36C79120Q0004-004.docx

OFFEROR INSTRUCTIONS

(a) The Government intends to award a single indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offerors whose offers conforming to the solicitation that is the lowest priced, technically acceptable offer that also demonstrates acceptable or neutral past performance. A complete quote must be received for consideration. Respond to each item listed below, if the response is “None” or “Not applicable,” explicitly state and explain. A complete quote includes a response and submission to each of the following:

1. General Information: Offeror Business Name, Address, Cage and DUNS Codes (ensure Representation and Certifications are up to date in SAM.gov), Business Size and Type of Small Business based on applicable NAICS Code as provided above, Federal Tax ID, Primary Point of Contract (to include telephone and e-mail address) and provide GSA contract number for all items proposed that are on the GSA schedule.

2. Technical Acceptability Documentation:

a. Staffing Plan: Include a staffing plan outlining proposed interpreters. Interpreters must have a certification recognized by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., (RID). See PWS Document 2.2 for more information.

The offer must address and meet the requirements/specifications as defined under Technical Acceptability in Factor I below.

b. The Quoter shall demonstrate the ability, resources, and experience required to perform the requirements in the PWS, including the detailed procedures and methods to be used. All information must be presented in enough depth for the Government to make a comprehensive evaluation of the Quoter’s understanding of the PWS and the Quoter’s capability for successful performance. Pricing Information shall not appear anywhere in the Technical and past performance volumes of the quote, which shall address only the technical requirements as discussed in Section 5.5. The price quote shall be a separate document.

3. Technical Volume Factor 1 – Technical Capability: The quoter must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the technical and programmatic requirements described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), and they must clearly articulate their capability to perform all the tasks outlined in the PWS to provide continuous quality support. The quoter shall identify performance objectives that can be accomplished by their technical approach and describe the benefits and advantages of that approach. The quoter shall also illustrate the roles of staff and team resources to execute the intended strategy. The discussion must provide the evaluation panel with enough confidence that the quoter has the capacity to support the identified mission areas, understands the priorities and emerging issues within those areas, and can execute a comprehensive approach that ensures quality performance and use of staff resources to meet PWS objectives to execute the intended strategy.

The quoter shall address Factor 1 - Technical Capability. The Technical Capability shall include:

· A demonstrated understanding of the performance work statement (PWS) requirements;

· Demonstrate how the quoter proposes to handle the complexities and minimize risks that are inherent in the PWS requirements; and

· Demonstrate that the proposed personnel in direct support of the PWS show experience, expertise, qualifications, and direct correlation to the PWS requirements.

· Data previously submitted, or presumed to be known, i.e. descriptions of previous projects performed for the Government, cannot be considered as a part of the quote unless physically incorporated in the quote. Clarity, completeness, and conciseness are essential.

· Address the Communication Plan amongst Contractor personnel and between the Contractor and the Government to ensure a plan that allows for all involved to be well-informed in an up-to-date-manner, as well as identifies the Contractor/Government POC.

· Draft Quality Control Plan (QCP) shall identify the process used to implement internal control and review procedures which will eliminate conflicts, errors and omissions and ensure technical accuracy of output. QCP will be in submitted draft format due to requiring COR approval.

· Personnel Replacement Plan (to include contacting the Government a minimum of 5 business days prior to replacing any contractor employees being utilized in support of the requirement).

· Document depth of experience in addressing the types of requirements specifically called out in the PWS. Contractor will be evaluated on the experience, skill, and qualifications of the proposed resources and the project staffing strategy, estimated hours and labor mix and the likelihood that this combination will adequately minimize risk and successfully complete the requirements of this contract.

4.2 Past Performance Volume

Factor 2 - Past Performance The quoter’s past performance quote shall not exceed 15-pages, not including the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ). The quote should address the quality of a quoter’s recent (performed within three (3) years of the RFQ issued date) and relevant (similar in size and scope) past performance based on the input received by the Quoter, its references and other reliable sources contacted by the Government. For those efforts currently being performed, the quoter must have performed for at least six (6) months from the date of issuance of this RFQ. quoter that have no record of past performance (i.e. new businesses) must submit a signed and dated past performance certification statement to that effect. The Quoter should provide no more than three (3) references demonstrating relevant past performance to demonstrate the quality of performing the same or similar services within the last three (3) years.

Include the following fields:

Officer’s Representative, Government Project Manager, or other Point of Contact with technical knowledge of the past performance enough to complete the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ).

The PPQ is included as an attachment (Attachment I) to the RFQ. The quoter shall provide a copy of the PPQ to each of their listed references with instruction to return to Caroline West at caroline.west@va.gov no later than 15 December 2019 at 11:59pm Mountain Time.

The Government may request additional past performance information from others using a PPQ. The Government may also use other information such as Contractor Performance (Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) data available from Government sources to evaluate a quoter’s past performance. The Government reserves the right to limit or expand the number of references it decides to contact and to contact references other than those provided by the quoter.

4.3 Price Volume

Factor 3 – Price The quoter’s price quote shall not exceed 10-pages, including a Formal Quote Letter and Price Quote corresponding to the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure. The Price Quote should reflect the quoter’s best pricing available. Pricing information shall not appear anywhere in the Technical Volume. Submit complete pricing for each individual item listed in the “DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS” Section above to include the extended price for each line item and a total price in US Dollars ($). Quotes shall be at an hourly rate.

QUOTE Format In order to maximize efficiency and minimize the time for quote evaluation Quoters should submit their quotes in accordance with the format and content specified.

QUOTE SUBMISION

Introduction. This section contains general quote submissions instructions as well as specific quote requirements for the interpreter services.

Offerors shall provide information by addressing each Factor and Subfactor in the format and sequence identified in the solicitation. The Offeror must provide information in enough detail to allow the Government to assess the Offeror’s capability to support the quoted response to the evaluation criteria. Quotes that do not contain the information requested in the solicitation risk being determined unacceptable by the Government and subsequently unawardable. The Government will not assume the Offeror possesses any capability, understanding, or commitment not specified in the quote.

The quote must not merely repeat the solicitation requirements, but rather must provide convincing documentary evidence in support of conclusive statements of how contract requirements will be met.

Alternate Quotes. Alternate quotes will not be accepted. The Government will not evaluate or consider for award any quote which is based on or proposes substitute terms or conditions or proposes non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the RFQ.

Quotes shall be valid for a minimum of 90 calendar days from the date the RFQ closes. A statement regarding the validity period must be included on the first page of the quote.

Compliance Review. The Government will review the contents of each quote to ensure it meets the requirements of the solicitation. Quotes which do not comply with the requirements of the solicitation may be eliminated from the evaluation and will not be considered for award.

All questions concerning this procurement, either technical or contractual must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer on or before December 15, 2019. All responses to questions, which may affect offers will be incorporated into a written amendment to the solicitation and released via the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fedbizopps.gov). No direct discussion between the technical representative and a prospective Offeror shall be conducted.

Questions shall be submitted to the following point of contact.

Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Service ATTN: Caroline West Re: 36C79119R0007 P.O. Box 25166 Golden, CO 80225-0166 Telephone: (303) 273-6226 E-mail: caroline.west@va.gov NOTE TO OFFEROR: E-mail quote submissions shall be accepted.

The quote shall consist of the following:

Each quote shall be submitted in the English language and include all the following:

One signed and completed paper copy of the attached Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449) and continuation sheets signed by a person authorized to enter into the proposed contract on behalf of the Offeror. Acknowledgment of all amendments to the solicitation and all continuation sheets are to be filled in as directed, i.e., quoted prices in the CLINs in Section B, any fill-ins required, and Certifications and Representations in Sections C and E. Offerors are directed to thoroughly read the solicitation and fill in the required information in the appropriate solicitation clauses. For any fill-ins that are not applicable, the Offeror must acknowledge by indicating “N/A”.

Representations through System for Award Management. The purpose of electronic Representations and Certifications is to provide all Offerors with a portal in which to submit Reps/Certs in a publicly accessible format, nullifying the requirement to submit identical information in response to each Federal contract solicitation. As a requirement under this solicitation, all Offerors must submit Reps/Certs data into SAM at https://www.sam.gov/. Any Offeror that has previously submitted Reps/Certs data into SAM is reminded to update the data prior to submitting with the quote.

QUOTE Content The offeror’s quote shall be submitted in severable volumes based on the Factors as set forth below and all information specific to each Factor shall be confined to that volume. Each quote must include all volumes and shall be submitted by the closing date and time of the solicitation. Failure to provide any volume may result in the quote being eliminated from the evaluation and not being considered for award. Information provided shall be specific to each Factor.

The quote shall include the following volumes and page limitation:

Volume I: Technical Factor (Maximum of 50 pages) Volume II: Past Performance Factor (Maximum of 25 pages) Volume III: Price Factor (No Maximum) Volume IV: Solicitation, Offer and Award Documents (No Maximum) Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered. A Table of Contents should be included at the beginning of the quote.

Each volume shall be as brief as possible, consistent with complete submission. The page count specified in Section E.9 will be made by counting the pages from left to right, consecutively. Pages that exceed the page limitation will not be evaluated. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. Annexes, documentation and attachments that are submitted by the Offeror, which are not required as part of the RFQ, will count against the page limitations. If pages are printed on both sides, each side will count as a separate page. The following will not count against page limitations: volume title pages, table of contents pages, cross-referencing pages, indices, acronym lists and page dividers (used to separate quote sections). Foldout pages depicting such items as diagrams, charts, graphs, etc. may be used, with each fold counted as one additional page.

The Offeror is responsible for including enough details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of the quote. Offerors shall provide a quote that, at a minimum, addresses those evaluation Factors required in Section E.5 Evaluation Commercial Items.

This solicitation is set-aside 100% for VIP (https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/) certified, Service Disabled, Veteran Owned Small Businesses