ATTACHMENT_0006-_INSTRUCTIONS_TO_OFFERORS.pdf

Request for Proposal (RFP) No. DTFT6017R00014

Analysis of Predicted vs. Actual Outcomes of Major Capital Transit Projects

INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTING OFFERORS

1.0 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Offerors will be tasked with providing the following three volumes: (I) Technical, (II) Past

Performance and (III) Price. Volume III- Pricing must address the period of performance of one

(1) 12-month base period and one six-month option period. Contractors are requested to submit prices to provide the services outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW). All Sections are to be clearly separated from the other (i.e., page break, blank page divider, etc.). Each Offeror shall provide all price information only in Volume III- Pricing. The Technical Proposal shall not contain any price information. The offeror’s Price Proposal (Volume III) submission shall consider the mix of labor categories and level of effort required to perform the services described in the SOW.

2.0 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION

The offeror’s proposal must be submitted electronically via email only by the due date of 1:00

PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 to Mr. Deldridge Berry, Contract Specialist at Deldridge.Berry.ctr@dot.gov with a copy to Mrs. Stephanie Cooke-

Nwadibia, Senior Contracting Officer, via email at Stephanie.Cooke-Nwadibia@dot.gov.

The technical, past performance and price proposal volumes must be separate electronic files.

*NOTE: For this requirement, your company’s proposal must be sent electronically only to the email addresses listed above. Hand carried or mailed proposals WILL NOT be accepted by the

Government in response to the RFP. Thus, please ensure that your company allows adequate time to submit a proposal response by the due date and time via email.

3.0 QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted electronically by 1:00PM Eastern Standard

Time (EST) on Thursday, August 3, 2017 to allow for research and dissemination of the answers. Please send your written questions for response to the assigned Contract Specialist, Mr.

Deldridge Berry via email at Deldridge Berry.ctr@dot.gov and the Senior Contracting Officer, Mrs. Stephanie Cooke-Nwadibia via email at Stephanie.Cooke-Nwadibia@dot.gov. *Note: The

Government will not provide verbal nor written responses to telephone calls from the prospective offeror prior to an email message sent to the respective parties previously mentioned.

The offeror’s proposal response must be received by 1:00PM (EST) Eastern Standard Time

(EST) on Monday, August 14, 2017. The proposal response must be submitted with the

Standard Form (SF) -1449 form signed which we provided with this solicitation concerning the respective blocks noted on the form signed by an authorized individual from your company, or as otherwise specified in the RFP. Attached to the RFP is Attachment 0001 –SOW. Additionally, the Offeror must fill out (Attachment 0002) Resume Template for proposed personnel resume submittal and Attachment 0003- Pricing Matrix. As a minimum, the proposal must show:

Submission requirements:

A. RFP Title and number

B. Tax Identification Number

C. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

D. Name of persons having authority to enter into Government contracts

E. Contact Names

F. Contact Email Address

G. Contact Phone

H. Contact Fax Number

I. Complete Business Mailing Address

4.0 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL

By submission of a proposal electronically, the offeror must ensure that the submission is readable, in the format specified in the solicitation, and has been verified as free of computer viruses. Prior to any evaluation, the Government will check all files for viruses and ensure that all information is readable. In the event that any files are defective (unreadable), the Government may only evaluate the readable electronic files. Further, if defective (unreadable) electronic files renders a significant deficiency in the offeror's proposal, the Government may consider the proposal incomplete and not consider such a proposal for further evaluation.

5.0 RESTRICTION OF DISCLOSURE/PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

If the offeror wishes to restrict the disclosure or use of its proposal, use the legend permitted by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-1(e). Individual subcontractor/vendor proprietary information may be submitted via separate marked electronic files. The information contained in these electronic files must be referenced (by volume title, page and section number as appropriate) within the main proposal where the information would have been included if it were not subcontractor/vendor proprietary. The information in these separate electronic files is subject to all other requirements of the RFP and must be well-marked to clearly indicate any special handling instructions.

6.0 CROSS REFERENCING

Each volume, other than the Volume III- Price, shall be written to the greatest extent possible on a stand-alone basis so that its content may be evaluated with a minimum of cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity. Hyper linking of cross-references is permissible. Information required for proposal evaluation, which is not found in its designated volume or cross-referenced, is assumed omitted from the proposal.

*Note: FACSIMILE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY THE

GOVERNMENT.

7.0 PROPOSAL COMPONENTS

As previously stated, a technical, past performance and price proposal volumes are being requested for this procurement.

Proposal Components Max. Pages

FACTOR A: TECHNICAL

AND MANAGEMENT

APPROACH

*ALL respective technical and management sub-factors must be addressed in this volume.

*Note: Representations and

Certifications must be submitted with this volume. It does not count in the maximum page count for this volume.

Resumes are not included in the page count but should be 3 pages maximum; Use

Attachment 0002- Resume

Template for proposed personnel resumes.

15 pages (Maximum) for

Volume I

FACTOR B: PAST PERFORMANCE

No page limit for

Volume II

FACTOR C: PRICE

Including SF 1449 (Enclosure) Attachment 0003 - Pricing Matrix (Use Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet which is Attachment 0003)

No page limit

A page is defined as one side of a sheet, 8-1 /2"x11", with at least one inch margins on all sides, using not smaller than 12- p o i n t type, Times New Roman Font. Line spacing or the amount of vertical space between lines must not be less than single line (Microsoft (MS)

O f f i c e Word 's default line spacing). Character spacing must be "normal", not

"expanded" or "condensed". The margins may contain headers and footers, but must not contain any proposal content to be evaluated. Foldouts count as an equivalent number of 8-

1/2"x11" pages. The metric standard most closely approximating the described standard 8-

1/2"x11" size may be used. Diagrams, tables, artwork, and photographs may be reduced and, if necessary, run landscape or folded to eliminate oversize pages. Text in Diagrams, charts, tables, artwork, and photographs must be no smaller than 10 point. Diagrams, tables, artwork, and photographs must not be used to circumvent the text size limitations of the proposal.

Each Volume requested must be contained within its own individual electronic file and clearly marked as such. Thus, for example, please do not mix Volume I- Technical and Management

Approach with Volume II-Past Performance or Volume III- Price. For Volume III Price, it should include a spreadsheet unlinked to any other spreadsheets or other files and display all rows or columns not hidden. Also, all data input into the spreadsheet must be visible and not hidden or at least not locked from being hidden. The other copy may contain links, but only to documents and spreadsheets that have been submitted as part of the proposal.

8.0 EVALUATION FACTORS

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Technical and Management Approach

Past Performance

Price

Volume I- Technical and Management Approach Volume

This volume addresses the technical aspects of the requirement. It shall indicate the firm's capabilities and the means used to satisfy the requirements stated in the SOW. The Offeror is encouraged to propose innovative solutions that meet FTA's performance requirements for this procurement.

The Offeror shall describe and provide the following in the technical and management approach volume:

FACTOR A- TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH

A.1 Understanding the Project/Task

For this sub-factor, the Offeror must demonstrate an understanding of the project/task and the requirements as set forth in the SOW. This includes a comprehensive discussion of issues relevant to successfully performing and completing the project/tasks, the interrelation and complexity of the tasks, identification of problems, limitations or constraints in performing the work and any proposed alternatives and solutions.

A.2 Technical Approach

For this sub-factor, the Offeror must address completeness, reasonableness, feasibility, and soundness of technical approach and a work plan to conduct the requirement as stipulated in

SOW, with the ultimate goal of meeting the Government's objectives. As it relates to the technical approach, the offeror must provide a detailed technical approach and demonstrate experience regarding the following:

1) Experience with Predicted vs. Actual Analysis of Major Transit Projects;

2) Experience in physical-scope development and capital-cost estimation for a wide variety of projects spanning a range of transit modes, scale and operating environments; and,

3) Experience in service planning, O&M costing, and ridership forecasting for a variety of fixed guideway projects.

A.3 Personnel Experience

1) Experience with Predicted vs. Actual Analysis – The Offeror must demonstrate experience with Predicted vs. Actual analysis of major transit projects.

2) Experience with Before-and-After Studies -The Offeror must demonstrate experience with Before and after Studies of major transit projects.

3) Experience with Physical Scope Development and Capital Cost Estimation- The Offeror must demonstrate experience in physical-scope development and capital-cost estimation for a wide variety of projects spanning a range of transit modes, scale and operating environments

4) Experience with Service Planning, O&M Costing and Ridership Forecasting – The

Offeror must demonstrate experience in service planning, O&M costing, and ridership forecasting for a variety of fixed guideway projects.

5) Proposed Project Manager- For this labor category, the Offeror must provide a brief narrative which provides demonstration of ability to deliver client-collaborative multi-disciplined projects as it relates to the proposed labor category.

6) Expertise of Proposed Team Members: Resumes provided for key and non-key proposed personnel will be evaluated as well as it relates to the Government’s stated qualifications for the labor categories and the nature of the work within this RFP’s SOW.

The offeror shall provide experienced members capable of performing the work requested. The title and a description of the duties the personnel that will perform in accordance with the SOW are required, along with resumes. The labor categories below should be addressed as proposed personnel resumes for this requirement from the Offeror.

Project Manager (Key Personnel Labor Category)

Provides specific experience in Predicted vs. Actual Analysis of major transit projects, transportation planning, complex technical studies, capital and O&M cost analysis, and research activities. Responsible for all aspect of resources allocation, budget development, task deliverable, quality control, and task performance requirements.

Bachelor’s Degree in planning, engineering or related field with minimum of twelve (12) years of experience or Master’s Degree with minimum of ten (10) years of experience in any of the following areas: physical-scope development and capital-cost estimation for a wide variety of projects spanning a range of transit modes, scale and operating environments; experience in service planning, and ridership forecasting for a variety of fixed guideway projects. Prior project management experience must be demonstrated. Vendor must provide project name, location of project, and performance period of project in actual labor category role.

Sr. Professional (Key Personnel Labor Category)

Bachelor’s degree in planning, engineering or related field with minimum of ten (10) years of experience or Master’s Degree with minimum eight (8) years of experience in Predicted vs.

Actual and/or Before-and-After Studies, and in planning and development of transit capital projects. Demonstrate significant experience with the key characteristics of transit projects and their development, including physical scope of the project, capital cost, transit service plans, operating and maintenance costs, and ridership impacts. Demonstrate analytical capabilities and clear, concise writing skills. Responsible for interaction with transit agencies/metropolitan planning organizations on technical issues, providing analytical report and assistance to senior government officials on related issues.

Jr. Professional (Non-Key Personnel Labor Category)

Bachelor’s degree in planning, engineering or related field with minimum of five (5) years of experience or Master’s Degree with minimum three (3) years of experience in Predicted vs.

Actual and/or Before-and-After Studies, and in planning and development of transit capital projects. Demonstrate significant experience with the key characteristics of transit projects and their development, including physical scope of the project, capital cost, transit service plans, operating and maintenance costs, and ridership impacts. Demonstrate analytical capabilities and clear, concise writing skills. Responsible for interaction with transit agencies/metropolitan planning organizations on technical issues, providing analytical report and assistance to senior government officials on related issues.

Admin Assistant (Non-Key Personnel Labor Category)

Bachelor’s degree with no experience or high school with minimum four (4) years of experience performing administrative support activities. Experience in preparing graphical and print/product-ready materials, integrating materials from various sources, and providing meeting support activities is recommended.

A.4 Management and Staffing Approach

1) Management Approach - The Offeror must provide a demonstration of ability to effectively carryout the project tasks. Appropriateness of the management plan, including a depiction of how the project will be administered, time commitments met, and distributed among the project/requirement functions.

2) Staffing Plan - The Offeror must clearly explain the appropriateness of proposed "key personnel" and other staffing as well as the ability to pull in additional resources as needed. The

Offeror must explain in narrative the experience of key team members and the insights and judgment that they bring to the assignment.

Volume II- Past Performance

FACTOR B: PAST PERFORMANCE

The Offeror must provide past performance on other contracts that are relative and similar in scope performed within the last three years. The Offeror must discuss and list three contracts/projects within the past three years as part of Volume II- Past Performance submission to the Government. For each relevant and similar in scope project, the Offeror must include the following information:

i. Name of Contracting Activity

ii. Contract number or other contract identifiers (i.e. Task Order No.)

iii. Total contract value and type

iv. Period of contract performance

v. Description of work to include specific tasks performed

vi. Name and verified telephone number of Contractor's Project Manager or Key Personnel

vii. Name of Government's Contracting Officer Representative (COR), email address and telephone number;

viii. Administrative Contracting Officer or other appropriate references with email addresses and telephone numbers(End of clause)

ix. Name of person(s) having authority to enter into Government contracts

x. Indicate whether past performance information for your firm has been uploaded to any

Federal Government Past Performance Database such as the Past Performance Information

Retrieval System (PPIRS). Please state whether it is still in PPIRS for Government search purposes.

xi. Status of the contract [current, termination (if so why), successfully completed]

The Past Performance evaluation of the narratives will assess the relative risks of the offeror’s success in performing the solicitation’s requirements as indicated by that offeror’s record of past performance. Proposals will be evaluated based on the contractor’s relevant past experience and performance record on similar Federal, State, Local, and Commercial contracts. When assessing performance risk, the Government will focus its inquiry on past performance of the offeror under existing and prior contracts over the past three years as it relates to all solicitation requirements.

The Government’s assessment of past performance concerning the projects submitted with the proposal will also include the following:

• The contractor’s record of conforming to specifications and to standards of good workmanship;

• The contractor’s adherence to contract schedules, including administrative aspects of performance;

• The contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and

• The contractor’s ability to maintain program budgets within a given task order or review assignment.

Quality of performance is defined as the level of past performance provided which will be used as an indicator of the offeror’s likelihood of success. Relevancy is defined as the scope, magnitude, complexity, and similarity of offeror’s past performance as it relates to this acquisition.

Other sources (as well as Government Past Performance Data Systems), aside from those provided by the offeror, may be reviewed by the Government for performance feedback and considered for evaluation of the offerors past performance during the acquisition process. The

Government through clarifications or discussions may verify the information submitted by the offeror with the references provided.

While the Government may elect to consider data obtained from other sources, the burden of providing relevant references that the Government can readily review rests with the Offeror. As it relates to the review of these records, the Government will be reviewing the offeror’s general contract performance, i.e., review of record of company’s conforming to work specifications and standards of good workmanship; adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance, the offeror’ s reputation for reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the offeror’s business-like concern for the interest of the customer as well.

FACTOR C: PRICE

The Offeror shall provide a price proposal that reflects their proposed solution to the

Government's requirements. The price to perform the work shall be for an 18 month-month period of performance (1 base year and 1 option year up to 6 months in duration). Attachment

0003- Pricing Matrix must accompany Volume III- Price Proposal.

Labor Rates/Categories: The Offeror must provide hourly labor rates for each proposed labor category specified in this RFP. For this labor hour effort, the Government has provided estimated hours in Attachment 0003-Pricing. If your firm is proposing different estimated hours based upon review of the requirement, please include the number of hours needed to complete the task for each respective labor category during the entire anticipated period of performance.

The Offeror must also discuss the difference in labor hours proposed if different than the

Government’s provided estimated hours. Proposal should also include the escalation rate for the period of performance stated in the RFP. The annual labor escalation rate and its basis shall be clearly stated with the proposal. The Offeror must discuss your proposed rate as compared to historical experience and include when as well as how escalation will be calculated/implemented.

Also, a determination will be made regarding whether price appears unbalanced either for the total price of the proposal or separately priced line items. An analysis will be made by item, quantity (level of effort proposed) and year to identify any irregular or unusual pricing patterns.

The offeror’s price proposal will be evaluated based on completeness, reasonableness and balance. The determination that the total price is fair and reasonable will be based on information submitted with the offeror’s proposal, the comparison of other competitive offers, the

Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and any other related price analysis tools and methods. Any proposal which is unrealistic in terms of technical approach or unrealistically low in price may be deemed reflective of an inherent lack of technical competency or indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity of the contract requirements and may be grounds for the rejection of the proposal.

9.0 BASIS FOR AWARD

The requirement will be competed among small businesses via RFP numbered DTFT6017R00014 on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). The Government anticipates awarding one labor hour contract for this requirement. Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal is determined to be responsive to all RFP requirements and offers the best value to the Government. Offerors must keep in mind that award will be made to the Offeror that is determined to be also responsive to

FAR 9.104 and whose proposal conforms to the solicitation’s requirements and judged to represent the best value to the Government as well. “Best value” is represented by the most advantageous offer, price and other factors considered. Such offer may not necessarily be the proposal offering the lowest price or receiving the highest rating. A rating of unsatisfactory in any factor will render the entire proposal unacceptable, and, therefore, ineligible for award.

Proposals will be assessed for how well the offeror’s proposal meets the solicitation requirements and the risks associated with the offeror’s approach. Determining how well the offeror’s proposal meets the solicitation requirements will be accomplished in two steps. First, a determination will be made if the offeror’s proposal meets the solicitation requirements. Next, the discriminators will be identified for the proposals reflecting the unique strengths, weaknesses and deficiencies of each offer. In addition, the Government will examine the impact of each discriminator and assess its relative value to the Government. In order to make a sound selection decision, the Government needs to understand the ways in which a given proposal is considered technically strong, as well as the ways in which it is weak or deficient. Hence, a catalog of the strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies facilitates the process of determining which proposal presents the best overall value to the Government. The Government reserves the right to award the contract to the offeror with a higher total evaluated price, if the higher rating would yield the best value to the Government.

10.0 PROPOSING OFFEROR’S PREPARATION COSTS

The Contracting Officer is the only individual legally authorized to commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this procurement. This RFP does not commit the Government to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP nor does it obligate the Government to procure said service. Any questions relative to this procurement should be directed to Deldridge.Berry.ctr@dot.gov with a copy to

Stephanie.Cooke-Nwadibia@dot.gov.

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