MODIFICATION
R -- Sign Language Interpreting Services - Questions and Answers
- Notice Date
- 9/23/2015
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541930
— Translation and Interpretation Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Administration, 6011 Executive Blvd, 5th Floor, Rockville, Maryland, 20852-3804, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20852-3804
- Solicitation Number
- NIHOD2015072
- Point of Contact
- Terita R Stevenson, Phone: 301-402-3727, Terita Stevenson, Phone: 3014023727
- E-Mail Address
-
stevenst@od.nih.gov, stevenst@od.nih.gov
(stevenst@od.nih.gov, stevenst@od.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Questions and Answers This is amendment one to post questions and answers. (i) This is a combined synopsis-solicitation for commercial items or services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation number is NIHOD2015072 – National Institutes of Health Sign Language Interpreting Services and the solicitation is issued as a request for proposal (RFP). (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-83, dated August 3, 2015. (iv) This requirement is set-aside for small businesses only. The associated NAICS code is 541930, Translation and Interpretation Services with a size standard of 7.5 M. (v) Translation and Interpretation Services, See attached price schedule (base + 4 option years) (vi) Background The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives. NIH prides itself on being an inclusive and collaborative agency and is committed to meeting the diverse needs of its staff, patients and visiting family members, and visitor/guests. Members of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) community consider NIH a workplace of choice for providing quality sign language interpreting services that enable them to perform the essential duties of their job, fully participate in social activities, trainings a seminars; and enjoy full access to all the benefits of working at NIH. These essential services also allow patients and visitors/guests to engage in all that NIH has to offer. Since the President signed Executive Order 13548 [1] into law on July 26, 2010, which directs departments and agencies to recruit and hire more Federal workers with disabilities over 5 years, NIH has nearly doubled the number of hours used in previous years. Between 2011 and 2012 there was a 25% increase in the number of hours used for interpreting services. Over the past two years there’s been an incremental increase of 5-7% from the previous year. We anticipate this growth trend will continue over the next five years. Purpose The purpose of this procurement is to supply shall provide basic and scientific sign language interpreting services for deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) employees, patients, and visitors, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. Scope of Work See Attached PWS dated, August 23, 2015. (vii) See the attached PWS for more information on the service to be provided, dates and places of delivery and acceptance. (viii) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (ix) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. Selection of an Offeror for award will be on the basis of the attached evaluation criteria. Technical is more important than price. The proposal technically acceptable quote meeting the government's essential features as described herein. The offeror must include all specifications/services (including all brand-name or equal requirements so that the brand-name or equal status may be verified), detailed in this solicitation, in its proposal. See attached Technical Evaluation Criteria. Offeror(s) cost/price proposal will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the Government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through cost and price analysis techniques as described in FAR 15.404. The price quoted will be evaluated taking into consideration any price reductions. A best value analysis will be performed taking into consideration the results of the technical evaluation and price evaluation. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation on the basis of best value, technical factors and price considered. Technical factors together shall be considered more important than price. (x) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The offeror must include a completed copy of this provision with their proposal. (xi) FAR clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (xii) FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (xiii) There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions (such as contract financing arrangements or warranty requirements) determined by the contracting officer to be necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices. (xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. (xv) Offers must be received at 6011 Executive Blvd., Room 539-C, Rockville, MD 20852 by 1:00 PM (EST) on September 29, 2015. Emails & Facsimile submissions are not authorized and collect calls will not be accepted. Please reference the solicitation number RFP # NIHOD2015072 on your offer. All questions regarding this combined synopsis/solicitation must be received in this office by 8:00AM (EST) on September 10, 2015. They must be in writing emailed to Terita Stevenson at stevenst@od.nih.gov. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. In addition, responses must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror's capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the salient characteristics. The response should be practical, clear, and concise; should use quantitative terms whenever possible; should avoid qualitative adjectives; and should comprehensively address the requirements of this solicitation. Assumptions, conditions, or exceptions with any of the terms and conditions of this solicitation must be noted. If not noted, the Government will assume that no assumptions, conditions, or exceptions are made and the offeror agrees to comply with all of the terms and conditions as set forth in the solicitation. Information requested herein must be furnished in writing fully and completely in compliance with the solicitation. The information requested and the manner of submittal is essential to permit prompt evaluation of all offers on a fair and uniform basis. Simple statements of compliance (i.e., "understood"; "will comply") or phrases such as "standard procedures will be used" or "well known techniques will be utilized" and other generalities, without the detailed description of how compliance will be met, may not be considered sufficient evidence that the proposal can technically meet the project requirements. Accordingly, any response in which material information requested is not furnished or where indirect or incomplete answers or information are provided may be considered not acceptable. Instructions for Preparing and Submitting Proposals: Proposal shall be in 2 volumes: 1 Technical /Past Performance and 2 Price.. Proposals shall include a title page, table of contents, and all pages must be numbered. Proposals shall be well organized with tabs to identify evaluation criteria, and assembled in a 3-ring binder (not stapled). Proposals shall reference the corresponding requirements by section number, in the PWS. Proposals must be received on/or before the due date specified on the solicitation notice. Late proposals will not be considered for review. You must submit an original and seven copies of your technical proposal and an original and one copy of your business proposal. The technical proposal shall be separate from the business proposal. A detailed quote using the price schedule provided. A list of at least three references for which you have provided a similar service. Provide a contact name, phone number, and a brief description of the service provided for each reference. Contact information for a Contractor Point of Contact that will be responsible for the performance of work under the contract. A list of key personnel (Name, Title, Contact information) that may provide services under this contract. A statement of policy describing how the contractor's quality assurance standards meet the requirements of the PWS and an organizational chart showing who is responsible for monitoring quality assurance standards. Signed business Representations and Certifications. In addition the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All questions regarding this combined synopsis/solicitation must be received in this office by 8:00AM (EST) on September 10, 2015. They must be in writing emailed to Terita Stevenson, stevenst@od.nih.gov. (xvi) Requests for information concerning this requirement are to be addressed to Terita Stevenson via e-mail only to stevenst@od.nih.gov prior to the closing date for questions. Submit offers to: Terita Stevenson, Contract Specialist at 6011 Executive Blvd., Room 539-C, Rockville, Maryland 20852.. Please submit an original and seven copies of your technical and one original and one copy of your business proposals. The technical proposal shall be separate from the business proposal. Please reference the RFP No. NIHOD2015072, on all correspondence. Executive Order 13548: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-07-30/pdf/2010-18988.pdf
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/OoA/NIHOD2015072/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN03901199-W 20150925/150924000809-359c035be2b24a236b0aac8d1999dddd (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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