DRFP 80GSFC24R0001 - Cover Letter - SMAS III.pdf

Rev.: 8/2020

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771

November 27, 2023

Reply to Attn of: 176.1

TO: All Potential Offerors

SUBJECT: Draft Request for Proposal (DRFP), Solicitation No. 80GSFC24R0001, for Safety and Mission Assurance Services (SMAS) III

You are invited to review and comment on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to support the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Directorate’s (Code 300) objective of reducing the risk of exploring Earth and Space by providing a highly respected SMA workforce, who continuously characterizes risk, judiciously applies requirements, and conveys lessons learned to achieve 100% mission success. Specifically, this acquisition will provide safety and mission assurance services, independent surveillance, audit, review and assessment of design, development, test and mission operations activities on-site and at supplier facilities for the SMA Directorate who is responsible for providing support to GSFC projects. This includes management of institutional risk related to project operations.

Potential offerors are encouraged to comment on all aspects of the draft solicitation, including the requirements, schedules, proposal instructions, and evaluation approaches, any perceived safety, occupational health, security (including information technology security), environmental, export control, and/or other programmatic risk issues associated with performance of the work.

Potential offerors should identify any unnecessary or inefficient requirements and are also encouraged to comment on the DRFP CLIN structure, any unique terms and conditions, the clarity of the Scenarios and the Section M Evaluation Criteria.

This competitive acquisition will result in a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the capability to issue Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) task orders. The contract will have an effective ordering period of 5 years from the contract effective date. FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, will be included in the resultant contract for unplanned, unforeseen circumstances or events that are beyond the control of the contracting officer which will allow for extension periods up to 6 months beyond the 5-year period of performance limitation, provided that the option is exercised consistent with the limits outlined in FAR 37.111 and 17.207(f).

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541715 and the small business size standard is 1000 employees.

Potential offerors should ensure its company is listed in the online database(s) for the following:

(1) System for award management: https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

(2) U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, VETS-4212

Reports: https://vets4212.dol.gov/vets4212/

(3) Date Universal Numbering System (and the transition to the US Government’s unique entity identifier (UEI)): https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update

The successful offeror must pass an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) clearance before contract award (See FAR 22.805).

The current planned release date for the Final Request for Proposal (RFP) is on or about January 2024, with proposals being due approximately 30 calendar days later.

The anticipated contract award date is September 2024, with a December 1, 2024 contract effective date. The contract will be performed onsite at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, offsite at the Contractor’s facilities, and other locations that may be specified in the task orders.

The following additional information is provided to assist in understanding this acquisition:

1. A Phase-in period will be conducted under a separate contract or purchase order during the 60-day period prior to the effective date of the contract.

2. The Government will make available existing Installation-Accountable Government Property (IAGP) for onsite contract performance as described in the DRFP.

3. After release of the draft RFP, the SMAS III Industry Day is anticipated to be held in December 2023. Notice will be posted on the acquisition website noted below.

4. NASA has determined that this acquisition may give rise to a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI). Offerors should refer to NFS clause 1852.209-71 Limitation of Future Contracting, for a description of the potential conflict(s) and any restrictions on future contracting. In addition, the attention of prospective offerors is invited to FAR Subpart 9.5 -- Organizational Conflicts of Interest. Offerors should also refer to provision L.30 Notice of Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest for OCI plan instructions and NFS clause 1852.237-72 Access to Sensitive Information. The proposed OCI plan shall be consistent with all other areas of the proposal. Material inconsistencies between the plan and other proposal areas may render the proposal invalid, resulting in an unacceptable proposal that is ineligible for award.

https://vets4212.dol.gov/vets4212/ https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update

5. The SMAS III contract will provide SMA services across GSFC’s various missions, directorates, and locations. The nature of the contract will involve reviewing contractor work and participating in review boards (see SMAS III Statement of Work: Section 6.2).

The SMAS III work would create inherent impaired objectivity OCIs (depending on the parties and the work evaluated) because the SMAS III awardee (and its subcontractors) will necessarily be evaluating its competitors or itself. In 2020 NASA waived unmitigable OCIs related to the SMAS II contract on a class basis, notably those OCIs related to Standing Review Board (SRB) participation. Prior to the award of the SMAS III contract and in accordance with FAR 9.503, a request for Class Waiver to FAR Subpart 9.5 – Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest for SMAS III will be sought to allow individuals who would perform work under the GSFC SMAS III contract, to participate in the SRB process for specified Programs and projects.

6. Please note a SECRET facilities clearance is required for this acquisition in accordance with the DD Form 254, Contract Security Classification Specification. Interested vendors shall have an established Secret facilities clearance at the time of proposal submittal for performance of this contract and this clearance shall be maintained throughout the life of the contract. For proposals submitted as Joint Ventures, the facility clearance must be granted in the name of the Joint Venture.

7. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise

File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform.

Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery - Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box.

Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.

The SMAS III online Reference Library can be found at www.SAM.gov, Notice ID 80GSFC24R0001-elibrary.

In order to control and protect sensitive data owned by the Government and its Contractors, NASA policy requires all acquisition-related documents be released in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

Documents related to this acquisition, including this letter, the solicitation, attachments, exhibits, any amendments and links to online reference/technical/bidders library will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry website at www.SAM.gov. Potential Offerors are requested to periodically monitor the websites for updates.

NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.215-84, OMBUDSMAN, is applicable. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is Russ DeLoach (e-mail: russ.deloach-1@nasa.gov; phone #:

321-258-4810).

mailto:russ.deloach-1@nasa.gov

This DRFP is not a solicitation and NASA is not requesting proposals. This DRFP does not commit NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to procure or contract for this requirement. This request is not an authorization to proceed and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

Any comments regarding the DRFP should be submitted electronically in writing, to Miranda G.

Meyer, Contracting Officer, at miranda.g.meyer@nasa.gov, within 21 calendar days after the release of this DRFP. If a respondent believes their comments contain confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive, or business information, those questions/comments shall be marked appropriately. However, questions that are marked as containing confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive or business information will not be provided a Government response. The Government will consider all comments received in preparation of the Final RFP. To the extent a comment leads the Government to revise the acquisition approach or requirements, the change will be reflected in the Final RFP. Some DRFP questions and comments may receive a posted response to the GPE if the Contracting Officer determines that a response would facilitate additional understanding of the solicitation. The Government may also respond via the GPE to comments and/or questions received following the issuance of the Final Request for Proposal

(RFP).

Miranda G. Meyer Contracting Officer

Enclosure:

Draft RFP # 80GSFC24R0001 mailto:miranda.g.meyer@nasa.gov