Att_3_Final_Proposal_Instructions.docx

68HE0H18FR0030

Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services

Attachment 3

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS ALTERNATE II (TAILORED)

Table of Contents

1. General Instructions

EPA intends to issue a single ID/IQ contract to fulfill the Agency’s Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services (CPRS) requirements. The award will be established for this requirement on a “Best Value” basis in accordance with FAR Part 15 Contracting by Negotiation.

In addition to the requirements of FAR 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition, Offerors should adhere to the following proposal preparation instructions for this solicitation. As stated in FAR 52.215-1, the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with Offerors. Therefore, the Offeror’s initial proposal should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions (i.e., enter into negotiations) with Offerors if the Government determines doing so is necessary and in the best interest of the Government.

The term “Offeror” as used in this solicitation includes the prime Contractor and any proposed team subcontractors or consultants that will perform direct labor under the contract.

The Offeror’s proposal must be valid for no less than 180 calendar days from the date proposals are due.

The Offeror’s complete proposal, consisting of Volume I - Technical Proposal, Volume II – Price Proposal, and Volume III – Responsibility Factors, must be submitted on or before the due date and time set forth in FedConnect.

2. Proposal Organization

The Offeror must submit its proposal in three (3) separate volumes: Volume I - Technical Proposal; Volume II – Price Proposal; and Volume III – Responsibility Factors. Each volume should be comprised of the following sections and subsections:

Volume I – Technical Proposal

Cover Page / Table of Contents Section 1: Staffing Approach

Section 2: Management Approach Section 3: Technical Approach

Volume II – Price Proposal

Section 2: Assumptions and Conditions Section 3: Wage Determinations Section 4: Pricing Section 5: Other Direct Costs Section 6: Statement of Financial Responsibility Section 7: Compensation for Professional Employees Appendix A: Sample Task Orders Price Breakdown

Volume III – Responsibility Factors

Cover Page / Table of Contents Section 1: Small Business Subcontracting Plan Section 2: Phase-In Transition Plan Section 3: Representations and Certifications Section 4: Conflict of Interest Plan

3. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

In preparing its written Technical Proposal, the Offeror is required to demonstrate the quality of its understanding, knowledge, experience and ability to perform under this contract. Technical Proposals that simply state that the Offeror has the understanding, knowledge, experience and ability to perform under this contract do not demonstrate these qualities. The Offeror should demonstrate the quality of its understanding, knowledge, experience and ability to perform under this contract by providing a detailed technical solution including specific, relevant examples in each section of Volume I - Technical Proposal. The responsibility is on the Offeror to develop a Technical Proposal that fully demonstrates the quality of its understanding, knowledge, experience and ability to perform under this contract.

3.1 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FORMATTING

3.1.1 Submission Requirements

The Offeror must submit one (1) electronic copy of Volume I - Technical Proposal in its own volume (not included with Volume II - Price Proposal or Volume III – Responsibility Factors) via FedConnect. Omit all price or cost details from Volume I - Technical Proposal.

3.1.2 Page Limitations / Instructions

Volume I - Technical Proposal should not exceed 50 sides of pages in length, excluding: Cover Page, Table of Contents, Past Performance Questionnaires, and all Appendices. The Government will not read or evaluate any pages submitted greater than 50 sides of pages.

Page numbers should be included within the margins.

The Technical Proposal must be written so as not to exceed 8.5" x 11" sized pages. Fold-out pages are not permitted.

3.1.3 Font Instructions

All text contained in the Technical Proposal should be in Times New Roman font and should not be smaller than 11-point font.

The Technical Proposal may include graphics and tables provided that graphics and tables do not contain text smaller than 11-point font.

3.1.4 Spacing Instructions

All text contained in the Technical Proposal should be single-spaced.

Each paragraph should be separated by at least one line.

3.1.5 Format Instructions

The electronic copy of the Technical Proposal should be provided in either .doc or searchable .pdf format.

3.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

The Offeror must structure its Technical Proposal (Volume I) to include a section and content for each of the following identified below:

Cover Page/Table of Contents

In this section the Offeror must include a cover page and a table of contents identifying all sections of the Technical Proposal.

Section 1: Staffing Approach

Section 1: Staffing Approach of the Offeror’s Technical Proposal (Volume I) must consist of the following two (2) subsections: Subsection 1.1 Staffing Plan and Subsection 1.2 Key Personnel.

Subsection 3.1 Staffing Plan: In this subsection, the Offeror must submit their contract-level staffing plan for accomplishing the requirements of the attached SOW. The plan must:

· describe the Offeror’s proposed methodology to expeditiously identify, match, select and manage facilitators, mediators and other dispute resolution professionals for cases as described in Task 1. Contract Management, Subtask 1.1 ADR Professionals, of the attached SOW;

· describe any unmitigated obstacles in staffing to the full scope of the CPRS requirement and the impact the obstacles could have on the ability to provide the necessary staffing resources at any given time during contract performance;

· describe the Offeror’s ability and approach to staff multiple, concurrent projects throughout the continental United States;

· describe the Offeror’s ability and approach to maintaining a qualified staffing resources for the duration of the CPRS contract;

· describe the proposed methodology for ensuring staffing resources are readily available in the event of a conflict of interest;

· include a brief position description for each proposed labor category indicating the qualification requirements (i.e. technical experience, certifications, and education) and the scope of each proposed labor categories’ duties by specific SOW task and subtasks. Descriptions must identify and distinguish between various position levels, as applicable; and

· include a table identifying all staffing resources proposed to accomplish the full effort described in the SOW using the following format:

Offerors can add as many rows as necessary to include all labor categories proposed. The proposed labor categories must be consistent with the labor categories described in V. Personnel of the SOW (Attachment 1 to the solicitation).

THE OFFER MUST NOT INCLUDE ANY PRICING IN THIS SUBSECTION OR THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL (VOLUME I). However, the information provided in the Offeror’s proposed Staffing Plan must be consistent with the information provided in the Offeror’s proposed labor mix (Appendix A: Sample Task Order Breakdown of the Price Proposal).

Subsection 3.2 Key Personnel: In this subsection, Offerors must demonstrate their proposed Key Personnel qualifications to perform the requirements of PWS. A Project Manager and Contract Administrator, or equivalent positions, are required (i.e., Key Personnel) for this contract. Offerors must indicate the name, title, and relevant qualifications (i.e. technical experience, management experience, certifications, education, and expertise) of the proposed Key Personnel in providing technical and management support for relevant work in terms of size, scope, complexity, and result to EPA’s CPRS requirements. Offerors must also indicate the proposed Key Personnel availability by indicating if each individual proposed as Key Personnel is currently employed by the Offeror and the extent of their time (in hours and percentage) that would be available and committed for this contract, as well as the nature and extent of their time (in hours and percentage) commitments to other contracts or projects. Resumes for Key Personnel must be provided in Appendix A in addition to the information required in this Section for the proposed Key Personnel. Resumes for Key Personnel are not included in the overall page limitation set forth in the TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS Section above; however, each resume should not exceed 2 sides of pages in length. The proposed Project Manager, or equivalent position, must have a valid PMP (Project Management Professional), or equivalent, certification.

Section 2: Management Approach

In this section, the Offeror must propose a comprehensive Project Management Plan (PM Plan) based on the industry standards as defined by the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The proposed PM Plan must describe the Offeror’s proposed methodology, processes, techniques, and tools that will be used to execute, manage, and control performance in delivering Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services to ensure the highest quality and timely work products and services. The approach should be realistic to meet the demands of the tasks in the SOW and the overall challenges of supporting EPA’s CPRS requirements. The plan must describe the management structure, systems, and protocols proposed to efficiently manage the CPRS requirements and overall service delivery, including a specific discussion on risk management, risk mitigation, quality assurance, client satisfaction, project and financial tracking, and reporting as they relate to the CPRS requirements.

Section 3: Technical Approach

In this section, the Offeror must demonstrate its understanding, knowledge, ability and approach to delivering specific Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services in response to the sample task order scenarios described below:

In its response to each of the three (3) sample task order scenarios, the Offeror must include: (1) a narrative that clearly describes the Offeror’s technical solution to accomplish the specific scenario; and (2) a technical breakdown showing the labor mix proposed to accomplish the proposed technical solution. The proposed labor mix must be identified by labor category and level of effort (i.e. hours). The Offeror’s response must be organized by task and subtask of the SOW contained in Attachment 1 to this solicitation. All SOW tasks and subtasks must be acknowledged by name in the Offeror’s approach to each sample task order scenario; if a task and/or subtask does not apply to a scenario, the Offeror must indicate so in its response. The Offeror must also indicate any conditions or disclaimers.

THE OFFER MUST NOT INCLUDE ANY PRICING IN THIS SUBSECTION OR THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL (VOLUME I). However, the information provided in the Offeror’s technical breakdown must be consistent with the information provided in the Offeror’s price breakdown (Appendix A: Sample Task Orders Breakdown of the Price Proposal).

Section 4: Past Performance

In this Section, the Offeror must include the information required by the Section L provision, Past Performance Information (EPAAR 1552.215-75).

The Offeror must transmit a completed Client Authorization Letter (Attachment 5 to the solicitation) accompanied by the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) template (Attachment 6 to the solicitation) to all the references identified in this Section of the Offeror’s proposal. The Offeror must be responsible for following up with the references to ensure they have completed and submitted the PPQ via email to Patrice Cunningham at cCunningham.patrice@epa.gov. All PPQs must be received by Patrice Cunningham on or before the same date and time proposals are due. Any PPQ not received by the due date and time for proposal submissions will not be evaluated.

Appendix A: Key Personnel Resumes

In this appendix, the Offeror must include résumés of proposed key personnel as described in Section 3: Staffing Approach of the TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS above. Each resume must not exceed two (2) pages of text.

3.3 ORAL PRESENTATIONS

All Offerors submitting a written Technical Proposal in response to this solicitation will be invited to provide an oral presentation. In conducting the oral presentations, EPA will select one (1) of the three (3) sample task order scenarios described in attachment 2 of this solicitation for Offerors to demonstrate their approach in response. Offerors must arrive at the scheduled oral presentation ready to present its scenario-specific Staffing Approach, Management Approach, and Technical Approach on any of the three (3) sample task order scenarios and to provide a functional demonstration of its proposed case tracking solution. The scenario to be presented will be selected by the EPA at random prior to the due date of written proposals. All Offerors will present on the same, randomly selected sample scenario. Offerors will not be informed of the selected scenario until the Instruction Segment of the oral presentation process, as described below.

The oral presentation process will consist of a total of 100 minutes, separated into four (4) segments:

· Instruction Segment (10 minutes): For the first segment, EPA will read the selected sample task order scenario the Offeror will respond to during the oral presentation.

· Presentation Segment (30 minutes): The Offeror will present its scenario-specific Staffing Approach, Management Approach, and Technical Approach in response to the selected scenario.

· Functional Demonstration (20 minutes): The Offeror will provide a functional demonstration of its proposed case tracking solution to accomplish the requirements of Task 1. Contract Management, Subtask 1.2 Project Tracking, specifically demonstrating how the proposed solution provides user-friendly, quick access to documents and financial information on the contract to the EPA project officer and contract officer, regarding task orders, and Technical Directive details such as dates of project, location of project, assigned expert (s) , status of deliverables, level of effort planned, expended and remaining; levels., and compiles statistical data and reports on a quick turn-around basis.

· Question Segment (30 minutes): During this segment, EPA will ask a list of pre-selected questions to: (1) understand the Offeror’s approach to staffing to the specific scenarios and the Offeror’s basis for that approach; (2) validate the experience and resumes submitted with the written technical quote and to evaluate technical knowledge and abilities that are not easily ascertainable through resumes; (3) understand the Offeror’s approach and methodology to managing personnel, including all aspects of service provider selection, quality of service, invoicing, and deliverables; and (4) understand the Offeror’s basis for the proposed technical solution to evaluate their approach, expertise, in effectiveness in delivering services in cases illustrative of those that may be placed under this contract and developing workplans and cost analysis for potential projects.

Oral presentations will be held on December 4, 2018 and December 5, 2018 at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Offerors will be contacted on December 1, 2018 via email with their scheduled date and time for their oral presentation. When contacted on December 1, 2018, , EPA will provide Offerors additional information regarding the requirements for the oral presentation, including the qualifications for personnel that will be required to provide the oral presentation, the requirements and/or limitations on the use of written materials or media to supplement the oral presentation, and the scope and content of exchanges that may occur between the Government’s participants and the Offeror personnel as part of the oral presentations. Due to facility capacity constraints, Offerors will be permitted to have up to five (5) personnel attend and present at the oral presentations.

4. PRICE PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

4.1 PRICE PROPOSAL FORMATTING

4.1.1 Submission Requirements

The Offeror must submit one (1) electronic copy of Volume II – Price Proposal in its own volume via FedConnect.

4.1.2 Page Limitations / Instructions

Volume II - Price Proposal should not exceed 30 pages of text in length, excluding: Cover Page, Table of Contents, SF1449, SF33, and incorporation of solicitation amendments, Pricing, Proposed Labor, Statement of Financial Responsibility, and Sample Task Order Price Breakdown. The Government will not read or evaluate any pages submitted greater than 30 pages.

Page numbers should be included within the margins.

The Technical Proposal must be written so as not to exceed 8.5" x 11" sized pages. Fold-out pages are not permitted.

4.1.3 Font Instructions

All text contained in the Price Proposal should be in Times New Roman font and should not be smaller than 11-point font.

The Price Proposal may include graphics and tables provided that graphics and tables do not contain text smaller than 11-point font.

4.1.4 Spacing Instructions

All text contained in the Price Proposal should be single-spaced.

Each paragraph should be separated by at least one line.

4.1.5 Format Instructions

The electronic copy of the Price Proposal should be provided in either .doc or searchable .pdf format.

4.2 PRICE PROPOSAL STRUCTURE

The Offeror must structure its Price Proposal (Volume II) to include a Section and content for each of the following identified below:

Cover Page/Table of Contents

In this Section the Offeror must include a cover page and a table of contents identifying all Sections of the Price Proposal.

Section 1: SF 1449, SF 33 and Incorporation of Solicitation Amendments

In this Section the Offeror must include a signed copy of the SF 33 for this solicitation and a written statement that the Offeror's proposal incorporates all amendments to the solicitation (if applicable).

Section 2: Assumptions and Conditions

In this Section the Offeror must describe all assumptions, conditions, and Offeror-added terms and conditions on which the Offeror's proposal is based.

Section 3: Wage Determinations

In this Section the Offeror must identify proposed labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act. The wage determinations that are applicable to this contract will be included as an attachment to the resulting contract.

For each labor category, the Offeror must provide the location used to determine the applicable wage determination and the applicable wage determination number. If multiple locations apply to a labor category, the Offeror must provide the location information and wage determination number for each applicable location. This Section must also include the Offeror’s certification that the wages paid to Service Contract Act employees are at least the prevailing rates and fringe benefits as set forth on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) website[footnoteRef:1], respective to the applicable geographical location. [1: http://www.wdol.gov/sca.aspx]

Section 4: Pricing

All content submitted in this Section will be evaluated under Section 3. Cost/Price (Volume II) of Attachment 4, Evaluation Factors for Contract Award.

In this Section the Offeror must propose pricing using the Microsoft Excel pricing spreadsheet provided in Attachments 7 to this solicitation, as follows

Attachment 7, Cost Proposal Pricing Template: This spreadsheet captures the Offeror’s proposed pricing for Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services. Pricing by contract year and for the overall requirement is captured in this spreadsheet. Specific instructions for entering information in this spreadsheet are contained below. The value in cell E8 from the “Summary” sheet will represent the Offeror's proposed maximum IDIQ value for the resulting contract.

Instructions for entering information in the spreadsheet is as follows:

The following instructions apply for proposing costs for each contract year:

(1) In preparing the spreadsheet, each Offeror must:

(A) Insert the full company name of the Offeror in cell B2 on the spreadsheet with the tab entitled “Contract Year 1.” Offerors must not insert this information on the other sheets as there is an embedded formula which captures this information once entered on the Contract Year 1 sheet.

(B) Identify and include the following information for each labor category proposed for each contract year, on the respective sheets for the full scope of the proposed effort:

· In Column A, the Government has already included the required labor categories as set forth in SOW Section V. Personnel. If the included labor categories do not reflect the Offeror’s full labor mix for any contract year, Offerors are permitted to insert rows to include additional labor categories to comprise the full labor mix proposed for the full scope of requirements.

· In Column B, indicate if each labor category is proposed as Key Personnel or Non-Key Personnel by inserting “Key Personnel” for proposed Key Personnel labor categories or “Non-Key Personnel” for proposed Non-Key Personnel labor categories.

· In Column C, include the Offeror’s proposed fully burdened labor rate. The proposed rates must be fixed and fully loaded inclusive of all labor expenses, including report preparation, salaries, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. If the Offeror proposes an average rate for any labor category, the Offeror must identify the professional or technical levels which are included in the average rate. The approved labor rates will be incorporated into EPAAR 1552.216-73 Fixed Rates for Services – Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract (APR 1984) of the resulting awarded contract.

· In Column D, indicate the number of hours proposed for each labor category to fulfill the requirements for each respective contract year in accordance with the following prescribed maximum hours for the full contract period of performance of 60 months:

The direct labor hours set forth above are for professional and technical labor only. These hours do not include management at a level higher than the project management and clerical support staff at a level lower than technician. If it is the Offeror’s normal practice to charge these types of personnel as a direct cost, the proposal must include them along with an estimate of the directly chargeable man-hours for these personnel. If this type of effort is normally included in the Offeror’s indirect cost allocations, Offerors are not required to include them as separate direct labor. However, direct charging of indirect costs on any resulting contract will not be allowed. Additionally, the hours set forth above are the workable hours required by the Government and do not include release time (i.e., holiday, vacation, etc.).

The total number of hours proposed for all five (5) contract years, when combined, must be equal to 625,000 hours. Proposals which include a Total Proposed Labor Hours amount, as calculated in cell B8 on the Summary sheet of Attachment 7, other than 625,000 will be considered ineligible for contract award.

NOTE: The spreadsheet includes a formula to sum all of the hours proposed for each performance period. Offerors must not alter the formula contained in the cell, which is identified in grey.

· In Column E, Offerors must not insert information into this column as there is an imbedded formula which multiplies the proposed fully burdened labor rate in Column C for each labor category by the hours proposed in Column D, and then sums the results of that calculation. Additionally, this column contains a formula to sum the “Total Proposed Costs” and “Other Direct Costs” proposed for each contract year. Accordingly, the cells in this column are identified in grey.

(2) Other Direct Costs are included at the bottom of each contract year tab. Offerors must not modify, alter, or change the Other Direct Cost information contained in the spreadsheet. Refer to Section 5: Other Direct Costs herein for additional information on pricing requirements for Other Direct Costs.

(3) Summary: All cells on the sheet with the tab entitled “Summary,” contain imbedded formulas to capture summary information from the sheets for each contract year. Offerors are not permitted to alter the cells on this page.

(4) Offerors must not insert any information or alter the content of cells identified in grey as they contain imbedded formulas.

Section 5: Other Direct Costs

In this Section, the Offeror must provide an itemized list of proposed Other Direct Costs to be included in the prescribed ODC ceiling of $3,860,000.00, inclusive of any applicable indirect costs, for each contract year. The total amount of ODCs must not exceed $3,860,000.00 in any contract year, or $19,300,000.00 for the entire contract period of performance. Proposals which include a proposed ODC amount other than $3,860,000.00 for any contract year or $19,300,000.00 for the entire contract period of performance will be considered ineligible for contract award.

Offerors must also identify any indirect rates that will be applied to ODCs. Indirect rates that have been accepted and approved on other Government contracts or have been approved in an audit by a Government agency must be substantiated by the Offeror and included with this proposal. The documentation must at a minimum include: names of the agencies, contract numbers, contract titles, and/or name and telephone number for the cognizant Government auditor.

Proposals which include subcontracting must also include the results of the prime contractor’s evaluation of each subcontractor’s costs as required by FAR 15.404-3(b)(2).

Section 6: Statement of Financial Responsibility

In this Section Offerors must submit information to support a determination of financial responsibility. This may be in the form of an annual report, letters of credit from a bank or other financial institution, or profit and loss statements certified by a public accountant. Equivalent information must be provided for all subcontractors proposed. All information submitted must be marked confidential, if applicable. Offerors must also include a completed copy of all fields and blanks contained in EPAAR 1552.215-73, General Financial and Organization Information. In addition, Offerors must include a copy of a written letter to their financial institution authorizing the financial institution to release the Offeror’s financial information to the Contracting Officer.

Section 7: Compensation for Professional Employees

In this Section the Offeror must provide its total compensation plan for professional employees in accordance with the requirements at FAR 52.222-46 Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (FEB 1993).

Appendix A: Sample Task Orders Price Breakdown

All content submitted in this appendix will be evaluated under Section 3. Cost/Price (Volume II) of Attachment 4, Evaluation Factors for Contract Award.

In this appendix, the Offeror must provide a separate price breakdown for each of the three (3) sample task order scenarios described in Subsection 3.2 Technical Proposal Structure and Content regarding Section 3: Technical Approach of this attachment, that clearly demonstrates how the Offeror derived the proposed price in delivering specific Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services in response to the sample task order scenarios. The purpose of the price breakdown is to evaluate the Offeror’s price breakdown for each of the three (3) sample task order scenarios.

At a minimum, the price breakdown must show the following individual price/cost elements: the proposed labor mix and other direct costs (ODCs). The proposed labor mix should be identified by labor category, level of effort (i.e hours), fully burdened fixed loaded labor rate(s), and total proposed labor price. The proposed labor categories should be consistent with the information provided in Section 5: Pricing of the Offeror’s Price Proposal. ODCs should be identified by type, quantity, unit price, and total ODC price. Any specific assumptions, conditions, or disclaimers should be noted in the price breakdown provided by the Offeror in the price proposal for each sample task order scenario.

Information provided in the Offeror’s price breakdown in this appendix should be consistent with the information provided in the Section 3: Technical Approach of the Offeror’s written Technical Proposal (Volume I).

5. Responsibility Factors INSTRUCTIONS

5.1 RESPONSIBILITY FACTORS FORMATTING

5.1.1 Submission Requirements

The Offeror must submit one (1) electronic copy of Volume III - Responsibility Factors in its own volume (not included with Volume I - Technical Proposal or Volume II – Price Proposal) via FedConnect. Omit all price or cost details from Volume III – Responsibility Factors.

5.1.2 Page Limitations / Instructions

There is no page limitation on Volume III - Responsibility Factors.

The Responsibility Factors must be written so as not to exceed 8.5" x 11" sized pages. Fold-out pages are not permitted.

5.1.3 Font Instructions

All text contained in the Responsibility Factors should be in Times New Roman font and should not be smaller than 11-point font.

The Responsibility Factors may include graphics and tables provided that graphics and tables do not contain text smaller than 11-point font.

5.1.4 Spacing Instructions

All text contained in the Responsibility Factors should be single-spaced.

Each paragraph should be separated by at least one line.

5.1.5 Format Instructions

The electronic copy of the Responsibility Factors should be provided in either .doc or searchable .pdf format.

5.2 RESPONSIBILITY FACTORS STRUCTURE

The Offeror must structure its Responsibility Factors (Volume III) to include a Section and content for each of the following identified below:

Cover Page/Table of Contents

In this Section the Offeror must include a cover page and a table of contents identifying all Sections of the Responsibility Factors.

Section 1: Small Business Subcontracting Plan

In this Section the Offeror must include a proposed Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with the requirements at FAR 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontract Plan (OCT 2014) – Alternate II (OCT 2001).

Section 2: Phase-In Transition Plan

In this Section the Offeror must describe its approach to assuming responsibility of the Agency’s on-going requirements for Conflict Prevention and Resolution Services. The Offeror’s Phase-In Transition Plan must address: proposed staffing resources, their roles, and duties; the staff resources onboarding plan to ensure all necessary staffing resources are able to commence work without security, conflict of interest, or other delays within 30 days after contract award; the plan and schedule, with defined processes, deliverables, and deadlines, for accomplishing the complete and seamless transition of all on-going work from the incumbent within 90 days of contract award with no more than minimal disruption to the on-going work; the plan for taking on new work within the 90 day transition period to ensure quality and timely performance on both on-going and new work; the plan for standing up the proposed case tracking system solution within 30 days of contract award; and assumptions on the resources needed or to be provided by the Government.

Section 3: Representations and Certifications

In this Section the Offeror must include a completed copy of all representations and certifications required by this solicitation as set forth in Section K – Representations and Certifications.

Section 4: Conflict of Interest Plan

In this Section the Offeror must include its proposed Conflict of Interest Plan describing its plans to mitigate, avoid, or neutralize conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest include personal conflicts of interest, or personal COI, and organizational conflicts of interest, or OCI. The Offeror’s plans for mitigating, avoiding, or neutralizing personal COI must include plans for addressing potential personal COIs for prime contractor employees, subcontractor employees, and consultants. The plan must also describe the Offeror’s conflict of interest training plan for all staffing resources (i.e. prime contractor employees, subcontractor employees, and consultants) and the Offeror’s conflict of interest notification procedures during contract performance. Offerors’ Conflict of Interest Plans must meet the minimum standards in Local Clause EPA-L-09-103 Minimum Standards for EPA Contractor’s Conflict of Interest Plans. NOTE: Even if Offeror’s certify as to not having being not aware of any information bearing on the existence of any potential organizational conflict of interest under EPAAR 1442.209-72 Organizations Conflict of Interest Certification, the Offeror must submit a Conflict of Interest Plan as instructed herein.