Instructions_to_Vendors_and_Evaluation_Criteria.docx

Instructions to Vendors and Evaluation Criteria

Instructions to Offerors:

Vendors shall submit a firm fixed price quote for the required services with a one (1) year base period and four (4) option years. Price and technical quotes must be submitted separately, with the technical quote being no more than 15 pages, excluding past performance information and excluding examples of the three reports (see below). The technical quote must be submitted electronically with standard letter sizing (8½” x 11”) and must use Calibri 11 point font. The price quote must detail pricing for the base period and each option period. The first price quote should include the price of the offeror obtaining the content from the third-party content provider and indicate the name of the content provider (Factiva, Lexis Nexis or similar service) for full news clips for approximately 40 people. A second price quote should be included without the cost of the third-party content provider in case EPA decides to contract separately with the third-party content provider.

Vendors shall submit examples of the three (3) reports required in the Statement of Work. The examples shall be the news analysis for the date the quotes are due, which is December 18, 2015. The first briefing, which will go to approximately 40 EPA employees, will contain the news analysis and a link to full news clips obtained from a third-party content provider, such as Factiva, Lexis Nexis or similar service.

The second briefing will be identical to the first briefing, containing news analysis and links to the articles on the media outlet’s website but will not contain a link to full news articles from the third-party provider. The third briefing, the mid-day news brief, will be more general in nature containing major news or breaking news that affects the United States and not necessarily focused on EPA.

Vendors may choose to propose contract financing (eg. monthly, quarterly), and must specify that type of financing within the submitted quote.

Quotes are due no later than 3 pm E.T. on Friday, December 18, 2015.

Questions regarding this procurement are due no later than Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Questions received after that point may not be answered. All questions and offers must be submitted via FedConnect. FedConnect is a web portal that connects agencies and contractors to streamline the process of doing business awith the federal government. There is no charge to use FedConnect. Contractors can register with FedConnect at www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/. For assistance in registering, or for other FedConnect technical questions, contractors should call the FedConect Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net. Contractors not registered in FedConnect will not be able to respond to this posting.

The point of contact for this procurement is Tricia Lynn, Contract Specialist.

Evaluation and Award:

The Government will make award to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the Government, cost or other factors considered.

For this solicitation, all evaluation factors other than cost or price when combined are significantly more important than cost or price.

Evaluation factors and significant subfactors to determine quality of product or service:

Factor 1: Technical Capability. The capability of the vendor’s quoted package and services to meet the requirements outlined in the requirements document.

Factor 2: Transition Plan. The vendor’s proposed plan for transitioning from EPA’s current news clips service to the vendor’s proposed services, with particular attention to setting up and maintaining the listservs for the three (3) briefings.

Factor 3: Past Performance. Relevant past performance from within the past three (3) years, with particular emphasis on customer service in terms of availability and effectiveness. Past performance should also detail vendor’s experience with success at previous transitions. Vendors should provide a brief narrative of the work performed and a point of contact for three (3) efforts similar in size and scope.