Section L - Revised 10-18-2011.doc

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO

OFFERORS OR QUOTERS

(Revised October 18, 2011) L.1.

FAR 52.252‑1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998).

This solicitation incorporates the following provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at: http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html or, http://farsite.hill.af.mil/search.htm These addresses are subject to change. If the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is not available at the locations indicated above, use the Dept. of State Acquisition Website at http://www.statebuy.state.gov/ to see the links to the FAR. You may also use an Internet “search engine” (such as, Yahoo, Excite, Alta Vista, etc.) to obtain the latest location of the most current FAR.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CH. 1).

FAR REFERENCE

TITLE

52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition (JAN 2004)

Alternate I (OCT 1997) 52.222-22 Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports (FEB 1999) 52.222-24 Preaward On-Site Equal Opportunity Compliance Evaluation (FEB 1999) 52.222-38 Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting

Requirements (SEP 2010) L.2.

FAR SOLICITATION PROVISIONS IN FULL TEXT.

L.2.1.

52.216-1 Type of Contract (APR 1984).

The Government contemplates award of up to six (6) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contracts resulting from this solicitation.

L.2.2.

52.216-28 Multiple Awards for Advisory and Assistance Services (Oct 1995).

The Government intends to award multiple contracts for the same or similar advisory and assistance services to two or more sources under this solicitation unless the Government determines, after evaluation of offers, that only one offeror is capable of providing the services at the level of quality required.

L.2.3.

52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEP 2006).

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from Robert A. Lindquist, 4000 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309.

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

L.3.

DOSAR SOLICITATION PROVISIONS IN FULL TEXT.

L.3.1.

DOSAR 652.206-70 Competition Advocate/Ombudsman (AUG 1999) (Deviation).

(a) The Department of State’s Competition Advocate is responsible for assisting industry in removing restrictive requirements from Department of State solicitations and removing barriers to full and open competition and use of commercial items. If such a solicitation is considered competitively restrictive or does not appear properly conducive to competition and commercial practices, potential offerors are encouraged to first contact the contracting office for the respective solicitation. If concerns remain unresolved, contact the Department of State Competition Advocate on (703) 516-1693, by fax at (703) 875-6155, or write to: U.S. Department of State, Competition Advocate, Office of the Procurement Executive (A/OPE), Suite 900, SA-27, Washington, DC 20522-2712.

(b) The Department of State’s Acquisition Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from potential offerors and contractors during the pre-award and post-award phases of this acquisition. The role of the ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the contracting officer, the Technical Evaluation Panel or Source Evaluation Board, or the selection official. The purpose of the ombudsman is to facilitate the communication of concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations of interested parties to the appropriate Government personnel, and work to resolve them. When requested and appropriate, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of formal contract disputes. Interested parties are invited to contact the contracting activity ombudsman, Benita Williams, at (703) 875-5230 or by e-mail at WilliamsBD@state.gov. For an American Embassy or overseas post, refer to the numbers below for the Department Acquisition Ombudsman. Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations which cannot be resolved at a contracting activity level may be referred to the Department of State Acquisition Ombudsman at (703) 516-1693, by fax at (703) 875-6155, or write to: Department of State, Acquisition Ombudsman, Office of the Procurement Executive (A/OPE), Suite 900, SA-27, Washington, DC 20522-2712.

L.3.2.

DOSAR 652.228-74 Defense Base Act Insurance Rates – Limitation (JUN 2006).

(a) The Department of State has entered into a contract with an insurance carrier to provide Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance to Department of Sate covered contactor employees at a contracted rate. For the purposes of this provision, “covered contractor employees” includes the following individuals:

(1) United States citizens or residents;

(2) Individuals hired in the United States or its possessions, regardless of citizenship; and

(3) Local nationals and third country nationals where contract performance takes place in a country where there are no local workers’ compensation laws.

(b) In preparing the cost proposal, the bidder/offeror shall use the following rates in computing the cost for the DBA insurance:

Services @ $4.00 per $100.00 of compensation.

(c) Bidders/Offerors shall compute the total compensation (direct salary plus differential, but excluding per diem, housing allowances) to be paid to covered contractor employees and the cost of DBA insurance in their bid/proposal using the foregoing rate. Bidders/offerors shall include the estimated DBA insurance costs in their proposed fixed price or estimated cost. However, the DBA insurance costs shall be identified in a separate line item in the bid proposal.”

L.4.

SUBMISSION OF OFFERS.

Summary of Instructions.

Each offer shall consist of the following physically separate volumes:

Volume Title

No. of Copies Executed Standard Form 33, "Solicitation, ___(2)____

Offer and Award, and completed Section K.

Completed Price Section (B.8), and Completed

___(2)____

Price Calculation Worksheet (Attachment #2).

Technical Proposal.

___(2)____

Detailed Instructions.

Volume 1: Considered the Administrative Section of the Offer.

Standard Form 33 (Solicitation, Offer and Award). Complete Blocks #12 through #18. Make sure that in Block #14 you acknowledge all amendments that may have been issued, by indicating the amendment number and date it was issued. You are not required to include signed copies of the actual amendments with your offer. Make sure to sign and date the offer.

Section K – Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors or Quoters. Offerors who have not completed Online Representations and Certifications at https://orca.bpn.gov/ must complete all blanks and fill-ins of Section K. The completed Section K must also be provided in hard (paper) copy as part of Volume 1 of the offer. Offerors that have completed Online Representations and Certifications may simply indicate this by placing a check mark in the appropriate box of Section K.1, Item “b”. In this case, an offeror only needs to provide the first page of Section K with the box marked to indicate it has completed Online Representations and Certifications at the ORCA website. No other items on page 1 of Section K need to be completed. Additionally, a paper copy of the Online Representations and Certifications is not required with the offer. Representations and Certifications are only required for the Prime Offeror.

Note: Offerors who may not have completed Online Representations and Certifications are encouraged to visit the above website and complete this document on line.

Volume 2: Considered the pricing section of the offer.

Section B.8 (Contract Positions and Hourly Labor Rates). Complete the tables for the Base Year and all Four Option Years (Items B.8.2 through B.8.6). Offers must include all twenty-nine (29) labor positions.

Price Calculation Worksheet (Attachment #2). Complete the tables for the Base Year and all Four Option Years, as well as the Summary Section on the last page of Attachment #2. Proposals must include all pages of the Price Calculation Worksheet.

Volume 3: Technical Proposal.

See Section L.6 below for detailed Technical Proposal instructions.

Offerors must submit a total of two (2) complete paper copies of the proposal (original and one copy). Additionally, offerors must include one (1) complete copy of the proposal on a CD-ROM disk.

The complete offer shall be submitted to the following address:

Global Financial Services – Charleston

Office of Administrative Operations

1969 Dyess Avenue

N. Charleston, SC 29405

Phone: 843-746-0540

Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked "Proposal Enclosed", and must include the solicitation number (S-AQMMA-11-R-0314) and company’s name. Proposals should be addressed to Mr. Robert Lindquist, and must arrive at the above address on or before Friday, November 4, 2011. No proposals will be accepted after this date.

Additional Instructions.

Due to entry access restrictions at the Global Financial Services Facility, hand-delivered proposals will not be accepted. As such, offerors should make sure to allow sufficient advance time for proposals to reach our Charleston, SC facility on or before the November 4, 2011 deadline.

Since hand-delivered proposals will not be accepted, the delivery instructions are revised as follows:

· U.S. Mail: Our mail room picks up U.S. mail once daily from the Post Office, usually between 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

· UPS: UPS delivers once daily to our facility, typically around 3: 15 p.m.

· Federal Express: This courier service delivers once daily to our facility, typically in the afternoon before 5:00 p.m.

· DHL: This courier services delivers once daily to our facility, typically in the afternoon before 5:00 p.m.

To be accepted, offerors shall use one of the above four means of submitting proposals. Since the delivery times can vary daily, there will be no time deadline (only a date deadline). To be considered, a proposal must have been received at our facility on or before November 4, 2011. The only exception would be if an offeror used one of the above four services, and for some reason that service did not make its daily delivery (or pick up in the case of U.S. mail) on November 4, 2011. This is extremely unlikely, and to my knowledge has never occurred. The offeror would also have to provide documentation showing that it had used the particular service that did not make its November 4, 2011 daily delivery, and that but for the missed daily delivery, the proposal would have been received on time.

If a service used by an offeror makes its daily delivery on November 4, 2011 (at any time during the day), and the proposal is not in that delivery, no proposals will be accepted on any date after November 4, 2011. Likewise, if an offeror submits its proposal by U.S. mail and the mail room at our facility makes its daily pickup, and the proposal is not in the daily mail picked up, no proposals will be accepted on any date after November 4, 2011.

NOTE: Any questions offerors may have must be submitted to the attention of Robert Lindquist by e-mail (LindquistRA@state.gov). Questions will be accepted through the close of business on Thursday, October 20, 2011.

L.5.

GENERAL COMPANY INFORMATION.

Provide the following:

a) A list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the owners, partners, and principal officers of the offeror.

b) A list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any proposed subcontractors, including the general functional area(s) they will support (e.g., diplomacy, cultural affairs, agriculture and trade, etc.).

The above information must be submitted using the format provided as Attachment #4 to the solicitation.

Note: The above General Company Information is to be included separately from Volumes 1 through 3 (e.g., attachment, addendum, etc.), and will not count towards the 25 page limit for the technical proposal (see L.6.2 below).

L.6.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL.

L.6.1.

General.

In the Technical proposal, the offeror should address how it intends to carry out the requirements detailed in Section C, Statement of Work. The information provided in the Technical Proposal should indicate a clear understanding of the work to be undertaken and the responsibilities of all parties involved. Offerors must organize the technical proposal to follow the same order in which the technical elements are listed in L.6.3.1 through L.6.3.4 below.

L.6.2.

Format.

The Technical Proposal is limited to twenty-five (25) pages, and shall be written in English.

For the Technical Proposal, offerors must use only 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper, single-spaced pages, with margins no less than one inch on each border. Pages must be numbered consecutively. Type size shall be no smaller than 11 pitch. However, the font type used is at the discretion of each offeror.

Any of the following items, as may be included, will not count towards the twenty-five (25) page maximum limit.

· Title Page.

· Cover Letter.

· Table of Contents.

· Acronym list.

· Dividers.

· Appendix attachments which contain biographical information (i.e., resumes and other documentation provided by the offeror) for proposed candidates.

· Past Performance information.

· Illustrative Charts (e.g., Organizational Structure).

L.6.3.

Technical Elements.

The Technical Proposal shall address the elements in L.6.3.1 through L.6.3.4 below. Offerors should note that these elements will serve as the criteria against which all technical information will be evaluated, and serve to identify the significant matters which technical proposals should address. Please note that these criteria apply to any subcontractor proposed to work more than 20%.

L.6.3.1.

Corporate Experience/Institutional Capabilities.

L.6.3.1.1.

Corporate Experience.

Describe the company's corporate experience in providing the types of services required under this contract. Your company must have provided the types of professional services required to either Government or Commercial entities for a minimum of three years. At minimum, information regarding the company’s corporate experience must include the following:

· The number of years of corporate experience in the services described in Section C.

· The organization's size and resources available to enable the company to fulfill requirements.

· Information that demonstrates the company’s organizational and accounting controls and manpower presently in house or the ability to acquire the type and kinds of personnel proposed.

· Discuss the use and management of subcontractors.

Substitution For Relevant Corporate Experience: If corporate experience for the specific company is relatively limited (e.g., newly formed company), the offeror may substitute relevant corporate experience of predecessor companies or key personnel that will be performing major aspects of the work. If the offeror chooses to make such a substitution, the narratives must clearly identify the entity or personnel on which the cited corporate experience is based, and include all elements above.

L.6.3.1.2.

Institutional Capability.

Offerors must demonstrate Institutional Capabilities as follows:

· Provide a history of the organization's activities contributing to the development of expertise and capabilities related to this requirement, to include an understanding and past experience conducting complex multi-country or multi-sector evaluations in developing countries, evaluation studies and assessments, evaluation technical assistance, designing evaluation training based on adult learning theory, use of innovative and creative evaluation methodologies, and ability to provide technical advisory services on evaluation tasks.

Note: If the company’s experience is limited to domestic (U.S.) projects, the company must be able to demonstrate that its experience provides it with sufficient capabilities to perform complex overseas projects, including multi-country and multi-sector evaluations.

· Describe capabilities with regard to managing multiple large projects requiring multiple types of services, hiring and maintaining qualified support staff, handling personnel issues, assembling high quality technical assistance teams in a timely manner, mobilizing technical resources to fill immediate short-term requirements, and fielding several teams simultaneously. This includes capabilities for projects involving subcontractors.

· Discuss capabilities with regard to project implementation, project management, client relations, use of local personnel in conducting evaluations and training, and working collaboratively with host-country counterparts and other donors to provide such groups with all necessary support and oversight.

L.6.3.2.

Personnel Information.

The offeror shall demonstrate its technical staffing expertise and staffing capability as follows:

a) Primary Points of Contact.

The contracts resulting from this solicitation will include two primary points of contact, the Senior Technical Advisor and the IDIQ Manager. The Senior Technical Advisor will be the individual bearing primary responsibility for technical aspects of contract performance. The IDIQ Manager will be the individual bearing primary responsibility for personnel, reporting, and other management related requirements of the contract.

The following information must be provided for the Senior Technical Advisor and IDIQ Manager:

1. Submit a complete and current resume of no more than three (3) pages for those individuals proposed for the above two positions. The resume shall highlight information regarding supervisory responsibilities over the past three years, the individual’s experience in managing and evaluating programs (particularly within developing countries); education in a relevant field (or equivalent experience); management, leadership and interpersonal skills; writing and oral communication skills; experience working with local counterparts and with a variety of local and international organizations; and experience dealing with different styles and levels of management and people with varied backgrounds and education. The resume should also contain three (3) references, with contact information, for each proposed candidate.

2. Signed acknowledgement letters from each of these personnel confirming their intent to serve in the stated position should a contract be awarded.

(b) Functional Labor Categories.

1. Submit a complete and current resume of no more than three (3) pages for each person proposed, to demonstrate access to the required technical expertise to perform the work requirements of the contract. Resumes are required for Skill Level I personnel only. Initial proposals should not include resumes for Skill Level II personnel and support staff. The information provided should not be of a general nature. That is, the offeror must demonstrate that it has access to expertise in the different functional areas (e.g., evaluation training, etc.). It is not a requirement that a specific individual be identified as an available expert in only one functional area. However, if the same individual is identified for the purpose of demonstrating expertise in more than one functional area, this must be fully supported by the resume and/or other supporting documents provided for that individual. That is, the individual must have adequate qualifications and experience in all functional areas where the individual has been identified as an expert.

2. Signed acknowledgement letters from each of the proposed personnel (Skill Level I only) confirming their intent to serve in the stated position should a contract be awarded.

L.6.3.3.

Management Plan.

The offeror shall present a management plan that describes its proposed management structure and the processes and approaches it will use to provide the technical and advisory services.

In this context, the offeror shall:

a) Describe the processes and approaches the offeror will use to provide technical and advisory services in all categories of the statement of work, including a description of the offeror’s understanding, approach and experience with evaluation implementation, evaluation designs, methods and techniques, and evaluation training, to assure effective and efficient implementation. In this regard, the information provided should include the following:

1. A general management plan which describes how offerors will provide the services described in the SOW – i.e. a technical approach to each of the services in the SOW.

2. A high-level description of how offerors would structure their teams and manage Task Orders issued under the contract.

b) Describe the offeror’s management structure for this contract. Specify the functions and management and decision making authorities for each individual noted in the offeror’s management structure, including their roles and responsibilities, if any, regarding client relations and the involvement of subcontractors.

c) Describe the support services the offeror will provide.

L.6.3.4.

Past Performance.

The Offeror must provide past performance references for itself, as well as each significant subcontractor (as may be applicable). A significant subcontractor is one that will be performing at least 20% of the technical effort under the contract. Past performance information must be submitted in accordance with the following:

a) For the offeror and any significant subcontractors, list a minimum of three (3) past or current contracts for efforts similar to this requirement. It is not a requirement to include at least three past or current contracts for each entity (prime and subcontractors). The offer must include, at minimum, a total of three (3) past or current contracts.

It is recommended that the offeror contact any past performance references listed and notify them that they are authorized to provide past performance information if requested. That is, the offerors should not provide references where it may be difficult for the USG to obtain relevant information from those references, if needed as part of the technical evaluation process.

Note: Offerors should make sure that the contracts listed include services that are similar in nature and complexity to those required under this contract.

Each contract listed shall include the following customer reference information:

1. Customer/Client Name.

2. Project Name/Contract Number.

3. Customer Point of Contact (POC).

4. POC's contact information (phone and e-mail).

5. Project performance period (months/years).

6. Dollar value of the entire project.

7. Brief summary of the project as a whole (background, purpose, etc.).

8. Methodology, tools, and/or processes utilized in performing the work.

9. How the work performed is similar in scope and complexity to that described for this contract.

b) Substitution For Relevant Project Experience: If project experience for the specific company is relatively limited (e.g., newly formed company), the offeror may substitute relevant projects of predecessor companies or key personnel that will be performing major aspects of the work. If the offeror chooses to make such a substitution, the narratives must clearly identify the entity or personnel that performed the services, and include all elements above.

To ensure uniformity of information for possible reference checks to be conducted, the offeror must use the format provided as Attachment #3 for providing Past Performance information.

Note: Past Performance information is to be included separately from Volumes 1 through 3 (e.g., attachment, addendum, etc.), and the information provided will not count towards the 25 page limit for the technical proposal (see L.6.2).

c) It is understood that there are cases where successfully completed projects may have encountered problems during performance that required corrective action, but where it did not affect the project’s final outcome or customer’s satisfaction. If there were any problems or issues encountered for any of the contracts provided as references, the offeror is encouraged to provide a brief explanation of the problems/issues encountered and the corrective action taken.

d) Offerors may describe any quality awards or certifications it (or any significant subcontractor) received, indicating exceptional capacity to provide the services required for this contract. This information is not counted towards the twenty-five (25) page limit of the technical proposal.

Note: Past Performance information must be provided using the format provided as section J, Attachment 3.

L.7.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

If asked by the Contracting Officer, the offeror shall provide a current statement of its financial condition, certified by a third party, including:

Income (profit-loss) Statement that shows profitability for the past three (3) years;

Balance Sheet that shows the assets owned and the claims against those assets, or what a firm owns and what it owes; and

Cash Flow Statement that shows the firm’s sources and uses of cash during the most recent accounting period. This will help the Government assess a firm’s ability to pay its obligations.

The Government will use this information to determine the offeror’s financial responsibility and ability to perform under the contract. Failure of an offeror to comply with a request for this information may cause the Government to determine the offeror to be nonresponsible.

Technical and Advisory Services – U.S. Department of State Program Evaluation Requirements

Section L – Page 4 of 9