DRAFT CWMD SSD A&AS Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation Criteria 70RWMD20Q00000004.pdf

DRAFT Attachment 2- Quotation Submission Instructions

RFQ # 70RWMD20Q000000004 – SSD A&AS

Office of Procurement Operations

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

QUOTATION SUBMISSION

INSTRUCTIONS RFQ #

70RWMD20Q00000004

Systems Support Directorate (SSD)

Advisory and Assistant Services (A&AS)

January 6, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

(CWMD), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), is issuing a Request for Quote (RFQ) #

70RWMD20Q00000004 for Systems Support Directorate (SSD) Advisory and Assistance

Services in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW).

The Government anticipates awarding a single time and materials task order under the General

Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) 00CORP Professional Services

Schedule (PSS) Special Item Numbers (SIN) 871-1 through 871-6 under North American

Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541330 – Engineering Services as a total small business set-aside. This is a notice that this task order is a total set aside for small business schedule holders. Any quotation that is non-compliant with the submission requirements of this

RFQ may immediately be removed from further consideration.

The task order will have one (1) 7-month base period, five (5) 12-month option periods, and will include the option to extend services up to six (6) months pursuant to the FAR 52.217-8 clause.

It is the Government’s intent to award a task order against an existing GSA Schedule contract using the procedures in FAR 8.4, to the responsible quoter whose quote, in conforming to the

RFQ, provides the overall best value to the Government considering technical evaluation factors and price. Quoters are strongly encouraged to submit their best quotes and offer discounts from their established GSA labor rates.

The SOW for the required services is included herein (Attachment 1) and will be procured in accordance with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) FSS procedures.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Quoters shall submit quotations in response to this RFQ in two separate volumes, detailed below.

Each volume shall be within the page limitations set forth below. The pages of each volume shall

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have one-inch margins on all sides. The font of the body content of each volume shall be equivalent to 12-point Times New Roman. Smaller font, not less than 8-point, may be used for tables, graphics, headers, footers, and captions; however, the quoter shall ensure the print is easy to read. Each volume shall be submitted as a password-protected zipped PDF file. The quotation submitted shall fully comply with all requirements in the RFQ. Failure of the Quoter to address all requirements of the RFQ in their Quotation may result in the Quotation not being considered for evaluation by the Government. If a quotation is deemed to be materially incomplete, that quotation may be eliminated from further consideration for award without further review. To aid in the evaluation process, quotations shall be clearly and concisely written as well as neat, indexed and cross indexed, and logically assembled. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered

(i.e., “Page 1 of 10” etc.), and identified with the name of the Quoter, the date, and the solicitation number. Additionally, each line of text in the Quoter’s quotation shall be numbered. Quoter

Technical and Price Quotations shall be separate documents and consist of the information specified for each volume below. NOTE: The technical Quotation must not contain any price information.

Quoters shall submit an electronic copy of their quotations to the Contract Specialist, Marcus

Datcher at Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov and the Contracting Officer, Jennifer D’Addio at

Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov using WinZip software. The zipped file shall be password protected. Quotations shall be received no later than 10:00 AM Eastern on February 6, 2020. Quotations received after the deadline will be late and will not be considered for award.

All submissions shall include “70RWMD20Q00000004” in the subject line of the email. The

WinZip password shall be submitted under a separate email by the aforementioned date and time.

Please Note: There is not a character length or mixed case requirement imposed on your password. Future correspondence with the Government regarding this solicitation must include

“70RWMD20Q00000004” in the subject line, and emailed responses must be submitted to the

Contract Specialist, Marcus Datcher at Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov and the Contracting Officer, Jennifer D’Addio at Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov. If quoter-provided information is source selection sensitive or quoter proprietary, e.g., includes price information, the email must be password protected.

Vendors shall use RFQ Attachment 5 – Questions Template to submit any questions in response to this RFQ. Questions in response to this solicitation must be received by 10:00 AM

Eastern on January 13, 2020. Questions shall be submitted electronically to the Contract

Specialist, Marcus Datcher at Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov and the Contracting Officer, Jennifer

D’Addio at Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov.

All quotation submissions must include the following information (preferably to be provided on both the technical quote and price quote submission cover letters):

a) Company Name(s) and Address(es)

b) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number(s)

c) North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code

d) Taxpayer Identification Number(s) (TIN)

e) Certification of current System for Award Management (SAM) registration

f) GSA Schedule Contract Number(s)

g) Business Size (in accordance with GSA Schedule Contract)

h) Current performance period of GSA Schedule with option periods as applicable

i) Point of contact and contact information for both Technical and Pricing Submissions

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mailto:Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov

j) Name and contact information of person(s) authorized to negotiate on the quoter’s behalf in connection with this solicitation

k) A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation, including any solicitations amendments.

l) Quoter’s Facility Security Clearance Level

Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTAs) or GSA Prime Contractor/Subcontractors

I. Quoters may structure their quotation packages as either a GSA PSS Contractor Team

Arrangement (CTA) or as a GSA Prime Contractor/Subcontractor arrangement, whichever approach it believes provides the best value solution to the DHS. Further guidance on GSA

CTAs may be found at the GSA MAS Desk Reference Section 10: Contractor Team

Arrangements (CTAs).

II. If a GSA CTA is proposed, the Quoter is to specifically identify it as such and submit the

CTA supporting documentation to DHS as part of its quotation package. The CTA must identify and designate the Team Leader, all Team Members, their corresponding GSA Schedule Contract

Number(s), and describe the services to be performed by the Team Leader and each Team

Member, along with the associated proposed fixed labor rates. Each quotation submitted as a

CTA shall describe the Team Leader and Team Member(s) task order administration responsibilities. If choosing this approach, the quoter must include the following information:

• The GSA Contractor Team Leader is:

• The GSA Contractor Team Leader GSA Contract No. is:

• The GSA Team Member is:

• The GSA Team Member 1 GSA Contract No. is:

• The GSA Team Member 2 is:

• The GSA Team Member 2 GSA Contract No. is:

More Team Members may be added as necessary.

III. If a GSA Prime Contractor / Subcontractor Arrangement(s) is proposed, only the Prime

Contractor must have a GSA PSS 00CORP contract. GSA authorized subcontractors may fulfill requirements under the Prime Contractor’s GSA Contract number and pricing table quoted in

Attachment 3. The Prime cannot delegate responsibility for performance to subcontractors. A

GSA Prime Contractor is limited to the supplies and/or services awarded on its GSA Schedule contract.

VOLUME 1 – TECHNICAL QUOTATION:

This volume shall address the quoter’s capability to perform the requirements of the SOW.

Volume 1 shall be limited to 35 pages, excluding the labor category descriptions, labor category cross reference matrix, Factor 3 past performance references, the cover letter, title page, executive summary, table of contents and Key Personnel resume. Information furnished by quoters beyond the stated page limitations will not be considered. The Technical Volume shall not contain any price information; however, resource information such as data concerning labor hours and labor categories shall be provided so that the quoter’s understanding of the requirements may be evaluated.

Technical Volume Content: The Technical Volume shall contain the following information:

Factor 1: Technical Capability and Approach

The quoter shall demonstrate in a clear, comprehensive, and concise manner an understanding of the SOW requirements and how the quoter will apply the quoter’s knowledge, capability and competency to successfully perform the requirements of the SOW.

Specifically, the quoter shall clearly demonstrate their capability and approach to the following:

• Building program schedules

• Developing integrated logistics support plans

• Identifying, assessing and developing cost, schedule and performance risks

• Developing life cycle cost estimates

• Developing acquisition lifecycle and systems engineering lifecycle tailoring plans

• Management of research portfolios, programs and projects

• Development of research strategies and implementation plans

• Modeling, analysis and interpretation of complex data sets as collected by individual and networked sensor systems

• Development of T&E strategy and documentation to economically ensure needed system capability

• Use of modeling, simulation and analysis to reduce future test costs

• QA/QC of test data and T&E products

• Method for providing data management and automated data collection services

Factor 2: Management Approach

The quoter shall demonstrate in a clear, comprehensive, and concise manner an understanding of the SOW requirements and a comprehensive, sound, and reasonable approach to identify and provide the personnel needed to manage the task order, projects, and day-to-day operations with minimal Government oversight.

Specifically, the quoter shall clearly demonstrate their capability and approach to the following:

• Mapping quoter labor categories to meet/exceed Government labor categories qualifications

• Identifying top skills required to perform the SOW requirements

• Recruiting and providing people with the skills required to perform the SOW requirements

• Training to maintain and improve worker skills

• Retaining workers

• Managing the task order, projects, and day-to-day operations

• Ensuring delivery of quality work products

• Managing changes in work priorities and work surge demands

• Minimizing the transition impact, such that continuity of services will be maintained without disruption

Quoters shall provide their GSA labor category descriptions and a labor category cross reference matrix that lists all the labor categories required by the Government and maps them to the correlating quoter GSA labor categories. Quoters shall also provide a resume for Key Personnel.

Factor 3: Past Performance

Past Performance shall consist of a one (1) page introductory matrix listing the quoter’s and its teaming members’ or critical subcontractors’ past performance references. A critical subcontractor is a subcontractor who is expected to perform aspects of this effort that the quoter considers critical to overall successful performance. The quoter shall provide up to a total of three (3) recent and relevant references for the prime contractor (or CTA members). In addition, the quoter may submit up to a total of three (3) recent and relevant references for critical subcontractor(s). Up to 3 references are allowed from the prime and up to 3 references are allowed from each of their first-tier subcontractors. The description of each past performance reference is limited to a page count of two pages per reference. Past performance may cite federal, state, local government, commercial sources, or not for profit sources, and should highlight the company’s key role in the past performance being documented. Relevant is defined as being similar in size, scope and complexity to that described in the SOW. The size portion of relevancy does not imply that quoter work experience is a one-for-one comparison. The quoter is required to provide rationale as to why the quoter believes the identified experience is relevant to the SOW. Recent is defined as no older than five

(5) years from the date of the quotation and may include active contracts.

The quoter is also required to identify any performance problems/issues/challenges arising out of the contract and clearly describe management actions implemented to overcome problems and the effects of those actions, in terms of a lessons learned type analysis. The quoter shall also provide explanation of how those lessons learned will be applied to the SOW to increase the likelihood of successful performance.

For each past performance reference submitted, the following information shall be provided:

PAST PERFORMANCE

Contract Number (or Identifier)

Name and Address of Company/Agency

Program Title

Contact Person

Telephone Number of Contact Person

E-mail Address of Contact Person

Identify if you were the Prime or Subcontractor

Period of Performance (e.g. start date and completion date)

Contract Type (FP, T&M, LH, etc.)

Contract Value

Description of Work (Types of work performed, problems encountered and their resolutions, any subcontractors or partnerships…)

Rationale for relevance of described work to SOW

Lessons learned and application of those lessons to SOW

The quoter shall forward the Past Performance Questionnaire (see Attachment 4) to each reference. The reference shall forward the completed questionnaires directly to the contracting officer and contract specialist at Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov and Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov by the quote deadline. It is the responsibility of the quoter to ensure its customer references return the surveys directly to the contracting officer and contract specialist on time. Surveys received late may be accepted and reviewed at the discretion of the contracting officer, if the contracting officer determines that it will not cause undue delay to the procurement process.

The Government reserves the right to use publicly available reports and data from the Contractor

Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) found on the web at https://www.cpars.gov/

The Government may also use present and/or past performance information obtained from a variety of sources, not just those contracts identified by the quoter.

VOLUME II – PRICE QUOTATION:

Pricing shall be submitted in a separate volume from the Technical volume.

Price quotes shall be submitted electronically in Microsoft Excel format using the attached pricing table (see Attachment 3 – Pricing Table) and shall contain the formulas for price calculations. The pricing table shall be completed and will be used for evaluation purposes. Quoters shall input their proposed rates for each labor category (rates shall contain two decimal places only) listed in the pricing table. The evaluation hours, labor categories, surge support, and travel/ODC amounts provided in the pricing table shall not be changed. Failure to include the pricing data in Excel spreadsheet will result in the quote not being considered. All remaining information requested as part of the price quote shall be submitted in accordance with the format detailed in the submission instructions.

There is no page limit for the price volume.

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mailto:Jennifer.Daddio@hq.dhs.gov mailto:Marcus.Datcher@hq.dhs.gov https://www.cpars.gov/

The price volume shall include the following:

a) A copy of the quoter’s (and all CTA members, if applicable) GSA Schedule contract and pricelist.

b) Proposed fixed hourly labor rates for all labor categories inclusive of all task order periods as indicated in Attachment 3 – Pricing Table (for both Government site and

Contractor site). The quoter must complete Attachment 3 and return it with their price quote submission.

c) Fixed hourly rates shall be fully burdened and include all costs (direct and indirect), overhead, and profit.

d) Quoters are strongly encouraged to offer discounts off their GSA FSS PSS contract published rates. Identify by percentage any discounts or price reductions offered.

e) Quoters shall include a written statement in their Price Quotation indicating that the labor mix (labor categories and labor hours) in the Technical Quotation is the same labor mix priced in the Price Quotation

f) If a rate that is not on the prime contractor’s GSA FSS Schedule is used, an explanation must be provided explaining how that rate was calculated (i.e., if it is on a teaming partner’s FSS).

g) If an quoter intends to include General & Administrative (G&A) costs on travel and other direct costs (ODCs), Volume 2 – Price Quote shall include a narrative statement which identifies the rate to be utilized and the supporting documentation included with the quotation to substantiate the rate. Quoters may only include G&A costs on travel/ODCs if allowable under their GSA Schedule contracts; profit or fee is NOT allowable. To evaluate the impact of the Quoter’s proposed G&A on their total evaluated price, the rate will be applied to the not-to-exceed travel amount for each task order period for price evaluation purposes only.

h) Quoters shall identify whether or not the period of performance of their current

GSA FSS PSS contract(s) will cover all task order option periods. This shall include all team members PSS contracts if responding as a CTA. If the quoter’s PSS contract is set to expire before the last task order option period begins, they shall identify whether or not the

PSS contract will be renewed.

i) Quoters shall include an exceptions, deviations and assumptions section in Volume

2 that identifies and explains in detail any exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions taken with the requirements of the RFQ. Any exceptions, deviations and assumptions taken must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation. All benefits to the Government shall be fully explained for each exception taken.

j) Quoters shall certify in writing that all services proposed in their quotation are within the scope of the quoter’s referenced GSA Schedule contract. If proposing as a CTA, a certification shall be submitted for each team member.

EVALUATION FACTORS:

A single task order will be awarded to the quoter whose technical and price quotation represents the best value to the Government. The Government intends to award based on initial quotations but reserves the right to obtain clarifications, if it finds necessary. Quoters are therefore cautioned that each initial quote should contain the quoter’s best terms. The determination of best value will be based on an evaluation of the following criteria:

1. Technical Capability & Approach

2. Management Approach

3. Past Performance

4. Price (not rated)

Factor 1, Factor 2, and Factor 3 are non-price evaluation factors.

Non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance with Technical Capability &

Approach being the most important and Past Performance being the least important. When combined, the non-price factors are significantly more important than price.

BASIS FOR AWARD

One (1) award will be made to the Quoter whose quote is determined to best meet the needs of the

Government after consideration of all factors, that is, the quote that provides the best value to the

Government. For this procurement, best value is defined as the quote that results in the most advantageous acquisition decision for the Government as determined by trade off analysis among the non-price and price factors.

As quotations near equality in their technical merit, greater will be the importance of price in making the award determination. If two (2) or more quotations are determined not to have any substantial technical differences (i.e. are technically equal), award may be made to the lower priced quotation. It should be noted that award may be made to other than the lowest priced quotation if the Government determines that a price premium is warranted due to technical merit.

The Government may also award to other than the highest technically rated quotation, if the

Government determines that a price premium is not warranted.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Quotations submitted in response to this RFQ will be evaluated based on the following factors:

Factor 1: Technical Capability & Approach

The quoter’s technical capability and approach will be evaluated in accordance with the solicitation instructions to determine if the quoter demonstrates in a clear, comprehensive, and concise manner an understanding of the SOW requirements, to include the degree to which the quoter effectively demonstrates how it will apply the knowledge, capability and competency to successfully perform the requirements of the SOW.

Specifically, the quoter will be evaluated on their capability and approach to the following:

• Building program schedules

• Developing integrated logistics support plans

• Identifying, assessing and developing cost, schedule and performance risks

• Developing life cycle cost estimates

• Developing acquisition lifecycle and systems engineering lifecycle tailoring plans

• Management of research portfolios, programs and projects

• Development of research strategies and implementation plans

• Modeling, analysis and interpretation of complex data sets as collected by individual and networked sensor systems

• Development of T&E strategy and documentation to economically ensure needed system capability

• Use of modeling, simulation and analysis to reduce future test costs

• QA/QC of test data and T&E products

• Method for providing data management and automated data collection services

Factor 2: Management Approach

The quoter’s management approach will be evaluated in accordance with the solicitation instructions to determine if the quoter demonstrates in a clear, comprehensive, and concise manner an understanding of the SOW requirements and a comprehensive, sound, and reasonable approach to identify and provide the personnel needed to manage the task order, projects, and day-to-day operations with minimal Government oversight.

Specifically, the quoter will be evaluated on their capability and approach to the following:

• Quoter’s proposed labor categories meet/exceed Government labor categories qualifications

• Identifying top skills required to perform the SOW requirements

• Recruiting and providing people with the skills required to perform the SOW requirements

• Training to maintain and improve worker skills

• Retaining workers

• Managing the task order, projects and day-to-day operations

• Ensuring delivery of quality work products

• Managing changes in work priorities and work surge demands

• Minimizing the transition impact, such that continuity of services will be maintained without disruption

Factor 3: Past Performance

The quoter’s past performance will be evaluated to assess the level of confidence the

Government has that the quoter will be successful in performing the task order, and with what required level of Government intervention. The evaluation will consider the relevancy, recentness, and quality of past performance references. Relevant is defined as work that is similar in size, scope and complexity of this solicitation. The size portion of relevancy does not imply that quoter work experience is a one-for-one comparison. Recent is defined as no older than five (5) years from the date of the quotation and may include active contracts. The

Government may choose to evaluate publicly available reports, and/or data from the Contractor

Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The Government may use present and/or past performance data obtained from a variety of sources, not just those contracts identified by the quoter. Quoters without relevant past performance will not be rated either favorably or unfavorably under this factor. If a quoter has only one or two relevant past performance projects, the Government will evaluate past performance on the basis of these projects if, in the

Government’s judgment, they indicate the extent to which past performance demonstrates the likelihood of successful performance.

The Government will review all past performance data submitted with the quotation, including the questionnaires that are submitted on a timely basis and those received late if the contracting officer determines that it will not cause undue delay to the procurement process. The Government may contact the referenced companies/organizations and others to verify the past performance information.

Specifically, past performance will be evaluated to include the quoters capability to perform other relevant work to the SOW and will be evaluated in the following areas:

• Relevancy and recentness of identified past performance to Government SOW

• Quality of past performance

• Lessons learned identifies difficulties and mistakes in relevant work

• Lessons learned identifies corrections and improvements resulting from analysis of those difficulties and mistakes

Factor 4: Price

Price will not be rated but will be evaluated with respect to completeness and reasonableness based on information submitted in the quoter’s price quotation. The Government will determine whether the price, inclusive of all option periods (including the option period available under FAR 52.217-

8), is fair and reasonable. Evaluation of option periods does not obligate the Government to exercise the option periods. The price evaluation will consist of:

1) The price evaluation will assess the completeness and accuracy of the quotation. This process will involve verification that prices and/or discounts are included, information presented is complete and accurate, and prices are presented in the prescribed format.

2) The price evaluation will verify that the level of effort and mix of labor proposed are in accordance with the Government provided RFQ Pricing Table (Attachment 3). The level of effort and labor mix was provided by the Government.

3) The quoter’s proposed labor rates will be evaluated at the labor category level for fairness and reasonableness.

4) The Government will evaluate quotations for award purposes by adding the total price for all option periods and line items (including option periods and the maximum six-month option period beyond the last option period under FAR 52.217-8) to the price for the base period, to determine whether the quoter’s total evaluated price is fair and reasonable.

5) If needed, the Government may exercise the option periods or option period under FAR

52.217-8 without further competition. For purposes of evaluation, the potential need to exercise the option period under FAR 52.217-8, to extend the period of performance for the maximum period of six (6) months beyond the last option period will be evaluated for all quoters. The labor rates for this 6-month option period shall remain the same as those proposed for Option Period 5.

The Government may reject any price quotation that is not compliant with the solicitation requirements outlined in the RFQ or that has an unreasonably high or low price.

Assessment Criteria and Confidence Rating Levels:

Technical Capability & Approach and Management Approach

Confidence Assessments

Rating Description

HIGH

CONFIDENCE

The Government has high confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the task order. Normal contractor effort and normal

Government monitoring will likely be able to overcome any difficulties.

SOME

CONFIDENCE

The Government has some confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the task order. Special contractor emphasis and close

Government monitoring will likely be able to overcome difficulties.

LOW

The Government has low confidence that the Quoter understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the task order. It is unlikely to overcome any difficulties, even with special contractor emphasis and close Government monitoring.

Past Performance

Confidence Assessment

Rating Description

HIGH

CONFIDENCE

The Government has high confidence that the Quoter will be successful in performing the task order. Normal contractor effort and normal

Government monitoring will likely be able to overcome any difficulties.

SOME

The Government has some confidence that the Quoter will be successful in performing the task order. Special contractor emphasis and close

Government monitoring will likely be able to overcome difficulties.

LOW

The Government has low confidence that the Quoter will be successful in performing the task order. It is unlikely to overcome any difficulties, even with special contractor emphasis and close Government monitoring.

NEUTRAL

No recent/relevant past performance is available, or the Quoter’s performance record is so sparse, such that a meaningful confidence rating cannot be assigned. The Quoter may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the factor of past performance.