RFP IV 09-17-09.doc

PART IV – REPRESENTATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items has been incorporated by reference on Standard Form 1449 Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items, Block 27a.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2008)

GENERAL PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

The following additions/changes are made to FAR Clauses 52.212-1, which is incorporated by reference:

GENERAL PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

1.

Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.

2..

This is an all-electronic solicitation release. Hard copies are not available. The Government will post amendments to the solicitation to FBO. It is the responsibility of each offeror to review the web page, https://fbo.gov/,for notice of amendments, updates or changes to current information.

3.

Pre-Proposal Conference: A pre-proposal conference is scheduled to be held on October 1, 2009 @ 10:00 AM. Site visits to follow. All prospective offerors are highly encouraged to attend this conference. In order to make the conference as productive as possible, offerors should submit any questions they may have in writing to lani.matsumoto@gsa.gov. The submission of written questions will not preclude anyone from posing questions during the conference. Failure of a prospective offeror to submit any questions or attend the conference will be construed to mean that the prospective offeror fully understands all requirements of the solicitation. Prospective offerors are advised that the pre-proposal conference will be held solely for the purpose of explaining the concepts involved in the project and the specifications, terms, and conditions of this solicitation. Answers to questions will be posted to FedBizOps within seven (7) workdays following the conference. All prospective offerors are advised that this solicitation will remain unchanged unless it is specifically amended in writing. If an amendment is issued, normal procedures relating to the acknowledgment and receipt of any such amendment as described in contract FAR Clause 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition, of this RFP shall apply.

4.

Notice to Offerors: Offerors are encouraged to submit all questions and requests for clarifications no less than ten (10) days prior to the RFP closing date. The decision whether to respond to questions and requests for clarification made less than ten (10) days prior to the RFP closing shall be at the sole discretion of the Contracting Officer.

5.

Joint Venture Offerors: If the offeror is a joint venture, the offeror shall provide all required solicitation information for all parties including a copy of the joint venture agreement with proposal. The agreement shall include information, which identifies the responsibilities for each entity under this contract. The agreement shall demonstrate the relationship between firms and identify contractual relationships and authorities to bind each entity of the joint venture. If the joint venture is comprised of 8(a) firms, the Small Business Administration (SBA), prior to award, must approve the joint venture agreement.

6.

Teaming/Partnering Offerors: If the offer is based on a teaming/partnering relationship, the offeror shall provide all required solicitation information for all parties including a copy of the teaming/partnership agreement. The agreement shall include information, which identifies the responsibilities for each entity under this contract. The agreement shall demonstrate the relationship between firms and identify contractual relationships and authorities to bind each entity of the teaming/partnering relationship.

7.

Incurred Expenses: The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred or associated with preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this solicitation.

8.

Submission of Offers:

a.)

The offeror is required to submit an offer on all items. Failure to do so may disqualify the proposal. In compliance with FAR Subpart 4.8, the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals and will destroy all extra copies. No destruction certificate will be provided.

b.)

All proposals must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of this solicitation. Any commitments made in the proposal shall become a part of the resultant contract. In no case shall words like "we will comply with the requirements of the contract," or equivalent statements, be acceptable to meet the requirements of this RFP. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in the Government summarily rejecting the offeror's proposal.

9.

Submission Requirements:

The Technical Plan (Volume I) shall be prepared in accordance with these instructions and shall be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria and evaluation standards in FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items. Technical plan shall include necessary information to enable the evaluators to form a definitive conclusion concerning the offeror's ability to perform the required services.

The Past Performance proposal (Volume II) and Price Proposal (Volume III) shall include the required documents. The Government will evaluate the price proposal in accordance with FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items.

10.

Volume Submission Requirements a) Volume I – Technical Proposal (40 page limit): 1 Original, 3 Paper Copies and 1 Electronic Copy b) Volume II – Past Performance (30 page limit): 1 Original and 1 Electronic Copy c) Volume III – SF1449 (signed & dated) and Pricing Proposal (no page limit): 3 Original and 1 Electronic Copy d) Amendments – signed and acknowledged SF30s (as required): 3 originals and 1 Electronic Copy Submit to address shown below:

Lani Matsumoto, Contracting Officer GSA, PBS, Facilities Maintenance and Services Programs Division

Facilities Operations Support Branch Service Contracts Team (10PMMQ)

400 15th Street SW

Auburn, WA 98001-6599

11.

Price Competition: The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition. Therefore, only a limited amount of pricing information is required in the initial proposals. Upon examination of the initial proposals (offers), the Contracting Officer will review this determination. If, in the Contracting Officer's opinion, there is adequate price competition, no additional price information, except for final proposal revisions, will be elicited and certification under FAR 15.406-2 will not be required. However, if at any time during this competition the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists, offerors may be required to prepare, submit, and certify cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.403-4.

12.

Submitted materials will be fully responsive to and consistent with the following:

· Requirements of the RFP and SOW contained therein;

· Government standards and regulations pertaining to the SOW; and Evaluation factors and subfactors for award in FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items;

· No material shall be incorporated by reference or reiteration of the RFP. Any such material will not be considered for evaluation. Materials shall be presented in a manner which allows it to stand-alone without need for evaluators to reference other documents; and

· Format of the proposal volumes (and any resulting responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs)) shall be as follows:

1. All typing (including that on charts, graphs, and tables, etc.) shall be no smaller than 12 pitch.

2. Two columns of text per page are acceptable.

3. Elaborate format, color representations, and bindings are not desirable. Three ring binders or soft covers with screw type aluminum binding posts are preferred.

4. Technical plan shall be limited to 40 pages excluding the Executive Summary. The Government will remove pages in excess of 40 and will not evaluate them.

5. Past Performance shall be limited to 30 pages.

6. The price proposal is not limited as to the number of pages.

7. Page limit includes: All appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, etc. The covers for each volume, tables of contents, indices, title pages, cross reference indices, and section dividers/tales will not be included in the page count if they are inserted solely to provide ease to the reader in locating parts/sections of the proposal. They will be counted if they contain any other information, i.e., diagrams, extraneous data, etc. Pages marked “This page intentionally left blank” will not be counted.

8. A page shall be an 8 ½” x11” sheet of paper (minimum of ½” margins). Foldouts will be counted as the appropriate number of pages based on an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper. The Offerors should number each page in order to eliminate any confusion. In the event an offeror creates an ambiguity, the Government may exercise its own discretion in counting pages. Two pages may be printed on one sheet of paper, but will count as 2 pages.

9. Offerors are encouraged to number proposal paragraphs consistent with the instructions and measures of merit contained in FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items.

10. Additionally, electronic copies of the required proposal information for each volume shall be submitted on CD ROM using Microsoft Word. Electronic copies for the cost information must be submitted on CD ROM using either Microsoft Word and/or Excel. “Read only” files are acceptable. All disks shall be virus checked before submission. Replacement CD ROM will be required to update the final proposal resulting from any discussions. Cross-references should be utilized to preclude unnecessary duplication of data between sections.

SPECIFIC PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Executive Summary Section: Each offeror shall submit an Executive Summary of no more than 3 pages total which summarizes the key points from the offeror’s Technical Plan, Past Performance, and Price areas. The Executive Summary Section is not included in the Volume I page limitation.

Proposal Risk

Factor 3

· Evaluation of the Factor is inherent in Factor 1 and is not separately addressed by the offeror. Thus, it is not listed below.

FACTOR 1:

TECHNICAL PLAN (VOLUME I)

NOTE:

The technical plan submitted (including clarifications and discussions) shall become the basis for contract management, performance, and administration. The contract work statement is performance based with the Government describing what shall be accomplished. The technical plan describes the Contractor’s approach for whom, how and when the work is to be performed. The plan is considered the Contractor’s approach and shall not commit the Government to specific levels of staffing, means, or methods. Changes necessary for achieving the contract performance work statement requirements shall be the responsibility of the Contractor.

A.

SUBFACTOR 1 Organizational Structure and Staffing

· Provide an organizational chart clearly identifying management as well as key positions in the organization.

· Describe the hiring criteria for the key positions depicted on the organizational chart.

· Criteria shall describe the minimum level of education, any professional licenses, technical certification and/or qualifications, minimum experience and/or background, minimum skill levels, and required training necessary to hold the position described.

· Specifically define the project manager’s responsibility and authority on a project. Do not provide resumes.

· Describe overall management approach with regard to organization, coordination, development, monitoring and projects.

· Describe interface with operations and partnering with government project managers, contracting officials, Government quality assurance personnel and users.

· Describe methods and criteria used to screen and select quality subcontractors to ensure an appropriate level of experience and expertise for the job.

B.

SUBFACTOR 2 Quality Control Plan

· Provide your firm’s established/documented organizational quality control plan that is currently being utilized.

· Submit a detailed quality management plan applicable to the specific asset(s). Include the following information:

1. Describe the system that will be used to manage overall performance (including cost, schedule, and quality of technical, supervisory, management and administrative service provided.)

2. Approach to effect preventative actions and corrective actions, as opposed to reliance on Government or customer identification of deficiencies prior to resolving the problem.

3. Process for review of the plan with all on-site staff to ensure a complete understanding of quality program.

4. Approach for continuous quality improvement process control and process performance measurement procedures.

5. Describe internal and external quality control approaches for measuring, tracking, analyzing, reporting, and implementing preventive actions required to ensure the quality performance.

Inspection

· Identify the quantitative performance standards with the acceptable percentage of defects.

· Identify processes and procedures for monitoring and verifying performance.

· Identify documentation that will be used to support all surveillance methodology/inspections including an inspection checklist that reflects type, frequency and inspection pattern.

· Show your approach to deficiency identification and documentation of any corrective actions taken.

· Describe your process for evaluating the effectiveness of the corrective action and follow-up.

· Describe your approach for review, analysis and management of service calls.

C.

SUBFACTOR 3 Approach to Providing Services

· Provide a detailed narrative of the overall approach that will be used to manage the contract and perform the work. Narrative should include information specific to the building, mission, function and tenants.

· Identify significant performance risks and challenges of providing service with a brief discussion of proposed solutions.

· What guidelines will be used in performing maintenance work under this contract (industry standard, best practices, GSA guidelines, etc.)?

· Describe Annual Schedule for Preventative Maintenance

· Identify the different typical service calls in this type of an asset and the proactive approach firm will use to minimize the need or frequency for call.

· What approach will be used for obtaining information related to the requirements for maintaining the equipment listed in the building inventory?

· Describe your approach for prioritizing and handling service requests.

· Will your firm perform building tours as part of this effort? (Yes/No)

· If yes, what system will be used to annotate completed tours, how often will tours be conducted, how will the deficiencies discovered during the tours be documented and the necessary corrective work implemented.

· Identify the approach that will be used to minimize repair costs that exceed the Contractor’s monetary responsibility dollar threshold ($1,500).

· How are operational adjustments to equipment going to be made?

· What tools or methods will be used in trouble shooting field equipment?

· Provide transition plan for Phase-In/Phase-Out. Include timing and support needed to take full responsibility of work.

· Highlight actions that will be used to support the asset considering the standard of performance.

Customer Service and Satisfaction Approach

· Detail approach that will be used to achieve customer service with a focus on the satisfaction of building occupants. Include methods that will be used to obtain feedback information, process for follow-up of information received, and approach to sharing information with others (GSA staff).

· Describe process for handling of customer complaints including:

1. The type of feedback that will be provided to the COR.

2. The level of staff involved in resolving the complaint and viewing.

3. The system in place to handle complaints that are not the responsibility of the Contractor.

D.

SUBFACTOR 4 Administrative Management

Communication

· Describe methods, tools and techniques that will be used to communicate effectively with offer’s team, GSA staff, clients, building tenants, contract staff, various trades, other Contractors, and other audiences.

· What approaches are used to promote dispute resolution, partnering and working in a collaborative environment?

Contract Administration

· Who will have authority for committing the firm and signature authority for contract modifications?

· What will the response time be for submitting proposals to support additional work (additional task assignments or modifications to existing)? (Number of days)

Safety and Security

· Do you have a company plan in place for planned response to accident/injuries?

· How many on the job injuries have resulted in lost days this last year?

· Does your firm have an emergency response plan in place for natural disasters and/or catastrophic events? (Yes/No)

· Do you have an emergency contact list for all staff? (Yes/No) If yes, where is the contact list maintained?

· How often is safety and security discussed at internal team meetings?

· Does your firm routinely train staff on how to respond to safety accidents, natural disasters and/or security threats?

FACTOR 2:

PAST PERFORMANCE (VOLUME II)

PRESENT AND PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

NOTE:

Please limit your past performance information to no more than five pages per contract listed. Only references for same or similar type contract desired. Submit 1 copy each.

Quality and Satisfaction Rating for Contract Completed in the Past Three Years: Provide any information currently available (letters, metrics, customer surveys, independent survey, etc.), which demonstrates customer satisfaction with overall job performance and quality of completed product for same or similar type contract. In addition, explain corrective actions taken in the past, if any, for substandard performance and current performance problems.

Past Performance Surveys: The Government will evaluate the quality and extent of an offeror’s past performance deemed relevant to the requirement of this RFP. The Government will use information submitted by the offeror and other sources such as the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), other Federal Government offices and commercial sources, to assess experience. Provide a list of no more than seven (7) contracts, all of which must have been concluded not more than three (3) years prior to the issuance date of this solicitation. Relevant contracts include those where the offeror performed services of the similar scope and dollar magnitude of those maintenance services required under this solicitation. Contracts for all or the majority of maintenance services required under this solicitation will be considered more relevant than those contracts for smaller portions of the maintenance services required. The evaluation of past performance information will take into account past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel, who have relevant experience, or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the acquisition. In addition, the Government may use past performance information obtained from other than the sources identified by the offeror. Lack of past performance will not automatically disqualify an Offeror, but is a factor considered in the evaluation process described at FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items (JAN 1999).

Furnish the following information for each contract referenced:

(1) Company/Contracting Agency Name;

(2) Service;

(3) Contract Number;

(4) Contract Type (e.g. Firm Fixed Price, Time & Material, etc.);

(5) Period of Performance;

(6) Contract Dollar Amount (Initial, Final and an explanation of the difference);

(7) Name, Address, Telephone and Fax Number of the Contracting Officer;

(8) Contracting Officers Representative’s Name, Address, Telephone, & Fax Number;

(9) Types and Number of Personnel;

(10) Brief Summary of the Requirements; and (11) Problems encountered and their resolutions.

Include any available statements, letters, reports, or evaluations from said contracts indicating the level and quality of past performance for this same time period.

If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, provide complete information as to the arrangement, including any relevant and recent past performance information on previous teaming arrangements with same partner. If this is a first time joint effort, each party to the arrangement must provide a list of past and present relevant contracts.

Subcontractor Consent: Past Performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Provide with the proposal a letter from all subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of their past performance information to the prime contractor.

The Government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure problems it finds in proposals. The burden of providing thorough and completed past performance remains with the offeror. Offerors who fail to provide the past performance information request by this instruction risk being eliminated from the competitive range.

Offerors shall provide information on problems encountered on the contract and subcontracts identified and corrective actions taken. Provide a brief description of any pending disputes and/or claims. Be specific in identifying the problem and describing its resolution.

Offerors may describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate they possess a high quality process for providing the supply or service required and when they were received.

Each offeror shall provide a questionnaire, same as Exhibit G sample, to all-commercial and Government agencies for which they will be submitting as references for past performance history. Offerors shall have each commercial or Government agency submit the completed questionnaire directly to the Contracting Officer to arrive no later than the closing date set forth in Block 8 of the SF 1449.

Specific Content: Offerors may include a discussion of efforts accomplished by the offeror to resolve problems encountered on prior contracts as well as past efforts to identify and manage program risk. Merely having problems does not automatically equate to a Little Confidence or No Confidence rating, since the problems encountered may have been on a more complex program, or an offeror may have subsequently demonstrated the ability to overcome the problems encountered. The offeror is required to clearly demonstrate management actions employed in overcoming problems and the effects of those actions, in terms of improvements achieved or problems rectified. This may allow the offeror to be considered a High Confidence or Significant Confidence candidate. For example, submittal of quality performance indicators or other management indicators that clearly support that an offeror has overcome past problems is required.

Past Performance Evaluation Questionnaires: The Government requests the offeror send out Past Performance Evaluation Questionnaires to each of the Points of Contact (POCs) identified in the Past Performance Volume. In turn, the evaluating agencies shall submit the completed questionnaire to:

Lani Matsumoto, Contracting Officer GSA, PBS, Facilities Maintenance and Services Programs Division

Facilities Operations Support Branch Service Contracts Team (10PMMQ)

400 15th Street SW

Auburn, WA 98001-6599

Evaluators should send completed questionnaires directly to the Government within a reasonable time after receipt of this questionnaire. No questionnaire submittals will be accepted from the offeror being evaluated. Once the evaluator completes the questionnaires, the information shall be considered sensitive and shall not be released to the offeror.

To allow the Government ample time to survey references, offerors are encouraged to provide the Past Performance Volume II as soon as possible. Offerors are advised that survey references received after the proposal due date will not be considered.

Subcontractor Consent: Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Provide subcontractor / teaming partner consent from all subcontractors/teaming partners that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to release of their past performance information to the prime Contractor.

FACTOR 3

PROPOSAL RISK

The offeror does not specifically address this factor; however, it will be used in the evaluation process.

FACTOR 4:

PRICE AND CONTRACT FORMS (VOLUME III)

PRICE PROPOSAL - The Offeror is required to submit the following documents for this solicitation:

SF 1449 – Solicitation/Contract: The Offeror is required to complete Blocks 12, 17 (include Cage Code in CODE box), 23, 24 and 30. In doing so, the offeror accedes to the contract terms and conditions as written in this RFP. This constitutes the model contract.

Pricing Schedule: Insert proposed unit and extended prices for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN), including all option periods. Also, fill in total pricing for each year (see The Schedule, pages 4 – 6).

SF-30 - Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract (If applicable); signed to acknowledge and accept terms and conditions of the amendment.

** Offerors must fill out Representations and Certifications on the ORCA website at http://orca.bpn.gov**.

Offerors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database (see paragraph 24.7 52.204-7 Central Contractor Registration (Apr 2008)).

NOTE:

Offerors are cautioned that the Technical Plan (All subfactors under The Technical Plan are considered equal in importance to one another.), Proposal Risk and Past Performance Factors are considered equal in importance; and when combined are considered approximately equal to price. The Government may, at its sole discretion, request clarifying or supplemental information from the Offeror for the purpose of evaluating the reasonableness of the proposed costs/prices.

Financial Resources:

Offerors shall address a fiscal plan for covering phase-in, unexpected and/or emergency situations, and initial performance costs. Offerors shall submit a financial capability letter from their financial institution. This letter will be used in the Contracting Officer’s determination of responsibility.

FAR 52.212-2

EVALUATION – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999)

(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:

1. Technical Plan

i. Organizational Structure and Staffing

ii. Quality Control Program

iii. Approach to Providing Services

iv. Administrative Management

2. Proposal Risk

3. Past Performance

4. Cost/Price

All evaluating factors, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. All sub-factors are approximately equal.

The proposed price of offerors will be evaluated based on reasonableness and realism.

The above technical factors (technical plan, proposal risk, and past performance), when combined, are considered significantly more important than price. Tradeoffs may be considered by the Contracting Officer to obtain the best value.

Introduction: This section outlines the criteria the Government will use in evaluating the offeror's capabilities and proposals for this contract. The Government will compare each offeror's capabilities and proposal elements against predetermined measures of merit related to the Government's requirement defined herein.

General Basis for Award: This is a competitive, best value, source selection that will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR Part 15.3). In using this best value approach, the Government seeks to award to an offeror who provides General Services Administration (GSA) the greatest confidence that it will best meet our requirements affordably. To arrive at a source selection decision, the Source Selection Authority (SSA) will integrate the source selection team’s assessment of the evaluation factors and sub-factors (described below). While the Government source selection evaluation team and the SSA will strive for maximum objectivity, the source selection process, by its nature, is subjective and therefore professional judgment is implicit throughout the entire process. This may result in an award being made to a higher rated, higher priced offeror where the decision is consistent with the evaluation factors and the SSA reasonably determines that the technical superiority, and/or overall business approach, and/or superior past performance, of the higher priced offeror outweighs the cost difference.

Evaluation: Each offeror's proposal will be evaluated against the following four factors: Technical Plan, Proposal Risk, Past Performance, and Cost/Price. The Technical Plan, Proposal Risk, and Past Performance Factors are considered equal in importance, and when combined are significantly more important than price. The sub-factors within each factor are considered equal in importance. The offeror's proposal must convey to the Government that the offeror is capable, possesses sufficient technical expertise and experience, possesses sufficient resources, and is able to plan, organize, and use those resources in a coordinated and timely fashion such that the technical requirements shall be achieved and costs shall be controlled.

Technical Plan Factor 1

Past Performance Factor 2

Proposal Risk Factor 3

Cost/Price Factor 4 Technical Plan – Factor 1: Rating of this factor at the sub-factor level will focus on the proposal strengths and weaknesses with regard to performance and capability requirements and will be evaluated using the following color ratings. Note that if an offeror's proposal demonstrates a material failure to meet a Government requirement, this is a deficiency in the offeror's proposal.

TECHNICAL PLAN RATINGS

Past Performance – Factor 2: Past Performance will be evaluated as a measure of the Government’s confidence in the offeror’s ability to successfully perform based on previous and current contract and support agreements. Both a recency/relevancy rating and a confidence assessment rating will be assigned to each offeror. Past performance information may be obtained through the Vendor Past Performance (VPP) and questionnaires tailored to the circumstances for this acquisition, through interviews with program managers and contracting officers, or other sources known to the Government. Data from previous source selections or contractor capability assessments will be used if the data is recent and relevant. To assist the Government’s evaluation, each offeror’s proposal will contain the supporting past performance documentation, which demonstrates experience. Current performance (the Government will not consider performance on an effort that concluded more than three (3) years prior to the issuance date of this solicitation), will have greater impact in the performance confidence assessment than less recent performance. In determining relevancy, consideration will be given but not limited to such things as project similarity, project complexity, contract type, contract environment, division of company proposing, and subcontractor interaction. The evaluation will be constrained to a few most recent and most relevant contracts for a comprehensive review.

In performing the past performance evaluation each offeror will be assigned one of the following ratings:

CONFIDENCE RATINGS

For the purpose of this evaluation, the “offeror” includes the prime contractor’s organization as complemented by the prime’s team (subcontractors and other operating units of the prime, for example). The recency and relevancy of past performance information is critical to the Government’s evaluation. Current performance will have greater impact in the performance confidence assessment than less recent performance. In determining relevancy, consideration will be given, but not limited, to such things as project similarity, project complexity, and contract type. The Government reserves the right to visit/revisit any or all offerors and to contact any and all references. The assessment will be accomplished using both data provided by the offeror and data obtained from other sources. The assessment of past performance as a specific evaluation factor is separate and distinct from the Determination of Responsibility required by FAR Part 9.

Proposal Risk – Factor 3: (The offeror does not specifically address this subfactor, it will be used in the evaluation process). The proposal risk assessment focuses on the risks and weaknesses associated with an offeror’s proposed approach. Assessment of risk will be accomplished at the technical plan subfactor level, and includes potential for disruption of schedule, increased cost, degradation of performance and the need for increased Government oversight as well as the likelihood of unsuccessful contract performance.

Proposal risk shall be evaluated using the following ratings:

PROPOSAL RISK RATINGS

Cost/Price– Factor 4: Cost/Price Factor will be evaluated for cost realism and reasonableness. Cost/Price will not be rated or color-coded, as are technical criteria (Factor 1). After an evaluation of the Technical Plan, Proposal Risk, and Past Performance Factors has been completed and rankings have been established, the price to the Government will be compared against these rankings to determine the combination most advantageous to the Government. Submission of unrealistically low or high price or cost estimates, initially or subsequently, may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition. The cost elements of the price breakdown submitted will be considered to determine cost realism and reasonableness.

Competitive Range: The Government reserves the right to limit for purposes of efficiency, the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals (10 U.S.C.2305(b)(4) and 41 U.S.C.253b(d)). If the contracting officer, decides that an offeror's proposal should no longer be included in the competitive range, the proposal shall be eliminated from consideration for award and written notice of the decision shall be provided to the unsuccessful offeror in accordance with FAR 15.503.

Discussions: To maximize the Government’s ability to obtain best value, based on the requirements and the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP, it may be necessary to conduct discussions. If discussions are necessary due to perceived weaknesses or other issues, which must be addressed before award, they will be conducted with only those offerors determined to be within the competitive range. Discussions may be conducted either orally or in writing. The scope and extent of discussions are a matter of contracting officer judgment. The Government may make a final determination as to whether the offeror’s proposal is acceptable or unacceptable solely on the basis of the initial proposal as submitted. Accordingly, offerors are advised to submit initial proposals which are fully and clearly acceptable and without the need for additional information. The competitive range, if required, may be reduced for purposes of efficiency pursuant to FAR 15 .306(c)(2). Offerors may be restricted to a short turnaround (i.e., less than 24 hours) in responding to the contracting officer during any discussion period.

Final Proposal Revisions: If discussions are conducted, final proposal revisions will be required in determining the award of a contract resulting from this RFP. However, the Government reserves the right to award a contract without discussions Rejection of Unrealistic Offers: The Government may reject any proposal that is evaluated to be unrealistic in terms of program commitments, contract terms and conditions, or unrealistically high or low in price when compared to Government estimates, such that the proposal is deemed to reflect an inherent lack of competence or failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the program.

Basis for Award: The following conditions shall be met in order to be eligible for award:

1.

Responsibility: The offeror must be determined responsible according to the standards in FAR Part 9.1.

2.

Acceptability of Offers: The offeror’s proposal must comply with requirements of law, regulation, and all conditions set forth in the solicitation. The offeror’s proposal must demonstrate a clear understanding of the work requirements of the contract. The Government does not assume a duty to search for clarification data to cure problems or inconsistencies with an offeror’s proposal.

3.

Pre-award Survey: A Pre-Award Survey (PAS) may be conducted as part of this source selection, results of the PAS (if conducted) will be evaluated to determine each offeror’s capability to meet the requirements of the solicitation.

4.

Acceptability of other information: Other information submitted by the offeror must comply with the conditions set forth in the solicitation. The Government reserves the right to make the final determination as to whether the other information complies with the conditions set forth in the solicitation.

(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.

FAR 233-2

SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from the Assistant General Counsel (LB); General Services Administration; 18th and F Streets NW; Washington, DC 20405.

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

FAR 52.212-3

OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUL 2009)

An offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov. If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the ORCA website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (m) of this provision.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision—

“Emerging small business” means a small business concern whose size is no greater than 50 percent of the numerical size standard for the NAICS code designated.

“Forced or indentured child labor” means all work or service—

(1) Exacted from any person under the age of 18 under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily; or

(2) Performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract the enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or penalties.

“Inverted domestic corporation” means a foreign incorporated entity which is treated as an inverted domestic corporation under 6 U.S.C. 395(b), i.e., a corporation that used to be incorporated in the United States, or used to be a partnership in the United States, but now is incorporated in a foreign country, or is a subsidiary whose parent corporation is incorporated in a foreign country, that meets the criteria specified in 6 U.S.C. 395(b), applied in accordance with the rules and definitions of 6 U.S.C. 395(c).

“Manufactured end product” means any end product in Federal Supply Classes (FSC) 1000-9999, except—

(1) FSC 5510, Lumber and Related Basic Wood Materials;

(2) Federal Supply Group (FSG) 87, Agricultural Supplies;

(3) FSG 88, Live Animals;

(4) FSG 89, Food and Related Consumables;

(5) FSC 9410, Crude Grades of Plant Materials;

(6) FSC 9430, Miscellaneous Crude Animal Products, Inedible;

(7) FSC 9440, Miscellaneous Crude Agricultural and Forestry Products;

(8) FSC 9610, Ores;

(9) FSC 9620, Minerals, Natural and Synthetic; and

(10) FSC 9630, Additive Metal Materials.

“Place of manufacture” means the place where an end product is assembled out of components, or otherwise made or processed from raw materials into the finished product that is to be provided to the Government. If a product is disassembled and reassembled, the place of reassembly is not the place of manufacture.

“Restricted business operations” means business operations in Sudan that include power production activities, mineral extraction activities, oil-related activities, or the production of military equipment, as those terms are defined in the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-174). Restricted business operations do not include business operations that the person conducting the business can demonstrate—

(1) Are conducted under contract directly and exclusively with the regional government of southern Sudan;

(2) Are conducted pursuant to specific authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the Department of the Treasury, or are expressly exempted under Federal law from the requirement to be conducted under such authorization;

(3) Consist of providing goods or services to marginalized populations of Sudan;

(4) Consist of providing goods or services to an internationally recognized peacekeeping force or humanitarian organization;

(5) Consist of providing goods or services that are used only to promote health or education; or

(6) Have been voluntarily suspended.

“Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern”—

(1) Means a small business concern—

(i) Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans; and

(ii) The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of a service-disabled veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran.

(2) Service-disabled veteran means a veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), with a disability that is service-connected, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(16).

“Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria in 13 CFR Part 121 and size standards in this solicitation.

“Veteran-owned small business concern” means a small business concern—

(1) Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more veterans (as defined at 38 U.S.C. 101(2)) or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more veterans; and

(2) The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more veterans.

“Women-owned business concern” means a concern which is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women; or in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of its stock is owned by one or more women; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women.

“Women-owned small business concern” means a small business concern—

(1) That is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more women; and

(2) Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women.

(b) (1) Annual Representations and Certifications. Any changes provided by the offeror in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision do not automatically change the representations and certifications posted on the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) website.

(2) The offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via the ORCA website at http://orca.bpn.gov. After reviewing the ORCA database information, the offeror verifies by submission of this offer that the representations and certifications currently posted electronically at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items, have been entered or updated in the last 12 months, are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation (including the business size standard applicable to the NAICS code referenced for this solicitation), as of the date of this offer and are incorporated in this offer by reference (see FAR 4.1201), except for paragraphs .

[Offeror to identify the applicable paragraphs at (c) through (n) of this provision that the offeror has completed for the purposes of this solicitation only, if any.

These amended representation(s) and/or certification(s) are also incorporated in this offer and are current, accurate, and complete as of the date of this offer.

Any changes provided by the offeror are applicable to this solicitation only, and do not result in an update to the representations and certifications posted on ORCA.]

(c) Offerors must complete the following representations when the resulting contract will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas. Check all that apply.

(1) Small business concern. The offeror represents as part of its offer that it FORMCHECKBOX is, FORMCHECKBOX is not a small business concern.

(2) Veteran-owned small business concern. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (c)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that it FORMCHECKBOX is, FORMCHECKBOX is not a veteran-owned small business concern.

(3) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a veteran-owned small business concern in paragraph (c)(2) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that it FORMCHECKBOX is, FORMCHECKBOX is not a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern.

(4) Small disadvantaged business concern. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (c)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents, for general statistical purposes, that it FORMCHECKBOX is, FORMCHECKBOX is not a small disadvantaged business concern as defined in 13 CFR 124.1002.

(5) Women-owned small business concern.