A07.24__RFP_Amd_0001.docx

W9132T18R0003

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND NOTICES TO BIDDERS

The following have been modified:

SECTION L

PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

L.1. INTRODUCTION:

L.1.a. Proposals shall be mailed to: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Contracting Office, ATTN: CEERD-CT-IL, Mrs. Rita Brooks, P.O. BOX 9005, Champaign, IL 61822-1076. Proposals hand-carried or shipped via FedEx, UPS, or DHL shall be addressed to U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Contracting Office, ATTN: CEERD-CT-IL, Mrs. Rita Brooks, 2902 Newmark Drive, Champaign, IL 61822-1076. Proposals can also be sent via email to Rita.S.Brooks@usace.army.mil as described below. PROPOSALS ARE DUE NLT 02:00 PM 24 JULY 2018. All copies (hard copy and electronic) shall be clearly marked with the solicitation number, volume and proposal information, and the offeror’s name and must be received not later than the proposal due date specified.

*CAUTION: Regardless of the method used for submission of offers, the offer must arrive at the Contracts Office not later than the date and time specified in this solicitation. Be aware that mail addressed to the Post Office Box is only picked up and delivered to the CERL facility TWICE DAILY.

HAND-CARRIED OFFERS SHALL BE DEPOSITED WITH A MEMBER OF THE CONTRACTS OFFICE AT THE ADDRESS SHOWN ABOVE. (This is a negotiated procurement and offers will not be publicly opened.)

L.1.b. In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 4.1102, prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to the award of a contract. You may register at the SAM website at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1.

L.1.c. CLARIFICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Offerors should carefully examine the specifications and fully inform themselves as to all conditions and matters which can in any way affect the work or the cost thereof. Should an offeror find discrepancies in or omissions from the specifications, other documents, or be in doubt as to their meaning, they should notify the Contracting Officer at once and obtain clarification prior to submitting their offer. Requests for clarifications shall be submitted via email only to Rita.S.Brooks@usace.army.mil and Andrea.J.Thomas@usace.army.mil. The Government will accept questions up to seven (7) calendar days prior to the proposal due date. Answers to questions will be provided via a live Q&A document to be published on FedBizOpps, and should be deemed as clarification only. Offerors are encouraged to review this document prior to submission of additional questions in case the issue has already been clarified. Any answer that materially changes the requirements set forth in the solicitation will only be official and binding as the result of the issuance of a formal solicitation amendment.

L.1.d SYNOPSES OF SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES: Prime Contractors and subcontractors are encouraged to use the Small Business Administration’s SUB-Net website to publicize opportunities for any subcontracting work which might arise from a contract awarded hereunder. The website may be accessed directly at http://web.sba.gov/subnet/, or through the FedBizOpps site at http://www.fedbizopps.gov. The instructions for how to use the system are located within the SUB-Net site in the section entitled “About Sub-Net”.

L.1.e. SUBMITTAL OF OFFERS: Offeror is requested to return this solicitation intact. Please do not intersperse these forms with your documents. Please note that the Government requests that the proposals submitted remain valid for a minimum period of one hundred twenty (120) calendar days. Therefore, we request that Offerors indicate their acceptance of this by completing Block 12 of Page 1, Standard Form 33.

L.2. FORMAT:

L.2.a. The Offeror's proposal in response to this solicitation shall be prepared in hard copy and electronic format in two (2) physically separate volumes with the number of copies specified below. Electronic copies can be sent in CD-RW format or via email at the contractor’s discretion with separate discs or emails per volume. Hard copies shall be submitted as specified below. No pricing data or cross-referencing to the price proposal is permitted in any other volume besides the price proposal. To reduce the proposal size, the Offerors shall submit only essential matters sufficient to clearly present their approach and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Offeror’s are cautioned that due to the page limitations provided, any information exceeding these limitations will be not be evaluated and could result in eliminating a proposal from further consideration. Please note that in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(c)(2) of this section, the first page of the proposal shall contain specific information which will not be included in any page limitations. It is also understood that this information shall be provided on the first page of each of the volumes identified below, except that any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation submitted under Paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of this clause shall be included in the cover letters submitted in the technical and price proposals:

4 hard copies

a. Technical Proposal

Not to exceed twenty (20) pages including cover letter but exclusive of resumes, Table of Contents, List of Figures and Organizational Chart/ Roster.

Commitment Letters limited to one (1) page each.

(1) Personnel Qualifications

Resumes limited to one (1) page each plus publication list except for SMEs. Resumes of SMEs shall be limited to two (2) pages each which can include a narrative plus publication list.

(2) Management/Technical Approach/ Technical Risk

No additional limitations.

b. Past Performance Proposal

Limited to five (5) projects in any one technical area, not more than twenty (20) projects over all areas proposed. Summarized in one page or less for each previous project. Additional pages (such as a contract, report, etc.) may be included to document and allow further verification, and these pages will be excluded from the project page limits. Project page limit is also exclusive of past performance questionnaires received by the Government on the offeror’s behalf, and the list of questionnaires sent out by the offeror. No completed questionnaires shall be included in the proposal.

a. SB Participation Proposal

As required plus cover letter and subcontractor commitment letters. Commitment letters limited to one (1) page each. Proposal shall be provided in the format specified in Paragraph L.3.c. below.

Subcontracting Plan

As required for offerors other than small business

b. Price Proposal

Completed Solicitation

As Required

Price Matrix – Attachment 1

As Required

L2.b. Proposals shall be prepared on 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages except for charts, tables, or diagrams, which may not exceed 11 x 17 inches. Also excepted are additional pages submitted for past performance reference (contracts, reports, etc.) and the completed solicitation that may be submitted in original format. Pages in excess of 8 1/2 x 11 inches other than noted exceptions shall count as two (2) pages for determining page limits. Pages shall have a minimum of one-inch margins and a font size not less than ten (10) pitch. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by proposal except no additional numbering is required for the completed solicitation.

L.2.c. Each offeror's proposal shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, separate sections; each section fully addressing the relevant requirements of the solicitation. The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each major section as specified in the table above shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. A preferred outline follows:

L.3. CONTENT:

L.3.a. Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall contain sufficient information to enable the evaluators to make a complete analysis with respect to the criteria listed in Section M. All available information pertaining specifically to these criteria shall be included, as well as any other information which the Offeror feels would demonstrate his/her ability to accomplish the project. Offerors are cautioned that any information submitted on subcontractors will only be evaluated if a firm commitment with the firm or individual is demonstrated. The offeror shall submit the information in the following order:

L.3.a.l. Cover Letter and Miscellaneous Documentation: This shall include an introduction of the Offeror and proposal to include point(s) of contact and phone numbers for the prime and any subcontractors/ partners, DUNS and CAGE numbers for each party, identification and terms of any teaming arrangements including documentation and commitment letters thereof, and any requested exceptions to the terms, conditions, and provisions of the solicitation under Clause No. 52.215-1(c)(2)(iii). The commitment letters are limited to one (1) page each. As noted above, the subcontractor commitment letters are excluded from the technical proposal page limitation, however, the cover letter is included. In addition, offerors may include a Table of Contents and/or List of Figures that does not include any extraneous information that will be excluded from the page limitation. Cover letter shall specify the technical areas in accordance with Section C of the PWS for which the offeror would like to be considered.

L.3.a.2. Personnel Qualifications (See Paragraph M.3.a.): The-Offeror shall demonstrate the experience and qualifications of personnel by submitting a roster/organizational chart of technical and support personnel who would be available for assignment to the work. If subcontractor or personnel employed by other than the offeror are proposed, qualifications will only be considered if a firm commitment is demonstrated with the firm by which they are employed or with the individuals identified. Commitment letters shall be provided with the offer as appropriate. Proposals shall include the following:

Proposal shall include submission of roster/organizational chart which lists the personnel available for each of the tasks identified in the PWS, and shall identify the appropriate labor categories in the schedule (reference Attachment 1 and definitions in Attachment 2) for which the personnel are proposed and the primary employer of the personnel to include the business size (large or small). The roster should also include the technical area(s) for which the SMEs will provide expertise. Personnel submitted on the roster shall meet Government security requirements (reference Section C, Paragraph C.11.b).

In addition to the roster, experience and qualifications of key personnel shall be provided in resume form. Contractor personnel assigned to this contract as subject matter experts (SMEs) shall be SMEs in the specific technical areas which they are assigned to perform. Each resume is limited to one (1) page except SMEs are limited to two (2) pages, and shall indicate the proposed job category that the individual will perform. Each resume shall contain the following information:

1. Company: Current company affiliation and location

1. Education: Degree(s), School, Location of School, Major, and Year of Graduation

1. Job Title: Current and Planned Job Title (reference Attachment 2 for labor descriptions) to include the technical area(s) in Section C that an SME will provide expertise, as applicable.

1. Professional Experience/Qualifications: Brief Summary of Experience and Training. Describe projects the individual has worked, the highest position the individual held on each project, the duration of assignment on each project, and the calendar years of the project.

L.3.a.3. Management/Technical Approach/Technical Risk (See Paragraph M.3.b.): The offeror shall demonstrate their complete understanding of the project's intent and requirements by including a management plan of how they intend to accomplish, administer, and manage any projects and fully describing the Offeror's proposed technical approach to comply with each of the requirements specified under the Performance Work Statement (Reference Section C, Paragraph 2), including methods to be utilized and scheduling of time. Also offerors are required to identify any technical barriers that they would conceivably encounter in pursuing the required work and make specific proposals for their approaches to address these barriers. Note that when the proposal is evaluated, recognition and description of barriers, conceivable problems, and approaches to address them will be as important as the planned method.

L.3.b. Past Performance Proposal (See Paragraph M.3.c.): The offeror shall demonstrate their past performance experience, as well as that of any proposed subcontractors, relevant to each technical area in Section C, Paragraph 2, Performance Work Statement, by submitting the following information for each project submitted for evaluation:

L.3.b.1. Project Category (identify specific technical areas in Section C);

L.3.b.2. Project Title;

L.3.b.3. Organization for which the work was performed; and

L.3.b.4. Brief project description of the work performed to include dates of performance and how the reference is relevant to this solicitation.

The above information shall be provided in the same general sequence as the technical areas identified in the Performance Work Statement (except where multiple areas are included) and clearly marked for the party to which the past performance applies (prime, subcontractor, etc.). In addition to the above description(s) provided directly by the offeror, the offeror shall provide the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) attached to this solicitation along with the instructions and rating guidelines (reference Attachment 3) to agency(ies)/organization(s) for which they or their subcontractors have performed work and wish to be considered in their rating. No completed PPQs shall be submitted with the proposal. The offeror/subcontractor shall complete Blocks 1-11 of the form and instruct the agency(ies)/organization(s) to complete the remainder of the form and return via email directly to Rita.S.Brooks@usace.army.mil prior to the deadline for submission of offers. Past performance questionnaires and information received/obtained for a subcontractor will only be releasable to the prime as an overall rating and no individual completed PPQs will be provided to the offeror. A list of PPQs sent out by the offeror to include company name along with the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of the points of contact shall be provided with the offeror’s proposal.

The offeror may also submit additional pages to demonstrate past performance such as copies of a contract, technical reports prepared, etc., with this content referenced within the one page summary. It should not be assumed these additional pages will be read in entirety, therefore, it is the offeror’s responsibility to clarify the particular importance/relevance of these documents in the summary of the project. Offerors are reminded that both independent data and data provided by offerors in their proposals may be used to evaluate offeror’s past performance. Since the government may not receive information from all of the sources provided by the offerors, it is incumbent upon the offeror to explain the relevance of the data provided. The government does not assume the duty to search for data to cure problems it finds in proposals. The burden of providing thorough and complete past performance information remains with the offeror. Proposals that do not contain the information requested risk rejection or evaluation as a high risk by the government.

Firms lacking relevant past performance history shall so state. These firms will receive a neutral confidence rating for past performance in accordance with Section M.

L.3.c. Small Business Participation Proposal (See Paragraph M.3.d.): As the first section of the contractual volume, the offeror shall include a duplicate of the cover letter and subcontractor commitment letters required in the technical proposal. All offerors (both large and small businesses) are required to complete a Small Business Participation Proposal as provided in Attachment 4 to this solicitation. Large businesses may achieve small business participation goals through subcontracting to small businesses. Small businesses may achieve small business participation goals through their own performance/participation as a prime and also through a joint venture, teaming arrangement, and subcontracting to other small businesses. Offerors should propose the level of participation of small businesses (as a small business prime, joint venture, teaming arrangement, and/or small business subcontractors) in the performance of the acquisition relative to the objectives/goals set forth in the evaluation of this area. A small business offeror also receives credit for their small business participation as a Prime Contractor and can apply their dollar value and calculate percentages in all the applicable small business categories.

The following shall evidence small business participation:

L.3.c.1. The extent to which such firms, as defined in FAR Part 19, are specifically identified in proposals;

L.3.c.2. The extent of commitment to use such firms (and enforceable commitments will be considered more favorably than non-enforceable ones);

L.3.c.3. Identification of the complexity and variety of the work small firms are to perform;

L.3.c.4. The extent past performance in compliance with FAR 52.219-8 “Utilization of Small Business” and maximizing opportunities for U.S. Small Business Subcontractors; and

L.3.c.5. The inclusion of an acceptable Small Business Subcontracting Plan for other than small business vendors per FAR 52.219-9 and DFARS 252.219-7003 (or -7004). Subcontracting Plans shall reflect and be consistent with the commitments in the Small Business Participation Plan, but shall be provided as a separate part of the overall Small Business Participation Proposal.

L.3.d. Price Proposal (See Paragraph M.3.e.): The Offeror's response to the evaluation criterion in Section M, "Price Factor", shall be submitted as a separate and distinct proposal and shall include the following:

L.3.d.1. A completed copy of the entire solicitation document as amended, if applicable, with an original signature page (Standard Form 33) signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror and all representations and certifications. The entire solicitation, including all Sections A through M, shall be completed with the blanks filled in or boxes checked as applicable, and returned intact with no additional insertions unless necessary for the completion of the offeror information.

L.3.d.2. In addition to the completed solicitation document, the offeror shall submit a complete Attachment 1 to include labor rates and indirect cost rates. The labor rates shall be a maximum rate for each labor category through the life of the contract and shall be inclusive of rates for all subcontractors included in the offeror’s proposal. At their option, subcontractors may submit the indirect cost rate information (Rate Component Tab in Attachment 1) separately to the address specified for submission of offers, but it shall be clearly marked as an addendum to the prime contractor’s proposal and shall be submitted within the proposal deadline. Offerors shall not re-format or remove cells or add additional labor categories to Attachment 1. The offeror shall be responsible for determining the appropriate labor category and rate in this schedule for his/her personnel, and, if determined fair and reasonable, this rate schedule will become part of the contract award.

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