Atch_B__28_00703_DRAFT_Eval_Factors_OIO_Coding.pdf

Atch B

AS OF 01/04/2018

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Attachment XXX Instructions to Offerors, Evaluation Criteria, and Basis of Award

1. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

1.1 General

This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) SB1341-17-RP-0003 is for commercial items and services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 8.405, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The Contracting Officer (CO )will not use nor shall this solicitation be subject to the formal source selection procedures described in FAR part 15. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-92.

1.2 52.212-1 - Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items Solicitation Addenda

The following paragraphs of 52.212-1 are changed to read as follows.

52.212-1(a) The associated NAICS code for this RFQ is 541611 and small business size standard is $15M.

52.212-1 (b)(8) Representations & Certifications. The offeror must have completed Online Representations and Certifications at FAR 52.212-3 for the NAICS code and small business size standard identified for this acquisition. If the offeror does not have online representations and certifications for the applicable NAICS code and size standard in the System for Award Management at www.sam.gov the offeror must submit a complete copy of the representations and certifications with its proposal.

52.212-1 (c) Period for Acceptance of Offers is 90 calendar days

52.212-1 (f)(2) Late Submissions. Any proposal received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of proposals is late and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made and the CO determines that accepting the late proposal would not unduly delay the acquisition.

52.212-1 (g) Contract award. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and issue a task order based on the initial proposals received. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to request revised proposals from, or negotiate final task order terms with, one or more, but not all, offerors if later determined by the CO to be necessary. However, the CO will not establish a competitive range, conduct discussions, or otherwise use the formal source selection procedures http://www.sam.gov/

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

described in FAR Part 15. The Government may reject any or all proposals if such action is in the public interest; and issue a task order to other than the offeror with the lowest priced proposal.

52.212-1 (l) Requests for information. The CO will not notify unsuccessful offerors that responded to this solicitation. Offerors may request information on award(s) resulting from this solicitation from the CO. If requested, the following information will be provided by the CO.

(1) The number of offerors solicited;

(2) The number of proposals received;

(3) The name and address of each offeror receiving an award;

(4) The items, quantities, and any stated unit prices of each award. If the number of items or other factors makes listing any stated unit prices impracticable at that time, only the total contract price need be furnished in the notice; and

(5) In general terms, the reason(s) the offeror’s proposal was not accepted, unless the price information in paragraph (4) of this section readily reveals the reason. In no event will an offeror’s cost breakdown, profit, overhead rates, trade secrets, manufacturing processes and techniques, or other confidential business information be disclosed to any other offeror.

2. CONTINUATION OF INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

2.1 Questions and Inquiries

Questions and inquiries regarding this RFP shall be submitted electronically via e-mail only to Michael.fredericks@nist.gov not later than 10:00AM Mountain Time (MT) on XX/XX/2018

The Government does not intend to respond to questions or inquiries submitted after the cut-off date identified above. The Government will collect all questions and inquiries, incorporate responses and distribute to all Offerors through an amendment to this solicitation in the General Services Administration (GSA) eBuy System. If further questions arise following the outcome of answers provided to initial questions, the CO has sole discretion to determine if a new question closing date will be allowed. If a new question closing date is approved notification will be sent to all contract holders via amendment to GSA eBuy.

The offeror shall reference the RFP number SB1341-18-RP-XXXX and the project title Competition Support Services OIO in the subject line on all correspondence.

A pre-proposal conference and site visit is not necessary for this type requirement and will not be held.

2.2 Amendment to RFP

The Government will provide any amendments to this solicitation via GSA eBuy with regard to this

RFP.

2.3 Submission of Proposals

Proposals are due by 5:00 PM (MT) on XX/XX/2018. The CO reserves the right to modify any proposal due dates as required. The Offeror's proposal shall be submitted in electronic format compatible with MS Office to GSA eBuy. Proposals received after the prescribed date and time will be considered late and will not evaluated.

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Proposals shall conform to the instructions contained in the clause at FAR 52.212-1, this addendum, the continuation of instructions, and the evaluation factor submittal requirements. Furthermore, proposals shall consist of one attachment per part. Significant deviation may result in the possible exclusion of such proposal from further consideration or may be reflected in the overall evaluation of the proposal.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of this RFP may result in the Offeror’s proposal being removed from consideration for award. The proposal must include page numbers and be clearly and concisely written. Submission of proposals in response to this RFP assumes the Offeror agrees to all terms and conditions unless specifically excepted in offeror’s proposal.

The non-cost (Technical) Factors within the proposal shall consists of the offeror's outline addressing the non-cost aspects of the acquisition. It will be evaluated in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria, and it should be specific and complete in every detail. The proposal should be practical and be prepared simply and economically, providing clear and concise, yet complete information that relates to the solicitation element being addressed.

In order that the Technical Factors within the proposal may be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, the offeror shall not include any business, contractual or cost-related information in it.

The proposal shall not merely offer to perform work in accordance with the requirements of the solicitation; it shall detail the offeror’s unique response to how they would satisfy the solicitation requirements. Simply repeating the requirements of the solicitation for any given section will be deemed an unacceptable response.

The Government shall not be liable for any costs incurred by any offeror submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation.

Proposals shall contain the following parts consisting of one attachment per part containing the required information for each part:

Part I: Technical Non-Price Factors Factor 1 - Technical Approach and Qualifications Factor 2 - Relevant Experience Factor 3 - Past Performance

Part II: Price Proposal Submit in a separate attachment (pdf and soft copy)

3. Evaluation Criteria and Basis of Award

The Government intends to evaluate proposals without exchanges; however, the Government reserves the right to conduct exchanges if determined by the CO to be necessary. Therefore, each initial proposal should contain the Offeror’s best proposal from both a price and a technical standpoint.

Proposals will be evaluated based on the details described in the following evaluation factors:

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Part I - (1) Technical Approach and Qualifications, (2) Relevant Experience, (3) Past Performance;

Part II - Price.

3.1 Confidential Information

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and its amendments have resulted in an increasing number of requests from outside the Government for copies of offeror qualifications and proposals submitted to Federal agencies. If an offeror’s submissions contain information that they believe should be withheld from such requestors under FOIA on the grounds that they contain “trade secrets and commercial or financial information” [5 USC§552(b)(4)], the offeror shall mark its submissions in the following manner:

The following notice should be placed on the title page: “Some parts of this document, as identified on individual pages, are considered by the submitter to be privileged or confidential trade secrets or commercial or financial information not subject to mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Material considered privileged or confidential on such grounds is contained on page(s) _______”.

Each individual item considered privileged or confidential under FOIA should be marked with the following notice: “The data or information is considered confidential or privileged, and is not subject to mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act”.

3.2 List of Attachments

Attachment A - Instructions to Offerors, Evaluation Criteria, and Basis of Award Attachment B - Relevant Experience Submittal Form Attachment C - Resume Form for Key Personnel Attachment D - Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ)

4. BEST VALUE TRADE OFF EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Government intends to use a tradeoff process to award a single award Task Order off the General Services Administration (GSA) Professional Service Schedule (PSS) provided through the GSA Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS) contract under SIN 541.5.

The Task Order will consist of a nineteen-month period of performance. This award will be made to the small business offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government, evaluated cost and other factors considered.

The Technical Factors are considered equal. When combined, the Technical Factors are significantly more important than Price. However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among proposals of the technical factors increase.

Upon receipt of proposals, the CO will review them to determine if each offeror submitted a proposal in accordance with submission instructions. A proposal that does not include all sections and information required may be deemed non-responsive and, thus, unacceptable at the outset of the proposal evaluation process and will not be further evaluated. The offeror, in this case would be notified.

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

The Government may award to other than the lowest priced Offeror or the highest technically rated Offeror utilizing trade-offs. Pricing will be evaluated separately from technical factors and used as a trade-off. The importance of price in the evaluation will increase with the degree of equality among proposals of the non-price factors.

Technical proposals shall be evaluated against the evaluation factors listed in the RFP.

4.1 Part I - Factor 1: Technical Approach and Qualifications - (Limited to 15 pages)

Offerors should clearly describe, in sufficient detail, its technical approach in fulfilling the technical requirements identified in this RFP. The offeror should tailor the technical approach to achieve the requirements identified in this RFP and should submit a Technical Approach narrative of no more than 30 pages not including resumes, in an 11 point or greater font.

At a minimum, the Technical Approach and Qualifications shall include:

a) A detailed summary of the technical approach the offeror will implement to meet the requirements and produce the deliverables within the performance work statement;

b) Communication strategy the offeror will utilize with NIST and the external PSCR community stakeholders demonstrating experience managing similar requirements and deliverables;

c) A detailed explanation of the offeror’s approach which provides expertise to accomplish the requirements of the performance work statement, for example;

1. Concept development strategy, prize & challenge design capabilities, and/ or software crowdsourcing expertise;

2. Prize & challenge implementation, specifically coding competition design and facilitation services;

3. Project/Program management approach - Specify how the offeror proposes to perform project/program management via its proposed Project Manager, to include supervision, issue resolution, schedule management, resource management and budget management;

4. Staff assignment and retention approach: Specify how the offeror would obtain suitable resources and retain them to effectively perform the work required by the PWS and PRS. Specify the pool from which the offeror can obtain resources; the recruiting strategies, techniques and relevant affiliations with professional organizations from which the offeror may find suitable resources; and how the offeror proposes to screen candidates to match qualifications, experience, Visa requirements, and availability to perform the requirements of the PWS and PRS;

5. Quality control plan - Specify how the offeror proposes to ensure that quality requirements of the Performance Work Statement and Performance Requirements Summary are met.

*Key Personnel and SMEs are identified in Section VII. of the PWS.

Attachment C - Resume Form for Key Personnel is available for use. All criteria of the Attachment C shall be included in the resume should the Attachment C not be used.

4.1.1 Basis of Evaluation for Factor 1: Technical Approach and Qualifications

a) The Government will evaluate the soundness and feasibility of the offeror’s technical approach and how it intends to satisfy the technical requirements set forth in the Performance Work Statement.

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

b) The Government will evaluate the likelihood that the offeror’s proposed plan to manage important aspects of the acquisition would result in the offeror efficiently and effectively managing the contract to ensure that the Government’s requirements are met.

c) The Government will evaluate how the offeror proposes to complete a concept development strategy, prize & challenge design, and complete a comprehensive implementation plan to meet the requirements within the performance work statement.

d) The Government will evaluate how the offeror proposes to implement the prize & challenge of the scope described within the performance work statement, specifically the quality and quantity of coding competitions required.

e) The Government will evaluate how the offeror proposes to perform Project/Program Management via its proposed Project Manager to include supervision, issue resolution, schedule management, resource management, budget management, and risk management and mitigation.

f) The Government will evaluate the offeror’s demonstrated ability to obtain suitable resources and retain them for the life of the contract. This may include the breadth of the pool from which the offer can obtain resources; the recruiting strategies, techniques and relevant affiliations with professional organizations from which the offeror may find suitable resources; and the offeror’s ability to screen candidates to match the qualifications, experience, and availability to perform the requirements of the performance work statement.

g) The Government will evaluate how the offeror intends to provide effective quality control and relevant performance measures.

4.2 Part I - Factor 2: Relevant Experience

The Offeror shall submit at least but no more than three (3) recent, completed within the past five (5) years, and relevant projects that demonstrate its organization’s experience performing work that is similar in size, scope, and complexity as described in the performance work statement. Past performance as a prime contractor will be considered to be more relevant than performance as a sub-contractor. For all submitted projects, the description of the project shall clearly describe the scope of work performed and the relevancy of the project to the project requirements described in the performance work statement of the RFP. For instances in which the prime contractor proposes to use sub-contractor(s) for some portion of the work, this portion of work should include documentation of the sub-contractor(s)’ prior experience in the form of recent and relevant projects as well.

The attached Relevant Experience Submittal Form (Attachment B- Relevant Experience) is MANDATORY and SHALL be used to submit project information.

4.2.1 Basis of Evaluation for Factor 2: Relevant Experience

The Government will subjectively evaluate the relevance and extent of the offeror’s experience in performing work on similar projects (either in Government or private industry) as defined in the solicitation submittal requirements. The assessment of the offeror’s relevant experience will be used as a means of evaluating the capability of the offeror to successfully meet the requirements of the RFP. The Government will only review three (3) Recent and Relevant Experience projects performed within the last seven (7) years. Of the proposals submitted with an excess of three (3) relevant projects, the three most recently completed projects will be evaluated for past performance.

Relevancy will be assessed on a graduated scale. Projects demonstrating greater relevancy to the requirement of this RFP may be considered more favorably.

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

4.3 Part I – Factor 3: Past Performance

The offeror shall submit a completed Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment D-PPQ) or Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Evaluation Report for each relevant project submitted for Factor 2. If a completed CPARS Evaluation Report is available for each project, it shall be submitted with the proposal. If there is not a completed CPARS evaluation report, then Offerors shall submit a completed Attachment D-PPQ for each project included in Factor 2.

Past Performance shall also include if there were any violations or performance issues. If the offeror intends to use sub-contractor(s) for part of this requirement, then the offeror shall also provide the proposed sub-offeror’s past performance information. If the offeror and, if applicable, its sub-contractor(s) have no relevant past performance information, it should include a statement to that effect.

4.3.1 Basis of Evaluation for Factor 3: Past Performance

Evaluation of past performance information allows the Government to assess risk associated with an offer based on how the offeror has performed on similar relevant contracts. Accordingly, the Government will evaluate how well the offeror performed as a prime Offeror on similarly relevant scoped contracts/orders awarded to them in the past seven (7) years, Government entities (Federal, state, local) or non-government. The Government’s evaluation of past performance information will be based, in part, on the information provided in the offeror’s proposal; the Government may also contact other entities not provided by the offeror to obtain past performance information to be used in the evaluation of this factor.

Other sources may include, but are not limited to, past performance information retrieved through the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) using all CAGE / DUNS numbers of team members (partnership, joint venture, teaming arrangement, or parent company / subsidiary / affiliate) identified in the offeror’s proposal, inquiries of owner representative(s), and any other known sources not provided by the offeror. The Government reserves the right to contact any other source of information that may have knowledge or information on a offeror’s relevant past performance history. The Government will evaluate how the offeror performed with respect to the past performance criteria identified in their Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), PPIRS, or Attachment D-PPQ.

In the event that the offeror does not have relevant past performance information, the Government will assign a neutral rating for this factor.

5. PART II - PRICE PROPOSAL

The price proposal shall be submitted separately from all Technical Factors identified in Part I.

5.1 Price:

Offeror’s shall submit a firm fixed price (FFP) proposal on the SF 18, Schedule B. Unit pricing and Total Amount Pricing shall be included on for each FFP Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). In addition to the summarized price proposal on the SF 18, the Part II price proposal shall provide separate PDF attachment to include support documentation which adequately justifies how the offeror arrived at the total firm fixed price.

In addition, the offeror’s price proposal shall identify any requested payment schedule terms. All payment schedule terms shall be directly tied to deliverables.

The offeror shall propose skill categories that are on the GSA schedule and shall identify its skill category that cross references to the anticipated skill categories identified in the CLINs and shall be included in the price. The price proposal shall clearly identify any elements that will be sub-

Commented [WS(1]: Aron – We assume you have final vote on the CLIN structure, so we edited this Price section knowing you will address any CLIN specific instruction.

Commented [FM(2R1]:

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

contracted. The price proposal documentation shall clearly describe how the total price for each CLIN was derived. Price discounts are requested.

Any services outside the GSA Professional Services Schedule (PSS) shall be proposed as Open Market Items, and identified as such.

Pricing will be evaluated separately from technical factors and used as a trade-off between the technical factors.

5.1.1 Basis of Evaluation for Price:

The price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirement. Price proposals shall be entirely compatible with the proposed technical approach. The Government reserves the right to ask for any additional price related information from the offeror in order to determine a price fair and reasonable.

The Government will evaluate offeror’s cost proposal by determining whether it followed the cost proposal instructions, and if necessary, adjusting the cost for evaluation purposes such that it reflects the full number of hours required and the proposed fully burdened rate for each. If the offeror’s proposed fully burdened hourly rates exceed the applicable GSA PSS hourly rate, then the Government will adjust those rates downward for evaluation purposes to reflect the GSA PSS ceiling rates. The Government will also adjust any hourly rates that don’t reflect an appropriate escalation rate from the prior contract period in the applicable GSA PSS contract.

NIST requests a discount off published GSA schedule pricing.

All hourly labor rates of skill categories under this Task Order shall be fully loaded, FIRM FIXED rates. These rates shall be inclusive of direct labor, overhead, G&A, profit/fee, and other direct and indirect costs. The Offeror is responsible to include all proposed labor categories and skill levels on the SF18 Schedule B.

Additionally, for each proposed labor category, the Proposal shall provide a detailed position description. Position descriptions must include functional responsibilities, minimum years of experience, minimum educational/degree requirements, and any applicable training or certification requirements. If it is the firm's standard commercial practice to substitute experience for education, explain the methodology in the price proposal narrative (e.g., five years’ experience equates to a BA/BS degree).

6. HISTORICAL INFORMATION ONLY:

The following information is for historical data for reference only. Offerors are responsible for properly pricing their proposals based on the requirements of the PWS contained within the RFP.

A. Program Manager (Key Personnel): Full-Time.

B. Program Support (Key Personnel): Full-Time.

C. Junior Program Support: Full-Time.

7. TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

This Task Order is subject to the terms and conditions provided in the Offeror’s GSA Professional Service Schedule (PSS) provided through the GSA Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS) contract award as well as those outlined in this Task Order RFP. The Government hereby incorporates (by reference) the Offeror's Original and Revised (if applicable) Proposal. In the event of an inconsistency between documents, the following order of precedence shall apply:

DRAFT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

A. GSA contract, supplemented with the Task order award identified by fiscal year i.e., SB1341-18-

NC-XXXX

B. Task Order PWS

C. Task Order Attachments, drawings, etc. associated with the PWS

D. Offeror's Task Order Proposal

NOTE: In the event of a discrepancy between the Offeror's Task Order Proposal and any of the aforementioned Contract/Task Order documents, the Contract and Task Order language shall take precedence. And only in extremely rare circumstances can the language in a task order supersede the language in the basic Schedule contract. Any such instance shall be clearly indicated in the resulting task order award.

Betterments, if any, in the Offeror's Task Order Proposal which exceed the minimum performance requirements identified in the Task Order PWS and associated documents shall be considered the new "minimum" performance requirements upon award and shall be met by the Offeror.