Relay Conference Captioning (RCC)

Pre-solicitation Notice – Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (HC) Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) Services

The Department of Energy, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (HC) intends to issue a Request for Quote (RFQ) solicitation for relay conference captioning language services.

This is a Pre-solicitation Notice. This notice is being issued for planning and information purposes only. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A SOLICITATION, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice, nor will the Government accept quotations as a result of this notice.

NAICS CODE AND SBA SIZE STANDARD: The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541930 - Translation and Interpretation Services, which has a small business size standard of $22.5 Million.

TYPE OF SET-ASIDE: This acquisition will be solicited as unrestricted.

SOLICITATION AND CONTRACT TYPE: It is anticipated that from the Request for Quote, the Government will award a single time-and-material/labor-hour (T&M/LH) contract to the responsible quoter whose quote is determined to be the most advantageous and presents the best value – Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) to the Government as evaluated under the criteria described in the forthcoming solicitation.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The anticipated overall period of performance of the single-award contract will be one (1) 12-month base period and four (4) 12-month option periods.

SOLICITATION RELEASE DATE: The anticipated release date for this solicitation is early-mid March 2024.

SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SAM): Quoters must be successfully registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov in order to receive a Government contract award. There is no cost to register at SAM.gov. Registrations can take longer than normal to request a new or renew/reactivate vendor accounts in SAM. SAM registration requests should be submitted at least 60 calendar days prior to contract award. Offerors must have their representations and certifications available online in SAM or provide them with their proposal in order to receive a Government contract award. Assignment of a CAGE code can take up to ten (10) business days after completion of SAM registration. Quoters are highly encouraged to register as soon as possible. For assistance using SAM.gov, contact the Federal Service Desk at https://sam.gov/content/help.

FEDCONNECT.NET: FedConnect.net is the vendor portal integrated with the Department of Energy’s procurement system. The Department of Energy utilizes FedConnect to post opportunities as well as communicate with vendors throughout the procurement life cycle from pre-solicitation through post-award. Updates and additional information or changes to the RFQ will be posted at the FedConnect website. Vendors are able to submit their quotes and responses directly to the Department of Energy via FedConnect. Vendors must register at FedConnect prior to submitting quotes. In order to create a FedConnect account, vendors must have an active SAM registration. Only quotations submitted via FedConnect will be accepted. For assistance using FedConnect.gov, contact FedConnect Support at https://fcsupport.unisonglobal.com/support/home.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific information pertaining to this procurement will be available in the solicitation. The solicitation and all supporting documents will be released on the FedConnect.net and SAM.gov websites. The Government will only accept and evaluate quotes received via FedConnect. An active SAM account is required for award. It is the responsibility of all potential quoters to monitor FedConnect.net and SAM.gov for release of the solicitation, any amendments, updates, and responses to industry questions/comments.

POINT OF CONTACT: The Contract Specialist for this solicitation is Ellen Baptist,
ellen.baptist@hq.doe.gov. Any communications regarding this pre-solicitation announcement must be made in writing via e-mail. Communications regarding this notice must be submitted to the same e-mail address above with the subject line “Relay Conference Captioning Pre-Solicitation Notice”.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN RFQ AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT AT THIS TIME.