52.212-1_Instructions to Offerors.pdf

STRATGEIC ADVISOR SUPPORT (SAS)

SOLICITATION HT0015-24-R-0021

FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sep 2023).

(a) Paragraph 52.212-1(c), “Period for Acceptance of offers,” is tailored as follows: “The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its proposal firm for 180 calendar days from the issuance date of this solicitation.”

(b) All instances of “offeror,” and/or “offer” in 52.212-1 refer to a respondent submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation.

(c) 52.212-1(e) - Single Offer. Offerors shall submit one proposal presenting terms and conditions for commercial items/services satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. In the event an offeror submits more than one proposal, only the last complete proposal submitted prior to the due date and time for proposals will be evaluated.

(d) 52.212-1(g) - Award. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and select the awardee with or without communications between the Government and offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to seek information through clarifications or communications with offerors or hold discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be in the interest of the Government. The Government may reject any or all proposals if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest proposal; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.

The Government will evaluate all proposals in accordance with FAR 15.305(a), and, if discussions are to be conducted, establish the competitive range. Based on the ratings of each proposal against all evaluation criteria, the Contracting Officer will establish a competitive range comprised of all of the most highly rated proposals, unless the range is further reduced for purposes of efficiency pursuant to FAR 15.306(c)(2). After evaluating all proposals in accordance with 15.305(a) and paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the Contracting Officer may determine that the number of most highly rated proposals that might otherwise be included in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted. The competitive range may be limited for purposes of efficiency, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals. At the conclusion of discussions, each offeror still in the competitive range shall be given an opportunity to submit a final proposal revision.

(e) 52.212-1(l) - Explanation of the Basis for Award. Unsuccessful offerors to the solicitation who request information will receive a debriefing of the award decision in accordance with FAR 15.505 and 15.506.

ADDENDUM – FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sep 2023).

(f) The following is inserted as new paragraph (m) of the provision:

“(m) Proposal Preparation Instructions.

A. 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, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. The response shall consist of four (4) separate parts; Volume I – Summary of Information and Proposal Table of Contents, Volume II - Price Proposal, Volume III –

B. Technical Proposal Volume IV – Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan, and Volume V -

Past Performance Proposal.

C. Specific Instructions:

1. Volume I – SUMMARY AND MISCELLANEOUS DATA. Submit original electronic copy.

(a) The offeror shall provide a concise summary no more than 3 pages and master table of contents of the entire proposal.

(b) Standard Form (SF) 1449. Complete blocks 12, 17a, 30a, 30b, and 30c. In doing so, the offeror accedes to the terms and conditions as written in the solicitation.

(c) Complete the necessary fill-ins and certifications in provisions and in the on-line Representations and Certifications at www.SAM.gov. For other provisions and clauses in the solicitation, the offeror is required to submit the pages that require an offeror fill-in.

(d) Submit an acknowledgment of all solicitation amendments, if issued.

2. Volume II – PRICE - Submit original electronic copy.

(a) Insert proposed unit prices in the Pricing Matrix (RFP Attachment 1) for each labor category, including all option periods. Do not enter dollar amounts on the SF 1449.

(b) Extreme care should be exercised to ensure that no price data of any kind are included in any other part of the proposal submissions.

(c) Insert base labor rate in the Minimum Compensation Matrix (RFP Attachment 2). If your proposed base hourly rate, for a given labor category at a given location is below the hourly rate identified in the Labor Category Minimum Compensation Matrix, offeror shall detail the extra non-monetary compensation that the offeror will be providing workers to off-set the sub-standard monetary compensation.

3. Volume III – TECHNICAL – Limited to no more than 5 pages. Submit original electronic copy.

Subfactor 1: Management Approach The Offeror will be evaluated on the basis of the extent to which the proposal demonstrates capabilities to successfully manage, perform, and execute the PWS requirements. The Officer shall provide an organizational structure (including an organizational chart) that aligns with the Offeror’s management approach.

Subfactor 2: Transition Provide a Transition-In Plan, which details your approach for assuming full contractual responsibility without disruption or degradation of performance during the transition period. The transition plan shall address the full range of contract transition activities while meeting the objectives of the requirements upon contract award.

The transition plan shall also specifically address how the Offeror will execute a plan that promotes efficient collaboration, coordination, and communications, reduces risk, and minimizes disruption of the services.

Separate transition methodology and/or approach for the incoming and outgoing transition shall include a minimum of the following areas:

(a) Planned approach for transitioning from the incumbent contractor to the new contractor, including knowledge, Government Furnished Information, processes, and content.

(b) Methodology including phases, assumptions, phased timelines, descriptions, and resultant deliverables.

(c) Understanding of the key challenges.

(d) Understanding of the potential risks and submitted mitigation strategies.

(e) Understanding of the key activities and/or tasks during the transition.

4. Volume IV - Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Mitigation Plan Limited to 10 pages (not including the Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan Checklist).

The Offeror’s OCI Mitigation Plan must include the following:

(a) This volume shall contain a completed OCI Mitigation Plan and a completed OCI Mitigation Plan Checklist (RFP Attachment 3). The OCI Mitigation Plan Checklist shall be excluded from the OCI Plan total page count.

(b) The offeror’s OCI Mitigation Plan shall incorporate, at a minimum, the items listed in the OCI Mitigation Plan Checklist. If sections of the checklist do not apply, or do not apply at this time, mark those sections as “N/A.”

5. Volume V – PAST PERFORMANCE - Limited to no more than 5 past performance references and no more than 10 pages (not including PPQs) overall. Submit original electronic copy.

(a) Quality and Satisfaction Rating of Contracts: The Government will use any/all information currently available (letters, metrics, customer surveys, independent surveys, etc.) that demonstrates customer satisfaction with overall job performance and/or quality of completed and/or ongoing contracts. In addition, explain corrective actions taken in the past, if any, for substandard performance and any current performance problems, such as cost overruns, extended performance periods, numerous warranty calls, etc. (See 52.212-2(d)(4))

(b) Performance Surveys/Questionnaires: Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) may be used by the offeror in obtaining and providing past performance information. CPARS may be substituted for PPQs.

PPQs shall be submitted to the Government as part of offeror’s past performance submission response and will not count towards the overall page count of this part.

(c) Past Performance Information: Provide a list of no more than five (5) contracts performed for any customer. (See addendum to 52.212-2, paragraph (d)(4)). A completed, if available, PPQ may be submitted to the Government for each reference.

Furnish the following information for each contract listed:

i) Company/Division name

ii) Product/Service

iii) Contracting Agency/Customer

iv) Contract Number

v) Contractual Relationship (e.g., Prime, Subcontractor)

vi) Contract Dollar Value

viii) Labor categories (including brief description of labor category) and number of workers per labor category

viii) Period of Performance

ix) Verified, up-to-date name, mailing and e-mail addresses, and telephone number of the contracting officer (Point-of-Contact)

x) Comments regarding compliance with contract terms and conditions

xii) Comments regarding any known performance deemed unacceptable to the customer, or not in accordance with the contract terms and conditions.

xii) Include rationale supporting your assertion of relevance and identify aspects (scope, magnitude of effort, and complexity) of the contracts deemed relevant and how they relate to the submitted effort.

If an offeror has no past performance history of relevance, the offeror must state affirmatively it possesses no past performance history of relevance.

(d) If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, provide complete information as to the arrangement.

(e) Subcontractor Consent: Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Provide, with the submission, a letter from each subcontractor that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of its past performance information to the prime contractor.

(f) If an Offeror proposes to use any type of joint venture, the Offeror must provide a copy of that agreement and ensure it meets all elements of 13 C.F.R. § 125.8(b)(2). The joint venture agreement must be signed by all parties, clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each party, and be submitted along with the Offeror’s proposal. The copy of the joint venture agreement provided by the Offeror will not be counted towards the Offeror’s page limitations. The partners to the joint venture in the aggregate must demonstrate the PP necessary to perform the contract.

(g) If an Offeror proposes to use any type of Mentor-Protégé, the Offeror must provide a copy of that agreement and ensure it meets all elements of 13 C.F.R. § 125.9. The agreement must be signed by all parties, clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each party, and be submitted along with the Offeror’s proposal. The copy of the Mentor-Protégé agreement provided by the Offeror will not be counted towards the Offeror’s page limitations. The partners to the venture in the aggregate must demonstrate the PP necessary to perform the contract.

Documents submitted in response to this RFP must be consistent with the following:

1. Requirements of the solicitation (CLINs and PWS) and government standards and regulations pertaining to the PWS.

2. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, of this solicitation.

If a Volume in a submission exceeds the specified page limit cited in the Volume Content, the excessive pages will not be evaluated.

3. Format for proposal Volumes I, III, and IV shall be as follows:

(a) It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the electronic files submitted are virus free and can be opened and read by the Government. All files shall be submitted compatible with Microsoft Office 2016 or Adobe Acrobat, as indicated. Proposal submissions shall not be locked, password protected, encrypted, or otherwise contain barriers to opening. Offeror’s proposals shall not contain classified data.

Each proposal shall consist of four Volumes, as follows:

Volume I - Summary and Miscellaneous Data Volume II - Price

Volume III - Technical Volume IV - Organizational Conflict of Interest

Volume V - Past Performance

Each volume includes separate instructions and requirements to substantiate qualifications within the volume.

Each Volume of the Offeror’s proposal shall include a cover file which includes a table of contents for that Volume, a list of Tables and Drawings for that volume (if applicable), and a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used for that volume. The cover page shall clearly label the Offeror’s name, cage code, and Volume number. The cover file shall be prepared using a standard, 12-point Font, single spaced, with 1” margins, and 8.5” x 11” page size (printable on 8 ½" x 11" paper). The file, except the Pricing Matrix and Minimum Compensation Matrix, shall be converted to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) that is searchable before submission.

Each cover file shall conform to the following file naming convention:

OFFEROR NAME COVER_FILE_VOL_>

“OFFEROR NAME” shall be replaced with name of Offeror submitting the proposal in response to this solicitation and shall be no longer than 25 characters.

“>” shall be replaced with the corresponding Volume number for which the cover file is being submitted.

All files for Volume I shall be converted and combined into a single PDF file prior to submission and shall conform to the following file naming convention:

OFFEROR NAME VOL_1

“OFFEROR NAME” shall be replaced with name of Offeror submitting the proposal in response to this solicitation and shall be no longer than 25 characters.

(b) Cover pages and Table of Contents, glossaries, list of tables, and any other identifying information/pages requested will not be counted against the page limits. However, pages depicting tables, charts, graphs, and figures will count toward the page limit. A page is defined as one face of a sheet of paper containing information (when printed).

(c) The proposal shall be submitted in a in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Files (.pdf). The electronic version shall be submitted, and only accepted, via E-mail. USB flash drives, Compact Disk (CD and/or DVD), floppy disks, and zip disks are not acceptable. Individual emails for submission of the proposal are not to exceed 20 MB. Individual e-mails for submission of the material to the Government at any time during this acquisition, including but not limited to responses to communications (if any), discussions (if any), and revised offers (if any), are not to exceed 20 MB. It is acceptable to send multiple emails for your submission. If multiple emails are necessary, include the following in the first email: Company name, identify it as the first in a series (e.g., 1of 5), what documents are included in each email, and POC information in the event that emails are missing.

(d) Each volume shall be complete in itself and shall not reference information contained in other volumes.

Page 1 of a volume is defined as the first page after the Table of Contents. All pages shall be numbered.

(e) Price data of any kind shall be presented only in Volume II - Price Submission.

(f) Elaborate formats and color presentations are not desired or required.

The following table summarizes the proposal submission:

Volume TITLE PAGE LIMIT DUE DATE

I

Volume I:

Summary and

Misc. Data

3 pages

Refer to Block 8 of Page 1 of the

SF 1449

II

Volume II: Price

0 pages (Complete Price Matrix and Compensation Matrix attachments only)

III

Volume III:

Technical

5 Pages

IV Volume IV:

Organizational

Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan

5 Pages (Page limit does not apply to OCI Mitigation Plan

Checklist)

Refer to Block 8 of Page 1 of the SF

V

Volume IV: Past

Performance

10 Pages (Page limit does not apply to PPQs or subcontractor consent)

D. General Information

1. Information regarding submission of Proposals: Proposals must be delivered to the following E-mail addresses: mallory.m.vasquez.civ@health.mil and stephani.n.preusser.civ@health.mil.

2. Questions: Questions should be submitted no later than 11:00 a.m. (local San Antonio, Texas time) 2 July 2024. Answers will be published after that date as an update to the original RFP. Any questions received after this date/time need not be answered by the Government.

Answers will not be provided directly to companies, firms, or individuals. They will be published on SAM.gov.

3. FEDERAL HOLIDAYS: The following Federal Legal Holidays are observed by this base:

New Year’s Day Birthday of Martin Luther King Washington’s Birthday Memorial Day Juneteenth National Independence Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

(End of Addendum)