Financial Analysis, Monitoring and Tracking Support

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. The solicitation for commercial services is being conducted in conjunction with FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation ED-OOS-15-0001 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-76. The NAICS Code is 541618, Other Management Consulting Services, and small business size standard is $15M. SCOPE OF WORK The U. S. Department of Education (ED), Office of the Secretary (OS), requires expert financial analysis services to obtain tracking and reconciliation of budgetary accounts; resolving problems with fund commitments, obligations and expenditure transactions; monitoring and reconciling travel accounts for the Office of the Secretary, White House Initiative Offices and Advisory Councils using the Department's E2 Travel Solutions Travel Manager system; maintaining and enhancing a custom-built system for tracking expenditures throughout fiscal year 2015 and providing training to Executive Management Staff employees in using the enhanced system, including continued training on entering and modifying data and producing reports; and developing detailed as well as summary reports appropriate for Chief of Staff and other senior officials. The contractor shall: - track, reconcile, and input data, and report on budgetary accounts: - monitor Oracle financial transactions for reconciliation in a custom-built Access Database. - monitor financial allocations and update systems accordingly. - update systems and complete reports detailing up-to-date allocations and expenditures. Reports shall include a summary of Program Office transactions, and details of Program Office Transactions to include applicable object class, total object class allocation, total object class expenditure and balance. The contractor shall provide technical support needed to operate, maintain, and improve a custom-built Microsoft Access database. Technical support is needed to facilitate loading, maintenance, display, and reporting of budget data. Therefore, knowledge of the agency's EDCAPS Financial System and GSA's E2 Travel Solutions Travel Manager programs is required. The contractor shall have experience with Access database input and maintenance, experience with Oracle Financials, Version 11.5.10 (11i), and knowledge of the Federal Government Object Classes for data input and financial reporting. Additionally, the following is required: - Minimum of five years financial management experience and project management skills. - Knowledge of applicable laws, regulations, funding agency policies and other requirements that affect grant program administration. - Ability to work effectively independently and collegially in a team environment. - Ability to analyze and systematically compile technical and budgetary information and to prepare reports and correspondence. - Proficiency in MS Office Suite and strong knowledge of finance and accounting methods. - Strong presentation skills and the ability to provide proactive and effective communications and comprehensive responses to senior management. The Contractor(s) shall be required to work on site at the Department up to eight (8) hours per week from contract award to the contract expiration. QUOTE REQUIREMENTS Submitted quotes shall include a brief corporate capabilities statement, a brief corporate experience section that details previous or current organizations supported with requirements similar to those stated in this RFQ, and a price quote. The quote is expected to show a thorough understanding of the Department's requirements. Technical quotes should provide a brief technical approach for meeting the Department's requirements stated above. Technical quotes must be limited to a maximum of 5 pages. The page limit excludes resumes as well as brief summaries of the organization's recent work that is relevant to this project. Each quote shall contain all information necessary to judge the technical soundness and management capabilities of the quoter. Corporate experience should include, in addition to the brief summary of relevant work experience, 1) contract number; 2) name of the contracting agency; 3) dollar value 4) start and end date. The government reserves the right to obtain past performance information from other sources. The Department anticipates award of a Labor Hour Contract; all materials will be provided by the US Department of Education. The Department estimates 8 hours of service per week for a total of 416 hours per contract year. Quotes shall include the Labor Category(s) proposed to meet the requirement. A fully-loaded labor rate shall be quoted for each Labor Category. Quotes shall include a Total Ceiling Price for each contract year, which shall be calculated by multiplying the hourly rate(s) by the estimated hours. Quotes shall include pricing for a 12-month base period and two 12-month option periods. Base Period Labor Rate(s) $________ Total Ceiling Price $_________ Option Period I Labor Rate(s) $________ Total Ceiling Price $_________ Option Period II Labor Rate(s) $________ Total Ceiling Price $_________ Total Ceiling Price (Base + Option I + Option II) $_________ The entity 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 contract. SAM can be accessed at https://www.sam.gov. Quoters shall include their DUNS number in their quote. If the quoter does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. The entity selected for an offer from the Department will need to provide Offeror Representations and Certifications prior to any award. EVALUATION CRITERIA The Government will offer a contract resulting from this RFQ to the responsible entity whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes: technical quality, corporate experience, and price. Technical quality and corporate experience will be evaluated against: - Demonstrated knowledge of ED budget systems, processes, and policies, especially as related to the Office of the Secretary, White House Initiative Offices and Advisory Councils - Demonstrated experience using Oracle Financials version 11.5.10 (11i) - Demonstrated experience supporting custom-built Microsoft Access databases, including managing data and reporting, and operating, maintaining, and improving the database - Demonstrated experience with GSA's E2 Solutions end-to-end travel management application, E-Gov Travel system. Technical and corporate experience, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. Options. The Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that a quote is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES The following FAR and EDAR provisions and clauses apply to the RFQ and any resulting purchase order. 1. FAR 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 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, Alternate I (MAY 2014) 3. 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items. (JUL 2014) Under 52.212-5, the Contracting Officer has indicated the following clauses as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items: X (4) 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jul 2013) (Pub. L. 109-282) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). X (8) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (Aug 2013) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). X (14)(i) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644). X (16) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (May 2014) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)). X (25) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (Jul 2013) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)). X (28) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755). X (30) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999). X (31) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246). X (33) 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) (29 U.S.C. 793). X (42) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011) (E.O. 13513). X (46) 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). X (52) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Jul 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332). 4. FAR 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (DEC 2013) 5. EDAR 3452.224-70 Release of Information Under the Freedom of Information Act (MAY 2011) 6. EDAR 3452.237-71 Observance of Administrative Closures (MAY 2011) 7. EDAR 3452.239-71 Notice to quoters of Department security requirements (MAY 2011) (a) The quoter and any of its future subcontractors will have to comply with Department security policy requirements as set forth in the Bidder's Security Package: Security Requirements for Contractors Doing Business with the Department of Education'' at: http://www.ed.gov/fund/contract/about/bsp.html. (b) All contractor employees must undergo personnel security screening if they will be employed for 30 days or more, in accordance with Departmental Directive OM:5-101, Contractor Employee Personnel Security Screenings,'' available at: http://www.ed.gov/ fund/contract/about/acs/acsom5101.doc. (c) The quoter shall indicate the following employee positions it anticipates to employ in performance of this contract and their proposed risk levels based on the guidance provided in Appendix I of Departmental Directive OM:5-101: High Risk (HR): [None.]. Moderate Risk (MR): [All Contractor staff will be designated Moderate Risk.]. Low Risk (LR): [None.]. (d) In the event the Department disagrees with a proposed risk level assignment, the issue shall be subject to negotiation. However, if no agreement is reached, the Department's risk level assignment shall be used. The type of screening and the timing of the screening will depend upon the nature of the contractor position, the type of data to be accessed, and the type of information technology (IT) system access required. Personnel security screenings will be commensurate with the risk and magnitude of harm the individual could cause. 8. EDAR 3452.239-72 Department security requirements (MAY 2011) 9. EDAR 3452.242-73 Accessibility of Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars to Persons with Disabilities (May 2011) 10. 306-1a INVOICE AND CONTRACT FINANCING REQUESTS SUBMISSION (ALTERNATE I) (JAN 2007) (A) Payments shall be rendered in accordance with the payments clause(s) of the incorporated contract clause section and with those otherwise specified rated or fixed price amounts. (B) The contractor shall submit invoices electronically as an attachment to a message to (EMAIL ADDRESS TBD AT AWARD). The subject area of the message shall contain the invoice number, contract number, and contract specialist's name. The electronic copy of the invoice shall be in a format that is supported by Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word or Excel), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). ** Invoice shall include the name of the conference/project as well as the date of the meeting/project. 11. FAR 52.216-31 TIME-AND-MATERIALS/LABOR-HOUR PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS-COMMERCIAL ITEM ACQUISITION (FEB 2007) (A) The Government contemplates award of a Time-and-Materials or Labor-Hour type of contract resulting from this solicitation. (B) The offeror must specify fixed hourly rates in its offer that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit. The quoter must specify whether the fixed hourly rate for each labor category applies to labor performed by-(1) The quoter; (2) Subcontractors; and/or (3) Divisions, subsidiaries, or affiliates of the quoter under a common control. 12. 301-17 PROVISION FOR PRICING AND PAYMENT (APRIL 1997) The total not-to-exceed amount of this contract is TBD. Payment of that amount shall be made in accordance with the incorporated clause entitled "Payments Under Time and Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts," "Payments Under Fixed Price Research and Development Contracts," or "Payments," whichever is applicable, and with any other supplementary payment scheme which may be otherwise negotiated and specified. (b) The Contractor shall take appropriate steps to insure that the ceiling price stated in Paragraph (a) above is not exceeded. The Government is not liable for any costs incurred which exceed the amount set forth above. The Contractor is further required to give written notice any time it estimates that the current funding ceiling is inadequate to cover the cost of its continued performance for a period of more than 60 days or until the end of the current term of the contract if less than 60 days. (c) In consideration for services performed under this contract, the Contractor shall be paid in accordance with the prices set forth in the Pricing Schedule (See Attachment A). 13. 305-4 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (MAR 1986) The period of performance shall be from contract award to September 30, 2015. 14. FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 Days of contract expiration; provided that the Government gives the Contractor preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 3 years. DUE DATE Questions regarding this RFQ shall be emailed to Stefanie.Seaborne@ed.gov and Gary.Weaver@ed.gov on or before 12:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, October 20, 2014. Quotes shall be received via email no later than 5:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time Thursday, October 23, 2014. Please submit quotes via email to Stefanie.Seaborne@ed.gov, 202-260-4844 or Gary.Weaver@ed.gov , 202-302-8907.