2_Instructions for Proposal Preparation_RFP_23-044.pdf

RFP 23-044

Instructions for Proposal Preparation

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARTION

1. DESCRIPTION OF PROCUREMENT

PPPL desires to award a Firm Fixed Price Subcontract for the performance of the requirements describe in PPPL Statement of Work for “Heat Exchanger Drop-In Replacement Technical Requirements, D-Site MG Liquid Rheostat Systems”; NSTXU_1-5-1-1-3_SOW_115; CAT: A2; Revision: 0; Dated: May 31, 2023, further details can be found in Attachment 1_Statement of Work.

Recognizing PPPL’s vision, mission, and core values, each Supplier’s proposal should include the approach and methods necessary to completely execute aspects of the requirements within the Statement of Work (SOW) as detailed in Attachment 1.

2. ABOUT PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY (PPPL)

Princeton University manages and operates Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) under a prime contract with the US Department of Energy (Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466). PPPL, located on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, NJ, is devoted to understanding the physics of plasmas and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy.

Based on its dual status as an accredited institution of higher learning in the State of New Jersey and a US Department of Energy prime contractor, PPPL may qualify for academic and/or federal government prices/discounts. Suppliers shall specifically identify any discount arrangements offered with their proposals.

3. RFP PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST CONTACT INFORMATION

Khalif Stripling, kstripli@pppl.gov, (609) 243-3958

4. SUBCONTRACT TYPE / DURATION

Any award issued will be a Firm Fixed Price subcontract between the Awardee(s) and the Trustees for Princeton University under Princeton’s Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Duration of the subcontract is estimated from date signed through December 2023.

It is PPPL’s intention to incorporate the terms and conditions set forth in the Terms and Conditions awarded to the supplier as a result from this RFP

5. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

All suppliers are required to meet the Minimum Qualifications as defined in the Statement of Work, Supplier Qualifications, in order to be eligible to submit a Proposal for this RFP. Please reference Section Supplier Qualifications and Supplier Key Personnel of the Statement of Work.

6. PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

A pre-proposal videoconference will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Participation is strongly encouraged. To obtain access on the video log in, please confirm interest by submitting the “Acknowledgment Form”.

7. SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS

All Supplier questions must be submitted in writing, emailed to the contact persons: Khalif Stripling email:

kstripli@pppl.gov. All questions will be combined with all other Supplier questions and all responses will be distributed to each Supplier in the form of an amendment to this RFP. Oral explanations or instructions provided a PPPL will not be binding. Any substantive information will be furnished to all prospective Suppliers via a written Amendment to the RFP if determined to be necessary to Suppliers in submitting their proposals or if the lack of such information would be prejudicial to uninformed Suppliers.

mailto:kstripli@pppl.gov mailto:kstripli@pppl.gov

The deadline for submission of questions is by 4:30 pm EST, Friday, July 28, 2023.

8. SMALL BUSINESS CONSIDERATION

Because of the nature of the services required, this RFP is not being set aside for small business concerns; however, qualified small businesses are encouraged to submit proposals. “Small Business concern”, as used in this clause, means a concern, including its affiliates, which is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business by the Small Business Administration based on the following:

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code

NAICS Code 332410 Power Boiler and Heat Exchanger Manufacturing

Small Business Size Standard – 750 employees

PPPL reserves the right to make any award it deems necessary to satisfy the Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned, and HUBZone small business subcontracting goals and objectives set forth in the prime contract.

9. ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Baes on the final rankings, a competitive range will be established. Selected Suppliers may be required to make oral presentations of their proposals remotely (video). Supplier participants should include all persons on the engagement team including the Engagement/Project/Program Manager and/or Director/Partner, but not more than five (5) persons who are knowledgeable of the RFP and the response submitted by the Supplier’s organization and who are qualified to answer questions relating to the proposal. The purpose of the oral presentation will be to:

a) Provide a summary of the respective Supplier’s proposal for the benefit of PPPL;

b) Permit Review Team members to ask questions pertaining to the Supplier’s proposal.

Suppliers will be provided no more than two (2) hours each of oral presentations, to be inclusive of a summary of the proposal contents and question-and-answer session.

10. CLOSING DATE AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Offerors are required to submit proposals electronically by the RFP closing date and time. Submission shall include one (1) electronic copy of the proposal.

It is required that filenames for the electronic proposal include the name of the Supplier, the solicitation number, and the file name (e.g., ABCCompany_RFP_23-044_Form.pdf).

THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIP OF PROPOSALS VIA EMAIL:

By 4:30 PM EST

By Monday, August 7, 2023

Subject Line: ABCCompany_RFP_23-044_Form.pdf To: Khalif Stripling (kstripli@pppl.gov).

11. SUPPLIER REGISTRATION

All Offerors are required to register in the Princeton Supplier Portal (https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SupplierLogin?CustOrg=Princeton) in order to be considered for award. Offerors shall provide confirmation of registration into the Princeton Supplier Portal on the Offeror Information and Pricing Form.

mailto:kstripli@pppl.gov https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SupplierLogin?CustOrg=Princeton https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SupplierLogin?CustOrg=Princeton

12. PROPOSAL PREPARATION COSTS

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is not intended and shall not be construed to commit Princeton University or the U. S. Government to pay any costs incurred in connection with the preparation of any proposal or to procure any items or services.

13. PROPOSAL VALIDITY PERIOD

Proposals are to be firm for a period of 90 days from the closing date specified in this RFP.

14. COST AND PRICING DATA

Due to the commercial and competitive nature of this procurement, PPPL is not requesting the submission of certified cost or pricing date under this solicitation. However, Suppliers are advised that in the event that PPPL deems such information is necessary, Suppliers should be prepared to submit cost or pricing data within ten business days after being requested.

15. SALES TAX EXEMPTION

Princeton University is exempt from New Jersey Sales Tax (Exemption Certificate No. E-210-634-501). A copy of PPPL’s sales tax exemption form will be provided upon request.

16. RESTRICTIONS ON DISCLOSURE OF DATA IN PROPOSALS

Suppliers who include data in their proposals that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government or Princeton except for evaluation purposes, shall:

● Mark their proposals title page with the following legend:

This proposal or quotation includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and Princeton and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed –in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this PROPOSAL or quotation. If, however, a subcontract is awarded to this Supplier as a result of—or in connection with –the submission of this date, the Government and Princeton shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the date to the extent provided in resulting subcontract. This restriction does not limit the Government’s and Princeton’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this are contained in sheets (insert number or the identification or affected sheets).

● Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend:

Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to restriction on the title page of this Offer or quotation.

● Furnish details, if their offer is based upon or includes any amount of patent license or royalty fees to be paid to others.

17. MODIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

Proposals may be modified or withdrawn by the Supplier by written notice if the Procurement Specialist receives such notice prior to the RFP closing date.

18. LATE PROPOSALS

Any proposal, including notifications of withdrawal or modification, received by PPPL after the closing date specified for this RFP shall be considered to be late. Except as otherwise specifically provided for in this RFP, PPPL may consider, in its sole discretion, for award such late proposals if it is in the best interest of

PPPL.

19. PRE-AWARD CONFERENCE

PPPL may require the apparent successful Supplier(s) to attend a Pre-Award Conference to review the work requirements to ensure a mutual understanding of the requirements. The Supplier may also be required to show evidence of its ability to perform under the terms of the proposed subcontract.

20. OTHER POST AWARD INFORMATION

Insurance. Insurance Certificates, evidencing compliance with Part T – Provisions for Work Performed on the PPPL Site, RFP Section II, must be submitted to the Procurement Specialist for review and approval within ten (10) consecutive calendar days after subcontract award and prior to commencement of on-site work.

21. CANCELLATION

PPPL reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel this procurement at any time without making an award and without providing a reason.

22. FORMAT AND CONTENT OF PROPOSALS

Prospective Suppliers are expected to thoroughly examine all sections of this RFP and to comply with all instructions for preparation and submittal of proposals in response to this RFP. Written proposals must set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by, or referenced in this RFP. The proposal must be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate complete compliance with PPPL's requirements.

In addition, selected Suppliers may be required to supplement their written proposals with oral presentations of their proposal to the PPPL evaluation team. In case of a conflict, a written submittal overrules an oral statement. Any oral statements or oral promises will be reduced to writing and submitted by the Supplier. The information provided in the written proposal and any oral presentation will be the basis for determining a Supplier's capability to perform the work described in this RFP.

Suppliers shall prepare and submit the following documents which will comprise a complete proposal in response to this RFP. Failure to provide a proposal in the format and with content prescribed by this RFP may result in the proposal being determined to be non-responsive and eliminated from consideration.

23. SUPPLIER PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION

Proposals must provide information in the order as presented in this document with the same headings.

This will not only be helpful to evaluators of the proposal but should assist the Supplier in preparing a thorough response.

If Supplier plans to subcontract any portion of the work, identification of proposed subcontractor and subcontractor's cost must be included in the proposal.

Proposals must be submitted in the order noted below:

A. PART I-OVERVIEW AND ADMINSTRATIVE

B. PART II-PROPOSAL

a. Professional Ability

a. Understanding of Requirements

b. Proposed Approach to Satisfy Requirements

c. Work Plan

d. Qualifications of Personnel

b. Organizational Ability

a. Relevant Experience

b. Past Performance

C. PART III- OFFER AND PRICING

Offeror’s Part III shall be separate, clearly identified, and labeled accordingly. No pricing information shall be included in Parts I and II.

PART I – OVERVIEW AND ADMINISTRATIVE

All required documents must be signed and dated by person authorized to legally bind the Supplier to a contractual relationship.

a. Letter of Submittal – Introduction of the company.

b. Brief Description of Company - Supplier shall submit a brief description of their history and organization and a description of their facilities, products, services, and customers (of similar size, scale, and sophistication of PPPL). A preprinted company brochure may be used. The company shall provide a copy of their latest annual report, if applicable, and DUNS number (page limit maximum of 5).

c. Supplier Responsiveness- Supplier shall provide an outline addressing all minimum qualification requirements to support eligibility of their submitted proposal. Supplier responsiveness is a prerequisite to ensure that the mandatory requirements are satisfied. A proposal will be considered “responsive” if the proposal is in compliance with all the requirements as outlined in this RFP.

d. PPPL Representations and Certifications. Supplier shall complete and sign Attachment 4 - PPPL Representations and Certifications Booklet* included in Section V of the RFP.

e. PPPL PQA Supplier Quality Survey. Supplier shall complete and sign Attachment 5 – PQA Supplier Quality Survey included in Section V of the RFP.

B. PART II – PROPOSAL (reference Section IV Evaluation and Basis of Award document related to Attachment 1 Statement of Work for more detail)- This section will be evaluated and scored based on the details found within this documentation. Offeror’s proposal must clearly demonstrate and provide the following:

a. Understanding of Requirements - The Offeror’s proposal must clearly convey an overall understanding of the scope and complexity of the requirements for this effort. The Offeror must demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the various processes and effort required to perform the work as specified.

b. Proposed Approach to Satisfy Requirements – The Offeror’s proposal must convey an approach that will result in delivery of the products that fulfill all the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work

• Documentation must include samples and descriptions of the Offeror’s process, to include details of processes followed to provide quality assurance and supervision of completed projects.

c. Work Plan - The Offeror must convey they have a sound plan to conduct and complete the requested task work scope including an example of a comprehensive, detailed, and realistic schedule to meet the assigned task high-level timeline, and that they possess the ability to successfully manage and oversee the work to completion and ensure a quality end product is delivered on time and within the established scope statement.

d. Qualifications of Personnel – The Offeror must provide professional qualifications of Offeror’s proposed personnel to work on this subcontract to ensure that personnel have the training, credentials, qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience.

• Documentation must include resumes of all proposed team members.

e. Relevant Experience- The Review Team will review each Offeror’s organizational experience on the basis of its breadth, depth, and relevance to the work described in this RFP. In this evaluation, the Review Team will focus on the nature of the work performed and the similarity to the work that will be required at PPPL.

Documentation provided by the Offeror must include a summary of clients of similar size, scale, and sophistication of PPPL.

f. Past Performance- Past performance is a measure of the degree to which an Offeror has satisfied its customers (including PPPL if applicable) in the past. The Offeror will provide or describe, (at a minimum) 2 samples for comparable work similar in scale and scope successfully completed by the firm over the last five years.

C. PART III – OFFER AND PRICING- This section must be submitted in a separate file

1. Offeror Information and Pricing Form. Offerors shall complete and submit pricing in accordance with Attachment 3 Offeror Information and Pricing Form.

2. Acceptance of the Subcontract Terms and Conditions. Offerors shall initial the affirmative statement on the Offeror Information and Pricing Form noting their review and acceptance of the terms and conditions set forth in the Basic Ordering Agreement (RFP Attachment 3 Offeror Information and Pricing Form). If changes, additions, or deletions to the provisions or Articles included in the Sample Agreement are desired, Offerors shall provide a separate list of their exceptions or proposed revisions along with reasons for taking exception or requesting revisions.

Proposals may be considered to be non-responsive and eliminated from consideration based on the nature and extent of exceptions taken.

-End Instructions for Proposal Preparation-