U.S. General Accounting Office, Acquisition Management, 441 G. Street N.W., Room 6851, Washington, DC 20548

99 -- ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE SOL OAM-2000-N-0025 DUE 040400 POC Deloris Ennis, 202-512-3736 E-MAIL: Electronic Voting Machine, ennisd.gsc@gao.gov. DESCRIPTION: 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; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This Request for Proposal is identified as Solicitation Number OAM-2000-N-0025. This procurement is set a-side for small businesses. The offeror must be able to accept a government purchase order. This combined synopsis/solicitation is organized in five parts: I) General Requirements; II) Specific Requirements; III) Applicability of FAR Provisions; IV) Format of Proposals; and V) Evaluation Criteria. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has a requirement to acquire an electronic voting system. An electronic voting system is a hardware-based system that provides the opportunity for meeting participants to vote and respond to questions. An electronic voting system typically consists of hand-held battery powered input devices that communicate directly with a wireless receiver device. This wireless receiver device is connected to a GAO-owned workstation. Software is provided as part of this system that would be loaded on the GAO-owned workstation (or laptop). This software facilitates the capture, entry, grouping, categorization, and printing of voting results. The output from the hand-held devices is typically yes-no or multiple choice type of responses. This system of technology would be most frequently used in meetings where GAO staff would vote and/or provide responses to management issues and concerns. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: GAO seeks to acquire an electronic voting system conforming to the general requirements stated above. This includes: 1) Hand-held input devices, wireless, maximum number: 160; 2) wireless receiving device to be connected to GAO workstation, including necessary connecting cable; 3) electronic voting software to be loaded on the GAO workstation to process voting results; 4) accessories to include cases for hand-held devices, backup wireless receiver, backup input devices, and other accessories and/or backup components recommended by the offeror, and 5) system administrator/operator training. GAO anticipates issuing an initial order for an electronic voting system for approximately 30-50 participants. A second order, or multiple orders, may be issued for some quantity up to a maximum of 160 participants. Offerors should provide pricing based on an overall requirement of 160 units, as well as pricing on smaller incremental orders of 30, 50, and 120 units. GAO will acquire units on an incremental basis according to the success with which the technology is implemented and overall GAO requirements. APPLICABILITY OF FAR PROVISIONS: the following Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) provisions and clauses apply to this solicitation and are incorporated by reference. FAR 52.212-1 -- Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items. Offerors must include a completed copy of FAR provision 52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with their offer. FAR 52.212-5 -- Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders-Commercial Items. FAR 52-212-4 -- Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, Conditions. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR Provisions 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items, price and other technical factors considered. FAR Provision 52.215-18, facsimile proposals. FORMAT OF PROPOSALS: all responsible small businesses must submit a proposal no later than April 4, 2000. Proposals may be mailed to the above address, emailed or faxed to Deloris Ennis, (202) 512-2658. Proposals must contain:1) the name, address, and telephone number of the offeror; 2) terms of any express warranty; 3) items 1-5, separately priced; 4) Representations and Certifications at FAR 52.212-3; 5) any product brochures, descriptions, or informative catalogs detailing the products being proposed; and 6) identification of at least 5 references, preferably references that include other government entities and professional services organizations. The proposal must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror. Offerors that fail to furnish required representation and certifications, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation, may be excluded from consideration. Offerors are advised that pricing should be presented in increments of increasing magnitude: 30, 50, 120, and 160 units. Pricing for each increment should include all components as specified in 1 through 5 of Specific Requirements, above. For example, offerors should present pricing in table form so that for each configuration, the Government may quickly ascertain the cost of the 1) keypads; 2) wireless receiving device; 3) software; 4) accessories and backup devices; and 5) training per day or per session. Thus, the Government can identify the complete costing for each level, whether 30, 50, 120, or 160. Ifan offeror proposes decreasing costs based on quantity, the Government will seek to take advantage of these reductions as additional units are acquired. For instance, if the Government's initial order is 30 units, and then a second order is placed for 20 more units, the pricing for the second order would be at the same rate as that the vendor proposes for the 50-unit configuration. EVALUATION CRITERIA: FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation -- Commercial Items. This is a best value procurement. 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 will be used to evaluate offers: 1) offeror's responsiveness to the technical requirements identified above, 50%; 2) past performance, 50%. For this solicitation, technical quality is more important than cost or price. As proposals become more equal in their technical merit, the evaluated cost or price becomes more important. Offerors should submit all proposals no later than April 4, 2000 to Deloris Ennis at the address above. FAX proposals will be accepted. Ms. Ennis may be contacted via telephone or email to clarify any requirement or if offerors have questions prior to submitting proposals. Posted 03/24/00 (W-SN437918). (0084)

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