Section L - Instructions to Offerors.pdf

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 FAR 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):

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

(End of provision)

Provisions Incorporated by Reference:

FAR TITLE DATE

52.204-7 System for Award Management OCT

52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting AUG

52.204-22 Alternative Line Item Proposal JAN 2017 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition NOV

52.215-22 Limitations on Pass-Through Charges—Identification of

Subcontract Effort

OCT

52.222-24 Preaward On-Site Equal Opportunity Compliance Evaluation FEB 1999 52.222-46 Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees FEB 1993

L.2 Type of Contract:

FAR 52.216-1 Type of Contract (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates awarding a Cost Reimbursement-only, no fee/profit or Cost- Plus-Fixed-Fee type contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of Provision) https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

L.3 Protests:

FAR 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:

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Office of Acquisition Services (OAS) ATTN: Patrick Winders, Contracting Officer Serina Allingham, Contract Specialist Solicitation # 75D301-25-R-00088 4770 Buford Highway Chamblee Building 102 Floor 1, Room 1304 Atlanta, GA 30341 (MS TCU-4)

(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.4 Incurring Costs

This solicitation does not commit the Government to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a proposal. In addition, the Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with the proposed acquisition.

L.5 General Instructions to Offerors

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision-

Discussions are negotiations that occur after establishment of the competitive range that may, at the Contracting Officer’s discretion, result in the offeror being allowed to revise its proposal.

In writing, "writing," or "written" means any worded or numbered expression that can be read, reproduced, and later communicated, and includes electronically transmitted and stored information.

Proposal modification is a change made to a proposal before the solicitation’s closing date and time, or made in response to an amendment, or made to correct a mistake at any time before award.

Proposal revision is a change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a Contracting Officer as the result of negotiations.

Time, if stated as a number of days, is calculated using calendar days, unless otherwise specified, and will include Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. However, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then the period shall include the next working day.

(b) Amendments to solicitations. If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by the date and time specified in the amendment(s).

(c) Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals.

(1) proposals and modifications to proposals shall be submitted in PDF format and Excel readable/editable format for any cost/pricing information. For Excel submissions a compatible format may be used.

(i) Proposal Submission Method: You must submit 1 electronic copy of your proposal to CDC/OAS via email to the following POCs. Facsimile proposals are not authorized.

Serina Allingham, Contract Specialist, at xog9@cdc.gov Patrick Winders, Contracting Officer, at vxx6@cdc.gov

(ii) Proposal Submission Due Date: Proposals are due to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officers POCs identified in the “Proposal Submission Method” sub-paragraph above on Monday, May, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

(iii) Solicitation Questions and Answers: There will be a questions and answers period for the solicitation. Solicitation questions are due on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. EST.

Questions shall be submitted via email to the following POCs:

Serina Allingham, Contract Specialist, at xog9@cdc.gov Patrick Winders, Contracting Officer, at vxx6@cdc.gov

Offerors should use ATTJ107 – Question and Answer Template of the solicitation to submit their questions.

(2) The first page of the proposal must show–

(i) The solicitation number: 75D301-25-R-00088;

(ii) The name, address, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), telephone number, and email address of the offeror;

mailto:xog9@cdc.gov mailto:vxx6@cdc.gov mailto:xog9@cdc.gov mailto:vxx6@cdc.gov

(iii) A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and agreement to furnish any or all items upon which costs/prices are offered at the cost/price set opposite each item;

(iv) Names, titles, telephone numbers, and email addresses of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation; and

(v) Name, title, and signature of person authorized to sign the proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

(3) Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals.

(i) Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time and date specified in the SAM.gov solicitation posting.

(ii) (A) Any proposal, modification, or revision received at the Government office designated in the SAM.gov solicitation posting after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and-

(1) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m.

one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or

(2) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(3) It is the only proposal received.

(B) However, a late modification of an otherwise successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(iii) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the proposal wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.

(iv) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that proposals cannot be received at the office designated for receipt of proposals by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation, the time specified for receipt of proposals will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

(v) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award. Oral proposals in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes email proposals, proposals may be withdrawn via email received at any time before award.

(5) Offerors shall submit proposals in response to this solicitation in English, unless otherwise permitted by the solicitation, and in U.S. dollars, unless the provision at FAR 52.225-17, Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers, is included in the solicitation.

(6) Offerors may submit modifications to their proposals at any time before the solicitation closing date and time, and may submit modifications in response to an amendment, or to correct a mistake at any time before award.

(7) Offerors may submit revised proposals only if requested or allowed by the Contracting Officer.

(8) Proposals may be withdrawn at any time before award. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the Contracting Officer.

(d) Offer expiration date. Proposals in response to this solicitation shall be valid for at least 180 days.

(e) Restriction on disclosure and use of data. Offerors that include in their proposals data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall-

(1) Mark the title page with the following legend:

This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed-in whole or in part-for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of-or in connection with-the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]; and

(2) 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 the restriction on the title page of this proposal.

(f) Contract award. (1) The Government intends to award a contract or contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose proposal(s) represents the best value after evaluation in accordance with the factors in the solicitation.

(2) The Government may reject any or all proposals if such action is in the Government’s interest.

(3) The Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.

(4) 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, technical, and past performance 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.

(5) The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit cost or prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the proposal.

(6) The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards if, after considering the additional administrative costs, it is in the Government’s best interest to do so.

(7) Exchanges with offerors after receipt of a proposal do not constitute a rejection or counteroffer by the Government.

(8) The Government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable if the prices proposed are materially unbalanced between line items or subline items. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more line items is significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the application of cost or price analysis techniques. A proposal may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

(9) The Government may evaluate the realism of the offerors proposed costs through a cost realism analysis in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(d). If a cost realism analysis is performed, cost realism may be considered by the source selection authority in evaluating performance or schedule risk.

(10) A written award or acceptance of proposal mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time specified in the proposal shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party.

(11) If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:

(i) The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s offer.

(ii) The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.

(iii) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.

(iv) A summary of the rationale for award.

(v) For acquisitions of commercial products, the make and model of the product to be delivered by the successful offeror.

(vi) Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency. Relevant questions must be submitted with the request for debriefing.

L.6 Communications

Communications with unauthorized individuals concerning this requirement prior to award may jeopardize your eligibility for award. The Contracting Officer (CO) and Contract Specialist (CS) are the sole points of contact for this acquisition. Any questions concerns shall be addressed, in English, to the CO and CS. Except otherwise indicated, e-mail is the only method of communication permitted.

The CO and CS for this solicitation are:

CO –

Patrick Winders, vxx6@cdc.gov

CS –

Serina Allingham, xog9@cdc.gov

L.7 Subcontracting Plan

CDCL.11 Offeror Subcontracting Plan Submission – Small Business Customer Experience (SBCX) System (Feb 2023)

In accordance with FAR 19.704 and FAR Clause 52.219-9, the submission of a subcontracting plan by other than small business offeror(s) is a requirement as a part of the proposal submission process and is to be submitted separately from the technical and cost proposals. An offeror’s subcontracting plan must be determined to be acceptable, by the Contracting Officer, prior to the contract award. An offeror is to submit their respective subcontracting plan electronically using the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Small Business Customer Experience (SBCX) system at https://osdbu.hhs.gov. The offeror shall follow the instructions outlined in the SBCX Industry Guide (https://sbcm-mailto:vxx6@cdc.gov mailto:xog9@cdc.gov https://osdbu.hhs.gov/ https://sbcm-acqtools.s3.amazonaws.com/SBCX+Industry+Subcontracting+Guide.pdf acqtools.s3.amazonaws.com/SBCX+Industry+Subcontracting+Guide.pdf) to successfully submit their subcontracting plan by the proposal submission deadline.

The official point of receipt for determining timely submission of an offeror’s subcontracting plan is the SBCX system and/or email notification. Once the subcontracting plan is successfully submitted in the SBCX system the offeror should receive an email notification and confirmation message of completion upon submission.

If an offeror’s subcontracting plan is not confirmed as received within the SBCX system by the proposal submission date specified in the solicitation, it will be considered late in accordance with subparagraph (c)(3) of FAR Clause 52.215-1, Instructions to Offeror—Competition Acquisition. Disposition of late submittals of a subcontracting plan by an offeror via the SBCX system is at the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

Any technical questions regarding the use of the SBCX system may be submitted via email message to the SBCX help desk at client.support@apexlogic.com. The client support hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 6:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time (ET). Note: help desk tickets can be submitted 24 hours a day / 7 days a week and a representative will respond within the presented client support hours of operation for assistance

*Note: An Adobe PDF version of the Offeror’s Subcontracting Plan is available after submission to the SBCX system. Offerors shall include the Adobe PDF version of the submitted Subcontracting Plan in their technical proposal volume submission. Further instructions are outlined in L.13.1 of the solicitation.

L.8 Proposal Contents/Formatting

Offerors shall present their proposals in three separate volumes, as follows:

Volume I – Technical Proposal Volume II – Past Performance Proposal Volume III – Business Proposal

Offeror’s proposals shall contain the following information:

https://sbcm-acqtools.s3.amazonaws.com/SBCX+Industry+Subcontracting+Guide.pdf mailto:client.support@apexlogic.com

L.8.1 Volume I – Technical Proposal Instructions:

CDCL.04 Information in Technical Proposal (Jul 2017)

“(a) The technical proposal should be in as much detail as you consider necessary to reflect a clear understanding of the nature of the work.

(b) The technical proposal must not contain reference to cost; however, resource information, such as data concerning labor hours and categories, material, subcontracts, etc. must be contained in the technical proposal so that your understanding of the statement of work or performance work statement can be evaluated.”

(End of Provision)

The Volume I - Technical Proposal shall include a Technical Approach, Management Approach, Staffing Plan, Transition In/Out Plan, Similar Experience, Cross-Reference Matrix, System Security Plan, Subcontracting Plan, Data Management Plan, and Minimum Vendor Qualifications.

Volume I – Technical Proposal Page Limits: Offerors shall limit their Technical Proposal, to include the Technical Approach, Management Approach, and Staffing Plan, for this requirement to forty (40) single-spaced pages of text. This page limit does not include the Similar Experience, Key Personnel resumes, the Cross Reference Matrix, System Security Plan, Subcontracting Plan, Minimum Vendor Qualifications, and the Data Management Plan. Key Personnel resumes shall be limited to two (2) single-spaced pages of text each, and do not count towards the 40-page limit. The Transition-In/Transition Out Plan shall be limited to five (5) single-spaced pages of text and does not count towards the 40-page limit.

In preparing the technical proposal, the Offeror shall provide narrative and other information that is considered relevant to the work required to provide the services identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and that best demonstrates the Offeror’s technical capabilities and innovative approaches in those areas.

The Offeror is required to submit sufficient technical information to enable Government personnel to fully ascertain capabilities of the Offeror to perform the technical requirements.

The technical proposal must be sufficient in detail and scope to permit evaluation and provide the Government with a clear understanding of the Offeror’s capability to meet or exceed the defined elements as required by the PWS. All proposals must clearly and convincingly demonstrate that the Offeror has a thorough understanding of the requirements and associated risks. An Offeror must respond to all requirements of the PWS and not alter or rearrange the solicitation. To be considered for award, an Offeror must propose their technical approach for all requirements of the PWS. This is an all or nothing requirement. Award will be made on an all or none basis.

Proposals for some tasks and not the others will not be accepted.

In presenting technical material in the proposal, the Offeror is advised that quality of information is more important than quantity. Clarity, brevity, and logical organization should be emphasized during technical proposal preparation. The Offeror shall present sufficient technical information to allow the Government to evaluate the proposed work effort, support, and approach without opening discussions. Statements that the prospective Offeror understands and can comply with or will comply with the specifications or paraphrasing the requirements or parts thereof without supporting information are considered inadequate by the Government, and may result in a technical rating of unacceptable.

The Offeror must include any data that illustrates the adequacy of the various assumptions, approaches, and solutions to the Government’s requirements. Failure to clearly address a specific PWS technical requirement may be considered a deficiency. There is no need to repeat information in more than one section in the technical proposal volume if an overlap exists; the detailed information must be included in the most logical place and summarized and referenced in other areas. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentation materials beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal will not be accepted.

The Offeror is expected to comply with all requirements of the PWS. The Government advises the Offeror that taking exception or deviating from any term or condition of the PWS may make an offer unacceptable, and the proposal unawardable, unless the Government expressly authorizes such an exception or deviation with regard to that specific term or condition. The Government may consider any exception or deviation to any term or condition of the contract that is not expressly authorized by the Government to be a deficiency.

The Offeror shall submit a Cross Reference Matrix (CRM) as part of its technical proposal submission, similar to Attachment J102 – SurvivorCCE_CRM to help ensure that all solicitation requirements are addressed and to facilitate the technical evaluators' review of the Offeror's technical proposal. The CRM should cross-reference the proposal volumes and paragraphs to specific PWS requirements, as well as other parts of the proposal that contain relevant information. The Offeror's CRM may be identical to Attachment J102 or revised such as to add columns to indicate the page number on which information may be found, identify where other relevant information in the technical proposal is located, or provide other comments. The CRM does not count against the technical proposal’s 40-page limitation.

Offerors shall submit a completed version of Attachment J103 CUI-SSP (System Security Plan) with the technical proposal. This attachment does not count towards the 40-page limit for the technical proposal.

Offerors shall submit the PDF version of the Offeror’s Subcontracting Plan that is made available by the SBCX system after the Offeror submits its subcontracting plan in the SBCX as part of its Volume I – Technical proposal. The Subcontracting Plan does not count towards the 40-page limit for the technical proposal.

Offerors shall submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) in accordance with the instructions at CDCL.10 Data Management Plan (Instructions) (Nov 2018), incorporated into the solicitation.

The DMP does not count towards the 40-page limit for the technical proposal.

Factor 1: Technical Evaluation:

The technical evaluation for this requirement is as follows:

Criteria (In descending order of importance) Technical Approach Management Approach Staffing Plan Similar Experience Transition-In/Transition-Out Plan

A. Technical Approach: The Offeror shall provide a discussion of their technical approach for providing the services required for this solicitation. The Offeror shall provide their understanding of the task requirements, and the operating environment. The Government will evaluate the quality and feasibility of the methodology and performance techniques describing how the Offeror proposes to perform each task. This technical approach will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the Offeror’s technical approach for providing services required for by the solicitation.

The Offeror shall specifically address aspects such as technical understanding, methodology and approach, along with the requests listed below.

a. Provide a detailed statement of the scope and purpose of the contract to demonstrate complete understanding of the intent and requirements of the contract and potential problems that may be encountered.

b. Describe the proposed technical approach to comply with each of the requirements specified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The proposed approach must ensure the achievement of timely and acceptable performance, as described in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), and other performance metrics included in the PWS and attachments to the solicitation/PWS. The Offeror shall provide a summary of planned operations in an Operations Manual summary for all contract-related services, processes, systems, and activities to perform the tasks in the Performance Work Statement. The technical approach and operations manual summary of planned operations shall reflect the Offeror’s understanding of the Zadroga Act and the World Trade Center Health Program.

c. Discuss the plan and solutions for overcoming difficulties involved with performing the work requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

B. Management Approach: The Offeror shall provide a management plan that describes their approach for managing the work, identifying the roles and responsibilities of pertinent players, and subcontracting management plans, if applicable. The Offeror shall demonstrate an overall understanding of the project and adequacy and feasibility of plans to address all items in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). This includes the detailed description of specific tasks to be performed, methods and resources (not staffing) to be used and a discussion of risks and plans for addressing them.

The Offeror’s management approach will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the contractor’s management plan for the Performance Work Statement. The management approach will be evaluated to determine if the approach demonstrates a sound process for providing the necessary expertise to effectively and efficiently complete the tasks of the Performance Work Statement.

a. The Offeror shall describe their organizational structure and how they propose to manage the tasks, including a discussion of timelines and issues.

b. The Offeror shall provide rationale for their management approach.

c. The Offeror shall describe the methodology for managing the task, performance measures they will use to monitor performance, any management tools they will use, how they will ensure quality products are delivered, how they will mitigate risk, and how they will communicate. The Offeror shall adequately describe the resources they propose to complete the work described in the PWS and a rationale for their proposed approach. The Offeror shall identify any resources (facilities, hardware, software, communications, etc.) that would be required above and beyond that already addressed as part of this solicitation.

d. The Offeror shall clearly indicate how they will monitor and ensure acceptable performance will be monitored and corrective action taken if appropriate. The Offeror shall specify its approach for maintaining control of all contract change management issues.

e. The Offerors shall provide (1) a detailed description of how conflicts are managed; (2) a plan to ensure client satisfaction; and (3) a measurement of fiscal responsibility and accountability for the overall financial state of the company.

f. Offerors shall identify anticipated management barriers and risks. The Offeror shall provide a description of their approach to risk management during the contract from a management perspective and the planned actions to mitigate or eliminate risks.

g. Offerors shall identify (if any) assumptions or conditions relating to their Management Plan and qualifications presented therein. The Government reserves the right to reject any proposal that includes any assumption or condition that adversely impacts or affects the Government’s requirement.

h. The Offeror shall describe how it will ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in meeting contract requirements, including how the Offeror will monitor and evaluate the process and progress of work performed by the Offeror and subcontractors, if any; identify promising practices and meet performance standards and quality benchmarks of the PWS and PWS/solicitation attachments; maintain industry quality standards, credentials, and accreditations; deploy useful new technologies or successful interventions; and take results to scale.

C. Staffing Plan: The Offeror shall provide a staffing plan that demonstrates their understanding of the labor requirements for the performance work statement and the personnel required to complete said requirements. The plan should address the proposed labor categories, descriptions of the services to be provided, estimated labor hours, etc.

The Staffing Plan will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the offeror’s staffing plan for the contract. The Government will evaluate the plan and staffing to be used, assessing the feasibility of the plan and the Offeror's approach to mitigating potential risks.

The Offeror shall provide qualified technical labor resources in numbers adequate to address the technical and administrative requirements and deliverable schedules outlined in Section 4.3 --- Staffing Requirements in the PWS. The Staffing Plan shall include:

a. A staffing matrix showing type and number of staffing resources readily available for the

Start of Healthcare Delivery (SHCD), including breakdowns by skill sets and any related technical certifications. The matrix of proposed personnel/labor categories shall also include their experience, education, skills, and qualifications to do the job. The backgrounds of the personnel will reflect the length and variety of experience and expertise in tasks similar to the tasks required by this solicitation and any relevant training. Offerors must use the labor categories in ATT006 – SurvivorCCE_LaborCategory, in developing its staffing matrix. If the Offeror determines that other additional labor categories are required, the Offeror must submit an accompanying one-sentence rationale for each additional labor category proposed;

b. A description of the Offeror’s approach to rapidly obtain and/or replace qualified staffing resources to support existing and new contract work, and to meet changing workload requirements, and address employee turnover, including a table showing employee turnover rates for each of the past three years; and resumes for proposed Key Personnel;

c. Document the decision-making authority of the Administrator and/or Medical Director Key Personnel roles as related to other elements of the organization. The percentage of time each staff member shall contribute to the Program will be adequately identified. The extent to which outside consultants or specialists will be used and evidence of availability shall be indicated;

d. If subcontractors are proposed, provide information to support their qualifications as well.

The Offeror shall identify any portions of the task that will be performed by subcontractors.

This information must include the subcontracting firm and the specific duties, proposed effort, and labor categories that will be performed by the subcontractor. The Offeror shall also furnish a written copy of the draft subcontracting agreement(s). The Offeror shall also provide copies of any Service Level Agreements.

D. Transition-In/Transition-Out Plan: The transition-in/transition-out plan will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the Offeror’s Transition In/Out Plan for this requirement. The soundness will be evaluated based on an approach that ensures successful achievement while limiting impact to the existing program.

The Offeror shall provide a Transition Plan for the transition-in and transition-out phases of this contract. The plan shall include a technical and management transition approach that is clear and complete including the timeline and resources required for the transition. The Transition Plan shall detail the planned transition methodology in logical sequence to ensure a smooth transition of all tasks/subtasks of the PWS without interruption or degradation of service levels. The plan shall include an approach that ensures the successful achievement while limiting impact to existing programs/projects. The plan shall also include a complete description of risks (cost, technical and performance to both the Offeror and the Government), issues, and risk mitigation strategies. Offerors shall also include all transition costs within their cost proposal. Please note that the continuity of services clause 52.237-3 is applicable and should be considered in developing your transition plan.

The Offeror shall provide a draft Transition-In/Transition-Out Plan that includes:

i. Assignment of dedicated personnel to lead and manage transition and implementation efforts;

ii. Defined project management plans for implementing all tasks and deliverables in accordance with this PWS;

iii. Assignment of staff utilized during Transition-In/Transition-Out, including subcontractors, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities to include the proposed labor mix of personnel who will be responsible for implementing Transition-In/Transition-Out, including the identification of key personnel and the percentage of their time devoted to the contract;

iv. Hiring plan during Transition-In to ensure sufficient staff levels at Start of Healthcare Delivery to meet all requirements in the PWS, and retention plan during Transition-Out to ensure sufficient staff levels through the end of the contract;

v. Transition activities, including implementation of Transition-in Communications Plan, testing of system integration and customer service capabilities to demonstrate readiness for Start of Healthcare Delivery (Section 4.1.3);

vi. Details on how the offeror shall ensure that its systems are ready to appropriately facilitate the administration of medically necessary healthcare services by the start of healthcare delivery.

System testing methodology must be incorporated as part of the Plan; and

vii. Coordination of benefits plan.

The Offeror shall also describe how all required services will be successfully implemented between the contract start date and the Start of Healthcare Delivery (SHCD). The plan shall include:

• Composition of the transition team and dedicated resources including prime and subcontractors, if any, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities;

• Defined transition activities, including testing of system integration and customer service capabilities from implementation through fully operationalized phases with defined timeline, work breakdown structures, critical paths and milestones; and

• Coordination and communication with the incumbent with defined list of transition needs and dependencies.

The Transition Plan should reflect sufficiency of the Offeror’s ability to troubleshoot and resolve problems, address workflow process stability, manage system upgrades, and anticipate and prevent potential problems. The Offeror shall describe its verification and validation processes throughout the lifecycle of its systems proposed in the PWS.

E. Similar Experience: Offerors shall provide a description of three (3) contracts performed within the past three years that clearly demonstrate the Offeror’s experience in performing projects of similar scope, size, and complexity to the requirements described in the solicitation.

Contracts listed may include those entered into with the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments, and commercial customers.

The following information shall be provided for each reference:

a. Contract number, customer/agency name, and contract title;

b. brief narrative description of the work performed for each of those contracts, including a discussion of any problems encountered/corrective actions and significant accomplishments;

c. dollar value, contract type, period of performance, place of performance, and the number and types of personnel used in the performance of the contract; and

d. name, address and phone number of at least two (2) customer contacts (Contracting Officer and Project Officer, if applicable) for each of the identified contracts.

The Government will evaluate the suitability of the offeror’s similar experience descriptions to determine whether the experience exhibits the ability to successfully support the requirements of the solicitation and the offeror’s proposed technical approach.

The Similar experience submission does not count towards the 40-page limit for the technical proposal.

CDCL.10 Data Management Plan (Instructions) (Nov 2018) CDC requires awardees of contracts that involve the collection or generation of public health data with federal funds to develop, submit, and comply with the requirement of a Data Management Plan (DMP) for each collection or generation of public health data undertaken.

Consistent with the terms of and activities expected under the statement of work, the offeror shall develop and submit a DMP as part of its Volume I – Technical Proposal in response to this solicitation, and if awarded a contract, update the DMP throughout the life cycle of the public health data collected or generated during the performance period. The DMP shall describe, to the extent appropriate, the data to be collected or generated; plans for making the data accessible that state what the data represent and potential limitations for use, provisions for the protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights (where these protections preclude making data accessible, justification must be provided); and plans for archiving and long-term preservation of the data. Costs, if any, associated with developing and implementing a DMP, including costs of sharing, archiving and long-term preservation, are allowable costs and shall therefore be reflected in an offeror’s Volume III - Business Proposal. A DMP must be developed in accordance with the below guidelines. A proposal received without a DMP will be deemed “Unacceptable”.

A DMP for each collection and/or generation of public health data should include the following information:

• A description of the public health data to be collected or generated in the contract period of performance;

• Standards to be used for the collected or generated public health data;

• Mechanisms for or limitations to providing access to and sharing of the data

(include a description of provisions for the protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights) or justification for why data cannot be made accessible This section should address access to identifiable and de-identified data (see below for additional information about access);

• Statement of the use of data standards that ensure all released data have appropriate documentation that describes the method of collection, what the data represent, and potential limitations for use; and;

• Plans for archiving and long-term preservation of the data, or explanation of why long-term preservation and access are not justified. This section should address archiving and preservation of identifiable and de-identified data (see Public Access to CDC Funded Digital Public Health Data) for additional information regarding archiving).

Examples of Data Management Plan Templates and Tools:

University of California: https://www.cdlib.org/services/uc3/dmpt.html https://www.cdlib.org/services/uc3/dmpt.html

L.8.2 Volume II – Past/Present Performance Proposal:

Offerors shall provide up to three (3) relevant past/present performance references. At least one

(1) of these references shall be for an experience utilized by the Offeror in its Similar Experience section of their Technical Proposal submission. Past/present performance efforts shall be either on-going or successfully completed within the last three years from the date of this solicitation release. Relevant is defined as work similar in size, scope and complexity to the work identified in the solicitation. Areas of relevance include projects cited as comparable to the current program in terms of scope, complexity, and/or price. Recency/Recent Performance is defined as contracts performed and/or completed within the past three years from the date of this solicitation release. Offerors shall submit these references utilizing Attachment J105 – Past/Present Performance Questionnaire or a Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) report. Each reference shall include, at a minimum: 1) when the experience took place, 2) the name of the federal agency, 3) the contract number, 4) task order number (if applicable) 5) the dollar value. This criterion will be evaluated according to the success of the offeror in performing projects of similar scope, size and complexity to the requirements described in the PWS. The Government reserves the right to review any information contained with the CPARS or any other Government source. The Government also may contact provided reference points of contact. Any of these sources may contain information that informs the Government’s confidence assessment for this factor. There is no page limit for the Past/Performance Proposal.

Further past/present performance proposal instructions are identified in CDCL.08 Past Performance Information (May 2020) below.

CDCL.08 Past/Present Performance Information (May 2020)

(a) Each offeror will be evaluated, in accordance with Section M of the solicitation, on their past performance under existing and prior contracts.

(b) Offerors shall submit the past/present performance information within its Volume II – Past/Present Performance Proposal. The offeror should include up to three relevant past/present references/contracts completed during the past three years from the date of this solicitation release and all references currently in process for both the offeror and all proposed major subcontractors**. Contracts listed may include those entered into by the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial customers. Offerors that are newly formed entities without prior references/contracts should list contracts and subcontracts as required above for predecessor companies, corporate officers, proposed key personnel who have relevant experience, or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement. The following information must be included for each contract listed:

1. Name of Contracting Organization;

2. Contract Number;

3. Description of services provided under the contract and the ways the services performed are relevant to the services required under this solicitation;

4. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail address (if known) and facsimile numbers of the Contracting Officer and the Project Officer for all Government contracts. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, and facsimile numbers of private sector contacts equivalent of a Federal Government Contracting Officer and Project Officer (operations manager or project manager);

5. The dollar value of the contract;

6. Contract type (Firm-fixed price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, etc.);

7. Period of Performance;

8. Place of performance;

9. The number and type of personnel assigned in performance of the contract;

10. Information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the offeror’s corrective actions; and

11. Copies of the most recent Past Performance Evaluation issued to the offeror under each contract listed.

**A major subcontractor is defined as one whose subcontract is for more than 30% of the total proposed cost/price.

CDCL.09 Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Requirements (Aug 2021)

In accordance with FAR 42.15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will review and evaluate contract performance. FAR 42.1502 and 42.1503 requires agencies to prepare evaluations of contractor performance and submit them to the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The CDC utilizes this web-based system to prepare and report contractor performance evaluations. All information contained in these assessments may be used by the Government, within the limitations of FAR 42.15, for future source selections in accordance with FAR 15.304 where past performance is an evaluation factor.

The CPARS system requires a contractor representative to be assigned so that the contractor has appropriate input into the performance evaluation process. The CPARS contractor representative will be given access to CPARS and will be given the opportunity to concur or not-concur with performance evaluations before the evaluations are complete. The CPARS contractor representative will also have the opportunity to add comments to performance evaluations.

The assessment is not subject to the Disputes clause of the contract, nor is it subject to appeal beyond the review and comment procedures described in the guides on the CPARS website.

Refer to: www.cpars.gov for details and additional information related to CPARS, CPARS user access, how contract performance assessments are conducted, and how Contractors participate.

Access and training for all persons responsible for the preparation and review of performance assessments is also available at the CPARS website.

The contractor must provide the CDC contracting office with the name, e-mail address, and phone number of their designated CPARS representative who will be responsible for logging into CPARS and reviewing and commenting on performance evaluations. The contractor must maintain a current representative to serve as the contractor representative in CPARS. It is the contractor’s responsibility to notify the CDC contracting office, in writing (letter or email), when their CPARS representative information needs to be changed or updated. Failure to maintain current CPARS contractor representative information will result in the loss of an opportunity to review and comment on performance evaluations.

Provide the current CPARS representative information below.

PRINT OR TYPE NAME

EMAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER

L.8.3 Volume III – Business Proposal Instructions.

CDCL.05 Business Proposal Instructions, Cost Reimbursement (May 2020)

The business proposal shall be comprised of the following elements:

(a) Contract Form and Representation and Certifications:

The contract form found in Part I, Section A, the completed Section B, and the Representations and Certifications contained in Part IV, Section K, of this solicitation must be executed by an official authorized to bind the offeror. Offerors must provide a completed and signed copy of the solicitation including Sections A-K and any amendments. The signed first page of the solicitation and any solicitation amendments shall be submitted in Volume I. Offerors shall complete Box 12 of the Standard Form 33, Solicitations, Offer and Award, indicating its offer may be accepted within 180 calendar days of the solicitation closing date.

(b) Business Proposal Cover Sheet:

The cover sheet of your Business Proposal must comply with FAR 15.408, FAR Table 15-2, (as applicable).

(c) Business Proposal Narrative, and Business Proposal Format (Attachment J104):

You must submit, as a minimum, a business proposal supported by detailed cost data. Cost data information and supporting information may submitted as part of the business proposal, or discussed in the Offeror’s Business Proposal Narrative that is part of the Offeror’s Business proposal, or included in the Business Proposal Format attachment, as appropriate. This cost data will be used to establish the reasonableness of the proposed amounts as well as to perform any required cost realism analysis. If applicable, the estimated cost of each phase, option or segment of the offered work shall be itemized. In addition, the total proposed amount, including all phases, options or segments shall be provided. Inasmuch as it may be necessary to authorize performance of the project by phases or a group of phases, the extent that these are severable should be indicated, together with the effect, if any, of such severance upon the estimated cost.

Identify all proposal assumptions and rationale within the Business Proposal.

The itemized cost for individual cost elements shall be furnished using the Business Proposal Format (Attachment J104) for the base period and each of the option periods. The Business Proposal Format attachment and all accompanying exhibits/attachments, etc. should be submitted in Microsoft Excel or a compatible format.