State Estimation for Wide Area Monitoring and Measurement of the Power Grid

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. THIS ACQUISITION IS BEING PROCURED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PART 13. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Proposal (RFP). This solicitation document and incorporated clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-69. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541511 and the size standard is $25.5 million. This acquisition is being conducted as a 100% small business set-aside. Offerors will be responsible for obtaining related amendments to this solicitation, if any, from www.fbo.gov. It is the responsibility of each potential offeror to monitor www.fbo.gov for any amendments or other information related to this solicitation. Any communications regarding this acquisition must be made in writing and forwarded via email to Divya Soni at contact@example.gov and shall identify the solicitation number, company name, company address, as well as point of contact email address and phone number. The Advanced Network Technology Division (ANTD) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently working to develop a wireless network for wide area measurement systems. Much work has been done to implement a real-time network testbed consisting of many Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) located at various key substations. The major challenge is to improve the level of situational awareness by estimating the phase and frequency and its variations accurately and timely. The objective of this project is to implement various phase and frequency estimation techniques in the presence of wideband noise, harmonics, inter-harmonics, decaying direct current (DC) offset and different types of modulations. Following the completion of the testbed implementation for Wide Area Monitoring and Measurement of the Power Grid, NIST has a requirement for a Contractor to implement a comprehensive simulation package that includes state of the art state estimation techniques. The contractor shall then import these schemes into the NIST testbed for performance evaluation in real-time. This solicitation is for Contractor support services for the above, in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Line Item 0001: Description: Contractor support services for the above, in accordance with the attached SOW. Period of Performance: April 13, 2014 - April 12, 2015 Quantity: 1 EA PROPOSAL PREPARATION/SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Offerors shall submit their proposals in two separate volumes as detailed in this section of the solicitation. All proposals shall be submitted so that they are received at NIST via email no later than 12:00 PM EST on September 12, 2013. All proposals shall conform to the solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. The proposal shall be clearly and concisely written as well as neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of the proposal shall be appropriately numbered. Page limits are provided below. In all sections of the Offeror's proposal, the Offeror must use Times New Roman font, with a font size no smaller than 12 pitch, and must use margins no less than 1 inch on top/bottom/left/right. Text within a graphic shall comply with the font/pitch size requirements. Note: Offerors shall clearly identify all pages of the quote that are proprietary. Failure to do this may result in release of information via a FOIA, if requested. OVERALL ARRANGEMENT OF PROPOSALS Volume I - TECHNICAL Volume There shall be no pricing information or labor rates included in the Technical Volume. The Offeror shall submit Volume I in distinct sections for the following Factors A through F, along with an attachment for Part I of Past Performance Information Questionnaires, if applicable. Volume I is limited to no more than forty (40) pages; any pages beyond the 40th page will not be evaluated. The Cover Page, Transmittal Letter, Table of Contents, Past Performance Information, and Resumes are not included in the 40 page limit. The Offeror shall submit the following as part of Volume I: Factor A - TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT APPROACH The Offeror shall provide a written, detailed Technical Approach for how it proposes to satisfy the requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW is attached. If the Offeror's proposal reiterates the SOW without providing sufficient detail for the Government to evaluate how the Offeror proposes to satisfy the requirements of the SOW, the proposal will not be further evaluated, and the Offeror will not be considered for award. The Technical Approach shall include the following components: The Offeror's proposal shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the requirements presented in the solicitation. The Offeror's proposal shall demonstrate how the Offeror's proposed approach is workable and how the end results are likely to help the Government successfully achieve its goals. The Offeror's proposal shall also demonstrate how the Offeror's methods and approach have adequately and completely satisfied the requirements specified in the SOW. The Offeror's proposal shall also demonstrate how the Offeror will staff the project. The Offeror shall identify any candidates, including program management and technical individuals to cover all areas listed in the SOW, proposed as key personnel and submit resumes for these candidates. The Contractor shall include qualifications of each individual proposed as key personnel who will be responsible for fulfilling this requirement, as evidenced by education and previous experience in conducting projects of similar scope, nature, and duration, with examples cited; Each resume submitted shall not exceed 5 typed pages (back-to-back) in length and include the following: - candidate's name; - the organization name of their current employer; - their relevant education, including advanced degrees and areas of specialization; - their relevant capabilities and experience, including notable projects; - their current country of citizenship. If a proposed candidate is a non-US citizen, the Offeror shall provide valid VISA documentation. The resumes shall be submitted as a distinct portion of the Technical Volume. If the Offeror is selected for award, the proposed candidates will be designated as key personnel in the key personnel clause after award. Factor B - EXPERIENCE The Offeror's proposal shall contain information demonstrating the relevance of the Offeror's experience as it relates to the following: -Extensive knowledge in Smart Grid Wide Area Measurement Systems -Extensive knowledge about Emulab and Emane -Extensive theoretical knowledge and practical experience in wireless communications, wireless ad-hoc networks, and in particular, multi-gateway neighborhood area networks. -Proficiency in the use of ns2 network modeling and developing codes for the Qualnet-based simulation tool Factor C - PAST PERFORMANCE The Offeror shall submit past performance information as part of the Technical Volume. The Offeror shall submit past performance information for contracts under which the Offeror has performed as a prime contractor or as a first-tier subcontractor on similarly scoped contracts/orders awarded to them in the past three years by governmental or non-governmental entities. The Offeror shall submit at least two references on each non-Federal contract. Offerors are authorized to provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts, as well as the Offeror's corrective actions. Past performance information may be submitted as a portion of the Technical Volume, or the Offeror may choose to use the Past Performance Information Questionnaire tool. The required format for this tool is attached, with instructions. If this tool is used, the Offeror shall submit Part I of the questionnaire with its proposal as an attachment to the Technical Volume. References for the Offeror shall submit Part II of the Questionnaire according to the instructions contained therein. The term "Offeror" here is defined as the prime contractor and any of its major subcontractors. The term "Major Subcontractor" is defined as any subcontractor that the Offeror expects to subcontract work to in excess of $150,000.00 throughout the life of this contract. Volume II - BUSINESS Volume (Factor D - Price) The Proposal Form (Standard Form 33), must be executed fully and used as the cover sheet (or first page) of Volume II. Include one (1) originally signed copy of the form in the Original Volume II. The Offeror shall submit the following as part of Volume II: The Offeror shall propose a total firm-fixed-price for the contract. The Offeror shall include a pricing breakdown, to include: - The number of hours proposed per contract employee and corresponding fully burdened hourly labor rates. The proposed number of hours for each proposed contract employee shall be clearly identified and associated with the applicable labor category for each contract employee. The labor categories/rates will not be included in the resultant purchase order, and this information is only requested to help the Government determine that the proposed pricing is fair and reasonable. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL offers shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The Offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR The Offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)" Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an Offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the Offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. The successful Offeror must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the website https://www.sam.gov. Failure or refusal to register in SAM will forfeit award. 52.212-2 EVALUATION - COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, represents the best value to the Government, price and non-price factors considered. Price Evaluation The Government intends to use a price/technical tradeoff process to award a firm-fixed-price contract to the responsible Offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government, evaluated cost/price and other factors considered. Upon receipt of proposals, the Contracting Officer will review them to determine if each Offeror followed all of the proposal preparation/submission instructions in this solicitation. A proposal that did not follow the proposal submission instructions may be deemed unacceptable and may not be further evaluated. Each proposal will be evaluated using the factors described below. An Offeror's failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the Offeror's lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in that proposal's being determined to be unacceptable. Evaluation Factors for Award: FACTOR A - TECHNICAL/MANAGEMENT APPROACH FACTOR B - EXPERIENCE FACTOR C - PAST PERFORMANCE FACTOR D - PRICE In determining best value, Non-Price Factors A through C, when combined, shall be more important than Factor D (Price). The Non-Price Factors A through C listed above are listed in descending order of importance. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the lowest-cost/priced Offeror or to the Offeror with the highest rating based on non-cost/price Factors A through D listed above if the Contracting Officer determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government. DUE DATE FOR QUOTES ***The due date and time for receipt of quotations is September 12, 2013 no later than 12:00PM EST. The offeror shall hold the prices in its offer firm for 60 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers. Proposals must be received at contact@example.gov on or before the due date and time specified in the solicitation. Only information received on or before the due date and time shall be considered for award. Any proposal, or part thereof, received after the due date and time, shall be deemed late and not considered for award. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES FOR THIS SOLICITATION: The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.204-7 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (JUL 2013) 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JULY 2013) 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (AUG 2013) In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items, offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at https://www.sam.gov. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required; 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (FEB 2012) 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 2013) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sep 2006), 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Aug 2012) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government`s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (Dec 2010) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (May 2012) 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003) 52.222-19, Child Labor--Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Mar 2012) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Sep 2010) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Oct 2010) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Sep 2010) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Jun 2008) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998) Department of Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clauses. Please submit a written request to the Contract Specialist for the full text of these clauses. 1352.201-70 CONTRACTING OFFICER's AUTHORITY (APR 2010) 1352.201-72 CONTRACTING OFFICER's REPRESENTATIVE (C0R) (APR 2010) 1352.209-73 COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS (APR 2010) 1352.209-74 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (APR 2010) 1352.233-70 AGENCY PROTESTS (APR 2010) 1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR 2010) Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm. National Institute of Standards and Technology Clauses. Please submit a written request to the Contract Specialist for the full text of these clauses. NIST LOCAL 04 BILLING INSTRUCTIONS