RFP NIH-LM-2012-249 BINDING SERVICES.pdf

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE (NLM)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) NO. NIH-LM-2012-249

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

Title: “Binding Services for the National Library of Medicine”

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. METHOD OF ACQUISITION

The Government intends to procure the necessary services in accordance with FAR Part 13, “Simplified Acquisitions Procedures”.

2. NAICS CODE AND SIZE STANDARD

a. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 323121 (Tradebinding and Related Work).

b. The small business size standard for this acquisition is 500 employees.

3. NUMBER OF AWARDS

It is anticipated that ONE (1) AWARD will be made from this solicitation and that the award is anticipated for March 1, 2012.

It is anticipated that the award from this solicitation will be for a base period of twelve months from date of award, plus four (4) one-year Options.

4. TYPE OF AWARD

The award will be an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Purchase Order using procedures under FAR Part 13.

6. COMMITMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with the proposed acquisition. Any other commitment, either explicit or implied, is invalid. Please direct all inquiries to:

Alejandro Navas Contracting Officer Office of Acquisitions National Library of Medicine/NIH 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Tel. 301-435-4393 Fax 301-402-8169 Email: anavas@nlm.nih.gov

7. COMMUNICATIONS PRIOR TO AWARD

Offeror shall direct all communications via email to the attention of the Contract Officer noted above. Communications with other officials, either explicit or implied, may compromise the competitiveness of this acquisition and result in cancellation of the requirement. All communications with other officials are invalid.

8. COMPARATIVE IMPORTANCE OF QUOTES

You are advised that paramount consideration shall be given to the evaluation of the technical portion of the proposal. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. However, the Government reserves the right to make an award to the best advantage of the Government, cost and other factors considered.

9. PREPARATION COSTS

This Solicitation does not commit the Government to pay for the preparation and submission of a proposal.

B. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

INTRODUCTION

The following instructions will establish the minimum acceptable requirements for the format and contents of the quotation/proposal.

Your proposal/quote must be comprised of a Technical and Business proposal, and submitted in accordance with these instructions below.

1. 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUNE 2008)

Please reference Attachment for complete FAR Clause 52.212-1

Special attention is requested to the items below. Please ensure your proposal includes the following:

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number. (Applies to all offers exceeding $3,000, and offers of $3,000 or less if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database.) The offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation “DUNS” or “DUNS+4” followed by the DUNS or DUNS+4 number that identifies the offeror’s name and address. The DUNS+4 is the DUNS number plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned at the discretion of the offeror to establish additional CCR records for identifying alternative Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts (see FAR Subpart 32.11) for the same parent concern. If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. An offeror within the United States may contact Dun and Bradstreet by calling 1-866-705-5711 or via the internet at http://www.dnb.com. An offeror located outside the United States must contact the local Dun and Bradstreet office for a DUNS number.

Central Contractor Registration. 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 CCR 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 CCR 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 internet at http://www.ccr.gov or by calling 1-888-227-2423 or 269- 961-5757.

Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.

(1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.

(2)(i) Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the

Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and—

(A) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(B) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(C) If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received.

(ii) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(3) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(4) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(5) Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

2. PURCHASE ORDER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The attached FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (February 2007) shall be made a part of any purchase order awarded as a result of this RFQ.

The attached FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (June 2008) shall be made a part of any purchase order awarded as a result of this RFP.

The attached Addendum to Terms and Conditions of Purchase Order shall be made a part of any purchase order awarded as a result of this RFP.

3. AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL AND SUBMISSION OF QUOTATION/PROPOSAL

The proposal must be signed by an official authorized to bind your organization and must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP. The due date for response to this RFP is 3:00 PM EST, February 13, 2012.

Please submit your proposal as follows:

One (1) signed original (Business and Technical Proposal) plus one (1) extra copy to:

Alejandro Navas Contracting Officer Office of Acquisitions National Library of Medicine/NIH 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Tel 301-435-4393 Fax 301-402-8169

Four (4) copies of only the Technical Proposal to the Project Officer at:

Mary Kate Dugan Project Officer National Library of Medicine/NIH 8600 Rockville Pike Building 38/Room B2W16 Bethesda, Maryland 20894

Your proposal shall be organized as specified in Section B., GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS; Section C., INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE PROPOSAL/QUOTATION; and Section D., INSTRUCTIONS FOR

PREPARING THE BUSINESS PORTION OF THE PROPOSAL/QUOTATION.

4. PRIVACY ACT – TREATMENT OF PROPOSAL INFORMATION

The Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579) requires that a Federal agency advise each individual whom it asks to supply information, the authority which authorizes the solicitation, whether disclosure is voluntary or mandatory, the principal purpose for which the information is intended to be used, the uses outside the agency which may be made of the information, and the effects on the individual, if any, of not providing all or any part of the requested information.

The NIH is requesting the information called for in this RFP pursuant to the authority provided by Sec. 301(a)(7) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, and P.L. 92-218, as amended.

Providing the information requested is entirely voluntary. The collection of this information is for the purpose of conducting an accurate, fair, and adequate review prior to a discussion as to whether to award a delivery order.

Failure to provide any or all of the requested information may result in a less than adequate review.

In addition, the Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579, Section 7) requires that the following information be provided when individuals are requested to disclose their social security number.

Provision of the social security number is voluntary. Social security numbers are requested for the purpose of accurate and efficient identification, referral, review and management of NIH acquisition programs. Authority for requesting this information is provided by Section 301 and Title IV of the PHS Act, as amended.

The information provided by you may be routinely disclosed for the following purposes:

• To the cognizant audit agency and the General Accounting Office for auditing.

• To the Department of Justice as required for litigation.

• To respond to congressional inquiries.

• To qualified experts, not within the definition of Department employees, for opinions as a part of the review process.

5. SELECTION OF OFFEROR

a. The acceptability of the technical portion of the proposal will be evaluated by a member of the Government’s Technical Evaluation Panel. The proposal will be evaluated in strict conformity with the evaluation noted in Section C. 2. (below).

The offeror may be requested to submit clarifying information as needed.

b. The business portion of each quotation will be subjected to a cost/price analysis (as appropriate), management analysis, etc.

c. If award will be made without conducting discussions, quoters may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their quotations (e.g., the relevance of a quoter’s past performance information and adverse past performance information to which the quoter has not previously had an opportunity to respond) or to resolve minor or clerical errors.

d. Best-Value Analysis. A final best-value analysis will be performed taking into consideration the results of the technical evaluation, cost analysis, and ability to complete the work within the Government’s required schedule. The Government reserves the right to make an award to the best advantage of the Government, technical merit, cost, and other factors considered.

e. The NLM reserves the right to make a single award, multiple awards, or no award at all as a result of this RFP. In addition, the RFP may be amended or canceled as necessary to meet NLM’s requirements.

6. SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE, FAR 52.252-1

(February 1998)

This Solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions 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. 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 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 address:

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR, CHAPTER 1):

a) Submission of Offerors in the English Language, FAR Clause 52.214-34 (April 1991).

C. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE PROPOSAL

1. PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION

A detailed work plan must be submitted indicating how each aspect of the statement of work is to be accomplished. Your technical approach should be in as much detail as you consider necessary to fully explain your proposed technical approach or method. The technical portion of your quotation should reflect a clear understanding of the nature of the work being undertaken. The technical portion of the quotation must include information on how the project is to be organized, staffed, and managed. Information should be provided which will demonstrate your understanding and management of important events or tasks.

Your discussion is expected not to exceed twenty-five (25) typewritten, three holed punch pages. The page limit excludes the employee resumes.

Technical Discussions: The technical discussion included in the technical portion of your proposal should respond to the items set forth in the Statement of Work (SOW).

Reference Attachment – Statement of Work (SOW)

2. EVALUATION OF THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF PROPOSAL/QUOTATIONS

The evaluation will be based, in addition to price, on the technical approach detailing the demonstrated capabilities in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the Statement of Work. Technical aspects are paramount. The proposal must include information sufficient to allow the NLM to evaluate full capabilities, resources, facilities, corporate experience, including references with names, phone numbers, and/or email addresses.

Reference Attachment – Technical Evaluation Criteria

3. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE

QUOTATION

(a) Quotations which merely offer to conduct the work in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s scope of work will be considered nonresponsive. The proposal must submit an explanation of the proposed technical approach in conjunction with the tasks to be performed in achieving the project objectives.

(b) Evaluation of the technical portion of quotations will be conducted as noted above.

D. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE BUSINESS PORTION OF THE

PROPOSAL/QUOTATION

1. Basic Cost/Price Information

The business portion of the proposal should provide, as appropriate, a breakdown by cost element such as direct labor, materials, subcontracted items (if any), other direct costs, and indirect costs.

Submit a current and complete price list for the proposed services.

In addition, please provide the contact information for your business representative(s) to include: name, title, business address, phone/fax numbers, and email address.

2. INFORMATION OTHER THAN COST AND PRICING DATA

The information submitted shall consist of data to permit the Contracting Officer and authorized representatives to determine price reasonableness or cost realism, e.g., information to support an analysis of material costs (when sufficient information on labor and overhead rates is already available), or information on prices and quantities at which the quoter has previously sold the same or similar items.

Any information submitted must support the price proposed. Include sufficient detail or corss reference to clearly establish the relationship of the information provided to the price proposed. Support any information provided by explanations or supporting rational as needed to permit the Contracting Officer and authorized representatives to evaluate the documentation.

Unless otherwise stated in this solicitation, the information may be submitted in the quoter’s own format.

3. EVALUATION OF OPTIONS

It is anticipated that any purchase order awarded from this RFP will contain option provision(s) and period(s).

In accordance with FAR Clause 52.217-5, Evaluation of Options (July 1990), the Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement, except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government’s best interests. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

E. ATTACHMENTS TO THE RFP

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

2. Technical Evaluation Criteria 2 FAR 52.212-1, General Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items

3. FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items

4. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items

5. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or

Executive Orders-Commercial Items