Attachment 1- Online Legal Research Database FINAL.pdf

Attachment 1

RFP 9531BM22R0005 December 9, 2021

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SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES

1.0 SUPPLIES

The contractor shall provide all supplies, personnel, equipment and other items and/or services necessary to provide one (1) online legal research database for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as set forth in Section C – Statement of Work (SOW).

2.0 PRICES OF SUPPLIES UNDER THE CONTRACT

The NTSB anticipates awarding one (1) firm-fixed price type contract for a 12-month base period and up to four 12-month option periods as provided in Section B for a total performance period of up to five (5) years.

Contract Line Item Number

Support Description Quantity Unit of Issue Unit Price Total Price

ONLINE LEGAL

RESEARCH DATABASE

– BASE YEAR

12 MO $________ $___________

Period of Performance: 02/01/2022 – 01/31/2023

Description: Review Attachments 1 -3 which are attached hereto and incorporated herein for additional information.

Contract Line Item Number

Support Description Quantity Unit of Issue Unit Price Total Price

ONLINE LEGAL

RESEARCH DATABASE

– OPTION YEAR 1

Period of Performance: 02/01/2023 – 01/31/2024

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Number

Support Description Quantity Unit of Issue Unit Price Total Price

ONLINE LEGAL

RESEARCH DATABASE

– OPTION YEAR 2

Period of Performance: 02/01/2024 – 01/31/2025

Number

Support Description Quantity Unit of Issue Unit Price Total Price

ONLINE LEGAL

RESEARCH DATABASE

– OPTION YEAR 3

Period of Performance: 02/01/2025 – 01/31/2026

Number

Support Description Quantity Unit of Issue Unit Price Total Price

ONLINE LEGAL

RESEARCH DATABASE

– OPTION YEAR 4

Period of Performance: 02/01/2026 – 01/31/2027

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TOTAL ESTIMATED CONTRACT VALUE

Year Total Price

Total Estimated Base Year Price

Total Estimated Option Year 1 Price

Total Estimated Option Year 2 Price

Total Estimated Option Year 3 Price

Total Estimated Option Year 4 Price

Total Estimated Contract Value (Base Year plus 4 Option Years)

[END OF SECTION]

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SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

1.0 BACKGROUND

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress to investigate every civil aviation accident in the United States, most public-use aircraft, and significant accidents in other modes of transportation - railroad, highway, marine, pipeline, and transported hazardous materials- and to issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for airmen, mechanics, or mariners whenever the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or United States Coast Guard (USCG) takes a certificate action.

In support of this mission, the NTSB has a requirement for an online legal research database system that contains statutes, case law materials, public records and other legal resources, current news articles, and business information for 100 authorized NTSB users. The NTSB has approximately 400 employees.

2.0 REQUIRED INFORMATION

2.1 Legal Information (All Case Law, Statutes, Law Reviews, etc.)

2.1.1 Federal & State Materials

• Cases & Judicial Materials

• Statutes & Legislative Materials (including legislative history and court interpretation synopses)

• State Statutes, Administrative Rules & Regulations, Legislative

Service, and Case Law

• Court Rules & Orders

• Administrative Law & Regulations [Code of Federal Regulations]

(CFR), Congressional Testimony, U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News

• Federal Administrative Decisions

• Briefs (U.S. Supreme Courts) and Federal Appellate Courts (Federal

Briefs)

• Attorney General Opinions

• NTSB Aviation and Maritime Opinions and Orders

2.1.2 Legal Texts & Periodicals

• Law Reviews & Journals

• Legal Texts & Treatises

• Legal Newspapers & Newsletters

• Restatements of the Law

2.1.3 Specialty Databases

• Bill & Regulation Tracking

• State Public Utilities Reports

• Federal statutes, regulations, court and administrative decisions, opinions and practice guides regarding employee relations, labor

Page | 5 relations and law, personnel issues, benefits, equal opportunity and federal employee issues, must provide capability to research employment-related issues, find case summaries and decisions, research agency-promulgated directives and manuals, assess equal opportunity employment claims, follow administrative and court proceedings, and research arbitration decisions. Must contain Merit System Protection Board (MSPB), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), and Comptroller General decisions and the opinions of the Board of Contract Appeals, including travel policy decisions. Also, treatises or practice guides discussing statutes, regulations, opinions, decisions, and practices related to licensing of technology and software.

2.1.4 Treatises & Practice Guides

• American Law Reports or Equivalent – attorney-authored articles that provide an analysis of a specific legal issue containing detailed discussion of guiding legal principles, distinctions, exceptions, applications and contrary approaches.

• All AMJUR Library or Equivalent – comprehensive, current legal encyclopedia that summarizes and explains broad principles that apply to criminal and civil law for all 50 states and the Federal system.

Includes American Jurisprudence 2d, Am Jur Proof of Facts, Am Jur Trials, Am Jur Pleading & Practice, and Am Jur Forums. (Preferred but not required).

• Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) or Equivalent – encyclopedia that uses American case law (federal and state) to provide an overview of almost all areas of law. The encyclopedia’s articles may include references to statutory law and definitions of legal terms in addition to reference to court cases. (Preferred but not required).

2.1.5 Miscellaneous Materials

• Uniform Laws

• Legal Dictionary

• Practice Area Materials

2.2 News & Business Information

• National Newspapers

• Local and Regional Newspapers

• International Newspapers

• Newswires

• News Magazines

• Television and Radio Transcripts

• Financial News

• Business Publications

• Industry Publications

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2.3 Public Records Information

2.3.1 Locating People

• People Finder

• Death Records

• Voter Registration Records

2.3.2 Assets

• Tax Assessor Records

• Real Property Records

• Motor Vehicle, Aircraft, Boat Records

2.3.3 Adverse Filings

• Bankruptcy Filings

• Lawsuit Filings

• Liens and Civil Judgments

• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Records

2.3.4 Licenses and Registrations

• Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and FAA Licenses

• Carry Concealed Weapons Permits

2.3.5 Business & Corporate Information

• Corporate Records

• Business Registrations

• Litigation Preparation Records

• Name Availability

2.4 Advanced Public Records Information (5 Users for this Access)

• Advanced Public Records Search Tool

• Criminal Records

• Criminal and Arrest Images

• People and Criminal Search

• Incarceration and Arrest Records

• Advanced Public Record Phone Search

• People and Businesses Affiliations Search

• Driver License Records

3.0 REQUIRED FEATURES AND SERVICES

The online legal research service shall present legal, news, business, and public records information using headnotes, numbering or indexing system, search components, links, case law summaries, and synopses.

3.1 Additional Required Features and Services

• Online Citation Checking Services

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• Current Awareness Services

• Searches and information retrieval shall be capable by natural language and

Boolean searches

• Bundled Searching

• Printing and Downloading

• Content Retrieval

• Content Delivery

• Alert Services

• Real-time Access to Data

• Locator Data

• Onsite Group Training

• Customer and Technical Support

• All inclusive, easy and intuitive search capability

• Smartphone access with internet browsing access and HTML5 or higher support

• Web analytics online

4.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The anticipated period of performance of this contract is one (1) 12-month base year with four (4) 12-month option years for a total of five (5) years.

5.0 REVISED SECTION 508 STANDARDS ACCESSIBILITY – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(IT) ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L.

105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it shall be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities.

1. Products, platforms and services delivered as part of this work statement that are ICT, or contain ICT, must conform to the Revised 508 Standards, which are located at 36 C.F.R.

§ 1194.1 & Apps. A, C & D, and available at: https://www.access-board.gov/ict/

Item that contains ICT: Online Legal Research Database

5.1 – Applicable Functional Performance Criteria All functional performance criteria apply when using an alternative design or technology that achieves substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities, than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in Chapters 4-6 of the Revised 508 Standards, or when Chapters 4-6 do not address one or more functions of ICT.

Applicable requirements for software features and components All WCAG Level AA Success Criteria, 502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology, 503 Application https://www.access-board.gov/ict/

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Applicable requirements for hardware features and components All requirements apply

5.2 The contractor shall address the following requirements:

• Provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for each commercially available Information and Communication Technology (ICT) item offered through this contract. Create the ACR using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template Version 2.1 or later, located at https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat.

Complete each ACR in accordance with the instructions provided in the VPAT template. Each ACR must address the applicable Section 508 requirements referenced in the Work Statement. Each ACR shall state exactly how the ICT meets the applicable standards in the remarks/explanations column, or through additional narrative.

• All "Not Applicable" (N/A) responses must be explained in the remarks/explanations column or through additional narrative. Address each standard individually and with specificity and clarify whether conformance is achieved throughout the entire ICT Item (for example - user functionality, administrator functionality, and reporting), or only in limited areas of the ICT Item.

Provide a description of the evaluation methods used to support Section 508 conformance claims. The agency reserves the right, prior to making an award decision, to perform testing on some or all of the Offeror’s proposed ICT items to validate Section 508 conformance claims made in the ACR.

• Describe your approach to incorporating universal design principles to ensure ICT products or services are designed to support disabled users.

• Describe plans for features that do not fully conform to the Section 508 Standards.

• Describe "typical" user scenarios and tasks, including individuals with disabilities, to ensure fair and accurate accessibility testing of the ICT product or service being offered.

5.3 Acceptance Criteria

• Prior to acceptance, the government reserves the right to perform testing on required ICT items to validate the offeror’s Section 508 conformance claims. If the government determines that Section 508 conformance claims provided by the offeror represent a higher level of conformance than what is actually provided to the agency, the government shall, at its option, require the offeror to remediate the item to align with the offeror’s original Section 508 conformance claims prior to acceptance.

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SECTION L - PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) solicits your proposal for one (1) online research database as described in the Statement of Work (SOW). This Request for Proposal (RFP) will result in the award of one (1) firm-fixed price contract with a base year with four (4) option years.

2.0 NOTICE AND INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

Offerors are required to meet all the requirements of the RFP, including but not limited to instructions, conditions/notices, and requirements in the SOW. Proposals should address each factor(s) as described below. Proposals that fail to address the essential requirements of this RFP or are unrealistic in terms of technical content, schedule commitment, or price will be deemed to have an inherent lack of technical competence or indicative of a failure to comprehend the requirements, or the complexity and risks associated with the requirements. Stating that the database system meets the requirements of the solicitation is not sufficient. The Government may reject any proposal that is so lacking in competence or in understanding the requirements that without a major reformation of the proposal it is not adequate for evaluation purposes.

Alternate/conditional proposals that do not meet the stated requirement of the SOW may result in a proposal being rejected as non-responsive. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions. Offerors are cautioned that they must submit a best offer with the initial proposal. To receive an award, an Offeror must be determined to be responsible.

In responding to this RFP, Offerors shall submit proposals in three (3) separate parts: Technical, Past Performance, and Price:

• Part I – Technical: Include all information requested under “Part I - Technical Proposal”.

Exclude any references to price.

• Part II – Past Performance: Include all information requested under “Part II -Past

Performance”.

• Part III – Price: Include all information requested under “Part III – Price”.

2.1 Part I – Technical Proposal

Each Technical Proposal shall include the following factors:

2.1.1 Factor 1 – Executive Summary (not separately evaluated)

An Executive Summary of the Offeror’s proposal is required. This summary will not be evaluated separately but will be used by evaluators to understand the overall proposal contents. Therefore, the information contained in the summary is important. It should identify and highlight significant features of the proposal and include the salient points contained in the various parts. Each Offeror should include a General Information section in the Executive Summary that addresses the following: 1)

Page | 10 company name and address, 2) Company Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), DUNS number or Unique Entity ID number, and CAGE code.

2.1.2 Factor 2 – Technical Approach

A contractor’s technical approach describes the degree to which the contractor’s technical capability satisfies all online legal research database requirements in the SOW and demonstrates that the contractor has a clear understanding and knowledge of the requirements in the SOW and how to achieve them in a logical, feasible, and technically effective manner.

There is no limit on the number of pages for Part I – Technical Approach.

2.2 Part II – Past Performance

The Offeror shall provide information on three (3) past clients with whom it has done business during the past three (3) years who have purchased a database system that is similar in size, scope and complexity to this requirement. Include a short description of the database system and how it relates to the current NTSB procurement, the contract type, the contract period of performance, the name of the client, and the address and contact information (name, telephone number, email address) for each reference check.

Offerors shall ask their references, provided under Past Performance, to complete the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 2) and submit it directly to Bryan Moy email at bryan.moy@ntsb.gov or via fax: (240) 752-6262. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure that Past Performance Questionnaires are completed timely and submitted by client references, and that correct names, addresses and phone numbers are provided in the responses for each reference. An offeror will not be penalized in the evaluation with an unfavorable rating for the failure of its past performance references to complete and submit the Past Performance Questionnaires. The Government may contact offerors’ client references or use other references/information available to the Government to verify past performance.

There is no limit on the number of pages for Part II - Past Performance. III – Price

2.3 Part III – Price

Price proposals shall consist of a firm-fixed monthly price to provide the online legal research database system as described in the SOW for a base year with four option years. All transactional and communication charges shall be covered by the firm-fixed monthly price. Contractors shall complete the tables in Section B-2 of the solicitation and submit it with their proposal.

2.1 Legal Information (100 users)

2.2 News & Business Information (100 users)

2.3 Public Records Information (100 users)

2.4 Advanced Public Records Information (5 Users for this Access)

There is no limit on the number of pages for Part III - Price.

mailto:bryan.moy@ntsb.gov

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3.0 EXPENSES RELATED TO OFFEROR SUBMISSIONS

This solicitation neither commits the Government to pay any cost incurred in the submission of the offer nor to contract for services or supplies. Any costs incurred in anticipation of a contract shall be at the Offeror’s own risk.

4.0 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Your proposal must be received no later than 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), on December 20, 2021. LATE PROPOSALS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors – Commercial Items.

Offers may be transmitted via email to:

Bryan J. Moy Email: bryan.moy@ntsb.gov

The maximum size of an email, including attachments, which the NTSB email server can accept is 35 megabytes (MB). Therefore, the Offeror may choose to send their proposal in separate emails, if the combined file size of any email received by the NTSB email server will exceed 35MB. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that the designated point of contact has received your proposal at the email address of the contact specified above by the proposal due date.

All questions regarding this RFP shall be directed to Bryan Moy via email at the email address listed above. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4:00 p.m. ET on January 7, 2022.

5.0 ELECTRONIC DISSEMINATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS

Access to this combined synopsis/solicitation and amendments shall be posted on the Contracting Opportunities website of the System for Award Management: www.sam.gov.

Amendments to the combined synopsis/solicitation shall be publicized in the same manner as the initial synopsis/solicitation. All Contractors are cautioned that it is your responsibility to frequently check back to the website to ensure that you have received all issued amendments.

mailto:bryan.moy@ntsb.gov http://www.sam.gov/

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SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

1.0 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

The Government may award one (1) firm-fixed price contract to the responsible Offeror whose proposal that conforms to the RFP, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other non-price factors considered, such that it provides the best value to the Government. Best value is defined as the procurement process that results in the most advantageous acquisition decision for the Government that is performed through an integrated assessment and trade-off analysis between price and non-price factors.

The Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals if such action is in the public interest. Under a best value procurement, the NTSB may reasonably determine that the superior solution/approach merits a higher price and, therefore, represents the best value to the Government or the NTSB may reasonably determine that the Offeror with other than the highest rating in non-price factors is the best value. The Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities in contract proposals. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions. Offerors are cautioned that they must submit a best offer with the initial proposal. To receive an award, an Offeror must be determined to be responsible.

2.0 EVALUATION FACTORS

The following factors will be evaluated by the Government:

PROPOSAL PART # FACTORS TITLE

1 Executive Summary (not separately evaluated) I 2 Technical Approach II 3 Past Performance III 4 Price

The non-price factors in Part I are evaluated adjectively. The Government will evaluate factors in Part I based on the Offeror’s overall understanding of the requirements. An Offeror’s technical approach describes the degree to which the Offeror’s technical capability satisfies all the requirements in the SOW and demonstrates that the Offeror has a clear understanding and knowledge of the SOW requirements and how to achieve them in a logical, feasible, and technically effective manner. The purpose of the demonstration is for the NTSB to evaluate the degree to which the Offeror’s database meets the requirements stated in the SOW through a live demonstration. Offerors are cautioned that despite the relative weight of the non-price factors, proposals that receive an unacceptable in any factor in Part I may be deemed ineligible for award.

The non-price factor in Part II will be evaluated and will be rated Acceptable or Unacceptable.

The Government will assess the relevance, breadth and quality of the Offeror’s recent past performance with clients whom have purchased similar database systems and evaluate the quality of the Offeror’s past performance based on the past performance references provided in the Offeror’s submission and/or other information obtained from references provided by the Offeror, as well as other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government. An Offeror without a record of past performance or for whom information on relevant past performance is not available will be evaluated as neutral. Offerors

Page | 13 are cautioned that despite the relative weight of the non-price factors, proposals that receive an unacceptable in Part II may be deemed ineligible for award.

Technical Approach is significantly more important than Past Performance. All evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. However, as proposals become more equal in non-price factors, price becomes more important.

Part III, Price is not rated adjectively. Contractors shall complete the tables in Section B-2 of the solicitation and submit it with their proposal. Price will be evaluated but not scored. Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the government’s best interests, the government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. This includes options under FAR clause 52.217-7, Option for Increased Quantity-Separately Priced Line Item, which applies to the solicitation. Evaluation of options under FAR 52.217-7 will be accomplished by using the prices offered for the last option period to determine the price for a 6-month option period, which will be added to the base and other option years to arrive at the total price. Evaluation of options will not obligate the government to exercise the options(s).

Pricing will be evaluated to determine whether the proposed pricing is realistic for the database being purchased; reflect a clear understanding of the requirements and are consistent with the approach described in the Offeror’s technical proposal. As part of its price evaluation, the Government specifically reserves the right to evaluate the risk associated with any pricing schemes.

Price proposals will be evaluated to determine the reasonableness of an Offeror’s proposal.

Evaluation may include analysis to determine an Offeror’s comprehension of the solicitation requirements, as well as the validity of an Offeror’s approach. A price that is found to be unreasonably high or unrealistically low in relation to the proposed database system may result in the proposal receiving a lower rating or an Offeror’s proposal may be rejected if the pricing poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.