36C10X19Q0156-003.pdf

36C10X19Q0156 | VA HLTI Leadership Assessment Tool

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 in conjunction with Part 13 of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This Solicitation is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ), and the solicitation number is 36C10X19Q0156.

This notice incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-94 and 2005-95 effective January 19, 2017 and the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR). The complete text of any of the clauses and provisions may be accessed in full text at http://farsite.hill.af.mil.

This Solicitation has determined to be considered Full and Open Competition. The NAICS Code is 511199, All Other Publishers, and the size standard is 500 Employees.

In accordance with FAR 4.1102 (a) “Offerors and quoters are required to be registered in SAM at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements…”

The VHA Healthcare Leadership Talent Institute is charged to identify, develop, and strategically manage the enterprise and healthcare leadership talent across VA. In fulfilling this responsibility, HLTI uses leadership assessment tools to triangulate and calibrate its processes for identifying and developing future leadership pipelines and employee talent.

This objective is to purchase access to a leadership potential assessment tool that has specific qualities to enable this process triangulation, including: empirical validation against a cohort of U.S. multi-sector leaders, alignment with the Silzer & Church (2009)1 theoretical model of leadership potential, assessment ratings benchmarked to increasing levels of leadership responsibility, online web-based accessibility, electronic individual and group data/reports, de-identified participant access (alpha numeric assignment), and HLTI certification to self-manage the delivery of feedback/coaching to VA participants completing the leadership potential assessment tool.

HLTI is seeking an empirically-validated, theory-informed, and stage-oriented leadership potential assessment tool with online web-based accessibility, electronic individual and group data/reports, de-identified participant access (alpha numeric assignment), and HLTI certification to self-manage the delivery of assessment feedback/coaching. No consulting services are being required with this requirement.

1 Silzer, R., & Church, A.H. (2009). The pearls and perils of identifying potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(4), 377-412.

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/

1) Empirical validation means this tool has a published/available research or technical guide to show it has been model-tested (factor analysis) against multi-sector U.S. leaders (government, public/private sector) with results for construct validity, item reliability, and assessing sub-group differences (e.g., leadership level, gender, race/ethnicity).

2) Theory-informed means the assessment constructs measure the indicators of leadership potential, as defined by Silzer and Church (2009), of:

a. cognitive skills, or logic and reasoning,

b. personality, or derailment risks,

c. learning skills, or learning agility and self-awareness,

d. motivation skills, or motivation to lead,

e. leadership skills, or leadership traits, and

f. functional skills, or formative experiences.

3) Stage-oriented means the tool can rank the individual’s skills/behaviors/experiences against increasing levels of leadership competency for use as a roadmap in leadership development and succession planning; these levels include, at minimum: frontline/first-level leader, manager/mid-level leader, and senior executive/CEO.

All work shall be completed in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The PWS is included as Attachment 1 to this solicitation

The Period of Performance will be June 1, 2019 – May 31, 2024. This will have four, 12-month, Option Years associated with it.

Offerors are requested to quote Firm-Fixed-Prices for all of the line items on the Schedule of Supplies and Services attached to this solicitation.

Any award resulting from this solicitation will be issued on a Standard Form 1449.

NOTE: To receive an award resulting from this solicitation, offerors MUST be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database IAW FAR 52.212-(k).

Registration is free and may be done online at: www.acquisition.gov or www.sam.gov.

Contractors are advised that any and all questions concerning this solicitation must be sent in writing to the Contracting Office at VA Strategic Acquisition Center Frederick (SAC-F), located in Frederick, MD via email to the Contract Specialist William Milline at William.Milline@va.gov and Contracting Officer, Christina Heller at Christina.Heller@va.gov.

http://www.acquisition.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:William.Milline@va.gov mailto:Christina.Heller@va.gov

The following FAR and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) applies to this acquisition:

52.212-1 -- Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items (January 2017):

Addenda to 52.212-1; the following paragraphs are hereby deleted from this provision:

(d) product samples, (e) multiple offers, (h) multiple awards, and (i) availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.

Addenda to 52.212-1: paragraph (c) period for acceptance of offers, delete “30 calendar days” and insert “60 calendar days” in its place.

Addenda to 52.212-1; the following provisions apply and are incorporated by full text:

OFFER SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS- Quotes must include the following items.

Submission of a quote that does not contain all items requested below may result in elimination from consideration for award.

1. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted via email on or before Friday, May 24, 2019 at 3:00 PM/ET to William.Milline@va.gov. The email subject line shall include the solicitation number located at the top of this document. Questions not submitted in this manner may not be answered.

2. Quotes not submitted directly to William.Milline@va.gov or received after the due date/time may not be considered. The email system will not accept file sizes that exceed 5MB. It is the contractor’s responsibility to submit all parts of their quote no later than the date and time specified in the RFQ.

3. Quote Files: 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 a Microsoft Excel (.XLS), Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), or Acrobat (PDF) file Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11". All of the quote files may be compressed (zipped) into one file entitled “quote.zip” using WinZip version 6.2 or later version or the quote files may be submitted individually. The use of hyperlinks in quote is prohibited. Any quote that fails to comply with all solicitation instructions may be considered non-responsive and may not be accepted or considered for award.

4. Content Requirements: Contractors shall provide sufficient technical documentation to allow for thorough evaluation of the quote. All information shall be confined to the appropriate volume. Contractors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of the quote.

a. Volume I –Technical

i. The technical volume shall demonstrate the ability of the offeror to meet the requirements in the solicitation, to include the following:

1. The offeror shall demonstrate successful, recent (within the past three years), relevant (i.e. experience in providing services similar in size, scope, and complexity) as described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) past/present performance.

The Document should be limited to a 3 page narrative and include a point of contact for each location where work was completed.

2. Written work experience and assurance of the competency of contractor personnel.

3. Planned approach for performing each task associated with the performance work statement (PWS).

b. Volume II –Price

i. Quoters shall submit a completed Price Volume. Quoters may also, within the one-page narrative, detail any discounts or other relevant pricing information. Discounts are encouraged.

ii. Quoters are hereby advised that any quote- imposed terms and conditions and/or assumptions which deviate from the Government’s material terms and conditions established by the solicitation, may render the offeror’s quote unacceptable, and thus ineligible for award.

VAAR 852.270-1 REPRESENTATIVES OF CONTRACTING OFFICERS (JAN 2008)

The contracting officer reserves the right to designate representatives to act for him/her in furnishing technical guidance and advice or generally monitor the work to be performed under this contract. Such designation will be in writing and will define the scope and limitation of the designee's authority. A copy of the designation shall be furnished to the contractor.

(End of Provision)

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

13.106-2 -- Evaluation of Quotations or Offers:

The Government intends to award one purchase order as a result of this Request for Quote to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the solicitation requirements.

Quotes shall be evaluated for acceptability only and shall not be rated. Offerors must be determined responsible according to the standards of FAR Part 9 to be eligible for award.

Award will be based on the total overall Best Value utilizing a trade-off approach. Any offeror whose quote has been determined technically acceptable will then have its quote evaluated for a fair and reasonable price.

The following factors are listed in descending order of importance and shall be used to evaluate offers:

1. Technical; and

2. Price.

The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes:

Factor 1: Technical Acceptability

Technical Acceptability will be evaluated for conformance to the requirements of the solicitation.

Technical Rating Definitions:

Ratings Definitions Pass Offeror has proposed to satisfy the specific mandatory requirements in accordance with the Performance Work Statement and 52.212-1

Fail Offeror’s proposal does not satisfy the specific mandatory requirements in accordance with the Performance Work Statement and Section E and 52.212-1.

Factor 2: Price

Price will not be evaluated adjectivally or assigned a score:

Quoters price quote 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. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through price analysis techniques as described in FAR 13.106-3.

Contractors are required to include a copy of the FAR provision 52.212-3 –Offeror Representations and Certifications –Commercial Items with its proposal or may indicate completion of the representations and certifications on the internet at http://sam.gov.

Failure to include the certifications along with the price proposal or complete certifications on the internet may result in elimination from consideration for award.

The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions –Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

http://sam.gov/

Addenda to 52.212-1; the following clauses apply and are incorporated by full text:

52.217-8 Option To Extend Services (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days

(End of Clause)

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 30 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 five (5) years.

(End of Clause)

852.203-70 Commercial advertising (JAN 2008)

The bidder or offeror agrees that if a contract is awarded to him/her, as a result of this solicitation, he/she will not advertise the award of the contract in his/her commercial advertising in such a manner as to state or imply that the Department of Veterans Affairs endorses a product, project or commercial line of endeavor.

(End of Clause)

852.232-72 Electronic submission of payment requests (NOV 2012)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause-

(1) Contract financing payment has the meaning given in FAR 32.001.

(2) Designated agency office has the meaning given in 5 CFR 1315.2(m).

(3) Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted electronic data transmission methods and formats identified in paragraph (c) of this clause. Facsimile, e-mail, and scanned documents are not acceptable electronic forms for submission of payment requests.

(4) Invoice payment has the meaning given in FAR 32.001.

(5) Payment request means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment submitted by the contractor under this contract.

(b) Electronic payment requests. Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this clause, the contractor shall submit payment requests in electronic form. Purchases paid with a Government-wide commercial purchase card are considered to be an electronic transaction for purposes of this rule, and therefore no additional electronic invoice submission is required.

(c) Data transmission. A contractor must ensure that the data transmission method and format are through one of the following:

(1) VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System. (See Web site at http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp.)

(2) Any system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) and chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The X12 EDI Web site (http://www.x12.org) includes additional information on EDI 810 and 811 formats.

(d) Invoice requirements. Invoices shall comply with FAR 32.905.

(e) Exceptions. If, based on one of the circumstances below, the contracting officer directs that payment requests be made by mail; the contractor shall submit payment requests by mail through the United States Postal Service to the designated agency office. Submission of payment requests by mail may be required for:

(1) Awards made to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States;

(2) Classified contracts or purchases when electronic submission and processing of payment requests could compromise the safeguarding of classified or privacy information;

(3) Contracts awarded by contracting officers in the conduct of emergency operations, such as responses to national emergencies;

(4) Solicitations or contracts in which the designated agency office is a VA entity other than the VA Financial Services Center in Austin, Texas; or

(5) Solicitations or contracts in which the VA designated agency office does not have electronic invoicing capability as described above.

(End of Clause)

(End of Addendum to 52.212-4)

The following Clauses/Provisions apply:

52.202-1 Definitions.

http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp

52.203-5 Covenant Against Contingent Fees 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government.

52.203-7 Anti-Kickback Procedures.

52.203-17 – Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights.

52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code (Jul 2016) 52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications.

52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Dec 2014) 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors- Commercial Items.

52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items.

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items.

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders- Commercial Items.

52.219-27, Notice of Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside.

52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (APR 2015) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUL 2014) 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Other than System for Award Management (JUL 2013) 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Dec 2013) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) 852.215-71 Evaluation Factor Commitments (Dec 2009) 852.233-70 Protest Content/Alternative Dispute Resolution (Jan 2008) 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities (Apr 1984) 852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers (Jan 2008) 852.273-70 Late Offers (Jan 2003) 852.23-74 Award Without Exchanges (Jan 2003)

Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quotations via email to William Milline at William.Milline@va.gov and Christina Heller at Christina.Heller@va.gov.

All quotes must be received by Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 12:00 PM/ET to be considered for award.

Attachments:

Attachment 1: Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Attachment 2: Pricing Schedule of Services Requested mailto:William.Milline@va.gov mailto:Christina.Heller@va.gov