Attachment 1_Instructions to Offerors_24R0006_1MAR24.pdf

W81K0024R0006

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Products and Commercial Services

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1

This solicitation is being solicited as an 8(a) set-aside. A concern must be certified as an 8(a) participant in order to be awarded an 8(a)-set-aside contract. The procuring agency will request an eligibility determination of the identified apparent successful offeror. The Small Business Administration (SBA) will verify that the nominee(s) meets the social disadvantage requirement in connection with the contract eligibility determination.

Award will be made using the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection process.

Award will be made to a responsible offeror on the basis of the lowest price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors. Award may be made without discussions with offerors (except communications conducted for the purpose of minor clarification). Therefore, each offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a technical capability, compensation plan, past performance, and price standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is later determined by the contracting officer to be necessary.

The deadline for questions is on 8 March 2024, 2:00 PM, Central Standard Time. All questions shall be submitted in writing to rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil and cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil. No questions will be entertained after this date.

Do NOT submit multiple emails for questions. Answers to vendor questions will be posted to SAM.gov.

Offers received after the deadline will be considered untimely and will not be eligible for award. Offers shall be submitted via e-mail to rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil and cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil by the date and time established in block 8 of the SF 1449 (Central Standard Time).

Note: Only electronic (e-mail) proposals will be accepted. Offers submitted by any other method are unacceptable. Each volume shall be submitted as a separate file, with the files names clearly identifying the volume number and contractor’s name. Pricing shall be submitted on the Excel spreadsheet attached to the solicitation (Attachment 2), renamed with the same naming convention. A .pdf of pricing is not required. Pricing information shall be included in Volume V – Pricing only and shall not be included or summarized in any other volume. The proposal shall not contain any extraneous information such as advertisements or marketing information.

Files larger than 20MB may need to be transmitted in separate emails. All emails, regardless of size, need to be received by the Government server, by the stated submission deadline. The Government will not be responsible for any failure of transmission or receipt of the proposal, or any failure of the Offeror to verify receipt of the emailed proposal. All proposals submitted after the deadline will be considered untimely and ineligible for award.

Potential contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for award. The SAM website is http://www.sam.gov.

The proposal shall be clear, concise and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiation of the validity of stated claims. Responses to this solicitation shall strictly adhere to the requirements set forth in the solicitation. Submissions that do not adhere to format and content requirements will be considered non-complaint. The Government reserves the right to eliminate any such proposals from consideration for award.

mailto:rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil mailto:cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil mailto:cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil mailto:rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil mailto:cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil mailto:cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil http://www.sam.gov/

NOTE: All volumes shall be formatted as single-spaced, letter sized, with a 0.75” or 1” margin all around.

Font shall be Times New Roman, 10- or 12-point font (smaller fonts may be used in headers, footers, graphs, charts, tables, and notes provided the type is legible). Page limitations are detailed in the sections below. Pages in excess of the maximums stated will not be reviewed.

The proposal shall be prepared in five (5) separate volumes as follows.

• Volume I – Administrative

• Volume II – Technical Capability (inclusive of subfactors)

• Volume III –Compensation plans

• Volume IV – Past Performance

• Volume V – Pricing

VOLUME TITLE

DIGITAL

ELECTRONIC COPIES PAGE LIMIT

I Administrative MS Word or PDF N/A II Technical Capability MS Word or PDF 20 III Compensation Plans Excel N/A IV Past Performance MS Word 3 pages per PPI V Pricing Excel N/A

VOLUME I – ADMINISTRATIVE

Volume I – Administrative shall include the following:

1. A summary or title page identifying the Offeror, the full address, phone, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), CAGE code, point(s) of contact (POC(s)) of the Offeror, and the solicitation number. Offeror shall include a statement that the Offeror agrees to hold the offered prices firm for 180 calendar days after the proposal closing date.

2. For Offerors proposing as an 8(a) Joint Venture (JV), the JV must be separately identified with its own name, UEI number, and CAGE code in the SAM and designate the entity type as a JV, with individual partners listed as the immediate owners. In addition, Offerors shall include the UEI number, and CAGE number for the individual partners that make up the JV.

3. A summary identifying any proposed teaming partners or subcontractors. At a minimum the summary shall include the role and percentage of work proposed to be performed by the teaming partner or subcontractor. (Page limit: 2 pages)

4. A completed copy of PAGE 1 ONLY of the SF 1449 and any amendments to the solicitation, if any are issued, with the signature of a corporate officer authorized to negotiate for the company. Electronic signature is acceptable. Do not include the entire SF 1449.

5. Representations and Certifications. Offerors shall be registered in the SAM with the appropriate NAICS Code (561210) and shall not have any Active Exclusions listed within SAM. If the Offeror is currently registered in SAM with completed representations and certifications, an affirmation on the title page (or separate page) that these representations and certificates are current, complete, and accurate as of the date proposals are due shall suffice. Otherwise, the Offeror shall complete and include with its proposal one (1) copy of the following provisions located within the solicitation: FAR Provision 52.212- 3, Offeror Representations and Certifications, Alternate I; FAR Provision 52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters; plus any other provisions herein. A small business joint venture offeror must submit, with its offer, the representation required in paragraph (c) of FAR solicitation provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and paragraph (c) of FAR solicitation provision 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations, in accordance with 52.212-3(b) for the following categories: (A) Small business; (B) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business; (C) Women-owned small business (WOSB) under the WOSB Program;

(D) Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business under the WOSB Program; or (E) Historically underutilized business zone small business. (Page limit: 1 page if registered in SAM;

unlimited pages if including provisions.)

VOLUME II – FACTOR 1 – TECHNICAL CAPABILITY (INCLUSIVE OF SUBFACTORS)

FACTOR 1. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY: Technical proposal shall be addressed in sufficient written detail for the Government to determine if the offeror understands this aspect of the Government’s requirement. Statements that the offeror understands, can or will comply with all specifications, or statements paraphrasing the specifications of parts thereof, or phrases such as “standard procedures will be used” or “well-known techniques will be used” will be considered unacceptable. Insufficient explanations may result in your offer receiving an UNACCEPTABLE rating. The technical proposal (to include addressing all subfactors) shall not exceed 20 pages. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. Pages in excess of the above limitations will be removed and disregarded during the evaluation. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Use at least one-inch margins on all four sides of the printed page. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume.

Subfactor 1A. Performance Work Statement (PWS) Compliance. Explain how your firm intends to satisfy the minimum requirements of the Performance Work Statement. Paragraph 1.5 (Hours of Performance), Paragraph 1.10 (Qualifications, Experience, Education, Certification), and Part 5 (Specific Tasks) shall be addressed in detail. Address each paragraph number and identify each response in the order listed in Paragraph 1.5, Paragraph 1.10 and Part 5 (ex: PWS

1.5 (offeror’s response), PWS 1.10 (offeror’s response) etc). All offerors must provide specific evidence that they are capable of fulfilling the requirement. Specific evidence must reflect a thorough understanding of the Performance Work Statement and describe how the offeror will fulfill requirements of the PWS. Failure to address any paragraph and section of the PWS Part 1.5, 1.10 and Part 5 will make your proposal technically unacceptable.

Subfactor 1B. Recruitment and Retention Plan. Describe your recruitment and retention plan, the methods you will use to recruit qualified and competent personnel to ensure the logistical support services commence on the date set forth in the solicitation and throughout the life of the contract. Include an explanation of incentive programs, also explain how your company provides timely information to contractor employees on subjects such as employee benefits, employee programs, and contract performance.

VOLUME III – FACTOR 2 – COMPENSATION PLAN

FACTOR 2. COMPENSATION PLAN: Offerors shall submit a complete Total Compensation Plan setting forth salaries and fringe benefits for each specialty identified in this solicitation. Offerors shall breakout the total compensation hourly rates (Base Rate + Fringe = Total Compensation Hourly Rate) for the base period and each option period. Attachment 3 is hereby provided to assist Offerors in how to breakout the Base Rate + Fringe to equal the Total Compensation Hourly Rate. The offeror must demonstrate that its compensation plans is adequate to recruit and retain personnel and ensure uninterrupted performance of services throughout the life of the contract. A Compensation Plan shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel format with all formulas intact.

To ensure the offerors proposals are compliant with all applicable laws and regulations to include the Service Contact Labor Standards, the Service Contract Act Wage Determination 2015-5253 Rev 21 dated 07/12/2023 is provided as attachment 4 of the solicitation. Labor categories subject to the SCA WD shall be annotated and include the occupation code utilized.

In the event of hiring independent contractors and or subcontractors, a separate Compensation Plan from the independent contractor and or subcontractor will NOT be required. Rather, independent /subcontractor data shall be rolled-up into the prime contractor’s Compensation Plan. Offerors shall provide an explanation of how the independent contractors and or subcontractors will be compensated, and that the proposal is compliant with subcontracting limitations.

VOLUME IV – FACTOR 3 – PAST PERFORMANCE

FACTOR 3. PAST PERFORMANCE: The Offeror shall submit with its proposal evidence of recent (to be recent, the effort must be ongoing or must have been performed within the past three (3) years from the closing date of this solicitation) and relevant past performance under which YOUR company (the Offeror) provided the same or similar services with similar magnitude and scope of the solicited requirement in the public and/or private sector. To demonstrate the Offerors has successfully managed a stand-alone contract/task order comparable to the magnitude, scope and complexity as this solicitation, the Government will consider Relevant past performance if the offeror has managed over 75 full time equivalent positions on one requirement in a Federal Government environment, public and/or private sector. Performance must have been by the Offeror (not by a subsidiary or sister company) either as the prime contractor or subcontractor. Past performance reference projects performed by a proposed teaming partner, or a proposed subcontractor will only be considered if the Offeror submits at least one recent and relevant past performance project that the Offeror has performed as a prime. For a description of the characteristics or aspects the Government will consider in determining recency and relevancy, see the Evaluation Criteria for Factor 3 – Past Performance in the Addendum to 52.212-2. Offerors shall submit with its proposal consent letters executed by each subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner, authorizing the release of past performance information.

• Offerors shall complete and provide the Past Performance Information (PPI) Sheet (Attachment

6) on three (3) task orders or stand-alone contracts/purchase orders that are current/ongoing and/or the Offeror has completed within the past three (3) years from the closing date of this solicitation that the Offeror considers most relevant in demonstrating YOUR company’s (the Offeror’s) ability to perform the proposed effort. Offerors shall utilize the attachment provided and ensure all information is complete and accurate.

PPI shall include: company name, contract number, contract value, number of FTEs, labor categories, period of performance, point of contact name, email, phone number and the description of work. All references shall be residing in the United States and shall include relevant experience regarding logistical support services or equivalent services/positions with similar magnitude and scope of the solicited requirement in the public and/or private sector. Must submit in MS format.

• If the Task Order or Contract being submitted is an ordering type contractual vehicle (for example, including but not limited to an Indefinite Delivery “D” type contract per FAR 16.5 or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), only after issuance of a delivery/task order does performance occur. The Contract Number, Total Contract Dollar Value, Period of Performance, Type and Complexity of Services provided submitted shall be for the Task/Delivery Order the Offeror has performed under this ordering type contractual vehicle. Not the ordering vehicle itself or a combination of orders under the vehicle. The Government will not evaluate the PPI if the offeror fails to submit a specific delivery/task order or elects to submit a combination of delivery/task orders.

• Past Performance must be with the Department of Defense (DoD), other US Government departments or agencies, state and local governments and/or commercial/private sector clients. If the Offeror performed as a subcontractor on the reference project, the PPI shall explain what percentage and type of work that was performed by the Offeror as subcontractor.

• Each PPI is limited to 3 pages per project.

NOTE: Past performance reference projects performed by a proposed teaming partner or a proposed subcontractor will only be considered if: (1) the Offeror submits at least one recent and relevant past performance project that the Offeror has performed, as a prime; (2) the teaming partner or subcontractor is identified as a teaming partner or subcontractor in the administrative volume of the proposal, and (3) the role and percentage of work proposed to be performed by the teaming partner or subcontractor on the proposed requirement is detailed in the proposal. Items (2) and (3) shall be identified in the administrative volume.

• Provide a copy of the attached Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 7) to Government agencies and/or private sector companies requesting past performance information on applicable projects. Return the PPQ to the Medical Readiness Contracting Office - West, ATTN: rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil and cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil by the specified due date for receipt of offers.

• It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the reference submits the PPQ directly to the Contracting Office for consideration. The Government will not accept incomplete or late PPQs.

The PPQ shall reference the exact same projects detailed in the PPIs. Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) will also be accepted in lieu of PPQs. Offerors shall ensure CPARs are finalized and correspond to the list of references provided in this volume. CPARS shall have been completed within the past three (3) years from the closing date of this solicitation. Past Performance references may be contacted.

• The Government reserves the right to use both the information provided in the Offeror’s Past

Performance submittals and information obtained from other sources available to the Government, to include, but not limited to, the Contract Past Performance Assessment System (CPARS), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (eSRS), or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, Contracting Officers, and commercial sources and/or non-Government sources, such as any mailto:rosalba.martinez1.civ@health.mil mailto:cicely.d.simmons-carroll.civ@health.mil commercial business or customers referenced by the Offeror in any of the past performance information disclosed.

NOTE: If a PPQ was not received for any of the past performance references identified on the past performance information sheet, the Government may conduct interviews to validate performance/quality information. Any past performance reference that does not contain valid/current POC contact information or, if the POC provided cannot validate work identified on the project summary sheet, the past performance reference will not be evaluated.

VOLUME V – FACTOR 4 PRICE

FACTOR 4. PRICE: The Offeror shall submit proposed pricing for all contract line-item numbers identified in the solicitation on the Excel spreadsheet provided as Attachment 2. The Pricing Worksheet shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel format with all formulas intact. Offerors shall ensure the formulas and totals accurately reflect the pricing data proposed. Provide total pricing for the base period and each option period, as well as a grand total of the entire proposal. Cost and Pricing Data is not required under competitive and commercial acquisitions; however, if only one proposal is received - Other than Certified Cost or Pricing data may be required. The offeror is informed that Department of Labor Wage Determination is applicable to this requirement and provided at Attachment 4.

Note: No more than 2 decimal places are to be used.

Paragraph 52.212-1(m) is hereby added:

(m) The non-FAR Part 12 discretionary FAR and DFARS provisions included herein are incorporated into this solicitation either by reference or in full text. If incorporated by reference, see provision 52.252-1 herein for locations where full text can be found.

(End of Addendum)

52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Products and Commercial Services

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-2

The Government will review proposals received to determine if they are compliant to the solicitation requirements. A compliant proposal is one that meets all the terms, conditions and specifications in the solicitation. The Offeror must provide all documents listed and comply with all proposal instructions in order for their proposal to be considered “compliant” to this solicitation. Only compliant proposals will be evaluated for award.

Award may be made without discussions with Offerors (except communications conducted for the purpose of minor clarification). Except for communications conducted for the purpose of minor clarification, the Government intends to evaluate the proposal and award a contract without discussions.

Therefore, the proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a technical capability, compensation plan, past performance, and price standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

Paragraph (a) is hereby replaced with the following:

Award will be made using the lowest-price, technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection technique in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.101-2, as supplemented, to make a best value award decision. Technical tradeoffs are not allowed, and no additional credit will be given for exceeding acceptability. Award will be made to the acceptable 8(a) offeror with the lowest evaluated price, deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR, and whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements. The following evaluation process/factors will be used to evaluate offers:

Step 1: The government will initially list proposals from lowest to highest price.

Step 2: The government will evaluate Factor 1 - Technical Capability and Factor 2 - Compensation Plan of the three lowest priced proposals first.

Step 3: If at least one of those proposals is determined technically acceptable for Factor 1 - Technical Capability and Factor 2 - Compensation Plan, then Factor 3 - Past Performance and Factor 4 - Price will be evaluated next.

A rating of Acceptable must be received on all technical subfactors, and on the overall Technical Capability factor, Compensation plans, and Past Performance and price has been determined to be fair and reasonable in order to be considered for award. Award will be on an all or none basis.

If all three Factors are rated Acceptable and Price has been determined to be fair and reasonable for at least one of the lowest three proposals, the government will not evaluate any other proposals.

If all three of the lowest priced proposals are ineligible for award based on Unacceptable ratings received for any of the factors (Factors 1, 2 or 3) then the Government will evaluate the next three lowest priced proposals and continue in that manner until at least one proposal is eligible for award.

USING THIS PROCEDURE, THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT NOT EVALUATE ALL

PROPOSALS.

FACTOR 1. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY:

Technical acceptability ratings reflect the Government’s confidence in the offeror’s ability, as demonstrated in its written technical proposal, to perform the requirements stated in the solicitation. The Government will make an independent judgment of the probability of success. The following ratings will be used in evaluating each offeror’s written technical proposal:

Subfactor 1A. Performance Work Statement (PWS) Compliance.

ACCEPTABLE

The offerors technical proposal sufficiently explained how they are capable and intend to meet all requirements and specifications required by the PWS Part 1.5, 1.10 and specific tasks required in Part 5

UNACCEPTABLE

The offerors technical proposal failed to sufficiently explain how they are capable and intend to meet all requirements and specifications required by the PWS Part 1.5, 1.10 and specific tasks required in Part 5

Subfactor 1B. Recruitment and Retention Plan.

ACCEPTABLE

The offerors proposed recruitment and retention plan sufficiently demonstrates the ability to recruit and retain qualified candidates to provide the required logistical support services.

UNACCEPTABLE

The offerors proposed recruitment and retention plan failed to sufficiently demonstrates the ability to recruit and retain qualified candidates to provide the required logistical support services.

FACTOR 1: Technical Capability OVERALL Rating

To receive this rating, the offeror shall meet or exceed the requirements set forth in FACTOR 1. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY. The offerors technical quotation sufficiently explained how they are capable and intend to meet all requirements and specifications required by the PWS and have described an adequate recruitment and retention plan.

UNACCEPTABLE

An unacceptable rating will be assessed on any offeror that failed to sufficiently explain how they are capable and intend to meet the requirements and specification required by the PWS and have described an inadequate recruitment and retention plan.

Note: If any subfactor is rated as Unacceptable, the entire Factor will be rated as Unacceptable. To receive consideration for award, a rating of Acceptable must be achieved for Factor 1

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY.

FACTOR 2. COMPENSATION PLAN

The proposed compensation plan for each labor category identified in this solicitation will be considered in terms of its impact upon recruiting and retention and its consistency with a total plan for compensation that is in compliant with all applicable laws and regulations to include the Service Contact Act Wage Determinations and Executive Orders (if applicable).

The Government will utilize a variety of sources to evaluate each Offeror’s Compensation Plans to determine if it is sufficient to attract and retain quality personnel at a fair and reasonable rate at which we could reasonably expect a vendor to be able to recruit and retain qualified individuals for this requirement. An Acceptable or Unacceptable rating will be assigned.

In order to adequately manage the risk of non-performance and high turnover the Government will evaluate Compensation Plan (base salary plus fringe) rates for the base year and option years to ensure the Compensation Plan is sufficient to recruit and retain qualified candidates to support this requirement. A Compensation Plan for each of the specialties is required and will be rated individually as either “acceptable” or “unacceptable” and then an overall rating will be assigned for this factor.

Compensation plan for each labor category must be rated as acceptable in order to be further evaluated.

Any compensation plan that is incomplete, does not show the breakdown of fringe benefits, explanation if hiring independent contractors/subcontractors, or are not submitted with amounts as hourly (not annual) rates will be rated “unacceptable”.

The following rating will be used to annotate the compensation plans evaluations and will form the basis of the assignment of ratings for Factor 2 - Compensation Plan:

Total Employee Compensation Acceptable/Unacceptable Rating Method

Description

Based on Service Contract Labor Standards and Medical Readiness Contracting Office – West’s review of current market rates/conditions, the offeror’s Total Employee Compensation for each labor category identified in the solicitation meets the minimum standards of the Service Contact Act Wage Determination and is sufficient to recruit and retain qualified candidates to support this requirement.

Based on Service Contract Labor Standards and Medical Readiness Contracting Office – West’s review of current market rates/conditions, the offeror’s Total Employee Compensation does not meet the minimum standards of the Service Contact Act Wage Determination and or is insufficient to recruit and retain qualified candidates to support this requirement.

FACTOR 3. PAST PERFORMANCE: The following ratings will be used to determine degree of performance risk associated with the proposal. In the case of offerors for which there is no information on past contract performance or where past contract performance information is not available, the offeror will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the factor of past performance. In this case, the offeror’s past performance is unknown and assigned a performance confidence rating of “neutral”. A neutral rating will be considered Acceptable.

Description

Acceptable – Based on the offeror’s past performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort, or the offeror’s performance record is unknown.

Unacceptable – Based on the offeror’s past performance record, the Government has no reasonable expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

FACTOR 4. PRICING: The Government will evaluate for price reasonableness. The proposed price will be evaluated on the bottom-line price for the entire effort, inclusive of all options. A price is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. The Government may use various price analysis and procedures to ensure a fair and reasonable price. Some of those techniques are, but not limited to, comparison of proposed prices received in response to the solicitation and/or comparison of proposed prices with the Independent Government Estimate and/or current market prices. Price must also be determined to be fair and reasonable.

Paragraph (b) is hereby replaced with the following:

The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. In addition, given that FAR Clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, provides that the Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract (i.e., the rates in effect when the Option to Extend Services clause is exercised), for purposes of evaluating this option, the contracting officer will consider the prices submitted for each CLIN, since those would be the binding prices should this option be exercised.

Evaluation of this option shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option.

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of Addendum)