R -- Conference and Ambassadorial Seminar Support

The U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), has a requirement for seminars and conferences for newly appointed U.S. Ambassadors, and/or conferences concerning high priority foreign affairs issues. Two to four contracts will be awarded from this solicitation. The workload will be a minimum of 10, a target amount of 55, and a maximum of 75 conferences for the base year and for each subsequent option year. The conferences shall be conducted at a site in Washington, D. C., or at a site within close proximity to the main building of the U. S. Department of State, 2201 "C" St., Washington, D. C. Facilities should be appropriately formal to State Department officers of Ambassadorial rank and other senior principal officials.Clarification of Partial Small Business Set Aside. A minimum of one award will go to a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), however, if no responsive/responsible proposals are received from a SDBOSB, a minimum of one award will go to Small Business. A pre-proposal conference will be held on 7 December 2007, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon with prospective offerors at Department of State Annex Building Number 6, 1701 Fort Myers Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22209. The pre-proposal conference will be held for the purpose of providing information concerning the Government's requirements which may be helpful in the preparation of proposals and for answering any questions regarding this solicitation. Attendance at the pre-proposal conference is recommended; however, attendance is not a prerequisite for proposal submission and will not be considered a factor in proposal evaluation. The success of this conference depends largely on the lead-time available to the Government for research in connection with questions submitted by prospective offerors. Therefore, you are requested to submitt questions by e-mail (JonesRD@State.Gov) concerning any areas of uncertainty which, in your opinion, require clarification or correction, by 12:00 Noon, 5 December 2007. Questions should be submitted to: The Contract Administrator, Raschell D. Jones. See Section G, Paragraph G-1 for E-mail address and phone numbers. The E-mail or envelope should be marked "Pre-Proposal Conference, RFP No. S-AQMMA-07-R-0006." Questions submitted by the deadline will be discussed first. If practical, depending on the number of questions discussed, the questions discussed at the pre-proposal conference will be furnished to prospective offerors on request, whether or not they are in attendance. Due to security and screening requirements, and size limitations of the conference room, each prospective offeror will be limited to a total of two representatives. Prospective offerors shall notify the Contract Administrator Officer by E-mail if they plan to attend the pre-proposal conference. The notice shall include the name, position or title, date of birth and Social Security Number of all attendees. Because of current security requirements, to gain admittance into a State Department facility, all attendees shall be required to present some form of valid (up to date) pictured identification that contains name, home address, and date of birth, or a current U. S. Passport.