Section L and M_FCDAS OM_DRAFT.pdf

Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station Operations and Maintenance Services

SECTION L: INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 52.204-7 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (OCT 2018)

L.2 52.204-16 COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE REPORTING (AUG

2020)

L.3 52.204-22 ALTERNATIVE LINE ITEM PROPOSAL (JAN 2017)

L.4 52.215-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS--COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION (JAN

2017)

L.5 52.222-24 PREAWARD ON-SITE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE

EVALUATION (FEB 1999)

L.6 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a hybrid firm-fixed price and time-and-material contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of provision)

L.7 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5099A Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230. FAX: (202) 482-

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

(End of Provision)

L.8 52.237-1 SITE VISIT (APR 1984)

Offerors are urged and expected to inspect the site where services are to be performed and to satisfy themselves regarding all general and local conditions that may affect the cost of contract performance, to the extent that the information is reasonably obtainable. In no event shall failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS: Offerors wishing to visit the site shall send the names of their representatives (no more than two) who will be visiting the Station to Samantha Dublin, Contract Specialist, via email at samantha.dublin@noaa.gov and to Gion Lalican, Contracting Officer, via email at gion.lalican@noaa.gov no later than X:00 xm EST, September xx, 2021. Due to COVID and Station restrictions, offerors who communicated their intent to visit the site per these instructions are the only offerors who will be permitted to visit the site. The specific time and date of the site visit will only be provided to the offerors who communicated their intent to visit the site.

mailto:samantha.dublin@noaa.gov mailto:gion.lalican@noaa.gov

(End of provision)

L.9 52.252-1 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):

FAR Provisions: http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm CAR Provisions: http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vfcara.htm

(End of Provision)

L.10 1352.215-70 PROPOSAL PREPARATION (APR 2010)

(a) General Instructions: Proposals are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the proposal shall be clearly and concisely written, neatly presented, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate), and logically assembled. Failure to conform to the requirements of Section L, Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors, of this solicitation may form the basis to exclude the proposal from consideration for award.

(1) Proposal Due Date: Proposals shall be submitted via e-mail no later than X:00 PM Eastern Time on xxxday, xxxx xx, 2021 to Ms. Samantha Dublin, Contract Specialist at samantha.dublin@noaa.gov and to Mr. Gion Lalican, Contracting Officer, at gion.lalican@noaa.gov. E-mail submissions shall include the subject line “FCDAS O&M Proposal

– <Offeror Name> and <DUNS number>”. E-mails shall not exceed 20MB. If multiple emails are required, the subject of the email shall specify the number and total of email submissions, e.g., 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc.

(2) Late Submissions: The Contracting Officer shall consider the time stamp when the offeror’s email submission was received at the Contract Specialist’s email inbox. Any proposal, modification or revision with a timestamp after the exact date and time specified in this section shall be considered late and will not receive any further consideration.

(3) Proposal Formatting: Proposals not conforming to these requirements may be considered unacceptable and ineligible for further consideration. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation must meet the following standards:

(i) Formatted on 8 ½” x 11” size paper;

mailto:samantha.dublin@noaa.gov mailto:gion.lalican@noaa.gov

(ii) Minimum of 12-point sized Times New Roman font, except tables, figures and graphs may use 11-point size font;

(iii) Minimum of 10-point sized Times New Roman font in Excel Worksheet submissions;

(iv) 1-inch margins;

(v) All pages must be numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date of the offer, and the solicitation number;

(vi) Prepared with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or searchable Adobe Acrobat software (file extensions of .docx, .xls, ppt, or .pdf);

(viii) Must be able to be printed and copied in pure black and white; and

(ix) Spreadsheet files shall be Microsoft Excel compatible and shall include all formulas, functions, computations, and equations used to compute proposed amounts.

(4) Overall Arrangement of Proposal: Each offeror’s proposal shall contain and be sequentially arranged as follows:

Volume I – Business Volume Volume II – Management Approach Volume Volume III - Technical Approach Volume Volume IV – Price Proposal Volume

(5) Identification of Documents: Proposal submissions shall be separated into a minimum of four attachments. Offerors shall label their attachments so as to clearly distinguish between price and non-price volume submissions as follows:

(i) “<Offeror Name> Volume I - Business Volume”;

(ii) “<Offeror Name> Volume II - Management Approach Volume”

(iii) “<Offeror Name> Volume III - Technical Approach Volume”; or

(iv) “<Offeror Name> Volume IV - Price Proposal Volume”.

(6) Management and Technical Approach Volume Proposal Format: The Management and Technical Approach volumes shall be arranged in the following format (the major headings listed may be subdivided or supplemented by the offeror as appropriate):

(i) Table of Contents

(ii) List of Tables and Figures

(iii) Summary of <Management or Technical> Proposal. This section shall provide a summary that addresses each of the evaluation factors set out in Section M.

(iv) <Management or Technical> Proposal. The offeror shall clearly address each of the technical evaluation criteria in Section M, and, at a minimum, cover each subfactor.

(v) Exceptions and Deviations. This section shall identify and explain any exceptions or deviations taken to any part of the solicitation or conditional assumptions made with respect to the technical requirements of the solicitation. Offerors should note that taking exceptions to the Government's requirements may indicate an unwillingness or inability to perform the contract, and the proposal may be evaluated as such.

(vi) Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. Each proposal volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with an explanation for each. The Glossary shall be included in the page count.

(7) Page Limitations: The page limitation for each volume of the offeror’s proposal shall be as follows:

(i) Business Volume: No page limit.

(ii) Management Approach Volume: 25 pages; Resumes shall be no more than two pages per individual; Letters of Intent (LOI), Subcontracting Agreements, and Resumes are excluded from the page limit (LOIs and resumes are required for key personnel only).

(iii) Technical Approach Volume: 20 pages.

(iv) Price Proposal Volume: No page limit.

NOTE: Any pages in excess of the stated page limit for the non-price volumes will be disregarded, and will not be included in the proposal evaluation. Failure of the offeror to comply with the page limitations, resulting in the excess pages not being evaluated, shall not constitute grounds for a protest.

(b) Proposal Content. Each offeror’s proposal must be sufficiently detailed and complete to demonstrate an understanding of, and the ability to comply with all the requirements included in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The proposal shall demonstrate such understanding and ability in a concise, logical manner and shall not contain superfluous material that is not directly related to this acquisition.

The level of detail to be presented in response to each section of the outline presented herein is left to the discretion of the offeror, but information must be presented in sufficient depth for the Government to make a comprehensive evaluation of the offeror’s understanding of, and capability to perform, the RFP requirements. Each volume of the proposal shall be self-contained. Data shall be organized to enable Government personnel to thoroughly evaluate the proposal.

(1) VOLUME I - BUSINESS VOLUME

(i) Volume I, Business Volume, consists of the actual offer to enter into a contract to perform the desired work. It also includes the offeror’s Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) Number; Tax Identification Number (TIN); required Section K representations, certifications, and acknowledgments, completed by the offeror; justifications for noncompetitive proposed subcontracts; identification of technical data to be withheld; signed amendments; and any other required administrative information.

(ii) Volume I shall include the following documents (in the order listed):

(A) Proposal Form:

(a) Use of the Form - The Proposal Form (Standard Form 1449), is to be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of Volume I. Include a signed copy of the form in the original Volume I.

(b) Acceptance Period - The acceptance period entered on the Proposal Form by the offeror shall not be less than 180 calendar days from the solicitation closing date.

(c) Signature Authority - The person signing the Proposal Form must have the authority to commit the offeror to all of the provisions of the proposal, fully recognizing that the Government has the right, by terms of the Solicitation, to make an award without discussion if it so elects.

(B) Other documentation identified in Section (1)(i) above. The offeror shall submit one original of Volume I, marked as such.

(C) In order for the Government to determine Financial Responsibility of the apparent successful offeror prior to contract award, Offerors may submit documentation which demonstrates that they have sufficient financial resources , or demonstrate that they have the ability to obtain sufficient resources to perform its contractual obligation. Offerors may submit financial statements to include a Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Statement of Retained Earnings for the Offeror’s past fiscal year and current reporting period as of the date of the proposal, as well as a certified copy of the Prime’s Line of Credit, if applicable, and its current status at the time of proposal submission. Should Offerors choose to provide any of these documents, a company officer or CPA shall certify these statements prior to submission. The Government reserves the right to request additional information from the apparent successful offeror to determine their financial responsibility.

(2) VOLUME II - MANAGEMENT APPROACH

(i) Each offeror’s Management Approach shall provide a narrative and supporting documentation that demonstrates, describes or provides the following:

(A) Documentation demonstrating that the offeror holds an active Facility Clearance (FCL) at the Secret or higher level. Offerors are required to hold this active FCL at the Secret level by the closing date of this solicitation. If a subcontractor will be performing any of the tasks which require a security clearance in accordance with the PWS, the subcontractor will also be required to provide proof of an active Facility Clearance at the Secret or higher level.

(B) Ability to effectively recruit and retain qualified staff. This includes the offeror’s plan for recruiting locally or from the rest of the United States if necessary to hire the best possible personnel and to minimize any staff turnover. The offeror’s management approach may also include a proposed plan to incentivize contractor staff for above and beyond performance, and for keeping abreast of any future technological advancements that can be implemented by the Station Manager.

(C) Includes a staffing plan and labor mix that demonstrates the necessary skills and training of the offeror’s proposed staff to successfully synchronize and manage the required services. This includes the composition and resumes of the proposed key personnel team. (See Section H.13, CAR Clause 1352.237-75 for a list of the required key personnel).

(D) Ability to successfully manage in an environment requiring subcontracted labor subject to collective bargaining and labor union involvement. This includes the offeror’s plan for ensuring the COR and the Station Manager are kept up to date on the status of negotiations of the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and of any potential changes to the CBAs which may have direct effect in the efficient operations of the Station. This also includes the offeror’s plan for communicating with the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist before and while negotiating the CBAs to facilitate any contract modifications to incorporate new CBAs into the contract.

(E) A labor utilization analysis which demonstrates staffing satellite operations at the required minimum staffing levels specified in the PWS on a 24x7x365 basis. The analysis must consider scheduled or unscheduled non-productive hours as a result of personnel leave, weekends, and observed holidays.

(F) Ability to address the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and plans for any future pandemic that are consistent with all Station, NESDIS, NOAA, DOC, state and federal regulations and ensures the continued efficient operations of the Station. Plans should include how to address different phases of a pandemic response to include triage, assessment, and recovery.

(ii) In order for Management Approach to be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, no contractual price information shall be included in Volume I.

(3) VOLUME III - TECHNICAL APPROACH

(i) Each offeror’s Technical Approach shall provide a narrative and supporting documentation that demonstrates, describes or provides the following:

(A) A thorough understanding of and approach for performing the PWS requirements, including operational support and compliance with technical requirements. This includes the proposed methodology designed to meet these requirements, including any special considerations for an Arctic environment.

(B) A thorough understanding of and approach for performing the station's onsite management and staffing requirements, including a description of the flexibility of station personnel work assignments and task cross training.

(C) An approach for providing analysis, troubleshooting, and testing of satellite ground systems, including the offeror’s plan for obtaining and allocating sufficient resources.

(D) A thorough understanding of and approach for performing the station's Information Technology (IT) requirements in accordance with the PWS.

(E) May include proposed innovations that demonstrate the use of new technologies or solutions to various complex problems that face the Station and/or its customers. This includes the extent to which the new solutions will help resolve complex problems and ensure quality customer-focused outcomes, efficient approaches and solutions, and flexibility to adapt to changing customer needs, tasking, and workloads. Innovations can also include those that can be immediately implemented, or the offeror’s plan for implementing future innovations with little to no increases in contract price. Any proposed innovations shall be included in the FFP portion of the requirement and will be included as a separate attachment to the resulting contract.

(ii) In order for Technical Approach to be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, no contractual price information shall be included in Volume II.

(4) PAST PERFORMANCE

(i) No narrative submissions are required for this evaluation factor.

(ii) PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRES: The offeror shall furnish a Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Section J, Attachment 10) to up to three (3) references, for recent and relevant past performance, including for major subcontractors. In turn, the evaluating firm or agency shall submit the completed questionnaire directly via email to the Contract Specialist, Samantha Dublin (Samantha.dublin@noaa.gov) with a copy to the Contracting Officer, Gion Lalican (gion.lalican@noaa.gov). Offerors shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that evaluators send the completed questionnaire directly to the Government so that it is received no later than the closing date and time of this solicitation. Completed questionnaires submitted directly from the offeror WILL NOT be considered for evaluation purposes. Up to three (3) past performance questionnaires shall also be submitted in the same manner for subcontractors proposed to expend at least 25 percent of the cost of contract performance.

(iii) Past Performance Questionnaire Instructions:

(A) Part 1 shall be completed by the offeror/Major Subcontractor and provided to the Reference/Evaluator (Clients that had experience with the offeror/Major Subcontractor on a previous relevant contract). Major Subcontractor means any Subcontractor performing at least 25% of the proposed cost. The Reference/Evaluator, in turn, shall verify Part 1, complete Part 2 of the questionnaire, and submit to the Contracting Office. The Reference/Evaluator may annotate and provide the correct information accordingly in Part 1 if any information is incorrect.

(5) VOLUME IV – PRICE PROPOSAL

(i) Price proposals shall adhere to the pricing structure established in Section B, Schedule of Prices.

The offeror shall submit one original of Volume IV, and marked as such.

(ii) The offeror shall complete and include the following with their price proposal:

(A) Section J, Attachment 2, Price Proposal Worksheet; and

(B) Section J, Attachment 3, Overtime Labor Hour Breakout Worksheet.

(C) Offerors may provide a price narrative to accompany their price proposal.

(iii) Instructions for completing Attachment 2. The offeror shall provide their proposed labor categories, rates, associated fringe, shift type, and PWS Section Reference in the appropriate columns in the Base through Option Year 4 tabs. The total hours for each labor category shall be inputted under the appropriate subCLIN (Columns H, K, N, Q, T, W, Z, AC, AF, and AI). The total amount (rate multiplied by hours) shall be inputted for each labor category (Columns I, L, O, R, U, X, AA, AD, AG, and AJ). The offerors shall input the total labor hours and subtotal amounts for each subCLIN in the appropriate cells in row 33, and their specific indirect rates in the appropriate cells in rows 36 through 38. The total amount for each subCLIN shall then be provided in Row 40. Offerors shall then populate the amounts in Columns F and G in the Section B tab with the subCLIN total amounts from the Base through Option Year 4 tabs.

(iv) Instructions for completing Attachment 3. The offeror shall input their proposed fully burdened overtime rate in Column C and calculate the appropriate subtotal and total amounts in Column E.

(v) Each offeror’s price proposal must be based on the offeror’s own technical and management proposal, the PWS, and other solicitation requirements. If the prices to be used are based on a published price list, or catalog, the offeror shall so state, and provide a copy of the document with their price proposal. If the prices are to be based on established market price, not otherwise published, or are prices applicable only to the proposed contract, the offeror shall so state.

(vi) Subcontractors are authorized to submit any proprietary information directly to the Contract Specialist, Samantha Dublin, with a copy to the Contracting Officer, Gion Lalican, in accordance with the same submittal instructions provided herein.

(vii) The Government expects that this contract will be awarded based upon adequate price competition. However, in order to determine that offered prices are fair and reasonable, the Government reserves the right to request that the offeror to provide cost breakdowns to support proposed prices. Information to support unit prices should include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Salary/wage information with associated payroll expenses, for personnel to be used in performance of the contract;

(B) Cost for equipment, supplies, and consumable materials;

(C) A breakout of related support costs, such as equipment maintenance, rental, transportation, etc.;

(D) Overhead costs;

(E) General Administrative expenses; and

(F) Profit.

(End of provision)

L.11 1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010)

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation by email to:

Samantha Dublin, Contract Specialist E-mail: samantha.dublin@noaa.gov

With a copy by e-mail to:

Gion Lalican, Contracting Officer E-mail: gion.lalican@noaa.gov Questions should be received no later than 2:00 PM ET September XX 14, 2021. 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.

L.12 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 agency 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:

Gion Lalican, Contracting Officer Satellite and Information Acquisition Division (SIAD) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 1325 East-West Highway SOU6, SSMC2, Rm 11344 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Office: (301) 628-1425 Email: Gion.Lalican@noaa.gov

(c) Agency protests filed with the agency Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:

Ms. Sally Bockh, SIAD Branch Chief National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Acquisitions and Grants Office (AGO) 1325 East West Highway, SSMC2, Room 11344 Silver Spring, MD 20910

(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 5099A Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.

FAX: (202) 482-8005

(End of provision)

L.13 1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR

2010) 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.

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.

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 5099A Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.

FAX: (202) 482-8005

L.14 1352.242-70 POSTAWARD CONFERENCE (APR 2010)

A post-award conference (also referred to as kickoff meeting) with the successful offeror may be required. If required, the Contracting Officer will contact the contractor within 10 days of contract award to arrange the conference.

(End of provision)

L.15 ELECTRONIC PROPOSALS

(a) Electronic (e-mailed) proposals are required. Electronic proposals must contain all requested information to meet the minimum criteria for a complete response and must be in a software format compatible with those used at NOAA’s Satellite and Information Acquisition Division (i.e. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Adobe Acrobat). The email address to which proposals must be sent is: Samantha.Dublin@noaa.gov, with a copy to: Gion.Lalican@noaa.gov.

(b) If the offeror chooses to transmit an electronic proposal in response to this solicitation or any discussions/negotiations subsequent thereto, the Government will not be responsible for any failure attributable to the transmission or receipt of the email, including the failure to meet stated deadlines. It is the offeror’s responsibility to confirm the Government’s receipt of all transmitted information. Each email shall be limited in size to 20MB or less.

(c) The Government will send a confirmation receipt of each offeror’s electronic proposal via email. Offerors are encouraged to send a separate email, without any attachments, requesting confirmation of the Contract Specialist’s and Contracting Officer’s receipt of their electronic proposal. If the offeror does not receive a confirmation receipt from the Government within 24 hours from when they submitted their electronic proposal, the offeror should immediately reach out to Samantha Dublin (Samantha.dublin@noaa.gov) and Gion Lalican (Gion.Lalican@noaa.gov) via email as soon as possible.

(End of provision)

L.16 FACSIMILE PROPOSALS AND/OR REVISIONS

Facsimile proposals are not authorized.

L.17 INCURRING PRE-AWARD COSTS

The Government is not liable for any costs incurred by the offerors for any effort performed prior to award of a contract.

- END OF SECTION L -

SECTION M: EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

M.1 52.217-5 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS (JULY 1990)

Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government’s best interests, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement to determine the total evaluated price. This includes options under FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, which applies to this solicitation and any resulting contract. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

The Government will calculate the option to extend services, provided under FAR 52.217-8, by dividing the offeror’s Option Period 4 proposed price by two (2).

M.2 1352.215-74 BEST VALUE EVALUATION (APR 2010)

(a) Award will be made to the offeror: whose offer conforms to the solicitation requirements; who is determined responsible in accordance with FAR Subpart 9.1 by possessing the financial and other capabilities to fulfill the requirements of the contract; and whose proposal is judged, by an integrated assessment of price/cost and non-price evaluation factors, to provide the best value to the Government in accordance with CAR 1352.215-75, Evaluation Criteria.

(1) Prior to award, the Contracting Officer will make a responsibility determination that will include a financial review of the apparent successful Offeror only. This review will include assessing the financial resources available to the apparent successful Offeror to perform its contractual obligations. Financial condition and capability statements made by the Offeror, as well as any additional data available to the Contracting Officer, regardless of whether or not it was provided by the Offeror, may be evaluated as part of the Contracting Officer’s responsibility determination. The Contracting Officer shall follow the procedures in FAR Subpart 19.6, if insufficient information is available to determine responsibility of the apparent successful offeror.

(b) The Government intends to award a single contract in response to the solicitation. The Government reserves the right not to award a contract depending on the quality of the proposals submitted and the availability of funds.

(c) Evaluation of Proposals.

(1) Initial Evaluation of Proposals. All offers received will be evaluated in accordance with the stated evaluation factors. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors (except clarifications as described in FAR 15.306(a)). Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. If the Contracting Officer determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.

(2) Discussions/Final Proposal Revisions. The Contracting Officer will engage in discussions with all offerors in the competitive range in accordance with FAR 15.306. At the conclusion of discussions, a final common cut-off date for submission of final proposal revisions will be established. Those offerors remaining in the competitive range will be notified to submit Final Proposal Revisions.

(3) Final Evaluation of Offers. A final proposal evaluation will be performed after receipt of Final Proposal Revisions.

(End of provision)

M.3 1352.215-75 EVALUATION CRITERIA (APR 2010)

Upon receipt of proposals, the CO and CS will review each proposal’s compliance with the solicitation Section L instruction requirements. If any proposal does not meet the RFP instruction requirements, the CO will determine how to proceed, seeking legal advice if necessary. Proposals not compliant with Section L may not be included for consideration.

The Government will evaluate three (3) non-price factors which are listed below in descending order of importance as well as price.

a. Non-price factors:

i. Management Approach

ii. Technical Approach

iii. Past Performance

b. Price In determining which proposal provides the best value to the Government, Non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. However, as the non-price evaluation ratings of offers become equal, Price may become more important.

Based upon the results of the integrated assessment of the non-price and price proposals, the Government intends to use the Best Value, Tradeoff process to evaluate proposals and may make an award to other than the lowest-priced offeror or the offeror with the highest technical score if the source selection official determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government.

Non-price Factor 1 – Management Approach.

The Government will evaluate the following elements when assessing the Offeror’s management approach:

a. An active Facility Clearance at the Secret or higher level for the Prime. If a subcontractor will be performing any of the tasks which require a security clearance in accordance with the PWS, the subcontractor will also be required to provide proof of an active Facility Clearance at the Secret or higher level.

b. The offeror’s ability to effectively recruit and retain qualified staff. This includes the offeror’s plan for recruiting locally or from the rest of the United States if necessary to hire the best possible personnel and to minimize any staff turnover.

The offeror’s management approach may also be evaluated for their proposed plan to incentivize contractor staff for above and beyond performance, and for keeping abreast of any future technological advancements that can be implemented by the Station Manager. Not providing a plan to incentivize staff will NOT be rated negatively.

c. A staffing plan and labor mix that demonstrates the necessary skills and training of the offeror’s proposed staff to successfully synchronize and manage the required services. This includes evaluating the composition and qualifications of the proposed key personnel team. Key personnel will be evaluated on their (i) technical and management training and experience on projects of similar size, scope, and complexity; (ii) availability for the term of the contract; and (iii) other factors that demonstrate effectiveness and ability to meet all PWS requirements. Overall, key personnel will be evaluated to the extent that the Government has confidence in their ability to lead and manage the required effort effectively.

d. The offeror’s ability to successfully manage in an environment requiring subcontracted labor subject to collective bargaining and labor union involvement.

This includes the offeror’s plan for ensuring the COR and the Station Manager are kept up to date on the status of negotiations of the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and of any potential changes to the CBAs which may have direct effect in the efficient operations of the Station. This also includes the offeror’s plan for communicating with the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist before and while negotiating the CBAs to facilitate any contract modifications to incorporate new CBAs into the contract.

e. A labor utilization which demonstrates staffing satellite operations at the required minimum staffing levels specified in the PWS on a 24x7x365 basis, which takes into consideration scheduled or unscheduled non-productive hours as a result of personnel leave, weekends, and observed holidays.

f. The offeror’s ability to address the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and plans for any future pandemic that are consistent with all Station, NESDIS, NOAA, DOC, state and federal regulations; and ensures the continued efficient operations of the Station, which also addresses different phases of a pandemic response to include triage, assessment, and recovery.

Non-Price Factor 2 – Technical Approach.

The Government will evaluate the following elements when assessing the Offeror’s technical approach:

a. A thorough understanding of and demonstrated capability to perform the PWS requirements, including operational support and compliance with technical requirements. This includes the proposed methodology designed to meet these requirements, including any special considerations for an Arctic environment.

b. A thorough understanding of and demonstrated capability to perform the station's onsite management and staffing requirements, including a description of the flexibility of station personnel work assignments and task cross training.

c. The offeror’s capability and sufficiency of resources to provide analysis, troubleshooting, and testing of satellite ground systems.

d. The offeror’s understanding of and demonstrated capability to perform the station's Information Technology (IT) requirements in accordance with the PWS.

e. Innovations that demonstrate the use of new technologies or solutions to various complex problems that face the Station and/or its customers. This includes the extent to which the new solutions will help resolve complex problems and ensure quality customer-focused outcomes, efficient approaches and solutions, and flexibility to adapt to changing customer needs, tasking, and workloads.

Innovations can also include those that can be immediately implemented, or the offeror’s plan for implementing future innovations with little to no increases in contract price. Not providing any innovative solutions will NOT be rated negatively.

Non-Price Factor 3 – Past Performance.

The offeror’s past performance on recent and relevant contracts will be evaluated to determine, as appropriate, successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of services, effective management of subcontractors, cost management, level of communication between the contracting parties, proactive management, and customer satisfaction. Relevant is defined as performance under contracts or efforts that are of the same or similar scope, magnitude, and complexity to that which is described in the PWS. Recent is defined as performance within the past six (6) years of the proposal due date and may include work that is ongoing but must have completed one (1) year of the work that is in progress. The offeror’s past performance will be evaluated based on the information received from past performance questionnaires submitted (up to three) and any information obtained by the Government from sources other than those identified by the offeror, including but not limited to the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Past Performance will receive a rating based on the aforementioned information. An offeror’s lack of relevant or recent past performance will result in a “neutral” rating. NOAA reserves the right to contact the references cited for past performance information.

Past performance questionnaires submitted for subcontractors proposed to expend at least 25 percent of the cost of contract performance shall be evaluated in the same manner.

Price.

Separately and apart from the technical evaluation, the Government will conduct a price evaluation of the Offeror’s price proposal in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.4. A price analysis will be conducted to determine if proposed prices accurately reflect the work to be performed. A price realism analysis may be performed to determine if the level of effort and the mix of labor proposed to perform a specific task, and for determining that the total price is reasonable.

The price proposal will be evaluated for fair and reasonableness as well as any unbalanced pricing.

Proposed prices will be evaluated but not scored.

To be determined complete, the offeror’s price proposal must include the documents specified in Section L. Proposed costs must be entirely compatible with the management and technical proposal.

NOAA will calculate the total evaluated price for each offeror by adding the offeror’s proposed prices for the base period and each option period (which includes the Government provided not to exceed amounts for the time and material CLINs). NOAA will also add the option price associated with FAR 52.217-8 by using half of the proposed price for Option Year 4.

Although price is the least important evaluation factor for award, the degree of importance of the offeror’s total proposed price is anticipated to increase with the degree of equality of the proposals, when evaluated for other factors.

Any proposal that is materially unbalanced as to the proposed prices for the basic and option items may be rejected as unacceptable.

(End of clause)

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