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In Reply Refer To: ID09160058
From: Renee Hicks, Senior Contracting Officer, GSA, Federal Acquisition
Service
Subject: Request for Quotation (RFQ)
Reply By: *[Insert Date, time, time zone]
*To: Agile Blanket Purchase Agreement (aBPA) Pool 3 Holders
1. General. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Acquisition Operations Division (AOD), Pacific Rim Region, hereby issues this Request for Quotation (RFQ) on behalf of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Service, 18F to provide scrum integration support services for the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Section 14(c) System as outlined in Attachment 1, Performance Work Statement (PWS).
This solicitation will be accomplished using the terms and conditions of the Agile BPA (aBPA), awarded under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), also known as Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, Schedule 70, General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services, under Special Item Number (SIN) 132 51, Information Technology Professional Services.
The Government will use oral presentations in a multi-phased approach for this procurement as summarized below (Refer to Section 9.0 of the RFQ for further details):
Phase 1: Quote Compliance Check. A compliance check will be conducted to ensure that offerers include a complete price quotation in accordance with Section 7(c) and a technical quotation within the page limit requested.
Phase 2: Technical Compliance Check. Review of Written Technical Quotations to ensure that offerors meet technical requirements as outlined in Section 7(b)(ii) and Section 7(b)(iii) of the RFQ, and the PWS.
Phase 3: Oral Interview Phase. Offerors that are considered in Phase 3 will be notified of the time and date of the oral presentations.
Questions or comments regarding this RFQ shall be submitted as issues within the GitHuB repository at https://github.com/18F/\[insert link] no later than [date] at [time, time zone], to allow the Government sufficient time to respond. All questions and comments will be publicly available. Please subscribe to the repository if your firm would like updates about changes and comments. Questions or comments received after the required deadline will not be answered. Any changes to this RFQ or attachments will be posted as an amendment on GSA eBuy.
All offers must be received electronically through the e-Buy web portal by the official closing date and time identified above. Late quotations will not be considered for award. It is each Offeror’s responsibility to learn how to navigate the e-Buy system, find attached documents, and/or submit their quotation. If an offeror is unsure about any eBuy feature, the offeror is instructed to contact the eBuy help desk and/or search the eBuy web portal for the appropriate assistance.
REMINDER: In accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agile BPA, if a BPA holder does not intend to submit a quotation for a task order under the BPA, the BPA holder shall place a “No Quote” in eBuy and shall include a brief explanation as to the reason for “No Quote”. No penalty will occur for a BPA holder choosing to place a "No Quote" on a given order.
2. Administration. The resultant task order will be issued and administered via GSA’s AAS Business Systems Portal (also knowns as IT Solutions Shop (ITSS)). Please ensure your firm and points of contact are registered in this system and that your registration includes your FSS contract number and BPA number. Please go to https://portal.fas.gsa.gov/web/guest for registration information and to verify your account is active and current. Failure to be registered or have an active account will result in a delay in the award or no award.
3. Period of Performance. The Period of Performance (POP) is 60 days with no option periods.
4. Type of Contract. The Government contemplates award of a Firm Fixed Price order.
5. Content. Please submit your quotation in accordance with the instructions specified in this RFQ letter and the terms and conditions of your BPA and prices contained therein. Please ensure that your response includes all requested information and that your technical response clearly demonstrates your company’s capability to perform the objectives and requirements specified in the PWS. The Government intends to award based on initial offers. Therefore, it is critical that you are fully responsive to the solicitation and submit your best offer initially.
6. Special Instructions.
a. Format. Quotations shall be formatted for viewing/printing using 8.5 by 11 inch paper size, single sided, and in a common format. Information provided in the quotation shall be concise, specific, and complete.
b. Page Limits. The Technical Quotation (including any attachments) must be provided in a separate file from the price quotation to facilitate an independent evaluation. Your technical quotation shall not exceed a total of 5 pages, excluding the cover letter and a table of contents, if included. Additional documents that are excluded from the 5-page limitation should be submitted as an appendix/attachment to the technical quotation. Offerors that exceed the page limitations as specified herein will not be considered for award.
c. Quotation Validation Date. Quotation must be valid for at least 60 calendar days after quotation response date.
d. Communications Prior to Award. The offeror shall direct all communications to the Contracting Officer. Communications with other officials may compromise the competitiveness of this acquisition and result in removal of the offeror from award consideration or cancellation of this requirement.
Submittals in response to this solicitation shall only include two separate attachments, a technical file and a pricing file, unless an organizational conflict of interest statement also applies.
a. Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest Statement. > Offerors shall submit a signed Potential Organizational Conflict > of Interest Statement (COI) in accordance with Section 5 of the > PWS if the Offeror has any potential Organizational Conflicts > of Interest. Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Statements > are not considered part of your technical quotation, and shall > not count against any page limitation on their proposal submission > as the information contained must be accurate and complete to > allow for a CO reasonable and meaningful consideration of any > potential or actual COI/OCI determination.
b. Technical Quotation. The Government intends to utilize oral > presentations for this procurement. Therefore, aspects of your > written technical quotation shall only include the information > outlined below, in one file:
i. **Cover Page**. Your technical quotation must include a cover
> page that includes the company name, company address, State
> Federal Tax Identification (TIN) and Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS)
> number(s), FSS 70 contract number, BPA number, and points of
> contact with telephone number, facsimile number, and
> email address. In most instances, the cover page shall be no
> more than one (1) page. Your cover page is not included as
> part of your 5-page limitation.
ii. **Staffing Plan**. The offeror shall submit a Staffing Plan
> which describes the Offeror’s understanding of the
> requirements and details the number of personnel by skill
> level/labor category needed to satisfy the objectives and
> requirements of the PWS. All proposed skill levels/labor
> categories shall be consistent with the Agile BPA.
At a minimum, provide:
I. An introduction that describes your staffing methodology based on > your understanding of the requirements. Refer to the Section 5.7.3 > of the PWS for the Government’s estimated level of effort.
II. A breakdown of labor categories, including the title, number of > personnel, and hours.
III. A list of key personnel by name, title, contact information, > proposed duties and roles, and resumes for each proposed key > personnel in accordance with Section 5 of the PWS. Resumes should > include a description of the experience and capability for all key > personnel proposed for the Offeror’s project team. Resumes should > also address the individual’s technical background, education, > work experience, and accomplishments related to the activities > described in the attached PWS.
IV. The proposal of any key personnel not currently employed by the > offeror or teaming partners shall be accompanied by letters of > intent signed by proposed key personnel in accordance with Section > 5.7.2 of the PWS.
V. Resumes and letters of intent are not included as part of any > page limitation.
VI. Contractor Teaming Arrangements. A description of any Contractor > Teaming Arrangements CTAs/Subcontractor arrangements, including > names, addresses, and points of contact. Please note that CTAs and > subcontractor arrangement are not the same. The quotation shall > clearly identify if the offeror is proposing a CTA or > subcontractor arrangement, all team members, business size of each > team member, and the services provided by each team member. If the > offeror is not proposing any CTAs/subcontractor arrangements, the > offeror shall indicate so in their staffing plan.
i. **Similar Experience**. The offeror shall provide at least one
> example of a scrum team that has worked on highly sensitive or
> highly complex projects in close collaboration with an agency,
> either federal, state or local. The project must have been
> delivered by either a) the Offeror itself or,
> alternatively, b) a teaming partner that is proposed in
> response to this RFQ, or, alternatively, c) any key personnel
> that is being proposed in response to this RFQ.
In the project summary, please identify how the offeror’s team was involved in the development. The summary shall include links to the public Git repository that includes the source code that was developed and accepted for the project. Actual access to a publicly available Git repository is strongly encouraged over screenshots of private repositories. The summary should also include live links of the final product or current staging environment.
i. Links. If live links are not available, screenshots can be > provided, along with a brief explanation as to why the project is > no longer live. The projects should be recent and similar to the > size and technical scope of this requirement.
ii. Similar Size: Similar size is between three (3) and five (5) > Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff having performed on project > with a period of performance of two (2) months to twelve (12) > months. A project with more staff may be submitted if the > specific work of a smaller sub-team is clearly articulated > and identified.
iii. Recent and Similar Technical Scope: Recent and similar technical > scope is past experience with building usable, responsive, > consumer facing web site serving at least a million users, > built within the past three (3) years.
iv. Page Limits. The project(s) submitted for Similar Experience is > included as part of your 5-page limitation. If screenshots of > private repositories are included in the quotation, they shall not > count towards the 5-page limitation, however they shall be > included in the same file as an appendix/attachment.
a. Price Quotation. The Government hereby seeks further price > reductions and Most Favored Customer (MFC) pricing for all > price services. Provide your best discounted rates. The offeror > shall submit a SEPARATE price quotation that includes the > following, as one file:
i. **Pricing Schedule.** Include a pricing schedule utilizing
> Attachment 5, Pricing Template. All proposed labor rates shall
> be consistent with your BPA rates and must be fully burdened
> (inclusive of profit, fringe benefits, salary, indirect rates,
> and the GSA Contract Access Fee (CAF)) and should be in
> accordance with the terms and conditions of your BPA.
ii. **Pricing Narrative**. The pricing narrative should describe
> your basis of pricing for the required services and other
> costs used in the development of the proposed pricing. The
> pricing narrative should also indicate if any additional
> discounts off of your BPA are being offered. Include any basis
> of estimate or narrative in the Pricing Schedule provided to
> this RFQ via Attachment 5.
NOTE: Quotations that fail to include any of the items identified above will not be considered for award. Inclusion of caveats, assumptions, or exceptions to the requirement of any kind, in any part of the quotation, will result in the quotation no longer being considered for award
This procurement is being conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart 8.4, Federal Supply Schedules. This is not a FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation, procurement. All contractor submissions in response to this RFQ are considered quotations and not proposals or offers, even if labeled as such. The Offerors agree to and are bound by all instructions, procedures and rules of this RFQ. The Government is not obligated to determine a competitive range, conduct discussions, solicit final revised quotations, and use other techniques associated with FAR part 15. The contracting techniques associated with FAR Part 15 do not apply.
The final award for this requirement will be based on best-value principles, utilizing the trade-off process. Accordingly, award will be made to the responsible and technically acceptable Offeror whose quotation provides the greatest overall value to the Government, price and other factors considered.
This best-value determination will be accomplished by the value of the differences in the technical factors for competing offers under consideration in the technical evaluation, based on their strengths, weaknesses, and risks, with differences in their price to the Government. The Government will make award to the Offeror with the greatest strengths, fewest weaknesses, and least risk to successful performance of this task.
The Government is more concerned with obtaining superior technical and management capabilities than with making awards at the lowest overall price to the Government. However, the Government will not make awards at a significantly higher overall price to achieve slightly superior technical value. Offerors are advised that the technical evaluation factors combined are significantly more important than price.
The Government will evaluate the requirements for an Offeror’s performance or capability acceptability based on the following non-price technical factors which are of equal importance to each other.
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Technical Understanding and Approach
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Staffing Plan
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Similar Experience
Each Offeror’s price quotation will be evaluated separately from the technical quotation. The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s proposed price to ensure that the offered price is fair, reasonable, and realistic. Pricing shall reflect reasonableness, consistency with industry standards, and be in compliance with rates and terms and conditions of the BPA.
a. Evaluation Process
The Government intends to utilize a multi-phased approach for this procurement as described below. To be considered for award, Offerors must successfully pass through each phase.
Phase 1: Quote Compliance Check. A compliance check will be conducted to ensure that offerors include a complete price quotation in accordance with Section 7(c) and a technical quotation within the page limit requested.
Phase 2: Technical Compliance Check. Review of Written Technical Quotations to ensure that offerors meet technical requirements as outlined in Section 7(b)(ii) and Section 7(b)(iii) of the RFQ, and the PWS.
Phase 3: Oral Interview Phase. Offerors that are considered in Phase 3 will be notified of the time and date of the oral presentations.
The Offeror’s responses to questions asked during the Oral Presentations will be evaluated based on an assessment by the Government technical evaluation team of their strengths, weaknesses, and risks associated with the technical factors described above. After each oral presentation, the evaluation team will assess the technical merits of their proposal and select the vendor that demonstrates, in GSA's determination, the greatest understanding of the Government's requirements as described in the PWS, has the proper mix of technical expertise to satisfy the requirements, and does not exhibit weaknesses that would significantly affect the vendor's ability to satisfy the requirements.
Following the technical evaluations, price will be introduced and a best value decision will be made in accordance with the Basis of Award and Evaluation Criteria as identified above.
The Government does not intend to use any adjectival ratings for this procurement and will provide a brief explanation in accordance with FAR 8.405-2(d).
FAR 52.227-17 Rights in Data -- Special Works (DEC 2007)
FAR 52.252-1 -- SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)
This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with 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 offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): (http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm)
(End of Provision)
FAR 52.252-2 -- CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)
This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): (http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm)
(End of clause)
FAR 52.203-98 -- PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS-REPRESENTATION (DEVIATION 2015-02) (APR 2015)
(a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.
(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.
(c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.
(End of provision)
FAR 52.203-99 -- PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS (DEVIATION 2015-02) (APR 2015)
(a) The Contractor shall not require employees or subcontractors seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.
(b) The contractor shall notify employees that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements covered by this provision are no longer in effect.
(c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this clause does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.
(d)
(1) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act may be prohibited, if the Government determines that the Contractor is not in compliance with the provisions of this clause.
(2) The Government may seek any available remedies in the event the recipient fails to comply with the provisions of this clause.
(End of clause)
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PWS
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QASP
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Government Roles and Responsibilities
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Oral Presentations Instructions
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Pricing Template