Attachment_G_-_NPSAS-16_Conflict_of_Interest_Certification.docx

CONFLICT OF INTEREST CERTIFICATION

2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS 2016) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies

(ED-IES-13-R-0011)

Instruction to Offerors

All offerors shall submit a Conflict of Interest Plan, providing details on its policies and procedures to identify and avoid potential organizational or personal conflicts of interest (or apparent conflicts of interest). The plan should be part of offeror’s business proposal. The Plan should also address procedures taken to neutralize or mitigate such conflicts, if they have not been or cannot be avoided. The Plan should indicate that such policies and procedures are operative throughout the period of performance of the contract or task order. The policies should address, at a minimum, gifts, outside activities financial interests, or other significant connections or identifications that would establish, or give the appearance of establishing, a conflict of interest. A method for periodically reviewing financial interests of employees, subcontractors and consultants, and their immediate families, in order to assess actual or apparent conflicts of interest should be included in the plan. In this clause, the term “potential conflict” means reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest.

The thoroughness, completeness and effectiveness of the Plan shall be evaluated as part of the offeror’s overall proposal. The Plan will be incorporated into the contract or task order awarded to the successful offeror.

Solicitation Provision (Representations and Certifications) Conflict of Interest Certification

(A) The contractor, subcontractor, employee or consultant, by signing the form in Attachment A, certifies that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which 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 situations such as the following:

1. Unequal access to information – a potential contractor, subcontractor, employee or consultant has access to non-public information through its performance on a government contract.

2. 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,

3. 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:

· 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;

· significant connections to teaching methodologies or approaches that might require or encourage the use of specific products, property or services; or

· significant identification with pedagogical or philosophical viewpoints that might require or encourage the use of a specific curriculum, specific products, property or services, 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.

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, 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 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 Title 18, U.S. Code, § 1001 and fines of up to $5000 for violation of Title 31, U.S. Code, § 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.

ATTACHMENT G

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

Conflict of Interest Certification

The offeror, _______________________________, hereby certifies that, to the best of their 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. ____________ 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 Conflicts of Interest (or apparent conflicts of interest).

Offeror’s Name ___________________________________________________

RFP/Contract No. _________________________________________________

Signature ________________________________________________________

Title ____________________________________________________________

Date ____________________________________________________________