FCAFA_RFP_-_69319519R000003.pdf

69319519R000003

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

ORDER UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

SEALED BID (IFB)

5. DATE ISSUED

1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED RATING PAGE OF PAGES

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C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

EXT.NUMBERAREA CODE

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS)A. NAME

10. FOR

INFORMATION

CALL:

CAUTION: LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

(Date)(Hour) local timeuntildepository located in copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and

PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

CONTRACT CLAUSES

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

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M SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

PACKAGING AND MARKING

DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSESPART I - THE SCHEDULE

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SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) DESCRIPTION SEC. (X)

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

18. OFFER DATE17. SIGNATURE

SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

IS DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE - ENTER

15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS

EXT.NUMBERAREA CODE

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER

(Type or print)AND

ADDRESS

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OFFEROR

CODE FACILITY

16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER15A. NAME

DATEAMENDMENT NO.DATEAMENDMENT NO.

and related documents numbered and dated):

amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS

CALENDAR DAYS (%)30 CALENDAR DAYS (%)20 CALENDAR DAYS (%)10 CALENDAR DAYS (%)

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232.8)

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within ______________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

28. AWARD DATE

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

CODE 24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7)

ITEM

(4 copies unless otherwise specified)

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

41 U.S.C. 253 (c) ( 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c) (

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION20. AMOUNT19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED

AWARD (To be completed by government)

CODE

05/17/2019 X

TAD-40

U.S. Dept. of Transportation/FTA Office of Acquisition Mgmt, TAD-40 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.

4th Floor East Washington DC 20590

1400 ES 06/17/2019

DELDRIDGE BERRY 202

deldridge.berry.ctr@dot.g ov366-3903

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PAGE(S)

STEPHANIE COOKE-NWADIBIA

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (Rev. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

1-2 3-5

6-14 16-17 17-20 20-25 25-44

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ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

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CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

69319519R000003

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

Request for Proposal for Financial Capacity

Assessments and Financial Assessments

OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

NSN 7540-01-152-8067

Financial Capacity Assessments and Financial Assessments RFP Number: 69319519R000003

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COST

B.1 Supplies or Services

B.1.1 The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) which is an operating administration within the United States (U.S.) Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking professional contractor support regarding Financial Capacity Assessment (FCA) and Financial Assessment services for the New Starts and Small Starts Programs.

B.2 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and Small Business Standard

This procurement is being done as a Small Business Set-Aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. The small business size standard is $15, 000,000.00 (Fifteen million dollars).

B.3 Contract Definition – Indefinite Delivery – Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) The Government anticipates awarding more than one IDIQ Contract as defined at Subpart 16.504 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and in Section I, FAR Clause 52.216-22, Indefinite- Quantity, herein. Services provided by the Contractors under the resulting contracts shall be secured by the issuance of task orders placed in accordance with the following clauses, herein:

FAR 52.216-18, Ordering, and FAR 52.216-19, Ordering Limitations. See Section I for full text versions of the referenced clauses.

B.3.1 Minimum and Maximum Obligation of the Government – Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract;

a) Per FAR 52.216-22 “INDEFINITE QUANTITY,” the minimum of this indefinite quantity contract shall be any quantity or combination of supplies and services equal to the amounts(s) set forth below.

b) The Minimum amount guaranteed under this resulting contract may be $TBD. Once a single Task Order is received by the Contractor, that exceeds the contract minimum and the guaranteed minimum will be considered satisfied in full. The Government reserves the right to withhold this minimum amount if the vendor demonstrates consistent lack of interest in competing for orders throughout the life of the contract.

c) The Maximum amount for this indefinite quantity contract for all contract years shall be any quantity or combination of supplies and services equal to $TBD over a 5 year period of performance. The maximum NTE amount is an estimate and does not reflect an obligation of the Government.

d) The Government’s obligation hereunder shall be specified in the task orders issued during the period of performance under the contract.

e) The Contractor is not authorized and is proceeding at its own risk to incur costs that would exceed the funds obligated on the contract at any given time during the contract period of performance.

B.4 IDIQ Hybrid Contract Type

B.4.1 The resulting IDIQ base contracts will allow for issuance of task orders awarded as Firm- Fixed Price (FFP) and Labor Hour, or a combination of the previous mentioned types can be used (See Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure in Attachment J-1 to this RFP/Solicitation).

Orders may combine the two types if warranted, e.g. other direct costs and travel costs may be reimbursable as authorized and allowable costs. Task orders also may be issued with a combination of CLINs with a Not-to-Exceed task order value. All orders will be awarded based on Section H.22 Task Order Ordering Procedures.

B.4.2 The Contractor agrees the pricing for each of the resultant task orders shall be submitted in accordance with the Attachment J-1 Labor Category Pricing Matrix which contains the CLIN Structure for the base year and subsequent option periods. In doing so, the Contractor agrees that, unless otherwise specified in the request for quote, reimbursable travel will be paid based upon Federal travel regulations in place at the time the travel takes place and will not have any fee added to it.

B.4.3 The labor categories in Attachment J-1 Labor Category Pricing Matrix must be used for the total life of the contract. If the labor categories for this requirement change but within scope of the contract, a modification must be executed to clearly reflect this to ensure clarity concerning the labor categories authorized for use. This contract will be awarded to the contractor based within the pre-established labor rates as stated using the CLIN structure in the CLIN Structure Table (Attachment J-1). Funding will be delivered on issued individual task order(s) with respective approved labor categories, rates, and travel etc.

B.4.4 Payment for services to be furnished under task orders awarded that were performed by the contractor within scope of the base contract and task order for which the specific services are outlined. Payments shall be in accordance with the provisions of FAR Clause 52.216-7 Allowable Cost and Payment and paragraph G.7 Billing Instructions.

B.5 CLIN Structure See attachment J-1 Labor Category Pricing Matrix which includes the CLIN Structure Table.

The CLIN structure is a mix of FFP and Labor Hour CLINs. The labor categories in the Pricing/Labor Rates in the CLIN Structure Table within the Attachment J-1 Labor Category Pricing Matrix shall be used for all task orders issued under the resulting IDIQ contracts.

Task orders will be awarded to contractors based within the pre-established fixed labor rates as stated in each task order award using the CLIN structure in J-1 Labor Category Pricing Matrix.

The maximum allowable escalation rate is 3.0% which may be applied on the anniversary of the award date during the period of performance. (See section J, Attachment J-1: Labor Category Pricing Matrix).

B.6 Contract Period of Performance

The contract period of performance is from date of award through a five year period including a one (1) base period and four (4) one-year option periods. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services”, will be incorporated into the resulting contracts, as referenced in Section I, in the event the Government requires continued performance of any services with the limits and at the rates specified in the resulting contracts beyond the five-year period of performance. In addition, FAR clause 52.216-22 will also be included which allows for task orders that have been issued for the expiration of the IDIQ to have period of performances that go beyond the period of performance of the master contract.

B.7 Other Direct Costs: Travel

Travel costs under the resulting contracts shall be determined on the task order level. The Contractor shall be reimbursed for actual allowable costs that apply over the life of the requirement, not to exceed the amount shown in the schedule. Long distance travel shall be reimbursed at cost to the contractor and in accordance with Government Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). Local travel shall not be billed and is defined as all travel within a fifty (50) mile radius of Washington, DC or within a fifty-mile radius of the contractor’s facility when the client site is outside the Washington, DC area (excluding normal commuting travel).

The cost for travel during task assignments shall be in keeping within GSA guidelines in terms of:

local per diem, subsistence, and miscellaneous expenses, all of which will be reported to the COR.

See notes below:

Note 1: Per FTR Sec.301-11.2 – the contractor is prohibited from invoicing for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) if travel is for 12 hours or less.

Note 2: Per FTR Sec. 301-11.101 – the contractor shall be restricted to invoicing for 75% of the M&IE on the first day of travel, 100% of the M&IE on full days in travel status and 75% of the M&IE on the last day of travel.

End of Section B

SECTION C: STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 Background and Purpose:

Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. § 5309) authorizes the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. The program provides discretionary funding for fixed guideway investments such as new and expanded bus rapid transit, heavy rail, commuter rail, and light rail as well as corridor-based bus rapid transit investments that emulate the features of rail. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) utilizes financial contractors to help FTA make its determination of local financial commitment for each project seeking CIG funds. Many projects seeking CIG funds are multibillion-dollar projects with complex financial plans. It is therefore imperative that financial contractors have financial analysis experience and knowledge of the following:

• Financing large transit capital infrastructure projects;

• Operation and maintenance of transit systems; and

• Federal regulations, policy, and guidance.

The CIG program is a discretionary program in which FTA selects projects based on merit and eligibility. The overall program as well as individual CIG projects are subjected to a high level of review and scrutiny by multiple agencies, organizations, and members of the public.

Therefore, all financial contractors working under this contract must be able to produce reports that are written in a clear, straightforward manner so that the information can be understood by multiple audiences who do not have formal financial training. For example, financial terminology must be clearly defined or explained in every report.

There are three categories of eligible projects under the CIG program: New Starts, Small Starts, and Core Capacity. The law requires that the Secretary of Transportation make a number of determinations before awarding Section 5309 CIG Program funds for construction of any New Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity project. By law, each project must progress through a multi-year, multi-step process as described on FTA’s website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/about-program. FTA is required to evaluate and rate the projects at several points during the process, including when a New Starts or Core Capacity project seeks entry into the Engineering phase and when a New Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity project seeks a construction grant agreement.

Additionally, FTA must prepare an Annual Report to Congress that includes new or updated project ratings for many projects seeking CIG funds.

The law specifies that the CIG evaluation and rating process be based on examination of six project justification criteria as well as on whether the project is supported by an acceptable degree of local financial commitment, including evidence of stable and dependable financing sources to construct, maintain, and operate the proposed CIG project and the existing transit system. Thus, project sponsors must generate and FTA must verify information on project costs, ridership, financing, and environmental impacts. The Office of Planning and Environment (TPE) within FTA is responsible for the project evaluation and rating process described above.

In this statement of work, FTA is seeking assistance specifically related to the determination of https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/about-program local financial commitment for proposed CIG projects.

Multiple projects are moving through the CIG program. Financial evaluations are needed throughout the year for various projects, but typically there is a high point of activity in the fall and winter related to preparation of the Annual Report to Congress. Therefore, contractors must have sufficient staff resources and “depth of bench” to perform multiple project reviews concurrently.

FTA has detailed guidance for project sponsors seeking CIG funds that describes the information that must be submitted to FTA to obtain a project rating:

• Guidance for Transit Financial Plans (June 2000) – This guidance outlines what a financial plan from a project sponsor should contain. Available on FTA’s website at:

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/funding-finance-resources/guidance-transit-financial-plans.

• Reporting Instructions for New Starts, Small Starts and Core Capacity projects: FTA publishes Reporting Instructions each year to inform sponsors of proposed CIG projects of the information they must provide to FTA for project evaluation and rating. The Reporting Instructions contain the Local Financial Commitment Checklist, which must be submitted every time a project sponsor submits a financial plan to FTA. Available on FTA’s website at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/how-apply.

The financial plan and supporting documentation submitted by the project sponsor forms the underlying basis for the financial contractor’s review and analysis for FTA. Therefore, financial contractors must have thorough knowledge of these guidance documents.

C.2 Scope and Objectives:

FTA conducts two types of financial reviews for CIG projects: Financial Assessments (FA) and Financial Capacity Assessments (FCA). The purpose of this procurement is to obtain contractor support to conduct detailed FAs and FCAs, which are defined as follows:

• An FA is a written financial assessment of a proposed CIG project that includes proposed ratings of high, medium-high, medium, medium-low, or low to three subfactors described in FTA’s guidance for the CIG program. The subfactors are current capital and operating condition; commitment of capital and operating funds; and reasonableness of capital and operating cost estimates and planning assumptions, and capital and operating funding capacity. A summary financial rating is assigned based on a combination of the individual ratings for each measure according to the weights identified in FTA’s guidance.

• An FCA is an important, time-sensitive document that supports FTA’s decision to provide a construction grant to a CIG project. An FCA includes the following elements:

o An analysis of the project sponsor’s system-wide financial condition;

o An analysis of the project sponsor’s system-wide financial capability;

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/funding-finance-resources/guidance-transit-financial-plans https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/funding-finance-resources/guidance-transit-financial-plans https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/how-apply o Stress tests, which explore the impact on the project sponsor’s financial plan of changes in assumptions found to be of concern in the financial capability analysis;

o An updated local financial commitment rating; and o The financial contractor’s assessment of the project sponsor’s ability to satisfy the financial capacity requirement for CIG funds.

C.3 TASKS

CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBER (CLIN) 0001: FINANCIAL ASSESSMENTS (FA)

Upon receipt of an FA assignment, the financial contractor conducts a financial assessment based on information submitted by the project sponsor, supplemented by historical information and industry databases. The evaluation is to be conducted in accordance with the following guidance documents available on FTA’s website as indicated below:

• The most recent version of FTA’s Final Interim Policy Guidance for the Capital Investment Grants Program (available at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance)

• FTA Financial Contractor Guidelines and Standards for Assessing Local Financial Commitment of Proposed Capital Investment Grants Projects (available at:

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance)

• The most recent version of FTA’s Reporting Instructions for the Section 5309 Capital Investment Grants Program (available at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/how-apply)

In addition to the guidance documents listed above, FTA provides the financial contractors with FA templates in Microsoft (MS) Office Word and Excel. These templates must be adhered to for both content and format to ensure consistency among all FAs.

In the fall of each year, FAs must be produced and delivered according to tight schedules dictated by the publication of the Annual Report on Funding Recommendations. FTA provides financial contractors with a schedule for all FAs needed at the beginning of each Annual Report cycle. Typically, submissions are received in early September, with draft assessments due in October. FAs are also needed throughout the year when New Starts and Core Capacity projects request to enter the Engineering phase, Small Starts projects request construction grant agreements, or when projects request ratings from FTA off-cycle from the Annual Report.

Therefore, financial contractors must have adequate resources to prepare multiple FAs at the same time under tight deadlines.

If possible, prior to assigning an FA, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) schedules a conference call to brief the contractor on the agency and project background for the subject FA, including any financial areas of concern that are known to FTA. When a financial plan is submitted to FTA for the assigned FA, the COR sends the submittal to the financial contractor.

The financial contractor has one week to complete a sufficiency review and notify the project sponsor of any missing information needed to complete the FA review. The COR must be https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance included, or copied, on all communications with the project sponsor.

The financial contractor shall examine both the capital and operating financial data submitted by the project sponsor, as well as the underlying planning assumptions pertaining to the proposed project and the entire transit system. Considerable discussion with the project sponsor may be necessary to understand the financial plan submission and ensure all required materials have been provided.

The contractor shall prepare a written draft assessment that discusses the reasonableness of the proposed financial plan and its underlying assumptions, the level of funding commitments obtained by the project sponsor, the reasonableness of the project sponsor’s plans to secure the remaining funding commitments, the project sponsor’s capacity to cover unanticipated cost overruns or funding shortfalls that could occur as the project moves forward, and recommendations for improvement to the financial plan. The contractor shall independently verify all supporting documentation submitted by the project sponsor and not rely solely on project sponsor claims. The financial contractor shall keep a record, or log, of all requests for information submitted to the project sponsor, including when responsive information was submitted by the project sponsor. The communication log is submitted by email to FTA as an Excel document (completing the provided template) with the draft FA. During the course of the FA, the contractor must copy the COR on all communication and ensure that FTA has copies of all files and documentation provided by the project sponsor.

FTA may schedule one or more meetings with the contractor to discuss findings and results. The contractor must respond to all FTA comments and questions, typically in “track changes” mode within the document. It is not acceptable for contractors to ignore or delete FTA comments, edits or questions, without providing a response or explanation. As revisions to the document are made in response to FTA comments and questions, the contractor is responsible for ensuring consistency of information and ratings throughout each section of the FA. For example, the subfactor ratings in the project profile must match those in the text of the FA. Only once FTA is satisfied with the quality and content of the FA, determining it is in compliance with the FTA Financial Contractor Guidelines and Standards for Assessing Local Financial Commitment of Proposed Capital Investment Grants Projects (available at:

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance) will FTA request a final version from the contractor.

The contractor shall participate in meetings with FTA to: (1) discuss schedules, plans, activities and requirements; (2) review and discuss draft assessments with TPE staff; (3) provide feedback to FTA on the process and how it might be improved; and (4) as otherwise determined by FTA.

Travel for these purposes will be authorized separately, as needed, although conference calls may suffice in many situations.

Contractors must submit monthly reports providing the following information for active FAs:

hours/dollars used to date, hours/dollars used in prior month, and remaining hours/dollars assigned. Emailed reports are sufficient.

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance

CLIN 0002: DETAILED FINANCIAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT (FCA)

The FCA is conducted in accordance with FTA’s Financial Contractor’s Guide for Conducting Financial Capacity Assessments for the Capital Investment Grants Program (available at:

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance).

The purpose of an FCA is to help FTA make the following local financial commitment determinations as required by Federal public transportation law at 49 USC 5309, for projects seeking Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGA):

• the proposed project financial plan provides for the availability of contingency amounts that the Secretary determines to be reasonable to cover unanticipated cost increases or funding shortfalls;

• each proposed local source of capital and operating financing is stable, reliable, and available within the proposed project timetable; and

• local resources are available to recapitalize, maintain, and operate the overall existing and proposed public transportation system, including essential feeder bus and other services necessary to achieve the projected ridership levels without requiring a reduction in existing public transportation services or level of service to operate the project.

An FCA is prepared shortly after a New Starts or Core Capacity project receives FTA approval to enter the Engineering phase of the CIG process.

When an FCA is prepared, the COR should be copied on all written communications, within or outside FTA, relevant to the FCA. The financial contractor should invite the COR to participate in all verbal communications, informing them in advance of the topic of the discussion. The financial contractor shall keep a record, or log, of all requests for information submitted to the project sponsor, including when responsive information was submitted by the project sponsor.

The communication log is submitted to FTA with the draft FCA. The contractor must copy the COR on all communication and ensure that FTA has copies of all files and documentation provided by the project sponsor during development of the FCA.

The FCA includes the following steps:

Gathering Initial Data If possible, prior to assigning an FCA, the COR schedules a conference call to brief the contractor on the project sponsor agency and project background, including any financial areas of concern that are known to FTA. Background data should be obtained from FTA including:

• Previous financial assessments of the project sponsor/project;

• Previous findings;

• Relevant correspondence between FTA and the project sponsor; and

• Most recent Project Management Oversight report.

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grant-programs/capital-investments/capital-investment-grants-program-regulations-guidance

When a financial plan is submitted to FTA for the assigned FCA, the COR sends the submittal to the financial contractor. The financial contractor has one week to complete a sufficiency review and notify the project sponsor of any missing information needed to complete the FCA review.

The financial plan submitted by the project sponsor for the FCA should conform to FTA’s Guidance for Transit Financial Plans. In addition, the financial plan submittal should include all supporting documentation items listed in the Local Financial Commitment Checklist from the current version of FTA’s Reporting Instructions. The Financial Contractor may later determine that additional information is required to complete the FCA, but the sufficiency review ensures that adequate information is obtained to begin the technical analyses.

Technical Analysis Before starting the quantitative analysis, the Financial Contractor should develop an understanding of the project sponsor’s institutional context and research the general powers of the project sponsor. After this background work is completed, the contractor’s technical analysis consists of the following elements:

• Analyze the financial plan, cash flow, commitment of funds, and finance charges specific to the proposed CIG project

• Select appropriate metrics that will be used to analyze the capital and operating aspects of the financial plan

• Perform a system-wide financial condition analysis of the project sponsor and existing transit system

• Perform a system-wide financial capability analysis of the project sponsor’s ability to build the proposed CIG project and continue to operate and maintain the existing transit system

• Conduct a stress test to estimate the impact on the project sponsor’s financial capability of less favorable outcomes for material assumptions found to be of concern in the financial capability analysis

• Prepare an updated local financial commitment rating for the project

• Identify and describe recommendations that the project sponsor must address to satisfy the financial capacity requirement for CIG funds

Site Visit to Project Sponsor On a case by case basis, FTA may approve field work in the form of on-site meetings with the project sponsor to gather additional information on the project, the project sponsor’s financial condition, and the financial plan. The contractor must receive FTA approval prior to carrying out these activities. To receive this approval, the contactor must provide written justification which should include the proposed activities and estimated timeframe for completion.

Prepare Draft FCA report The contractor shall prepare a draft FCA report for FTA (including the proposed local financial commitment rating). Along with the draft FCA, the contractor shall submit the cash flow model and calculations underlying the sensitivity analysis and stress scenarios. In addition, the contractor shall submit a communications log containing a record of all requests for information submitted to the project sponsor, including the dates when responsive information was submitted by the project sponsor.

Prepare Final FCA report FTA may schedule one or more meetings with the contractor to discuss findings and results.

The contractor shall prepare a final FCA report incorporating feedback and edits received from

FTA.

Meetings/Conferences

• At the request of the COR, the contractor shall meet with FTA at any time as necessary.

Typically, these meetings can be handled via conference call, but at times travel may be necessary;

• At the request of the COR, the contractor shall coordinate with FTA on follow-up questions to project sponsors;

• Contractor may be requested to participate in FTA meetings and teleconferences on short notice.

While a contractor is actively working on an FCA they are required to submit brief monthly reports detailing by project, the hours and/or dollars used to date, the hours and/or dollars used in the prior month, and the remaining hours and/or dollars assigned. Contractors must notify the COR in a timely manner if additional hours are needed to complete an FCA. The contractor must receive FTA approval prior to working additional hours. To receive this approval, the contactor must provide written justification which should include the proposed activities and estimated timeframe for completion. Emailed reports are sufficient.

CLIN 0003: FINANCIAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT REFRESHES

After an initial FCA is performed for a project, an update, or “refresh,” to an FCA may be performed before FTA’s decision to award a construction grant to a CIG project. The need for a refresh will depend on the extent of changes to the project cost estimate or other factors since the time of the previous FCA, as determined by FTA. In situations where an FCA is being prepared prior to FTA’s consideration of a project for a construction grant, it is not uncommon for the FCA to be on the critical path of all documentation needed to support FTA’s decision to move forward with the construction grant award. This occurs primarily because other FTA oversight reviews related to project cost, scope, schedule and risk performed by the Project Management Oversight Contractor, must generally be completed before the FCA can be finalized.

Accordingly, the Financial Contractor must be prepared to quickly and efficiently complete the FCA scope of work.

The scope, process and steps for conducting an FCA Refresh are the same as for an FCA as described under CLIN 0002. While a contractor is actively working on an FCA they are required to submit brief monthly reports detailing by project, the hours and/or dollars used to date, the hours and/or dollars used in the prior month, and the remaining hours and/or dollars assigned.

Contractors must notify the COR in a timely manner if additional hours are needed to complete an FCA Refresh. Emailed reports are sufficient.

CLIN 0004: SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS AS NEEDED

The contractor may be asked to provide assistance on special assignments related to capital project financial reviews within scope of the base IDIQ contract. This may include, but is not limited to developing informational materials about the FTA financial review process, updating FTA tools and guidance documents, preparing project or program summary reports for FTA, etc.

The following are examples of the types of tasks that may be assigned by FTA under this CLIN as needed. Task assignments under this CLIN are not guaranteed.

• The contractor may be asked to conduct special financial assessments for selected cities and designated metropolitan areas in which complex, multi-modal, or multiple capital projects are proposed. FTA will generally require no more than five of these special assessments per year. They would generally be distributed among participating contractors after consideration of whether there are any conflicts of interest or whether any contractor has relevant past experience with the city or metropolitan area under review. These types of financial assessments will help determine whether the shared resources of regional participants are sufficient to undertake the collection of projects being proposed. Data collected will be analyzed to determine the program of projects that can be undertaken given overall regional fiscal constraints, local financial commitments, and institutional arrangements. Site visit(s) may be required. More specific instructions would be provided with each assignment.

• The contractor may be asked to provide technical assistance to FTA to identify systemic or recurring programmatic deficiencies identified with capital project financial planning.

After identifying the deficiencies, the contractor may be asked to develop guidance, technical procedures, and/or methodologies for FTA that could assist with rectifying the problems. Specificity about the assignments under this CLIN will be described in detail in the Task assignment including expected deliverables and schedule. Examples under this CLIN may include:

1. Development/refinement of financial evaluation measures used in FTA’s Capital

Investment Grants program;

2. Development of technical guidance for project sponsors on financial planning methodologies;

3. Analysis of capital and/or operating cost methodologies used by a project sponsor;

4. Development of deficiency correction materials; and

5. Development of outreach and training materials.

CLIN 0005: TRAVEL

The Contractors shall obtain approval from the COR before incurring any such costs and provide detailed travel expenses in its monthly invoices. Travel and per diem, if authorized under the resultant contract, shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Government Travel Regulations currently in effect. Current per diem rates are listed at: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

Travel requirements under the resultant contract shall be met using the most economical form of transportation available. If economy class transportation is not available, the request for payment voucher must be submitted with justification for use of higher class travel indicating dates, times, and flight numbers. All travel shall be scheduled sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates, unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.

End of Section

C.4 Deliverable Tables

CLIN Deliverable Timeframe

CLIN

Sufficiency Review 1 Week after receiving sponsor submittal information

Draft Financial Assessment (FA) Approximately 30 days after assignment Monthly Reports At the conclusion of each calendar month Communication Log Submitted with draft FA. Updated on ongoing basis thereafter.

CLIN

Sufficiency Review 1 Week after receiving sponsor submittal information

Draft Financial Capacity Assessment (FCA) Approximately 60 days after assignment Monthly Reports At the conclusion of each calendar month Communication Log Submitted with draft FCA. Updated on ongoing basis thereafter.

CLIN

Sufficiency Review 1 Week after receiving sponsor submittal information

Draft Financial Capacity Assessment Refresh (FCA)

Approximately 60 days after assignment

Monthly Reports Approximately 30 days after assignment Communication Log Submitted with draft FCA. Updated on ongoing basis thereafter.

CLIN

N/A N/A

CLIN

N/A N/A

End of Section C https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

SECTION D: PACKAGING AND MARKETING

D.1 PACKAGING

Preservation, packaging, and packing for shipment or mailing of all work delivered hereunder shall be in accordance with good commercial practice and adequate to ensure acceptance by common carrier and safe transportation at the most economical rate(s). The Contractor shall not utilize certified or registered mail or private parcel delivery service for the distribution of reports under the resulting contracts in regards to awarded task orders without the advance approval of the respective COR and/or Contracting Officer.

D.2 MARKING

Each package, report or other deliverable shall be accompanied by a letter or other document which:

(1) Identifies the contract by number and task order number under which the item is being delivered.

(2) Identifies the specific CLIN for which the items are for.

(3) Identifies the deliverable Item Number or Report Requirement which requires the delivered item(s).

(4) Indicates whether the Contractor considers the delivered item to be a partial or full satisfaction of the requirement.

End of Section D

SECTION E: INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

The resulting contract will incorporate the following contract clauses by reference, with the same force and affect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause can be accessed electronically at:

http://www.acquisition.gov.

52-246-4 INSPECTION OF SERVICES FIXED PRICE (AUG 1996)

52-246-6 INSPECTION – TIME- AND- MATERIAL AND LABOR HOUR (MAY 2001)

All pertinent clauses will be incorporated in the task orders as awarded.

INSPECTION/ACCEPTANCE

The Contracting Officer or the COR) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, will perform final inspection and acceptance of all deliverables called for by the resultant contract. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to designate other Government agents as authorized representatives upon unilateral written notice to the Contractor, which may be accomplished in the form of a transmittal of a copy of the authorization.

E.2 The COR and CO referenced below shall perform inspection and acceptance of all the deliverables contained herein.

All written deliverable products shall be submitted electronically. The COR shall review all deliverables in accordance with the Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP) (Ssee Attachment J-2 Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan). If a deliverable is not accepted, the COR shall notify the contractor in writing within 2 weeks and provide an explanation of any deficiencies. The contractor and the COR shall agree on a number of days to resubmit the deliverable depending on the required changes.

• The contractor is expected to perform at the highest levels of professional and technical competence in performing the identified task orders to achieve stated objectives. It is expected that the Contractor shall ensure all deliverables conform to the task descriptions and work objectives stated in the order.

E.3 Government Contract Quality Assurance

The Government shall perform quality assurance in accordance with FAR Subpart 46.4, Government Contract Quality Assurance and the QASP. The Government intends to do quality assurance to monitor the quality of the contractor’s performance. The oversight provided for in the order and by the Government’s monitoring, will help to ensure that service levels reach and maintain the required levels throughout the contract term. Further, the Government’s quality assurance monitoring will provide the COR with a proactive way to avoid unacceptable or http://www.acquisition.gov/ deficient performance, and provides verifiable input for the required Past Performance Information Assessments. Thus, the contractor must ensure that deliverables meet the Government’s acceptance. See section H.1 and H.2.

End of Section E

SECTION F: DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

52.242-15 Stop-Work Order (Aug 1989) 52.242-17 Government Delay of Work (April 1984)

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All work under the resultant contracts; including delivery of all required reports/items, shall be accomplished within five (5) years (one (1) base year period with four (4) one year option periods) after the date of contract award besides in the cases FAR clause 52.217-8 and/or 52.216-22 are applied. The period of performance for each task order will be established in the respective task order Awards.

The FAR clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services”, has been incorporated in RFP/Solicitation which will be included in the resultant contracts, as referenced in Section I, in the event the Government requires continued performance of any services with the limits and at the rates specified in the contract beyond the five-year period of performance.

Options shall be exercised at the Government’s sole discretion and as authorized by FAR Subpart

17.2. Each of the four option terms will only be granted upon a favorable review of the Contractor’s performance and validation of continued need as well as available budget. An option shall be exercised by issuance of a unilateral modification for the subsequent option requirement, as set forth in Sections B and F of the resultant contract at the prices established in Section B, Schedule of Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs (*Note: Will be inserted at time of contract award). If the performance periods for the resultant contract shall change, a modification will be executed to the contract by the Government.

F.3 SCHEDULE OF WORK

All assigned task orders shall be performed in accordance with the work schedule as negotiated for the individual task order’s statement of work. Specified CLINs, as designated in the task order, may be performed as instructed via COR written task order assignments.

• Task order awards will specify additional detail of the work to be performed for example, the specific grantee the contractor would be working with in conducting the assessments within scope of the base IDIQ contract.

F.4 OBSERVANCE OF LEGAL HOLIDAYS AND EXCUSED ABSENCES

The Government hereby provides notice and contractor hereby acknowledges receipt that Government personnel observe the listed days as holidays:

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King’s Birthday President's Birthday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Inauguration Day

In addition to the days designated as holidays, the Government observes the following days:

Any other day designated by Federal Statute Any other day designated by Executive Order Any other day designated by Presidential Proclamation

It is understood and agreed between the Government and the contractor that observance of such days by Government personnel shall not otherwise be a reason for an additional period of performance, or entitlement to compensation. In the event the contractor's personnel work during the holiday, they may be reimbursed by the contractor, however, no form of holiday or other premium compensation will be reimbursed either as a direct or indirect cost, other than their normal compensation for the time worked. This provision does not preclude reimbursement for authorized premium pay.

F.5 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All work conducted under the resultant contracts and task orders shall be performed within the United States and its territories. This may include, but not be limited to: the Contractor’s primary or remote offices, FTA HQ or regional offices, other government offices, and Recipient offices and facilities.

While working at Government or recipient offices or facilities, Contractor personnel shall, at all times, follow the identification requirements and observe all safety and security regulations of the office or facilities where work is being conducted.

The Contractor agrees that this is a non-personal services contract shall not represent itself as an agent or partner of, or in joint venture with the Government; and that it shall neither supervise nor accept supervision from Government employees.

F.6 DELIVERY SCHEDULE

The contractor shall deliver all deliverables in accordance with the specifications of the Statement of Work in Section C. Individual task orders may identify additional deliverables not explicitly identified in the base IDIQ contract yet within scope. Prior to issuance of task orders for these deliverables, the Contracting Officer shall modify the base contract to incorporate additional requirements in the resultant contract if needed etc.

F.6 INTERIM AND POST AWARD EVALUATION CONCERNING CONTRACTOR

PERFORMANCE

1. Contractor Performance Evaluations Interim and final evaluations of contractor performance will be prepared regarding work concerning this contract in accordance with FAR 42.15. The final performance evaluation will be prepared as soon as possible after completion of all required work.

Interim and final evaluations will be provided to the contractor as soon as practicable after completion of the evaluation. The contractor may elect to review evaluation and submit additional information or a rebuttal statement within thirty days. Any contractor response is voluntary. Any disagreement between the parties regarding an evaluation will be referred to an individual one level above the Contracting Officer, whose decision is final.

Copies of the evaluations, contractor responses and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the contract file, and may be used to support future award decisions.

2. Electronic Access to Contractor Performance Evaluations in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)

Effective September 30, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation has utilized the Department of Defense’s Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) to record and maintain interim and final past performance information. CPARS will allow contractors to electronically submit comments regarding the Government’s assessment to indicate concurrence or non-concurrence with the overall evaluation. For more information on CPARS, please go to www.cpars.gov.

*NOTE: As of January 15, 2019, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) will no longer be used except in the FAR. Thus, CPARS is the official source of past performance information. Thus, the Government no longer can search in the website www.ppirs.gov for source selection sensitive past performance information. More information concerning the specific merger of CPARS and PPIRS can be found out https://interact.gsa.gov/blog/update-cparsppirs-merger.

F.7 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY/INFORMATION

The contractor will provide their own office space and equipment to perform work resulting from this requirement. Information will be shared with the respective vendor when needed but is considered unclassified.

End of Section F

SECTION G: CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

Notwithstanding the contractor’s responsibility for total management during the performance of this contract, the administration of the contract requires maximum coordination between the Government and the contractor.