Amended_Section_L-Instructions _Conditions _and_Notices_to_Offerors.docx

AMENDED

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FAR 52.252-1) (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the CO will make the full text available. The Offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the Offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the Offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this address: https://www.acquisition.gov .

L.1.1 FAR Provisions and Clauses Incorporated by Reference

L.2 Requirements for Certified Cost or Pricing Data and Data Other Than Certified Cost or Pricing Data (FAR 52.215-20 (OCT 2010)

(a) Submission of certified cost or pricing data is not required.

(b) Provide information described below:

(1) Breakout for Section B - Price Proposal. The Offeror shall submit a completed Attachment J-1, Labor Rate Table.

The Attachment J-1, Labor Rate Table shall include fully-burdened hourly rates for each labor category per level of security. The fully-burdened rates shall include all direct labor, indirect costs applicable to that direct labor, (such as, fringe benefits, overhead, and G&A), and profit for each category of labor.

Offerors shall include a description of the method that will be used by the Contractor to record and bill for hours under Task Orders. The accounting practices for the contractor shall be clearly identified within the written pricing volume, not within the template (e.g., Contractor records all hours 40 hours per week). The descriptions will be incorporated into the contract and effective for T&M and labor-hour Task Orders.

· Labor Rates. The fully burdened labor rates shall include a rate to accommodate the cost of the contract level program management. Contract-level program management support costs, to include the Program Manager, encompass support for contract-level management, reporting requirements (See Section F, Deliveries or Performance) and related travel and meeting attendance costs associated with the Contractor’s program management staff. This relates to overall management of the PPMSS Program. As a result, these program management support costs shall be included within each fully burdened labor category rate, and shall not be proposed as separate labor categories.

The contract-level “program management” support costs are differentiated from individual Task Order “Task Order Manager” or “Project Manager” support costs, which are to specifically support project management for individual Task Orders. The “Task Order Manager” or “Project Manager” support labor hours are billed at hourly labor rates against individual Task Orders for direct support to the effort performed under those Task Orders. This will result in direct billings at the Task Order level.

(ii) Materials (Direct), Subcontracts for supplies, and ODCs: As defined in Section B.6.1, Time and Material, the Government will provide a specified amount to be used for evaluation purposes for estimating material, subcontracts for supplies and other direct costs. However, actual materials, subcontracts for supplies, and ODCs will be negotiated at the TO level. Offerors are required to propose indirect rates applicable to direct materials, subcontracts for supplies, and ODCs.

(iii) Indirect Rates: The indirect rates applicable to direct materials, subcontracts for supplies, and ODCs in the pricing templates will be ceiling rates and apply to the Contractor only. However, the Offeror may at its discretion elect to propose lower indirect rates on a task-by-task basis.

L.3 Type of Contract (FAR 52.216-1) (APR 1984)

The Government intends to make two (2) or more awards form this solicitation. The contracts will utilize T&M, L-H, and FFP TOs.

The Offeror shall submit a single Volume I and Volume II which clearly identified components of the Basic IDIQ and Task Order 0001 as indicated within the RFP instructions.

L.4 Service of Protest (FAR 52.233-2) (SEPT 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in Section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the General Accounting Office (GAO), shall be served on the CO (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Federal Student Aid 830 First Street, NE Washington DC 20202 Email: Monifa.Coleman@ed.gov

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

L.5 Proposals

L.5.1 Communications and Questions

Communications and questions concerning this solicitation or requests for clarification shall be made in writing to the Contracting Officer (Monifa Coleman) and Contract Specialist (Jacqueline Richardson) via electronic mail.

The due date for questions’ concerning the RFP is NO LATER THAN 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time on September 1, 2016, with the company name, RFP number, and “questions” stated to the email address: FSAEAT@ed.gov .

As soon as an Offeror is aware of any problems or ambiguities in interpreting the specifications, terms or conditions, instructions or evaluation criteria of this solicitation, the CO shall be notified.

All questions will be answered via amendment and provided to all Offerors on the Internet at www.fbo.gov. No questions will be attributed to the respective Offerors.

L.5.2 Delivery of Proposal

Proposals (in their entirety) are due NO LATER THAN 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time on September 14, 2016 to the email address: FSAEAT@ed.gov and one (1) hard copy marked “original” and 1 CD.

CAUTION: See the proposal submission instructions, including the provision describing treatment of late submissions, notifications and withdrawals of proposals at FAR Clause 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition.

The proposal (in its entirety) shall be delivered to the electronic mail address designated in the paragraph (a) below with one (1) hard copy marked “original,” and one (1) CD. The outer wrapping of each package/box of the offer shall cite the information shown below. Failure to properly address the outer wrapping correctly may cause an offer to be misdirected.

(a) Offeror’s return address ATTN: Jacqueline Richardson Department of Education Federal Student Aid 830 First Street, NE Washington DC 20202 Email: FSAEAT@ed.gov

(b) FSA Solicitation Number: EDENFS-16-R-0004

Approved proposal delivery methods include only the following: 1) Certified Mail: U.S. Postal Service; 2) Federal Express; 3) electronic mail; 4) UPS and 5) hand delivery. If the Offeror elects to forward the offer by means other than U.S. Mail, it assumes the full responsibility of insuring that the offer is received at the place and by the date and time specified in this solicitation. Such proposals must be closed and sealed as if for U.S. Postal mailing.

(LATE PROPOSALS EITHER HAND DELIVERY OR BY MAIL WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED).

Contractors shall contact the assigned contract specialist or contracting office (before the closing deadline) to receive hand delivered proposals upon arrival to the lobby.

L.6 Solicitation Copies and Enclosures

An electronic copy of the solicitation, amendments, and related documents will be available for download via Internet at: www.fbo.gov 24 hours a day. It shall be the responsibility of the Offeror to reproduce additional copies for its use and monitor FBO for additional information and amendments.

L.7 Proposal Preparation Costs

This RFP does not commit the Government to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP. The CO is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this procurement.

L.8 General Instructions - Basic IDIQ and Task Order 0001

Offerors shall examine and follow all instructions. Failure to do so will be at the Offeror's own risk. Proposals shall conform to solicitation provision FAR 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors - Competitive Acquisition, and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in the evaluations, proposals shall be clearly and concisely written as well as neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. Prospective Offerors are asked to bear in mind that all material submitted should be directly pertinent to the requirements of this RFP. Extraneous narratives elaborate brochures, uninformative "PR" material and so forth, shall not be submitted. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered, and identified with the name of the Offeror, the date, and the solicitation number to the extent practicable.

L.8.1 Proposal Integrity

In responding to this RFP, it is the Offeror’s responsibility to provide current, complete and accurate information in their proposal. If in reviewing the proposal the Government identifies or otherwise learns that the provided proposal information is not accurate or misrepresents the Offeror’s status or capabilities that information may be used by the CO as part of the Offeror’s responsibility determination and could result in the Offeror not being eligible for award.

L.8.2 General Format Instructions - Basic IDIQ and Task Order 0001

Offerors shall furnish the proposal in separate volumes for both the basic IDIQ and TO 0001 as follows:

Volume I: Technical/ Management Proposal (Basic IDIQ and Task Order 0001) Volume II: Contract, Small Business Participation Cost/Price Proposal. (IDIQ and TO 0001) *Volume III: Past Performance shall only be submitted for the Basic IDIQ (only).

Basic IDIQ Volumes I, II and III, shall be submitted in the following manner specified below:

FILE NAME

Tab A - Cover Letter

Executive Summary

Tab B - Program/Project Management

Tab C- Staffing (Resume)

FILE NAME

Tab A - Exceptions, Deviations and Assumptions

Tab B - Standard Form (SF- 33)

Tab C - Price Proposal

VOLUME III

Past Performance

FILE NAME

Tab A -Past Performance (Excluding Questioner)

Tab B - Relevant Experience

Each volume, hard copy, electronic mail copy, and CD, shall be complete in itself in order that evaluation of one volume may be accomplished independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other. Electronic copies shall be provided on CDs and shall be formatted using Microsoft Office 2003 (MS Office 2003) or Portable Document Format (.PDF) as specified in the Proposal Organization Table above. Electronic files shall be named as specified throughout the Instructions to Offerors, Section L. Individual file sizes shall not exceed 5 MB. CDs shall be labeled on the disc to include: Offeror Name, Offeror DUNS number, Solicitation name and number, Volume Number, and Copy Number (e.g. Original, etc.)

Offers submitted in response to this solicitation shall be in the English language and in terms of U.S. dollars. Paper size shall be 8-1/2 by 11-inch white paper with printing on one side only. However, the Attachment J-1, Pricing Template, shall be 8-1/2 by 14-inch white paper with printing on one side only. The font (typewritten or printed letters) shall be 12 point Times New Roman (with the exception of pre-printed product literature). No reduction in font or print size is permitted except for headers, footers, organization charts or other graphic illustrations. In those instances where reduction is allowable, Offerors shall ensure that the print is easily readable; no less than 8-point font on graphic illustrations and 10-point font on tables, headers and footers; Arial font is acceptable for charts or other graphic illustrations. Each page shall have adequate margins on each side (at least one inch) of the page. Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be evaluated) may be included in the 1" margin space. Fold outs for complete spreadsheets and/or organization charts are permissible up to 11 by 17-inch, with printing on only one side, if secured with the volume. Large sheets (i.e., greater than 8-1/2 by 11 inch) shall count as two (2) pages. Offerors’ proposals shall not exceed the page limitations set forth below. Pages that exceed the maximum page limitation will not be evaluated.

In the event of a conflict between the contents of the hard copy version of the proposal and the contents of the electronic version, the hard copy version shall prevail. The Offeror shall provide a certification that the hard copy version of the proposal is exactly the same as the electronic version.

Note: Proposals found to be non-compliant with proposal instructions may not be evaluated and may be eliminated from further consideration.

L.9 Format and Instructions for Proposal Submission - Basic IDIQ and Task Order 0001

In order for the technical proposal to be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, NO PRICE INFORMATION IS TO BE INCLUDED IN VOLUMES I AND III.

L.9.1 Volume I - Technical/Management Proposal

Offerors’ proposals submitted must meet the small business size standard, and demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to provide the full range of program/project administrative and IT support, meet the appropriate requirements criteria, and represent the Best Value to the Government.

Tab A - Cover Letter (One (1) page limit) and Executive Summary (One (1) page limit) Volume I The filename shall be “Volume I –Tab A – Cover Letter -Offeror Name.doc”

A cover letter shall accompany the proposal to set forth any information that the Offeror wishes to bring to the attention of the Government. The cover letter shall also stipulate that the Offeror’s proposal is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP. The cover letter shall also contain a certification that the hard copy version of the proposal is exactly the same as the electronic version (excluding Volume II, Tab C, Financial Statements, which are only included on the electronic version). In addition, it must contain a statement that the Offeror’s proposal acceptance period is valid for 120 days.

The Executive Summary shall provide an overview of the proposal and is to be used as an aid in understanding the organization, content, and interrelationship of the proposal material. Information is to be presented at the summary level and should only include general information about the proposal and the Offeror’s understanding of, and its capability to meet the requirements of the solicitation.

Tab B - Program/Project Management (Ten (10) page limit) Volume I The filename shall be “Volume I –Tab B – Program/Project Management -Offeror Name.doc”

Tab B information shall present the management approach and organization designed to manage this contract. This section shall include:

a) Organization. An organizational chart for the contract and all lines of authority, including the roles and responsibilities of the Contractor, if applicable, and the position of the Contractor within its overall organization and a description of the level of project oversight planned in terms of authority to make programmatic decisions and implement design solutions.

b) Coordination. Its plan to maintain coordination with the principal Government representatives (the PPMSS CO and COR) and the organizations placing orders against this contract;

c) Task Order Management. The Offeror shall describe its approach and methodologies to the planning, execution, tracking, and reporting of the Task Orders awarded under this contract.

d) Quality Control. Its overall quality control plan for ensuring that all users will receive high quality services throughout the term of the proposed contract;

Tab C - Staffing (Two (2) page limit, excluding resumes) Volume I The filename shall be “Volume I –Tab C – Staffing -Offeror Name.doc”

Tab C shall provide the resume of the proposed PM that describes the qualifications of fulfilling the responsibilities in Program Management per 3452.243-70 Key Personnel (section I); the resume of the proposed shall describe the qualifications of fulfilling the responsibilities of the Key Personnel and its plan for recruiting, training, and retaining qualified personnel and personnel with appropriate security clearances as required by individual Task Orders.

Program Manager

Program Manager

Project Manager

Investment Analyst

* A letter of commitment will be required for all key personnel L.9.2 VOLUME II – Contract, Small Business Participation, Cost/Price Proposal

Tab A - Exceptions, Deviations and Assumptions (One 1 page limit), Volume II The filename shall be “Volume II –Tab A – Exceptions, Deviations and Assumptions -Offeror Name.doc”

Each proposal shall include an exceptions, deviations and assumptions section in Volume II that identifies and explains in detail any exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions taken with the requirements of the RFP. Any exceptions, deviations and assumptions taken must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation. All benefits to the Government shall be fully explained for each exception taken. Exceptions and deviations will not, of themselves, automatically cause a proposal to be termed unacceptable. A large number of exceptions and/or deviations, or one or more significant exceptions and/or deviations not providing benefit to the Government, may, however, result in rejection of your proposal as unacceptable or otherwise non-compliant.

Tab B - Contract Documents-(Form SF-33) Volume II The filename shall be “Volume II –Tab B –Contract Documents-Offeror Name.doc”

a) A completed SF-33 and signed SF-30s (Amendments). The Offeror's acceptance period shall not be less than that prescribed in Block 12 of the SF-33.

b) Completed Representations and Certifications, in accordance with Section K.

c) Disclosure of Potential or Actual Organizational Conflict of Interest

(a) As applicable, supplementary information, such as: Information regarding security clearances*;

*Note: PPMSS does have a mandatory minimum requirement for a 5C security clearance. However, Offerors should note that future Task Orders may include security requirements based upon the nature of the planned efforts. In order to receive such work, Offerors must be capable of receiving a 5C security clearance.

Tab C - Price Proposal (Page Count Unlimited) Volume II The filename shall be “Volume II –Tab C –Price Proposal-Offeror Name.doc”

Each Offeror shall provide completed Attachments: Labor Rates for Basic IDIQ Pricing Templates (J-1). The Offeror shall propose fully-burdened ceiling labor rates for ALL labor categories inclusive of all contract years. The fully-burdened labor rates include all direct labor and indirect costs applicable to that direct labor (such as fringe benefits, overhead, and G&A), and profit. In addition to its hardcopy proposal, the Offeror’s completed worksheets shall be submitted to FSA in Microsoft Excel 2003 format via electronic mail (e-mail and CD). Any other format may be unreadable by FSA and will result in the Offeror’s pricing not being considered; thus resulting in a material non-conformity and ineligibility for award. Read-only files will not be accepted.

Offerors shall include an explanation of other factors to be considered along with proposed prices in the written pricing volume. The Offeror shall submit the following information:

(a) A description of the method that will be used by the Contractor to record and bill for hours under task orders. The accounting practices for each member shall be clearly. The descriptions will be incorporated into the contract and effective for T&M and labor-hour task orders.

(b) For the purpose of the pricing template, materials means direct materials, subcontracts for supplies and incidental services, and other direct costs as defined in FAR 16.601, Time-and-Materials contracts, except applicable indirect costs.

(c) A description of the indirect rates applicable to direct materials, subcontracts for supplies, and ODCs, including the base to which each rate will apply. Indirect rates are ceiling rates.

(d) A detailed description of the pricing methodology or algorithm for developing rates. This information will be used to determine specific rates as requirements occur.

Note: Failure to offer rates for all labor categories and all contract periods will affect the ability of the Government to evaluate the proposal and will result in Offeror ineligibility for award.

Unrealistically low prices may indicate an inability to understand requirements and a high-risk approach to contract performance. Accordingly, the Government may consider the findings of such an analysis in evaluating an Offeror’s ability to perform and the risk of its approach.

Rates

(1) Contractor Site Rates. When performing at a Contractor site, the fully-burdened labor rates shall include applicable indirect costs for office space and all normal supplies and services required to support the work requested under this contract. This includes, but is not limited to: telephones, faxes, copiers, personal computers, postage, including courier services such as Federal Express, ordinary business software, such as word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, etc., normal copying and reproduction costs.

(2) Only Government-required labor categories are included in Attachment J-1, Labor Rate Tables. Additional labor categories may be proposed and added to meet specific TO requirements.

L.9.3 VOLUME III – Past Performance

Tab A - Past Performance (Three (3) page limit, excluding Past Performance Questionnaires) The filename shall be “Volume III –Tab A –Past Performance-Offeror Name.doc”

The Offeror shall provide information to demonstrate its past performance. Past performance information is comprised of:

(a) A brief narrative statement for each reference of how the example demonstrates a favorable experience for the customer and how it is an indication of expected quality on PPMSS. The contact information and organization for each reference shall be included within the statement. If known, include the date the reference forwarded the questionnaire to FSA via email.

The filename shall be “Volume III –Tab A –Past Performance Statement-Offeror Name.doc”

(b) A completed Past Performance Questionnaire submitted by each of the references cited in Tab C (L.9.1 Tab-C Staffing). The Offeror shall be responsible for ensuring that each of the customer references receives, completes and returns Attachment J-2, Past Performance Questionnaire, to the Contracting Officer. The Offeror shall complete the project title and contract reference number to match its Tab C proposal information before sending the form to three of its references. The completed Questionnaire shall not be submitted with the Offeror’s proposal submission. The completed Questionnaire shall be submitted directly via email from the customer reference to the email box for the respective evaluation track listed in Section L.5.2 by the due date established for receipt of offers. Failure to receive a questionnaire from a reference will result in the non-consideration of the Reference. If the Offeror demonstrates that an earnest attempt was made to collect the required information, the Government may, at the Contracting Officer’s discretion, consider the Reference. The message shall originate from the references corporate or government email system and the “subject” line in the submission email shall clearly indicate: PPMSS Past Performance Questionnaire Submission for Offeror [Name]; or The Government reserves the right to contact customers identified in the proposal and solicit further information about performance in regard to quality, timeliness, cost, and business relationship. The accuracy of past performance data, including phone numbers of the points of contact are the full responsibility of the Offeror and inaccuracy may result in non-consideration of the reference. Other related past performance information may be sought and used for evaluating completeness and accuracy of the Contractor’s proposals. Past performance information may be obtained from a variety of sources including other Government agencies.

(c) The Offeror shall indicate in this Tab if it has no past performance. Offerors with no past performance will receive a neutral rating.

Tab B - Relevant Experience (Ten (10) page limit) Volume III The filename shall be “Volume III –Tab B –Relevant Experience-Offeror Name.doc”

In addressing the Relevant Experience Factor, the Offeror shall describe its qualifications and detail its specific experience conducting work of the same and/or similar nature to that described in SOW Section C of this requirement. The proposal shall include the following:

(a) The Offeror shall provide a narrative statement of its qualifications for being a Contractor on PPMSS and what expected benefit FSA will derive. The Offeror shall consider that it is competing for one of a limited number of contract awards in a competition that will include potentially many Offerors.

(b) The Offeror shall provide three (3) different examples of Relevant experience information for active or complete “relevant/recent” contracts/Task Orders and/or subcontracts (including Federal, State, and local Government or commercial) directly related to the services identified in the Section C, Statement of Work. At least one (1) experience described must be as the Offeror. At least one (1) experience must demonstrate the use of creative support or innovations in achieving or exceeding customer objectives.

Note: Recent is defined as within the last three (3) years from the date of release of this RFP.

Relevant is defined as work which is the same and/or similar in complexity and scope to the work described in the PPMSS requirement(s).

Project description. Identify the work performed. Describe the key objectives of the project, including the scope and complexity of the efforts and how the customer benefited operationally or strategically. Describe any other aspects of the project to demonstrate its relevance to being a FSA PPMSS Contractor. Describe the applicable team member’s role in the project and the challenges and lessons learned from your experience as the contractor. Describe the integration of resources (e.g. personnel, tools, applications, etc.) into the customer’s environment.

* Please Note Relevant Experience is not the Same as Past Performance

L.10 Alternate Proposals

Alternate proposals will not be considered.

(End of Section L)