L-001.docx

SECTION L – REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 DISCUSSIONS WITH OFFERORS

The Contracting Officer is the ONLY person who is authorized to conduct formal discussions with the Offeror from release of this RFP through the time of contract award. Any such discussions shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations stipulated in FAR Part 15. Any questions or comments concerning this RFP in particular or in general shall be addressed only to the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer is Christopher L. Toso and can be reached at TosoCL@state.gov.

L.2 PROPOSAL AND REQUIREMENTS QUESTIONS

All proposal questions shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer via email at TosoCL@state.gov within 14 calendar days after the solicitation issuance date in Block 6, by 0900 ET. All questions must be submitted using Appendix A – Q&A Template and associated template instructions. All Offerors shall separate technical and price questions and clearly identify each question with a reference to the solicitation. Appendix A contains further instructions under the spreadsheet tab “Instructions.” If submitting questions, offerors must include the solicitation number in the subject line of the email.

L.3 PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND SUBMISSION

a) All written proposals shall be submitted electronically via email to the Contracting Officer (CO) in the format and instructions outlined in this section. Offerors shall be responsible for ensuring the electronic submission is successful and received by the CO via email by the proposal due date and time. When submitting written proposals to the CO, the offeror shall request read receipts to ensure the CO receives the offeror’s proposal. Send offers with sufficient time for processing by servers, considering the size of the message. Do not exceed 40MB per email. If an offeror submits multiple emails to complete a proposal submission, the offeror must clearly identify the set in the subject (i.e. message 1 of 3). No other methods of submission will be accepted.

b) Proposal shall be valid for one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from the proposal due date.

c) The Government is not liable for any expenses incurred by the Offerors in developing and submitting proposals for this solicitation.

L.4 PROPOSAL FORMAT

a) All files, except for the price tables shall be in MS Word or PDF. Printing should be single spaced. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. A standard, 12-point minimum font size applies. New Times Roman font is required. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size no less than 8-point and may be landscape.

b) Microsoft Word and PDF files shall use the following standard format:

Margins – Top, Bottom, Left, Right – 1” Gutter – 0” From Edge – Header, Footer 0.5” Page Size, Width – 8.5” Page Size, Height – 11”

c) All price breakdown information to aide in the price evaluation shall be submitted in Microsoft Office Excel Read/Write format and viewable in Microsoft Excel. All calculations and formulas shall be unprotected and accessible in electronic submission documents.

L.5 PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION

a) The Offeror’s complete proposal shall consist of the following three (3) volume submissions, as outlined. Each electronic file shall be clearly labeled with its title and volume number.

Volume I:

Non-Cost Factor 1 – Experience Non-Cost Factor 2 – Technical Approach for Belgrade Non-Cost Factor 3 – Concept Plan for Riyadh Non-Cost Factor 4 – Past Performance Volume II:

Factor 5 – Price Proposal

b) Page Limitations. Volume I, Non-Cost Factor 1 is limited to a 20-page limitation. The remaining Factors do not have page limitations. Where included, the cover letter, title page, table of contents, table of figures, list of tables, glossary of abbreviations & acronyms, resumes, and commitment letters are not included in the page limitation. All pages must be numbered. Pages that exceed the required page limitations will be removed and not be read or evaluated by the Government.

c) Each volume shall be file named with only the following information: Company name, Solicitation Number, and Volume Number.

L.6 PROPOSAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

1. All information shall be confined to the appropriate file. The Offeror shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the proposal in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal.

2. Assumptions: The Government does NOT encourage offerors to make assumptions or take exceptions from the requirements of the solicitation. Rather, offerors are encouraged to submit questions using the required process outlined in this section. However, if necessary, the offeror’s Volume submission must clearly and unambiguously identify all such assumptions, exceptions, or dependencies on which the offer is based. Each assumption, exception or dependency shall be specifically related to a paragraph and/or specific section of the solicitation. The offeror shall provide a rationale in support of any noted assumption, exception, or dependency, explaining its effect in comparison to the solicitation in detail. Assumptions, exceptions, or dependencies do not make a proposal automatically unacceptable. However, many assumptions, exceptions or dependencies, or a significant assumption, exception, or dependency, which provide(s) little or no benefit to the Government or which do(es) not support the Government’s requirement as documented in the solicitation may receive unfavorable evaluation.

3. Cost or price information for this offer is prohibited in Volume I.

4. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. Offerors are cautioned against “parroting” of the technical requirements. “Parroting” is defined as imitating the words of the technical requirements without articulating a clear understanding of the requirements or capability to perform.

5. Files shall not contain classified data/information. Proprietary information shall be marked or noted clearly. The use of hyperlinks in proposals is prohibited.

6. Proposals not received in accordance with these instructions may be rejected. The penalty for making false statements is prescribed in 18 USC 1001. Failure to furnish current and complete information may cause a proposal to be rejected.

L.7 INSTRUCTIONS

Volume I, Non-Cost Factor 1 – Experience. Provide no more than 8 project experiences that demonstrate capabilities similar in scope and complexity to the International Exposition (Expo) operations and activities found in this IDIQ’s Scope. For each project experience submitted, the offeror shall provide a description of the services provided AND explain the relevancy in sufficient detail. The offeror should demonstrate experience supporting a program or event similar to the size and magnitude of the requirements communicated by this solicitation. All submitted projects must have been performed Outside of the Continental United States. Offerors shall refrain from submitting project experiences that were not performed within the last ten (10) years, as those will be considered not recent and not relevant. Offeror’s are encouraged to include relevant experiences that were self-performed as the prime contractor. If submitting project experiences from intended subcontractors, the prime offeror shall include a Letter of Meaningful Involvement signed by both parties, outlining the committed activities for each party for this effort. As a reminder, this factor has a page limitation.

Offerors shall provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the Offeror to perform the solicitation’s requirements based on an assessment of relevant experience from the offeror.

Volume I, Non-Cost Factor 2 – Technical Approach for Expo Belgrade It is the intent of the Government to issue a seed task order with the award of this IDIQ contract. The seed order will result from the response to this factor and associated Performance Work Statement (PWS) for Belgrade Expo 2027. The PWS is included in this solicitation. Offeror’s shall provide a clear, concise, and realistic plan and approach for meeting the requirements laid out in the task order PWS. Offerors shall address their understanding of the requirements, operational capabilities, and technical approach specific to the Belgrade Expo’s operations. The pricing for this task order shall be submitted separately, in Volume II under Factor 5 – Price Proposal.

Offerors shall provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the Offeror to perform the solicitation’s task order requirements based on their technical approach for Belgrade.

Volume I, Non-Cost Factor 3 – Concept Plan for Riyadh Offeror’s shall provide a realistic concept plan for meeting the requirements laid out in the rough draft PWS for Riyadh. Offerors shall address their understanding of the requirements and technical concept specific to the Riyadh Expo’s operations.

Offerors shall provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the Offeror to perform the solicitation’s task order requirements based on the rough draft PWS for Riyadh.

Volume I, Non-Cost Factor 4 – Past Performance The offeror shall provide recent and relevant past performance questionnaires and/or records from CPARS. Recent is defined as current or completed performance within the past ten (10) years from the date this solicitation has been issued. To be relevant, the past performance shall be recent and involve efforts the same as or similar to those required by Non-Cost Factor 1 - Experience. The government may contact all prior or current clients of the Offeror during the assessment of this evaluation. Past Performance Questionnaires shall use the format in Appendix B. Offerors with no past performance or relevant experience shall type “NO PAST PEFORMANCE OR RELEVANT EXPERIENCE” in Bold Letters in Volume II, Past Performance on a blank page in this volume.

The Government will consider the Offeror’s past performance when serving as a prime contractor. Recent is defined as current or completed performance within the past ten (10) years from the date of the solicitation closing. To be relevant, the past performance shall be recent and involve efforts the same as or similar to those required by Non-Cost Factor 1 - Experience. The Government will conduct an evaluation of the past performance information obtained to determine how closely the services performed under those contracts relate to the requirements of this solicitation.

Volume II, Factor 5 – Price Proposal The offeror shall provide a comprehensive price proposal for the seed task order, Expo Belgrade. This volume shall consist of all information required to support prices. Fixed prices and labor rates submitted will form a Price Schedule for the IDIQ contract. The Price Schedule shall be valid for the duration of the resulting IDIQ contract and all task orders. All prices shall be in United States Dollars. There are no page limitations to this volume. Certified cost and pricing data is not currently required; however, the Government reserves the right to request such data prior to award. Technical responses shall be separate from pricing information provided.

The offeror shall submit a detailed price narrative supporting each price/cost proposed. The price proposal narrative must provide a thorough explanation and rationale for all proposed prices.