Amendment_0001_to_ED-VAE-14-R-0058_(SF30).pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6) CODE

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

Check One

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Attachment Page

PAGE 2 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001

Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Solicitation #: ED-VAE-14-R-0058

August 14, 2014

Question 1: Does the Department have an estimate for the total level of effort required for Task

Orders 1 and 2 of this BPA (in either FTEs or total labor hours?)

Department Response: The Department is not releasing an estimated level of effort for either task order. This is a new procurement and the Department is relying on private industry to have the expertise to determine the correct staff mix and level of effort that will result in a competitive price.

Question 2: Does the Department have an expected ceiling for the total dollar amount of the

BPA?

Department Response: As is stated in the solicitation, the ceiling for the Indefinite Delivery

Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will be $50,000,000, which includes the dollar amount for prizes for challenges. Interested parties are reminded that this $50,000,000 is a ceiling amount and that it does not directly link to definitized usage of the IDIQ contract.

Question 3: Can the Department provide more information about the evaluation of submissions that will be requested under Task 2 of the BPA? For example, are offerors expected to test the applications/simulations to work in specific environments (in addition to determining eligibility based on the rules of the competition?)

Department Response: The evaluation of submissions will vary by Task Order and competition.

As part of the Competition Design task that is included in the Task Order PWSs, the contractor is expected to describe its approach and steps to evaluating submissions, including tasks such as functional testing, and its approach to ensuring technical compliance to the competition rules to meet the objectives of the competition.

Question 4: Is the contractor allowed to pay compensation to the judges in return for their service out of the contract funds?

Department Response: Under the current formulation of the solicitation, the PWSs proscribe paying honoraria, travel, lodging, and per diem to third parties (e.g., judges and Subject Matter

Experts (SMEs)). However, if the offeror believes that a better approach is to pay honoraria, travel, lodging, and/or per diem, the offeror is permitted to propose this. In doing so, the offeror shall clearly disclose that it is proposing a solution that is different from the PWS along with the rationale for doing so in its technical proposal. In addition, the offeror shall include the itemized pricing for any travel, lodging, per diem, and honoraria paid to any third parties.

The Department has determined that this procurement will be awarded on firm fixed-price basis.

Therefore, if an offeror wants to introduce flexibility into the pricing of either or both task order(s), it must do so using fixed price methods (e.g., fixed price optional tasks). For instance, where the offeror wants to pay honoraria to judges, the offeror must propose a per-judge honorarium rate.

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Department Responses to Clarification Questions

If the offeror is not proposing the introduction of optional tasks, the offeror shall follow the directions already set forth in the Instructions to Offerors and include the following chart in its business proposal:

A B 1 Proposal Price for Task Order 0001 (excluding

Prize Pool)

2 Prize Pool for Task Order 0001 $250,000.00 3 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0001 =B1+B2 4 Proposal Price for Task Order 0002 (excluding

Prize Pool)

5 Prize Pool for Task Order 0002 $750,000.00 6 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0002 =B4+B5

7 TOTAL: =B3+B6

If the offeror is proposing the introduction of optional tasks, it is imperative the offeror provide pricing for the core or baseline proposal that is separate from the pricing provided for each of the optional items. If the offeror proposes options, it must propose a maximum number of units available to the Government in its technical proposal. In addition, if the offeror is proposing options, the offeror shall include a chart in its business proposal with the following basic format to enable the Government to fully evaluate the total price being proposed:

A B C D 1 Per Unit Price Maximum

Quantity Available to Govt

Total Price

2 Baseline tasks for Task Order 0001 (excluding Prize Pool and optional tasks)

1 =B2*C2

3 Prize Pool for Task Order 0001 N/A N/A $250,000.00 4 Optional Task: Type =B4*C4 5 Optional Task: Type =B5*C5 6 Optional Task: Type =B6*C6 7 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0001 =D2+D3+D4+D5+D6 8 Baseline tasks for Task Order 0002

(excluding Prize Pool and optional tasks) 1 =B8*C8

9 Prize Pool for Task Order 0002 N/A N/A $750,000.00 10 Optional Task: Type =B10*C10 11 Optional Task: Type =B11*C11 12 Optional Task: Type =B12*C12 13 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0002 =D8+D9+D10+D11+D12

14 TOTAL: =D7+D13

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Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 5: Can judges be employees of the contractor/subcontractor(s)?

Department Response: The Department expects judges to be highly qualified to evaluate submissions. As noted in the PWSs, the contractor shall propose a panel of judges for the

Department to approve. If the contractor believes that it or its subcontractors have employees who can serve as judges, they may propose them for the panel of judges. If employees of the contractor or subcontractor are approved by the Department to serve as judges, they will not be entitled to honoraria or additional compensation as described in the Department’s response to

Question 4.

Question 6: The number of judges needed may depend on the volume of eligible submissions that are received for each task order. How should contractors budget for this given the firm fixed price nature of each task order to be issued under this BPA?

Department Response: The offeror should propose its approach to addressing this issue in its technical proposal and include the price for its approach in its business proposal.

Question 7: Will ED expect full transfer of ownership from competition winner(s) to ED? Does

ED expect the contractor to support this IP transfer?

Department Response: The Department recognizes that competition participants may want to retain ownership of the intellectual property it develops in responding to a competition. As a result, the Department is not seeking to own the intellectual property, but will expect that it will receive unlimited license rights to use, modify, develop derivative products, and disseminate any such intellectual property under reasonable commercial license rights in order to continue to meets its operational requirements. It is envisioned that the competition participants will retain ownership of it intellectual property for any future use. As part of the Competition Design task that is included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to address intellectual property rights.

The rules and intellectual property provisions for each competition must enable the Department to continue to meets its operational requirements and be approved by the Office of General

Counsel in the Department.

Question 8: Are competition winners expected to provide any post award support for their winning solution? If so, how will they be compensated for this support?

Department Response: The Department doesn’t anticipate the need for any post-award support for either task Order 0001 or 0002. Interested parties are expected to develop solutions that respond to the PWSs for Task Orders 0001 and 0002 as currently written.

Question 9: What level of detail does the Department expect in the technical approach regarding the Communications plans to be developed for each task order?

Department Response: Offerors should include their technical approaches for the

Communication Plan for each of the two task orders.

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Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 10: Does the Department require a schedule of deliverables to be included with the technical approach for each task order?

Department Response: The PWSs for Task Orders 0001 and 0002 already have Schedules of

Deliverables. To the extent that the offeror is proposing amendments to the Schedules of

Deliverables, or alternative approaches to tasks, the offeror shall include its revised Schedule of

Deliverables in its technical proposal, in accordance with the revised Instructions to Offerors

(attached).

Question 11: Will the Department consider granting an extension of the proposal due date until

August 29 th

, 2014? We believe this will give offerors more time to prepare a complete response after seeing answers to clarification questions and minimize the potential need for negotiations or clarifications after the contract is awarded.

Department Response: The Department has provided as much time as it can for the preparation and submission of responses to the Solicitation to enable it to meet its required award date. As a result, the response date and time remains at 10:30 a.m. August 22, 2014.

Question 12: With regard to Task Order 0001, can the Department confirm that the intended audience of the app to be developed through Task Order 0001 is “middle and high school youth, particularly students considering or participating in CTE programs.” Can the Department provide more information about how this audience was selected? Is this decision final or will the final audience for the app depend on the results of the literature review/analysis conducted under Task

2.1?

Department Response: The legislative authority for this project requires that all activities conducted under its authority serve Career and Technical Education (CTE). As part of the

Competition Design and Communication Plan tasks that are included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue.

Question 13: With regard to Task Order 0001, can ED provide information about the role of

Judges under Subtasks 4.3-4.5? For example, will judges be expected to panel with ED staff and/or other federal staff either virtually or in-person or are they expected to work independently?

Department Response: As part of the Competition Design task that is included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to addressing this issue.

Question 14: With regard to Task Order 0001, under additional notes, the PWS for this task order states that “The contractor will not be required to provide travel, lodging, per diem, or honoraria for third parties.” Does this include potential judges for the competition?

Department Response: See the Department’s response to Question 4.

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Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 15: With regard to Task Order 0002, page 3 of the draft PWS states that “The contractor shall conduct a Specifications (“Spec”) Challenge to develop criteria for the demonstration prototype and open source interoperability standards in collaboration with

OCTAE, OET, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The submissions will be evaluated by experts in simulations, gaming environments, and CTE curricula.” Can ED provide more details on the collaboration with OET and the White House Office of Science and technology Policy that will be required to develop this challenge?

Department Response: No. As part of the Competition Design task that is included in the

PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue. The offeror should describe its approach to working with multiple organizations in its technical proposal.

Question 16: With regard to Task Order 0002, can ED provide information about the role of

Judges under Subtasks 4.3-4.5 and 4.11-4.12? For example, will judges be expected to panel with ED and/or other federal staff either virtually or in-person or are they expected to work independently?

Department Response: See the Department’s response to Question 13.

Question 17: Will agency groups and/or external partners be involved in outreach related to

Task Orders 0001 and 0002?

Department Response: As part of the Communications Plan that is included as a task in Task

Orders 0001 and 0002, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue.

Question 18: Has ED/OCTAE/DATE already identified representatives from the communications and legal teams to be involved in this work?

Department Response: Yes.

Question 19: Will existing ED/OCTAE/DATE communications platforms be available to extend challenge reach?

Department Response: Yes. OCTAE will use its blog, newsletter, and internal Department communication resources to extend the reach of the challenge. As part of the Communications

Plan that is included as a task in Task Orders 0001 and 0002, the contractor is expected to propose how it will leverage Department communication channels.

Question 20: For Task Order 0001, can the solutions offer diagnostics tools and/or pay-for-fee services?

Department Response: As part of the Competition Design task that is included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue.

PAGE 7 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001

Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 21: Can the proposal include a modified approach in terms of the order of the tasks

(assuming stated goals are still met)?

Department Response: As stated beginning on Page 1 of the Instructions to Offerors (Page 19 of 106 of the solicitation), the offeror is expected to be innovative in its approach and is encouraged to respond with an approach that expedites the objectives of the project while maintaining quality and integrity of the processes. In responding to this procurement, the offeror is also encouraged to propose alternative approaches to conducting the project tasks if it believes the alternative would improve outcomes, reduce the duration of tasks, or improve the quality of deliverables.

Question 22: Can the proposal include an alternate approach to how and where to best include an event?

Department Response: See the Department’s response to Question 21.

Question 23: Specifically for Task Order 0002, can the proposal include an approach other than sequential challenges if another approach can better meet the stated goals?

Department Response: See the Department’s response to Question 21.

Question 24: On pages 5-6, under point 2 (52.212-5), point (b), some of the clauses have an “x” next to them. Are those the only ones that qualify if a contract is awarded?

Department Response: Some clauses in the solicitation have sections that are only applicable to the contract if an “X” appears next to them. This is the case for some parts of FAR 52.212-5.

For the sections of 52.212-5 that have a place for the Contracting Officer to place an “X,” only those marked with an “X” are applicable to this contract.

Question 25: On pages 5-6, under point 2 (52.212-5), points (a) and (c), no “x”s are indicated.

Does this indicate none of these apply?

Department Response: FAR 52.212-5(a), (b), and (c) are applicable to the solicitation and contract. There is no “X” next to these sections, because these are not sections that provide for

Contracting Officer discretion. The questioner is encouraged to review FAR 52.212-5 to determine which sections are mandatory and which sections are included at Contracting Officer discretion. FAR 52.212-5 can be viewed at:

https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/52_212_213.html#wp1203358

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Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 26: The Task Orders contemplate travel for a kickoff meeting and events. However, on page 14, point 26 “31.205.71” mentions that no consent is given for travel. Are travel costs not reimbursable for travel conducted as part of this contract?

Department Response: The purpose of 31.205.71 is to address using contract dollars to pay for travel by third parties (i.e., persons other than contractor or subcontractor employees). Travel by contractor personnel in furtherance of the contract is not addressed by this clause and may be included in the contractor’s proposal. As it is currently written, 31.205.71 proscribes using contract dollars to pay for travel by third parties such as judges. As explained in the

Department’s response to Question 4, the Department is open to amending this contract clause if an offeror proposes a superior solution to the work required.

Question 27: The Task Orders contemplate travel for a kickoff meeting and events. However, on page 14, point 25 “31.205.70” mentions that no consent is given for food. Are travel-related food costs not reimbursable for food related to travel conducted as part of this contract?

Department Response: Contract dollars may not be used to pay for food or drink for any person, regardless of whether that person is a contractor, subcontractor, or third party person. However, this clause does not prevent the offeror from proposing to use contract dollars to pay for per diem

(at rates permitted by Federal Travel Regulations) for contractor and subcontractor personnel traveling in furtherance of the contract.

31.205.70 prevents the contractor from using contract dollars to pay for coffee service at a meeting. It does not prevent the offeror from including in its business proposal per diem for employees traveling to a kickoff meeting.

Question 28: Should the proposal assume any specific geographic, demographic, or socioeconomic considerations for the target audience in Task Order 0001?

Department Response: As part of the Competition Design and Communication Plan tasks that are included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue.

Question 29: Is the Department open to partnerships or sponsorships with private sector companies for Task Orders 0001 and 0002 in the areas of branding, outreach, hosting and/or producing an event, and maintaining and publicizing the winning solutions?

Department Response: As part of the Competition Design and Communication Plan tasks that are included in the PWSs, the contractor is expected to propose its approach to this issue.

Question 30: It is unclear how much creative thought you hope to see in the proposal. Do you want to see examples of specific, fresh ideas for potential CTE programs? Such suggestions are costly to develop and presentation of them is risky - since ED’s specific goals and constraints are not yet well known to the proposer. On the other hand, the sparkle of a few bright ideas can highlight the competitive advantage of a particularly innovative and nimble team.

Department Response: No. The objectives of this IDIQ and Task Orders do not include the development of potential CTE programs.

PAGE 9 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001

Department Responses to Clarification Questions

Question 31: Will you be selecting one vendor or are you considering selecting multiple vendors for the IDIQ contract?

Department Response: The Department is planning a single-award Indefinitely Delivery

Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The one offeror that the Department chooses for contract award of ED-VAE-14-R-0058 will be the sole prime contractor for Task Orders 0001 and 0002 as well as any future task orders placed against this IDIQ contract.

Question 32: If only one vendor will be selected for the IDIQ, and the vendor is a small business, what happens if that vendor does not have sufficient resources to fulfill a task order under the IDIQ contract within the desired timeframe?

Department Response: The Department expects that the selected contractor will have the capacity, with the assistance of approved subcontractors, to perform all task orders. The small business prime contractor will also need to comply with FAR 52.219-14 by performing at least

50% of the work, as measured by labor dollars.

Question 33: What happens if the quote on a specific task order exceeds OCTAE's budget for the task?

Department Response: The Department would review the proposal and determine whether to cancel the task order or to negotiate with the contractor to revise the Performance Work

Statement as needed and to negotiate a price that is both within budget as well as fair and reasonable.

Question 34: Will the contractor be able to include subcontractors in a quote for a future task order, if the subcontractors were not identified in the original proposal submitted for the IDIQ contract?

Department Response: Yes. The contractor will be able to propose new subcontractors based upon the nature of work in future task orders; however, the use of such new subcontractors will need to be approved by the Contracting Officer prior to awarding the subcontract and the small business prime contractor must comply with FAR 52.219-14 for each and every task order.

Question 35: The "Overview" of the PWS for the IDIQ mentions that the "contract shall provide technical support to the Department across a wide range of subject areas related to key issues," including, "mobile software application development," and "development and deployment of websites and web-based applications." Can you please confirm whether or not the contractor will be expected to perform software development tasks, outside of what is required to support an online challenge platform?

Department Response: The Department expects that the selected contractor will have all of the skills, experience, and tools to perform all of the work effort expressly contained in the

Performance Work Statement. Since the contractor will be supporting the Department in conducting the competitions and providing subject matter expertise in helping the Department determine who should be selected for each competition, it is not envisioned that the contractor would need to perform any tasks under the contract or any associated task order that would require new software development.

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Instructions to Offerors for ED-VAE-14-R-0058 Version Date: August 148, 2014

Instructions to Offerors for the

“Challenge, Simulations, and Innovation” IDIQ with Task Orders 0001 and 0002

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)

Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE)

To be eligible to submit a proposal for this procurement, the offeror must qualify as a small business under NAICS 541613 ($15,000,000 size standard). The Government intends to award a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with two firm fixed price task orders for the work outlined in the attached Performance Work Statements (PWSs). The minimum ordering quantity for the IDIQ contract will be satisfied by the issuance of Task Orders

0001 and 0002, and the maximum ordering amount against this vehicle will be a total of

$50,000,000. This Request for Proposal (RFP) is being issued in accordance with procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 19.5 (Set-Asides for Small Business), Part

12 (Acquisition of Commercial Items), and Part 15 (Contracting by Negotiation).

The offeror is expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the performance objectives, tasks, and requirements specified in the PWSs. The proposal should address the requirements in the PWSs and state how the offeror will meet those requirements, not simply repeat the language in the PWSs. The proposal should be written in sufficient detail so that a review panel can adequately judge its full merits. Although the intent of each task is expressly stated in the PWS, it is up to the offeror to propose the most effective method for performing the tasks and the most feasible timeline and dates for all key activities. Offerors are encouraged to exercise independent judgment with respect to the best methods of satisfying all of the objectives identified in the

PWSs. If an offeror believes it is not able to perform all tasks outlined in the PWSs, the offeror is encouraged to identify qualified subcontractors to include in their proposal to ensure all tasks required in the PWSs can be conducted competently and successfully.

The offeror's submission shall consist of two volumes: Volume I: Technical Proposal and

Volume II: Business Proposal. All information necessary to judge the technical soundness and management capabilities of the offeror shall be contained in the technical proposal. The technical proposal shall NOT contain any reference to specific price or cost, but resources information

(e.g., staff mix and staff hours by task and sub-task) shall be included so that the offeror's understanding of the scope of the work may be evaluated. The business proposal will contain all information related to the determination of the price associated with each of the project's tasks.

Contract award is planned for late September 2014.

The Department is seeking a contractor to provide management and logistical services, but to also serve as a thought partner who can collaborate with the Department to conceive innovative technology and process management solutions. The offeror is expected to be innovative in its approach and is encouraged to respond with an approach that expedites the objectives of the

PAGE 11 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001

project while maintaining quality and integrity of the processes. In responding to this procurement, the offeror is also encouraged to propose alternative approaches to conducting the project tasks if it believes the alternative would improve outcomes, reduce the duration of tasks, or improve the quality of deliverables.

Technical Proposal

The technical proposal shall illustrate the offeror’s approach for satisfying the requirements contained in this solicitation. The technical proposal must be clear, coherent, and prepared in sufficient detail for effective evaluation of the offeror's proposal against the technical evaluation criteria. Proposals must clearly demonstrate how the offeror intends to accomplish the requirements and must include convincing rationale and substantiation of all claims. Offerors should not expect the technical evaluation panel to make assumptions or guesses; proposals must be detailed and not vague. The technical proposal must disclose the offeror’s technical approach in sufficient detail to provide a clear and concise presentation that includes, but is not limited to, the requirements outlined below.

The offeror shall submit a single technical proposal that addresses the IDIQ PWS as well as the

PWSs for Task Orders 0001 and 0002. The technical proposal shall be limited to a maximum of

30 single-spaced 8.5 x 11 inch pages using font size no smaller than 12 points, with margins no smaller than 1 inch on every side. The page limit includes the table of contents as well as the narrative and corresponding tables and graphics. Specifications pertaining to font size and spacing do not apply to tables, figures, or exhibits. Any pages over 30 shall not be considered.

The page limit excludes the cover page; resumes (Appendix 1); and, letters of agreements from subcontractors or partners (Appendix 2), if any; and revised Schedules of Deliverables for Task

Orders 0001 and 0002, if applicable (Appendix 3). There are no formatting restrictions for the two appendices, except that they should be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 inch pages. In Appendix

1, the offeror shall include resumes for all key personnel, including key personnel from subcontractors. If key personnel are unknown at the time of submission, a position description

(including job duties, qualifications required, and selection criteria) shall be substituted for resumes and may be included in Appendix 1. Appendix 2 should include letters of commitment from all proposed consultants and key personnel not employed currently by the offeror.

Offerors shall follow the format and content requirements detailed below in preparing their technical proposals. No price information may be included in the technical proposal. The technical proposal shall consist of the sections outlined below. The beginning of the technical proposal shall include information relevant to all portions of this proposed contract (i.e., the

IDIQ PWS (covering future task orders), the PWS for Task Order 0001, and the PWS for Task

Order 0002). The latter portions of the technical proposal are to feature the offeror’s technical solutions for Task Order 0001, Task Order 0002, and those tasks in the IDIQ PWS that are not included in either Task Order 0001 or Task Order 0002. To the extent that Sections 4, 5, and 6 below have commonalities, to avoid duplicative narrative the offeror may include a prior section addressing the commonalities.

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1. Table of Contents: The Table of Contents with page numbers will provide an easy means to identify major points of discussion. Authors of each section of the technical proposal shall be identified clearly in the Table of Contents.

2. Introduction: The Introduction should provide briefly an impression of the offeror's general understanding of the project’s objectives, scope of work, intended products, and applicability of those products.

3. Experience and Past Performance

This section should describe the offeror’s relevant past and current experience in conducting projects of a similar or comparable nature, and demonstrate an understanding of conducting challenges and creative competitions on a national scale. Summaries of such work should be submitted, including the names, current affiliations, and current telephone numbers of appropriate references. Offerors are encouraged to include examples of past performance conducting national challenges and competitions that match closely the types of challenges included in the PWSs, regardless if the past performance was for a government agency.

For each past performance reference, the offeror shall include or describe:

(1) Contract number and type,

(2) Client name or funding agency (ED, DOL, HHS, DOT, etc.),

(3) Original dollar value and final dollar value (including options if a contract),

(4) Anticipated or Actual Completion Date,

(5) Description of the effort,

(6) Relevance of this work to this contract,

(7) Challenges in the effort and how they were overcome

(8) Why the effort is considered “successful.”

It is the responsibility of the offeror to ensure that telephone numbers, email addresses, and points of contact for references are current and accurate. Inability to contact references may figure negatively in any evaluation of past performance. The Government also reserves the right to obtain past performance information from other sources.

4. Management Plan, Key Personnel, and Technical Approach for Task Order 0001: In this section of the technical proposal the offeror should describe its approach to managing large concurrent projects, how it will administer the Task Order 0001 project, the roles and responsibilities of key personnel performing tasks in the Task Order 0001 PWS, and include a list of all subcontractors and partners. As appropriate, the offeror should indicate non-personnel resources, if any, to be applied to each task.

The project requires that the contractor have in place an effective management system that enables tasks to be completed on schedule. The offeror is encouraged to identify and collaborate with organizations and companies that strengthen the capabilities of the offeror to perform the tasks in the PWS. The offeror should describe how key personnel, organizations, and companies would be integrated into its proposed strategies and indicate clearly which subcontractors or personnel will lead each task or subtask.

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The offeror is expected to demonstrate experience conducting national challenges, especially in the area of innovative technology products, as evidenced by the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience of key personnel. The Project Director shall demonstrate clearly both content area expertise as well as management experience. Key personnel are defined as individuals who contribute to the execution of the project in a substantive, measurable way. Subcontractor personnel and consultants should also be included if they meet the definition of key personnel.

The offeror shall propose a team that has the appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities, and relevant past accomplishments to support the Department’s goals and objectives for this project. The offeror shall also document the proposed staff with existing knowledge of Career and Technical

Education (CTE), if any. The offeror shall indicate clearly the relationship between past staff experience and their proposed task assignment for this contract.

As part of Appendix 1, resumes shall be included for all key personnel for this contract, including key personnel from subcontractors. Resumes shall document experience, educational background, publications, and professional activities related to the tasks that the individual will perform for this PWS. If key personnel are unknown at the time of submission, a position description (including job duties, qualifications required, and selection criteria) shall be substituted for resumes and may be included in Appendix 1.

As part of Appendix 2, a letter of commitment from all proposed consultants and key personnel not employed currently by the offeror shall be included. The need for any proposed consultants shall also be justified fully, including how they would contribute to the project. Consultant resumes shall be provided.

As part of Appendix 3, Schedules of Deliverables shall be included if the offeror is proposing alternative approaches to accomplish the objectives of the PWSs which varies from the

Schedules of Deliverables included in the PWSs.

After contract award, the Department shall have approval rights of any personnel identified as key personnel. Please note that key personnel as accepted in the final contract represent a firm commitment by the offeror to use said personnel to carry out the activities in the PWS.

This section should also include a listing of materials or services the offeror expects ED to furnish (e.g., data, reports, etc.).

This section should describe the specific processes that will be implemented to monitor task progress and quality assurance and the roles of key personnel in the quality assurance process.

This section shall describe fully the approach that the offeror proposes to perform the tasks in the

Task Order 0001 PWS. General statements of strategy should be accompanied by the specific procedures for each task of the project, and should reflect efficient utilization of the offeror's resources.

In its approach to the tasks, the Offeror should describe clearly their understanding of the technology that is the topic of the challenge, and demonstrate their experience with:

PAGE 14 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001

1. Managing national challenge and prize competitions,

2. Conducting high-profile national communications activities,

3. Integrating and exchanging open and secure data, and

4. Career and Technical Education.

This section should also describe the capacity and capability of the offeror to conduct multiple, concurrent, high-profile challenges. The offeror is encouraged to apply their creativity in proposing an innovative design for each deliverable and leverage existing technologies and platforms when possible. This procurement is not intended to develop simulations or applications; however the offeror is expected to demonstrate its understanding of new and emerging technologies.

The offeror shall identify potential and/or anticipated problems, and suggest proposed variations in the design of the work that may facilitate successful completion of the tasks and objectives in the PWS. The offeror should demonstrate its organizational capacity and ability to carry out all phases of work associated with the major activities stated in the PWS.

The offeror shall include a chart that shows staff mix and staff hours by task and sub-task. The chart shall indicate both job position and employee name (if available). The chart shall indicate which company each employee works for, and if the proposed person is not currently employed with that company, the chart should indicate that the person is a contingency hire. For each contingency hire, the offeror shall provide a signed letter of commitment or a position description (including job duties, qualifications required, and selection criteria). (Position descriptions can be included in Appendix 1). The offeror shall include all labor categories in the chart and demonstrate an ability and present intention to provide personnel to commence work at the time of contract award.

The offeror shall demonstrate that the proposed personnel are not overextended by including a chart showing how the labor hours on this project compare to other commitments. The chart shall include the following data:

Staff Member Total labor hours proposed for Task

Order 0001

During Task Order 0001, %

FTE on this contract

During Task Order 0001, % FTE on other federal projects

During Task Order 0001, % FTE on other non-federal projects

5. Management Plan, Key Personnel, and Technical Approach for Task Order 0002: The same requirements as outlined above, applied to Task Order 0002.

6. Management Plan, Key Personnel, and Technical Approach for IDIQ PWS: To the extent that the above sections of the proposal fail to address how the offeror would respond to any tasks laid out in the IDIQ PWS, the offeror can describe its approach here.

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Business Proposal

Offerors to this solicitation shall structure their business proposal in a manner that will allow for the Government to conduct a separate analysis of the proposal for Task Order 0001 and the proposal for Task Order 0002. The business proposal shall be submitted as a separate document from the Technical Proposal. It shall contain complete information in sufficient detail for the

Government to make a fair and reasonable price determination. The Contracting Officer may reject a proposal if a negative determination is made, or if proposed prices are found not to be reasonable.

There is no page limit to the business proposal or formatting requirements, though the preference is for pages that can be printed on 8.5” x 11” paper. The business proposal shall be formatted in a readable way (e.g., no tiny fonts). The business proposal shall start with a cover page that provides:

The name of the company.

The website address of the company (if applicable).

A statement certifying that the vendor meets the size standard of NAICS 541613 (i.e., $15,000,000).

A statement as to whether the vendor qualifies as any of the following small business categories: small disadvantaged business (SDB); women-owned small business (WOSB);

service-disabled veteran owned small business (SDVOSB); or HUBZone small business

(HUBZone).

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 and the periods of performance for the contracts should be provided.

Date. (If an offeror is selected for negotiations, and the offeror later updates its business proposal as part of negotiations, the date on the cover page should be updated to reflect the new submission date.)

At the beginning of the business proposal, there should be a chart showing the offeror’s proposal prices, listing the following information:

A B

1 Proposal Price for Task Order 0001 (excluding Prize Pool)

2 Prize Pool for Task Order 0001 $250,000.00

3 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0001 =B1+B2

4 Proposal Price for Task Order 0002 (excluding Prize Pool)

5 Prize Pool for Task Order 0002 $750,000.00

6 Total Proposal Price for Task Order 0002 =B4+B5

7 TOTAL: =B3+B6

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After this summary chart, the offeror shall propose labor categories and loaded labor rates for all personnel who might be used on any task orders issued against this IDIQ contract. The offeror should use the following format:

Labor Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Sample: Project Director

$123.45 / hour $134.56 / hour $145.67 / hour $156.78 / hour $167.89 / hour

The proposals for Task Orders 0001 and 0002 shall make use of labor categories and rates from the above chart. Future task orders will also make use of the labor categories and rates from the chart. The offeror may include labor categories in the chart that are not necessary for Task

Orders 0001 and 0002 if the offeror believes they may be necessary for future task orders.

Other Details:

The business proposal shall list the names and telephones numbers of persons authorized to conduct negotiations;

The business proposal shall include a statement to the effect that the offer is firm for a period of at least 60 calendar days from the date of receipt of offers specified by the

Government;

The business proposal shall include a Conflict of Interest Plan and Certificate (as provided in the solicitation).

All prices in the business proposal (and any accompanying spreadsheets) shall be to the dollar (e.g., $500) or cent (e.g., $500.03), but not past two decimal places (e.g., $500.006). The offeror shall verify that all numbers add up properly, to the nearest cent.

The final proposal price shall be to two decimal places (e.g., $123,456.78). The

Department reserves the right to view mistakes and rounding errors in the business proposal as indicative of potential problems in program execution.

If subcontractors are proposed, a separate price buildup (by task) should be submitted for each proposed subcontractor, and these prices should also be included in the prime's total firm-fixed price for each task order. In the master buildup for each task order, it should be clear which costs are associated with the prime contractor and which costs are associated with subcontractors.

If subcontractors are proposed, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-14(c)(1) requires that “At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern.” The small business primary contractor must perform at least 50% of the labor for each task order, as measured by dollars (not hours). Please ensure that the Prime is proposing to perform at least 50% of the labor dollars, and that subcontractors (including Subject Matter Experts and consultants) are performing less than 50% of the labor dollars. The business proposal shall clearly reflect that the prime contractor is performing greater than 50% of the work, PAGE 17 OF 52 ED-VAE-14-R-0058/0001 as measured by labor dollars. For each task order, the offeror shall include a chart comparing labor prices between the prime and subcontractors to aid in the Government’s analysis of this issue. The offeror shall explicitly state its intent and commitment to comply with FAR 52.219-14(c)(1).

Task Order 0001 Price Buildup

The business proposal shall provide a complete price build-up for Task Order 0001 that includes identification of proposed labor categories by named individuals, their functional category, level of effort, effective hourly rate, extended labor price (i.e., labor hours x hourly labor rate), other direct costs (including the identification of any applicable indirect cost and how it is applied to other direct costs), and profit on other direct costs. Profit on the labor costs should be embedded in the effective hourly rates proposed, so that the proposed labor rates are “loaded.” The price shall be presented by task and shall include any applicable assumptions used to formulate the price build-up. Where a percentage rate is applied (e.g., “Technology Fee” at x%), it should be clearly disclosed what the rate is being applied against (e.g., against total labor costs). The staff loading chart included in the technical proposal shall be consistent with the information provided in the business proposal. Offerors are encouraged to justify any indirect rate by explaining what its purpose is and providing evidence of its reasonableness (e.g., an approved indirect cost rate agreement or usage in other competitively procured contracts).

Task Order 0002 Price Buildup

Same as the required elements described above, applied to Task Order 0002.

Conflict of Interest Plan

The Offeror 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 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 reviewing periodically 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.

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Payment Schedules

The offeror shall submit a proposed payment schedule for Task Order 0001 and a proposed payment schedule for Task Order 0002. These should be submitted as separate Microsoft Excel files (or separate sheets in the same Excel file). The individual amounts should add up to a total amount. The payment schedule should include the prize amounts so that the payment schedules add up to the total proposal price for the task order. The payment schedule need not reference due dates and can generally follow a simple format such as:

Task Order 0001 Description of Payment Trigger (Deliverable or Milestone Achievement)

Payment Amount

Total:

The payment triggers should be based on accomplishments (e.g., submitting a deliverable, or meeting a milestone), as opposed the passage of time (e.g., monthly). The payment schedule total should equal the offeror’s proposal price for the task order. All numbers in the payment schedule should be to the nearest cent (e.g., $123.45 not $123.454323). The total amount of should be calculated in the Excel document (e.g., the SUM feature). The payment schedule should be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 inch pages.

Submission Instructions

All questions in response to this solicitation must be received at or before 11:00am Eastern

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