Attachment 3 - RFP INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION FOR AWARD - 70US0921R70090014 8-10-21.docx

ATTACHMENT 3 – RFP INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION FOR AWARD

70US0921R70090014

RFP INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION FOR AWARD

Introduction:

1.1. Offeror Questions/Clarifications

All Offeror questions and clarifications pursuant to this RFP must be received in writing utilizing Attachment 8 – Questions/Clarifications form and must email the completed form to the Contracting Officer, Danielle Donaldson @ Danielle.Donaldson@usss.dhs.gov and Contract Specialist Keisha Pender; KEISHA.PENDER@usss.dhs.gov no later than August 24, 2021 at 3:00 PM, ET. No additional questions and/or clarifications will be accepted after that date and time. The Government reserves the right not to provide a response for any Offeror question/clarification. If the Contracting Officer determines that a request cites an issue of significant importance, the Government shall provide a written response to all Offerors.

The Government shall not provide information in response to telephone calls. Contacting other USSS personnel regarding this solicitation in an attempt to gain procurement-sensitive information may result in disqualification from the evaluation process. Written responses to all Offerors questions/clarifications shall be published on beta.sam.gov no later than August 31, 2021 at 3:00 PM, EDT.

1.2. Ordering Period

The IDIQ contract is a 60-month ordering period beginning date of award.

1.3. Proposal Preparation and Proposal Submission Instructions

1.3.1. Cover Page of the Proposal shall include:

1) Name, title, telephone number, fax number, and email address of the point of contact.

2) Nine-digit DUNS. The DUNS is used to verify that the vendor is in SAM. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror acknowledges the Government requirement to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award of any contract. Information about SAM may be found at www.sam.gov.

3) Nine-digit TIN. The Taxpayer Identification Number is necessary for electronic payment.

A two-phase multi-step, advisory down-select strategy shall be used for this procurement.

1.3.2. Volume Submission

Interested firms are required to submit the following Volume in each Phase:

Phase I:

Volume 1 – Corporate Experience and Past Performance

Phase II:

Volume 2 – Technical Demonstration/Oral Presentation Volume 3 – Price

Failure to participate in Phase I of the solicitation precludes further consideration of an Offeror. After evaluation, Offerors who are rated most highly shall be advised to proceed to Phase II of the proposal submission process. Offerors who were not among the most highly rated shall be advised that they are unlikely to be viable competitors, along with the general basis for the Government’s advisory recommendation. The intent of this advisory notice is to minimize RFP development and other costs for those Offerors with little to no chance of receiving an award. Offerors should note that factors evaluated in Phase I are more important than factors evaluated in Phase II. The Government’s advice shall be a recommendation only, and those Offerors who are advised not to proceed may elect to continue their participation in the procurement.

Any proposal that is non-compliant with any requested submission requirements of this RFP may immediately be removed from further consideration.

NOTE: The technical demonstration/oral presentation shall require the submission of power points slides, instructions and coordination shall be communicated via email.

1.3.3 Page Counts

Phases

Not to Exceed Page Limits

Phase I

Advisory Notices Sent

Phase II

The Government shall not consider pages submitted in excess of the stated page limitations, or materials not included in full text within the quote (no links to external information shall be reviewed or considered. Page limitations include all text, graphs, pictures, appendices, references, exhibits, etc. Tabs, index sheets, tables of contents, dividers and other such aids that are solely used to assist the evaluator in locating information and are advisory in nature, imparting no other information other than the identification of content, shall not be counted against any page limits stated within this RFP.

All narrative text contained in the proposal response must be formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper with margins of at least 1” at the top, bottom, and both sides; using single spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font. For charts, tables, exhibits and figures, no less than 8-point Times new Roman font is acceptable. Offerors are cautioned that proposal elements using a font less than 12-point Times New Roman for the narrative and less than 8-point Times New Roman for charts shall not be reviewed by the Government. Any pages that are over the page limit shall not be evaluated. Written proposal and oral presentations shall be evaluated according to the criteria listed in Section 1.4.

1.3.4 Proposal Submission Deadline

Electronic Submissions: The Offeror shall provide an electronic copy of its Phase I proposal to Contracting Officer, Danielle Donaldson @ Danielle.Donaldson@usss.dhs.gov and Contract Specialist Keisha Pender; Keisha.Pender@usss.dhs.gov no later than September 9, 2021 at 3:00 PM, EDT.

Following Government advisory recommendation post Phase I, Offerors shall have approximately 2 business days to notify Government of interest to proceed to Phase II; actual timeline shall be communicated within the notification. The Offeror shall have at least 1 week from the Government’s receipt of the Offeror’s decision to proceed to prepare the submission for Phase II. The Government does not intend to provide debriefings after completion of the advisory down select notifications.

Failure to participate in Phase I of the solicitation precludes further consideration of an Offeror. Submissions shall not be accepted from Offerors who have not submitted the Phase I quote by the due date and time stated in this RFP. The Offeror’s decision not to participate in Phase II of the procurement precludes further consideration of an Offeror and renders them ineligible for award.

Any proposal that is non-compliant with any requested submission requirements of the RFP may immediately be removed from further consideration.

Offerors are strongly encouraged to emphasize content in response to all RFP requirements.

1.4 Technical Evaluation Factors for Each Phase

The Government shall be conducting the evaluation in two phases. Evaluations shall be based on the requirements specified in the Performance Work Statement.

Offerors are advised that if they are unable to meet all requirements in the Performance Work Statement then they shall not be eligible for award. Offerors are encouraged to articulate how their proposed system shall allow for credentialing services in accordance with the Performance Work Statement. Offerors are cautioned that the quality of their proposal and adherence to RFP response requirements and/or restrictions, are considered reflective of the manner in which Offerors shall be expected to perform work under this IDIQ contract. This shall be given due consideration throughout the evaluation process.

Phase I: The Government shall be evaluating the following:

Factor 1: Corporate Experience. The Offeror shall provide three (3) examples of experience, of its own experience. The examples of prior experience must be for contracts that are ongoing or completed within the past five (5) years from the date of the solicitation. The Offeror shall demonstrate the managing of the project schedule, costs, deliverables, and personnel. The proposal shall address how the Offeror shall staff the project and manage all resources assigned in support of the PWS. This experience should be from the offeror’s own experience as a prime or subcontractor. Experience from proposed subcontractors shall be subject to the conditions set forth below. Offerors shall detail key personnel experience in the form of résumés.

If the Offeror proposes subcontractors and/or teaming arrangements, the management approach shall explain to what extent subcontractors and/or team members shall be involved in the performance of the proposed tasks, identify the functional area for which they shall be responsible, and describe how the Offeror shall manage the subcontractor and/or team member participation. In addition, the offeror shall detail the teaming arrangements key personnel experience in the form of resumes.

Offerors shall furnish examples of experience that collectively demonstrate results in all of the following areas, as noted within the PWS:

· Event Management (PWS, Section 1.4.1)

· Project Management

· Secure Data Management

· Planning

· Design / Development

· Execution

· Production, Distribution and Reference

In detailing its solution, the offeror shall provide detailed information on its ability to produce credentials and provide a secure software platform for the collection, management and communication of credential / applicant information (to include personal identifying information – PII) as specified in the PWS. In addition, the offeror shall:

(1) Explain how the submission meets criteria for experience in High Security Events or other major events similar in size, scope and complexity.

(2) Explain if the offeror has any experience in National Special Security Events;

(3) Describe problems, failures, or data breaches that occurred during performance of the example and what actions were taken to overcome them and ensure quality of performance.

(4) Describe difficulties or constraints that occurred and what the company did to overcome them.

(5) Describe challenges related to software compliance in an evolving environment of cyber security requirements.

Factor 2: Past Performance. The Government will evaluate Offerors’ relevant past performance managing contracts similar in size, scope and complexity to that contemplated by the solicitation. Past Performance is relevant when an Offeror has been confronted with the kinds of challenges and risks contemplated by the solicitation. In order for the past performance to be considered relevant, it must have been performed within the past three (3) years. The more similar an Offeror’s past performance is to the solicitation requirements, in terms of size, scope and complexity, the more relevant it will be considered.

Evaluation of past performance will be based upon the completed questionnaires (See Attachment 7) obtained from the references identified by the Offerors and/or the past performance information contained in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The Government can consider information about Offerors’ past performance information from any source and is not restricted to information obtained from the past performance questionnaires, references or the past performance database. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to make sure past performance questionnaires are returned completed with their proposal.

The three examples that are being provided under corporate experience should include the following information:

(1) The name and contact information of a reference that can substantiate the experience and results.

(2) Agency that contract was performed for;

(3) Questionnaire Respondent Name and Title;

(4) Respondent’s Phone Number and Email Address;

(5) Contract Number. Only one contract per example; (Contract number must be included)

(6) Contract value;

(7) Contract Period of Performance (effective date and expiration date)’

(8) Contract Type.

Any example that does not comply with the above instructions shall not be evaluated. It is the responsibility of the offeror to submit completed past performance questionnaires with their proposal.

Phase II:

The Government shall be evaluating the following:

Factor 3: Technical Demonstrations/Oral Presentations:

The Offeror shall prepare and provide a virtual demonstration with the Government where they shall be presenting their credentialing services and exhibit their proposed solution’s capability in performing selected requirements and an oral presentation discussion their technical approach. This shall be responsive to sample task orders for a small and a large high security event. The list of requirements and capabilities the Offeror shall be expected to demonstrate shall be sent out with the specific instructions for Phase II. Any parts of the technical demonstration and oral presentation, including but not limited to responses to questions, may be incorporated in the IDIQ contract award.

Offerors have no other written submission requirement except to provide a copy of any documents used during the presentation (such as updated copies of presentation slides). NOTE: These slides shall not be separately evaluated but may be used by evaluators as a memory aid. These slides are approximately due one (1) week prior to the scheduled oral presentation. The Government may video or audio record the oral presentations. Offerors are expressly prohibited from recording, including audio, video, screen capture, cellphone pictures etc. The offeror’s oral presentation shall provide the Government an understanding of the offeror’s proposed solution and plan to the Government’s need for Credentialing Solutions as described in the PWS. The oral presentation shall address the solution, plans and resources necessary to satisfy all PWS objectives. A sample of a credential badge shall be provided during the technical demonstration.

Oral presentations shall be evaluated according to the criteria listed in the Evaluation Factors.

Specific timelines and instructions for the demonstration, including sample data, shall be provided by the Government at least 1 week prior to the Offeror’s scheduled demonstration/oral presentation, the Government shall provide a date that presentation slides shall be due.

The Government intends to conduct on-the-spot evaluations after the technical demonstration/oral presentations.

Factor 4: Price – The Offerors shall be required to submit pricing in Phase II only. For evaluation purposes, Offerors shall propose pricing on sample task orders. (See Attachments 4 and 5). Offerors must provide pricing for both sample events. The Total Evaluated Price will be the sum of the Sample Task Order.

In addition, Offerors must provide prices for all services to perform the work which is described in the task order PWS. If an offeror fails to provide a price for all services, the proposal may be deemed incomplete and rejected at the Contracting Officer’s discretion.

Price shall be evaluated, but shall not be assigned a confidence rating, or scored. The Government shall evaluate proposed prices to determine if the prices are fair and reasonable, reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the Offeror’s proposal.

The price evaluation may also include an evaluation of the Offeror’s price for the purpose of assessing the risk inherent in the Offeror’s approach. Proposals may result in a determination of unacceptability or lower evaluation, if they are (1) unrealistic in terms of either technical or cost/price; (2) indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity and risk associated with the solicitation requirements; (3) reflective of a lack of competence; or (4) indicate an inherent performance or cost risk weakness in the approach. The contracting officer shall evaluate prices using the policies and methods in FAR Subpart 15.404-1.

1.5 Evaluations and Selection for Award

Evaluations shall be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 15.3. The IDIQ contract shall be established with the Offeror whose proposal for the Credentialing Performance Work Statement represents the best value to the Government. For the purposes of this RFP, “best value” is defined as the procurement process resulting in the most advantageous acquisition decision for the Government and is performed through an integrated assessment and trade-off analysis among Phase I and Phase II evaluation factors. The Government may elect to award to other than the lowest priced proposal, based on the results of the tradeoff analysis between non-price and price factors. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a single-award IDIQ contract without communications with Offerors. The Offerors should therefore propose their best approach to meeting the requirements of the PWS and solicitation. However, the Government reserves the right to enter into discussions if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the Government. To be eligible for award, the offeror must be deemed responsible in accordance with FAR 9.1; meet all requirements of the solicitation; conform to all required terms and conditions; and include required representations and certifications.

All technical factors are weighted in order of importance, with Factor 1 (Corporate Experience) and Factor 2 (Past Performance) are equal but more important than Factor 3 (Technical Demonstration/Oral Presentations). When combined Factors 1 (Corporate Experience), Factors 2 (Past Performance) and Factor 3 (Technical Demonstration/Oral Presentations) are more important than Factor 4 (Price).

1.5.1 Evaluation Confidence Factors

All non-price factors except past performance in Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be rated using the Table 1 –Confidence Ratings listed below:

Table 1 Confidence Ratings

Past Performance Factor will be rated using Table 2 – Performance Risks listed below:

Table 2 Performance Risks Risk

Definition