HC102813R0015Amd0005.doc

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES

The following have been added by reference:

The following have been modified:

52.246-20 WARRANTY OF SERVICES (MAY 2001)

(a) Definition.

"Acceptance," as used in this clause, means the act of an authorized representative of the Government by which the Government assumes for itself, or as an agent of another, ownership of existing and identified supplies, or approves specific services, as partial or complete performance of the contract.

(b) Notwithstanding inspection and acceptance by the Government or any provision concerning the conclusiveness thereof, the Contractor warrants that all services performed under this contract will, at the time of acceptance, be free from defects in workmanship and conform to the requirements of this contract. The Contracting Officer shall give written notice of any defect or nonconformance to the Contractor within 30 days from the date of acceptance by the Government. This notice shall state either (1) that the Contractor shall correct or reperform any defective or nonconforming services, or (2) that the Government does not require correction or reperformance.

(c) If the Contractor is required to correct or reperform, it shall be at no cost to the Government, and any services corrected or reperformed by the Contractor shall be subject to this clause to the same extent as work initially performed. If the Contractor fails or refuses to correct or reperform, the Contracting Officer may, by contract or otherwise, correct or replace with similar services and charge to the Contractor the cost occasioned to the Government thereby, or make an equitable adjustment in the contract price.

(d) If the Government does not require correction or reperformance, the Contracting Officer shall make an equitable adjustment in the contract price.

(End of clause)

The following have been deleted:

The following were previously included by reference and are now included by full text:

52.219-9 SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN (JULY 2013) ALTERNATE III (JUL 2010)

(a) This clause does not apply to small business concerns.

(b) Definitions. As used in this clause--

“Alaska Native Corporation (ANC)” means any Regional Corporation, Village Corporation, Urban Corporation, or Group Corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alaska in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.) and which is considered a minority and economically disadvantaged concern under the criteria at 43 U.S.C. 1626(e)(1). This definition also includes ANC direct and indirect subsidiary corporations, joint ventures, and partnerships that meet the requirements of 43 U.S.C. 1626(e)(2).

“Commercial item” means a product or service that satisfies the definition of commercial item in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

“Commercial plan” means a subcontracting plan (including goals) that covers the offeror’s fiscal year and that applies to the entire production of commercial items sold by either the entire company or a portion thereof (e.g., division, plant, or product line).

“Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS)” means the Governmentwide, electronic, web-based system for small business subcontracting program reporting. The eSRS is located at http://www.esrs.gov.

“Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, group, pueblo, or community, including native villages and native groups (including corporations organized by Kenai, Juneau, Sitka, and Kodiak) as defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.A. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized by the Federal Government as eligible for services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 1452(c). This definition also includes Indian-owned economic enterprises that meet the requirements of 25 U.S.C. 1452(e).

“Individual contract plan” means a subcontracting plan that covers the entire contract period (including option periods), applies to a specific contract, and has goals that are based on the offeror’s planned subcontracting in support of the specific contract except that indirect costs incurred for common or joint purposes may be allocated on a prorated basis to the contract.

“Master plan” means a subcontracting plan that contains all the required elements of an individual contract plan, except goals, and may be incorporated into individual contract plans, provided the master plan has been approved.

“Subcontract” means any agreement (other than one involving an employer-employee relationship) entered into by a Federal Government prime Contractor or subcontractor calling for supplies or services required for performance of the contract or subcontract.

(c) The offeror, upon request by the Contracting Officer, shall submit and negotiate a subcontracting plan, where applicable, that separately addresses subcontracting with small business concerns, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business, and with women-owned small business concerns. If the offeror is submitting an individual contract plan, the plan must separately address subcontracting with small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns with a separate part for the basic contract and separate parts for each option (if any). The plan shall be included in and made a part of the resultant contract. The subcontracting plan shall be negotiated within the time specified by the Contracting Officer. Failure to submit and negotiate the subcontracting plan shall make the offeror ineligible for award of a contract.

(d) The offeror’s subcontracting plan shall include the following:

(1) Goals, expressed in terms of percentages of total planned subcontracting dollars, for the use of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns as subcontractors. The offeror shall include all subcontracts that contribute to contract performance, and may include a proportionate share of products and services that are normally allocated as indirect costs. In accordance with 43 U.S.C. 1626:

(i) Subcontracts awarded to an ANC or Indian tribe shall be counted towards the subcontracting goals for small business and small disadvantaged business (SDB) concerns, regardless of the size or Small Business Administration certification status of the ANC or Indian tribe.

(ii) Where one or more subcontractors are in the subcontract tier between the prime contractor and the ANC or Indian tribe, the ANC or Indian tribe shall designate the appropriate contractor(s) to count the subcontract towards its small business and small disadvantaged business subcontracting goals.

(A) In most cases, the appropriate Contractor is the Contractor that awarded the subcontract to the ANC or Indian tribe.

(B) If the ANC or Indian tribe designates more than one Contractor to count the subcontract toward its goals, the ANC or Indian tribe shall designate only a portion of the total subcontract award to each Contractor. The sum of the amounts designated to various Contractors cannot exceed the total value of the subcontract.

(C) The ANC or Indian tribe shall give a copy of the written designation to the Contracting Officer, the prime Contractor, and the subcontractors in between the prime Contractor and the ANC or Indian tribe within 30 days of the date of the subcontract award.

(D) If the Contracting Officer does not receive a copy of the ANC's or the Indian tribe's written designation within 30 days of the subcontract award, the Contractor that awarded the subcontract to the ANC or Indian tribe will be considered the designated Contractor.

(2) A statement of --

(i) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted for an individual contract plan; or the offeror’s total projected sales, expressed in dollars, and the total value of projected subcontracts to support the sales for a commercial plan;

(ii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes);

(iii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to service-disabled veteran-owned small business;

(v) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to HUBZone small business concerns;

(vi) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes); and

(vii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to women-owned small business concerns.

(3) A description of the principal types of supplies and services to be subcontracted, and an identification of the types planned for subcontracting to --

(i) Small business concerns,

(ii) Veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iii) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) HUBZone small business concerns;

(v) Small disadvantaged business concerns, and

(vi) Women-owned small business concerns.

(4) A description of the method used to develop the subcontracting goals in paragraph (d)(1) of this clause.

(5) A description of the method used to identify potential sources for solicitation purposes (e.g., existing company source lists, the System for Award Management (SAM), veterans service organizations, the National Minority Purchasing Council Vendor Information Service, the Research and Information Division of the Minority Business Development Agency in the Department of Commerce, or small, HUBZone, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business trade associations). A firm may rely on the information contained in SAM as an accurate representation of a concern's size and ownership characteristics for the purposes of maintaining a small, veteran-owned small, service-disabled veteran-owned small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business source list. Use of SAM as its source list does not relieve a firm of its responsibilities (e.g., outreach, assistance, counseling, or publicizing subcontracting opportunities) in this clause.

(6) A statement as to whether or not the offeror included indirect costs in establishing subcontracting goals, and a description of the method used to determine the proportionate share of indirect costs to be incurred with --

(i) Small business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes);

(ii) Veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iii) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) HUBZone small business concerns;

(v) Small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes); and

(vi) Women-owned small business concerns.

(7) The name of the individual employed by the offeror who will administer the offeror’s subcontracting program, and a description of the duties of the individual.

(8) A description of the efforts the offeror will make to assure that small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts.

(9) Assurances that the offeror will include the clause of this contract entitled “Utilization of Small Business Concerns” in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities, and that the offeror will require all subcontractors (except small business concerns) that receive subcontracts in excess of $650,000 ($1,500,000 for construction of any public facility with further subcontracting possibilities) to adopt a plan similar to the plan that complies with the requirements of this clause.

(10) Assurances that the offeror will--

(i) Cooperate in any studies or surveys as may be required;

(ii) Submit periodic reports so that the Government can determine the extent of compliance by the offeror with the subcontracting plan;

(iii) Submit Standard Form (SF) 294 Subcontracting Report for Individual Contract in accordance with paragraph (l) of this clause. Submit the Summary Subcontract Report (SSR), in accordance with paragraph (l) of this clause using the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) at http://www.esrs.gov. The reports shall provide information on subcontract awards to small business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes that are not small businesses), veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes that have not been certified by the Small Business Administration as small disadvantaged businesses), women-owned small business concerns, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions. Reporting shall be in accordance with this clause, or as provided in agency regulations; and

(iv) Ensure that its subcontractors with subcontracting plans agree to submit the SF 294 in accordance with paragraph (l) of this clause. Ensure that its subcontractors with subcontracting plans agree to submit the SSR in accordance with paragraph (l) of this clause using the eSRS.

(11) A description of the types of records that will be maintained concerning procedures that have been adopted to comply with the requirements and goals in the plan, including establishing source lists; and a description of the offeror’s efforts to locate small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns and award subcontracts to them. The records shall include at least the following (on a plant-wide or company-wide basis, unless otherwise indicated):

(i) Source lists (e.g., SAM), guides, and other data that identify small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns.

(ii) Organizations contacted in an attempt to locate sources that are small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business concerns.

(iii) Records on each subcontract solicitation resulting in an award of more than $150,000, indicating --

(A) Whether small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not;

(B) Whether veteran-owned small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(C) Whether service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(D) Whether HUBZone small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(E) Whether small disadvantaged business concerns were solicited and if not, why not;

(F) Whether women-owned small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not; and

(G) If applicable, the reason award was not made to a small business concern.

(iv) Records of any outreach efforts to contact --

(A) Trade associations;

(B) Business development organizations;

(C) Conferences and trade fairs to locate small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business sources; and

(D) Veterans service organizaions.

(v) Records of internal guidance and encouragement provided to buyers through --

(A) Workshops, seminars, training, etc., and

(B) Monitoring performance to evaluate compliance with the program’s requirements.

(vi) On a contract-by-contract basis, records to support award data submitted by the offeror to the Government, including the name, address, and business size of each subcontractor. Contractors having commercial plans need not comply with this requirement.

(e) In order to effectively implement this plan to the extent consistent with efficient contract performance, the Contractor shall perform the following functions:

(1) Assist small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns by arranging solicitations, time for the preparation of bids, quantities, specifications, and delivery schedules so as to facilitate the participation by such concerns. Where the Contractor’s lists of potential small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business subcontractors are excessively long, reasonable effort shall be made to give all such small business concerns an opportunity to compete over a period of time.

(2) Provide adequate and timely consideration of the potentialities of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns in all “make-or-buy” decisions.

(3) Counsel and discuss subcontracting opportunities with representatives of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business firms.

(4) Confirm that a subcontractor representing itself as a HUBZone small business concern is identified as a certified HUBZone small business concern by accessing the SAM database or by contacting SBA.

(5) Provide notice to subcontractors concerning penalties and remedies for misrepresentations of business status as small, veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged or women-owned small business for the purpose of obtaining a subcontract that is to be included as part or all of a goal contained in the Contractor’s subcontracting plan.

(6) For all competitive subcontracts over the simplified acquisition threshold in which a small business concern received a small business preference, upon determination of the successful subcontract offeror, the Contractor must inform each unsuccessful small business subcontract offeror in writing of the name and location of the apparent successful offeror prior to award of the contract.

(f) A master plan on a plant or division-wide basis that contains all the elements required by paragraph (d) of this clause, except goals, may be incorporated by reference as a part of the subcontracting plan required of the offeror by this clause; provided --

(1) The master plan has been approved;

(2) The offeror ensures that the master plan is updated as necessary and provides copies of the approved master plan, including evidence of its approval, to the Contracting Officer; and

(3) Goals and any deviations from the master plan deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer to satisfy the requirements of this contract are set forth in the individual subcontracting plan.

(g) A commercial plan is the preferred type of subcontracting plan for contractors furnishing commercial items. The commercial plan shall relate to the offeror's planned subcontracting generally, for both commercial and Government business, rather than solely to the Government contract. Once the Contractor's commercial plan has been approved, the Government will not require another subcontracting plan from the same Contractor while the plan remains in effect, as long as the product or service being provided by the Contractor continues to meet the definition of a commercial item. A Contractor with a commercial plan shall comply with the reporting requirements stated in paragraph (d)(10) of this clause by submitting one SSR in eSRS for all contracts covered by its commercial plan. This report shall be acknowledged or rejected in eSRS by the Contracting Officer who approved the plan. This report shall be submitted within 30 days after the end of the Government's fiscal year.

(h) Prior compliance of the offeror with other such subcontracting plans under previous contracts will be considered by the Contracting Officer in determining the responsibility of the offeror for award of the contract.

(i) A contract may have no more than one plan. When a modification meets the criteria in 19.702 for a plan, or an option is exercised, the goals associated with the modification or option shall be added to those in the existing subcontract plan.

(j) Subcontracting plans are not required from subcontractors when the prime contract contains the clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items, or when the subcontractor provides a commercial item subject to the clause at 52.244-6, Subcontracts for Commercial Items, under a prime contract.

(k) The failure of the Contractor or subcontractor to comply in good faith with --

(1) The clause of this contract entitled “Utilization Of Small Business Concerns;” or

(2) An approved plan required by this clause, shall be a material breach of the contract.

(l) The Contractor shall submit a SF 294. The Contractor shall submit SSRs using the web-based eSRS at http://www.esrs.gov. Purchases from a corporation, company, or subdivision that is an affiliate of the prime Contractor or subcontractor are not included in these reports. Subcontract award data reported by prime Contractors and subcontractors shall be limited to awards made to their immediate next-tier subcontractors. Credit cannot be taken for awards made to lower tier subcontractors, unless the Contractor or subcontractor has been designated to receive a small business or small disadvantaged business credit from an ANC or Indian tribe. Only subcontracts involving performance in the U.S. or its outlying areas should be included in these reports with the exception of subcontracts under a contract awarded by the State Department or any other agency that has statutory or regulatory authority to require subcontracting plans for subcontracts performed outside the United States and its outlying areas.

(1) SF 294. This report is not required for commercial plans. The report is required for each contract containing an individual subcontract plan. For prime contractors the report shall be submitted to the contracting officer, or as specified elsewhere in this contract. In the case of a subcontract with a subcontracting plan, the report shall be submitted to the entity that awarded the subcontract.

(i) The report shall be submitted semi-annually during contract performance for the periods ending March 31 and September 30. A report is also required for each contract within 30 days of contract completion. Reports are due 30 days after the close of each reporting period, unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer. Reports are required when due, regardless of whether there has been any subcontracting activity since the inception of the contract or the previous reporting period.

(ii) When a subcontracting plan contains separate goals for the basic contract and each option, as prescribed by FAR 19.704(c), the dollar goal inserted on this report shall be the sum of the base period through the current option; for example, for a report submitted after the second option is exercised, the dollar goal would be the sum of the goals for the basic contract, the first option, and the second option.

(2) SSR. (i) Reports submitted under individual contract plans--

(A) This report encompasses all subcontracting under prime contracts and subcontracts with the awarding agency, regardless of the dollar value of the subcontracts.

(B) The report may be submitted on a corporate, company or subdivision (e.g. plant or division operating as a separate profit center) basis, unless otherwise directed by the agency.

(C) If a prime Contractor and/or subcontractor is performing work for more than one executive agency, a separate report shall be submitted to each executive agency covering only that agency's contracts, provided at least one of that agency's contracts is over $650,000 (over $1,500,000 for construction of a public facility) and contains a subcontracting plan. For DoD, a consolidated report shall be submitted for all contracts awarded by military departments/agencies and/or subcontracts awarded by DoD prime Contractors. However, for construction and related maintenance and repair, a separate report shall be submitted for each DoD component.

(D) For DoD and NASA, the report shall be submitted semi-annually for the six months ending March 31 and the twelve months ending September 30. For civilian agencies, except NASA, it shall be submitted annually for the twelve-month period ending September 30. Reports are due 30 days after the close of each reporting period.

(E) Subcontract awards that are related to work for more than one executive agency shall be appropriately allocated.

(F) The authority to acknowledge or reject SSRs in the eSRS, including SSRs submitted by subcontractors with subcontracting plans, resides with the Government agency awarding the prime contracts unless stated otherwise in the contract.

(ii) Reports submitted under a commercial plan--

(A) The report shall include all subcontract awards under the commercial plan in effect during the Government's fiscal year.

(B) The report shall be submitted annually, within thirty days after the end of the Government's fiscal year.

(C) If a Contractor has a commercial plan and is performing work for more than one executive agency, the Contractor shall specify the percentage of dollars attributable to each agency from which contracts for commercial items were received.

(D) The authority to acknowledge or reject SSRs for commercial plans resides with the Contracting Officer who approved the commercial plan.

(iii) All reports submitted at the close of each fiscal year (both individual and commercial plans) shall include a Year-End Supplementary Report for Small Disadvantaged Businesses. The report shall include subcontract awards, in whole dollars, to small disadvantaged business concerns by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Industry Subsector. If the data are not available when the year-end SSR is submitted, the prime Contractor and/or subcontractor shall submit the Year-End Supplementary Report for Small Disadvantaged Businesses within 90 days of submitting the year-end SSR. For a commercial plan, the Contractor may obtain from each of its subcontractors a predominant NAICS Industry Subsector and report all awards to that subcontractor under its predominant NAICS Industry Subsector.

(End of clause)

SECTION K - REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

The following have been modified:

52.219-1 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REPRESENTATIONS (APR 2012)

(a)(1) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541519.

(2) The small business size standard is $25,500,000.00.

(3) The small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, other than on a construction or service contract, but which proposes to furnish a product which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees.

(b) Representations.

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

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

(3) (Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it ( ) is, ( ) is not a women-owned small business concern.

(4) Women-owned small business (WOSB) concern eligible under the WOSB Program. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a women-owned small business concern in paragraph (b)(3) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that--

(i) It ( ) is, ( ) is not a WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program, has provided all the required documents to the WOSB Repository, and no change in circumstances or adverse decisions have been issued that affects its eligibility; and

(ii) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR part 127, and the representation in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this provision is accurate for each WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program participating in the joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the name or names of the WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program and other small businesses that are participating in the joint venture: ----------.] Each WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program participating in the joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the WOSB representation.

(5) Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) concern. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a women-owned small business concern eligible under the WOSB Program in (b)(4) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that--

(i) It ( ) is, ( ) is not an EDWOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program, has provided all the required documents to the WOSB Repository, and no change in circumstances or adverse decisions have been issued that affects its eligibility; and

(ii) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR part 127, and the representation in paragraph (b)(5)(i) of this provision is accurate for each EDWOSB concern participating in the joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the name or names of the EDWOSB concern and other small businesses that are participating in the joint venture: ----------.] Each EDWOSB concern participating in the joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the EDWOSB representation.

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

(7) (Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a veteran-owned small business concern in paragraph (b)(6) of this provision.) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it ( ) is, ( ) is not a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern.

(8) (Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.) The offeror represents, as part of its offer, that--

(i) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a HUBZone small business concern listed, on the date of this representation, on the List of Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns maintained by the Small Business Administration, and no material changes in ownership and control, principal office, or HUBZone employee percentage have occurred since it was certified in accordance with 13 CFR Part 126; and

(ii) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a HUBZone joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR Part 126, and the representation in paragraph (b)(8)(i) of this provision is accurate for each HUBZone small business concern participating in the HUBZone joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the names of each of the HUBZone small business concerns participating in the HUBZone joint venture: --------.] Each HUBZone small business concern participating in the HUBZone joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the HUBZone representation.

(c) Definitions. As used in this provision--

“Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) concern” means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned by, and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by, one or more women who are citizens of the United States and who are economically disadvantaged in accordance with 13 CFR part 127. It automatically qualifies as a women-owned small business concern eligible under the WOSB Program.

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 the size standard in paragraph (a) of this provision.

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 small business concern," means a small business concern --

(1) That is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women; 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.

“Women-owned small business (WOSB) concern eligible under the WOSB Program (in accordance with 13 CFR part 127)”, means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned by, and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by, one or more women who are citizens of the United States.

(d) Notice.

(1) If this solicitation is for supplies and has been set aside, in whole or in part, for small business concerns, then the clause in this solicitation providing notice of the set-aside contains restrictions on the source of the end items to be furnished.

(2) Under 15 U.S.C. 645(d), any person who misrepresents a firm's status as a business concern that is small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, service-disabled veteran-owned small, economically disadvantaged women-owned small, or women-owned small eligible under the WOSB Program in order to obtain a contract to be awarded under the preference programs established pursuant to section 8, 9, 15, 31, and 36 of the Small Business Act or any other provision of Federal law that specifically references section 8(d) for a definition of program eligibility, shall—

(i) Be punished by imposition of fine, imprisonment, or both;

(ii) Be subject to administrative remedies, including suspension and debarment; and

(iii) Be ineligible for participation in programs conducted under the authority of the Act.

(End of provision)

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND NOTICES TO BIDDERS

The following have been modified:

SECTION L

SECTION L

INFORMATION TO OFFERORS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION

1.0 Program Structure and Objectives

The purpose of this initiative is to obtain a reliable, responsive, and cost effective information storage infrastructure of “on-demand” enterprise services for specified operating environments at DISA and/or DISA-approved storage locations, which are both in the continental United States (CONUS) and outside of the continental United States (OCONUS). DISA’s goal is to obtain a dynamic, scalable storage capability utilizing an on-demand service approach for new equipment, that will readily adjust to changes in storage and throughput requirements, both increases and decreases, and is priced on a utility “as used” basis.

The service provider will acquire, install, uninstall, transport, configure, and provide the necessary services to provide hardware (including cabinets/racks/cabling/cable management/PDUs), hardware maintenance and related software and services to support the storage solutions and infrastructure associated with this contract. The Government will maintain day-to-day operational control of the storage environment and complete oversight responsibility. This operational control includes the installation of all software updates after the initial delivery.

2.0 General Instructions

a. This section of the Information to Offerors provides general guidance for preparing proposals, as well as, specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The Offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by the RFP and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offer must be compliant with the requirements as stated in the PWS. Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this Information to Offerors may result in removal from the competition.

b. The proposal should be clear, concise, and must include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but rather provide a convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors should 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.

c. Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

d. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Section A of the solicitation. The Offeror must make a clear statement in Section A of the proposal documentation volume that the proposal is valid through this date.

e. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Unless the Offeror requests otherwise, the Government will destroy extra copies of such unsuccessful proposals.

f. Please note: The Government intends to award without discussions but reserves the right to conduct discussions as part of the evaluation process.

g. Please note: The Government may utilize the expertise of a non-government advisor. Non-Government advisors, if used, would be technical experts currently working as contractor support to the program, or source selection experts assisting form a process perspective. Non-Government advisors are not allowed access to completed CPARs (FAR 42.1503(b)); however, in order to make judgments, they are allowed access to portions of an offeror’s proposal for which the advisor’s expertise is required in the evaluation.

The company name and address for the Non-Government Advisor is:

Kepler Research, Inc.

1530 Wilson Blvd. Suite 600

Arlington, VA 22209

2.1 General Information

2.1.1. Points of Contact

The Contracting Officer (KO), Jacqueline Johnson (Jacqueline.D.Johnson20.civ@mail.mil), and Contract Specialist (CS), Danette Wesselmann (Danette.L.Wesselmann.civ@mail.mil), are the only authorized points of contact for this procurement. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the KO and CS. Requests for clarification must be sent electronically to the KO and CS at the email addresses located in Section A of the solicitation. All questions must be submitted using the template provided as Atch J-6, Question/Answer Submission Template.

2.1.2. Debriefings

The KO and CS will notify Offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range; whereupon, they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing. However, Offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal. The KO and CS will notify unsuccessful Offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR 15.506.

2.1.3. Discrepancies

If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error or omission, the Offeror should immediately notify the KO or CS 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.

2.1.4. Electronic Reference Documents

All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) web site at http://www.fedbizopps.gov. Potential Offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the FedBizOpps website for this solicitation. Firefox is the recommended browser to be used for the following instructions.

Also, potential offerors must also be registered on the DITCO Contracting Opportunities web site, https://www.ditco.disa.mil/dcop. If the offeror has an existing account (i.e. registered with DITCO for a prior solicitation) it is not necessary to re-register. The offeror may use that existing account to upload this proposal. If the offeror is required to register on the DITCO web site, during the registration process, choose the option for "The solicitation requires vendor registrations for eligibility." The offeror will then be prompted to enter the Request for Proposal (RFP) number. The RFP number entered at this point is only used to help DITCO prioritize the order in which to review and approve the registration requests. Upon completion of the on-line registration process, a DITCO representative will review and approve the registration request before the offeror will be given access to the protected areas of the web site. As soon as the registration has been approved, an email will be sent to the email address of the person who registered. The email will contain a user id and password that will be needed when uploading proposals. The approval of the registration request usually takes about one business day. This registration process allows DITCO to precisely track when proposals are uploaded (or attempted to be uploaded). Offerors are strongly encouraged to register a minimum of one week prior to uploading a proposal to ensure the proposal upload is accomplished by the closing date and time. Offerors should also attempt to upload their proposal as early as possible to ensure no problems arise at the last minute. If you have any problems, please contact the DITCO customer service center at (618)229-9333.

In order to respond to this solicitation, the offeror must upload a complete proposal to the DITCO web site at https://www.ditco.disa.mil/dcop no later than the time and date specified in Section A. It will be necessary to use a web browser with 128-bit (domestic strength) encryption. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), ensuring the confidentiality of the submission, will protect the proposal submission web session. The DITCO Contracting Opportunities web site provides a link for offerors to test the upload process. This test link can be found on the web site's home page, https://www.ditco.disa.mil/dcop, in the right side menu under the heading, Test the Upload Process, RFP Number, HC1028-13-R-0015. If you have any problems the DITCO Customer Service Center at (618) 229-9333.

2.1.5 Communications

Exchanges of source selection information between Government and Offerors will be controlled by the contracting officer and/or contract specialist. Formal communications such as requests for clarification and/or information concerning this solicitation should be submitted by electronic mail addressed to the following: danette.l.wesselmann.civ@mail.mil. Email may be used to transmit such information to Offerors only if the email can be sent and received encrypted and includes “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 & 3.104” in the Subject line.

2.2 Organization/ Page Limits

The Offeror must prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization Table (Table 2.2 below). The titles and contents of the volumes will be as defined in this table, all of which must be within the required page limits (printed and electronic) and with the number of copies as specified in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 - Proposal Organization

Number

(Electronic)

PAGE LIMIT

I

II

RFP Attachment J-2

III

Organizational Documentation – 1 Summary Page, 1 pamphlet or 1 commercial document.

Past performance efforts - 40 total pages – Cannot exceed a total of 4 pages each to include Attachment L-3, Attachment L-3 – 4 pages per effort.

Offerors must submit a minimum of two references for the offeror/prime, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner (within the same division or cost center) and a minimum of two references for each subcontractor as stated in L-2 para b. Consent letters cannot exceed a total of 2 pages. Client Authorization letters cannot exceed 1 page.

IV

V

Proof of Concept

If Required

N/A

2.2.1 Page Limitations

Page limitations will be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal and excess paper copies will be returned to the Offeror as soon as practicable. Page limitations may be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs). The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the Offerors. Each page in the proposal will be counted except the following: Cover pages, tables of contents, tabs, glossaries.

The response to the PWS should be constructed in the Proposal Format provided (RFP Attachment J-2) and will include all the Government requirements identified in the Proposal Format. This represents the technical management portion of the offeror’s proposal.

2.2.1.1. Page Size and Format

(a) A page is defined as each face of a sheet of paper containing information. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it will be counted as two pages. Page size will be 8.5 x 11 inches for typed text. Pages should be typed with 1.5 line spacing. Except for the reproduced sections of the solicitation document, the text size will be no less than 10 point Ariel, Times New Roman or Courier New font for all text. Tracking, kerning, and leading values should not be changed from the default values of the word processing or page layout software. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom and ¾-inch side margins. Pages should be numbered sequentially by volume. These page format restrictions also apply to responses to ENs. These limitations apply to both electronic and printed hard copy proposals.

(b) Legible tables, charts, graphs and figures may be included wherever practical within the volume to depict organizations, systems and layout, implementation schedules, plans, etc. These displays are included in the total page count and should be uncomplicated, legible, and may not exceed 11 by 17 inches in size. For tables, charts, graphs and figures, the text should be no smaller than 10 point Ariel, Times New Roman or Courier New font. The entire volume cannot be submitted in a table format. These limitations apply to both electronic and printed hard copy proposals.

2.2.2 Cost or Pricing Information

All cost or pricing information should be addressed ONLY in the Cost/Price and Contract Documentation Volumes.

2.2.3 Classified Information

No classified requirements…