H92222-16-R-0008-0001.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

30-105-04EXCEPTION TO SF 30

APPROVED BY OIRM 11-84

STANDARD FORM 30 (Rev. 10-83) Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

The purpose of this amendment is to add detailed Sections L and M and provide responses to questions received from industry.

The due date for proposals is extended.

All other terms and provisions remain unchanged.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

J 1 10

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

BY 11-Dec-2015

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA15C. DATE SIGNED15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of Contracting Officer)(Signature of person authorized to sign)

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., Street, County, State and Zip Code) X H92222-16-R-0008

X 9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

19-Nov-2015

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offer X is extended, is not extended.

Offer must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN

REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(B).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

10A. MOD. OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO.(If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

11-Dec-2015

CODE

HQ USSOCOM SORDAC-K

ATTN: ANITA DELOACH

7701 TAMPA POINT BLVD

MACDILL AFB FL 33621-5323

H92222 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6)

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

CODE

See Item 6

FACILITY CODECODE

EMAIL:TEL:

H92222-16-R-0008

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION SF 1449 - CONTINUATION SHEET

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

The required response date/time has changed from 07-Dec-2015 11:00 AM to 16-Dec-2015 11:00 AM.

The following have been added by full text:

EVALUATION FACTORS

SECTION M – Evaluation Factors for Award

1. Basis for Award.

a. LOWEST PRICED TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA). This is a best value source selection conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.3, Source Selection, as supplemented by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS. Award will be made to a single offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), whose proposal conforms to the solicitation requirements, and whose proposal, judged by an overall assessment of the evaluation criteria and other considerations specified in this solicitation, represents the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable offer.

b. As a basis for award, trade-offs between price and non-price factors are not permitted. The selection of a source for award purposes will be conducted utilizing source selection (negotiated) procedures as delineated in FAR Part 15.3, Source Selection. Offers will be evaluated using the criteria under Section M, “Evaluation Factors for Award.” Noncompliance with the solicitation requirements may hamper the Government’s ability to properly evaluate the proposal and may result in elimination of the proposal from further consideration for contract award.

c. Award for All of the Work. The Government intends to award a single contract as a result of this solicitation. Offers received for less than the stated number of items listed in the Bid Schedule will be considered ineligible for award. As set forth in FAR 52.215-1 (f)(4), the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors (except clarifications as described in FAR 15.306(a), Clarifications and award without discussions). Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. In the event that discussions are held, a competitive range determination will be made. If the Contracting Officer determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.

Evaluation Factors for Award: Factors that will be evaluated are as follows:

Technical Factor Past Performance Factor Price Factor

1) Factor 1 - Technical Factor

Technical proposals will be evaluated on the following elements:

a) Technical Approach: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s ability to meet the customer’s mission requirements. Does the offeror reflect a demonstrated comprehension of the specific objectives, intent, and requirements of the work and does the offeror’s proposed approach appear sound, practical and feasible? The technical proposal shall reflect a clear understanding of the nature of the work being undertaken.

Non-priced Technical Factor will receive one of the ratings defined below.

Rating Method:

Technical Factor will receive one of the adjectival ratings defined below:

ADJECTIVAL RATING DEFINITION

Acceptable Proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable Proposal does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Note: A final rating of Unacceptable is ineligible for award.

2) Factor 2 - Past Performance: The Government will evaluate past performance through the information submitted in accordance with SOFARs Clause 5652.215-9008 Past Performance Data.

Offerors without recent or relevant past performance information will be considered to have an unknown performance record and past performance shall be considered “acceptable.”

In evaluating past performance, the Government will evaluate the relevancy and recency of past performance information. Recent efforts are those with performance within the 36 months prior to the date of proposal submission. Relevant efforts are those task orders with performance of economic and finance domain data collection and analysis . Contracts with performance ending 36 months or later to the date of proposal submission, or determined as non relevant to the scope of this PWS will not be considered in the past performance evaluation. Past performance will be rated on an “acceptable” or “unacceptable” basis using the ratings in below table.

Past Performance Evaluation Ratings Rating Description Acceptable Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort, or the offeror’s performance record is unknown.

Unacceptable Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government has no reasonable expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

3) Factor 3 - Price factor:

(a) Price will not be scored or rated. Evaluation of price will be performed using one or more of the price analysis techniques. The Government will conduct price analysis to determine prices to be fair and reasonable..

(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. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

SECTION L – Proposal Submission Instructions

1. Proposal Submittal and Inquiries

a. Written proposals shall be transmitted electronically as non-executable attachments to an e-mail and received No Later Than 11:00 a.m., ET, December 16, 2015 to Contracting@socom.mil .

b. Maximum size limitation for e-mail receipt is 10 MB (including all attachments). If your transmission is larger than 10MB, it must be divided and submitted via multiple emails. When submitting a proposal via separate emails, the offeror shall clearly state how many emails are being submitted (i.e., 1 of 4, 2 of 4, etc.). It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the Government receives all emails and all attachments timely. A complete proposal received after the “exact” time stated above will be considered late in accordance with FAR 52.215-1 and may not be considered.

2. General Instructions

a. The selection of a source for award purposes will be conducted utilizing source selection procedures as delineated in FAR Part 15.3, Source Selection. Offers will be evaluated using the criteria under Section M, “Evaluation Factors for Award.” Noncompliance with the solicitation requirements may hamper the Government's ability to properly evaluate the proposal and may result in elimination of the proposal from further consideration for contract award.

b. The Offer. The submission of the documentation specified below will constitute the offeror's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the solicitation, concurrence with the performance Work Statement (PWS), and contract type.

c. It is the Government’s intention to award without discussions. Offerors are encouraged to present their best technical proposal and prices in their initial proposal submission. However, in accordance with (IAW) FAR Part 15.306 (Exchanges with Offerors after Receipt of Proposals), should discussions become necessary, the Government reserves the right to hold them. If this occurs, a competitive range will be determined and offerors notified. The competitive range may be limited for purposes of efficiency IAW FAR Part 15.306 (c)(2) (Competitive Range).

d. Offerors are cautioned to review FAR 52.215-1 “Instructions to Offerors- Competitive Acquisition” which contains rules governing untimely submission of proposals.

e. Instructions outlined in Section L, below, prescribe the format for the proposal and describe the approach for the development and presentation of proposal data. These instructions are designed to ensure the submission of necessary information to provide for the understanding and comprehensive evaluation of proposals.

f. If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, an ambiguity, omission, or are otherwise deemed unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing with supporting rationale. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion.

3. Proposal Preparation Instructions

a. Offeror’s proposal shall consist of three separate electronic documents as follows:

Part I: General Part II: Technical Factor Part III: Past Performance Factor Part IV: Price Factor

b. Proposal Format:

(1) The proposal shall be submitted in three separate electronic documents. The proposal shall not exceed the limits stated below. If the page limits are exceeded, the excess pages may be removed and not evaluated. The Government will not accept any changes to the contractor’s proposal after the closing date of the solicitation (See FAR 15.208 (Submission, Modification, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals) for further information regarding late proposals). Page limitations include all appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, etc., unless otherwise noted as follows:

Table 2 – Proposal Format

TITLE FORMAT PAGE LIMITATION

General Word or pdf document compatible with MS Word 2007 or Adobe Reader 9

No Page limitation

Technical Factor Word or pdf document compatible with MS Word 2007 or Adobe Reader 9

7 pages (excludes title page, table of contents, glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, indices, cross reference indices,and staffing tables, if applicable)

Price Factor Excel document compatible with MS Excel 2007

No page limitation (Includes complete Section B- Bid Schedule. Shall have prices for all CLINS, sub-totals for each period and final grand total as indicated in the schedule.)

(3) A page shall be counted based on the ability to print (if desired) one electronic page on a standard

8 ½ x 11” sheet of paper. Letter size and spacing requirements for illustrations and tables can be at the discretion of the offeror but must be easily readable. Fold-outs will be counted as the appropriate number of pages required if printed on a standard 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper. The contractor shall number each page in order to eliminate any confusion. In the event contractor creates an ambiguity in their numbering of pages, the Government may exercise its own discretion in counting pages.

4. Proposal Content

a. Part I: General – Failure to follow the below contract proposal preparation instructions may cause proposal to be deemed non-responsive by the Government. This document shall contain:

(1) Assumptions (if required) – The offeror shall identify and explain any exceptions or deviations. Additionally, the offeror shall identify any assumptions used in proposal preparation.

(2) Amendment acknowledgment – Offeror shall include a statement acknowledging receipt of all solicitation amendments. Failure to do so may result in an offer being non-responsive by the Government.

(3) Acceptance Period: Offeror’s proposal shall remain valid for a period of 180 calendar days from date of receipt of proposal. Proposals offering a shorter period of time than 90 calendar days will be rejected as non-responsive.

b. Part II: Technical Factor – The Technical proposal shall be clear, concise, and include sufficient detail for effective and efficient evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. Legibility, clarity, and coherence are very important. Your responses will be evaluated as defined in Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Statements that the offeror understands, can, or will comply with the PWS (including referenced publications, technical data, etc.);

statements paraphrasing the PWS or parts thereof (including applicable publications, technical data, etc.); and phrases such as “standard procedures will be employed” or “well known techniques will be used,” etc., will be considered unacceptable. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror's proposal. Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired. The offeror shall address the following element to prove technical acceptability:

(1) Technical Approach - The offeror shall outline its technical approach. The offeror shall address each of the specific tasks as listed in the PWS. Detailed responses to each of these requirements will provide an explanation indicating offeror's ability and proposed methodology to be utilized to meet each of the required tasks. Responses are not to be a restatement of the requirement but shall be comprehensive, well-conceived, and include detailed approaches to accomplishing the tasks and providing the deliverables. The technical proposal should demonstrate that the offeror understands the overall scope of services and their interrelationships in order to optimize responsiveness, timeliness, efficiency, and reliability of analysis rendered. The proposal shall consist of narrative and supporting data that address requirements and procedures necessary to support performance of specific tasks in this solicitation.

c. Part III: Past Performance Factor – Past performance data shall be submitted in accordance with SOFARs Clause 5652.215-9008 Past Performance Data. The offeror shall provide information on contracts and/or subcontracts that are relevant and recent. Recent efforts are those with performance within the 36 months prior to the date of proposal submission. Relevant efforts are those task orders with performance of economic and finance domain data collection and analysis. The proposal shall include rationale on how the effort is relevant to the effort required by the PWS.

d. Part IV: Price Factor - The offeror shall identify all resources required to accomplish the work required by the PWS and shall coincide with information presented in the technical proposal. Price proposal shall include price for the base period and one option period.

(1) The contract type for this task order is Firm-Fixed Price (FFP). Please include complete identification of all resources required to accomplish the work required by the PWS. Any other direct costs identified by the contractor as required for performance of the PWS requirements shall be included as part of the FFP.

(2) Price proposal shall include completed Schedule B. In the event there is a discrepancy between sections of the price proposal and Schedule B, Schedule B will govern.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Will Section L and M be provided to include proposal submittal instructions and limitations?

Answer 1: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors as well as evaluation factors for award.

2. The solicitation references two countries of interest for each topic, which cover four and three countries respectively. Will the Government provide the awardee the two countries of interest and have the awardee run baselines for each topic across the seven countries listed?

Answer 2: There are two target countries of interest. We are looking for E&F impact and activities on the two target countries within the “Cluster” countries identified (Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Zambia) and (Nicaragua, Chile and Peru) Once awarded, we will provide the awardee with the Target countries so they can provide E&F impact and activities of the target countries within the identified “Cluster” countries.

3. Will the Government provide any proposal submission guidance normally provided through Section L Proposal Instructions (i.e., proposal volumes, page limits, etc.)?

Answer 3: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors as well as

4. Will the Government provide any pricing instructions?

Answer 4: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors as well as

5. RFP Section 7.1. For the purposes of determining level of effort and pricing, can the

Government confirm that the analysis of open-source transactions is only for each of the two

(2) unnamed target countries as they relate directly and individually to Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Zambia and that the contractor is not monitoring transactions that are between those countries (i.e.., Kenya to Zambia, DRC to Angola, etc.)?

Answer 5: Yes, the analysis will only focus on how the two target countries relate to/affect the “Cluster” countries. Analysis on how the “Cluster” countries effect each other is NOT a requirement.

6. RFP Section 7.2. For the purposes of determining level of effort and pricing, can the

Government confirm that the analysis of open-source transactions is only for each of the two

(2) unnamed target countries as they relate directly and individually to Nicaragua, Chile and Peru and that the contractor is not monitoring transactions that are between those countries (i.e.., Chile to Peru, etc.)?

Answer 6: Yes, the analysis will only focus on how the two target countries relate to/affect the “Cluster” countries. Analysis on how the “Cluster” countries effect each other is NOT a requirement.

7. RFP Section 7.1./ RFP Section 7.2. For the purposes of determining level of effort and pricing, can the Government clarify if the two unnamed target countries for 7.1 are the same as the two unnamed target countries for 7.2? Or are they four different target countries?

Answer 7: The two target countries are the same target countries for 7.1 and 7.2.

8. Is the place of performance at Government facilities or the contractor’s chosen site?

Answer 8: The place of performance is at the contractor’s chosen site.

9. Are there any required key personnel?

Answer 9: No.

10. Are there any required labor categories?

Answer 10: No.

11. Past Performance. Is there a limit to how far back in time the three (3) past performance citations can go?

Answer 11: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors as well as evaluation factors for award. Past performance references shall be within 36 months of proposal submission.

12. The objective of this research appears to be corporate network analysis. Our understanding is that the objective of these reports is to identify how specific companies from the two target countries of interest (private or SOEs) acquire, create Joint Ventures with, contract with, or in some other way develop business relationships with host nation companies and their executives. We assume that our report would map out the relationships of companies from the two target countries with business, political, and, where appropriate, social entities and leaders associated with their business operations. Is this accurate?

Answer 12: Yes, the description above is accurate.

13. What is difficult to forecast in this proposed contract is the scope of each report. The fact that not only the names and country of origin of the companies of interest are unknown, but that the number of those companies and the breadth of their presence in the counties identified in the RFP make pricing this contract challenging. Any comments you can provide on these aforementioned variables would be very helpful for pricing/staffing, understanding that you may not be able to share this information.

Answer 13: The unnamed target countries will be global, near peer competitors to the US.

14. Is there an expectation for number of hours of collaboration with the client before and after

(a) the baseline report for each country and (b) the update reports that follow the baseline? Or are you looking for us to propose this? How much of that is expected to be in-person (as opposed to conference call)? (If travel will be required, can we assume it’s in CONUS?)

Answer 14: The government anticipates monthly collaboration (VTC or conference) to follow the reports. Travel, if required, would be CONUS only.

15. Page 5, PWS paragraph 7.2.2, states that the two baseline reports for the Central and South America Area of Interest – Option, are due within 30 days of contract award. Does this requirement imply that Option CLIN 1001 will be awarded with the basic contract award? If not, will these reports be due within 30 days following the award of CLIN 1001?

Answer 15: There is no expectation that Option CLIN 1001 will be exercised when the basic contract is issued. As such, the baseline reports will be due within 30 days of exercising the option.

16. Page 6, Clauses Incorporated by Reference, Clause 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items: please confirm that the Instructions to Offerors (ITOs) contained in this FAR clause and the additional FAR clauses incorporated by full text, are the only ITOs applicable to this solicitation?

Answer 16: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors as well as

17. Page 33, Past Performance Data: for past performance on a contract or task order which has ended, and which was performed as a subcontractor, may offerors identify a prime contractor’s point of contact (such as a Program Manager) as the most relevant source of information regarding the offeror’s past performance on that contract, in lieu of identifying a government point of contact?

Answer 17: A government POC is preferred. If a government POC is not known or available, a prime contractor’s POC may be provided.

18. The Place of Performance is identified as the “Contractor's site, Tampa, Florida 33621 United States. Will the awardee be required to work from a location in Tampa, FL, or is the delivery of the product at the government’s site in Tampa, FL sufficient?

Answer: The awardee will NOT be required to work from a location in Tampa, FL.

Delivery of the product in accordance with the contract is required.

19. Is there a specific format or required sections that we should plan to include in the “Technical Proposal” that will accompany our response to the RFP? Or is that to our discretion, provided that we address the key points of technical capability, past performance and price?

Answer 19: The format of an offeror’s “Technical Proposal” is at the offeror’s discretion, as long as it complies with the instructions to offerors added via Amendment 0001.

20. Could you please clarify the specific method of submitting our bid? Can it be emailed or do you require delivery of a hard copy? And, to whom should the formal submission be sent?

Answer 20: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors.

21. Am I correct that the final submittal consists of a completed and executed version of the solicitation as well as an attached technical proposal?

Answer 21: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors.

22. Is it the Government’s intention to consolidate questions received from interested vendors and to publish the answers on FBO.gov prior to the revised proposal deadline? If yes, what is the anticipated date on which that information will be made available? If not, could you please specify how and when interested vendors may access the Q&A?

Answer 22: Reference this document and Amendment 0001.

23. The FBO notification of amendment did not include a revised RFP (specifically an updated SF1449 reflecting the new deadline). Does the Government intent to publish one or should the contractor modify the existing SF1449?

Answer 23: Reference this document and Amendment 0001.

24. The modification/amendment states: “Hard copy proposals are NOT required and will NOT be accepted.” Could the Government please specify exactly how vendors should submit their proposals and to what location/email address and at what time on 14 December 2015?

Answer 24: Please see Amendment 0001 which contains instructions to offerors.

(End of Summary of Changes)