Attachment 8 Additional Proposal Instructions.pdf

Attachment 8

DSTARS

Additional Proposal Instructions

These additional Technical Proposal instructions reflect the requirements of the Request for Proposal (RFP). These additional instructions are tailored to the specific requirements of the RFP. The information provided here should be used, along with Sections V and VI of the RFP, to prepare all volumes of the Proposal. Offerors are advised to give careful consideration to the Statement of Work (SOW) including supplementary material, Technical Evaluation Criteria, and the RFP as a whole in the development of their proposals.

This requirement is organized into three (3) Service Areas:

Service Area 1 – “Portfolio Management, Analysis, and Translation” Service Area 1 shall be limited to a single awardee, as the tasks provided in this area are so integrally related that only a single contractor can reasonably perform the work.

Service Area 2 “Science Writing and Content Development” Service Area 2 shall be multiple award and shall be limited to a maximum of 3 awardees.

Service Area 3 – “Special Project Support” Service Area 3 shall be multiple award and shall be limited to a maximum of 3 awardees.

Task Orders under Service Area 1 will be issued to the one (1) successful contractor awarded to that area. Task Orders under Service Areas 2 and 3 will be issued to the qualified pool of contractors awarded to that area.

I. Proposal Preparation Instructions The proposal response should consist of 3 volumes:

Volume I – Overall Technical Proposal and Past Performance Information

Volume II – Sample Task Order Technical Proposal(s)

Volume III –Cost Proposal and Pricing for IDIQ and Sample Task Order Pricing

All volumes must be clearly marked. Offerors must comply with the page limitations and format specified for each volume. Information submitted beyond limitations identified could negatively impact the evaluation during the rating process.

Volume Format Page Limitation

Volume I MS Word 2007 or higher/Unprotected pdf

50 Page limit, not including resumes, work samples, title pages, contents, appendices and section dividers

Volume II MS Word 2007 or higher/Unprotected pdf

20 Page limit for each Sample Task Order being proposed on

Volume III MS Word 2007/MS Excel 2007 or higher None

A. Volume I – Overall Technical Proposal & Past Performance

Offerors shall structure the Technical Proposal in a way that allows for clear identification of the Service Area(s) being proposed. Offerors may submit proposals for one (1) or more of the Service Areas identified in the SOW. The Government intends to contract with the best qualified offeror(s) for each Service Area.

The Technical Proposal shall include a clearly marked section which addresses the Mandatory Criteria applicable to this requirement: HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template (PAT).

The Technical Proposal shall include a technical response which addresses the general IDIQ SOW requirements:

1. Overall Technical Proposal - Offerors shall submit a technical proposal that demonstrates an understanding and ability to meet the general requirements of the IDIQ SOW, including the ability to meet any specific requirements pertaining to the Offeror’s chosen Service Area(s) identified in the SOW. Offerors shall tailor responses to adequately respond to each of the evaluation criteria, and shall also include the following information:

a. If the proposed approach involves subcontracting arrangements, the Offeror shall include a letter of commitment from the subcontractor(s), plus documentation of subcontractor’s expertise, qualifications, and prior performance, as well as a narrative describing how the subcontractor will be managed.

b. Provide information on how the overall contract is to be organized, staffed, and managed, including a detailed organizational chart with management roles and responsibilities.

c. Provide information regarding the interaction and liaison between contractor and Government personnel to ensure effective communication and problem resolution.

d. Provide information to demonstrate an understanding of management of time frames for planning and accomplishing work under the contract.

e. Include discussion of any unique arrangements, facilities, equipment, or other factors that may be deemed advantageous to the contract requirements.

f. Work samples: Provide recent (within the last 2 years) relevant examples of work your company has completed in the past and explain how the examples are applicable to the work to be performed under this contract.

g. Quality Control Plan: Provide a Quality Control Plan (QCP) which at a minimum shall include a self-inspection plan, an internal staffing plan, and an outline of the procedures to maintain quality, timeliness, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and any other requirements set forth in the SOW. The QCP shall document how the contractor intends on meeting and complying with the standards established in the SOW.

h. Staffing Plan: Provide a complete list of labor categories deemed necessary to perform all the services pertaining to the General IDIQ SOW and the Service Area(s) chosen. Include the following:

i. Resumes for the staff proposed in each key labor category should be submitted to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, training, and education levels for the staff considered necessary for each key labor category proposed.

ii. Information to demonstrate experience of the proposed staff working as a team.

2. Past Performance – Offerors shall submit a minimum of three (3) references with whom like or similar services has been provided within the past three (3) years.

Contracts listed may include those entered into by the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial concerns. Offerors may also submit past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the instant acquisition. For the purposes of this solicitation, a "major subcontract" is defined as supplier, distributor, vendor, or firm that furnishes supplies or services to or for a prime contractor.

a. Offerors shall submit sufficient past performance information to demonstrate the depth and breadth to successfully satisfy all chosen Service Areas. It is incumbent upon offerors to present information in such a manner and in sufficient detail to ensure the Government clearly understands the information provided.

b. Proposals should explain the aspects of the contracts/references that are deemed relevant to the effort. Include a discussion of significant achievements or explain past problems considered to be relevant to the efforts, as well as past efforts to identify and manage program/project risk.

c. Offerors shall include the following reference information:

• Project Title and Description

• Contract/task order number and, if applicable, total contract value and type of contract.

• Government Agency/Organization

• Contracting Officer’s name, email, and telephone number

• Current status, e.g. completed and/or if in progress start and estimated completion dates.

• Name of company being referenced

• Key personnel (please highlight those individuals who worked on the relevant project(s) and are being proposed for this effort).

• A brief narrative of why you deem the reference to be relevant to this effort.

B. Volume II – Sample Task Order Technical Proposal

This solicitation contains at least one sample Task Order for each of the three Service Areas. In addition to the overall technical proposal response, Offerors shall submit a technical response for one or more Task Orders corresponding to the Service Area(s) being proposed on. If proposing on more than one sample Task Order, offerors shall ensure a clear separation between each Task Order proposal within the Volume.

Volume II shall be included with Volume I when submitting technical proposals, but shall be clearly marked with use of a divider or other form of separation.

1. Offerors shall submit a technical proposal that demonstrates an understanding and ability to meet the specific requirements of the sample Task Order SOW.

Offerors shall also include the following information:

a. Identify and explain the approach for delivering each of the deliverables in an efficient manner.

b. Identify problems that could be encountered when creating the deliverables and the proposed solutions for resolving them.

c. Provide a complete list of all labor categories and hours deemed necessary to perform the services pertaining to the Task Order SOW.

Include enough information to demonstrate appropriateness of chosen staff and experience of the staff working as a team.

d. Identify all necessary equipment, software and hardware to fulfill task requirements.

C. Volume III – Business Proposal

These additional Business Proposal instructions reflect additional requirements of the Request for Proposal (RFP). While Section L. of the RFP provides general Business Proposal instructions, these instructions provide additional instructions that should be followed.

Offerors shall submit a business proposal which adequately addresses all required aspects of the solicitation and shall include the following:

1. General IDIQ Contract Pricing:

a. Offerors shall provide a pricing list for all items that will be incorporated into the resultant IDIQ contract. This list will be used in the pricing and negotiation of future task orders and must list rates that reflect the maximum rates to be paid for services/items throughout the life of the contract.

b. Provide a list/matrix of all labor categories and associated hourly rates to be used under the contract. This list must be an exhaustive list of all possible labor categories to be used in performance of the contract.

c. Hourly rates must be fully loaded, inclusive of escalation rates per year, fringe, overhead, training, vacation, sick, and holiday pay, overhead, G&A, and fee/profit. Provide a breakout of rates by year if escalation is expected.

d. The indirect rate for travel and ODCs must remain fixed throughout the life of the contract and must include G&A, OH, fees/profit, etc.

e. All travel and ODCs must specify the total price for the expenses, the indirect rate and total.

2. Sample Task Order Pricing

a. In addition to general IDIQ pricing, offerors shall submit a cost proposal for each of the sample Task Orders pertaining to the Service Area(s) chosen.

Offerors shall use the additional proposal information and uniform cost assumptions provided with each sample Task Order in developing a cost proposal for each sample Task Order.

b. Provide a complete list of labor categories, hours, and fully burdened hourly rates needed to accomplish the Task Order requirements. Rates must be based on the prices provided in the IDIQ Contract pricing list.

c. If travel or ODCs are proposed, supporting information must be provided to support the cost.

d. Clearly identify assumptions, if any, that were made which affect the price proposed.

e. If proposing on more than one sample Task Order, ensure clear separation between each task order cost proposal.