RFI.pdf

U.S. Department of State ILEA San Salvador Catering

International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs Sources Sought / Request for Information

Instructions

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

Notice Type: Sources Sought / Request for Information

Title: ILEA San Salvador Catering Services

Agency: U.S. Department of State

Office: Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Location: San Salvador, El Salvador

• NAICS Code: 722310 - Food Service Contractors

1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this Sources Sought (SS) / Request for Information (RFI) is to accomplish market research pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10, and to identify qualified small businesses capable of and interested in performing the functions described in the Statement of Work. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the

Government to form a binding contract. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment on the part of the

Government to conduct a solicitation for the below-listed services in the future. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for information submitted in response to this SS, nor will it compensate respondents for any costs incurred in the development/furnishing of a response. The Government will not entertain telephone calls or questions for this SS. Note that a decision not to submit a response to this

SS/RFI will not preclude a vendor from participating in any future solicitation.

Additionally, the purpose of this sources sought is to communicate and solicit feedback from industry on the “Draft” version of an upcoming overseas requirement for catering service requested is specifically designed for ILEA participants/students attending training at the academy. The catering company must provide breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two (2) coffee/snack breaks daily during scheduled classes.

Additionally, meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) must be provided on weekends for participants staying at the academy, as well as during participant’s arrival and departures times. The catering company must agree to accommodate any changes to the academic course calendar due to unforeseen circumstances.

The contractor providing food services to the ILEA Academy must demonstrate a high degree of flexibility. This is due to the variable nature of ILEA class activities, which can take place either within or outside of ILEA facilities. These variations may necessitate changes in service hours or request periods without service. The provision of food service is contingent upon two (2) factors: the receipt of funding for training and the presence of ongoing training. The ILEA operates on an annual budget, typically ensuring funding for the entire calendar year once the budget is approved. However, there may be intervals when no classes are scheduled. The contractor will be informed of such periods as soon as possible, bearing in mind that course dates may also change. It is important to note that the ILEA conducts classes on both ES and US holidays. Therefore, if students are attending classes at the ILEA

Academy during these holidays, food service must be provided. This requirement extends to weekends as well.

While responses will be accepted from all companies, the Department will use the information received in response to this SS/RFI to inform its competition method and set-aside determination. Small businesses from all socioeconomic platforms are highly encouraged to respond to this posting.

*Note: All acquisition details and technical requirements outlined in the Draft Statement of Work are subject to change between now and when the solicitation is posted.

U.S. Department of State ILEA San Salvador Catering

International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs Sources Sought / Request for Information

1.1 Select Acquisition Details

• All prospective offerors must be registered in the System for Award

Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award.

• The anticipated contract type is firm-fixed-price (reference FAR 16.202).

• The Government anticipates releasing the RFP in April of 2019; however, this date is subject to change.

• The contract will be awarded utilizing the best value trade-off source selection methodology. For this acquisition, technical merit is more important than cost/price. This means that the offeror's technical expertise is more significantly weighted than cost/price. As technical merit of the

Offeror's proposals become more equal, the evaluated cost or price may become the determining award factor.

2.0 Instructions

Responses should be limited to 10 pages or less and be submitted as a Microsoft Word Document or

Portable Document Format (PDF). Submissions should include responses to the following categories:

Company Profile, Technical Capability and Recent/Relevant Experience, and Government Questions to

Industry. Please do not provide generic capability statements, as they shall add no value to this

SS/RFI.

Company Profile, to include:

• General Business Information, completing the following table:

Company Name:

Company Point-of-Contact

Email:

Phone:

DUNS Number:

Facility Clearance Level: Example: None, Secret, Top

Secret

CAGE Code:

Small Business Socioeconomic

Status

Example: Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business;

HUBZone; Economically

Disadvantaged Woman-

Owned; Service Disabled

Veteran Owned; 8(a)

Registered in the System for

Award Management:

Yes/No

On the Excluded Party List: Yes/No

GSA Schedule? If applicable

List of Other Government Vehicles this Work Can be Accessed through:

U.S. Department of State ILEA San Salvador Catering

International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs Sources Sought / Request for Information

Socio-Economic Status:

Provide information pertaining to your company’s socio-economic status for federal procurement programs (small, HUBZone, 8(a), Women-owned, veteran-owned, etc.) under NAICS code 722310. The size standard for NAICS 722310 is $7.5M.

Products and Services:

o Is your company authorized to do business (i.e., business licenses) in El Salvador?

o What areas of El Salvador are serviced by your company? Briefly describe your current logistical capabilities in El Salvador.

o Provide a brief description of your corporate experience in El Salvador.

o Would your company need to subcontract any part of the work? Please explain.

Technical Capability and Recent/Relevant Experience, to include:

• Address the requirements contained in the Statement of Work. In addressing the requirements, weight and detail paragraphs and bullets as deemed appropriate. U.S. Department of State ILEA San Salvador

Residence Hall Services International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs Sources Sought / Request for

Information Instructions

• Provide recent/relevant experience, capabilities, contracts, and customer information as deemed appropriate. o For past performance cited, vendors are encouraged to include a POC at the Government

Agency or business at which work was performed.

Government Questions to Industry, to include:

In order to foster the maximum amount of competition that will lead to the best value solution, the

Government would like to solicit industry feedback on how to better develop the RFP and resulting contract. To do so, the Government welcomes responses to the following questions:

• What additional information would your company find most helpful to develop and submit a technical and price proposal for this requirement for a best value tradeoff award?

• What is the best contract type to utilize to incentivize performance and meet the goals of the Statement of Work?

• Please offer any other questions or recommendations that might help the Government refine the SOW or

RFP.

• Please provide any comments on the anticipated NAICS Code or provide potential alternative NAICS

Codes to satisfy the requirements.

Companies are welcome to provide any brief concluding remarks and comments, as deemed appropriate.

At this time, the Government will not entertain telephone calls or questions for this SS. The Government may choose to reach out directly to vendors after reviewing and evaluating the submissions.

2.1 How to Respond

Please submit your response no later than 27 November 2024 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time, with electronic files sent to the following point of contact:

• Margaret (Renee) Gaudreau: Contracting Officer- gaudreaumr@state.gov