ADDENDUM to 52.212-2 EVAL.docx

?.## ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL ITEMS

1. Continuation of Addendum to FAR 52.212-2

1.1 Only quotes/offers from Small Businesses will be accepted as this is 100% SMALL business set-aside. Offerors must be registered in SAM.

1.2 All offers will be evaluated in accordance using the procedures in FAR 13.106-2.

The Government intends to award without discussions using the simplified acquisition procedures in FAR 13.5. The Government is not obligated to request any additional information from an offeror who does not provide sufficiently detailed information of which a precise evaluation can be made of an offeror’s offer. Failure to submit complete information in the manner as instructed may be grounds to consider the offeror “Non-responsive” and exclude the offer from further considerations. It is, therefore, in the offeror’s best interest to submit ALL required documentation to the fullest degree possible. If an offeror cannot provide all information required by the evaluation factors, a statement documenting each omission shall be included in the offeror’s offer addressing the omission(s).

1.3 By submission of its offer, the Offeror accedes to all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being determined unacceptable and/or non-responsive.

2. EVALUATION FACTORS AND CRITERIA.

Offerors should address in detail their Technical Capabilities by describing their proposed approach to each factor. All factors will be considered based solely on the offer/quote provided, to the extent in which the offer/quote demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements, and the contractor’s ability to meet those requirements.

2.1 FACTOR 1 - Technical: This factor will be used to determine the Offeror’s ability to successfully manage the full range of contractual requirements, capabilities, and experience, and any other relevant information regarding strengths of offeror and proposed personnel. Clinical Experience of contractor personnel will be looked at more favorably as stated below. Similar experience with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs will be looked at most favorably for both contractor and contractor personnel.

Factor 1 has the below sub-factors that are in descending order of importance.

2.1.1 Subfactor Technical 1a – Personnel Qualifications/Staffing: NOTE: Contractor MUST redact any personal information (primarily Social Security number and Date of Birth) on any documents of/for any and all proposed personnel/staff.

2.1.1.1 Pathologist:

· Offeror shall provide proof that the proposed candidate is a Pathologist, who is experienced (minimum one year) in Anatomic Pathology and is Board Certified as stated in Paragraph 2.1.2 and 4.4.1.2. Curriculum Vitae/Resume should provide education and experience as provided in PWS 4.4.1. Also, a candidate with more years of experience may be considered a stronger candidate and/or better references. Transcripts may be provided.

· Offeror shall include in CV if prior VA Medical Center work experience (Preferred and may be considered a benefit but not mandatory)

· Offeror shall include if provider has current VetPro registration (yes or no)

· Offeror shall include if current background investigation: National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) if applicable and date.

· Offeror shall provide proof of current unencumbered licensure in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. The qualifications of the Physician shall be subject to review by the VAMC Chief of Staff, and approval by the VAMC Director. To include issue date and expiration date.

· The Contractor’s Pathologist must be a US Citizen or have evidence of having a green card.

· The Contractor’s Pathologist must speak and write English proficiently.

· The Contractor’s Pathologist must have current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association. Copies of certifications must be provided with offer/quote.

· Offeror shall provide verification that Pathologist has a current PPD/TB test to include results.

· Offeror shall provide COVID 19 documentation for Pathologist IAW PWS Paragraph 2.1.7.6.

· Offeror shall provide Pathologist’s NPI number

· Offeror shall provide proof/certification that Pathologist are compared against and are not listed on the OIG excluded parties list.

· Personnel local to area preferred due to “as needed schedule” but not mandatory.

· Availability date (credentialing can be fast-tracked; however, 4-8 weeks is standard)/Letter of Intent.

2.1.2 Subfactor Technical 1b – Corporate Management/Capability/Experience: Offerors should provide a narrative addressing this subfactor as it applies to the requirement, addressing the following areas:

· The Offeror must demonstrate at least a minimum of five (5) of experience in providing and managing on-site staffing services. Demonstrating capabilities and experience in providing staff to other VA Medical Centers may be considered a benefit and more favor over another. Demonstrating experience of providing Laboratory staffing services may be considered a benefit and more favor over another.

· The Offeror shall provide a history of successful personnel placements (low turnover rates) in this labor category (focus on Pathology, if applicable, but not mandatory) and that has in place processes, methods, plans, personnel, and other resources as necessary that together meet all of the technical capabilities of this requirement.

· The Offeror shall provide a copy of contingency plan for replacing key personnel to maintain services as required under the terms of the contract (PWS Paragraph 2.9.8).

· Offeror shall note if subcontracting and provide company information to include DUNS number and socioeconomic status. (Related to Factor 3 – Past Performance)

2.2 FACTOR 2 – PRICE:

2.2.1 This factor indicates what each offeror’s offer/quote will cost the Government, if selected. The Contracting Officer will determine prices to be or not to be fair and reasonable. If a price is considered not fair and reasonable, then the Offeror will be eliminated from the evaluation process.

2.2.2 The Contracting Officer will evaluate the offeror’s proposed prices in accordance with FAR 13.106-2. Price will not be assigned an adjectival rating or scored. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for base period for this requirement. (For the purposes of the award of this contract, the Government intends to evaluate the option to extend services under FAR 52.217-8 as follows: The evaluation will consider the possibility that the option can be exercised at any time and can be exercised in increments of one to six months, but not for more than a total of six months during the life of the contract. The evaluation will assume that the prices for any option exercised under FAR 52.217-8 will be at the same rates as those in effect under the contract at the time the option is exercised. The evaluation will therefore assume that the addition of the price or prices of any possible extension or extensions under FAR 52.217-8 to the total price for the basic requirement and the total price for the priced ordering periods has the same effect on the total price of all offer/quotes relative to each other and will not affect the ranking of offer/quotes based on price, unless, after reviewing the offer/quotes, the Government determines that there is a basis for finding otherwise. This evaluation will not obligate the Government to exercise any option under FAR 52.217-8.)

2.3 FACTOR 3 – Past Performance: Offerors shall submit the information outlined below as evidence of relevant past performance. Each offeror will be evaluated on his/her performance under existing and prior contracts for similar staffing services. Performance information will be used for both responsibility determinations and as an evaluation factor against which offeror’s relative rankings will be compared to assure best value to the Government. The Government will focus on information that demonstrates quality of performance relative to the size and complexity of the procurement under consideration.

The Offeror shall provide at least three (3) Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports from previous or ongoing contracts, for the same or similar services called for in this solicitation, provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs or other Federal agencies, performed within the past five (5) years.

If the offeror or subcontractors have not held VA or Federal contracts, then the offeror or subcontractors may submit references arising from state, local, or private contracts. Include the following information for each contract and subcontract:

I. Name and address of contracting activity and services provided II. Name, email address, and telephone number of Contracting Officer III. Name, email address, and telephone number of Program Manager/COR (COR) IV. Dates of contract performance V. Total contract value VI. List of major subcontractors (VAAR 852.219-74)

In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. An evaluation of the performance of the proposed key personnel on relevant contracts, or past performance with respect to predecessor companies, or subcontractors that perform major or critical aspects of the requirement can be used, as appropriate, as part or all of the past performance evaluation.

The Government may obtain additional past performance information from the CPARS, other systems, agencies other than VA, and any other source. Offerors must provide documentation of all past adverse actions by Federal, state, or local agencies.

This factor will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 13.106-2 for relevancy (applicable staff position sought and dollar amount), recent (within 5 years), and confidence/success. Offerors should provide a narrative addressing its relevant capabilities (as it applies to the requirement), and provide copies of their most relevant CPARS addressing the following:

· Offeror has demonstrated a commitment to customer service (i.e. timeliness and quality of services provided, quality of personnel delivered, resolution of conflicts and customer satisfaction) in the successful completion of placement requests similar to the types outlined in this solicitation. Offeror identified (3) federal, state, local government, and or private/commercial contracts of similar scope, size, and complexity that are ongoing or have been completed within the last five (5) years after issuance date of the solicitation. Offeror shall provide the preferred three (3) CPARS reports that are most relevant to this requirement. Offeror that has marginal ratings in CPARS, shall provide copies and an explanation (does not count toward the three requested). Offerors’ past performance greatly exceeded contract requirements as indicated by Government’s direct knowledge of contractor’s performance and ratings under Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) (https://www.cpars.gov ) may be given more consideration.

· Offerors may provide attachments D4 and D5 for past performance (optional for those that have CPARS available)

2.4 FACTOR 4 – Veteran Participation/Preference:

(a) In accordance with VAAR 852.215-70 included herein, this factor will take into consideration an offeror’s status as an SDVOSB, VOSB and/or its proposed use of eligible SDVOSB and/or VOSB as subcontractors. This factor will give credit in the following order of descending importance and will be used as part of the trade-off method in conjunction with pricing to reach best value:

(i) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Provide SDVOSB status if applicable to the offer. The greater the equality of offers within the non-price factors and price, the more important this status becomes in selecting the best value to the Government. Preference will be given to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business whose offer is equal to or exceeds all other offers in non-price and price factors and provides the best value to the Government. Furthermore, preference will be given to the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business whose offer is equal to or exceeds the proposals of any Veteran-Owned Small Business and provides the best value to the Government.

(ii) Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB). The greater the equality of offers within the non-price factors and price, the more important this status becomes in selecting the best value to the Government. Preference will be given to the Veteran-Owned Small-Business whose offer is equal to or exceeds all other offers in non-price and price factors and provides the best value to the Government.

(iii) Non-SDVOSB or Non-VOSB committing to subcontracting with either SDVOSB or VOSB in the performance of the contract. In an effort to achieve socioeconomic small business goals, the VA will evaluate offerors based on their veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned status, their proposed use of veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses as subcontractors, and their past performance on adherence to subcontracting plan requirements.

(b) For SDVOSB or VOSB to receive credit under this factor, the offeror must be registered and verified in the Vendor Information Pages database at https://www.VetBiz.gov per VAAR 804.1102.

(c) To receive preferential consideration for the offeror’s proposed use of verified VOSB or SDVOSB concerns in subcontracting effort, offerors must state in their proposals the names of the veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses with whom they intend to subcontract and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. To qualify, the subcontractor(s) must be registered and verified by The Center for Veterans Enterprise at www.vetbiz.gov.

3. BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD:

3.1 Basis for award shall be in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 13.106-3 and 13.5. The Government will select the best overall offer, based upon a comparative assessment of evaluation listed above in Paragraph 2. Contract may be awarded to the offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR 9, whose offer conforms to the solicitation’s requirements (to include all stated terms, condition, representations, certifications, and all other information required with the Performance Work Statement) and is determined by an overall comparative assessment of the evaluation factors to represent the BEST VALUE and most advantageous offer to the Government.

3.2 As stated above, the Government will select the offer that is most advantageous. THEREFORE, THE GOVERNMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO AWARD TO OTHER THAN THE LOWEST PROPOSED PRICE. However, the degree of importance of price as a factor in determining award could become greater depending upon the equality of the offers evaluated in the non-price factors. The greater the equality of offers within the non-price factors, the more important price becomes in selecting the best value to the Government.

Benefits associated with additional costs will be identified and may be considered. If one offeror has better capability and lower price, then that may be the better value. If one offeror has the better capability and the higher price, then the source selection authority (Contracting Officer) will decide when the difference in capability is worth the difference in price.

If the source selection authority considers the better capability to be worth the higher price, then the more capable higher-priced offeror will be the better value. If not, then the less capable, lower-priced offer will be the better value. The source selection authority has discretion of which offeror represents the best value to the Government.

3.3 Award may be made without exchanges; however, as stated above, the Government reserves the right to exchanges with offerors if deemed necessary. The government intends to award a single IDIQ contract based on what is most advantageous for filling the requirement.

3.4 Failure to provide a complete offer can constitute an offer being found as non-responsive.

(End of Provision)