Attachment8-SectionLM(revision2).pdf

SECTION L

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS

L-1.0 SUBMISSIONS OF PROPOSALS

L-1.1 INSTRUCTIONS

a. Offerors shall submit proposals no later than 12:00pm Mountain Time, 22 March 2021. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, offerors shall comply with all instructions within Section L and all solicitation submission requirements, including submission requirements within the terms and conditions and representations and certifications. Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with Table L-1.3 and addressed to the Contracting Officer (CO). To ensure timely receipt, offerors shall provide all deliverables of the RFP to the email address listed below to the CO either via email or DoD Safe:

Contracting Officer Rachael E. Zack rachael.zack@us.af.mil

Late submittal may result in offeror disqualification IAW FAR 15.208.

b. Offerors shall apply all appropriate markings including those prescribed in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, and FAR 3.104-4, Disclosure, Protection, and Marking of Contractor Bid or Proposal Information and Source Selection Information. Classified information will not be permitted.

L-1.2 GENERAL INFORMATION

a. The offeror’s proposal shall include all information requested by this Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and solicitation. Non-compliance with the instructions provided in this RFP may result in the proposal being ineligible for award. Deviations from the instructions will be reviewed by the CO to ensure that no contractor receives a competitive advantage.

b. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and substantiating the validity of all stated claims. 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 or provided during discussions, if applicable.

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

mailto:rachael.zack@us.af.mil

d. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Section A of the solicitation. The offeror shall make a clear statement in Section A of the solicitation that the proposal is valid for 180 days from proposal submission date.

e. In accordance with FAR 4.803, the Government will retain one copy of all proposals.

f. Government Point of Contact: The CO is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. Written requests for clarification shall be sent to the CO at the email address identified in the public posting and in this solicitation.

g. Offeror’s Point of Contact: The offeror shall notify the CO in writing of the name, phone number, and email address of the individual who shall receive Government notices.

h. The Government intends to award multiple contracts to each and all qualifying contractors under this solicitation. However, the Government reserves the right to change the total number of contracts awarded (to include no award).

i. Participation by Foreign Firms: In accordance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), foreign firms or U.S. companies determined to be under Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) will not be permitted to participate unless Government treaty, agreement, or arrangement is held with the U.S. Government.

j. Joint Venture: The offeror can be a prime contractor consisting of parties jointly owned and managed either by a partnership or a corporation established for the expressed purpose of entering into a contract with the Government. Neither party alone will have direct privity of contract with the Government; only the joint venture itself will have direct privity.

L-1.3 PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION/PAGE LIMITATIONS

a. The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization Table (Table L-

1.3 below). All volumes identified in the table shall be submitted electronically, a cover sheet shall be used to clearly mark the volume number, title, solicitation identification, and the offeror’s name. Each volume shall contain a detailed table of contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that volume. Pages in each volume shall be numbered sequentially and consecutively. The contents of each proposal volume are described in the table below:

Table L-1.3 - Proposal Organization Volume / Section Title Method of

Submission Page / Time

Limit

Volume I Executive Proposal Section I Narrative Summary Written 10 Section II Contract Documentation Written No limit Section III Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements Written No limit Section IV Administrative Submissions Written No limit Subcontracting Plan Security Requirement/DD254 Joint Certification Program (JCP)/ DD2345 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Plan Reps & Certs Identification and Assertions

Volume II Evaluated Proposal Presentation / Oral1

No more than 100 slides 2 / 90 minutes

Factor I Technical Presentation/ Oral1 IAW L-1.5

PWS Capabilities Presentation/ Oral1 IAW L-1.5

Factor II Small Business Participation Written No Limit 1 Oral Presentations shall be structured and performed in accordance with section L-1.5 2 Title and transition slides are not included in the 100 slide limit

b. A page is defined as a face of a sheet of paper containing information. For the purposes of Oral Presentations one (1) slide constitutes one (1) page. Excess pages submitted beyond the page limitation stated in the table above will be discarded and not evaluated. If Evaluation Notices (ENs) are required, page limits shall be placed on any responses. The specific page limits for responses to ENs shall be identified in the letter forwarding ENs to the offeror. Excess pages submitted in response to these will be removed and disposed of by the CO.

c. To the greatest extent possible, each volume shall be on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross referencing to other volumes of the proposal.

Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume shall be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity.

d. Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used.

L-1.4 WRITTEN PROPOSAL AND ORAL PRESENTATION SLIDE SIZE/FORMAT

a. The cover page, table of contents, list(s) of tables and drawings, abbreviations and acronyms glossary, blank pages, and cross-reference matrix are excluded from the page count.

b. Written proposal material. The font shall be Times New Roman. Line spacing shall be set at

1.0 or greater. Text size shall be 12-point or larger. Font stipulations do not apply to figures, diagrams, tables, and other items as long as the content is legible. Margins on all four (4) edges of each page shall be at least 1 inch. In the header on the upper right corner of all pages, include:

RFP number, part and/or subdirectory title and page number. Company name and proprietary information notices shall be placed in both, top and bottom, margins.

c. Oral presentation material. Oral presentation shall be briefed using Microsoft Power Point. The font shall be Times New Roman. Line spacing shall be set at 1.0 or greater. Text size shall be 14-point or larger. Font stipulations do not apply to figures, diagrams, tables, and other items as long as the content is legible. Formatting is left up to the offeror as long as all other instructions in this section are adhered to. In the header on the upper right corner of all pages, include: RFP number, part and/or subdirectory title and page number. Company name and proprietary information notices shall be placed in either, top or bottom, margins.

d. Electronic proposal materials. Offerors shall submit all volumes on an electronic format via email or DoD SAFE IAW Table L-1.3. Submissions shall be labeled clearly. All content shall be READ ONLY. Do not compress the files. If submitted materials via DoD Safe please submit request to CO identified above.

L-1.5 ORAL PRESENTATION PARAMETERS (FAR 15.102)

a. Each offeror shall notify the Government of their intent to provide an oral presentation, not later than thirty (30) days after the release of the RFP, via email (rachael.zack@us.af.mil). The subject line of the email shall contain the following: “SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION - See FAR 2.101 and 3.104.” Failure to provide this notification to the Government may render the offeror ineligible for award.

b. Presentations will be presented by key personnel responsible for contract performance. Key members of a subcontractor team are permitted to participate in presentations as proposal will be evaluated as one complete team. The Government intends to conduct presentations virtually;

however, the Government reserves the right to conduct in person presentations at Hill AFB, UT if deemed appropriate. The offeror will be contacted by the Government (Per the RFP Section L:

Instructions to Offerors) to schedule a date and time to present. The presentation slides must be sent to the Government with the other portions of the proposal on 22 March 2021. The first slide of the presentation must include the Company’s Name and Company’s primary point contact information with a valid call-back phone number.

c. Structure: The offeror will be allotted a total of 90 minutes to present. Additional time will be allotted for setup, Government Caucus, and Q&A in accordance with Table L-1.5 below.

Offerors shall structure their oral presentations to follow the order of items in Section M-3.

Electronic copies of all materials shall be submitted on the due date identified in paragraph L- 1.1.a above. Briefing charts are to provide structure to the oral presentation. The oral presentation shall be in accordance with Table L-1.3 The offeror is expected to present the slides for Volume II during their oral presentation. The offeror shall be responsible for controlling the presentation slides. Offerors may not present any classified information in either their proposals or during oral presentations.

d. Presentation: Once the offeror is ready (if prior to the completion of setup time), the 90 minute timer will start or the Government will notify the offeror that their setup time is up and that the 90 minute timer has started. The Government will base its evaluation of Volume II only on the information presented in the offeror’s presentation and information provided during questions and answers or Evaluation Notices, if applicable. Two-way interaction with the Government is not to be expected during the 90 minute presentation time, however offeror will be given a “15 minutes remaining” alert at minute 75 and a “5 minutes remaining” alert at minute 85. This is to inform the offeror that their time will expire soon

e. Caucus: The presentation will end once the offeror has completed their presentation or once time has expired, whichever occurs first. The Government will then leave the room / end the call to take up to 30 minute Caucus. After the 30 minute caucus, the Government will return to the presentation room / call back the offeror to begin the Q&A period. Q&A will constitute discussions IAW FAR 15.306.

f. Q&A: The Q&A period will be no more than 45 minutes and will be used as an open dialogue between the Government and the offeror to clarify any information from the offerors proposal in accordance with FAR 15.306(a). The offeror must be prepared to answer all questions to the best of their ability. The offeror may briefly caucus if necessary to coordinate a response on specific questions for up to 10 minutes. This time will come out of the overall 45 minutes designated for the Q&A discussion. If no additional information is needed by the Government, the offeror will be notified and the presentation will be concluded.

g. Conclusion: Oral presentations conclude after 45 minute Q&A period.

h. The oral presentations will tentatively begin within two (2) weeks after the proposal due date and will be held within the Hill AFB area or virtual as determined by the CO. The offeror shall notify the CO, in writing, of the name, phone number, and email address of the individual who will receive Government notices regarding proposal and brief schedules.

i. The Contracting Officer will schedule each oral presentation based on receipt of the request.

Time and date on the email request will be establish the order. The CO will notify offerors within one (1) week prior to the proposal close date by phone or email of the offeror’s date, location, and time of presentation. The CO reserves the right to change the order of oral proposals if external events necessitate.

j. All oral presentations will be video/audio recorded by the Government. Offerors will not be authorized to record or maintain any copies of video/audio recordings.

Table L-1.5 - Oral Presentation Timeline Section Time Setup Up to 15 Minutes Oral Presentation Up to 90 Minutes Government Caucus Up to 30 Minutes Q&A Up to 45 Minutes Total Time Up to 180 Minutes (3 hours)

L-1.6 DEBRIEFINGS

The CO will notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range. Upon notification, excluded offerors may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR

15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing.

However, offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal. The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR 15.506, at which time, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing shall make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

L-1.7 DISCREPENCIES

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 any remedies the offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error.

L-1.8 DISCUSSIONS

Discussions will be permitted during oral presentations IAW FAR 15.102 and FAR 15.306. Any Evaluation Notices (ENs) presented during discussions, and Request for Final Proposal Revision’s (FPRs) will be considered in making the source selection decision. Additional guidance for submission of FPRs will be provided by the Government as applicable. If at the time of an offerors oral presentation the Government has not identified any deficiencies or significant weaknesses in their proposal the Government may have nothing to discuss. A deficiency in an offerors proposal will be considered anything that may render the proposal unacceptable. If the offeror is initially determined qualified and no revisions are required as a result of discussions then no FPR may be required.

Designated question and answer time of oral presentations will be used to engage in discussions and present any evaluation notices at this time. Following these discussions, the Government will request Final Proposal Revisions (FPR) to be incorporated into their PowerPoint Presentation document to be submitted to the Contracting Office within the time frame expected for final review from the evaluation team. Proposal revisions will not result in another oral presentation unless the Government specifically requests one.

L-1.9 ELECTRONIC REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Documents for this solicitation are available on the Beta Sam website at http://www.beta.sam.gov.

Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

L-1.10 COMMUNICATIONS

The CO will control all exchanges of source selection information between the Government and offerors. Exchanges with industry may be written and transmitted via encrypted e-mail, facsimile and/or orally with telephonic or face-to-face meetings.

The Contracting Officer (CO), Rachael E. Zack, email: rachael.zack@us.af.mil , phone (801) 777- 5068 is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO.

Email may be used to transmit information to offerors only if the email can be sent and received encrypted and includes “SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION – See FAR 2.101 & 3.104” in the subject line.

L-2.0 VOLUME I – EXECUTIVE PROPOSAL

Volume I – Executive Proposal will be evaluated for responsiveness to the solicitation. All requested documentation and submissions shall be submitted in accordance with the RFP and Sections L&M to be determined responsive by the Contracting Officer. Offerors not determined to be responsive may not be eligible for award. Only the information presented during the oral presentations as part of Volume II – Evaluated Proposal will be used to determine qualifying offerors; Volume I will not be used to qualify offerors to perform work under RISE.

L-2.1 SECTION I – NARRATIVE SUMMARY

The offeror’s proposal shall include a narrative summary of the entire proposal that is concise, to include addressing significant risks and highlighting any key or unique features, excluding cost/price. The narrative content shall describe offerors capability to perform RISE work in accordance with the evaluation factors. Any summary material presented here shall not be considered as meeting the requirements for any portions of other volumes of the proposal.

a. Authorized Offeror Personnel: The offeror shall provide the name, title, and phone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government.

b. Government Offices: The offeror shall provide the name, mailing address, phone number and facility codes for the cognizant Contract Administration Office, DCAA, DCMA Administrating Contracting Officer, and Government Paying Office.

c. Company/Division Address, Identifying Codes, and Applicable Designations: Provide company/division’s street address, county and facility code; CAGE code; DUNS code; size of business (large or small) for the designated NAICS code - 334511. This same information shall be provided if the work for this contract will be performed at any other location(s). List all locations where work is to be performed and indicate whether such facility is a division, affiliate, or subcontractor.

L-2.2 SECTION II CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION

a. The offeror’s proposal shall include a signed copy of the SF 33 (to include clause fill-ins), Sections A through K. The offeror shall complete blocks 13 through 16 and sign and date blocks 17 and 18 in Section A of the SF 33. Signature by the offeror on the Standard Form 33 constitutes an offer, which the Government may accept. In doing so, the offeror accedes to the contract terms and conditions as written in the RFP Sections A through K.

b. This contract is an IDIQ contract with baseline clauses and conditions. The specific prices, contract type(s), delivery requirements and period of performance will be determined at the delivery order level.

L-2.3 SECTION III EXCEPTIONS TO SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS

Offerors shall 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. Offerors shall clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions.

Each exception shall be specifically related to a specific paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Offerors shall provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost, and specific requirements of the solicitation. Please be aware that if any exceptions are taken to the solicitation and award without discussions is made, your proposal will be deemed unawardable. If no exceptions to the RFP are taken by the offeror then the submission of the compliance matrix is not needed and it is understood that the offeror can meet ALL requirements. This information shall be provided in the format and content of Table L-2.3 below:

Table L-2.3 Offeror Solicitation Exceptions COMPLIANCE MATRIX

C - Comply U - Understand I - Interpretation/Clarification E - Exception Solicitation

Document Page/ Para.

Description Statement Compliance Proposal References Remarks/Rationale

C U I E

PWS, SF33,

DD254, etc.

Applicable page and paragraph numbers

Applicable description

Define the specific requirement at issue

Describe why the requirement could or will not be met.

L-2.4 ADMINISTRATIVE SUBMISSIONS

L-2.4.1 SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

All other than small business offerors shall provide a legible, clear, and complete subcontracting plan that adheres to the requirements prescribed at FAR 52.219-9. Be advised further subcontracting goals may be imposed at the task/delivery order level.

L-2.4.2 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS/DD254

All contractors are required to hold at a minimum a facility clearance level of SECRET with safeguarding at SECRET. Some individual delivery/task orders placed under the established contract may require that a facility clearance level of TOP SECRET/SCI with safeguarding at TOP SECRET/SCI. Offerors shall complete the DD254 (block 6 through 8). See attached DD254 (attached to the solicitation) for details. To be eligible for award, an offeror must have the required clearance at the time of proposal submission. Sponsorship will not be granted. Additional DD254 may be required on individual task order requirements.

L-2.4.3 JOINT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM (JCP)/DD2345

Technical Requirements Documents (TRD) are made exclusively available to DoD contractors who are certified under the Defense Logistic Agencies (DLA) Joint Certification Program (JCP).

Certification under the JCP establishes the eligibility of a U.S. or Canadian contractor to technical data governed, in the U.S., by DoD Directive 5230.25 and, in Canada, by the Technical Data Control Regulations (TDCR). A certification is required by U.S. or Canadian contractors that wish to obtain access to unclassified technical data disclosing militarily critical technology with military or space application that is under the control of, or in the possession of the U.S. DoD or the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND). Contractors must submit a copy of the DD Form 2345 to the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Office, along with a copy of the company’s State/Provincial License, Incorporation Certificate, Sales Tax Identification Form or other documentation which verifies the legitimacy of the company.

L-2.4.4 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST MITIGATION PLAN

Organizational Conflict of Interest is a concern requiring specific attention. Offerors shall identify any existing or potential conflicts and provide a legible, clear, and coherent Organizational Conflict Of Interest Mitigation Plan IAW the checklist provided attached to the solicitation. If no existing or potential OCI is identified by the offeror, then a memorandum stating this information should be submitted to satisfy this requirement.

The offeror’s proposal may be deemed unawardable if the offeror is unable to mitigate an actual or apparent OCI or fails to present a compliant OCI Mitigation Plan.

Approved Mitigation plan will be incorporated into the resultant contract and supplemented with each Task/Delivery Order.

Offeror’s OCI mitigation plan will not be evaluated as part of the technical evaluation; rather, the CO will determine whether any apparent successful offeror is awardable in light of OCI concerns, akin to a responsibility determination. This determination focuses primarily on OCI concerns relating to the Prime Contractor. OCI concerns relating to Subcontractors will primarily be addressed as part of the consent to subcontracting process, which is a matter of contract administration. The only time OCI concerns relating to Subcontractors will be included in the responsibility-like determination is if the Prime offeror’s proposed use of Subcontractors demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the agency’s OCI concerns. This determination is concerned both with ensuring objectivity and with avoiding any unfair competitive advantage that could result from unequal access to nonpublic information. It is a significant objective of this acquisition to promote customer confidence that Government activities are unencumbered by potential OCI in the use of customers’ competition-sensitive or proprietary information. That confidence among industry customers is vital to RISE contractors’ access to sensitive and proprietary customer information which in turn is vital to the effective fulfillment of RISE program requirements. The contract likewise requires the Contractor to exercise judgment to assist the Government in matters (such as drafting specifications or assessing another Contractor’s proposal or performance) where the Contractor’s objectivity is vital. For instance, the successful offeror shall not be in a position to evaluate its own products or services, those of an affiliate, or those of a competitor of either the offeror or one of its affiliates without proper safeguards to ensure objectivity to protect the Government’s interests. In some cases, however, safeguards are not sufficient to mitigate an OCI. The offeror shall ensure its submission contains sufficient information to enable the Government to make the determination in these regards.

The following information will be used both in determining whether any Prime Contractor is awardable and as the starting point to assessing the OCI aspect of the consent to subcontracting process. After surveying Subcontractors’ and the offeror’s own business units, and applying the principles of FAR Subpart 9.5, the offeror shall assess whether there is an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest associated with the offer it plans to submit, including any potential Subcontractor. The offeror shall disclose business activities of itself, its affiliates, its teammates, and affiliates of its teammates. The offeror shall specifically identify those which may create at least the appearance that (a) any participant on the offeror’s team might therefore be motivated to use the Government customer’s information improperly, or (b) the judgment of any participant on the offeror’s team might be impaired in its fulfillment of requirements of the RISE Delivery Orders. An affiliate includes any person or organization with which the Contractor is associated through an ownership, control, or direct financial interest. It includes any parent organization, and any organization majority owned or controlled by such parent. The offeror shall:

- Identify any teammate for whom there is any doubt whether it qualifies as a “Covered Government Support Contractor” (see DFARS 252.227-7013 and 252.227-7014) for programs supported either directly or indirectly under this acquisition, and identify the business activity (or activities) that might prevent the team member from qualifying; and

- Identify whether any teammate or any affiliate of a teammate has, within the past three years, participated as a Prime or major Subcontractor in furnishing end items or services of the type developed or produced on any program or effort for which RISE requiring activities may furnish support. (Reference DFARS 252.209-7009).

“Business activities” shall be described with specificity as to customers served, products and services provided, and dollar volume of sales including contracts/sales by date and amount which are representative of each such activity;

- The offeror shall provide evidence of facts and circumstances which it believes ameliorate concerns related to the appearance and/or presence of business activities which may create at least the appearance or a potential or actual organizational conflict of interest.

- To the extent the offeror identifies any potential or actual organizational conflicts of interest, the offeror shall explain the actions it intends to use to address concerns about potential or actual conflicts. The offeror shall submit proposed approaches to mitigating the effects of any potential or actual conflicts of interest arising out of the business activities disclosed.

The Draft OCI Mitigation Plan will be reviewed by the CO upon submittal by the offeror with their proposal. The Draft Mitigation Plan will not be evaluated. The CO will review for any potential issues with respect to OCI. Revisions may be requested from offerors and does not constitute discussions. The Final Mitigation Plan will be an administration action/issue – specifically the awardees will submit their Final Mitigation Plan(s) and the Government will review the plan(s) for approval. Once the Plan(s) is/are approved by the Government the Mitigation Plan will be incorporated into the contracts.

Exchanges necessary to resolve OCI issues shall not be considered discussions. As such, the Contracting Officer may issue Evaluation Notices to the offeror prior to any decision to enter into discussions in order to resolve questions or concerns with the offeror’s OCI analysis or mitigation plan.

L-2.4.5 REPRESENTATIVE AND CERTIFICATIONS

Offeror shall ensure all required representations and certifications have been filled-in/completed and are provided in their proposal.

L-2.4.6 IDENTIFICATION AND ASSERTIONS

Offeror shall identify and assert any data rights for the contract level. Specific data rights will be addressed at the delivery order, when applicable.

L-3.0 VOLUME II – EVALUATED PROPOSAL

Submitted proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria and shall be weighted equally:

Factor 1: Technical Subfactor A: PWS Capabilities Factor 2: Small Business Participation

Price will not be evaluated as part of the initial establishment of the RISE contract IAW FAR 15.304(c)(1)(ii)(A). Past performance will not be evaluated as part of the initial establishment of the RISE contract IAW FAR 15.304(c)(3)(iii).

L-3.1 FACTOR I: TECHNICAL

L-3.1.1 SUBFACTOR A: PWS CAPABILITIES

The task and delivery orders will be arranged around the four effort categories shown in Table L- 3.1.1A. An offeror must demonstrate capability for at least two of the four effort categories listed in Table L-3.1.1A to be qualified for the basic RISE contract and the initial task order. Offerors who qualify for the basic RISE contract will not be disqualified from bidding on other categories for which they did not initially demonstrate a capability. All qualifying offerors under the initial RISE contract will be eligible to bid on future task orders consistent with the evaluation criteria included with each order. Demonstrated capability in more than two areas will not increase the scoring of the contractor for the base RISE contract. As such, offerors need not discuss categories beyond those for which they are qualified.

For each effort category, Table L-3.1.1A identifies with a check mark in the appropriate row the requirements that will be evaluated to determine the offeror’s ability to perform the given effort category (as shown in Table L-3.1.1A.).

Definition of these specific requirements, are provided in Table L-3.1.1B

Table L-3.1.1A RISE Capability Requirement by Effort Category

Capability Requirement

Effort Categories Studies and

Analysis Sustainment

Projects Prototyping Production

Technical competence in Range Threat Systems (RTS) subject area

X X X X

Formal in-house process controls

X X

Utilize Systems Engineering Process

X X X

Engineering Technical Reviews

X X X

Configuration Management System

X X X

Modeling and Simulation X X Accurate Engineering Data X X Logistics Capabilities X X X Production TDP Capability X

Offerors shall provide a legible, clear, and coherent narrative (in PowerPoint format) in the oral presentation package describing their specific approach to fulfill the relevant technical requirements for each relevant effort category.

Contractors will arrange oral discussions to demonstrate that all of the capability requirements for each of the effort categories that they choose to discuss in their oral presentation are discussed.

The contractors will clearly identify which effort categories they are presenting within the oral presentation.

Table L-3.1.1B Capability Requirement Definitions

Capability Requirement Category Capability Requirement Definition Technical competence in RTS subject area

Competence within one or more technical specialties (e.g.

Mechanical Engineering, RF Engineering, Electrical Engineering, etc.) anticipated to be used across the RISE contract.

Formal in-house process controls

Formal process controls based on standards like ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMI (level 3 or greater) are used within company contracts.

Discuss how process controls meet or are equivalent to an established industry or military standard.

Utilize Systems Engineering Process

Formal systems engineering process standards are utilized across all efforts. Offeror will discuss process standards and compare to an established Systems Engineering standard like IEEE 12207.

Engineering Technical Reviews

Offeror demonstrates capability with Engineering Technical reviews, like PDR, CDR, PCA, Etc. Offeror will describe their standard technical review process and how they implement industry standards like IEEE 15288.2.

Configuration Management System

Offeror maintains a formalized configuration control system for drawings, data deliverables, and other program documentation.

Modeling and Simulation Contractor will be proficient in the use of modeling and simulation as a method to validate select technical requirements.

Accurate Engineering Data Capable of generating and utilizing a common data set across all technical data uses within the program and maintaining the accuracy of the base data utilized.

Logistics Capabilities Capable of following Air Force transportation, packaging, and supply chain management guidelines.

Production TDP Capability Capable of producing production level engineering data as described in MIL-STD-31000B.

L-3.2 FACTOR II: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION (applicable to all offerors)

All Offerors (both other than small businesses and small businesses) shall provide a SBPCD which provides substantiating documentation to demonstrate how you will meet the following requirements listed below:

1) The extent to which the offeror will utilize small business (SB), small disadvantaged business (SDB), women-owned small business (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business, veteran-owned small business (VOSB) and service-disabled and veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB).

2) The extent to which offerors demonstrate substantive commitment to small business firms, such as, letters of commitment, Joint Ventures, mentor/protégé agreements, or other demonstrations of commitment.

3) Identification of the type and variety of the work small firms are to perform.

4) Statement of quantitative degree (estimated percentage) to which small businesses

(including all socioeconomic categories) will participate in the acquisition. A minimum quantitative requirement (MQR) of 25% or better of the total contract for small business concerns participation is required. Small business primes performance is included in the 25% or better participation). The SBPCD should reflect anticipated goals for which the offeror can potentially commit to on individual task/delivery orders. The successful offeror will be required to provide reports IAW PWS Section 3.22 on Small Business Participation.

5) Detailed explanations/documentation supporting the proposed quantitative participation to substantiate the feasibility of the proposed participation. This information may be anything to demonstrate past work with small businesses or documentation of the intent to work with small business in the future. (Some examples could include written documentation of any teaming arrangements/agreements you may have or contract information on previous work that was accomplished with a small business partner) (Note: This information will not be incorporated into the resultant contract.)

This required information will be used to evaluate the extent of your proposed participation/commitment to use U.S. small businesses in the performance of this acquisition (as small business prime offerors or small business subcontractors) relative to Section M, Factor II Small Business Participation. Small business concerns that qualify in more than one socioeconomic category may be counted in each category for which they qualify. The work to be performed directly by a small business prime offeror shall be evaluated as Small Business Participation. The offerors shall propose quantitative small business participation (small business prime offerors and small business subcontractors), in terms of the estimated percentage of involvement in the total acquisition. Offerors shall provide detailed explanations/documentation to support quantitative small business participation. Small business participation goals will be further defined in individual task/delivery orders at which time offerors will need to demonstrate such commitments to fulfill the prescribed goals. No binding commitments will be made at the IDIQ level and will only become enforceable, contractual requirements on applicable orders (See SBPCD Template attached to the solicitation).

L-4.0 MINIMUM TASK ORDER

In accordance with AFFARS 5316.504, an order will be made at the time of award of an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The requirements for the initial task order will be established by the first order Statement of Work (SOW) attached to the solicitation. Pricing for the initial task order will be established in accordance with the objectives set forth in the initial task order SOW attached to the solicitation. The initial task order is not part of the primary evaluation criteria to qualify under RISE. As such, nothing is required to be submitted with the offerors proposal for the basic RISE award. Following the award of the RISE contract all awardees will be issued a task order to fund the white paper in accordance with the requirements of the First Order SOW and First Order DD1423-1 attached to the solicitation.

SECTION M

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M-1.0 BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD

a. This source selection is conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15, Contracting by Negotiation, as supplemented by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), the Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS), Department of Defense (DoD) Source Selection Procedures, 31 March 2016 and Air Force Mandatory Procedures 5315.3, 2019 edition. These regulations are available electronically at the Government FAR Site, http://acquisition.gov. Contract(s) may be awarded to the offeror(s) who is deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR Part 9.1, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation’s requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by Section L of this solicitation) and is judged, based on the evaluation factors and sub factors, to result in the prospective contractor being determined a qualifying contractor. While the Government will strive for maximum objectivity, the source selection process, by its nature, is subjective; and therefore, professional judgment is implicit throughout the entire process.

b. First, the Government will review all documents for compliance with Section L. When all requested documents are received and confirmed compliant, then the offeror’s proposal package will be submitted for evaluation. Any proposal that includes a Prime contractor with subcontractors will be evaluated together as a complete team.

c. The Government technical evaluation team will evaluate the technical proposals on an ACCEPTABLE or UNACCEPTABLE basis. Offerors shall clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.

d. The Government small business participation evaluation team will evaluate proposed participation and utilization of small businesses anticipated during performance on RISE on an ACCEPTABLE or UNACCPETABLE basis. Offerors shall clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale

M-1.1 AWARD WITH DISCUSSIONS

The Government intends to award with discussions. Offerors are advised to submit their best offer in the initial proposal. During discussions, offeror responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs) and the Request for Final Proposal Revision (FPR) shall be considered in making the source selection decision. If the offeror’s proposal has been evaluated as acceptable at the time discussions are closed, any changes or exceptions in the FPR are subject to evaluation and may introduce risk that the offeror’s proposal be determined unacceptable and ineligible for award.

The initial proposal and all revisions submitted to the offeror’s initial proposal in-writing or orally will constitute the offeror’s FPR submission unless the offeror indicates they wish to submit http://acquisition.gov/ another FPR at the time of FPR Request. If no proposal revisions are submitted then it is understood that the offerors initial proposal will be the only evaluated proposal.

M-1.2 NUMBER OF CONTRACTS TO BE AWARDED

The Government reserves the right to award multiple contracts, or to award no contract at all, under this solicitation. It is the intent of the Government to make an award to each and all qualifying offerors as defined at FAR 2.101 in accordance with FAR 15.304(c)(1)(ii)(a). NAICS Code 334511 is used as a basis for size determination.

M-1.3 SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Offerors shall meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements in addition to those identified as factors or sub factors.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation may result in the offeror being ineligible for award. Offerors shall clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and shall provide complete supporting rationale.

M-2.0 EVALUATION FACTORS AND SUBFACTORS

The following evaluation factors and sub factors will be used to evaluate each proposal. The Government will evaluate proposals for acceptability.

Factor I: Technical Subfactor A – PWS Capabilities Factor II: Small Business Participation

M-3.0 FACTOR I: TECHNICAL

The Government will evaluate the technical proposal based on an Acceptable/Unacceptable basis assigning one of the ratings described below. An unacceptable rating for any factor will render the entire proposal “Unacceptable.” Only those proposals determined to be technically acceptable either initially or as a result of discussions shall be considered for award.

Table M-3.0 Adjectival Rating Adjectival Rating Description Acceptable Proposal meets the requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet the requirements of the solicitation.

M-3.1 SUBFACTOR A: PWS CAPABILITIES

a. The offeror’s oral proposal will be evaluated against Sub factor A. This sub factor evaluates the offeror’s Technical capability to meet the PWS requirements as outlined in Table M-3.1.1A and IAW Section L, paragraph L-3.1.1. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s technical approach to determine the offeror’s capability to perform each of the effort categories proposed to (via oral presentations) as shown in Table L-3.1.1B (definitions).

M-3.1.1 Sub factor A. PWS Capabilities To be considered acceptable for this Criteria, the Offeror’s proposal must present a sound approach for meeting the criteria for all of the items within each of the effort categories as outlined in Table M-3.1.1A to which the contractor is claiming capability. The evaluation criteria used are summarized in Table M-3.1.1B. Many of the criteria apply across multiple categories of effort.

There is no additional credit given for demonstrating capability for more than two categories of effort.

Table M-3.1.1A RISE Capability Requirement by Effort Category

Capability Requirement Effort Categories

Studies and Analysis

Sustainment Projects

Prototyping Production

Technical competence in RTS subject area

X X X X

Formal in-house process controls

X X

Utilize Systems Engineering Process

X X X

Engineering Technical Reviews

X X X

Configuration Management System

X X X

Modeling and Simulation X X Accurate Engineering Data X X Logistics Capabilities X X X Production TDP Capability X

Table M-3.1.1B Capability Requirement Evaluation Criteria

Capability Requirement Category Capability Requirement Evaluation Criteria Technical competence in RTS subject area

Offeror shows examples that they have technical specialties for performing efforts as described across the relevant areas in PWS section 1.4. (must demonstrate capability for at least two of the four effort categories listed in Table M-3.1.1A)

Formal in-house process controls

Offeror list which standard family is the basis for their internal process controls, or discusses how company process controls meet or are equivalent to an established industry or military standard such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or CMMI (for software).

Utilize Systems Engineering Process

Offeror will discuss their company process standards for systems engineering and compare to an established standard such as IEEE 12207. Their process standard will cover the minimum areas of:

Requirements Analysis, Functional Analysis and Allocation, Design Synthesis, Verification.

Engineering Technical Reviews

Offeror will give examples of how they have implemented technical reviews previously or describe their standard technical review process and how they implement industry standards such as IEEE 15288.2.

Configuration Management System

Offeror shows that they maintain a formalized configuration control system for drawings, data deliverables, and other program documentation.

Modeling and Simulation Offeror provides rationale to show they have modeling and simulation capabilities, and how the models can be used to validate requirements before or after hardware or software development.

Accurate Engineering Data Offeror describes a full process of data generation that allows interconnection of data between all technical data products, ie drawings (2D and 3D), technical orders, provisioning Etc. Offeror will demonstrate that their process preserves data integrity across all uses of a common data item.

Logistics Capabilities Offeror demonstrates ability to perform packaging, transportation, supply, and other government guidelines. (e.g. logistics manager support, supply chain management system)

Production TDP Capability Offeror can clearly delineate the differences between the developmental and product drawings; also provide evidence that they are capable of producing product level documentation.

M-4.0 FACTOR II – SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

M-4.1 EVALUATION CRITERIA

All offerors (both other than small businesses and small businesses) shall submit a SBPCD which specifies the offeror’s level of commitment to use U.S. small businesses in the performance of this acquisition (as small business prime offerors or small business subcontractors). Small business participation will be evaluated as Acceptable or Unacceptable as described in DoD Source Selection Procedures, inserted in Table M-4.1 below. The Contracting Officer will evaluate the extent to which Offerors identify and commit to small businesses in performance of the contract, whether joint venture, teaming arrangement, or subcontractor. The requirements of this factor are met when the Offeror provides a SBPCD relative to Section L para 3.2 and the requirements listed, illustrates efforts taken to identify sources and opportunities, or provides adequate justification that sources or opportunities do not exist. (A minimum quantitative requirement (MQR) of 25% or better of the total contract value for small business concerns participation is required. Small business primes performance is included in the 25% or better participation).

Table M-4.1 Adjectival Rating Adjectival Rating Description Acceptable Proposal indicates an adequate approach and understanding of small business objectives.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet small business objectives.

M-5.0 MINIMUM TASK ORDER SUBMISSION

The Government intends to award a minimum task order of IAW the initial task order SOW. The minimum task order will be issued alongside the initial award of the RISE contract. As such, nothing needs to be submitted for the first task order with the submission of the proposal for the basic IDIQ award. The awardees shall be responsible for satisfying the initial task order and submitting required deliverables based on the objectives outlined in the first task order SOW attached to the solicitation.

M-4.0 FACTOR II – SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION