PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS.docx

DDSB Solicitation DRAFT PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

The following instructions are for the preparation and submission of proposals. The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the format and content of proposals, so proposals contain all information essential for a thorough evaluation. Proposals that do not comply with the detailed instructions for the format and content of the proposal may render the Offeror ineligible for award.

The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the instructions and evaluation criteria set forth in the PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS and BASIS OF AWARD sections of this solicitation. The Government will not reimburse Offerors for any cost incurred for the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this solicitation.

Offerors are instructed to read the entire solicitation document, including all attachments, prior to submitting questions and/or preparing a proposal. The electronic solicitation documents, as posted on www.ebuy.gsa.gov/ebuy, will be the “official” documents for this solicitation. Omission of any information or items from the proposal submission requirements may result in rejection of the offer.

A single Task Order award will result from this solicitation. Therefore, an Offeror (as identified in Block 17A of the SF1449) may only submit a single proposal for this solicitation. An Offeror found submitting more than one proposal will have ALL its proposals disqualified and removed from further award consideration.

Definitions The following definitions are established to provide clarity to aspects of proposals submitted in response to the DDSB solicitation.

Subcontractor means an individual or business firm contracting to perform part or all of another's contract.

Due Date and Submission Instructions Proposal Due Date: No later than Month XX, 2025, at 1400 Central. Proposals received after the due date and time specified herein will be considered late.

Offerors shall submit all volumes of their proposal via email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist below. Offerors are cautioned that no email shall be submitted exceeding 20MB due to limitations experienced by the Government email system with regard to reliably delivering/receiving emails larger than 20MB. That may mean that you will need to send multiple emails to ensure the 20MB limitation is not exceeded. In that case, please clearly indicate the number of emails (e.g., “1 of 5”, “2 of 5”, etc.) in the subject line and provide a list of documents attached to THAT specific email in the body of the email.

It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the electronic files submitted are virus free and can be opened and read by the Government. The proposal shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Files (.pdf) except where a template was provided by the Government (Volume V). When a template is provided by the Government, the quoter shall submit the template in the same file format as the original. Proposal submissions shall not be locked, password protected, encrypted, or otherwise contain barriers to opening. Documents will be Optical Character Recognition (OCR) accessible. Offeror’s proposals shall not contain classified data.

Solicitation Questions Due Date: No later than Month XX, 2025, at 1400 Central.

If you believe you have identified a possible discrepancy in the solicitation (e.g., errors, omissions, or otherwise unclear or unsound), Offerors shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing with supporting rationale.

Offerors shall address all questions, clarifications, or concerns regarding this solicitation by completing the DDSB Questions Matrix at SOL Attachment 1 and submitting via email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist below.

Proposal Content and Organization Each proposal shall consist of five Volumes, complying with page limitations, as follows:

The Scenarios Subfactor includes both written and oral components, which will be evaluated together to determine the Subfactor rating.

All files for each Volume, with the exception of Volume IV Staffing Matrix- SOL Attachment 2 and Volume V, including the signed SF1449 and all amendments for Volume I, shall be converted and combined into a single PDF file for the corresponding Volume prior to submission. Files shall conform to the following file naming convention: OFFEROR NAME VOL_X

“OFFEROR NAME” shall be replaced with name of Offeror submitting the proposal in response to this solicitation.

“X” shall be replaced with the Volume name, i.e., Volume I.

Volume I – Administrative and Compliance The Offeror shall provide the following in Volume I.

Cover Letter The Offeror shall submit a cover letter, which includes a table of contents for all volumes, as well as a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used. In the cover letter, Offerors shall confirm completion all Representations and Certifications for itself, the Prime, and any proposed Subcontractor in the Online Representations and Certifications at the System for Award Management (SAM) https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM.

Company Information The Offeror shall submit for itself and any proposed Subcontractor the following company information:

Company Name Authorized Negotiator Point of Contact (POC) POC Phone Number POC Email Address Mailing and Physical address(es) Business Type (e.g., Large Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, 8 (a), HUBZone, Woman-owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business, Veteran-owned Small Business) Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code & Unique Entity ID (UEI) GSA Contract Number

SF1449

The Offeror shall sign the SF1449 and all amendments and submit as part of Volume I.

Organizational Conflicts of Interest Mitigation Plan The Offeror shall submit for itself and any proposed Subcontractors, a completed OCI mitigation plan along with the OCI Mitigation Plan Checklist (Attachment 4).

Facility Security Clearance The Offeror shall provide the following statement and information evidence of an active Facility Clearance Level (FCL) of Secret or higher in good standing for itself.

CERTIFICATION

[Offeror name] certifies it received a facility security clearance at the [level] on [date] and that its current FCL is [level] and is in good standing with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

Contact information of company Facility Security Officer (FSO) to include:

Name Phone number Email address Physical address

Contact information of Government Industrial Security Representative (ISR) to include:

Name Phone number Email address Physical address

Volume II - Factor 1 (Technical), Subfactor 1 (Approach) The Offeror shall provide its approach to executing the DDSB O&S IT Services requirements as described in the DDSB O&S IT Services PWS.

· The Offeror shall describe its understanding of the requirements, the current operational environment, and its high-level approach to providing the required services, which must include tiered support and ITIL 4 practices.

· The Offeror shall describe the characteristics, conditions, and/or variables it believes will have a direct and critical impact on the effectiveness, efficiency, and viability of the Offeror’s approach.

· The Offeror shall describe its approach to risks and managing risks. The Offeror will identify any significant risks it sees for providing the services and propose mitigations.

· The Offeror shall describe the overall timeline of activities from the Award Date through Transition and the implementation of its approach, to include critical milestones related to Transition.

· The Offeror shall describe its approach to meeting the performance requirements and service levels in the PRS. The Offeror will also describe how it attends to the interdependencies with the CIO & PEO MS (J-6) and other service providers, including the EITSI and the DHAGSC.

· The Offeror shall describe its approach to implementing a unique Continual Improvement Practice (CIP) for DDSB requirements and its processes and practices around service improvement initiatives to ultimately migrate to one standard with the DHAGSC. This shall include any innovative techniques the Offeror intends to use as part of its approach.

Volume III - Factor 1 (Technical), Subfactor 2 (Scenarios) The Offeror’s proposal for Scenarios Subfactor will consist of two parts: a brief to support Oral Presentations and an Oral Presentation. The Offeror shall construct its response to the Scenarios consistent with this solicitation.

Offerors shall provide an Oral Presentation addressing the Scenarios provided by the Government. Each Offeror will be provided details, including logistical and supporting information, scenario background and specific questions to address (SOL Attachment 5) the Oral Presentation no later than one (1) week prior to the Offeror’s schedule Oral Presentation. Scenarios will include the following topic areas:

Scenario #1- McAfee Policy Auditor Impact on Domain Controllers Scenario #2- Endpoint Management Scenario #3- ICAM & Cybersecurity Assurance

Scenarios Written Submission The Offeror shall provide a brief to support its response Scenarios Written Submission to the Scenarios in the Oral Presentation. The format of the brief is at the Offeror’s discretion and must be able to be presented via the Department of Defense’s DHA MED365 Microsoft Teams during the Oral Presentation. The Offeror shall ensure accuracy, thoroughness, and consistency between the brief and Oral Presentation.

No later than 1400 Central the day before the Oral Presentation, the Offeror’s brief shall be submitted via email to the Government CO. Briefs received after the deadline will be considered untimely and may not be evaluated or considered for award.

No additional material other than the responses to the Scenarios should be included in the brief. Other material (e.g., backup, reference) not presented during the Oral Presentation will not be considered for evaluation.

No price information shall be included in the brief.

Oral Presentation The Oral Presentation will be an opportunity for Offerors to demonstrate their ability to deliver the required services using repeatable processes and methodologies that obtain the required quality levels within the unique Government IT environment.

No price information shall be included in the Oral Presentation or discussed during the presentation.

The Government may engage in exchanges with Offerors during the Question and Answer (Q&A) session of the Oral Presentation. The Government CO will indicate when the Presentation and Questions and Answers times start and finish. These exchanges provide the opportunity for dialogue among the parties to clarify or amplify statements already included in the Oral Presentation; to address questions regarding the Oral Presentation; to address unclear or ambiguous information in the presentation; and to resolve minor or clerical errors. As a result of these exchanges, the Government will not allow revisions to the previously submitted written proposal.

Estimated Oral Presentation Schedule

Scheduling and Preparation The order of the Oral Presentations will be determined based on a random drawing once the solicitation has closed. Oral Presentations will be scheduled in the order drawn and the Government will inform the Offeror of its scheduled Oral Presentation date no later than three (3) business days following the solicitation closing.

Two days prior to the scheduled Oral Presentation, the Offeror shall email the Government CO a list of its Oral Presentation attendees with full name, title within the company, designation if Key Personnel, phone number, and email address. This information will be used for verification of attendees; only those individuals on the list will be allowed to join the MS Teams session. Only the Offeror’s Key Personnel and Subject Matter Experts shall conduct the Oral Presentation and respond to questions on behalf of the Offeror. No other Offeror personnel shall speak during the Oral Presentation unless specifically asked by the Government CO.

Setup The Oral Presentation shall be conducted virtually using the Department of Defense’s DHA MED365 Microsoft Teams and will be recorded. The Government will provide a test of Microsoft Teams for the Offeror the morning of the scheduled Oral Presentation.

The Offeror will be given thirty (30) minutes for set up.

Oral Presentation Following opening remarks by the Government CO, the Offeror will be allocated a maximum of ninety (90) minutes to address the Oral Presentation Scenarios. Offeror may allocate the presentation time as it sees fit.

Offeror team makes the presentation to the Government team. During the presentation, the Government team will not ask questions or respond to Offeror questions. However, the Government CO will address any Oral Presentation process-related questions.

Q&A Session After the presentation, the Government team will break to formulate any questions it has regarding the Oral Presentation.

The Government team will then ask the Offeror its questions. The purpose of this Q&A session is to allow the Government team to ask questions only to the extent deemed necessary for the evaluators to understand sufficiently and clearly what has been presented during the Oral Presentation.

This Q&A Session will involve Offeror and Government team verbal exchanges led by the Government CO. The Offeror may caucus on the call, or another call away from the Government, as it sees fit. The Q&A session will be no more than thirty (30) minutes, including any time for the Offeror to caucus or discuss the Government questions.

Volume IV - Factor 2 (Staffing Plan) Offeror shall submit its approach and capability to successfully staff with qualified personnel in a timely manner to include at a minimum:

Overall Staffing Approach

· Offeror’s approach to timely identify and staff the personnel necessary to fulfill all LCATs with qualified personnel, including DoDM 8140.03 requirements.

· Rationale for staffing approach and estimated level of effort specified for each Period of Performance in the Staffing Matrix (SOL Attachment 2).

· Offeror’s approach to quickly ramp up and onboard staff for Transition-In activities.

· Offeror’s approach to create staffing efficiencies and reduce the required staff and associated level of effort over time.

· Offeror’s approach to employee retention to include contingency processes for replacement of Personnel.

· Offeror’s employee retention metrics from at least two similar IT services contract covering the last three (3) consecutive full calendar years each.

· Employee retention percentage shall be calculated as the total number of employees at the end of the year minus the number of employees who voluntarily resigned during the year divided by the total number of employees at the end of the year. Retention metrics shall include only employees performing on contracts and not Subcontracts, independent Offerors, or internal/back-office employees.

· Year X Retention Rate = (Total Number of Employees at End of Year X - Total Number of Employees Who Voluntarily Resigned During Year X) ÷ Total Number of Employees at End of Year X

Key Personnel

· The Offeror shall propose 2 named individuals to fulfill the Key Personnel roles specified in the PWS Section 1.12. The Offeror’s submission shall include:

1. Key Personnel Summary (one page), which shall include a list of all individuals by name and the corresponding Key Personnel role for which each individual is proposed.

2. A resume for each individual proposed for a Key Personnel role:

a. Each resume must reflect the years of experience, education, and commercial (baseline) certifications required for the corresponding labor categories in the DDSB O&S IT Services PWS.

b. Each resume must reflect experience relevant to the specific Key Personnel role for which the individual is proposed as described in PWS Section 1.12.

3. A Letter of Commitment for each individual proposed for a Key Personnel role:

a. Each Letter of Commitment shall be a single unique page, signed and dated by the employee or candidate, and if the individual is a candidate (i.e., not a current Offeror employee) the Letter of Commitment shall also be signed and dated by an authorized hiring official of the entity hiring the individual.

b. Each Letter of Commitment shall include the following minimum requirements:

i. Commitment is valid for at least 180 days from the proposal submission.

ii. Commitment to perform for the duration of the DDSB periods of performance including all Option periods.

Staffing Matrix

· Offeror shall complete all cells highlighted in green in the Staffing Matrix (SOL Attachment 2) and shall:

· Provide its proposed staffing mix, including mapping to the Offeror’s GSA labor categories, and estimated Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) for each Period of Performance, with 1880 hours per year being equal to one FTE, to fulfill requirements.

· Indicate how positions will be filled (i.e., new hire, incumbent capture, or combination).

· For each GSA labor category, describe the related education and experience of proposed staff, with no more than 200 characters per cell.

· Describe how proposed staff will meet foundational requirements, and residential and annual maintenance qualifications as described in PWS Attachment 1 - DDSB Labor Roles, with no more than 200 characters per cell. Any gaps shall be identified and addressed within the Offeror’s Overall Staffing Approach (3.7.1) demonstrating how Offeror intends to meet requirements.

Volume V - Factor 3 (Price) Offerors shall submit Price Proposals as stated below.

· Using the Government provided Price Matrix (SOL Attachment 3) and completing all cells highlighted green, the Offeror shall:

· Indicate its GSA Labor Category mapped to the DDSB Labor Category to its GSA Labor Category, as shown in the Staffing Matrix (SOL Attachment 2).

· Propose a Fully Burden Hourly Rate for each labor category, for each Period of Performance.

· Propose FTEs per labor category, for each Period of Performance.

· Although the Price Matrix (SOL Attachment 3) includes automated formulas to calculate subtotal and total prices, Offerors are responsible for ensuring its price proposal is free from mathematical errors.

· Offerors shall assure the DDSB Labor Categories, its GSA Labor Categories, and proposed FTEs match its Staffing Matrix (SOL Attachment 2).

· Do not propose cost for any Travel and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) CLINs listed in the Price Matrix. The Government has provided Not to Exceed Estimated Values for the Travel and ODC CLINs in the Price Matrix. The Government will include these CLINs as part of the Total Evaluated Price.

· There will be one Transition-In Period that Offerors are requested to submit a proposed price. Offerors shall indicate if $0 is priced for Transition-In.

· Fully Burdened Hourly Rates proposed by the successful Offeror on the Price Matrix will be incorporated into the Award.

· The Offeror is advised that by submitting a Proposal, it agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 180 calendar days.