ATTACHMENT 1 _ INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - sfk -v2.docx

INSTRUCTIONS

Quotes in response to this RFQ are due on Monday, September 26, 2022, at 12:00 pm (EST). They shall be submitted in writing and sent via email to Contract Specialist Stanley Kwasny at: stanley.kwasny@va.gov. Please insert “Solicitation 36C24422Q0615 – VISN4 Translation and ASL Service” in the subject line of your email. All submissions shall be 5MB or less. If the email is more than 5MB, submit multiple emails labeling them 1 of XX, 2 of XX, etc. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation shall be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Contract Specialist by September 21, 2022, at 12:00 noon. Questions will not be accepted after this date and time.

See Price/Cost Schedule. Fill out Attachment 2 and send with your quote.

To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

OR

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

Provision FAR 52.212-1 Instructions To Offerors – Commercial Items (OCT 2018) applies to this acquisition.

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 Supplemental Instructions to Offerors applies to this acquisition:

For the purposes of evaluating competing quotes, Quoters shall submit quotes that include the following documentation:

Solicitation:

Page 1 of SF1449 – Complete Blocks 17a. (including Contractor Point of Contact); 30a; 30b. and 30c.

Page 2 of SF1449 – Complete Contractor POC Information and Acknowledge Amendments, if applicable.

Complete Attachment. Price/Cost Schedule for each CLIN and return with your quote.

Quoters’ Representations and Certifications per FAR Provision 52.212-3. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision with their offer if the Offeror has not completed electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov/SAM/.

Please prepare and send THREE SEPARATE DOCUMENTS as part of your quote: (Volume 1) Solicitation information (see above) which includes Attachment 2 Price/Cost Schedule for each CLIN; (Volume 2) Technical Capability; and (Volume 3) Past Performance Information. The maximum file size is 5 MB I can receive in one email.

Quote shall be submitted via email to: Stanley Kwasny, Contract Specialist at: stanley.kwasny@va.gov. Include in subject line of email: “Solicitation 36C24422Q0615 – VISN4 Translation and ASL Service” in the subject line of your email.

All quotes shall be submitted on or before the offer due date shown on page 1 of the Standard Form 1449; in Block 8.

Requirements:

1. Price: Quoters shall submit a completed price/cost schedule (Attachment 2) for the requested services. Price should be provided according to the format requested. Additional cost/pricing information maybe provided in a separate document outlining the CLIN cost breakdown.

2. Technical Capability (Technical Proposal & Staffing Approach):

Under no circumstances shall pricing information be included in the Technical Capability.

Technical Proposal:

Quoters shall also submit, but not limited to, the following information:

a. Provide a detailed description of contractor’s technical proposal that demonstrates your ability to perform the work described in the Statement of Work.

· The American Sign Language (ASL) Translation may require video communication with veteran.

· How does your firm plan to provide the video portion of the translation service?

· Please describe in detail what hardware and/or software your firm currently uses or plans to use.

· Is your system compatible and able to meet the VA Security requirements?

b. Indicate if you are proposing to provide to service to all nine (9) VA Medical Center location and CBOCs listed in the SOW.

c. Indicate which VA Medical centers you are proposing to provide service for.

3. Past Performance: Quoters shall provide up to three (3) references using the attached Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 3), preferably of Government work, performed in the last five (5) years for the prime contractor. Past performance information shall be recent (performance within the last five years) and relevant to this scope of work. All past performance references shall include name of client, customer point of contact, customer telephone number, contract number, award amount, project/service location, and other relevant information. Past Performance Questionnaire shall be completed by the quoter’s ratees.

The apparent awardees past performance will be evaluated as part of the contractor responsibility determination to ensure the presence of an acceptable performance record in accordance with FAR 9.104-1. The Government reserves the right to seek past performance information (prime and/or subcontractor(s)) from any sources not included in your past performance references and available to the Government to include, but not limited to, CPARS or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, customers, and Contracting Officers.

FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation Commercial Items (OCT 2014) applies to this acquisition:

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Quoter that represents the best benefit to the Government at a price that can be determined reasonable. The Government will evaluate technical capability, past performance, and price.

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

Technical Capability, Past Performance and Price.

1. The Government will perform an evaluation using a comparative evaluation. The Government will compare quotes to one another to select the contractor that best benefits the Government by fulfilling the requirement. Comparative evaluation will be conducted in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3).

2. Responsibility determinations will be made accordance with FAR 9.1, Responsible Prospective Contractors.

3. The Contracting Officer will award a firm fixed price IDIQ resulting from this RFQ to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the RFQ is most advantageous to the Government.

i. Price— Government reserves the right to award to an offeror with other than the lowest price. Award will be made to the offeror whose quote represents the best overall value to the government.

ii. Technical—Offeror clearly demonstrates in its response a clear understanding of all the Government’s requirements and effective approach for the completion of service in accordance with the PWS.

iii. Past Performance—Offerors must have a record of satisfactory or neutral past performance. If no record of past performance is found, the Offeror will receive a rating of neutral. The Government will utilize but is not limited to internal documentation including Federal Awardee Performance and Information System (FAPIIS) for determining the past performance of offerors.