Request_for_Information.docx

Request for Information: ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese160198ap

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND CAPABILITY STATEMENTS

for

What Works Clearinghouse: Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting Contract (WWC-PEPPER)

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to support a requirement for the What Works Clearinghouse: Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting Contract (WWC-PEPPER). The tracking number for this procurement is iese160198ap, and the anticipated solicitation number is ED-IES-16-R-0014. The anticipated release date for this solicitation is June or July 2016. The draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and draft Instructions to Offerors are attached. This procurement is a recompete of ED-IES-12-C-0084 (prime contractor: Development Services Group, Inc.). It is anticipated that ED-IES-16-R-0014 will be released as a solicitation on the “FedBizOpps” website https://www.fbo.gov/. It is not known at this time whether this will be a full-and-open competition or a small business set-aside. The planned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541720 (“Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities”; $20.5m size standard).

This announcement does not constitute a Request for Proposals, and the Department is not seeking proposals at this time. Instead, the purpose of this announcement is for the Department to collect market research. The Department is conducting market research via two methods both described in greater detail below. The purpose of the Request for Information is to gather feedback on the draft PWS so that it may be improved prior to release of the solicitation. The purpose of the Request for Capability Statements is to determine whether there is sufficient capability among the small business community to justify setting this procurement aside for small business competition only.

Parties that submit responses to Request for Information are not guaranteed any response from the Department. The Department does not plan to notify submitters whether their capability statement was rated as “Capable” or “Not Capable,” nor does the Department plan to provide submitters with any analysis of the capability statement. However, the Department will review all capability statements submitted that meet the requirement set forth below. Parties are permitted to submit clarification questions as part of a response to the Request for Information, however the Department guarantees no response to any questions submitted.

A party’s failure to respond to this request will have no impact on its ability to submit a proposal in the event of the release of a solicitation. In the event that the Department releases a solicitation for this procurement, whether or not a party submitted a response to the Request for Information will have no impact on the Department’s evaluation of the proposal submitted. If the Department determines that a small business set aside is not appropriate for this procurement, both small and large businesses will be permitted to submit proposals for the procurement as prime contractor.

The Department does not plan to release or publish the names of any submitters, nor does the Department plan to release or publish any submissions. In the event of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Department will provide the submitter of any capability statement an opportunity to make proposed redactions to protect confidential corporate information.

A party submitting a response to both the Request for Information and the Request for Capability Statements shall send these submissions as two separate emails, in accordance with the instructions below.

Request for Information The Department is soliciting feedback on the planned procurement, including on the draft PWS and the Instructions to Offerors. Examples of feedback include:

· Unclear sections of the PWS.

· Additional information that an offeror would require from the Department before it could submit a proposal (e.g., necessary updates to the PWS).

· Concerns over the Department’s identification of contract type (Firm Fixed Price vs. Cost Reimbursement) for specific tasks/subtasks.

· Concerns over the timeline(s) described by the Department in the PWS.

· Material mistakes or typos in any of the Department’s documents.

· Disagreement over the planned NAICS code for this procurement.

Format Requirements: The response to the Request for Information shall be a single document that is either MSWord or PDF format. There shall be a cover page that shall states “Response to Request for Information (ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap),” the name of the company submitting the response (unless it is submitted on behalf of an individual), and the name, telephone number, and email address of an individual that the Department may contact if we have additional questions. The remainder of the document may be as long as 10 pages (in addition to the 1-page cover page). It shall be formatted with no smaller than 12-point font (single spacing is permitted), though these formatting restrictions do not apply to any tables or charts.

Submission Requirements: The response shall be emailed to Stephen.Madsen@ed.gov, with a cc: to Sabrina.Phillips@ed.gov. The subject line of the email shall be “Response to Request for Information (ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap) ([Name of Company])” (e.g., “Response to Request for Information (ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap) (ABC Co.)”).

Deadline: Responses are due by April 29, 2016 5:00pm EST, though the Department reserves the right to accept late submissions at its discretion.

Request for Capability Statements As part of its market research efforts to identify capable and qualified firms appropriate for this procurement, the Department invites any firm (large or small) that believes that it is capable of acting as the prime contractor for this procurement to submit a capability statement. As part of its capability statement, the offeror may demonstrate its technical capabilities vis-à-vis the PWS, its relevant corporate experience, the expertise of key staff, and the adequacy of its financial accounting systems (in relation to cost reimbursement contracting). The submitter is permitted to discuss planned teaming arrangements with subcontractors/consultants.

Format Requirements: The response to the Request for Capability Statements shall be a single document that is either MSWord or PDF format. In addition to the one-page cover page (more details below), an additional seven pages of content are permitted. These seven pages shall have font no smaller than 12-point (single spacing permitted) (though the font-size restriction does not apply to charts or tables) and one-inch margins. After the cover page and the 7 content pages, the submitter is permitted the following two appendices (no additional appendices are allowed):

· A statement about whether or not they have an approved Federal audited accounting system. If the submitter has an approved accounting system, please provide the certification in which the accounting system was deemed adequate (e.g. the name of the audit agency and audit number). There is no page limit for this appendix.

· An appendix (10 pages maximum) of resumes of key staff

The one-page cover page shall include:

· “Capability Statement for ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap”

· The name of the company.

· The website address of the company (if applicable).

· The point of contact (name, phone number, email address) of a company representative who can answer any questions that the Department may have.

· The vendor’s DUNS number.

· A statement certifying that the vendor has active System for Award Management (SAM) registration, or a statement describing the current status and when the vendor expects to achieve active SAM status.

· If the vendor has any General Service Administration (GSA) schedule contracts, the contract numbers for those GSA agreements.

· Corporate structure (corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional corporation, etc.).

· A statement as to whether the submitter qualifies, under the NAICS code provided on page 1 of this document, as any of the following: (i) Small Business, (ii) Small Woman-Owned Business, (iii) Small HUB-Zone Business, (iv) Small Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business, (v) Small Disadvantaged Business.

Submission Requirements: The response shall be emailed to Stephen.Madsen@ed.gov, with a cc: to Sabrina.Phillips@ed.gov. The subject line of the email shall be “Response to Request for Capability Statement (ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap) ([Name of Company])” (e.g., “Response to Request for Information (ED-IES-16-R-0014, iese1601098ap) (ABC Co.)”).

Deadline: Responses are due by April 29, 2016 5:00pm EST, though the Department reserves the right to accept late submissions at its discretion.