FHFA DEIA Training Certification Program

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation and request for quotes (RFQ) for commercial products or commercial services in accordance with the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures, with FAR part 12 taking precedence per FAR 13.500(b)’s reference to FAR 12.102(c).  This announcement constitutes the only solicitation with quotes requested.

Questions, Suggested Alternate Terms, and Answers

Quoters are invited to submit any questions or suggested alternate terms (including changes to the solicitation, contract clauses, statement of assumptions, or other terms).  FHFA will consider all input and attempt to balance the needs of all parties.       

Questions or other suggested changes must be submitted by Monday, September 23, 2024, 12:00 noon, by email to marie.ray@fhfa.gov.

FAR References

Any FAR clauses or provisions referenced may be obtained at www.acquisition.gov/far. Also, any reference to offeror or offer has the same meaning as quoter or quote for this solicitation.  The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2023-04, June 2, 2023.

Submission Instructions

Quoters shall be registered in the System for Award Management as stated in FAR 52.204-7(b)(1). 

Therefore, FAR 52.204-7 and FAR 52.204-16 are hereby incorporated by reference into the solicitation.

A Quoter that is not actively registered in the System for Award Management at the time of quote submission will not have its quote considered and will not be eligible for award.

Each Quoter shall submit an electronic quotation (Volumes I, II, and III in separate files) to Marie Ray, Contracting Officer, marie.ray@fhfa.gov.   

The electronic quotation shall include any scanned copies of signatures associated with the quotation.

Each email quotation including attachments cannot exceed 50 MB because it may be rejected by FHFA’s server. If your entire quotation exceeds 50MB in size, please divide your quotation into appropriate smaller emails.  

If a Quoter chooses to submit a quotation, the quote must remain valid for a minimum of 60 calendar days.

Quotes are due no later than 12:00 pmEastern Time, on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.  Late submissions, modifications, and revisions will be managed in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f). 

FHFA’s Contracting Officer reserves the right to reject the quotation as non-compliant if the quotation takes exception to any of the terms of the RFQ, includes assumptions, or does not conform to the RFQ’s submission instructions. 

All quotations must include a cover page addressing the following information:

1. RFQ Number
2. Quoter’s Name
3. Subcontractor Name(s), If Applicable
4. Quoter Tax Identification Number (TIN)
5. Quoter System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
6. Contact Name
7. Contact Email address
8. Contact telephone number
9. Complete business mailing address
10.  The following statement “The Quoter takes no exception and completely accepts all the terms and conditions in the RFQ and subsequent amendments.”  

Volume I:  Technical Quotation

The Quoter’s technical submission should demonstrate the firm’s capability to perform the work requirements outlined in the Attachment A.  The Technical Capability shall describe, in narrative form, the Quoter’s proposed overall capability to fulfill the overall requirements of Attachment A.

Quoters shall not include any price information in the technical quotation.  For the overall technical quotation, a recitation or paraphrasing of the requirements already identified in the work requirements will not improve the quotation. 

Volume II- Price Quotation

Each Quoter shall submit a price quotation (Volume II) separate from the technical quotation (Volume I).

The price quotation shall include the following:

FHFA will evaluate the total quoted price for reasonableness.  FHFA reserves the right to conduct a price realism analysis to assess whether the quoted prices are unrealistically low.  Unrealistically low prices may be considered a negative attribute to the extent that they reflect a lack of technical understanding or a risk inherent in the proposed approach. 

Volume III- Representations and Certifications

Your firm shall submit a response to the following provisions:

1. 1. Completed FAR 52.204-24 (if applicable).
   2. Completed FAR 52.209-7.
   3. Completed FAR 52.212-3. NOTE: Your firm shall complete only paragraph (b)(2) of the provision if your firm has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the SAM website.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Since this award is made under the policies of FAR part 12 in conjunction with FAR part 13 procedures, the evaluation process is streamlined, and FHFA has considerable flexibility in its award decision.  FHFA will evaluate the quotation considering positive attributes, negative attributes, and potential risk of the overall quotation. 

During the evaluation process, FHFA may or may not conduct exchanges.  If FHFA conducts exchanges, such exchanges may be with one, several, or all Quoters.  Exchanges may vary based on FHFA’s need to understand or give Quoters an opportunity to improve their quotations, but all exchanges will be fair and equitable. 

Only Quoters whose quotes receive an overall technical rating of acceptable or higher will be considered for award. Following an evaluation and, if necessary, tradeoff analysis, FHFA may make one award based on the quote that is evaluated to be the best value and determined responsible. 

FHFA reserves the right to make an award based on other than the lowest quoted price. 

Technical (Volume I) is more important than price (Volume II); however, the importance of price as a factor could become greater if competing quotations are evaluated as technically equal. 

List of Attachments

Attachment A – SOW DEIA Training

Attachment B – FAR Provisions and FHFA Clauses