80KSC022R0012 NCS Cover Letter.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Reply to Attn of:

John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

April 8, 2022

TO: All Prospective Offerors

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP), Solicitation No. 80KSC022R0012, for NASA Communication Services (NCS)

You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) NASA Communication Services (NCS) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide communication and related services for the Office of Communications in support of all NASA centers and Mission Directorates. Such services include, but are not limited to, Strategic Communications, Planning, and Integration; Engagement - Stakeholder Relations and Public Engagements; Media Relations; History and Archives; Library Services; Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Responses; and Supplemental Communications Products and Services.

NASA KSC appreciates the comments received in response to the release of the Draft RFP.

These comments resulted in improvements to the quality and content of the overall solicitation. Offerors should review the solicitation in its entirety, as its content has changed from the Draft RFP version. Enclosure 1 is provided to summarize the significant changes made from the Draft RFP that may not have been addressed in the Draft RFP questions and responses. Enclosure 1 is not intended to cover all changes nor describe all solicitation requirements. Offerors should carefully review the solicitation in its entirety to discern all changes. Enclosure 2 provides responses to questions received in response to the Draft RFP and during the one-on-one exchanges with prospective offerors.

NASA will conduct this acquisition as an 8(a) set-aside competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541820, Public Relations Agencies, and the small business size standard is $16.5 million.

This competitive acquisition will result in a single, Firm Fixed-Price (FFP) core contract with an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) ordering mechanism providing for issuance of FFP, FFP Level of Effort (LOE) and Time and Material (T&M) task orders for services on an IDIQ basis. The core requirements of the contract will have a period of performance of 19-months for the Base Period, a 17-month Option Period 1, and two 12-month Option Periods (Option 2 and Option 3)). The IDIQ component of the contract will have an ordering period of five (5) years from the contract start date. The contract includes FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services.

The anticipated contract award date is December 30, 2022, with a March 1, 2023 contract start date. The contract will be performed onsite at NASA centers and offsite at the Contractor's facilities.

Potential offerors should pay close attention to all solicitation instructions; however, the following requirements list is summarized to assist in proposal development. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and the solicitation terms and conditions and provisions in sections E and F take precedence:

1. A Phase-in period will be conducted. The phase-in period is anticipated to be no more than 60 days prior to the start date of the contract. The phase-in will be via a separate purchase order. The offeror will be responsible for the overall phase-in strategy and approach, including staffing, for assuming responsibility for PWS Section 3 and work identified as core work in PWS Section 4 (see Attachment D-1 and Attachment D-1A) at contract start. The offeror will also be required to support multiple IDIQ task plan requests for multiple customers on day 1 of phase-in. It is anticipated that many of those task orders will have a March 1, 2023 start date. Additionally, the offeror shall review Attachment D-2, Data Requirements List, for required deliverables during phase-in.

2. The Government will make available existing Installation-Accountable Government Property (IAGP) for onsite contract performance (Attachment D-15) and Government Furnished Property (GFP) for offsite use at the Contractor's facility (Attachment D-16) as described in the solicitation.

3. NASA has determined that this acquisition may give rise to a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI). Offerors should refer to the instructions/provision in section F related to OCI mitigation/avoidance plans, as well as NASA clause 1852.237-72 Access to Sensitive Information that references the OCI plan as a contract compliance document.

4. The work identified as core work in PWS Section 4 has banding levels that further provide insight into those requirements in Attachment D-1A. Additional information regarding historical WYE has been made available in the “Other Resources” folder of the bidder's library.

5. In accordance with provision F.6.2, Volume 2. Past Performance, offerors need to encourage their references to submit their Past Performance Questionnaires directly to the Contracting Officer prior to proposal due date.

6. Offerors are required to have a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code that matches the corporate address submitted with its proposal.

7. The NCS acquisition website is at https://procurement.ksc.nasa.gov/ncs. This website provides prospective offerors with access to a bidder's library of documents applicable to this acquisition.

Offerors are encouraged to refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, in particular paragraph (g), which states that the Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors.

Documents related to this acquisition, including this memorandum, the solicitation, attachments, amendments (if any) and links to bidder's library will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry, https://sam.gov.

Prospective offerors are responsible for monitoring the websites for updates.

NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.215-84, OMBUDSMAN, is applicable. The Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/ regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf under the Product Service Line “Communication Services”.

This solicitation does not commit NASA KSC to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA KSC to procure or contract for these services. This request is not an authorization to proceed and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than:

May 23, 2022 at 4:30pm Eastern.

Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA's Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA's EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery - Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA's EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA's EFSS Box.

In accordance with NFS 1815.201(f), a “Blackout Notice” has been issued to NASA personnel. All inquiries/communications pertaining to this acquisition shall be directed only to the Contracting Officer at agency-nasacommservices@mail.nasa.gov.

The due date for submission of questions shall be no later than:

April 28, 2022 at 4:30pm Eastern.

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Timothy Broadous Contracting Officer

Enclosures:

1 - Summary of Significant Changes from the Draft RFP 2 - NCS Questions and Responses 3 - Solicitation Question Form

TIMOTHY

BROADOUS

Digitally signed by TIMOTHY

BROADOUS

Date: 2022.04.08 09:16:47 -04'00'