DOI Whole Systems Group Conference

FAR 5.207 Preparation and transmittal of synopses. (a) Content. Each synopsis transmitted to the GPE must address the following data elements, as applicable: (1) Action Code. (2) Date. September 24, 2014 (3) Year. 2014 (4) Contracting Office ZIP Code. 20170 (5) Classification Code. X1AB - Rental of Facilities (6) Contracting Office Address. 381 Elden Street, Suite 4000, Herndon, VA 20170 (7) Subject. D14PS00753 AQD Whole Systems Group Conference (8) Proposed Solicitation Number. D14PS00753 (9) Closing Response Date. September 30, 2014 (10) Contact Point or Contracting Officer. Ms. Shelita Saint-Louis (11) Contract Award and Solicitation Number. N/A (12) Contract Award Dollar Amount. N/A (13) Contract Line Item Number. N/A (14) Contract Award Date. N/A (15) Contractor. N/A (16) Description. (17) Place of Contract Performance. Contractor facility (18) Set-aside Status. Not set-aside. 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. Solicitation D14PS00753 is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 05-76 August 25, 2014. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 531120 with a small business size standard of $27.50M.This requirement is unrestricted and only qualified offerors may submit bids. This is a requirement for hotel room accommodations, meals, meeting/function facilities and associated incidentals for use by the Government from October 21, 2014 through October 24, 2014 as described in the Statement of Work. Delivery and acceptance of these services is in accordance with the deliverables outlined in the Statement of Work. The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. QUESTIONS: Questions about this solicitation are due on September 29, 2014 at 10AM Eastern Time. Questions may be submitted via email to Ms. Cassandra Sterba at contact@example.gov and Ms. Shelita Saint-Louis at contact@example.gov. RFQ DUE DATE: Quotes in response to this solicitation are due on September 30, 2014 at 4PM Eastern Time. Quotes must be submitted via email to Ms. Cassandra Sterba at contact@example.gov and Ms. Shelita Saint-Louis at contact@example.gov. For any additional information about this solicitation, please contact Ms. Cassandra Sterba at contact@example.gov or +1 (555) 000-0000. All responsible sources may submit a quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition with the following evaluation criteria in paragraph (a) of that provision: Quotes shall be evaluated based on best value. BASIS FOR AWARD: It is the Government's intent to make an award to the responsible Offeror whose quote, in conforming to the RFQ, provides the overall best value to the Government considering technical evaluation factors and price. The evaluation will be based on the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Contractors in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the RFQ. The merits of each quote will be evaluated carefully. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the low priced Offeror if the superior technical submission, or the submission indicating a reduced performance risk, warrants paying a premium. However, price may become a major consideration in selecting the successful Offeror as quotes gradually progress and become technically more comparable. Each offeror should recognize that its initial price and technical quote may be used as the sole and final basis for award and should quote accordingly. Should initial quotes not provide the Government with a satisfactory total solution, the Government reserves the right to establish a competitive range of the highest technically qualified offerors and communicate with them in order to reach a best value determination. The Government reserves the right to immediately remove any quote from further evaluation and consideration for award that is evaluated to be significantly not compliant with the solicitation requirements, incomplete, unrealistically high or low in price, or reflects a failure to comprehend the requirement. Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to award no purchase order at all, depending on the quality of the quotes, the availability of funding, and the continued existence of the requirement. Technical evaluation factors are more important than price. As non-price factors become closer, price will become a more important factor in selecting the best value. The Technical Evaluation Committee reserves the right to revise an Offeror's Technical consensus decision based on information within the Price Volume when the Technical Evaluation Committee feels that content within the Price Volume will have an impact on technical evaluation factors or subfactors. EVALUATION FACTORS: The Offeror's submission will be evaluated in accordance with the following evaluation criteria. Sub-factors listed under each factor are of equal importance to each other. All technical factors are individually greater than price. However, price may become a major consideration in selecting the successful Offeror as quotes gradually progress technically and become more comparable. Factor 1-Technical Capability: (1) Facility Requirements: (a) Sufficient accommodations- rooms blocked for the required number of personnel on the dates specified in the SOW; (b) Reservation of one large conference room and four break-out rooms and furnishings as required by the SOW; (c) Sufficient audio-visual set up as described in the SOW; (d) Availability for onsite meals; (2) Proximity and accessibility to airport; (3) Availability of dates-ability to provide the required services on the dates requested. Factor 2-Price: The price quote will be evaluated for price reasonableness. The Government may reject any price quote that is evaluated to be significantly not compliant with the solicitation requirements, unrealistically high or low in price, or reflects a failure to comprehend the requirement. Any price quote that does not provide a complete, realistic and reasonable price may be deemed unacceptable. The Government reserves the right to conduct a site inspection prior to contract award. Provisions and Clauses: Offerors are advised to include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with its offer. The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (May 2014), applies to this acquisition. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (July 2014) applies to this acquisition. The following FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition: 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jul 2013); 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (Aug 2013); 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation (Jul 2013); 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003); 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999); 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007); 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014); 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011); 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (June 2008); 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Jul 2013). The following terms and conditions are also applicable to this solicitation: DIAR 1452.203-70, Restrictions on Endorsements - DOI July 1996 The Contractor shall not refer to contracts awarded by the Department of the Interior in commercial advertising, as defined in FAR 31.205-1, in a manner which states or implies that the product or service provided is approved or endorsed by the Government, or is considered by the Government to be superior to other products or services. This restriction is intended to avoid the appearance of preference by the Government toward any product or service. The Contractor may request the Contracting Officer to make a determination as to the propriety of promotional material. (End of clause) DIAR 1452.201-70, Authorities and Delegations - DOI (SEP 2011) (a) The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to enter into or terminate this contract, modify any term or condition of this contract, waive any requirement of this contract, or accept nonconforming work. (b) The Contracting Officer will designate a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at time of award. The COR will be responsible for technical monitoring of the contractor's performance and deliveries. The COR will be appointed in writing, and a copy of the appointment will be furnished to the Contractor. Changes to this delegation will be made by written changes to the existing appointment or by issuance of a new appointment. (c) The COR is not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions: (1) Promise, award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract; (2) Waive or agree to modification of the delivery schedule; (3) Make any final decision on any contract matter subject to the Disputes Clause; (4) Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor's right to proceed; (5) Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government. (d) The Contractor shall comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR's appointment, within 3 days of the occurrence. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the categories defined in paragraph (c) prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer's response issued under paragraph (e) of this clause. (e) The Contracting Officer shall respond in writing within 30 days to any notice made under paragraph (d) of this clause. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of a direction, or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto, shall be subject to the provisions of the Disputes clause of this contract. (f) The Contractor shall provide copies of all correspondence to the Contracting Officer and the COR. (g) Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, shall be at the Contractor's risk. (End of clause) CUSTOM PURCHASE ORDER CLAUSES: The resultant delivery order will include the following custom clauses: Custom Clause #1 - Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoice Processing Platform (IPP)-April 2013 Payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U. S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP). "Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov. Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice: Invoices will be paid upon approval and acceptance by the Government COR and approval by the CO. All billing issues shall be handled and resolved between the Contractor, the COR and the CO, if necessary. The Contractor agrees to include the following information on each invoice: (a) Name and address of the Contractor (b) Invoice number and date (c) Contract number (d) Period of performance for the billing cycle (e) Payment terms (f) Name, title, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address of person to be notified in the event of a defective invoice (g) Other substantiating documentation or information as required verifying deliverable completion The Contractor must use the IPP website to register access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment. The Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) prior to the contract award date, but no more than 3 -5 business days of the contract award date. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email contact@example.gov or phone +1 (555) 000-0000. If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP tor submitting invoices for payment, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation. (End of Custom Clause #1) Custom Clause #2 - AQD Services Greening Clause a) Almost every service requires the use of some sort of product. While providing services pursuant to the Requirements Document in this contract, if your services necessitate the acquisition of any products, the contractor shall use its best efforts to comply with Executive Order 13514, and to acquire the environmentally preferable products that meet the requirements of clauses at FAR 52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products under Service and Construction Contracts, 52.223-15, Energy Efficiency in Energy Consuming Products, and 52.223-17 Affirmative Procurement of EPA Designated Items in Service and Construction Contracts. b) Additionally, the contractor shall use its best efforts to reduce the generation of paper documents through the use of double-sided printing, double-sided copying, and the use and purchase of 30% post-consumer content white paper to meet the intent of FAR 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper (May 2011). (End of custom clause #2)