NEARFQ17-06_Contractor_Manages_PCAH_Programs.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS

(THIS IS NOT AN ORDER)

PLEASE EXPEDITE! PAGE

OF

PAGES

1. REQUEST NO.

RFQ 17-06

2. DATE ISSUED

01/26/16

3. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUEST NO.

4. CERT. FOR NAT. DEF.

UNDER BDSA REG. 2

AND/OR DMS REG. 1 >

RATING

5A. ISSUED BY

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS (NEA)

GRANTS & CONTRACTS, 400 7TH STREET, SW, 3RD FL

WASHINGTON, DC 20506

6. DELIVER BY (Date)

5B. FOR INFORMATION CALL: (Name and telephone no.) (No collect calls)

LATONCA HARRIS (202) 682-5476

7. DELIVERY

FOB DESTINATION OTHER (See Schedule)

8. TO: NAME AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE

PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS

9. DESTINATION (Consignee and address, including ZIP Code)

10. PLEASE FURNISH QUOTATIONS TO THE ISSUING OFFICE IN BLOCK 5A ON OR BEFORE CLOSE OF BUSINESS (Date)

Please furnish proposals no later than 6:00PM (EST) on February 7, 2017

IMPORTANT: This is a request for information, and quotations furnished are not offers. If you are unable to quote, please so indicate on this form and return it to the address in Block 5A.

This request does not commit the Government to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of the submission of this quotation or to contract for supplies or services. Supplies are of domestic origin unless otherwise indicated by quoter. Any representations and/or certifications attached to this Request for Quotations must be completed by the quoter.

12. SCHEDULE (Include applicable Federal, State and local taxes)

ITEM NO.

(a)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(b)

QUANTITY

UNIT

(d)

UNIT PRICE

(e)

AMOUNT

(f)

Proposals are requested to acquire a Contractor to manage new and ongoing public/private programs run by the President’s Committee in partnership with various federal agencies, as well as key private partners. The work will contribute to program execution and development, partner relationship management and work flow, and external relations. The Contractor will support a full range of President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) mission activities and report to the Deputy Director, in accordance with the timeline for performing contract), the attached Statement of Work, and a firm fixed price.

Please refer any QUESTIONS concerning this request to Latonca Harris via email at HARRISL@ARTS.GOV by 6:00 pm (EST) on January 31, 2017.

Proposals must include your DUNS and TIN numbers and be received by the closing date and time stated above via email to

HARRISL@ARTS.GOV

SEE

PRICING

SCHEDULE

ON PAGE 3

SEE

PRICING

SCHEDULE

ON PAGE 3

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT >

10 CALENDAR DAYS

20 CALENDAR

DAYS

30 CALENDAR DAYS

CALENDAR DAYS

14. NAME AND ADDRESS OF QUOTER (Street, city, county, State, and ZIP Code)

15. SIGNATURE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN

PROPOSAL

16. DATE OF PROPOSAL

17. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

18. TELEPHONE NO. (Include area code)

Standard Form 18 (Rev. 6-95) mailto:harrisl@arts.gov mailto:harrisl@arts.gov

Enclosures:

Part I – The Schedule

Section B, Supplies/Service and Prices Section C, Description/Specifications/Statement of Work Section D, Preservation, Packaging and Marking - Not Applicable Section E, Inspection and Acceptance Section F, Deliveries or Performance Section G, Contract Administration Data Section H, Special Contract Requirements

Part II – Contract Clauses

Section I, Contract Clauses

Part III – List of Documents, Exhibits, and Other Attachments

Section J, List of Attachments

Part IV – Representations and Instructions

Section K, Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors Section L, Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award

SECTION B

SUPPLIES/SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 General

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) seeks a contractor for a base with one option year to manage new and ongoing public/private programs run by the President’s Committee in partnership with various federal agencies, as well as key private partners. The work will contribute to program execution and development, partner relationship management and work flow, and external relations.

*Services must be fully operational upon date of award.

B.2 Contract Term

The contract term is date of award through one year with an optional year.

B.3 Pricing

(a) Please provide your contractors' "most favored customer" pricing/discounts.

(b) All unit prices are firm fixed unit prices that include all costs (including, but not limited to: labor, fringe benefits, overhead, G&A, travel, related costs and profit) necessary to provide Services required in the solicitation.

(c) The following pricing tables and CLINs are organized by contract year. The first digit of each CLIN is linked to the contract year as follows: “1” for year one and “2” for year two, etc.

Year One - Period of Performance: Date of Award through , 2018

CLIN SUPPLIES OR

SERVICES

QTY UNIT UNIT RATE ESTIMATED TOTAL

1001 Contractor to manage PCAH Programs 1 Lot $ $

GRAND TOTAL FFP

Year Two - Period of Performance: , 2018 through , 2019

CLIN SUPPLIES OR

SERVICES

QTY UNIT UNIT RATE ESTIMATED TOTAL

2001 Contractor to manage PCAH Programs 1 Lot $ $

GRAND TOTAL FFP

SECTION C

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 Statement of Work

The contractor shall manage new and ongoing public/private programs run by the President’s Committee in partnership with various federal agencies, as well as key private partners. The work shall contribute to program execution and development, partner relationship management and work flow, and external relations.

The contractor shall report directly to the Deputy Director of PCAH. The Deputy Director shall set responsibilities and overall objectives in consultation with the contractor, agreeing on a plan of action, scope, and deadlines. The contractor shall be responsible for planning and organizing work and informing the Deputy Director of potential problems. Policy decisions shall be addressed in consultation with the Deputy Director. Guidelines from PCAH programmatic policies, procedures, directives; Federal rules and regulations; and national legislation will be broadly stated and require initiative and judgment to develop strategies in each unique situation. Guidelines will not specify methods used to accomplish the work.

The contractor’s work will affect the advancement and support of the arts and humanities on a national level. The work affects federal cultural agencies, the core constituencies of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services, as well as other arts and humanities institutions, NGOs, and the general public.

The work is primarily sedentary. No special physical demands are necessary to perform the work. Out of town travel is required a minimum of twice per year.

The work is performed in an office setting. Travel for site visits, meetings, presentations, outreach, and other purposes may be required.

C.2 Specific Tasks - Technical, Functional and Performance Requirements

PCAH Project Director (PD) shall coordinate the technical aspects; monitor services for approval and acceptance of the services received under the terms and conditions of this contract.

Key qualifications for the potential contractor are:

• Knowledge of the arts and humanities fields;

• Knowledge of National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the

Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, and the President’s Committee programs, policies, mission, goals, procedures, and core constituencies;

• Knowledge of the U.S. poetry field and youth poetry programs;

• Knowledge of the National Student Poets program;

• Expertise and experience in external and internal relations, strategic planning, programmatic development, fundraising for arts and humanities and arts and humanities education programs, and communications;

• Expertise in cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, and other government programs documentation;

• Ability to convey complex information in a timely, accurate, comprehensive, and comprehensible way in written and verbal communications of all types, such as written narrative, oral presentations, on phone calls, etc.;

• Experience in facilitating successful partnerships among multiple federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations and institutions;

• Experience writing grants, reports, research, speeches, remarks, and memoranda on various topics such as program impact, operations, strategy, and program evaluation in a compelling and error-free way; and

• Knowledge of the federal administration processes, including creation and vetting of documents, applications, peer review, and awards, all of which are key elements of the PCAH portfolio implicated in this contract.

C.4 Technical Matters

The contractor shall accept technical direction during the period of performance from the COR, providing such direction is within the scope of the contract.

The PROJECT DIRECTOR is authorized to perform the following activities:

• Interpret the Work Statement;

• Direct the performance of the contractor's efforts within the scope of the Work Statement;

• Accept deliverables;

• Control all Government technical interface with the contractor;

• Review and investigate any delays or proposed contract changes and make recommendations to the Contracting Officer regarding corrective action; and

• Monitor contractor performance.

The PROJECT DIRECTOR is not a Contracting Officer. The PROJECT DIRECTOR is not authorized to modify any of the terms of the contract or to authorize expenditures beyond the funded amount of the contract. The PROJECT DIRECTOR is authorized to perform the functions listed above only insofar as those functions are exercised in a manner consistent with the Work Statement and terms and conditions of this contract.

Host and participant passcodes should function worldwide.

Services must be compatible with equipment currently installed in NEA Conference/Meeting Rooms. See Attachment 1.

C.5 Place of Performance

All service should be available globally. Host and participant pass codes should function worldwide.

SECTION D

PRESERVATION, PACKAGING AND MARKING

Not Applicable.

SECTION E

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/

(END OF CLAUSE)

E.2 52.246-4 Inspection of Services—Fixed-Price (AUG 1996)

E.3 Inspection and Acceptance

FAR Clause 52.246-4 Inspection of Services – Fixed Price, will govern inspection and acceptance of all services performed by the Contractor. The Contractor is responsible for carrying out its obligations under this contract by controlling the quality of all services rendered and ensuring performance of all contract requirements.

SECTION F

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 Timeline for Performing Contract Requirements

The contract term is for a base year February , 2017 through February , 2018, and report to PCAH at 9:00am to 5:30pm (the actual work hours are subject to change based on the convenience of PCAH and the Contractor) each day excluding the Federal Government Holidays when the offices are closed, with one option year.

F.2 Notice to the Government of Delays

Required services shall begin at time of award in accordance with the Statement of Work. The Contractor is responsible for carrying out its obligations under this contract by controlling the quality of all services rendered and ensuring performance of all contract requirements. To this end, the Contractor shall establish, maintain, and manage quality control throughout the life of this contract. In the event the Contractor encounters difficulty in meeting performance requirements, or when the contractor anticipates difficulty in complying with the contract delivery schedule or completion date, or whenever the Contractor has knowledge that any actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of this contract, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and PCAH Project Director (PD), via telephone and follow-up in writing, providing pertinent details along with an updated delivery time-frame. This data shall be informational only in character, and this provision shall not be construed as a waiver by the Government of any delivery schedule or date, or any rights or remedies provided by law or under this contract. Deliveries shall be made as immediately as possible after the written notification.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/

F.3. Deliverables

The list of deliverables include:

• Serve as in a senior program management function for National Student Poets. In this capacity, work with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) in support of Administration and PCAH objectives.

• Manage program activities for the National Student Poets program, which includes the following:

o Identify local partners and collaborators for National Student Poet Community Service projects and National Poetry Month events through contacts with the state arts and humanities agencies, local and regional arts agencies, Centers for the Book, museums, libraries and other organizations, in partnership with the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.

o Support the adjudication and selection process for the Class of 2017 National Student Poets.

o Execute events and serve as chaperone for National Student Poets, as requested, on at least 4 trips per year.

o Support the appointment and orientation of the Class of 2017 National Student Poets.

o Cultivate partnerships and opportunities for the National Student Poets to support program objectives.

o Execute smooth, successful, and positive relationships with staff of PCAH, staff of partner NGOs and federal agencies, and all other constituents, including successful communication and positive internal and external reputation.

o Cultivate partnerships and opportunities for the National Student Poet alumni, particularly their role in the Between the Lines program at the University of Iowa International Writing program.

• Execute writing projects for partners, funders, and other internal and external stakeholders, as requested, writing up to 75 pages per year on various topics of relevance to the Committee.

Scope, project timelines, and writing topics are to be agreed upon by contractor and the Deputy Director.

• Evaluate current program strategies in light of shifts in program emphasis and content, as well as technical, field-wide, and statutory changes. Make recommendations to the Deputy Director for shifts in program strategy.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 Project Director

G.1.1 Upon award, a Project Director will be designated to coordinate the technical aspects of this contract and inspect items/services furnished hereunder; however, he shall not be authorized to change any terms and conditions of the contract, including price.

G.1.2 The Project Director is authorized to certify (but not to reject or deny) invoices for payment in accordance with enclosed payment terms. The authority to reject or deny performance and associated invoice payment is expressly reserved for the Contracting Officer.

G.1.3 The Project Director for this contract is:

To be determined at time of award

National Endowment for the Arts Constitution Center

400 7th Street, SW, Third Floor Washington, DC 20506

(202) 682-XXXX

G.1.4 The Contracting Officer for this contract is:

Latonca M. Harris

National Endowment for the Arts Constitution Center

400 7th Street, SW, Third Floor

(202) 682-5476

Written communications shall make reference to the award contract number and shall be mailed to the above address.

G.2 Invoice Requirements

G.2.1 Written communications shall reference the contract number and shall be e-mailed to the Contracting Officer/COR as necessary. Project-related questions may be directed to the COR while contract/cost related questions must be directed to the Contracting Officer. Questions regarding any changes to the contract whatsoever must be directed to the Contracting Officer.

G.2.2 Payment for actual work and services rendered under this contract will be made. Payment will be made by the National Endowment for the Arts via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and in accordance with the contract clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items (MAY 2015), and 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer— System For Award Management (JUL 2013), upon submission of commercial invoices to the NEA Finance Office, Second Floor.

The office that will make the payments due under this contract (i.e., the designated payment office) is shown below. Invoices shall be emailed to the email address below:

NEAINVOICES@ARTS.GOV

National Endowment for the Arts Finance Office, Second Floor

Constitution Center 400 7th Street, SW

To constitute a proper invoice, the following information and/or attached documentation shall be included with the invoice.

(1) Name and address of the Contractor mailto:NEAINVOICES@ARTS.GOV

(2) Invoice date.

(3) Contract number.

(4) Period covered by the invoice.

(5) Number and description, quantity, unit price and extended total for the period covered applicable to Section B, Supplies/Services and Prices.

(6) Cumulative amounts billed by to date.

(7) Name and address of Contractor official to whom payment is to be sent (must be the same as that in the contract or in a proper notice of assignment).

(8) Taxpayer Identification Number.

(9) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number.

(10) COR’s name.

(11) All supporting documentation.

Please note:

The successful contractor is required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at:

https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. (This was previously known as CCR - the Central Contractor Registration.)

Assistance with creating/registering a SAM account may be found here:

https://www.fsd.gov/app/answers/list.

G.2.3 Pricing of Adjustments

When costs are a factor in any determination of a contract price adjustment pursuant to the "Changes" Clause, or any other clause of this contract, such costs shall be in accordance with the contract cost principles and procedures in Part 31 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 31) in effect on the date of the contract.

SECTION H

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 Contract Type

This is a Firm Fixed Price GSA Federal Supply Schedule Pricing Commercial Item Contract.

H.2 Special Contract Requirements

Private Use of Contract Information and Data Except as specifically authorized by this contract, or as otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer, information and other data developed or acquired by or furnished by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, shall be used by the Contractor only in connection with the work under this contract. The contractor must obtain permission through a written request to the Contracting Officer and approval from the NEA’s General Counsel Office prior to releasing any data for use outside of the performance of this NEA contract.

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.227-14(b) Rights in Data-General, the Contractor shall guarantee strict confidentiality of the information and data that is provided by the Government during the performance of the contract. The Government has determined that some of the https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ https://www.fsd.gov/app/answers/list information and data that the Contractor will be providing during the performance of the contract is of a sensitive nature and cannot be disclosed in any manner.

H.3 Facility Access

A. Rights of Egress and Ingress

During the life of this contract, the rights of ingress to and egress from the National Endowment for the Arts facility for the Contractor's representatives shall be made available as required.

During all operations on Government premises, the Contractor's personnel shall comply with the rules and regulations governing the conduct of personnel and the operation of the facility. The Government reserves the right to require Contractor personnel to "sign-in" upon entry and "sign-out" upon departure from the National Endowment for the Arts facility.

B. Building Access Passes

When any Contractor personnel enter a NEA building for the first time, the Contractor must notify the Project Director in advance and provide the full name and purpose of visit in order to obtain approval for escorted access.

H.4 Security Requirements

Notice of Contractor Personnel Security Requirements

Compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) and Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 201 (FIPS 201) entitled "Personal Identification Verification (PIV) for Federal Employees and Contractors," Phase I.

In accordance with FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (January 2011), all contractor personnel assigned to work at the NEA or who will have access to NEA information systems are subject to the NEA “Identity Proofing and Registration Process,” established in compliance with “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12)” and subsequent guidance provided in, e.g., “Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 201” (FIPS PUB 201) and Office of Management and Budget “Memorandum M-05-24” (August 5, 2005).

At least ten working days before a contractor employee will begin work at the NEA or need access to NEA information systems, the contractor shall contact the COR to arrange an appointment for the purpose of initiating the process. All contractor personnel shall appear in person to verify their identity, provide fingerprints, and be photographed, prior to issuance of an NEA identification credential.

If a Federal agency has previously performed a background investigation of a contractor employee proposed to work on this contract, the contractor shall submit information to the COR to enable the NEA Office of Human Resources (OHR) to verify any previous successfully adjudicated background investigation performed by a Federal agency that meets the requirements of HSPD-12 and subsequent related Personal Identify Verification (PIV) guidance.

If a prior background investigation has not been performed and successfully adjudicated, or cannot be verified by the NEA, the contractor employee shall complete and submit the appropriate background investigation application form (in most cases SF-85: Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) to the

NEA’s OHR. The OHR will – in accordance with current PIV guidance – initiate a background investigation. A credential will be issued only in accordance with the above-referenced guidance.

If the NEA receives disqualifying information on a contractor employee at any time, the NEA, at its sole discretion, may suspend or terminate access to and/or use of any or all NEA facilities and systems, and bar the contract employee from unescorted access to NEA facilities.

At the end of a contractor employee’s performance at the NEA, the contractor employee shall turn in his/her NEA identification credential to OHR prior to departure.

The denial of an agency identification credential to individual contractor employees by the NEA shall not be cause for extension of the period of performance of this contract or any contractor claim against the

NEA.

SECTION I

CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated By Reference, (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text may be accessed electronically at this Internet address: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/.

I.2 52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel. (JAN 2011)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with agency personal identity verification procedures identified in the contract that implement Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24, and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201.

(b) The Contractor shall account for all forms of Government-provided identification issued to the Contractor employees in connection with performance under this contract. The Contractor shall return such identification to the issuing agency at the earliest of any of the following, unless otherwise determined by the Government;

(1) When no longer needed for contract performance.

(2) Upon completion of the Contractor employee’s employment.

(3) Upon contract completion or termination.

(c) The Contracting Officer may delay final payment under a contract if the Contractor fails to comply with these requirements.

(d) The Contractor shall insert the substance of clause, including this paragraph (d), in all subcontracts when the subcontractor’s employees are required to have routine physical access to a Federally-controlled facility and/or routine access to a Federally-controlled information system. It shall be the responsibility of the prime Contractor to return such identification to the issuing agency in accordance with the terms set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Contracting Officer.

(End of Clause)

I.3 9.505-4 Obtaining Access to Proprietary Information

(a) When a contractor requires proprietary information from others to perform a Government contract and can use the leverage of the contract to obtain it, the contractor may gain an unfair competitive advantage unless restrictions are imposed. These restrictions protect the information and encourage companies to provide it when necessary for contract performance. They are not intended to protect information-

(1) Furnished voluntarily without limitations on its use; or

(2) Available to the Government or contractor from other sources without restriction.

(b) A contractor that gains access to proprietary information of other companies in performing advisory and assistance services for the Government must agree with the other companies to protect their information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary and refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. The Contracting Officer shall obtain copies of these agreements and ensure that they are properly executed.

(c) Contractors also obtain proprietary and source selection information by acquiring the services of marketing consultants which, if used in connection with an acquisition, may give the contractor an unfair competitive advantage. Contractors should make inquiries of marketing consultants to ensure that the marketing consultant has provided no unfair competitive advantage.

1.4 FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 1) CLAUSES

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items. (JAN 2017) (Incorporated By

Reference)

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders- Commercial Items. (JAN 2017)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

(1) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Dec 2014)

(2) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553).

(3) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004) (Public Laws 108-77, 108- 78 (19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).

(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

[Contracting Officer check as appropriate.]

X (25) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755).

X (57) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer— System for Award Management

(JUL 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

(End of Clause)

52.227-14 Rights in Data-General. (MAY 2014) (Incorporated By Reference)

52.246-4 Inspection of Services -- Fixed-Price (AUG 1996) (Incorporated By Reference)

1.5 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.

1.6 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract (exercise the options for CY 12, CY 13, CY 14, and CY 15 audits) by written notice to the contractor at any time prior to the expiration of the contract; provided that the Government gives the contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 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 years.

SECTION J

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Wage Determinations Online - www.wdol.gov. Department of Labor Wage Determination Number: 2015-4281 REV (4) Date of Revision: 12/30/2016 Area: Washington, DC Click on the following hyperlink. https://www.wdol.gov/wdol/scafiles/std/15-4281.txt?v=4

SECTION K

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items (JAN 2017) The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (u) of this provision.

This shall not count towards any stated page limits for the proposal.

SECTION L

52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 2017)

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541611 with a small business size standard of $15.0 M.

(b) Submission of Offers. The written proposal should be no more than 10 pages, single spaced, in 12-point font and submissions shall include at a minimum:

The offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct clarifications, if later determined to be necessary. Offerors may be given an opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their proposals.

When evaluating an offeror’s capability to perform the prospective contract, NEA will consider how well the offeror complied with these instructions. NEA will consider an offeror’s noncompliance with these instructions to be indicative of the type of conduct that it may expect from the offeror during contract performance.

• Signed Standard Form 18, page 1.

• A brief proposal addressing the following:

1. A summary of work experience. The contractor provides evidence of a clear understanding of

NEA’s requirements/specific tasks in the statement of work.

2. Written Capability Information (Past Performance). Each offeror shall provide a list two (2) references that are current and can be readily contacted for similar projects. It is extremely important that offerors disclose instances in which their past performance may be considered by previous customers or their representatives to have been less than fully satisfactory, and that they tell their side of the story and/or describe corrective action that they have taken. The following information (is up to date and easily to make contact with) required for each reference:

• Customer name and address

• Point of contact (name, telephone number, email address) for contractual/administrative matters and technical performance.

• Period of contract performance

• Description of services provided.

3. Complete GSA Pricing Table in Section B. Prices shall include all direct and indirect costs, profit, and any other factor which contributes to the total firm fixed prices for the base year and four option years, based on the contractor’s GSA Schedule prices. The cost proposal should contain enough information to make a fair and reasonable cost assessment.

• A completed copy of the Representations and Certifications. Registering an active account in SAM is REQUIRED for contract award. For assistance with creating a SAM account, please visit the link above.

• An one (1) hour in-person interview (for evaluations) The Government requests an in-person interview to demonstrate to the Technical Evaluation Team (TET) knowledge, experience, and specific tasks required under this contract. The objective of this presentation would be to inform the TET’s evaluation of the proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in Section M. Appointments will be set up for an hour per the TET request for a candidate.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) NA

(e) NA

(f) NA

(g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(h) NA

(i) NA

(j) Unique entity identifier. (Applies to all offers exceeding $3,500, and offers of $3,500 or less if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database.) The Offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation “Unique Entity Identifier” followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Offeror’s name and address. The Offeror also shall enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. The EFT indicator is a four-character suffix to the unique entity identifier. The suffix is assigned at the discretion of the Offeror to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative EFT accounts (see subpart 32.11) for the same entity. If the Offeror does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment directly to obtain one. The Offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the unique entity identifier.

(k) System for Award Management. Unless exempted by an addendum to this solicitation, by submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM database prior to award, during performance and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. If the Offeror does not become registered in the SAM database in the time prescribed by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered Offeror. Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the SAM database accessed through https://www.acquisition.gov.

(l) Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the government will do so in accordance with this provision. (End of provision) https://www.acquisition.gov/

SECTION M

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation--Commercial Items (OCT 2014)

(a) Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, taking into account price and other factors; the Government will award a contract on a 'best-value' basis. For each evaluation factor, a point scoring system will be used to rank all proposals, using a rating scale of 100%. The evaluation will include three (3) major areas:

1. Ability to implement the required services based on the description in the RFQ (35%)

2. Company Past Performance, Staff Experience, and Qualifications (35%)

3. Price (30%)

In order to select the winning offeror, NEA will rank offerors from best to worst by making paired comparisons, trading off the marginal differences in capability and price. If one offeror has both the better capability and the lower price, then that offeror will be the better value. If one offeror has the better capability and the higher price, then the technical evaluation panel will decide whether the marginal difference in capability is worth the marginal difference in price. If the technical evaluation panel considers the better capability to be worth the higher price, then the more capable, higher-priced offeror will be the better value. If not, then the less capable, lower-priced offeror will be the better value. If more than two proposals are received, the technical evaluation panel will continue to make paired comparisons until s/he decided which offeror represents the best value.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, emailed 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.

1. Ability to implement the required services based on the description in the RFQ (35%)

• The proposal contains evidence of a fully described technical approach to comply with each of the specific tasks in the statement of work. The proposal is consistent with the goals and objectives of these tasks, and is practical in terms of producing needed information, analysis, and recommendations.

• Explains a thorough understanding of the required services, as shown through discussion of the rationale and purpose for the project. The contractor provides evidence of a clear understanding of NEA’s requirements and does not simply repeat the statement of work, but shows an independent understanding of the context.

2. Company Past Performance, Staff Experience and Qualifications (35%)

• Demonstrates the degree to which the organization has current capabilities to assure performance.

Overall experience and past performance of the offeror in performing the required services and related work should be described. Evidence of such work and contact/reference information for recent work should be provided.

• The proposal provides evidence of the specific qualifications, skill set of staff to be assigned to this project, and their experience and familiarity with performing these services for Federal agencies.

3. Price (30%)

• The proposed budget is appropriate to the administration of the project. The Government will evaluate the contractor’s proposed prices to make a determination that the costs are fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided. The contractor shall provide a reasonable breakdown of their costs to allow the Government to make an assessment of the various components of the overall price.

• The offeror’s proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. Costs estimates should include the basic period and each option period.

END OF DOCUMENT