Managing Multiple Priorities

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Question 1: Is the contractor expected to present the day-long training courses simultaneously at the West and East sites--or will the 10 sessions be spread out through the length of the year-long contract? Answer 1: Per section 4.0 of the PWS, "The ten (10) annual course offerings will be split between the two locations: Six (6) sessions equally spaced throughout the fiscal year shall be offered at NGA headquarters; four (4) session, also equally spaced throughout the fiscal year, shall be offered at the NGA facility in St. Louis." Section 5.1 of the PWS states "When available and appropriate classrooms have been located, the Government Program Manager will coordinate with the Contractor on the final schedule". It is not a requirement in the PWS for simultaneous course presentations in the East and West. However, it will be at the discretion of the Government Program Manager and the Contractor of the final course schedule. Question 2: Is this a new requirement for training or has this course been offered before? If it has been offered before, is there an incumbent? Answer 2: This requirement is new and does not have an incumbent. Question 3: Can the training length be altered to a day and a half or two days? Answer 3: The requirement is for a one-day course and the Government will not consider making a change to the requirement at this time. Question 4: Will this be made a small business set-aside? All small business, or a sub-set? Answer 4: This will be a small busniess set aside open to all small businesses. Sentence two of paragraph two has been updated, making it consistent with the rest of the RFP. Question 5: How many days after contract award will the first course be conducted? Answer 5: Per section 5.1, states that the government with the contractor will set the final course schedule. Due to the fact that we are seeking to purchase a COTS course, the contractor should be ready to conduct the first course within 30 days after contract award which allows ample time for training materials to be shipped to the NGA facility. Question 6: Performance Objectives 6.0 and 8.0 of the Performance Requirements Summary (Attachment A) reference an Appropriations Law Course vice a Managing Multiple Priorities Course. Is this an error? Answer 6: This was an oversight by the Government. Please see the revised QASP. Question 7: Are there any certification requirements to do any of this work? Answer 7: Section 7.0 details the government's requirement for the instructors' credentials. Question 8: Does the offeror have to have any accreditation or endorsement from the Council on Occupational Education in order to do this work? Answer 8: The PWS does not detail the need for additional accreditation or endorsement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 and 13, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-52. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has a requirement for Managing Multiple Priorities Training. This requirement is being competed on a small busines set-aside basis solely through the Government Point of Entry (www.fbo.gov). The specific requirements and associated contract clauses are included with this synopsis/solicitation and are viewable via attachment #1. Offerors must sign in to the FBO website to view the attachment. An MPIN may also be required. All small business vendors interested in submitting a quote for consideration should do so, prior to the solicitation closing date of August 4, 2011 by 12:00pm EST, via E-MAIL ONLY to the point of contact(s) listed in this solicitation. Quotes not submitted via e-mail will NOT be evaluated. All submissions should be in accordance with the stipulations set forth below: 1. The Government anticipates awarding a 12-month base (plus two one-year options) Firm-Fixed Price contract to a small business. 2. Instructions for the submissions of Offers. To aid in evaluation, it is desired that each proposal volume follow the same general format. All proposals shall contain a Title Page, a Table of Contents, and a cross-reference matrix of the proposal to the respective Performance Work Statement (PWS) requirements and to the respective evaluation criteria. No volume shall exceed 25 pages including: illustrations, charts and title pages, table of contents, indices, and glossaries. Page size shall not exceed 8.5x11. Type shall be font size 12pt, Times New Roman. 3. Proposal requirements: All offerors competing for award are required to provide the quote information specified in this RFP, for evaluation. The proposal shall be prepared and submitted in two separate volumes as follows: A. Volume 1 - Technical: The technical approach shall include information/documentation regarding the items quoted in sufficient detail to clearly identify the offeror's understanding and qualifications to accomplish the required work in the PWS. The offeror shall provide sample course materials with their proposal as an attachment to the technical volume that will not count toward the page limit. Also, include any reports from the government and/or other evidence of performance. B. Volume 2- Price: In the price volume, the offeror must include a statement that it either (a) agrees to the terms and conditions of this RFP or (b) it takes exceptions to any terms and conditions of the RFP, and clearly identifies those exceptions. Objections to any of the terms and conditions of this RFP may be considered by the Government to be unacceptable. This section must contain a statement that Offeror's acceptance period is valid for 90 calendar days for the date of receipt by the Government. In addition, the price volume of the proposal shall include any supporting information needed to understand the basis for pricing the offer. The Government may reject any proposal, which is materially unbalanced as to prices. An unbalanced proposal is one which is based on prices significantly less for some work and prices which are significantly overstated for other work. An offeror's proposal is presumed to represent best efforts to respond to the RFP. Any inconsistency between promised performance and price should be explained in the price volume of the proposal. Vendors are required to provide a unit price for each course that includes all course material, shipping and travel cost as specified in the PWS as well as a total Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) price for the base as well as the options years. 4. Award shall be made to the offeror that submits the LOWEST PRICE TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA) quote. The technical requirements of the services to be provided are detailed in the solicitation and subsequent attachments. OFFERORS PROPOSAL MUST ADDRESS EACH SERVICE IN THEIR QUOTE THAT IS LISTED IN THE SOLICITATION, IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE. 5. Equal Low Bids will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 19.202-3. 6 .The Government intends to evaluate responses and award a contract without discussions. Therefore, the offeror's response should contain the best offer. The Government reserves the right to hold discussions if the Contracting Officer determines that it is in the best interest of the Government. If award will be made without discussions, offerors may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their proposal or resolve minor or clerical errors. 7. Submissions should not contain attachments greater than 3MB in size. Such submissions may be excluded. 8. All questions should be in writing, VIA E-MAIL ONLY directed to Contract Specialist Candace I. Johnson at Candace.I.Johnson@nga.mil. All questions (and their answers) will be posted on the FBO website to provide equal access to information for all potential offerors. The submission deadline for questions is July 21, 2011 by 12:00pm EST. 9. All offerors should submit a completed version of 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications (attached). 10. All vendors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) http://www.ccr.gov and in the Online Representations and Certification Application (ORCA) https://orca.bpn.gov/ as a small business with the specified NAICS code prior to the solicitation closing date to be considered. 11. The Government reserves the right to cancel the solicitation without obligation. 12. The Offeror must meet the general standards for responsible perspective contractor as set forth in FAR 9.104-1 (General Standards) in order to be considered for award.