CSS_17-00566_final.pdf

CLASSIFICATION CODE: R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services

TITLE: - NIST MEP Survey Support

SOLICITATION NUMBER: SB1341-17-RQ-0242

RESPONSE DATE: April 14, 2017

CONTACT POINTS: Robert Cowins, Contract Specialist, (301) 975-8335

Keith Bubar, Contracting Officer, (301) 975-8329

DESCRIPTION:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for Administrative and Computer Related Support Services to be utilized by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD. The Contractor shall provide various survey services for NIST MEP on a quarterly basis in order to capture the necessary data to evaluate the centers and the MEP program, including administration of the NIST MEP Client Impact Survey.

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL

ITEMS 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. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY

SOLICITATION; PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN

SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED

USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PART

13.5.

This solicitation is a Request for Proposals (RFP). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-95.

1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010)

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to robert.cowins@nist.gov.

Questions should be received no later than 10 calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. Any responses to 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.

(End of Provision)

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541519 – Other Computer Related Services, with a small business size standard of $27.5 million.

This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business.

All offerors shall provide a proposal for the following line items:

mailto:robert.cowins@nist.gov

CLIN 0001

Description: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of Tasks/Deliverables 1 - 4 as detailed in the incorporated Performance Work Statement

(PWS).

Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the date of award Pricing Option: Firm-Fixed-Price

CLIN 0002

Description: Travel Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the date of award Pricing Option: NTE $4000.00

CLIN 0003: Option Period I Description: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of Tasks/Deliverables 1 - 4 as detailed in the incorporated PWS.

Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Base Period Pricing Option: Firm-Fixed-Price

CLIN 0004

Description: Travel Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Base Period Pricing Option: NTE $4000.00

CLIN 0005: Option Period II Description: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of Tasks/Deliverables 1 - 4 as detailed in the incorporated PWS.

Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period I Pricing Option: Firm-Fixed-Price

CLIN 0006

Description: Travel Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period I Pricing Option: NTE $4000.00

CLIN 0007: Option Period III Description: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of Tasks/Deliverables 1 - 4 as detailed in the incorporated PWS.

Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot

Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period II Pricing Option: Firm-Fixed-Price

CLIN 0008

Description: Travel Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of option Period II Pricing Option: NTE $4000.00

CLIN 0009: Option Period IV Description: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of Tasks/Deliverables 1 - 4 as detailed in the incorporated PWS.

Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period III Pricing Option: Firm-Fixed-Price

CLIN 0010

Description: Travel Quantity: 1 Unit of Issue: Lot Period of Performance: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period III Pricing Option: NTE $4000.00

Performance Work Statement

I. Background and Purpose

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP), a program of the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a nationwide network that provides services to assist smaller manufacturers in becoming globally competitive. The network consists of manufacturing extension centers serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Each MEP center is an independent, non-profit organization offering products and services that meet the specific needs of the region’s local manufacturers.

Evaluation is a key element of all MEP programs and activities to continuously improve on current services and report successful activities or areas of needed improvement. The MEP centers cumulatively assist between 8,000 and 10,000 manufacturers in a typical year. We anticipate these numbers to increase approximately 5% each year. Customers of each MEP center are surveyed between six months and one year after receiving services. The survey asks customers to comment on the impact the Center’s assistance has had on the firm. Survey questions are developed by NIST MEP and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Results of this survey are used to evaluate the performance of individual centers. Results are also accumulated across all centers to provide indicators of program success at the national level.

II. Scope of Work

The Contractor shall provide various survey services for NIST MEP on a quarterly basis in order to capture the necessary data to evaluate the centers and the MEP program, including administration of the NIST MEP Client Impact Survey. Approximately 8,000 – 10,000 clients are surveyed annually using online survey tools.

IV. Specific Tasks

The contractor shall perform Task 2-1 during the Base period only. The contractor shall perform all other tasks during the Base and all Option periods.

Task 1: Pre-Survey Data Preparation The Contractor shall complete the tasks below:

1-1. File Transfer and storage of NIST MEP Client and Project Data 1-2. Continuous improvement on the data confirmation process for MEP Centers 1-3. Preparation of survey emails and activity lists 1-4. emailing surveys to respondent 1-5. Provide a demonstration survey in the center portal

Task 1-1: File Transfer and storage of NIST MEP Client and Project Data NIST MEP collects detailed project records from its Centers regarding their interactions with clients. This data includes contact information for the client firms and details regarding the type of services received. It is organized in a csv file format with each record representing an individual project with a particular client (See attachment).

The records also include more detailed information about the client and the projects. The Contractor shall store current records (approximately 2,200 clients per quarter) in order to prepare the customized project lists and survey emails for each client. All the project records shall contain a center code field and client unique identifier field that can be concatenated to generate a unique identifier for each client. This unique identifier shall be used to identify all project records for each client.

All client data is considered confidential and may contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Business Identifiable Information (BII). The Contractor shall ensure that this data is encrypted using FIPS140-2 validated products both in transit via Internet and in storage for both database and backup media to prevent unwanted disclosure of any MEP client data. The Contractor shall receive/send data using NIST’s Secure File Transfer System (Nfiles website or equivalent). Accounts will be provided by NIST Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

In addition, the Contractor shall implement the following risk notification for users of the online web survey: "While NIST will take reasonable precautions to protect any personally identifiable information (PII) or business identifiable information (BII) submitted on this form, the Department of Commerce considers this PII/BII to be non-sensitive. The electronic transmission of non-sensitive PII/BII is equivalent to transmitting the same information by the U.S. mail, a private delivery service, courier, facsimile, or voice. Although each of these methods has vulnerabilities, the transmitted information can only be compromised as a result of theft, fraud, or other illegal activity. By transmitting this information on this form the sender is indicating their acceptance of this risk.”

Task 1-2: Continuous improvement of data confirmation process for MEP Centers Experience has shown that one of the most important keys to generating successful surveys of NIST MEP clients is allowing Centers to update client record information prior to the survey. Initial data records are submitted 1-3 months after project close. Surveys occur between six months and one year after project close. In particular, it is important for Centers to reconfirm the respondent information since turnover at client firms is often high. The current confirmation process is a web-based system. Centers are given four weeks to make corrections or confirm that no corrections are needed.

The Contractor shall conduct its own review of each Center’s data, correcting any obvious typographical errors, problems with capitalization, etc. If other data elements appear problematic enough to affect the professionalism of the documents, the Center shall be contacted in an attempt to resolve the issue.

The Contractor shall review all data records individually prior to preparation of project lists and survey emails to ensure that minimum professional standards are maintained. These standards include correct spelling, appropriate use of capitalization and punctuation, and no inappropriate content in project titles (i.e. Ms. instead of Mr.).

Task 1-3: Preparation of Survey Emails The Contractor shall utilize a standard process for each MEP Center to submit center logos and a signature of an appropriate center official, which shall be used on the survey emails with the appropriate center official title. The process allows for ad-hoc updates from Centers as well. The submission of center logos, signature block and electronic signature shall be maintained by the Centers on the contractor portal.

A formal plan for an annual update from every Center, regardless of whether the center has made changes, shall also be required. The formal plan shall comply with the structure and criteria of the example plan provided by MEP. The Contractor shall allow Center director titles and signatures to be customized. The Contractor shall produce the survey email letters and project lists from the corrected data one week after Centers have had the opportunity to make corrections.

Careful quality control to ensure that the appropriate logo and signature is matched with each client is required. Survey email letters shall be completely free of errors.

The survey email letter text itself is standard across all Centers and shall be used on all survey email letters. The Contractor shall generate a customized project list for each client based on the data sent by NIST. The OMB Clearance shall be included in the body of the emails sent to companies as well as on the survey. Example - The OMB Control No. is 0693-0021, exp. 10/31/2017.

The contractor shall provide email versions of the Survey Cover Letters in Spanish for Center use, either as the primary initial contact with the client, or for Center staff to be generated to send to clients as reminders. The email versions of the cover letter shall be in a text format (no attachments allowed) and shall include a live link with an embedded username and password to the individual client’s unique survey. The email system shall include basic email tracking mechanisms, including a notification or status showing if an email has been bounced back or delivery of the email has failed. Emails shall be sent the day survey opens.

Task 1-4: Emailing of Pre-Survey and Mid-Survey to Respondent The Contractor shall design a process that shall guarantee the proper emails will be matched to the proper project list. The Contractor shall email all clients the day the survey period starts. The contractor shall email reminder survey letters to all clients that have not 100% completed the survey at midpoint (14 days into the survey) of the survey. The contractor shall work closely with MEP staff to ensure that the emails contain the correct verbiage.

The contractor shall develop a system that will minimize emails being caught in SPAM filters. The contractor shall notify NIST MEP immediately if they are placed on a black list and shall immediately take action to be removed.

Task 1-5: Provide Demonstration Survey in the Center Portal

The contractor shall provide a sample survey in the center portal. This sample demo survey shall enable centers to use internally to educate staff and clients on the questions that are on the quarterly survey. (See attached screenshots)

Task 2: Data Collection The Contractor shall complete the tasks below:

2-1. Program Survey Instrument 2-2. Prepare Alternate Survey Administration Methods 2-3. Conduct Surveys 2-4. Maintain Survey Database 2-5. Connectivity Between MEIS and Vendor Survey System

Task 2-1: Program Survey Instrument (Phase-In, Base Period only) The Contractor shall describe the technology platform proposed to be used to implement the online survey. The survey instrument shall be designed following the current generally accepted standards for user-friendliness (examples: no scrolling, multiple related questions on one screen, and the ability for the end-user to easily review and print a summary of what they reported). See attached survey screenshots. The survey instrument shall be able to have multiple questions on one screen; access/availability of certain answers shall be based on selected answers. For example, if a client selects “no,” then the dollar amount input field on the same screen shall be “grayed out” or inaccessible for data entry. The system shall be one integrated system, with no merging or manual manipulation of files. The web-based survey shall be operational and easily accessed by clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Server down time shall be kept to a minimum.

Specifically, server down time shall not be longer than one hour. The Contractor shall track server downtime and it shall be reported back to NIST MEP in Scheduled and Unscheduled downtime statistics. The Contractor shall implement a plan and process for server unavailability.

This plan shall include notifications to NIST MEP, Centers, contractor internal process, failover site, etc. Clients experiencing issues shall be able to report these issues to the Contractor and receive responses.

The survey instrument shall be designed in such a manner as to allow for quick and easy updating of survey questions. The survey instrument shall display the appropriate Center logo for each individual survey, based on which Center completed the projects with the client. The web-based survey shall meet all NIST/DOC policies (i.e. accessibility, security, etc.).

In addition to the initial programming performed, the Contractor shall prepare the survey instrument to ensure the Center names are correct and that the appropriate logos are uploaded to the web system. This requires a real-time status update in the center and administrative portals.

Upon request, the Contractor shall also provide a test or sample web-based survey to NIST MEP and MEP Centers reporting and evaluation staff for continuous use and review.

Task 2-2: Prepare Alternate Survey Administration Methods When clients to be surveyed cannot or will not complete the survey via web, the Contractor shall provide an alternative method of data collection (e.g. via telephone). The Contractor shall be responsible for any data entry tasks associated with the alternative method. The Contractor shall keep and maintain a weekly log documenting all surveys completed via telephone throughout the reporting period.

Task 2-3: Conduct Survey

Each quarter, the Contractor shall conduct the survey over a four-week period. The Contractor shall follow established protocols that have been successfully implemented in prior survey quarters. A key component to successful execution of the overall project is a friendly, web-based survey. Excellent customer service is essential to the execution of this contract as the contractor will have a lot of interactions with the centers.

The Contractor shall have the capacity to administer the surveys in Spanish. The Contractor shall make outbound calls to clients as needed. Some outbound calls shall be completed within one business day per MEP direction. The Contractor shall have an adequate number of interviewers ready in the event a client calls-in to complete the survey. Clients shall not be kept on hold for a period longer than 30 seconds.

Task 2-4: Maintain Survey Database The Contractor shall track the completion status of each client and provide a general description of why a client has not completed the survey. The contractor shall identify surveys that are Complete, Incomplete or Not Started on a real time basis displayed in the portal. Client survey completion status reports shall be provided by the Contractor on a real-time basis via the Center Portals. The completion status shall be updated immediately once the survey is completed.

The Contractor shall utilize pre-established web-based data portals for all MEP Centers. Within these portals, MEP Centers shall have access to client data and real-time survey completion status. The portals shall also have a function to allow Center staff to generate the Survey Cover Letter emails to clients, which contain a live link to the survey. The portals shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the survey period. The portals shall be easily customizable to allow different access rights (such as administrator, view-only, etc.) to different staff members, and each Center shall only be able to view their center-specific data. The portals shall meet DOC/NIST policy requirements (i.e. accessibility, security, etc.).

Task 2-5. – Connectivity Between MEIS and Vendor Survey System NIST MEP has an Enterprise Information System (MEIS) that the Centers use on a regular basis to submit clients and projects for survey. MEIS is also used to display information about Center program management and evaluation. Included in the system is a Center Dashboard that displays information pertinent to the center. NIST MEP plans to develop additional functionality related to the MEP Client Impact Survey Process that will be displayed on this dashboard. In order to do this, the contractor shall propose technologies available in their software system to allow this functionality to be developed. This would be summary type data for all Center users and not the detailed information that a center survey contact would use the vendor portal to determine. This information would be pulled regularly every set number of hours during the survey period.

• Display Survey Response Rate

• Display Number of clients in Survey, Number of clients that have started a survey, Number of clients that have completed the survey.

• Status of survey system status – Available, Unscheduled Downtime, Scheduled Downtime

Task 3: Post-Survey Reporting NIST MEP expects that survey data shall be made available no later than 7 days after each survey data collection period is completed.

The Contractor shall provide the data file in a NIST MEP-specified csv format. As stated in Section IV, Task 1-1, the data shall be transmitted via Nfiles website (NIST Files Transfer System). The data file shall be error-free due to tight NIST MEP deadlines. The upload to the NIST MEP system is expected to be successful on the first attempt. The output file shall come directly from the database, and shall be ready to export without any manual intervention.

Task 4: Overall Management The Contractor shall complete the tasks below:

4-1. Reporting to NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) 4-2. Communicating with MEP Centers 4-3. Continuous Improvement of Methodology

Task 4-1: Reporting to NIST TPOC The Contractor shall provide quarterly written progress updates and/or quarterly telephone calls to the NIST TPOC. These shall be provided as documentation of project status. The Contractor shall delete data from all systems and backups after successful import into the NIST MEP systems. NIST MEP will notify the Contractor after successful import of data via email.

Task 4-2: Communicating with MEP Centers The Contractor shall develop working relationships with the Centers through designing training tools and methods of communication to help MEP Centers understand and use the survey process properly or by any other acceptable method. The Contractor shall provide periodic/ad-hoc email updates to the Centers, which includes online presentation materials that provide an overview of different aspects of the process, and possibly present at the MEP National Summit, which takes place sometime in the Spring or Summer of each year. Meeting locations are determined yearly. The Contractor will be notified within 60 days if travel is required. The Contractor shall also engage in proactive identification of additional communication efforts that shall aid the survey’s success.

Task 4-3: Continuous Improvement of Methodology The Contractor shall arrange for quarterly debriefing of interviewers with the goal of improving the protocol. Immediate changes shall be made to the instrument and the protocol as a result of these debriefings with the written request from NIST TPOC. Other ideas for improvement may be implemented as identified, with the written permission of the NIST TPOC.

V. Deliverables and Due Dates

Tasks Deliverables Format Quantity Due Dates Pre-Survey Data Preparation

• Continuation of web-based data reconfirmation (both current and historic records) during administration of the survey in order to prepare the customized project lists and email letters for each client.

Web/Portal

~2,200 client surveys per quarter (fluctuates depending upon amount of clients that are helped by the MEP program each quarter)

Performed throughout the period of performance.

• Review and troubleshooting of all Center data prior to preparation of customized pre-survey packages.

• Final revision of project list format.

• Final revision of question list/questionnaire.

• Preparation of mistake-free emailing of customized pre-survey prior to data collection and mid-survey during survey.

• Programming and troubleshooting of the survey instrument prior to each round of surveys.

• Prepare and update survey portal before each survey quarter

CSV File email

CSV File

Web/Portal

Same as above center portals per quarter

Due 1 week prior to scheduled mail-out of the pre-survey notification letter.

Due one week prior to mail-out.

prior to mail-out.

Due via email the day survey begins, mid-survey 14 days into survey

Due three weeks prior to survey start.

prior to survey start

Data Collection

• Administration of the survey in both English and Spanish.

Portal/Telephone

~2,200 client surveys per quarter (fluctuates depending upon amount of clients that are helped by

Throughout quarterly survey period.

• Administration of each survey round by the end of the appropriate quarter, allowing data collection to remain open for at least four weeks

• Real-time completion status updates for all clients via a web site accessible by the centers

• Provide 16 Weekly Call Logs that include all call ins of clients and all telephone completed surveys to MEP Administrator during the reporting process

Portal/Telephone

Portal

Excel the MEP program each quarter) center portals per quarter

4 logs per quarterly survey

Throughout

Throughout

Provide on Mondays throughout the quarterly survey period.

Post Survey Reporting

• Transmission of raw survey results to NIST after each administration according to a

NIST MEP

designed method.

Survey results file shall be in a format designated by NIST MEP, and manual manipulation of the file by the survey vendor is not to occur.

CSV files ~2,200 client surveys per quarter (fluctuates depending upon amount of clients that are helped by the MEP program each quarter)

File shall be in flat file format and error free every time. Due 7 business days after the close of the survey period.

Overall Management

• Training tools and ongoing communications to help MEP centers understand and use

PowerPoint, Webex Meetings

As needed performance.

the survey process properly.

• Attendance at MEP center meetings, when requested

• Periodic debriefings with NIST MEP staff.

• Flexible, modern, and easily updatable survey instrument.

• Web-based data portal for center use.

• Deletion of data after delivery and import into MEP systems.

In person

Phone/Email

As needed

1 quarterly

Continue to maintain

Continue to maintain

Completed once Quarterly

When requested period of performance

Performed throughout the performance period of performance

Within 3 business days after notification from

NIST MEP

administrator that the data has been successfully imported into MEP Information system

VI. Period of Performance

Base Period: 12 months from the date of award

Option Period I: 12 months from the conclusion of Base Period

Option Period II: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period I

Option Period III: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period II

Option Period IV: 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period III

VII. Place of Performance

All work shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility. However, as noted within Section X, occasional travel to NIST may be required for in-person meetings.

VIII. Government-Furnished Property, Data and/or Information

Center project records for the clients to be surveyed will be provided to the Contractor.

All deliverables and data generated under this task order remain the property of the Government.

IX. Risk Assessment

The HSPD-12 Security Risk Level assigned to this requirement is low risk.

X. Travel

The Contractor may need to travel to NIST/MEP in Gaithersburg, MD to meet face to face with NIST staff once or twice per year. Some of the information technology portions of the work that require cooperation with NIST staff may require additional in-person meetings. The Contractor may need to travel to one NIST/MEP Summit per year at a place to be determined. Travel shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel regulation. The Contractor shall not exceed funding for travel as specified in the task order.

XI. Performance Requirement Summary

Desired Outcomes Required Service Performance Standard Monitoring Methods

Email tracking system Design and implementation of an online based portal that lets center staff know the delivery status of emails sent to clients.

A fully functioning system that displays the status (delivered, read, bounced-back, etc.) of every email sent to a client.

The Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) will perform periodic reviews of work in progress.

Online survey with multiple related questions on one screen

Design and implement an online survey instrument that displays multiple questions on one screen and is capable of conditional access to response fields

A fully functioning online survey instrument

The Technical Information Contact (TIC) will perform periodic reviews of work in progress.

Accurate communications with center clients

Emails and/or letters that are sent to clients are mistake-free and professional looking

No more than 5 letters or emails per quarter with mistakes (poor alignment/folding, incorrectly placed names or titles, incorrect addresses)

The Technical Information Contact (TIC) will perform periodic reviews of work in progress, feedback from center staff and clients

Error free survey data export file

The data file with survey responses has no errors and is in the

The data export file supplied to NIST MEP by the contractor

Technical Information Contact (TIC) will perform periodic correct format successfully imports into the NIST MEP information system on the first attempt with no additional reformatting or changes to the data.

reviews of work in progress.

XII. Section 508 Compliance

The Contractor shall ensure the solution complies with Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act throughout the life-cycle of this contract. At their discretion, the Contractor may use GSA’s 508 technical tools and resources located at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103534. The Contractor shall annually certify that the system is compliant with Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act. The Contractor shall bring all applicable non-compliant aspects into compliance immediately upon discovery of the non-compliant situation at the direction of the Government.

XIII. Contractor Key Personnel Minimum Requirements

The contractor shall, at a minimum assign the following key personnel:

Program Manager

• Candidate must possess a PhD in Social/Behavioral sciences

• Candidate must have at least 10 years of professional research or management experience including at least 4 years successful management or technical direction of large and complex projects

Project Leader

• Candidate must possess a Master’s Degree Social/Behavioral sciences

• Candidate must have at least 6 years of professional experience and experience including at least 3 years leading projects

Senior Associate

• Candidate must possess a Master’s Degree Social/Behavioral sciences

• Candidate must have at least 4 years of professional research experience

Associate

• Candidate must possess a Bachelor’s Degree Social/Behavioral sciences

• Candidate must have at least 3 years of professional research experience

Attachments

1.) Sample List of Questions - Survey 2.) Portal Screen Shot 3.) File sample of MEIS export 4.) File format to be imported into MEIS upon survey completion 5.) Survey Demo screen shots 6.) Sample survey email letter 7.) Sample survey email letter (Spanish version)

Provisions and Clauses:

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference.

All FAR clauses may be viewed at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/.

Provisions

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items

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

(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.

(End of provision) Clauses

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders— Commercial Items (APR 2010)-- including subparagraphs:

52.203-6 - Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government Alternate I 52.204-10 - Reporting Executive Compensation and First Tier Subcontract Awards

52.209-6 - Protecting the Government’s Interest when subcontracting with Contractor’s Debarred, Suspended or proposed for Debarment 52.209-9-Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters 52.209-10 - Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations 52.219-6 - Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside 52.219-8 - Utilization of Small Business Concerns 52.219-13 - Notice of Set-Aside of Orders 52.219-14 - Limitations on Subcontracting 52.219-28 - Post Award Small Business Program Representation 52.222-3 - Convict Labor 52.222-19 - Child Labor - Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies;

52.222-21 - Prohibition of Segregated Facilities 52-222-26 - Equal Opportunity;

52.222-35 - Equal Opportunity for Veterans 52.222-36 - Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities 52.222-37 - Employment Reports on Veterans 52.222-50 - Combating Trafficking in Persons 52.223-18 - Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving 52.225-13 - Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases;

52.232-30 - Installment Payments for Commercial Items 52.232-33 - Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer- System for Award Management.

52.203-99, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements (DEVIATION 2015-02)

(a) The Contractor shall not require employees or subcontractors seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with 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 contractor shall notify employees that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements covered by this clause are no longer in effect.

(c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this clause 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.

(d) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act may be prohibited, if the Government determines that the Contractor is not in compliance with the provisions of this clause.

(2) The Government may seek any available remedies in the event the Contractor fails to comply with the provisions of this clause.

(End of clause)

52.202-1 – Definitions 52.203-3 – Gratuities

52.203-12 - Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions 52.203-18 - Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements—Representation 52.203-19 - Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements 52.204-4 - Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper 52.209-5 - Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters 52.209-7 - Information Regarding Responsibility Matters 52.217-8 - Option to Extend Services 52.217-9 - Option to Extend the Term of the Contract

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within anytime during period of performance; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 2 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.

(End of Clause) 52.219-1 - Small Business Program Representations 52.222-54 - Employment Eligibility Verification 52.223-6 - Drug-Free Workplace 52.227-14 - Rights in Data—General 52.222-25 - Affirmative Action Compliance 52.229-3 - Federal, State, and Local Taxes 52.232-1 - Payments 52.232-8 - Discounts for Prompt Payment 52.232-11 - Extras 52.232-17 - Interest 52.232-23 - Assignment of Claims 52.233-1 - Disputes 52.233-4 - Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim 52.239-1 - Privacy or Security Safeguards 52.242-13 - Bankruptcy 52.246-25 - Limitation of Liability – Services 52.252-2 - Clauses Incorporated by Reference

Department of Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clauses. Please view the full text of these clauses at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8b5f22b07c12a52e8b29841ad60f1fd9&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48chapter13.tpl.

Commerce Acquisition Regulations (CAR) Provisions and Clauses:

1352.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Authority 1352.201-72 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) 1352.209-72 Restrictions against disclosure 1352.209-73 Compliance With The Laws 1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest 1352.237-71 Security Processing Requirements - Low Risk Contracts http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8b5f22b07c12a52e8b29841ad60f1fd9&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48chapter13.tpl http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8b5f22b07c12a52e8b29841ad60f1fd9&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48chapter13.tpl

1352.237-75 Key personnel

1352.239-71 Electronic and information technology

(a) To be considered eligible for award, offerors must propose electronic and information technology (EIT) that meet the applicable Access Board accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194 designated below:

___ 1194.21 Software applications and operating systems

_X__ 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications

___ 1194.23 Telecommunications products

___ 1194.24 Video and multimedia products

___ 1194.25 Self-contained, closed products

___ 1194.26 Desktop and portable computers

_X__ 1194.31 Functional performance criteria

_X__ 1194.41 Information, documentation and support

(b) The standards do not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device, but merely require that the EIT be compatible with such software and devices so that it can be made accessible if so required by the agency in the future.

(c) Alternatively, offerors may propose products and services that provide equivalent facilitation. Such offers will be considered to have met the provisions of the Access Board standards for the feature or components providing equivalent facilitation. If none of the offers that meet all applicable provisions of the standards could be accepted without imposing an undue burden on the agency or component, or if none of the offerors propose products or services that fully meet all of the applicable Access Board's provisions, those offerors whose products or services meet some of the applicable provisions will be considered eligible for award. Awards will not be made to an offeror meeting all or some of the applicable Access Board provisions if award would impose an undue burden upon the agency.

(d) Offerors must submit representation information concerning their products by completing the VPAT template at http://www.Section508.gov .

(End of clause)

1352.239-72 Security requirements for information technology resources 1352.246-70 Place of acceptance

1352.270-70 Period of performance

As prescribed in 48 CFR 1370.101, insert the following clause:

Period of Performance (APR 2010) http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/other/car/1370.htm#P9_362

(a) The base period of performance of this contract is from ____ through ____. If an option is exercised, the period of performance shall be extended through the end of that option period.

(b) The option periods that may be exercised are as follows:

Period Start date End date Option I 12 months from the conclusion of

Base Period 12 months later

Option II 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period I

12 months later

Option III 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period II

12 months later

Option IV 12 months from the conclusion of Option Period III

12 months later

(c) The notice requirements for unilateral exercise of option periods are set out in FAR 52.217–9.

NIST Local Clauses

NIST LOCAL 04 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-

NIST LOCAL 07

All contractor personnel shall read and be familiar with the Computer Security Policy at NIST which can be downloaded from the NIST internal web site at http//www i.nist.gov/cio/itsd/pp_nist/policy/policy_accnuse.html. This policy is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth. The Contractor and its employee(s) and agents shall abide by the terms and conditions of the policy throughout the period of performance (including any exercised option periods) of this contract.

INSTRUCTIONS:

System for Award Management (SAM)

In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, the awardee must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award.

http://www.sam.gov/

Required Information

The government will not consider any proposal without the information required by this solicitation.

Due Date for Proposals

Offerors shall submit their proposals so that NIST receives them not later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, April 14, 2017. FAX and hard-copy proposals shall not be accepted. E-mail proposals shall be accepted at robert.cowins@nist.gov. Offerors’ proposals shall not be deemed received by the Government until the proposal is entered the e-mail address inbox set forth above.

Late quotes will not be accepted.

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Proposal Preparation Instructions

1) Price Proposal: The pricing proposal shall be separate from the technical proposal. The offeror shall propose a total firm fixed price for each CLIN identified in this request. To show the derivation of the proposed price for each CLIN, the offeror must provide a fully burdened hourly labor rate for each proposed labor category, a total number of estimated hours to be worked for each labor category, and a total firm fixed price for each labor category. The firm-fixed price for each labor category shall be calculated by multiplying the appropriate labor category fully burdened hourly rate(s) by the proposed number of hours to be worked under that labor category. The offeror shall propose a firm fixed price Payment Schedule for the resultant purchase order. It is anticipated that the proposed Payment Schedule if accepted by the Government will be incorporated into the resultant purchase order awarded. For each travel CLIN, the offeror shall propose the pre-assigned ceiling price shown in the solicitation.

2) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall address the following:

Technical Capability: The technical proposal shall address the vendor’s detailed technical approach for satisfying the Performance Work Statement (PWS) requirements. The technical approach shall address how the vendor will (a) perform and manage individual tasks required by the PWS; (b) ensure that Contractor services and deliverables comply with the requirements of the PWS (c) provide a resume for each person proposed as key personnel, to include name, education, experience, and country of citizenship. If a candidate is not a US citizen, then the proper documentation, as required by CAR clause 1352.237-73, must be provided with the proposal.

Past Performance: The offeror shall provide past performance information regarding relevant contracts over the past three (3) years with Federal, state, or local governments, or commercial customers. If the offeror intends to subcontract with another firm(s) for part of this requirement, that firm’s past performance information shall also be provided. If the offeror has no relevant past performance, it may include a statement to that effect in its proposal. The government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the offeror in its proposal. It is recommended that approximately 3-5 contracts be referenced.

The description of each contract/order described in this section shall not exceed one half page in length.

For each contract/order, the offeror shall provide the following information:

1. Contract number;

2. Description and relevance to solicitation requirements including dollar value;

mailto:robert.cowins@nist.gov

3. Period of Performance – indicate by month and year the state and completion (or “ongoing”) dates for the contract;

4. Reference Contact – If a non-Government contract, identify the name and address of the client with current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for the contract;

5. Contracting Office – If a Government contract (Federal or state), identify the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO), Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and their names, current telephone numbers and email addresses.

6. Problems Encountered – include information regarding information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems.

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions: This is an open-market solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this solicitation that will include the clauses set forth herein. The proposal should include one of the following statements:

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

OR

“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)

Note: 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 proposal 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 proposal.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION:

Evaluation Factors

Award shall be made to the offeror whose proposal offers the best value to the Government price and other factors considered. The Government will evaluate proposals based on the following evaluation criteria listed in descending order of importance: 1) Technical Capability 2) Technical Key Personnel, 3) Past Performance, and 4) Price. All non-price factors, individually and when combined, are significantly more important than price.

Technical Capability: The government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror has demonstrated the technical capability to successfully perform these services, and demonstrated a feasible technical approach to successfully perform and manage the required tasks while ensuring that all deliverable schedule requirements are met.

Technical Key Personnel: The Government will evaluate the proposed Technical Key Personnel to determine how qualified they are to perform the tasks detailed in the PWS. The Government will evaluate the level of capability and experience that the candidate has in the computer related services required.

This experience would include Pre-Survey Data Preparation, Data Collection, and Post-Survey Reporting.

Past Performance: The Government will evaluate the Offeror's past performance information and, if appropriate, its proposed subcontractors' past performance 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 years.