Interpretation Services for ESSL Oct 23-Nov 9, 2017

i) 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. (ii)This solicitation document, HQ0013-17-Q-0110 is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). Under this requirement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) intends to award a commercial, firm fixed price contract. Solicitation Number HQ0013-17-Q-0110 is 100% small business set-aside. (iii) This solicitation document incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-95, Effective January 13, 2017. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to review the web page for notice of amendments, updates or changes to the solicitation. (iv) This requirement is to provide language interpreters, interpretation equipment, on-site support and translations services for the in the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) Emerging Security Sector Leaders Program Conference hosted in Washington, DC. The interpreters shall provide translation services into and from French, Portuguese and English. The period of performance shall be October 20 through November 9, 2017. The place of performance shall be at the National Defense University, 300 5th Avenue, Washington, DC 20319 and off-site locations listed in Attachment One (1), 2017-10 ESSL Interpretation Requirements. Please see the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS), for specific requirements. The applicable North American Classification System (NAICS) code is 541930, Translation and Interpretation Services. The small business size standard is $7.5 million. (v) Specifics. The Government intends to award a firm fixed price contract resulting from this combined synopsis/solicitation. Period of Performance: October 23 through November 9, 2017 (VI) This requirement is to provide translation service, interpretation equipment and on-site support as specified in the PWS for the Contract Line Items (CLINs). Please see attached PWS for Schedule of Services Breakdown. (x) Clauses and Provisions. The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, (OCT 2014) applies to this acquisition. (xi) A single award will be made to the responsible Offeror whose quote conforms to the solicitation requirements and presents the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) quote, as determined by the evaluation criteria herein with due consideration to the order of importance. (xii) Contract award will be made to the lowest evaluated price meeting or exceeding the minimum acceptability standards for non-cost factors. Quotes will be evaluated on an" Contract award will be made to the lowest evaluated price meeting or exceeding the minimum acceptability standards for non-cost factors. Proposals will be evaluated on an "acceptable" or "unacceptable" basis. Proposals will be evaluated for acceptability, but not ranked using the non-price factors. In order to be considered awardable, there must be an "acceptable" rating in every non-price factor. The Evaluation Factors are: 1. Technical Capability: a. Interpreters must have acceptable certification. Certification shall be as a court interpreter, through the Department of State Interpreters Examination or accreditation as an interpreter from a school of languages and linguistics b. The offeror shall ensure that all interpreters have a Bachelor Degree c. Interpreters must have a minimum of 3 years of professional/formal stimulation interpreting experience in international conference and seminars d. All interpreters must be familiar with defense related terms. Defense related terminology required during briefings simulation exercises and lecturers and must be able to interpret "all dialogue" to include titles and Government affiliations to perform for welcome and introduction sessions, lectures and working group activities. e. Offeror must provide the resumes and copy of certification of each interpreter f. Offeror must provide interpretation equipment 2. Past Performance: Past Performance: The Government will evaluate Past Performance in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b) (3). Offerors should identify past or current contracts (including Federal, State, and local government and private) for efforts similar to this requirement. Offerors are encouraged to provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the corrective actions take to address the problems. The Government shall consider this information, as well as information obtained from any other sources such as the Past Performance Information Retrieval (PPIRS), when evaluating the past performance. The Government will monitor the Contractor's performance under this contract using on-site inspections and customer feedback. The contractor will be given the opportunity to correct or address any adverse findings resulting from observations and feedback. Failure to correct any adverse findings or failure to deliver all services described in this contract may result in non-acceptance of the services by the Government. Failure to meet the standards of this performance work statement may result in a deduction of price equal to the value of the unperformed or poorly performed services. Failure to provide services in accordance with this contract could also result in termination of the contract for cause and/or adversely impact the Contractor's ability to be selected for future contracts. 3. Price: The proposed price is to address the requirements stated in the attached PWS for the Interpreters and Interpretation Equipment (xv) Price - The Government will determine if the price is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 13.106-3. Award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards. (xvi) Provision at FAR 52.212-3, Alt1 Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, Alternate I applies. The offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) Web site accessed through http://www.acquisition.gov . If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (q) of this provision. The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (May 2015) applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference. The following clauses cited within FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Nov 2015) 52.203-3, Gratuities (Apr 1984) 52.203-6, Restriction on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sep 2006) 52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Apr 2014) 52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements (Jan 2017) 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper (May 2011) 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2016) 52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jul 2013) 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2916) 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Jul 2015) 52.204-18 Commercial and Govenrment Entity Code Maintenance (Jul 2016) 52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems(Jun 2016) 52.209-6 Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended or Proposed for Debarment (Aug 2013) 52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting With Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015) 52.219-6 Notice of Small Business Set-Aside (NOV 2011) ( 115.U.SC. 644) Small Business Concern (Oct 2014) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Oct 2014) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Representation (Jul 2013) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Apr 2015) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Jul 2014) (38 U.S.C. 4212) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Jul 2014) 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010) (E.O. 13496) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (March 2015) (22 U.S.C. 7404(g)) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Dec 2013) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (FEB 2009) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.) 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Jun 2008) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Jul 2013) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011) 52.233-2 Service of Protest (Sep 2006) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Jan 1991) 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) 252.203-7000, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials (Sep 2011) 252.203-7002 Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Sep 2013) 252.203-7005 Representation Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials (Nov 2011) 252.204-7000 Disclosure of Information (Oct 2016) 252.204-7003 Control of Government Personnel Work Product (Apr 1992) 252.204-7004 System for Award Management (Feb 2014) Alternate A 252.204-7005 Oral Attestation of Security Responsibilities (Nov 2001) 252.204-7008 Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls (Dec 2015) 252.204-7012 Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (Dec 2015) 252.204-7015 Disclosure of Information to Litigation Support Contractors (Feb 2014) 252.209-7004 Subcontracting with Firms that are Owned or Controlled by the Government of a Country that is a State Sponsor of Terrorism (Oct 2015) 252.225-7012, Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities (Feb 2013) 252.225-7048, Export-Controlled Items (Jun 2013) 252.232-7006, Wide Area Workflow Payment Instructions (May 2013) 252.232-7010 Levies on Contract Payments (Dec 2006) 252.237-7010 Prohibition on Interrogation of Detainees by Contractor Personnel (Jun 2013) 252.243-7001, Pricing of Contract Modifications (Dec 1991) 252.243-7002, Request for Equitable Adjustment (Dec 2012) 252.244-7000 Subcontracts for Commercial Items (Jun 2013) (xvii) Submission Requirements: Offerors quote shall demonstrate ability to support the services identified in the attached PWS and Schedule. Submission must include evidence of experience, copies of certification and resumes. Offerors shall provide past performance information (e.g. letters of recommendation, customer evaluations, etc.) indicating the quality of interpreters performance and service during the past year. The past performance information shall also include at least one reference from an event for which they provided services similar in scope to that of this upcoming Emerging Security Sector Leaders Program. The offeror shall include the name, e-mail and phone number for all references. Questions shall be submitted by Tuesday, September 19, 2017, 11:00 am EST. Quotes shall be submitted by Friday, September 22, 2017, 11:00 am EST. Quotes shall be submitted via email to constance.v.house.civ@mail.mil with the Subject Line "HQ0013-17-Q-0110 Interpretation Services for Emerging Security Sector Leaders Program Conference, October 23, 2017-November 9, 2017. The contracting officer for this solicitation is james.e.washington.civ@mail.mil. Facsimile submission will not be accepted. Further details regarding this requirement can be found in the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).