Amendment_1_-_Attachment_1-SAPR-ITO-Final.docx

Amendment 1 - SAPR Instructions to Offerors

Amendment 1 - Simplified Acquisition Proposal Request (SAPR), Attachment 1

SAPR# (FA4452-19-R-A008)

Instructions to Offerors/Basis of Award

1. Instructions to Offerors:

A. This is a competitive simplified acquisition selection conducted in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Contracts awarded under FAR 13 are not subject to FAR 15.3 procedures. Accordingly, award of a contract under this Simplified Acquisition Proposal Request (SAPR), should an award be made, shall follow the procedures outlined in FAR 13, as supplemented.

B. The proposal submitted in response to this SAPR must be in compliance with the requirements as stated in the SAPR, attachments and the Performance Work Statement (PWS). All claimed capabilities to meet the requirements shall be realistic and are subject to verification by the Government. Non-conformance with these instructions may result in rejection of the proposal, an unfavorable proposal evaluation, or being deemed ineligible for award. The Contracting Officer (CO) will select the best submission which conforms to the SAPR requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by the submission instructions), and is judged, based on the evaluation factors, to represent the best value to the Government. This may result in an award to a higher rated, higher priced Offeror, where the decision is consistent with the evaluation factors, and the CO reasonably determines that the technical and/or overall business approach of the higher priced Offeror outweighs the price difference.

C. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to SAPR terms and conditions and must provide complete supporting rationale. The Government reserves the right to determine any such exceptions are unacceptable. Any exception determined unacceptable by the Government may result in the Offeror’s proposal being determined unacceptable and ineligible for award. This information shall be provided in the format and content of the table below within the Offerors proposal cover letter. If no exceptions are taken, include a statement stating so within the proposal cover letter.

SAPR Exceptions

SAPR

Document Page/ Paragraph Requirement/ Portion Rationale

Page and Paragraph Numbers

why the requirement can/will not be met

D. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but, rather, shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities or experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror's proposal.

E. Discrepancies. If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the Offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error.

F. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI). An offeror shall identify any conflict of interest or appearance issues which may be a potential OCI in accordance with FAR 9.5, as supplemented. At the time of submitting a proposal Organizational Conflict of Interest Identification and Mitigation Plans (OIMP) or a statement that no OCI exists shall accompany your proposal. The Government-accepted OIMP shall be incorporated by reference into the resultant contract. Offerors are responsible for immediately notifying the Contracting Officer should any potential conflict of interest arise at any time prior to and/or after contract award.

G. Period of Performance

H. Proposal Submission: Each Offeror shall submit proposals electronically to the email boxes of Contract Specialist Mr. Russell Lowery at russell.lowery.1@us.af.mil and CO Ms. Sarah Myers at sarah.myers.3@us.af.mil. The proposals (via email) shall be submitted no later than 9:00 AM (Central Time) on 06 Aug 19. Only one (1) proposal shall be submitted, per company, in response to this requirement. The offeror shall indicate Volume number and Title as described in the table in Section I below, and use separate files to permit rapid location of information. The electronic copies of the proposal shall be submitted in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Office 2010 suite of applications.

Failure to provide the items listed in Section I below may render your submission incomplete. Incomplete submission will not be evaluated. Complete submissions will be evaluated IAW the Basis of Award.

I. Offerors submitting a proposal in response to this SAPR shall submit a technical Volume I and price Volume II. The technical volume must be delivered as an oral presentation, supplemented by a MS Office Power Point presentation that will serve as written evidence of the proposal. The Offeror’s oral presentation must be presented by key personnel responsible for contract performance, not professional proposal writer/presenters/marketers. The Government anticipates the oral/telecom presentations to be held between Aug12-16th 2019, however this is subject to change. If selected, Contract Specialist, Mr. Russell Lowery, or Contracting Officer, Ms. Sarah Myers, will contact the vendor after proposal submissions to schedule an in-person, or video teleconference (VTC) oral presentation. The in-person oral presentations will be held at (Scott AFB, IL). Please see attachment 3 for Oral/Telecom Technical Pitch parameters.

The presentation slides for the presentation should be sent to the Government with the other portions of Volume I on 6 Aug 19. The proposal slides shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and substantiating the validity of all stated claims The first slide of the presentation should include contact information with a valid call-back phone number. . The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but instead shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet the stated requirements. The Government will base its evaluation only on the information presented in the Offeror’s proposal and information provided during questions and answers or discussions, if applicable.

Only slides submitted by the due date will be allowed to be used as presentation slides.The Government will only evaluate slides that are briefed. If only part of the slide is briefed, the Government will evaluate the entire slide. At the conclusion of the Offeror’s oral presentation, a question and answer session may be held in order to answer the Government’s questions regarding the Offeror’s proposed Technical Approach.

Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed artwork, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired. Similarly, for oral presentations, elaborate productions are unnecessary and not desired.

Offerors shall ensure that pricing information is only included in Volume II. Do NOT include any Pricing Information in Volume I. All unit and extended prices provided shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. Extended prices shall be divisible by the number of units proposed with no fractional cents. All loaded labor rates shall be rounded to the nearest penny. Submit your proposal electronically in accordance with the table below. All electronic proposal submissions shall reference the complete SAPR number in the subject line.

VOLUME

I

Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the Government’s evaluation of the proposal. Page limitations may be placed on responses to Interchange Notices (INs). The specified page limits for IN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the INs to the Offerors. Each page shall be counted except the following: blank pages, cover pages, table of contents, tabs, glossaries, position descriptions of key personnel, labor category descriptions, Staffing Matrix (Attachment 1), Pricing Worksheet (Attachment 4) Matrix (Attachment 2), and if required, OIMP.

(1) Volume I: Cover Letter

Cover Letter shall include SAPR number, Offerors’ contract number, small business status/categories, company primary and alternate points of contact with email/phone and who is authorized to contractually obligate the company, CAGE Code, DUNS number, a statement that the company understands the requirements specified and will meet the performance standards and requirements therein, a statement that the company does or does not take exception to any of the requirements of this order, statement that the proposal is valid through 30 Sep 19, and/or specific information if proposing a teaming arrangement.

(2) Volume I: Technical Proposal

The Technical Proposal should be specific and complete. Legibility, clarity, and coherence are very important. Your responses will be evaluated against the Factors defined in the Basis of Award below. All the requirements specified in the solicitation are mandatory. At a minimum, the Offeror’s proposal shall address each merit under factor 1, as they apply to the The Mobility Forum Magazine PWS. The technical proposal should demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to perform the technical requirements. By your proposal submission, you are representing that your firm will perform all the requirements specified in the solicitation. Do not merely reiterate the objectives or reformulate the requirements specified in the solicitation. This volume shall include a sample project and oral presentation slides and any pertinent organizational information deemed appropriate to disclose to the Government.

(3) Volume II: Price Proposal

The offeror shall submit pricing information to support the completeness and reasonableness of their proposed prices for all CLINs. The pricing information submitted should fully support the PWS requirements for each major functional element specified in the PWS. Information shall be segregated by the performance periods, and the total price for each CLIN as specified in the solicitation. Information shall also show the consolidated total price for performance. This Volume shall include the Pricing Worksheet (Attachment 1).

J. Point of contact (POC): The POCs for this acquisition are: Contract Specialist Russ Lowery, can be reached at 618-256-9950 or by email at russell.lowery.1@us.af.mil and the Contracting Officer Sarah Myers, can be reached at 618-256-9948 or by email at sarah.myers.3@us.af.mil. Any questions regarding this SAPR shall be submitted by email to the POCs above by 10:00 AM (Central Time), 29 Jul 19. Questions will be consolidated and responses will be forwarded to all Offerors. No further questions will be addressed on this project after this date. Offerors shall address any assumptions and proposed exceptions to the Contracting Officer (CO) in their proposal.

2. Basis for Contract Award

A. Award will be made to the Offeror whose proposal results in the best value to the Government in accordance with this SAPR and FAR 13 procedures. A contract may be awarded to the offeror who is deemed responsible IAW FAR 9.1, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the SAPR’s requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by the SAPR instructions) and is judged, based on the evaluation Factors, to represent the best value to the Government. This may result in an award to a higher rated, higher priced Offeror, where the decision is consistent with the evaluation factors. However, the Government will not pay a price premium that it considers disproportionate to the benefits associated with the proposed margin of service superiority. Therefore, the Government will award a contract to the Offeror considered to be the best value, price and other factors considered. The Offerors’ proposals should contain the most favorable terms and reflect its best possible performance potential.

B. Evaluation Process:

1. First, the Government will assign an adjective rating for each proposal’s Factor 1 (Sample Project) on an acceptable, unacceptable basis (as defined in Factor 1 table 1 below). If an offeror receives an unacceptable rating for Factor 1 then the Government will not evaluate their Factor 2 (Technical Pitch) and they will no longer be considered for award. Each offeror that had an acceptable rating for Factor 1 will be contacted to set up a time for the offeror to present Factor 2 (Technical pitch). The Government will assign a rating of superior, acceptable or unacceptable (as defined in Factor 2 table 2 below) for the offeror’s Technical Pitch (Factor 2). If an offeror receives an unacceptable rating for Factor 2 then they will no longer be considered for award.

2. The Government intends to make award based on the initial proposal submissions without conducting interchanges. Therefore, each proposal should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to hold interchanges if, during any portion of the evaluation, it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government. Interchanges are fluid interaction(s) between the CO and the Offerors that may address any aspect of the proposal and may or may not be documented in real time. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct interchanges using Interchange Notices (INs). Offeror responses to INs will be considered in making the selection decision. Interchanges may be conducted with one, some, or all Offerors. However, the Government is not required to conduct interchanges with any or all Offerors responding to the SAPR.

C. Responses to this FOPR will be evaluated against the following Factors:

Factor 1 – Sample Project Factor 2 – Technical Pitch Factor 3 - Price

Factor 1 – Sample Project

The sample project submitted shall be from an existing publication the vendor currently publishes or published within the last 3 years. Under this factor, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s proposed Sample Project based on the following:

i. Pictures and photos for body of story and cover are of high resolution and help to tell the story.

ii. Layout makes full use of the pages, is easy to navigate and catches the eye with readable fonts, uses an appropriate background image or color and is balanced.

iii. Use of the English language demonstrates an understanding of sentence construct, and compelling story telling with minimal grammatical errors.

During the evaluation of Factor 1, the Government will assign each criteria in Factor 1, i-iv, a rating, as shown in table 1 below, to identify an Offeror's ability to accomplish each criteria. A rating of unacceptable in two or more criterion will constitute an overall rating of unacceptable for the Sample Project evaluation of Factor 1. Offerors will be scored by the following adjectival ratings:

Factor 2 – Technical Pitch

There shall be no duplicate information provided in the Technical Pitch that has already been addressed in Factor 1. Military specific knowledge related to the factors below may be rated higher. Under this factor, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s proposed Technical Pitch based on the following:

i. The offeror shall demonstrate their overall ability to meet the requirements of the PWS.

ii. The offeror shall demonstrate experience interacting with senior organizational leaders.

iii. The offeror shall demonstrate their knowledge of writing articles related to Mishap Prevention, Risk Management, and Proactive Safety Programs .

iv. The offeror shall address research methods to be utilized in the production of safety related articles for DoD/AF/AMC safety communities, as well as the general public.

v. The offeror shall discuss their ability to meet travel (foreign/domestic) requirements, conduct interviews (in-person/telephonic), and meet production (to include unplanned/popup) deadlines.

During the evaluation of Factor 2, the Government will assign each criteria in Factor 2, i-vii, a rating, as shown in table 2 below, to identify an Offeror's ability to accomplish each criteria. A rating of unacceptable in one or more criterion will constitute an overall rating of unacceptable for the Technical evaluation of Factor 2. Offerors will be scored by the following adjectival ratings:

Factor 3 – Price

1. Price proposals should support the technical proposal and will be evaluated for completeness, reasonableness, and unbalanced pricing. Offerors whose price is determined to be incomplete, unreasonable, or unbalanced will not be considered for award.

2. An Initial TEP (I-TEP) will be calculated as the sum of the Offeror's proposed prices for the one 12-month base period, four one-year options, and the six month extension of services (calculated using the monthly cost of Option 4 multiplied by 6). Evaluation of options and extensions shall not obligate the Government to exercise such options. The six-month extension of services is IAW FAR 52.217-8, "Option to Extend Services" and will be utilized if necessary. The six-month extension of services is not to be considered part of the Option Period 4 period and will be a separate option exercised if it is utilized. Offerors are not required to submit pricing for the six-month extension of services. The I-TEP will be evaluated for completeness, reasonableness, and unbalanced pricing (after any Interchanges or proposal revisions (if needed), to arrive at the TEP. Under this factor, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s TEP based on the following:

3. Completeness. The proposal will be reviewed to determine the extent to which all the price elements have been addressed. The Offeror's proposed price and other information will be evaluated to ensure continuity and traceability of prices to the technical volume and between the initial proposal and any revisions thereto.

4. Reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it shall represent a price to the Government that a prudent person would pay in the conduct of competitive business. The Government will determine prices fair and reasonable through the use of one or more of the price analysis techniques at FAR 15.404-1(b)(2).

5. Unbalanced pricing. Offerors are cautioned against submitting an offer that contains unbalanced pricing. Unbalanced pricing may increase performance risk and could result in payment of unreasonably high prices. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one (1) or more contract line items is significantly over or understated. The Government shall analyze offers to determine whether they are unbalanced with respect to separately priced line items or sub-line items. An offer that is determined to be unbalanced may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government

D. The Government intends, if it is in its best interest, to incorporate into the resulting contract, all beneficial aspects of the awardee’s proposal and all above threshold (minimum) attributes, performance levels, or capabilities for which evaluation credit was given. If interchanges are conducted, incorporation will take place after proposal revisions resulting from interchanges. In the event of selection without interchanges, the Government, if it is in its best interest, reserves the right to incorporate into the resulting contractact, any proposed performance or capability exceedances above mandatory threshold (minimum) requirements included in the Offeror’s proposal. The Government will use the PWS attachment included with the SAPR titled “PWS ATTACHMENT 4, INCORPORATED PERFORMANCE OR CAPABILITY EXCEEDANCES.”

If no Offeror meets all requirements, the Government may decide not to award a contract.

E. Point of contact (POC): The POCs for this acquisition are: Contract Specialist Mr. Russell Lowery, he can be reached at 618-256-9850 or by email at russell.lowery.1@us.af.mil and the Contracting Officer Ms. Sarah Myers, she can be reached at 618-550-3423 or by email at sarah.myers.3@us.af.mil.

F. Ombudsman

5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (June 2016)

(a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern.

(b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions).

(c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsmen, Ms. Susan R. Madison, AFICA OL AMC, 510 POW/MIA Dr. Bldg. P40, Scott AFB, IL 62225-5022, 618-229-0267, fax 618-256-6668, email: susan.madison@us.af.mil. Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/DRU/SMC ombudsman level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2395, facsimile number (571) 256-2431.

(d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency.

(e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer.