ID04150085_ITO_R4.docx

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)

Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Southeast Sunbelt Region Atlanta, Georgia

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

SOLICITATION INSTRUCTIONS – Instruction to Offeror (ITO)

Closing Date/Time: Thursday, September 24, 2015, 5:00 PM EST

This is a Request for Task Order Proposal (RFP) and this document constitutes the only solicitation. This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with the fair opportunity procedures at FAR 16.505(b). This is not a FAR Part 15 negotiated competition. This acquisition is being conducted as a full and open competition. The Government intends to award a Firm Fixed Price task order in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW). This is a request for competitive proposals and this document constitutes the only solicitation, which is used as a Request for Proposal (RFP).

Questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing via email to the below identified issuing office point of contact no later than the aforementioned date and time. Oral communication is not accepted on this solicitation. Please note that neither telephone nor facsimile inquiries will be accepted. The only method by which any term of this solicitation may be modified is by a formal amendment to the RFP generated by the issuing office. No other communications, whether oral or in writing, will modify or supersede the terms of this solicitation document. The Government reserves the right to deny any questions or clarification questions received after the aforementioned date and time.

Offerors are directed not to contact the client or any other GSA personnel or other Government employees regarding this procurement, other than the individual(s) identified without the prior approval of Faith Shelton, GSA Contracting Officer.

ISSUING OFFICE

Patti Slay, Customer Account Manager (CAM), patti.slay@@gsa.gov

GSA/FAS/AASD (4QAA)

401 W. Peachtree St, NW, Ste 2700 Atlanta, GA 30308

Faith Shelton, Contracting Officer, faith.shelton@gsa.gov

GSA/FAS/AASD (4QAA)

401 W. Peachtree St, NW, Ste 2700 Atlanta, GA 30308

1. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

Proposal shall be submitted via GSA’s web-based procurement system, AAS Business Systems Portal (AASBS Portal), formerly IT-Solutions Shop (ITSS), [web address: https://portal.fas.gsa.gov]. Failure to submit proposal via AASBS Portal by the closing date and time shall result in exclusion from consideration.

Contact the AASBS registration desk at 877-472-4877 to complete your AASBS registration. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR FIRM, CONTRACT NUMBER, AND INDIVIDUAL AUTHORIZED TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL(S) ARE CORRECTLY REGISTERED IN AASBS. If you experience any difficulties with AASBS during proposal submission you should alert the AASBS technical support and the GSA Issuing Office point of contact without delay.

Offeror must be registered within the System for Award Management (SAM) [https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/]. An award cannot be made if the information in AASBS Portal does not exactly match with the information in the SAM. ITSS verifies the following data with the SAM:

· Legal Business Name

· Doing Business As (DBA)

· Physical Address

· Remittance Address

· Federal Tax ID (Employer’s identification Number)

· DUNS (Data Universal numbering System)

Proposal must include confirmation of current SAM registration.

Proposals shall set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by this RFP package (including Attachments). The penalty for making false statements in an Offeror proposal is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

2. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND INSTRUCTIONS

All information shall be submitted in English. Proposals that do not follow these Instructions, or otherwise include documentation that is difficult to read, may result in disqualification.

Each Offeror must submit a proposal consisting of written information in strict accordance with these instructions. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the exclusion of the Offeror from consideration for award.

Offeror should note that technical proposals which merely offer to conduct a program in accordance with the requirements of the Government's Statement of Work (SOW) will be considered nonresponsive to this solicitation, and will not be considered further. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation against the stated minimum performance standards and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror meets the requirements set forth under this solicitation. Offeror shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their skills and experience, and will base its evaluation on the information presented within the Offeror proposal.

To ensure that a proposal is evaluated completely and given the full consideration to which it is entitled, it must be submitted in the format described below:

Proposals shall be submitted electronically to the ITSS website [web address: https://portal.fas.gsa.gov] under RFP number ID04150085 in one of the following file formats: Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx file), Microsoft Excel document (.xls or .xlsx file), or searchable Portable Document Format (.pdf file).

The written proposal shall be submitted in an 8-1/2” x 11” format with 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins and shall not exceed 25 single sided pages in a Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf) file format. All pages beyond the 25th page of the proposal will not be included in the evaluation. A cover page, table of contents, index, and/or resumes are not required, but if included, do not count toward the page total.

All proposal development costs shall be borne by the Offeror without reimbursement from GSA.

Proposals consist of and shall include the following proposal documents with the page limits as specified:

· COVER LETTER (3 Page limitation)

· VOLUME 1: Nonprice Factor Proposal: Technical Capability (25 page limitation)

· VOLUME 2: Price Factor Proposal

Note: Volumes shall not be combined.

3. REQUIREMENT

Please review the separately attached Statement of Work (SOW).

4. BASIS FOR AWARD

This procurement is being conducted under FAR Part 16.505 and will result in a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) award. The Government will make award to the Lowest Priced, Technically Acceptable offer.

5. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

An evaluation for acceptability will be performed. To be considered technically acceptable, no evaluation factor in the proposal may be determined to be unacceptable. The agency would first rank proposals based on price, and then evaluate the lowest-priced proposal for technical acceptability. If the lowest-priced proposal was determined to be not technically acceptable the next lowest-priced proposal would be evaluated. This would continue until an award is made to the lowest-priced proposal found technically acceptable that is fair and reasonable and meets or exceeds the stated acceptability standards for non-price factors in accordance with below tables. No tradeoffs are permitted.

The Government intends to evaluate the proposal and may award a contract without discussions with Offeror (except communications conducted for the purpose of minor clarification). Therefore, each initial Offeror should contain the Offertory’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to make no award. The Government reserves the right to reject any proposal that includes any assumption that adversely impacts the Government’s requirements.

Offeror’s failing to submit proposals conforming to the structure described in the Proposal Format and Instructions Section will be rejected without further evaluation.

The failure of a proposal to meet all of the requirements under any factor will result in a technically unacceptable rating and preclude award. If the GSA Contracting Officer determines that a small business is technically unacceptable, the matter will be referred to the Small Business Administration for a Certificate of Competency (COC) determination, in accordance with the procedures contained in Subpart 19.6 and 15 U.S.C. 637(b)(7)). However, if a COC is not issued by the Small Business Administration, the Offeror will be ineligible for award.

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following evaluation factors will be used to evaluate all offers/proposals:

6. (A) Technical Capability: The Technical Capability factor will be evaluated using the following definitions:

Technical Acceptability Criteria

To be determined acceptable - a Technical Capability proposal shall clearly meet the following key minimum requirements necessary for successful contract performance:

(a) The Offeror shall describe a clear understanding of the requirements, deliverables, and demonstrate an ability to successfully perform as outlined in the Statement of Work that is attached. The Offeror shall identify anticipated barriers and risks and a plan for overcoming them.

(b) Offeror shall identify and discuss the skill mix it shall utilize to successfully execute all of the SOW requirements, and shall map the labor categories included in the skill mix to the corresponding SOW paragraph, respectively; labor categories that will be supplied by a subcontractor shall be identified accordingly. In the event the Offeror elects to propose other skill sets and/or less effort (e.g., less full time equivalents [FTEs]) than the provided minimum levels (see Attachment B), then the Offeror is strongly encouraged to include with its proposal a detailed rationale for the Government’s consideration. In addition, Offeror shall identify a Program Manager who shall be the primary representative responsible for all work awarded under this task order, participating in Management Reviews and ensuring all standards referenced herein are adhered to and utilized.

Note: Full Time Equivalent (FTE) information identified in this solicitation or its attachments is based on historical information for planning purposes only. It is not intended to be binding on either party or to be the only possible solution to the requirement. Offeror should propose adequate personnel to ensure full and successful compliance with the SOW for the life of this order.

A proposal proposing a skill mix and level of effort which deviates more than 10% of the workload estimate without an adequate rationale may be considered unacceptable.

6. (B) Price: Price will be evaluated and considered but will not be scored or combined with other aspects of the proposal evaluation. The price proposal shall be submitted in a file separate from the technical proposal information in the Microsoft Excel (.xls) file Price Proposal Workbook format provided. At a minimum, the price proposal shall include labor skill mix, number of hours per skill, and labor rates. Although it is not mandatory, it is requested that Offeror use rounding to the nearest two (2) decimal places (currency format) for all rates and prices in their price proposal. Offeror are notified that as part of the price evaluation the government intends to evaluate the total evaluated price as follows:

For evaluation purposes only, the total evaluated price/cost is the sum of the total price/cost submitted for (a) the base period, (b) all option periods, and (c) the six-month extension authorized by FAR clause 52.217-8. For purposes determining the evaluated price/cost for the six month 52.217-8 extension, the total price/cost is calculated as one-half of the total price/cost of the final option period. Evaluation of options will not obligate the government to exercise the option(s).

Proposals unrealistically high or low in cost or price, when compared to the government estimate and/or competition, may be deemed reflective of an inherent lack of understanding of the solicitation and may result in proposal rejection.

The Government is going to first rank price proposal based on price, excluding price for transition cost, and then evaluate the lowest-priced proposal for technically acceptability against the non-price factor, Technical Capability, which meets the above criteria, for technically acceptability. If the lowest-price proposal is determined to be unacceptable, the next lowest-price proposal will be evaluated. The evaluation will stop at the point when the government determines an Offeror to be technically acceptable with the lowest evaluated price, because that offer will represent the best value.

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.

The Government reserves the right to award any subsequent contract/TO without opening discussions, thus the Offeror should submit their best terms and/or their most favorable customer pricing in their initial proposal.

6. (C) PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The Government will provide and record Past Performance Information for acquisitions over $150,000 utilizing the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The CPARS process allows Contractors to view and comment on the Government's evaluation of the Contractor's performance before it is finalized. Once the Contractor’s past performance evaluation is finalized in CPARS it will be transmitted into the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). Contractors are required to register in the CPARS, so Contractor’s may review and comment on past performance reports submitted through the CPARS. The CPARS and PPIRS websites are as follows:

Offeror shall provide the separately attached Past Performance Questionnaire to the points of contact for the referenced projects. The point of contact for a referenced project must submit a completed questionnaire no later than the closing date/time via email (electronic copy to patti.slay@gsa.gov). The questionnaire must come directly from the point of contact. Offeror shall be responsible for ensuring points of contact submit questionnaires by the closing date/time. The Government will also review information contained in Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

If an Offeror has no relevant experience for similar services, the Offeror must provide the point of contact information for current contracts that reflect the Offeror normal business endeavors within the last three (3) years. Past performance will be evaluated as a measure of the Government’s confidence in the Offeror ability to successfully perform this project based on demonstrated relevant and performance last three (3) years. In conducting the performance risk evaluation, the Government may use data provided by the Offeror and data obtained from other sources that it considers current, accurate and relevant. Greater weight shall be given to information received from past performance questionnaires, than the written information furnished by the Offeror in their quote.

In evaluating past performance, the Government will review how well the Offeror has performed on other relevant comparable projects. In making this determination, the Government will review the following elements:

· Quality of Work

· Personnel

· Customer Satisfaction

· Timeliness of Performance

· Business Relations

A. The extent to which they show relevant performance and likelihood of success in meeting the government's requirements as identified in the SOW;

B. Experience, as demonstrated by current projects and those completed within the past three (3) years.

Offers will be evaluated on the extent to which they show:

a. Relevant corporate experience, as demonstrated by successful performance on current projects and those completed within the past three (3) years. These should include successful experiences in managing projects of comparable scope and complexity.

b. Timely and acceptable completion of comparable projects.

7. SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

The Offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the Offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the Offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address (es):

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ www.acquisition.gov/far/

NUMBER TITLE DATE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR Chapter 1)

52.232-18 – Availability of Funds (Apr 1984) Funds are not presently available for this contract. The Government’s obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

52.216-1 – Type of Contract (Apr 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Firm-Fixed Price contract resulting from this solicitation.

52.217-8 -- Option to Extend Services. (Nov 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days.

52.217-9 -- Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 60 days prior to expiration of the order; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 5 (five) years.

(End of Clause) Prohibition against Contracting With Corporations That Have a Felony Conviction under Federal Law or an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability.

Provision EPA-2015- Representation By Corporations Regarding A Felony Conviction Under Federal Law Or Unpaid Federal Tax Liability

Prescription - The contracting officer shall include Provision EPA-2015 in solicitations that will use funds made available by the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2055; Pub. L. 112-74). This applies to all solicitations above the micro-purchase threshold including acquisition of commercial items under FAR Part 12, exercising contract option periods, and issuing a Task or Delivery Order under a Government wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), multi-agency contract, Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, or any other procurement instrument intended for use by multiple agencies, including blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) under FSS contracts. For EPA contracts that issue Task or Delivery Orders, only one representation is needed by the corporation, either at the contract level, if a new award, or before the first TO or DO is issued using covered FY2015 funding.

No award shall be made until the contracting officer receives the corporation’s representation that it has no felony convictions nor tax delinquency, or that the CO has received a determination from the EPA Suspension and Debarment officials that they have considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Provision Text – (a) In accordance with Sections 433 and 434, of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2055; Pub. L. 112-74), none of the funds made available by the Act may be used to enter into a contract with any corporation that:

(1) Was convicted (or had an officer or agent of such corporation acting on behalf of the corporation convicted) of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government;

(2) Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. 5

(b) The Offeror represents that:

(1) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that has been convicted (or had an officer or agent of such corporation acting on behalf of the corporation convicted) of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months,

(2) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.

(c) The Offeror shall provide immediate written notice to the Contracting Officer if, at any time prior to contract award, the Offeror learns that its representation was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

(d) A representation that any of the items in paragraph (b) of this provision exists will not necessarily result in withholding of an award under this solicitation. However, failure of the Offeror to furnish a representation or provide such additional information as requested by the Contracting Officer may render the Offeror non-responsible.

(e) Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render, in good faith, the representation required by paragraph (b) of this provision. The knowledge and information of an Offeror is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings.

(f) The representation in paragraph (b) of this provision is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when making award. If it is later determined that the Offeror knowingly provided an erroneous representation, in addition to other remedies available to the Government, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract resulting from this solicitation for default.

THIS REPRESENTATION CONCERNS A MATTER WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF AN AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE MAKING OF A FALSE, FICTITIOUS, OR FRAUDULENT REPRESENTATION MAY RENDER THE MAKER SUBJECT TO PROSECUTION UNDER SECTION 1001, TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.

(End of Provision)

Clause EPA-2015-- Unpaid Federal Tax Liability & Felony Criminal Violation Certification

Prescription - The contracting officer shall include Clause EPA-2015 in contracts that will use funds made available by Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub.L. 112-74). This applies to all contracts above the micro-purchase threshold including acquisition of commercial items under FAR Part 12, exercising contract option periods, and issuing a Task 6 7 or Delivery Order under a Government wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), multi-agency contract, Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, or any other procurement instrument intended for use by multiple agencies, including blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) under FSS contracts. No funding shall be obligated until the CO receives the contractor’s certification that they have no felony convictions nor tax delinquency or that the CO has received a determination from the EPA Suspension and Debarment officials that they have considered suspension or debarment of the contractor and made a determination that further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Clause text - (a) In order to meet the requirements of Sections 433 and 434 of Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Pub.L. 112-74), the contractor shall provide the contracting officer a certification whereby the contractor certifies: (i) It is not a corporation that has been convicted (or had an officer or agent of such corporation acting on behalf of the corporation convicted) of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months; and (ii) It is not a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability. (b) Failure of the contractor to furnish a certification or provide such additional information as requested by the Contracting Officer may render the contractor ineligible for FY2015 contract funding. (c) The contractor has a continuing obligation to update the subject certification as required. (End of Clause)

8. QUOTE SUBMISSION. All quotes must contain the information necessary to satisfy the factors of evaluation in the identified format. Failure to do so may result in exclusion from consideration.

9. Correspondence and question (see attached for Questions template). Any contractual and/or technical questions must be submitted in writing via email to Patti.Slay@gsa.gov and Faith.Shelton@gsa.gov no later than Tuesday, September 15, 2015.

10. Do not contact the client agency under any circumstances image1.png