Attachment 2 - SECTION M--EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD.doc

SECTION M--EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

AWARD DETERMINATION

Award will be made to the offeror whose offer provides the best value to the government, considering price and the non-price factors listed below. Non-price evaluation factors, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price.

The selection official will base the award decision on a tradeoff between price and non-price factors, comparing the relative risk to the government of poor or non-performance posed by each of the offerors, and making a judgment as to whether or not reduced risk of performance is worth the additional cost. Although price is significantly less important than the other factors, it is still important, and in some cases award may be made to a lower-ranked but lower-priced offer.

EVALUATION FACTORS

Acceptability of the Offer

The Government will determine the acceptability of each offer on a pass or fail basis. An offer is acceptable when it manifests the offeror's assent, without exception, to the terms and conditions of the RFP, including attachments. If an offeror takes an exception to any of the terms and conditions of the RFP, then the Government will consider its offer to be unacceptable.

Capability of the Offeror

The Government will assess the capability of each offeror on the basis of the following criteria which are of approximately equal value: (1) Organizational Experience, (2) Organizational Past Performance, and (3) Understanding of the Government's requirements. The Government will not assess capability on a pass/fail basis, but will use its assessments of capability as a basis for comparing offerors to determine best value.

(1) Organizational Experience. Experience is the opportunity to learn by doing. The Government will evaluate each offeror's organizational experience on the basis of its breadth, its depth, and its relevance to the work that will be required under the prospective contract. The Government will not evaluate an offeror's organizational experience on the basis of the personal experience of the offeror's key personnel. However, the Government will consider the extent to which the offeror's key personnel have worked together in the past. The Government will evaluate the organizational experience of the offeror's proposed key subcontractors.

(2) Organizational Past Performance. Past performance is a measure of the degree to which an offeror satisfied its customers in the past and complied with Federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Government will contact some of each offeror's customers to ask whether or not that: (1) that the offeror was capable, efficient, and effective; (2) the offeror's performance conformed to the terms and conditions of its contract (specifications); (3) finished within the contract time; (4) the offeror was reasonable and cooperative during performance; and (5) the offeror was committed to customer satisfaction. In evaluating past performance, the Government will contact some of the references provided by the offeror and other sources of information, including, but not limited to: Federal, state, and local government agencies, better business bureaus, published media, and electronic data bases. The Government may evaluate the organizational past performance of the offeror's proposed key subcontractors.

(3) Understanding of the Government's Requirements. The Government will evaluate each offeror's relative understanding of the Government's requirements on the basis of its written submittals addressing the following subfactors:

a) Any information that indicates the extent to which the site for this project was visited.

b) The results concluded from the site visit.

c) The resources (personnel and equipment) which are planned for use on the project, and how realistic that plan is given concurrent obligations.

d) Site-specific safety plan.

e) Plan of work.

f) Where applicable, estimated production rates.

g) The offeror will submit a safety plan for this specific project that will address, among other things, a communications plan, egress of injured workers and protection of the public and Government personnel.

Project: South Fork Aerial Seeding & Mulching Solicitation #: 127EAX24R0031

RESPONSE TO EVALUATION FACTORS

Name of the firm:

Experience of the Firm

What contracts has your firm performed which are similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity to this project? (You need not list more than 5.)

What other contracts has your firm performed in the past three years that would show your firm’s capability to undertake this project?

If yours is a new firm or has no directly relevant experience, how do you propose to acquire the expertise to perform the contract? (e.g., subcontracting arrangements [list subcontractors and their experience], hiring experts [list key personnel and their experience])

Past Performance Information

Whom may we contact concerning your performance on the projects listed above? (If reference is for a subcontractor or key person, identify which subcontractor/key person is referenced.)

Understanding of the Work

a) How extensive was your site visit for this project? (e.g., ‘didn’t visit;’ ‘drove by some areas;’ ‘walked each acre.’)

b) What did the site visit reveal about the comparative difficulty of the project—e.g., the problems that are likely to be encountered during performance?

c) How many and what types of workers will be assigned to the project?

d) What equipment will you use for this project?

e) What is your plan for safety at the job site(s)? Identify the hazards specific to the site(s) and the types of work being performed and how you plan to mitigate the risks—to your workers, FS inspectors, and the public.

f) What average production rate do you expect to achieve over the course of this project? (This rate should be reflected in your price breakdown as well.)

g) What sequence of work are you planning to ensure timely completion of the project? (i.e., what areas or work processes will be done first? next? last?)

h) What contracts do you currently have scheduled to which you will need to commit resources during the period for the performance of this project?