Enclosure No. 3 RFP Instructions.doc

RFP No. 1-P131-P-00138-00

ENCLOSURE NO. 5

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 4-B176-Q-00732-00

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS

AND

NOTICES TO OFFERORS

August 5, 2024 I.

Proposal Submission Format:

The proposal shall be in two (2) parts: Part I - Technical Proposal and Part II – Price and Business/Management Proposal. Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of and concurrently with evaluation of the other. In no instance shall Part I and Part II be bound together or presented in such manner as to make them not severable. The Technical Proposal shall not contain any reference to price. It must disclose your project approach in as much detail as possible including, but not limited to, the requirements of the Technical Proposal instructions.

Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the offeror's lack of price consciousness. Elaborate artwork, expensive paper and bindings, and expensive visual and other presentation aids are neither necessary nor wanted. Proposals should be prepared with maximum economy, consistent with this particular procurement, to ensure that the resources of both offerors and Laboratory evaluators are efficiently utilized. Submissions not conforming to all the requirements of this solicitation may result in rejection of your offer.

Offerors should indicate on the forepage and on each subsequent page of their proposal those pages, sections, paragraphs, or areas, which they consider to be proprietary. Offerors should refer to the enclosure entitled “Pre-Award Information and Booklet of Representations and Certifications,” second page “Notice,” for more information regarding proprietary markings. Argonne National Laboratory assumes no liability for disclosure or use of unmarked data and may use or disclose such data for any purpose.

A.

Part I - Technical Proposal:

Enclosure No. 6 identifies the criteria that will be used to evaluate the merit of the proposals in response to the statement of work. While the Price Proposal may not be the controlling factor for award, it will be a significant part of the Laboratory’s selection decision. The proposal prices will be evaluated for reasonableness in light of the statement of work requirements and instructions, including completeness/conciseness and clarity of the material presented.

At a minimum, provide the following information:

Criterion 1:

Company environmental compliance, licenses, permits, experience and performance history.

Criterion 2:

Comprehensive sampling and analysis capabilities as identified in the SOW Criterion 3:

Quality Assurance

Criterion 4:

Qualifications

B.

Part II - Price/Price and Business Management Proposal:

The Price/Price proposal and the Business Management proposal should be combined as one document.

1.

Price/Price: Each offeror is requested to submit a price/price proposal.

2.

Business Management a.

Financial Capability. Provide the most recent certified financial statement with supporting documentation indicating the financial capability of your organization.

b.

Acceptance Period of Proposal: Provide a statement that the proposal will remain valid for acceptance for a minimum period of 60 days after the closing date set for receipt of proposals.

c.

Authorized Representatives:

Provide the names, titles, and telephone numbers of the persons authorized to negotiate on behalf of the offeror with the Laboratory.

d.

Subcontracting Plan. The Laboratory will require submittal of a subcontracting plan in accordance with Clause 17. of Argonne Terms and Conditions for Commercial Items. This plan will be requested from the successful offeror. The Laboratory will examine the plan to determine its acceptability. The accepted plan will be included in any resultant contract. The requirement for submittal of a subcontracting plan does not apply if the successful offeror is a small business concern.

e.

Pre-Award Information. Include a fully completed and signed “Pre-Award Information and Booklet of Representations and Certifications” with your proposal. A copy of the Booklet is included as Enclosure No. 2 to this Request for Proposal (RFP).

f.

Exceptions and Deviations.

Provide comments describing whether or not you accept proposed contract, its schedule articles, statement of work and general/specific terms and conditions. The exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions taken must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation(s). Such exceptions, deviations or conditional assumptions will not of themselves automatically cause a proposal to be deemed unacceptable to the Laboratory. However, a large number of exceptions or one or more significant exceptions not providing benefit to the Laboratory may result in rejection of your proposal(s) as unacceptable.

II.

Notices to Offerors:

A.

Explanation to Prospective Offerors

Any prospective offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, statement of work, etc. must request it in writing by close of business, Wednesday, January 27, 2021, to allow a reply to be provided to all prospective offerors. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all prospective offerors as written amendments to the solicitation if such information is necessary for submission of an offer, or if the lack of the information would be prejudicial against any other prospective offeror. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of a contract will not be binding.

B.

Submission of Offers Offers and amendments thereof shall be submitted via email. An electronic copy shall be received on or before 3:00 P.M., local prevailing time, September 18, reference RFP No. 4-B176-Q-00732-00 Attention:

Molly Murtaugh Procurement Specialist III Procurement Department

Email: mmurtaugh@anl.gov

Selection and Award

Proposal may be eliminated from consideration if the proposal is so grossly and obviously deficient as to be totally unacceptable. For example, if it does not represent a reasonable initial effort to address itself to the essential requirements of the RFP, or clearly demonstrates that the offeror does not understand the requirements of the RFP.

Offerors should be prepared to respond to requests by the Laboratory Procurement Official for oral presentations or written discussions, or both, facility surveys, and other information as may be necessary to assist in the detailed evaluation process. The Laboratory reserves the right, however, to 1) make a selection without discussion with any of the offerors; 2) reject any and all offers; and 3) waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. It is, therefore, emphasized that each initial offer should be submitted on the most favorable terms to the Laboratory that the offeror can submit.

3.

The Laboratory may solicit, from available sources, experience data concerning an offeror’s past performance and will consider such information in its evaluation.

4.

The Laboratory intends to award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforms to this RFP and represents the best value after evaluation in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in Enclosure No. 5. If multiple offerors are considered, all offerors will be notified.

5.

If the Laboratory Procurement Official determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conduced, the Laboratory Procurement Official may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.

E.

Definitions:

As used below:

“Discussions” are negotiations that occur after establishment of the competitive range that may, at the Laboratory Procurement Official’s discretion, result in the offeror being allowed to revise its proposal.

“In writing” or “written” means any worded or numbered expression which can be read, reproduced, and later communicated, and includes electronically transmitted and stored information.

“Proposal modification” is a change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a Laboratory Procurement Official as the result of negotiations.

“Time,” if stated as a number of days, is calculated using calendar days, unless otherwise specified, and will include Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. However, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then the period shall include the nest working day.

F.

Amendments To Solicitation:

If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by the date and time specified in the amendment(s).

G.

Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals:

Unless other methods (e.g., electronic commerce or facsimile) are permitted in the solicitation, proposals and modifications to proposals shall be submitted in paper media in sealed envelopes or packages (i) addressed to the office specified in the solicitation, and (ii) showing the time and date specified for receipt, the solicitation number, and the name and address of the offeror. Offerors using commercial carriers should ensure that the proposal is marked on the outermost wrapper with the information in paragraphs H.1.(i) and H.1. (ii) of this section.

The first page of the proposal must show—

(i) The solicitation number;

(ii) The name, address, and telephone and facsimile numbers of the offeror (and electronic address if available); and

(iii) Name, title, and signature of person authorized to sign the proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

3.

Late Proposals and revisions.

Any proposal received at the office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers will not be considered unless it is received before award is made and it is determined by the Argonne National Laboratory to be in the best interest of the Laboratory.

4.

Offerors may submit modifications to their proposals at any time before the solicitation closing date and time, and may submit modifications in response to an amendment, or to correct a mistake at any time before award.

5.

Offerors may submit revised proposals only if requested or allowed by the Laboratory Procurement Official.

6.

Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice or telegram (including Mailgram) received at any time before award. Proposals may be withdrawn in person by any offeror or an authorized representative, if the representative’s identity is made known and the representative signs a receipt for the proposal before award.

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