Final_Solicitation_-_CTP_Ad_Campaign_Program_Rev1.pdf

SOLICITATION: FDA-17-SOL-8766

CTP AD CAMPAIGN PROGRAM

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Center for Tobacco Products (CTP)

Ad Campaign Program

FDA-17-SOL-8766

Revision 1

Issued: 01/13/2017

1. NOTICE OF COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Another written solicitation will not be issued.

2. NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

This solicitation, identified as FDA-17-SOL-8766, is issued as a request for proposals (RFP) in accordance with the requirements of FAR Part 12 and 15.

3. NOTICE OF FAC

This solicitation document incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-92, effective December 6, 2016.

FAR provisions and clauses referenced in this RFP can be found on the following website:

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm

HHSAR provisions and clauses referenced in this RFP can be found on the following website:

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vfhhsara.htm

4. NOTICE OF NAICS

This solicitation is open for full and open competition. The associated NAICS code is 541810 – Advertising Agencies.

5. CONTRACT LINE ITEMS (CLIN’s)

The Government anticipates awarding a single award Time and Materials (T&M)/Labor Hour (LH) Contract from this solicitation. The period of performance will be five years from date of award. The anticipated award will have 2 CLINS, one for Labor and one for Other Direct Cost’s (ODC’s). The CLIN for ODC’s will be partially funded thoughout the life of the contract. Any work taking place under this CLIN will funds added by modification and written authorization the contracting officer or contracting officers representative. No work under the ODC CLIN shall take place without both occurring.

6. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

See Attachment A for the Statement of Work for a full description of the supplies/services to be acquired.

7. DELIVERIES, ACCEPTANCE, AND PERFORMANCE DATES

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vfhhsara.htm

Unless otherwise noted in the Statement of Work, all work will be performed at the contractor’s facility.

All deliverables submitted under this contract shall be in accordance with the SOW. The deliverables shall be clear, concise, technically accurate, well organized, properly referenced, and complete. Any requests for modification to the schedule shall be presented in writing to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) at least one calendar week before the scheduled due date. Deliverable formats shall be refined at the request of the COR.

All deliverables shall be presented for acceptance by the COR per the SOW, prior to the Contractor commencing executions and/or other subsequent work based upon them. Unless otherwise agreed upon, deficiencies shall be corrected and deliverables re-submitted within 5 business days of notification.

8. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

The provision at 52.212-1 (OCT 2015), Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Addenda to this provision are as follows:

8.1 FORMAT

The following instructions establish the acceptable minimum requirements for the format and contents of proposals. Special attention is directed to the requirements for technical and business proposals to be submitted in accordance with these instructions.

All proposals shall consist of the following two (2) volumes:

• VOLUME I: Technical Proposal

• VOLUME II: Business Proposal

Each volume shall be separate and complete and submitted as a separate document. The signature of an official authorized to bind the Offeror shall be on each volume. To permit a thorough and effective evaluation, each volume should be precise and complete, while as brief as possible. It is essential that the Offeror present information in sufficient detail so as to permit the Government to make an evaluation without further information being required from the Offeror.

The Government will evaluate technical proposals in accordance with the technical evaluation factors as described in Section 9 – Basis of Award & Evaluation Criteria.

Note: Only written amendments/notices posted on FBO by the FDA Contracting Office shall be deemed the Government’s official response.

All proposal volumes must be submitted and received no later than the Proposal Due Date. Any items received after the specified date and time will be considered late and will render the proposal submission late. Late Proposal Submissions will be rejected and not evaluated. No exceptions will be granted.

(The Pricing Spreadsheets must be submitted in Excel Format (PDF Format will hinder the Government’s ability to evaluate the Offeror’s Cost Proposals)

Text color shall be black. Color may be used in graphics or charts for greater clarity at the Offeror’s option. Text in graphics and charts shall be no smaller than 9-point Arial Narrow. Text in tables shall be no smaller than 9-point Arial. The size and font of headers and footers are not dictated. No fonts may be condensed.

Offerors shall use only 8.5 inch x 11 inch (210mm by 297mm) paper, single-spaced pages with margins no less than one inch on each border; number each page consecutively; do not use a font size smaller than Arial 11.

FDA will not evaluate information submitted over page limitations designated for each Volume section.

Any page that contains a graphic, table, chart, graph, etc., not otherwise excluded below, is subject to the page limitation.

Not included in page limitations are the following:

• Table of Contents

• Conflict of Interest Section

• Organizational Charts

• Small Business Subcontracting Plan

• Business Proposal

8.2 VOLUME I: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The Technical Proposal shall not contain reference to cost in any section.

The Technical Proposal shall be prepared with the following elements and adhere to the following page limitations:

Proposal Section Page Limitation Cover Page 1 page Table of Contents No page limit

Executive Summary Maximum of 3 pages providing a high-level summary of the Offeror’s Technical Capabilities and Approach, Relevant Experience and Management Approach, and Past Performance.

FACTOR I: CONFLICT OF INTEREST No page limit

FACTOR II: TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND

APPROACH

Maximum of 35 pages for providing Offeror’s overall understanding of the challenges presented in the Statement of Work (Attachment A); its technical approach to providing the services detailed in the task areas; and its capacity to meet the technical requirements.

FACTOR III: RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Maximum of 3 pages per project. The Offeror shall provide information about up to four (4) projects performed within the last five (5) years that are most relevant to this effort in terms of type, scope, complexity and size. The Offeror may include current projects.

FACTOR IV: MANAGEMENT APPROACH AND

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Maximum of 12 pages for describing the Offeror’s overall management approach for this effort and how it will ensure the accomplishment of FDA objectives.

FACTOR V: PAST PERFORMANCE Maximum of 6 pages for describing the Offeror’s success in performing comparable contracts/orders.

FACTOR VI: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

PLAN SUMMARY

2 pages

APPENDIX A: RESUMES Resumes for all key personnel anticipated to be proposed in the staffing plan shall also be provided as an Appendix A (max 2 pages per resume) and will include the percent of time each key personnel will be available to work on this contract. Resumes are not included in the overall page limit for Factor IV.

APPENDIX B: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

PLAN ATTACHMENTS

No page limit - Evidence of any proposed joint ventures, executed teaming arrangements, and drafted subcontract agreements.

FACTOR I: CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Offeror shall review and respond to the Conflict of Interest Clause (Article 13.3.6) to formally document whether they are currently or have recently (within the past 5 years) engaged in advertising, marketing or promotion services on behalf of regulated tobacco industry. Offerors with this type of significant conflict of interest will automatically be considered ineligible for award. There are no page limitations for this factor response and it will not count towards the total page limitation.

FACTOR II: TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND APPROACH

The Technical Capabilities and Approach section of the Offeror’s Technical Proposal shall provide a description of the Offeror’s overall understanding of the challenges presented in the Statement of Work;

its technical approach to providing the services detailed in the Task Areas; and its capacity to meet the technical requirements. The page limitation for this section is: 35 pages.

Pertinent information regarding audience insights and FDA’s current campaign strategies are provided in Attachment B for reference.

At a minimum, the Offeror’s Technical Proposal shall provide a narrative that demonstrates:

• Understanding of the size, scope, challenges, complexity and current strategic directions of the public education campaigns undertaken by FDA to reduce tobacco use and change health behaviors;

• Understanding of tobacco control science and behavior change theory;

• Capacity for strategic campaign planning and formative research implementation, including proven experience leading the development and implementation of health behavior change campaign strategies and creative advertising;

• Ability to produce targeted messages and creative content and materials to convey complex science-based information in an understandable way to key audiences;

• Capacity for creativity and innovation by citing applicable awards and other examples of third-party recognition received as a result of its work in services similar to those detailed in the Task Areas;

• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the range of applicable marketing, communication, health behavior, media and outreach channels and techniques, and its approach to employing them to raise awareness and change behaviors of the intended audience segments;

• Technical capability to successfully perform all requirements of the Task Areas including its ability to:

o Leverage relevant knowledge and lessons learned from similar campaigns, where applicable;

o Integrate multidisciplinary campaign channels (i.e., advertising, media, partnerships, special events);

o Reach both national and/or extremely localized audiences;

o Buy media in volume, providing cost efficiencies to the Government; and o Measure the efficiency and effectiveness of paid media campaign efforts.

• The Offeror’s recommended approach to conducting formative research to continue to gain insights into the selected target audience including analysis of new science-based and market research or data, as well as target audience demographics, psychographics, and other characteristics. This approach should demonstrate expertise in and ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research for message development and copy testing of near final TV/video advertising.

• The Offeror’s approach to campaign planning and recommendations for continuing and extending the current strategic direction for existing campaigns, including:

o The Offeror’s understanding of current audience insights;

o Evidence-based support, logic model and/or best practices to support each recommended approach;

o Opportunities for increased efficiency and innovation while balancing the realism of working within the federal government;

o Creative development approach to produce innovative advertising and other content for traditional and digital advertising;

o Digital and social media strategies; for example, methods to increase saliency with target audiences across different platforms, ideas for leveraging tobacco prevention messaging within digital properties, and how paid media can enhance digital properties and assets; and o Localization efforts.

• The Offeror’s recommended paid media strategy to achieve maximum cost efficiency while meeting stated campaign objectives, including the approach to channel planning and methods used to ensure the plan will reach the intended target audiences with campaign-specific messages, with limited waste and spill and ideal reach and frequency. For example: what methods will be used to ensure relevancy among each target audience and an understanding of the media consumption habits of each audience, what high-risk times of the year should we consider being “on air,” the recommended media mix, percentage of media by type, and measurement plan.

Pertinent information regarding audience insights and FDA’s current campaign strategies are provided in Attachment B for reference.

FACTOR III: RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

The Relevant Experience section of the Offeror’s Technical Proposal shall provide information about up to four (4) projects performed within the last five (5) years that are most relevant to this effort in terms of developing and implementing campaigns of this type, scope, complexity, and size. These projects may include current or existing projects still ongoing. The purpose of this section is to allow the Government to ascertain the type of work previously performed (or currently being performed) by the Offeror. It will also be used by the Government to evaluate the breadth and depth of the Offeror’s body of relevant work to better understand the Offeror’s capability and capacity for the requirement. The page limitation for this section is: 3 pages per project.

Generally, the Offeror’s proposal shall (1) provide relevant experience similar in scope and scale appropriate to the Statement of Work task areas; (2) clearly demonstrate the similarity and relevance to work to be performed under this effort; and, (3) contain at least one example that demonstrates the Offeror’s ability to overcome difficulties encountered during performance with minimum impact to the project.

The Government will consider the following in determining the relevancy of the projects submitted:

demographic and geographic coverage; targeted audience(s); level of management and integration required; campaign goals, including achieving measurable attitudinal and health behavior change;

budget; preliminary market research conducted; resources deployed; communication mix employed;

variety of media; total cost of media buys; and nature of messages.

For each project, the Offeror shall explicitly state their organization’s exact role in the project and what, if any, teaming arrangements were in place. Offerors shall also submit the following information:

1. Name of contracting activity (Federal Government agency, local government, commercial customer)

2. Contract number

3. Contract type

4. Degree of the Offeror’s Involvement (Prime or subcontractor); if subcontractor, specific role/services provided

5. Dates of Service

6. Total contract value, and subcontract value (if applicable)

7. Contracting Officer contact information (phone, fax, email)

8. Project Officer/Contracting Officer’s Representative contact information (phone, fax, email)

9. Administrative Contracting Officer contact information – if different from item 5 (phone, fax, email)

10. Description of work

11. Narrative highlighting the relevance of the work performed in terms of type, scope, complexity, and size to the current effort [At least one narrative shall demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to overcome difficulties encountered during performance with minimum impact to the project]

12. Outcome evalution results, if available

For each project, the Offeror shall provide samples of its creative work. Any supporting television (maximum 3 TV ads/project), radio (maximum 3 radio ads/project), print (maximum 3 print ads/project) interactive creative samples (maximum 3 interactive ads/project) shall be submitted via a secure, password-protected website and clearly labeled.

FACTOR IV: MANAGEMENT APPROACH AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Management Approach and Organizational Structure section of the Offeror’s Technical Proposal shall describe its overall management approach for this effort and discuss how it will ensure the accomplishment of FDA objectives. The page limitation for this section is: 12 pages not including accompanying organizational chart.

At a minimum, the Offeror shall describe its approach to the following:

• Program staffing and management;

• Processes for resolution of priority and resource conflicts among projects, including ensuring necessary staff capacity for projects of this size and scope;

• Subcontractor management, including its approach to monitoring, evaluating, and correcting/rewarding subcontractor performance, and managing information flow across a program organization that may consist of multiple subcontractors;

• Risk management plan, including a description of the major risks and challenges to program success it foresees and its plan for mitigating or overcoming them. Where applicable, the Offeror shall demonstrate how similar risks and mitigation strategies were effectively executed in similar work under other contracts; and

• Transition plan, including the proposed transition team; logistics; staffing and resources; process for knowledge transfer; level of government involvement; plan for mitigating disruptions and risks; key milestones; and timeline for transitioning. The transition plan shall explain how the Contractor shall ensure continuity of ongoing work including, but not limited to, formative research; creative development; website and social media management; paid media planning, buying, and monitoring; and partnerships development.

The Offeror shall describe its organization and organizational structure, including a description of 1) where this contract will fit within the Offeror’s corporate structure, 2) the interrelationships of the organizational elements, 3) communications channels, 4) levels of approval and authority, 5) the level of executive management to which the Account Director for the overall Campaign Program reports, and 6) applicable corporate policies that may impact contract performance and administration.

As Appendix A to the Technical Proposal, the Offeror shall submit resumes for all Key Personnel the Offeror anticipates proposing to work on this contract. Resumes shall include a narrative describing how the individual meets the specific qualifications specified in Attachment C (Key Personnel Descriptions), shall include the percent of time each Key Personnel is available to work on this contract, and shall only contain information on the proposed individual’s qualifications, credentials, and relevant work/project experience to perform the requirements of the contract. Each resume shall not exceed two (2) pages, single-sided, using 11-point Arial font. Resumes are not included in the total page limit for Factor IV.

FACTOR V: PAST PERFORMANCE

The Past Performance section of the Offeror’s Technical Proposal shall describe the Offeror’s success in performing comparable contracts/orders. The purpose of this section is to determine how well the Offeror performed on similar projects and contracts. The Offeror shall provide information regarding any problems that arose during the project and how they were addressed by the Offeror so the Government can assess performance. The page limitation for this section is: 6 pages.

The Offeror shall submit directly to the Government a list of at least four contracts/orders, similar in scope and size to the work described in the Statement of Work. These shall include the same contracts/orders described in Factor III.

The Offeror shall adhere to the following guidelines in generating this list:

• These projects must have been performed within the past five years.

• The list may include contracts/orders on which the Offeror served as a subcontractor, provided that the subcontract was similar in scope, duration, and price to this effort.

• The list must include both a contractual and technical point of contact (name, e-mail addresses and phone numbers) for each of the contracts/orders.

• The list must include at least one subcontractor point of contact (name, e-mail address and phone number) for which the Offeror served as the prime contractor on the contract/order, if relevant.

• If a subcontract is being used as a past performance reference, contact information for the prime Offeror, not the customer, should be included.

• The list must include the contract/order number, title (if appropriate), the period of performance, the total number of subcontractors (if the Offeror was the prime contractor) and the total dollar value of the contract/order. If a subcontract, the total dollar value of the subcontract or work performed and contact information for the subcontractor must be provided.

• If the contract/order is NOT described in Factor III: Relevant Experience, the Offeror shall include a one-page narrative about the contract/order, describing the nature of the work performed and emphasizing outcomes reached.

Offerors are advised that the contact information for the contractual and technical points of contact and subcontractors must be accurate.

Offerors are advised the Government may use data provided by each Offeror as well as data obtained from other possible sources such as the Department of Defense’s Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRs) in the evaluation of past performance. The Government will be considering information available from any/all sources (including CPARS, SAM, etc.), and particular focus will center around Offerors' track record for successfully completing similar services on schedule and within delineated budgets - in accordance with contractual terms and conditions.

FACTOR VI: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION PLAN SUMMARY

Offerors shall prepare a narrative (not to exceed 2 pages) describing their Small Business Participation Plan for this contract. The proposed plan shall include:

1. A chart with the proposed goals as follows:

Small Business Participation Goals % of Total Labor Value ($125 M) Total Small Business Goal 33% Small Business 21% Small Disadvantaged Business 3% Hub-Zone 1.8% Woman-Owned Small Business 3% Service-Disabled Veteran 1.8% Veteran Owned Small 1.8%

2. Detailed description of the plan including the proposed work to be performed by the SB participants; and

3. The specific SB contractors proposed for the life of the contract.

4. Information regarding prior small business subcontracting plans including a discussion of established goals under those plans and the extent to which the prime contractor attained those goals

Offerors shall also provide, as Appendix B in the Technical Proposal, evidence of any proposed joint ventures, executed teaming arrangements, and drafted subcontract agreements.

8.3 ORAL PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS (FOR OFFERORS IN THE COMPETITIVE RANGE ONLY)

Offerors, that are determined to be in the competitive range, may be required to make an Oral Presentation of Technical Capabilities and Approach. The Oral Presentation shall be organized as a

PowerPoint presentation. In the official letter informing an offeror’s of its placement in the competitive range, the Contracting Officer will provide the date and time of your firm’s Oral Presentation. For planning purposes, the Oral Presentation will be held at the FDA in Silver Spring, MD and detailed directions will be provided to Offeror those Offerors that confirm receipt of the competitive range letter and acceptance of the date and time of their scheduled Oral Presentation The Government will provide all necessary equipment for presentations including easels for displays of allowable visual aids.

FORMAT FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Offerors shall make Oral Presentations in-person to FDA using PowerPoint. Submissions of video files or other forms of media containing the presentation for evaluation are not authorized. Offerors’ presentations shall be made by Key Personnel. Only individuals proposed as Key Personnel in the Staffing Plan(s) will be allowed to enter the conference room where presentations will be conducted.

After completion of the Oral Presentation, the Government may request clarification of any of the points addressed which are unclear and may ask for elaboration by the Offeror on any point which was not adequately supported in the Presentation. Any such interchange between the Offeror and the Government will be for clarification only, and will not constitute discussions within the meaning of FAR 15.306.

Offerors shall organize their PowerPoint presentations as described below and be prepared to adhere to the following allotted timeframes:

1. Introduction (Presenters and Overview) – 10 minutes

2. Technical Approach – 45 minutes

3. Clarifying Questions & Answers – 20 minutes

LAYOUT AND CONTENT OF POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

The PowerPoint slides shall be numbered in the lower right hand corner and prepared landscape style on 8.5 inch x 11 inch paper. Any easily readable font may be used. Bullets should be limited so that each slide is not too busy. No pricing information shall be included in the presentation slides.

There is no limitation to the number of slides you may have for your presentation. Please be advised, however, that you should only provide as many slides as you expect to present within the established time constraints. Slides that you do not present will not be evaluated and/or count in the Government’s assessment of your offer.

The PowerPoint slides shall address the following:

1. The Contractor’s understanding of the Scope of Work;

2. The Contractor’s understanding of audience insights including demographics, lifestyles, psychographics, and other characteristics;

3. The Contractor’s initial creative concepts and early thoughts on actionable approaches to affect attitudinal and behavioral change;

4. How the Contractor’s proposed campaign approach relates to FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco products and educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use;

5. The Contractor’s understanding of tobacco control science and how the

Contractor’s proposed campaign strategy is based on this science;

6. The Contractor’s proposed strategic direction, process and work plan for all components of the campaign program, including:

a. Strategic planning;

b. Marketing strategy;

c. Formative research;

d. Creative development, testing, and production; and

e. Campaign implementation; and

7. The Contractor’s recommended paid media strategies, including:

a. Approach to channel planning and any recommended supporting channels and tactics;

b. The recommended analytical measurement plan (including solutions for making mid-course adjustments); and

c. The recommended media plan including proposed budget allocations for proposed markets.

OTHER VISUAL AIDS FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Offerors are allowed to bring to the Oral Presentations a maximum of three (3) items of their creative expression to demonstrate their early creative concepts. These creative expressive items may be in the form of video and audio clips embedded into the PowerPoint presentation and/or storyboards that illustrate your company’s ability to execute your creative brief concepts via advertising medium. No other visual aids will be allowed at the Oral Presentations.

Offerors are advised that the Oral Presentations will be recorded by the Government.

8.4 VOLUME II: BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

Offerors shall submit Volume II: Business Proposal separate from Volume I: Technical Proposal. The Business Proposal shall list the names and telephone numbers of persons authorized to conduct negotiations and to execute contracts. The business proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the proposed cost or price of the work. This information shall include the amounts of the basic elements of the proposed cost or price. These elements will include, as applicable, fully burdened direct labor, travel, materials, subcontracts, and ODC’s.

DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATED COSTS

Offerors shall provide their proposal in accordance with the Pricing Spreadsheet, Attachment E. This information shall encompass amounts of proposed costs to include; direct labor, travel, materials, subcontracts, and Other Direct Costs (ODCs). Labor will be funded at time of award. Proposed materials and ODCs will be used for evaluation purposes only.

Specifically, the Offeror shall:

• Adhere to the guidance and instructions within the cost model;

• Propose fully burdened ratesinclusive of profit;

• Provide their published Overhead, and Indirect rates (e.g. G&A, Fringe). The Offeror shall provide any available applicable negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement or Forward Pricing Rate Agreement that is in place with the Government;

• Provide any escalation factors used and state the percent and methodology;

• Provide subcontractor rates and proposals used in their offer;

• Provide vendor quotations for major items listed in ODCs, (e.g. materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs);

• Include description, unit price, quantity, total price, and a justification for applicable ODC purchases;

• Provide support for each subcontract over $500,000 such as a listing by source, item, quantity, price, type of subcontract, degree of competition, and basis for establishing source and reasonableness of price, as well as the result of review and evaluation of subcontract proposals when required by FAR 15.806;

• Provide basis of estimate, methodology, and ground rules and assumptions used to derive costs within the cost model;

• Provide labor rates and estimated hours for all labor categories;

• Ensure labor categories listed in the Technical Proposal align to labor categories listed in the

Business Proposal;

• Round all total dollar amounts provided to the nearest dollar and round all loaded labor rates to the nearest cent; and

• Ensure that all calculations in the cost model are correct and accurate.

REQUIRED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

If after receipt of proposals it is determined that adequate price competition does not exist, certified cost and pricing will be required in accordance with the FAR 15.4. A Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data (see FAR 15.406-2) shall be submitted prior to award if requested by the Contracting Officer.

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE DATA

1. Your proposal must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP.

In addition, it must contain a statement to the effect that it is firm for a period of at least 120 days from the date of receipt by the Government.

2. List name and telephone number of person to contact regarding your proposed accounting system.

Name: ______________________________________ No. _______________

3. List name, address and telephone number of cognizant Government audit agency:

Name: ______________________________________ No. ________________ Address: ________________________________________________________

4. Your proposal must list any current commitments with the Government relating to the work or services and indicate whether these commitments will or will not interfere with the completion of work and services as contemplated under this proposal.

5. Your proposal must identify any former HHS employee to be utilized on this project by providing the individual's name when employed by HHS, where employed, and the capacity in which employed.

6. Your proposal must indicate whether you have the necessary financial capacity, working capital, and other resources to perform the contract without assistance from any outside source. The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s ability to pay as much as $70 million annually in upfront advertising costs and then seek reimbursement from the government. Offerors must submit documentation verifying its ability to pay $70 million in upfront advertising costs. Offerors that cannot meet this requirement will be ineligible for award. (Financial data such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements, cash forecasts, and financial histories of your organization's affiliated concerns should be utilized.)

7. It is an HHS policy that contractors provide all equipment and facilities necessary for performance of contracts, unless otherwise specified. If equipment must be acquired, you must include in your proposal a description and the estimated cost of each item, and state whether you propose to furnish the item with your own funds.

SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

Small Business Offerors

Small Business Offerors are not required to submit a small business Subcontracting Plan; however, the Government requires detailed information on proposed subcontracting to determine how the work shall be performed. Small Business Offerors shall address personnel, performance capacity, and proposals from subcontractors or other collaborative partners as detailed below.

Large Business Offerors

As prescribed by FAR 19.708(b) and separate from the Small Business Participation Plan, because the total contract price is expected to exceed $700,000, large business offerors shall submit a small business subcontracting plan as prescribed in FAR 52.219-9(d). Offerors must use the HHS Small Business Subcontracting Plan template (provided as Attachment D to this solicitation) to develop their small business subcontracting plan. Offerors must include all small businesses, specifically identified in their small business participation plan, in their proposed Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

The following are the FDA’s small business goals for the anticipated contract:

Small Disadvantaged Business 5% Hub-Zone 3% Woman-Owned Small Business 5% Service-Disabled Veteran 3%

All small business subcontracting plans must be approved by the Contracting Officer. Failure to submit and negotiate an acceptable small business subcontracting plan by the time of award shall render the Offeror ineligible for award of a contract. The small business subcontracting plan will become part of the contract.

PERSONNEL

A signed agreement between the Offeror and any proposed personnel other than direct employees that include dates of availability, salary, and types of tasks to be performed. (This also applies to consultants and subcontractors).

PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY

The offeror shall provide acceptable evidence of his/her "ability to obtain" equipment, facilities, and personnel necessary to perform the requirements of this project. If these are not represented in the offeror's current operations, they should normally be supported by commitment or explicit arrangement, which is in existence at the time the contract is to be awarded, for the rental, purchase, or other acquisition of such resources, equipment, facilities, or personnel. In addition, the offeror shall indicate his/her ability to comply with the required or proposed delivery or performance schedule taking into consideration all existing business commitments, commercial as well as Government.

PROPOSALS FROM SUBCONTRACTORS OR OTHER COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS

The organization identified as the Offeror in a proposal is the Prime Offeror that is responsible for all aspects of the proposal submitted and any contract awarded as a result of that proposal. This is true regardless of any contractual arrangement between the Prime Offeror and any proposed subcontractor, or any proposed partner in a Joint Venture or other collaborative arrangement between two or more organizations. Consequently, the Prime Offeror must include in its proposal, all technical and business information pertaining to any subcontract or collaborative arrangement. Separate submission of proposals by subcontractors or collaborative partners is not permitted, and proposals submitted in that manner will not be accepted or further considered by the Government.

To facilitate the award process, ALL proposals must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein, as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

8.5 SUBMISSION – DUE DATE/MANNER OF SUBMISSION

Offerors shall submit proposals via email to Phil Frame (phillip.frame@fda.hhs.gov), with a copy (cc:) to Gary Klaff (gary.klaff@fda.hhs.gov), no later than 1/25/2017 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The subject line shall reference FDA-17-SOL-8766. All past performance questionnaires must be submitted by this date and time, too. The Government will not consider any past performance questionnaires receive after 1/25/2017 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

mailto:elizabeth.kennedy@fda.hhs.gov mailto:gary.klaff@fda.hhs.gov

8.6 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Offerors may submit questions regarding this RFP. All questions shall be in writing. Offerors shall submit all questions to Phil Frame via email at (phillip.frame@fda.hhs.gov), with a copy (cc:) to Gary Klaff (gary.klaff@fda.hhs.gov). The Government must receive questions no later than 1/6/2017. The subject line shall reference: “Contractor Questions – FDA-17-SOL-8766: CTP Ad Campaign Program”.

The Government reserves the right to not respond to questions received after this date and time.

Questions submitted to individuals or through mechanisms other than those defined in this solicitation will not receive a response.

The Government will post responses to questions via issuance of a solicitation amendment(s) to FedBizOpps.

9. BASIS OF AWARD & EVALUATION CRITERIA

9.1 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION

The provision at 52.212-2 (OCT 2014), Evaluation—Commercial Items, applies to this RFP. Paragraph (a) of this provision is tailored as follows:

The Government intends to award one (1) contract to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforming to the requirements of the solicitation represents the best value. Best value is defined as the offer that results in the most advantageous acquisition decision for the Government, as determined by an integrated trade-off assessment among price and non-price factors and Sub-factors.

The Contracting officer will conduct a separate determination of responsibility in accordance with FAR 9.1.

The Government reserves the right to make award(s) without discussion.

All evaluation factors, other than cost/price, when combined, are more important than cost or price.

However, as Offerors' ratings for non-price factors approach equivalency, price may become more important in the award decision. The Government is more concerned with obtaining superior performance capability rather than lowest overall price. However, the Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve only slightly superior performance.

FACTOR I: CONFLICT OF INTEREST (PASS/FAIL)

The Offeror’s response to the Conflict of Interest Clause (Article 13.3.6) will be evaluated to ensure they are in compliance. Offerors that are currently or have recently (within the past 5 years) engaged in advertising, marketing or promotion services on behalf of regulated tobacco industry will be considered to have a significant conflict of interest that would impair objectivity in performance of this requirement. Offerors with this type of significant conflict of interest will be ineligible for award.

FACTOR II: TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND APPROACH

The technical proposal will be evaluated to assess the Offeror's understanding of the scope of the work and its approach and capability to provide the required services.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s overall understanding of the challenges presented in the Statement of Work; its technical approach to providing the services detailed in the Task Areas; and its capacity to meet the technical requirements.

Special emphasis will be placed on:

• Capacity for strategic campaign planning and formative research for multiple, comprehensive media campaigns;

• Ability to produce targeted messages and persuasive, breakthrough creative content and materials to convey complex science-based information in an understandable way to key audiences;

• Knowledge and understanding of the range of applicable marketing, communication, media and outreach channels and techniques and its approach to employing them to raise awareness in the intended audience segments and change health behaviors;

• The extent to which the Offeror’s proposed campaign program approach demonstrates an understanding of tobacco control science and behavior change theory;

• The extent to which the proposed campaign and early creative concepts present a feasible approach and compelling messaging that directly relates to FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco products and educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use (i.e., messaging shall be grounded in FDA’s key areas of regulatory authority including addiction/loss of control, negative health consequences and dangerous chemicals);

• The extent to which the Offeror balances innovation and creativity with practicality and realism of working within the confines of the federal government to deliver an effective campaign program that meets stated objectives;

• The extent to which the Offeror’s proposed strategic direction, including process and work plan for all campaign program components (e.g., strategic planning, formative research, creative development and production, and implementation of traditional, owned, and digital media plans, social media outreach, and localization activities) demonstrate expertise and are complete and feasible;

• The extent to which the Offeror’s proposed approach continues and extends the strategic direction of each existing campaign while offering opportunities for efficiencies and innovation;

• The extent to which the Offeror uses current audience insights and demonstrates that its media plans will efficiently reach the intended target audience with sufficient reach and frequency to generate attitude and behavior change while limiting waste and staying tailored to the media consumption and engagement behaviors of the target audience; and

• The appropriateness of and extent to which the Offeror’s paid, social, and owned media strategies effectively reaches and engages target audiences, and documents its proposed media mix, channel planning and management approach, percentage of media by type, and measurement plan.

FACTOR III: RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

The Government will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror’s proposal demonstrates the success and relevancy of efforts on current and previous contracts that are relevant to the Statement of Work in terms of type, scope, complexity, and size, and at least one example of its ability to overcome difficulties encountered during performance with minimum impact to the overall effort. A satisfactory proposal will describe at least one project where the Offeror was the prime Contractor and successfully led all aspects of strategic development and implementation for a national multimedia health behavior change campaign similar in scope and scale to CTP’s campaign program. Specifically, a relevant effort will meet the following criteria: 1) target audience size of at least 5 million; 2) strategic development based on primary research with the target audience; 3) production of TV quality advertising; 4) planning, purchasing, and placing paid media in at least 5 top designated market areas (DMAs); 5) a total campaign budget in excess of $50M; and 6) daily management of at least one social media platform. A highly rated proposal will also demonstrate the Offeror’s success developing and executing creative and innovative health behavior change campaigns of similar scope and scale that are documented by a scientifically rigorous outcome evaluation.

The Government will also evaluate the relevance and caliber of the creative samples submitted with each project description.

FACTOR IV: MANAGEMENT APPROACH AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Government will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror’s proposal demonstrates a comprehensive and effective management approach to ensure the accomplishment of FDA objectives.

Particular emphasis will be placed upon the Offeror’s ability to: (1) ensure full integration among all elements of a given campaign, including strategy, formative research, creative development, production, paid advertising, social media, localization, and among all service providers including sub-contractors; (2) attract, coordinate, and retain key staff resources; and (3) identify and manage major risks and challenges to program success, including fiscal accountability and management of a complex, multimillion dollar contract.

Special emphasis will be placed upon the following:

• The appropriateness of the proposed Project Management Plan, including how the Offeror intends to manage the contract; meet the task requirements and schedules, meet performance measures; participate as part of integrated teams; ensure appropriate and efficient use of contract funds; and how resources of the Offeror will contribute to the success of the contract;

• The appropriateness of the proposed Staffing Plan and Organization Chart; the adequacy, reasonableness, and suitability of the skill levels and number of hours proposed; the quantity and quality of proposed personnel; the availability and capacity of staff at time of award; and the appropriateness of subcontractors and other external resources;

• The appropriateness of the Risk Management Plan; its demonstrated ability to anticipate the potential technical, programmatic, and business issues and risks specific to its contract approach and provide approaches for their resolution or mitigation; and

• The quality and practicality of the Offeror’s transition plan.

FACTOR V: PAST PERFORMANCE

The Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offer. Performance risks are those associated with an Offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that Offeror's record of past performance.

The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be a product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an Offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers relevant information.

When assessing performance risks, the Government will focus on the past performance of the Offeror as it relates to all acquisition requirements, such as the Offeror's record of performing according to specifications, including standards of good workmanship; the Offeror's record of controlling and forecasting costs; the Offeror's adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the Offeror’s record of managing the operations and performance of subcontractors; the Offeror's reputation for reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction;

and generally, the Offeror's business-like concern for the interest of the customer.

The Government will consider the currency and relevance of all of the past performance information provided and/or obtained, source of the information, context of the data, and the general trends in the Offeror's performance.

An offeror whose proposal demonstrates no past performance will be rated “Neutral.”

FACTOR VI: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION PLAN

All Offerors (both large and small businesses) shall be evaluated on its ability to meet small business participation goals applicable to labor hours. The Government will evaluate:

i. The extent to which the proposal identifies participation by small business concerns, as defined in FAR Part 19;

ii. The extent to which the offerors propose small business participation that is meaningful and substantive for performing public health education campaigns.

iii. The extent to which the offer attained applicable goals under prior subcontracting plans and is otherwise in compliance with FAR 52.219-8

iv. The feasibility of the proposed plan by considering the extent of commitment to use such firms;

v. The extent of participation of small business prime Offerors and small business subcontractors in terms of percentage of the labor hour value of the acquisition. The Government will evaluate the extent to which the Offeror meets or exceeds the goals. The goals for this factor, expressed as a percentage of total labor amount are as follows:

Small Business 21% Small Disadvantaged Business 3% Hub-Zone 1.8% Woman-Owned Small Business 3% Service-Disabled Veteran 1.8% Veteran Owned Small 1.8%

(*Note: A participation plan that reflects 1% of the contract value for WOSB would also count towards the overall Small Business Goal. Percentages for SDVOSB also count towards VOSB.)

Each Offeror’s proposal will be evaluated based on its ability to meet the desired Total Small Business Participation goal of 33% of the labor hour value of the acquisition (through collective small business participation from any type of small business or sub-category small business).

9.2 BUSINESS PROPOSAL EVALUATION

The purpose of the cost/price evaluation is to determine whether an Offeror’s proposed cost/price is reasonable, realistic, and complete in relation to the solicitation and the Offeror’s technical proposal.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s ability to deliver an efficient, low-risk outcome at a fair and reasonable price.

9.3 EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

The evaluation of cost reasonableness will consider the extent to which proposed costs indicate a clear understanding of contract requirements, reflects a sound approach to satisfying those requirements, and is consistent with the approach described in the Quoter’s technical volume proposal.

The Government reserves the right to make award(s) without discussion. The Government also reserves the right to require and assess oral presentations as part of the competitive range, clarification and/or negotiation process.

In priority order, the importance of the non-priced factors is:

1. FACTOR I: Conflict of Interest

2. FACTOR II: Technical Capabilities and Approach

3. FACTOR III: Relevant Experience

4. FACTOR IV: Management Approach and Organizational Structure

5. FACTOR VI: Small Business Participation Plan

FACTOR V: Past Performance is a risk factor as described in 9.1

Each factor will receive one of the adjectival ratings defined below, and then there will be an overall roll-up…