LAB - Instructions to Offerors 02172022.pdf

Instructions to Offerors

This Request for Quotation (RFQ) does not commit the Government to pay any costs incurred in the submission of any proposal or in making necessary studies for the preparation thereof. Nor does it commit the Government to procure or contract for said services. The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this proposal. Quotations should not exceed 25 pages in length and must be type written using 12 point font.

In preparation of your quote, provide the following information that will be used as part of the evaluation of your quote. Quotations are due Tuesday, March 17, 2022, by 12:00 p.m. EST and must be emailed to patricia.hoffman@usdoj.gov and james.driscoll@usdoj.gov.

The Government will use the following two (2) factors to evaluate quotes and make a best value determination – Technical Capability and Price. All four (4) Technical Capability Subfactors will be considered together for purposes of assigning a single rating to the Technical Capability Factor.

Technical Capability is considered more important than Price.

Offeror shall provide details in their quote on the following requirements ---

Technical Capability (Subfactors: Understanding the Requirement and Technical Approach;

Organization Structure and Staffing Plan; Experience, and Past Performance)

(1) Understanding the Technical Requirement and Technical Approach -- Offerors shall describe their understanding of the requirement and the technical approach to be taken to provide the required services. As part of its response, the Offeror shall provide an outline of a proposed Program Operation Plan (see section III. (1) of the SOW). The Government recognizes that certain details can only be finalized after contract award, but Offerors shall to the best of their ability still address those areas in their proposed plan. The Plan will address what challenges the offeror expects in rolling out this program within 60 days of the award of the contract.

(2) Organization Structure and Staffing -- Offerors shall provide a proposed project Organization Structure and Staffing Plan for performing the work. This may include a teaming arrangement using partnering and subcontractors to provide specific services.

In this regard, Quotations shall include:

The project organizational chart depicting lines of communication and authority between the major players displayed in the chart. In this regard, all management and leadership personnel shall be identified on the organizational chart. Key Personnel and project roles shall be identified.

Resumes for each proposed staff member describing experience as it relates to the LAB and their role. In addition, each resume shall include the following:

Team membership (i.e., Contract, Contractor Team Arrangement member, Subcontractor) mailto:patricia.hoffman@usdoj.gov mailto:james.driscoll@usdoj.gov

Education qualifications Professional Certifications, if required/applicable Experience qualifications

A staff recruitment, retention, and replacement plan that sufficiently illustrates the offeror’s ability to recruit and maintain qualified staff to handle the workload quickly, competently, and effectively.

(3) Experience - Offerors shall provide examples of experience on engagements similar inscope, and complexity of the requirement described in the SOW. If the offeror is proposing subcontractors or team members, it shall provide examples of experience for each first tier subcontractor or team member.

(4) Past Performance – Offerors shall complete the attached letter for the proposed prime contractor, each first tier subcontractor and/or team member to document past performance with present and previous clients on projects of similar, scope and complexity. Completed letters shall be included with the quotation.

Price – The Price Proposal shall be strictly limited to price information and supporting documentation. Offeror shall fully complete the attached pricing table, and shall propose the best pricing possible, including discounts.

Authorized Individual. The Offeror shall provide the name, title, telephone number, and email address for the individual designated as the central point of contact for this quotation.

This individual must have the authority to represent the company in binding negotiations.

Assumptions. The offeror shall list any assumptions used to develop the quotation.

Terms and Conditions. Include Sections X through X of the solicitation document, including any amendments which may be issued, as released to the Offeror as follows:

(i) Cover Sheet: Blocks 12, 17, 23, and 24 of the solicitation (Standard Form 1449) shall be completed by the Offeror and block 30 shall be signed by an authorized representative to show that the Offeror has read and agrees to comply with all the conditions and instructions provided in the solicitation document.

(ii) Sections X through X: By incorporating the terms and conditions set forth in Sections X through X of the solicitation document into the quotation, the Offeror is agreeing to comply with these terms and conditions. In lieu of providing actual copies of these pages, the Offeror shall provide the following written certification (signed and dated) of acknowledgment and compliance with these requirements. Any quotation received without the below Certification (or actual copies of the solicitation pages) may be considered non-compliant and given no further consideration for award. The Department will not consider any “Exceptions and/or Alternate Terms and Conditions.” Any issues or concerns with any of the RFQP terms and conditions (which become the contract terms and conditions) MUST be resolved in the solicitation phase prior to the due date for receipt of written quotations.

[Name of Offeror] hereby incorporates by reference into this proposal dated [Date of Offer] Sections X through X of Solicitation No.

_____________________current as of [Date of Offer] and certifies that in so doing the Offeror agrees to comply, in any contract issued as a result of this Solicitation, with all of the provisions of these Sections.

[Signature]

Name and Title]

[Date Signed]

(iii) Section X: The Offeror must check or complete all applicable boxes or blocks in the paragraphs under Section X of the solicitation document and resubmit the full section as part of the proposal. Or, if applicable, the Offeror must confirm that all certifications are current in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/ and submit a copy of the SAM data as part of the proposal. The signature of the Offeror in Block 30 of Standard Form 1449 (which is the face page of this solicitation) constitutes the making of the applicable representations and certifications. Award of any contract to the Offeror shall be considered to have incorporated the applicable representations and certifications by reference in accordance with FAR 15.204-1(b). The penalty for making false statements in offers is prescribed in 18 U.S.C.

1001.

Evaluation of Offers

Award will be made to that offeror whose quotation, conforming to this solicitation, is determined to be in the best interest of the Government, price and other factors considered.

Other factors include:

1. The offeror's compliance with those minimum standards prerequisite to an affirmative determination of responsibility as defined by Section 9.104-1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

2. The offeror's compliance with the minimum technical requirements to the extent specified in the proposed Terms and Conditions and/or specifications contained in this solicitation.

3. Those technical factors, as set forth herein below, upon which a comparative ranking of quotations will be based in accordance with the relative order of importance accorded each respectively.

Evaluation – Commercial Items (NOV 2021) (FAR 52.212-2)

The Government may award a single contract or multiple contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Capability and Total Evaluated Price. The Technical Factor is more important than the priced factor.

Technical Capability Factor. The Department will evaluate the capability of each offeror’s technical proposal using the following technical evaluation subfactors, which are of equal importance relative to one another.

(1) Understanding the Technical Requirement and Technical Approach. The Department will assess the degree to which the Offeror understands the technical requirement, and to which the proposed technical approach meets the requirements of the RFQ.

(2) Organizational Structure and Staffing. The Department will assess the degree to which the Offeror’s proposed project organizational structure and staffing plan meets the requirements of the RFQ.

(3) Experience. The Department will assess the degree to which a vendor and its proposed subcontractors/team members have performed work of similar scope and complexity for either public or private sector entities.

(4) Past Performance. The Department will assess the degree to which a vendor and its proposed subcontractors/team members, has satisfied their customers.

Evaluation of past performance focuses on past experience with clients for work of similar scope and complexity to the effort described in the RFQ.

Total Evaluated Price Factor. To be considered for award, the Offeror must submit prices which comply with the requirements of the RFQ. Offerors who fail to comply with these requirements will receive no further consideration and may be eliminated from this evaluation.

The Department will calculate a Total Evaluated Price (TEP) for each proposal based on the prices proposed. The Government shall evaluate the proposed price for the twelve (12) month period of performance to determine if it is fair and reasonable.

A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

Best Value Determination and Award. The best value determination will be made as follows:

(1) The Total Evaluated Price will be the determining factor for award where two or more proposals are considered substantially technically equal. That is, where the Department determines that the technical capabilities of each Offeror are not significantly different among competing proposals, then the proposal with the lowest evaluated price will be selected for award.

(2) If the Department determines that there are significant technical differences between the capabilities of two or more offerors, then a more expensive proposal may be selected for award where the Department determines that the value of the selected proposal is worth the price differential.

Discussions

The Government reserves the right to make an award on the basis of initial proposals without the use of discussions. Therefore, each Offeror shall make its single best effort in its initial technical and pricing proposals. However, if after evaluating the initial proposals, the Department finds that discussions are warranted, it may conduct them with all or a limited number of the Offerors.

Information obtained during discussions, whether or not it is reduced to written material, may be considered by the Department in the evaluation and best value decision.