syn sol.docx

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Request for Quotation Number 1333ND23QNB100582 THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04, effective June 12, 2023.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 with a small business size standard of $19.0M. This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business.

The Contractor shall provide an independent program evaluation that includes reasonable metrics to measure its effectiveness and to compare these results with the same metrics from similar groups. The evaluation must also document what benefits NIST garners by conducting this program.

LINE ITEMS

The intended contract includes a base period of one year and one 1-year option period. The base period and option period each include one separately priced option line item. Quoters must provide pricing for all line items.

Line Item 0001, BASE PERIOD LINE ITEM, Quantity 1 JB The Contractor shall perform an assessment of the NIST SURF Program, with a survey audience of approximately 850 individuals, for calendar years 2010-2014. All work shall be performed in accordance with the statement of work.

Line Item 0001A, BASE PERIOD LINE ITEM, Quantity 1 JB

SEPARATELY PRICED OPTION LINE ITEM.

The Contractor shall utilize available technology (i.e. phone, email, social media) in an effort to secure a current email address for not more than 100 students. All work shall be performed in accordance with the statement of work.

Line Item 0002, OPTION PERIOD I, Quantity 1 JB The Contractor shall perform an assessment of the NIST SURF Program, with a survey audience of approximately 1,000 individuals, for calendar years 2015-2019. All work shall be performed in accordance with the statement of work.

Line Item 0002A, OPTION PERIOD I, Quantity 1 JB

SEPARATELY PRICED OPTION LINE ITEM

The Contractor shall utilize available technology (i.e. phone, email, social media) in an effort to secure a current email address for not more than 100 students. All work shall be performed in accordance with the statement of work.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The Government will negotiate a payment schedule with the successful quoter prior to or immediately following award. Partial payments will be authorized. Quoters must note that all payments will be deliverable based, a substantial percentage will be reserved for the final payment, and the Government cannot pay more than 15% of the total amount of the contract upon written acceptance of the award.

Quoters are invited to submit a payment schedule with quotation for consideration by the Government. Submission of a payment schedule does not guarantee the Government’s acceptance of the payment schedule.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award a single contract, resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, results in the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered.

The following will be used to evaluate quotations:

Corporate Experience Technical Capability Past Performance Price

Corporate Experience and Technical Capability shall be more important than Past Performance.

Corporate Experience, Technical Capability, and Past Performance, when combined, shall be equal in importance to price.

CORPORATE EXPERIENCE

The Government will evaluate the extent to which the quoter (and any proposed subcontractors) demonstrate experience performing services relevant to the Government’s requirement to provide an objective and metric-based summative assessment of the SURF Program.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY

The Government will evaluate the quoters proposed approach and staffing to determine the extent to which the quoter understands the requirements of the statement of work and its capability to perform them. The Government will also evaluate the proposed utilization of any subcontractors to determine the extent to which they will contribute to successful performance of the contract.

PAST PERFORMANCE

The Government will evaluate the quoter’s Past Performance based on the references provided and/or the quoter’s recent and relevant procurement history with NIST, its affiliates, and/or other relevant references. Past performance evaluation shall determine the overall quality of the end products and services provided by the Contractor. Quoters with no relevant past performance shall be rated as neutral.

PRICE EVALUATION

Price will be evaluated by the Government to determine that the total price proposed includes all requirements and is fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements and the technical quotation. The proposed price must be entirely compatible with the solicitation and the technical proposal.

OPTIONS

The Government will evaluate quotations inclusive of the base period, option period and both separately priced option line items. The Government may determine that a quotation is unacceptable if the option price is significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of the option shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option.

ADDENDUM TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CLAUSE 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERICAL ITEMS General Instructions Quotations are required to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the quotation must be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the quoter, the date, and the solicitation number.

Quoters shall submit a business quotation, a technical quotation, and a price quotation, in accordance with the instructions herein.

The complete quotation is required to be submitted via email. E-mail quotations shall be considered received when the e-mail enters into the electronic inbox of Carol Wood.

Quotations must be received not later than the date and time identified herein. Only information received on or before the due date and time identified on the Standard Form 1449 shall be considered for award. Any quotation, or part thereof, received after the due date and time, shall be deemed late and shall not be considered for award.

Each volume shall be clearly marked by volume number and title.

Overall Arrangement of the Quotation

(1) BUSINESS

-The Standard Form 1449, should be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of Volume I. Include a signed copy of the form in Volume I. The Standard Form 1449 can be downloaded at www.acquisition.gov. The individual signing the Standard Form 1449 must have the authority to commit the quoter to all provisions and clauses included in the solicitation, fully recognizing that the Government has the right, by terms of the solicitation, to make an award without discussions.

-Acceptance Period - The acceptance period shall not be less than 120 days.

-Concurrence with all terms and conditions of the solicitation. The quoter shall state in their quotation that they accept all terms and conditions of the solicitation without change, modification, deletion or addition. Quoters must list exception(s) and the rationale for the exceptions in the quotation.

-Letters of commitment for all proposed subcontractors and/or consultant(s) that confirms the subcontractor and/or consultant has agreed to work with the quoter in completing the required work should the quoter receive an award.

-The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) for the quoter’s “ACTIVE” registration at the System for Award Management, (www.SAM.Gov) website. Quoters are required to have an “ACTIVE” registration at the sam.gov website not later than the due date and time for quotation or the quotation will not be considered for award.

-If the quoters representations and certifications do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, quoters must submit documentation of their business size in accordance with the size standard of the NAICS code governing this solicitation.

-Limitation on Subcontracting. The solicitation is 100% set-aside for small business. The clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting, applies to this solicitation.

-This procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a quoter submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions of this solicitation will be included in any resultant contract, not the terms and conditions of the quoter’s FSS or GWAC contract.

(2) TECHNICAL

-The technical quotation must be written in plain language and be straightforward and concise, yet sufficiently detailed to address all areas below.

-No price information shall be included in the technical quotation.

-Repeating the statement of work and/or listing capabilities without sufficient elaboration will not be acceptable.

-The technical quotation must not exceed 15 pages, single spaced, exclusive of resumes and submissions for past performance. Project descriptions for past performance shall be limited to ½ page per description. Each resume is limited to three pages.

-The technical quotation must address all of the following:

Corporate Experience Quoters must describe in detail the company’s experience performing services relevant to the Government’s requirement to provide an objective and metric-based summative assessment of the SURF Program.

Quoters must provide project descriptions and/or other documentation that address the quoter’s experience with all of the following: Federal agencies and federal work processes, work with projects scientific and technical in nature, work involving intern/fellowship programs, diversity, equity and inclusion relevant to projects performed, and work with assessments similar in size and scope.

If the quoter intends to subcontract substantive portions of the requirement, the quoter shall describe its proposed subcontractor’s experience performing services relevant to the portion of the requirement the subcontractor is proposed to perform.

Project descriptions shall include the dates of the relevant project, the quoter’s (or its proposed subcontractor’s) role in the project, and an explanation of how the project is relevant to the statement of work.

Technical Capability The Contractor’s proposed assessment methodology, how the response rate will be maximized, processes that will be followed, primary milestones and critical path to completing the required work;

The Contractor’s awareness and sensitivities relevant to diversity, equity and inclusion;

A summary of the Contractor’s understanding relevant to use of and handling of Government furnished information and equipment and Government processes relevant to surveys; and

The technical quotation must clearly demonstrate compliance with the clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting.

If subcontractors are proposed for the required work, the technical approach must clearly address the specific role(s) of the subcontractor(s).

Past Performance Quoters must submit past performance information regarding relevant contracts performed within the past five years with Federal, state, or local governments, or commercial customers.

If the quoter intends to subcontract with another firm(s) for part of this requirement, that firm’s past performance information shall also be provided.

If the quoter has no relevant past performance, it shall include a statement to that effect in its quotation.

The Government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the quoter in its quotation.

For each past performance reference contract, the quoter shall provide the following information:

-Contract number;

-Description of the contract, including dollar value;

-The relevance of the contract to this solicitation;

-Period of Performance – indicate by month and year the completion date, or start and end date for the contract if the contract is active;

-Reference Contact – identify the name and address of the client and a current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for the contract;

-Problems Encountered – include information regarding any problems encountered on the contract and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems.

(3) PRICE

The Contractor shall provide firm fixed prices for the base period, option period I and each separately priced option line items.

Prices will remain in effect in accordance with the following timelines:

Line Item 0001A: From the date of award through the date the survey instrument is released.

Line Item 0002: 18 months from the date of award.

Line Item 0002A: From the date Option Period I is exercised through the date the survey instrument is released.

Prices must be submitted considering all requirements of the Statement of Work. The firm fixed price for each line item must be broken down in accordance with the following as applicable:

(1) Labor Category;

(2) Labor Rate;

(3) Number of hours;

(4) Other direct costs listed by category with unit prices and total amount(s). Travel, subsistence and local transportation shall be supported with a breakdown which includes: number of trips anticipated, cost-per-trip-per-person, destination(s) proposed, number of person(s) scheduled for travel, mode of transportation, and mileage allowances if privately-owned vehicles will be used.

(5) Materials: Cost breakdown of materials or equipment must be supported with the methodology used and vendor quotations supplied as applicable.

(6) Consultants: If consultants are proposed, state the amount of service estimated to be required and the consultant's daily or hourly rate.

(7) Subcontracts: If proposed, price information for each subcontractor shall be furnished in the same format and level of detail as prescribed for the prime offeror.

The Government anticipates competition under this solicitation. However, the Government reserves the right to request further documentation of commercial or market prices for the purpose of making a fair and reasonable price determination.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

E-mail quotations are required. All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Carol A. Wood, Contract Specialist at Carol.wood@Nist.gov.

Quotations must be received not later than 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on August 29th, 2023.

QUESTIONS

All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted via e-mail to carol.wood@nist.gov not later than five days from the date the solicitation is posted.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSEs Reference the attached document for a complete list of applicable provisions and clauses.