Attachment 2 - Instructions_to_Offerors.pdf

ATTACHMENT 2 - Addendum to FAR 52.212-1

Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items

FAR Provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Products and Services (Sep 2023) applies to this acquisition and the following addendum applies:

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1

Reference paragraphs (b) and (c) under provision FAR 52.212-1. These paragraphs are tailored to read as follows:

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated proposals via email to the Contract Specialist, Joel Auer at joel.d.auer.civ@mail.mil, and the Contracting Officer, Mike Carnley at charles.m.carnley.civ@mail.mil.

Proposals may be submitted on the SF1449 or letterhead stationery. Submit proposals in four (4) volumes as outlined below.

(c) Period of acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer for 120 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.

The following paragraphs referenced under provision FAR 52.212-1 are deleted:

(d) Product samples, is hereby deleted.

(e) Multiple offers, is hereby deleted.

(h) Multiple awards, is hereby deleted.

Instructions to Offerors:

Proposals will be evaluated in terms of both price and other technical evaluation factors in accordance with the evaluation criteria contained in this solicitation. Offerors must thoroughly read and understand the terms and conditions contained in the solicitation. Failure to provide information requested in the solicitation may render the Offeror’s proposal technically unacceptable and preclude it from any further consideration. Offerors must ensure that the information contained in their proposal is factual, accurate and complete.

This acquisition will be negotiated in accordance with FAR Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items; and FAR Part 15 - Contracting by Negotiation.

Communications Between the Government and Offerors:

1. Questions regarding this solicitation, prior to proposal submission, may occur for the purpose of clarifying elements of the solicitation.

a. Questions will be submitted by electronic mail to the Contract Specialist, Joel Auer via email at joel.d.auer.civ@mail.mil and Contracting Officer, Mike Carnley via charles.m.carnley.civ@mail.mil with the appropriate subject: H9821026RE002

Solicitation Question; and must be received by 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on March 05, 2026. Questions received after this date and time may not receive a response. Answers to questions will be posted to the SAM.gov website.

b. Offerors will submit questions in the following format:

c. No information concerning this RFP or requests for clarification will be provided in response to offeror-initiated telephone calls. All such requests must be made by electronic mail in the format noted above and submitted to the above email addresses.

2. It is expected that there will be adequate competition; therefore, other than cost and price data may not be required. However, if at a later time it is determined that such data is required, the Contracting Officer reserves the right to require additional detailed cost data in accordance with FAR Provision 52.215-20, Requirements for Certified Cost or Pricing Data and Data Other than Certified Cost or Pricing Data.

3. If an offeror has any questions regarding this solicitation or believes that the requirements in this instruction contains an error or omission, the offeror will immediately notify the Contract Specialist, Joel Auer at joel.d.auer.civ@mail.mil, and the Contracting Officer, Mike Carnley at charles.m.carnley.civ@mail.mil, in writing, in the format provided in the table above, and by the solicitation question due date and time identified in item 1 above. If an offeror believes that the requirements in this instruction are otherwise unsound, the offeror will immediately notify the Contracting Officer, Mike Carnley at charles.m.carnley.civ@mail.mil, in writing with supporting rationale. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions.

4. Submission of a proposal that does not contain all of the items requested in this section may result in elimination from consideration for award.

5. Acquisition History Data:

Contract #

Contractor

Type of Contract

Period of

Performance

Value

Acquisition

Strategy

H9821021C004

Peterson’s

LLC

FFP & T&M

30 July 2021 through 29 June 2026

$11,254,690.93

Full and

Competition

Question RFP or Attachment and

Page

Name of Firm and POC

Tel No. E-mail

Proposal Preparation and Submission Requirements:

1. Proposals shall be clear and concise and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. Proposals shall not simply restate or rephrase the Government’s requirements but rather provide a rationale explaining how the Offeror intends to meet the Government’s requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s proposal.

2. Cross-Referencing: Each volume must be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated without cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal.

3. Offerors shall use letter-sized (8 ½” X 11”) pages (portrait format), single sided, single-spaced, with one-inch (1”) margins and use 11-point font in an easily readable font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Smaller fonts for tables, charts, and illustrations are acceptable, as long as they remain legible. Each page shall be counted except for the following: Cover pages, table of contents, glossary, appendices tabs, attachment tabs, offer/subcontractor teaming agreements, affiliate documentation, and/or Joint Venture Agreements. The Government will read/evaluate only the maximum number of pages allowed. The Government will not review pages in excess of the stated page limitations for each volume. The Government may not consider proposals that do not conform to the specified organization and content. The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation. The contents of each volume are described in the table below:

4. Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits: The Offeror must prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization Table below. The titles and contents required for each volume are defined in this table. Each Offeror must submit a complete copy of their proposal, including all volumes, electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer as documented above. Proposals must be submitted as four (4) separate volumes as follows:

Proposal Organization Table Volume Title Page Limitation I Business Volume None

II Factor 1: Technical Capability

50 (excluding the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Glossary). The Government will only review up to the 50th page of this volume, therefore, any pages beyond 50 will not be evaluated.

III Factor 2: Past Performance 15 (excluding the Cover Page, Table of Contents, Glossary, signed commitment, and affiliate documentation).

IV Factor 3: Cost/Price Proposal None

5. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms: Each volume will contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation of each.

6. Each page of the documents submitted must be clearly marked with the Offeror’s Name and solicitation number.

7. Proposals must have the following Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Source Selection Sensitive references marked/incorporated into the appropriate pages on each proposal page.*

a. Header on all pages shall include the following, centered marking:

i. 1st Line of Footer: “CUI”

ii. 2nd Line of Footer: “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104”

b. 1st page, bottom right corner (above footer):

Controlled by: DHRA and [Company Name] Controlled by: DHRA AMD and [Company Name] CUI Category: SSEL Distribution/Dissemination Controls: FEDONLY POC: Joel Auer, 202-941-7002 and [Company POC Name, Phone Number]

c. Footer on all pages shall include the following, centered markings:

i. 1st Line of Footer: “CUI”

ii. 2nd Line of Footer: “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104”

*These requirements apply to Excel spreadsheets as well*

8. Any Offeror that submits a proposal in response to this solicitation must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), in accordance with FAR Clauses 52.204-7 and 52.232-33, when submitting an offer. If any Offeror is not registered in SAM.gov, the Offeror will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for award. Registration information for SAM can be found at: https://sam.gov/content/home.

9. Offerors are instructed to read the entire solicitation, including all Attachments, prior to submitting questions and/or preparing a proposal. This is an all-or-none requirement.

Submission of a proposal that does not contain all of the items requested in this attachment will be deemed noncompliant, will not be evaluated, and result in elimination from consideration for award.

10. Proposal submissions in response to this solicitation must be received no later than the date and time specified in Block 8 of the SF1449 of the solicitation. Proposals must be received electronically by the closing date and time IAW FAR 15.208(b)(1)(i). Email submission of proposals is the required transmittal method.

Submissions may be submitted in multiple emails, but each individual email may not exceed 30 MB. This 30 MB includes the size of the offeror’s submission, and the Government added security packet scans. Offerors must ensure that their emails, including the additional security attachment scans by the Government, do not exceed 30 MB to ensure they are received by the due date and time.

11. Funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this solicitation unless funds are available.

12. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. Offerors are responsible for all costs of preparing and submitting a proposal. If the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government will not reimburse the Offeror for any costs.

VOLUME I - Business Information (No page limit) shall include:

1. Company Name, Address, Point of Contact Information of individual authorized to represent the company and Phone Number, CAGE code, Unique Entity ID (UEI), Business Size, FAR and DFARS provisions above which require completion by the offeror.

2. An executive summary of the Offeror’s proposal and a statement that the Offeror accepts the terms and conditions of the solicitation.

3. A clear description of all prime contract, subcontract and/or teaming arrangements proposed. For each subcontractor and teaming partner, the Offeror shall include the company name and division (if applicable), company URL, role in contract, mailing address, UEI, and primary and alternate points of contact and contact information.

4. Point of contact information for persons authorized to answer questions and/or negotiate on behalf of the offeror.

5. Acknowledgement of all Solicitation Amendments.

6. A copy of the Offeror’s Representations and Certifications. If all Representations and Certifications have been completed and up to date in SAM.gov, then a statement identifying that SAM is completed and up to date shall be made in the Business Volume in lieu of including a copy of the Representations and Certifications.

VOLUME II: Factor 1, Technical Capability (50 Page Limit)

Volume II shall include a Table of Contents and Glossary with hyperlinks and page footers that separately identify each document within this volume using this format: “Document name – Page # of # Pages.” The 50-page count limit excludes the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Glossary.

Element A: Technical Approach and Evaluation Methodology

The Offeror shall demonstrate its technical capability to meet the requirements outlined in the PWS. The Offeror shall also demonstrate how they will provide a commercially available computer adaptive course that improves cognitive, metacognitive, and non-cognitive academic skills from basic through pre-college level learning. Particular attention should be paid to Section 4.2, VolEd Workforce Support and Reporting, as these requirements are critical to the Government analysis and return on investment data.

Element B: Program Management

The proposal shall describe the offeror’s approach for providing complete program management support for the Academic Skills Training Program that will fully integrate, manage, control, and document all phases of the contract requirements. Proposal shall describe the project management approach for providing the corporate resources necessary to ensure and maintain service quality levels, staffing levels, training, and risk management.

Element C: Staffing Plan

The Offeror must detail how it will source, hire, and onboard personnel with the necessary qualifications to meet the Performance Work Statement (PWS) requirements, including subcontractor roles. The approach should demonstrate clear organizational management, including an organizational chart that delineates responsibilities, personnel duties, and productive hours to support efficient project operations. The Offeror must also provide all labor categories, experience and skill level of proposed personnel, and labor hours with a crosswalk to the PWS requirements.

Element D: Transition Planning and Execution

The Offeror shall provide a Transition Plan which includes a Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM) which includes tasks, subtasks, duration, and start/end dates to successfully transition from the incumbent contract to the resultant, follow-on contract. The Offeror must also ensure the smooth transfer of contract services, onboarding of personnel, and data system procurement, as well as managing the relationship with stakeholders to facilitate a successful transition. Risk mitigation strategies should be identified to ensure readiness on the first day of full performance.

More specifically, the offeror must address the following:

a. The Offeror must provide a clear and detailed POAM that includes all critical tasks and subtasks necessary for the transition. This plan should outline specific timelines to ensure all transition activities are completed on schedule.

b. The Offeror must ensure the smooth transition of contract services and personnel, including onboarding and training, with minimal support from the incumbent. This includes successfully transitioning key personnel and ensuring they are adequately prepared to assume their roles immediately.

c. The Offeror must detail its approach to maintain open communication, foster collaboration, and address any concerns or issues as these are critical for a smooth transition.

d. The Offeror must identify and track potential risks throughout the transition and provide strategies to mitigate or resolve those risks before they impact full performance. A clear risk management plan will be essential to ensure a smooth transition, especially considering the minimal support from the incumbent.

e. The Offeror must clearly demonstrate how it will be prepared to meet all PWS requirements at the start of full performance, ensuring that all critical transition tasks will be completed, and that the offeror's team is fully prepared for full performance. Strong relationship management will support the smooth execution of tasks and ensure stakeholder satisfaction. The online product must be ready to use upon award of the contract or no later than by the end of the transition phase-in period of one month.

VOLUME III: Factor 2, Past Performance (15 Page Limit, Excluding the Cover Page, Table of Contents, Glossary, signed commitment, and affiliate documentation)

The Offeror shall provide information on its Past Performance Record. This information will be utilized to determine the relevancy and quality of the Offeror’s past performance record to the proposed effort as outlined in the solicitation, including attachments, and the level of confidence the Government has for successful performance based upon the Offeror’s performance under previously awarded, recent, and relevant contracts.

The Offeror shall identify at least one (1), but no more than three (3), of its most relevant contracts or efforts performed within five (5) years of the solicitation issuance date. Multiple task orders on a single contract will NOT be considered as multiple past performance references, rather they will be considered one past performance reference. Past performance references can include Government or commercial work but shall be references where performance was as the prime contractor, first tier subcontractor, or a Joint Venture partner.

The Offeror shall provide a detailed explanation of the relevance of the contracts or efforts to the requirements as stated in Attachment 1 – AST PWS of the solicitation. The references will be evaluated in the aggregate in order to allow Offerors who may not have the entire scope, magnitude, and complexity of the requirement under one individual contract to still be considered relevant if experience with the full scope, magnitude, and complexity of the requirement can be demonstrated within the allotted number of references as described above.

A major subcontractor is defined as those providing twenty percent (20%) of total contract dollar threshold. If major subcontractor experience is provided as part of the past performance references, it will be given weight relative to the percentage of effort being provided by that particular subcontractor in the offer submitted.

If major subcontractor experience is submitted for consideration as part of the Performance Confidence Assessment, the Past Performance Proposal SHALL include a signed commitment by Offeror and major subcontractor certifying that if a contract is awarded resulting from the proposal, the parties commit to joint performance as proposed. If the signed commitment is not fully executed by both parties and provided with the Past Performance Proposal, subcontractor references will not be evaluated or considered.

Affiliate companies, sister companies, teaming arrangements, joint venture agreement, etc. will be considered provided sufficient documentation including an adequate narrative discussing the meaningful relationship between the parties is included in the Past Performance Proposal.

Documentation required as part of the Past Performance Proposal includes a copy of the documented arrangement such as documented affiliation, a copy of the teaming agreement, a copy of the joint venture agreement, etc. and the narrative discussing the relationship.

If an Offeror or its major subcontractor(s) determines they have no relevant past performance data, they shall provide the following statement in lieu of the information request below: “(Insert Offeror or major subcontractor’s name) has determined that they possess no relevant past performance information IAW the RFP.”

Each past performance reference shall include the following:

a) Contractor Name;

b) Was performance completed as the prime contractor or subcontractor;

c) Name of the customer /agency;

d) Contract / Purchase Order Number for the Reference (Subcontract number if a subcontractor for the overall effort);

e) Customer points of contact (minimum of two (2), provide name, telephone number, and e-mail addresses);

f) Length of contract and period of performance (dates);

g) Initial and Final Contract Price for the past performance reference (Subcontract value if a subcontractor for the overall effort);

h) Description of service provided (include sufficient detail to demonstrate the scope, magnitude, and complexity of the service provided relative to this requirement);

i) Discussion of the requirement similarities and differences;

j) Quality of Past Performance to include the timeliness of deliverables required; how costs were controlled; business relationships; management of key personnel, and any other areas deemed necessary to provide insight into actual performance.

Tailored and detailed past performance information enables better correlation to the requisite requirement. Information regarding scope, magnitude, and complexity should be included. This should include a narrative synopsis that describes the specific nature of the work, similarities with the proposed work, and the relevant work experience gained.

a) Scope – the delivery of commercially available, computer adaptive, asynchronous web-based courses that improves cognitive, metacognitive, and non-cognitive academic skills from basic through pre- college level learning.

b) Magnitude – Demonstrated experience and evidence of managing contracts with option periods valued at $2M or more annually, underscoring the capability to effectively oversee substantial financial commitments, deliverables, and performance metrics across multiple periods.

C) Complexity – Successful demonstration of multidisciplinary practices from education, learning science, computer adaptive learning, and postsecondary education preparation to provide technical and management support.

Attachment 5 - Past Performance Questionnaire. Offerors and all major subcontractors shall send this questionnaire to previous customers of relevant prime contracts and subcontracts. The Offeror/major subcontractor shall ask the customer to complete the questionnaire and return it directly to the Contracting Officer (charles.m.carnley.civ@mail.mil) and Contract Specialist (joel.d.auer.civ@mail.mil). It is the responsibility of the offeror to ensure questionnaires are submitted and received by the proposal submission due date. Offerors will not receive copies of the questionnaires as they are submitted directly to the Contracting Office.

The Government may utilize the Federal Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) application, System for Award Management (SAM)/Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (eSRS), or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) or other pertinent officials; responses received from the Past Performance Questionnaire; in addition to the information submitted in the offeror’s past performance proposal to determine the quality and relevance of the Offeror’s past performance.

VOLUME IV: Factor 3, Price (No Page Limit)

For evaluation purposes, Offerors shall complete Attachment 6 –Pricing Table. All unit prices shall be no more than two decimal places, and no rounding shall be utilized. Offerors are instructed not to propose a price for the travel line items (CLINs X002) as the Government has assigned a Not-to-Exceed (NTE) value for the Travel CLINs.

CLINs X001 - Labor and Associated Materials (FFP):

Offerors shall identify and include the following for each CLIN on a separate tab in the Attachment 6 – Pricing Table: the proposed labor categories for each CLIN, the hours per labor category, the total hours, the fully burdened labor rate, and the total price. Offerors shall clearly delineate labor costs associated with transition support applicable to each CLIN.

Material and other non-labor costs shall be included in this CLIN as well. Offerors shall identify these costs individually and separately from the labor information to include identification of the material/item, unit cost, quantity, etc.

The Offeror’s pricing shall provide the total price for each CLIN, including all indirect rates and profit. The Offeror shall identify any discounts offered and any escalation utilized along with the rationale for the same.

CLINs X002 – Travel (T&M):

Offerors shall not revise the unit and total price included for travel. These are estimated, not-to-exceed value(s) for travel costs.

The Government intends to evaluate the FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, as part of the price evaluation for this award. The offeror shall not provide a price for FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. This will be calculated by taking 50% of the total price for all Option Year Four CLINs.

(End of Addendum)