DRAFT Evaluation Factors.pdf

EVALUATION FACTORS & METHODOLOGY

PLTCE Language Instruction Services – PASHTO

1. EVALUATION FACTORS

The solicitation will note that this requirement is being solicited using FAR 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items. The purpose of this test program is to vest contracting officers with additional procedural discretion and flexibility, so that commercial item acquisitions greater than the simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $5.5 million may be solicited, offered, evaluated, and awarded in a simplified manner that maximizes efficiency and economy and minimizes burden and administrative costs for both the Government and industry. As such, the Contracting Officer will perform an initial price reasonableness screening of all quotes. If a quoted price is so high that the Contracting Officer determines the firm has no reasonable chance of award, the Government reserves the right to conduct no further evaluation of the technical portion of the quote.

Factor Identification – for subject PLTCE Instructor – PASHTO LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

SERVICES

In its response, the quoter must address all factors (to include the pass/fail factors) for each instructor proposed. Target language (TL) as used for this particular acquisition is PASHTO. It is expected that the proposed instructor has educated native speaker proficiency in the Target Language. Target Language Country as used for this acquisition refers to the country/countries where the target language is the primary means of communication among the educated and commercial elite and/or the majority of the population.

Factor 1, Pass/Fail Language Skills

Sub-factor 1 Target Language Proficiency (Pashto) Sub-factor 2 Working Knowledge of English

Factor 2 Education

Factor 3 Experience Sub-factor 1 Teaching Experience Sub-factor 2 Development of Instructional or Test Material Sub-factor 3 Life and Work Experience in Target Language Country

Factor 4 Past Performance

Factor 5 Price

1.1 Pass/Fail, Factor 1, Language Skills.

1.1.1. Pass/Fail-Sub-Factor 1. Target Language Proficiency PASHTO

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall demonstrate the proposed instructor’s target language proficiency with the ability to listen, speak, read, and write at a level consistent with that of an educated native speaker. Documentation of target language proficiency shall consist of evidence that the proposed instructor is a native speaker, or, the proposed instructor obtained target language proficiency through formal education (courses completed at an institution of higher learning taught in the TL), or TL language proficiency certification, or has used the TL in a work environment where the TL was the primary means of communication.

1.1.2. Pass/Fail-Sub-Factor 2. Working Knowledge of English.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall demonstrate the proposed instructor’s working knowledge of English. English language skills must be sufficient to fulfill the teaching requirements of this contract. The quoter shall provide evidence of the proposed instructor’s working knowledge of English, either as a native speaker, through formal education (courses completed at an institution of higher learning taught in English and requiring participation in English, e.g. term papers), or English language proficiency certification, or has used English in a work environment where English was the primary means of communication.

1.2. Formal Education.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall demonstrate the proposed instructor’s educational qualifications by providing documents such as transcripts and diplomas of all courses taken by the proposed instructor at institutions of higher learning.

1.3 Factor 3, Experience.

1.3.1 Sub-Factor 1. Teaching Experience.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall provide a narrative of the proposed instructor’s teaching experience in the Target Language including subjects taught, number of years taught, target audience (e.g., high school, secondary school students, university students, business people, etc.), and number of contact hours during the past six years. A “contact hour” is an instructional period lasting at least 50 minutes.

1.3.2 Sub-Factor 2. Development of Instructional or Test Material.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall provide a description of any instructional or test materials the proposed instructor developed in the Targe Language, and for each indicate if it was published, not published but shared by peers (e.g. 15 lessons for 20 instructional periods, shared with 3 colleagues), or for personal use only (e.g. exercises to supplement commercial text). “Instructional materials” do not refer to articles/books about the language, but actual lessons. Instructional materials also do not refer to lesson plans, but actual lessons and exercises developed. If publications are identified, the quoters must include the title, publisher’s name and date.

1.3.3 Sub-Factor 3. Life and Work Experience in Target Language Country.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall clearly and fully indicate the number of years the proposed instructor spent as an adult (after age 18) in the TL countries (provide dates) and what he/she did during that time (e.g. university studies, teaching, worked for a publishing company etc.).

1.4 Factor 4, Past Performance.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall provide past performance information for the proposed instructor (e.g. letters of recommendation, copies of student/supervisor feedback, performance evaluations) indicating the quality of teaching during the past three years. Past performance information shall cover a minimum of 1 year in teaching. The quoter shall provide at least one reference for any project identified under the experience factor that has a performance period within the past three years. The quoter shall complete the name of the proposed instructor and immediately forward the below Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment A) for completion by references for projects cited under the experience factor.

Quoters shall request their references to return Attachment A to the George C. Marshall Center Procurement Office as soon as possible so that the Government receives as many references as possible on or before the due date for the receipt of quotes. For each reference, the quoter shall use Attachment A and provide:

1. Organization/company/contracting partner’s name.

2. Point of contact’s (POC) name and contact information:

Current phone numbers.

Valid email addresses.

3. Description that precisely explains:

General scope of the contract.

Specific requirements of the contract.

Performance period.

PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE

“ATTACHMENT A”

The contractor listed below is being considered in a Source Selection by the Partner Language Training Center Europe (PLTCE) at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany. It would be appreciated if you would provide us with comments regarding the named instructor's past performance. Your comments are considered Source Selection Sensitive; therefore, you are advised that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (15.1004) prohibits the release of the names of individuals providing reference information about a contractor’s past performance. In order to maintain the integrity of the source selection process, we respectfully request that you do not divulge the name of the contractor nor discuss your comments on this questionnaire with any other individuals. Please fax or e-mail this form as soon as possible to: Brian Kehoe at +49 (0) 8821 750 2730 or brian.k.kehoe@marshallcenter.org.

Background information of PLTCE’s requirement:

The mission of the PLTCE includes providing language enhancement training to students. Instruction is primarily conducted at the intermediate and advanced proficiency levels (Levels 1+ to level 3); however, introductory courses (Levels 0 – 1) will also be conducted. Overall, PLTCE offers introductory, intermediate, advanced and specialized classroom instruction in approximately ten languages and dialects for approximately 400 U.S., NATO/PfP military and civilian linguists each year. Up to one contract may be awarded for PASHTO Language Instruction Services. The Contractor shall provide 35 hours of intensive PASHTO Language Instruction Services for as much as 7 contact hours a day.

__________________________(the name of the proposed instructor shall be completed by the quoter before sending the form to references) is being considered as an instructor for PASHTO LANGUAGE instruction at PLTCE.

Your Project Information:

1. Contractor’s name (prime/sub):

2. Project title/contract number:

3. Date of award: ___________ 4. Actual completion date: ________

5. Contract currently in process: Yes No

6. Contract value per year:

7. Contract type: (FFP/CPAF/Etc.)

8. What languages were taught by this instructor under your contract?

9. What was the target audience for each course?

10. For each course taught, how many contact hours did this instructor perform under your contract?

(Note: A “contact hour” is defined as the number of class periods, usually 50 minutes, spent on teaching students. Monitoring a language lab session is not considered a “contact hour.”) mailto:brian.k.kehoe@marshallcenter.org

11. Did this instructor develop course materials in support of your contract? If so, please describe the materials developed and how they were used.

Information for Reference: (The following information will assist in the analysis of the data. Information will be kept confidential.)

1. Name:_______________________________________ Date:________________

2. Phone no.:________________________________ Fax no.:_________________

3. Address:__________________________________________________________

4. Your position or function in relation to project:_____________________________

5. Have you personally observed this contractor in the classroom?

Ratings: (Please evaluate the instructor's performance using the following ratings.)

“VG” Very Good The instructor’s performance clearly exceeded the contract requirements.

“G” Good The instructor’s performance somewhat exceeded the contract requirements.

"S" Satisfactory The instructor's performance met the contract requirements.

"M" Marginal The instructor's performance met the minimum contract requirements but with difficulty.

"U" Unsatisfactory The instructor's performance was poor and/or did not satisfy contract requirements.

Please rate and provide any supporting information for the following: (Use additional sheets as needed)

1. Please describe the instructor’s interpersonal skills.

Rating

2. Please describe the instructor’s effectiveness and variety of teaching methods employed.

3. Does the instructor attempt to involve students in the learning process?

4. Does the instructor provide meaningful learning activities to students?

5. Does the instructor provide positive, constructive feedback to students?

6. Is the instruction student-centered or does the instructor prefer to lecture?

7. Please describe the quality of materials developed and used by the instructor.

8. Please describe the instructor’s ability to explain difficult concepts in English.

9. Please describe the feedback obtained from students for this instructor.

10. Were your desired results achieved by this instructor?

11. Please describe the instructor’s teamwork with colleagues.

12. Is the instructor consistently well prepared for class?

13. Please describe the relationship between the contractor and your contract team.

14. Please describe the contractor's on-site management and coordination of subcontractors.

15. Please describe the contractor's overall corporate management, integrity, reasonableness and cooperative conduct.

16. Please describe the contractor's ability to provide the required work at a reasonable total price.

17. Has the contractor been given any of the following: Cure notice, show cause, letters of reprimand, suspension of payments, termination? If yes, please explain.

18. Was the customer satisfied with the end product?

19. Has the contractor been provided an opportunity to discuss any negative performance ratings? If so, what were the results?

20. Would you award another contract to this contractor? If no, please state reasons for not recommending this contractor for additional work.

Please provide any additional comments you think we should consider when making our selection:

Signature of Reference:

1.5 Factor 5, Price.

Submission Requirements: The quoter shall provide firm fixed unit and total prices in all line item descriptions (SF1449) except for the travel Contract Line Items (CLINS) 0003, 1003, 2003, 3003 and 4003.

2. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

4.1. The Government intends to extend one offer resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.

4.2. Language Skills is a pass/fail factor. To be considered further, the quote must receive a pass rating for Factor 1. Education, experience, and past performance are of equal importance. On experience, sub-factors 2 and 3 are of equal importance. When combined, sub-factors 2 and 3 are of equal importance to sub-factor 1. Education, experience, and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price.

2.1 Pass/Fail , Factor 1, Language Skills.

In order to be eligible for award, offeror must satisfactorily demonstrate that he/she meets the requirements spelled out by sub-factors 1 and 2. The TEB shall ensure that only those offers that meet these requirements will be further evaluated.

2.1.1 Pass/Fail-Sub-Factor 1. Target Language Proficiency - PASHTO (Pass/Fail)

If the Government receives evidence that the proposed instructor is a native speaker, or, the proposed instructor obtained target language proficiency through formal education (courses completed at an institution of higher learning taught in the TL), or TL language proficiency certification, or has used the TL in a work environment where the TL was the primary means of communication, the proposed instructor shall receive a pass under this sub-factor. Only those quotes that meet these requirements will be evaluated further.

2.1.2 Pass/Fail-Sub-Factor 2, Working Knowledge of English (Pass/Fail)

If the Government receives evidence that the proposed instructor’s English language skills are sufficient to fulfill the teaching requirements of this contract, the proposed instructor shall receive a pass under this sub-factor. Evidence shall consist of proof that the proposed instructor is either as native speaker, or, he/she has obtained English language fluency through formal education (courses completed at an institution of higher learning taught in English and requiring participation in English, e.g. term papers), or English language proficiency certification, or has used English in a work environment where English was the primary means of communication. Only those quotes that meet these requirements will be evaluated further.

2.2. Formal Education.

The Government will evaluate the level and relevancy of the proposed instructor’s educational qualifications (i.e., MA in teaching the Target Language to foreigners, etc.)

2.3 Factor 3, Experience.

2.3.1 Sub-Factor 1. Teaching Experience.

The Government will evaluate the depth, recency, and relevancy of the proposed instructor’s experience as compared to the services required by this solicitation. Relevant experience includes contracts operating in similar working environments and contracts involving services that are considered to be similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity when compared to the requirements described in this solicitation (e.g., teaching the Target Language at a government institution in a formal setting to multinational adult learners for extended periods of time/contact hours). Ratings are:

2.3.2 Sub-Factor 2. Development of Instructional or Test Material.

The Government will evaluate the extent to which the proposed instructor has developed relevant instructional or test materials in the Target Language.

2.3.3 Sub-Factor 3. Life and Work Experience in Target Language Country.

The Government will evaluate the extent of life and work experience the proposed instructor spent as an adult (after age 18) in the TL country.

2.4 Factor 4, Past Performance.

The Government will evaluate the recency, relevancy, and quality of the proposed instructor’s past performance. Relevant contracts are contracts operating in similar working environments and contracts involving services that are considered to be similar in scope, magnitude and complexity when compared to the requirements described in this solicitation. This evaluation is separate and distinct from the Contracting Officer’s responsibility determination. The assessment of the proposed instructor’s past performance will be used to evaluate how well he/she has performed similar services in the past. Quotes lacking relevant past performance history will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably for past performance. To assess performance risk the Government may use both past performance data provided by the quoters (e.g., official performance reviews/appraisals, letters of recommendation) and data obtained independently.

2.5 Factor 5, Price.

All prices, including option years, will be evaluated for reasonableness and in accordance with FAR 52.225-17, Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers (FEB 2000), as applicable, except for the travel Contract Line Items (CLINS) 0003, 1003, 2003, 3003 and 4003.

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