R605--Oxford Journals Subscription

Combined Synopsis-Solicitation for Commercial Items

Effective Date: 02/01/2022

Description

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; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-01

This solicitation is set-aside for Small Business.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 519290, with a small business size standard of 1000 employees.

The FSC/PSC is R605.

The Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC), 6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490, Independence, OH 44131 is seeking to purchase existing, off-the-shelf, web-based electronic journal collection that will be made available throughout the VA healthcare system.

All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following:

Supplies/Services

Line Item

Description

Quantity

Unit of Measure

Unit Price

Total Price

BASE YEAR

0001

British Journal of Surgery

1

Year

0002

Endocrinology

1

Year

0003

Physical Therapy

1

Year

0004

Social Work

1

Year

0005

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

1

Year

0006

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

1

Year

0007

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

1

Year

Option Year One

1001

British Journal of Surgery

1

Year

1002

Endocrinology

1

Year

1003

Physical Therapy

1

Year

1004

Social Work

1

Year

1005

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

1

Year

1006

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

1

Year

1007

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

1

Year

Option Year Two

2001

British Journal of Surgery

1

Year

2002

Endocrinology

1

Year

2003

Physical Therapy

1

Year

2004

Social Work

1

Year

2005

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

1

Year

2006

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

1

Year

2007

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

1

Year

Option Year Three

3001

British Journal of Surgery

1

Year

3002

Endocrinology

1

Year

3003

Physical Therapy

1

Year

3004

Social Work

1

Year

3005

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

1

Year

3006

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

1

Year

3007

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

1

Year

Option Year Four

4001

British Journal of Surgery

1

Year

4002

Endocrinology

1

Year

4003

Physical Therapy

1

Year

4004

Social Work

1

Year

4005

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

1

Year

4006

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

1

Year

4007

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

1

Year

Total Price

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires a commercial off the shelf web-based purchase of Oxford Journals Subscription, a purchase that will be made available throughout the VHA healthcare system.

See attached SOW SOW Oxford Journals

The contract period of performance shall be from the date of award for a base period of

12 months plus four (4) 12-month option years. Due dates for deliverables are detailed

in the SOW.

Place of Performance/Place of Delivery

Address:

TBD

Postal Code:

TBD

Country:

UNITED STATES

The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:

FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items (SEP 2023)

ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS COMMERCIAL

ITEMS

Provisions that are incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date),

have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the

Contracting Officer will make their full text available.

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-1 as an addendum to this

solicitation:

FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business

size standards are stated in the combined synopsis/solicitation.

(b) Submission of quotations. Submit quotations to the office specified in this

solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Quotations

may be submitted on letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the

solicitation. As a minimum, quotations must show-

The solicitation number.

The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of quotations.

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the quoter.

(4) A technical description of the items being quoted in sufficient detail to

evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may

include product literature, or other documents, if necessary.

(5) Terms of any express warranty.

(6) Price and any discount terms.

(7) Remit to address, if different than mailing address.

(8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3

(See FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the

quoter shall complete electronically).

(9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments.

(10) If the quotation is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement

specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions

included in the solicitation. Quotations that fail to furnish required representations

or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be

excluded from consideration.

(c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer

firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless

another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

(d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be

submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of quotations. Unless

otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no

expense to the Government, and returned at the sender s request and expense,

unless they are destroyed during testing.

(e) Multiple quotations. Quoters are encouraged to submit multiple quotations

presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the

requirements of this solicitation. Each quotation submitted will be evaluated

separately.

(f) Late submissions

(1) Quoters are responsible for submitting quotations so as to reach the

Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the

solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30

p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that

quotations are due.

(2) Any quotation received at the Government office designated in the solicitation

after the exact time specified for receipt of quotations is late and will not be

considered unless it is received before purchase order issuance and the

Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late quotation would not

unduly delay the acquisition.

(3) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government

processes so that quotations cannot be received at the Government office

designated for receipt of quotations by the exact time specified in the

solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the

solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time

specified for receipt of quotations will be deemed to be extended to the same

time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal

Government processes resume.

(g) Issuance of purchase order. Quotations should contain the quoter s best

technical and price terms. The Contracting Officer may reject any or all

quotations. The Contracting Officer may issue a purchase order to other than the

quoter with the lowest priced quotation. After the evaluation of quotations, the

Contracting Officer may negotiate final terms with one or more quoters of the

Government s choice before issuing any purchase order. The Contracting Officer

will not negotiate with any quoters other than those of the Government s choice

and will not use the formal source selection procedures described in FAR part

15.

(h) Multiple purchase orders. The Government may issue a purchase order for any

item or group of items of a quotation, unless the quoter qualifies the quotation by

specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, quotations may

not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government

reserves the right to issue a purchase order for a quantity less than the quantity

quoted, at the unit prices quoted, unless the quoter specifies otherwise in the

quotation.

Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation.

(1) (i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item

Descriptions, FPMR Part 101-29, and copies of specifications, standards, and

commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained for a

fee by submitting a request to-

GSA Federal Supply Service Specifications Section

Suite 8100

470 East L Enfant Plaza, SW

Washington, DC 20407

Telephone (202) 619-8925

Facsimile (202) 619-8978

(ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or

Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a single copy of

specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this

solicitation may be obtained free of charge by submitting a request to the

addressee in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision. Additional copies will be

issued for a fee.

(2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded

from the following ASSIST websites:

ASSIST (https://assist.dla.mil/online/start/).

(ii) Quick Search (http://quicksearch.dla.mil/).

ASSISTdocs.com (http://assistdocs.com).

(3) Documents not available from ASSIST may be ordered from the Department

of Defense Single Stock Point (DoDSSP) by-

(i) Using the ASSIST Shopping Wizard

(https://assist.dla.mil/wizard/index.cfm).

(ii) Phoning the DoDSSP Customer Service Desk (215) 697-2179, Mon-Fri,

0730 to 1600 EST; or

(iii) Ordering from DoDSSP, Building 4, Section D, 700 Robbins Avenue,

Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Telephone (215) 697-2667/2179,

Facsimile (215) 697-1462.

(4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization

responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance.

(j) [Reserved].

(k) Requests for information. The contracting officer will not notify unsuccessful

quoters that responded to this solicitation. Quoters may request information on

purchase order(s) resulting from this solicitation from the contracting officer.

FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (SEP 2023)

Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov/portal in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition:

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items (SEP. 2023)

The following clauses are included as addenda to FAR 52.212-4:

VAAR 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising (MAY 2018)

VAAR 852.215-70 - Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors (Jan 2023) (DEVIATION)

VAAR 852.215-71 - Evaluation Factor Commitments. (OCT 2019)

VAAR 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests (NOV 2018)

FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders (SEP. 2023)

The following subparagraphs of FAR 52.212-5 are applicable:

FAR 52.217-8 - Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999)

FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of Contract (MAR 2000)

FAR 52.219-6 - Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2020)

FAR 52.219-28 - Post Award Small Business Program Representation (MAY 2020)

FAR 52.222-26 - Equal Opportunity (SEP 2016)

FAR 52.222-36 - Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUNE 2020)

FAR 52.222-50 - Combating Trafficking in Persons (Nov 2021)

FAR 52.223-18 - Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (JUNE 2020)

FAR 52.222-41 - Service Contract Labor Standards (MAY 2018)

FAR 52.222-42 - Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (MAY 2014)

FAR 52.222-55 - Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658 (JAN 2022)

FAR 52.222-62 - Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706 (JAN 2022)

FAR 52.232-33 - Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Systems for Award Management (OCTOBER 2018)

Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the

Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR 13. Comparative evaluation is the side by

side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer

decision for the quote most favorable to the Government.

The following are the decision factors:

(a) Basis for Award. The Government will issue a purchase order to the responsible

quoter whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous

to the Government, price and other factors considered.

(b) The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations: (1) technical

Capability; (2) price. (3) Veterans Involvement Factor

(c) Evaluation Approach. The Government will evaluate quotations using the

comparative evaluation process outlined in FAR 13.106-2 (b) (3), where

quotations will be compared to one another to determine which provides the best

benefit to the Government. The Government reserves the right to consider a

quotation other than the lowest price that provides additional benefit(s).

Quotations may exceed minimum requirements of the solicitation. The

Government reserves the right to select a quotation that provides benefit to the

Government that exceeds the minimum requirements of the solicitation but is not

required to do so. Each response must meet the minimum requirements of the

solicitation. The Government is not requesting or accepting alternate quotations.

The evaluation will consider the following:

(1) Technical: The quotation will be evaluated to the extent to which it can meet

and/or exceed the Government s requirements as outlined in the solicitation

and based on the information requested in the instructions to quoters section of the solicitation.

(2) Price: The Government will evaluate the price by adding the total of all line

item prices, including all options. The Total Evaluated Price will be that sum.

(3) Veterans Involvement:

In accordance with Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.215-70 (DEVIATION), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Evaluation Factors, the Government will assign evaluation credit for an Offeror (prime contractor) which is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a VOSB. To receive credit, an offeror must be registered and certified in the SBA certification database on the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification Program portal at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/  database at time of proposal submission and at time of award and must meet federal small business size standards for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this solicitation.

Non-SDVOSB/VOSB Offerors proposing to use SDVOSBs or VOSBs as subcontractors will receive some consideration under this evaluation Factor. Offerors must state in their proposals the names of the SDVOSBs and VOSBs with whom they intend to subcontract and provide a brief description of the proposed subcontracts and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. In addition, the proposed subcontractors must be registered and certified in the SBA certification database on the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification Program portal at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both proposal submission and at time of award.

The award will be made to the response most advantageous to the Government.

Responses should contain your best terms, conditions.

INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS

All quoters shall submit the following: one (1) copy of pricing and a technical approach

and any material that supports quoter s ability to accomplish, meet or exceed the tasks

and deliverables as stated in the SOW. The submission shall be clearly indexed and

logically assembled. Each section 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. Quote page

limitations are applicable to this procurement. The maximum page count for the Offeror s quote shall be 5 pages*. The use of hyperlinks in quotes is prohibited.

* A Cover Page, Table of Contents and/or a glossary of abbreviations or acronyms will

not be included in the page count of the technical Volume. However, be advised that

any and all information contained within any Table of Contents and/or glossary of

abbreviations or acronyms submitted with an Offeror s quote may not be evaluated by

the Government.

The quote shall be broken down in the following sections:

i. TECHNICAL VOLUME. Offerors shall, demonstrate a clear understanding of all

features involved in meeting and supporting the requirements outlined in the

Statement of Work (SOW). The Offeror shall clearly and completely address the

deliverables in the SOW.

ii. PRICE VOLUME. The Offeror shall submit a firm-fixed price quote for each line

item outlined in the appropriate table above. The total price must match the amount provided in the Total Evaluated Price table. The Government requires Offerors to propose unit prices and total prices that are two (2) decimal places and requires the unit prices and total prices to be displayed as two (2) decimal places. Ensure that the two (2) digit unit price multiplied by the item quantity equals the two (2) digit total item price (there should be no rounding). The Government will evaluate proposed prices by adding the Offeror s total proposed price for the base year and all options. Failure to provide a unit price and total amount for each CLIN will render the offer unacceptable.

iii. Offerors must state in their quote the names of the SDVOSBs and VOSBs with whom they intend to subcontract and provide a brief description of the proposed subcontracts and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. In addition, the proposed subcontractors must be registered and certified in the SBA certification database on the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification Program portal at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/ and must meet federal small business size standards for the NAICS code assigned to this solicitation at time of both quote submission and at time of award.

To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms

and conditions herein as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in

the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

OR

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in

the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s), if any.

Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via email to the POC listed below, questions should be received no later than 10AM EST December 11, 2023. Questions received after this time may not be accepted.

Submission of your response shall be received no later than 10AM ET, December 18 2023, via email at Andrew.Allen6@va.gov

Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR

52.212-1(f).

Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Point of Contact listed below.

Point of Contact

Andrew Allen, Contract Specialist

Andrew.allen6@va.gov