated for the business in each category for which the business qualifies. For example, if the offeror allocates $100 to a HUBZone-certified SDVOSB, the offeror would include $100 in the SB category, $100 in the HUBZone category, $100 in the SDVOSB category, and $100 in the VOSB category.

L.1.12.3 The offeror shall provide the written certification of size and socio-economic status for each small business subcontractor proposed for this procurement. The offeror may, but is not required to, provide a copy of the System for Award Management (SAM) certifications for clause 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations in lieu of written certifications.

However, for HUBZone certified subcontractors, the offeror shall provide evidence of HUBZone certification using one of the methods in FAR clause 52.219- 8(d)(2). The written certifications shall match the size and socio-economic status identified in the Contract Participation Matrix for each subcontractor.

L.1.12.4 The Offeror shall provide documentation demonstrating the offerors commitment to small business. This documentation shall also address historical small business performance.

L.1.12.5 The offeror also may submit bilateral teaming arrangements, or any other documentation the offeror feels demonstrates a commitment to small business. The offeror’s submission should also explain how the documentation demonstrates a commitment to small business.

L.1. 13 SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN – (VOLUME IV)

L. 1.13.1 Note for other than small businesses ONLY. Separate from Small Business Participation, other than small business offerors shall also submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan as required by FAR 19.7 (FAR clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan). The Small Business Subcontracting Plan shall be consistent with proposed small business participation. The subcontracting plan shall be submitted in Volume IV.

L.1.13.2 The offeror’s proposal shall also provide evidence supporting the offeror’s commitment to small business and information on its historical small business program utilization. This information shall address:

• Compliance with all terms and conditions of FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (when required on recent contracts). This shall include procedures established to ensure timely payments to small business subcontractors. This clause is normally in most Federal contracts and is also applicable to small businesses. If not required in any recent contracts, the offeror shall so state.

• Compliance with terms and conditions of FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting plan (when required on recent contracts). If not required in any recent contracts, the offeror shall so state.

• Actual small business utilization compared to small business participation goals identified in the approved subcontracting plan for each recent contract that included a subcontracting plan. Offerors shall identify the date of the last Individual Subcontracting Report (ISR)/Summary Subcontracting Report (SSR). Offerors shall address achievement on each individual goal stated within the subcontracting plan including good faith effort if the goal was not achieved. If not required in any recent contracts, the offeror shall so state.

L. 14 OFFER VALIDITY STATEMENT

Offeror(s) shall make a clear statement in their proposal (Price/Business- Volume II) that the proposal is valid for no less than 120 calendar days from the closing date of the solicitation.