Atch_1_-_52_212-1_Addendum.doc

ADDENDUM to 52.212-1

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS

FA4890-18-R-5035

Period for Acceptance of Offers: Paragraph (c) of FAR provision 52.212-1 is hereby changed to read 180 calendar days.

Notice to Offeror(s): The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date for receipt of proposals. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 This section of the RFP provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the required proposal factor. Each proposal must include all data and information requested in the RFP. The offeror shall comply with the solicitation requirements as stated and the PWS. The offeror’s proposal must reflect a thorough understanding of the services required and display a logical development of the offeror's plans to implement all PWS requirements as assessed by the RFP evaluation criteria.

1.2 The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail to provide for adequate evaluation as well substantiation of stated claims. Submitted documents must contain adequate information to enable the evaluation team to fully ascertain an offeror's capability to perform contract requirements, must meet the requirements of the RFP, and must address the evaluation factors for award.

1.3 All information contained in the proposal an offeror feels is “Proprietary Information” and therefore not releasable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), should be labeled “Proprietary Information, Source Selection Information—See FAR 2.101 and 3.104.”

1.4 Offerors shall acknowledge awareness of all amendments to the solicitation via an email.

1.5 The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition for this acquisition so offerors are cautioned to submit their best pricing, technical, and past performance information up-front.

1.6 Joint Venture Agreements: Joint Ventures (JV) are allowable on small business set-asides; however, the JV Agreement package or email notification of bid submittal by the JV must be received by the SBA prior to proposal due date and the JV Agreement must be approved before award of any resulting contract. If you are contemplating a JV on this project, you must advise your assigned SBA Business Opportunity Specialist as soon as possible. It is also recommended that the agreement be submitted as soon as practical to ensure compliance with established regulations. For additional information, see 13 CFR § 124.513.

2. FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS

2.1 Any formal communication such as requests for clarification, discussions, and information concerning this solicitation shall be submitted in writing (via email) to the POC below. Please use the attached Question and Answer (Q&A) Matrix (Attachment 9) for question submissions. It is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm receipt of all formal communications.

ACC AMIC/PKAA

ATTN: Ms. LaTisha Ross or Capt Matthew Markling Reference: Solicitation No. FA4890-18-R-5035 – Optimizing the Human Weapon System (OHWS) Services

2.2 Solicitation Clarifications and Answers. Questions may be addressed to the Contracting Officer. All questions must be received no later than the 23rd of August the Q&A Matrix.

3. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

3.1 Please submit electronic proposals to Ms Latisha Ross at latisha.ross@us.af.mil and Captain Matthew Markling at matthew.markling@us.af.mil. Proposals are due no later than 16 September 2019 at 3:00 p.m. (Local Eastern time). Late proposals will not be accepted.

3.2 Complete Proposals. Offerors are cautioned to strictly comply with all instructions within this solicitation to ensure submission of a complete proposal. Failure to furnish a complete proposal at the time of proposal submission may result in the proposal being considered non-compliant to the Government and eliminated from consideration for award. Late proposals will be processed in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f) “Late submission, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.” The Government will retain the unopened proposal until the source selection is finalized. However, the proposal will not be evaluated or considered for award.

3.3 Contact Information. Offeror shall provide:

· Names, titles, addresses, telephone, and email addresses of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation.

· 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, even if that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

4. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

4.1 Proposal Development. The following instructions prescribe the format for proposals, and describe the approach to be used for the development and presentation of the proposal data. The proposal shall include all of the information requested in the specific instructions. Failure to include all information requested may adversely affect the evaluation. A proposal that merely reiterates or promises to accomplish the requirements of the PWS will be considered unacceptable. A proposal that is orderly and sufficiently documented will enable the Government to easily understand the proposal and perform a thorough and fair evaluation of it. The Government may incorporate into the contract by reference or full text portions of the successful offeror’s initial proposal or as revised and supplemented through the final proposal revision that is submitted in response to the solicitation.

4.2 Proposal Factors. Proposals shall be prepared in three (3) separate and distinct Volumes:

· Volume 1: Factor 1 – Technical

· Volume 2: Factor 2 – Past Performance

· Volume 3: Factor 3 – Price

4.3 Proposal Format. Type size for text shall not be smaller than Microsoft Word Times New Roman 12 point font, single column, normal proportional spacing and one inch margins (top, bottom, left and right). The text for charts, tables, graphs, and figures shall be no smaller than Microsoft Word, Times New Roman or Arial Narrow, 8 point font. Information submitted shall not exceed the page limits stated below for each factor.

4.3.1 What Counts as a Page. A page shall be an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper, single-sided. Proposals may be submitted double-sided (i.e. content on both sides); however, each side counts as one page. All material shall be contained within the page limit identified for each factor, and all appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, etc., are included in the page count, with exception of items stated in 4.3.2. Page numbering shall be in a sequential order (i.e., 1 through 75). Do not number each section of the proposal factor separately.

4.3.2 Pages Not Included in Page Count. The organizational chart, glossary of abbreviations, acronyms and cross-reference matrix will not be included in the page count. Covers for factors, tables of contents, indices, title pages, and section dividers/tables will not be included in the page count if they are inserted solely to provide ease to the reader in locating parts/sections of the proposal. They will be counted if they contain any other information, e.g., diagrams, extraneous data, etc. Pages marked “This page intentionally left blank” and without any additional information will not be counted. Executive Summary will not be included in the proposal page limitation as stated in paragraph 4.5.

4.4 Electronic Copies. Electronic copies of all proposal information for each factor shall be submitted via email using Microsoft Office 2010 or later and/or Portable Document Format (PDF) using Adobe Acrobat 9.0 or later. Offerors shall not submit any documents in PDF that cannot be electronically searched. Offerors may use JPEG images for charts or screen shots; however, reference 4.3 for formatting parameters. Factor 3 - Price shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel 2010 or later. Offerors shall name each factor using standard naming conventions (e.g., Offeror name-factor-name.docx). Each factor shall be contained in its own single searchable file, with copy/paste capability. Offerors shall insert the file name in the header of each document. Please submit electronic proposals via email.

4.5 Page Limits. Evaluators will only read up to the maximum number of pages specified. If the page limit is exceeded, the excess pages will not be evaluated. Page limitations are as follows:

Table 1 – Page Limits

Notes:

· An Executive Summary shall be included in Factor 1, Technical – summary shall not exceed 3 pages. The 3 page limitation is not included in the 15-page limit for Volume 1 - Factor 1- Technical.

· The Technical and Price Performance Factors shall not include pricing information.

· The Price Factor is for price only – Technical information shall not be included in this factor.

4.6 Cross-Reference Matrix. Each volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated without cross referencing to other factors of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated factor will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal factor is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity. The offeror shall provide a cross reference matrix indicating the proposal reference information as it relates to the RFP, PWS, and applicable CLIN references. This is only a tool to assist in the proposal preparation process. Offerors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their proposal fully addresses all areas and that all requested information is completed in accordance with this Attachment 1 – Addendum to 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors, and Attachment 2 – Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items, of this solicitation.

4.7 Exceptions. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. If the offeror finds it necessary to take exception to any of the requirements specified in this solicitation, the offeror shall clearly identify the applicable factor and exceptions with a complete explanation of why the exception was taken, what benefit accrues to the Government (if any), and its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, price, and specific requirements of the solicitation. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Offerors are cautioned that taking an exception may render the offer ineligible for award. This information shall be provided in the format below.

Table 2 – Solicitation Exceptions

4.7.1 If the offeror takes no exception to any of the stated requirements in the solicitation, a statement to this effect is required at the front in the Executive Summary.

4.8 Early Proposal Information. Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) are critical in assessing an offerors recent/relevant past and present performance. Offerors should plan ahead when distributing the Past Performance Information (PPI) Sheet (Attachment 6 - Appendix A PPI Template), PPQs (Attachment 7 - Appendix C PPQ Template) and Consent to Discuss Performance letter (Attachment 10- Appendix D Subcontractor Consent Letter). PPQs should be sent (by the offeror) to organizations for which a performance assessment is requested early enough for the respondent to complete the PPQ and forward it directly to the Contracting Officer (CO) not later than the day proposals are due.

4.8.1 The Consent to Discuss Performance letter should accompany each PPQ sent to organizations as an explanation of the Government’s intent and purpose for the PPQ request. The Consent to Discuss Performance letter, should accompany each PPQ sent to subcontract/teaming partners. Consent letters shall be completed by subcontract/teaming partners and accompany their respective PPQ sent directly to the CO. If a PPQ is sent to a Government program manager or other agency that is not affiliated with the subcontract/teaming partner, a consent letter must be received by the CO from the subcontract/teaming partner for which the performance is written.

5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FACTOR 1 -- TECHNICAL

5.1 The Technical Proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail to substantiate Offeror’s stated claims. The Technical proposal shall not contain any pricing data. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of the Offeror’s capabilities. The Government will evaluate an Offeror’s written technical proposal against the Technical Criteria as described in Attachment 2 – Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items. Offerors shall use the instructions below to provide the specific methodology proposed to accomplish and satisfy the Technical Criteria. Technical will be rated at the criteria level, using the approach described in Attachment 2 – Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items. As stated in 4.1, aspects of the Offeror’s proposed technical proposal that the Evaluation Team (ET) identify may become part of the winning Offeror’s contract, when awarded, and thereby will become part of the terms and conditions, for the life of the contract.

5.2 Statements that the offeror understands, can, or will comply with the PWS (including Air Force (AF) publications, technical requirements, etc.); statements paraphrasing the PWS or parts thereof (including applicable AF publications, technical data requirements, etc.); and phrases such as “standard procedures will be employed” or “well known techniques will be used” etc., will be considered unacceptable and could render a proposal unawardable. All information that the offeror deems appropriate to address for this factor must be included in the proposal in an orderly format.

5.3 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. A glossary of abbreviations and acronyms shall be provided as an attachment within the Technical Factors. Glossaries do not count against the page limitations for the Factors.

5.4 Neck and Back Pain Prevention Program. The Technical Proposal shall include a clear and concise description of how the Offeror plans to meet the technical requirements in the PWS and specifically address in adequate detail how the Offeror plans to meet the stated criteria for this factor.

5.5 CRITERIA

Criteria 1: Develop and provide an overall fitness program for fighter aircrew that addresses training preparation, strength development, and cardiovascular health. Provide specific focus on a strength and conditioning program for neck and back pain in accordance with PWS paragraph 4.1 and its following subparagraphs that includes a methodology to identify neck and back injuries among fighter aircrew and assess the nature and severity of injuries, a plan for how the contractor will address and reduce the injuries, a plan for how the contractor will help prevent future injuries related to the neck and back, and detail of how the contractor will collect and analyze data from fighter aircrew to meet the requirements of PWS paragraphs 5.5.1, 5.5.3, and 5.5.4.

Criteria 2: Discuss how the fitness program provided in Criteria 1 is designed to lead to a reduction in the frequency and severity of neck and back pain injuries, reduction in duty time lost, improvement in quality of life for fighter aircrew, enhanced readiness for fighter squadrons, and higher aircrew retention. Explain how the contractor will use data collected to determine and enhance program effectiveness.

6. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FACTOR 2 – PAST PERFORMANCE

6.1 The Past Performance Volume is due no later than the proposal due date. Past Performance Information (PPI) shall be provided in a format that facilitates an easy assessment according to the past performance evaluation criteria of this solicitation. Specific guidelines and requirements about factors content and format are provided in this section.

6.2 The Government will evaluate this factor to assess the offeror’s recent and relevant present and past performance record to determine confidence in the offeror’s probability of successfully performing as proposed. For purposes of this evaluation, the “offeror” includes any joint ventures, subcontractors, and/or teaming partners proposed as part of the prime contractor’s team under this effort. The Government will evaluate the recency, relevancy, and quality of each offerors past performance which will result in an overall confidence assessment.

6.3 Contents. The offeror shall submit a Past Performance Section containing the following:

Table 3 – Past Performance Section Contents

Note: Font and margin restrictions are the same as paragraph 4.3.

6.3.1 Summary. Describe roles of offeror, subcontractors, teaming partners, and/or joint venture partners requiring past performance information IAW paragraph 6.3.2.

6.3.2 Past and Present Performance Information (PPI) Sheets (Attachment 6 - Appendix A PPI Template). The offeror shall submit a maximum of three contract references where they performed as a prime contractor or subcontractor. Contract references are required on the offeror and any teaming partners that will perform at least 20% of this effort.

6.3.3 Organizational Structure Change History. To facilitate the Government’s past performance evaluation, the offeror shall include a "roadmap" describing any organization structure changes applicable to this effort. For example, the current name of the Offeror is different than the name two years ago, which is used in a PPI.

6.3.4 Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Form (Attachment 10 - Appendix D Subcontractor Consent Letter). Past performance information concerning subcontractor and teaming partners cannot be disclosed to a private party without the subcontractor’s or teaming partner’s consent. Because a prime contractor is a private party, the Government will need that consent before disclosing subcontract/teaming partner present and past performance information to the Prime during exchanges. In an effort to assist the Government in assessing your past performance relevancy and confidence, we request that the consent form (Appendix D) be completed by the major subcontractors/teaming partners identified in your proposal. The completed consent forms should be submitted as part of your Past Performance Section.

6.3.5 Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) (Attachment 7 - Appendix C PPQ Template). Offerors shall submit PPQs for each PPI reference where the offeror or teaming partner was as a major subcontractor. The PPQ must be completed by the Prime Contractor referenced on the past performance information sheet. That Prime Contractor shall submit completed PPQs directly to the Government per sample PPQ cover letter (Attachment 8 - Appendix B PPQ Cover Letter). The Government reserves the right to request additional PPQs through communications for contracts where the offeror was the prime contractor.

6.3.6 Other Sources. The Government may utilize references other than those identified by offerors. While the Government may elect to consider data obtained from other sources, the burden of providing accurate and complete, recent and relevant, PPIs that demonstrates the ability to perform this requirement rests with the offeror. The Government reserves the right to obtain more past performance data from any source that it deems appropriate.

7. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FACTOR 3 -- PRICE PROPOSAL

7.1 The contract type currently being pursued for this requirement is Firm Fixed Price-Level of Effort (FFP-LOE) for Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). For the purposes of this requirement, LOE is defined as one FTE. Contractors will provide price/cost as appropriate for each FTE, core and optional, required to perform PWS requirements, for a total of 43 Core and 126 Optional FTEs. The offeror shall provide pricing for all Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract line item numbers (CLINS). For ease of administration, all TOTAL pricing should be rounded to the whole dollar amounts and divisible by 12. The solicitation will provide pre-established NTE amounts for the Fixed Price Travel CLINS that will become a part of the total evaluated price of all offerors. Offerors shall provide price data in the attached Excel spreadsheet (see Attachment 5, Price Template).

7.2 Representations and Certifications. Complete the required Representations and Certifications or indicate if information is contained in the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://www.sam.gov.

7.3 Supporting Price Backup Data for Prime and Subcontractors. Certified cost or pricing data is not required. However, supporting data is requested to verify that pricing is fair, reasonable and balanced per FAR 15.404-1. Supporting data should explain the methodology used in developing proposed CLIN prices. Supporting data shall be provided in a table format, to include, at a minimum, a breakdown (by CLIN) of labor (labor category, number of positions and productive hours and rates used), breakout of Other Direct Costs (ODC), Direct and Indirect Rates. Supporting data shall be submitted via the pricing template (Solicitation Attachment 5) and must address the information requested in this paragraph. The Government reserves the right to request additional pricing information after receipt and evaluation of proposals.

8. DEBRIEFING OF OFFERORS

8.1 Debriefings are conducted with the goal of identifying to unsuccessful offerors where changes can be made to improve future source selection participation.

8.2 Successful or unsuccessful offerors may request debriefings by providing a written request to the Procuring Contracting Officer. Debriefings shall be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.505 for pre-award debriefings and FAR 15.506 for post-award debriefings.

8.3 For the purposes of evaluating past performance and making a determination of contractor responsibility, past performance information may be obtained from sources such as the Government’s Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), the Defense Contract Management Agency, interviews with Program Managers, COs, and Award Fee Determining Officials, and other sources known to the Government. The Government reserves the right to obtain more past performance data from any source that it deems appropriate.