NSLDS_Phase_1_Solicitation-AMENDED.pdf

U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007 National Student Loan Data System

Operations & Maintenance

A. Introduction The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid, is conducting a two-phase solicitation in accordance with the Department of Education Acquisition Regulation (EDAR) Subpart 3415.302-70. This acquisition is a set-aside for small business.

The Government anticipates awarding one firm fixed price contract under NAICS code 541511 (Size Standard $25.5 million). However, selection in Phase I of this solicitation does not constitute, nor guarantee, a contract award as there will be no contract award as a result of this Phase 1 solicitation.

Only offerors selected in Phase 1 of this two-phase solicitation process will be provided a copy of the solicitation amendment for Phase 2, and only those offerors selected in Phase 1 will be permitted to submit an offer in Phase 2. The resulting award from the Phase 2 solicitation will have a Base Period of one (1) year and four (4) one-year Option Periods.

B. Background and Description of Scope The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the first comprehensive national database of information about the Federal financial aid history of recipients of student financial assistance authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. As the central database for Title IV student financial aid, the NSLDS stores information about loans, grants, students, borrowers, lenders, guaranty agencies (GAs), schools, and servicers. It provides an integrated view of Title IV loans and grants during all stages of their life cycle—from aid approval through disbursement, repayment, default, and closure. See Attachment 1, Statement of Objectives (SOO) for description of scope.

The Department also anticipates the pursuit of separate procurements to support the planned re-engineering of the NSLDS which is contemplated for full deployment over the next 3-4 years.

These solicitations will be set-aside for small business to the maximum extent possible.

Further, information about this effort will be made available under separate notices.

C. Two Phase Selection Process The following evaluation factors will be used to select offerors for consideration for Phase 2 of this solicitation process. The contracting officer will select the offerors that are eligible to participate in the second phase of the process. The contracting officer will limit the number of the selected offerors to the number of sources that the contracting officer determines is appropriate and in the best interests of the Federal government pursuant to EDAR 3415.302-

70. If offeror receives a rating of “No-Go” then no further evaluation will occur, evaluations of

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

Factors 2, 3, and 4 will not be conducted, and the offeror will not be considered for award in Phase 2.

D. Phase I Evaluation Factors The following constitutes the Phase 1 evaluation factors on which offeror will be selected for consideration for Phase 2 of this solicitation process.

1. Factor 1: Socioeconomic Status, GO/NO-GO Offeror must meet the small business standards under NAICS code 541511 (Size Standard $25.5 million). Offeror’s shall either reference their organization’s Online Representations and Certifications at www.sam.gov or complete and submit FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items (December 2012), See Attachment 6.

The offeror will need to demonstrate their experience by inserting requested information in the NSLDS Phase 1 Evaluation Factors Matrix (See Attachment 4). Through this matrix, the offeror should map all responses to evaluation factors #2 and #3 in an easily identifiable method (e.g.

provide existing contract terms, deliverables, reports, performance and/or usage reports, etc.).

Provide specific references to any documents used to demonstrate the factor requirement(s).

Do not submit capability statements, marketing materials, or similar items. Only submit items described in this solicitation that address the evaluation factors.

2. Factor 2: Corporate Capacity A. Subfactor: Systems Processing Volumes: Offeror must provide demonstrated ability and experience to operate and maintain system processing levels comparable in size and scope as identified on page 1 of Attachment 2: NSLDS System Processing Volumes. Offeror must provide proof of demonstrated ability of volume processing and capacity through documentation to include but not limited to, contract terms, deliverables, reports, performance and/or usage reports, etc. All documentation must be independently verifiable.

B. Subfactor: Technical Expertise: Offeror must provide demonstrated technical experience and expertise of at least 3 years within the past 5 years (since 2009) with the following products and/or function:

i. COBOL https://orca.bpn.gov/

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

ii. DB2

iii. CICS

iv. Cool: Gen CASE Tool

v. Mine & analyze queries of comparable scope and complexity as Title IV data

Offeror must provide proof of demonstrated expertise and ability using required products (i-iv) at a similar level of scope and complexity as NSLDS as described in the Statement of Objectives (SOO) (See Attachment 1) through documentation to include, but not limited to, contract terms, current company personnel resumes, current company certifications, etc.

C. Subfactor: Platform/Environment: Offeror must demonstrate experience to operate & maintain a system of a similar platform/environment as NSLDS (i.e. similar technical components), as described in Attachment 3: NSLDS Platform. Offeror must provide proof of demonstrated experience through documentation to include, but not limited to, contract terms, deliverables, reports, performance and/or usage reports, etc.

3. Factor 3: System Security Experience A. Subfactor: System Management of PII: Offeror must demonstrate experience with managing large quantities of sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Offeror must provide proof of experience through documentation to include, but not limited to, contract terms, deliverables, reports, performance and/or usage reports, etc. See Attachment 2, NSLDS System Processing Volumes as a size guideline.

B. Subfactor: Maintain NIST & FIPS Standards: Offeror must demonstrate experience with maintaining security standards for systems in compliance with security authorization processes as outlined in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication NIST-SP-800-37 entitled Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach; Federal Information Processing Standards FIPS 200 and National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST-SP 800-53 entitled Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. Offeror must provide documented proof, to include but not limited to, contract records, contract deliverables, reports, etc, for demonstrated experience maintaining the specific

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007 security standards identified in this requirement, for an IT system of similar scope and complexity of NSLDS as described in the SOO (See Attachment 1).

C. Subfactor: Authority to Operate: Offeror must have obtained an Authority To

Operate (ATO) for a Federal IT System after May 2010. Offeror must provide documented proof of obtaining an ATO for a Federal IT System.

4. Factor 4: Past Performance Offeror must provide past performance experience, past performance references, and past performance Contracting Officers’ and/or Contract Administrators’ contact information. (See Attachment for, Columns F and G for CO and/or CA contact information and past CPARS ratings.) Offeror’s client(s) must also submit no more than three (3) Past Performance Questionnaires (See Attachment 7). Offeror will be evaluated for past performance based on the following factors:

A. Subfactor: Relevancy: Offeror’s corporate performance to operate & maintain a database similar in size and scope to NSLDS as described in the Statement of Objectives (SOO) (See Attachment 1).

B. Subfactor: Quality: Offeror’s record of providing high quality services of a similar nature to the requirements described in the SOO in a manner that ensures overall client satisfaction.

5. Factor 5: Cost Estimate

Offeror must provide the estimated annual firm-fixed price for the Base Period and four Option Periods. The estimated costs to the Government will be evaluated for realism.

Final pricing will be established in Phase 2.

E. Evaluation Methodology

1. Rating for Factor 1 will be Go/No-Go. If offeror receives a rating of “No-Go” then no further evaluation will occur, evaluations of Factors 2, 3, and 4 will not be conducted, and the offeror will not be considered for award in Phase 2.

2. Factor 2 is more important than Factor 3.

a. Sub-Factors A and B are more important than Sub-Factor C.

b. Sub-Factors A and B are of equal importance.

3. Factor 3 is of equal importance to Factor 4.

a. Sub-Factor A is more important than Sub-Factors B and C.

b. Sub-Factors B is more important than Sub-Factor C.

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4. Factor 4: Sub-Factors A and B are of equal importance.

5. Factors 1-4 are of more importance than Factor 5.

F. Instructions for Offer Submission

1. Proposal Components

A. Business Proposal

• Section A. Socio-Economic Status / Representation and Certifications

Offeror’s proposal must clearly indicate their socio-economic status, if any. Offeror’s shall either reference their organization’s Online Representations and Certifications at www.sam.gov or complete and submit FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items (December 2012) included in Attachment 6. There is no page limitation for this section. Section A shall also include a signed Conflict of interest certification (See section G.)

• Section B. Estimated Cost Offeror’s proposal must include estimated pricing for the Base and Option periods. The estimated Phase 1 pricing may be more or less than the offeror’s proposed pricing in Phase 2.

B. Technical Proposal

• Section A. Evaluation Factors Matrix

Offeror must provide Evaluation Factors Matrix and supporting documents referenced in matrix (See Attachment 4). Referenced documents supporting responses in matrix shall be submitted, but no additional documents/information will be accepted.

Providing additional documentation that is not requested or does not respond to the evaluation factors per the instructions will not be reviewed. Do not submit capability statements, marketing materials, or similar items. Only submit items described in this solicitation that address the evaluation factors. Referenced documents must be clearly cited and marked so they correspond with responses in the Evaluation Factors Matrix.

• Section B. Past performance:

a. Offeror must include the corporate past performance information for no less than the last three (3) years and no more than the last five (5) years, in relation to scope similar to NSLDS. The offeror may use past performance information for more than one client (but no more than three (3) clients overall) within the same performance period. If the offeror’s performance information was for more than one client, the offeror must separate its performance information by client, and clearly correlate the associated performance to each respective client.

b. Questionnaires must be submitted via email to Terri Smith, Contracting Officer, at terri.smith@ed.gov, Alan Cornwall, Contract Specialist, alan.cornwall@ed.gov and Steven https://orca.bpn.gov/ mailto:terri.smith@ed.gov mailto:alan.cornwall@ed.gov

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

Givens, Contract Specialist, steven.givens@ed.gov with a subject line that reads, “Phase 1 NSLDS Questionnaire- [Insert Contractor Name]”.

1. Offer Submission Methods Offerors must submit 5 hard copies of their proposal to:

U.S Department of Education/Federal Student Aid 830 First Street NE, 91C2 Attn: Terri Smith Washington D.C., 20202

Offerors shall also submit offers via e-mail to Terri Smith, Contracting Officer, at terri.smith@ed.gov, Alan Cornwall, Contract Specialist, alan.cornwall@ed.gov and Steven Givens, Contract Specialist, steven.givens@ed.gov with a subject line that reads, “Phase 1 Submission – NSLDS”. All offers shall be included as attachments formatted using Adobe PDF format with a duplicate copy compatible with Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.

Offerors are responsible that the soft and hard copy proposals match exactly. In the event there are differences between the hard and soft copy proposals, the hard copy will take precedence.

Scan the hard copy proposal and submit via email for the Government’s record.

2. Page Limitations An offeror’s proposal submission for Phase I of this solicitation process may only include the following:

1. Attachment 4, NSLDS Phase 1 Evaluation Factors Matrix (Not to exceed four (4) pages),

2. Referenced evidence/documentation in Column D of Factors Matrix (Attachment 4);

(without limit but must correspond with responses in Factors Matrix),

3. Representations and Certifications, (without limit)

4. Past performance questionnaires, and (No more than three (3) Questionnaires)

5. Attachment 5, NSLDS Cost Estimate (Not to exceed one-page).

Offerors proposal submission should be no less than 12 point Times New Roman font with one

(1) inch margins on standard 8.5 x 11 paper. Proposal cover, table of contents, and the list of figure/tables are not included in the page count. Font smaller than 12 point Times New Roman will be accepted only for tables (excluding Attachment 4), figures, headers, and footers, as long as legible. Section titles/headings can be 14 point Times New Roman. For Attachment 4 only:

Offerors may use no less than 10 point Times New Roman or Calibri font with 0.5 inch margins.

In the event that the page limitation stated herein is exceeded, the Government reserves the mailto:steven.givens@ed.gov mailto:terri.smith@ed.gov mailto:alan.cornwall@ed.gov mailto:steven.givens@ed.gov

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007 right to evaluate only the first number of pages up to the page limit, or what the Governments deems to be the equivalent of the first number of pages up to the page limit.

3. Submission Deadline Offers should be received no later than 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time on March 11, 2014.

The time of receipt is considered to be the time in which both the paper copy and e-mail is received at the initial point of entry to the Department’s infrastructure.

G. Additional Information:

Below are the Phase 1 Solicitation provisions and contract clauses. A comprehensive list of additional solicitation provisions and contract clauses will be provided in the Phase 2 solicitation.

1. 3452.209-70 Conflict of interest certification (March 2011).

(Offeror must complete paragraph f of this clause and return with proposal submission.)

(a)(1) The contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant, by signing the form in this clause, certifies that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances that could give rise to an organizational or personal conflict of interest, (see FAR Subpart 9.5 for organizational conflicts of interest) (or apparent conflict of interest), for the organization or any of its staff, and that the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has disclosed all such relevant information if such a conflict of interest appears to exist to a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts (or if such a person would question the impartiality of the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant). Conflicts may arise in the following situations:

(i) Unequal access to information. A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has access to non-public information through its performance on a government contract.

(ii) Biased ground rules. A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has worked, in one government contract, or program, on the basic structure or ground rules of another government contract.

(iii) Impaired objectivity. A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant, or member of their immediate family (spouse, parent, or child) has financial or other interests that would impair, or give the appearance of impairing, impartial judgment in the evaluation of government programs, in offering advice or recommendations to the government, or in providing technical assistance or other services to recipients of Federal funds as part of its contractual responsibility.

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

“Impaired objectivity” includes but is not limited to the following situations that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts to question a person's objectivity:

(A) Financial interests or reasonably foreseeable financial interests in or in connection with products, property, or services that may be purchased by an educational agency, a person, organization, or institution in the course of implementing any program administered by the Department;

(B) Significant connections to teaching methodologies or approaches that might require or encourage the use of specific products, property, or services; or

(C) Significant identification with pedagogical or philosophical viewpoints that might require or encourage the use of a specific curriculum, specific products, property, or services.

(2) Offerors must provide the disclosure described above on any actual or potential conflict of interest (or apparent conflict of interest) regardless of their opinion that such a conflict or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) would not impair their objectivity.

(3) In a case in which an actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) is disclosed, the Department will take appropriate actions to eliminate or address the actual or potential conflict, including but not limited to mitigating or neutralizing the conflict, when appropriate, through such means as ensuring a balance of views, disclosure with the appropriate disclaimers, or by restricting or modifying the work to be performed to avoid or reduce the conflict. In this clause, the term “potential conflict” means reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest.

(b) The contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant agrees that if “impaired objectivity”, or an actual or potential conflict of interest (or apparent conflict of interest) is discovered after the award is made, it will make a full disclosure in writing to the contracting officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions that the contractor has taken or proposes to take to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest).

(c) Remedies. The Government may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. If the contractor was aware of a potential conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the contracting officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. These remedies include imprisonment for up to five years for violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 and fines of up to $5000 for violation of 31 U.S.C. 3802. Further remedies include suspension or debarment from contracting with the Federal government. The contractor may also be required to reimburse the Department for costs the Department incurs

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007 arising from activities related to conflicts of interest. An example of such costs would be those incurred in processing Freedom of Information Act requests related to a conflict of interest.

(d) In cases where remedies short of termination have been applied, the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant agrees to eliminate the organizational conflict of interest, or mitigate it to the satisfaction of the contracting officer.

(e) The contractor further agrees to insert in any subcontract or consultant agreement hereunder, provisions that conform substantially to the language of this clause, including specific mention of potential remedies and this paragraph (e).

(f) Conflict of Interest Certification.

The offeror, [insert name of offeror], hereby certifies that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, there are no present or currently planned interests (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise) relating to the work to be performed under the contract or task order resulting from Request for Proposal No. [insert number] that would create any actual or potential conflict of interest (or apparent conflicts of interest) (including conflicts of interest for immediate family members: spouses, parents, children) that would impinge on its ability to render impartial, technically sound, and objective assistance or advice or result in it being given an unfair competitive advantage. In this clause, the term “potential conflict” means reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest. The offeror further certifies that it has and will continue to exercise due diligence in identifying and removing or mitigating, to the Government's satisfaction, such conflict of interest (or apparent conflict of interest).

Offeror's Name: ________________________________________________________________

RFP/Contract No.: _______________________________________________________________

Signature: _____________________________________________________________________

Title: _________________________________________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________________________________________

(End of clause)

2. EDAR 3452.209-71 Conflict of Interest (MAR 2011)

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

(a)(1) The contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant, has certified that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances that could give rise to an organizational or personal conflict of interest (see FAR Subpart 9.5 for organizational conflicts of interest) (or apparent conflict of interest) for the organization or any of its staff, and that the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has disclosed all such relevant information if such a conflict of interest appears to exist to a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts (or if such a person would question the impartiality of the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant). Conflicts may arise in the following situations:

(i) Unequal access to information—A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has access to nonpublic information through its performance on a government contract. (ii) Biased ground rules—A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant has worked, in one government contract, or program, on the basic structure or ground rules of another government contract.

(iii) Impaired objectivity—A potential contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant, or member of their immediate family (spouse, parent, or child) has financial or other interests that would impair, or give the appearance of impairing, impartial judgment in the evaluation of government programs, in offering advice or recommendations to the government, or in providing technical assistance or other services to recipients of Federal funds as part of its contractual responsibility. ‘‘Impaired objectivity’’ includes but is not limited to the following situations that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts to question a person’s objectivity:

(A) Financial interests or reasonably foreseeable financial interests in or in connection with products, property, or services that may be purchased by an educational agency, a person, organization, or institution in the course of implementing any program administered by the Department;

(B) Significant connections to teaching methodologies that might require or encourage the use of specific products, property, or services; or (C) Significant identification with pedagogical or philosophical viewpoints that might require or encourage the use of a specific curriculum, specific products, property, or services.

(2) Offerors must provide the disclosure described above on any actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) of interest regardless of their opinion that such a conflict or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) would not impair their objectivity.

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

(3) In a case in which an actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) is disclosed, the Department will take appropriate actions to eliminate or address the actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest), including but not limited to mitigating or neutralizing the conflict, when appropriate, through such means as ensuring a balance of views, disclosure with the appropriate disclaimers, or by restricting or modifying the work to be performed to avoid or reduce the conflict. In this clause, the term ‘‘potential conflict’’ means reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest.

(b) The contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant agrees that if ‘‘impaired objectivity’’, or an actual or potential conflict of interest (or apparent conflict of interest) is discovered after the award is made, it will make a full disclosure in writing to the contracting officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions that the contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the contracting officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest).

(c) Remedies. The Government may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. If the contractor was aware of a potential conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict (or apparent conflict of interest) after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the contracting officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. These remedies include imprisonment for up to five years for violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 and fines of up to $5,000 for violation of 31 U.S.C. 3802. Further remedies include suspension or debarment from contracting with the Federal government. The contractor may also be required to reimburse the Department for costs the Department incurs arising from activities related to conflicts of interest. An example of such costs would be those incurred in processing Freedom of Information Act requests related to a conflict of interest.

(d) In cases where remedies short of termination have been applied, the contractor, subcontractor, employee, or consultant agrees to eliminate the organizational conflict of interest, or mitigate it to the satisfaction of the contracting officer. (e) The contractor further agrees to insert in any subcontract or consultant agreement hereunder, provisions that conform substantially to the language of this clause, including specific mention of potential remedies and this paragraph (e).

(End of Clause)

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

3. EDAR 3452.224–70 RELEASE OF INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

(MAR 2011)

By entering into a contract with the Department of Education, the contractor, without regard to proprietary markings, approves the release of the entire contract and all related modifications and task orders including, but not limited to: (1) Unit prices, including labor rates; (2) Statements of Work/Performance Work Statements generated by the contractor; (3) Performance requirements, including incentives, performance standards, quality levels, and service level agreements;(4) Reports, deliverables, and work products delivered in performance of the contract (including quality of service, performance against requirements/standards/service level agreements); (5) Any and all information, data, software, and related documentation first provided under the contract;(6) Proposals or portions of proposals incorporated by reference; and (7) Other terms and conditions.

(End of Clause)

4. FSA 4-1 ONLINE REPRESENTATION AND CERTIFICATION UPDATES (APR 2013)

The Small Business Administration validates a Contracting Officer’s reporting of an awardee’s business size in the Federal Procurement Data System by comparing it with contractor-reported data contained in the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Even if an offeror elects to execute a hard copy of the offeror’s representations and certifications when responding to this solicitation or request for quotation, the offeror is also required to ensure the NAICS identified with this acquisition, and the offeror’s corresponding business size, is updated in SAM.

(End of clause)

5. FSA 27-1: LABELING OF DOCUMENTS (JUNE 2007)

The Contractor shall not label any data produced in performance of this contract in a way that would restrict the Government's right to use or release the information. If applicable, the Contractor shall include a legend that identifies sensitive data that should not be released for security reasons.

Under FAR clause 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General (or 52.227-15, -16, -17) clause, this data may be used for any purpose the Government deems appropriate. Deliverables shall not contain vendor-specific logos, mottos, watermarks, or holograms. The Contractor shall not use, particularly for proposals, U.S. Government logos, such as the U.S. Department of Education or Federal Student Aid.

(End of clause) https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

Phase 1 – Solicitation #ED-FSA-14-R-0007

Attachments

1. NSLDS Statement of Objectives (SOO)

2. NSLDS Systems Processing Volumes

3. NSLDS Platform

4. NSLDS Phase 1 Evaluation Factors Matrix

5. NSLDS Cost Estimation

6. FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items (December

2012)

7. Past Performance Questionnaire for FSA-14-R-0007

(End of Clause)