SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Procurement Management Review
- Notice Date
- 4/17/2014
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Tranportation (OST) Procurement Operations, OST Acquisition Services Division, 1200 New Jersey Ave, Washington, District of Columbia, 20590
- ZIP Code
- 20590
- Solicitation Number
- DTOS59-14-Q-00019
- Archive Date
- 8/31/2014
- Point of Contact
- James H Mowery III, Phone: 202-366-4959
- E-Mail Address
-
james.mowery@dot.gov
(james.mowery@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI) No. DTOS59-14-Q-00019 In Market Research for An SBA- Certified 8(a) Contractor To Perform a Procurement Management Review For DOT's Office of the Senior Procurement Executive No Funding Yet, and No Promises: No Procurement Request (PR) has yet been finalized for the funding of the project described in this RFI. Therefore, any company would be voluntarily proceeding entirely at its own risk in expending the time and effort needed to compile and submit a response to this RFI. In addition, any responder would be taking the risk that its response might not convince DOT that the responding company is well qualified to perform this project at the high level of quality indispensable to DOT, and would also be taking the risk that DOT might find that some other responder is better qualified. In short, this RFI does not make any promises to anyone. Purpose of this RFI : This Request for Information (RFI) is being published in the FedBizOpps website for the purpose of performing market-research that might help the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to possibly identify an SBA- certified 8(a) company which, in DOT's sole judgment, might be well-qualified to perform, at the high level of quality indispensable to the Department, the Procurement Management Review project described herein. If this RFI does succeed in identifying such an 8(a)-certified company, then there is a possibility that DOT might award the needed contract to that identified 8(a) firm on a sole-source basis, as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) allows. But DOT is not promising to award the needed contract to an 8(a) company, and is not promising to award it on a sole-source basis. DOT reserves the right to hereafter compete the project described herein, in any scope-of-competition which might hereafter be approved in DOT. Deadline for Responding to this RFI : 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time, May 8 th, 2014. Please e-mail your expression-of-interest and your Statement of Qualifications to james.mowery@dot.gov, and to Lenita.Ahmadi@dot.gov. Who is Invited to Respond to this RFI : DOT is asking that responses to this RFI be submitted only by SBA-certified 8(a) firms. And DOT is asking that each responder to this RFI please include, in its response, a copy of the dated and signed-by-SBA letter, issued on the SBA- letterhead, which formally and officially placed the responding company in the SBA's 8(a) program. What to Include in Your Response to this RFI : Because the document you are now reading is not an actual Solicitation, you need not submit a full-blown and actually-priced-out and binding proposal in response to this RFI. But your response to this RFI should include your best effort to convince DOT that your company is highly qualified to perform the project described herein, at the high level of quality indispensable to DOT, and within the time-frames mentioned below. Resumes and past-performance-references (showing current e-mail addresses and current telephone numbers for customer-contact-persons) would probably be among the most helpful items that you could include in your response to this RFI. A draft ( non -binding) cost proposal might also be helpful. Be sure to include in your response a copy of the signed SBA-letterhead-letter which formally placed your company in the SBA's 8(a) program. Questions Concerning this RFI : It is hoped that the detailed draft Statement of Work appearing below will render unnecessary any extensive question-and-answer process concerning this RFI. Nevertheless, any interested 8(a) company which believes that it has identified, in the Statement of Work appearing below, any inconsistencies or contradictions or ambiguities or other errors which are serious enough to materially affect a responder's ability to demonstrate its qualifications for performing this project, may e-mail clarification-requests to james.mowery@dot.gov and to Lenita.Ahmadi@dot.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time April 27 th, 2014. The following is DOT's draft / tentative Statement of Work and Staffing Estimate for the Procurement Management Review project which is the subject of this RFI: Statement of Work Background The Business Policies and Strategies Division is responsible for developing and implementing Departmental Financial Assistance regulatory guidance, executing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) procedures, providing analysis and measuring acquisition performance, and improving the accountability and effectiveness of acquisition and financial assistance related programs. Responsibilities include the oversight of the Transportation Acquisition Regulation (TAR) and the Transportation Acquisition Manual (TAM ), managing the Department's acquisition career program, collaborating with the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to enhance DOT's small business procurements, and implementing financial assistance initiatives. The Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE) requires an independent procurement review of its processes and procedures from cradle to grave to ensure compliance with FAR, TAR and TAM. The purpose of the Procurement Management Review (PMR) is: (1) to assess compliance with statutory requirements, policy and procedure; (2) to assist the Operating Administration's with improving operational efficiency and effectiveness; (3) assessment of whether contracting officers are FAC-C certified, contracting officer had warrant authority at the time of award, and that COR training is up to date, and (4) provide contracting offices assistance with training and best practices for specific agency weaknesses. The contractor shall also conduct a review of best practices for performance measures of procurement across government and industry. The PMR is intended to provide recommended systematic internal reviews of the DOT OA contracting elements. Objectives The objective will be to develop a procurement management review program (PMR) that establishes a systematic process for the review of Operating Administration's procurement activities to ensure regulations, policy and procedures identifying weakness and vulnerabilities as well as provide recommendations and develop best practices for targeted Operating Administrations. Secondly, the contractor using the PMR program shall conduct a PMR of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWY), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the National Highway Transit Administration (NTHSA) to ensure compliance with regulatory, policy and procedure. All findings shall be documented for submission to the COR. Scope The contractor shall develop a PMR program that establishes a systematic process for review of selected Operating Administration's (OA) procurement activities to ensure compliance with regulations, policy and procedures and make recommendations to address weaknesses as well as develop best practices. The contractor's review shall encompass the planning, solicitation, award and administration of contracts executed at DOT in FY12 and FY13. The contractor shall develop a sampling methodology for review of FPDS-NG. There shall be a sufficient sampling of significant contract actions awarded in FY-12 - FY13 to produce confidence in the findings and include competitive and non- competitive procurements. Task 1.0 The contractor shall assess whether solicitation issued and contracts awarded are in accordance with regulations policy and procedure, identify strengths, weaknesses in the office's operations and provide recommendations to address identified areas of concern. 1.1 Within five calendar-days after the contract's effective date, the contractor shall participate in a kick-off meeting with the DOT principal stakeholder personnel at the DOT headquarters. The kick-off meeting shall be used to discuss the terms and conditions, the methodology the contractor should use in performing this contract as well as, contractor clarifications. 1.2 Within five calendar days after the kick-off meeting, the contractor shall submit to DOT's Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) a Draft Project Plan, for the COTR's review. 1.3 Within three calendar days after receipt of the contractor's Draft Project Plan, DOT's COTR will either accept it or convey comments/edits to the contractor. 1.4 Within two calendar-days after receipt of the COTR's comments / edits concerning the Draft Project Plan, the contractor shall submit, to the COTR, a Final Project Plan incorporating all of the COTR's comments / edits concerning the Draft Project Plan. 2.0 Within 45 calendar-days after receiving the COTR's approval of the Final Project Plan, and in accordance with that COTR-approved Final Project Plan, the contractor shall compile and shall submit to the COTR a Draft PMR Guide, for the COTR's review. 2.1 The COR shall have t en business days after receipt of the Draft PMR Guide to review it and to convey, to the contractor, comments / edits concerning that Guide. 2.2 Within five business days after receiving the COTR's comments / edits concerning the Draft PMR Guide, the contractor shall submit, to the COTR, a Final PMR Guide incorporating all of the COTR's comments / edits concerning the Draft PMR Guide. The PMR Guide at a minimum shall address each of, and all of, the topical areas identified below. As well, it is expected that based on the contractor's knowledge of government procurement and industry best practices the contractor will augment the contents of the guide. •· Purpose of the PMR - Develop and document a systematic PMR Program that will determine compliance with regulatory, policy and procedure, improve operational efficiency and effectiveness, and assess the quality of the career development within the contracting workforce. •· Authority - Circular A-123, dated June 21, 1995, Management Accountability and Control •· Objective - To develop and document a systemic DOT PMR Program. Using the contractor developed program conduct a PMR, to assess whether solicitation issued and contracts awarded are in accordance with regulations policy and procedure, identify vulnerabilities, strengths, and weaknesses in OA operations and provide recommendations to address identified areas of concern and provide best practices. •· PMR Frequency - Selected DOT Operating Administrations will receive PMRs. Review Standards - to ensure uniformity the contractor's plan shall include areas that will apply to all PMRs. Preparing for a PMR •· Notifying the Operating Administrations to be reviewed •· Work Schedule - The length of time required to perform PMR •· Briefings and Discussions Conducting a PMR - this chapter will provide a structured approach to guide the PMR team members during the reviews. •· Conducting the Review •· Review Method •· Examining Files •· Conducting Interviews •· Sampling methodology •· Describe methodology - describe process of identifying contracts to be reviewed pre and post award •· Preparing Findings Preparing and Issuing the PMR Report - the report will convey findings and recommendation to the COR which in the cumulative, provide an overall assessment of the OA standing. •· Responsibilities •· Format for reporting responses •· Issuing the report •· Coordination and approval •· Management Milestones •· Report Distribution Closing out the Report - the contractor is responsible for ensuring that each PMR report is closed timely. •· Follow-up Responsibilities •· Responses to findings and recommendations •· Format for responses •· Management Milestones 3.0 It is anticipated that the government will provide a procurement data-set to the contractor within 30 calendar-days after the effective date of the contract. It is anticipated that that data set will be in the form of Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) records (also known as FPDS-NG records) concerning DOT procurements, generated during approximately the one year period immediately preceding the effective date of the contract. It is estimated that there will be approximately 14,000 FPDS-NG records in that data-set. Using the FPDS-NG data set as provided by the Government, the contractor, on or before 90 calendar-days after the effective date of the contract, shall develop and shall provide the COTR a Draft FPDS-NG Sampling Report describing a sampling methodology concerning FPDS-NG data, such that the draft methodology described in that report involves a sample-size which is large enough to produce a 95% confidence level. The Government will review the Contractor's Draft FPDS-NG Sampling Report, and within ten ( 5) working days after the Government receives that Draft FPDS-NG Sampling Report, it is anticipated that the Government will provide review comments to the contractor concerning that report. 3.1 Using, as guidance, the Government's review comments concerning the Draft FPDS-NG Sampling Report produced by the contractor in Task 3.0, the contractor shall incorporate all of those Government review comments into a Final FPDS-NG Sampling Report, which the contractor shall submit to the COTR within five (5) working days after receipt of the Government's review comments concerning the Draft FPDS-NG Sampling Report. 4.0 Using the contractor-developed methodology approved by the Government in the Government-approved Final FPDS-NG Sampling Report produced in Task 3.1, the contractor shall specify-from the universe of approximately 14,000 FPDS records going back about one year-the sample size and also the particular contracts to be reviewed in that sampling, such that the sample-size will produce a 95% confidence-level in the validity of the findings obtained from the sampling. Based upon the contractor's specified sample-size and based upon the contractor's specified contracts to be included in that sampling, the government shall provide that selected number of to-be-sampled contracts to the contractor, for the following acquisition offices: FHWA, FMCSA, FRA and NTHSA). The contractor shall then sample DOT's physical procurement files for each of, and for all of, the contracts identified for sampling, for each OA, in such a way that the sampling will enable the contractor to assess, at a 95% confidence-level, whether solicitations issued and contracts awarded for specified OA's are in accordance with the FAR, OMB guidance, TAR and TAM. The contractor shall have 30 days to conduct each particular OA compliance review ( 4 months, altogether). By using the results obtained in the sampling, the contractor shall also identify strengths and weaknesses in each such DOT OA and shall provide recommendations to address identified areas of concern. 4.1 Within 250 calendar-days days after the effective date of the contract,, the contractor shall prepare and shall submit to the COTR a draft of a thorough report presenting all of the contractor's factual findings gathered and recommendations produced in meetings and samplings conducted in Task 4.0. 4.2 The Government will review Task 4.1 Draft Report, and within 30 business days after receipt of it, the COTR will provide to the contractor written comments concerning that draft report. 4.2.1 Using and incorporating the Government's review comments generated in Task 4.2 concerning the Task 4.1 draft report, the contractor, on or before 15 calendar days after receipt of the Government's comments generated in Task 4.2, shall provide to the COTR a Final Report summarizing the results of the work performed by the contractor under Task 4.0. It is anticipated that the Government will provide to the contractor a written approval of the Task 4.2.1 Final Report within five business days after receipt of it. 5.0 Within 30 calendar-days after receipt the Government's approval of the Final Report produced by the contractor in Task 4.2.1, the contractor shall conduct a review of best practices for performance measures of procurement across government and industry. In conducting that review, the contractor shall, at a minimum, meet with FHWY, FMCSA, FRA and NTHSA. Using the results of the best-practices review conducted by the contractor in this Task 5.0, the contractor shall submit to the COTR-within 50 calendar-days after receipt of the Government's approval of the Final Report produced by the contractor in Task 4.2.1-a Draft Best Practice Report. 5.1 It is anticipated that the Government will provide to the contractor review comments concerning the Task 5.0 Draft Best Practices Report within 10 calendar days after the COTR receives that draft Report. 5.2 Using, as guidance, the Government's review comments concerning the Draft Best Practices Report produced by the contractor in Task 5.0, the contractor shall, within 15 business days after receipt of those comments, provide to the Government a Final Best Practices Report. It is anticipated that the Government will provide to the contractor written approval of the Final Best Practices Report with 10 calendar days after receipt of it. Deliverables: The contractor shall submit deliverable to the COR per the below schedule: Deliverable Description Quantity /Media Date Completed 1 Kick-off Meeting Spreadsheet, Five (5) days after Hard copy (1) Email contract award 2 Draft Project Plan Hard copy (1), email Five (5) calendar days after kickoff. 3. Final Approved Project Plan Hard copy (1), email Five (5) calendar days after draft comments received 3 Draft PMR Guide Program Hard copy (1), email Forty-five (45) days after approved project plan 4 Finalize PMR Guide Hard copy (1), email Ten (10) business days after approved PMR Guide 6. Draft Sampling Methodology Email Ninety (90) days after the effective date of the contract 7. Finalize Sampling Methodology Email Five (5) days after receipt and approval of sampling methodology 6 Conduct PMR Hard copy (1) email 120 days 7. Draft PMR Hard copy (1) Email Thirty (30) calendar days after PMR completion 8. Final PMR Hard copy (1) Email Fifth-teen days (15) after receipt of Gov't comments 8. Draft Best Practices and performance measures across Hard copy (1), Email Thirty (30) days Government and industry 9. Final Best Practices Hard copy (1), Email Fifth-teen (15) days Period of Performance: The period of performance for this effort is twelve months. Place of Performance: the Contractor Facility-except that the contractor will have to visit DOT's headquarters building in order to conduct the samplings required in this project. Security Requirements: None Local Travel/Commuting Cost: $0.00 ODC: $0.00 Request for information (RFI) The RFI for this project is being issued, for 8(a) companies, on the FedBizOpps website. Staffing Estimate for this Project Labor Category Man Hours Project Manager 900 Procurement Analyst (2) 2,500 Total Labor Hours/Cost 3,400 Labor Category Descriptions Project Manager - Five or more years of experience in planning, estimating, tracking, managing projects and insuring on time project completion. Minimum Education: Bachelor's Degree is preferred. Procurement Analyst - Applies knowledge of federal procurement, business principals, to all assigned tasks. Provides direction and supervision of the gathering, analysis, and synthesis of information as needed to complete tasks in a timely manner. Provide customer with excellent customer service. Act as team leader, providing guidance to junior staff. Three or more years of relevant experience is desired. Minimum Education: Bachelor's Degree is preferred.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOT/TASC/TASCASD/DTOS59-14-Q-00019/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03341370-W 20140419/140417234830-1378f569561c0336ca371299e35c8a55 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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