36C10G22R0010 0001_1.docx

SUBJECT*

Follow-On : VA Enterprise-Wide Psychology Training Accreditation (VEPTA) | APA

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center

10300 Spotsylvania Ave | STE 400 Fredericksburg VA 22408-2697

POINT OF CONTACT*

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

TITLE: FOLLOW-ON: VA ENTERPRISE-WIDE PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING ACCREDITATION (VEPTA)

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice This is a sole source combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

General Information

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center 10300 Spotsylvania Ave, Suite 400 Fredericksburg, VA 22408

DESCRIPTION

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This solicitation is a request for proposal, (RFP), for solicitation number: 36C10G22R0010 | program title: FOLLOW-ON: VA ENTERPRISE-WIDE PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING ACCREDITATION (VEPTA). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect of 48 CFR § 12.603 - Streamlined solicitation for commercial items. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is FAR Subpart 6.302-1.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 813920, Professional Organizations with a small business size standard of $16.5M. Vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ The Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), Department of Veterans Affairs, 10300 Spotsylvania Ave, STE 400, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22408, intends to negotiate, a non-competitive, firm fixed price sole source, blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with the American Psychological Association (APA) 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, for accreditation services.

BLANKET PURCHASE AGREEMENT (BPA) TERMS & CONDITIONS

THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE MANDATORY:

DESCRIPTION OF AGREEMENT:

The Associated Health Education Section, Office of Academic Affiliations (14AA), Veterans Health Administration, (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW | Washington, D.C. 20420, has a statutory mission to train clinical health professionals for Veteran Affairs (VA) and the nation, while providing the highest standard of care for eligible Veterans who choose VA as their source of health care. Accreditation ensures that training programs administered by VA meet that standard.

PURPOSE:

To provide accreditation services, including all accreditation fees (initial application, annual accreditation, site visit) for all VHA psychology doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency training programs pursuant to VHA Handbooks 1400.04 and 1400.08, Supervision of Associated Health Trainees and Education of Associated Health Professions, respectively.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

This BPA will have a period of performance of one (1) 12-month base year with four (4) 12-month option years running from May 2022 thru May 2027.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

Doctoral Internships are located at 129 VA medical centers (VAMCs) and postdoctoral residencies are located at 79 VAMCs.

A. Doctoral Internships

The VA sponsors 118 doctoral internship programs and co-sponsors 11 doctoral internship programs as part of a consortium. All internship programs are accredited except for four, who have not yet been accredited but have submitted an initial application. Currently, VA provides salary and benefits for 711 one-year (2080-hour) doctoral interns at the VAMCs identified in the facility listing report. Accredited doctoral internship programs provide broad and general training in scientific psychology and in the foundations of practice with the goal of preparing students for the practice of professional psychology.

B. Post-doctoral Residencies

The VA sponsors 136 postdoctoral residency programs and co-sponsors 4 postdoctoral residency programs as part of a consortium. Of those programs, 20 are unaccredited with 10 having submitted an initial application for accreditation. Postdoctoral residency programs are accredited in special emphasis areas and provide advanced training in the areas of Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, Clinical Health Psychology, Geropsychology, and Rehabilitation Psychology. Currently, VA provides salary and benefits for 550 one-year (2080-hour) residents at the VAMCs identified in the facility listing report.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:

A. The Contractor shall be identified by either the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (DoED) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), as the standard national accrediting authority for professional education and training for psychologists. Accordingly, accreditation policies, procedures and guidelines are intended to be consistent with industry standards.

B. In accordance with VA Handbooks 1400.04 and 1400.08, Supervision of Associated Health Trainees and Education of Associated Health Professions, respectively, are available for additional information about VA education policies. Maintaining psychology education and training accreditation must be consistent with these policies, which requires programmatic accreditation with the profession’s standard certifying body. Psychology doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency accreditation recognizes that a psychology training program meets certain standards of quality and safety and ensures compliance with the professional guidelines for accreditation.

C. The Contractor will use one VA psychologist practitioner from a VAMC other than the VAMC being accredited, to participate in site visits, if site visits are part of the contractor’s standard accreditation process. The VA employee will adhere to the contractors’ standard accreditation process.

D. The contractor must follow federal travel requirements when VA psychologist site visitors travel to VA psychology internship and/or residency programs. All VA site visitors must be on official travel duty status, as VA’s Office of General Counsel has advised that being on a leave status while participating on a site visit is a criminal violation at another federal agency, including VA medical centers. VA remains ultimately responsible for the travel expenses, and the VA site visitor’s supervisor must determine if the travel will be permitted. There are two separate statutory authorities for gifts to be accepted in connection with official travel. Title 5 USC § 4111 and Title 31 USC § 1353 both allow gifts to offset official travel expenditures from entities outside of the Federal Government.

E. The Contractor will forego the initial fee for a new accreditation if the accreditation can be co-scheduled with a renewal accreditation site visit at the same VAMC.

F. VA shall pay the Contractor using electronic money transfer from financial services center (Automated Clearing House – ACH). When VA is a co-sponsor as part of a consortium, VA may only pay a percentage of the fee while the co-sponsor will pay the remaining fee directly to the Contractor.

The Contractor must demonstrate the capability to provide accreditation specifically for psychology doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency programs. The Contractor must be able to report the required services and accreditation decisions in accordance with all performance objectives identified and provide accreditation site visits using a standardized approach (e.g., published standards, trained experience surveyors, reporting mechanism, VHA facility site visit notification to VHA COR). The desired outcomes of the overall BPA include the following:

i. Initial application fees for new programs;

ii. Site visit fees for new programs (virtual site visit may be used if an alternative site visit format is necessary subsequent to extenuating circumstances);

iii. Site visit fees for reaccreditation of existing programs (virtual site visit may be used if an alternative site visit format is necessary subsequent to extenuating circumstances); and

iv. Annual accreditation fees for existing programs.

BPA EFFECTIVE DATE:

The BPA is effective on a date that is agreed to by both the successful Offeror and the Government or 30 days after the date signed by the Government, or sooner upon mutual agreement.

EXTENT OF OBLIGATION:

The Government is obligated only to the extent of authorized purchases actually made under the resultant BPA. This BPA does not obligate any funds, nor is the Government obligated to make any purchases under this BPA. The Government does not guarantee any volume of purchases through a BPA. The terms and conditions included in this BPA apply to all purchase made pursuant to it. In the event of an inconsistency between the provisions of this BPA and the BPA Holder’s invoice, the provisions of this BPA will take precedence.

ORDERING METHOD:

Orders will be placed against this BPA via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), via facsimile, in writing or by phone. Each individual BPA Order will describe the tasks, services and deliverables required.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS (FAR) CLAUSES: CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses 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. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/ (End of Clause) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections Under The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009 (June 2010) 52.203-16, Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest (Jun 2020) 52.203-17, Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistle Blower Rights (JUN 2020) 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (Jan 2011) 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018) 52.204-19, Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications (Dec 2014) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) 52.209-9, Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (OCT 2018) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 90 DAYS; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 DAYS before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 60 MONTHS. (End of clause) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (OCT 2018) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (APR 2015) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (JUN 2020) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUN 2020) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (JUN 2020) 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (DEC 2010) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (NOV2021) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (JUN 2020) 52.225-1, Buy American Act—Supplies (NOV 2021) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (FEB 2021) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Nov 2021) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004)

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS (FAR) PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

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.

52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) 52.216-1, Type of Contract (APR 1984); The Government contemplates award of a FIRM-FIXED PRICE, Blanket Purchase Agreement contract resulting from this solicitation.

52.217-5, Evaluation of Options (July 1990) 52.222-56, Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan (Oct 2020) VA ACQUISITION REGULATION, (VAAR) - PROVISION OR CLAUSES APPLICABLE TO THIS ACQUISTION - INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.

852.203-70, Commercial Advertising (MAY 2018) 852.232-72, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018) 852.270-1, Representatives of Contracting Officers (JAN 2008) Information concerning clauses and provision incorporated by reference may be obtained at http://farsite.hill.af.mil. Contract clauses and provisions cited in this solicitation may be accessed electronically at these addresses: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ and http://www.va.gov/oamm/acquisitions/ars/policyreg/vaar/vaar852.htm

MANDATORY WRITTEN DISCLOSURES

Mandatory written disclosures required by FAR clause 52.203-13 to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (OIG) must be made electronically through the VA OIG Hotline at http://www.va.gov/oig/contacts/hotline.asp and clicking on "FAR clause 52.203-13 Reporting." If you experience difficulty accessing the website, call the Hotline at 1-800-488-8244 for further instructions.

SAC 18-01 SAC SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT FEE AND SUBMISSION OF QUARTERLY SALES REPORTS; OPEN MARKET (JANUARY 2016)

a. Service Level Agreement Fee.

The Service Level Agreement (SLA) fee is established by the Supply Fund Board and is provided as a means of reimbursement for customary acquisition-related services necessary to obtain contractor services and/or supplies as required. The SLA is reimbursed to the SAC based on rates established by the supply fund board and are recouped based on a percentage of total quarterly sales. The Supply Fund Board may change the percentage at any time, but typically not more than once per year. Upon a change in the SLA, the Contracting Officer (CO) shall issue a unilateral modification to apply the change to CLIN prices based upon the SLA rate change. The SAC will provide reasonable notice prior to the effective date of the change.

In order to facilitate SLA reimbursement, offerors must include (imbed) the SLA fee into their prices; therefore, the fee will be reflected in the total amount charged and transparent to ordering activities.

The current SLA which applies to this contract action is 3.0%. This SLA Fee shall be imbedded in the awarded contract/agreement price(s) and offers submitted in response to this solicitation shall include this SLA Fee in the price of every line item offered.

b. Quarterly Sales Reports.

The Contractor shall report all contract sales under this contract and submit collected SLAs as follows:

The Contractor shall remit the SLA fee to the SAC in U.S. dollars within 30 calendar days after the end of the reporting quarter and final payment shall be remitted within 30 days after physical completion of the last outstanding task order or delivery order of the contract.

The SLA Fee amount collected and due shall be paid electronically. To ensure that the payment is credited properly, the contractor shall electronically transmit the SLA fee at www.pay.gov to SAC; specific instructions in Attachment 3 – PAY.gov Vendor Submittal Instructions).

The Government reserves the right to inspect, without further notice, such records of the Contractor as pertinent to sales under any contract or agreements resulting from this solicitation. Failure to remit the full amount of the SLA within 30 calendar days after the end of the applicable reporting period constitutes a contract debt to the United States Government under the terms of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 32.6. The Government may exercise all rights under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, including withholding or setting off payments and interest on the debt (see FAR clause 52.232-17, Interest). Should the Contractor fail to submit the required sales reports, falsify them, or fail to timely pay the SLA, the Government shall have, in addition to the rights and remedies described in this clause, all other rights and remedies permitted by Federal law and statutes.

(End of Clause)

ATTACHMENT A

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA:

1. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION: The SAC CO will: (1) issue the BPA; and (2) provide overall management and oversight of the BPA and any resulting modifications to the BPA. Each BPA Order shall have a COR assigned who will coordinate with the CO. Any individual who has ordering/contracting authority, on behalf of VA (as authorized below), to place delivery/purchase orders, may use this BPA in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Ordering Method.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will be responsible for inspection and acceptance of all deliverables, as appropriate, to determine the contractor’s adherence to prescribed performance as outlined within the BPA. The COR will be designated/delegated at the ordering level by the Contracting Officer. In accordance with FAR 13.303-6(b)(1), the Contracting Officer shall conduct an annual review of the established BPA. All contract administration matters will be handled by the below individuals. The Contractor shall contact the BPA Point of Contract on all matters pertaining to administration. Only the CO is authorized to make commitments or issue changes that will affect the price, quantity, or delivery terms of the BPA. The following individuals will handle all contract administration matters:

a. CONTRACTOR: American Psychological Association

Office of Acquisition Operations Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) AS4C U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 10300 Spotsylvania Ave Fredericksburg VA 22408

c. BPA POINTS OF CONTACT: Program Manager and COR (TBD)

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] FAR 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer --System for Award Management. Central Contractor Registration.

[X] 52.232-36, Payment by Third Party INVOICES: Payments shall be made monthly in arrears upon receipt of a properly prepared invoice. In order to comply with the Improper Payment Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA), the VA has mandated electronic invoice submission to the Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center (VAFSC).

Tungsten electronic invoicing is free to all VA vendors. In order to submit electronic invoices, all VA vendors must register with Tungsten by logging on to http://www.tungsten-network.com/media/47595/ob10_how to_register_13_v3.pdf and following the registration instructions or calling 1-877-489-6135 for Enrollment.

Contractor shall submit an electronic invoice by the tenth (10th) of the following month services were performed to the Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center (VAFSC) e-Invoice through the website at https://portal.ob10.com/Login.aspx. For questions regarding the submission of VA electronic invoices, Tungsten/OB10 customer service may be contacted at 1-877-489-6135.

All invoices shall reference the vendor’s name and address, customer name, contract number, appropriate obligation/Purchase (Funding) Order Number, description of services provided, quantity, unit price, and total invoice amount. Invoices shall also include any payment discount terms.

For questions regarding invoice receipt or payment, please call VAFSC directly at 1-877-353-9791 or email vafsccshd@va.gov

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

a. Quarterly [ ] To the Strategic Acquisition Center-Fredericksburg as set forth in section 4.

b. Semi-Annually [ ]

c. Other [X] Quarterly

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE PROCEDURES: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

FSC e-Invoice Payment http://www.fsc.va.gov/fsc/einvoice.asp Invoice Setup Information 1-877-489-6135 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

PRICE | COST SCHEDULE:

QUANTITY

Application Internship

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Base POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2022 - MAY2023 POP End: TBD

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Base POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2022 - MAY 2023

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2022 – MAY 2023 POP End:

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APLLICATION

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Option 1 POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2023 - MAY 2024

INTERNSHIP

INTERNSHIP

ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

Contract Period: Option 1

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Option 2 POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2024 - MAY 2025

INTERNSHIP

POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2024 - MAY 2025 POP End: TBD

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Option 3 POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2025 - MAY 2026

INTERNSHIP

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

INTERNSHIP

Contract Period: Option 4 POP Begin: To Be Determined (TBD) | MAY 2026 - MAY 2027

INTERNSHIP

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

INTERNSHIP | ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION

RESIDENCY | NEW & ANTICIPATED APPLICATION)

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

RESIDENCY | ACCREDITATION SITE VISITS

ATTACHMENT B

INSTRUCTIONS to OFFERORS

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS

REQUIREMENT: VA ENTERPRISE-WIDE PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING ACCREDITATION (VEPTA)

1. The Department of Veterans Affairs, SAC is issuing this non-competitive RFP, firm fixed price, BPA on a sole-source basis to American Psychological Association, (APA), 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. The SAC will conduct this acquisition in accordance with Sub-part 13.5 under the FAR using FAR Part 12 procedures.

The particular brand name, service, or feature is essential to the Government’s requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar service, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs.

This solicitation requires registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information can be found at www.sam.gov.

The Price proposal MUST be good for 60 calendar days after close of the solicitation.

2. QUESTION SUBMISSION: Interested offerors must submit any questions concerning the solicitation at the earliest time possible to enable the Buyer to respond. Questions must be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Gwennifer Epps | gwennifer.epps@va.gov, and Contracting Officer, Brian Shepard | brian.shepard@va.gov. All questions must be received no later than February 24, 2022 at 12:00 PM E.S.T. to give reasonable time to respond to questions prior to close of the solicitation. No questions will be accepted after February 24, 2022 at 12:00 pm E.S.T.

3. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION:

In order to be eligible for BPA award, proposals submitted must provide all information specified herein. The Offeror shall provide a proposal on the services identified in the description that meet the minimum technical requirements. The proposals shall include the information listed below. Proposals that fail to furnish the required information or reject the terms and conditions of the RFP may be excluded from further consideration. Note: The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition.

The following factors will be considered when evaluating the proposals: Technical and Price.

The Offeror’s proposal shall consist of three (3) volumes. The Volumes are I –Technical-Descriptive Literature, Volume II – Price, and Volume III - Solicitation, Offer & Award Documents, Certifications & Representations. The Offeror’s proposal shall be submitted electronically by email to the: Contract Specialist, Gwennifer Epps at gwennifer.epps@va.gov, and to the Contracting Officer, Brian Shepard, at brian.shepard@va.gov. no later than March 15, 2022 at 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. All information emailed shall be identified by the solicitation number 36C10G22R0010. The use of hyperlinks or embedded attachments in proposals is prohibited. Electronic copies of proposal may be submitted; Facsimile proposals will NOT be accepted. Electronic offers are acceptable for this acquisition if received by date and time specified. The physical work site location is the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 10300 Spotsylvania Avenue, Suite 400 Fredericksburg, VA 22408, but due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic only email submission will be accepted. The VA SAC Contract Specialist will respond to ensure that all offerors have had the proposals received by the SAC Contracting Team. WARNING: Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). Late proposals may not be accepted for evaluation. To avoid submission of late proposals, we recommend the transmission of your proposal file 24 hours prior to the required proposal due date and time. Please be advised that timeliness is determined by the date and time an Offeror’s proposal is received by the Government not when an Offeror attempted transmission. Offerors are encouraged to review and ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available on their end of the transmission.

4. RFP FILES. Offerors’ quotations shall be submitted in accordance with the following instructions:

a. Format. The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. All files will be submitted as either a Microsoft Excel (.XLS) file or an Acrobat (PDF) file or compatible as indicated in the table. Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11" with printing on one side, only. The top, bottom, left and right margins shall be a minimum of one inch (1”) each. Font size shall be no smaller than 12-point. Arial or Times New Roman fonts are recommended. Characters shall be set at no less than normal spacing and 100% scale. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Line spacing shall be set at no less than single space. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. Page numbers, company logos, and headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY and are not bound by the 12-point font requirement. Footnotes to text shall not be used. All proprietary information shall be clearly and properly marked. Pages in violation of these instructions, either by exceeding the margin, font or spacing restrictions will not be evaluated.

VOLUME I - TECHNICAL

The Government will evaluate whether or not the offeror is: (1) Identified as the standard national accrediting authority for professional education and training for doctoral internships and postdoctoral residencies for psychologists. Accordingly, accreditation policies, procedures and guidelines are intended to be consistent with industry standards. (2) The Contractor must demonstrate the capability to provide accreditation specifically for psychology doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency programs. The Contractor must be able to report the required services and accreditation decisions in accordance with all performance objectives identified and provide accreditation site visits using a standardized approach (e.g., published standards, trained experience surveyors, reporting mechanism, VHA facility site visit notification to VHA COR). The desired outcomes of the overall BPA include the following:

i. Initial application fees for new programs;

ii. Site visit fees for new programs (Virtual site visit may be used if an alternative site visit format is necessary subsequent to extenuating circumstances);

iii. Site visit fees for reaccreditation of existing programs (Virtual site visit may be used if an alternative site visit format is necessary subsequent to extenuating circumstances); and

iv. Annual accreditation fees for existing programs This factor will receive a “Technically Acceptable and/or Technically Unacceptable” score. If an offeror is properly accredited, they will receive a “Technically Acceptable” for further consideration; if they are not properly accredited, they receive a “Technically Unacceptable” and their proposal will not be evaluated any further and they will be eliminated from the competition.

VOLUME II – PRICE

The cost/price proposal does not have a page limitation; however, the Offeror(s) cost/price proposal will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. The Offeror shall submit firm fixed prices for all items listed in the Price | Cost Schedule. The Offeror shall provide an excel price listing of their approved commercial cost/price for services for which they are quoting.

The offeror cost/price proposal must be separated from the technical submittal. The contractor shall propose firm fixed prices. It is up to the contractor to propose all pricing that will be necessary for the contractor to successfully perform the BPA.

VOLUME III - SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

DOCUMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS/REPRESENTATIONS

This Volume shall contain the following:

receipt of any amendments to this solicitation if any by the date and time specified in the amendment.

4. Note: Any amendments to solicitations. If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged.

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (NOV 2021)

A. BASIS OF AWARD: In order to be considered for a BPA, the proposal must be determined to be technically acceptable. The Government will issue a BPA resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government. To receive consideration for a BPA, a rating of Acceptable must be achieved for the Technical Factors, and per the lowest priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) procedures.

B. FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED:

1. TECHNICAL

2. PRICE

C. EVALUATION APPROACH:

All proposals shall be subject to evaluation by a team of Government personnel. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions based upon the initial evaluation of proposals. The proposal will be evaluated strictly in accordance with its written content. Proposals which merely restate the requirement or state that the requirement will be met, without providing supporting rationale, are not sufficient. Offerors who fail to meet the minimum technical requirements of the solicitation will be rated Unacceptable and thus, ineligible for a BPA.

1. TECHNICAL EVALUATION APPROACH. The Technical Capability evaluation provides an assessment of the offeror’s capability to satisfy the Government’s requirements. The evaluation will focus on whether the offeror’s proposal exceeds, meets, or does not meet the Statement of Objectives, (SOO).

2. PRICE EVALUATION APPROACH. Following receipt of proposals, the Government reserves the right to use various price analysis techniques and procedures to ensure a fair and reasonable price, including but not limited to comparison of proposed prices received in response to this solicitation, comparison with competitive published price lists, and comparison to Independent Government Cost Estimate.

3. OPTIONS. It is anticipated that any contract awarded from this solicitation will contain option provision(s) and periods(s). In accordance with FAR clause 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options, (July 1990) the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by addition the total price for all options to the total price of the basic requirement, except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government’s best interests. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

4. The Government will evaluate Volume III of the Instructions to Offeror, including all the amendments and provisions are completed and signed accordingly.

CONTRACT DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, OR ATTACHMENTS

See attached document: ATTACHMENT 1 - VEPTA QUARTERLY REPORT TEMPLATE.

See attached document: ATTACHMENT 2 SF1449-12a2.

See attached document: ATTACHMENT 3 Pay.gov Vendor Instructions.

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