2. 70RCSJ24R00000015 SF1449 Addendum to FAR 52-212-1.pdf

Date: April 17, 2024

To: Prospective Offerors

From: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security

Agency (CISA) Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO)

Subject: Request for Proposal (RFP) 70RCSJ24R00000015 for Planning Office Support

The DHS CISA Cybersecurity Division (CSD), Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) has a requirement for Planning Office Support. JCDC requires direct support in creating strategies, processes, procedures, capabilities, and tools to develop, implement, and mature the Planning Office. The Planning Office enables cyber defense operations by working across the public and private sector to unify deliberate and crisis action planning, while integrating the execution of cyber defense plans. The Planning Office integrates capabilities from CISA elements and from external partners to ensure unified execution of plans, and unified coordination of cyber defense operations across prevention, detection, and response missions.

RFP Information: This is a best value tradeoff competitive procurement. The Government is issuing this RFP under the commercial procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 , using the negotiated procurement policies and procedures established under FAR Part 15.

Facility Clearance Requirement: Offerors responding to this RFP shall hold a Top-Secret Facility Clearance (FCL) granted by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). Entities must obtain and retain an active final Top-Secret FCL granted by DCSA at the time of quote submission. DHS does not accept Interim FCLs.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: The RFP is issued as a 100% 8(a) small business set-aside under NAICS Code 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services.

Period of Performance: the period of performance is three years consisting of one 12-month base period and two 12-month option periods.

Proposal Validity: The proposal shall be valid for a period of 180 days from date of proposal submission.

Instructions for Electronic Submissions: Offerors are solely responsible for ensuring that all files sent to CISA COCO are readable, are uncorrupted in the indicated electronic format, and free from viruses and malware. Failure to provide readable files will result in the proposal being rejected.

Submission of Questions: Offerors shall submit questions in Microsoft Excel format, grouped by solicitation Section and refer to the particular RFP/Attachment number (Attachment 4).

Submit questions electronically to the Contract Specialist shawn.curro@cisa.dhs.gov and to the Contracting Officer hannah.moussa@cisa.dhs.gov no later than 10:00 A.M. EST, April 23, 2024. The subject line of the email should read, “RFP 70RCSJ24R00000015 Questions.”

Questions or requests for extension submitted after the cut-off date will not be considered.

Submission of Proposals: Proposals are due no later than 10:00 A.M. EST, May 10, 2024. The subject line of the email should read “RFP 70RCSJ24R00000016 Proposal.” Please be advised, the Government will reject proposals emailed after the deadline for proposal submission.

RFP Contacts: Communications with officials other than the CISA Contracting Officer and/or Contract Specialist may compromise this acquisition and may result in the cancellation of the solicitation and/or exclusion of your proposal from this procurement action. The Points of Contact for this RFP are:

Hannah Moussa, Contracting Officer Shawn Curro, Contract Specialist Phone: 202-568-4157 Phone: 771-217-0653 Email: hannah.moussa@cisa.dhs.gov Email: shawn.curro@cisa.dhs.gov

1. EVALUATION GENERAL PROCEDURES

1.1. Evaluation Factors for Award

The Government will evaluate proposals using the evaluation factors shown in the table below. Offerors shall submit a proposal, which consists of four volumes as described below:

Evaluation Factor Number

Volume Number Description

N/A 0 Administrative Documents 1 1 Past Performance 2 2 Technical Approach 3 3 Key Personnel 4 4 Price

1.2. Basis of Award

Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government with price-related and other non-price factors considered.

1.3. Award on Initial Response

The Government anticipates selecting a single awardee from initial responses without engaging in discussions with offerors, but the Government reserves the right to enter into discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. Offerors are strongly encouraged to submit their best technical and price proposals in their initial submission.

The Government reserves the right to establish a competitive range. In the event a competitive range is established, and the Contracting Officer determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition.

1.4. Relative Order of Importance

The evaluation factors are listed in descending order of importance as follows:

Factor 1: Past Performance Factor 2: Technical Approach Factor 3: Key Personnel Factor 4: Price

When combined, Factor 1: Past Performance, Factor 2: Technical Approach, and Factor 3: Key Personnel are significantly more important than Factor 4: Price.

In the event that two or more proposals are determined to be technically equivalent, Price will become more important, and award may be made to the lower priced offeror. It should be noted that award may be made to other than the lowest priced proposal if the Government determines that a price premium is warranted due to technical merit. The Government may also award to other than the highest technically rated proposal, if the Government determines that a price premium is not warranted.

1.5. Instructions for the Preparation of Proposals

A. Proposal responses must be prepared and submitted in accordance with and in compliance with the instructions of the solicitation.

B. The Government will not reimburse offerors for costs associated with preparing and responding to the solicitation.

C. All information within the page limitation of the proposal is subject to evaluation. The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the Section 1.7. The Government shall strictly enforce all the proposal submission requirements outlined in the solicitation. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in an offeror’s proposal being rejected as being non-conforming to solicitation requirements.

D. Volumes must be submitted in Microsoft Office or Adobe PDF and Excel file formats. All narrative will be Times New Roman with 12-point minimum font size, and text will be single-spaced and double-spaced between paragraphs. Figures, tables, charts, diagrams, and other graphics will have no less than 8-point font. Margins will be 1-inch top, bottom, left side and right side. Page size for all narrative shall be 8.5 x 11 inches.

E. Offerors shall prepare proposals on the presumption that the Government has no previous knowledge of the offeror’s capabilities. The Government will evaluate proposals only on the information specifically presented in the respective submittals.

F. All Volumes shall contain the following:

i. Cover sheet shall include the following:

• Title of Solicitation

• Solicitation Number

• Volume Number

• Name and Address of Offeror

• Offeror Point of Contact (POC) with email address and phone number

• CAGE Code, UEI Number; and Tax Identification Number

ii. Every page (except the Cover Sheet) shall contain a page number and be numbered sequentially using the format Volume 1-1, Volume 2-2, etc., including blank pages. Blank pages shall contain the marking “Page Intentionally Left Blank”. Every page will contain the offeror’s name and the solicitation number.

1.6. General Evaluation Approach

The Government will perform a compliance review of the following administrative documents.

These documents are not being evaluated and offerors are hereby notified that proposals that do not comply with the submission requirements will be removed from consideration without further evaluation.

1.6.1. Volume 0: Administrative Documents

Offerors shall submit Volume 0 per these instructions:

• Offerors shall submit a Cover Letter containing (i) the name(s), title(s), telephone number(s), and electronic addresses of person(s) authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation; and (ii) name and title of person authorized to sign the proposal.

• A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation, and agreement to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item.

• A listing of all assumptions and exceptions to the solicitation to include specific reference to the applicable section and/or paragraph. Please note that any exception(s) to the Government’s requirement may adversely affect the evaluation of the offeror’s proposal;

and the offeror will be removed from further consideration should the Government determine these items unacceptable.

• Offeror Representations and Certifications.

• Offeror’s acknowledgement of RFP amendments (if any) by signature on each applicable Standard Form 30.

1.7. Specific Instructions for Offerors and Method of Evaluation Per Volume

1.7.1. Evaluations

The Government will receive the offeror’s proposal submission in Volumes 0-4 as described in Section 1.1. For non-price factors 1-3, the Government will assign confidence ratings of “Low”, “Medium”, or “High.”

1.7.1.1. Instructions for Volume 1 Factor 1: Past Performance Offerors shall submit Volume 1 per these instructions:

• Maximum Page Count: 9

The offeror shall provide three past performance examples to demonstrate its ability to deliver high quality service and solutions. The offeror shall provide Attachment 3 Past Performance Questionnaire for all relevant contracts and/or subcontracts performed by the offeror within the last five years which were similar in scope and complexity to the requirement.

For each contract listed, the offeror shall include a narrative of the work performed, the client's name, and performance timeframe. For each contract listed, offerors shall provide points of contacts (name, telephone number, address, and email address). The offeror will contact their references and request that Attachment - 3 Past Performance Questionnaire be completed and returned via email to the Contract Specialist identified in the introductory page on or before the date proposals are due to the Government. “RFP 70RCSJ24R00000015 Past Performance Questionnaire” shall appear in the subject line of the email. A Past Performance Questionnaire is required for each cited Past Performance project. The Past Performance Questionnaire will focus on the quality, control, and timeliness of the offeror’s previous contracts. The Government planning effort is expected to last roughly four months. The CPT will include US Government and private sector partners.

Questions:

1. What time-sensitive processes and procedures would you conduct to prepare for the CPT kickoff meeting, including organizing equities from within the organization and outside the organization?

2. What steps would you take to develop a complete understanding of the threat picture related to these OT devices or similar OT devices?

3. What actions would you recommend for ensuring a properly scoped planning effort that is feasible within the timeframe, but still impactful to partners and stakeholders?

4. Following the CPT kickoff, a key participating private sector partner has voiced concerns with main objectives of the planning effort. How do you recommend the planning lead respond to this circumstance?

5. After one month, interagency partners involved in the planning effort have not provided much support, aside from attending meetings. What actions would you recommend for improving interagency participation in the planning process?

Method of Evaluation:

1. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for their clear and complete understanding of the tasks outlined in SOW Section 2.0 and scenario questions in relation to the project. This refers to the way the offeror proposes to plan, manage, control, and provide a sound technical solution in which the Government can realistically utilize within the CISA environment.

2. The Government will evaluate the degree to which the offeror proposes a sound, effective and comprehensive technical approach to meeting, integrating, and accomplishing the objectives, conditions, and requirements of each task area that encompasses all task/subtask requirements of the SOW Section 2.0.

3. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s ability to apply comprehensive technical understanding of cybersecurity capabilities, policies, and threats to the range of requirements in the SOW Section 2.0.

4. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s proposed unique innovative approaches or value adds that can be implemented to the tasks in SOW Section 2.0.

5. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s responses to the scenario question to the extent to which the offeror understands the problems, issues, constraints, organizations, and system(s) involved, and the offeror’s approach and methodologies proposed to ensure a successful solution.

Low Confidence The Government has low confidence that the offeror’s proposed key personnel have the appropriate qualifications and experience to successfully perform the tasks identified in the SOW even with Government intervention.

1.7.1.4. Instructions for Volume 4 Factor 4: Price

Offerors shall submit Volume 4 per these instructions:

• Section 1 – Overview

• Maximum Page Count: 3

The Overview section shall provide a comprehensive narrative summary describing how the proposed price was generated. The Overview shall include: (i) a list of all ground rules and assumptions used in estimating; (ii) narrative explaining the price proposal and include any information the offeror deems necessary for the Government to understand the basis for the proposal; (iii) explain how the fully burdened rates were developed; (iv) provide any escalation for the out years.

• Section 2 - Rates Offerors must provide fully burdened, fixed hourly rates that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit for the labor categories listed in the pricing sheet, Attachment 2: Pricing Template. The offeror shall complete Attachment 2: Pricing Template in its entirety. Return only in .xlsx format. Scanned or copied versions are unacceptable. Not completing all portions of the spreadsheet or not submitting in the .xlsx format may result in a quote being considered “non-responsive.”

The offeror’s price proposal will be based on the estimated level of effort provided in Attachment 2: Pricing Template. The estimated level of effort information in the pricing template provides the Agency’s estimated labor hours for each labor category for determining labor costs over the term of the contract. For purposes of the Government estimate, 1912 hours constitute a staff year. Offerors shall not change the estimated hours.

The Government will evaluate the price offered by multiplying the unit price by the estimated total hours for each period of performance. The total price for each period will be added to determine the total evaluated price.

Offerors are strongly encouraged to offer discounts.

The Government has provided anticipated labor categories. Offerors may propose alternate labor categories. In proposing labor categories and rates, the offeror shall align its own categories with the Government labor category descriptions, education, and experience levels, which are relevant to this requirement. Offerors shall describe the labor category and explain how it will fulfill the requirement. It is required that all experience and education be in a technical field directly related to the labor category being proposed and all diplomas and degrees shall be from accredited institutions that can be readily verifiable.

Method of Evaluation: The Government will evaluate the reasonableness of the total price. The total price evaluation will be used in the final determination of the best value.

Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government’s best interests, the Government will evaluate offers or proposals for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for base period to determine the total evaluated price.

This includes options under FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, which applies to this solicitation. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

To account for the option periods possible under FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (maximum of six months), the Government will evaluate the option to extend services by adding six months of the offeror’s final option period price to the offeror’s total price. This amount will be the total evaluated price. In accordance with the clause, price for any option exercised under FAR 52.217- 8 will be at the same rates as those in effect for the period of performance at the time the option is exercised. The Government may choose to exercise the Option to Extend Services at the end of any performance period (base or option periods). Prices for the base and option periods, including the 6-month option available under FAR 52.217-8, will be evaluated to ensure that they are fair and reasonable for performance of the requirements established in the solicitation and as proposed in the technical submission. The price for the effort associated with FAR 52.217-8 will not be included in the total awarded value at contract award. If, at the end of the contract’s period of performance (base or option periods) and within the time period established in the clause, the Government chooses to exercise this option, the pricing will be pursuant to the rates specified in the contract for the preceding performance period.

2. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

2.1. Attachment 1 Statement of Work

2.2. Attachment 2 Pricing Template

2.3. Attachment 3 Past Performance Questionnaire

2.4. Attachment 4 Question & Answer Template

2.5. Attachment 5: RFP DD Form 254