PRESOL | X | 2009 Benefits Officers Training

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 14, 2008 FBO #2453
SOLICITATION NOTICE

X -- 2009 Benefits Officers Training

Notice Date: 8/12/2008
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
NAICS: 721110 — Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels
Contracting Office: Office of Personnel Management, Center for Contracting, Facilities & Administrative Services, Contracting Group, 1900 E Street, N.W., Room 1342, Washington, District of Columbia, 20415-7710
ZIP Code: 20415-7710
Solicitation Number: OPM049-08-Q-0034
Archive Date: 9/30/2009
Point of Contact: John R. Dismond,, Phone: 202-606-1518, Antoinette M Campbell,, Phone: 202/606-4806
E-Mail Address: John.Dismond@opm.gov, amcampbe@opm.gov
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Description: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial service prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.102 (g) and with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; Quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Solicitation number is: OPM049-08-Q-0034 and is issued as a Request for Quotations (RFQ). This solicitation document incorporates all mandatory commercial item provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-26 dated June 12, 2008. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 721110, and the small business size standard is $6.5 million. This procurement is unrestricted, allowing both large and small business to submit quotations. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is soliciting a facility in the Southeast region, defined as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, to conduct a five-day Benefits training which will provide a series of workshops on Retirement, Insurance, Social Security, and Thrift Savings Plan Administration. The contractor shall provide all labor, incidental materials, and other services necessary to render services under the resulting contract, see Statement of Objectives detailed below. The period of performance is from date of award through June 30, 2009. Note that the benefits training event must be held prior to June 30, 2009. Offerors are invited to submit their quotations to OPM-Contracting Group in response to this notice by 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), August 29, 2008. Only e-mailed requests for additional information will be accepted at john.dismond@opm.gov through 3:00 PM, August 15, 2008. Quotations submitted in response to this notice shall include the solicitation number in the subject line and be signed, dated and submitted via email to john.dismond@opm.gov. Vendors not registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database at the time the requirement is to be awarded will not be considered. Vendors may register with CCR by calling 1-888-227-2423 or (269) 961-5757, or by accessing www.ccr.gov. BACKGROUND The Human Resources Products and Services (HRPS), Center for Retirement and Insurance Services (CRIS) is responsible for developing and providing Federal employees, retirees and their families with benefits programs and services that offer choice, value and quality to help maintain the government's position as a competitive employer. The Benefits Officers Training and Development Group (BOTDG) of the CRIS has a need for a facility in the Southeast region, defined as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, to conduct a five-day Benefits training which will provide a series of workshops on Retirement, Insurance, Social Security, and Thrift Savings Plan Administration. Historically, OPM has sponsored multiple training sessions at least once a year to meet the requirements of 5 U.S. C. 8350 (3) which states, “Once each year, each retirement counselor of an agency shall successfully complete training under the (Office of Personnel Management) training program.” This training also meets Operational Goal B51, which states, “Conduct annual training for agency benefits officers by September 1, 2008 and each year thereafter.” SCOPE The Center for Retirement Insurance Service is needs to acquire a contractor to provide meeting space, overnight accommodations, audio visual equipment and meal services for the upcoming 2009 Benefits Training. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES The contractor will be required to provide meeting space, lodging, audio visual equipment, and meal services for the 2009 Benefits Training to include, but not limited to following: 1.1.Hotel must be located in a Southern East state. South Eastern is defined as, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. 1.2.The facility must have a ballroom for a general session to be held on Wednesday and Thursday of the event to accommodate the entire group of attendees. The room should be able to seat 450 participants, classroom seating style, and must accommodate audiovisual equipment of various forms (refer to section 4.23). 1.3.The facility must have at least nine (9) training rooms for all days with space for a speaker’s area and any needed audio visual equipment in each room. 1.4.Training rooms must accommodate 45-50 people, classroom style or other configurations as stated. Classrooms in the same contiguous area are preferred. 1.5.All rooms for training classes must be well lit, well ventilated, free from distracting noise such as noise from traffic or other guests in corridors, and accessible to the handicapped. 1.6.These rooms must comfortably seat the audience in classroom style (or other configuration) at tables or individual seating that gives attendees a surface for a notebook and note taking. Chairs with arms are preferred, and must be comfortable for long sessions. 1.7.Rooms equipped with separate controls for heat, air, light and sound are preferred, and they should accommodate overhead projectors and/or computer projection system screens. 1.8.The rooms should contain sound control, even if microphones are used, so that other sessions are not disturbed. 1.9.The tables used in the training sessions must have cloth covering and seat two chairs per six foot table or three chairs per eight foot table or other configuration such as crescent rounds or chevron seating. 1.10.The facility must have a lobby or other open area close to the training area for registration and breaks. 1.11.The facility must be willing to make the training site non-smoking during the days that the training is in session. 1.12.The facility must guarantee a block of rooms for overnight accommodations for the participants at the government rate and the facility must be fully accessible to the handicapped. Further guest room requirements are: Rooms must have air conditioning, private baths, telephones, TV’s, etc. Estimated 400 rooms on the evenings of Sunday, the day preceding first day of the event, through Thursday and 300 rooms for Friday evening for attendees, OPM staff, and instructors. Accommodations for all participants must be at the contracted facility. If sufficient guestrooms are not available at the facility, the host facility will be responsible for arranging additional rooms of comparable quality and at the same rate. Preferred that the host facility arrange registration for participants staying in overflow facilities. If an overflow facility is used, shuttle service must be provided between the contractor’s facility and hotels with overflow guests. If shuttle service is not available, the facility should be within 5 minutes walking distance. 1.13.The facility should be located in a downtown area, be a full service hotel, and be near outside entertainment (restaurant, shopping, movie theaters, etc.). 1.14.The facility should have exhibition space which should be in close proximity to the training area and should accommodate approximately 5 – 10 exhibitors on Wednesday and Thursday during the event. Booths with an area of 8’ x 10’ must be provided. 1.15.Exhibition space should be conveniently located near the training areas, and should be large enough to not only accommodate all booths, but also should provide space for a continental breakfast to be served each morning and afternoon refreshment breaks to be served on Wednesday and Thursday of the event. 1.16.The facility must offer easy airport connections to accommodate out-of-town attendees. A location near an airport that serves as a hub for at least two major airlines is preferred. Direct airport shuttle service is highly desirable. 1.17.Meals – •Continental breakfast each morning consisting of rolls, danish, bagels, fresh fruit, juice, coffee (regular and decaffeinated), and tea. •Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks. Coffee breaks should include coffee (regular and decaffeinated), hot tea, water and sodas in the mornings. An assortment of beverages; such as, hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, soda, water and a snack (granola bars, cookies, etc) in the afternoon. 1.18.A range of readily-available eating options (within the Government per diem allowance) at the facility or area adjacent to the facility must be available to accommodate all participants and instructors for lunch (within the 1-hour lunch break) during the training sessions. All participants will be responsible for paying for these meals. 1.19.A room large enough to host a Welcome Reception (Sunday) and a Dinner (Tuesday) for all participants and instructors. OPM will cover the cost of the reception and dinner. NOTE: All meals must be able to accommodate dietary needs of attendees – e.g. low salt, vegetarian, kosher, etc. 1.20.The facility must have a registration area adjacent to the training rooms to accommodate registration for the training participants. •House telephones must be located at one of the registration tables and a message board must be near the telephones. •The registration area must be large enough to accommodate registration and should be composed of three six-foot tables side by side and up to 6 chairs. The tables must have cloth covering. •The lobby or other open area with informal seating needs to be available where training attendees can meet informally for networking before or after training sessions. 1.21.The area must include proper wiring for a computer, printer, and any other office equipment needed for registration. 1.22.Rooms for OPM staff use are required as follows: •One room with outside phone line and internet connection for use as an office during the entire week. •One storage room or other room large enough to accommodate 125-150 boxes of training materials and supplies. This room should be available 4 calendar days prior to the opening of the training for receipt and storage of the materials. 1.23.Equipment needs for each training room is anticipated to be: •Podium with microphone; screen; tables for equipment set up; easels with pads and markers; and an easel outside each room for signage. This equipment needs to be available the entire five days of the training. The exact quantity and mix of training equipment will be supplied before the training begins. For price comparisons, see example below of typical equipment needs. •Sample of Equipment Needs for each room oSpeaker table with up to 2 chairs oPodium with microphone oScreens oTable large enough to accommodate an LCD Projector and a laptop computer oPower strip with long enough cord to reach socket to table oTwo flip charts with easels and markers oEasel to be placed outside each room for signage oLapel Microphone oInternet access for some rooms 1.24.Parking should be available for attendees and OPM staff (at the expense of the attendees and OPM staff. 1.25.Contractor facility must have Business Center accommodations or other such service available to participants for mailing training materials back to their offices. This could include FedEX service or other mail service complete with packaging equipment (envelopes, boxes, labels, tape, etc.). Many participants attend five separate workshops during the training week and can receive five rather large notebooks of materials. 1.26.The contractor’s facility must have one of the following quality ratings: First class or higher per the Official Hotel Guide; Three crowns or higher per the OAG Business Travel Planner; or Three diamonds or higher per AAA. 1.27.The Contractor’s facility must be Federal Emergency Management Agency approved and listed on the U.S. Fire Administration Hotel and Motel National Master List found at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/hotel/search.cfm. 1.28.The Contractor's facility must be compliant with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (Public Law 101-336) 42 U.S.C. 12101 et. seq.). DELIVERABLES: The contractor will host a successful 2009 Benefits Training program as a result of the requirements stated in the Statement of Objectives. Rendering of the services must occur before June 30, 2009 and include the following: 1.1Overnight Accommodations 1.2Meeting Space 1.3Audio Visual Equipment 1.4Meals The following clauses and provisions apply to this acquisition: Incorporated by reference is FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (JUNE 2008). Please provide quotations separately from the technical proposal. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION (a) The offeror shall include in its quotation a discussion of the offeror's proposed technical approach to respond to the requirements in the Statement of Objectives. Present clear and convincing evidence that you understand the scope of work as described in the Statement of Objectives, and that your technical approach to accomplishing this work is sound. Include: •A narrative describing your understanding of this requirement. •A description of your technical expertise for meeting the requirements of this solicitation. Your narrative should, at a minimum: •Indicate the initial plan to gain an understanding of OPM’s operations needs; •Discuss the anticipated methodology to complete the work described in of the Statement of Objectives; •Describe your strategy for dealing with potential significant technical, administrative, or managerial problems that could arise, particularly those issues that impact deliverable deadlines; and •Descriptive literature regarding your facility’s sleeping rooms, eating/restaurant spaces, menus, hotel parking fees, laundry services, meeting room space, diagrams and square footage. (b) In addition to its proposed technical approach, the offeror shall summarize its corporate experience (including results) with meeting space, lodging, audio visual equipment, and meal services contracts similar to this solicitation that the offeror has successfully performed in the past five years. The information presented shall be in sufficient detail to describe the previous experience and effectiveness of the offeror in similar or closely related work, and to demonstrate the offeror’s current ability to accomplish the tasking in this solicitation. This summary should include: •Firm Experience: statement of the offering firm’s level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator/assistant services similar in nature to the requirements of this project. •Management Experience: statement of the level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator services similar in nature to the requirements of this project, including the resume (s) of the management resources that will be responsible for this project. •Experience of Available Resources: statement of the level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator/assistant services similar in nature to the requirements of this project, including the provision of resumes of resources that will be available for this project. •Resumes: In addition to the above submission, the offeror shall include in its response to the Statement of Objectives a resume for each key person proposed for the project. Resumes of management, technical, and support staff necessary to provide the services and support requested shall also be included. Individual resumes shall be no more than two pages in length. Resumes shall include the following: 1.Name of person; 2.Proposed position, function, or role; 3.Proposed labor category; 4.Education (including, in reverse chronological order, colleges and/or technical schools attended (with dates), degree(s)/certification(s) received, major field(s) of study, and approximate number of total class hours); 5.Experience (including, in reverse chronological order, area(s) of work in which a person is qualified, company and title of position, approximate starting and ending dates (month/year), concise descriptions of experience for each position held, and 6.Certification that the information contained in the resume is correct and accurate. (c) Also include the following past performance information for three (3) contracts and/or subcontracts for requirements as similar as possible to the current requirement: •Name of contract or project; •Contract Number; •Role (Prime or Subcontractor); •Sponsoring Organization or Company; •Contract type; •Period of Performance; •Total Contract Value; •Contract Manager and telephone number; •Program Manager and telephone number; •Project description, scope of work preformed, services or products delivered; •Major success or accomplishments, and •Major problems, lessons learned, and solution(s) applied if applicable. (d) The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. A Table of Contents should be created using the Table of Contents feature in MS Word. MS Word (.doc) files shall use the following Page Setup parameters: Margins – Top, Bottom, Left, Right - 1” Gutter – 0” From Edge – Header, Footer - 0.5” Page Size, Width – 8.5” Page Size, Height – 11” The following additional restrictions apply: •Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. •A standard, 11-point minimum font size applies. •Times New Roman font is required. •Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Proposal page limits are as follows: •Technical Proposal – 50 pages maximum •Performance Risk Proposal - no page limit •Price Proposal – no page limit (e) Pages that exceed the page limits above will be deleted and will not be evaluated. Page numbers, headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY, and are not bound by the font requirements. Company logos are prohibited with the exception of the Title Page. Pages that exceed the margin, font or total page limit will not be evaluated. Pages deleted due to violation of the margin or font restrictions will not count against the page limitation. Page count will NOT be based upon the numbers of pages, printed but rather dictated by the number of pages in a print layout view in the application based upon the above-prescribed document settings. Counting pages in the order they appear for viewing will make up the page count. The page limits are applicable to graphs, tables, drawings and any other attachments submitted with the proposals and not specifically excluded by the solicitation. Any index, table of contents, glossary or integrated master schedule will not be included in the maximum page limitation. (f) Offeror(s) are responsible for including sufficient details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. Each file of the proposal shall consist of a Table of Contents, Summary Section and the Narrative discussion. The Summary Section shall contain a brief abstract of the file. Proprietary information shall be clearly marked. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION (a)Quotations which merely offer to conduct the work in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s scope of work will be considered nonresponsive. The offeror must submit an explanation of the proposed technical approach in conjunction with the tasks to be performed in achieving the project objectives. (b)Evaluation of the technical portion of quotations will be conducted by a technical review committee in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in FAR Clause 52.212-5 below. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE BUSINESS PORTION OF THE QUOTATION 1.PRICE INFORMATION Offerors shall submit Firm-Fixed Price quotation responses for the following deliverables: meeting space, overnight accommodations, audio visual equipment and meal services. Offerors shall submit a detailed breakdown of prices for each deliverable. In addition, a summary total amount shall be furnished for the entire project. The business portion of the quotation must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the proposed price of the work. 2.INFORMATION OTHER THAN PRICING DATA The vendor shall submit sufficiently detailed information to permit the Contracting Officer and authorized representatives to evaluate the offer. Unless otherwise stated in this solicitation, the information may be submitted in the offeror’s own format. 3.PRICING The vendor shall clarify for each line item if the unit price represents the vendor’s published prices, or lower. 4.SPECIAL BUSINESS QUOTATION INSTRUCTIONS The Government anticipates that the work will be performed at the contractor’s facility. OPM reserves the right to conduct an on-site inspection of offered facilities. 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Items (JAN 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers and are in descending order of importance. Technical Approach - Evaluation will based on the extent to which you understand the scope of work as described in the Summary of Requirements, and that your technical approach to accomplishing this work is sound to include the following: size, quality of services and accommodations, confirmation of overall quality rating and location. Past performance – Evaluation will based on your corporate experience (including results) with meating space, lodging, audio visual equipment and meal service contracts similar to this solicitation that the offeror has successfully performed in the past five years. Subcontracting Plan Price - As technical scores for the contractors become more equal, price becomes a more determinate factor. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. As technical scores for the contractors become more equal, price becomes a more determinate factor. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (JUNE 2008) An offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov. If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the ORCA website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (m) of this provision. Incorporated by reference are FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (Feb 2007). FAR Clauses 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items with the following additional clauses are applicable: FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor; 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and other Eligible Veterans; 52.222.36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.225-1 Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.232-36 Payment by Third Party. FAR 37.107 1965; The Service Contract Act of 1965 (41 U.S.C. 351-357) provides for minimum wages and fringe benefits as well as other conditions of work under certain types of service contracts. The latest wage determination your area may be accessed electronically at website http://www.wdol.gov. The most recent wage determination shall be incorporated in full text to the successful offeror. The full text of FAR references may be accessed electronically at website http://www.acqnet.gov 1752.205-70Announcement of Contract Award OPM complies with FAR 5.3, Synopses of Contract Awards, in terms of synopsizing and publicly announcing contract awards. These actions take place at the time of, and not before, the contract is awarded. Contract award, in this case, means signature of the contractual document by the Contracting Officer and forwarding of the contractual document to the contract awardee. If the contract awardee wishes to make a separate public announcement, the awardee must obtain the approval of the Contracting Officer prior to releasing the announcement, and must plan to make announcement only after the contract has been awarded. 1752.209-73Standards of Conduct (a)Personnel assigned by the contractor to the performance of work under this order must be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct. Contractor personnel shall conform to standards of conduct as follows: (1)No contractor employees shall solicit new business while performing work under this order. (2)The contractor and its employees shall not discuss with unauthorized persons any information obtained in the performance of work under this order. (b)Should the continued assignment to work under this order of any person in the contractor’s organization be deemed by the Contracting Officer to conflict with the interests of the Government, that person shall be removed immediately from assignment, and the reason for removal shall be fully documented in writing by the Contracting Officer. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules, and if such difficulties impair performance, the contractor may be subject to default. 1752.209-74Organizational Conflicts of Interest (a)The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor’s knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest (OCI), as defined in FAR 9.5, Organizational and Consultants Conflicts of Interest, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information. (b)The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential OCI is discovered after award, the Contractor shall make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure must include a description of actions, which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict. (c)The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an OCI. If the Contractor was aware of a potential OCI prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contacting Office, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. (d)The Contractor must include this clause in all subcontracts and in lower tier subcontracts unless a waiver is requested from, and granted by, the Contracting Officer. (e)In the event that a requirement changes in such a way as to create a potential conflict of interest for the Contractor, the Contractor must: (1)Notify the Contracting Officer of a potential conflict, and; (2)Recommend to the Government an alternate approach which would avoid the potential conflict, or (3)Present for approval a conflict of interest mitigation plan that will: (i)Describe in detail the changed requirement that creates the potential conflict of interest; and (ii)Outline in detail the actions to be taken by the Contractor or the Government in the performance of the task to mitigate the conflict, division of subcontractor effort, and limited access to information, or other acceptable means. (4)The Contractor must not commence work on a changed requirement related to a potential conflict of interest until specifically notified by the Contracting Officer to proceed. (5)If the Contracting Officer determines that it is in the best interest of the Government to proceed with work, notwithstanding a conflict of interest, a request for waiver must be submitted in accordance with FAR 9.503. 1752.219-70Small Business Subcontracting Plan (a)If your company is required to file a Small Business Subcontyracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9, please use the Subcontracting Plan Template attached to this solicitation for that purpose. (b)The on-line Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) must now be used for input of the reports required by FAR 52.219-9(d)(10)(iii). To comply with this requirement, please do the following: (1)If your company does not yet have an eSRS account, then please sign up for one at www.esrs.gov. A user guide that explains how to use eSRS is available at: http://esrs.gov/documents/esrs_contractor_user_guide_1.7.pdf. If you notice that your company contact information or DUNS number in eSRS are not correct, then please make corrections through the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) website at http://www.ccr.gov/. That data will then flow from the CCR to the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) and then finally into the eSRS system. Repopulation of your eSRS contact info can take two business days after you make corrections in the CCR. Please include the e-mail addresses of the contracting officer in eSRS for notification in block 13 of the report. (2)Starting with fiscal year 2005, submit your Summary Subcontracting Reports (SSRs – Old SF 295) and your Individual Subcontracting Reports (ISRs – Old SF 294) for contracts into the eSRS. Midyear reports are not required in eSRS for FY 2004 and 2005. (3)For fiscal year 2006 onward also submit your midyear (March) ISRs into eSRS. (4)If you have not yet submitted a final report for any contracts closed during FY 2004 onward, you should do so now using the eSRS. (5)Please continue to submit to the Contracting Officer paper prints of all the reports you input to eSRS, until further notice. (This continues to be a FAR requirement) (6)If you have a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with OPM, please submit your ISRs via paper. FPDS-NG, which provides data into eSRS, does not identify subcontracting plans resulting from BPAs and other types of orders. 1752.222-70Notice of Requirement for Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities By signing this offer or contract, the contractor will be deemed to have signed and agreed to the provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Clause 52.222-21, Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities, incorporated by reference in this solicitation/contract. The certification provides that the bidder or offeror does not maintain or provide for its employees, facilities which are segregated on a basis of race, color, religion, or national origin, whether such facilities are segregated by directive or on a de facto basis. The certification also provides that the bidder/offeror does not and will not permit its employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained. FAR Clause 52.222-21 must be included in all subcontracts as well. 1752.222-71 Special Requirements for Employing Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (a)If this contract contains FAR Clause 52.222-35 (Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans), your company must comply with the requirements of this clause, including the listing of employment opportunities with the local office of the state employment service system. (b)If this contract contains FAR clauses 52.222-37 (Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans) or 52.222-38 (Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements), you are reminded that your company must comply with the special reporting requirements described in those clauses. Your company must submit information on several aspects of its employment and hiring of special disabled and Vietnam era veterans or other veterans who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. You must submit this information no later than September 30 of each year, in the “Federal Contractor Veterans’ Employment Report” or VETS-100 Report. The U.S. Department of Labor has established a web site for submitting this report. The address is: http://www.vets100.cudenver.edu. 1752.224-70 Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (a)Applicability This clause applies to contractor personnel and addresses specific OPM requirements in addition to those included in the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a - the Act). The following should not be construed to alter or diminish civil and/or criminal liabilities provided under the Act. (b)Definition of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is “information which can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as their name, social security number, biometric records, etc. alone, or when combined with other personal or identifying information which is linked or linkable to a specific individual, such as date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc.” (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2007/m07-16.pdf). In other words, PII refers to any information, on any medium, that identifies a specific individual whether the information is on paper or electronic. (c)Responsibilities for Handling PII (1)Contract employees shall not remove PII from their individual assigned duty station without prior approval of their supervisor. (2)All contract employees are personally responsible for the proper handling of PII, regardless of location. All contract employees must be: responsible for the proper control and handling of PII residing on their computer, on removable media, and on paper documents. responsible for ensuring portable data storage and communication devices are properly controlled and secured at all times. responsible for the proper marking, control and storage of printouts and other paper documents containing PII in their possession. Email cannot be encrypted. Since PII must be encrypted before being sent, send it only as an encrypted attachment. Do not send PII in the content of an email. (d)Encryption of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (1)OPM has a policy protecting, and when appropriate, restricting sending, copying or moving PII from the OPM network. Therefore, if the contract employees must send PII, send it only as an encrypted attachment. OPM employees and contractors are required to encrypt PII data using WinZip. Instructions on how to use WinZip to encrypt and protect files containing PII are available on Theo at: http://theo.opm.gov/helpdesk/selfhelp/WinZipv90EncryptionProcedures.pdf. WinZip can be used to protect data on workstations, laptops and email attachments. It is available on all OPM workstations attached to the agency’s network. (2)A password protected file is not secure. Never send any unencrypted PII data in e-mail. (e)Procedures for Reporting a Breach of PII (1)A breach of PII includes loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or unauthorized access of personally identifiable information whether physical or electronic. As an agency, OPM is required to immediately report all potential PII data breaches -- whether they involve paper documents or electronic information. In order to meet this responsibility, OPM has established a new internal procedure for reporting the loss or possible compromise of any PII, and this clause conforms to that procedure. (2)OPM contractors must report any breach or potential breach to the OPM Situation Room and the Contracting Officer within 30 minutes of becoming aware of the risk – regardless of the time or day of the week. Breaches should be reported, even if it is believed the breach is limited, small, or insignificant. OPM’s IT security experts, who will determine when a breach needs additional focus and attention. The OPM Situation Room is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Report the breach to the OPM Situation Room and the Contracting Officer either by phone or by e-mail; however, be sure NOT to include PII in the e-mail. (f)Points of Contact (1)OPM contractors must report a breach or potential breach of PII to the OPM Situation Room at: sitroom@opm.gov (202) 418-0111 Fax (202) 606-0624 (2)When notifying the Situation Room, please copy the Contracting Officer at: antoinette.campbell@opm.gov 202-606-4806 202-606-1464 (3)To get help with WinZip, please contact the OPM HelpDesk at: helpdesk@opm.gov (202) 606-4927 TTY (202) 606-1295 (4)If you have questions regarding these procedures, contact the Contracting Officer. 1752.224-71Freedom of Information Act Requests (a)Offerors are reminded that information furnished under this solicitation may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Therefore, all items that are confidential to business, or contain trade secrets, proprietary, or personnel information must be clearly marked. Marking of items will not necessarily preclude disclosure when the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM or The Government) determines disclosure is warranted by FOIA. However, if such items are not marked, all information contained within the submitted documents will be deemed to be releasable. (b)Any information made available to the Contractor by the Government must be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract and must not be divulged or made known in any manner to any person except as may be necessary in the performance of the contract. (c)In performance of this contract, the Contractor assumes responsibility for protection of the confidentiality of Government records and must ensure that all work performed by its subcontractors shall be under the supervision of the Contractor or the Contractor's responsible employees. (d)Each officer or employee of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors to whom any Government record may be made available or disclosed must be notified in writing by the Contractor that information disclosed to such officer or employee can be used only for a purpose and to the extent authorized herein, and that further disclosure of any such information, by any means, for a purpose or to an extent unauthorized herein, may subject the offender to criminal sanctions imposed by 19 U.S.C. 641. That section provides, in pertinent part, that whoever knowingly converts to their use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys, or disposes of any record of the United States or whoever receives the same with intent to convert it to their use or gain, knowing it to have been converted, shall be guilty of a crime punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, or imprisoned up to ten years, or both. 1752.232-70 Invoice Requirements (a)A proper invoice must include the following items (except for interim payments on cost reimbursement contracts for services): (1) Name and address of the contractor. (2)Invoice date and invoice number. (Contractors should date invoices as close as possible to the date of mailing or transmission.) (3)Contract number or other authorization for supplies delivered or services performed (including order number and contract line item number). (4)Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies delivered or services performed. (5)Shipping and payment terms (e.g., shipment number and date of shipment, discount for prompt payment terms). Bill of lading number and weight of shipment will be shown for shipments on Government bills of lading. (6)Name and address of contractor official to whom payment is to be sent (must be the same as that in the contract or in a proper notice of assignment). (7)Name (where practicable), title, phone number, and mailing address of person to notify in the event of a defective invoice. (8)Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). The contractor must include its TIN on the invoice only if required by agency procedures. (See 4.9 TIN requirements.) (9) Electronic funds transfer (EFT) banking information. (i) The contractor must include EFT banking information on the invoice only if required by agency procedures. (ii) If EFT banking information is not required to be on the invoice, in order for the invoice to be a proper invoice, the contractor must have submitted correct EFT banking information in accordance with the applicable solicitation provision (e.g., 52.232-38, Submission of Electronic Funds Transfer Information with Offer), contract clause (e.g., 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration, or 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Other Than Central Contractor Registration), or applicable agency procedures. (iii) EFT banking information is not required if the Government waived the requirement to pay by EFT. (10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract (e.g., evidence of shipment). (b)ALL OPM original invoices (without exception) must be sent to: US Office of Personnel Management Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) 1900 E Street, N.W., Room 5475, OCFO Invoice and Payments Washington, D.C. 20415 E-mail: promptpay@opm.gov (c)In addition to the invoice provided to the address in (b) above the contractor must e-mail an additional copy of the invoice to the Contract Administrator at the following address(s) john.dismond@opm.gov or provide two copies of the signed original to John R. Dismond U.S. Office of Personnel Management Contracting Group, CCFAS 1900 E Street, NW, Room 1342 Washington, DC 20415-0001 (d) Inquiries regarding payment of invoices should be directed to the designated billing office, (202) 606-2175. (e) If the supplies, services, technical or other reports are rejected for failure to conform to the technical requirements of the contract, or for damage in transit or otherwise, the invoice will be rejected and returned to the Contractor. 1752.232-71 Method of Payment (a)Payments under this contract will be made either by check or by wire transfer through the Treasury Financial Communications System at the option of the Government. (b)The Contractor must forward the following information in writing to the Contracting Officer not later than seven (7) days after receipt of notice of award: (1)Full Name (where practicable), title, telephone number, and complete mailing address of responsible official(s): (i)to whom check payments are to be sent, and (ii)who may be contacted concerning the bank account information requested below. (2)The following bank account information required to accomplish wire transfers: (i)Name, address, and telegraphic abbreviation of the receiving financial institution. (ii)Receiving financial institution's 9-digit American Bankers Association (ABA) identifying number for routing transfer of funds. (Provide this number only if the receiving financial institution has access to the Federal Reserve Communications System.) (iii)Recipient's name and account number at the receiving financial institution to be credited with the funds. If the receiving financial institution does not have access to the Federal Reserve Communications System, provide the name of the correspondent financial institution through which the receiving institution receives electronic funds transfer messages. If a correspondent financial institution is specified, also provide: (A)Address and telegraphic abbreviation of the correspondent financial institution. (B)The correspondent financial institution's 9-digit ABA identifying number for routing transfer of funds. (c)Any changes to the information furnished under paragraph (b) of this clause shall be furnished to the Contracting Officer in writing at least 30 days before the effective date of the change. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to furnish these changes promptly to avoid payments to erroneous addresses or bank accounts. (d)The document furnishing the information required in paragraphs (b) and (c) must be dated and contain the signature, title, and telephone number of the Contractor official authorized to provide it, as well as the Contractor's name and contract number 1752.233-70 OPM Protest Procedures (a)An interested party who files a protest with OPM has the option of requesting review and consideration of the protest by either the Contracting Officer (CO) or the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). The protest must clearly indicate the official to whom it is directed. (b)If the protest is directed to the SPE, a copy of the protest must be sent to the Chief of the Contracting Group at the same time the protest is filed with the CO in accordance with FAR 52.233-2. The address of the Acting Chief of the Contract Group is: George W. Leininger, Acting Chief Contracting Group, CCFAS U.S. Office of Personnel 1900 E Street N.W., Room 1342 Washington, DC 20415 (c) Review and consideration of a protest by the SPE is an alternative to review and consideration by the CO. 1752.237-70 Non-Personal Services (a)As stated in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Letter 92-1, dated September 23, 1992, Inherently Governmental Functions, no personal services shall be performed under this contract. No Contractor employee will be directly supervised by the Government. All individual employee assignments, and daily work direction, shall be given by the applicable employee supervisor. If the Contractor believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor must promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action. (b)The Contractor must not perform any inherently Governmental actions under this contract. No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. No Contractor employee may state orally or in writing at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with the contract, Contractor employees must identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work. In all communications with other Government Contractors in connection with this contract, the Contractor employee must state that they have no authority to in any way change the contract and that if the other Contractor believes this communication to be a direction to change their contract, they should notify the Contracting Officer for that contract and not carry out the direction until a clarification has been issued by the Contracting Officer. (c)The Contractor must insure that all of its employees working on this contract are informed of the substance of this clause. Nothing in this clause limits the Government's rights in any way under any other provision of the contract, including those related to the Government's right to inspect and accept the services to be performed under this contract. The substance of this clause must be included in all subcontracts at any tier. 1752.239-70Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) Any information technology product or system procured as a result of this solicitation must be IPv6 Compliant. A compliant product or system must be able to receive process and transmit or forward IPv6 packets and be able to interoperate with other system and protocols in both IPv4 and IPv6 modes. 1752.239-73 Section 508 Standards (a) All electronic and information technology (EIT) procured through this RFQ must meet the applicable accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194, unless an agency exception to this requirement exists. 36 CFR 1194 implements Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and is viewable at http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm. (b) The following standards have been determined to be applicable to this RFQ: (1) 1194.21. Software applications and operating systems. (2) 1194.22. Web-based intranet and Internet information and applications. (3) 1194.23 Telecommunications products. (4) 1194.24 Video and multimedia products. (5) 1194.26 Desktop and portable computers. (c) The standards do not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device, but merely require the EIT be compatible with such software and devices so that it can be made accessible if so required by the agency in the future (d) OPM is required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), to offer access to electronic and information technology for disabled individuals within its employ, and for disabled members of the public seeking information and services. This access must be comparable to that which is offered to similar individuals who do not have disabilities. Standards for complying with this law are prescribed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board ("The Access Board"). (e) The current deliverable(s) must incorporate these standards as well as any agency specific standards developed by OPM. The attached technical description contains further information on how this is to be done. Your response to the solicitation should contain documentation of your compliance with these standards. However, the Contracting Officer may request additional technical documentation, if necessary to make this determination. (f) The final work product must include documentation that the deliverable conforms with the Section 508 Standards promulgated by the US Access Board. (g) In the event of a dispute between you and OPM, then OPM’s assessment of the Section 508 compliance will control and you will need to make any additional changes needed to conform with OPM’s assessment, at no additional charge to OPM. 1752.242-70 Contract Performance Information (a)Dissemination of Contract Performance Information The Contractor must not publish, permit to be published, or distribute for public consumption, any information, oral or written, concerning the results or conclusions made pursuant to the performance of this contract, without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. Two copies of any material proposed to be published or distributed must be submitted to the Contracting Officer for approval. (b)Contractor Testimony All requests for the testimony of the Contractor or its employees, and any intention to testify as an expert witness relating to: (a) any work required by, and or performed under, this contract: or (b) any information provided by any party to assist the Contractor in the performance of this contract, must be immediately reported to the Contracting Officer. Neither the Contractor nor its employees must testify on a matter related to work performed or information provided under this contract, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request, in any judicial or administrative proceeding unless approved by the Contracting Officer or required by a judge in a final court order.This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial service prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.102 (g) and with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; Quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Solicitation number is: OPM049-08-Q-0034 and is issued as a Request for Quotations (RFQ). This solicitation document incorporates all mandatory commercial item provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-26 dated June 12, 2008. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 721110, and the small business size standard is $6.5 million. This procurement is unrestricted, allowing both large and small business to submit quotations. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is soliciting a facility in the Southeast region, defined as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, to conduct a five-day Benefits training which will provide a series of workshops on Retirement, Insurance, Social Security, and Thrift Savings Plan Administration. The contractor shall provide all labor, incidental materials, and other services necessary to render services under the resulting contract, see Statement of Objectives detailed below. The period of performance is from date of award through June 30, 2009. Note that the benefits training event must be held prior to June 30, 2009. Offerors are invited to submit their quotations to OPM-Contracting Group in response to this notice by 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), August 29, 2008. Only e-mailed requests for additional information will be accepted at john.dismond@opm.gov through 3:00 PM, August 15, 2008. Quotations submitted in response to this notice shall include the solicitation number in the subject line and be signed, dated and submitted via email to john.dismond@opm.gov. Vendors not registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database at the time the requirement is to be awarded will not be considered. Vendors may register with CCR by calling 1-888-227-2423 or (269) 961-5757, or by accessing www.ccr.gov. BACKGROUND The Human Resources Products and Services (HRPS), Center for Retirement and Insurance Services (CRIS) is responsible for developing and providing Federal employees, retirees and their families with benefits programs and services that offer choice, value and quality to help maintain the government's position as a competitive employer. The Benefits Officers Training and Development Group (BOTDG) of the CRIS has a need for a facility in the Southeast region, defined as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, to conduct a five-day Benefits training which will provide a series of workshops on Retirement, Insurance, Social Security, and Thrift Savings Plan Administration. Historically, OPM has sponsored multiple training sessions at least once a year to meet the requirements of 5 U.S. C. 8350 (3) which states, “Once each year, each retirement counselor of an agency shall successfully complete training under the (Office of Personnel Management) training program.” This training also meets Operational Goal B51, which states, “Conduct annual training for agency benefits officers by September 1, 2008 and each year thereafter.” SCOPE The Center for Retirement Insurance Service is needs to acquire a contractor to provide meeting space, overnight accommodations, audio visual equipment and meal services for the upcoming 2009 Benefits Training. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES The contractor will be required to provide meeting space, lodging, audio visual equipment, and meal services for the 2009 Benefits Training to include, but not limited to following: 1.1.Hotel must be located in a Southern East state. South Eastern is defined as, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. 1.2.The facility must have a ballroom for a general session to be held on Wednesday and Thursday of the event to accommodate the entire group of attendees. The room should be able to seat 450 participants, classroom seating style, and must accommodate audiovisual equipment of various forms (refer to section 4.23). 1.3.The facility must have at least nine (9) training rooms for all days with space for a speaker’s area and any needed audio visual equipment in each room. 1.4.Training rooms must accommodate 45-50 people, classroom style or other configurations as stated. Classrooms in the same contiguous area are preferred. 1.5.All rooms for training classes must be well lit, well ventilated, free from distracting noise such as noise from traffic or other guests in corridors, and accessible to the handicapped. 1.6.These rooms must comfortably seat the audience in classroom style (or other configuration) at tables or individual seating that gives attendees a surface for a notebook and note taking. Chairs with arms are preferred, and must be comfortable for long sessions. 1.7.Rooms equipped with separate controls for heat, air, light and sound are preferred, and they should accommodate overhead projectors and/or computer projection system screens. 1.8.The rooms should contain sound control, even if microphones are used, so that other sessions are not disturbed. 1.9.The tables used in the training sessions must have cloth covering and seat two chairs per six foot table or three chairs per eight foot table or other configuration such as crescent rounds or chevron seating. 1.10.The facility must have a lobby or other open area close to the training area for registration and breaks. 1.11.The facility must be willing to make the training site non-smoking during the days that the training is in session. 1.12.The facility must guarantee a block of rooms for overnight accommodations for the participants at the government rate and the facility must be fully accessible to the handicapped. Further guest room requirements are: Rooms must have air conditioning, private baths, telephones, TV’s, etc. Estimated 400 rooms on the evenings of Sunday, the day preceding first day of the event, through Thursday and 300 rooms for Friday evening for attendees, OPM staff, and instructors. Accommodations for all participants must be at the contracted facility. If sufficient guestrooms are not available at the facility, the host facility will be responsible for arranging additional rooms of comparable quality and at the same rate. Preferred that the host facility arrange registration for participants staying in overflow facilities. If an overflow facility is used, shuttle service must be provided between the contractor’s facility and hotels with overflow guests. If shuttle service is not available, the facility should be within 5 minutes walking distance. 1.13.The facility should be located in a downtown area, be a full service hotel, and be near outside entertainment (restaurant, shopping, movie theaters, etc.). 1.14.The facility should have exhibition space which should be in close proximity to the training area and should accommodate approximately 5 – 10 exhibitors on Wednesday and Thursday during the event. Booths with an area of 8’ x 10’ must be provided. 1.15.Exhibition space should be conveniently located near the training areas, and should be large enough to not only accommodate all booths, but also should provide space for a continental breakfast to be served each morning and afternoon refreshment breaks to be served on Wednesday and Thursday of the event. 1.16.The facility must offer easy airport connections to accommodate out-of-town attendees. A location near an airport that serves as a hub for at least two major airlines is preferred. Direct airport shuttle service is highly desirable. 1.17.Meals – •Continental breakfast each morning consisting of rolls, danish, bagels, fresh fruit, juice, coffee (regular and decaffeinated), and tea. •Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks. Coffee breaks should include coffee (regular and decaffeinated), hot tea, water and sodas in the mornings. An assortment of beverages; such as, hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, soda, water and a snack (granola bars, cookies, etc) in the afternoon. 1.18.A range of readily-available eating options (within the Government per diem allowance) at the facility or area adjacent to the facility must be available to accommodate all participants and instructors for lunch (within the 1-hour lunch break) during the training sessions. All participants will be responsible for paying for these meals. 1.19.A room large enough to host a Welcome Reception (Sunday) and a Dinner (Tuesday) for all participants and instructors. OPM will cover the cost of the reception and dinner. NOTE: All meals must be able to accommodate dietary needs of attendees – e.g. low salt, vegetarian, kosher, etc. 1.20.The facility must have a registration area adjacent to the training rooms to accommodate registration for the training participants. •House telephones must be located at one of the registration tables and a message board must be near the telephones. •The registration area must be large enough to accommodate registration and should be composed of three six-foot tables side by side and up to 6 chairs. The tables must have cloth covering. •The lobby or other open area with informal seating needs to be available where training attendees can meet informally for networking before or after training sessions. 1.21.The area must include proper wiring for a computer, printer, and any other office equipment needed for registration. 1.22.Rooms for OPM staff use are required as follows: •One room with outside phone line and internet connection for use as an office during the entire week. •One storage room or other room large enough to accommodate 125-150 boxes of training materials and supplies. This room should be available 4 calendar days prior to the opening of the training for receipt and storage of the materials. 1.23.Equipment needs for each training room is anticipated to be: •Podium with microphone; screen; tables for equipment set up; easels with pads and markers; and an easel outside each room for signage. This equipment needs to be available the entire five days of the training. The exact quantity and mix of training equipment will be supplied before the training begins. For price comparisons, see example below of typical equipment needs. •Sample of Equipment Needs for each room oSpeaker table with up to 2 chairs oPodium with microphone oScreens oTable large enough to accommodate an LCD Projector and a laptop computer oPower strip with long enough cord to reach socket to table oTwo flip charts with easels and markers oEasel to be placed outside each room for signage oLapel Microphone oInternet access for some rooms 1.24.Parking should be available for attendees and OPM staff (at the expense of the attendees and OPM staff. 1.25.Contractor facility must have Business Center accommodations or other such service available to participants for mailing training materials back to their offices. This could include FedEX service or other mail service complete with packaging equipment (envelopes, boxes, labels, tape, etc.). Many participants attend five separate workshops during the training week and can receive five rather large notebooks of materials. 1.26.The contractor’s facility must have one of the following quality ratings: First class or higher per the Official Hotel Guide; Three crowns or higher per the OAG Business Travel Planner; or Three diamonds or higher per AAA. 1.27.The Contractor’s facility must be Federal Emergency Management Agency approved and listed on the U.S. Fire Administration Hotel and Motel National Master List found at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/hotel/search.cfm. 1.28.The Contractor's facility must be compliant with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (Public Law 101-336) 42 U.S.C. 12101 et. seq.). DELIVERABLES: The contractor will host a successful 2009 Benefits Training program as a result of the requirements stated in the Statement of Objectives. Rendering of the services must occur before June 30, 2009 and include the following: 1.1Overnight Accommodations 1.2Meeting Space 1.3Audio Visual Equipment 1.4Meals The following clauses and provisions apply to this acquisition: Incorporated by reference is FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (JUNE 2008). Please provide quotations separately from the technical proposal. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION (a) The offeror shall include in its quotation a discussion of the offeror's proposed technical approach to respond to the requirements in the Statement of Objectives. Present clear and convincing evidence that you understand the scope of work as described in the Statement of Objectives, and that your technical approach to accomplishing this work is sound. Include: •A narrative describing your understanding of this requirement. •A description of your technical expertise for meeting the requirements of this solicitation. Your narrative should, at a minimum: •Indicate the initial plan to gain an understanding of OPM’s operations needs; •Discuss the anticipated methodology to complete the work described in of the Statement of Objectives; •Describe your strategy for dealing with potential significant technical, administrative, or managerial problems that could arise, particularly those issues that impact deliverable deadlines; and •Descriptive literature regarding your facility’s sleeping rooms, eating/restaurant spaces, menus, hotel parking fees, laundry services, meeting room space, diagrams and square footage. (b) In addition to its proposed technical approach, the offeror shall summarize its corporate experience (including results) with meeting space, lodging, audio visual equipment, and meal services contracts similar to this solicitation that the offeror has successfully performed in the past five years. The information presented shall be in sufficient detail to describe the previous experience and effectiveness of the offeror in similar or closely related work, and to demonstrate the offeror’s current ability to accomplish the tasking in this solicitation. This summary should include: •Firm Experience: statement of the offering firm’s level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator/assistant services similar in nature to the requirements of this project. •Management Experience: statement of the level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator services similar in nature to the requirements of this project, including the resume (s) of the management resources that will be responsible for this project. •Experience of Available Resources: statement of the level of involvement, degree of success, number of resources and overall performance on efforts involving the provision of data entry, transcription, general clerical, and computer operator/assistant services similar in nature to the requirements of this project, including the provision of resumes of resources that will be available for this project. •Resumes: In addition to the above submission, the offeror shall include in its response to the Statement of Objectives a resume for each key person proposed for the project. Resumes of management, technical, and support staff necessary to provide the services and support requested shall also be included. Individual resumes shall be no more than two pages in length. Resumes shall include the following: 1.Name of person; 2.Proposed position, function, or role; 3.Proposed labor category; 4.Education (including, in reverse chronological order, colleges and/or technical schools attended (with dates), degree(s)/certification(s) received, major field(s) of study, and approximate number of total class hours); 5.Experience (including, in reverse chronological order, area(s) of work in which a person is qualified, company and title of position, approximate starting and ending dates (month/year), concise descriptions of experience for each position held, and 6.Certification that the information contained in the resume is correct and accurate. (c) Also include the following past performance information for three (3) contracts and/or subcontracts for requirements as similar as possible to the current requirement: •Name of contract or project; •Contract Number; •Role (Prime or Subcontractor); •Sponsoring Organization or Company; •Contract type; •Period of Performance; •Total Contract Value; •Contract Manager and telephone number; •Program Manager and telephone number; •Project description, scope of work preformed, services or products delivered; •Major success or accomplishments, and •Major problems, lessons learned, and solution(s) applied if applicable. (d) The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. A Table of Contents should be created using the Table of Contents feature in MS Word. MS Word (.doc) files shall use the following Page Setup parameters: Margins – Top, Bottom, Left, Right - 1” Gutter – 0” From Edge – Header, Footer - 0.5” Page Size, Width – 8.5” Page Size, Height – 11” The following additional restrictions apply: •Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. •A standard, 11-point minimum font size applies. •Times New Roman font is required. •Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Proposal page limits are as follows: •Technical Proposal – 50 pages maximum •Performance Risk Proposal - no page limit •Price Proposal – no page limit (e) Pages that exceed the page limits above will be deleted and will not be evaluated. Page numbers, headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY, and are not bound by the font requirements. Company logos are prohibited with the exception of the Title Page. Pages that exceed the margin, font or total page limit will not be evaluated. Pages deleted due to violation of the margin or font restrictions will not count against the page limitation. Page count will NOT be based upon the numbers of pages, printed but rather dictated by the number of pages in a print layout view in the application based upon the above-prescribed document settings. Counting pages in the order they appear for viewing will make up the page count. The page limits are applicable to graphs, tables, drawings and any other attachments submitted with the proposals and not specifically excluded by the solicitation. Any index, table of contents, glossary or integrated master schedule will not be included in the maximum page limitation. (f) Offeror(s) are responsible for including sufficient details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. Each file of the proposal shall consist of a Table of Contents, Summary Section and the Narrative discussion. The Summary Section shall contain a brief abstract of the file. Proprietary information shall be clearly marked. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PORTION OF THE QUOTATION (a)Quotations which merely offer to conduct the work in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s scope of work will be considered nonresponsive. The offeror must submit an explanation of the proposed technical approach in conjunction with the tasks to be performed in achieving the project objectives. (b)Evaluation of the technical portion of quotations will be conducted by a technical review committee in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in FAR Clause 52.212-5 below. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE BUSINESS PORTION OF THE QUOTATION 1.PRICE INFORMATION Offerors shall submit Firm-Fixed Price quotation responses for the following deliverables: meeting space, overnight accommodations, audio visual equipment and meal services. Offerors shall submit a detailed breakdown of prices for each deliverable. In addition, a summary total amount shall be furnished for the entire project. The business portion of the quotation must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the proposed price of the work. 2.INFORMATION OTHER THAN PRICING DATA The vendor shall submit sufficiently detailed information to permit the Contracting Officer and authorized representatives to evaluate the offer. Unless otherwise stated in this solicitation, the information may be submitted in the offeror’s own format. 3.PRICING The vendor shall clarify for each line item if the unit price represents the vendor’s published prices, or lower. 4.SPECIAL BUSINESS QUOTATION INSTRUCTIONS The Government anticipates that the work will be performed at the contractor’s facility. OPM reserves the right to conduct an on-site inspection of offered facilities. 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Items (JAN 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers and are in descending order of importance. Technical Approach - Evaluation will based on the extent to which you understand the scope of work as described in the Summary of Requirements, and that your technical approach to accomplishing this work is sound to include the following: size, quality of services and accommodations, confirmation of overall quality rating and location. Past performance – Evaluation will based on your corporate experience (including results) with meating space, lodging, audio visual equipment and meal service contracts similar to this solicitation that the offeror has successfully performed in the past five years. Subcontracting Plan Price - As technical scores for the contractors become more equal, price becomes a more determinate factor. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. As technical scores for the contractors become more equal, price becomes a more determinate factor. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (JUNE 2008) An offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov. If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the ORCA website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (m) of this provision. Incorporated by reference are FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (Feb 2007). FAR Clauses 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items with the following additional clauses are applicable: FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor; 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and other Eligible Veterans; 52.222.36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.225-1 Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.232-36 Payment by Third Party. FAR 37.107 1965; The Service Contract Act of 1965 (41 U.S.C. 351-357) provides for minimum wages and fringe benefits as well as other conditions of work under certain types of service contracts. The latest wage determination your area may be accessed electronically at website http://www.wdol.gov. The most recent wage determination shall be incorporated in full text to the successful offeror. The full text of FAR references may be accessed electronically at website http://www.acqnet.gov 1752.205-70Announcement of Contract Award OPM complies with FAR 5.3, Synopses of Contract Awards, in terms of synopsizing and publicly announcing contract awards. These actions take place at the time of, and not before, the contract is awarded. Contract award, in this case, means signature of the contractual document by the Contracting Officer and forwarding of the contractual document to the contract awardee. If the contract awardee wishes to make a separate public announcement, the awardee must obtain the approval of the Contracting Officer prior to releasing the announcement, and must plan to make announcement only after the contract has been awarded. 1752.209-73Standards of Conduct (a)Personnel assigned by the contractor to the performance of work under this order must be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct. Contractor personnel shall conform to standards of conduct as follows: (1)No contractor employees shall solicit new business while performing work under this order. (2)The contractor and its employees shall not discuss with unauthorized persons any information obtained in the performance of work under this order. (b)Should the continued assignment to work under this order of any person in the contractor’s organization be deemed by the Contracting Officer to conflict with the interests of the Government, that person shall be removed immediately from assignment, and the reason for removal shall be fully documented in writing by the Contracting Officer. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules, and if such difficulties impair performance, the contractor may be subject to default. 1752.209-74Organizational Conflicts of Interest (a)The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor’s knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest (OCI), as defined in FAR 9.5, Organizational and Consultants Conflicts of Interest, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information. (b)The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential OCI is discovered after award, the Contractor shall make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure must include a description of actions, which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict. (c)The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an OCI. If the Contractor was aware of a potential OCI prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contacting Office, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. (d)The Contractor must include this clause in all subcontracts and in lower tier subcontracts unless a waiver is requested from, and granted by, the Contracting Officer. (e)In the event that a requirement changes in such a way as to create a potential conflict of interest for the Contractor, the Contractor must: (1)Notify the Contracting Officer of a potential conflict, and; (2)Recommend to the Government an alternate approach which would avoid the potential conflict, or (3)Present for approval a conflict of interest mitigation plan that will: (i)Describe in detail the changed requirement that creates the potential conflict of interest; and (ii)Outline in detail the actions to be taken by the Contractor or the Government in the performance of the task to mitigate the conflict, division of subcontractor effort, and limited access to information, or other acceptable means. (4)The Contractor must not commence work on a changed requirement related to a potential conflict of interest until specifically notified by the Contracting Officer to proceed. (5)If the Contracting Officer determines that it is in the best interest of the Government to proceed with work, notwithstanding a conflict of interest, a request for waiver must be submitted in accordance with FAR 9.503. 1752.219-70Small Business Subcontracting Plan (a)If your company is required to file a Small Business Subcontyracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9, please use the Subcontracting Plan Template attached to this solicitation for that purpose. (b)The on-line Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) must now be used for input of the reports required by FAR 52.219-9(d)(10)(iii). To comply with this requirement, please do the following: (1)If your company does not yet have an eSRS account, then please sign up for one at www.esrs.gov. A user guide that explains how to use eSRS is available at: http://esrs.gov/documents/esrs_contractor_user_guide_1.7.pdf. If you notice that your company contact information or DUNS number in eSRS are not correct, then please make corrections through the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) website at http://www.ccr.gov/. That data will then flow from the CCR to the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) and then finally into the eSRS system. Repopulation of your eSRS contact info can take two business days after you make corrections in the CCR. Please include the e-mail addresses of the contracting officer in eSRS for notification in block 13 of the report. (2)Starting with fiscal year 2005, submit your Summary Subcontracting Reports (SSRs – Old SF 295) and your Individual Subcontracting Reports (ISRs – Old SF 294) for contracts into the eSRS. Midyear reports are not required in eSRS for FY 2004 and 2005. (3)For fiscal year 2006 onward also submit your midyear (March) ISRs into eSRS. (4)If you have not yet submitted a final report for any contracts closed during FY 2004 onward, you should do so now using the eSRS. (5)Please continue to submit to the Contracting Officer paper prints of all the reports you input to eSRS, until further notice. (This continues to be a FAR requirement) (6)If you have a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with OPM, please submit your ISRs via paper. FPDS-NG, which provides data into eSRS, does not identify subcontracting plans resulting from BPAs and other types of orders. 1752.222-70Notice of Requirement for Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities By signing this offer or contract, the contractor will be deemed to have signed and agreed to the provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Clause 52.222-21, Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities, incorporated by reference in this solicitation/contract. The certification provides that the bidder or offeror does not maintain or provide for its employees, facilities which are segregated on a basis of race, color, religion, or national origin, whether such facilities are segregated by directive or on a de facto basis. The certification also provides that the bidder/offeror does not and will not permit its employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained. FAR Clause 52.222-21 must be included in all subcontracts as well. 1752.222-71 Special Requirements for Employing Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (a)If this contract contains FAR Clause 52.222-35 (Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans), your company must comply with the requirements of this clause, including the listing of employment opportunities with the local office of the state employment service system. (b)If this contract contains FAR clauses 52.222-37 (Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans) or 52.222-38 (Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements), you are reminded that your company must comply with the special reporting requirements described in those clauses. Your company must submit information on several aspects of its employment and hiring of special disabled and Vietnam era veterans or other veterans who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. You must submit this information no later than September 30 of each year, in the “Federal Contractor Veterans’ Employment Report” or VETS-100 Report. The U.S. Department of Labor has established a web site for submitting this report. The address is: http://www.vets100.cudenver.edu. 1752.224-70 Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (a)Applicability This clause applies to contractor personnel and addresses specific OPM requirements in addition to those included in the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a - the Act). The following should not be construed to alter or diminish civil and/or criminal liabilities provided under the Act. (b)Definition of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is “information which can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as their name, social security number, biometric records, etc. alone, or when combined with other personal or identifying information which is linked or linkable to a specific individual, such as date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc.” (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2007/m07-16.pdf). In other words, PII refers to any information, on any medium, that identifies a specific individual whether the information is on paper or electronic. (c)Responsibilities for Handling PII (1)Contract employees shall not remove PII from their individual assigned duty station without prior approval of their supervisor. (2)All contract employees are personally responsible for the proper handling of PII, regardless of location. All contract employees must be: responsible for the proper control and handling of PII residing on their computer, on removable media, and on paper documents. responsible for ensuring portable data storage and communication devices are properly controlled and secured at all times. responsible for the proper marking, control and storage of printouts and other paper documents containing PII in their possession. Email cannot be encrypted. Since PII must be encrypted before being sent, send it only as an encrypted attachment. Do not send PII in the content of an email. (d)Encryption of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (1)OPM has a policy protecting, and when appropriate, restricting sending, copying or moving PII from the OPM network. Therefore, if the contract employees must send PII, send it only as an encrypted attachment. OPM employees and contractors are required to encrypt PII data using WinZip. Instructions on how to use WinZip to encrypt and protect files containing PII are available on Theo at: http://theo.opm.gov/helpdesk/selfhelp/WinZipv90EncryptionProcedures.pdf. WinZip can be used to protect data on workstations, laptops and email attachments. It is available on all OPM workstations attached to the agency’s network. (2)A password protected file is not secure. Never send any unencrypted PII data in e-mail. (e)Procedures for Reporting a Breach of PII (1)A breach of PII includes loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or unauthorized access of personally identifiable information whether physical or electronic. As an agency, OPM is required to immediately report all potential PII data breaches -- whether they involve paper documents or electronic information. In order to meet this responsibility, OPM has established a new internal procedure for reporting the loss or possible compromise of any PII, and this clause conforms to that procedure. (2)OPM contractors must report any breach or potential breach to the OPM Situation Room and the Contracting Officer within 30 minutes of becoming aware of the risk – regardless of the time or day of the week. Breaches should be reported, even if it is believed the breach is limited, small, or insignificant. OPM’s IT security experts, who will determine when a breach needs additional focus and attention. The OPM Situation Room is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Report the breach to the OPM Situation Room and the Contracting Officer either by phone or by e-mail; however, be sure NOT to include PII in the e-mail. (f)Points of Contact (1)OPM contractors must report a breach or potential breach of PII to the OPM Situation Room at: sitroom@opm.gov (202) 418-0111 Fax (202) 606-0624 (2)When notifying the Situation Room, please copy the Contracting Officer at: antoinette.campbell@opm.gov 202-606-4806 202-606-1464 (3)To get help with WinZip, please contact the OPM HelpDesk at: helpdesk@opm.gov (202) 606-4927 TTY (202) 606-1295 (4)If you have questions regarding these procedures, contact the Contracting Officer. 1752.224-71Freedom of Information Act Requests (a)Offerors are reminded that information furnished under this solicitation may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Therefore, all items that are confidential to business, or contain trade secrets, proprietary, or personnel information must be clearly marked. Marking of items will not necessarily preclude disclosure when the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM or The Government) determines disclosure is warranted by FOIA. However, if such items are not marked, all information contained within the submitted documents will be deemed to be releasable. (b)Any information made available to the Contractor by the Government must be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract and must not be divulged or made known in any manner to any person except as may be necessary in the performance of the contract. (c)In performance of this contract, the Contractor assumes responsibility for protection of the confidentiality of Government records and must ensure that all work performed by its subcontractors shall be under the supervision of the Contractor or the Contractor's responsible employees. (d)Each officer or employee of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors to whom any Government record may be made available or disclosed must be notified in writing by the Contractor that information disclosed to such officer or employee can be used only for a purpose and to the extent authorized herein, and that further disclosure of any such information, by any means, for a purpose or to an extent unauthorized herein, may subject the offender to criminal sanctions imposed by 19 U.S.C. 641. That section provides, in pertinent part, that whoever knowingly converts to their use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys, or disposes of any record of the United States or whoever receives the same with intent to convert it to their use or gain, knowing it to have been converted, shall be guilty of a crime punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, or imprisoned up to ten years, or both. 1752.232-70 Invoice Requirements (a)A proper invoice must include the following items (except for interim payments on cost reimbursement contracts for services): (1) Name and address of the contractor. (2)Invoice date and invoice number. (Contractors should date invoices as close as possible to the date of mailing or transmission.) (3)Contract number or other authorization for supplies delivered or services performed (including order number and contract line item number). (4)Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies delivered or services performed. (5)Shipping and payment terms (e.g., shipment number and date of shipment, discount for prompt payment terms). Bill of lading number and weight of shipment will be shown for shipments on Government bills of lading. (6)Name and address of contractor official to whom payment is to be sent (must be the same as that in the contract or in a proper notice of assignment). (7)Name (where practicable), title, phone number, and mailing address of person to notify in the event of a defective invoice. (8)Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). The contractor must include its TIN on the invoice only if required by agency procedures. (See 4.9 TIN requirements.) (9) Electronic funds transfer (EFT) banking information. (i) The contractor must include EFT banking information on the invoice only if required by agency procedures. (ii) If EFT banking information is not required to be on the invoice, in order for the invoice to be a proper invoice, the contractor must have submitted correct EFT banking information in accordance with the applicable solicitation provision (e.g., 52.232-38, Submission of Electronic Funds Transfer Information with Offer), contract clause (e.g., 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration, or 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Other Than Central Contractor Registration), or applicable agency procedures. (iii) EFT banking information is not required if the Government waived the requirement to pay by EFT. (10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract (e.g., evidence of shipment). (b)ALL OPM original invoices (without exception) must be sent to: US Office of Personnel Management Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) 1900 E Street, N.W., Room 5475, OCFO Invoice and Payments Washington, D.C. 20415 E-mail: promptpay@opm.gov (c)In addition to the invoice provided to the address in (b) above the contractor must e-mail an additional copy of the invoice to the Contract Administrator at the following address(s) john.dismond@opm.gov or provide two copies of the signed original to John R. Dismond U.S. Office of Personnel Management Contracting Group, CCFAS 1900 E Street, NW, Room 1342 Washington, DC 20415-0001 (d) Inquiries regarding payment of invoices should be directed to the designated billing office, (202) 606-2175. (e) If the supplies, services, technical or other reports are rejected for failure to conform to the technical requirements of the contract, or for damage in transit or otherwise, the invoice will be rejected and returned to the Contractor. 1752.232-71 Method of Payment (a)Payments under this contract will be made either by check or by wire transfer through the Treasury Financial Communications System at the option of the Government. (b)The Contractor must forward the following information in writing to the Contracting Officer not later than seven (7) days after receipt of notice of award: (1)Full Name (where practicable), title, telephone number, and complete mailing address of responsible official(s): (i)to whom check payments are to be sent, and (ii)who may be contacted concerning the bank account information requested below. (2)The following bank account information required to accomplish wire transfers: (i)Name, address, and telegraphic abbreviation of the receiving financial institution. (ii)Receiving financial institution's 9-digit American Bankers Association (ABA) identifying number for routing transfer of funds. (Provide this number only if the receiving financial institution has access to the Federal Reserve Communications System.) (iii)Recipient's name and account number at the receiving financial institution to be credited with the funds. If the receiving financial institution does not have access to the Federal Reserve Communications System, provide the name of the correspondent financial institution through which the receiving institution receives electronic funds transfer messages. If a correspondent financial institution is specified, also provide: (A)Address and telegraphic abbreviation of the correspondent financial institution. (B)The correspondent financial institution's 9-digit ABA identifying number for routing transfer of funds. (c)Any changes to the information furnished under paragraph (b) of this clause shall be furnished to the Contracting Officer in writing at least 30 days before the effective date of the change. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to furnish these changes promptly to avoid payments to erroneous addresses or bank accounts. (d)The document furnishing the information required in paragraphs (b) and (c) must be dated and contain the signature, title, and telephone number of the Contractor official authorized to provide it, as well as the Contractor's name and contract number 1752.233-70 OPM Protest Procedures (a)An interested party who files a protest with OPM has the option of requesting review and consideration of the protest by either the Contracting Officer (CO) or the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). The protest must clearly indicate the official to whom it is directed. (b)If the protest is directed to the SPE, a copy of the protest must be sent to the Chief of the Contracting Group at the same time the protest is filed with the CO in accordance with FAR 52.233-2. The address of the Acting Chief of the Contract Group is: George W. Leininger, Acting Chief Contracting Group, CCFAS U.S. Office of Personnel 1900 E Street N.W., Room 1342 Washington, DC 20415 (c) Review and consideration of a protest by the SPE is an alternative to review and consideration by the CO. 1752.237-70 Non-Personal Services (a)As stated in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Letter 92-1, dated September 23, 1992, Inherently Governmental Functions, no personal services shall be performed under this contract. No Contractor employee will be directly supervised by the Government. All individual employee assignments, and daily work direction, shall be given by the applicable employee supervisor. If the Contractor believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor must promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action. (b)The Contractor must not perform any inherently Governmental actions under this contract. No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. No Contractor employee may state orally or in writing at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with the contract, Contractor employees must identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work. In all communications with other Government Contractors in connection with this contract, the Contractor employee must state that they have no authority to in any way change the contract and that if the other Contractor believes this communication to be a direction to change their contract, they should notify the Contracting Officer for that contract and not carry out the direction until a clarification has been issued by the Contracting Officer. (c)The Contractor must insure that all of its employees working on this contract are informed of the substance of this clause. Nothing in this clause limits the Government's rights in any way under any other provision of the contract, including those related to the Government's right to inspect and accept the services to be performed under this contract. The substance of this clause must be included in all subcontracts at any tier. 1752.239-70Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) Any information technology product or system procured as a result of this solicitation must be IPv6 Compliant. A compliant product or system must be able to receive process and transmit or forward IPv6 packets and be able to interoperate with other system and protocols in both IPv4 and IPv6 modes. 1752.239-73 Section 508 Standards (a) All electronic and information technology (EIT) procured through this RFQ must meet the applicable accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194, unless an agency exception to this requirement exists. 36 CFR 1194 implements Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and is viewable at http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm. (b) The following standards have been determined to be applicable to this RFQ: (1) 1194.21. Software applications and operating systems. (2) 1194.22. Web-based intranet and Internet information and applications. (3) 1194.23 Telecommunications products. (4) 1194.24 Video and multimedia products. (5) 1194.26 Desktop and portable computers. (c) The standards do not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device, but merely require the EIT be compatible with such software and devices so that it can be made accessible if so required by the agency in the future (d) OPM is required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), to offer access to electronic and information technology for disabled individuals within its employ, and for disabled members of the public seeking information and services. This access must be comparable to that which is offered to similar individuals who do not have disabilities. Standards for complying with this law are prescribed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board ("The Access Board"). (e) The current deliverable(s) must incorporate these standards as well as any agency specific standards developed by OPM. The attached technical description contains further information on how this is to be done. Your response to the solicitation should contain documentation of your compliance with these standards. However, the Contracting Officer may request additional technical documentation, if necessary to make this determination. (f) The final work product must include documentation that the deliverable conforms with the Section 508 Standards promulgated by the US Access Board. (g) In the event of a dispute between you and OPM, then OPM’s assessment of the Section 508 compliance will control and you will need to make any additional changes needed to conform with OPM’s assessment, at no additional charge to OPM. 1752.242-70 Contract Performance Information (a)Dissemination of Contract Performance Information The Contractor must not publish, permit to be published, or distribute for public consumption, any information, oral or written, concerning the results or conclusions made pursuant to the performance of this contract, without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. Two copies of any material proposed to be published or distributed must be submitted to the Contracting Officer for approval. (b)Contractor Testimony All requests for the testimony of the Contractor or its employees, and any intention to testify as an expert witness relating to: (a) any work required by, and or performed under, this contract: or (b) any information provided by any party to assist the Contractor in the performance of this contract, must be immediately reported to the Contracting Officer. Neither the Contractor nor its employees must testify on a matter related to work performed or information provided under this contract, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request, in any judicial or administrative proceeding unless approved by the Contracting Officer or required by a judge in a final court order.
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