RFQ 61320620Q0013.pdf

SEE ADDENDUMIS CHECKED

CODE 18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

CODE

FACILITYCODE

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER

OFFEROR

CPS

ROOM 523

4330 EAST WEST HWY

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

CPS-EC CODE 16. ADMINISTERED BYCODE

X

X

541613

SIZE STANDARD:

% FOR:SET ASIDE:UNRESTRICTED ORCPS

RFPIFB

10. THIS ACQUISITION ISCODE

RFQ

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

13b. RATING

NAICS:

SMALL BUSINESS

06/23/2020 1400 ET

05/20/2020

SHERYL JOHNSON

(No collect calls)

INFORMATION CALL:

FOR SOLICITATION 8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL TIMEb. TELEPHONE NUMBER a. NAME

4. ORDER NUMBER3. AWARD/ 6. SOLICITATION

61320620Q0013

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS 1. REQUISITION NUMBER PAGE OF

1 17 CPS-2111-20-0003OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

BETHESDA MD 20814

TELEPHONE NO.

17a. CONTRACTOR/

BETHESDA MD 20814

4330 EAST WEST HIGHWAY ROOM 810-03

DIRECTORATE FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

CPS-EC

15. DELIVER TO

BETHESDA MD 20814

ROOM 523

4330 EAST WEST HWY

DIV OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES

9. ISSUED BY

7.

2. CONTRACT NO.

EFFECTIVE DATE

$16.50

18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW

ISSUE DATE

DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

11.

SEE SCHEDULEX

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13a.

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

8(A)

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

24.

AMOUNT

23.

UNIT PRICE

22.

UNIT

21.

QUANTITY

20.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

19.

ITEM NO.

******THIS IS A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)******

The Contractor shall provide market research of the United States window covering market to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in accordance with the items listed below, and the attached terms and conditions.

Any questions related to this requirement must be emailed to the Contract Specialist at

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

HEREIN, IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

DATED

ADAM D. GRAHAM

. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION (BLOCK 5),

INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE SET FORTH

COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND DELIVER

ARE

ARE

31c. DATE SIGNED

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA

31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER)

30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY ADDITIONAL

SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED.

27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only)

OFFER

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 2/2012)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT:

REF.

32e. MAILING ADDRESS OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

32c. DATE 32b. SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

ACCEPTED, AND CONFORMS TO THE CONTRACT, EXCEPT AS NOTED:

32a. QUANTITY IN COLUMN 21 HAS BEEN

RECEIVED INSPECTED

40. PAID BY39. S/R VOUCHER NUMBER38. S/R ACCOUNT NUMBER

37. CHECK NUMBER

FINALPARTIAL

36. PAYMENT

FINALPARTIAL

35. AMOUNT VERIFIED

CORRECT FOR

34. VOUCHER NUMBER33. SHIP NUMBER

COMPLETE

32g. E-MAIL OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

42d. TOTAL CONTAINERS42c. DATE REC'D (YY/MM/DD)

42b. RECEIVED AT (Location)

42a. RECEIVED BY (Print)

41c. DATE41b. SIGNATURE AND TITLE OF CERTIFYING OFFICER

41a. I CERTIFY THIS ACCOUNT IS CORRECT AND PROPER FOR PAYMENT

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 2/2012) BACK

24.

AMOUNT

23.

UNIT PRICE

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21.

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20.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

19.

ITEM NO.

sjohnson@cpsc.gov no later than June 3, 2020 at

12:00 PM ET.

Inv Approver/COR: BAILEY, MARK Inv Approver/COR

Backup1: GRIFFIN, BRETFORD

0001 Perform market research of the United States window covering market. The tasks will include producing estimates of annual sales in terms of revenue/unit volume by product type and by

"stock/custom" products as defined in ECMA

A100-1.28 section 3.

32f. TELEPHONE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

32d. PRINTED NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

17 2 of

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:

The contractor shall provide market research of the United States window covering market to the Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC. The tasks will include producing estimates of annual sales in terms of revenue/unit volume by product type and by “stock/custom” products as defined in WCMA A100-1.2018 section 3.

2. CONTRACT TYPE:

This procurement is a Firm Fixed price performance based contract.

3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) granted a petition to initiate a rulemaking to develop a mandatory safety standard for window coverings to address the risk of strangulation in young children on October 8, 2014. The Commission issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in January 2015 to collect information related to a potential mandatory rule to address the risk of strangulation to young children on window covering cords. Since then CPSC staff have attended meetings with the Window Covering Manufacturer Association (WCMA) to advice on the development/improvement of a voluntary standard that would address the risk associated with window coverings. In December of 2018 a new voluntary standard (WCMA A100-1.2018) developed by WCMA went into effect which WCMA believes will address strangulations in young children caused by corded window covering products.

WCMA A100-1.2018 eliminates cords associated with strangulations in what is defined as “stock” window covering products. Cords are still allowed in products defined as “custom” in the standard. WCMA A100-1.2018 defines “stock” products as:

a specific stock keeping unit or SKU, which is completely or substantially fabricated (as defined below) in advance of being distributed in commerce (as that term is defined in 15 U.S.C. Sect.2052(a)(7) and in advance of any specific consumer request for that product.

The SKU can either be sold “as is” or modified or adjusted by the seller, manufacturer, or distributor before or after being distributed in commerce and it would still be considered a Stock Blind, Shade and Shading. “Substantially fabricated” would include products pre-assembled in advance of a consumer order or purchase. Pre-assembled products that are modified or adjusted by the seller, manufacturer or distributor before or after being distributed in commerce will still be considered as “substantially fabricated” if they require, but is not limited to, any of the following: adjustments to size, attachment of the top rail and/or bottom rail, and/or tying of Cords to secure the Bottom Rail to finish the assembly of the product.

“Custom” products are defined as anything not meeting the definition of a “stock” product.

CPSC staff would like to study the effect on the market of the change related to the removal of cords on “stock” window covering products.

4. OBJECTIVES:

The contractor shall perform market research of the United States window covering market. The research will include creation of sales estimates by defined categories and sub categories relevant to CPSC activities. The sales estimates shall include at least the current calendar year, five previous years, and forecast the next five years. All datasets, reports, and other information sources will be provided to CPSC.

5. DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

a. Develop data collection plan and methodology for time series estimate for window covering categories and subcategories. Categories include metal or vinyl horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, curtains/drapery, wood or faux wood horizontal blinds, cellular shades, pleated shades, roller shades, soft sheer blinds (transparent/non-transparent), roman shades, sheer drapery, interior shutters. Sub categories include “stock”/“custom” as defined in WCMA A100-1.2018, and distribution channel. If data is available additional sub categories will include manufacturer, retailer, and percentage of online sales.

b. Conduct necessary data collection efforts which include but are not limited to obtaining sales databases, review of manufacturer/retailer reports, technical interviews, store audits, readily available survey data, government reports, and technical reports by industry experts.

c. Determine the annual unit/revenue volume of sales in USA of window coverings by the categories and sub categories listed above.

d. Provide a time series for all requested categories and sub categories requested for the previous five years and the current calendar year. Forecast an additional five years for use in future CPSC activities.

e. If data is available also provide manufacturer and retailer shares of unit/revenue volume for products classified as “stock” and “custom”.

6. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

It is anticipated that the place of performance of this contract will be primarily at the contractor's place of business with interviews and walkthroughs taking place at the CPSC headquarters building, the CPSC National Product Testing and Evaluation Center, and the CPSC Sample Storage Facility. These facilities are located at:

CPSC Headquarters 4340 East-West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814

CPSC National Product Testing and Evaluation Center 5 Research Place Rockville, MD 20850

CPSC Sample Storage Facility 7500 Lindbergh Drive, Unit A Gaithersburg, MD 20879

7. CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall meet the following minimum qualification requirements:

a. The contractor shall have a minimum of two years’ experience in market research and economic analysis.

b. The contractor shall demonstrate their ability in data collection, organization, and analysis.

c. The contractor shall demonstrate their ability to create a time series of sales data and provide accurate forecasts.

d. The contractor shall have at least one year experience completing technical interviews of consumer product industry experts.

e. The contractor shall have at least one year experience reviewing mandatory/voluntary product standards.

f. The Contractor shall appoint a lead program manager with overall responsibility for performance under the contract. The lead program manager shall be the single point of interface with the government for all matters concerning technical progress and problems, performance, schedule, resources, and other work-related matters.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The period of performance shall begin on the effective date of award and shall not extend beyond four (4) months.

9. DELIVERY OR PERFORMANCE :

The Contractor shall conduct bi-weekly conference calls with the government on the progress on the task. If the contractor needs a subcontractor to complete any portions of the work, the contractor shall notify CPSC staff and provide a list of potential subcontractors for CPSC staff review and approval before award.

The following items shall be performed or delivered in accordance with the following schedule:

1. Conference call within 1 week after contract award

2. Draft Report on methodology within 4 weeks of contract award

3. Final Report on methodology within 6 weeks of contract award

4. All datasets, transcripts of interviews, reports, and other information sources used to create time series within 10 weeks of contract award

5. Draft Report within 13 weeks after contract award

6. Final Report within 16 weeks after contract award, Final Report shall include a summary of all activities completed during contract.

10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:

a. All supporting data used in the preparation of the reports shall be provided in Excel spreadsheets, SAS datasets, Word documents, or PDF.

b. Reports shall be delivered according to the schedule above.

c. Reports shall be emailed to Mark Bailey (mbailey@cpsc.gov), preferably in some version of Microsoft Word. CPSC staff shall provide comments on all draft plans and reports within two weeks and final reports within three (3) weeks.

11. DELIVERY, INSPECTION, AND ACCEPTANCE

Review of documents The government will review all deliverables to ensure accuracy, functionality, completeness, professional quality, and overall compliance with government policies, regulations, laws, and directives.

All materials provided during the performance of this contract are for the exclusive use in performance of this contract. The contractor shall not release any materials to the public without prior written approval from the COR.

During the performance of this contract, all technical questions and concerns shall be coordinated with the designated COR.

The COR will accept/reject deliverables based on conformance with the SOW.

General Deliverable Acceptance Criteria The general quality measures as set forth below will be applied to each work product received from the contractor under this contract.

Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this requirement. The schedule for deliverables is specified in Section 9. All deliverables shall be prepared and submitted according to format, content, and schedule described in this SOW.

• Accuracy – Work products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style.

• Clarity – Work products shall be clear and concise. All exhibits or diagrams shall be easy to understand and relevant to the supporting narrative. Reports shall be effective, clear, and concise and include an accurate, understandable, and complete view of all of the issues identified and recommendations made.

• Specifications Validity – All work products must satisfy the requirements of the government as specified herein.

• File Editing – All text and files shall be editable by the government.

• Format – Work products shall be submitted electronically.

• Timeliness – Work products shall be submitted on or before the due date specified in the contract/order, or submitted in accordance with a later, scheduled date determined by the COR, as applicable.

All “hard copy” deliverables will be submitted on at least 30 percent recycled-content paper and printed double-sided in compliance with environmental regulations.

12. CLAUSES:

LOCAL CLAUSES

LC1A CONTRACTOR’S NOTE

Deliveries and/or shipments shall not be left at the Loading Dock. All deliveries shall be considered “inside deliveries” to the appropriate room at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and in accordance with the instructions below. When scheduling deliveries the purchase order number shall always be referenced and all packages shall clearly display the Purchase Order Number on the outside of the cartons and/or packages, to include the packing slip.

ATTENTION GOVERNMENT VENDOR

A. DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS FOR LARGE OR HEAVY ITEMS:

If the shipment or item being delivered requires use of a loading dock, advance notification is required. The contractor shall contact the Shipping and Receiving Coordinator at 301-892-0586 or Constantia Demas (301) 504-7544 forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the date the items are to arrive to schedule use of the loading dock.

LOADING DOCK HOURS OF OPERATION:

9:00 am to 11:00 am or 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday (except holidays)

Please notify contact person if there is a change in the delivery date. For changes, delays, or assistance please contact CPSC as follows:

Facilities Management Support Services (301) 504-7091 and

The COR – TBD

Upon arrival, the driver should contact the CPSC Guard, 301-504-7721, at the loading dock to obtain assistance in using freight elevators and to gain access to CPSC security areas.

2. DELIVERY INSTRUCTION FOR SMALL ITEMS

When delivering or shipping small items, the contractor and/or carrier service shall report to the 4th floor lobby, North Tower, 4330 East West Highway, to sign in with the CPSC guard. Upon completion of signing in, the contractor shall deliver all shipments to the Mail Room, Room 410.

After delivery, delivery personnel shall promptly depart the building.

MAIL ROOM HOURS OF OPERATION:

Monday through Friday (except holidays) – 7:30 am to 5:00 pm

B. BILLING INSTRUCTIONS

Pursuant to the Prompt Payment Act (P.L. 97-177) and the Prompt Payment Act Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-496) all Federal agencies are required to pay their bills on time, pay interest penalties when payments are made late, and to take discounts only when payments are made within the discount period. To assure compliance with the Act, vouchers and/or invoices shall be submitted through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). At a minimum, each invoice document submitted through IPP shall include the documentation required in the contract.

ELECTRONIC INVOICING AND PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS

Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) is a secure web-based electronic invoicing and payment information service available to all Federal agencies and their supplier by the U.S. Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service. IPP allows Federal agencies and their suppliers to exchange electronic purchase orders, blanket POs, invoices, and payment information in one easy to access web portal. This service is free of charge to government agencies and their suppliers, including services and support.

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause- (1)”Payment request” means a bill, voucher, invoice, or request for contract financing payment with associated supporting documentation. The payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), “Payment documentation and process” and the applicable Payment clause included in this contract.

(b) The Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). Information regarding IPP is available on the Internet at www.ipp.gov. Assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email ippgroup@stls.frb.org or phone (866)973-3131.

PAYMENT AND INVOICE QUESTIONS

For payment and invoice questions, contact the Accounts Payable Branch at (304) 480-8000 option 7 or via email at AccountsPayable@fiscal.treasury.gov.

Customer Service inquiries may be directed to Adriane Clark at AClark@cpsc.gov.

OVERPAYMENTS

http://www.ipp.gov/ mailto:ippgroup@stls.frb.org mailto:AccountsPayable@fiscal.treasury.gov

Accounts Receivable Conversion of Check Payments to EFT: If the Contractor sends the Government a check to remedy duplicate contract financing or an overpayment by the government, it will be converted into an electronic funds transfer (EFT). This means the Government will copy the check and use the account information on it to electronically debit the Contractor’s account for the amount of the check. The debit from the Contractor’s account will usually occur within 24 hours and will be shown on the regular account statement.

The Contractor will not receive the original check back. The Government will destroy the Contractor’s original check, but will keep a copy of it. If the EFT cannot be processed for technical reasons, the Contractor authorizes the Government to process the copy in place of the original check.

C. INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

Unless otherwise stated in the Statement of Work or Description, the Commission will ordinarily inspect all materials/services within seven (7) business days after the date of receipt. The CPSC representative responsible for inspecting the materials/services will transmit disapproval, if appropriate, to the contractor and the Contracting Officer. If other inspection information is provided in the Statement of Work or Description, it is controlling.

LC 9 Key Personnel

a. The following individuals, listed by name and title, have been identified as key personnel for performance under this contract:

b. The personnel specified above and/or in the schedule of the contract are considered to be essential to the work being performed hereunder. If these individuals are unavailable for assignment for work under the contract, or it is anticipated that their level of involvement will be significantly different from the negotiated level, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and shall submit justifications (including proposed substitutions) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on the program. The Contracting Officer shall review, and may ratify in writing, such substitutions. Prior to substitution of key personnel, the Contractor shall obtain the written consent of the Contracting Officer.

LC 10 Background Security Checks performed by the Contractor

a. All Contractor employees proposed and/or presently in service under this contract and any new Contractor employees to be utilized for performance of this contract may be subjected to background checks. Information regarding background and security checks to be performed on personnel shall be included with the proposal and contract award. These checks shall be performed at Contractor expense. The results of such checks shall be provided to the Government.

b. Identical background and security checks shall also be performed on new or substitution personnel prior to entering into service under this contract.

c. By execution of this contract, the Contractor certifies none of the employees working under this contract have been convicted of a felony, a crime of violence, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, such as a conviction of larceny within the last five (5) years.

d. The Government reserves the right to remove from service any Contractor employee for any of the following:

(1) Conviction of a felony, a crime of violence, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, such as a conviction of larceny within the last five (5) years.

(2) Falsification of information entered on security screening forms or other documents submitted to the Government.

(3) Improper conduct once performing on the contract, including criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct or other conduct prejudicial to the Government regardless of whether the conduct is directly related to the contract.

(4) Any behavior judged to pose a threat to personnel or property.

e. Failure by the contractor to comply with the terms of this clause may result in termination of the contract.

LC 21A Disclosure of Information - Limits on Publication

a. The Contractor shall submit to the Commission any report, manuscript or other document containing the results of work performed under this contract, before such document is published or otherwise disclosed to the public, to assure compliance with Section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. Section 2055(b)), Commission regulations (16 C.F.R. Part 1101), and a Commission directive (Order 1450.2). These provisions restrict disclosure by Commission Contractors of information that (1) permits the public to identify particular consumer products or

(2) reflects on the safety of a class of consumer products. Prior submission allows the Commission staff to review the Contractor's information and comply with the applicable restrictions. CPSC should be advised of the Contractor's desire to submit or publish an abstract or a report as soon as practical.

b. Any publication of, or publicity pertaining to, the Contractor's document shall include the following statement: "This project has been funded with federal funds from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission under contract number 61320620[_______ ]. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the Commission.”

LC 22 Handling of Confidential Information

a. If the Contractor obtains confidential business information about any company in connection with performance of this contract, either from the CPSC, the other company itself, or any other source, the Contractor agrees that it will hold the information in confidence and not disclose it either to anyone outside the CPSC or to any Contractor employee not involved in performance of this contract.

b. At the completion of performance of this contract, the Contractor shall return any confidential information, obtained as described above, either to its owner or to the CPSC. No such information shall be retained by the Contractor. Furthermore, the Contractor agrees not to use any such confidential business information for any purpose other than performance of this contract. During contract performance, the Contractor shall maintain confidential business information obtained as described in this article in a safe or locked file cabinet to which only employees performing work under this contract shall have access. A log shall be maintained to reflect each entry to the safe or cabinet. The Contractor shall provide to the COR, and keep current, a list of all employees with such access. The Contractor shall require each such employee to execute an affidavit as set forth in the attached “Affidavit of Disclosure” and the original and one copy of each affidavit shall be sent to the COR.

c. A site inspection of the Contractor's security measures for confidential information may be performed by the CPSC COR prior to contract award and at any time during contract performance as deemed necessary by the COR. Approval of the security measures may be a prerequisite to contract award and continued performance.

d. Failure by the contractor to comply with the terms of this clause may be treated as a default pursuant to the terms of this contract.

LC 24 Nondisclosure of any Data Developed Under this Contract

a. The Contractor agrees that it and its employees will not disclose any data obtained or developed under this contract to third parties without the consent of the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

b. The Contractor shall obtain an agreement of non-disclosure from each employee who will work on this contract or have access to data obtained or developed under this contract.

LC 31 Restrictions on Use of Information

a. If the Contractor, in the performance of this contract, obtains access to information such as CPSC plans, reports, studies, data protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), or personal identifying information (PII) which has not been released or otherwise made public, the Contractor agrees that without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer it shall not: (a) release or disclose such information, (b) discuss or use such information for any private purpose,

(c) share this information with any other party, or (d) submit an unsolicited proposal based on such information. These restrictions will remain in place unless such information is made available to the public by the Government.

b. In addition, the Contractor agrees that to the extent it collects data on behalf of CPSC, or is given access to, proprietary data, data protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, or other confidential or privileged technical, business, financial, or personal identifying information during performance of this contract, that it shall not disclose such data. The Contractor shall keep the information secure, protect such data to prevent loss or dissemination, and treat such information in accordance with any restrictions imposed on such information.

LC 32 Standards of Conduct

1. Government contractors must conduct themselves with the highest degree of integrity and honesty. Contractors shall have standards of conduct and internal control systems that:

a. Are suitable to the size of the company and the extent of their involvement in Government contracting,

b. Promote such standards,

c. Facilitate timely discovery and disclosure of improper conduct in connection with Government contracts, and

d. Ensure corrective measures are promptly instituted and carried out.

2. By submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation and under award of any resultant contract, the Contractor agrees to employ standards of conduct and internal control systems, which shall include, but are not necessarily limited to the following.

The Contractor shall provide, for all employees:

a. A written code of business ethics and conduct and an ethics training program

b. Periodic reviews of company business practices, procedures, policies, and internal controls for compliance with standards of conduct and the special requirements of Government contracting;

c. A mechanism, such as a hotline, by which employees may report suspected instances of improper conduct, and instructions that encourage employees to make such reports;

d. Internal and/or external audits, as appropriate;

e. Disciplinary action for improper conduct;

f. Timely reporting to appropriate Government officials of any suspected or possible violation of law in connection with Government contracts or any other irregularities in connection with such contracts; and

g. Full cooperation with any Government agencies responsible for either investigation or corrective actions.

h. A copy of the written code of ethics and information regarding the above shall be made available to the Government upon request.

End of Clause

LC 33 Contractor Personnel

A clear distinction is made between Government and Contractor personnel. No employer-employee relationship will occur between government employees and contractor employees.

Contractor employees must report directly to their company (employer) and shall not report to Government personnel.

FAR CLAUSE

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 15 days.

(End of clause)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO OFFERORS:

ALL SUBMISSIONS SHALL INDICATE PRICING IS VALID THROUGH

September 30, 2020.

FORMAT AND INFORMATION FOR SUBMITTING A QUOTE

Please submit your quotation in the following THREE (3) SEPARATELY BOUND VOLUMES via e-mail to Sjohnson@cpsc.gov.

Each volume shall be submitted as a separate attachment. DO NOT COMBINE all three

(3) volumes as one attachment.

VOLUME 1: CONTRACT & PRICING DOCUMENTS

A price quote shall be submitted for all deliverables identified in this SOW.

Each element of the price quote shall be documented to show the basis and rationale used in arriving at the amount proposed and should reflect the methodology in your technical section.

Supporting information shall include all costs, and any material, methodology, and assumptions made by the contractor. The following should be included in the price quote:

o Signed & Completed Standard Form 1449 (page 1, blocks 30a, 30b & 30c) o Firm Fixed Pricing as noted above and a proposed Payment Schedule, with no more than 80% of the total price being disbursed before the Final Report deliverable.

VOLUME 2: TECHNICAL QUOTE

There is a MAXIMUM PAGE LIMIT of 25 PAGES for this volume. Information past page 25 will not be reviewed. Brevity is encouraged.

This section shall describe technical information that the offeror provides. The technical quote shall include the details of how the offeror plans to accomplish all requirements and tasks of the SOW, what personnel are proposed and the qualifications of the contractor personnel, the resources the contractor plans to utilize, and all information necessary to demonstrate the contractor’s capabilities. The quote shall demonstrate the feasibility of the contractor’s approach and ability to oversee and carry out the objectives, scope, and requirements of the solicitation to include adequate staffing to complete the tasks in the SOW. The technical quote should also clearly and fully demonstrate the offeror’s capabilities, knowledge, and experience regarding the technical requirements described in (all sections) the SOW.

The contractor shall submit the following mandatory information as a part of their technical quote demonstrating their technical capability to perform the required services. Failure to respond explicitly to each of the categories and/or subcategories listed below may result in the offeror's quotation being deemed technically unacceptable.

VOLUME 3: PAST PERFORMANCE

The offeror shall provide a minimum of three references from whom they have provided the same or similar services for other organizations within the last three (3) years. This information shall include the organization name, address, point of contact, email address, telephone number, and the contract value for which these services were performed. The following information is required:

1. Project Title

2. Description of the Project

3. Contract/Task Order Number

4. Contract/Task Order Amount

5. Government Agency/Organization

6. COR’s name, address, telephone number, and email address

7. Contracting Officer’s name, address, telephone number, and email address

8. Current status, e.g., completed and/or in progress, start and estimated completion dates

9. Key Personnel, please identify those individuals who worked on the relevant project and are also proposed for this effort

10. A brief narrative of why the firm believes this reference is relevant to the proposed task.

BASIS FOR AWARD

It is the government’s intent to award a contract using the procedures in FAR 12, to the responsible offeror whose quote, in conforming to the RFQ, provides the overall best value to the government considering technical evaluation factors and price.

The government may reject any quote that is evaluated to be significantly non-compliant with the solicitation requirements, unreasonably high or low in price, or reflects a failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the work to be performed.

Best Value-Trade Offs: The government reserves the right to make an award to other than the low priced offeror if the superior technical submission, or the submission indicating a reduced performance risk, warrants paying a premium. Furthermore, the government reserves the right to award no task order at all, depending on the quality of the quotes, the availability of funding, and the continued existence of the requirement.

Past performance and technical evaluation factors are more important than price. As non-price factors become closer, price will become a more important factor in selecting the best value.

Each offeror should recognize that its initial price and technical quote may be used as the sole and final basis for award and should quote accordingly. Should initial quotes not provide the government with a satisfactory total solution, the government reserves the right to establish a competitive range of the highest technically evaluated offerors and conduct negotiations in order to reach a best value determination.

The Technical Evaluation Committee reserves the right to revise an offeror’s technical consensus decision based on information within the Price Volume when the Technical Evaluation Committee feels that content within the Price Volume will have an impact on technical evaluation factors.

EVALUATION FACTORS:

FACTOR A. Technical Capability:

Sub-factor A.1: Technical approach Quotes will be evaluated for demonstrated capabilities of the organization, completeness in addressing all required tasks and deliverables, describe in detail its experience and ability in conducting economic and technical analysis of products in consumer markets, particularly in the United States and Canadian consumer markets. Experience conducting economic and technical analysis of United States and Canada window covering markets, and experience conducting economic and technical analysis of window covering voluntary/mandatory standards. The technical proposal must clearly and fully demonstrate the contractor’s knowledge, capabilities, experience and ability conducting all aspects of the economic and technical analysis. The Contractor shall address all qualification requirements of Section 4 of the Statement of Work.

Sub-factor A.2.: Key Personnel Quotes will be evaluated for experience (titles, degrees, years of experience, etc.) and qualifications for all key personnel who will participate in the performance of this contract.

Supporting information can include published papers and reports related to economic and technical analysis, epidemiological analysis, market studies, and cost analysis. At a minimum, this section of the quote must include:

• Identification of roles and specify responsibilities for each role

• Definition of the primary skill set required for each role

• Description of management and reporting approaches

FACTOR B. Past Performance:

The contractor shall provide information concerning all related or similar contracts and subcontracts that have been completed in the last three (3) years that pertain to the same or similar services. This information must include the organization name, address, point of contact, telephone number, contract value for the services performed, and description of work, and final reports on economic and technical analysis, market studies, and cost analysis. Offerors with no relevant past performance shall be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably. The Government reserves the right to obtain information for use in the evaluation of past performance from any and all sources including sources outside of the Government. Past performance information will be utilized to determine the quality of the contractor’s past performance as it relates to the probability of success for the required effort.

Factor C. Price Price will be evaluated based on the proposed level of effort and resources associated with deliverables in order to perform the requirement, and for reasonableness in relationship to the Offeror's quoted technical solution.

EVALUATION PROCESS

The Government will award a contract resulting from this quotation to the responsible Contractor whose quote, conforming to the quotation, will be the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following evaluation factors shall be used to evaluate the prospective contractors.

• Factor A -Technical Capability is significantly more important than Factors B/Past Performance and C/Price

• Factor B -Past Performance is more important than Factor C/Price

• Factor C - Price is considered to be less important than Factors A/Technical and B/Past

Performance

“Significantly” more important is defined as two times greater in value than “more important”, whereas “more important” is greater in value than any lesser criteria.

The government will evaluate all quotes that comply with the requirements of the RFQ in accordance with the above evaluation criteria. Quotes will be placed into one of the following adjectival categories:

Outstanding - A unique approach which satisfies all of the government's requirements with extensive detail to indicate how the approach is innovative and not only feasible but desirable, and which is well supported by experience and quantifiable evidence that it will be successful. A quotation which offers significant advantages to the government in meeting all requirements.

Acceptable - An approach which satisfies all of the government's requirements with adequate detail to indicate the feasibility of the approach and an understanding of the government's need.

Susceptible to being made acceptable - An approach which, as initially proposed, cannot be rated acceptable because of minor errors or omissions which are capable of being corrected without a major rewrite or revision of the quote. This quote does not clearly meet the government's requirements. (Offerors will only be given an opportunity to correct this rating if the government enters into negotiations. Otherwise, such quotes will be determined to be unacceptable. Therefore, offerors are encouraged to provide complete and thorough explanatory technical quotes with their initial submission.)

Unacceptable - The quote fails to meet or to address the technical factors of the solicitation, contains major errors, omissions, or deficiencies, or indicates a lack of understanding of the government's need. An unacceptable quote is not eligible for award.