52.212-1 ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1.docx

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.

This RFP does not authorize performance or obligate the Government for any costs incurred by the offeror for this requirement. The Government reserves the right not to award a contract in response to this RFP. Prior to commencement of any activities associated with performance of this requirement, the Government will issue a written directive or contractual document to be signed by the Awarded Contractor with appropriate consideration established. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, with no obligation to the contractor by the Government.

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

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

The Government intends to award an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer represents the best value to the Government. The Government will make an award to the contractor whose written response is technically acceptable and the lowest price. The Government intends on issuing a task order against this IDIQ immediately after award is made.

SUBMISSION OF Proposals: All amendment documents (Sample1_PPT, Sample2_PDF, Sample3_Interactive_PDF, Error Correction List, SectionBCLINs) must be submitted electronically, via email, to the attention of the Contracting Officer, Allison Ianniello allison.ianniello@va.gov and the Contracting Specialist, Wayne Klotzbach, wayne.klotzbach@va.gov. Proposal amendment documents must be received no later than 4:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on September 11, 2024.

QUESTIONS: All questions regarding the solicitation of a contractual nature or technical nature, must be submitted via email , to the attention of the Contracting Officer, Allison Ianniello allison.ianniello@va.gov and the Contracting Specialist, Wayne Klotzbach, wayne.klotzbach@va.gov, no later than 4:00PM EST September 9, 2024. The subject line of the email shall start with the RFP Reference Number 36C77624R0132 and 508 Remediation Services. Questions with the Government’s responses are anticipated to be posted no later than 4:00PM EST September 10, 2024. Be advised that the government reserves the right to transmit those questions and answers of a common interest to all prospective Offerors.

A. General Preparation Instructions:

1. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, Offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.

OFFEROR’s Proposal shall be submitted in accordance with the following instructions:

A. Format: The proposal shall be in Arial or Times New Roman fonts. Characters shall be set at no less than normal spacing at 100% scale. Font size shall be no smaller than 11-point. The response must be submitted with each Volume being as a single application-generated (not scanned) PDF document. The totality of the proposal shall be less than or equal to 7MB in size. Document will be separated into four Volumes: Volume I – Cover Page and Completed RFP; Volume II- Technical; Volume III-Past Performance; Volume IV-Price.

B. Content Requirements:

Cover Page shall include:

(A) Notice Number (36C77624R0132);

(B) Company Name, mailing address, and website address;

(C) Date submitted and proposal expiration date;

(D) Company Point of Contact (Name, Phone Number, email address);

(E) Company Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number;

(F) Company’s Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Contract (If applicable). Provide the GSA Contract Number and relevant Special Item Number(s) (SINs) applicable to this requirement.

C. Volume I- Completed RFP (SF1449) and Amendments D. Volume II- Technical Capability E. Volume III- Past Performance F. Volume IV- Price

2. There is a relationship between the Solicitation’s Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation Criteria. Your attention is directed to the functional relationship between Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation Criteria of this solicitation. The Instructions to Offerors provides information for the purpose of organizing the proposal and is not intended to be all-inclusive. The Evaluation Criteria describes the evaluation factors for award, to include the evaluation procedures for the Technical Capability acceptability and the ranking of the Price Proposals. Proposals that do not contain the information required, risk rejection.

3. The proposal shall be clear concise and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but rather shall provide convincing rationale and details that address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that (1) the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and (2) the Government will base the evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s proposal.

4. Adherence to page limitations established in each area of consideration is imperative, as pages which exceed the limit will not be reviewed by the evaluators.

B. Specific Instructions:

1. Volume I - Completed RFP

a. Completed RFP shall consist of the completed and signed RFP (SF 1449), to include any amendments issued, with a letter delineating any exceptions taken to the RFP terms and conditions with accompanying rationale. However, offerors are cautioned that any noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP may cause their proposal to be determined not eligible for award. Offerors shall ensure that all clauses and provisions that require "fill in" information are appropriately completed. (For example, FAR Clause 52.212-3 and Certification on the limitations on subcontracting found in VAAR 852.219-75).

2. Volume II – Technical Capability: Using the instructions below, provide the requested document or examples. Failure to address the below Sub-Factors will result in your proposal being immediately eliminated from competition. Offers shall be evaluated independently of the cost/price proposal evaluation to determine the offerors compliance with the technical requirements of this solicitation. The Government may make a final determination as to the rating of an offer based on the proposal as submitted without requesting any further information.

a. Factor I: Technical Capability.

Criteria - Offers shall include/address the following:

i. Provide documentation demonstrating the contractor possess at least one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certified Trusted Tester for testing and certification processes.

ii. The contractor will demonstrate their ability to remediate multiple document formats and identify errors/defects in accordance with: Acrobat accessibility checker results (for PDFs), CommonLook reports, and manual testing of non-automated aspects, including but not limited to: sufficient color contrast (as defined by How to Meet WCAG (Quickref Reference) (w3.org) and WebAIM: PDF Accessibility - Reviewing and Repairing Accessibility in Acrobat, WebAIM: Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Evaluation Guide), and logical heading hierarchy, functioning links etc. Remediation in compliance with standards and references: Section 508 contains clear accessibility standards developed by the U.S. Access Board. WCAG 2 Overview is incorporated into Section 508 Standards. The current standards explicitly require agencies to meet WCAG’s guidelines. Remediation shall be in compliance with WCAG https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/, and the U.S. Access Board (ICT). PDF remediation methods reference WebAIM: PDF Accessibility - Reviewing and Repairing Accessibility in AcrobatMS Office Suite remediation methods reference WebAIM: Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Evaluation Guide. The contractor shall provide the following in their proposal:

1. Sample Documents (Sample1_PPT, Sample2_PDF, Sample3_Interactive_PDF)- Remediate the three sample documents provided in this solicitation and return all 3 document.

2. Excel Spreadsheet –Completed columns B, C, D for each document sample- a total of three tabs/sheets in the excel document. (Note: Each sample document provided includes a minimum number of errors/defects and is annotated on each corresponding spreadsheet).

Number of minimum errors/defects per document:

a. Sample1_PPT: PowerPoint document with 16 errors/defects

b. Sample2_PDF: PDF with 13 errors/defects

c. Sample3_Interactive_PDF: interactive PDF with 7 errors/defects

3. Volume III – Factor II: Past Performance.

a. The Offeror shall demonstrate successful past performance by providing recent and relevant past performance information on a maximum of 3 (three) contracts, for work completed within the 3 (three) years prior to the solicitation date. Relevant past performance is defined as contracts completed similar in scope as the PWS and at a minimum valued at $25K per year. Include the following information for each Contract and Sub-Contract submitted:

Offerors are required to explain what aspects of each contract are deemed relevant to scale and cost as related to the requirements of this solicitation. Failure to provide required relevancy description may impact the rating. If in a teaming agreement or joint venture with no combined past performance, contracts from either/both team members can be submitted not to exceed three (3) total contracts with at least one (1) contract from each team member.

4. Volume IV – Factor III Price

a. Offeror must submit Price Schedule in Section B3 of the solicitation, completed in its entirety e.g. Unit Price and item Net Cost. NOTE: Failure to include the completed Price Schedule for each 1-year period (5 each), will be deemed deficient.

b. Price Reasonableness, Completeness, Balance, and Affordability. This part is to assist the Offeror in submitting sufficient pricing information that demonstrates reasonableness, completeness, balance, and affordability of the proposed price. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in Offeror's proposal rated as unacceptable. Unreasonable proposed prices, initially or subsequently, may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition. Additionally, unbalanced pricing poses an unacceptable risk to the Government and may be a reason to reject an Offeror's proposal. The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the Offeror at the time of proposal or during subsequent discussions (if any are held).

c. Price Information. The price proposal shall not include information beyond that required by this instruction unless the Offeror considers it essential to document or support Offeror's price position. All information relating to the proposed price, including all required supporting documentation must be included in this part. Under no circumstances shall this information and documentation be included in the Technical Proposal.

d. Adequate Price Competition. The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the Contracting Officer's opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested and certification under FAR 15.406-2 will not be required. However, if at any time during this competition the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists, offerors may be required to submit information to the extent necessary for the Contracting Officer to determine the reasonableness and of the price.

e. Rounding. All dollar amounts (unit and extended prices and other price factors) provided shall be rounded to the nearest penny (two decimal places only). Failure to round unit prices to no more than two decimals may result in rejection of proposal.

f. Price Information. Submit the Pricing for all items as provided in the RFP. In doing so, the offeror accedes to the contract terms, and conditions as written in the RFP, with attachments. The RFP constitutes the model of this contract.

i. Complete Attachment 1 of the Price Schedule to include all ordering periods. Any miscalculation of pricing could result in the proposal being rated as non-acceptable and eliminated from the competition. Miscalculated could make your offer non-responsive.