ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 AND FAR 52.212-2.pdf

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

1. DEFINITIONS

This solicitation is for a firm fixed price type contract to acquire worldwide audience survey services for the

American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).

When the word ‘Offeror’ is encountered throughout this Request for Proposal (RFP), it is intended to mean a company or Joint Venture seeking to do business with the Government that submits a proposal in response to this solicitation.

A ‘proposal’ is documentation prepared by the Offeror and submitted to the Government for evaluation purposes in response to this solicitation.

When the word ‘Government’ is encountered throughout this Request for Proposal, it is intended to mean the Defense Media Activity (DMA), Fort Meade, MD.

2. BASIC PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Proposals for this solicitation will be accepted until the date and time indicated on Standard Form 1449.

Prospective Offerors should submit inquiries related to this solicitation by e-mail to:

Leila Miller, leila.miller@dma.mil

Include the solicitation number, and project title with any questions/clarifications. Written questions must be received by this office not later than 4 calendar days prior to the date set for receipt of offers.

TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Oral explanations or instructions are not binding. Any information given to an Offeror which impacts the solicitation and/or offer will be given in the form of a written amendment to the solicitation.

As this is a competitive negotiation acquisition, there is no public proposal opening and no information will be given out as to the number of Offerors or the results of the competition until award is made.

The Government will not make assumptions concerning intent, capabilities, or experience. Clear identification of proposal details shall be the sole responsibility of the Offeror. The proposal shall meet the following basic requirements.

a. The proposal shall be typed and submitted in English and easy to read.

b. The proposal shall be organized, concise, and submitted in two volumes. Volumes shall be clearly identified and tabbed. Each factor shall be described in a separate tabbed section.

c. Each volume shall be contained within a separate binder.

d. Each volume shall be identified by the solicitation number, volume number, Offeror’s name and address, and Offeror’s point of contact, to include email and telephone number.

mailto:leila.miller@dma.mil

e. Each volume shall contain a table of contents and include at the bottom of each page, the volume and page number.

f. Proposals shall completely and adequately address the requirements of this solicitation. Failure to submit attachments or failure to complete the proposal properly may result in rejection of the offer without further evaluation. Therefore, Offerors are urged to follow instructions and speak with the

Contracting Officer if instructions are not understood.

g. Contractors are cautioned against submitting conditional proposals.

This Request for Proposal does not commit the Government to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal or for any other costs incurred by any firm submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation either before or after the solicitation closing date, with no obligation to the Offeror by the Government.

PERIOD OF ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL: Proposals offering less than 60 calendar days for acceptance by the Government from the date designated for receipt of proposals will be considered non-responsive and will be rejected.

3. PROPOSAL FORMAT

Proposals shall be submitted in the following format:

Proposal Package Original Copies

VOLUME 1 – Technical Proposal 1 3

FACTOR 1 – Experience

FACTOR 2 – Past Performance

VOLUME 2 – Price Proposal and 1 0

Administrative Submission

FACTOR 3 – Price Proposal

Volume 2 shall also include the following:

Schedule of Prices

All amendments, signed and dated

Representation and Certifications

Offeror’s point of contact, to include e-mail address and phone number

Name, Address, DUNS, CAGE and TAX Identification Number of the Contractor submitting the proposal.

PROPOSAL FORMAT FOR VOLUME 1

Submission Requirements:

For Factor 1, Experience, Offerors shall submit information detailing previous work experience (projects) meeting the requirements of this solicitation. Offerors shall provide a narrative description of three (3) projects completed within the last five (5) years, with at least one of the three projects completed within the last three (3) years, demonstrating experience in the following areas:

Experience conducting and managing analyses of radio and television programming, delivered through traditional and new and social media channels, to include audience surveys.

Experience designing, refining, directing, and implementing statistically valid audience surveys, focus groups, and other relevant research for American radio/television/media networks and groups.

Experience in providing recommendations to improve audience satisfaction and/or retention with traditional broadcast radio and television services.

Include information in sufficient detail to allow the Government to evaluate your experience, to include the client information, scope of work that was accomplished, and dates the project was performed.

Offerors are encouraged to submit a combination of projects demonstrating experience with all relevant aspects of the solicitation.

Submission Requirements:

Offerors shall provide past performance information for each of the projects submitted under Factor 1, Experience, using the attached Past Performance Questionnaire. Complete the top portion of the questionnaire and include it with the proposal. Ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for the client points of contact. Offerors should contact the points of contact and notify them that the Defense Media Activity will be contacting them between the dates 5 Sep 2012 to 11 Sep 2012 to obtain past performance information and request that they be available during that timeframe.

Offerors are encouraged to provide any awards received, customer letters of appreciation, or any other forms of performance recognition, especially with regard to the projects submitted for consideration under

Factor 1, Experience.

The Government reserves the right to use past performance information obtained from sources other than those identified by the Offeror. Other sources may include, but are not limited to, the Past Performance

Information retrieval System (PPIRS), the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System

(CPARS), and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). This past performance information will be used for the evaluation of past performance.

The Government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure the problems it finds in the information provided by the Offeror. The burden of providing thorough and complete past performance information remains with the Offeror.

PROPOSAL FORMAT FOR VOLUME 2

FACTOR 3 – Price

Submission Requirements (to include administrative requirements):

For Volume 2, the Offeror shall provide the price proposal and administrative requirements at the same time as the submission of the Technical Proposal (Volume 1).

The Offer (SF1449) duly executed with an original signature by an official authorized to bind the company.

Offerors shall submit a completed Pricing Schedule, to include pricing on all base and option Contract

Line Items (CLINs)

Acknowledge of all amendments to the solicitation in accordance with the instructions on the Standard

Form 30 (amendment form).

Representations and Certifications, fully completed.

The Offeror’s point(s) of contact, to include telephone and e-mail address, with the authority to legally bind the Contractor.

Name, Address, DUNS, CAGE and TAX Identification Number of the Contractor submitting the proposal.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-2

PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND CONTRACT AWARD

1. ELIGIBILITY FOR CONTRACT AWARD

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), no contract shall be entered into unless the

Contracting Officer ensures that all requirements of law, executive orders, regulations, and all other applicable procedures, including clearances and approvals, have been met. This includes the FAR requirement that no award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility. To be determined responsible, a prospective contractor must meet the general standards in FAR Part 9 and any special standards set forth in the solicitation.

2. LOWEST PRICE TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA) SOURCE SELECTION

PROCESS

An evaluation for acceptability will be performed on each proposal in accordance with FAR 15.101-2.

Any price proposal that is either within 25% above or below the Independent Government Estimate or within 25% above or below the average of all of the offers received will be considered to be reasonable and within the awardable range. The proposal within the awardable range that provides the lowest price and is otherwise technically acceptable in all factors will be selected for award. To be considered technically acceptable, no technical factor in the proposal may be rated as a “NO GO”. The failure of a proposal to meet all of the requirements under any Factor will result in a technically unacceptable rating

(i.e., NO GO) and preclude award.

The Government will evaluate each proposal against the evaluation factors established under the

Evaluation Factors for Award. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with Offerors. Therefore, the Offeror’s initial proposal should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. However, should no proposal be determined technically acceptable, the Contracting Officer may establish a competitive range consisting of the most highly rated proposals. Once the competitive range is established, the Government will engage in discussions with all offerors included in the competitive range. After receipt of the Offeror’s responses raised during discussions, responses will be rated again in the same manner as for the initial evaluation.

3. BASIS OF AWARD

Subject to the provisions contained herein, award will be made to one (1) Offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation; who conforms to the solicitation requirements; and whose proposal, judged by an overall assessment of the evaluation criteria and other considerations specified in this solicitation, meets the technically acceptable standard for the non-cost factors and provides the lowest evaluated price.

4. EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

Evaluation of the Technical Proposal

Evaluation Criteria:

The Offeror will be evaluated on the acceptability/unacceptability of the experience as submitted in the proposal in accordance with the criteria below. This experience may be attributable directly to the

Offeror or to any secondary contractor (i.e. subcontractor or joint venture) it proposes to partner with for this solicitation. Offerors shall demonstrate their experience by providing a narrative description, in sufficient detail, for three (3) projects completed within the last five (5) years, with at least one of the three projects completed within the last three (3) years.

Proposals should demonstrate experience in all the required categories listed under FACTOR 1, Experience, Submission Requirements. Broad-based experience is required. For example, experience in providing surveys to only a very specific niche customer (e.g. only to country and western radio stations) that does not demonstrate experience in television or focus groups will be considered unacceptable.

Experience in providing recommendations to clients in competitive situations with alternative/non-traditional delivery methods. The best examples will demonstrate a full understanding of the client’s situation and audience desires, and not just “blue sky” recommendations implementing impractical or financially infeasible solutions.

Failure to meet all of the requirements under this factor will result in a “NO GO” rating.

Technical Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings

Rating Description

Acceptable Proposal clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

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

Evaluation Criteria:

The Offeror must demonstrate recent, relevant, acceptable past performance for the three projects submitted under Factor 1, Experience. Performance under a project will be determined “acceptable” if the Offeror has obtained or demonstrated a performance evaluation rating of at least “satisfactory”, or equivalent, on the project, and will be determined recent and relevant if the project meets the minimum requirements as outlined under Factor 1, Experience.

The Offeror shall demonstrate its past performance by completing and submitting the top portion of the

Past Performance Questionnaire for the three projects submitted for Factor 1, Experience. Information shall be complete, current, and accurate. In the event the Government is unable to obtain past performance information from the sources provided, the Offeror will assist the Government in obtaining the required information.

The Offeror’s past performance documentation must demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to successfully perform the contract which is the subject of this solicitation.

The Offeror may demonstrate acceptable Past Performance through a qualified subcontractor, or a joint venture partner, if the Offeror is a joint venture.

Letters of recommendation, commendations, and/or awards on projects, which demonstrate positive past performance will be reviewed and evaluated, if provided by the Offeror.

In evaluating an Offeror's Past Performance, the Government may utilize:

a. Information received from the references furnished on the Offeror's Past Performance questionnaires, submitted with the Offeror's Technical Proposal.

b. Any performance evaluation documents, letters, memoranda, commendations or awards which the Offeror submits with its Technical Proposal.

c. Documentation currently contained in the Government's Contractor Performance Assessment

Reporting System (to include PPIRS and FAPIIS).

d. Information from the Government's own personnel, who have personal knowledge of the

Offeror's performance on current or past projects.

e. Any other source of Past Performance information which the Government deems relevant and necessary to consider.

Failure to meet all of the requirements under this factor will result in a “NO GO” rating.

In the case of an Offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available or is so sparse that no meaningful past performance rating can be reasonably assigned, the Offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. In these instances, the Offeror shall be determined to have unknown past performance. In the context of acceptability/unacceptability, “unknown” shall be considered

“acceptable”.

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.

EVALUATION OF THE PRICE PROPOSALS

Price will be evaluated and considered but will not be scored or combined with other aspects of the proposal evaluation. The proposed prices will be analyzed for completeness, realism, and reasonableness.

Completeness means that the required information is submitted and is accurate. Realism means that the

Price is consistent with the required effort and does not indicate an improvident or unbalanced proposal.

Reasonableness means the prices are justified.

The otherwise technically-acceptable lowest-priced Offeror may be required to confirm/validate its price on a Contract Line Item (CLIN), element, or total price basis, and/or provide additional information in support of their price, prior to contract award at the Government’s request and discretion.