SP0600-15-R-0406_Enclosure_1_-_Instructions_To_Offerors.pdf

SP0600-15-R-0406 – Enclosure 1

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

General Comments

Any questions pertaining to Notice of Opportunity/Solicitation SP0600-15-R-0406 must be submitted within 4 calendar days by 4:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. local time on 17 March 2015) of the solicitation’s issuance date to Terrell Grooms, Contract Specialist and the Contracting Officer, Tonya Brailey-Jordan via e-mail (terrell.grooms@dla.mil, tonya.brailey-jordan@dla.mil, and dlaenergy.CSteam@dla.mil).

• To be considered timely, all proposals must be received no later than 12:00 noon, local time, on 23 March 2015. Submit your proposal prior to the closing date and time set for this acquisition.

• The period of performance of the resultant contract shall begin on or around or about 01

May 2015 and be for a 12-month period with three 1-year option periods.

• The resulting type of award will be Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP).

• Offers are valid for 120 days after receipt of proposals.

• Proposed prices that are unrealistically low may be considered an indication of a lack of understanding of the contract requirements and may have an adverse effect of ratings.

• Offers for less than the entire contract period may not be considered.

• Alternative/multiple offers from the same contractor may not be considered.

• If any portion of the work will be subcontracted, identify the subcontractor(s) or team member(s) and their respective role(s).

• In accordance with clause I605.03, CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE OF

NONPUBLIC INFORMATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (DESC APR 2002),

contractor employees assigned to this requirement shall sign an Employee Confidentially Non-Disclosure of Non-Public Information and Conflict of Interest statement before performance begins.

• Exceptions and Assumptions: by submitting an offer, you are agreeing to all terms and conditions of the Notice of Opportunity/Solicitation and they shall apply to your offer unless clearly identified and outlined in a separate document clearly entitled “Exceptions to the Notice of Opportunity/Solicitation.” Offerors must fully define any assumptions, conditions and/or exceptions. There is no page limit on Exceptions documents, however, this document shall be submitted directly after the cover letter.

Procurement Sensitive

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104 mailto:terrell.grooms@dla.mil mailto:tonya.brailey-jordan@dla.mil mailto:dlaenergy.CSteam@dla.mil

• Should any amendments be issued you must sign and return them with your offer or acknowledge them in your cover letter.

• Faxed submissions will not be considered.

• The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint.

• The Government will award a contract resulting from this Notice of Opportunity/Solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the Notice of Opportunity/Solicitation will be most advantageous and best overall value to the Government, technical, price and other factors considered.

Proposal Format and Content

• In your cover letter please provide the names, titles, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses for each point of contact for your proposal including Authorized Negotiators.

You must also identify each Authorized Negotiator in Clause K33.01 of Enclosure 3.

• The technical volume should not exceed 10 pages. Anything submitted beyond the 10th page of the technical volume will not be considered in the technical evaluation. Title pages, table of contents and resumes do not count against this page limit.

• Proposals shall be submitted in three separate volumes and clearly labeled as follows:

Volume I: Technical Proposal, Volume II: Past Performance, and Volume III: Price Proposal. The Technical Proposal, Volume I, must also be submitted in a separate pdf file with no other volumes attached.

NOTE: A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. The Government may accept an offer, regardless of whether negotiations occur, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received prior to award.

EVALUATION FACTORS AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The Government intends to award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal represents the best value Tradeoff Source Selection Process after evaluation in accordance with the factors and sub-factors, if applicable, in the solicitation.

The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary.

1. Evaluation factors and priority of importance:

The Government will award a contract or contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforms to the solicitation and represents the best value Tradeoff Source Selection Process to the Government.

The Government will determine best overall value based on the evaluation of the following factors listed in descending order of importance:

Factor 1 - Technical Proposal Factor 2 - Past Performance Proposal Factor 3 - Price Proposal Factor 4 - Socioeconomic Proposal Factor 5 - AbilityOne Proposal (formerly called Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (JWOD)

Technical and past performance factors are significantly more important than price. To the extent that offerors’ proposals are evaluated as close or similar in technical merit, the evaluated past performance is more likely to become a determining factor for award. To the extent that offerors’ proposals are determined close or similar in technical and past performance merit, the evaluated price is more likely to become a determining factor for award.

2. Technical, Past Performance and Price Factors requirements and evaluation criteria:

The Government will use the criteria and rating scales described below each of these factors to assess the offeror’s proposed approach to satisfying the Government’s requirements.

Factor 1: Technical Proposal The offeror shall clearly and precisely describe its approach, demonstrate understanding of the requirement and its ability to successfully perform the requirements of the PWS. Thoroughly address how the proposal meets or exceeds the requirements of the PWS. Provide a comprehensive description of the methodology(ies) proposed to accomplish the performance requirements of the PWS as well as demonstrating innovation in technical approach and a clear understanding of what is required to include quality controls and meeting the schedule specified in the PWS. Identify any technical, scheduling, performance, or cost risks associated with their proposals, and describe how they will resolve or avoid the identified risks. Technical proposal itself to include personnel experience (shown in resumes), the offeror must also clearly demonstrate that it possess the following Essential Knowledge and Skills contained in the PWS.

The technical volume can be rated as outstanding, good, acceptable, marginal or unacceptable as compared to the requirement identified in the PWS. Not all adjectival ratings are considered to be equal, i.e. one outstanding proposal can be considered more advantageous than another outstanding proposal.

Technical Ratings Chart

Factor 2: Past Performance Proposal

The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance based upon what is presented and any relevant information. In doing this, the Government may consider information in the offeror’s proposal and information obtained from all other sources, including past and present customers and their employees, other subcontractors, and any others who may have useful information. Offerors lacking relevant past performance history shall receive a neutral evaluation for past performance.

Past performance shall be rated as stated in the table below based on performance for work that is similar in scope to the requirements identified in the PWS including quality, timeliness, and business relations. Not all ratings are considered equal, i.e. a high rating for one proposal in a

Technical Rating Description

OUTSTANDING

Proposal meets requirements and indicates an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal contains multiple strengths and no deficiencies.

Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.

GOOD

Proposal meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal contains at least one strength and no deficiencies. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

ACCEPTABLE

Proposal meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal has no strengths or deficiencies. Risk of unsuccessful performance is no worse than moderate.

MARGINAL

Proposal does not clearly meet requirements and has not demonstrated an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.

UNACCEPTABLE

Proposal does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. Proposal is un-awardable.

specific factor can be more advantageous than the same high rating for that same factor on another proposal. A rating of satisfactory confidence or higher on past performance will not result in a favorable assessment of an otherwise unacceptable proposal.

Performance Quality Ratings Chart

Performance Confidence Assessment - The Government will consider the performance quality of recent, relevant efforts. The confidence assessment consists of an in-depth evaluation of past performance based on: the Past Performance Information Retrieval System; customer interviews;

questionnaire/survey responses provided by past and present customers and subcontractors;

commercial sources as well as interviews with Government customers and commercial clients, and any other sources of information available.

The Government will use the following quality levels when assessing recent, relevant efforts:

i. Recency Assessment - An assessment of the past performance information will be made to determine if it is recent. To be recent, the project effort must have been performed during the past three (3) years from the date of issuance of this Notice of Fair Opportunity and must be at least 25% complete based on performance period. Past performance information that fails this condition may not be evaluated.

NOTE: If any part of the performance falls within the above timeframe, the contract in its entirety may be evaluated for past performance.

Projects that are not recent according to the criteria stated above shall not be evaluated.

PERFORMANCE CONFIDENCE RATINGS

Rating Description

SUBSTANTIAL

CONFIDENCE

Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

SATISFACTORY

CONFIDENCE

Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

LIMITED CONFIDENCE

Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

NO CONFIDENCE

Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has no expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

UNKNOWN

CONFIDENCE

(NEUTRAL)

No recent/relevant performance record is available or the offeror’s performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned.

ii. Relevancy Assessment - The Government will conduct an evaluation of all recent performance information obtained to determine how closely the products provided/services performed under those previous or current contracts relate to the description of work in the Notice of Fair Opportunity. A relevant contract is one that illustrates experience in similar activities required to fulfill the services specified in the PWS and include similarity of service/support, complexity, value, and contract type. More relevant past performance is considered a stronger predictor of future success and has more influence on the past performance confidence than past performance that is less relevant. The Government will not be bound by the offeror’s opinion of relevancy. The Government will not consider information on projects deemed to be “not relevant” to the current acquisition.

The Government will use the following degrees of relevancy when assessing recent, relevant contracts:

Relevancy Rating Chart

Factor 3: Price Proposal

Technical and past performance factors are significantly more important than price. The Government reserves the right to award to other than the lowest priced evaluated offer. The resultant contract will be a firm fixed price.

Offerors should submit labor category/categories, hours and hourly rates for individuals preforming these services for the purposes of evaluating pricing. See Supplies or Services and prices/costs for format. Evaluation of offer prices will include a calculation of the total cost to the Government for the base and option periods. Additionally the government is requesting pricing for the cost for a possible extension for up to 6 month extension when clause 52.217-8 applies; however the cost of an extension is not included in the total evaluated price.

Total offer prices will be compared with competitor pricing, current contract prices, market research, Government estimates, GSA Schedule pricing, previous pricing, market indices, Contracting Officer’s knowledge of market prices, and other pricing indicators when applicable.

Prices shall be analyzed to determine whether prices are fair and reasonable. The Government will ensure Cost Realism.

RELEVANCY DEFINITIONS

RELEVANT

Present/past performance efforts involved similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires.

NOT

RELEVANT

Present/past performance efforts involved very little or none of the magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires.

The Government is more concerned with obtaining a superior technical proposal than selecting the lowest evaluated price. However, the Government will not make an award at a price premium it considers disproportionate to the benefits associated with the evaluated superiority of one technical proposal over another. To the extent that offeror's proposals are evaluated as close or similar in technical and past performance merit, the evaluated price is more likely to become a determining factor for award.

Travel in support of this contract, if required, will be performed on a cost-reimbursable basis.

Travel reimbursement will be in accordance with the Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JTR), and FAR 31.205-46. Travel cost will be requested, but will not be included in the evaluated price for the requirement itself.

3. Small Business Evaluation Factors (Socio-Economic and AbilityOne Proposals), requirements and evaluation criteria:

IAW DoD Guidelines, the Government will use the ratings outlined in the combined technical/risk rating table to assess the offerors' proposed approach to satisfying the Government’s small business requirements. References to the term “requirements” in the rating description shall equate to small business requirements/objectives. The following small business factors will be evaluated:

Factor 4: Socio-economic Proposal IAW DLAD 52.215-7002, Socio-economic Proposal, each offeror’s socio-economic Proposal shall include:

(a) A description of the efforts the company will make to assure that small, women-owned, historically underutilized business zone(s) (HUBZone), veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concerns, and historically black colleges/universities or minority institutions (HBCUs/MIs) will have equal opportunity to compete for subcontracts under any resulting contract. In addition, a description of current and planned proposed range of services, supplies, and any other support that will be provided by each of these categories, to include specific names of subcontractors to the extent they are known.

(b) A description of all plans the company has for developing additional subcontracting opportunities for each of these categories during the contract period.

(c) Identification of what proportion of its proposal, as a percentage of dollars, will be subcontracted to each of these categories.

(d) Identification of what type of performance data will be accumulated and provided to the Contracting Officer regarding its support of each of these categories during the period of contract performance, to include the name and title of the individual principally responsible for ensuring company support to such firms.

Socio-economic proposals that demonstrate a strong commitment to affording entities in one or more of the categories described above a real opportunity to participate shall be rated more favorably than those that demonstrate lesser or no such commitment.

The Government will evaluate socio-economic proposals based on information they contain indicating the extent of their proposed use of: small businesses, HUB Zone, women-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSB), and historically black colleges/universities or minority institutions (HBUs/MIs).

This factor is separate and distinct from the subcontracting plan when a subcontracting plan is required, as well as the factor to promote the use of the AbilityOne (formerly called Javits- Wagner-O-Day (JWOD)) entities. Socio-economic proposals that demonstrate a strong commitment to affording entities in one or more of the categories described above real opportunities to participate, shall be rated more favorably than those that demonstrate lesser or no such commitments.

DLA Energy NOTE: Whether or not required to submit a subcontracting plan by the clause 52.219-9, all offerors shall submit a socioeconomic proposal. The offeror’s proposals for socioeconomic support will be made a part of any resulting contract for use in determining how well the Contractor has adhered to its socioeconomic plan. This plan will be monitored by the Small Business Office of the Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy) as a means of assisting the Contracting Officer in determining how well the Contractor has in fact performed.

This determination will then be used as a consideration prior to option exercise and future source selection decisions. Performance on prior contracts in subcontracting with and assisting small businesses, HUBZone, women-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concerns (EDWOSB), and historically black colleges/universities or minority institutions (HBCUs/MIs) will be part of past performance evaluation.

Factor 5: AbilityOne Proposal

In accordance with DLAD 52.215-9004, AbilityOne, (formerly called Javits-Wagner- O’Day Act (JWOD)) Entity Proposal, each offerors’ AbilityOne proposals shall include:

(a) A description of the efforts the company will make to assure that AbilityOne, (formerly called Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (JWOD)) qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind or other severely disabled will have equal opportunity to compete for subcontracts under any resulting contract. A description of current and proposed range of services, supplies, and any other support that will be provided by AbilityOne concerns, to include specific names of such subcontractors, to the extent they are known.

(b) A description of any plans the company has for developing additional subcontracting possibilities for AbilityOne entities, or ways in which these entities could be partnered with other businesses and agencies in opportunities to diversify revenue production, during the contract period.

(c) Identification of what proportion of the proposal (as a percentage of dollars) will be subcontracted out to AbilityOne entities.

(d) Identification of what type of performance data the offeror will accumulate and provide to the Contracting Officer regarding its support of AbilityOne entities during the period of contract performance, to include the name and title of the individual principally responsible for ensuring company support to such entities.

Evaluation of AbilityOne (formerly called Javits-Wagner-O’Day act (JWOD) proposals. In accordance with DLAD 52.215-9005, AbilityOne, Entity Support Evaluation, an offeror that proposes or demonstrates a higher percentage, complexity level, and variety of participation by AbilityOne qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind or other severely disabled as subcontractors beyond those items for which AbilityOne entities are the mandatory source, generally will receive an acceptable rating on this factor during the source selection process. Proposals for such support will be made a part of any resulting contract for use in determining how well the contractor adheres to its plan after award. The proposed AbilityOne plan will be monitored by the cognizant Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) activity as a means of assisting the Contracting Officer in determining how well the contractor performs. This determination will be one factor used in the placement of orders against multiple-award contracts and/or the exercise of options in the contracts follow-on years (if applicable). Performance on prior contracts with respect to subcontracting with and assisting AbilityOne entities by providing business opportunities will be used as an element of past performance evaluation in subsequent source selection decisions.

Factors 4 and 5, the small business evaluation factors (i.e. Socioeconomic and AbilityOne), will be evaluated separately and shall utilize the ratings listed in Table below.

Small Business Factor Rating

Acceptable Proposal meets small business requirements/objectives and indicates an adequate approach to providing opportunities to businesses identified under the socioeconomic plan or AbilityOne factors.

Unacceptable Proposal does not clearly meet small business requirements/objectives and has not demonstrated an adequate approach to providing opportunities to businesses identified under the socioeconomic plan or AbilityOne factors.

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES PRICES/COSTS

Base Period is 01 May 2015 to 30 April 2016 CLIN 0001 Contractor’s price for services described in the PWS. Provide labor categories, rates, and hours to complete the base period covering the period beginning

___________ and ending _______________..

Labor Category Hours to complete requirement

Labor Rate per Hour

Total

Base period Price: _____________ CLIN 0002 Estimated travel costs

Travel Price

First Option Period is 01 May 2016 to 30 April 2017 CLIN 1001 Contractor’s price for services described in the PWS. Provide labor categories, rates, and hours to complete the option period covering the period beginning ___________ and ending _______________.

Labor Category

Hours to complete requirement

Labor Rate

First Option Period Price: ____________

CLIN 1002 Estimated travel costs

Travel Cost

Second Option Period is 01 May 2017 to 30 April 2018 CLIN 2001 Contractor’s price for services described in the PWS. Provide labor categories, rates, and hours to complete the option period covering the period beginning ___________ and ending _______________.

Labor Category

Hours to complete requirement

Second Option Period Price: ______________

CLIN 2002 Estimated travel costs

Third Option Period is 01 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 CLIN 3001 Contractor’s price for services described in the PWS. Provide labor categories, rates, and hours to complete the option period covering the period beginning ___________ and ending _______________.

Labor Category

Hours to complete requirement

Second Option Period Price: ______________

CLIN 3002 Estimated travel costs

Total Cumulative Price Without Travel (Evaluated Price): ________________

*Please complete the pricing chart under the price factor, Factor 3, for the purposes of determining individual Base and Option pricing, and for pricing reviews required prior to exercising options.

INVOICING

An invoice is the Contractor’s bill or written request for payment for services performed.

The Contractor shall prepare and submit invoices electronically to the COR, using the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) system in accordance with DFARS clause, 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports. The WAWF system is located at the following internet website: https://wawf.eb.mil. Failure to submit invoices in WAWF may result in delay of payment. The Contractor shall prepare and submit the electronic invoice for payment by the 25th of each month for the previous month’s billing period.

If the Contractor has submitted an accurate invoice, payment from the Government will occur no later than 30 days after receipt.

Regarding invoices for Travel, in accordance with the JTR, receipts must be supplied with amounts of excess of $75.00.

PAST PERFORMANCE WORKSHEET

Please complete the information contained in this Data Sheet for all contracts and/or subcontracts performed during the last three years and at least 25% complete for the same or similar work required by the solicitation (in terms of scope, complexity, type of products, delivery schedules, quality requirements, etc.) Offerors are requested to provide information on any problems encountered on the identified contracts and any corrective action taken. These contracts may include efforts undertaken on behalf of federal agencies, including those performed for non-DoD activities, quasi government organizations, state or local governments, and/or private industry.

The information provided in this Data Sheet will be used to evaluate the offeror’s past performance in meeting quality and delivery objectives.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Contractor Name and Address: Contractor Point of Contact

Phone: Email Address:

CONTRACT INFORMATION

Contract/Task Order Number: Contract Type:

Period of Performance:

Contract Dollar Value:

Place of Performance:

Contract Customer

DoD Non- DoD

Quasi- Gov’t

State or Local

Private Industry

Customer Points of Contact (Name, Title, Phone, and Email Address):

1.

Phone: Email:

2.

Phone: Email:

Description of work:

CONTRACT CLAUSES

CLAUSES:

52.245-1 -- Government Property - Government Property (Apr 2012) is incorporated by reference

DoD Manpower Reporting Requirements

IAW DLAD 37.103-90(e)(1), the contractor shall report all contractor labor hours (including subcontractor labor hours) required for performance of services provided under this contract for the Defense Logistics Agency via a secure data collection site. The contractor is required to completely fill in all required data fields using the following web address: http://www.ecrnra.mil/.

Reporting inputs will be for the labor executed during the period of performance during each Government fiscal year (FY), which runs October 1 through September 30. While inputs may be reported any time during the FY, all data shall be reported no later than October 31 of each calendar year, beginning with 2013. Contractors may direct questions to the help desk at help desk at: http://www.ecmra.mil.

52.217-8 -- Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within _30 days [insert the period of time within which the Contracting Officer may exercise the option].

(End of Clause)

52.217-9 -- Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 4 years and 6 months.

(End of Clause)

52.219-9 -- Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Oct 2014)

(a) This clause does not apply to small business concerns.

(b) Definitions. As used in this clause— “Alaska Native Corporation (ANC)” means any Regional Corporation, Village Corporation, Urban Corporation, or Group Corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alaska in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.)

and which is considered a minority and economically disadvantaged concern under the criteria at 43 U.S.C. 1626(e)(1). This definition also includes ANC direct and indirect subsidiary corporations, joint ventures, and partnerships that meet the requirements of 43 U.S.C. 1626 (e)(2).

“Commercial item” means a product or service that satisfies the definition of commercial item in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

“Commercial plan” means a subcontracting plan (including goals) that covers the offeror’s fiscal year and that applies to the entire production of commercial items sold by either the entire company or a portion thereof (e.g., division, plant, or product line).

“Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS)” means the Governmentwide, electronic, web-based system for small business subcontracting program reporting. The eSRS is located at http://www.esrs.gov.

“Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, group, pueblo, or community, including native villages and native groups (including corporations organized by Kenai, Juneau, Sitka, and Kodiak) as defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.A. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized by the Federal Government as eligible for services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 1452(c). This definition also includes Indian-owned economic enterprises that meet the requirements of 25 U.S.C. 1452(e).

“Individual contract plan” means a subcontracting plan that covers the entire contract period (including option periods), applies to a specific contract, and has goals that are based on the offeror’s planned subcontracting in support of the specific contract except that indirect costs incurred for common or joint purposes may be allocated on a prorated basis to the contract.

“Master plan” means a subcontracting plan that contains all the required elements of an individual contract plan, except goals, and may be incorporated into individual contract plans, provided the master plan has been approved.

“Subcontract” means any agreement (other than one involving an employer-employee relationship) entered into by a Federal Government prime Contractor or subcontractor calling for supplies or services required for performance of the contract or subcontract.

(c) The offeror, upon request by the Contracting Officer, shall submit and negotiate a subcontracting plan, where applicable, that separately addresses subcontracting with small business concerns, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business, and with women-owned small business concerns. If the offeror is submitting an individual contract plan, the plan must separately address subcontracting with small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns with a separate part for the basic contract and separate parts for each option (if any). The plan shall be included in and made a part of the resultant contract. The subcontracting plan shall be negotiated within the time specified by the Contracting Officer. Failure to submit and negotiate the subcontracting plan shall make the offeror ineligible for award of a contract.

(d) The offeror’s subcontracting plan shall include the following:

(1) Goals, expressed in terms of percentages of total planned subcontracting dollars, for the use of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns as subcontractors. The offeror shall include all subcontracts that contribute to contract performance, and may include a proportionate share of products and services that are normally allocated as indirect costs. In accordance with 43 U.S.C. 1626:

(i) Subcontracts awarded to an ANC or Indian tribe shall be counted towards the subcontracting goals for small business and small disadvantages business (SDB) concerns, regardless of the size or Small Business Administration certification status of the ANC or Indian tribe.

(ii) Where one or more subcontractors are in the subcontract tier between the prime contractor and the ANC or Indian tribe, the ANC or Indian tribe shall designate the appropriate contractor(s) to count the subcontract towards its small business and small disadvantaged business subcontracting goals.

(A) In most cases, the appropriate Contractor is the Contractor that awarded the subcontract to the ANC or Indian tribe.

(B) If the ANC or Indian tribe designates more than one Contractor to count the subcontract toward its goals, the ANC or Indian tribe shall designate only a portion of the total subcontract award to each Contractor. The sum of the amounts designated to various Contractors cannot exceed the total value of the subcontract.

(C) The ANC or Indian tribe shall give a copy of the written designation to the Contracting Officer, the prime Contractor, and the subcontractors in between the prime Contractor and the ANC or Indian tribe within 30 days of the date of the subcontract award.

(D) If the Contracting Officer does not receive a copy of the ANC’s or the Indian tribe’s written designation within 30 days of the subcontract award, the Contractor that awarded the subcontract to the ANC or Indian tribe will be considered the designated Contractor.

(2) A statement of—

(i) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted for an individual contract plan; or the offeror’s total projected sales, expressed in dollars, and the total value of projected subcontracts to support the sales for a commercial plan;

(ii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes);

(iii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to service-disabled veteran-owned small business;

(v) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to HUBZone small business concerns;

(vi) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes); and

(vii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to women-owned small business concerns.

(3) A description of the principal types of supplies and services to be subcontracted, and an identification of the types planned for subcontracting to --

(i) Small business concerns,

(ii) Veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iii) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) HUBZone small business concerns;

(v) Small disadvantaged business concerns, and

(vi) Women-owned small business concerns.

(4) A description of the method used to develop the subcontracting goals in paragraph (d)(1) of this clause.

(5) A description of the method used to identify potential sources for solicitation purposes (e.g., existing company source lists, the System for Award Management (SAM), veterans service organizations, the National Minority Purchasing Council Vendor Information Service, the

Research and Information Division of the Minority Business Development Agency in the Department of Commerce, or small, HUBZone, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business trade associations). A firm may rely on the information contained in SAM as an accurate representation of a concern’s size and ownership characteristics for the purposes of maintaining a small, veteran-owned small, service-disabled veteran-owned small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business source list. Use of SAM as its source list does not relieve a firm of its responsibilities (e.g., outreach, assistance, counseling, or publicizing subcontracting opportunities) in this clause.

(6) A statement as to whether or not the offeror included indirect costs in establishing subcontracting goals, and a description of the method used to determine the proportionate share of indirect costs to be incurred with --

(i) Small business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes);

(ii) Veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iii) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns;

(iv) HUBZone small business concerns;

(v) Small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANC and Indian tribes); and

(vi) Women-owned small business concerns.

(7) The name of the individual employed by the offeror who will administer the offeror’s subcontracting program, and a description of the duties of the individual.

(8) A description of the efforts the offeror will make to assure that small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts.

(9) Assurances that the offeror will include the clause of this contract entitled “Utilization of Small Business Concerns” in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities, and that the offeror will require all subcontractors (except small business concerns) that receive subcontracts in excess of $650,000 ($1.5 million for construction of any public facility with further subcontracting possibilities) to adopt a plan similar to the plan that complies with the requirements of this clause.

(10) Assurances that the offeror will --

(i) Cooperate in any studies or surveys as may be required;

(ii) Submit periodic reports so that the Government can determine the extent of compliance by the offeror with the subcontracting plan;

(iii) Submit the Individual Subcontracting Report (ISR) and/or the Summary Subcontract Report (SSR), in accordance with the paragraph (l) of this clause using the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) at http://www.esrs.gov . The reports shall provide information on subcontract awards to small business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes that are not small businesses), veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns (including ANCs and Indian tribes that have not been certified by the Small Business Administration as small disadvantaged businesses), women-owned small business concerns, and for NASA only, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions.

Reporting shall be in accordance with this clause, or as provided in agency regulations;

(iv) Ensure that its subcontractors with subcontracting plans agree to submit the ISR and/or the SSR using eSRS;

(v) Provide its prime contract number, its DUNS number, and the e-mail address of the offeror’s official responsible for acknowledging receipt of or rejecting the ISRs, to all first-tier subcontractors with subcontracting plans so they can enter this information into the eSRS when submitting their ISRs; and

(vi) Require that each subcontractor with a subcontracting plan provide the prime contract number, its own DUNS number, and the e-mail address of the subcontractor’s official responsible for acknowledging receipt of or rejecting the ISRs, to its subcontractors with subcontracting plans.

(11) A description of the types of records that will be maintained concerning procedures that have been adopted to comply with the requirements and goals in the plan, including establishing source lists; and a description of the offeror’s efforts to locate small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns and award subcontracts to them. The records shall include at least the following (on a plant-wide or company-wide basis, unless otherwise indicated):

(i) Source lists (e.g., SAM), guides, and other data that identify small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns.

(ii) Organizations contacted in an attempt to locate sources that are small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business concerns.

(iii) Records on each subcontract solicitation resulting in an award of more than $150,000, indicating --

(A) Whether small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not;

(B) Whether veteran-owned small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(C) Whether service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(D) Whether HUBZone small business concerns were solicited and, if not, why not;

(E) Whether small disadvantaged business concerns were solicited and if not, why not;

(F) Whether women-owned small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not; and

(G) If applicable, the reason award was not made to a small business concern.

(iv) Records of any outreach efforts to contact --

(A) Trade associations;

(B) Business development organizations;

(C) Conferences and trade fairs to locate small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business sources; and

(D) Veterans service organizations.

(v) Records of internal guidance and encouragement provided to buyers through --

(A) Workshops, seminars, training, etc., and

(B) Monitoring performance to evaluate compliance with the program’s requirements.

(vi) On a contract-by-contract basis, records to support award data submitted by the offeror to the Government, including the name, address, and business size of each subcontractor. Contractors having commercial plans need not comply with this requirement.

(e) In order to effectively implement this plan to the extent consistent with efficient contract performance, the Contractor shall perform the following functions:

(1) Assist small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns by arranging solicitations, time for the preparation of bids, quantities, specifications, and delivery schedules so as to facilitate the participation by such concerns. Where the Contractor’s lists of potential small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business subcontractors are excessively long, reasonable effort shall be made to give all such small business concerns an opportunity to compete over a period of time.

(2) Provide adequate and timely consideration of the potentialities of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns in all “make-or-buy” decisions.

(3) Counsel and discuss subcontracting opportunities with representatives of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business firms.

(4) Confirm that a subcontractor representing itself as a HUBZone small business concern is identified as a certified HUBZone small business concern by accessing the SAM database or by contacting SBA.

(5) Provide notice to subcontractors concerning penalties and remedies for misrepresentations of business status as small, veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged or women-owned small business for the purpose of obtaining a subcontract that is to be included as part or all of a goal contained in the Contractor’s subcontracting plan.

(6) For all competitive subcontracts over the simplified acquisition threshold in which a small business concern received a small business preference, upon determination of the successful subcontract offeror, the Contractor must inform each unsuccessful small business subcontract offeror in writing of the name and location of the apparent successful offeror prior to award of the contract.

(f) A master plan on a plant or division-wide basis that contains all the elements required by paragraph (d) of this clause, except goals, may be incorporated by reference as a part of the subcontracting plan required of the offeror by this clause; provided --

(1) The master plan has been approved;

(2) The offeror ensures that the master plan is updated as necessary and provides copies of the approved master plan, including evidence of its approval, to the Contracting Officer; and

(3) Goals and any deviations from the master plan deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer to satisfy the requirements of this contract are set forth in the individual subcontracting plan.

(g) A commercial plan is the preferred type of subcontracting plan for contractors furnishing commercial items. The commercial plan shall relate to the offeror’s planned subcontracting generally, for both commercial and Government business, rather than solely to the Government contract. Once the Contractor’s commercial plan has been approved, the Government will not require another subcontracting plan from the same Contractor while the plan remains in effect, as long as the product or service being provided by the Contractor continues to meet the definition of a commercial item. A contractor with a commercial plan shall comply with the reporting requirements stated in paragraph (d)(10) of this clause by submitting one SSR in eSRS for all contracts covered by its commercial plan. This report shall be acknowledged or rejected in eSRS by the Contracting Officer who approved the plan. This report shall be submitted within 30 days after the end of the Government’s fiscal year.

(h) Prior compliance of the offeror with other such subcontracting plans under previous contracts will be considered by the Contracting Officer in determining the responsibility of the offeror for award of the contract.

(i) A contract may have no more than one plan. When a modification meets the criteria in 19.702 for a plan, or an option is exercised, the goals associated with the modification or option shall be added to those in the existing subcontract plan.

(j) Subcontracting plans are not required from subcontractors when the prime contract contains the clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Items, or when the subcontractor provides a commercial item subject to the clause at 52.244-6, Subcontracts for Commercial Items, under a prime contract.

(k) The failure of the Contractor or subcontractor to comply in good faith with—

(1) The clause of this contract entitled “Utilization Of Small Business Concerns;” or

(2) An approved plan required by this clause, shall be a material breach of the contract.

(l) The Contractor shall submit ISRs and SSRs using the web-based eSRS at http://www.esrs.gov.

Purchases from a corporation, company, or subdivision that is an affiliate of the prime Contractor or subcontractor are not included in these reports. Subcontract award data reported by prime Contractors and subcontractors shall be limited to awards made to their immediate next-tier subcontractors. Credit cannot be taken for awards made to lower tier subcontractors unless the Contractor or subcontractor has been designated to receive a small business or small disadvantaged business credit from an ANC or Indian tribe. Only subcontracts involving performance in the United States or its outlying areas should be included in these reports with the exception of subcontracts under a contract awarded by the State Department or any other agency that has statutory or regulatory authority to require subcontracting plans for subcontracts performed outside the United States and its outlying areas.

(1) ISR. This report is not required for commercial plans. The report is required for each contract containing an individual subcontract plan.

(i) The report shall be submitted semi-annually during contract performance for the periods ending March 31 and September 30. A report is also required for each contract within 30 days of contract completion. Reports are due 30 days after the close of each reporting period, unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer. Reports are required when due, regardless of whether there has been any subcontracting activity since the inception of the contract or the previous reporting period.

(ii) When a subcontracting plan contains separate goals for the basic contract and each option, as…