HSSCCG14R00027_Draft_Solicitation_2_SCOSS__Changed_pages_Sect_IV_and_V_3.14.14.pdf

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Service Center Operations Support Services (SCOSS)

HSSCCG-14-R-00027

Draft #1

B. ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS –

COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUL 2013)

1.0 Solicitation Briefing

The Government will conduct a pre-solicitation briefing on Wednesday 19 March, 2014 @ 10 am to Noon ET.

Offerors are limited to two attendees per company and shall pre-register with the Contracting Office by submitting the names of attendees via email to sonah.lee@dhs.gov and gale.bonnett@dhs.gov by the Tuesday 18 March 2014 @ 9:00 am ET.

Specific instructions (time, address location, rules of conduct, directions, parking information, etc.) for the briefing will be provided to all attendees that successfully pre-register.

The Pre-Solicitation Briefing will take place at:

Verizon Auditorium Prince William Campus George Mason University Manassas, VA

Directions can be found here:

http://www.gmu.edu/resources/welcome/Directions/Directions-to-PWC.html

A map can be found here (“Prince William Campus Map”):

http://www.gmu.edu/resources/welcome/Directions-to-GMU.html

The Government will NOT be providing any reimbursement for travel for this event.

USCIS will present an overview of the Service Center Operations Support Services, draft RFP and answer any previously received questions in response to the issued draft RFP.

If registration for the Pre-Solicitation Briefing is not received on time, offerors may not be permitted to attend.

2.0 Site Visits

The Government will conduct site visits to the four service centers. Offerors are limited to two attendees per company per site visit. Offerors shall pre-register with the Contracting Office by submitting the names of attendees by close-of-business on Thursday 20 March 2014 @ 5:00 pm ET.

If registration is not received by the due date/time above, offerors may not be permitted to attend the site visits. Registration shall be made by sending a request via email to sonah.lee@dhs.gov and gale.bonnett@dhs.gov.

Specific instructions for the site visits will be provided to all registrants.

Reimbursement for travel to any site visit will NOT be provided by the Government.

Site visits are scheduled as follows, only pre-registered individuals will be allowed to participate and given access to these federal facilities:

Date Time(s) Service Center Site Address Location(s)

Wed, 3/26/14 10:00am to Noon California Service Center (CSC), has one site

24000 Avila Road

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Fri, 3/28/14 9:00am to 10:30am Vermont Service Center (VSC) – St. Albans site

Tabor Building

75 Lower Welden Street

St. Albans, VT 05478

10:40am to 11:00am File Holding Warehouse 4 Lemnah Dr.

St Albans VT 05479

1:00pm to 2:00pm VSC – Essex site

Essex Site

30 River Road

Essex, VT 05452

2:05pm to 3:00pm VSC Essex site 38 River Road

Essex, VT 05452

Tue, 4/1/14 10:00am to 11:00am Texas Service Center (TSC) – Main site

4141 Saint Augustine Rd.

Dallas, TX 75227-4818

1:30pm to 2:15pm TSC – 1st building, second site

8001 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247-4101

2:30pm to 3:00pm TSC – 2nd building, second site

7701 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247-4101

Thu, 4/3/14 10:00am to 11:00am Nebraska Service Center (NSC) – Haymarket Site

Star (Haymarket) Building

850 S. Street

Lincoln, NE 68508-1225

11:30am to 12:30pm NSC – Centennial Site

Federal Building 100 Centennial Mall North

Lincoln, NE 68508

2:30pm to 3:30pm NSC – Highlands Site

Highlands Building

1301 Highland Blvd

Lincoln, NE 68521-4639

Times listed are all in the corresponding local time zones.

Offerors have 5 calendar days to submit further questions following the last day of Site Visits.

3.0 Proposal Submission Information

Questions in response to the Draft RFP are due by Friday 14 March 2014 @ 4pm ET.

Section 3.0, including sub-sections 3.1 through 3.6, applies only to the Final RFP, which is not yet issued. At this time, the information presented in the following section is for information only and is subject to change before the Final RFP is released.

3.1 Questions & Proposal Due Date and Time

Questions concerning the solicitation shall be submitted via e-mail to Sonah Lee, Contract Specialist at Sonah.lee@dhs.gov and Kristie Nestle, Contracting Officer, at Kristie.nestle@dhs.gov. Questions shall cite the solicitation section, page, and paragraph number. Questions are due by the due date and time on the SF 1449 Block 20.

No proposals will be accepted in response to the draft RFP.

3.2 Proposal Receipt (NOT REQUIRED AT THIS TIME. DRAFT RFP IS FOR

REFERENCE ONLY):

HARD COPY

The proposal shall be submitted in hard copy. The hard copies shall be submitted in two volumes; (I. Technical and II. Business). Each hard copy shall be formatted, printed and bound in accordance with instructions below (Para 3.3 through 3.6).

Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed container to the CO, Ms. Kristie Nestle, at the address below. Submissions must show the name and address of the Offeror along with the Solicitation Number.

Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) USCIS Contracting Office, Attn: Kristie Nestle 70 Kimball Avenue South Burlington, VT 05403 Contact Sonah Lee, at (802) 872-4636

The South Burlington, Vermont mailing address indicated above is for all U.S. mail & private delivery service mail. The Contracting Office’s physical location is in Williston, Vermont. It is permissible for proposals to be hand-delivered. Any Offeror wishing to personally deliver proposals shall send an email to Sonah.Lee@dhs.gov, requesting directions.

The Standard Form 1449 and all amendments must be signed and acknowledged.

NO FAX OR EMAILED SUBMISSION WILL BE ALLOWED.

You are also encouraged to contact the Contract Specialist listed above prior to the proposal closing date and time specified to verify receipt of your proposal submission; (Contract Specialist, direct email Sonah.lee@dhs.gov or direct phone number (802) 872-4636).

3.3 Proposal Instructions:

Proposals shall be in English and in U.S. dollars. Use 8 1/2 by 11 size paper in 11 point Times New Roman text, and be legible. The font for Tables and Graphics may be less than 11 point but shall be legible. No macro enabled documents shall be submitted.

The proposal shall be divided into two Volumes: Technical (Volume I) and Business (Volume II). The Technical proposal shall address the Technical Factor. The Business proposal shall address the Past Performance and Price Factors. No cost or pricing information shall be included in the technical volume.

Page limitations are in the table below.

A cover letter, SF1449 form, Representation and Certifications/Facility Clearance, Statements of Qualifications for Key Personnel, required provisions, table of contents, a compliance matrix, dividers, acronym list and tabs are not included in page limitations.

Executive summaries, tables, charts, graphs and any additional attachments are considered part of the page count.

3.4 Structure your proposal in the same format as the Factors and Subfactors listed below:

TITLE PAGE LIMIT

Volume I – Technical Proposal

Technical Factor Sections:

A. Subfactor 1: Operational Approach

B. Subfactor 2: Management Approach

C. Subfactor 3: Corporate Capability

D. Subfactor 4: Experience with Unionized Labor

Technical Capability with all subfactor sections shall not exceed 50 pages total (statement of qualifications are excluded from page count).

Note: If the written technical proposal exceeds 50 pages (see above), the pages beyond the page limitation will not be considered in the evaluation.

Pricing information shall not be included in the Technical proposal.

1 original and 6 copies 3 CDs

Volume II – Business Proposal

Section A - Cover Letter (Including A.1 SF1449 and A.2 Representation and Certifications/Facility Clearance)

Section B – Price

Section C - Past Performance

Unlimited

Unlimited

Past Performance

Prime – 2 pages per reference up to 3 references

Major subcontractor - 2 pages per reference up to 2 references per subcontractor.

Pages exclude questionnaires & introductory matrix

1 Original plus 2 copies

2 CDs

The following information shall be included in each volume:

3.5 Volume I – Technical Proposal:

The Technical Proposal shall be prepared so that the evaluator can easily identify where each subfactor is addressed and the information provided for each subfactor should follow the order as listed below in paragraph (2).

For ease of evaluation, please bold the subfactor section and the letter associated with each item for discussion (i.e) “A. Operational Approach”, “A.1 Concept of Operations”). In other words, reference the RFP sections as they are addressed.

The Technical Proposal shall clearly and concisely include the following information:

3.5.1 Technical - (Factor 1)

A. Subfactor 1 - Operational Approach

1. Concept of Operations

a) Describe the Concept of Operations

b) Describe how normal work flow, including future reductions in workload due to ELIS, and spikes and surge workload requirements will be accomplished

c) Explain why the operational approach proposed is workable and realistic

d) Describe how the work will be prioritized under normal and surge conditions

e) Describe the approach to managing the variations in operations at the two centers in the group

f) Describe the offeror’s ability to respond to changing processes required by the Government (i.e. SOPs)

g) Include a Work Breakdown Structure, see PWS Section 5.1.10.

2. Staffing

a) Illustrate in table format what levels of staffing will be required for each function, including management structure and span of control for the numbers of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) anticipated to be engaged for each proposed labor category for each site.

b) Discuss why proposed staffing is sufficient and appropriate to fulfill PWS requirements.

c) Describe and illustrate in table format the labor basis of estimates per employee that determines the level of staffing (i.e. an employee is expected to do XXX data, file, and correspondence operations per hour or day).

d) Describe how the contractor will recruit to meet and maintain the staffing plan required for operations.

e) Explain how training of staff will be accomplished and maintained.

f) Include a Crosswalk from SCA and CBA labor category titles to the offeror’s proposed labor category titles.

3. Performance Requirements

a) Address how performance requirement quality standards will be achieved and maintained

b) Quality Control Plan (see PWS 5.1.9, maximum 15 pages, this plan will be incorporated as part of the contract award):

Discuss understanding of and ability to establish and maintain Quality Management (QM) program operations, to include:

a. Effective quality control

b. Cost control

c. Productivity measurement

d. Problem identification and resolution

e. Adequate QM program staffing

f. QM implementation during start-up and full performance

g. Quality Standards

h. Continuous quality improvement in a project of this scale

B. Subfactor 2 – Management Approach

1. Management Approach:

a) Describe the interface with USCIS at all levels, and the management lines of authority.

b) Describe the hierarchy of the management team, lines of communication, and frequency and manner of reporting.

c) Explain how transitioning of staff from the time of contract award to performance of the work will be accomplished within 60 days.

2. Key Personnel:

a) Identify the personnel comprising the program management of each center and any headquarters office and clearly define their roles and responsibilities.

b) Discuss the quality of key personnel, who they are employed by (Prime/Sub), and their capability to manage and perform key aspects of work.

c) Include Statement of Qualifications of key personnel that speaks to the capability and appropriateness of proposed personnel regarding their:

i. Credentials, Professional Certifications, and Formal Education

ii. Experience

iii. Availability, to include letters of commitment for key personnel not currently on staff.

(All key personnel are assumed to be members of the Program Management, but not all members of Program Management need be key personnel.)

3. Teaming

a) Identify team members

b) Discuss why those members were selected

c) Describe what role each team member will play in meeting the requirements of the PWS

d) Describe what role each team member will have. If a joint venture, identify the roles of each partner.

C. Subfactor 3 – Corporate Experience

1. The offeror’s proposal shall address relevant (similar in the aggregate) corporate experience as a prime contractor to include all subcontractors/teaming partners in the following areas:

2. Discuss experience in:

a. Managing operations over multiple, geographically dispersed locations

b. Managing surges and spikes

c. Providing services in correspondence management, data entry, fee receipting, and file operations

d. Managing multiple hundreds of employees over multiple shifts

D. Subfactor 4 – Experience with Unionized Labor Force

1. For Group A, describe the team’s experience with contractor employees filing for Union Election with the National Labor Relations Board

(NLRB).

2. For Group B, describe the team’s experience with managing a unionized labor force to include collective bargaining agreements.

Discuss experience and ability in responding to activities associated with Union members and NLRB.

3.6 Volume II – Business Proposal:

The Business Proposal shall contain the following information:

A. Section I - Cover Letter

The Cover Letter shall include:

Solicitation Number Date of submission Name and primary Point of Contact (POC) telephone number and e-mail address, DUNS Name, title and signature of the prime contractor’s authorized representative

(signature authority) Subcontractor or Teaming Information. Complete Table below:

Name and Address of all Subcontractors

Is this a major Subcontractor (10% or more of contract value excluding ODCs)?

(Y or N) and Percentage of effort for each subcontractor

DUNs Socio- Economic Status

Short Description of Effort to be performed

Include copies of all Subcontractor Teaming Agreements

A.1 SF 1449

A completed SF 1449, showing quantity, unit price, extended price for each

CLIN, and totals for each period.

A signed SF 1449 and any Acknowledgement of Amendments (if applicable)

A.2 Representations and Certifications / Facility Clearance

Completion of Representations and Certifications, and Provisions

Reference Task. 4.10.4, Facility Clearance. The contractor shall have a

Facility Clearance by the Defense Security Service. A draft copy of a “DD Form 254” is located as an attachment in Section III, LIST OF CONTRACT

DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS OR OTHER ATTACHMENTS, ATTACHMENT B

and will become part of the contract upon award.

o The offeror and must have a facility clearance at the time of proposal submission.

o Any subcontractor that will perform work within the SECRET level must also have a facility clearance, sponsored by the prime contractor.

o No work shall be performed at the SECRET level unless a facility clearance is approved.

o USCIS will not sponsor any contractors.

System of Award Management (SAM) – USCIS will not award and a vendor will not be paid unless the vendor has an active SAM account.

B. Section IV Price Information (Factor 2) - Instructions

The offeror shall complete all pricing spreadsheets, located in Section III - LIST OF

DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS, ATTACHMENT C

using historical volume information included in the PWS Attachment #6 as a guide.

USCIS has provided historical volumes and estimates in the PWS Attachment #6.

An excel spreadsheet with pre-formulated and locked cells will be included with the final RFP.

Major subcontractors or team members may submit proprietary information directly to the Contracting Officer kristie.nestle@dhs.gov and the Contract Specialist Sonah Lee at Sonah.lee@dhs.gov.

Offerors shall include a cross walk from SCA and CBA labor category titles to the offeror’s proposed labor category titles. Offerors shall describe compensation and bonus plan(s) for management personnel.

Pricing of Options; Offerors shall price the options requirement for the additional one-year option periods by assuming that the minimal hourly wage and fringe benefits established by the Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, U.S.

Department of Labor, for the initial one-year base period will apply to the additional one-year option periods. The minimum wage rates and fringe benefits applicable to the initial one-year base period of performance are outlined in the respective wage determinations listed in Section III, Attachment A.

In the event the option(s) to extend performance is exercised by the Government, the contract price(s) will be subject to adjustment in accordance with the clause entitled FAR 52.222-43 Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts), included by reference in the solicitation/contract. Firm Fixed Price and Fixed-unit price CLINS shall not be escalated. No contract price adjustments will be made outside the FAR requirements of 22.1012-3.

The Service Contract Act (SCA) will apply to contracts awarded pursuant to this RFP. Accordingly, the proposal shall include a breakdown of all labor classifications subject to the SCA along with corresponding rates. The offeror shall certify that the proposed rates properly reflect applicable Department of Labor Wage

Determinations to include Department of Labor Wage Determinations for Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs).

The offeror (prime) shall complete the SF 1408 checklist located at Section VIII, Attachment A. This is available via e-mail from the Contracting Officer kristie.nestle@dhs.gov and the Contract Specialist Sonah Lee at Sonah.Lee@dhs.gov.

Include fill-in information for clause FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions

– Commercial Items (Page 90-98) and include with your proposal.

Complete provisions FAR 52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters and HSAR 3052.209-70 Prohibition on Contracts with Corporate Expatriates and include with your proposal.

C. Section III - Past Performance Factor

The offeror shall provide recent, relevant past performance information for not more than (3) projects. In addition, the offeror shall submit not more than (2) references each for those subcontractors who are expected to perform 10% or more of the overall contract value excluding ODCs. USCIS will not provide a past performance evaluation for a subcontractor with which it has no privity of contract. If there is no past performance information available, past performance will be rated neutral which neither advantages nor disadvantages an offeror. If past performance is submitted for a subcontractor not performing more than 10% of the overall contract value excluding ODCs, the past performance of that subcontractor will not be evaluated.

This information shall begin with an introductory matrix listing the offeror’s and its major subcontractors’ past performance followed by the offeror’s rationale supporting the assertion of relevance for each reference.

Recent past performance is defined as within the past three (3) years from the date of issuance of the final RFP and may include active contracts. Past performance for prime contractors and major subcontractors must, in the aggregate, identify contracts that demonstrate past performance as listed in the bullets. The following will be used to assist in determining relevance of the past performance:

1. Managing operations over multiple, geographically dispersed locations

2. Managing surges and spikes

3. Providing services in correspondence management, data-entry, fee receipting, and file operations.

4. Managing multiple hundreds of employees over multiple shifts

Past performance references shall be as a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor (Offerors must clearly identify whether they were a prime or first-tier subcontractor). If the offeror was a first tier subcontractor, identify the prime contractor, and the offeror’s role in the effort) on previous or current projects/tasks.

If the offeror was part of a Joint Venture that was the prime or a first-tier subcontractor, identify the offeror’s role in the Joint Venture. Past performance may cite federal, state, local government, commercial sources, or not for profit sources and should highlight the company’s key role in the past performance being documented.

Past performance of parent, subsidiaries, other corporate entities affiliated with the offeror are permitted, however the offeror shall describe how they will be substantially involved in performance of the SCOSS effort. For a Joint Venture, past performance must be submitted for each member of the JV and clearly identify the role of the member in the contract performed. The DUNs for the offeror and each parent, subsidiary or other corporate entity for which past performance is submitted and who will be substantially involved is required.

If some of the offeror’s (and major subcontractors’) past performance is relevant and the rest is not, only the relevant past performance will be evaluated for purposes of past performance. If the offeror has no relevant past performance, the offeror shall certify to the CO the offeror has no past performance.

Present the following information in references:

Reference Name (Company or Entity) Program Title Contracting Agency/Private Company Contract Number/Task/Delivery Order Number (if applicable) Brief description of the contract effort, including results and successes Type of Contract Period of Performance Original contract dollar value and current or actual dollar value Actual completion date Contact names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of current, or last (if contract completed) Program Director/Manager and/or Contract Manager.

The offeror shall also be responsible for ensuring that each of the customer references receives and completes the Past Performance Questionnaire which shall be e-mailed to Sonah.Lee@dhs.gov and Kristie.nestle@dhs.gov by the time and date the proposals are due. Questionnaires received after the time and date proposals are due will not be considered.

The Government reserves the right to use publicly available reports and data from the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) found on the web at http://www.ppirs.gov, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) and the System for Award Management (SAM). The Government may also use present and/or past performance data obtained from a variety of sources, not just those contracts identified by offerors.

SECTION V – PROPOSAL EVALUATION

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-2 EVALUATION-COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999)

A. SOLICITATION PROVISIONS – FULL TEXT

FAR 52.217-5 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS (JUL 1990)

Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government’s best interests, 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 will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

B. BASIS OF AWARD

1. Basis of Award: USCIS will make a selection and award a contract in each Group in accordance with the guidelines provided by FAR Part 12 in conjunction with FAR Part 15, the RFP, and the Source Selection Plan. The awards will be made to the offerors whose proposals represent the Best Value to the Government using the tradeoff process in accordance with FAR 15.101-1.

2. Evaluation Factors and Criteria: Each proposal shall be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria, listed in descending order of importance. Technical is slightly more important than Price, and Price is significantly more important than Past Performance:

Technical (Factor 1) Price (Factor 2) Past Performance (Factor 3)

The Technical Factor will have the following sub-factors, listed with first three subfactors equal in importance, and the fourth subfactor of lesser importance:

Subfactor 1 – Operational Approach Subfactor 2 - Management Approach

Subfactor 3 – Corporate Experience Subfactor 4 – Experience with Unionized Labor Force

FACTOR 1 – Technical

The technical factor will assess the ability of the Offeror to demonstrate the innovation, knowledge, understanding, and technical ability to meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Offeror must reference the RFP in its response and demonstrate its proficiency in the requirements listed in accordance with the PWS.

The following subfactors will be evaluated to ascertain the Offeror’s ability to meet USCIS technical requirements and to demonstrate a full and complete understanding of the PWS requirements. Proposals shall address and include technical solutions to the following subfactors:

Subfactor #1: Operational Approach

Concept of Operations

USCIS will evaluate the offeror’s:

concept of operations;

how normal work flow, including future reductions in workload due to

ELIS, and spikes, and surge workload requirements will be accomplished;

whether the approach is workable and realistic;

how the work will be prioritized under normal and surge conditions;

the offeror’s approach to managing the variations in operations at the two centers in the group;

the offeror’s ability to respond to changing processes required by the

Government (i.e. SOPs); and the work breakdown structure as referenced in PWS Section 5.1.10.

Staffing

USCIS will evaluate the offeror’s:

levels of staffing for each function to include the management structure and span of control for the numbers of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) anticipated to be engaged for each proposed labor category for each site;

whether the proposed staffing is sufficient and appropriate to fulfill PWS requirements;

the labor basis of estimates per employee that determines the level of staffing (i.e. and employee is expected to do XXX data, file, and correspondence operations per hour or day).

the offeror’s ability to recruit to meet the staffing plan required for operations;

how training of staff will be accomplished and maintained; And the Offeror’s cross walk from SCA and CBA labor category titles to the offeror’s proposed labor category titles.

Performance Requirements

USCIS will evaluate:

how performance requirement quality standards will be achieved and maintained;

Quality Control Plan to include ability to establish and maintain Quality Management (QM) program operations to include:

o effective quality control;

o cost control;

o productivity measurement;

o problem identification and resolution;

o adequate QM program staffing;

o QM implementation during start-up and full performance;

o quality standards; and o continuous quality improvement in a project of this scale.

Subfactor #2: Management Approach

Management Approach the interface with USCIS at all levels, the management lines of authority;

the hierarchy of management team, lines of communication, and frequency and manner of reporting; and how transitioning of staff from the time of contract award to performance of the work will be accomplished within 60 days.

Key Personnel

The personnel comprising the program management of each center and any headquarters office and their roles and responsibilities;

the quality of key personnel, who they are employed by (Prime/Sub), and their capability to manage and perform key aspects of work; the capability and appropriateness of proposed key personnel including their:

o credentials, professional certifications, formal education;

o experience; and o availability and included letters of commitment for key personnel not currently on staff.

All key personnel are assumed to be members of the Program Management, but not all members of Program Management need be key personnel.

Teaming

USCIS will evaluate

The Offeror’s team members;

why those team members were selected; and what role those team members will play in meeting the requirements of the PWS... If joint venture, offeror must identify the roles of each partner.

Subfactor #3: Corporate Experience

USCIS will evaluate

The experience as a prime contractor of the proposed team (including all subcontractors) in managing and performing an effort similar in the aggregate as the SCOSS effort including:

managing operations over multiple, geographically dispersed locations;

managing surges and spikes;

providing services in correspondence management, data-entry, fee receipting and file operations; and managing multiple hundreds of employees over multiple shifts.

Subfactor #4: Experience with Unionized Labor Force

For Group A, the team’s experience with contractor employees filing for Union Election with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

For Group B, the team’s experience with managing and handling a unionized labor force to include collective bargaining and experience and ability in responding to activities associated with Union members and

NLRB.

FACTOR 2 – Price

The Business Evaluation will evaluate the proposed price and other business aspects of the business proposal. The price evaluation will assess the reasonableness of the proposed price, including all options, in accordance with one or more price analysis techniques as identified in FAR 15.404.

The offers will be evaluated by summing the total price of the base period with the total price of each option period as well as the option entertained by FAR 52.217-8.

The Option to Extend Services clause (FAR 52.217-8) if exercised, will be at the exact same rates and terms, other than length of performance, as the base or option period being extended, and is therefore considered as evaluated as part of the evaluation of the base and option periods.

Prior to conducting the price analysis, each price proposed will be examined for arithmetic accuracy and consistency of the information presented in the pricing schedule.

Price will be evaluated for reasonableness in accordance with one or more price and cost analysis (if necessary) techniques in accordance with FAR 15.404. Example of price analysis techniques are: A comparison of the prices of all offerors, a comparison of prices with the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and comparison of prices with the current contract.

The Business Evaluation will ensure that the proposals comply with the RFP instructions and will determine each offeror’s understanding of the requirements of the solicitation. Any proposal that is unreasonable or materially unbalanced as to price for base or option line items may be rejected. An unbalanced proposal is one that incorporates prices that are significantly understated or overstated as indicated by price analysis techniques.

FACTOR 3 – Past Performance

Past Performance will be evaluated on the basis of performance risk. While good past performance does not always assure good prospective performance and vice versa, past performance is nonetheless an indicator of future performance.

A risk assessment will be made of an offeror’s potential performance based on the offeror’s and major subcontractors’ (10% of overall contract value) past performance. Past performance evaluation will consider whether the offeror’s (and major subcontractors’) past performance is relevant in the aggregate to this acquisition, and whether the reports show a pattern of consistency in Corporate Commitment, Quality of Service, Timeliness of Performance and effective Teaming Arrangements.

The evaluation may include data provided through the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), System for Award Management (SAM), and Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

This evaluation criterion will be rated using the following descriptors: High Risk, Medium Risk, Low Risk, or Neutral. An offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available will be rated Neutral Risk. A Neutral rating does not advantage or disadvantage an offeror.

Recent past performance is defined as within the past three years from the date of RFP issuance and may include active contracts. Only the offeror’s (and major subcontractors’) relevant past performance will be evaluated.

Past performance for prime contractors and major subcontractors must, in the aggregate, identify contracts that demonstrate past performance as listed in the bullets below. The following will be used to assist in determining relevance of the past performance:

1. Managing operations over multiple, geographically dispersed locations

2. Managing surges and spikes

3. Providing services in correspondence management, data-entry, fee receipting, file operations; and

4. Managing multiple hundreds of employees over multiple shifts

Past performance references shall be as a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor (offerors must clearly identify whether they were a prime or first-tier subcontractor).

If the offeror was a first tier subcontractor, identify the prime contractor, and the offeror’s role in the effort) on previous or current projects/tasks. If the offeror was a member of a Joint Venture, identify the offeror’s role in the Joint Venture. Past performance may cite federal, state, local government, commercial sources, or not for profit sources and should highlight the company’s key role in the past performance being documented.

Past performance of parent, subsidiaries, other corporate entities other than the offeror are permitted, however the offeror shall describe how they will be substantially involved in performance of the SCOSS effort. The DUNs for the offeror and each parent, subsidiary or other corporate entity for which past performance is submitted and who will be substantially involved is required.

If some of the offeror’s (and major subcontractors’) past performance is considered relevant and the rest is not, only the relevant past performance will be evaluated for purposes of past performance. If the offeror has no relevant past performance, the offeror shall certify to the CO the offeror has no relevant past performance.

Discussions

The Government may make an award without discussions but reserves the right to conduct discussions. If the Government determines discussion are necessary, discussions will be conducted with offerors whose proposals have been determined to be within the competitive range. 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.

Therefore, the Offeror’s initial proposal should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint.