RRB09Q041 - IT Research Services.doc

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION NO. RRB09Q041

IT RESEARCH SERVICES

I.

OVERVIEW

A. RRB General Information

The U. S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is an independent Federal agency that administers a retirement and survivor benefits program for railroad employees and their families. The RRB was established by the Railroad Retirement Acts of 1937 and 1974. Its benefits program was the forerunner of the more familiar Social Security System. The Railroad Retirement System is unique inasmuch as it is the only federally administered benefits program covering a single private industry. The RRB also administers the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, which provides unemployment and sickness benefits to railroad employees. The RRB’s headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois, where approximately 700 of its approximately 950 employees work.

See Attachment 1, available upon request, for an overview of the RRB’s IT environment.

B.

Objectives The purpose of this services solicitation is to elicit proposals from offerors to provide critical research and advisory assistance to the RRB’s Bureau of Information Services (BIS) in support of the RRB’s mission requirements and the professional development of Information Technology (IT) staff. These services will ensure BIS receives direct access to fact-based, accurate, and objective IT research and advice. The RRB is seeking to award this contract to the contractor that demonstrates the best value to the RRB.

II.

PRICE SCHEDULE

The offeror shall provide a “fully loaded” firm-fixed price to provide all services specified in Section III of this solicitation. The offeror shall propose one base year plus three one-year options to be exercised at the discretion of the RRB.

001A

001B

001C Annual Subscription Services for CIO and 2 designated Users One year period from the Contract Award date

1st anniversary of the Contract Award date 2nd anniversary of the Contract Award date

YR

YR

YR

III.

STATEMENT OF WORK

The contractor shall provide, at a minimum, all of the following required research subscription services to the RRB:

A.

The contractor shall provide services to ensure that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and BIS management receives the latest information, advice, and consultation needed to support sound decision-making and the implementation of optimum IT solutions within acceptable costs with minimal risks. The services shall provide tools and templates to enhance, validate, and accelerate IT decision-making for the RRB. The services should also expose the risks and benefits of researched methods and paths as well as present options for mitigating the defined risks.

B.

The contractor shall provide an objective and independent validation of decision making through the exposition of best practices for BIS management consideration. This shall include providing input to strategic planning efforts and recommending change-management plans that reflect industry best practices, and offering short-term advice for time-sensitive decisions that will help identify potential cost-savings to the RRB.

C.

These contractor shall ensure that the RRB receives critical, updated information on technology solutions, technology vendors, and the best practices for acquiring, sourcing, implementing and/or building those solutions that provide an advantage to the RRB.

D.

The contractor shall allow the RRB to have direct access to a minimum of 100 independent Information Technology analysts who are full-time employees of the contractor and possess, on average, a minimum of 10 years professional experience in the IT industry. These analysts shall have demonstrated abilities in the business field and in technologies similar to those in use at the RRB to meet the RRB’s mission requirements.

E.

The contractor shall allow that the analysts (above) engage in un-metered (unlimited) opportunities for the RRB to receive personalized feedback via phone and email documents. These interactions (inquiries) shall include review of documents of up to 20 pages, as well as the generation of fact-based, primary research on any IT topic involving up to an hour of preparation for interactive calls with the RRB.

F.

The RRB shall identify three individuals (including the CIO) as points-of-contact with the contractor for the research assistance described in this statement of work. Additional RRB personnel shall be able to participate in a conference call environment.

G.

The contractor shall provide the RRB with online access to a comprehensive and current body of expert, primary, prescriptive research and analysis spanning all major topics of IT. This body of research shall include the ability to search a minimum of 1,000 distinctly different documents across technology and business topics relevant to the RRB’s environment.

H.

The contractor shall provide research accessible by the RRB that is created from methodologies that are governed by a controlled, independent, and structured framework. This research framework shall generate recommendations and findings unbiased toward any particular hardware manufacturer, software vendor, or system integrator. This research shall provide in-depth technical analysis. For this minimum requirement the contractor shall provide, but not be limited to, in-depth coverage of the following IT topical areas:

· Application Development and Integration

· Application and Database Security

· Application Strategy and Governance

· Data Center Operations and Management

· Data Management and Integration

· Emerging Trends and Technologies

· Executive Briefs

· High-Performance Workplace

· IT Asset Management

· IT Management

· IT Operations

· Networking and Communications Services

· Network Operations and Performance Management

· PCs, Laptops, and Handheld Devices

· Platforms, Languages, and Frameworks

· Presentation Strategies

· Project Management

· Records Management Technology

· Regulatory Compliance

· Results-Oriented Enterprise Architecture

· Risk Management and Compliance

· Roles

· Security Concepts, Techniques, and Approaches

· Security and Privacy

· Service Oriented Architecture and Integration Strategies

· Software Development Lifecycle Strategies

· Technologies and Standards

· Servers and Storage

· Web Services

--Item I. is intentionally omitted--

J.

Sensitive Attachment Information

Attachment 1 provides information on the RRB’s IT Infrastructure which contain sensitive but unclassified information or Privacy Act Data. For security reasons, this document shall be provided to you only upon request. Your request must be on your company’s letterhead. This attachment will not be submitted with this solicitation document. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution of this attachment is prohibited. All inquiries shall be addressed and/or faxed, 312/751-4923 to:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

Ms. Velinda Nix

Acquisition Management

844 North Rush Street

Chicago, IL 60611

IV. CLAUSES and PROVISIONS A. Security Provisions and Clauses

1. Security Information:

The RRB is a social insurance agency. Privileged information for railroad employees and dependent beneficiaries is accessible from all mainframe terminals, terminal sessions on desktop PC workstations, and VLAN/WAN servers. Privileged information is also available in paper form, data disks, and data tapes throughout the Chicago headquarters facility and remote offices. Access to, and use of, this information is covered under the Privacy Act of 1975 and other U.S. Codes. The provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) section 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards (Aug 1996), is hereby incorporated by reference.

No copies of railroad employee or beneficiary information can be removed from a RRB site or retained by any member of the contractor staff in any transferable media, be that paper or electronic.

With the exception of cellular/digital telephones owned and used by the Contractor staff, no communications line other than those analog lines and data links installed and approved by the RRB will be allowed.

All CDs and diskettes used by the Contractor in the course of this project will be retained by the RRB at the end of the work.

2. PRIVACY ACT NOTIFICATION (APR 1984) FAR 52.224-1

The Contractor will be required to design, develop, or operate a system of records on individuals, to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Act may involve the imposition of criminal penalties.

3. PRIVACY ACT (APR 1984) FAR 52.224-2

(a) The Contractor agrees to -

(1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies -

(i) The systems of records; and

(ii) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor is to perform;

(2) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals that is subject to the Act; and

(3) Include this clause, including this subparagraph (c), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a system of records.

(b) In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.

(c)(1) "Operation of a system of records," as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records.

(2) "Record," as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person's name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph.

(3) "System of records on individuals," as used in this clause, means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

4. PRIVACY OR SECURITY SAFEGUARDS FAR 52.239-1 (AUG 1996)

(a) The Contractor shall not publish or disclose in any manner, without the Contracting Officer's written consent, the details of any safeguards either designed or developed by the Contractor under this contract or otherwise provided by the Government.

(b) To the extent required to carry out a program of inspection to safeguard against threats and hazards to the security, integrity, and confidentiality of Government data, the Contractor shall afford the Government access to the Contractor's facilities, installations, technical capabilities, operations, documentation, records, and databases.

(c) If new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered by either the Government or the Contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately bring the situation to the attention of the other party.

(d) Each agency has its own rules regarding privacy and security of data. The RRB’s rules are summarized in the following publications:

(1) Privacy Act Information http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/introduction.asp http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/overview.asp http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/information_rrb_maintains.asp

(2) RRB’s Privacy System of Records http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/sornlist.asp

(3) Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Publication 1075, Tax Information and Security Guidelines for Federal, State and Local Agencies http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1075.pdf (e) Anticipated threats and hazards that the contractor must guard against:

(1) Data stored on equipment following the completion of the project.

(2) Data removal process not including eradication methods.

(3) Contractor employees not fully versed in responsibilities with respect to Privacy and Security.

(4) Contractor accessing RRB data from unauthorized sites.

(f) Safeguards that the contractor must specifically provide include:

A contractor having access to RRB data should have in place preventive measures to assure that:

(1) Accessed data is not retained in contractor files or on contractor’s equipment.

(2) Data temporarily housed on contractor’s equipment must be eradicated, the space not just marked for reuse.

(3) All contractor staff members are made aware of their responsibilities with respect to Privacy and Security.

(4) Contractor access to RRB data is limited to RRB approved sites.

5. PERSONAL IDENTITY VERIFICATION OF CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL (SEP 2007) FAR 52.204-9

(a) The Contractor shall comply with agency personal identity verification procedures identified in the contract that implement Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24, and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201 (Attachment 3)

(b) The Contractor shall insert this clause in all subcontracts when the subcontractor is required to have routine physical access to a Federally-controlled facility and/or routine access to a Federally-controlled information system.

B. Other Contract Clauses or Provisions:

The following clauses shall be incorporated by reference: Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders- Commercial Items (FEB 2009) FAR 52.212-5 and Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (OCT 2008) FAR 52.212-4

1. Availability of Funds (APR 1984) FAR 52.232-18 Funds are not presently available for this contract beyond September 30, 2009. The Government’s obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

2. Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year (APR 1984) FAR

52.232-19 Funds are not presently available for performance under this contract beyond September 30, 2009. The Government’s obligation for performance of this contract beyond that date is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise for performance under this contract beyond September 30, 2009, until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for performance and until the Contractor receives notice of availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

3. Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) FAR 52.217-8 The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and 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 the period specified in the Schedule.

4. Conflicts of interest The offeror agrees not to have any direct or indirect financial or familiar interest, or engage in any activity, which conflicts substantially, or appears to conflict substantially, with the offeror’s duties under this contract. The offeror further agrees that the RRB shall have the exclusive right to determine whether such a conflict of interest exists, and whether it is substantial. Failure of the offeror to adhere to this provision will, at the discretion of the RRB, result in the immediate termination of the contract without any further liability of the RRB.

5. Post-award conference In order to codify the implementation and procedural issues attendant upon contract performance, a post-award conference will be held at the RRB headquarters facility in Chicago, IL no later than ten calendar days after contract award. The Contractor must attend this conference and be prepared to discuss the project milestone events and schedule. The Contractor will be responsible for all costs related to attending this conference.

6.

TECHNICAL DIRECTION

Performance of the work under this contract shall be subject to the technical direction of the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR). The term “technical direction” is defined to comprise the following:

a.

Directions to the contractor which redirect the contract effort, shift work emphasis between work areas or tasks, require pursuit of certain lines of inquiry, fill in details or otherwise serve to accomplish the contractual statement of work.

b.

Provisions of information to the contractor which assists in the interpretation of drawings, specifications or technical portions of the work description.

c.

Review and, where required by the contract, approve technical reports, drawings, specifications and technical information to be delivered by the Contractor to the Government under this contract.

Technical directions must be within the general scope of work stated in the contract. The COTR does not have the authority to and may not issue any direction which (1) constitutes an assignment of additional work outside the general scope of the contract; (2) constitutes a change as defined in the contract article entitled “Changes”; (3) in any manner causes an increase or decrease in the estimated cost or the time required for contract performance; or (4) changes any of the expressed terms, conditions, or specifications of the contract.

The Contractor shall proceed promptly with the performance of technical directions duly issued by the COTR in the manner prescribed by this Section and within his authority under the provisions of this Section. If, in the opinion of the Contractor, any instruction or direction issued by the COTR is within one of the categories as defined in (1) through (4) above, the Contractor shall not proceed but shall notify the Contracting Officer within five (5) working days after receipt of any such instruction or direction and shall request the Contracting Officer to modify the contract accordingly. Upon receiving such notification from the Contractor, the Contracting Officer shall issue an appropriate contract modification or advise the Contractor in writing that, in his opinion, the technical direction is within the scope of this Section and does not constitute a change under the Changes article of the contract. The Contractor shall thereupon proceed immediately with the direction given. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of the instruction or direction or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto shall be subject to the provisions of the contract article entitled “Disputes”.

V.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION

A. Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items (JUN 2008) FAR 52.212-1

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code and small business size standard for this acquisition appear in Block 10 of the solicitation cover sheet (SF 1449). However, the small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, but which proposes to furnish an item which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees.

(b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show—

(1) The solicitation number;

(2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers;

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;

(4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary;

(5) Terms of any express warranty;

(6) Price and any discount terms;

(7) “Remit to” address, if different than mailing address;

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically);

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments;

(10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and

(11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender’s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing.

(e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

(f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.

(1) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that offers or revisions are due.

(2)(i) Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and—

(A) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(B) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(C) If this solicitation is a request for proposals, it was the only proposal received.

(ii) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful offer, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(3) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(4) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that offers cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of offers by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(5) Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. Oral offers in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers, subject to the conditions specified in the solicitation concerning facsimile offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

(g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the offer.

(i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.

(1)(i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101-29, and copies of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained for a fee by submitting a request to—

GSA Federal Supply Service Specifications Section Suite 8100 470 East L’Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20407

Telephone (202) 619-8925 Facsimile (202) 619-8978.

(ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a single copy of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained free of charge by submitting a request to the addressee in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision. Additional copies will be issued for a fee.

(2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the following ASSIST websites:

(i) ASSIST (http://assist.daps.dla.mil).

(ii) Quick Search (http://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch).

(iii) ASSISTdocs.com (http://assistdocs.com).

(3) Documents not available from ASSIST may be ordered from the Department of Defense Single Stock Point (DoDSSP) by—

(i) Using the ASSIST Shopping Wizard (http://assist.daps.dla.mil/wizard);

(ii) Phoning the DoDSSP Customer Service Desk (215) 697-2179, Mon-Fri, 0730 to 1600 EST; or

(iii) Ordering from DoDSSP, Building 4, Section D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Telephone (215) 697-2667/2179, Facsimile (215) 697-1462.

(4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance.

(j) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number. (Applies to all offers exceeding $3,000, and offers of $3,000 or less if the solicitation requires the Contractor to be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database.) The offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation “DUNS” or “DUNS+4” followed by the DUNS or DUNS+4 number that identifies the offeror’s name and address. The DUNS+4 is the DUNS number plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned at the discretion of the offeror to establish additional CCR records for identifying alternative Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts (see FAR Subpart 32.11) for the same concern. If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. An offeror within the United States may contact Dun and Bradstreet by calling 1-866-705-5711 or via the internet at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. An offeror located outside the United States must contact the local Dun and Bradstreet office for a DUNS number. The offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a Government contract when contacting the local Dun and Bradstreet office.

(k) Central Contractor Registration. Unless exempted by an addendum to this solicitation, by submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the CCR database prior to award, during performance and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. If the Offeror does not become registered in the CCR database in the time prescribed by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered Offeror. Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the internet at http://www.ccr.gov or by calling 1-888-227-2423 or 269-961-5757.

(l) Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:

(1) The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s offer.

(2) The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.

(3) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.

(4) A summary of the rationale for award;

(5) For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror.

(6) Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency.

B.

RRB Supplemental Instructions to Offerors The proposal shall be submitted in two parts – a “business proposal” and a “technical proposal”. Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be conducted independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other.

RRB will accept electronically submitted proposals. If the offeror elects electronic commerce for submission of its proposal, only one hard copy of the entire proposal package must be submitted by the time and date specified in the solicitation to 844 North Rush Street, Acquisition Management-Procurement, Chicago, Illinois 60611. The agency will accept Word or PDF documents, via disk or email. Electronic submissions shall be sent to proposals@rrb.gov. An electronically delivered proposal not received by the time and date specified in this solicitation shall be handled in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f), “Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offerors”.

Offerors shall submit their proposal in two volumes: a “business proposal” and a “technical proposal”. Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be conducted independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other.

If the offeror wants to submit an alternate approach to satisfy RRB IT Research needs, offeror must provide a cross walk between Section III requirements and contract proposed approach and provide a separate price proposal.

Business Proposal 1.

The Offeror shall submit two (2) signed copies of Standard Form (SF-) 1449 with Blocks 12, 17a. and b., and 30a., b., and c. completed.

2.

The offeror shall complete Section II – The Price Schedule with prices for all Blocks.

3.

Other information the contractor determines appropriate and relevant to the evaluation team.

4.

Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offer(s) which provides for the requirements and options of this solicitation. The alternative offer must meet and or exceed the mandatory requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately.

Technical Proposal

The offeror shall provide six copies of their technical proposal. The technical proposal shall include a description of the services being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the mandatory requirements and the evaluated technical factors of the solicitation.

The offeror shall fully and clearly address the requirements stated in section III and each evaluated technical factor listed below so that the RRB’s technical evaluation panel can identify and comprehend the capability and resources the offeror intends to bring to this procurement.

The technical proposal shall provide technical information to substantiate the offeror’s ability to satisfy the mandatory requirements in Solicitation Provision III. All mandatory requirements shall be met for an offeror to be considered responsive.

Complete and detailed technical information shall also be provided to facilitate scoring of the following evaluated technical factors:

1. Experience, qualifications, expertise, and size of proposed analyst staff

a. Staff experience.

Offerors should specifically state the number of years experience as an IT information analyst for the typical or average analyst who prepares research material and is available to perform all functions described in the Statement of Work, Section III.

b. Staff credentials.

Offerors should specifically state the relevant degrees (Bachelor’s or higher) and relevant credentials/certifications for the typical or average analyst who prepares research material and is available to perform the functions described in the Statement of Work, Section III.

c. Staff size.

Offerors should specifically state the number of full-time analysts available to perform the functions outlined in the Statement of Work, Section III.

2.

Technical performance offered a.

IT articles available.

Offerors should specifically state the number of IT articles available to the RRB in the offeror’s database.

b.

Service level agreement.

Offerors should specifically state (in the maximum number of business hours or business days) the guaranteed time frame from initial contact to answer/solution delivery for technical inquiries specified in Section III, items A, B, C, D, and F.

d. Value-added characteristics.

Offerors should specifically describe any aspects of the proposed services that provide additional performance advantages including but not being limited to any technical features, aspects of service delivery, additional corporate resources available, or other characteristics that make the proposal especially desirable to the RRB.

3.

Past performance The offeror shall submit, as part of its proposal, information on previously performed or ongoing contracts that are similar to the Statement of Work in this solicitation performed for the Federal, State, or local Government and for commercial firms. Information shall be provided on either: 1) all such contracts within the past eighteen months, or 2) the last three such contracts performed, whichever is fewer, and shall be limited to the name and address of the organization for which the services were performed and the phone numbers of at least two knowledgeable technical contacts for each contract listed. The offeror should not describe past performance history in the proposal.

The RRB will obtain information from the contract references provided by the offeror. The offeror is advised that the RRB may obtain past performance information from sources other than those identified by the offeror.

The RRB intends to contact at least three clients for which similar tasks have been performed. The following performance characteristics shall be evaluated:

a.

Direct applicability of the referenced project to the RRB’s project, b.

Customer satisfaction, which includes satisfaction of end users with the offeror’s service, c.

Quality of service, d.

Reliability and timeliness of performance, which includes the offeror’s reliability as well as the ability to perform in a timely manner.

V.

EVALUATION

A.

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Offerors shall be evaluated on a technical to price ratio of 2:1. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

1.

Business Proposal

The total evaluated price shall be calculated as follows:

CLIN001(A + B + C) = Total Evaluated Price

Calculation of the price score (100 possible points) will be computed by multiplying the maximum point score available by a fraction representing the ratio of the lowest total evaluated price of all technically acceptable offers received by the Board to the total evaluated price of the offer being evaluated.

2.

Technical Proposal a.

To be considered responsive, the offeror must comply with the format and content specified in Section IV, “Instructions to Offerors”. Offerors whose proposals are deemed deficient in this regard may be permitted, at the RRB’s discretion, to remedy the deficiency by submitting additional clarifying or supplemental information.

b.

Responsive proposals shall be evaluated to determine the relative technical merit of each response. Accordingly, the objective of this evaluation is to measure the extent to which proposals meet the requirements as stated in the Statement of Work and the required proposal format and content, Section IV, “Instructions to Offeror”.

c. Calculation of the technical score (200 possible points) will be accomplished by adding the points awarded for each rated area.

d. Technical proposals will be first reviewed for content conformance to proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that are so deficient in this area as to not warrant further consideration will be rejected and the offeror will be so notified.

e.

Technical proposals shall be evaluated using the following criteria in descending order of importance:

1) Project management approach (75 possible points, 37.5% of the points available) as demonstrated through the quality of the project management plan, staffing plan, and quality control/assurance plans.

2) Experience, qualifications, and expertise of proposed staff (75 possible points, 37.5% of the points available) as demonstrated through the resumes of the proposed project staff.

3) Past performance (50 possible points, 25% of the points available) as measured by the direct applicability of the references, customer satisfaction, quality of service, and reliability and timeliness of performance.

f) The contracting officer shall deem any offer which fails to address all of the mandatory requirements of Section III, the Statement of Work, as non-responsive.

g) The contracting officer may request clarifications to any proposals after the initial business and technical review and hold discussions as determined necessary.

B.

A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

VII.

List of Attachments

Attachment No.

Title/Description

RRB’s Technical Overview

EIT Accessibility

PIV Notification