Section III_Instructions for Proposal Preparation.pdf

Instructions for Proposal Preparation

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION

1.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is seeking submission of a proposal for Services as described in the Statement of Work for “Temporary Staffing Services;” CAT: Exempt: Revision 0; Dated April 12,2024 in accordance with the requirements and conditions contained in this RFP 24-054, to provide the staffing support services required to meet mission objectives.

A vital element in fulfilling the role and mission of the laboratory is attracting, hiring, and retaining the talent needs for the laboratory to collaborate and achieve national goals.

Recognizing PPPL’s vision, mission and core values, each Supplier’s proposal should include the approach and methods necessary to completely execute aspects of the requirements within the Statement of Work (SOW) as detailed in Section I, Attachment 1_SOW_Statement of Work for “Temporary Staffing Services” ; CAT: Exempt: Revision 0; Dated April 12,2024.

2. ABOUT PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY (PPPL)

The Trustees of Princeton University manages and operates Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) under a prime contract with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (Contract No. DE-AC02- 09CH11466). PPPL, located on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., is devoted to understanding the physics of plasmas and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy.

Based on its dual status as an accredited institution of higher learning in the State of New Jersey and a U.S. Department of Energy prime contractor, PPPL may qualify for academic and/or federal government prices/discounts. Suppliers shall specifically identify any discount arrangements offered with their proposals.

3. RFP PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST(S) CONTACT INFORMATION

Cheryl Colan, ccolan@pppl.gov, (609) 243-3486

4. SOLICITATION TYPE

Best Value Selection Labor Hour and Expense and Firm Fixed Price Basic Ordering Agreement

5. SUBCONTRACT TYPE/DURATION

Any award(s) issued will be a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) type subcontract(s) between the Awardee(s) and the Trustees of Princeton University under Princeton’s Prime Contract No. DE-AC02- 09CH11466 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that contains term and clauses applying to future subcontracts (Job Orders) during its term, a description of the services to be provided, and methods established for pricing and delivery.

Duration of the subcontract will be three (3) years with two (2) year option periods for maximum of five

(5) years.

DESCRIPTION OF PROCUREMENT

mailto:ccolan@pppl.gov

Prior to the issuance of a Job Order for the work under the BOA, the subcontractor(s) will be provided a description of the work (reference Section I_Attachment 2_Sample Job Description) and will be requested to provide resumes of potential candidates along with a written price estimate for the performance of the work on a labor hour and expense or a firm fixed price basis.

It is PPPL’s intention to incorporate the terms and conditions set forth in the Terms and Conditions awarded to the supplier as a result from this RFP.

6. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

All Suppliers are required to meet the minimum qualifications experience in order to be eligible to submit a proposal for this RFP.

Previous experience with providing temporary personnel for one (1) or more of the sample skill categories identified in Exhibit A of Attachment 1_Statement of Work. Experience working with government contractors, energy companies and National Laboratories is a plus.

7. SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS

All Suppliers questions MUST be submitted in writing, emailed to the contact person(s): Cheryl Colan email: ccolan@pppl.gov. All questions will be combined with all other Supplier questions and all responses will be distributed to each Supplier in the form of an amendment to this RFP. Oral explanations or instructions provided by PPPL will not be binding. Any substantive information will be furnished to all prospective Suppliers via a written Amendment to the RFP if determined to be necessary to Suppliers in submitting their proposals or if the lack of such information would be prejudicial to uninformed Suppliers.

The deadline for submission of questions is by 4:30 pm EST, Wednesday May 29,2024.

8. NAICS CODE AND SMALL BUSINESS CONSIDERATION

Because of the nature of the services required, this RFP is not being set aside for small business concerns;

however, qualified small businesses are encouraged to submit proposals. “Small business concern,” as used in this clause, means a concern, including its affiliates, which is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business by the Small Business Administration based on the following:

N orth American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code

NAICS CODE Classification Small Business Size Standard 561320 Temporary Staffing Services $27.5M

*For this NAICS code, a firm submitting an offer in response to this RFP in its own name will be considered small if its average annual receipts for its three most recent completed fiscal years do not exceed the amount shown above.

The Offeror shall base its Small Business Program Representations on this small business size standard when completing the Representations & Certifications document. Refer to Subpart 19.1 - Size Standards of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for information on calculating annual average gross revenue.

PPPL reserves the right to make any award it deems necessary to satisfy the Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and HUBZone small business subcontracting goals and objectives set forth in the prime contract. Small business set-asides will be determined by the quantity of eligible responses received.

9. NOTICE OF SERVICE CONTRACT ACT WAGE DETERMINATIONS

Some of the work performed under the resulting agreement(s) will be subject to the provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). Orders for SCA applicable labor categories will require the Supplier and each lower-tier supplier to pay their employees no less than the prevailing wages specified in the Wage Determination in the request for resources specific to that intended Job Order and shall comply with all other related requirements of the SCA. SCA applicability will be determined and included as required per the individual Job Orders.

10. ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Based on the final rankings a competitive range will be established. Selected Suppliers maybe required to make oral presentations of their proposals either remotely (video) or onsite at PPPL/Princeton University offices. Supplier participants should include all persons on the engagement team but no more than five (5) persons who are knowledgeable of the RFP and the response submitted by the Supplier’s organization and who are qualified to answer questions relating to the proposal.

The purpose of the oral presentation will be to:

• Provide a summary of the respective Supplier’s proposal for the benefit of PPPL;

• Permit Review Team members to ask questions pertaining to the Supplier’s proposal.

Suppliers will be provided no more than 1 to 1.5 hours each for oral presentations, to be inclusive of a summary of the proposal contents and a question-and-answer session.

11. CLOSING DATE AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Offers are required to submit one (1) electronic copy of the proposal to be received by the Procurement Specialist to the email addresses listed below by the RFP closing date and time.

It is required that filenames for the electronic proposal include the name of the Supplier, the solicitation number, and the file name (e.g., ABCCompany_RFP_24-054_Form.pdf).

THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS VIA EMAIL:

Wednesday June 19, 2024

Subject Line: ABCCompany_RFP_24-054_Form.pdf.

To: Cheryl Colan (ccolan@pppl.gov)

12. SUPPLIER REGISTRATION

All Suppliers are required to register in the Princeton Supplier Portal (https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SupplierLogin?CustOrg=Princeton) in order to be considered for award. Suppliers shall provide confirmation of registration into the Princeton Supplier Portal on the Supplier Information and Pricing Form.

13. PROPOSAL PREPARATION COSTS

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is not intended and shall not be construed to commit Princeton University to pay any costs incurred in connection with the preparation of any proposal or to procure any items or services.

14. PROPOSAL VALIDITY PERIOD

Proposals are to be valid for a period of 120 days from the closing date specified in this RFP.

15. COST AND PRICING DATA

Due to the commercial and competitive nature of this procurement, PPPL is not requesting the submission of certified cost or pricing data under this solicitation. However, Suppliers are advised that in the event that PPPL deems such information is necessary, Supplier should be prepared to submit cost or pricing data within ten business days after being requested.

16. SALES TAX EXEMPTION

Princeton University is exempt from New Jersey Sales Tax (Exemption Certificate No. E-210-634- 501). A copy of PPPL’s sales tax exemption form will be provided upon request.

17. RESTRICTIONS ON DISCLOSURE OF DATA IN PROPOSALS

Suppliers who include data in their proposals that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government or Princeton except for evaluation purposes, shall:

● Mark their proposals title page with the following legend:

This proposal or quotation includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and Princeton and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed –in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this PROPOSAL or quotation. If, however, a subcontract is awarded to this Supplier as a result of—or in connection with –the submission of this date, the Government and Princeton shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the date to the extent provided in resulting subcontract.

This restriction does not limit the Government’s and Princeton’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this are contained in sheets (insert number or the identification or affected sheets).

● Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend:

Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to restriction on the title page of this Offer or quotation.

● Furnish details, if their offer is based upon or includes any amount of patent license or royalty fees to be paid to others.

18. MODIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

Proposals may be modified or withdrawn by the Supplier by written notice if the Procurement Specialist receives such notice prior to the RFP closing date.

19. LATE PROPOSALS

Any proposal, including notifications of withdrawal or modification, received by PPPL after the closing date specified for this RFP shall be considered to be late. Except as otherwise specifically provided for in this RFP, PPPL may consider, in its sole discretion, for award such late proposals if it is in the best interest of PPPL.

20. PRE-AWARD CONFERENCE

PPPL may require the apparent successful Supplier(s) to attend a Pre-Award Conference to review the work requirements to ensure a mutual understanding of the requirements. The Supplier may also be required to show evidence of its ability to perform under the terms of the proposed subcontract.

21. OTHER POST AWARD INFORMATION

Insurance. Insurance Certificates, evidencing compliance with Part T – Provisions for Work Performed on the PPPL Site, RFP Section II, must be submitted to the Procurement Specialist for review and approval within ten (10) consecutive calendar days after subcontract award and prior to commencement of on-site work.

22. CANCELLATION

PPPL reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel this procurement at any time without making an award and without providing a reason.

23. FORMAT AND CONTENT OF PROPOSALS

Prospective Suppliers are expected to thoroughly examine all sections of this RFP and to comply with all instructions for preparation and submittal of proposals in response to this RFP. Written proposals must set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by, or referenced in this RFP. The proposal must be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate complete compliance with PPPL's requirements.

In addition, selected Suppliers may be required to supplement their written proposals with oral presentations of their proposal to the PPPL evaluation team. In case of a conflict, a written submittal overrules an oral statement. Any oral statements or oral promises will be reduced to writing and submitted by the Supplier. The information provided in the written proposal and any oral presentation will be the basis for determining a Supplier's capability to perform the work described in this RFP.

Suppliers shall prepare and submit the following documents which will comprise a complete proposal in response to this RFP. Failure to provide a proposal in the format and with content prescribed by this RFP may result in the proposal being determined to be non-responsive and eliminated from consideration.

24.

Proposals must provide information in the order as presented in this document with the same headings.

This will not only be helpful to evaluators of the proposal but should assist the Supplier in preparing a thorough response.

If Supplier plans to subcontract any portion of the work, identification of proposed subcontractor and subcontractor's cost must be included in the proposal.

Proposals must be submitted in the order noted below:

SUPPLIER PROPOSAL

A. PART I – OVERVIEW AND ADMINISTRATIVE

B. PART II – PROPOSAL

C. PART III – OFFER AND PRICING

Offeror’s Part III shall be separated, clearly identified, and labeled accordingly.

No pricing information shall be included in Parts I and II.

NOTE: Items marked with a * are required to be completed and submitted with your proposal.

PART I – OVERVIEW AND ADMINISTRATIVE

All required documents must be signed and dated by person authorized to legally bind the Supplier to a contractual relationship.

a. Letter of Submittal – Introduction of the company.

b. Brief Description of Company - Supplier shall submit a brief description of their history and organization and a description of their facilities, products, services, and customers (of similar size, scale, and sophistication of PPPL). A preprinted company brochure may be used. The company shall provide a copy of their latest annual report, if applicable, and DUNS number.

c. Supplier Responsiveness- Supplier shall provide an outline addressing all minimum qualification requirements to support eligibility of their submitted proposal. Supplier responsiveness is a prerequisite to ensure that the mandatory requirements are satisfied. A proposal will be considered “responsive” if the proposal is in compliance with all the requirements as outlined in this RFP.

d. PPPL Representations and Certifications. Supplier shall complete and sign Attachment 4 - PPPL Representations and Certifications Booklet* included in Section V of the RFP.

e. PPPL Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Certification. Supplier shall complete and sign Attachment 5 - PPPL Organization Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Certification Form* included in Section V of the RFP.

PART II – PROPOSAL (Reference Section IV_ Evaluation and Basis of Award Document and Statement of Work for more detail)

1. Professional and Project Management Capabilities. Supplier must demonstrate their overall capability to perform the work required by this RFP and outlined in Attachment 1a_Satement of Work and 1b_Sample Job Description.

a. The Offeror must identify the capabilities to fulfill the identified skill categories as provided in Attachment 1_Statement of Work; identify what sets the agency apart from other staffing agencies; identify the agency benefit offerings describing their benefits, holiday and other elections offered to their staff as PPPL seeks Offerors with holiday schedules similar to PPPL’s so as to provide consistency with that of PPPL’s; provide feedback within

2 business days of receipt of a request and identify suitably skilled temporary staffing within

1 week; and identify how they are qualified to handle PPPL as clients.

b. The Offeror must provide a complete description of proposed approach and methodology to fill job orders, based on the skill categories and job descriptions, requirements, and the duration of the assignment.

c. The Offeror must provide the professional qualifications and experience of the Offeror’s personnel proposed to work on this subcontract to ensure personnel have the training, credentials, qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience necessary to perform assigned tasks.

2. Organizational Ability. The Offerors proposal should provide their total relevant domain experience, project management abilities and staffing plans to supply the require skill categories and services.

a. Relevant Experience: The Offeror shall provide input from references from former clients and previous contracts.

b. Past Experience: The Offeror shall provide to a measure of the degree to which an Offeror has satisfied its customers, include PPPL (if applicable). The Offeror shall provide

Company Name; Project Manager; and Contact information of clients similar in size, scale, and sophistication of PPPL.

PART III – OFFER AND PRICING- This Section must be submitted in a separate file.

Supplier Information, Pricing Worksheet. Suppliers shall complete and submit the following documentation and shall include pricing information as described on the form for review by PPPL:

1. Attachment 3a - Offeror Information and Pricing Form* included in Section V of the RFP.

2. Attachment 3b- Temporary Staffing Pricing Worksheet

-End Instructions for Proposal Preparation-