ASTRO Draft Solicitation Sections L and M February 5 2020.docx

ASTRO DRAFT

SOLICITATION NO.: XXXXXXXXXX

Sections L and M

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS

L.1. FAR 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the Offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this address: http:/acquisition.gov/

L.2. FAR AND GSAR PROVISIONS

The following FAR and GSAR provisions are applicable to this solicitation and are provided in full text.

L.2.1. FAR 52.215-20 Requirements for Cost or Pricing Data or Information Other Than Cost or Pricing Data (OCT 2010) Alternate IV (OCT 2010)

Submission of certified cost or pricing data is not required.

(End of provision)

L.2.2. FAR 52.216-1 Type of Contract (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of 10 separate Government-Wide, Multiple Award, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (MA-IDIQ) task order contracts resulting from this solicitation.

(End of provision)

L.2.3. FAR 52.216-27 Single or Multiple Awards (OCT 1995)

ASTRO spans many NAICS Codes and NAICS Code Exceptions under several different economic subsectors. ASTRO is shaped around functional domain areas and are referred to as “Pools”. Each Pool will be assigned a representative NAICS code and associated size standard. There shall be a total of 10 Pools at initial award. Utilization of on-ramping (Section H.9.) may create additional Pools in the future. Each Pool will be a separate ASTRO MA-IDIQ task order contract.

Multiple awards shall be made in each of the 10 Pools. 45 awards are anticipated in each Pool. In the event of a tie at the number 45 position, all Offerors tied will receive an award in the respective Pool.

Because this solicitation covers 10 ASTRO MA-IDIQ task order contracts, each Pool has a representative NAICS Code specified below.

A single Offeror may compete for more than one ASTRO Pool.

1. Data Operations Pool:

Function: Data Operations includes all data collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination activities associated with manned, unmanned, and optionally manned systems, robotics, and platforms supporting mission performance for land, air, sea, or space. This includes traditional labor services as well as “as a service” support.

2. Mission Operations Pool:

Function: Mission Operations includes all non-data collection and analysis services associated with manned, unmanned, and optionally manned systems, robotics, and platforms supporting mission performance for land, air, sea, or space. This includes traditional labor services as well as “as a service” support.

3. Aviation Pool:

Function: Maintenance, repair, and overhaul of manned, optionally manned, and unmanned aircraft and aircraft-related systems and platforms

4. Space Pool:

Function: Maintenance, repair, and overhaul of manned, optionally manned, and unmanned space and space-related systems and platforms

5. Maritime Pool:

Function: Maintenance, repair, and overhaul of manned, optionally manned, and unmanned maritime and maritime related systems and platforms

6. Ground Pool:

Function: Maintenance, repair, and overhaul of manned, optionally manned, unmanned ground and ground related systems and platforms, and Industrial Machinery

7. Development/Systems Integration Pool:

Function: Systems integration, systems improvement, and/or systems engineering associated with manned, unmanned, and optionally manned systems and platforms that falls under one of the NAICS code exceptions for NAICS 541330 for land, air, sea, or space.

8. Research Pool:

Function: All research and development associated with manned, unmanned, optionally manned, and counter UxS systems and platforms for land, air, sea, or space.

9. Support Pool:

Function: All the programmatic services required for successful execution of a product, program, project, or process regarding platforms, robotics, and/or systems for land, air, sea, or space.

10. Training Pool:

Function: All the training services (including flight training) required for successful execution of a product, program, project, or process regarding platforms, robotics, and/or systems for land, air, sea, or space.

(End of provision)

L.2.4. FAR 52.216-28 – Multiple Awards for Advisory and Assistance Services (OCT 1995)

The Government intends to award multiple contracts for the same or similar advisory and assistance services in accordance with Section L.2.3.

(End of provision)

L.2.5. FAR 52.233-2 - Service of Protest (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service ASTRO Program Office Attn: Valerie Bindel Contracting Officer 819 Taylor Street Suite 13A33 Ft. Worth, TX 76102

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of provision)

L.2.6 FAR 52.207-6 Solicitation of Offers from Small Business Concerns and Small Business Teaming Arrangements or Joint Ventures (Multiple-Award Contracts) (OCT 2016)

(a) Definition. “Small Business Teaming Arrangement,” as used in this provision-

(1) Means an arrangement where–

(i) Two or more small business concerns have formed a joint venture; or (ii)A small business offeror agrees with one or more other small business concerns to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified Government contract. A Small Business Teaming Arrangement between the offeror and its small business subcontractor(s) exists through a written agreement between the parties that– (A)Is specifically referred to as a “Small Business Teaming Arrangement”; and

(B) Sets forth the different responsibilities, roles, and percentages (or other allocations) of work as it relates to the acquisition;

(2)

(i) For civilian agencies, may include two business concerns in a mentor-protégé relationship when both the mentor and the protégé are small or the protégé is small and the concerns have received an exception to affiliation pursuant to 13 CFR 121.103(h)(3)(ii) or (iii).

(ii) For DoD, may include two business concerns in a mentor-protégé relationship in the Department of Defense Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program (see section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note)) when both the mentor and the protégé are small. There is no exception to joint venture size affiliation for offers received from teaming arrangements under the Department of Defense Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program; and

(3) See 13 CFR 121.103(b)(9) regarding the exception to affiliation for offers received from Small Business Teaming Arrangements in the case of a solicitation of offers for a bundled contract with a reserve.

(b) The Government is soliciting and will consider offers from any responsible source, including responsible small business concerns and offers from Small Business Teaming Arrangements or joint ventures of small business concerns.

(End of provision) L.2.7 GSAR 552.238-76 Use of Non-Government Employees to Review Offers (MAY 2019)

(a) The Government may employ individual technical consultants/advisors/contractors from the below listed organizations to review limited portions of the technical, management and price proposals to assist the government in both pre-award and post-award functions. [The contracting officer should insert a list of organizations used to review solicitation responses and execute a non-disclosure and organizational conflict of interest statement for all individuals conducting reviews.]

(b) These representatives will be used to advise on specific technical, management, and price matters and shall not, under any circumstances, be used as voting evaluators. However, the Government may consider the advice provided in its evaluation process. In addition, Contractor personnel may be used in specific contract administration tasks (e.g., administrative filing, review of deliverables, etc.).

(c) If individual technical consultants/advisors/contractors are utilized as described in (b) above, they will be required to execute a non-disclosure and organizational conflict of interest statements.

(End of provision)

L.3. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

The following instructions are for the preparation and submission of proposals. The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the format and content of proposals so that proposals contain all essential information and can be evaluated equitably.

Offerors are instructed to read the entire solicitation document, including all attachments in Section J, prior to submitting questions and/or preparing your offer. Omission of any information from the proposal submission requirements may result in rejection of the offer.

A total of 10 MA-IDIQ task order contracts (Pools) will result from this solicitation. Offerors may compete for more than one Pool; however, the Offeror shall only submit one proposal. When an Offeror is sharing resources from other entities by way of a Meaningful Relationship within a Corporate Structure, only one Offer (e.g., proposal) from that Corporate Structure shall be submitted. See Section L.5.1.6.

All information within the page limitations of the proposal is subject to evaluation. The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in Section M of this solicitation.

Offerors may make minor formatting changes to Section K and Section J templates used in proposal submission. For example, minor formatting changes include such things as adjusting page breaks, adding corporate identification logos, identifying proposal volume identifiers in the headers and footers, including disclaimers of proprietary information, and adjusting the Cost/Price template based on an Offeror’s actual indirect rate structure, etc.

The electronic solicitation documents, as posted on http://www.beta.SAM.gov, shall be the "official" documents for this solicitation.

The Government will not reimburse Offerors for any cost incurred for the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this solicitation.

All proposal information is subject to verification by the Government. Falsification of any proposal submission, documents, or statements may subject the Offeror to civil or criminal prosecution under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

NOTE: This solicitation instructs Offerors to provide support documentation for practically all evaluation criteria. While some sub-sections of Section L may indicate an Offeror shall provide a particular form of documentation for validation purposes, Offerors may provide whatever official, verifiable documentation is necessary to validate any evaluation criteria being claimed.

L.3.1. Official Legal Bidding Entity

All the evaluation elements an Offeror is submitting a proposal for and taking credit for in accordance with Section L.5., Volumes 1 through 6, must be in the Offeror’s name as submitted in Block 15A on the Standard Form (SF) 33, Solicitation, Offer and Award, with a corresponding CAGE Code and DUNS Number in SAM.GOV that matches the Offeror name on the SF 33, Block 15A. (See Section L.5.1.1.)

The only exception to the above paragraph is if the Offeror is claiming an evaluation element from a qualifying meaningful relationship in accordance with the instructions in Section L.5.1.6.

L.3.2. Mergers, Acquisitions, Novations, and Change-of-Name Agreements

By the closing date of this solicitation, if a company has acquired another company, the transferor and transferee company may claim credit for the Additional Points for Relevant Experience Projects and the Past Performance Projects under the following condition.

In the event of a Government approved novation of a U.S. Federal contract from one Contractor to another, the transferor Contractor may claim credit for the above mentioned projects from that contract up to the date that the Government approves the novation (the “Approval Date”), while the transferee Contractor may claim credit for the above mentioned projects from that contract from and after the approval date of the novation.

For example, Company XYZ performed a relevant experience project under their Subsidiary, ABC Inc. under Contract Number 12345. Company XYZ sells ABC Inc. to BLANCO Company and Contract Number 12345 is officially novated to BLANCO Company by a Contracting Officer on May 1, 2017. Company XYZ (and only Company XYZ) may claim credit for the relevant experience project under Contract Number 12345 from the date of award through April 30, 2017, and BLANCO Company (and only BLANCO company) can claim credit for the relevant experience project under Contract Number 12345 from and after May 1, 2017.

L.3.3. Inverted Domestic Corporations

Inverted Domestic Corporations are not eligible for award under this solicitation.

“Inverted Domestic Corporation”, as defined in FAR 52.209-10, means a foreign incorporated entity which is treated as an inverted domestic corporation under 6 U.S.C. 395(b), i.e., a corporation that used to be incorporated in the United States, or used to be a partnership in the United States, but now is incorporated in a foreign country, or is a subsidiary whose parent corporation is incorporated in a foreign country, that meets the criteria specified in 6 U.S.C. 395(b), applied in accordance with the rules and definitions of 6 U.S.C. 395(c). An inverted domestic corporation as herein defined does not meet the definition of an inverted domestic corporation as defined by the Internal Revenue Code at 26 U.S.C. 7874.

L.3.4. Proposal Due Date

PROPOSALS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN XXX; 4:00 P.M., CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT).

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the ASTRO Symphony Portal. This portal is accessible at: (LINK TO BE PROVIDED)

L.3.5. Solicitation Questions

The ASTRO CO is the sole point of contact for all questions under this solicitation. Offerors shall submit all questions via the ASTRO Symphony Portal. The Offeror must include the company name and solicitation number in the subject line of the question. The question(s) must include the page number, section number, and paragraph number that pertains to the Offeror‘s question(s).

Questions not submitted via the ASTRO Symphony Portal will not be answered. Questions can be submitted any time after the solicitation is posted at http://www.beta.SAM.gov; however, all questions must be received no later than XXX; 4:00 P.M., CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT)

Questions will be answered under an amendment to the solicitation posted at http://www.beta.SAM.gov prior to the solicitation closing date. Questions received after 4:00 P.M. CDT on XXX will only be answered at the discretion of the ASTRO CO by amendment to the solicitation posted at http://www.beta.SAM.gov prior to the solicitation closing date.

Questions regarding Symphony (e.g., access, system issues, and upload issues) must be submitted by TIME AND DATE These questions must be submitted through Symphony via the Symphony helpdesk at client.support@apexlogic.com. If an Offeror is having issues submitting its question, the Offeror must contact the helpdesk. The helpdesk is only obligated to respond to tickets that are received 36 hours in advance of the closing of the deadline to submit questions. Any questions regarding Symphony submitted after this deadline, or through any means other Symphony, will not be considered by the Government. The Offeror is solely responsible for an Offeror’s inability to submit a proposal due to issues with Symphony that were not submitted to the Symphony helpdesk prior to TIME AND DATE.

Acknowledgement of receipt of questions will not be made. Please thoroughly review the entire solicitation, including all the attachments in Section J, prior to submitting questions.

L.4. PROPOSAL FORMAT

The Offeror’s proposal shall be formatted into Six (6) separate electronic folders by Volume Number and Title as follows:

· Volume 1 – General

· Volume 2 – Responsibility

· Volume 3 – Relevant Experience (unique to each Pool)

· Volume 4 – Past Performance (unique to each Pool)

· Volume 5 – Other Business Factors (unique to each Pool)

· Volume 6 – Cost/Price

Offerors shall provide all documentation and proposal contents via the ASTRO Symphony Portal.

No paper version of your proposal shall be submitted.

It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the electronic files submitted are virus free and can be opened and read by the government. Proposal submissions shall not be locked, encrypted, or otherwise contain barriers to opening.

All proposal documents shall be in Adobe (.pdf) format except for the Cost/Price Template in Section J.6., Attachment (6). The Cost/Price Template shall be in Microsoft Office Excel - format.

L.5. PROPOSAL CONTENT

Except for allowances provided in Section L.5.1.7. , all projects and past performance submitted in response to this solicitation shall have been performed as a Prime Contractor. “Prime” Contractor means the Contractor has privity-of-contract with the Government for all contractual obligations under a mutually binding legal relationship with the Government. In other words, when the Government awards a Contract to a Contractor, the Contractor is considered the “Prime” Contractor. For example, “Prime” Contractors are identified as such on the cover page of contracts or task orders such as:

· Standard Form (SF) 1449 – Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items – (Block 17a identifies the Prime Contractor)

· SF 26 – Award/Contract – (Block 7 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· SF 33 – Solicitation, Offer, and Award – (Block 15A identifies the Prime Contractor)

· Department of Defense (DD) 1155 – Order for Supplies or Services (Block 9 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· Optional Form 307 – Contract Award (Block 7 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· GSA Form 300 – Order for Supplies and Services (Block 6 identifies the Prime Contractor)

When a Prime Contractor awards a contract to a Contractor, the Contractor is considered a “Subcontractor”. Any evaluation element for which an Offeror was identified as a “Subcontractor” will be rejected.

OTA Awards issued under Other Transaction Authority (OTAs) are considered prime contracts, provided the Offeror can submit OTA documentation to clearly demonstrate that the requirements and/or evaluation points claimed for that specific area are met. If the following elements are not clearly demonstrated in the OTA documentation (e.g., the OTA was operated through a consortium), the Offeror must submit in its proposal a letter from the warranted Contracting Officer responsible for the OTA to demonstrate:

1. That the Offeror performing under the OTA has privity-of-contract with the Government.

2. That the Government was responsible for selecting the awardee of such an OTA.

L.5.1. VOLUME 1 – GENERAL

To be eligible for award, the Offeror must adhere to the directions and submit the following information under Volume 1 – General through the Symphony portal.

L.5.1.1. Standard Form (SF) 33

“Offeror” means the official legal bidding entity identified in Block 15A on the Standard Form (SF) 33, Solicitation, Offer and Award.

Using the SF 33 form, Solicitation, Offer and Award, posted as page 1 of the solicitation in http://www.fbo.gov, the Offeror shall fill out blocks 12 through blocks 18 accordingly;

1. The Government requires a minimum acceptance period of not less than 365 calendar days. The Offeror shall complete Block 12 of each SF 33 submitted with full cognizance of the minimum acceptance period of 365 calendar days. "Acceptance Period” means the number of calendar days available to the Government for awarding a Contract from the date specified in this solicitation for receipt of your offer. Your offer may only specify a longer acceptance period than the Government's minimum requirement

2. If any amendments to the solicitation are issued, the Offeror must acknowledge each amendment number and date in Block 14 of the SF 33

3. The Offeror’s Legal Name and Address in Block 15A on the SF33 must match the information for the Offeror in SAM.GOV at http://www.sam.gov, including the corresponding Commercial and Government Agency (CAGE) Code Number and Data Universal Numbering Systems (DUNS) Number (Note: the address listed in Block 15A will be the official mailing address used by the Government for letter correspondence, if necessary)

4. The Name, Title, Signature and Date identified in Block 16, 17, 18, must be an authorized representative with authority to commit the Offeror to contractual obligations

L.5.1.2. Certification

The Offeror is instructed to complete Section I - Background; Section II - Certification, and Section III - Authorized Signature, using the ASTRO Symphony Portal.

L.5.1.3. Professional Employee Compensation Plan

The Government is concerned with the quality and stability of the work force to be employed on this contract. Professional compensation that is unrealistically low or not in reasonable relationship to the various job categories may impair the Contractor’s ability to attract and retain competent professional service employees or may be viewed as evidence of failure to comprehend the complexity of future task order requirements.

Task orders under this contract may be subject to FAR 52.222-46, Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees.

For the ASTRO MA-IDIQ, the Offeror shall submit a Professional Employee Compensation Plan that addresses the Offeror’s methodology for determining salaries and fringe benefits for their professional employees in preparation of future task order requirements under the ASTRO MA-IDIQ.

The professional employee compensation plan will be incorporated by reference into any resulting ASTRO MA-IDIQ.

L.5.1.4. Uncompensated Overtime Policy

“Uncompensated overtime” means the hours worked without additional compensation in excess of an average of 40 hours per week by direct charge employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. Compensated personal absences such as holidays, vacations, and sick leave shall be included in the normal work week for purposes of computing uncompensated overtime hours.

Task Orders may be subject to FAR 52.237-10, Identification of Uncompensated Overtime when services to be required are on the basis of the number of hours to be provided.

For the ASTRO MA-IDIQ, the Offeror shall submit their policy for addressing uncompensated overtime consistent with its cost accounting practices used to accumulate and report uncompensated overtime hours in preparation of future task order requirements under this contract.

The uncompensated overtime policy will be incorporated by reference into any resulting ASTRO MA-IDIQ.

L.5.1.5. Modified Pre-Award Survey (SF 1408)

The Offeror shall answer questions, using the template provided in Section J.3, Attachment (3) titled, “MODIFIED PRE-AWARD SURVEY (SF 1408)”. No other format or additional proposal documentation will be considered. There are no page limitations to the template or support documentation.

The template must be signed by the individual responsible for the design of the Offeror’s Accounting System.

If an Offeror’s Accounting System has been audited by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), CPA/Consultant, or other Cognizant Federal Agency other than DCAA, the Offeror must provide their most current audit of their Accounting System or whatever documentation the Offeror has regarding DCAA review of their accounting system.

If an Offeror’s Accounting System has been audited by DCAA within the past 1 year prior to this solicitation closing date and DCAA determined the Accounting System acceptable for award of prospective contracts and there have been no changes to the Accounting System since the last DCAA audit, the Offeror is not required to answer Questions 3 through 21; otherwise, the Offeror must answer all 21 questions.

In addition to the Offeror’s Representations and Certifications in Section K regarding the provisions of FAR 52.230-1 and 52.230-7, the Offeror must answer Questions 2 through 2.C. regardless if the Offeror is not subject to CAS. If the answer to Question 2 is “YES”, the Offeror must attach their most recent audit reports regarding all CAS compliance or non-compliance issues to the Modified Pre-Award Survey (SF 1408) template.

CAUTION: If the answer to Question 6 is “NO”, (Is your organization’s Accounting System ready for a DCAA audit?), the Offeror may be ineligible for award.

The Offeror must not contact DCAA in regards to this solicitation. The Offeror does not need a DCAA audit prior to the solicitation closing date, but must have an acceptable accounting system ready for DCAA audit. For apparent successful Offerors, GSA will provide DCAA the Modified Pre-Award Survey (SF 1408) document and the Offeror’s support documentation. DCAA will schedule audits of the Offeror’s Accounting System, if necessary, prior to award.

For further information, please review Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Manual No. 7641.90, Information for Contractors, dated June 26, 2012, located at http://www.dcaa.mil/DCAAM_7641.90.pdf.

L.5.1.6. Meaningful Relationship Commitment Letters, if applicable

Within a corporate structure, an Offeror may utilize resources from a Parent Company, Affiliate, Division, and/or Subsidiary. GSA will allow an Offeror to take credit for any evaluation element, including relevant experience project(s), system(s), or certification(s) from a Parent Company, Affiliate, Division, and/or Subsidiary so long as there is a meaningful relationship to the Offeror and commitment letters are provided to the Government.

Outside a corporate structure, such as a “Subcontractor” performance under a “Prime” Contractor, GSA will not allow an Offeror to take credit for any evaluation element, including relevant experience project(s), system(s), or certification(s) as a “Subcontractor” in accordance with the following definition. “Prime” Contractor means the Contractor has privity-of-contract with the Government for all contractual obligations under a mutually binding legal relationship with the Government. In other words, when the Government awards a Contract to a Contractor, the Contractor is considered the “Prime” Contractor. For example, “Prime” Contractors are identified as such on the cover page of contracts or task orders such as:

· Standard Form (SF) 1449 – Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items – (Block 17a identifies the Prime Contractor)

· SF 26 – Award/Contract – (Block 7 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· SF 33 – Solicitation, Offer, and Award – (Block 15A identifies the Prime Contractor)

· Department of Defense (DD) 1155 – Order for Supplies or Services (Block 9 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· Optional Form 307 – Contract Award (Block 7 identifies the Prime Contractor)

· GSA Form 300 – Order for Supplies and Services (Block 6 identifies the Prime Contractor)

When a Prime Contractor awards a contract to a Contractor, the Contractor is considered a “Subcontractor”. Any evaluation element under Section L.5., Volume 1 through 6, for which an Offeror was identified as a “Subcontractor” will be rejected.

“Affiliates” are business concerns that are affiliates of each other if, directly or indirectly, either one controls or has the power to control the other, or another concern controls or has the power to control both.

“Division” is a separate business unit of a company representing a specific business function.

“Subsidiary” means an entity in which more than 50 percent of the entity is owned directly by a parent corporation; or through another subsidiary of a parent corporation.

For the purposes of ASTRO, a “meaningful relationship” exists within a corporate structure when at least one of the following conditions exists:

· An entity is a wholly owned subsidiary of a parent organization

· An entity is a parent of a wholly owned subsidiary

· An entity operates under a single internal operational unit

· An entity operates under a consolidated accounting system

· An entity operates under a consolidated purchasing system

· An entity operates under a consolidated human resources or personnel system

· An entity operates under common policy and corporate guidelines

· Operating structure between the entities includes internal organizational reporting lines and management chains for “lines of business” that operate across the formal corporate subsidiaries

When an Offeror is sharing resources from other entities by way of a Meaningful Relationship within a Corporate Structure, only one Offer (e.g., proposal) from that Corporate Structure shall be submitted.

For each meaningful relationship identified for ASTRO proposal elements, the Offeror must provide a Meaningful Relationship Commitment Letter that includes the following:

1. Clear and legal identification of the meaningful relationship between the Offeror and entity identified.

2. A statement of commitment as to the performance and utilization of the identified entity’s resources on ASTRO task orders.

3. Each applicable proposal element must be clearly and specifically identified

4. Signatures of both the Offeror and Meaningful Relationship Entity.

In the event that a parent organization has complete and full control over all meaningful relationship entities, the parent entity may prepare a single Meaningful Relationship Commitment Letter that identifies all elements required above.

For example, if ABC Inc. is the official legal bidding entity and ABC Inc. is taking credit for their subsidiary, Best R&D L.L.C.’s DCMA approved “Purchasing System”; ABC Inc. must show how ASTRO task orders will be processed through Best R&D L.L.C.’s Purchasing System. Furthermore, ABC Inc. must submit a “commitment letter”, between ABC Inc. and Best R&D L.L.C. that they will, in fact, process ABC Inc.’s ASTRO task orders through Best R&D L.L.C’s Purchasing System. This example applies to all the proposal submission documents that involve resources/experience from other than the official legal bidding entity.

Meaningful relationship commitment letters will be incorporated by reference into any resulting contract award.

L.5.1.7. Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA), if applicable

“Contractor Team Arrangement” means an arrangement in which two or more companies form a Partnership or Joint Venture to act as a potential Prime Contractor (See FAR 9.601(1)); or, a potential Prime Contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as its Subcontractors under a specified Government contract or acquisition program (See FAR 9.601(2). For the purposes of submitting an Offer under this solicitation, CTAs of both varieties are allowable in accordance with the following paragraphs.

An Offeror may submit a proposal under a CTA in the form of a Partnership or Joint Venture only if the Partnership or Joint Venture has a corresponding DUNS Number in SAM.GOV and all the proposal submission documents are in the name of the Partnership, the Joint Venture, or the individual members of the Partnership or Joint Venture. However, any proposal submission requirements associated with scoring points that are provided must be in the name of the CTA or else the points allotted for those scoring aspects shall be considered “Non-Prime”. See applicable scoring charts for point allotments.(Section M)

For example purposes, A Company, B Company, and C Company formed a Joint Venture called, ABC Incorporated. A relevant experience project in the name of ABC Incorporated will be scored as a prime. A relevant experience project in the name of Company A only, is allowable, but will be scored as a non-prime.

Offerors who are CTA may submit a proposal under this solicitation subject to the following conditions:

1. The CTA is registered in SAM.GOV and has a corresponding DUNS Number

2. The CTA fills out and submits the Representations and Certifications in Section K

3. The CTA, or the individual team members, must represent all proposal submission documents required under Section L.5., including all Relevant Experience, Past Performance, and Other Business Factors, as applicable, under this solicitation

4. The Offeror must submit a complete copy of the Joint Venture or Partnership agreement that established the CTA relationship, disclosing the legal identity of each team member of the Joint Venture or Partnership, the relationship between the team members, the form of ownership of each team member, any limitations on liability or authority for each team member, and a specific statement of what resources each team member provides the teaming agreement. In addition, the Joint Venture or Partnership must:

a. Clearly identify the entities which make up the Joint Venture or Partnership relationship, including disclosure of the primary point of contact for each of the members of the team

b. Disclose whether or not the Joint Venture or Partnership designates a particular entity as the “team lead,” and if so, the Joint Venture or Partnership must clearly explain the specific duties/responsibilities of the “team lead” to the other members of the team and to the Government

c. Describe the specific duties/responsibilities of each member of the team as they relate to each other and explain the specific duties/responsibilities that each team member will have for purposes of contract performance under ASTRO and meeting the performance standards in Section F.4.

d. Address the circumstances and procedures for replacement of team members, including the team lead, and whether or not the approval of the Government is required prior to replacing any team members

e. Address the duration of the Joint Venture or Partnership, including when it became effective, when it expires, and the basis for termination.

Failure to provide the Government with the requested documentation establishing the CTA relationship shall result in the Offer being rejected as being non-conforming.

L.5.1.8. Pool Selection

Within the Symphony portal, Offerors shall select the Pools they wish to compete for.

L.5.1.9. Self Scoring

Within the Symphony portal, Offerors shall identify the scoring criteria they wish to claim credit for. The Symphony portal will provide a private dashboard that will provide your score total in real time as you claim credit for each scoring element for each Pool. The portal will also create a self-score report for each Pool being applied for.

L.5.1.10. Bootstrap Bonus

Offerors who are less than 10 times the applicable small business size standard (whether dollar based or employee based) will receive bonus points based upon their total score for a given Pool. See Section M.6. Scoring Table.

For example: If an Offeror applied for the Data Operations Pool and had a 3-year average annual revenue between $132 Million and $165 Million, that Offeror would receive a 15% bonus to their total evaluated score for Pool 3. So if the total evaluated score of the Offeror was 9,000 points, the final score of the Offeror would be 10,350 points (9,000 times 1.15).

L.5.2. VOLUME 2 – RESPONSIBILITY

To be eligible for award, the Offeror must follow the directions and submit the following information under Volume 2 – Responsibility.

In accordance with FAR Part 9, Offerors that are not deemed responsible will not be considered for award. A satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics is required.

In making the determination of responsibility, information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), the Offeror’s Representations and Certifications (Section K), the Offeror’s qualification and financial information (GSA Form 527), and any other pertinent data will be considered.

L.5.2.1. Financial Resources

To be determined responsible, a prospective Contractor must have adequate financial resources to perform the contract, or the ability to obtain them.

The Offeror shall complete and submit a GSA Form 527, Contractor’s Qualification and Financial Information, located at www.gsa.gov/forms. If the fill in portion of the form does not accommodate your information, please manually write in the required information. All forms must be signed by an authorized official at the bottom of page 6.

The following instructions are provided for the GSA Form 527 and attachments.

NOTE: The ASTRO PMO will provide the information to GSA financial analysts who may contact an Offeror after their initial financial review for clarification or additional information, if necessary.

Section I – General Information

· Complete all applicable sections

· Block 1A: This is the full name of the legal bidding entity that will be signing the contract with GSA as submitted on the SF Form 33

· Block 6: This is asking whether the legal bidding entity uses a DBA, trade name, fictitious name trademark, etc, for business purposes.

· Block 13: Non-disclosure of this information is a more significant negative factor than not reporting the items listed.

Section II - Government Financial Aid and Indebtedness

· Please complete all applicable sections.

· You must answer 14A, 14B, 15A and 16.

Section III – Financial Statements and Section IV Income Statements

· Block 18: Check “No”.

· Block 20: Check the applicable boxes to show whether the figures are in "Actual", “Thousands” or “Millions.”

· Blocks 24-28: Submit the last full fiscal year statement and subsequent interim statements. You must attach the financial and interim statements rather than write the figures on the GSA Form 527 – Page 2. Make sure that the full name of the legal bidding entity or parent is in the heading of the financial statements. In addition, the completed Balance Sheet dates and the complete dates of the period covered by the Income Statement must correspond to the Offeror’s fiscal year cycle.

· *NOTE: To those who use Quickbooks software* The Income Statement defaults to a month/year format for all versions of this software that precedes 2009. The complete dates of the period covered by the Income Statement must be submitted (i.e. January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013). In addition, the older versions show an account called "Opening Bal Equity" in the Balance Sheet's Equity section. Please determine what accounts those funds belong in and transfer them to the correct account.

Section V – Banking and Finance Company Information

· Please complete all applicable sections; however, if your company has a prepared list of bank and trade references, you may attach it to the GSA Form 527 instead of completing this section.

Section VI – Principal Merchandise or Raw Material Supplier Information

· Leave this Section Blank

Section VII – Construction/Service Contracts Information

· Leave this Section Blank

Section VIII – Remarks

· Provide remarks as applicable.

Certification

· The Name of Business must correspond to the official legal bidding entity on the SF 33

· Provide Name, Title, Signature, and Date of Authorized Official.

L.5.2.2. Representations and Certifications

The Offeror shall complete and submit all Representations and Certifications in accordance with the instructions in Section K.

L.5.3. VOLUME 3 – RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

As the scoring and requirements are different for each Pool, a separate Volume 3 shall be submitted for each Pool being applied for.

L.5.3.1. Volume 3 for Data Operations Pool

Relevant Experience is tied solely to the FOUR (4) projects submitted under this section. The Offeror shall document and attach verification documents through the ASTRO Symphony Portal. NOTE: The Offeror must substantiate all the information by providing enough evidence within a contract or task order document or other verifiable contractual documents to support each answer.

L.5.3.1.1. Relevant Experience Projects

A Relevant Experience project is defined as a single contract; or, a single task order placed under a master Single Award or Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract (FAR 16.501-1); or a single task order placed under a Federal Supply Schedule (FAR 8.405-2), or, a single task order placed under a master Single Award or Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)(FAR 8.405-3 or FAR 13.303). Relevant Experience projects may also be awards issued in accordance with Section L.5, via an OTA pursuant to the authority of 51 U.S.C. § 20113(e), 10 U.S.C. § 2371, 42 U.S.C. § 7256, 42 U.S.C. § 247-7e, 6 U.S.C. § 391, 49 U.S.C. § 5312, 49 U.S.C. § 106(l), 49 U.S.C. § 114(m), 6 U.S.C. § 596, 42 U.S.C. § 16538, 42 U.S.C. § 285b-3, 42 U.S.C. § 284n, or 42 U.S.C. § 287a.

Any combination of U.S. Federal Government, U.S. State Government, International Government, International Public Sector, and Non-Government/Commercial projects can be submitted. Note: A Subcontract under a U.S. Federal or State Government Prime Contract is not considered a “Commercial” project and will be rejected if submitted as a Commercial project.

The Offeror may submit up to Four (4) distinct Relevant Experience Projects that meet the following minimum conditions:

· Each Relevant Experience Project must be ongoing or have been completed within the past 5 years. Each project must have at least six months of performance.

· Each Relevant Experience Project must have a scope of work that matches the functional definition of the Pool. (See definitions at Section L.2.3.)

L.5.3.1.2. Additional Points for Relevant Experience Projects

For each of the Four (4) projects submitted as relevant experience projects in accordance with Section L.5.3.1., the Offeror will be rated more favorably for the following Sections L.5.3.1.2.1. through L.5.3.1.2.7. See Section M.6. Scoring Table.

L.5.3.1.2.1. Relevant Experience Project Value

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the total value meets or exceeds the following:

· Total Value of the project is between $25 Million and $50 Million, including options.

· Total Value of the project is between $50 Million and $100 Million, including options.

· Total Value of the project is between $100 Million and $250 Million, including options.

· Total Value of the project is over $250 Million, including options.

L.5.3.1.2.2. Relevant Experience Project with Multiple Locations

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the project involves performance in multiple locations as follows:

· Project performed in at least 2 and up to 4 different locations;

· Project performed in 5 or more different locations For each relevant experience (primary) project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points in accordance with Section M.6., Scoring Table, if the project involves performance in multiple locations as follows:

1. Project performed in at least 2 and up to 4 different locations;

2. Project performed in 5 or more different locations

For the purposes of determining “different” locations, the Department of Labor (DoL), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for Occupational Employment Statistics will be used. The DOL BLS currently maintains 375 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), 34 metropolitan divisions, and over 170 nonmetropolitan areas. MSAs consist of one or more counties (or towns and cities in New England) and contain a core area with a substantial population which has a high degree of economic and social integration with the surrounding areas; also, a MSA must have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants. Certain MSAs have subdivisions called metropolitan divisions.

Within CONUS, the May 2012 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Definitions spreadsheet located at (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.htm) will determine the number of locations a project covers, specifically the MSA Code under Column C only. For example, Column C indicates Birmingham-Hoover Alabama area with an MSA Code of 13820. The project involves work in two counties (Bibb and Blount). Since Bibb and Blount counties are within the same MSA code of 13820, this project is considered One (1) location. Another example, the project involves work in Birmingham-Hoover Alabama and Decatur Alabama. Since Birmingham-Hoover and Decatur are not within the same MSA code (13820 and 19460), this project is considered Two (2) locations. Anything OCONUS will be considered a single location at the Metropolitan city level.

Travel Duty (TDY) assignments for contract employees do not count for any location. All performance locations must be supported and verifiable through contract documentation.

L.5.3.1.2.3. Relevant Experience Project with Subcontracting/Teaming

For each relevant experience (primary) project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the project involves Subcontracting/Teaming for services with at least 4 separate entities. For the purposes of this evaluation, a “separate entity” is defined as a business entity that does not have a meaningful relationship with the Offeror. See Section M.6., Scoring Table.

L.5.3.1.2.4. Relevant Experience Project with Cost-Reimbursement (any type)

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the contract type for labor is Cost-Reimbursement, including any of the Cost type definitions under FAR Subpart 16.3.

L.5.3.1.2.5. Relevant Experience Project with OCONUS Locations

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the projects involve work at a location Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS).

L.5.3.1.2.6. Multiple Domains

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the projects involve the scope of multiple domains (as identified in Section C.2.)

L.5.3.1.2.7. Functional Factors

For each relevant experience project submitted, the Offeror will receive additional points if the projects involve the following functional factors:

· Data operations as a service

· ISR Services

· Monitoring of Illegal Activity

· Data Analysis

· Mapping Services

· Investigative Support

· Inspection Services

L.5.3.2. Volume 3 for Missions Operations Pool

Relevant Experience is tied solely to the FOUR (4) projects submitted under this section. The Offeror shall document and attach verification documents through the ASTRO Symphony Portal. NOTE: The Offeror must substantiate all the information by providing enough evidence within a contract or task order document or other verifiable contractual documents to support each answer.

L.5.3.2.1. Pass/Fail Requirements for Relevant Experience Projects

A Relevant Experience project is defined as a single contract; or, a single task order placed under a master Single Award or Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract (FAR 16.501-1); or a single task order placed under a Federal Supply Schedule (FAR 8.405-2), or, a single task order placed under a master Single Award or Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)(FAR 8.405-3 or FAR 13.303). Relevant Experience projects may also be awards issued in accordance with Section L.5, via an OTA pursuant to the authority of 51 U.S.C. § 20113(e), 10 U.S.C. § 2371, 42 U.S.C. § 7256, 42 U.S.C. § 247-7e, 6 U.S.C. § 391, 49 U.S.C. § 5312, 49 U.S.C. § 106(l), 49 U.S.C. § 114(m), 6 U.S.C. § 596, 42 U.S.C. § 16538, 42 U.S.C. § 285b-3, 42 U.S.C. § 284n, or 42 U.S.C. § 287a.

Any combination of U.S. Federal Government, U.S. State Government, International Government, International Public Sector, and Non-Government/Commercial projects can be submitted. Note: A Subcontract under a U.S. Federal or State Government Prime Contract is not considered a “Commercial” project and will be rejected if submitted as a Commercial project.

The Offeror may submit up to Four (4) distinct Relevant Experience Projects that meet the following minimum conditions:

· Each Relevant Experience Project must be ongoing or have been completed within the past 5 years. Each project must have at least one year of performance.

· Each Relevant…