Combined Synopsis Solicitation W9124J-25-R-INDX 20 Mar 2025.pdf

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

Indexing and Proofreading Services

W9124J-25-R-INDX

1. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in

FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested, and a written solicitation will not be issued.

2. The combined synopsis/solicitation number is W9124J-25-R-INDX. This solicitation is issued as a

Request for Proposal (RFP).

3. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal

Acquisition Circular 2025-03, effective 17 January 2025. Please reference https://www.acquisition.gov/ for clauses and provisions incorporated by reference.

4. This requirement will be solicited as a HUBZone set-aside and will be fulfilled in accordance with

FAR Parts 12 and 13. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is

561410 (Document Preparation Services) with a corresponding Small Business Size Standard of

$19M. FAR 52.219-14 Limitations in Subcontracting (FEB 2023 (DEVIATION 2021-O0008) shall apply to this acquisition.

5. A list of contract line-item numbers and items are included in Attachment 02 CLIN Schedule.

a. NOTICE TO OFFERORS: Offerors shall complete the CLIN Schedule (Attachment 02) and the Pricing Breakdown (Attachment 04) herein of the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation.

b. Offerors shall include unit prices and extensions for all CLINs. Unit prices shall be displayed with no more than two (2) decimal places.

c. Offerors shall include Unique Entity ID, CAGE, and Federal Tax Identification numbers. In addition, Offeror’s shall include email addresses and phone number for point of contact.

6. The contractor shall provide experienced, professional indexing and proofreading services for full-length scholarly level, military medical textbooks, history books, and medical specialty books. Contractor’s proofreader shall have extensive proofreading experience using the American Medical Association

(AMA) Style Guide over mechanism for tracking of shipments as outlined in Attachment 01 –

Performance Work Statement. Special Contract Instructions are as follows:

• This solicitation will result in the award of a Single Award Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite

Quantity (SAIDIQ) Contract. Order Limitations are detailed in 52.216-19 (See Attachment

3 – Clauses and Provisions).

• The Government guarantees a contract minimum of 1 Job and a maximum of 20 Jobs.

• Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Task Orders will be written from the basic ID/IQ contract.

• The services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of task orders by the Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Sam Houston (MICC-

FSH). Such orders may be issued from contract start date through the end of the five-year ordering period.

http://www.acquisition.gov/

• Task Orders will be issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part

16.505, "Ordering". Specific performance requirements and delivery schedules will be outlined in each individual Task Order.

• This contract will be solely awarded and administered by the MICC-FSH. The Task

Orders prepared off of this contract will be for the exclusive support of the U.S. Army

Installation Management Command. Task Orders shall only be issued by a MICC-FSH

Contracting Officer.

7. Dates and place of delivery and acceptance:

• Place of delivery and Department of Defense Activity Address Codes (DoDAAC’s) will be established in the PWS (See Attachment 01)

• Services will be inspected and accepted at destination and inspected and accepted by the

Government.

• Delivery Dates: The Ordering Period under which Task Orders may be awarded under the forthcoming contract will be 60 consecutive months from the Base ID/IQ contract award date.

Contractor performance under any awarded Task Order shall not extend beyond twelve months after the end of the 60-month ordering period.

8. The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors- Commercial, applies to this acquisition. The

Addendum to the clause at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by Full Text as follows:

ADDENDUM TO FAR CLAUSE 52.212-1—INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS

A. General Instructions

1. The selection of a source for award purposes will be conducted utilizing Lowest Price Technically

Acceptable (LPTA) source selection procedures in accordance with FAR Part 12, “Acquisition of

Commercial Items,” in conjunction with FAR 13.5, “Test Program for Certain Commercials Items”, as authorized in FAR 12.203 and supplemented by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation

Supplement (DFARS), and the Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFARS). Offers will be evaluated using the criteria under Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-2, “Evaluation Factors for

Award”. Noncompliance with the RFP requirements may hamper the Government’s ability to properly evaluate the proposal and may result in elimination of the proposal from further consideration for contract award.

2. The Offer. The submission of the documentation specified below will constitute the Offeror's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the RFP, the Performance Work Statement and the proposed contract type.

3. Instructions outlined in paragraph B below prescribe the format for the proposal and describe the approach for the development and presentation of proposal data. These instructions are designed to ensure the submission of necessary information to provide for the understanding and comprehensive evaluation of proposals.

4. If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, an ambiguity, omission, or are otherwise deemed unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting

Officer in writing with supporting rationale. The Offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion.

5. All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on sam.gov. Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time email notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

6. Period for Acceptance of Offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 120 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.

B. Proposal Preparation Instructions

1. The Offeror’s proposal shall consist of three (3) volumes:

Volume I - General

Volume II- Technical Capability

Volume III- Price

2. Proposal Format

(a) Offerors shall submit an electronic copy of their proposal via email.

(b) The proposal shall be organized into three (3) volumes. All text shall be single spaced and black font white background. The Black and white requirement does not apply to graphics, photos, Company stationary and logos. Times New Roman or Arial font required. Text shall be a minimum font size of 12 or larger. Cross-references should be utilized to preclude unnecessary duplication of data between sections. Page numbers, headers and footers may be outside the page margins and are not bound by the 12-font size but shall be no smaller than 8-point. Additionally, fonts as small as 8-point can also be used in tables, charts, graphs, and figures as well as used in callout boxes and figure captions but must be easily readable. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. All text pages shall be oriented in portrait. Landscape orientation is acceptable for tables and/or charts if required to properly present the information. Margins shall be at least 1 inch on the top and bottom and ¾ inch on the sides. The Offeror shall number each page. In the event the Offeror creates an ambiguity in their numbering, the Government may exercise its own discretion in counting pages. The proposal shall not exceed the following page limits:

Volume I General: No Page Limit

Volume II - Technical Capability: 20 pages (excluding resumes)

Volume III- Price: No Limit

(c) Proposal Limitation. If the page limits are exceeded, the pages in excess of the limit shall not be evaluated. The Government will not accept any changes to the offeror’s proposal after the closing date of the solicitation.

(d) Page limits include all appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, and other information provided in the proposal.

(e) Page Limit does not include covers for volumes, table of contents, glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, indices, title pages, cross reference indices, and section dividers/tables if they are inserted solely to provide ease to the reader in locating parts/sections of the proposal. Pages will be counted if they contain any other information, i.e., diagrams, extraneous data, etc. Pages marked “This page intentionally left blank” will not be counted.

(f) What counts as a page? A page shall be an 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper. When both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two pages. Letter size and spacing requirements for illustrations and tables can be at the discretion of the offeror but must be easily readable.

Fold-outs will be counted as the appropriate number of pages based on an 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper. Margins shall be at least 1 inch on the top and bottom and 3/4 inch on the side. The

Offeror shall number each page in order to eliminate any confusion. In the event offeror creates an ambiguity in their numbering of pages, the Government may exercise its own discretion in counting pages.

(g) Indexing. Each volume shall contain a more detailed table of contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that volume. Tab indexing shall be used to identify sections

(h) Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms. Each volume shall contain a glossary of all abbreviations and acronyms used, with a definition for each.

3. Proposal Content:

(a) Volume I – General. Offerors are required to include all Representation, Certifications, and Other

Statements of Offerors. All final monetary extensions shall be in whole dollars only. Failure to follow the below Contract Proposal preparation instructions may cause your proposal to be deemed unacceptable by the

Government. The General Volume shall be organized as follows and contain the identified information.

TAB A, Exceptions/Assumptions (if required) - Identification and explanation of any Contracting

Officer approved exceptions or deviations. Additionally, any assumptions used in the proposal preparation must be identified.

TAB B, Solicitation, Offer and Award - The offeror shall acknowledge any amendments to the RFP in accordance with the instructions at time of release. The offeror shall provide the name, title and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government.

TAB C, Section K (Representation, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors) – The offeror shall Complete all required representation and certifications. The Offeror shall ensure that these provisions are submitted thoroughly completed with all blocks in each certification/representation completed truthfully and completely.

TAB D, In the event the Offeror is a joint venture, the Offeror shall provide a copy of the Joint Venture

Agreement (JVA) signed by all partners. The JVA shall specify the rights and responsibilities of each partner and shall identify the managing partner. In addition, the Offeror shall provide a summary narrative that specifically delineates what each partner will do in regard to performing the contract. The responsibilities of the managing partner are significantly more important than the responsibilities of all other partners combined.

In the event the Offeror will be subcontracting with another or multiple businesses, the Offeror shall not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities. Any work that a similarly situated entity further subcontracts will count toward the 50 percent subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded in accordance with FAR 52.219-14, (FEB 2023 (DEVIATION 2021-O0008), Limitations on Subcontracting.

(b) Volume II—Technical Capability Volume:

(1) The Technical Volume shall be clear, concise, and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims in the Offeror’s proposal. Legibility, clarity and coherence are very important. Your responses will be evaluated against the Technical factors defined in Addendum to

FAR Clause 52.212-2, “Evaluation Factors for Award.” The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Statements that the Offeror understands, can, or will comply with the

PWS (including referenced publications technical data, etc.); statements paraphrasing the PWS or parts thereof (including applicable publications, technical data, etc.); and phrases such as “standard procedures will be employed” or “well known techniques will be used,” etc., will be considered unacceptable.

Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror’s proposal. Elaborate brochures or documentation, detailed artwork, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

(2) The Technical Volume shall, at a minimum, be prepared in a form consistent with the Performance Work

Statement and the evaluation criteria for award set forth in Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-2, “Evaluation Factors for Award.” of this solicitation. The section shall be prepared in an orderly format and in sufficient detail to enable the Government to make a thorough evaluation of the offeror’s technical competence and ability to comply with the contract task requirements specified in the PWS. The Offeror shall address as specifically as possible the actual methodology used for accomplishing the PWS tasks. The

Offeror’s technical approach shall also concisely and clearly address the Offeror’s approach to plan, organize, control and provide deliverables on time. The Offeror shall submit three (3) samples or list three

(3) publications of work they have completed editorial support for. Failure to provide three (3) samples or list three (3) publications of work will deem offeror unacceptable.

(3) Any assumptions, exceptions or deviations must be addressed and communicated to the Contracting

Officer no later than instructed above. The volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

-Table of Contents

-List of Tables and Drawings

-Cross Reference Matrix (if any)

-Technical Volume

(c) Past Performance - The offeror shall not submit Past Performance information. The Government reserves the right to use past performance information obtained from sources other than those identified by the offeror such as the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) or similar systems. The past performance areas of evaluation may include Quality of Product/Service, Schedule, Cost Control, Business Relations, Management of Key Personnel or other documented areas.

d. Volume III –Price (Factor 3) Price will not be scored or rated. The offeror shall fill-out the attached

Pricing Schedule(s) for Proofreading and Indexing. Offerors must ensure that no pricing information is displayed in the Technical Volume; however, this restriction does not preclude the Offeror from describing staffing levels relevant to the Offeror’s proposal. Submit Excel spreadsheet with the breakdown of burden hourly rates such as hourly rate/ labor hours/fringe benefits/ G&A/ OH/ profit.

All Excel formulas lookup tables, and links should be intact, and no links should exist to files not included with the submission. Excel workbooks shall not contain hidden spreadsheets. Offerors shall perform a virus check prior to proposal submittal. PDF or flat files will not be considered adequate. Offerors are not required to but are encouraged to include a narrative explaining your proposal price.

PRICE REALISM: It is within this agency’s discretion to provide a price realism analysis in awarding this fixed-price contract to assess the understanding or risk, of offerors competing for this award. A business decision to submit low pricing will be considered as reflecting on their understanding or the risk associated with their proposals and could cause your proposal to be rejected as unacceptable or assess technical risk to your proposal.

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

9. The provision at 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The Addendum to the clause at 52.212-2 Evaluation –Commercial Items for instructions applies to this acquisition as detailed below:

ADDENDUM TO FAR CLAUSE 52.212-2, EVALUATION-COMMERICAL ITEM

a. Basis for Award

1. The selection of a source for award purposes will be conducted utilizing Lowest Price Technically

Acceptable source selection procedures in accordance with FAR Part 12, “Acquisition of Commercial

Items,” as authorized in FAR 12.203 and FAR 13.5, “Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items,” as supplemented by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and the Army

Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFARS). The Government intends to make a single award as a result of the solicitation to the offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation’s requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to

Offerors—Commercial Item and is judged the best value to the Government.

2. The Government will evaluate proposed prices for reasonableness using cost and price analysis techniques.

Proposed prices evaluated as unreasonable may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition.

3. Unrealistically low costs/prices may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition on the basis that the offeror has demonstrated a lack of understanding of the requirement.

b. Award for All of the Work: The Government intends to award a Firm Fixed Price contract as a result of this

RFP. Offers received for less than the stated number of items listed in Attachment 02_CLIN Structure will be considered ineligible for award.

c. Discussions. As set forth in FAR 52.212-1, the Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

d. Evaluation Criteria:

1. Evaluation criteria. The proposals will be evaluated under three (3) factors:

Factor 1: Technical Capability:

Factor 2: Past Performance

Factor 3: Price

2. Factor 1 – Technical Capability. The proposal will be evaluated on the clarity and reasonableness of the technical approach to accomplish the complexity and magnitude of the Government’s requirement. Factor 1 will consist of an evaluation of the contractor’s proposed technical capability, knowledge and understanding of the PWS. The Government will evaluate:

• Offeror’s proposed technical capabilities to ensure that it meets the technical requirements for each deliverable as outlined in the PWS.

• The Government will evaluate each proposal to ensure that it clearly demonstrates that the Offeror understands the entire requirement; can meet the qualifications required to provide the services; has an acceptable methodology to perform all tasks successfully and on time, and has a very efficient, effective and sound approach to plan, organize, control and provide deliverables.

• The proposal’s overall technical approach has little potential to disrupt or degrade performance or to increase costs.

• Offeror has provided three (3) samples or list three (3) publications of work that they have completed editorial support for.

Rating Details. The Technical Capability Factor will receive one of the adjectival ratings that follow. To be considered for award, there must be an “Acceptable.” A determination will be rendered as to whether the technical proposal is evaluated as “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable” as follows:

Technical Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings

Adjectival Rating Description

Acceptable Proposal meets the requirements of the Solicitation.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet the requirements of the Solicitation.

3. Factor 2 - Past Performance. Past Performance will be evaluated based on information obtained using internal systems. Offeror is not required to submit Past Performance information. The Government will use information obtained using other sources, such as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System

(CPARS) or similar systems.

Rating Details: In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available or so sparse that no meaningful past performance rating can be reasonably assigned, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Therefore, the offeror shall be determined to have unknown (or “neutral”) past performance. In the context of acceptability/unacceptability, a neutral rating shall be considered acceptable. A determination will be rendered as to whether an offeror’s past performance is evaluated as “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable” as follows:

Past Performance Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings

Adjectival Rating De Description

Ac Acceptable BaBased on the offeror’s performance record, the Government has a reasonable ex expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort, or the of offeror’s performance record is unknown (see note above).

Un Unacceptable Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government does not a reasonable expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

4. Factor 3 – Price. Price will not be scored or rated. Evaluation of price will be performed using one or more of the price analysis techniques in FAR 13.106-3(a). Through these techniques the Government will determine whether prices are reasonable, complete and balanced. The offeror’s total proposed price will be evaluated for reasonableness, completeness and balance.

a. Reasonableness – A price is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. The existence of adequate price competition is expected to support a determination of reasonableness. Other price analysis techniques in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b) may be used to further validate price reasonableness. If adequate price competition is not obtained or if price reasonableness cannot be determined using price analysis of Government obtained information, additional information in accordance with FAR 15.402(a) may be required from the offeror to support the proposed price. Unreasonably high proposed prices may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition.

b. Completeness/Accuracy. The offeror’s proposal is in compliance with the Price Volume instructions in the

Solicitation.

c. Balanced Pricing – Offerors are cautioned against submitting an offer that contains unbalanced pricing.

Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line items (including all ordering periods) is significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the application of cost or price analysis techniques. Offers that are determined to be unbalanced may be rejected if the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

The CMR CLIN is Not Separately Priced.

Offerors are not required to but are encouraged to include a narrative explaining your proposed price. For Price

Evaluations Purposes Only:

TO DETERMINE THE TOTAL PROPOSED PRICE AND TOTAL EVALUATED PRICE, THE

GOVERNMENT WILL USE THE FOLLOWING FORMULA FOR ORDERING PERIODS 1 TO 5:

[(Proposed Pricing for Proofreading for 1-1,500 page) x 4] Plus [(Proposed Pricing for Indexing for 1-

1,500 page) x 4] Equals the Total Proposed Price for each Ordering Period.

Offeror is required only to price the base CLINs. Offeror shall not submit a price for the potential six-month extension of services period.

PRICE REALISM: It is within this agency’s discretion to provide a price realism analysis in awarding this fixed-price contract to assess the understanding or risk, of offerors competing for this award. A business decision to submit low pricing will be considered as reflecting on their understanding or the risk associated with their proposals and could cause your proposal to be rejected as unacceptable or assess technical risk to your proposal.

(End of Addendum To 52.212-2)

10. Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and

Certifications— Commercial Products and Commercial Services, with its offer (See Attachment 03 Clauses and Provisions).

11. The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (See

Attachment 03 Clauses and Provisions).

12. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive

Orders— Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition (See Attachment 03 Clauses and Provisions).

13. Additional contract requirements or terms and conditions determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices can be found in Attachment

03, Clauses and Provisions.

14. DPAS Rating: N/A

15. Proposals in response to this solicitation are due not later than 12:00 PM (noon) Central DAYLIGHT

TIME (CDT) on Friday 11 April 2025. Proposals received after the due date will be considered untimely and will not be evaluated for award.

16. Proposals in response to this solicitation shall be submitted via email to the following points of contact:

CONTRACT SPECIALIST: Tanisha Bush, e-mail: tanisha..a.bush.civ@army.mil

CONTRACING OFFICER: Angelic Hatcher, e-mail: angelic.m.hatcher.civ@army.mil

17. The deadline for the submittal of all Questions/Comments/Exceptions is 12:00 P.M. (noon) CDT on Monday, 31 March 2025.

mailto:tanisha..a.bush.civ@army.mil mailto:angelic.m.hatcher.civ@army.mil

18. Exceptions. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications and technical requirements, in additional to those identified as evaluation factors found in the Addendum to FAR Clause 52.212-2 Evaluation Factors for Award. Failure to meet any requirement in this solicitation may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Any assumption, exceptions, or deviations must be addressed and communicated to the Contracting Officer prior to the closing date of the RFP which is 12:00 P.M. (noon) CDT on Friday, 11 April 2025. If the Offeror finds it necessary to take exception to any of the requirements specified in this solicitation, the Offeror shall clearly identify the applicable exception(s) with a complete explanation of why the exception was taken, what benefit accrues to the Government (if any), and its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, price, and specific requirements of the solicitation. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Offerors are cautioned that taking an exception without prior approval from the Contracting Officer may render the offer ineligible for award. All exception(s) shall be submitted electronically in the format below.

Table 1 – Solicitation Exceptions

Solicitation Document Page/ Paragraph Requirement/ Portion Rationale & Impact

Section B, PWS/SOO/SOW, Section L&M, etc.

Applicable Page and

Paragraph Numbers

Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken.

Describe the rationale and impact of the exception.