v2 Attachment 4 Section L Instrutions to Offerors.docx

19FS1A20Q5000

FSI/SAIT Data Literacy, Analysis & Visualization Training Attachment 4v2: Instructions to Offerors

Section L – Instructions to Offerors 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or 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 quotation or offer.

Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

https://acquisition.gov/ https://www.acquisition.gov/dosar (End of provision) Quote Preparation Instructions

L.1 QUOTE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

(a) Offeror.

The term "offeror," as used in this Section L, refers to the single entity submitting the quote. The offeror may be a single corporation or a "contractor team arrangement" as defined in FAR 9.601, for example, a limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint venture, or similar entity or arrangement. The offeror may be an existing or newly-formed business entity for the purposes of competing for any contract resulting from this solicitation. If the offeror is a newly formed entity, it must be legally established on or before the date for submission of quotes.

(b) Submission of Electronic Quotes.

Receipt of electronic quotes shall only be accepted at the Contracting Officer’s email address listed below and must be received on August 19, 2020 by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Quotes will only be accepted via email and quotes via other mediums (orally, on paper, other electronic medium) will be considered nonresponsive and will not receive further consideration. Quotes must be submitted as Adobe .pdf files.

See FAR 52.212-1(f) "Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawal of offers." for treatment of late quotes. Offerors must submit its quote in accordance with the Quotes Preparation Instructions contained herein.

Files submitted in response to the solicitation shall be identified as follows:

Volume I – 19FS1A20Q5000 Offer Volume II - 19FS1A20Q5000 Technical Volume III - 19FS1A20Q5000 Pricing

Quotes are to be submitted to the Contracting Officer, Eric Modrak, at: ModrakER@state.gov by the closing date and time of this solicitation.

Quotes are to include the following information:

*Name of company.

*Company point of contact name(s), a telephone number(s) and an email address(es).

Please Note: This individual should be duly authorized by the offering firm to represent the offeror to the Government in all manners during the solicitation competition. Up to two individuals may be listed, and the government will include both email addresses in any written correspondence.

*Dun and Bradstreet Number.

(c) Solicitation instructions and quote information.

(1) Quotes are expected to conform to all solicitation requirements and the instructions contained in this Section L. The Government will evaluate quotes on the basis of the information provided in the quote. The Government will not assume that an offeror possesses any capability unless set forth in the quote.

(2) These instructions are not evaluation factors. Evaluation factors are set out in Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award, of this solicitation. However, failure to provide the requested information may make an offeror ineligible for award or adversely affect the government's evaluation of an offeror's quote. In addition, a quote may be eliminated from further consideration before the initial rating if the quote is so grossly and obviously deficient as to be totally unacceptable on its face. For example, a quote may be deemed unacceptable if it does not represent a reasonable initial effort to address the essential requirements of the solicitation, or if it clearly demonstrates that the offeror does not understand the requirements of the solicitation.

(d) Quotes volumes and page limitations.

(1) The overall quote shall consist of separate volumes, organized and individually entitled as stated below, with the following page limitations:

(i) Volume I, Offer and Other Documents - No page limit.

(ii) Volume II, Technical Quote. 20 pages (excluding resumes, however resumes are limited to no more than 2 pages each) Relevant Corporate Experience shall be limited to 2 pages.

(iii) Volume III Pricing Quote. Offerors are to complete Vol III Vendor Price Matrix

(2) Volume cover sheets, table of contents, and glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, do not count towards the 15 page limitation for Volume II.

(3)Quotes and resumes that do not adhere to the prescribed page limitations will not receive full evaluation For example:

(i) Evaluation of 3 page resume would cease after page 2. Any information on page 3 would not be considered in the technical evaluation.

(ii) Evaluation of a 23 page technical quote (excluding cover sheet, table of contents, and glossary) would cease after page 20. Any information found on pages 21-23would not be considered in the technical evaluation.

(e) Quote specifications.

(1) Table of contents. Each volume (except for the Vol III Vendor Price Matrix) shall contain a table of contents and a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms. The table of contents in each volume shall identify the section, subsection, paragraph titles, and page numbers, as well as all spreadsheets, charts, tables, figures, diagrams, design drawings, and graphs.

(2) Page size. Page size shall be 8½ x 11 inches for text pages.

(3) Print type. Text shall be 11 point or larger, double-spaced, using Times New Roman or Calibri font type. Headers and footers, spreadsheets, charts, tables, diagrams or design drawings, and graphs must be 10 point or larger using Times New Roman or Calibri font type.

(4) Page margins. Page margins for text pages and foldouts shall be a minimum of one inch at the top, bottom, and each side. Each page shall, within the one inch top or bottom margins, set forth the solicitation number and name of the offeror. In addition to the page number, this is the only information that can be displayed within the margins. Two columns of text per page and use of boldface type for paragraph headings are acceptable.

(5) Page numbering. All pages shall be sequentially numbered by volume, in the bottom margin. Page numbering can begin after the Volume Cover sheet, table of contents, and glossary of abbreviations and acronyms.

(6) This solicitation is considered complete and adequately describes the Government's requirements. If an offeror believes that there is an error in the solicitation, or an omission, the offeror shall submit a question to the Contracting Officer.

(f) False Statements.

Quotes must set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by this solicitation (including attachments).

The penalty for making false statements in quotes is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(g) Commitment of Public Funds.

The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally award a contract and commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with the proposed acquisition. Any other commitment, either explicit or implied, is invalid.

L.2 QUOTE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS, VOLUME I

(a) General.

Volume I - Offer and Other Documents, contains the offer to enter into a contract and other documents. The signed original(s) of all documents requiring signature by offerors shall be contained in the original Volume I. Offerors shall include the information listed in the following paragraphs in Volume I, assembled in the order listed. In cases where the offeror is required to fill-in information in a contract clause, the offeror shall submit only those pages that require input of information or a signature.

(b) Cover letter. The offeror may provide a brief cover letter. The cover letter will not be considered in the evaluation.

(c) Administrative information. Offerors shall provide the following information:

Negotiators. Name(s), title(s), telephone and email addresses of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror's behalf (up to two).

(d) Representations and certifications.

(1) If the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management website in accordance with the provision at FAR 52.204-8, Annual Representations and Certifications and those representations and certifications are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation, the offeror does not need to resubmit such representations and certifications in response to this solicitation. However, if any of these annual representations and certifications requires a change, the offeror shall submit those changes in accordance with FAR 52.204-8.

(2) If the offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management, or the current electronic representations and certifications are inaccurate or incomplete for purposes of this solicitation, the offeror shall complete and provide all of the representations, certifications, and other statements of the offeror as required in this solicitation's provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certification—Commercial Items.

Quoting vendors shall complete the provision 52.204-24 copied in full text at the end of this document. A completed version of this representation shall be included as part of Volume I of any submitted quotes.

L.3 QUOTE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS - TECHNICAL QUOTE- VOLUME II

(a) General

(1) Volume II - Technical quote consists of the Offeror's; Key Personnel; Technical Approach, Relevant Corporate Experience, and Past Performance.

(2) In order that your Technical quote may be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, no contractual cost or price information is to be included in your Technical quote.

(b) Format and Content.

Volume II, Technical quote, shall include the following components:

(1) Table of Contents. A suitable table of contents shall be provided for ready reference.

No materials shall be incorporated by reference which is not included in the Technical quote. Each volume/part of the quote should stand alone.

(2) Exceptions and Deviations. This component shall identify any exceptions or deviations taken, or conditional assumptions made, with respect to the technical requirements of the solicitation.

Any exceptions taken must contain sufficient justification to permit evaluation. All benefits to the Government shall be explained for each exception taken. Such exceptions will not, of themselves, automatically cause a quote to be termed unacceptable. However, a large number of exceptions or one or more significant exceptions not providing benefit to the Government may result in rejection of the quote(s) as unacceptable.

(c) Within the Technical Quote FACTOR 1 –Key Personnel/Resume and FACTOR 2 – Technical Approach and FACTOR 4 Relevant Corporate Experience are more important than FACTOR 3 –Past Performance:

L-3.1 FACTOR 1 Key Personnel The offeror will propose Key Personnel Instructors) with at minimum the following qualifications:

Each instructor included in the technical quote shall have the following professional experience and skills: experience in performing Data Literacy, Analysis and Visualization work. Demonstrated understanding of Foreign Affairs work. Experience teaching adult learners in this field. Experience teaching this field to the Federal workforce.

The offeror’s technical quote shall clearly indicate by name who the proposed instructor is for each of the six courses. One instructor may support more than one workshop type. The government shall evaluate no more than one instructor resume per each of the six courses. Therefore, no more than six total resumes shall be included in the quote. If an instructor is submitted to teach more than one course, multiple resumes for the same instructor are not required and will not be evaluated. For each proposed instructor, the offeror shall provide a resumes that is no more than 2 pages long, single spaced. Therefore, total resumes shall not exceed 12 pages. Each resume shall describe

· The instructor’s relevant personal professional experience,

· Relevant certifications,

· Relevant prior teaching experience including and especially experience pertinent to the required workshops, and prior teaching experience for the federal workforce and/or adult learners.

· Resumes should detail experience performing data analysis and/or business intelligence as well as

· Experience that demonstrates an understanding of the foreign affairs context.

L-3.2 FACTOR 2 Technical Approach The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s demonstrated approach and methodology to successfully conduct and perform all tasks in the PWS as demonstrated in the Offeror’s Proposed Course Syllabus.

For each of the 6 workshops (Programming with R, Data Literacy for Managers, Data Literacy for Executives, Advanced Analysis and Modeling with Excel & Power BI, Fundamentals of Data Literacy, and Data Visual Design and Storytelling) offerors shall provide a separate technical approach to include a proposed course syllabus. The technical approach for each workshop shall not exceed 3 pages (a total limit of 18 pages when considering all 6 workshops)

Quotes that do not address all 6 workshop types are considered materially noncompliant quotes and will not receive further evaluation.

L-3.3 FACTOR 3 Relevant Corporate Experience

(a) The Offeror shall specifically describe relevant corporate experience with the full scope of activities relevant to performing Data Workshops requirement.

The Offeror shall describe its corporate experience:

· Providing instruction of subject matter related to the required workshops

· Teaching and instructing the federal workforce and/or adult learners.

· Performing data analysis and/or business intelligence

· Work performed that demonstrates an understanding of the foreign affairs context.

For experience acquired as a subcontractor or teaming partner, identify the prime contractor and describe the depth and extent of the work performed, to include the percentage of the total contract dollar value performed by the Offeror’s company.

Offeror Experience: The Offeror shall describe its relevant experience in the disciplines described in the preceding paragraphs in performing work of a similar size, scope, and complexity. Size is defined a dollar value and contract duration; scope is defined as type of work; and complexity is defined as performance challenges and risk.

Subcontractor and Other Performing Entities Experience: In addition to the Offeror's relevant experience, then Offeror shall provide the relevant experience of any proposed subcontractors and any other entities that are proposed to perform work under the contract. The Offeror shall describe the relevant experience, similar in size, scope, and complexity, in relation to that portion of the PWS proposed to be performed by the subcontractor or other entity. Other entities may include members of a joint venture, LLC or other similar entity.

Relevant Contracts: The Offeror shall provide experience information on up to three (3) contracts performed by the Offeror and up to three (3) contracts performed by each proposed subcontractor or other performing entity.

(3) Contracts described in the Relevant Corporate Experience Section shall also be included in the Past Performance Section of the quote and described in the Past Performance Information Forms. The information on the Past Performance Information Forms may be used during the evaluation of the Relevant Corporate Experience, in addition to the narrative description.

If the Offeror is a newly formed entity, the Offeror shall provide experience information on up to three (3) contracts for each parent organization(s) or each member organization if the Offeror is a joint venture, LLC, or similar entity. These contracts shall have been completed within the last five (5) years or currently ongoing. In addition, the Offeror shall provide the contract number; issuing entity; contract price; contract type; contact name, address, and phone number; and duration of the contract. Contracts may be with Federal, state, and local Governments and/or with commercial customers. The experience information shall identify the portion of the work (as both a percentage and the types of work activities) under each of the referenced contracts performed by the Offeror, subcontractor, or other entity. For example, if the Offeror was a partner company in an LLC or a subcontractor during the performance of the referenced contract, the Offeror shall identify that portion of the work (as both a percentage and the types of work activities) the Offeror/subcontractor/other entity performed during the referenced contract.

L-3.4 FACTOR 4 Past Performance

(a) Contracts information. The offeror will provide documented successful past performance that is no older than 60 months. The offeror will provide and describe at least three but not more than five examples of successful past performance. For each example, the offeror will provide names and contact information of references that can describe and document offeror's successful past performance providing this type of course delivery work.

(1) Past performance information form. The offeror will submit its past performance information on the Past Performance Information Form contained in Attachment 6B. One form will be provided for each past performance reference (contract).

(2) Contracts may be, but are not limited to, contracts with federal, state, local and foreign governments and/or with commercial customers.

(b) Performance information. The offeror will identify problems encountered in performance of these contracts and corrective actions taken by the offeror to resolve those problems. In addition, the offeror may describe any recognized accomplishments the offeror has received on the identified contracts.

(c) Terminated contracts. The offeror will provide a listing of any contracts of the offeror, subcontractors, or other performing entities that were terminated, including the reasons therefore, within the last 60 months. This listing of terminated contracts is not limited to only those contracts contained in the Past Performance Information Form.

(d) Past Performance Questionnaire. The offeror will provide the Past Performance Questionnaire contained in Attachment 6A to each of the contract references.

The offeror will request that clients return the Past Performance Questionnaire directly to DOS by electronic means to the address identified below no later than the date and time of solicitation closing, August 19, 2020 4:00p.m. EST.

(1) DOS address and contact information: E-mail: ModrakER@state.gov.

(2) Receipt of the questionnaires by the Government is not subject to the provisions at FAR 52.212-1 (f) related to late submissions.

(i) Sources of past performance information. The government may contact any or all of the references provided in the Past Performance Information Form. The government may also obtain past performance information from sources other than those provided by the offeror. This may include, but not be limited to, commercial and government clients, government records, regulatory agencies, and government databases such as the government's Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System.

L-004 Price Quote - Volume III

(a) General. The offeror shall prepare its price quote in accordance with the instructions in Tab 1 on the Attachment 5 Vol III Vendor Price Matrix. The offeror's proposal contains the offeror's price to perform the work set forth in the PWS; therefore, it must be current, accurate, complete and well documented. Price information is not to be included in other proposal volumes.

(b) Per the Instructions & Information Tab, all required cells must be completed in order to be considered compliant and receive evaluation. Quotes with improper or incomplete price matrices are considered materially noncompliant quotes and will not receive further evaluation.

L-005 COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING SOLICITATION

Only the Contracting Officer or his/her designated point-of-contact, may be contacted regarding this solicitation. Communication concerning this solicitation with any other Government personnel, including contractor support personnel, is prohibited unless specifically authorized elsewhere herein. If such contact occurs, the Offeror making such contact may be excluded from award consideration.

L-006 QUESTIONS REGARDING SOLICITATION

(a) Prospective quoters should submit any questions regarding this solicitation in writing to the Contracting Officer. Questions should be received by Monday August 3, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to ensure a timely response. Questions received after that date may not be answered prior to the date established for the receipt of quotes. Questions should be addressed to: ModrakER@state.gov with the subject line: "19FS1A20Q5000: Data Training Questions".

(b) The Department of State does not plan to hold a pre-quote conference for prospective offerors. If, after a review of questions submitted by offerors, the Department of State believes a pre-quote conference is necessary, one will be scheduled and all prospective Offerors will be advised.

52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

As prescribed in 4.2105(a), insert the following provision:

REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (AUG 2020) The Offeror shall not complete the representation at paragraph (d)(1) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it “does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument” in the provision at 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services—Representation, or in paragraph (v) of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision- Backhaul, covered telecommunications equipment or services, critical technology, interconnection arrangements, reasonable inquiry, roaming, and substantial or essential component have the meanings provided in the clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(b) Prohibition. (1) Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2019, from procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(2) Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2020, from entering into a contract or extending or renewing a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. This prohibition applies to the use of covered telecommunications equipment or services, regardless of whether that use is in performance of work under a Federal contract. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(c) Procedures. The Offeror shall review the list of excluded parties in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) for entities excluded from receiving federal awards for “covered telecommunications equipment or services.”

(d) Representations. The Offeror represents that—

(1) It [] will, [] will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract or other contractual instrument resulting from this solicitation. The Offeror Page 10 of 11shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(1) of this section if the Offeror responds “will” in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; and

(2) After conducting a reasonable inquiry, for purposes of this representation, the Offeror represents that— It [] does, [] does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or use any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(2) of this section if the Offeror responds “does” in paragraph (d)(2) of this section.

(e) Disclosures. (1) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded “will” in the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the Product Service Code (PSC) of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(2) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded “does” in the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the OEM or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the PSC of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(End of provision)