47QFCA24R0024 Solicitation Cover Letter.pdf

U.S. General Services Administration

SOLICITATION COVER LETTER

Date: February 28, 2024

Subject: Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base (SWIB)

Enclosure 1: In-depth Feedback through Open Reporting Methods (INFORM) Process

NOTICE TO OPEN MARKET INDUSTRY PARTNERS

This letter transmits Request for Proposal (RFP) 47QFCA24R0024 Submarine Workforce and

Industrial Base (SWIB). The scope of this requirement is to address the challenges described in the previous subsections, the Government, through this solicitation, is seeking to establish a contract with an Enterprise Integration Partner (EIP) that, on behalf of, and in close partnership with, the ICAM Office and the Navy, shall identify, develop, and deliver systemic, holistic solutions to regional and broader submarine industrial workforce and industrial base challenges.

These solutions should cover the gamut of problem identification, solution design, and solution implementation at local, regional, and national levels. The EIP, in close partnership with the U.S.

Government, will initiate, manage, and integrate these solutions and activities within and across

U.S. regions, orchestrating and guiding all participating partners and stakeholders, including both respective Government and non-Government entities, necessary for successful implementation and execution of proposed solutions.

This RFP is issued by the United States (U.S.) General Services Administration (GSA), Assisted

Acquisition Services (AAS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is The NAICS code for this requirement is 541715 Research and

Development, in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and

Biotechnology). AC32, Defense -Related Activities, Applied Research

This procurement is a part of GSA’s INFORM process. The INFORM process is in compliance with DFARS Case 2018-D009. Enclosure 1 provides details regarding this process and initiative.

To aid in the scheduling of Oral Technical Proposal Presentations, all interested prime offerors, are requested to provide an intent to bid via email, no later than 11:00am Eastern on Wednesday

March 6, 2024, to Justin Zerbato and Cynthia Weaver (justin.zerbato@gsa.gov;

Cynthia.weaver@gsa.gov). Please reference “SWIB Intent to Bid” in the subject line. Failure to submit an intent to bid will not impact an offeror’s ability to submit a proposal or participate in the source selection; however, this information will aid the Government in identifying and scheduling appropriate accommodations for the Oral Technical Proposal Presentations.

Offer Submission Deadlines and Instructions:

Each offer shall contain three parts in accordance with the instructions specified in RFP Sections

L.5; L6; L7; and L8.

a. Part I: Written Cost/Price Proposal

1. Due No Later Than (NLT) 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on March 29, 2024.

b. Part II: Written Technical Proposal

1. Due NLT 11:00 a.m. ET on March 29, 2024 mailto:justin.zerbato@gsa.gov mailto:Cynthia.weaver@gsa.gov

c. Part III: In-Person Oral Technical Proposal Presentation.

1. Date to be determined following proposal receipt; anticipated dates for planning purposes are between April 2, 2024 – April 12, 2024.

2. The Government anticipates holding In-Person Oral Technical Proposal

Presentation in the Washington, DC metro area. Final location will be provided when the presentation is scheduled.

In accordance with RFP Section L.2 instructions, offerors shall electronically deliver Parts I, II, and III to the AAS Contract Specialist (CS), Cynthia Weaver, and the AAS Contracting Officer

(CO), Justin Zerbato. Subcontractors may also submit proprietary data using the method identified below to deliver proposals.

The offeror shall email the AAS CO and CS to verify that the files were received and confirm proposal acceptance by AAS. In the event that the Government cannot view the offeror’s submission, in whole or in part, the Government may consider the applicable proposal submission element as not being provided by the offeror. In addition, an email or a Google

Drive/Secure Link file with a time stamp after the due date/time will be considered late, which may render the proposal nonresponsive.

The offeror and any subcontractors may use one of three methods to deliver its proposal:

a. Google Drive

b. Secure Industry Link

c. Encrypted Email

Option 1: Google Drive

The Government will utilize Google Drive to receive proposal information. The only individuals with access to the proposal information uploaded to Google Drive will be the offeror’s Point of

Contact (POC) and the Government’s evaluation team members. The offeror’s POC shall create a GSA Affiliated Customer Account (GACA) profile using the following instructions.

a. Go to http://mail.google.com/mail/signup.

b. Enter first and last name of POC.

c. Enter the username as follows: GSA.[Initials of POC][Offeror company name]

d. Complete all Required Fields

Once the GACA account is established, the offeror shall contact the AAS CO and CS and provide the GACA username so that the offeror can be given access to the Google Drive folder to upload all proposal documents in Parts I, II, and III. The offeror shall submit requests for a

GACA profile by COB March 13, 2024. The offeror’s access to the Google drive will terminate upon the due date and time established herein for the respective proposal parts.

GACA accounts are limited to 15 GB of storage.

Option 2: Secure Industry Link

The offeror shall provide the AAS CO and CS with a secure link to download the electronic copy of all proposal documents in Parts I, II, and III. A secure link has the following characteristics:

a. It is password protected.

http://mail.google.com/mail/signup

b. It includes a timestamp feature for all proposal Parts.

c. It expires 24 hours after the proposal due date.

The offeror shall include the appropriate URL and passcode to download all documents. Offerors are encouraged to test the secure link. The offeror may email a trial link to the AAS CO and CS at least one week prior to the due date of Proposal Part I, Written Cost/Price Proposal, and AAS will test the secure link.

Option 3: Encrypted Email

The offeror shall send its proposal through encrypted email to the AAS CO and CS. The offeror shall provide, if applicable, the passcode to download all documents under separate correspondence. The email shall submit Part I separately from parts II and III. GSA’s email system has a 25MB size limitation for individual emails.

The offeror is encouraged to test its password-protected document(s). The offeror may email a test email to the AAS CO and CS at least one week prior to the due date of Proposal Part I, Written Cost/Price Proposal Information, and AAS will test the password-protected document.

AAS utilizes Gmail as its email system. By default, Gmail can receive encrypted email and attachments. AAS does not have the capability to send certificates to offerors, so the trial email can be beneficial to the success of proposal delivery.

Submission of Questions

In accordance with RFP Section L.10, Submission of Questions, prospective offerors shall submit any questions about the /RFP package via email to the following individuals NLT 11:00 a.m. ET on March 6, 2024:

Cynthia Weaver AAS Contract Specialist, Cynthia.weaver@gsa.gov

Justin Zerbato), AAS Contracting Officer, Justin.Zerbato@gsa.gov

Prospective offerors are requested to submit questions grouped by RFP Section and make reference to the particular Section/Subsection number. Questions shall be received before the date specified for receipt of questions using the format provided in RFP Section J, Attachment Z.

When submitting questions, please reference “RFP 47QFCA24R0005 Questions” in the subject line.

Questions or requests for extension submitted after the cut-off date may not be considered. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning this solicitation will be furnished promptly to other prospective offerors as an amendment to the solicitation.

Sincerely, Justin Zerbato

GSA AAS Contracting Officer

Justin.zerbato@gsa.gov

ENCLOSURE 1

In-depth Feedback through Open Reporting Methods (INFORM)

FAR Part 15 and Part 16

A. Overview of the INFORM Process

This solicitation is part of GSAs post-award communication process called INFORM. This process is designed to enhance the quality and usefulness of post-award communications by providing greater transparency and openness into the procurement process. INFORM seeks to increase GSA-industry communication by providing clearer and more complete information to explain the award decision.

Through the INFORM process, GSA will seek to share additional information with offerors in writing and/or through an oral feedback meeting (in-person or virtual) that is not required by statute or regulation. For Part 15 including mandatory debriefs and Part 16, and in addition to any information required by FAR 15.503 and 15.506, GSA is providing each offeror with the opportunity to participate in the INFORM process as further discussed below.

B. Detailed Description of the INFORM Process

B.1 Component 1 - Notification of Award

After award and in accordance with any post-award notification timeframes required by regulation (i.e., FAR Parts 15.503(b) and 16.505(b)(6)), the Contracting Officer (CO) will issue written notices to the successful and unsuccessful offerors (the Notification Letter and

Evaluation Statement (NLES)). The notices will contain:

a. All information required by statute or regulation.

b. An unredacted copy of the complete technical evaluation for that particular offeror that includes a full description of that particular offeror’s strengths, weaknesses, risks, and deficiencies.

c. An overall technical evaluation summary for that particular offeror and the successful offeror that includes evaluated price and overall technical rating.

B.2 Component 2 - Request for Oral Feedback Meeting or Written Questions

Within three business days after receipt of the NLES, an offeror may, but is not required to:

a. Submit a written request to the CO for an oral feedback meeting.

b. Submit a list of written questions to the CO.

c. Take no further action.

If the offeror timely elects to request an oral feedback meeting or submit a list of written questions, GSA will consider any such request to constitute a required debriefing pursuant to

FAR 15.506. If an offeror does not request an oral feedback meeting or submit a list of written questions within the three-day time period, the receipt of the NLES concludes the

INFORM process and satisfies the FAR requirement for debriefs pursuant to FAR 15.506.

If the offeror submits a list of written questions in lieu of the oral feedback meeting, the CO will attempt to respond within five business days of receipt of the written questions. Unless otherwise stated, the CO’s response to the written questions will conclude the INFORM process and any corresponding post-award debriefing as further set forth at FAR 15.506.

If the offeror requests an oral feedback meeting, the offeror should provide the following information:

a. Primary point of contact.

b. List of participants with titles (e.g., Senior Vice President).

c. List of topics to assist GSA better prepare for the oral feedback meeting.

d. Preference for in-person, telephone, or web-based conferencing (if available).

B.3 Component 3 - Oral Feedback Meeting

During the oral feedback meeting, GSA’s objectives are to provide:

a. Reasonable responses to written questions submitted by the offeror.

b. Explanations for the evaluation conclusions and contract award decisions.

c. Any additional information about the fairness and impartiality of the evaluation and why the award decision was rational.

d. Reasonable responses to additional questions raised during the meeting.

e. Additional transparency into the underlying competition process.

f. A greater understanding of the evaluation and award process.

GSA will not provide any information that is prohibited by law or regulation.

B.4 Component 4 – Post-Oral-Feedback Meeting Questions

Within two business days after the conclusion of the oral feedback meeting, the offeror may submit a list of written questions to the CO. The CO will provide a written response within five business days and, unless otherwise noted by the CO, the INFORM process and any corresponding post-award debriefing as further set forth at FAR 15.506 will have concluded.

If the offeror elects not to submit a list of written questions within two business days after the oral feedback meeting, the INFORM process and any corresponding post-award debriefing as further set forth at FAR 15.506 is concluded.