52.212-1 Addendum - Instructions to Offerors.pdf

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1 - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL

ITEMS (Jan 2017)

Period for Acceptance of Offers: Paragraph (c) of FAR provision 52.212-1 is hereby changed to read 120 calendar days.

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.1. This section of the RFP provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal volumes. Each proposal must include all data and information requested in the RFP. The offeror shall comply with the solicitation requirements as stated and the PWS. The offeror’s proposal must reflect a thorough understanding of the services required and display a logical development of the offeror's plans to implement all tasks.

1.2. Only the minimum amount of information required to provide for proper evaluation is requested. Efforts shall be made to keep offers as concise as possible with the emphasis being on providing information essential for proper evaluation. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail to provide for adequate evaluation and for substantiation of the validity of stated claims. Submitted documents: must contain adequate information to enable the evaluation team to fully ascertain an offerors capability to perform contract requirements, must meet the requirements of the RFP, and must address the evaluation factors for award.

1.3. Offerors shall acknowledge awareness of all amendments to the solicitation by signing and dating Page 1 of each Standard Form 30, Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract, and include it in Volume III, Price, of the proposal.

1.4. Joint Venture Agreements: Joint Ventures (JV) are allowable on competitive 8(a) set-asides; however, the JV Agreement package or email notification of bid submittal by the JV must be received by the SBA prior to proposal due date and the JV Agreement must be approved before award of any resulting contract. If you are contemplating a JV on this project, you must advise your assigned SBA Business Opportunity Specialist as soon as possible. It is also recommended that the agreement be submitted as soon as practical to ensure compliance with established regulations. For additional information, see 13 CFR § 124.513.

2. FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS

2.1. Any formal communication such as requests for clarification, discussions, and information concerning this solicitation shall be submitted in writing (via email) to the POCs below. Please use the attached (Attachment 1) Question and Answer (Q&A) Matrix for question submissions.

Questions shall be submitted no later than 16 June 2023. Questions not submitted prior to this timeline risk not being answered. Question and Answers will be posted to SAM.gov. Offerors are responsible for checking for updates to the solicitation. Responses to all questions will be released to all interested parties. It is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm receipt of all formal communications.

ATTN: Camilla Funk/Kay Brown/Richard D. Rembert

Reference: Solicitation No. FA489023R0032– Human Resources/Military Personnel Flight

(HR/MPF)

E-mail: camilla.funk@us.af.mil, kay.brown.3@us.af.mil, and richard.rembert@us.af.mil

3. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

3.1. The proposals shall be emailed to the issuing office listed in Block 9 of the Standard Form (SF) 1449; Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items; on or before the date and time specified in Block 8 of SF 1449. Please submit electronic proposals via E-Mail to Camilla Funk (camilla.funk@us.af.mil), Richard Rembert (richard.rembert@us.af.mil) and Kay Brown (kay.brown.3@us.af.mil). Proposals are due no later than 28 June 2023 at 12:00 pm (Local Eastern time). The Government is not obligated to accept late proposals.

3.2. Offerors are cautioned to strictly comply with all instructions within this solicitation to ensure submission of a complete proposal. Failure to furnish a complete proposal, at the time of proposal submission, may result in the proposal being unacceptable to the Government and elimination from consideration for award.

3.3. Offeror shall provide the following contact information for their proposals:

3.3.1. Names, titles, addresses, telephone and facsimile numbers and email addresses of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation.

3.3.2. Name, title, and signature of person authorized to sign the proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority.

4. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

4.1. Proprietary information submitted in response to this solicitation shall be clearly marked as such and will be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by Subsection 27 of the Office of Procurement Policy Act as amended (41 U.S.C.423) (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) as implemented in the FAR. This information shall be labeled “Source Selection Information—See FAR 2.101 and 3.104.” Any unmarked proprietary information will be considered releasable under the restrictions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

5. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

5.1. The instructions below prescribe the format of proposals. The proposal shall include all the information requested in the specific instructions. Failure to include all information requested may adversely affect the evaluation.

5.2. A proposal that is orderly and sufficiently documented will enable the Government to easily understand and perform a thorough and fair evaluation. The Government may incorporate into mailto:camilla.funk@us.af.mil mailto:kay.brown.3@us.af.mil mailto:richard.rembert@us.af.mil mailto:camilla.funk@us.af.mil mailto:richard.rembert@us.af.mil mailto:kay.brown.3@us.af.mil this contract, by reference or full text, portions of the successful offeror’s proposal submitted in response to this solicitation as revised and supplemented through the final proposal revision.

5.3. Proposal Volumes. Proposals shall be prepared in three (3) separate and distinct volumes:

Volume I – Technical/Management Approach Volume II – Past Performance Volume III – Price

5.4. Cross-Reference Matrix. Each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated without cross referencing to other volumes of the proposal.

Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity. The offeror shall provide a cross reference matrix indicating the proposal reference information as it relates to the RFP, PWS, and applicable CLIN references. This is only a tool to assist in the proposal preparation process. Offerors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their proposal fully addresses all areas and that all requested information is complete.

5.5. Proposal Format. Specific guidance regarding format and content is discussed in the following paragraphs. All pages provided by the offeror in excess of the stated limitations will not be evaluated. The proposal content shall be formatted as follows:

a. Text: Single-spaced on each page.

b. Font Size: Microsoft Office Word, Times New Roman, 12-point font

c. Font Size for charts, tables, graphs, and figures shall be no smaller than Microsoft Office Word, Times New Roman, 10-point font.

d. Margins: One Inch (1”) left, right, top and bottom.

e. Page Numbering: Sequential (i.e., 1 through 100)

5.6. Electronic Copies. Electronic copies of all proposal information for each volume shall be submitted using Microsoft Office or Portable Document Format (PDF). Please submit electronic proposals via E-Mail to Camilla Funk (camilla.funk@us.af.mil), Richard Rembert (richard.rembert@us.af.mil), and Kay Brown (kay.brown.3@us.af.mil).

Offerors shall NOT submit any document in PDF that are copied as images. Offerors may use JPEG images for charts or screen shots. Volume III Price – The MPF CLIN Spread Sheet shall be submitted using the attached Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in an editable version (Attachment 1). Offerors shall name files in an unambiguous manner, using plain language text, which facilitates the evaluator’s ease of accessing the files for evaluation, using standard naming conventions (e.g., offeror name-volume name.doc for MS Word, offeror name-volume name.xls for MS Excel, offeror name-volume name.PDF for Portable Document Format, etc.). Each volume shall be in a single searchable file, with copy/paste capability, and stored in a folder that corresponds to the proposal volume it represents. Offerors shall insert the file name in the header of each document.

mailto:camilla.funk@us.af.mil mailto:richard.rembert@us.af.mil mailto:kay.brown.3@us.af.mil

5.7. Page Limit. Evaluators will only read up to the maximum number of pages specified. If the page limit is exceeded, the pages in excess of the limit will be removed from the applicable volume and will not be considered as part of the evaluation. Copy requirements and page limitations are as follows:

Volume Title Page Limit

I

Technical – Management Approach

II

Past Performance

See Para 8.5

III

Price

None

5.8. The organizational chart, acronym list, cross reference matrix, and overview section (for exceptions) will not be included in the page count. Covers for volumes, tables of contents, indices, title pages, and section dividers/tables will not be included in the page count if they are inserted solely to provide ease to the reader in locating parts/sections of the proposal. They will be counted if they contain any other information, e.g., diagrams, extraneous data, etc. Pages marked “This page intentionally left blank” will not be counted.

6. EXCEPTIONS

6.1. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions; therefore, offerors are advised that taking exception to any requirements specified in this solicitation may result in the Government finding the proposal unacceptable. Clarification of Government requirements shall be handled by submitting questions/recommendations prior to submission of proposals.

6.2. Offerors shall make a statement of no exception to the stated requirements, terms, and conditions; a statement to this effect shall be included in the proposal.

7. INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOLUME I – TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT APPROACH

7.1. To facilitate evaluation, the Technical Volume shall be specific, detailed, and complete to clearly and fully demonstrate that offerors have a thorough understanding of the MPF PWS requirements. Statements that the offeror understands, can, or will comply with the PWS or parts thereof (including referenced AF publications); and phrases such as “standard procedures will be employed” or “well known techniques will be used” etc., will be considered unacceptable.

Offerors should note that data submitted prior to the proposal submission including data submitted for current contracts and other solicitations will not be considered in the Government’s evaluation. Therefore, such data should not be relied upon nor incorporated in the Technical Proposal by reference. The offeror’s proposal shall at a minimum be prepared in a form consistent with the Technical Criteria set forth in the attachment titled “Addendum to 52.212-2 - Evaluation” of this solicitation. All information that the offeror deems appropriate to address for this factor and its subfactors must be included in the proposal in an orderly format.

7.2. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. A glossary of abbreviations and acronyms shall be provided as an attachment within the Technical Volume. Glossaries do not count against the page limitations for the volume.

7.3. Technical. The purpose of this volume is to allow the offeror to set forth in the most comprehensive manner its understanding of the program requirements and to demonstrate its ability to meet the evaluation requirements as stated in the Evaluation Criteria. Volume I, Factor 1 Technical/Management Approach shall not contain any pricing data. The Technical Volume shall address the following subfactors:

7.3.1. Subfactor A: Management Structure.

a. The Offeror shall provide a comprehensive program-level and individual site-level organizational structure, appropriate leadership hierarchy, lines of authority and integration of teaming partners and subcontractors. Demonstrate effective lines of communication, reporting, and interfaces between management, contractor employees, subcontractors/teaming partners, and the Government.

b. Present a communication plan that demonstrates consistent, intentional collaboration across sites to share lessons learned, best practices and implementation of process improvements and quality control.

7.3.2. Subfactor B: Transition and Staffing Plan. The Offeror shall provide a transition and staffing plan for meeting the requirements in the PWS. At a minimum provide the following:

a. The Offeror shall present a transition timeline that includes an approach to on-boarding geographically dispersed personnel, training, coordination with incumbent contractor, communication strategies with the Government, and other steps to meet requirements within the 30-day transition timeline.

b. The Offeror shall describe their approach to recruit, hire, retain, and develop qualified staff at the start of the task order and throughout the performance period as vacancies or extended leave occurs.

8. INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOLUME II - PAST PERFORMANCE

8.1. The Past Performance Volume is due no later than the proposal due date. Past Performance Information shall be provided in a format that facilitates an easy assessment according to the past performance evaluation criteria stated in the solicitation under Evaluation Criteria. Specific guidelines and requirements about volume content and format are provided in this section.

8.2. Past Performance Information (PPI) Contract References. Offerors shall submit information on contracts considered most relevant in demonstrating the ability to perform the MPF Services. This information is required on offeror, subcontractors, teaming partners, or joint venture partners considered critical to overall successful performance. Offerors shall provide information on a maximum of five (5) contract references and no less than two (2), each with a separate PPI Sheet (Attachment 2), each no more than 5 pages, identifying active or completed contracts, either Government or commercial, for each as prime. In addition, the offeror may provide another PPI Sheet for a maximum of three (3) different contracts and/or task orders for each proposed critical subcontractor, proposed partner, and/or proposed joint venture. To clarify, if an offeror has two subcontractors or partners, the offeror may submit three references as prime and three for each subcontractor for a total of up to 9 references.

8.3. Past Performance Recency. Offerors shall submit performance information on contracts considered recent IAW the Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items.

8.4. Past Performance Relevancy. Offerors shall submit performance information on contracts considered relevant to this effort. This information should include rationale supporting your assertion of relevance IAW the Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items.

Offerors are required to explain what aspects of the contracts are deemed relevant to the proposed effort, and to what aspects of the relevancy definition they relate. The final determination of relevancy will be made by the government.

8.5. PPI Contents. The offerors shall submit a Past Performance Volume containing the following sections (at a minimum):

Past Performance Volume Contents 1 Table of Contents Not to exceed one (1) page 2 Past Performance Summary Not to exceed two (2) pages

See paragraph 8.6.

3 Past Performance Information

(PPI) Sheets Each PPI not to exceed five (5) pages.

See paragraph 8.2

4 Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Letter if Applicable

Not to exceed one (1) page per subcontractor.

5 Organization Structure Change History

Not to exceed two (2) pages (in bullet format, narrative not required) See paragraph 8.8.

8.6. Summary. Describe roles/specific functions performed on the submitted contract by the offeror and all subcontractors, teaming partners, or joint venture partners. Identify the scope summary of the contract submitted as it relates to the Military Personnel Flight (MPF) scope.

8.7. Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) (Attachment 3) If a past performance record, such as CPARS does not exist for the contract information submitted, the Government requires the contractor send PPQs to each Point of Contact (POC) identified on the contractor's PPI sheet(s) in the Past Performance Section. POC(s) submit completed PPQs directly to the Government as noted in the

PPQ.

8.8. Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Letter (Attachment 4). The offeror shall provide an original consent letter for each proposed critical Sub-contractor or Teaming/Joint Venture Partner using the format provided. This letter allows the release of Sub-contractor or Teaming/Joint Venture Partner, Present/Past performance information to the offeror. PPI provided in the Past Performance Volume or otherwise found by the Government concerning subcontractor and teaming partners cannot be disclosed to a private party without the subcontractor’s or teaming partner’s consent. Because a Prime Contractor is a private party, the Government will need that consent before disclosing subcontractor/teaming partner PPI to the Prime during exchanges. Completed consent forms shall be submitted as part of the Past Performance Volume.

8.9. Organizational Structure Change History. Many companies have acquired, have been acquired by, or have otherwise merged with other companies, and/or re-organized their divisions, business groups, subsidiary companies, etc. In many cases, these changes have taken place during the time of performance of relevant efforts or between conclusion of recent past efforts and this source selection. As a result, it is sometimes difficult to determine what past performance is relevant to this acquisition. To facilitate the Government’s past performance evaluation, offerors shall include in this proposal volume a detailed “roadmap” describing all such organizational changes (if applicable), to include specific names and dates.

8.10. The Government may use references other than those identified by offerors in evaluation of offerors’ Past Performance. While the Government may elect to consider data obtained from other sources, the burden of providing accurate, complete, recent, and relevant PPI that demonstrates the ability to perform this requirement rests with each offeror.

9. INSTRUCTIONS FOR VOLUME III—PRICE PROPOSAL & FACILITY

CLEARANCE CONFIRMATION

9.1. The offeror shall provide the proposed price for all Firm Fixed Price (FFP) CLINs, Base, and all Option Periods, listed in Section 3 of the solicitation (Schedule of Supplies and Services (CLINS)). This section shall include all unit prices (if applicable) and extended amounts for all FFP CLINS. Each offeror shall provide price data in the attached excel spreadsheet (Attachment 5). Additionally, for ease of administration, offerors shall round all unit prices of proposed FFP CLINs to whole dollar amounts before they are multiplied by the quantity. The unit price multiplied by the number of units shall equal the extended price of each CLIN.

9.2. Other than Certified Cost and Pricing Data. Certified cost or pricing data is not required.

However, other than certified cost and pricing data is required. Offerors shall submit data that explains the methodology used in developing proposed CLIN prices. The data will include, at a minimum, breakdown (by CLIN) of labor (labor category, number of positions and productive hours), breakout of Other Direct Costs (ODC), direct and indirect rates, and subcontract costs.

The data may be submitted in a format selected by the offeror.

9.3. Service Contract Act. Offerors shall comply with clause 52.222-43 for their price proposal regarding employees covered by the Service Contract Act. Proposed option year prices shall not include allowances for any contingency to cover increased wage or benefits costs for which contract price adjustment is provided by clause 52.222-43.

9.4. Proposal Documentation. In addition to the pricing information requested above, this volume shall also contain the following documents:

9.4.1 Complete in its entirety the “Offeror” portion of the Standard Form 1449. An official having the authority to legally bind the company contractually must sign and date the Standard Form 1449 and all the Amendments.

9.4.2. In accordance with FAR Part 22.805, the Contracting Officer (CO) must request pre-award clearance on Prime contractors or Teaming Partners (not subcontractors) from the appropriate Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regional office. If an offeror is listed in OFCCP’s National Pre-award Registry (http://www.dol-esa.gov/preaward/pa_reg.html), offerors shall provide the CO a copy of the database registration for Government verification as part of the proposal submission. If an offeror is not listed in the registry, the CO will request an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) review.

9.4.3. Representations and Certifications. Complete the required Representations and Certifications or indicate if information is contained in the Online Representations and Certifications located at https://www.sam.gov.

9.4.4 8(a) Status. Provide a copy of the letter from the Small Business Administration (SBA) showing proof of Section 8(a) status.

9.4.5. Changes Resulting from Discussions. In the event any adjustment of price becomes necessary to reflect changes resulting from discussions, if discussions are held, a complete traceable trail shall be provided to show how the changes took place.

9.5. The offeror shall provide information regarding the general financial condition of the firm and specific plans for financing the proposed contract. The offeror shall provide previous three

(3) fiscal year-end financial statements.

9.6. A Secret Facility Clearance (FCL) is required. An Offeror without the requisite clearance will not be permitted as the prime contractor due to the required security classification. Offerors shall possess or acquire a facility clearance equal to the requirement on the DD254 without additional authorization (i.e. National Interest Determination (NID)) by the proposal due date. If an Offeror does not have the required clearance at the time of proposal submission, the proposal will not be evaluated and is not eligible for award. However, a secret facility clearance is not required for the JV itself if the Offeror is an unpopulated Joint Venture and all members of the Joint Venture possess a SECRET facility security clearance. The offeror shall provide a self-certifying statement that the offeror possesses an approved Secret FCL, to include the cage code for which the clearance is approved. Offerors that are unpopulated Joint Ventures may meet this requirement by each member of the Joint Venture possessing a SECRET facility security clearance.

9.6.1. A JV without its own FCL will not have access to classified information and all access will solely be through the cleared JV members. Therefore, a JV without its own FCL is required to submit, as part of its proposal, a Security Plan/Standard Operating Procedure which, at a minimum, includes the following:

1. Identification of the JV member that will be responsible for implementing and managing all security program requirements;

2. A description of the JV and JV members’ roles and responsibilities to ensure compliance with 32 CFR Part 117, NISPOM;

3. Confirmation that the JV itself will not have access to classified information; and

4. A copy of the joint venture agreement(s) relating to the establishment of the JV and any subcontracts awarded to the individual JV members as they relate to this solicitation and all security responsibilities

10. DEBRIEFING OF OFFERORS

10.1. Debriefings are conducted with the goal of identifying to unsuccessful offerors where changes can be made to improve proposals for future acquisitions. Successful or unsuccessful offerors may request debriefings by providing a written request to the Procuring Contracting Officer. Debriefings shall be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.505 for pre-award debriefings and FAR 15.506 for post-award debriefings, as per FAR 52.212-1