Evaluation_Instructions.doc

Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors

A. Proposal Submittal and Inquiries.

1. Proposals shall be submitted prior to the closing date and time identified on SF 1449 via email to the following email address:

To: Desiree.M.Santos3.mil@mail.mil

CC: Robyn.D.Young.mil@mail.mil

2. Proposals mailed through a commercial/Government carrier or hand carried will not be accepted.

3. The point of contact responsible for supplying additional information and answering all inquiries is the Contracting Officer via the Contract Specialist. Address all questions or concerns the offeror may have to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer to Desiree.M.Santos3.mil@mail.mil and cc Robyn.D.Young.mil@mail.mil. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing via email to:

To: Desiree.M.Santos3.mil@mail.mil

CC: Robyn.D.Young.mil@mail.mil

B. General Instructions

1. The selection of a source for award purposes will be conducted utilizing source selection (negotiated) procedures as delineated in FAR Part 15.3. Offers will be evaluated using the criteria in 52.212-2, “Evaluation – Commercial Items.” Noncompliance with the Request for Proposal (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, concurrence with the Performance Work Statement, and contract type.

3. It is the Government’s intention to award without discussions. Offerors are encouraged to present their best technical proposal and prices in their initial proposal submission. However, in accordance with (IAW) FAR Part 15.306, should discussions become necessary, the Government reserves the right to hold them. If this occurs, a competitive range will be determined and offerors notified. The competitive range may be limited for purposes of efficiency IAW FAR Part 15.306 (c)(2).

4. Instructions outlined in paragraph C 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.

5. 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 KO 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.

6. In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will retain one copy of all unsuccessful proposals. Unless the offeror requests otherwise, the Government will destroy extra copies of such unsuccessful proposals.

7. All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website at https://www.fbo.gov. Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

8. Debriefings. The KO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range (if one is established), whereupon they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505. The KO will notify offerors who were in the competitive range of the source selection, but were not selected for award in accordance with FAR 15.503(b). Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.506.

C. Proposal Preparation Instructions

1. Offerer’s proposal shall consist of the following volumes:

Volume I: General

Volume II: Management/ Staffing

Volume III: Past Performance

Volume IV: Technical Approach

Volume V: Price

2. Proposal Format

(a) Offerors shall submit an original copy listed in paragraph (c) below of their proposal.

(b) Exceptions. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors and subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. 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 Volume and exceptions 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, cost, 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 may render the offer ineligible for award. This information shall be provided in the format below:

Table 1 - Solicitation Exceptions

Solicitation

Document Page/

Paragraph Requirement/

Portion Rationale & Impact

Page and Paragraph

Numbers

the rationale and impact of the exception

(c) The proposals shall be organized into five (5) electronic volumes. Each volume will have an electronic folder name of each volume. Each volume folder will contain the contents of each volume. If TAB’s are required, each file name will begin with the TAB identification (i.e. TAB A). A cover sheet shall be the first page of each volume, clearly marked as to volume number, title, copy number, solicitation identification and the offeror's name. All text shall be single spaced and printed black text on a white colored background page (Black and white requirement does not apply to graphics, photos, etc., Company stationary and logos are acceptable). Printing shall be easily readable (12-pitch type or 10 point proportional spacing.) Cross-references should be utilized to preclude unnecessary duplication of data between sections. Digital copies shall be provided via email to email addresses listed in A-1 of this document. Volumes shall be created utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and/or Excel as outlined in Table 2. Adobe PDF is acceptable. The file name shall be “TAB “x” Company Name – Initial” for the first submission. The file name of later submissions (if necessary), shall be “Company Name – Revision X’ with X indicating the number of the revision. Page limitations are as follows:

Table 2

(d) Proposal Limitation. The proposal shall not exceed the limits stated above. If the page limits are exceeded, the pages in excess of the limit shall be removed and returned, unread, to the offeror. The Government will not accept any changes to the contractor’s proposal after the closing date of the solicitation (See FAR 15.208 for further information regarding late proposals). If discussions become necessary, page limitations may be placed on responses to Evaluation Notices (ENs). The specified page limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the offerors.

(e) Page Limit Includes: All appendices, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables, photographs, drawings, etc.

(f) Page Limit does not include covers for volumes, tables of contents, glossary of abbreviations and acronyms, indices, title pages, and cross reference indices. 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.

(g) What Counts As A Page? A page shall be an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper (if the pages were required to be printed). 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 Contractor shall number each page in order to eliminate any confusion. In the event contractor creates an ambiguity in their numbering of pages, the Government may exercise its own discretion in counting pages.

(h) 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.

(i) 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 submit a completed SF 1449 (Solicitation, Offer and Award) (including acknowledgment of Amendments), including 52.212-3 – Alt. I, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items (Alternate I). 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- Identification and explanation of any exceptions or deviations. Additionally, any assumptions used in the proposal preparation must be identified.

TAB B, Solicitation, Offer and Award – The SF 1449 shall be submitted fully completed. The offeror is cautioned that the SF 1449 must contain an original signature in block 30a of the form. The contractor shall acknowledge any amendments to the RFP in accordance with the instructions on the SF 1449 and with 52.212-1. 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, Fill-in Provisions - 52.212-3 – Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items – The offeror shall ensure that 52.212-3 is submitted thoroughly completed with all blocks in each certification/representation completed truthfully and completely. Provision 52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters shall be completed and added to TAB C, unless, the offeror has completed their representations and certifications in SAM in the past year need not to submit 52.209-7 fill-in provision.

(b) Volume II – Management/ Staffing Capability Volume

(1) The Management/ Staffing Capability 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 52.212-2 - Evaluation – Commercial Items. 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, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

(2) The Management/ Staffing Capability Volume shall, at a minimum, be prepared in a form consistent with the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and the evaluation criteria for award set forth in Evaluation Factors Criteria. The section shall be prepared in an orderly format and in sufficient detail to enable the Government to make a thorough evaluation of the contractor’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 you would use for accomplishing the PWS tasks. The volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

-Table of Contents

-Exceptions/Assumptions (Identification and explanation of any exceptions or deviations). Additionally, identify any assumptions used in preparing the proposal.

-Evaluation Criteria

VOLUME II – Management/ Staffing Capability (Factor 1)

Offerors shall submit all necessary information to permit evaluation of the sub-factors in this volume. No pricing information is to be provided in the Technical Volume. The volume shall be organized into the following sections:

(1) TAB A – Management/ Staffing Plan. The Technical Volume shall demonstrate the Offeror’s qualifications Management and Staffing. The Offeror shall describe the organization and staffing approach proposed to support the technical approach. The staffing plan shall identify how they will be organized, the details associated with their administrative support, and how the company will monitor and manage performance of all personnel under this contract. The staffing plan shall address the strategy used for phase in of this contract.

(2) TAB B – Key Personnel. Offerors shall submit resumes of Key Personnel. The following personnel are considered Key Personnel: (1) the Offeror’s Dining Facility Manager, and (2) Contract Project Manager for the contract within the company. Each resume is limited to TWO (2) pages.

(3) TAB C – Quality Control Plan. The Technical Volume shall be used to evaluate the quality control plan. The Offeror shall propose a Quality Control (QC) Plan, including mechanisms for defining and tracking performance quality metrics, and enforcement mechanisms (incentives and decrements) to correct deficiencies. The plan shall also address training for all personnel and a plan for quality assurance during the initial start-up. Contractor should clearly detail an emphasis on cleaning procedure/policy. The Government intends to add surveillance, auditing, administration and acceptance of performance procedures to the Contractor’s QA plan to form the Quality Assurance/Surveillance Plan (QASP), which shall be incorporated into the contract. The quality control plan does not have a page limitation and will not count towards the Technical Volume page limitation.

(c) Volume III - Past Performance. (Factor 2) The Past Performance evaluation will be accomplished by reviewing aspects of an Offeror's recent and relevant Past Performance, focusing on and targeting performance which is relevant to the effort as it directly relates to the work being procured under this solicitation and as defined in 52.212-2.

Recent and relevant past performance of the offeror and those subcontractors, teaming partners, and/or joint venture partners proposed to perform 49% or more of the proposed contract effort fort his requirement, based on the total proposed price is required for Volume III. The offeror shall submit, along with the information required in this paragraph, a consent letter, executed by each subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner, authorizing release of adverse past performance information to the offeror so the offeror can respond to such information. For each identified effort for a commercial customer, the offeror shall also submit a client authorization letter, authorizing release to the Government of requested information on the offeror's performance.

1. The offerors shall include documentation regarding their relevant past performance as it directly relates to the work being procured under this solicitation. The offeror SHALL NOT go back any farther than five (5) years for the submitted data. The past performance data shall document a successful history of past contract performance.

2. In conducting the Past Performance evaluation, the Government reserves the right to use both the information provided in the offeror’s Past Performance Volume and information obtained from other sources, such as the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) or similar systems, Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and commercial sources. Offerors are reminded that both independent data and data provided by offerors in their proposals may be used by the Government to evaluate offeror past performance. However, the burden of providing thorough, complete, and current past performance information as requested in this paragraph remains with the offerors. Proposals that do not contain the information requested by this paragraph risk rejection or a less than acceptable performance rating by the Government. All past performance comments received will be taken into account and could affect the overall rating. The overall past performance evaluation is a subjective decision based on the whole of all data received. 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 (see FAR 15.305 (a)(2)(iv)). Therefore, the offeror shall be determined to have unknown past performance. In the context of acceptability/unacceptability, “unknown” shall be considered “acceptable.”

3. Submission Requirements. The offeror shall submit a Past Performance Volume containing the following:

· Table of Contents

· Summary Page describing the role of the offeror and each subcontractor, teaming partner, and /or joint venture partner that the offeror is required to provide Past Performance Specific Relevant Contract Reference Sheets for the past performance experience in accordance with Attachment 2.

· Consent Letters executed by each subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner, authorizing the release of past performance information so the offeror can respond to such information. A sample consent letter is attached as Attachment 1.

· Client Authorization Letters for each identified effort for a commercial customer authorizing release to the Government of requested information on the offeror’s performance.

· Organization Structure Change History— Organizational Structure Change History. Many companies have acquired, been acquired by, or otherwise merged with other companies, and/or reorganized their divisions, business groups, subsidiary companies, etc. In many cases, these changes have taken place during the time of performance of relevant present or past efforts or between conclusion of recent past efforts and this source selection. As a result, it is sometimes difficult to determine what past performance is relevant to this acquisition. To facilitate this relevancy determination, include in this proposal volume a "roadmap" describing all such changes in the organization of your company. As part of this explanation, show how these changes impact the relevance of any efforts you identify for past performance evaluation/performance confidence assessment. Since the Government intends to consider present and past performance information provided by other sources as well as that provided by the offeror(s), your "roadmap" should be both specifically applicable to the efforts you identify and general enough to apply to efforts on which the Government receives information from other sources.

· Specific Relevant Contracts Format - Sheets in accordance with Attachment 3 and are limited to 3 pages per reference. The offeror shall provide documentation outlining the offeror’s past performance with contracts, as a prime or major subcontractor, which is the same or similar in nature, size, and complexity to the services being procured under this Solicitation. The submittal shall include rationale supporting your assertion of relevance and how it was determined that the work performed previously was the same or similar in nature, size, and complexity to the work specified by this solicitation. Offerors are required to explain what aspects of the contracts are deemed relevant to the proposed effort, and to what aspects of the proposed effort they relate.

Past Performance Questionnaire - See Attachment 3, Past Performance Questionnaire. For the contracts identified on each Specific Relevant Contract Reference, the offeror shall forward a copy of the Past Performance Questionnaire to the points of contact responsible for monitoring performance under such contracts. The points of contact shall return the questionnaires directly to TSgt Desiree Santos at Desiree.M.Santos3.mil@mail.mil and MSG Robyn Young at Robyn.D.Young.mil@mail.mil. No questionnaire will be reviewed or evaluated unless it is returned directly to the specified point of contact. The information contained in the questionnaires will be used to evaluate the offeror’s past performance. New entities that have no past customers shall annotate on the Summary Page that they have had no previous clients and that the minimum number of questionnaires cannot be provided.

(d) Volume IV – Technical Approah Volume

(1) The Technical Approach 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 52.212-2 - Evaluation – Commercial Items. 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, binding, detailed art work, or other embellishments are unnecessary and are not desired.

(2) The Technical Approach Volume shall, at a minimum, be prepared in a form consistent with the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and the evaluation criteria for award set forth in Evaluation Factors Criteria. The section shall be prepared in an orderly format and in sufficient detail to enable the Government to make a thorough evaluation of the contractor’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 you would use for accomplishing the PWS tasks. The volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

-Table of Contents

-Exceptions/Assumptions (Identification and explanation of any exceptions or deviations). Additionally, identify any assumptions used in preparing the proposal.

-Evaluation Criteria

VOLUME II – Techincal Approach (Factor 3)

Offerors shall submit all necessary information to permit evaluation of the sub-factors in this volume. No pricing information is to be provided in the Technical Approah. The volume shall be organized into the following sections:

(1) TAB A – Certified Food Service Manager/ Personnel. Offeror shall provide a narrative of past work experience in the food service field and relevant certificates of training and/or licenses required to perform the services described in the PWS.

(2) TAB B – Key Personnel. The Government will evaluate the quality of the Offeror’s Technical approach consistent with the solicitation and the PWS. Specifically, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s Technical proposal using the ratings discussed below in the Technical Quality Rating scale and the described evaluation considerations.

(e) Volume V- Price (Factor 4) – Pricing shall be submitted fully completed and error free in the offer schedule of the RFP. The Unit Price shall be completed for every CLIN.

The Government reserves the right to require the submission of Other Than Certified Cost or Pricing Data as is deemed necessary to arrive at a fair and reasonable price.

ATTACHMENT 1

SUBCONTRACTOR/TEAMING PARTNER CONSENT FORM FOR THE RELEASE OF PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION TO THE PRIME CONTRACTOR

Past performance information concerning subcontractors and teaming partners cannot be disclosed to a private party without the subcontractor's or teaming partner's consent. Because a prime contractor is a private party, the Government will need that consent before disclosing subcontractor/teaming partner past and present performance information to the prime during exchanges. In an effort to assist the Government's Past Performance Evaluators in assessing your past performance relevancy and confidence, we request that the following consent form be completed by the major subcontractors/teaming partners identified in your proposal. The completed consent forms should be submitted as part of your Past Performance Volume IV Proposal.

SAMPLE

Dear (Contracting Officer)

We are currently participating as a (subcontractor/teaming partner) with (prime contractor or name of entity providing proposal) in responding to the National Guard Bureau’s request for Proposal (solicitation number) for the (program title or description of effort).

We understand that the Government is placing increased emphasis on past performance in order to obtain best value in source selections. In order to facilitate the performance confidence assessment process we are signing this consent form to allow you to discuss our past performance information with the prime contractor during the source selection process.

(Signature and Title of individual who has the authority to sign for and legally bind the company)

Company Name:

Address:

Attachment 2 Specific Relevant Contracts Sheet

The offeror shall provide documentation outlining the offeror’s past performance with contracts, as a prime or major subcontractor, which is the same or similar in nature, size, and complexity to the services being procured under this Solicitation. The submittal shall include rationale supporting your assertion of relevance and how it was determined that the work performed previously was the same or similar in nature, size, and complexity to the work specified by this solicitation. Offerors are required to explain what aspects of the contracts are deemed relevant to the proposed effort, and to what aspects of the proposed effort they relate.

1. Contract Number, Award Date and Contract type.

2. Price/Cost – original awarded AND final (or projected final, if contract is current).

3. Delivery Schedule – original AND final (or projected final, if the contract is current).

4. Contact Information - Address and telephone number for the Government (or commercial) procuring contracting activity AND contract administrative activity (if applicable).

Name, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address for the following:

5. Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO)

6. Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO) (if not the same individual as the PCO)

7. Description of work performed and its relevance to Full Food Service requirement solicited by this RFP

Identify in specific detail for each contract listed, why or how you consider that effort relevant or similar to the effort required by this solicitation. In determining relevancy, consideration should be given but not limited to such things as product/service similarity, product/service, size and complexity, contract type, contract environment, division of company proposing, and subcontractor interaction.

8. Negative Performance Documentation. A copy of any cure notices, show cause letters or contract discrepancy reports received on each contract listed and a description of any corrective action by the offeror or proposed subcontractor.

9. Completion Date/Delivery Schedule. The contractor shall list times on which the training was not provided on the requested dates or during the required time frames. The contractor shall provide an explanation as to why the training was delayed.

ATTACHMENT 3

PAST PERFORMANCE EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE FORM

EVALUATION (To be completed by Point of Contact – Respondent) Document is attached labeled PAST PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE

PART III. RETURN INFORMATION

Please return this completed Questionnaire via e-mail to TSgt Desiree Santos at Desiree.M.Santos3.mil@mail.mil and MSG Robyn Young Robyn.D.Young.mil@mail.mil. They will only be accepted if returned by the individual completing the questionnaire. Vendors are not able to submit their own questionnaires.

Thank you for your assistance.

Signature

Date

Typed or Printed Name