Instructions_to_Offerors.pdf

Instructions to Offerors:

A. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, Offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. Proposals must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of this Request for Proposal (RFP). Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror's proposal.

B. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS: In regards to all parts, ONLY ELECTRONIC PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

All proposals must be received by the contracting office (identified below) no later than December 3, 2014 at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

1. Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals and any revisions and modifications, so as to reach the Government office designated above by the time specified.

2. Any proposal, modification, or revision that is received at the designated Government office after the exact time specified for receipt of proposals is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the contracting officer determines that accepting the late proposal would not unduly delay the acquisition; and—

(a) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or

(b) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of proposals and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of proposals; or

(c) It was the only proposal received.

3. Electronic proposals shall be e-mailed to josh.dobereiner@ars.usda.gov.

C. REQUIRED PROPOSAL FORMAT FROM OFFERORS:

1. PROPOSAL FORMAT

(a) Purpose. These instructions prescribe the format of proposals and describe the approach for the development and presentation of the proposed data. The proposal shall include all of the information requested in the specific instructions. Failure to include all information requested may adversely affect the evaluation. A proposal that merely reiterates or promises to accomplish the requirements of the RFP will be considered unacceptable. A proposal that is orderly and sufficiently documented will be easy for the Government to understand and will enable the Government to perform a thorough and fair evaluation.

(b) Offerors are cautioned to submit enough information to enable the Government to fully ascertain each Offeror’s capability to perform all of the requirements contemplated by this RFP. All commitments made in the proposal may become a part of the resultant contract.

The data submitted with each proposal should be complete and concise, but not overly elaborate.

(c) Type Size: Type size for text documents will not be smaller than Microsoft Word, Times New Roman 10 point font, normal proportional spacing and page size shall be no larger than normal letter size paper (8 ½ x 11”). Type size for graphics, charts, diagrams, and tables shall be of an appropriate font and size for the application, and must be clearly readable without magnification assistance to the normal eye. Text lines will be no less than single-space.

2. PRICE (Volume I):

(a) The Price Proposal must be submitted on the "SEPRL Server Administration and Bioinformatics Consulting CLIN Pricing Sheet" provided with the RFP.

(b) Acknowledgement of any RFP amendments.

3. TECHNICAL (VOLUME II):

(a) The Technical Proposal shall, at a minimum, be prepared in a format consistent with the evaluation criteria for contract award as specified in the “Evaluation Factors for Award”.

The proposal shall contain sufficient detail to enable the Government to evaluate the Offeror’s technical competency. Limited to 10 pages.

(b) The Technical Proposal shall be a stand-alone document containing all information necessary for the Government to perform a complete technical evaluation. In evaluating the technical proposal, the Government will only consider information contained in the technical proposal itself. Information contained in any other part or proposal submitted under this solicitation or in other documents will not be considered.

(c) Technical capability shall demonstrate how the Offeror will be able to meet the requirements stated in the Performance Work Statement. The Offeror’s responses will be evaluated as identified in the document titled: “Evaluation Factors”. Provide, as specifically as possible, the actual methodology proposed for accomplishing/satisfying the specific tasks/technical requirements in the Performance Work Statement (Server Administration and Bioinformatics Consulting). All of the requirements specified in the RFP are mandatory.

By submitting a proposal, the Offeror is representing that it will perform all requirements specified in the RFP. It is not necessary to repeat this information in the proposal. It is necessary, however, to describe how the Offeror will accomplish/satisfy the requirements and specifically how that capability will be used for this effort. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the RFP. Offerors should not make any reference to rates or price in this volume.

(d) The Government shall determine if the Offeror has the technical knowledge to manage and provide services in accordance with the requirements of this RFP. The factor will receive an adjectival rating as defined in the Evaluation Factors for Award.

4. PAST PERFORMANCE (Volume III): The Offeror shall provide a minimum of three (3) relevant past performance contract references. Information shall be submitted on the Past Performance Evaluation Sheet Provided. The contract references should represent recent, relevant performance under Government, (Federal, state, local) and/or commercial contracts. Narratives beyond what is requested above are not required in this factor and will not be evaluated if provided.

• Recency, as it pertains to past performance information, is a measure of the time that has elapsed since the past performance reference occurred. Recency is generally expressed as a time period during which past performance references are considered relevant. For the purpose of this requirement recency is any contract under which any performance, delivery, or corrective action has occurred within five (5) years prior to the RFP closing date, even if the award date is outside this five (5) year window.

• Relevancy is defined as:

o Relevant: present/past performance effort involved similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this RFP requires o Not Relevant: Present/past performance effort involved little or none of the scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this RFP requires.

(End of Instructions)