IRB_SOFTWARE_8-2016.doc

FBO ANNOUNCEMENT: COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

ACTION CODE: <COMBINED>

CLASSIFICATION CODE: D – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

SUBJECT: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) SOFTWARE PURCHASE AND DEPLOYMENT

SOLICITATION NO.: SB1341-16-RQ-0770

RESPONSE DATE: 18 Aug 2016

CONTACT POINTS: Randy Schroyer, Contract Specialist; 301/975-6314 (T)

Wendy Paulo, Contracting Officer; 301/975-3976 (T)

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS AND SERVICES PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6 – STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES ARE UTILIZED IN THIS PROCUREMENT. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THIS SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-89.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 511210 with a small business size standard of $38.5M. This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO), has a requirement to acquire and deploy a secure browser-based software solution for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) that has oversight of research conducted at NIST.

Background

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was founded in 1901. NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

The Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO) is responsible for managing the Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) for NIST. NIST has (1) Institutional Review Board (IRB) that has oversight of research conducted at NIST. NIST supports research all over the world through various grant and contract mechanisms. In addition, NIST collaborates on research with academic, government and industry partners. The HSPO is responsible for ensuring that all research conducted or supported by NIST receives an appropriate human subjects review.

The HSPO includes (3) staff – Director, IRB Administrator, and Senior Analyst, with an expectation to add staff as workload requires. The NIST laboratories with the most need for the system also have staff to assist PIs with inputting requests, currently this includes (3) positions.

The majority of human subjects research conducted at NIST is exempt human subjects research or may be reviewed by expedited procedures. It is currently estimated that research requiring review will expand to about 20-30 protocols each year that meet exempt criteria. In addition, it is expected there will be approximately 30-50 protocols that receive a “not human subjects research” determination by the HSPO. The HSPO will conduct institutional reviews for research reviewed and approved by a non-NIST IRB. These projects are often conducted under grants or contracts. It is estimated that there will be approximately 30-50 of these per year.

As the HSPP continues to grow and mature, NIST expects that the workload will continue to increase further from these estimates.

Objective

The objective of this requirement is to implement a secure browser-based software solution hosted by the Contractor for the NIST HSPO and IRB. The software shall allow NIST to manage IRB business processes efficiently and provide for an ethical review of research in a timely manner while ensuring adherence to regulatory and ethical review requirements.

Purpose

The purpose of this requirement is to implement a secure browser-based software solution hosted by the Contractor to manage research compliance, and administration management system to automate operations, specifically the HSPP.

NIST defines implementation as the installation of the software, configuration of the system for NIST submission and review workflows, customization of smart-forms and reports, out-of-the-box reporting, role-based training* to IRB admin. staff, IRB members, and researchers, testing to ensure the system is fully operational, deployment go-live support, and ongoing support and maintenance of a research compliance and administration management system.

*TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

Role-based training shall be provided to the IRB Admin. Staff (3 individuals), IRB members (12 individuals), Researchers (4 large auditorium training sessions [300-500 individuals] per session: 3 sessions in Gaithersburg, MD and 1 session in Boulder, CO; and, include: presentation files with curriculum (the presentation provided for NIST) – to continue on-line in the Commerce Learning Center.

Support and maintenance provided during option years shall include Contractor and NIST-identified system security updates, updates related to regulatory changes, and updates related to Contractor software functionality improvements.

NIST’s security authorization (i.e., approval from the NIST Chief Information Security Officer [CISO] will be obtained prior to official use of the IRB software.

Pending receipt of this authorization, the Contractor shall complete CLINs 0001-0006 within 6-mos.

BASE PERIOD

CLIN 0001: IRB Software in accordance with the attached functional and technical specifications; includes 1-yr. Support and Maintenance

QTY: 1 SOLUTION

CLIN 0002: IRB Software On-Site Installation and Testing QTY: 1 JOB (TO BE EXPRESSED AS X AMOUNT FOR INSTALLATION AND X AMOUNT FOR TESTING) CLIN 0003: IRB Software Smart-Forms and Reports Customization

QTY: 1 JOB

***OPTIONAL ITEM***

CLIN 0004: Import Existing Data (e.g., PDF, MS Word, Excel) from Current Proposal Management Process

QTY: 1 JOB

NOTE: CLIN 0004 (ONLY) IS AN OPTIONAL ITEM

CLIN 0005: IRB Software On-Site Role-Based Training

QTY: 1 JOB

CLIN 0006: Approved Travel Expenses associated with CLINs 0001-0005 (to be reimbursed at actual in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation as prescribed by the General Services Admin.). Travel, subsistence and local transportation shall be supported with a breakdown, which shall include: number of trips anticipated, number of person days, cost-per-trip-per-person, destination(s) proposed, number of person(s) scheduled for travel, mode(s) of transportation, and mileage allowances, if privately-owned vehicles will be used.

QTY: 1 LOT (TO BE ITEMIZED AND EXPRESSED AS A NOT TO EXCEED VALUE)

OPTION YEAR 1: BEGINS 365 DAYS AFTER INITIAL WARRANTY PERIOD ENDS

CLIN 0007: IRB Software Telephone/E-Mail Support and Maintenance; includes: Contractor and NIST-identified system security updates, updates related to regulatory changes, and updates related to IRB Software functionality improvements.

QTY: 4 QUARTERS (TO BE EXPRESSED AS X AMOUNT PER QUARTER)

OPTION YEAR 2: BEGINS 365 DAYS AFTER OPTION YEAR 1 SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE ENDS

CLIN 0008: IRB Software Telephone/E-Mail Support and Maintenance; includes: Contractor and NIST-identified system security updates, updates related to regulatory changes, and updates related to IRB Software functionality improvements.

QTY: 4 QUARTERS (TO BE EXPRESSED AS X AMOUNT PER QUARTER)

OPTION YEAR 3: BEGINS 365 DAYS AFTER OPTION YEAR 2 SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE ENDS

CLIN 0009: IRB Software Telephone/E-Mail Support and Maintenance; includes: Contractor and NIST-identified system security updates, updates related to regulatory changes, and updates related to IRB Software functionality improvements.

QTY: 4 QUARTERS (TO BE EXPRESSED AS X AMOUNT PER QUARTER)

OPTION YEAR 4: BEGINS 365 DAYS AFTER OPTION YEAR 3 SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE ENDS

CLIN 0010: IRB Software Telephone/E-Mail Support and Maintenance; includes: Contractor and NIST-identified system security updates, updates related to regulatory changes, and updates related to IRB Software functionality improvements.

QTY: 4 QUARTERS (TO BE EXPRESSED AS X AMOUNT PER QUARTER)

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The Contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net-30 day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice, in accordance with the following schedule:

CLINs 0001-0004: after receipt and acceptance by NIST HSPO

CLIN 0005: after completion of all training sessions and receipt of presentation files with curriculum to offer on-line in the Commerce Learning Center CLIN 0006: upon completion of travel associated with CLINs 0001-0004; and, again upon completion of travel associated with CLIN 0005

CLINs 0007-0010: quarterly, in arrears ***This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for commercial software and maintenance/support as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotations shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

The Offeror shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition.”

OR

The Offeror shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:

Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s).

Offerors that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

***Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an Offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the Offeror’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

***QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS***

***All offerors shall submit the following:

Each quotation shall consist of four (4) separate electronic files: (a) GO/NO GO Quotation (Vol. I); (b) Technical Quotation (Vol. II); (c) Past Performance/References (Vol. III) and (d) Business/Pricing Quotation (Vol. IV). Incomplete quotations may be considered non-compliant and removed from further consideration.

Quotations shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date, and the solicitation number. A one-page transmittal letter signed by an individual authorized to commit the organization shall be transmitted with the quotation to the Government. Each quotation shall be on 8.5” x 11” paper, in a commercially standard font, not smaller than 12-point font. Each page in the quotation shall be separately numbered. The quotation shall be limited to twenty-five (25) single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the letter of transmittal, cover letter, and past-performance information).

Overall Arrangement of Documents

Go/No Go (Volume I) – No pricing information shall be included in the Go/No Go Volume

Technical Quotation addressing all technical subfactors (Volume II) - No pricing information shall be included in the technical quotation

Past Performance/References (Volume III)

Business/Pricing Quotation (Volume IV)

VOLUME I: GO/NO GO

The Offeror shall submit documentation which demonstrates it meets all the requirements specified under Technical Requirements; including, for IT Security, the submission of: a) FedRAMP authorization, an Authorization to Operate (ATO) letter issued by a Federal Government Agency as evidence that they have been assessed and authorized at the moderate impact level for all parties (i.e., prime and subcontractor) with access to data (the Offeror must be able to provide NIST the capability of reviewing the full package from that agency) or evidence that the Offeror has passed an independent security audit (e.g., Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE), PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), etc. ; b) Statement that post award, the Offeror will work with the Government on continuous monitoring to mitigate found risks; c) Statement that services are accessible via IPv6 and as well as IPv4 and if not, plans to implement IPv6 and the timeframe to do so; d) Statement that the Offeror will provide the ability to restrict government access to the cloud service from government specified networks, and if not currently able to provide this ability, the Offeror shall provide a statement regarding its plans to have such capability, including the timeframe to do so.

VOLUME II: TECHNICAL

NIST will evaluate quotations, based on the information submitted in support of the following subfactor:

Technical SubFactor 1 Technical Capability The offeror shall submit sufficient information or product literature for the IRB software it is proposing, which clearly demonstrates the following: a) compliance to the defined functional requirements; b) ease of customization of smart forms and work flows; c) interoperability with NIST e-mail; and, d) the breadth of regulatory review capability.

***TO ASSIST IN ESTABLISHING TECHNICAL CAPABILITY (i.e., HOW WELL THE SOFTWARE COMPLIES WITH THE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS), THE OFFEROR SHALL PROVIDE A URL THAT WILL GRANT TEMPORARY ACCESS TO THE PORTAL OF ITS INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) SOFTWARE SOLUTION BEING PROPOSED***.

VOLUME III: PAST PERFORMANCE/REFERENCES

The offeror shall provide three (3) examples of past performance conducted within the last five years of contracts for deployment of IRB software with federal, state or local governments and/or commercial customers. If the offeror has no relevant past performance it should include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The government reserves the right to consider past performance data obtained from sources other than those provided by the offeror in its quotation.

The description of each reference described in this section shall not exceed a half page. For each of the contracts, the offeror shall provide the following information:

· Contract number

· Client’s name and address and point of contact, including telephone number and e-mail address

· Dollar value

· Period of performance

· Narrative describing the requirement and its relevance to the current requirement

· Name of contracting officer or point of contact, telephone number and e-mail address

VOLUME IV: PRICE

The Offeror shall submit an original and one copy of the completed price schedule. If the quotation is submitted electronically, additional copies are not required. The price quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The Offeror shall propose a firm fixed price, FOB Destination, for CLINs 0001-0005 and 0007-0010.

The Offeror is encouraged to discount its rates. If price discounts are offered, identify the percentage of price discount and/or price reduction offered.

For CLIN 0006, the Offeror shall submit a not-to-exceed (NTE) itemization of anticipated travel expenses necessary to accomplish CLINs 0001-0005.

***EVALUATION***

The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein to the responsible offeror whose quotation is the most highly rated, and conforming to the solicitation, results in the best value to the Government, non-price and price factors considered. NIST reserves the right to make award to other than the lowest-priced offeror or to the offeror ranked highest technically, if it determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government.

The Government intends to make a single award and reserves the right to make no award as a result of this solicitation.

The Government intends to evaluate quotations and award a purchase order without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial quotation 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 and or all quotations if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest price quotation; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in quotations received.

The Government will utilize GO/NO GO evaluation and best value trade-off in evaluating quotations.

1. GO/NO GO

Offerors must meet all mandatory Technical Requirements and submit, for IT Security*: a) proof of FedRAMP Authorization, an Authorization to Operate (ATO) letter issued by a Federal Government agency at the moderate impact level, or evidence the Offeror has passed an independent security audit (e.g., Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE), PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), etc.; b) a statement that post award, the Offeror is willing to work with the Government on continuous monitoring to mitigate found risks; c) a statement that services are accessible via IPv6 and as well as IPv4 and if not, plans to implement IPv6 and the timeframe to do so; and, d) a statement that the Offeror will provide the ability to restrict government access to the cloud service from government specified networks, and if not currently able to provide this ability, the Offeror shall provide a statement regarding its plans to have such capability, including the timeframe to do so.

*The ATO Letter or FedRAMP authorization, SSAE or PCI DSS will be evaluated to ensure that the prime and all subcontractors have been assessed and authorized at a moderate impact level by a Federal Government agency.

Evaluators will only evaluate information submitted in the GO/NO GO Volume of the quotation during the GO/NO GO evaluation.

Offers will be evaluated to confirm that all mandatory technical requirements have been met. Those Offerors whose quotations meet all mandatory technical requirements (i.e., receive a GO rating), will be evaluated utilizing the best value trade-off method.

2. BEST VALUE

The Government will award a firm fixed-price Purchase Order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation requirements will be the most advantageous to the Government, price and non-price factors considered.

In addition to price, the following factors will be used to evaluate offers:

Technical Capability

Past Performance/References

The Non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance. Technical Capability is more important than Past Performance. Technical Capability and Past Performance, when combined, are approximately equal in importance to price.

Technical Capability:

Evaluation of technical capability will be based on the information provided in the technical quotation to determine the extent of its understanding of the requirements. The Government will evaluate whether the offerors IRB software solution demonstrates: a) compliance to the functional specifications defined in the solicitation; b) ease of customization of smart forms and work flows; c) interoperability with NIST e-mail; and, d) the breadth of regulatory review capability. Quotations that do not demonstrate a-d will not be considered further for award.

Past Performance:

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s past performance information to determine its relevance to the current requirement and the extent to which it demonstrates that the Offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three (3) years. In assessing the Offeror’s past performance, NIST may evaluate the quality, timeliness, and ability to control cost and schedule of past work. Offerors with no relevant past performance will not be rated favorably or unfavorably. Past performance will be evaluated by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references, if applicable.

3. PRICE

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s proposed pricing and projected travel expenses to determine whether these are realistic, complete, and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements.

Price will not be evaluated for quotations that are determined technically unacceptable under the Technical Capability evaluation factor.

***APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES***

The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html

The following FAR provisions apply to this acquisition:

52.204-7 System for Award Management (JUL 2013);

52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (JUL 2016);

52.204-17 Ownership or Control of Offeror (JUL 2016);

52.209-5 Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters (OCT 2015);

52.209-11 Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction Under any Federal Law (FEB 2016) 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (OCT 2015);

52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Items (OCT 2014;

52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items (JUL 2016);

52.217-4 Evaluation of Options Exercised at Time of Contract Award (JUN 1988);

52.217-5 Evaluation of Options (JUL 1990);

52.222-22 Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports (FEB 1999);

52.222-25 Affirmative Action Compliance (APR 1984);

52.225-25 Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging in Sanctioned Activities Relating to Iran – Representation and Certifications (OCT 2015);

52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference

Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation 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 this/these address(es): http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html

All interested offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov and must complete annual representations on-line in SAM in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following FAR clauses apply to this acquisition:

52.203-12 Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions (OCT 2010);

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (APR 2014);

52.203-98, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements—Representation (DEVIATION 2015-02)

Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements—Representation (FEB 2015)

(a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and

Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (JUL 2013);

52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (JUL 2016);

52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications (DEC 2014);

52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (JUN 2016);

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (MAY 2015);

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services.

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 10 days of contract expiration.

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.

Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 1 day; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 10 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 5 years.

52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification (APR 1984);

52.224-2 Privacy Act (APR 1984);

52.227-17 Rights in Data—Special Works (DEC 2007);

52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (JUN 2013);

52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (DEC 2013);

52.233-4 Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004);

52.237-2 Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment, and Vegetation (APR 1984);

52.247-34 F.O.B. Destination (NOV 1991)

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference;

Clauses Incorporated By Reference (Feb 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses 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. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders (JUN 2016) — Commercial Items including subparagraphs:

52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (OCT 2015);

52.209-6 Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (OCT 2015);

52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2011);

52.219-13 Notice of Set-Aside of Orders (NOV 2011);

52.219-28 Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (JUL 2013);

52.222-3 Convict Labor (JUN 2003);

52.222-19 Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (FEB 2016);

52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (APR 2015);

52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (APR 2015);

52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans (OCT 2015);

52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (JUL 2014);

52.222-37 Employment Reports on Veterans (FEB 2016);

52.222-40 Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (DEC 2010);

52.222-50 Combatting Trafficking in Persons (MAR 2015);

52.223-18 Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011);

52.225-3 Buy American Act—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act (MAY 2014);

52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases (JUN 2008); and 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (JUL 2013) The following Department of Commerce (CAR) provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition. The CAR can be accessed online at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6b3121d28d772a0296241b81d731dbf1&mc=true&node=pt48.5.1352&rgn=div5

PROVISIONS:

1352.215-72 Inquiries (Apr 2010)

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to the Contract Specialist within five (5) days of the posting. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.

1352.233-70 Agency Protests (Apr 2010)

(a) An agency protest may be filed with either: (1) the contracting officer, or (2) at a level above the contracting officer, with the appropriate Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999)

(b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address: NIST/Acquisition Management Div.

Attn: Wendy Paulo, Contracting Officer

100 Bureau Dr., M/S 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(c) Agency protests filed with the agency Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address: NIST/Acquisition Management Div.

Attn: Head of the Contracting Office (HCO)

100 Bureau Dr., M/S 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(d) A complete copy of all agency protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.

(e) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce

Office of the General Counsel

Chief, Contract Law Division

Room 5893

Herbert C. Hoover Building

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20230

FAX: 202/482-5858

CLAUSES:

1352.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Authority;

1352.209-73 Compliance with the Laws;

1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest;

1352.233-71 GAO and Court of Federal Claims Protests (Apr 2010)

(a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed.

(b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims.

(c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce

Office of the General Counsel

Chief, Contract Law Division

Room 5893

Herbert C. Hoover Building

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20230

FAX: (202) 482-5858

1352.239-70 Software License Addendum;

1352.239-71 Electronic and Information Technology;

1352.246-70 Place of Acceptance;

1352.270-70 Period of Performance

NIST LOCAL CLAUSE - BILLING INSTRUCTIONS:

(a) NIST prefers electronic Invoice/Voucher submissions and they should be emailed to invoice@nist.gov

(b) Each Invoice or Voucher submitted shall include the following: (1) Contract Number. (2) Contractor Name and Address. (3) Date of Invoice. (4) Invoice Number. (5) Amount of Invoice and Cumulative Amount Invoiced to-date. (6) Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). (7) Description, Quantity, Unit of Measure, Unit Price, and Extended Price of Supplies/Services Delivered. (8) Prompt Payment Discount Terms, if Offered. (9) Any other information or documentation required by the contract.

(c) In the event electronic submissions are not used, The Contractor shall submit an original invoice or voucher in accordance with the payment provisions of this contract to:

NIST: Accounts Payable Office

100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1621

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1621

NIST LOCAL CLAUSE – TRAVEL

a) The government will reimburse the contractor for all necessary expenses in connection with travel authorized pursuant to this order/contract. Costs incurred for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rates in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations prescribed by the General Services Administration.

b) Subsistence is authorized in accordance with the DoC and Federal Travel Regulations. Invoices requesting reimbursement for travel must be accompanied by itemized paid receipts. The invoices must be submitted to the payment office specified elsewhere in this order/contract.

And other appropriate clauses as needed

Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm ***Offerors shall e-mail their quotation to randy.schroyer@nist.gov so that it is received by the response date/time for this solicitation. It is the responsibility of the offeror to confirm NIST’s receipt of its quotation. Each quotation shall include sufficient data to allow the Government to determine the amount, realism and consistency of the quoted fixed price. An e-mail quotation will be considered received when it is received in the electronic in-box of randy.schroyer@nist.gov not later than the date and time identified herein.

This RFQ does not commit the Government to pay any costs for the preparation and submission of a quotation.

The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit and obligate the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this proposed acquisition.

Any questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing via e-mail to randy.schroyer@nist.gov no later than 5:00PM EST 10 August 2016. The Government will only respond to written questions. Questions submitted after this date and time may not be addressed by the Government prior to the quotation submission deadline.

***The due date and time for receipt of quotations is 22 August 2016 no later than 5:00PM EST.

Only information received on or before the due date and time for receipt of quotations will be considered for award. Any quotation, or part thereof, received after the due date and time for receipt of quotations, will be deemed late and not considered for award.

Because of heightened security, electronic delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of quotations. If quotations are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 48 hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be provided to Randy Schroyer, Contracting Officer, on 301/975-6314.