Amendment_001.pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6) CODE

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

Check One

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Attachment Page

PAGE 2 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

The above referenced solicitation is hereby amended to respond to questions submitted and extend the due date for quotations.

1. Questions and responses are hereby provided. Responses to two questions on Mock Task Order #1 are pending and shall be provided via a subsequent amendment.

QUESTION 1: Regarding solicitation Number SB134117RQ1053, Conference Support Services for NIST

Sites, is delivery by email alone acceptable?

RESPONSE 1: Yes.

QUESTION 2: We note the solicitation includes instructions for printing, but it also states that email quotations are acceptable. Your clarification would be greatly appreciated.

RESPONSE 2: The reference to “instructions for printing” is not clear.

QUESTION 3: I am doing research for a client and am trying to figure out if Solicitation CAW2016002 has an incumbent? If so, could you provide the incumbent name and contract number?

RESPONSE 3: This solicitation number is not recognized.

QUESTION 4: We found that the standard form 1449 for Solicitation # SB134117RQ1053 only allows us to utilize sign feature and not the fill feature when using the fill and sign on Adobe Reader, thus we are unable to type in our information. We checked this against other solicitations to make sure the problem was not on our end and the problem is exclusive to this solicitation document. It looks like someone on your end will need to enable this unless you wish this to be hand written or typed in? Please advise us as to your preference?

RESPONSE 4: Quoters are welcome to hand write or type information into the Standard Form 1449.

QUESTION 5: Can you disclose or guide us as to the anticipated quantity of events you expect annually?

RESPONSE 5: The number of events is variable and not known.

QUESTION 6: Did you have a current contractor performing this contract? If so could we contact them?

RESPONSE 6: There is no incumbent for this contract.

QUESTION 7: Does the Request for Quote under solicitation number SB1341-17-RQ01053 contain requirements similar to a current contract? If possible, please provide the current contract number. Or, is this a new requirement for the government?

RESPONSE 7: Reference Response 6.

QUESTION 8: If this is an existing requirement, how does the existing requirement differ from this requirement?

RESPONSE 8: N/A

QUESTION 9: When does the Government anticipate awarding this contract?

RESPONSE 9: An anticipated award date is not available for release.

PAGE 3 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

QUESTION 10: Is there a conference schedule/calendar that has been set for the upcoming NIST conferences?

RESPONSE 10: No.

QUESTION 11: Can the Government provide a historical schedule/calendar of the NIST conferences?

RESPONSE 11: A historical schedule/calendar of events is not available.

QUESTION 12: Can the Government provide a projected schedule/calendar of the NIST conferences?

RESPONSE 12: No.

QUESTION 13: How many conferences by location has occurred in the past?

RESPONSE 13: This information is not available.

QUESTION 14: How many conferences by location are planned for the future?

RESPONSE 14: This information is not available.

QUESTION 15: Will the successful contractor be expected to promote upcoming NIST conferences?

RESPONSE 15: The statement of work includes the task areas that the Contractor may be required to perform under any given task order. Please reference the statement of work.

QUESTION 16: To confirm, is the Government requiring that 1 copy of the complete quotation be emailed and four copies of the complete be mailed?

RESPONSE 16: If submitting quotation via mail: Quoters shall submit one original of their quotation, marked as such, and four copies of the technical and price quotations. Only one copy of the business portion of the quotation is required to be submitted; OR If submitting via email: Only one copy of the complete quotation is required to be submitted via email.

QUESTION 17: Would the government consider extending the deadline for the submission of this solicitation?

RESPONSE 17: The due date for quotations has been extended.

QUESTION 18: Does the Government intend on awarding this contract to one firm or to multiple firms?

RESPONSE 18: The solicitation includes this information in more than two sections. Please review the solicitation.

QUESTION 19: Who is the incumbent contractor? Are they eligible to bid on this work? What was the previous contract value?

QUESTION 19: Please reference response 6.

QUESTION 20: What is the estimated number of events per year? How many of these events will be no-cost?

RESPONSE 20: The solicitation asserts that the contract ceiling for the base and all one year option periods is

$5.0M. The number of events is not available.

QUESTION 21: Is it allowable for the offeror to partner with a firm that is not a HUBZone certified company?

QUESTION 21: The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sets forth these requirements. Please review the full text of FAR clause 52.219-3, Notice of HUBZone Set-Aside or Sole-Source Award. The

PAGE 4 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

provision can be reviewed in full text at www.acquisition.gov.

QUESTION 22: Is the offeror required to have FedRAMP Certification at the time their bid is submitted or can this be obtained upon contract award?

RESPONSE 22: The statement of work reads: “…meeting moderate level FedRAMP requirements is not required to receive an award, however, the Contractor must meet moderate level FedRAMP requirements during the period of performance of the contract…”

QUESTION 23: The solicitation states “The Contractor shall hold NIST harmless should any service or event associated with a no cost environment be cancelled for any reason and at any time. Upon signature acceptance of the base contract, the Contractor waives its rights to all claims, demands, actions, debts, liabilities, judgments, costs, and fees of any kind, against the

Government, and/or related to or arising out of a no cost environment. The Government will have no financial liability to the Contractor and the Contractor shall have no expectation of payment from the Government for any event in a no cost environment.”

As the contractor is obligated to procure venues and vendors for services as well as expend significant effort in the planning and execution of events well in advance of the event dates, will the government consider providing a date/timeframe by which an event must be cancelled for a penalty to not be incurred by the contractor?

The cancellation penalties can be quite large when events are cancelled at the last minute.

Is the contractor expected to pay cancellation penalties to vendors and venues without reimbursement from NIST?

RESPONSE 23: This excerpt from the Statement of Work, No Cost Task Orders reads correctly. The following language follows the paragraph above within the statement of work:

The Government understands that risk will be associated with advanced event planning, in some cases months before the event. In cases where the Government provides registration, NIST will provide frequent updates to reduce the possibility of the

Contractor incurring penalties for changes, unused space, and/or unused sleeping rooms.

Quoters maintain the expertise required to negotiate appropriate terms with meeting sites to reduce their risk. The Contractor shall be responsible for all cancellation penalties to vendors and venues.

QUESTION 24: What specific services will NIST be providing in support of this contract for which the contractor would be required to reimburse NIST?

RESPONSE 24: Types of services that may be provided by NIST will vary. The statement of work reads: “Task orders will identify supplies and/or services that NIST will be responsible to provide and/or perform, as well as specific nomenclature to utilize when registration fees are being calculated.”

Mock Task Order 2 includes NIST-provided services.

QUESTION 25: The solicitation requests an original and four copies of the technical proposal but also states that “Email quotations are acceptable”. Is the offeror required to provide both hard copies and email submissions in response to this solicitation?

RESPONSE 25: Reference response 16.

PAGE 5 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

QUESTION 26: The solicitation states that the technical proposal is limited to 30 pages excluding experience and past performance. Will NIST also exclude the cover page, table of contents and appendices from this page limit?

RESPONSE 26: While NIST can agree to exclude a one page cover page and one page table of contents from the 30 page limit, the volume of “appendices” is not clear. Except for the cover page (1 page) and table of contents (1 page), the technical proposal shall be limited to 30 pages.

QUESTION 27: Are the 5-page responses to each mock task included in the 30-page limit for the technical proposals?

RESPONSE 27: No.

QUESTION 28: Is the contractor required to provide letters of commitment for current employees?

RESPONSE 28: Letters of commitment are required for subcontractors and/or consultant that are not Contractor employees.

QUESTION 29: The solicitation notes that the ceiling for this contract is $5,000,000.00. Are no-cost task orders excluded from the ceiling?

RESPONSE 29: The ceiling of $5,000,000.00 includes all task orders awarded against the base contracts.

QUESTION 30: How many meetings are expected per year?

RESPONSE 30: Reference response 5.

QUESTION 31: How far in advance of the meeting date will the task orders be issued?

RESPONSE 31: Timelines will vary. The Government cannot guarantee a specific timeline.

QUESTION 32: For meetings which require development of logos and/or other creative material, will samples from previous meetings be provided?

RESPONSE 32: Possibly, but not guaranteed.

QUESTION 33: For budgeting purposes how many estimated conferences/events will be held each year?

How many days are each?

RESPONSE 33: Reference response 5.

QUESTION 34: This is a Firm Fixed Price Contract?

RESPONSE 34: The base contracts shall be indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts. Funded task orders issued under the base contracts shall be firm fixed price.

QUESTION 35: I'd like to inquire whether a contractor performed similar work to this for the government in the past. If so, could you provide the incumbent contract number?

RESPONSE 35: Reference response 6.

PAGE 6 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

QUESTION 36: If you are unable to provide a contract number, is it safe to assume this is a new requirement for the government?

RESPONSE 36: Yes.

QUESTION 37: Is there an incumbent contractor for this opportunity?

RESPONSE 37: Reference response 6.

MOCK TASK ORDER #1 – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION 1: The task order state that 200-300 participants are expected for this event, but requests a plenary for 150. Please clarify the number of anticipated participants?

RESPONSE 1: RESPONSE PENDING

QUESTION 2: The task order states that an exhibit hall to accommodate 20-30 exhibits is required. Are these table top exhibits, or are these exhibit booths? If they are booths, what size booths are required?

RESPONSE 2: RESPONSE PENDING

QUESTION 3: Will a sleeping room block be required for this event? If so, how many room nights will be covered by the contractor? Will this event include any sponsored participants? If so: How many will receive travel support? How many will receive lodging support? How many will receive per diem? How many will receive ground transportation? How many will receive an honorarium and in what amount?

RESPONSE 3: The Mock Task Order Statement of Work includes all requirements.

QUESTION 4: Will there be an exhibitor fee? If so, in what amount and who will collect the fee?

RESPONSE 4: In accordance with the statement of work for the base contract, NIST will collect the fee.

QUESTION 5: Will the contractor be required to provide event materials? How many total packets? How many color pages per packet? How many black and white pages per packet? Will materials be presented in a meeting folder, or a bound booklet?

RESPONSE 5: Reference the statement of work.

MOCK TASK ORDER #2 – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION 1: The task order states an anticipated 500 participants but only 200 sleeping rooms. Does NIST anticipate that most participants will be local?

RESPONSE 1: The basis for this question is not clear.

QUESTION 2: The task order states that Continental breakfasts should not exceed $30, buffet lunches should not exceed $40 and PM coffee breaks should not exceed $30. Please confirm that this limit is per person, per meal. (For example, 3 continental breakfast X $30 each = $90 per person).

RESPONSE 2: Reference the mock task order statement of work.

PAGE 7 OF 7 SB134117RQ1053001

QUESTION 3: Please confirm that the registration fees should include a $35 fee per person.

a. Confirm that this fee is to be reimbursed to NIST?

b. Will NIST be paying the hotel directly for food and beverage services?

c. Should the 25% fee for NIST overhead (noted on page 28) be added to this $35 per person fee?

RESPONSE 3: Reference the statement of work.

RESPONSE 3a: Reference the statement of work.

RESPONSE 3b: No.

RESPONSE 3c: Yes.

QUESTION 4: On Mock Task Order 2, the International Forensics Conference is listed as being located in San

Diego, California. Are there other locations that NIST conferences will be held other than the ones specified; Gathersburg, MD, Charleston, SC and Boulder, CO? If so, please provide us with all of the locations you plan to have conferences?

RESPONSE 4: Events may be conducted in various locations throughout the United States. A small number of events may be conducted internationally. There is not a specific list of locations. The event location shall be identified in the statement of work for task orders.

2. The due date for quotations is hereby changed as follows:

DELETE: October 10, 2017 at 3:30 PM Eastern Time

ADD: October 16, 2017 at 3:30 PM Eastern Time.

100 BUREAU DRIVE STOP 1640

BUILDING 301 ROOM B129

GAITHERSBURG MD 20899-1640