Instructions_to_Offerors.docx

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items.

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2015)

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TAILORED INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – IAW FAR 12.302 :

1. All eligible Contractors are invited to submit a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP). The proposal must be signed by an official authorized to bind your organization. You must submit one electronic version of all proposal documents (in MS Office 2003 Word, Excel, or PDF) via email to, Contract Specialist, kuj3@cdc.gov at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Procurement and Grants Office. Any questions or inquiries regarding this RFP must also be addressed via email to the above named Contract Specialist.

2. These instructions establish the acceptable minimum requirements for the format and content of RFP proposals. The technical proposal shall not exceed the page limitations specified in the Solicitation Synopsis. Cover pages, tables of contents, and resumes do NOT count towards the page limitation. A page is defined as an 8 ½ inch by 11 inch sheet of paper with one inch margins on all four sides. Text shall be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and single spaced between lines. Text pages should use portrait orientation. Page formatting can alter for illustrations and tables but must be easily readable. Offerors may use no less than 8-point font on graphs and 10-point font on tables (Arial font acceptable for graphics and tables). Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be evaluated) may be included in the 1" margin space. Fold-outs are discouraged, however if included they will be counted toward the appropriate number of pages based upon an 8 -1/2 inch by 11 inch sheet of paper.

3. E-mail attachments that exceed 12 megabytes in size will not be received by the server at CDC. If your proposal is larger than 10 megabytes or contains graphics that cause the size to increase to close to this level, your proposal should be split into separate emails with attachments that do not exceed the size limitations.

4. Offerors shall number each page in order to eliminate any confusion. In the event that the Offeror creates an ambiguity in the numbering of pages, the Government will exercise its own discretion in the counting of pages. Pages in excess of the above limitation will not be evaluated.

5. In preparing the technical response portion of the contract proposal, the Offeror shall provide narrative and other information that is considered relevant to the work required to provide the services identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and that best demonstrates the Offeror’s technical capabilities and innovative approaches in those areas.

6. Volume 1, Technical and Volume 2, Price proposals shall be separate documents, containing the following information. (NOTE: While the technical proposal must not contain any reference to price, resource information (such as data concerning labor hours and categories, materials, subcontracts, etc.) must be provided so that the Offeror's understanding of the requirements may be evaluated.)

7. Volume 2 – Price Proposal Instructions. This part of the proposal has a 10-page limit and shall include details for all resources required to accomplish the requirements for the base and any option periods, e.g., labor hours, rates, travel, incidental equipment, and any other direct cost (ODCs). The price proposal shall identify labor categories and labor rate tables. The price proposal must also identify any GFE and/or GFI required for contract performance. If travel is specified in the PWS, airfare and/or local mileage, per diem rates by total days, and number of trips and number of Offeror employees traveling, shall be included. Price proposals must contain the following:

a) A statement that the proposal is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposal ;

b) A statement to the effect the proposal is firm for a period of at least 180 days from the date of receipt by the Government; and

c) A list of any current commitments with the Government that may interfere with the completion of work and services as contemplated in this request for task proposal.

d) The budget must be in an Excel spreadsheet with budgets for each major activity.

e) Pricing for each performance period, which includes the labor categories, labor rates, discounts and totals, plus a grand total for the entire RFP.

The Contracting Officer reserves the right to request supporting data for proposed prices in order to adequately determine the reasonableness of the proposed amounts.

8. Awardees are not required to submit a proposal in response to this RFP. The Government shall not pay any cost for the preparation and submission of proposals submitted in response to this request for task proposal. All communications concerning this project prior to the award of a contract under this RFP shall be with the Contracting Officer (Christine Godfrey or designee).

9. Communications with unauthorized individuals concerning a specific RFP prior to award may jeopardize your eligibility for award.

52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Items.

As prescribed in 12.301(c), the Contracting Officer may insert a provision substantially as follows:

EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Technical capability is __less important than price________ [Contracting Officer state, in accordance with FAR ]

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

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EVALUATION CRITERIA GUIDANCE

Offerors are not required to propose on all three (3) tasks in order to be considered for award. Offerors may propose in whole or in part; however the Government will consider additional administrative costs in its price evaluation.

Technical factors and similar experience when combined will be less important in the evaluation than price. The Government will make award on a lowest-price, technically acceptable basis.

Technical Evaluation:

Technical evaluation for this RFP is as follows:

1. Technical Approach: The Offeror shall provide an analysis of the task requirements to indicate their understanding of the task requirements, operating environment and the contract objectives. The Offeror shall provide a description of the performance techniques and methodology they propose in performance of this task. The Offeror shall provide a Project Plan and a Contract Work Breakdown Structure (CWBS) describing the process and approach they propose to use in successfully completing this project. The CWBS should correlate to the Offeror’s price/cost proposal.

The Offeror shall specifically address aspects such as technical understanding, methodology and approach, along with the sub-factors listed below.

a. Provide a detailed and comprehensive statement of the problem, scope, and purpose of the project to demonstrate complete understanding of the intent and requirements of the contract and potential problems that may be encountered.

b. Describe the proposed technical approach to comply with each of the requirements specified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The proposal must be consistent with the stated goals and objectives. The proposed approach must ensure the achievement of timely and acceptable performance and will include a milestone and/or phasing charts to illustrate a logical sequence of proposed events.

c. Discuss the plan and solutions for overcoming difficulties involved with performing the work requirements.

Price Evaluation: A price analysis of the proposal may be conducted to determine the reasonableness of the Offeror’s price proposal. Only proposals that are rated technically acceptable will be reviewed.

Notice of Intent to Award Contract without Discussions: It is the intention of the Government to evaluate proposals and award a contract without conducting discussions with Contractors.