OPM26-13-Q-0039Amendment1.doc

OPM26-13-Q-0039 Page 1 of 72

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

The Solicitation number is: OPM2613Q0039 and is issued as a Request for proposals (RFP). This solicitation document incorporates all mandatory commercial item provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC)

2005-63 dated December 10, 2012.

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 611430 and the small business size standard is $10.0 million. This procurement is reserved exclusively for small business to submit quotations.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the human resources management agency for the Federal Executive Branch. Its mission is to recruit, retain, and honor a world-class workforce to serve the American people. OPM is at the center of high priority and high impact initiatives of the Administration, including Hiring Reforming, Veterans Employment, Telework, Labor- Management Partnership and Retirement and Investigations Processing. These initiatives necessitate that OPM has highly-skilled workforce that can deliver on its mission as well as one that works collaboratively to achieve strategic objectives.

In support of its mission, WMDC needs to acquire a contractor to deliver up to seven (7) Conflict Resolution Skills (CRS) training sessions for FY13. The CRS Program is a four-day (32 hour) residential program designed to help participants resolve difficult or uncomfortable situations and turn disagreements into productive workplace discussions. Using the Crucial Conversations® program from training-product company Vital Smarts as a guide, this seminar teaches best practices for engaging in open, respectful dialogues, even when stakes and emotions run high. In particular, participants learn to resolve conflict with others through the learning of various conflict management strategies, skills, and techniques.

The primary competencies are Conflict Management, Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Problem Solving, and Resilience. The instructional strategies include video clips, classroom lecture; case studies and experiential simulations. See www.leadership.opm.gov for more course information.

This program must use the Crucial Conversations© program as its core. This is a proprietary program and requires a contractor licensed and authorized to deliver Vital Smarts. Students completing the program receive both a certificate from OPM for the CRS and a separate certificate for completing the Crucial Conversations© program.

OPM intends to award a Firm-fixed Price Contract to the offeror that represents the best value to the government. The contractor shall provide all labor, incidental materials, and other services necessary to render services under the resulting contract, see Statement of Objectives (SOO) detailed below. The period of performance is listed in the SOO below.

Offerors can only e-mailed requests for additional information and only will be accepted at WMDCContracting@opm.gov through 12:00 PM MST, 11 December, 2012. Offerors are invited to submit their quotations to WMDC Contracting Office in response to this notice by 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST), 28 December, 2012. Quotations submitted in response to this notice shall include the solicitation number in the subject line and be signed, dated and submitted via email to WMDCContracting@opm.gov.

Contractors not registered in the System for Award Management at the time the requirement is anticipated to be awarded will not be considered. Contractors may register with SAM by accessing www.sam.gov or by calling 1-866-606-8220.

Contractors not registered in the VETS-100 database at the time the requirement is to be awarded will not be considered. If an offeror does not meet the requirements of filing a VETS100/100A report, the offeror must provide a screenshot from the USDOL website that VETS100/100A reporting is not required with the offeror's proposal.

For additional information regarding VETS100-100A please visit http://www.dol.gov/vets/vets-100.html. For filing assistance please visit: http://www.dol.gov/vets/vets100filing.htm.

NOTE: Communication with other officials may compromise the competitiveness of this acquisition and result in the cancellation of the solicitation and/or exclusion of your proposal.

Technical and Pricing proposals MUST be in two separate files. If your technical and price proposal is not submitted in two separate files, your response to this solicitation will be considered non-responsive and will not be given any further consideration. Each of the parts shall be separate and complete, so that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of and concurrently with the evaluation of the others.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

1. BACKGROUND:

The Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Center for Leadership Development (CLD) is the Federal government’s premier provider of leadership development training. CLD provides leadership training and education programs for all levels of Federal leadership including Team Lead, Supervisor, Manager and Executive. CLD delivers leadership programs as either an open-enrollment (inter-agency) or custom-designed (single-agency) experience. CLD is composed of the Western Management Development Center (WMDC) in Aurora, Colorado, the Eastern Management Development Center (EMDC) in Shepherdstown, WV, and the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) in Charlottesville, VA.

As a Federal business enterprise, WMDC provides services that assist Federal agencies in achieving their missions by providing competency-based leadership programs to build great leaders for great government.

2. SCOPE:

In support of its mission, WMDC needs to acquire a contractor to deliver up to seven (7) Conflict Resolution Skills (CRS) training sessions for FY13. The CRS Program is a four-day (32 hour) residential program designed to help participants resolve difficult or uncomfortable situations and turn disagreements into productive workplace discussions. Using the Crucial Conversations® program from training-product company Vital Smarts as a guide, this seminar teaches best practices for engaging in open, respectful dialogues, even when stakes and emotions run high. In particular, participants learn to resolve conflict with others through the learning of various conflict management strategies, skills, and techniques.

The primary competencies are Conflict Management, Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Problem Solving, and Resilience. The instructional strategies include video clips, classroom lecture; case studies and experiential simulations. See www.leadership.opm.gov for more course information.

This program must use the Crucial Conversations© program as its core. This is a proprietary program and requires a contractor licensed and authorized by Vital Smarts to deliver. Students completing the program receive both a certificate from OPM for the CRS and a separate certificate for completing the Crucial Conversations© program.

3. APPLICABLE CONDITIONS:

· All respondents must have an active role in the preparation, management and delivery of the program.

· OPM shall have full discretion and rights to use the overall winning design as it deems appropriate for use in the federal government. (The contractor shall include all applicable fees for use of the Crucial Conversations© program in their proposal). Further, OPM will have full discretion and rights to modify the non-Crucial Conversations© components of the design.

· You may only respond to this proposal if your firm is directly licensed and authorized by Vital Smarts to deliver the Crucial Conversations© program. (Please provide proof of your license and authorization in your submittal)

· All Faculty in the role of Trainer/Instructor (or equivalent) must be certified by Vital Smarts, or an authorized representative, to deliver the Crucial Conversations© program.

· Once a class session is completed, the contractor may not keep any participant information, in any form or database 4.

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED MATERIAL/INFORMATION:

The Government shall provide the following:

· Printing and assembly of notebooks for all enrolled participants; other printing as needed such as handouts, posters, etc.

· All audio and visual equipment necessary for program delivery.

· Classroom and breakout room space.

· Basic office supplies

· If needed by the contractor for pre-session work, OPM will supply a list of participant names and email addresses prior to the start of each session as determined by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Note: This list is subject to change up to the start of the course session.

· Notify the contractor if a session needs to be cancelled due to low enrollments.

· In the case of cancellation the contractor is entitled to invoice for any costs incurred up to that point in time for that session

· If a session is cancelled less than 14 calendar days out, then the Faculty may be given a partial fee payment to be determined by the COR as per FAR 52.212-4(1)

5. SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall be required to deliver up to seven (7) Conflict Resolution Skills (CRS) training sessions for FY13. The CRS Program is a four-day (32 hour) residential program designed to help participants resolve difficult or uncomfortable situations and turn disagreements into productive workplace discussions. The contractor shall provide the following:

5.1 Provide a proven and current course design to be used as the 4-Day (32 hour) CRS program to train Government leaders to be coaches and mentors.

· To be a proven and current design, the course shall have a minimum of 480 hours culminated use (i.e., 15 sessions @ 32 hours each) with Federal supervisors, managers and/or executives since October 1, 2009.

· The core material in the design shall be the Crucial Conversations© program in sufficient depth to fulfill the conditions for awarding a certificate of completion from Vital Smarts for the Crucial Conversations© program.

5.1.1 Minimum Design Requirements

· A complete outline of the proposed course shall be submitted with this application using attachment A. The course is to be targeted for Federal government supervisors, managers and executives at all levels to convey the skills, knowledge and insights required to successfully develop others (individuals or teams) through coaching or mentoring. The template shall provide the following:

· Government to Government Design. The course is to be specifically designed for leaders in the Federal government. In keeping with adult learning principles, case studies, simulations and other learning exercises and materials should be drawn chiefly from the government/public sector.

· Support the Following Behavioral Competencies:

· Conflict Management

· Interpersonal Skills

· Oral Communication

· Problem Solving

· Resilience

· Support the Following Course Learning Objectives:

· Learn to identify and resolve various conflicts through case studies and practices geared toward real-life situations.

· Practice proven conflict resolution strategies that emphasize actionable decisions over emotional responses.

· Learn how to build and mend relationships after "lose-lose" or "win-lose" situations.

· Determine ways you can achieve mutually acceptable results for everyone involved.

· Develop strategies for approaching real conflict situations in your organization.

· Learn how to maintain your composure around difficult people and minimize their negative impact

· Build a development plan to continue strengthening your conflict resolution skills

· Follow Key Design Principles

· Flexible design that easily supports teaching in a variety of settings, to include hotel-based venues (keep moving parts to a minimum.)

· Multiple and varied opportunities for participant interaction with each other and with instructors, such as case studies, simulations, guest speakers, videos and group discussions.

· Varied opportunities for participants to practice and apply new skills in appropriately challenging activities and receive coaching feedback.

· Resources and materials accessible to and usable by learners in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

· Exercises and/or other methods during the course to evaluate and assess the degree of participant learning occurring in the program.

5.2 Provide Faculty current and experienced with delivering the submitted course design (Shall submit below information for at least one complete training team)

· Proposed faculty members shall have meaningfully participated in delivering the submitted design with leaders in the Federal government

· To have meaningfully participated in the design, any trainer/instructor (or equivalent) shall have a minimum of 64 hours training this design with Federal supervisors, managers and/or executives since October 1, 2009.

· There must be at least one faculty member in this role.

· Other faculty, if any, should have a culminated minimum time of 64 hours each delivering the submitted design since October 1, 2009

· All Faculty are considered key personnel. Please refer to 1752.209-71. As such OPM will approve all Faculty bios submitted as well as any substitutions.

· Identify roles of people on the training team and provide how many people in each role. The same person may have multiple roles.

· Faculty for the program shall have in-depth subject matter expertise, as well as public sector understanding, on how to train conflict management skills and strategies.

· Faculty should have in-depth knowledge and background that allows them to relate key points and examples from a broad spectrum of government agencies

· Faculty should have minimal education credentials equivalent to a Master’s Degree. Additional credit will be given for higher-level degrees. Academic credentials should be relevant to the program.

5.2.1 Additional Instructor(s)/Trainer(s) Faculty Requirements

· A minimum of 1000 hours as a trainer of the commercial version of the Crucial Conversations© program with leaders in the Federal Government.

· A minimum of 100 hours providing developmental feedback and/or executive coaching to supervisors, managers or executives in the Federal Government

· A minimum of five years experience delivering leadership training in the federal sector

· Successfully delivered one or more module topics for the submitted design and received an evaluation rating equivalent to above average or better.

· Successfully provided developmental feedback coaching as part of the submitted design and received an evaluation rating equivalent to above average or better.

· Possess evidence of superior platform skills.

· Instructors/Trainers shall be certified as instructors of the Crucial Conversations© program.

5.3 Provide effective and efficient management and delivery of all aspects of a conflict management training program for Federal leaders delivered to multiple sites

· The contractor shall demonstrate their experience to successfully manage and deliver conflict management training programs to federal leaders at the supervisor, manager or executive levels.

· Knowledge of conflict management strategies, skills, and training approaches

· Experience providing comprehensive conflict management training services for a multiple day program

· Experience evaluating the effectiveness of a training delivery team (e.g. platform skills, subject matter expertise, coaching/facilitation effectiveness, etc.)

· Evidence of successfully delivering leadership training programs to federal employees at the supervisor, manager or executive levels (e.g., summary ratings, letters of commendation, etc.).

6.0 DELIVERABLES:

The contractor shall be deliver up to seven (7) Conflict Resolution Skills (CRS) training sessions for FY13, , in accordance with Section 5 – Summary of Requirement of this Statement of Objectives. The CRS Program is a four-day (32 hour) residential program designed to help participants resolve difficult or uncomfortable situations and turn disagreements into productive workplace discussions. The contractor shall provide the following:

6.1 Meet with Federal Staff within 5 business days of award to finalize any customization to the design, get approval for the primary instructor team faculty, and to discuss formatting of class materials.

6.2 Provide new, fully trained CRS faculty team(s) upon the request of the Contracting Officer Representative (COR)

· Provide bios for an additional Faculty team within 90 days upon written request of the COR.

· New faculty must be approved by the COR for use in the program

· New faculty must be ready to deliver the program within 90 days of acceptance by the COR

6.3 Provide all preparation (pre-session) work in a timely manner to ensure course delivery is smoothly executed and all components for a successful delivery are in place and ready to go at course start-up.

6.3.1. Provides an electronic copy of all class material, in their native format, within 30 days of award for approval of the COR

a. All materials shall be in a Microsoft Office format (i.e., PowerPoint, Excel or Word) unless otherwise authorized by the COR.

b. For the Febuary 4-7, 2013 delivery date only, the electronic copy must be received by January 21, 2013

c. As material changes occur, provides updated files, in their native format, to the COR within 30 days of the change

6.3.2. Provides a high level instructor training guide within 60 days of award for approval of the COR

a. At a minimum, the guide must be organized into three columns: Time; Activity/Instruction; and Notes.

b. The guide should be in sufficient detail that a new member of the training team can understand what is being taught at any given time, what the learning outcome(s) is, the basic approach to how this segment is being taught, and what additional resources, if any, are needed.

c. The guide should be kept update throughout the year, and new versions provided to the OPM Course Manger periodically or upon request.

6.3.3. Confirm faculty availability 30 days prior to session delivery, and if any proposed changes provide faculty/schedule updates within 3 business days to the COR.

a. Shall Ensure all Faculty have suitable accommodations for meals and lodging during the program, and have made fair and reasonable travel arrangements as needed. See Section 11 – Travel for additional details.

b. For the Febuary 4-7, 2013 delivery date only, faculty must be confirmed by January 21, 2013

6.3.4. If there is any participant pre-work for the program, arranges for purchase of pre-work materials (e.g., articles, books, assessments, etc.) and distributes pre-work materials by email or other electronic means 5 weeks (35 days) prior to session start.

a. If assessments are involved as pre-work, manages the entire assessment process including reminders to participants to complete assessment(s), providing completion status updates to the OPM Course Manger, printing of reports for participants, and if needed providing electronic copies of reports to qualified coaches that will be debriefing participants.

b. For the Febuary 4-7, 2013 delivery date only, any pre-work materials must be sent out to participants by January 21, 2013

6.3.5. Email all course material to be reproduced by OPM for a given class session (e.g., notebook, handouts, etc.) to the COR 30 days prior to session delivery.

a. The notebook shall be submitted as a single pdf file

· Due to file size, the notebook file may be required to be provided via a DROPBOX account or similar system.

b. All other materials (e.g., handouts) shall be in a Microsoft Office format (i.e., PowerPoint, Excel or Word) unless otherwise authorized by the COR.

c. Shall email a Change sheet to the COR that identifies all changes made in submitted materials so that changes may be easily located and reviewed by the COR for acceptance.

d. For the Febuary 4-7, 2013 delivery date only, course material to be reproduced must be received by January 21, 2013

6.3.6. Ensures all class materials for a given class session, not being reproduced by OPM, is purchased and arrives at the delivery site at least three (3) business days prior to a class session start (See Section #13 – Place of Performance for session dates).

6.4 Manage all faculty

· Submit a schedule of Faculty assigned to each known session date within 30 days of award for approval by the COR.

· As new delivery dates are established, provide faculty/schedule updates within 5 business days of notification.

· Ensures all Faculty have suitable accommodations for meals and lodging during the program, as well as fair and reasonable travel arrangements as needed.

· See Section 11 – Travel for additional details on what travel costs may be reimbursed

· Ensures all Faculty are properly trained and oriented to teach the program, and that they follow the class design

· Ensures all faculty arrive in the class meeting area at least 30 minutes to program start each day 6.5 Manage and deliver course sessions utilizing the program design, per locations stated in Section 9 - Place of Performance below. Each program delivery must be 4.5 days (36 hours) in duration.

· The contractor is an integral part of each session

· Shall contact the COR if support of some kind is needed, and/or to inform the COR of unusual or emergency conditions (e.g., a participant injury, participant not showing up to class, equipment failure, etc.)

· Oversees the training delivery and makes real-time calls for design adjustments as needed.

· Note any permanent changes made to course design are subject to approval from the COR.

6.6 Ensure a consistent participant experience and privacy of information

· The program shall be delivered by the same Faculty to ensure continuity of training, or the contractor shall ensure that other Faculty can deliver the program in the same way so that the it maintains the same level of quality and participants show the same levels of satisfaction.

· All participant information gathered as part of the program is to be treated as confidential and private. All such information is Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

· The contractor shall provide a PII protection plan within 60 days of contract award to the COR for approval.

· The contractor must ensure procedures are in place to protect PII. Such information may only be shared among faculty that have a need to know, and that at no times does a participant have access to another participant’s information.

· At the end of each session delivery all PII is to be shipped to a designated OPM site for destruction.

6.7 Close out each session with the COR

· Respond to any and all final inquiries or open issues within 3 work days of the session completion.

· Conduct one 30-minute post-delivery telecom (per session) with the COR within 5 working days of each session completion. This time will be used to review attendee evaluations and provide information on observations and recommendations.

· Works with the COR to customize and refine the program as needed.

6.8 Periodically review the course design and content, make recommendations for improvement, and upon COR approval makes changes.

· At a minimum such reviews shall be done at least once during the contract period or annually , whichever is shorter

· Upon COR approval, the contractor shall provide minor updates to activities or scenarios at no cost as a routine part of the contract

· For major updates, the Contractor will provide an estimate of hours to do such work, along with a work schedule for completion.

· If the hours estimate and work schedule is approved by the COR the work may proceed based on the hourly design rate submitted as part of this proposal.

7. COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS

OPM maintains a limited reproduction capability. Properly cleared materials can be copied and packaged for distribution to OPM program participants with prior coordination with selected vendors. For curriculum packages greater than 100 pages or where more than 100 copies are needed, the vendor may have to reproduce and deliver the materials in accordance with “packaging” and “branding” requirements described below.

It is the responsibility of the Contractor to comply with copyrighted material laws, rules and regulations for materials they use in the performance of this contract. This includes the marking of materials and obtaining permissions to use copyrighted material.

A contractor proposing to use other materials that have third-party copyright restrictions are responsible for obtaining the proper permissions to use and reproduce that material the material. The Contractor will also be responsible for ensuring the material is properly marked prior to copies being made. If use of third-party proprietary materials requires the contractor to be certified in the use of such materials, the contractor will be required to provide proof that they hold a current certification.

If a Contractor is required to develop or improve any non-copyrighted existing course materials while performing under this purchase order, OPM will have the exclusive rights to any and all of that work, including improvements and developments created by the Contractor as a result of performing services. Materials will be marked accordingly. Contractors may not claim or otherwise use such materials, courses or programs developed under this contract for their own use without express approval from OPM.

8. PURCHASE OF MATERIALS

Where the contractor is required to provide program/class materials, such materials are subject to OPM’s approval. The contractor shall be conscientious in limiting the extent of these types of purchases to the absolute numbers and the lowest costs appropriate to achieving desired learning outcomes.

9. PACKAGING

Program/class materials must be packaged and packed for shipment in such a manner that will ensure acceptance by common carriers and safe delivery at destination. Containers and closures shall comply with the Interstate Commerce Commission regulations, Uniform Freight Classification Rules, National Motor Freight Classification, or regulations of other carriers as applicable to the mode of transportation.

10. BRANDING

Material produced for use in OPM courses should be branded to reflect the OPM organization hosting/sponsoring the developmental opportunity. Specific logos and slogans will be provided to the contractor upon contract award. In no instance may a contracted curriculum developer or supplier include organizational advertisements or contact information, or otherwise market their organization or services to OPM participants. Such marketing and/or advertising by contracted personnel is expressly forbidden within the confines of OPM learning environments.

11. TRAVEL

Travel by air shall be negotiated at a fair and reasonable price, not to exceed coach fare.

The costs for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred by contractor personnel shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable to the extent they do not exceed, on a daily basis, the per diem rates set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). The

Travel by privately owned vehicle shall be at the current GSA approved mileage rate. Traveling expenses for Faculty living within a 35 mile radius of the training site will not be reimbursed.

The contractor will be reimbursed for their actual travel expenses incurred, in accordance with the FTR. If the Contractor incurs travel costs in excess of the amount negotiated and agreed upon for each task order, it is at the contractor’s own expense.

12. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

9 months (3 month base period and 6 one-month periods) from the date of award.

13. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

*Requires two simultaneous deliveries this week, i.e., two complete Faculty teams are needed

14. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:

· Attachment A: CRS Description Template (Technical Volume)

· Attachment B: Technical Proposal Charts

· Attachment C: Pricing Proposal Charts

15. AWARD TYPE

The Government intends to award one Firm Fixed Price Contract as a result of this solicitation.

16. QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN:

A. Background: The quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP) describes how OPM will monitor and evaluate contractor performance. This QASP describes in more detail how services will be evaluated and the consequences of performance below requirements. Contractor performance will be evaluated by OPM staff, customers, and participants attending the course or program. OPM performance scores are established each year in it performance plans. The success of OPM programs therefore is directly linked to the success of contractors providing or assisting OPM faculty and staff in the design and/or delivery of programs and services.

B. Purpose: The QASP describes the general level of performance that will be acceptable for each type of service listed in the solicitation. Specific performance objectives and conditions will vary according to the service delivery agreements negotiated with OPM customers.

C. Roles and Responsibilities of Contracting Officer and Contracting Officers Representative (COR) and OPM staff: The OPM Contracting Officer will award the contract for services to contractor(s) that best meet OPM requirements. The contract will include the specific services to be provided by the contractor, the location for delivery of service, the time and dates for the services, and the agreed to or set price to be paid.

The COR will provide on-site instruction to the contractor as needed and shall monitor the delivery of courses or programs or observe the delivery of other services. Contractor flexibility in making adjustments in delivery of services is required and expected. Changes in the requirements of staff and customers may occur and may result in cancellation of an order and/or rescheduling of services. These changes will be communicated to the contractor by the COR or OPM staff managing the activity.

D. Acceptable Quality Levels and how performance will be measured:

Customer satisfaction with service.

Submit bios of an additional qualified Faculty team to deliver program within 90 days upon written request of the COR.

Additional qualified Faculty team successfully delivers the program within 90 days of their bios being accepted by the COR.

If there is any participant pre-work for the program, arranges for purchase of pre-work materials and distributes pre-work materials by email or other electronic means 5 weeks prior to session start.

Ensures all class materials for a given class session, not being reproduced by OPM, is purchased and arrives at the delivery site at least three (3) business days prior to class start

Oversees the training delivery and makes real-time calls for design adjustments as needed. Appropriate procedures are in place to protect PII. PII information remains confidential.

Thirty-minute post course delivery evaluation of participant feedback

(per course) within five business days after receipt of Metrics that Matters© evaluation

E. End of Service Debriefing and Evaluation of Services: The OPM staff will meet with contractors following the delivery of a program or service or when a debriefing can be mutually arranged to discuss the contractor’s performance. The review will cover services delivered, the reactions of program participants, faculty and staff and other comments of relevance to satisfactory performance. The purpose of the program debrief is to improve the quality of services, establish better understanding of expectations for services, modify service to better meet future requirements, and determine suitability of the contractor for future work.

F. Termination or Succession of contract: The Contracting Officer upon the recommendations of the COR may not request further services from contractors that do not meet quality performance levels based on degree of negative feedback received from observers of the service, program staff, and/or client agency.

G. Contracting Officers Representative (COR) and Evaluation Staff: The evaluation of service is most important to OPM. Input for performance evaluations will be actively sought by the COR and OPM staff that are part of the service area and have contact with the service provider. The customer or client agency will play an important part in the evaluation process. Technical knowledge, delivery of service, strong interpersonal skills and ability to effectively communicate with and get along with customers, faculty, and staff are critical aspects of quality service that are measured by the evaluation staff.

(1) OPM SPECIFIC CLAUSES

1752.200-70 On-Site Working Conditions (July 2005)

(a) OPM facilities are smoking restricted workplaces. Due to the nature of the work, facilities, and requirements, contractor staff may only smoke outside in designated smoking areas.

(b) Normal operating hours are 7:00 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Meeting task objectives within specific timeframes may require the working of extended/overtime hours. Any extended hours must be authorized in advance, and certified as worked by the task Government Project Manager(s).

(c) Government personnel observe the following days as holidays:

* If the date falls on a Saturday, the Government holiday is the preceding Friday. If the date falls on a Sunday, the Government holiday is the following Monday.

(d) In addition to the days designated as holidays, the Government observes the following days:

· Any other day designated by Federal Statute

· Any other day designated by Executive Order

· Presidential Inauguration Day

· Any other day designated by the President’s Proclamation

(e) It is understood and agreed between the Government and the Contractor that observance of such days by Government personnel shall not otherwise be a reason for an additional period of performance, or entitlement of compensation except as set forth within the contract. In the event the Contractor's personnel work during the holiday, they may be reimbursed by the Contractor, however, no form of holiday or other premium compensation will be reimbursed either as a direct or indirect cost, other than their normal compensation for the time worked. This provision does not preclude reimbursement for authorized overtime work if applicable to this contract.

(f) When the Federal, State, Local or other Governmental entity grants excused absence to its employees, assigned Contractor personnel may also be dismissed. The Contractor agrees to continue to provide sufficient personnel to perform critical tasks already in operation or scheduled, and must be guided by the instructions issued by the CO or COR.

(g) If Government personnel are unavailable due to furlough or any other reason, the Contractor must contact the CO or the COR to receive direction. It is the Government's decision as to whether the contract price/cost will be affected. Generally, the following situations apply:

(1) Contractor personnel who are able to continue contract performance (either on-site or at a site other than their normal workstation), must continue to work and the contract price shall not be reduced or increased.

(2) Contractor personnel who are not able to continue contract performance (e.g., support functions) may be asked to cease their work effort. This may result in a reduction to the contract price.

1752.204-70 Contractor Personnel Security Requirements (Jan 2008)

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-05-24, referenced in paragraph (a) of FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel, is available on-line at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2005/m05-24.pdf.

The Government may require security clearances for performance of this contract. The Contractor must obtain these clearances before beginning work on the contract (OPM will not allow Contractor employees without clearance in any of its facilities). The Contractor must obtain these clearances by using the eQIP system. If satisfactory security arrangements cannot be made with the Contractor, the required services must be obtained from other sources.

The level of classified access required will be indicated on DD-254 or other appropriate form incorporated into each request requiring access to classified information. Contractors are required to have background investigations for suitability if they occupy positions of trust (e.g., systems administration) even if they do NOT have access to classified information.

Necessary facility and/or staff clearances must be in place prior to start of work on the contract

Contractors are responsible for the security, integrity and appropriate authorized use of their systems interfacing with the Government and or used for the transaction of any and all Government business. The Government, through the Government's Contracting Officer, may require the use or modification of security and/or secure communications technologies related to Government systems access and use.

The Government, at its discretion, may suspend or terminate the access and/or use of any or all Government access and systems for conducting business with any/or all Contractors when a security or other electronic access, use or misuse issue gives cause for such action. The suspension or termination may last until such time as the Government determines that the situation has been corrected or no longer exists.

1752.205-70 Announcement of Contract Award (July 2006)

OPM complies with FAR 5.3, Synopses of Contract Awards, in terms of synopsizing and publicly announcing contract awards. These actions take place at the time of, and not before, the contract is awarded. Contract award, in this case, means signature of the contractual document by the Contracting Officer and forwarding of the contractual document to the contract awardee. If the contract awardee wishes to make a separate public announcement, the awardee must obtain the approval of the Contracting Officer prior to releasing the announcement, and must plan to make announcement only after the contract has been awarded.

1752.209-70 Contractor Performance Capabilities (July 2005)

The Contractor must be capable of performing all the tasks described in the Statement of Work. The Government shall not be liable for any costs or other involvement in the purchase, repair, maintenance or replacement of Contractor items used to implement or comply with requirements of the contract. Likewise, the Government shall in no way be held accountable by the Contractor for the Contractor’s inability to perform under this Contract due to Government technology implementations and or changes.

1752.209-71 Contractor’s Key Personnel (July 2005)

In order to ensure a smooth and orderly start up of work, it is essential that the key personnel specified in the Contractor's proposal be available on the effective date of the contract. If these personnel are not made available at that time, the Contractor must notify the Government Contracting Officer and show cause. If the Contractor does not show cause, the Contractor may be subject to default action.

The Contractor shall not of its own will remove or replace any personnel designated as "key" personnel without the written concurrence of the cognizant Contracting Officer. Prior to utilizing employees other than specified personnel, the Contractor shall notify the Government Contracting Officer and the COR. This notification must be no later than five (5) calendar days in advance of any proposed substitution and must include justification (including resume(s) of proposed substitution(s)) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on contract performance.

Substitute personnel qualifications must be equal to, or greater than, those of the personnel being substituted. If the Government Contracting Officer and the COR determine that the proposed substitute personnel is unacceptable, or that the reduction of effort would be so substantial as to impair the successful performance of the work under the contract, the Contractor may be subject to default action. If deemed necessary by the Government, substitute personnel must be given a one-(1) day orientation by Contractor personnel at no additional cost to the Government and with no change in the delivery schedule.

In the event that the performance of assigned Contractor personnel or any substitute(s) is determined by the Government to be unsatisfactory at any time during the life of the Contract, the Government reserves the right to request and receive satisfactory personnel replacement within five (5) calendar days of receipt by the Contractor of written notification.

Notification will include the reason for requesting replacement personnel.

The Contractor-supplied personnel are employees of the Contractor and under the administrative control and supervision of the Contractor. The Contractor, through its personnel, shall perform the tasks prescribed herein. The Contractor must select, supervise, and exercise control and direction over its employees (including subcontractors) under this Contract. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the Contractor in its performance of contractual services under this contract. The Contractor is accountable to the Government for the action of its personnel.

The Contractor is herewith notified that employee recruiting and employee retention practices shall be monitored on a regular basis.

1752.209-72 Qualifications of Contractor’s Employees (July 2005)

The Contracting Officer may require dismissal from work of those employees which he/she deems incompetent, careless, insubordinate, unsuitable or otherwise objectionable, or whose continued employment he/she deems contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the best interest of national security. The Contractor must fill out, and cause each of its employees on the contract work to fill out, for submission to the Government, such forms as may be necessary for security or other reasons. Upon request of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor's employees must be fingerprinted. Each employee of the Contractor who works on this contract shall be a citizen of the United States of America, or an alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence as evidenced by Alien Registration Receipt Card Form 1-151, or who presents other evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service that employment will not affect his/her immigration status.

1752.209-73 Standards of Conduct (June 2006)

Personnel assigned by the contractor to the performance of work under this order must be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct. Contractor personnel shall conform to standards of conduct as follows:

No contractor employees shall solicit new business while performing work under this order.

The contractor and its employees shall not discuss with unauthorized persons any information obtained in the performance of work under this order.

Should the continued assignment to work under this order of any person in the contractor’s organization be deemed by the Contracting Officer to conflict with the interests of the Government, that person shall be removed immediately from assignment, and the reason for removal shall be fully documented in writing by the Contracting Officer. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules, and if such difficulties impair performance, the contractor may be subject to default.

1752.209-74 Organizational Conflicts of Interest (July 2005)

The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor’s knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest (OCI), as defined in FAR 9.5, Organizational and Consultants Conflicts of Interest, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information.

The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential OCI is discovered after award, the Contractor shall make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure must include a description of actions, which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict.

The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an OCI. If the Contractor was aware of a potential OCI prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contacting Office, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

The Contractor must include this clause in all subcontracts and in lower tier subcontracts unless a waiver is requested…