DRAFT_FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors.docx

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Products and Commercial Services

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1

INSTRUCTION TO OFFERORS

1. Objectives The Government intends to award a single-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract as a result of this solicitation. Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value in accordance with the evaluation criteria identified in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation Factors for Award. The Government will utilize a phased approach with an advisory down-select for this acquisition. Additional details on the phased approach are contained within this addendum and the Addendum to FAR 52.212-2. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award without discussions. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best approach/terms for technical, management, past performance, and price; however, despite this intent, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Source Selection Authority (SSA) determines they are necessary. If the SSA determines that discussions are necessary, the Contracting Officer shall establish a competitive range comprised of all of the most highly rated proposals, unless the range is further reduced for purposes of efficiency.

2. General Instructions

a. General Proposal Guidance: This section of the Instruction to Offerors provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by the solicitation and in accordance with these instructions. Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this Instruction to Offerors may result in removal of the proposal from further evaluation.

The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their capabilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror's proposal.

The offeror shall make a clear statement in the Volume I cover page that the proposal is valid for a minimum of 210 days from the proposal due date.

Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed artwork, internet hyperlinks, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one digital copy of all unsuccessful proposals.

3. General Information

a. Points of Contact: The Contracting Officer, Meggan A. DeBrobander, and the Contract Specialists, Jordan M. Gerdes and Madalyn N. Lynn, are the sole points of contact for this procurement. Any questions or concerns shall be addressed in writing only to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialists.

b. Debriefings: The Contracting Officer will notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range; whereupon they may request a debriefing within three (3) days after receipt of the notice of exclusion from competition, in accordance with FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a preaward debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing. However, offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for this requirement.

Upon contract award, the Contracting Officer will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR 15.506. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing must make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

Debriefings may be provided orally, in writing, or by any other method at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and will be conducted in accordance with DFARS 252.215-7016.

NOTE: Offerors who elect to not continue (i.e., opt out) to Phase II as a result of the advisory notice in Phase I are not entitled to a debrief at the time of advisory notice; however, the Government may consider providing feedback after award upon request.

c. Discrepancies: If an offeror believes the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialists in writing. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions.

d. Electronic Reference Documents: All referenced documents for this solicitation are available within the Solicitation Module located in Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (https://piee.eb.mil/). Additional documents, known as the Bidders Library, pertaining to the technical requirements of this solicitation are posted on SAM.gov. These documents are access controlled. To be granted access to the Bidders Library, offerors must complete and sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) (Attachment 5) for everyone that will have access and provide to the Government POCs identified in Section 3.a of this Addendum. A table of contents for the Bidders Library is available at Attachment 6.

The Bidders Library is a collection of documents for interested offerors to reference and review for this solicitation. It is offered for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a comprehensive library. Offerors are advised many of these documents are considered “living” documents to be continually updated and may be used for proposal development at the offeror’s own risk. The version made available in the Bidders Library may not be the most current and may not represent the current state off the program. In the event of discrepancies between the information included in the Bidders Library and the RFP, the RFP shall take precedence.

e. Communications: Exchanges of source selection information between the Government and offerors will be controlled by the Contracting Officer and/or Contract Specialists. Exchanges with industry, to include clarifications, communications, and discussions, will be transmitted through email and will be treated as source selection information. Questions will only be addressed if received in email and only when submitted on Attachment 7, Question and Answer Template. Questions/comments are due no later than [12:00 PM (CT) on TBD]. Questions submitted after the submission deadline may not be answered. The email is to be addressed to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialists as follows:

Email Address: meggan.a.debrobander.civ@mail.mil, madalyn.n.lynn.civ@mail.mil, and jordan.m.gerdes.civ@mail.mil Attn: Ms. Meggan DeBrobander, Ms. Madalyn Lynn, and Ms. Jordan Gerdes Subject Line Reference: HTC71125RD002, [Contractor Name], Source Selection Information See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Questions/comments provided prior to the question/comment submission deadline will be answered in writing and posted to SAM.gov. The timeframe for submitting questions will not be extended as a result of an extension to the proposal submission deadline, unless authorized by the Contracting Officer.

4. Organization/ Page Limits.

a. Proposal Organization. The offeror shall prepare their proposal as set forth in Table 1 below. The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as defined in this table, all of which shall be within the required page limits. To the greatest extent possible, each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross referencing to other volumes of the proposal. The contents of each proposal volume are further described in the paragraphs below.

TABLE 1

PHASE I

PHASE II

Technical Factor (Subfactor 3)

* NOTE: Page size and Format requirements, outlined below, do not apply to Factor 1 – Technical Capability (Subfactor 1, Subfactor 2, and Subfactor 3 (Requirements Spreadsheet))

b. Page Limitations. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Page limitations shall not be circumvented by including inserted text boxes/pop-ups or internet links to additional information; such inclusions are not acceptable and will not be considered as part of the proposal. The Government reserves the right not to consider for award any proposal that does not adhere to the administrative requirements of this solicitation.

c. Page Size and Format. A page is defined as the material that fits between page breaks in a Microsoft Office Word document. Pages shall be 8.5 x 11 inches in format size. The font type/text size shall be no smaller than 10-point Arial or Times New Roman (no other font variations are acceptable) font for all text. For all tables, charts, graphs, and figures included in the proposal, the text shall be no smaller than 10-point Arial or Times New Roman font.

Legible diagrams, tables, charts, graphs and figures may be used wherever practical. These displays shall be uncomplicated, legible, and shall not exceed 11 X 17 inches in size. A 11 X 17 is considered as one page and shall only be used when depicting diagrams, tables, charts, etc.

This section does not apply to Government-provided templates and attachments. Offerors shall follow the formatting in the specific document.

d. Table of Contents. Each volume, except the Cost/Price Volume IV, shall contain a more detailed table of contents to outline the information presented within that volume.

e. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. As required, each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, and with an explanation for each. Glossaries of Abbreviations and Acronyms do not count against the page limitations for their respective volumes.

f. Proposal Submission. Electronic copies of each volume shall be submitted through the Solicitation Module of the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) suite at https://piee.eb.mil/. Hard copy, facsimile, or emailed proposals will NOT be accepted. All proposals received after the exact time specified for receipt shall be treated as late submissions and will not be considered except under facts and circumstances allowed by FAR 15.208. Refer to the solicitation posting on SAM.gov for additional PIEE information (e.g., registration, training, and submission process). The Offeror’s proposal submissions shall not exceed the Solicitation Module’s file size limit of 1.9GB per file. If the offeror fails to obtain confirmation of receipt and accessibility from the Solicitation Module, the offeror should assume the Government did not receive the proposal and contact the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist. In determining whether an electronic proposal is late, the Contracting Officer will refer to FAR 15.208(b)(1)(i) and seek information as to whether the proposal was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. CT one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals. Therefore, in order to ensure electronic receipt by the Government, the offeror should submit the proposal not later than 5:00 p.m. CT one working day prior to the submission deadline and request confirmation of receipt from the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist.

In the unlikely event the Solicitation Module is not operational, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contract Specialists and Contracting Officer at jordan.m.gerdes.civ@mail.mil, madalyn.n.lynn.civ@mail.mil, & meggan.a.debrobander.civ@mail.mil respectively. This notification must occur prior to the proposal submission deadline. Contractor notification shall be in writing and may be in conjunction with verbal notification, but verbal notification alone shall not be sufficient. The Contracting Officer will provide alternate submission instructions, if necessary.

All proposal volumes shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document Format (PDF), except the EADE Pricing Template, which shall be submitted in the Government provided format.

The time specified on the SF 1449, Block 8, is in Central Standard Time (CST). Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modification, or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. All proposals are due at [12:00 PM (CT) on TBD]. Any proposals received after the designated time in Block 8 are “late” and will be handled in accordance with FAR 15.208.

5. Proposal Volumes – Phase I

a. Volume I – Business Proposal. The Business Proposal shall include all documents/information required in order to be compliant with the solicitation. Volume I shall be organized according to the following outline:

i. Executive Summary:

1. Offeror’s name. Provide the company/division's facility code; CAGE code; UEI; TIN; and business size (large or small) for NAICS Code 541512. If applicable, identify any specific socio-economic status.

2. The solicitation name and number.

3. Offeror’s Point of Contact’s name, address, email address and telephone number.

4. Names, titles, email addresses and telephone numbers of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government for this solicitation, as well as those persons authorized to sign the proposal.

5. Confirmation offeror’s proposal is valid for a minimum of 210 days from the proposal due date.

6. Provide a list of all subcontractors and/or team members, a listing of their size status, and if applicable, all the socioeconomic programs under which they are eligible.

7. Table of Contents of the entire proposal to include Lists of Tables, Figures, and/or Drawings.

ii. Solicitation/Contract Form. Completion of blocks 30b and signature and date for blocks 30a and 30c of the Standard Form (SF) 1449. Signature by the offeror on the SF 1449 constitutes an offer, which the Government may accept. By signing block 30 of the solicitation, the offeror acknowledges compliance with all sections in this solicitation, HTC71125RD002. Offerors are reminded that many clauses require the prime contractor to include the same or similar clause(s) in contracts with subcontractors.

The offeror must comply with the FAR provision 52.204-7 entitled “System for Award Management.” Offerors are required to be registered in SAM at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. An offeror may be determined ineligible for contract award if not registered within SAM at time of offeror and/or at time of award. Offerors are also required to complete and submit fill-ins, representations, certifications, acknowledgments, and statements reflected in this solicitation.

iii. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)/Mitigation Plan. As required by FAR Subpart 9.5, the Government shall identify and evaluate potential OCIs as early in the acquisition process as possible. The Government shall avoid, neutralize, or mitigate significant potential conflicts before contract award. If any such conflict of interest is found to exist, the Contracting Officer may disqualify the offeror or determine that it is otherwise in the best interest of the Government to contract with the offeror and include the appropriate provisions to avoid, neutralize, mitigate, or waive such conflict in the contract awarded.

The offeror shall provide the Contracting Officer with complete information of any previous or ongoing work that is in any way associated with this acquisition. Offerors shall submit a mitigation plan that addresses actual or perceived conflicts of interest related to the services required by this effort for Government review. The Government will conduct an independent assessment review of any submitted OCI Mitigation Plan to determine if any actual or perceived OCI exists and what further actions are necessary, if any. Additionally, the Government will monitor contract performance for emerging areas of conflict of interest and actions taken considered necessary to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate conflicts. If the offeror believes there is no OCI, a statement as such will be included in the cover letter.

iv. DD254, DoD Contract Security Classification Specification. Offerors (Prime Contractors) shall have and maintain a valid Facility Security Clearance (FCL) at the TOP SECRET level at the time of proposal submission. The prime contractor's Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code that is to be associated with the contract award document shall be the same CAGE code associated with the FCL. The prime contractor cannot use another branch, division, or subsidiary CAGE code to satisfy the FCL requirement. Block 6 of the DD254 shall have the prime contractor information, to include their CAGE code, which shall match the CAGE code submitted on the rest of the proposal documents.

Interim FCLs are acceptable provided they are not expired. FCL procedures and security guidelines for adjudicative requirements are outlined in DoD 5220.22-M. FCLs and Interim FCLs must be awarded by the Defense Security Service Facility Clearance Branch. Failure to demonstrate possession of the appropriate security clearance at time of proposal submission shall render the offeror’s proposal ineligible for award. Completed DD254s must be submitted with proposals, Attachment 2 and Attachment 3.

v. CMMI Level III Certification in the Development and/or Services Model. The offeror shall provide proof of CMMI Level III certification in the Development and/or Services model at the time of proposal submission (Reference PWS Section 2.1). While a Joint Venture (JV) or Contract Teaming Arrangement (CTA) is its own unique entity distinct from the member companies, for the purpose of evaluation, the Government will accept proof of CMMI from each member of the JV/CTA, in lieu of CMMI at the entity-level. Failure to demonstrate possession of a CMMI Level III certification in the Development and/or Services model at time of proposal submission shall render the offeror’s proposal ineligible for award.

vi. Mission Essential Plan. The offeror shall submit a plan that adequately describes how the contractor will continue to perform the essential contractor services listed in the PWS during periods of crisis (e.g., inclement weather, health protection condition and force protection condition level increase to CHARLIE, DELTA), if necessary, for the continuity of operations for up to 30 days or until normal operations can be resumed. These services include PWS Task Areas 7.9 (Enterprise Engineering Support) and 7.11 (Engineering Cloud Support). The offeror’s plan shall address all elements stated in DFARS 252.237-7024(b)(2)(i) – (v). Failure to submit a Mission Essential Plan at the time of proposal submission shall render the offeror’s proposal ineligible for award.

b. Volume II – Technical Capability, Subfactor 1. The Technical Capability Volume for Subfactor 1 should be specific and complete. Responses will be evaluated against the Technical subfactor defined in Addendum to FAR 52.212-2. Using the instructions provided below, provide as specifically as possible the actual methodology to be used for accomplishing/satisfying this subfactor. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation.

In this volume, offerors shall demonstrate their knowledge and understanding for Subfactor 1.

Volume II shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Cover Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Technical Factor Subfactor 1, Architecture – DoDAF Model

4. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

i. For Subfactor 1, Architecture – DoDAF model, in accordance with PWS Section 4.1, the offeror is required to submit architecture models based on a Government-provided use case (Attachment 8). The offeror will be required to submit the following models:

1. OV-5a, Operational Decomposition Tree,

2. OV-6c, Event-Trace Description (Developed using BPMN)

3. AV-2, Integrated Dictionary, utilizing DoDAF

6. Proposal Volumes – Phase II

a. Volume III – Technical Capability, Subfactors 2-3. The Technical Capability Volume for Subfactors 2 and 3 should be specific and complete. Responses will be evaluated against the Technical subfactors defined in Addendum to FAR 52.212-2. Using the instructions provided below, provide as specifically as possible the actual methodology to be used for accomplishing/satisfying these subfactors. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation.

In this volume, offerors shall demonstrate their knowledge and understanding for subfactors 2-3.

Volume III shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Cover Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Technical Factor Subfactor 2 – Data Management – DoDAF Models and Data Mapping Subfactor 3 – Enterprise Engineering Support – Requirements Spreadsheet

4. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

i. For Subfactor 2, Data Management, based on a Government-provided use case (Attachment 8) and Interface Design Document (IDD) (Attachment 9), the offeror will be required to submit and address the following models:

1. DIV-2, Logical Data Model

2. SV-6, Systems Resource Flow Matrix

3. Spreadsheet containing Logical Data Model (LDM) Entity and Attribute to Message Element (Data Exchange) Mapping

ii. For Subfactor 3, Enterprise Engineering Support, based on a Government-provided use case (Attachment 8), the offeror will be required to submit the following:

1. Requirements spreadsheet capturing and decomposing system/user requirements included in Government-provided use case

2. Security risk assessment and how those risks could be mitigated to meet security control requirements

3. Project Charter, a high-level (WBS) Work Breakdown Structure, and Implementation plan.

b. Volume IV - Past Performance. Each offeror shall submit a Past Performance Volume, containing past performance information as described below. Offerors are cautioned that the Government will use data provided by each offeror in this volume and data obtained from other sources in the evaluation of past performance.

The Past Performance Volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1. Cover Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Subcontractor Letter of Consent

4. Past Performance Reference Sheet (Attachment 11)

5. Offeror’s Past Performance Information Sheets (Summary Page included on first page of Past Performance Information Sheet) (Attachment 10)

The offeror shall submit a maximum of six (6) past performance references. The prime offeror shall submit past performance references that are considered relevant (has logical connection to the work described in PWS) in demonstrating its ability to perform the proposed efforts. At least two (2) references shall reflect performance at the prime level. The contract examples must be ongoing or must have been performed during the past three years from the date of the initial proposal due date. If providing an example(s) for a subcontractor, the prime offeror shall clearly state what areas the proposed subcontractor is expected to perform in support of EADE. Utilizing the Past Performance Information Sheet (Attachment 10), offerors shall address all three past performance areas noted below; however, each Past Performance Reference submission does not need to reflect experience in all three performance areas.

1. Performance Area 2 – Enterprise Architecture

2. Performance Area 3 – Enterprise Data Management

3. Performance Area 5 – Enterprise Engineering

A past performance reference shall be a single Government or commercial contract/work effort. The reference should correspond to the level the CPARS references (if the CPARS is done at an IDIQ level, the IDIQ should be referenced). Each reference associated with a single CPARS will be considered one reference. If CPARS reports are only reported at the IDIQ level, this should be noted. Offeror should provide a clear explanation of the relevancy of each reference submitted; however, the Government will not be bound by those statements in making its own relevancy determinations as set out in FAR 52.212-2.

If submitting subcontractor past performance, Offerors are required to submit a letter of consent from principal subcontractor(s) to allow discussion of their past performance. Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. With each proposal, provide a letter from the principal subcontractor(s) performing major or critical aspects of the requirement consenting to release of their past performance information to the prime offeror. The letters of consent do not count towards the page limit for this section.

The offeror shall provide the Past Performance Questionnaire Form (Attachment 12) of this solicitation, to each of the references identified for each of the past performance efforts submitted. The Government will only accept questionnaires from the references listed on Past Performance Reference Sheet (Attachment11). Offerors shall complete the Past Performance Reference Sheet to reflect those individuals requested to complete the questionnaire.

Offerors should request the performance references complete and email the questionnaires directly to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialists. Once the questionnaires are completed by the reference POCs, the information contained therein shall be considered sensitive and shall not be released to the offeror. Early submission of the Past Performance Questionnaire Form (Attachment 12) is encouraged.

c. Volume V - Cost/Price. This section is to assist in submitting information other than pricing data that is required to evaluate the reasonableness and completeness of the proposed price. The Government will verify that all solicitation requirements have been priced, figures correctly calculated, and prices are presented in a clear and useful format.

Volume III shall be organized according to the following general outline

1. Cover Page

2. EADE Pricing Template

3. Supporting Documentation

All information relating to the proposed price, including all required supporting documentation, must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the Price Volume. Under no circumstances shall this information and documentation be included elsewhere in the proposal.

Within the EADE Pricing Template, Attachment 4, all offerors are required to provide fully burdened Labor Hour (LH) and Fixed Price (FP) labor rates (inclusive of direct and indirect rate burdens, and profit) for all labor categories for both Government Site and Contractor Site for each fiscal year, including the 6-month extension period within the “Labor Rate Table” tab. FAR 52.217-8 which authorizes the Government to require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These prices shall be identical to the proposed pricing in the six months prior to expiration. Labor Category Descriptions are included in Attachment 4. The qualifications, skills, and experience identified in this attachment are commensurate to the expected level of expertise for this contract.

For time-and-material Travel estimates, offerors are provided Government estimated, not-to-exceed, dollar figures.

The total evaluated price will include the sum of all Fiscal Years and the six-month extension authorized in FAR 52.217-8.

The labor rates proposed in the EADE Pricing Template (Attachment 4) will be used as ceiling labor rates for pricing of all future task orders issued under this IDIQ contract. As such, the proposed rates from the EADE Pricing Template will be included in Price Schedule of the awarded IDIQ contract.