B08_SOL_52_212-1_Instructions_to_Offerors.pdf

Addendum to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2026)

Offerors are responsible for submitting a complete, well-organized quote that clearly demonstrates their ability to meet all requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Failure to address any required element may result in a lower rating or a determination of non-responsiveness.

Quotes must be submitted electronically to the contracting officer at juan_rendon@ibc.doi.gov.

All files shall be submitted in PDF or Microsoft suite format unless otherwise specified.

Instructions for Quote preparation

The following information shall be included with your quote:

1. The technical quote and price quote shall be submitted separately.

2. Responses shall be valid for at least 60 days from the date of submission.

3. The response should be prepared in a format capable of being viewed using Microsoft

Office or Adobe Acrobat.

4. Responses should use an easily readable font size, such as 11- or 12-point, in an easily readable font, such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman. Nine (9) point font size and single spacing is acceptable for any tables, graphics, and illustrations; however, do not submit an abundance of information in chart format.

5. The offer must not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but rather must provide convincing rationale to address and support how the Offeror intends to meet the requirements.

6. Page limits exclude cover pages, tables of contents, and tabs/dividers. Font shall be no smaller than 11-point, with 1-inch margins. Pages exceeding the stated limits will not be evaluated.

7. Assumptions: Provide sufficient detail to fully justify your assumptions. Respondents are responsible for the accuracy of their assumptions, both during the evaluation of responses and contract performance. Accordingly, inaccurate assumptions may be viewed as a lack of understanding on the part of the respondent regarding the government’s requirements and such responses may be unfavorably evaluated or removed from consideration for award

8. Exceptions/Clarifications: Discuss any caveats, exceptions and/or clarifications (including any deviations and conditional assumptions) to technical, pricing or other requirements with respect to this requirement. Any exceptions must contain sufficient justification to permit evaluation by the Government.

9. Questions – If you have questions regarding this requirement, please submit your inquiries via email no later than July 10, 2026, by 5:00 PM EDT to the contracting officer Juan Rendon at juan_rendon@ibc.doi.gov.

10. Quote due date – The due date for responses is July 20, 2026, by 5:00 PM EDT to the contracting officer at juan_rendon@ibc.doi.gov. Any submissions received after the date and time specified herein will not be considered for award.

Offers shall be organized into the following volumes, submitted as separate files:

Volume Content Page Limit

Factor I Technical Approach 20 pages

Factor II Experience 15 pages

Factor III Price No limit

Factor I – Technical Approach

The Technical Approach volume shall demonstrate the offeror's methodology for designing and delivering a validated executive assessment program for up to two SESCDP cohorts of approximately 24 participants each. Offerors shall address each of the following sections:

1. Instrument Validation

Pass / Fail

a. Provide proof that your assessment instruments have undergone validation studies in federal or comparable senior executive environments?

Confidence Ratings

b. Describe how instruments measure the updated ECQs and associated competencies through directly observable behaviors.

2. Simulation Design

a. Describe proposed simulation activities and explain how they are designed to replicate the complexity of an SES environment and elicit directly observable, ECQ-aligned leadership behaviors.

3. Individual Assessment Reporting

a. Describe the proposed individual assessment report format and content, including how reports summarize each candidate's strengths and developmental needs against each

ECQ.

Factor II – Experience

Offerors shall provide up to three (3) recent or ongoing examples (recent is defined as within the last five years) of projects of similar size, scope, and complexity. Examples should demonstrate:

4. Required Content for Each Experience Example

a. Executive Assessment Program Experience – Experience designing and delivering executive-level assessment programs, including the number of participants assessed, the seniority level (SES, SES-equivalent), and the type of organization.

b. Assessor Management Practices – Assessor-to-participant ratios used, how assessors were trained and calibrated, and how consensus reliability was achieved across assessor teams.

c. Validation Approach – How assessment instruments were established as reliable and valid for measuring senior leadership competencies, including the validation methodology and any supporting evidence or documentation. If prior federal-specific validation is not available, offerors shall explain how their general executive assessment validation methodology will be adapted to the federal environment.

Each experience example must include all the following:

1. Name and contact information of a reference that can substantiate the experience and results

2. Contract number (one contract per example)

3. Agency the contract was performed for

4. Contract period of performance (effective date and expiration date)

5. Contract value

Important: Any example that does not comply with the above instructions will not be evaluated. The information must be sufficiently detailed so the Government can determine whether the example(s) demonstrate the contractor's experience. The Government will not contact the reference to obtain details lacking from the offeror's response.

Experience with SES-level federal government assessment programs is strongly preferred.

However, offerors without prior federal experience may demonstrate comparable executive-level assessment experience and must explain, in detail, how their methodology will be adapted to align with federal requirements, including the updated Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Factor III – Price Offerors shall provide pricing information by inserting the total price in each Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) within the Standard Form (SF) 1449. Furthermore, include separately a price breakout that demonstrates how the total prices per CLIN were calculated. The price breakout can be submitted in the offerors’ format of choice.