Financial tool Subscription RFP announcemen_fv.pdf

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Request for Quote (RFQ)

Financial Analysis Tool Subscription

Description:

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial item(s) prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemental with additional information included in this notice.

This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ).

This notice and the incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov, in order to be considered for award. The government anticipates awarding a firm-fixed price contract resulting from this RFQ.

Federal Student Aid (FSA) is seeking an existing web-based subscription service, that includes alerts when any major public announcement is made regarding the for profit institutions and has built in analytics tools that provides in-depth financial ratios that may show other high risk factors is required to provide early warning signs of a possible precipitous closure of a postsecondary educational institutions.

The scope of this project is to acquire licenses/subscription for Financial Analysis Services and training for users to support financial and risk analysis research that supports Federal Student Aid’s mission of oversight for postsecondary educational institutions participating in Title IV programs.

The financial analysis tool needs to provide the following:

- An intuitive, web-based portal with reporting capability to be used to search for financial data;

- Access to real-time metrics regarding the corporations to include stock prices, trade volumes, and comparison to peer group organizations;

- Access to reliable financial data for credit analysis, model building, statistical studies, economic analysis and regulatory enforcement-based activities;

- Training on using the software to be included as part of the subscription.

Performance Objectives

Provide access to a web-based tool for 6 user accounts, including the After-Market Research subscription service.

License/Subscriptions Requirements

- Web based tool that provides financial analysis information for Publicly Traded Corporations (PTCs).

http://www.sam.gov/

- Current and historical data for PTCs.

- Access to real-time metrics regarding the corporations to include stock prices, trade volumes, and the ability to compare PTCs.

- Reporting capabilities to include creating fully customized reports and dashboards.

- Credit ratings that provide independent objective assessments of the credit worthiness of PTCs.

- Basic research tools and market data needed to perform financial analysis of PTCs.

- Data needs to enable users to drill down in detail regarding a specific entity and to compare PTCs on a set of variables.

- Access to recent transactions and key developments for the PTCs.

- Information contained in the software is clear, concise, and informative to the Federal

Student Aid’s financial analyst staff.

- Web based tool that provides a process for obtaining reports and relevant industry standards; and illustrates how the reports can be customized and dashboards developed to get the most out of the data.

- Training on using the software to be included as part of the subscription.

Constraints

Tool shall be web-based, online and allows for monitoring Securities and Exchange filings, Media Alerts, and to conduct comprehensive financial ratio scoring, including timely access to real-time and important financial information on large for-profit publicly traded institutions.

Period of Performance

The period of performance includes a 9 month Base Period and three twelve (12) month Option Periods.

The estimated period of performance is as follows:

Base Year – June 10, 2024 – March 9, 2025

Option Year One – March 10, 2025 – March 9, 2026

Option Year Two – March 10, 2026 – March 9, 2027

Option Year Three – March 10, 2026 – March 9, 2028

FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sep 2023)

a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code(s) and small business size standard(s) for this acquisition appear elsewhere in the solicitation. However, the small business size standard for a concern that submits an offer, other than on a construction or service acquisition, but proposes to furnish an end item that it did not itself manufacture, process, or produce is 500 employees, or 150 employees for information technology value-added resellers under NAICS code 541519, if the acquisition—

(1)Is set aside for small business and has a value above the simplified acquisition threshold;

(2)Uses the HUBZone price evaluation preference regardless of dollar value, unless the offeror waives the price evaluation preference; or

(3)Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value.

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show—

(1) The solicitation number;

(2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers;

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;

(5) Terms of any express warranty;

(6) Price and any discount terms;

(7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address;

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/solicitationcontractorder-commercial-items https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.212-3#FAR_52_212_3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.212-3#FAR_52_212_3

(10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and

(11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing.

(e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions, including alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with FAR subpart 4.10), or alternative commercial products or commercial services for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

(f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.

(1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.

(2)

(i) Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and-

(A) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(B) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(C) If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received.

https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/solicitationcontractorder-commercial-items https://www.acquisition.gov/far/subpart-4.10#FAR_Subpart_4_10

(ii) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(3) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(4) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(5) Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

(g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the offer.

(i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.

(1)

(i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101–29, and copies of Federal specifications, standards, and product descriptions can be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil.

(ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a copy of specifications, standards, and commercial https://assist.dla.mil/ item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained from the address in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision.

(2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil.

(3) Defense documents not available from the ASSIST website may be requested from the Defense Standardization Program Office by—

(i) Using the ASSIST feedback module ( https://assist.dla.mil/feedback); or

(ii) Contacting the Defense Standardization Program Office by telephone at 571–767– 6688 or email at assisthelp@dla.mil.

(4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance.

(j) Unique entity identifier.(Applies to all offers that exceed the micro-purchase threshold, and offers at or below the micro-purchase threshold if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).) The Offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Offeror's name and address.

The Offeror also shall enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. The EFT indicator is a four-character suffix to the unique entity identifier. The suffix is assigned at the discretion of the Offeror to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative EFT accounts (see FAR subpart 32.11) for the same entity. If the Offeror does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment directly to obtain one. The Offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the unique entity identifier.

(k) [Reserved]

(l) Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:

(1) The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s offer.

(2) The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.

(3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.

(4) A summary of the rationale for award;

https://assist.dla.mil/ https://assist.dla.mil/feedback mailto:assisthelp@dla.mil https://www.acquisition.gov/far/subpart-32.11#FAR_Subpart_32_11

(5) For acquisitions of commercial products, the make and model of the product to be delivered by the successful offeror.

(6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items (Nov 2021)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Award will be made in accordance with FAR 15.101-2 Lowest Price technically Acceptable source selection process.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items (Feb 2024) The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (v)) of this provision.

The FULL TEXT of the provision can be found at the following link:

https://www.acquisition.gov/content/52212-3-offeror-representations-and-certifications-commercial-items http://www.acquisition.gov/content/52212-3-offeror-representations-and-certifications-

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023) Incorporated by Reference.

FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders- Commercial Products and Commercial Services Items (Feb 2024), applies to this acquisition. The following additional clauses cited in the clause are also applicable to this acquisition: 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, 52.223-3 Convict Labor, 52.222-19 Child Labor, 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity, 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans, 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Worker with Disabilities, 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Person, 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving, 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer System for Award Management.

FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Service (Nov 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 10 days.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 5 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 10 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

( b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c)The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 54 months.

FAR 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address:

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html

Addendum to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items The offeror shall submit their price quote using the following format:

9 month Base Item # Price

Financial Analysis Service 0001 $ 9 month Base Total $ Option Year One

Financial Analysis Service 1001 $ OY1 Total $ Option Year Two

Financial Analysis Service 2001 $ OY2 Total Option Year Three

Financial Analysis Service 3001 $ OY3 Total $ Total Base Year & all Options $

Quotes shall be submitted in two volumes: Volume I shall include how the License/Subscription Requirements will be met and not exceed ten (10) pages in length, the page limitation is based on the number of pages when printed single-spaced on 8 ½ x 11 page with 1” margins in 12-point Times New Roman font. No pricing information shall be included in volume I. Volume II will only include pricing in the format above.

Quotes must be received electronically (e-mail) by May 6, 2024, 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Quotes are to be forwarded, via e-mail, to Alan Cornwall, Contracting Officer. The subject line of the e-mail shall be Financial Analysis Tool Quote Submission. All questions pertaining to this requirement are due, via e-mail, by 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on April 22, 2024. The responses to the questions will be answered with an amendment to this synopsis/solicitation no later than April 29, 2024.

Period of Acceptance of Quotes:

The offeror agrees to hold firm their proposed prices in their quote for 45 calendar days from the date specified for the receipt of offers.