3Feb06_SpecialNotice.doc

Special Notice -- Contractor Contacts to Government Personnel Restricted to Contacts to the Contracting Officer, and Tentative Industry Forum Date of 4 Apr 06 All potential offerors for the anticipated Vance Aircraft Maintenance and Base Operating Support Services recompetition are reminded that contacts to government personnel by potential offerors regarding this project are restricted to contacts to the contracting officer. Contacts to other government personnel are not allowed. The contracting officer, Ms Linda Byerly, will post all information regarding this solicitation as soon as it becomes available. In a source selection competition, all communications must go through the contracting officer in order for all offerors to receive the same information, and to ensure that all offerors will submit proposals based solely upon the formal Request for Proposal (RFP) requirements. The base customers and the contracting/functional team will work hard to clearly communicate the requirements, but the requirements must be provided through a controlled channel of communications (i.e., through the Contracting Officer). The government welcomes and encourages industry input when developing the RFP, and will provide avenues for industry comments and suggestions throughout the process of acquisition planning and RFP development. Input from industry was previously encouraged in the Sources Sought Notice posted to FedBizOpps on 18 Nov 05. Any further suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of the anticipated solicitation and resulting contract are willingly accepted by the contracting officer at any time. The government will post draft RFP documents on FedBizOpps as soon as possible, and will request voluntary industry comments and suggestions concerning those draft documents. The government will provide opportunities for one-on-one meetings between contractors and government contracting and functional representatives, both at an Industry Forum to be held prior to the release of the RFP, and again following the Pre-Proposal Conference to be held after the release of the RFP and prior to the submittal of proposals. In addition to face-to-face meetings, the government will provide all potential offerors opportunities to submit formal written questions. The answers to all questions will be posted to FedBizOpps, with the exception of questions marked as proprietary. Answers to proprietary questions will not be posted publicly, but will be provided directly to the company submitting any questions marked as proprietary. The level of communications is high throughout the AETC source selection process, but all communications must be directed to and managed by the contracting officer, in order for all offerors to be able to compete on an equal basis.

The tentative date for the Industry Forum is 4 Apr 06. The forum will be held at Vance AFB, OK, and detailed information concerning registration and the agenda will be provided soon. The purpose of the forum is twofold, both for the government to provide information about the upcoming recompetition, and for industry to provide information that can assist the government in developing an RFP that will result in a contract that will best meet the government’s needs.