SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge Platform and Technical Assistance - Complete RFQ - Performance Work Statement
- Notice Date
- 4/12/2018
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541613
— Marketing Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Education, Contracts & Acquisitions Management, Contracts (All ED Components), 550 12th Street, SW, 7th Floor, Washington, District of Columbia, 20202
- ZIP Code
- 20202
- Solicitation Number
- OET-2018-01
- Point of Contact
- Gary L. Weaver, Phone: 202-302-8907
- E-Mail Address
-
Gary.Weaver@ed.gov
(Gary.Weaver@ed.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Performance Work Statement Request for Quote with complete quote instructions, basis for award, terms and conditions, and other information needed to submit a quote. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items 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; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is OET-2018-01 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) being conducted under FAR Part 12 in conjunction with FAR Part 13. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-97. This solicitation is being conducted as a total small business set-aside. The NAICS Code is 541613, Marketing Consulting Services, and the small business size standard is $15M. See the Performance Work Statement for a complete description of the services to be acquired. The U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Educational Technology (OET) has a requirement for contractor support to design, implement, and host a Collaborative Platform on which OET can conduct a Higher Ed Ecosystem Challenge. OET and its partners will conduct the challenge, with technical assistance from the contractor. The contractor shall provide a highly interactive platform for a prize competition that supports collaboration between and among participants, applicants, and the public. In addition, the contractor shall provide technical assistance to OET, its partners, and challenge participants, to include challenge recruitment strategy development, outreach approach, submission rules, judging process, prize distribution approach, and final challenge summary reporting. OET anticipates launching the Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge as soon as possible after contract award and will work closely with the contractor to expedite internal clearances and vetting processes. The firm selected to receive an offer from the Department is required to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and to maintain active registration during the life of the purchase order. SAM can be accessed at https://www.sam.gov. Firms shall include their DUNS number in their quote. If the firm does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. The firm selected for an offer from the Department will need to provide Offeror Representations and Certifications prior to any award. Quotation Instructions: The contractor is expected to describe a thorough understanding of the proposed tasks as specified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The quote should address the specifications in the PWS, and not simply repeat the language. Because ED and its' partners will conduct the challenge, with technical assistance from this contractor, in order to assist interested parties with estimating the level of effort for the ‘technical assistance' requirement, the PWS contains ED's estimated hours for deliverables/tasks. These are estimates only. The contractor is expected to be innovative in its approach. The information presented is not intended to restrict the contractor's quote or to stifle creativity. The technical quote shall include the following: • Technical Solution: to provide a prize challenge platform and related prize challenge technical assistance such as challenge recruitment strategy development, outreach approach, submission rules, judging process, prize distribution approach, etc. - include the proposed activities to accomplish each individual task in the SOW • Proposed Personnel: Quotes shall have a list of staff that will be doing the work and their experience/resume. Evidence of a relationship between the background/experience of proposed staff to the specific tasks to be performed will be evaluated and must be described in detail in the proposal. A list of possibly relevant items in the resumes of proposed staff will not be sufficient, as the U.S. Department of Education will make no assumptions if vague or incomplete information is provided. In addition, examples of corporate experience used to demonstrate the expertise and experience of proposed staff should identify proposed staff by name, including the nature and scope of their work responsibilities relative to the examples provided. Examples provided of corporate experience that do not provide adequate evidence of significant involvement by proposed staff will not be considered for this criterion. Reasonable allocation of staff to tasks in keeping with their expertise will be evaluated, as well as, assurance of commitment and vitae for all staff, subcontractors and consultants. • Management Plan: The offeror that proposes the best management plan, in terms of providing for project control; efficient and timely use of human, physical and financial resources; milestones for completion of work tasks will receive the most points. Clear and concise management charts particularly in regard to the general management plan, the project staffing arrangements, and the interrelationships among project entities including staff, subcontractors and consultants will be evaluated. The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to manage and support multiple tasks simultaneously, as well as the ability to provide quick start-up and turnaround on projects. • Corporate Experience: demonstrate corporate experience designing and conducting national prize competitions and challenges that engage multiple sectors, that used highly interactive platforms for prize competitions that allowed collaboration between and among participants, applicants, and the public, and that demonstrates the feasibility of proposed plans for carrying out each task, including the clarity, creativity, and soundness of any recommended improvements to the PWS. Include a list of client or organization references that demonstrate organizational experience and capability. The quote shall identify corporate experience for any proposed subcontractors. Quoters shall clearly demonstrate qualifications and pertinent experience conducting work of a similar nature as described in the SOW. Please submit a firm-fixed price (FFP) price quote for furnishing the challenge platform and technical assistance services described in the attached PWS, including the Optional Tasks. The quote must include a FFP for the base requirements as well as a FFP price for the Optional Tasks. The FFP shall account for labor as well as other direct costs, including technology costs, supplies, printing, travel, etc. The quoter shall include a proposed payment schedule with the quote. The quote should include any assumptions and constraints used in developing the quote. Evaluation Criteria: The Department will negotiate with the contractor providing the quote determined to offer the best value based on technical quality, corporate experience and price. Technical quality will be evaluated based on: • Demonstrated experience designing and conducting national prize competitions and challenges that engage multiple sectors, such as post-secondary education institutions and systems, adult learning organizations, post-secondary education policy and research organizations, and educational technology developers; • Demonstrated experience developing highly interactive platforms for prize competitions that collaboration between and among participants, applicants, and the public; • Demonstrated feasibility of proposed challenge platform and technical assistance for carrying out each task, including the clarity, creativity, and soundness of any recommended improvements to the SOW. • Evidence of a relationship between the background/experience of proposed staff, including Project Director, to the specific tasks to be performed; demonstrated experience and quality of individual or personnel assigned • Quality of management plan in terms of contract schedule, plans for communication (including communication of problems) with the COR; and, organizational structure of the project, including coordinating and controlling work of project personnel and sub-contractors Provisions and Clauses: Note to all quoters: The following FAR and Education Department Acquisition Regulations (EDAR) clauses shall apply to the solicitation and to any resulting purchase order: 1. 52.252.-2 Clauses Incorporated By Reference (Feb 1998) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): Education Department Acquisition Regulation (EDAR) provisions can be reviewed at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-4660.pdf. Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions and clauses can be reviewed at: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/loadmainre.html 2. FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items (Oct 2014) (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: (i) technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement (see Evaluation Criteria section above for subfactors) (ii) corporate experience (iii) price Technical and corporate experience, when combined, are significantly more important than price. (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. (End of provision) 3. FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2017) 4. FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (JAN 2017) 5. FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Jan 2018) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items: _XX_ (14)(i) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644). _XX_ (22) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (JUL 2013) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)). _XX_ (25) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (JUNE 2003) (E.O. 11755). _XX_ (27) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (APR 2015). _XX_ (28) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (SEPT 2016) (E.O. 11246). _XX_ (42) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011) (E.O. 13513). _XX_ (49) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (JUNE 2008) (E.O.'s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury). _XX_ (55) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (JUL 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332). 6. EDAR 3452.224-70 Release of Information Under the Freedom of Information Act (MAY 2011) 7. EDAR 3452.237-71 Observance of Administrative Closures (MAY 2011) 8. EDAR 3452.242-73 Accessibility of Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars to Persons with Disabilities (MAY 2011) 9. EDAR 3452.243-70 Key personnel (MAR 2011) (a) The personnel designated as key personnel in this contract are considered to be essential to the work being performed hereunder. Prior to diverting any of the specified individuals to other programs, or otherwise substituting any other personnel for specified personnel, the contractor shall notify the contracting officer reasonably in advance and shall submit justification (including proposed substitutions) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on the contract effort. No diversion or substitution shall be made by the contractor without written consent of the contracting officer; provided, that the contracting officer may ratify a diversion or substitution in writing and that ratification shall constitute the consent of the contracting officer required by this clause. The contract shall be modified to reflect the addition or deletion of key personnel. (b) The following personnel have been identified as Key Personnel in the performance of this contract: Labor category Name TBD at Award 10. FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days before contract expiration. 11. 52.227-14 Rights in Data.General. (MAY 2014) 12. 306-1b Invoice and Contract Financing Requests Submission - IPP (DECEMBER 2013) (a) Payments shall be rendered in accordance with the identified payment schedule(s), and any other incorporated payment clause(s), specified rates, and/or fixed price amounts. (b) The contractor shall submit invoices electronically by means of the web-based system, Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) that can be accessed at: http://www.ipp.gov/. All submitted invoices must be accompanied by supporting documentation in accordance with the contract's terms and conditions. The supporting documentation shall be submitted in the following formats: Adobe Acrobat (pdf), Microsoft Word (doc), Pictures (jpeg), Microsoft Excel (excel), and Microsoft Outlook message (msg). (c) Invoice Number Format - The format for the invoice shall be the contract number followed by the invoice number. The invoice number shall have no spaces, dashes, or other special characters. The invoice number cannot exceed 21 characters. Examples of acceptable invoice number formats are as follows: Example 1, Definitive Contract: Contract Number: ED-ABC-13-C-1234 Contractor's Invoice No.: 15897126341 IPP Invoice No.: EDABC13C1234158971263 (Note that the "-" characters were removed due to the requirement of not having special characters and the last two digits ["41"] from the contractor's invoice number were removed due to the 21 character limitation) Example 2, Task/Delivery Order Contract: Contract Number: ED-CDE-13-A-4567/0001 Contractor's Invoice No.: 158971263 IPP Invoice No.: EDCDE13A4567000115897 (Note that the "/" and "-" characters were removed due to the requirement of not having special characters and the last four digits ["1263"] from the contractor's invoice number were removed due to the 21 character limitation) (d) If the Contractor has not already established an IPP account that is active, an IPP account will be automatically created on behalf of the Contractor. The automatically created IPP account will be issued to the Designated Primary Administrator, which will be the individual that has been identified in the "Accounts Receivable POC" Section of the Contractor's System for Award Management (SAM) registration located at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. (e) Within ten (10) business days of the Contractor entering or updating the Accounts Receivable POC information within the Contractor's SAM registration, the Designated Primary Administrator will receive an email from the IPP Customer Support Team containing the Designated Primary Administrator's IPP username. Within 24 hours of receiving the initial email, the Designated Primary Administrator will receive a second email containing their IPP password. Once both emails have been received, the Designated Primary Administrator must log into IPP and complete the registration process. (f) The Contractor's Designated Primary Administrator will be authorized to further designate other administrators under the Contractor's IPP account who may submit invoices on behalf of the Contractor. (g) The Contractor must ensure that the "Accounts Receivable POC" Section of its SAM registration is accurate and up to date. (h) In the event that an invoice is rejected, the contractor shall make the necessary corrections and resubmit the invoice by means of IPP. Any questions, concerns, or issues regarding the use of IPP should be directed to IPP Customer Support Team, as identified at http://www.ipp.gov/ 13. 309-1a List of Attachments (APRIL 1984) TBD at award. QUESTION SUBMISSIONS AND CLOSING DATE FOR QUOTATIONS: Please email questions regarding these requirements to Gary Weaver at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov by 10:00am EST on Thursday, April 19, 2018. The two separately packaged quotes should be submitted electronically as separate documents. The Technical Quote may be submitted in MS Word or PDF format. The Business Quote should be submitted in the MS Excel template provided with any supplemental narrative in MS Word or PDF. Incoming electronic attachments have a file size limitation of 30 MB. Quotes shall be received by 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time on April 30, 2018. Quotes shall be submitted by e-mail to Gary Weaver at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov and must be received by the closing date. Late quotations will not be considered.
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