J.2 Instructions to Offerors and Basis for Award_A02.docx

AOCSSB24R0028_A02

Senate Office Buildings Painted Metal Sculpture & Architectural Elements Conservation and Maintenance Program

Release Date: March 27, 2024

Section L. Instructions to Offerors

L.1 RFQ GENERAL CONDITIONS

The submission of a proposal to the Government shall constitute the offeror’s acknowledgement, agreement and compliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP. The Government will not be obligated to pay any cost incurred by a contractor in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Offerors are cautioned to ensure that their proposal submissions are complete and reflective of the evaluation criteria and requirements described herein. Offerors are encouraged to provide their best terms with their initial proposal submission. Offerors shall not assume that the Government will afford an opportunity to clarify, discuss, or revise a proposal. The Government reserves the right to allow offerors to address weaknesses and revise their proposals if it determines that it is in the best interest of the Government.

Proposals shall be valid for 90 days from the date of proposal submission.

Any exceptions or conditional assumptions taken with respect to the requirements outlined in the RFP or SOW shall be fully explained in the offeror’s Introductory Letter. The Government cautions offerors that taking exception to any term or condition may render their proposal non-responsive and the offeror will be ineligible for award, unless the RFP expressly authorizes such an exception with regards to a specific term or condition.

L.2 Pre-Qualifications Instructions

1. The Offeror shall submit its response to the pre-qualification requirements detailed in Section M: Evaluation Factors for Award of the RFP to the Contracting Officer at Tatjana.Johnson@aoc.gov no later than 12:00 pm ET on April 8, 2024.

1.1. The Offeror shall submit documentation showing that the proposed Senior Conservator for this IDIQ is a Professional Associate or Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

1.2. The Offeror shall submit a copy of its Representations and Certifications from its System for Award Management (SAM) registration demonstrating that it is registered for NAICS 711510: Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers.

1.3. Membership in the American Institute for Conservation is required.

1.4. The Offeror shall provide two (2) examples of sculpture conservation work that is equal to the requirement within the statement of work from the last five (5) years that illustrates the skill of the Senior Conservator and Technician being proposed for this project. For each example, the Offeror shall provide:

1. Name of project

2. Date of Award – Date of Completion

3. Brief description of the project

4. Point of Contact for Project – including name, phone number, and email address

5. Levels of Education and/or Training for the proposed employees

L.3 QUESTIONS AND PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

All correspondence in conjunction with this solicitation, including questions and proposal submittals, shall be directed to the Contracting Officer, Tatjana Johnson, via e-mail at tatjana.johnson@aoc.gov. E-mail messages shall not exceed 10 MB. If necessary, offerors shall compress files with a .zip extension.

L.3.1 Questions Due Date Questions about the technical or contractual details of this procurement must be submitted in writing via e-mail by April 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM ET. When submitting questions, please include the RFP #, Company Name and the word “Questions” in the subject line of the email. For example, “AOCSSB24R0028_ ABC Inc. Questions”. Questions submitted after this cut off will be responded to at the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Offerors shall use Attachment J.3 to submit questions.

Answers to questions will be provided as an amendment to the RFP.

L.3.2 Proposal Due Date Proposals must be received no later than May 8, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET. When submitting your final proposal, please include the RFP #, Company Name and the word “Proposal” in the subject line of the email. For example, “AOCSSB24R0028_ ABC Inc. Proposal”. Proposals received after this date and time shall be considered late and shall not be accepted by the Government unless it is determined by the Contracting Officer to be in the best interest of the Government.

L.4 VOLUMES AND ORGANIZATION

Proposals shall be clearly and concisely written, as well as being neat, indexed and logically assembled as described herein. Offerors are advised to supply all information in the sequence and format specified in the table below. The submitted proposal must provide a sufficient basis for a thorough evaluation and contain the information necessary for evaluation. The Government will not assume the offeror possesses any capability, understanding, or commitment not specified in the proposal. The proposal must not merely repeat the solicitation and Statement of Work requirements, but rather must provide convincing documentary evidence in support of conclusive statements of how contract requirements will be met.

Proposals shall be prepared in separate volumes: Volume I – Technical and Volume II – Price. The offeror shall provide the requested information within the designated volume evaluation factor. Any requested information placed outside of the designated location shall not be considered or evaluated under that evaluation factor regardless of whether it is located somewhere else in the proposal. As an example, the offeror shall not refer to any Corporate Experience in the Technical Approach factor section of its proposal. If the offeror does so, that content will not be considered by the Government during the evaluation of the offeror’s Technical Approach. In order for the technical proposal to be strictly evaluated on the merit of the material submitted, Volume I and Volume II shall be submitted as separate documents. Pricing is prohibited in, and shall be omitted from, Volume I. Each volume shall be indexed by evaluation factor.

Volumes shall be organized in the following manner:

I

II

All pages in Volume I, except the introductory letter, shall include page numbering.

Content which is outside the Page Limits in the above chart will not be evaluated by the Government.

L.4.1 Paper Size and Formatting Written materials shall be submitted on 1 sided single-spaced pages using standard 8 ½” x 11” size paper with a minimum of 1” margins. Font size shall be Times New Roman, Calibri, or similar fonts with a minimum of 12-point size for text and 10-point size for tables and graphics.

L.4.2 Introductory Letter The following introductory information is required before the first index of Volume I:

· RFP Number & Title;

· Name and address of offeror;

· UEI Number & cage code;

· NAICS / PSC;

· Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of offeror’s main point-of-contact;

· Date of submission;

· Name, title, and signature of authorized representative; and

· All technical factor assumptions to the RFP and SOW shall be identified in this section. Pricing assumptions shall be identified in Volume II. Exceptions identified in other areas of the proposal will not be considered.

L.4.3 Standard Form 33 The offeror shall complete Page 1 of the SF33. The entire form shall be returned in PDF format in Volume II. Any SF-30 associated with any amendments to this RFP shall be signed by the offeror and included in Volume II as well.

L.4.4 Factor 1: Corporate Experience – Maximum of 10 pages

The Offeror shall provide a narrative for three (3) to five (5) past projects/contracts of similar scope, size, and complexity that involved similar tasks conserving and maintaining brass ornamental doors and railings, historic mirrors and lighting, bronze gates and panels, plaster friezes, and metal sculpture dating from the 20th century to present. For each of the three (3) to five (5) past project/contracts similar in scope, size, and complexity, provide the following information:

(i) Date of award and completion date

(ii) Project/Contract Description, including Sculptor, Medium, and Date and Location

(iii) Client/Agency

(iv) Client Project Manager/ Point of Contact

(v) Current Phone Number and E-Mail Address for Point of Contact

(vi) Dollar Value of Contract or Task Order

(vii) Key Personnel also proposed for this work, include comparable function performed on this Past Project

(viii) Summary of the project and work performed, including materials and methods used, before, during, and after photographs (overall and sample detail), and explanation of relevance to this project.

In addition, the Offeror shall provide a list of all sculpture conservation projects, other than the three (3) to five (5) projects that a narrative is provided for, performed by the offeror during the past 10 years. (Relevant projects performed more than 10 years ago may also be listed.) The list shall include the following information: project/contract description, including sculptor, and date, client, and one to two sentence description of work.

L.4.5 Factor 2: Key Personnel – Maximum of 14 pages, resumes are included

The Offeror shall provide the following information for the Key Personnel factor:

(i) A list of the names and résumés of proposed Key Personnel.

(ii) The Offeror shall provide résumés for Key Personnel. Résumés shall document recent and relevant experience within the past 10 years, shall be a maximum of four (4) pages, and shall include the following information:

(i) Professional training and degrees

(ii) Experience, with the beginning and ending month and year for each position, clearly indicating years working for the Offeror.

(iii) AIC membership status

(iv) A list of sculpture conservation projects/contracts on which the person provided expertise similar to that proposed for this project within the past 10 years.

(v) For the Senior Conservator and Conservation Technician, a list of three (3) references who can provide feedback regarding the person’s technical capabilities. Information provided for each reference shall include a contact name, company, phone number, address, and e-mail address.

(v) A description detailing the proposed employees’ experience conserving or maintaining sculpture in a variety of mediums including bronze and marble.

L.4.6 Factor 3: Technical Approach - Maximum of 7 pages

The Offeror shall provide a description of the processes the offeror will use to implement the conservation and maintenance services of sculpture and architectural elements in a variety of mediums, primarily mediums, primarily bronze, brass, plaster, silver, and steel in a historic monumental building as required in the IDIQ SOW. The description shall include:

(i) Overall approach and tasks, materials, and methods specific to the scope of work for this project.

(ii) Allocation of staff and staff hours and estimated completion time for the maintenance or conservation of a well-maintained sculpture and architectural element.

L.4.7 Factor 4: Corporate Past Performance – Not applicable

The Government reserves the right to use any source of information available on the Offeror’s past performance to either evaluate past performance or verify information provided by the Offeror.

(i) The enclosed “PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE” (Attachment J.4) shall be provided to each of the companies/agencies submitted by the Offeror in response to Evaluation Factor 1. The completed questionnaire shall be sent directly to the Contracting Officer as indicated on the questionnaire by the due date of proposals.

(ii) The Offeror shall submit a sample sculpture conservation report prepared by the Offeror within the last 10 years. The sample conservation report shall include photo documentation. The sample report shall be provided in electronic format.

L.4.8 Factor 5: Price

1. The Offeror shall complete the Conservation – Pricing Spreadsheet “Attachment J.5 - SEC-B-Pricing Spreadsheet" in accordance with the instructions included in the spreadsheet.

2. The Offeror shall print, sign, date, and scan page (tab) "Summary & Instructions" within "Attachment J.5 - SEC-B-Pricing Spreadsheet" certifying that the amount is correct.

3. The Representations and Certifications, with applicable information included in the spaces provided, shall be included as a part of the Price Proposal volume.

4. The Price Proposal will be submitted with the required documents in the following order:

(i) A completed SOLICITATION, OFFER, AND AWARD FORM (original signature required in Block 15);

(ii) Conservation – Pricing Spreadsheet "Attachment 6 - SEC-B-Pricing Spreadsheet"

(iii) "Summary & Instructions" within "Attachment 6 - SEC-B-Pricing Spreadsheet" shall be printed, signed, dated, and scanned certifying that the amount is correct.

(iv) Section K - The REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS.

Section M. Evaluation Factors for Award

M.1 PRE-QUALIFICATIONS EVALUATIONS

A pre-qualification evaluation will be used to determine which Offerors are qualified to perform the required conservation and maintenance services. The pre-qualifications evaluation will be done on a “meet” or “does not meet” basis. Those Offerors who are evaluated as a “meet” for all the pre-qualifications will be notified and instructed to provide a complete proposal. If an Offeror receives a “Does Not Meet” for any piece of the pre-qualification then the Offeror will not be asked to provide a complete proposal. If an Offeror who is evaluated as “Does Not Meet” provides a complete proposal it will not be evaluated.

M.1.1 QUALIFIED OFFERORS EVALUATIONS

The award shall be made on a trade-off basis. The Government will award to the Offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government. The evaluation criteria are divided into Technical and Price categories. The technical (non-price) factors when combined are more important than price. However, as the difference in technical merit between the proposals becomes less significant, the relative importance of the proposed prices will increase. The non-price factors are all weighted equally. The Government reserves the right to make an award without discussions. The Government reserves the right to establish a competitive range.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror's corporate experience, key personnel, technical approach, and corporate past performance to determine whether it reflects the caliber of professional training and experience and an understanding of the work required by the solicitation, whether the staff hour allocations proposed for the maintenance and conservation as needed services are appropriate, and whether, in the judgment of the Government, it fulfills the requirements and objectives of the required services as described in the solicitation.

In order for proposals to be acceptable and eligible for evaluation the proposals must be prepared in accordance with and comply with the instructions found in Section L.

M.2 TECHNICAL EVALUATION FACTORS

PRE-QUALIFICIATIONS

The pre-qualifications for this requirement are as follows:

1. The Senior Conservator who will serve as the Project Director for the IDIQ must have professional training in object conservation and shall be a Professional Associate or Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

2. The company’s primary business activity shall be classified under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 711510: Independent Artists, Writers and Performers. NAICS 711510 is defined as “This industry comprises independent (i.e., freelance) individuals primarily engaged in performing in artistic productions, in creating artistic and cultural works or productions, or in providing technical expertise necessary for these productions.”

3. The Offeror shall provide two (2) examples of sculpture conservation work from the last five (5) years that illustrate the skill of the Senior Conservator and Technician being proposed for this project. For each example, the Offeror shall provide:

(i) Name of project

(ii) Date of Award – Date of Completion

(iii) Brief description of the project

(iv) Point of Contact for Project – including name, phone number, and email address

(v) Levels of Education and/or Training for the proposed employees

Adjectival Ratings for Pre-Qualifications

The pre-qualifications will be evaluated using the following adjectival scale:

Meet: The Offeror’s proposal successfully addresses the Government’s pre-qualifications.

Does Not Meet: The Offeror’s proposal does not successfully address the Government’s pre-qualifications.

M.3 Factor 1: Corporate Experience

The Offeror’s experience and submitted materials will be evaluated to determine the extent of the company’s experience relevant to this requirement during the past 10 years. Higher ratings will be given to Offerors whose experience is most extensive in the conservation and maintenance of brass ornamental doors and railings, historic mirrors and lighting, bronze gates and panels, plaster friezes, and metal sculpture dating from the 20th century to present and whose materials and methods were successfully used on three (3) to five (5) past projects similar in size, scope, and complexity to this requirement. Offerors providing detailed information on fewer than the minimum of three (3) relevant sculpture conservation projects will be disqualified. A full list of all sculpture conservation projects in the past 10 years will also be considered.

M.4 Factor 2: Key Personnel The Government will evaluate the number of years, extent, and degree of formal education or training in objects conservation, and relevant experience of individuals designated by the Offeror as the Project Director/Senior Conservator and the Conservation Technician the Offeror proposes to assign to the contract.

The Project Director shall be a Senior Conservator with professional training in object conservation at an accredited institution resulting in a master’s degree or 10 years of comparable training and experience as well as experience as the Project Director on at least five (5) bronze or marble sculpture conservation and maintenance projects similar in scope. The Key Person is required to be a Professional Associate or Fellow of the American Institute of Conservation. The level of Fellow will be rated higher.

The Conservation Technician must have bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and/or a minimum of four (4) years of comparable training and experience performing the same functions as proposed under this solicitation on at least three (3) sculpture conservation projects in the past five (5) years to be considered qualified. More extensive experience will be rated higher. Membership in the American Institute for Conservation is required.

Higher ratings will be assigned to Offerors who proposed personnel’s education, training and relevant experience are commensurate with the responsibilities they will have under the contract and who have worked on the projects given as examples for Corporate Experience.

Higher scores will be assigned to Offerors whose key personnel have experience working together as a team on at least three (3) similar projects.

M.5 Factor 3: Technical Approach

The Offeror’s technical approach will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the approach and proposed tasks, materials, and methods and allocation of staff to conserve sculpture and architectural elements in a variety of mediums, primarily bronze, brass, plaster, silver and steel in a historic monumental building, are effective and safe, comply with the Statement of Work and other solicitation requirements, and will ensure the successful and timely completion of the work. The Offeror’s approach to the variety of conditions and problems that may be encountered will be evaluated for its thoughtfulness and evidence of awareness of the highest professional standards.

Higher ratings will be assigned to Offerors who demonstrate their understanding of the work, whose staff hour allocations are deemed most appropriate, and whose proposals most completely satisfy the requirements as described in the solicitation.

M.6 Factor 4: Corporate Past Performance The Offeror’s past performance, including the sample sculpture conservation report, will be evaluated to determine the extent of successful completion of similar projects within the past 10 years, taking into consideration quality of work, project management, timeliness, and degree of client satisfaction for each project. Higher scores will be given to Offerors whose past performance has exhibited the most success on projects in historic, monumental buildings that were occupied and had performance requirements that were significantly similar to those required by this solicitation.

The evaluation of past performance will be based in part on Offeror’s references from current or projects completed within the last 10 years. It is the Offeror’s sole responsibility to ensure that correct names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses are provided for each reference.

The Government may use other references/information to verify the Offeror’s past performance. References other than those identified by the Offeror may be contacted and the information received may be used in the evaluation of past performance. Additionally, the Government may use data obtained from other sources also provided under Corporate Experience.

M.7 Adjectival Ratings for Qualified Offerors Evaluation

The technical (non-price) factors will be evaluated using the following adjectival scale:

Outstanding: The proposal provides a very clear, comprehensive and detailed response which meets all requirements and includes significant strengths with no deficiencies or significant weaknesses. The risk of unsuccessful performance is very low as the proposal demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements and can be expected to result in outstanding performance.

Good: The proposal provides a sound response which meets all requirements and includes strengths with no deficiencies and few weaknesses. The risk of unsuccessful performance is low as the proposal demonstrates an understanding of the requirements and can be expected to result in satisfactory performance.

Acceptable: The proposal provides a response which is capable of meeting all requirements but includes both strengths and weaknesses with no deficiencies. Strengths are not outweighed by the weaknesses. The risk of unsuccessful performance is moderate as the proposal demonstrates a general understanding of the requirements and can be expected to result in satisfactory performance.

Marginal: The proposal provides a response which does not meet all requirements and includes strengths, weaknesses, and/or deficiencies. Strengths are outweighed by the weaknesses and/or deficiencies. The risk of unsuccessful performance is high as the proposal does not demonstrate an understanding of the requirements and can be expected to result in unsatisfactory performance.

Unacceptable: The proposal provides a response that does not meet all requirements and includes significant weaknesses and/or deficiencies which far outweigh any strengths. The risk of unsuccessful performance is very high as the proposal does not demonstrate an understanding of the requirements and will result in unsatisfactory performance.

Award will not be made to an Offeror who receives a rating of Marginal or Unacceptable for any factor.

When evaluating past performance, an Offeror without any past performance will be rated as “No Past Performance.” This means that there is no relevant past performance available for evaluation. Offeror has asserted that it has no relevant directly related or similar past performance experience. Proposal receives no merit or demerit for this factor.

During the course of the evaluation, the Government will record Proposal Significant Strengths, Strengths, Weaknesses, Significant Weaknesses, and Deficiencies. The definitions of these terms are as follows:

Significant Strengths: A strength that appreciably enhances the merit of a proposal or increases the probability of successful contract performance.

Strengths: Any aspect of a proposal which meets or exceeds a requirement and increases the probability of successful performance of the contract.

Weaknesses: A flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance.

Significant Weaknesses: A weakness that appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance.

Deficiencies: A material failure of a proposal to meet a Government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses in a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance to an unacceptable level.

M.8 Factor 5: Price

The Government will evaluate the price proposals of all Offerors found technically qualified. The Government will evaluate the grand total price of the IDIQ (base year and all option years). Price criterion measures not only actual dollars but also analyzes the realism and reasonableness of the Offeror’s proposed price. Realism is evaluated by assessing the compatibility of proposed costs with proposal scope and effort. Reasonableness of an Offeror’s proposal is evaluated through cost or price analysis techniques. For price to be reasonable, it must represent a price that provides best value to the Government when consideration is given to prices in the market, technical and functional capabilities of the Offeror. Those proposals evaluated as not satisfying all the price/cost criteria may be eliminated from the competitive range unless the Contracting Officer determines otherwise.