Attachment 1 - Instructions to Offerors.pdf

VISIBLE ACCESSIBLE UNDERSTANDABLE LINKED TRUSTED (VAULT)

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS

ATTACHMENT 1

1.0 Contract:

This requirement is a competitive full and open acquisition. The Government intends to award a multi-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, with the ability to award Firm Fixed Price and Firm Fixed Price Level of Effort task orders.

The Government reserves the right to award up to five (5) contracts as a result of this acquisition.

2.0 General Instructions.

Points of Contact: Below are the only points of contact for this acquisition. All questions or concerns shall be e-mailed to both the Contracting Officer (CO) and Contract Specialist (CS).

Name Email Mr. Robert G. Warren (Contracting Officer) robert.warren.13@us.af.mil 2d Lt Michael W. Stoermer (Contract Specialist) michael.stoermer@us.af.mil

2.0.1 This acquisition will use a combination of an oral presentation and a written submission.

2.1. Instructions to Offerors (ITO)

2.1.1 The Offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by this ITO and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The Offeror shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in this solicitation. Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this ITO will result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of its facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror's proposal. Questions related to the solicitation are due to the POCs by no later than (NLT) 0900AM ET three (3) business days after solicitation release.

2.1.2 System for Award Management (SAM): Offerors will not be eligible to receive a contract award from a Department of Defense (DoD) activity unless they are registered in SAM. Offerors must be registered in the SAM Database prior to award of any contract. Firms must register on a one-time basis and annually confirm accuracy and completeness of registration information. On-line registration and instructions can be accessed at https://www.sam.gov/index.html.

2.2 Proposal Submission.

Proposal submission will be completed in two (2) steps to ensure an efficient process in accordance with Table 1 below.

Table 1 – Proposal Timeline (EST - Eastern Time) https://www.sam.gov/index.html

Requirement Due Date

STEP 1

Facility Clearance, Advisory Multi-Step Process Response Confirmation, Small Business Subcontracting Plan

13 Nov 2020, 3:00PM

EST

STEP 2

Professional Employee Compensation Plan, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Pricing Worksheet, Small Business Commitment Document, and Written PWS Response

20 Business Days After Notification of Step 1 results, due 3:00 PM EST (notifications will state firm due date)

Provide Offerors Tech Scenario 10 Business Days prior to oral presentation date

Technical Scenario Written Response, PresentationSlides, and Attendee List

January 2021, Notification of Step 2 results will contain firm date

Oral Presentations January 2021 (Presentations will be scheduled in the order that Written PWS Responses were received Ex: if you are the first submission you will be the first scheduled presentation and so on.)

2.2.1 The above table is to be used as a guideline so Offerors know when the next step is due. The notification to Offerors that they are eligible for the next step will specify an exact due date and time based on the guidelines above.

2.2.2 Late proposals will be processed in accordance with FAR Provision 52.212-1(f) Late Submissions, Modifications, Revisions and Withdrawals of Offers. Evaluation Notices (EN) may be used for clarification or communication purposes as well as discussions. Responses to the ENs will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated herein. Failure to respond to limited exchanges or ENs will eliminate the Offeror from further evaluation and consideration for award.

2.2.3 Communications.

Exchanges of source selection information between Government and Offerors will be controlled by the CO and CS. E-mail will be used to transmit such information to Offerors. The Government intends to send answers to questions by an amendment to the solicitation and post to beta.SAM.gov. The Offerors must submit all communications via email to both of the Contracting POCs.

2.2.4 Amendments to Solicitation.

If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged.

Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by the day and time specified in the amendment(s).

2.2.5 Volume/Step I – “Compliant/Non-compliant” Gate: Advisory Multi-step (AMS) Process, Representation & Certifications, Facility Clearance Validation, DD Form 254, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan Compliance Review

2.2.5.1 Advisory Multi-step (AMS) Process: The Government will confirm Offerors participated in the Advisory Multistep Process (AMS). If an Offeror did not participate in the AMS they will not be considered for award.

2.2.5.2 Representation & Certifications: The Offeror shall submit a completed SF1449 as its representation and certifications, specifically FAR 52.212-3 (Section B is not required to be completed as pricing will be contained within Step 2 submission).

2.2.5.3 Facility Clearance (FCL): Due to the clearance requirements, all prospective Prime Offerors shall possess a TOP SECRET Facility Clearance (FCL). The FCL shall be approved/issued by the Defense Security Service (DSS) and FCL must be posted in Defense Information Security System (DISS). A verifiable TOP SECRET FCL shall exist in DISS at time of proposal submission. The Government will validate the Prime Offerors FCL based on the CAGE code provided on the completed DD254. Offerors shall have an approved facility clearance no later than the due date shown in Table 1.

2.2.5.4 DD Form 254 Contract Security Classification Specifications: The Offeror shall complete blocks 6a – c, (and if applicable blocks 7a – c) of the DD Form 254 (Solicitation Attachment 3) and submit via email no later than the due date shown in Table 1.

2.2.5.5 All Offerors (other than small businesses) shall submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan required by FAR 52.219-9. The plan will be reviewed by the Contracting Officer for compliance with FAR Clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Each Small Business Subcontracting Plan shall, at a minimum, adhere to the statutory minimum goal percentages for the specific small business concerns for the Department of Defense as described by the Small Business Administration. The minimal goal percentages for the DoD can be found at the website https://www.sba.gov/document/support--agency-contracting-goals.

The Subcontracting Plan shall, at a minimum, adhere to the minimum goal percentages below for small businesses concerns and for the specific socio-economic small business concerns. Offerors shall use $100M as the total subcontracting dollars for Small Business Subcontracting Plan purposes. The Subcontracting Plan may have to be updated for actual amounts after award.

http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.fbo.gov/ https://www.sba.gov/document/support--agency-contracting-goals https://www.sba.gov/document/support--agency-contracting-goals

Business Category Minimum Subcontracting

Percentage Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) 5% Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business

(SDVOSB)

3%

Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) 5% Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business (HUBZone)

3%

Small Business 32%

In accordance with DFARS 219.702-70, if an Offeror has an established Comprehensive Small Business Subcontracting Plan they shall submit that plan as well as contact information for the DCMA Contracting Officer that is administering the Comprehensive Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

2.2.5.6 Offerors will be notified via email if they are deemed compliant or noncompliant for Step I. If the Offeror is deemed compliant (participated in AMS, submitted accurate representation and certifications, has an appropriate facility clearance, an accurate DD Form 254, and a compliant Small Business Subcontracting Plan), the Offeror will move to Step 2. If the Offeror is deemed noncompliant (did not participate in AMS, did not provide accurate representations and certifications, does not have the appropriate facility clearance, did not provide an accurate DD Form 254, or did not submit a compliant Small Business Subcontracting Plan), the proposal will not be evaluated further and the Offeror will not move on to Step 2.

2.2.6 Volume/Step II: Submit Factor One: IDIQ Pricing and the Professional Employee Compensation Plan (PECP), Factor Two: Small Business Commitment Document and Factor Three: Technical.

2.2.6.1 IDIQ Pricing : Offerors shall submit a completed IDIQ Pricing Worksheet – Attachment 4.

2.2.6.2 The Professional Employee Compensation Plan (PECP): Offerors shall submit a completed

PECP.

2.2.6.3 Small Business Commitment Document: Offerors shall submit a completed Small Business Commitment Document (SBCD). The Offeror’s SBCD shall include at a minimum the small business goals, how it will meet those goals, how it will utilize small businesses, and non-traditional small businesses. Non-traditional small businesses are identified as “A small business entity that is not currently performing and has not performed any contract or subcontract for DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1502 and the regulations implementing such section, for at least the 1-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by DoD for the procurement (10 U.S.C. 2302(9))”.

2.2.6.4 Technical proposal submission will include technical approach to PWS tasks, scenario solution, and oral presentation slides for your scenario solution and shall be sent via email to the contracting POCs no later than the due date stated in the notice to proceed from Step 1.

2.2.6.5: Oral Presentations.

The Government will require unclassified oral presentations for the technical scenario via Microsoft Teams (see instructions in Table 2). There is no requirement to purchases licenses or subscriptions. If any Offeror pays for a subscription, it will paid for by its own funds and will not be reimbursed by the Government. The Offeror shall present its slides via Microsoft Teams.

2.2.6.5.1 Offerors will receive the scenario 10 business days prior to the Oral Presentation date and will be contacted in January 2021 for a time slot for oral presentations. Offerors shall provide a listing of attendees and their roles during the presentation (see Table 1).

2.2.6.5.2 Offerors shall present their slides through Microsoft Teams. The Government will ensure all attendees can present. The Government will not advance slides for the Offeror. The Offeror shall state in the footer that the presentation is ‘unclassified’ and no classified information shall be provided by the Offeror during the presentation. No changes can be made to the presentation once it has been received by the Government. Thirty (30) minutes prior to the scheduled oral presentation, the Microsoft Teams room will be open to ensure there are no connection issues. Five (5) minutes prior to the scheduled presentation, the Contracting Officer will go over rules of engagement and address any questions.

Offerors shall ensure that personnel present for the oral presentation are able to enter into limited exchanges on behalf of the organization as the Government intends to award without discussions. After the Offeror’s presentation, all of the Offeror’s attendees shall ‘Leave the Meeting’ to allow for the Government only caucus for 30 minutes to prepare for limited exchanges. Offerors shall re-join to Microsoft Teams call room after 30 minutes to receive the limited exchanges (if any). The Offeror shall ‘Leave the Meeting’ for up to 30 minutes to prepare oral responses to the limited exchanges. After the 30 minutes, the Offeror shall re-join the Microsoft Teams call and respond orally to the limited exchanges.

Failure to re-join at or before 30 minutes will automatically close the limited exchanges. No written ENs will be issued for oral presentations; however, during oral presentations the Government may conduct clarifications in the form of limited exchanges between the Government and Offerors. The responses to the limited exchanges will be considered clarifications. Offerors WILL NOT have the opportunity to modify or revise proposals based on the responses to clarifications. Per FAR 15, “proposal modification” is a change made to a proposal before the solicitation closing date, or made in response to an amendment, or made to correct a mistake at any time before award; and “proposal revision” is a change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a Contracting Officer, as the result of negotiations. Unless instructed otherwise by the Contracting Officer, once oral clarifications are completed, limited exchanges are closed.

2.2.6.5.3 Time Limit. Oral presentations will be limited to 90 minutes. The Government will not interrupt during the presentation to ensure all Offerors are afforded the same amount of time to brief.

2.2.6.5.4 Presentation Slides. Presentation slides shall be the technical scenario solution only.

2.2.6.5.5 Format for Presentations. Offerors shall provide its presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

2.2.6.5.6 No cameras, camcorders, cellular devices, recording devices, etc. of any kind are allowed before, during, or after the oral presentation. Offerors shall NOT record the presentation or conversation with the Government via Microsoft Teams or externally. Any Offeror found not in compliance will be deemed ‘noncompliant”, its proposal will not be further evaluated, and the Offeror will be ineligible for award.

FA701420R0065

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS

3.0 Preparation Instructions to Offerors:

The purpose of these instructions is to prescribe the format of proposals and describe the approach for the development and presentation of proposal data. They are designed to ensure the essential information required for evaluation of proposals is submitted. Offerors shall submit representation and certifications with step 1. Representation Certifications do not count toward page limitations. Offerors are cautioned to follow the detailed instructions fully and carefully, as the Government intends to make award based on initial offers received without discussions but reserves the right to hold discussions.

3.1 Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits

To assure timely and equitable evaluation of the proposal, the Offeror shall follow the instructions contained herein. The proposal must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of this solicitation. The response shall consist of two (2) separate submissions:

Submission 1 – all step 1 documents to include: Completed DD254 to verify Facility Clearance, , and Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

Submission 2 – all step 2 documents to include: Professional Employee Compensation Plan, IDIQ Pricing Worksheet, Small Business Commitment Document, Written Responses to PWS, Written Technical Scenario Solution, and Oral Scenario Solution slides.

3.1.1 Offerors shall prepare proposals as set forth in the Proposal Organization Table below. The titles and contents of the submissions shall be as defined in the table below, all of which shall be within the required page limits and with the number of copies as specified. The submissions identified in the table below shall be emailed to both POCs.

The content of each proposal volume is described in the ITO paragraph as noted in the Table 2 below. Documents can be consolidated into one “volume” or sent as separate attachments:

Table 2 – Proposal Organization Requirement ITO

Paragraph(s) Delivery Format Page Limit (page numbers are maximums)

Volume/Step 1: FCL, , and Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Written)

2.2.1 Email completed DD254, Small Business Subcontracting Plan

- no page limit for

DD254;

- no page limit for Small Business Subcontracting Plan

Volume/Step 2: Small Business Commitment Document (SBCD) and

IDIQ

2.2.2 Email SBCD

Email IDIQ Pricing/PECP

- 10 pages (SBCD) -Executable Agreements

Pricing/Professional Employee Compensation (PECP) (Written) excluded from page count -IDIQ Pricing Worksheet -20 pages for PECP

Technical Approach to Complete Tasks in the

PWS

2.2.3 Email Technical Approach

(Word or PDF)

- 15 page limit

Technical/Scenario Solution & Oral Presentation and Microsoft Teams Presentation Attendees Listing

2.3 Email PowerPoint or PDF

slides

- 15 page limit for written Technical Scenario Solution

- No slide limit for presentation

- Listing of attendees and their roles in the body of the email

3.2 Specific Instructions.

3.2.1 Page Limitations. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Executive Summaries, blank pages, title pages, cover pages, table of contents, tab indexing, glossaries, list of tables and figures are not included in page limitation. Legible tables, charts, graphs and figures may be used to depict organizations, systems and layout, implementation schedules, plans, etc. will also not count towards page limitations.

3.2.2 Page Size and Format for Written Proposal Submission. A page is defined as each face of a sheet of paper containing information. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Page size shall be 8½ x 11 inches. Pages shall be single-spaced and typed, except for displays and the reproduced sections of the solicitation document. The font shall be Times New Roman and no less than 12 point in size. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume. When text is included within displays (graphs, charts, figures, tables, pictures), it may be no smaller than 8 point, but must be clearly legible without magnification, as determined solely by the CO. The size of these displays shall not exceed the page size as defined above. The email copy of the proposal shall be submitted in the following formats: Microsoft (MS) Word 2010, MS Excel 2010, or MS- PowerPoint 2010, or Portable Document Format (PDF), as applicable. Oral Presentation shall be accompanied by a presentation in MS-PowerPoint 2010 or PDF with no additional formatting requirements; however, it is the Offerors responsibility to ensure its presentation is legible and viewable by the intended audience. The recommended resolution is 16:9. The email size limit to the Government is 10 megabytes per email. Proposals can be broken up into more than one email or Offerors can request the proposals to be sent through DoD SAFE via https://safe.apps.mil/. Non-CAC holders cannot use DoD Safe at this time. Per the Offerors request, the Government will send a request to the Offeror to retrieve the files. Contact the POCs if you require assistance.

3.2.3 Title Page (not included in the page count): Each volume must include a title page. The title pages must show:

• Solicitation Number

• Company name, cage code, DUNS number, POC name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail address of the Offeror

3.2.4 Cross-Referencing: The proposal volumes shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated without cross referencing to another volume. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume can be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal.

3.2.5 Indexing: Each volume shall contain a detailed Table of Contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that volume.

3.2.6 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms: Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation for each. As stated above in paragraph 3.2.1, glossaries do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

3.2.7 Compliant: Documents submitted in response to this solicitation must be fully compliant to and consistent with the terms and conditions of the solicitation or may result in being rejected as noncompliant and not being evaluated.

4.0 Proposal Volume Instructions.

The following details the specific instructions for each volume. The proposal should be specific and complete. Legibility, clarity, and coherence are very important. The Offeror’s responses will be evaluated against the Technical factor criteria defined in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-2 - Evaluation

– Commercial Items. The proposal should not merely reiterate or rephrase the objectives or reformulate the Government’s requirements specified in the solicitation but shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offerors proposal.

4.1 Volume/Step II:

4.1.1 Factor I: Price and PECP

Factor I consists of the IDIQ Pricing Sheet and the PECP. This section is to assist Offerors in submitting data other than certified cost or pricing data that is required to evaluate fairness, reasonableness and balance of proposed cost/price. Compliance with these requirements is mandatory https://safe.apps.mil/ and failure to comply may result in rejection of your proposal. Proposals should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate fairness, reasonableness and balanced cost/price. The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the Offeror.

IDIQ Pricing: The Offeror shall complete and submit the IDIQ Pricing Worksheet, (Attachment 4) with fully burdened off-site rates. The price proposal should provide supporting cost data to include labor categories, labor rates (rounded to two decimal places), as applicable and in accordance with the IDIQ Pricing Worksheet within the solicitation.

Professional Employee Compensation Plan (PECP): This contract is expected to exceed $750,000 and the services to be provided will require meaningful numbers of professional employees, as such, Offerors shall submit for evaluation a total compensation plan(s) setting forth proposed salaries and fringe benefits for professional employees working on the contract. Compensation plans must provide supporting cost data in order to be evaluated in accordance with FAR Provision 52.222-46 -- Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (Feb 1993). The compensation plan(s) will be evaluated to determine if the compensation level proposed is unrealistically low or not in reasonable relationship to the various labor categories for the Washington, D.C. area. Failure to comply with the requirements in FAR Provision 52.222-46 shall constitute sufficient cause to justify rejection of the proposal. Offerors shall include the tables below (or similar) to meet this requirement for the prime contractor:

Salary/Fringe Benefits Table (example provided below):

Task Area/Labor Category

Unburdened Rate Fringe Percentage

Junior Task Manager $175.00 12% IT Manager $210.00 37%

List of Benefits Description of Benefits Paid time off (PTO) 30 days per year Holidays 10 paid holidays per year Short-Term Disability Long-Term Disability Life & Personal Accidental Insurance 401K / IRA Plan Medical and Pharmacy Benefits Dental Benefits Vision Benefits Flex spending account

If the Offeror proposes different labor categories, they must be mapped back (aligned to) the provided labor categories. The Offeror must then designate the labor categories they deem professional.

Example: Data Scientist (Government provided) Data Engineer (Offeror Proposed to replace Data Scientist)

4.1.2 Factor II: Small Business Commitment Document (Applicable to all Offerors when a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is required) The Small Business Commitment Document (SBCD) is separate and distinct from the Small Business Subcontracting Plan required by FAR Clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan. All Offerors shall submit a SBCD as required by DFARS 215.304(c)(i)(B). The proposed SBCD will be incorporated into any resulting contracts.

4.1.2.1 Offerors shall propose an annual minimum quantitative requirement (MQR) percentage for small businesses concerns and non-traditional small business (NTSB) using Table 4, and explain how they intend to meet the proposed MQR percentages for the overall IDIQ.

Table 4 – MQR Proposal Business Category Proposed MQR

Percentage Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business (HUBZone)

Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) Small Business Non-traditional Small Business

4.1.2.2 Offerors shall explain how it will utilize the small business concerns and Nontraditional Small Businesses (NTSBs). Additionally, Offerors shall provide its plan to assist NTSBs to become Government contractors (SAM registration, RFP process, intricacies of Government contracting, applicable regulations, points of contact, etc.)

4.1.2.3 For the purpose of this requirement, “Nontraditional Small Business Contractor” means a “small business entity that is not currently performing and has not performed any contract or subcontract for DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C.

1502 and the regulations implementing such section, for at least the 1-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by DoD for the procurement (10 U.S.C. 2302(9))”.

4.1.2.4 Offerors shall provide narrative information on how percentages for this effort were developed.

4.1.2.5 Using Table 5, Offerors shall provide the company name of each small business, its socio-economic status (if applicable), nature of commitment (subcontract, letter of commitment, agreement, etc.), what types of products/services the small business/NTSB provides (specific to this requirement), and the NAICS code.

Table 5 SBCD Companies Company Name Business

Category(ies) Nature of Commitment

Product/Services Provided

NAICS

Ex. Company ABC WOSB 541611

4.1.2.6 Offerors shall have enforceable agreements and shall provide fully executed copies (i.e. the entire agreement and not just the first and last pages) to the Government. An enforceable commitment is defined as a written and signed agreement (by both parties) that details that all parties have agreed to a business relationship for this procurement. This document shall be clear that both parties have defined and agreed to the extent of the relationship to include the type or types of work the sub-contractors/partners shall perform. The agreement shall be specific in nature. Any sub-contractor identified as a small disadvantaged business concern or HUBZone small business concern SHALL have an active Small Business Administration (SBA) certification of its status at the time of proposal. Any proposed subcontractors with multiple CAGE codes shall include all of the codes where work will be performed for this acquisition. Enforceable agreements are excluded from page count.

4.1.3 Factor III: Technical Approach Submission, Technical/Scenario Solution/Oral Presentation. The Technical proposal should be specific and complete. Legibility, clarity, and coherence are very important. The proposal should not merely reiterate or rephrase the objectives or reformulate the Government’s requirements specified in the solicitation but shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s proposal.

4.1.3.1 Technical Approach: Offerors shall provide a detailed technical approach to meet all the PWS tasks.

4.1.3.2 Technical Scenario: Offerors shall provide an approach to its proposed strategy, methodology, findings, and recommendations to the technical scenario.

4.1.3.3 Oral Presentations: Offerors shall provide an oral presentation covering the proposed strategic approach, methodology, and understanding of the PWS tasks and scenario as well as any significant findings and recommendations.

4.1.3.3.1 To aid with the oral presentation, Offerors will be provided the written technical scenario in accordance with table 1. A public-facing repository will be made available to the Offerors that contains the data sets to be used for the IDIQ scenario.

4.1.3.3.2 The Offeror shall present its findings and recommendations via oral presentation. Offerors have up to 90 minutes to explain its findings and recommendations. Presentation should include, but is not limited to, methodology used during formulation of the findings and recommendations as well as the specific PWS tasks that were utilized for the scenario.

4.2 General Information.

4.2.1 Discrepancies. If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the Offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error. The Offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion. Accordingly, Offerors are advised to submit initial proposals that are well defined and clearly acceptable without additional information, additional or substitute pages.

4.2.2 Correction Potential of Proposals

The Government intends to award without discussions. The Government will consider, throughout the evaluation, the "correction potential" of any deficiency. The judgment of such "correction potential" is within the sole discretion of the Government. If an aspect of an Offeror’s proposal does not meet the Government's requirements and is not considered correctable, the Offeror may be eliminated from the competitive range.

4.2.2.1 Discussions. The Offeror’s initial proposal should contain the Offeror’s best terms. The Government intends to award without discussions but reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is determined to be in its best interest. Offerors are advised to submit proposals that are fully and clearly acceptable without additional information. If the Government elects to open discussions, the competitive range may include proposals rated as “Unacceptable” at the sole discretion of the Government (i.e., minor corrections to technical subfactor aspect(s)). If required, the competitive range may be further reduced for purposes of efficiency pursuant to FAR 15.306(c)(2).

4.2.2.2 Evaluation Notices (EN). ENs may be used for clarification or communication purposes as well as discussions. Responses to the ENs will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated herein. Failure to respond to ENs will eliminate the Offeror from further evaluation and consideration for award. No written ENs will be issued for oral presentations.

4.2.2.3 Final Proposal Revisions (FPR). If discussions are held, at the conclusion of discussions, the CO will provide each Offeror an opportunity to submit a FPR. The CO will establish a common cut-off date for receipt of FPRs. FPRs will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated herein.

After receipt of the FPR, the Government intends to make award without obtaining further revisions.

4.2.3 Debriefings. Debriefing information relating to other Offerors proposals will not be disclosed.

4.2.3.1 Post Award. All Offerors (successful and unsuccessful) may request a Post Award debriefing within three (3) calendar days after the date in which the Offeror received notification of contract award. Post award debriefings will be available to interested parties that advance past step 1. In an effort to allow for full feedback, during post award debriefing, the Government will provide strengths, weaknesses, significant weaknesses, and deficiencies. For the purpose of this solicitation the following definitions apply; (a) “strength” is an aspect of an Offerors proposal that has merit or exceeds specified performance or capability requirements in a way that will be advantageous to the Government during contract performance; (b)“weakness” means a flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance; (c) “significant weaknesses” is a flaw that appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance; and (d) “deficiency” is a material failure of the proposal to meet a Government requirement or combination of significant weaknesses in a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance to an unacceptable level.

Offerors who receive a debriefing may submit additional questions related to the information provided during the briefing within two (2) business days after receiving the debriefing. After the two business days expire, the Contracting Officer is not required to respond to any additional questions. The debriefing is concluded when the Contracting Officer delivers written responses to the Offerors timely additional questions.