36C77624R0031 002.docx

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) none 36C776 Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence

OH

44131 36C776 Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence

OH

44131 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C77624R0031 12-04-2023

X X X

The purpose of this amendment is to:

Provide final PWS with draft watermark removed. There are no other changes to the PWS and this is the final version PWS

Revise 52.212-1 addendum to change Past Performance submission language as follows:

From: Offerors shall submit all Government contracts and/or commercial contracts...

To: Offerors shall submit up to five (5) Government contracts and/or commercial contracts...

Correct the proposal submission due date from 8 January 2023 to 8 January 2024 @ 12:00EST All other terms and conditions remain the same.

Dawn Atterbury Contracting Officer ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES Provisions that are incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date), have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available.

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-1 as an addendum to this solicitation:

The following are tailored instructions to offerors as an addendum to 52.212-1:

(A) Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity – Central (PCAC) is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit vendors for the purpose of entering a single award contract. This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with the procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 12 and 15. The RFP is a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business set-aside.

The Contracting Officer is the only individual legally authorized to commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this procurement. The RFP does not commit the Government to pay any costs for the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP.

(B) Submission of offers.

(1) Offers/Proposals shall be received on or before the date and time specified in Block 8 of the SF-1449. Offers/Proposals received after the due date and time will not be considered for award.

(2) The offeror’s proposal shall be submitted electronically via email to the Contracting Specialist, Sandra Mruk, at Sandra.murk@va.gov, AND Contracting Officer, Dawn Atterbury, at dawn.atterbury@va.gov. Failure to send the proposal to BOTH the Contracting Specialist and Contracting Officer will result in the proposal not being accepted. All emails must reference the Offeror’s name, RFP Identifier, and Project Title in the subject line of the email. Proposals are due no later than 1/8/2024, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time

(3) WARNING: Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your proposal. Late proposals will not be accepted for evaluation. To avoid submission of late proposals, we recommend the transmission of your proposal files 24 hours prior to the required 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 to successfully send electronic submissions.

(4) Submitted proposals should contain the offeror’s best terms. The offeror may only submit one proposal per registered small business. The Contracting Officer may reject any or all proposals. The Contracting Officer may award to the offeror with other than the lowest price.

(C) Period of Acceptance of Offers/Proposals The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer/proposal firm for no less than 120 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers/proposals.

(D) Technical Questions Questions of a technical nature shall be submitted electronically, via email, to Contracting Specialist, Sandra Mruk, at Sandra.mruk@va.gov, AND Contracting Officer, Dawn Atterbury, at dawn.atterbury@va.gov, no later than 12/12/2023, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Oral questions of a technical nature are not acceptable due to the possibility of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Failure to send questions to BOTH the Contracting Specialist and Contracting Officer may result in the questions not being answered. All emails must reference the Offeror’s name, RFP Identifier, and Project Title in the subject line of the email.

As soon as an Offeror is aware of any problems or ambiguities in interpreting the specifications, terms or conditions, instructions or evaluation criteria of this solicitation, the CS and CO shall be immediately notified. Pertinent questions will be answered via amendment and provided to all Offerors via posting at www.SAM.gov.

(E) Amendments Amendments to this solicitation will be posted to Contracting Opportunities via SAM.gov, referencing the solicitation number. Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually distributed. Failure to acknowledge an amendment may result in your Offer/Proposal being considered unacceptable.

(F) Proposal FIles Format of Submission Offeror’s responses shall be submitted in accordance with the following instructions:

(1) All information shall be confined to the appropriate volume file. NO PRICE INFORMATION IS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE TECHNICAL VOLUME. The Offeror shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the proposal and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each volume submitted.

(2) 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.

(3) Page limitations are applicable to this procurement. The Table below indicates the maximum page count (when applicable) for each volume of the Offeror’s proposal. All files will be submitted as either a Microsoft Excel (.XLS) file or an Acrobat (PDF) file or compatible as indicated in the table. Footnotes to text shall not be used. If the Offeror submits annexes, documentation, attachments, or the like, not specifically required by this solicitation, such will count against the Offeror’s page limitations unless otherwise indicated in the specific Volume instructions below. Pages in violation of these instructions, either by exceeding the margin, font or spacing restrictions or by exceeding the total page limit for a particular volume, will not be evaluated. Pages not evaluated due to violation of the margin, font or spacing restrictions will not count against the page limitations. The page count will be determined by counting the pages in the order they come up in the print layout view. Cover pages, tables of contents, resumes, and/or glossary of abbreviations or acronyms will not be included in the page count of the Volumes. However, be advised that any and all information contained within any table of contents and/or glossary of abbreviations or acronyms submitted with an Offeror’s proposal will not be evaluated by the Government.

(4) Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11". The top, bottom, left and right margins shall be a minimum of one (1) inch each. Font size shall be no smaller than 12-point. Arial or Times New Roman fonts are required. 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 10-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 (1) 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.

(5) Proposal files may not be submitted as ZIP files.

(6) The titles and page limits requirements for each volume file are shown in the Table below:

*Multiple files for this Volume may be Titled as follows:

OfrRepB.pdf OfrRepC.pdf

(G) Information to be Submitted

EVALUATION OF OFFERORS

VOLUME I TECHNICAL:

Maximum 36 pages broken out as noted below:

Offerors shall propose a detailed approach that addresses each of the areas listed below, which shall be taken into consideration for proposal evaluation:

NOTE: NO PRICING INFORMATION IS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE TECHNICAL VOLUME.

(1) Capability Plan (maximum 3 pages):

Each offeror must submit a capability plan to document its detailed technical approach for meeting the schedule and throughput demands of the VHA Nursing Workforce Strategic Plan effort. This plan may include a ramp up plan to increase staff and/or operations, anticipated use of subcontractors, and the lead time needed to be able to perform. The plan must demonstrate the ability to avoid a gap in mandatory reporting and sustain on-time performance throughout the life of the contract. Include any foreseen obstacles or concerns for this “ramp up” and a plan to mitigate the risk.

(2) Key Personnel (maximum of 10 pages, NOT including resumes):

The offeror shall identify key personnel proposed and their duties and responsibilities as related to the requirements in the PWS. At a minimum, the offeror shall address key personnel identified (PWS 6.0). The offeror shall provide a narrative to address qualifications, education, availability, and specific experiences that are directly related to the requirements of the PWS. In addition, a Resume/CV shall be provided for each individual proposed as key personnel. Resumes/CV’s will NOT count toward page count.

Note: The Government reserves the right to incorporate proposed key personnel and education/certification requirements into the Performance Work Statement upon award.

(3) Technical Approach to PWS (maximum of 20 pages):

The offeror shall provide a complete description of the technical approach that is feasible and satisfies all PWS requirements:

The technical approach shall include details which indicate that the Offeror possesses an overall understanding of the scope and the requirements of the PWS. Proposals which merely restate the requirement or state that the requirement will be met, without providing supporting rationale, are not sufficient.

(4) Quality Control (maximum of 3 pages) Each offeror shall provide an approach to quality control, including the offeror’s processes and methodologies for:

(1) providing quality project documentation;

(2) providing project status; and

(3) program measurements.

VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR:

Maximum 3 pages per reference Offerors shall submit a maximum of 5 Government contracts and/or commercial contracts (prime contracts, task/delivery orders, and/or major subcontracts) in performance at any point during the five [5] years immediately prior to the proposal submission date, which are relevant to the efforts required by this solicitation. Areas of relevance include all objectives addressed in the Nursing Workforce Strategic Plan PWS (Section 3, Attachment A). Data concerning the prime Offeror shall be provided first, followed by each proposed teammate and/or subcontractor, in alphabetical order.

Section 1 – Contract Descriptions. This section shall include the following information:

(1) Contractor/Subcontractor place of performance, CAGE Code and Unique Entity Identifier from System for Award Maintenance (SAM). If the work was performed as a Subcontractor, also provide the name of the prime Contractor and Point of Contact (POC) within the prime Contractor organization (name, and current address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers).

(2) Government contracting activity, and current address, Procuring Contracting Officer's name, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

(3) Government’s technical representative/CO’s Representative (COR) and current e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

(4) Government contract administration activity and the Administrative Contracting Officer's name, and current e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

(5) Contract Number and, in the case of Indefinite Delivery type contracts, GSA contracts, and BPAs, include Delivery Order Numbers also.

(6) Contract Type (specific type such as Firm-Fixed Price (FFP), Cost Reimbursement (CR), Time & Materials (T&M), etc.) In the case of Indefinite Delivery contracts, indicate specific type (Requirements, Definite Quantity, and Indefinite Quantity) and secondary contract type (FFP, CR, T&M, etc.)).

(7) Awarded price/cost.

(8) Final or projected final price/cost.

(9) Original delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work.

(10) Final or projected final, delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work.

Section 2 - Performance. Offerors shall provide a specific narrative explanation of each contract listed in Section 1 describing the objectives achieved and detailing how the effort is relevant to the requirements of this solicitation. For any contract(s)/task order(s) that did not/do not meet original schedule or technical performance requirements, provide a brief explanation of the reason(s) for the shortcoming(s) and any corrective action(s) taken to avoid recurrence. The Offerors shall list each time the delivery schedule was revised and provide an explanation of why the revision was necessary. The Offerors shall indicate if any of the contracts listed were terminated and the type and reasons for the termination.

Section 3 – New Corporate Entities. New corporate entities may submit data on prior contracts involving its officers and employees. However, in addition to the other requirements in this section, the Offeror shall discuss in detail the role performed by such persons in the prior contracts cited. Information should be included in the files described in the sections above.

VOLUME III - PRICE FACTOR:

No page limit Each offeror shall complete the following:

(1) Attachment B, Line Item Worksheet. The line-item prices must be populated by the Offeror. If volume discounts are proposed, the estimated quantity would dictate which price to provide. The sum of all unit prices will be used for evaluation purposes only.

(2) A completed BOE for each deliverable/task with sufficient price detail to support the proposed firm-fixed price line items in the Line-Item Worksheet. The BOE shall include the labor categories and fully burdened rates that were used in arriving at a firm-fixed price for each deliverable or task. The Contractor shall explain the estimate processes and methodologies used in estimating the quantities of labor hours required for successful performance. It is up to the Contractor to determine which labor categories, and in what quantities, are needed to support the line-item price.

Price Rounding Issue: The Government requires Offerors to propose unit prices and total prices that are two (2) decimal places. Ensure that the two (2) digit unit price multiplied by the item quantities equals the two (2) digit total item price (there should be no rounding).

Offerors are advised that travel may be required, and the Government will not allow for the inclusion of any profit whatsoever on travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs).

A sample BOE format is provided below.

HRS

Labor Category

HRS

Subtotal for Deliverable 1.1

Category

HRS

Subtotal for Deliverable 2.1

Total Firm Fixed Price (All Deliverables)

(E) VOLUME IV (SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD DOCUMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS/REPRESENTATIONS) No page limit.

Each offeror must submit the following:

(1) Copy of signed Standard Form (SF) 1449 and any SF 30 Solicitation Amendments to document acknowledgement.

(2) A completed copy of the offeror’s representations and certifications (see FAR 52.212-3(b)) or System for Award Management print out of updated Reps and Certs.)

(3) Completed Contractor portion of Section B.1., Contract Administration Data

(4) Proposal Summary/Cover Sheet including:

a. Date submitted;

b. Contractor’s name (Team Members names, as applicable)

c. Contractor technical lead contact information;

d. Reference to any unique terms or conditions, or any requests to deviate from standard PWS requirements and supporting rationale.*

e. SAM Unique Entity Identifier number

f. CAGE Code

* NOTE: Offerors are hereby advised that any Offeror-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 proposal Unacceptable, and thus ineligible for award.

(5) Certification of Understanding: The contractor shall provide a separate written document certifying that it understands the Performance Work Statement requirements, that it identified no ambiguities, and that it agrees to comply with all requirements without deviation or exception. If the Offeror does propose deviations or exceptions, or otherwise makes assumptions or adds new terms, conditions or clauses regarding this Statement of Work, the Offerors certification must explicitly state them. In the event of a conflict between the Statement of Work and the Offerors proposal, the Statement of Work shall take precedence unless the Government explicitly agrees with the deviation, exception, assumption, term, condition, or clause in the resulting order document. The Offeror is cautioned that deviations, exceptions, assumptions or new terms, conditions, or clauses may result in a determination of proposal’s unacceptability, may preclude award to a contractor if award is made without discussions, or may otherwise affect a contractor’s competitive standing.

(6) Certificate of Organizational Conflict of Interest: In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 9.5 and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.209-70, the Offeror shall provide a statement with its offer which describes, in a concise manner, all relevant facts concerning any past, present, or currently planned interest (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise) or actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest relating to the services to be provided under this solicitation. The Offeror shall also provide statements with its offer containing the same information for any consultants and subcontractors identified in its proposal and which will provide services under the solicitation. The Offeror may also provide relevant facts that show how its organizational and/or management system or other actions would avoid or mitigate any actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest.

(7) Solicitation Provisions: Complete copies of FAR 52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (OCT 2018) and FAR 52.204-24 (d), Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(8) Service Contract Labor Standards Applicability: Service Contract Labor Standards are applicable to some labor categories necessary to perform the work encompassed in the PWS. Offerors shall submit a wage determination supplied by the Department of Labor. This wage determination can be obtained through https://sam.gov/content/wage-determinations . If the SCA is not applicable, Offerors shall state that the SCA does not apply.

(9) This solicitation contains FAR clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting. Offerors must provide an explanation detailing what work is to be performed by any subcontractors and what percentage of the work the subcontractor will be completing. It also contains VAAR clause 852.219-74 & 75. A completed copy of the certification in 852.219-75 must be included.

(10) Copies of signed contract teaming arrangements (CTA) or prime and subcontractor agreements, if any.

(11) In the event the Contractor proposes the use of software product(s) from Independent Software Vendors (ISV) as part of its selected information system solution, Contractors must provide, to include but not limited to, written evidence of any/all 3PAO assessment(s) and attestation(s) stating that the Contractor’s ISV- produced software product(s) have been independently audited, evaluated, and certified for FedRAMP compliance (in particular, that they have been certified for use with their selected FedRAMP-authorized hosting infrastructure). In the event a Contractor is in the process of obtaining audits and / or attestation of FedRAMP compliance for an ISV’s software product, the Contractor shall provide written evidence of same, and shall also provide an estimate as to when it expects to conclude the audit/attestation process and receive its attestation of FedRAMP compliance.

(End of Provision)

VHA NURSING WORKFORCE STRATEGIC PLAN

See attached document: P09 - PWS - Nursing Workforce 12.19.23 update after questions.