section_L_instructions_to_offerors (DRAFT).pdf

SECTION L: INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO

OFFERORS

1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Notice to Offerors: Funds are not presently available. No award will be made under this solicitation until funds are available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

1.2 Purpose of Contract: The primary purpose of this Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

Enterprise Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, hereby referred to as AMAC, is to provide an agile and rapid acquisition vehicle to acquire AFRL-wide Science and Technology (S&T) requirements. The AFRL S&T mission is to lead the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace forces. This contract vehicle does not have specific funding tied to it but rather will depend on inter-agency and outside agency funding executed through AFRL portfolios and other program funding as provided. This vehicle will not be used for any

Consulting or Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) requirements.

1.3 Basis for Award: Offerors will be considered based on demonstrated proficiency in technical factors related to AFRL Science & Technology (S&T) needs. All offerors that provide a responsive and qualified proposal may be eligible for award. Duplicate or identical proposals will be considered non-responsive.

2.0 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

2.1 Instructions: Offerors shall submit proposals no later than the date specified on the SAM.gov posting. To ensure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, Offerors shall comply with all instructions within this section and all solicitation submission requirements. Proposals shall be addressed to the Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO) and Contracting Specialist (CS). To ensure timely receipt, Offerors shall submit proposals electronically via the Enterprise Portal link also listed on the SAM.gov posting. Late submittals may not be accepted in accordance with

Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 15.107(b). Offerors shall apply all appropriate markings, including those prescribed in accordance with RFO 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors-

Competitive Acquisition, and RFO 3.104-4, Disclosure, Protection, and Marking of Offeror Bid or

Proposal Information and Source Selection Information. Do not submit classified information.

2.2 General Information: The offeror’s proposal shall include all information requested by this solicitation and shall be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The proposal must be compliant with the requirements as stated in this solicitation; non-compliance may result in the proposal being ineligible for award. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and substantiation of all stated claims. The Government will base its evaluation only on the information presented in the offeror's proposal or provided during negotiations, if applicable.

• Elaborate brochures or documentation, binding, detailed artwork, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

• All proposals submitted shall have a proposal validity date of 180 days from proposal submission.

• The Government will adhere to acquisition records in accordance with RFO Part 4.309

(Storage, handling, and contract files).

• Government Point of Contact: The U.S. Government (USG) point of contact for this acquisition is the organizational mailbox at afrl.amac.mailbox@us.af.mil. Address all questions or concerns to this mailbox.

• The Government intends to award multiple contracts under this solicitation. However, the

Government reserves the right to award no contracts.

• Participation by Foreign Firms: In accordance with the National Industrial Security Program

Operating Manual (NISPOM), foreign firms or U.S. companies determined to be under

Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) will not be permitted to participate.

• Joint Ventures: An Offeror can be a prime contractor consisting of parties jointly owned and managed either by a partnership or a corporation established for the express purpose of entering a contract with the Government. Neither party alone will have direct privity of contract with the Government; only the joint venture itself will have direct privity.

2.3 PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION

2.3.1 The offeror shall prepare the proposal as set forth in the Proposal Organization Table

(Table 2.3) below. The titles and contents of the volumes shall be as specified in Table 2.3, within the required page limits and with the number of copies specified.

TABLE 2.3 – PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION

Volume/Section Title Method of Submission

Qty Page Limit

Volume I Executive

Section 1 Contract Documentation

Written Submission

1 No limit

Section 2 Representations and Certifications

Written Submission

1 No limit

Section 3 Additional Documentation

Written Submission

1 No limit

Volume II, Factor 1 Technical Evaluation Factor

Subfactor 1.1 S&T Maturation Written Submission

1 5 pages

Subfactor 1.2 Area of Interest Proficiency

Written Submission

1 5 pages

Volume III, Factor 2 Small Business Factor

Subfactor 2.1 Small Business Participation Commitment Document

(SBPCD)

Fillable Template

1 N/A

Subfactor 2.2 Small Business Participation Plan

Written Submission

1 No limit

2.3.2 Page Limitations: Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. All pages shall be counted, except as indicated otherwise.

• Volume I: Contractual and administrative information has no page limitation.

• Volume II: Each subfactor shall not exceed five pages.

• Volume III: The SBPCD Fillable Form shall be included in its entirety and will not count towards the total page count. All fillable portions of the form must be completed. Other than the fillable fields, the form shall not be tailored or modified in any way.

Page limitations will be placed on responses to clarifications or negotiations if they are issued.

The specified page limits for responses will be identified in the letters to the Offerors. The

Offeror's final proposal revision, if requested, shall be subject to the same page limitations as the initial proposal.

2.3.3 Stand-Alone Volumes: To the greatest extent possible, each written volume shall be on a stand-alone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with a minimum of cross-referencing to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity.

2.4 WRITTEN PROPOSAL SIZE AND FORMAT

2.4.1 Written proposals shall be submitted electronically in PDF format. Company name and proprietary information notices shall be declared as appropriate in the submission. Offerors shall not deviate from the format of the templates provided and shall not exceed the page limits set forth in Table 2.3. The font used should be Calibri, with a size no smaller than 11-point.

2.4.2 Electronic Proposal Materials: Do not submit materials on flash drive media. The offeror shall submit all materials via the Enterprise Portal.

2.5 DEBRIEFING: The PCO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range in accordance with RFO 15.206-1. The PCO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with RFO 15.207-2. Upon receipt of either notification, offerors may request and receive a debriefing if their request is made in accordance with the requirements of RFO 15.206 or 15.301, as applicable.

2.6 NEGOTIATIONS: The Government reserves the right to award without negotiations.

Therefore, the offeror's initial proposal should contain the offeror's best terms from a technical standpoint. If during the evaluation period it is determined to be in the best interest of the

Government to hold negotiations, offeror responses will be considered in making the source selection decision.

2.7 ELECTRONIC REFERENCE DOCUMENTS: All referenced documents for this solicitation are available online at https://sam.gov.

2.8 COMMUNICATIONS: Communication between the Government and Offerors will be controlled by the PCO, who is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Negotiations with industry may be written and transmitted via encrypted e-mail. Email may be used to transmit information to offerors only if the email can be sent and received encrypted and includes

“SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION – See RFO 2.101 & 3.104” in the subject line.

3.0 VOLUME I – EXECUTIVE

3.1 SECTION 1 – CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION: This is a Basic IDIQ contract. No pricing information is required in Section B. The offeror’s proposal shall include a signed copy of the

Standard Form (SF) 33, including clause fill-ins at Section K. The offeror shall complete blocks

15A through 16 and sign and date blocks 17 and 18 on the cover page of the SF 33. Signature by the Offeror on the SF 33 constitutes an offer, which the Government may accept. In doing so, the Offeror agrees to the contract terms and conditions as written in the RFP Sections A through

K. Offerors shall ensure that all clauses and provisions that require “fill-in” information are appropriately completed. This contract is an IDIQ contract with baseline clauses and conditions.

The specific prices, contract type(s), delivery requirements, and period of performance will be determined at the Delivery Order (DO)/Task Order (TO) level.

3.2 SECTION 2 – REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS: In addition to completing the fill-ins at Section K of the contract document as referenced above in paragraph 3.2, the Offeror shall ensure all required representations and certifications for the solicitation have been filled-in/completed and are provided in their proposal.

3.3 SECTION 3 – ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION

3.3.1 Exceptions to Terms and Conditions: Offerors must meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions (T&Cs), representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Offerors shall clearly identify any exceptions to the solicitation terms and conditions. Each exception must be identified and related to a specific paragraph and/or part of the solicitation. Offerors shall provide a rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact on the specific requirements of the solicitation. The Government reserves the right to reject any exceptions taken to the proposal.

3.3.2 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): OCI is a concern requiring specific attention.

Offerors shall identify any existing or potential conflicts and provide a clear and coherent OCI

Mitigation Plan. An Offeror's proposal may be deemed unawardable if the Offeror is unable to mitigate an actual or apparent OCI or fails to present a compliant OCI Mitigation Plan. The

Offeror's approved OCI Mitigation Plan will be incorporated into the resultant contract and supplemented with each DO/TO, as required.

3.3.3 Assumptions: The Offeror shall describe any ground rules or assumptions that apply to the proposal, if any. However, the Offeror is cautioned that the inclusion of any ground rule or assumption may be interpreted as an exception to the terms and conditions of the solicitation or evaluated as not meeting a solicitation requirement(s).

4.0 VOLUME II – TECHNICAL VOLUME: TECHNICAL EVALUATION FACTORS

The Offeror shall submit and describe in detail one narrative for Subfactor 1.1: Technical

Maturity and one narrative for Subfactor 1.2: Area of Interest Proficiency in which the Offeror claims to possess the required proficiency. Two separate narratives are required to meet each subfactor. The Offeror's narratives must meet a recency period of completion for the activity described within the past seven (7) years from the proposal's due date. Each narrative shall include the information described below; otherwise, the proposal will be considered non-responsive:

• Offeror's role (e.g., prime, subcontractor, in-house independent research)

• The challenge, issue, or opportunity addressed by the Offeror

• The actions taken by the Offeror

• The results or outcomes achieved by the Offeror

• Additional comments that serve to demonstrate the Offeror's ability

4.1 SUBFACTOR 1.1: TECHNICAL MATURITY

Technology development and maturation may occur as an isolated activity or as a deeply collaborative process involving diverse partners. The AMAC requirement emphasizes the necessity of maturing technologies, with S&T narratives directly guided by operational and user needs. Each Offeror shall submit a detailed description of one (1) narrative for Subfactor 1.1, adhering to the formatting requirements established in Section L. The submitted narrative must demonstrate how the Offeror was able to progress through technical maturity as it pertains to the research and development categories defined below.

4.1.1 Development Categories:

4.1.1.1 Basic Research: Systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind.

4.1.1.2 Applied Research: Systematic study to understand the means to meet a recognized and specific need. It is a systematic expansion and application of knowledge to develop useful materials, devices, and systems or methods.

4.1.1.3 Advanced Technology Development: The development of subsystems and components and efforts to integrate subsystems and components into system prototypes for field experiments and/or tests in a simulated environment.

4.2 SUBFACTOR 1.2: AREA OF INTEREST (AOI) PROFICIENCY

The United States Government (USG) has an imperative need for Offerors to demonstrate the ability to conduct Research and Development (R&D) in S&T areas that are central to the AFRL mission. The Areas of Interest (AOIs) defined in Attachment [TBD] represent current, critical

AFRL mission requirements. The Offeror shall submit a detailed description of one (1) narrative that aligns with an AOI, adhering to the formatting instructions provided in Section L. This submitted narrative shall clearly detail the Offeror's proficiency in performing work and delivering meaningful results related to the aligned AFRL AOI.

5.0 VOLUME III – SMALL BUSINESS FACTOR

In accordance with RFO 15.104, for competitive RFPs that are not set aside for small business concerns and involve consolidation or bundling that offers a significant opportunity for subcontracting, the contracting officer must evaluate:

1. Past performance indicating the extent to which the offeror attained applicable goals for small business participation under contracts that required subcontracting plans (15 U.S.C.

637(d)(4)(G)(ii)).

2. The proposed small business subcontracting participation in the subcontracting plan (15

U.S.C. 637(d)(4)(G)(i)).

5.1 SUBFACTOR 2.1: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION COMMITMENT DOCUMENT (SBPCD)

The Offeror shall submit an SBPCD that specifies the Offeror's level of commitment to small business utilization. Offerors shall document the company name, SB categories, type of relationships, anticipated supplies or services, and relevant NAICS code in the attached template. The SBPCD is required from all Offerors, regardless of prime contractor size status and entity type, including small businesses. Successful Offerors' SBPCDs will be incorporated as an attachment to any resultant contract. The SBPCD is separate from the Subcontracting Plan required by RFO 52.219-9 and must be submitted by all Offerors, regardless of size status. The

SBPCD shall be submitted in its entirety with all applicable fields completed.

5.2 SUBFACTOR 2.2: SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

A Small Business Subcontracting Plan is a requirement for award in accordance with RFO 19.109 and shall be incorporated into any resultant contract. Other than Small Business offerors shall submit a written small business subcontracting plan that complies with RFO 52.219-9, Alternate

IIR-DFARS 252.219-7996 or R-DFARS 252.219-7997.

5.2.1 Table 5.2 below depicts the breakdown of the Small Business Subcontracting Plan goals.

Offerors shall submit, in writing, a Small Business Subcontracting Plan addressing each of the socio-economic categories listed in the table. Offeror’s goals shall meet or exceed the DoD subcontracting goals shown in Table 5.2, and the offeror shall present a methodology for meeting or exceeding such goals. For small business categories where the offeror’s goal is less than the DoD goal shown, the offeror shall provide a substantiated rationale for not meeting the suggested goal.

Table 5.2: Small Business Subcontracting Plan Goals

Type of Small Business DoD Goals for Percentage of Total Subcontracted Value

Small Business % 33%

Small Disadvantaged Business % 12%

Women-Owned Small Business % 8%

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business %

5%

HUBZone 1%

5.3 SMALL BUSINESS POOLS: The Government intends to provide opportunities for small businesses under this MAC IDIQ. To achieve this goal, a small business pool will be established.

Offerors who qualify as small businesses under NAICS codes 541713, 541714, or 541715 and meet the other requirements outlined in this document will be designated as members of the small business pool. The Government reserves the right to set aside individual task orders for competition among the members of the small business pool. The determination to set aside a task order will be based on factors such as the complexity of the task order, the capabilities of the small businesses in the pool, and the likelihood that a set-aside will result in a better value for the Government. The Government will provide notice to all MAC IDIQ holders when a task order is set aside for the small business pool.