SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD Form 1 of 2 OMB SOLICITATION CLEARANCE NO. 1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 350) Rating: _______________________________________________________________________________ 2. CONTRACT NO. 3. SOLICITATION NO. 4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION RFP 97-020 X _______________________________________________________________________________ 5. DATE ISSUED 6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NO. 07/25/97 HR970100 _______________________________________________________________________________ 7. ISSUED BY (Hand-carried Address) 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7) U.S. Department of Education Support Services Group GSA Building, Rm 3616, MS 4447 (Same as Item 7) Seventh & D Streets, S.W. ATTN: Susan Webster Washington, D.C. 20202 _______________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder". _______________________________________________________________________________ SOLICITATION 9. Sealed offers in original and 8 copies of the technical proposal, and original and 4 copies of the business proposal for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if handcarried, in the depository located in until 2:00 p.m. local time on 08/25/97. CAUTION - LATE submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-10. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation. _______________________________________________________________________________ 10. FOR INFORMATION CALL: A. NAME: Susan Webster B. TELEPHONE NO. (Include area code) : 202/708-7662 (NO COLLECT CALLS) _______________________________________________________________________________ 11. TABLE OF CONTENTS (X) PART/SECTION DESCRIPTION PART I - THE SCHEDULE (X) A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM (X) B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS (X) C DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT (X) D PACKAGING AND MARKING (X) E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE (X) F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE (X) G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA (X) H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES (X) I CONTRACT CLAUSES PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS (X) J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS (X) K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS (X) L INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD _____________________________________________________________________________ EXCEPTION TO STANDARD FORM 33 APPROVED BY GSA/IRMS 5-87 RFP 97-020 SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD Form 2 of 2 OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror) NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period. _______________________________________________________________________________ 12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within ______ calendar days ( 60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule. _______________________________________________________________________________ 13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT (See Section I, Clause No. 52.232-8) 10 Calendar days 20 Calendar days 30 Calendar days __ Calendar days ______% ______% ______% ______% _______________________________________________________________________________ 14. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS (The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offers and related documents numbered and dated: AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE _______________________________________________________________________________ 15A. NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER (Type or Print) 15B. TELEPHONE NO. (Include Area Code) ______________________ 15C. [ ] CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE. ENTER SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE. _______________________________________________________________________________ 17. SIGNATURE: 18. OFFER DATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ AWARD (To be completed by the Government) 19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION _______________________________________________________________________________ 22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN [ ] 10 U.S.C. 2304(C)( ) FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: [ ] 41 U.S.C. 253(C)( ) _______________________________________________________________________________ 23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN ITEM ___________ (4 copies unless otherwise specified) _______________________________________________________________________________ 24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7) 25.PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY _______________________________________________________________________________ 26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER 27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28.AWARD DATE (Type or Print) (Signature of Contracting Officer) _______________________________________________________________________________ IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice. _______________________________________________________________________________ EXCEPTION TO STANDARD FORM 33 "APPROVED BY GSA/IRMS 5-87 RFP 97-020 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS. . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B.1 CONTRACT DEFINITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B.2 ESTIMATED COST AND FIXED FEE (Incrementally Funded Contracts). 1 B.3 TIME AND MATERIALS PRICING SCHEDULE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . 4 C.1 SCOPE OF WORK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (ED 302-2) (FEBRUARY 1985) SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 D.1 SHIPMENT AND MARKING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 (ED 303-1) (MAR 1986) SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 E.1 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 (ED 304-1) (FEB 1985) SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 (ED 305-5) (MARCH 1986) F.2 DELIVERABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 (ED 305-6) (MARCH 1986) F.3 REPORT OF CONSULTANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 (ED 305-2) (MAR 1986) SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 G.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 (ED 306-8) (FEB 1985) G.2 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. . . 8 (ED 306-2) (JAN 1989) G.3 INVOICE AND CONTRACT FINANCING REQUEST SUBMISSION . . . . . . . 8 (ED 306-1) (MAR 1988) G.4 PROVISIONAL AND NEGOTIATED FINAL OVERHEAD RATES . . . . . . . . 9 (ED 306-9) (OCT 1993) SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 H.1 PAYMENT OF PRINTING TO BE PERFORMED BY THE. . . . . . . . . . . 10 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (ED 307-8) (APR 1992) H.2 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS APPLICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 (ED 307-11) (JUNE 1992) H.3 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 (FAR 52.230-2) (APR 1996) H.4 DISCLOSURE AND CONSISTENCY OF COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICES . . . . 12 (FAR 52.230-3) (APR 1996) H.5 ADMINISTRATION OF COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . 14 (FAR 52.230-6) (APR 1996) H.6 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE (SOLICITATION). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 (ED 307-1) (NOVEMBER 1986) H.7 DUAL COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 (ED 307-3) (MAR 1985) H.8 PAYMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES AND FEES FOR ED EMPLOYEES. . . . . . 17 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE (ED 307-5) (MAR 1985) H.9 PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS . . . . . . . 17 WITH DISABILITIES (ED 301-20) (FEB 1995) H.10 REQUIRED SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION FOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 PAYMENT BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (ED 307-30) (SEP 1996) H.11 MANDATORY INFORMATION FOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER PAYMENT (FAR 52.232-33) (AUG 1996) H.12 ACCESSIBILITY OF SOFTWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 ED 316-1 (APR 1997) H.13 PUBLICATION AND AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 (ED 307-7) (MAY 1997) H.14 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 (ED 307-17) (APR 1984) H.15 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 (FAR 52.217-8) (AUG 1989) H.16 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT - SERVICES . . . . . 25 H.17 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES OPTIONS (ED 307-19) (May 1990). . . . 25 H.18 KEY PERSONNEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 H.19 STANDARDSS FOR MEETING DISABLED CUSTOMER NEEDS FOR. . . . . . . 26 PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES I.1 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE-ALTERNATE I . . . . . . . . . 27 (FAR 52.252-2) (JUN 1988) I.2 CLAUSES FOR A COST-PLUS-FIXED-FEE CONTRACT. . . . . . . . . . . 27 (MATRIX-A) (FEB 1997) I.2.1 FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 (48 CFR CHAPTER 1) CLAUSES I.2.2 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACQUISTION REGULATION (EDAR) . . . . 32 (48 CFR CHAPTER 34) CLAUSES I.2.3 ADDITIONAL CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS SECTION J -- LIST OF ATTACHMENTS J.1 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 (ED 309-1) (MARCH 1985) PART IV, SECTION K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 REPRESENTATIONS,CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF THE OFFEROR K.1 REPRESENTATION AUTHORITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 (ED 310-1) (MARCH 1985) K.2 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 (FAR 52.204-5) (DEC 1996) K.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 (FAR 52.215-20) (APRIL 1984) K.4 CERTIFICATION OF NONSEGREGATED FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . 36 (FAR 52.222-21) (APRIL 1984) K.5 DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 (FAR 52.223-6) (JAN 1997) K.6 CERTIFICATE OF CURRENT COST OR PRICING DATA . . . . . . . . . . 39 (ED 310-5) (MARCH 1985) TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE K.7 DUPLICATION OF COST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 (ED 310-6) (MARCH 1985) K.8 EMPLOYER'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 (ED 310-7) (MARCH 1985) K.9 CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATION NUMBER - DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBER (FAR 52.204-6) (DEC 1996) K.10 TYPE OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 (FAR 52.215-6) (JULY 1987) K.11 AUTHORIZED NEGOTIATORS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 (FAR 52.215-11) (APRIL 1984) K.12 APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 (ED 310-9) (MARCH 1985) K.13 CERTIFICATION FOR INTENDED COMPLIANCE WITH. . . . . . . . . . . 42 "LIMITATION OF COST" CLAUSE (ED 310-15) (APRIL 1984) K.14 GENERAL FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION. . . . . . . . 42 (ED 310-10) (APRIL 1984) K.15 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REPRESENTATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 (FAR 52.219-1) (JAN 1997) K.16 PREVIOUS CONTRACTS AND COMPLIANCE REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . 47 (FAR 52.222-22) (APRIL 1984) K.17 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 (FAR 52.222-25) (APRIL 1984) K.18 CERTIFICATION OF TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASE REPORTING . . . . . . . 47 (FAR 52.223-13) (OCT 1996) K.19 POST EMPLOYMENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 (ED 310-16) (MARCH 1985) K.20 CERTIFICATION REGARDING DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION,. . . . . . . . . 48 PROPOSED DEBARMENT, AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS. (FAR 52.209-5) (MAY 1989) K.21 TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 (FAR 52.204-3) (SEPTEMBER 1989) K.22 CERTIFICATION AND DISCLOSURE REGARDING PAYMENTS . . . . . . . . 51 TO INFLUENCE CERTAIN FEDERAL TRANSACTIONS (FAR 52.203-11) (APRIL 1991) K.23 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 CERTIFICATE -- MARKETING CONSULTANTS (FAR 52.209-7) (OCTOBER 1995) K.24 CANCELLATION, RESCISSION, AND RECOVERY OF FUNDS FOR . . . . . . 53 ILLEGAL OR IMPROPER ACTIVITY (FAR 52.203-8) (JAN 1997) K.25 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 (EDAR 3452.209-70) (AUG 1987) K.26 REPRESENTATION OF LIMITED RIGHTS DATA AND RESTRICTED. . . . . . 54 COMPUTER SOFTWARE (FAR 52.227-15) (JUNE 1987) K.27 CLEAN AIR AND WATER CERTIFICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 (FAR 52.223-1) (APRIL 1984) K.28 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOTICES AND CERTIFICATION. . . . . . 56 (52.230-1) (APR 1996) SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES. . . . . . . . . . . . 61 TO OFFERORS L.1 TYPE OF CONTRACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE (ED 311-1) (MARCH 1986) L.2 INCREMENTAL FUNDING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 (EDAR 3452.232-71) (AUG 1987) L.3 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 (ED 311-2) (FEB 1996) L.4 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 (ED 311-3) (MARCH 1986) L.5 PAST PERFORMANCE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 (ED 314-1) (MAR 1996) L.6 BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 (ED 311-4) (JUL 1996) L.7 ADDITIONAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . 77 L.8 REQUIREMENTS FOR COST OR PRICING DATA OR INFORMATION. . . . . . 77 OTHER THAN COST OR PRICING DATA (FAR 52.215-41) (OCT 1995) L.9 SMALL, SMALL DISADVANTAGED AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS . . . 79 SUBCONTRACTING PLAN (FAR 52.219-9) (OCT 1995) L.10 PREAWARD ON-SITE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE REVIEW. . . . . . 84 (FAR 52.222-24) (APRIL 1984) L.11 EXPLANATION TO PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 (FAR 52.215-14) (APRIL 1984) L.12 LATE SUBMISSIONS, MODIFICATIONS, AND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 WITHDRAWALS OF PROPOSALS (FAR 52.215-10) (MAY 1997) L.13 FAILURE TO SUBMIT OFFER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 (FAR 52.215-15) (MAY 1997) L.14 CONTRACT AWARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 (FAR 52.215-16) (OCT 1995) L.15 PROVISION FOR EVALUATION FACTOR AMENDMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . 87 (ED 311-7) (MARCH 1986) L.16 FORMS CLEARANCE PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (ED 311-5) (MARCH 1986) L.17 SERVICE OF PROTESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (FAR 52.233-2) (AUG 1996) L.18 FACILITIES CAPITAL COST OF MONEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (FAR 52.215-30) (SEPT 1987) SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 M.1 EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD (ALTERNATE I). . . . . . . . . . . 89 (ED 312-2) (FEB 1996) M.2 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 (FAR 52.217-5) (JULY 1990) M.3 PRICE EVALUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS B.1 CONTRACT DEFINITION (a) This is a cost plus fixed fee (tasks 1, 2, 3, 5,) contract as defined under Subpart 16.306 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) This is a time and materials (task 4) contract as defined under Subpart 16.601 of the Federal Acqusition Regulation. 1. The labor rates listed in the pricing schedule for task 4 shall be the firm fixed loaded hourly rates of charge for personnel provided under this contract. The labor rates shall be complete charges, inclusive of all wage payment, overhead, administrative expenses, and profit (if any). 2. Personnel supplied under the classifications shall minimally meet the qualification levels for each labor category included as part of the Statement of Work, Attachment A hereto. Only permission of the Contracting Officer may permit use of other qualified personnel. Rates and qualification for other labor classifications, if required, shall be formally set via Contracting Officer's approval. B.2 ESTIMATED COST AND FIXED FEE (Incrementally Funded Contracts) (a) It is estimated that the total cost to the Government for performance of this contract (Tasks 1, 2, 3, 5) will be $ , of which the sum of $ represents the estimated reimbursable costs and $ represents the fixed-fee (if any). (b) Total funds currently available for payment and allotted to this contract are $ , of which $ represents the limitation for reimbursable costs and $ represents the proration of fixed-fee (if any). For further provisions on funding, see the Limitation of Funds Clause. (c) If and when the contract is fully funded, as specified in paragraph (a) of this clause, the Limitation of Cost clause shall become applicable. (d) The Contracting Officer may allot additional funds to the contract without the concurrence of the Contractor. B.3 TIME AND MATERIALS PRICING SCHEDULE (a) The total not to exceed amount of the pricing schedule of this contract (Task 4) is $ . Payment of that amount shall be made in accordance with the incorporated General Provision entitled "Payment under Time and Materials Contracts" and other supplementary payment scheme which may be otherwise negotiated and specified. Page 1 of 96 RFP 97-020 (b) The Contractor shall take appropriate steps to insure that the ceiling prices stated (average cost/technical assistance projects) 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 Task 4, the Contractor shall be paid in accordance with the prices set forth in the Pricing Schedule below. The number of hours are the estimated quantity required for determining the total evaluated price. BASE PERIOD Direct Manager Labor (Management Oversight of Technical Assistance Projects) Estimated # Hours Project Manager...... 1040 hrs $ Operations Analyst... 800 hrs $ Cost Analyst......... 750 hrs $ Clerical Aid......... 400 hrs $ Other Services (Contractor Proposed Labor Category) .................. 160 hrs $ Technical Assistance (Inclusive of labor) Ceiling................... $450,000 OPTION PERIOD I Direct Manager Labor (Management Oversight of Technical Assistance Projects) Estimated # Hours Project Manager..... 920 hrs $ Operations Analyst.. 670 hrs $ Cost Analyst........ 725 hrs $ Clerical Aid........ 200 hrs $ Other Services (Contractor Proposed Labor Category) .......... 160 hrs $ Technical Assistance (Inclusive of labor) Ceiling................... $470,000 OPTION PERIOD II Page 2 of 96 RFP 97-020 Direct Manager Labor (Management Oversight of Technical Assistance Projects) Estimated # Hours Project Manager..... 920 hrs $ Operations Analyst.. 670 hrs $ Cost Analyst........ 725 hrs $ Clerical Aid........ 200 hrs $ Other Services (Contractor Proposed Labor Category) ........ 160 hrs $ Technical Assistance (Inclusive of Labor) Ceiling).................. $470,000 OPTION PERIOD III Direct Manager Labor (Management Oversight of Technical Assistance Projects) Estimated # Hours Project Manager..... 920 hrs $ Operations Analyst.. 670 hrs $ Cost Analyst....... 725 hrs $ Clerical Aid........ 200 hrs $ Other Services (Contractor Proposed Labor Category) .......... 160 hrs $ Technical Assistance (Inclusive of Labor) Ceiling................. $470,000 OPTION PERIOD IV Direct Manager Labor (Management Oversight of Technical Assistance Projects) Estimated # Hours Project Manager...... 920 hrs $ Operations Analyst... 670 hrs $ Cost Analyst......... 725 hrs $ Clerical Aid......... 200 hrs $ Other Services (Contractor Proposed Labor Category) .......... 160 hrs $ Technical Assistance (Inclusive of Labor) Ceiling................... $470,000 Page 3 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT C.1 SCOPE OF WORK (ED 302-2) (FEBRUARY 1985) The contractor shall furnish all personnel, materials, services, and facilities necessary to perform the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work, Attachment A hereto. This shall also be done in accordance with the specified General and Special Provisions and the contractor's final technical proposal, as shall be incorporated by reference as a part of the contract. Page 4 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING D.1 SHIPMENT AND MARKING (ED 303-1) (MAR 1986) (a) The contract number shall be placed on or adjacent to all exterior mailing or shipping labels of deliverable items called for by the contract. (b) Ship deliverable items to: (c) Mark deliverables for: Page 5 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE E.1 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE (ED 304-1) (FEB 1985) Pursuant to the inspection clause in Part II, Section I, final inspection and acceptance of all contracted items shall be made by the Contracting Officer. Inspection and acceptance will be performed at: U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Admininstration/OSERS Planning, Policy, and Evaluation Staff MES Building - Room 4600 Washington, DC 20202 Page 6 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (ED 305-5) (MARCH 1986) Performance hereunder shall be completed within 12 months of the date of contract award, inclusive of all specified deliveries and/or task work. F.2 DELIVERABLES (ED 305-6) (MARCH 1986) All deliverables shall be submitted to the designated Department of Education Contracting Officer. This shall be done according to the kinds, quantities and dates indicated in the attached Statement of Work. F.3 REPORT OF CONSULTANTS (ED 305-2) (MAR 1986) The contractor must maintain a written report for the files on the results of all consultations charged to this contract. This report must include, as a minimum: (1) the consultant's name, dates, hours and amount charged to the contract, (2) the names of the contractor or subcontractor staff to whom the services are provided, and (3) the results of the subject matter of the consultations. Page 7 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA G.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR (ED 306-8) (FEB 1985) The Contractor shall designate one individual to be contacted during the period of the contract for prompt contract administration. ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ G.2 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY (ED 306-2) (JAN 1989) (A) The contractor shall request written authorization from the contracting officer before acquiring any contractually necessary property to which the Government will have title. The request shall include complete descriptions of all individual items which will exceed $1,000 in cost, including: (a) a brief statement of function; (b) manufacturer and manufacturer's brand name, model or part number; (c) vendor and its proposed price; (B) Management of government property in the possession of the contractor shall be in accordance with FAR Part 45. The contractor shall provide an annual report of total property acquisition cost, as required by FAR 45.505-14. G.3 INVOICE AND CONTRACT FINANCING REQUEST SUBMISSION (ED 306-1) (MAR 1988) (A) The Government agrees to pay the Contractor as complete compensation for all work and services performed and materials furnished under this contract those allowable costs defined in the contract clause entitled "ALLOWABLE COST AND PAYMENT" in an amount not to exceed the estimated costs specified in the contract. (B) The contractor shall submit the original and two (2) Page 8 of 96 RFP 97-020 copies of the invoices or contract financing requests to the Designated Billing Office. ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Note: Invoices or contract financing requests must be sent to the designated billing office indicated above. Invoices or contract financing requests should NOT be sent to the "Payment will be made by" office indicated on the face page of the contract (block 12 of SF26 or block 25 of SF33). (C) The Contractor shall prepare invoices and contract financing requests in accordance with the billing instructions attached hereto and made a part of this contract. G.4 PROVISIONAL AND NEGOTIATED FINAL OVERHEAD RATES (ED 306-9) (OCT 1993) (a) Pending the establishment of final indirect cost rates, as required by the clause entitled "Allowable Cost and Payment" FAR 52.216-7, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for its indirect costs on the basis of the negotiated provisional, or billing, rates as set forth below. Those rates shall remain in effect until the contract is modified to incorporated either negotiated final in-direct rates, as directed by either paragraph (d) or (f) of the same clause, as applicable, or revised provisional indirect cost rates, as explained in paragraph (e). (b) The provisional overhead rate applicable to this contract is ______% for _______________________________________________________ ______% for _______________________________________________________ ______% for _______________________________________________________ ______% for _______________________________________________________ Page 9 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS H.1 PAYMENT OF PRINTING TO BE PERFORMED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (ED 307-8) (APR 1992) The General Provisions of this contract set forth the Department's policy regarding printing to be performed in order to meet the terms of the contract. Should the services of the Government Printing Office (GPO) be required, the contractor shall request to the Department of Education to requisition those, subject to the contractor's provision of a completed SF-1, Printing and Binding Requisition to the Public Printer. Payment to the GPO shall be made directly by the Department and charged to the Contract. H.2 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS APPLICATION (ED 307-11) (JUNE 1992) The contract clause entitled "Cost Accounting Standards" shall apply to any resulting contract, except as exempted under Section 9903.201-1(b) of 48 CFR (CAS) Chapter 99 or when the contract is eligible for modified coverage under Section 9903.201-2(b) of the same Regulation. The clause entitled "Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices" shall apply in the latter case. H.3 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (FAR 52.230-2) (APR 1996) (a) Unless the contract is exempt under 48 CFR 9903.201-1 and 9903.201-2, the provisions of 48 CFR Part 9903 are incorporated herein by reference and the Contractor, in connection with this contract, shall-- (1) (CAS-covered Contracts Only) By submission of a Disclosure Statement, disclose in writing the Contractor's cost accounting practices as required by 48 CFR 9903.202-1 through 9903.202-5, including methods of distinguishing direct costs from indirect costs and the basis used for allocating indirect costs. The practices disclosed for this contract shall be the same as the practices currently disclosed and applied on all other contracts and subcontracts being performed by the Contractor and which contain a Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) clause. If the Contractor has notified the Contracting Officer that the Disclosure Statement contains trade secrets and commercial or financial information which is privileged and confidential, the Disclosure Statement shall be protected and shall not be released outside of the Government. (2) Follow consistently the Contractor's cost accounting practices in accumulating and reporting contract performance cost data concerning this contract. If any change in cost accounting practices is made for the purposes of any contract or subcontract subject to CAS requirements, the change must be applied prospectively to this Page 10 of 96 RFP 97-020 contract and the Disclosure Statement must be amended accordingly. If the contract price or cost allowance of this contract is affected by such changes, adjustment shall be made in accordance with subparagraph (a)(4) or (a)(5) of this clause, as appropriate. (3) Comply with all CAS, including any modifications and interpretations indicated thereto contained in 48 CFR Part 9904, in effect on the date of award of this contract or, if the Contractor has submitted cost or pricing data, on the date of final agreement on price as shown on the Contractor's signed certificate of current cost or pricing data. The Contractor shall also comply with any CAS (or modifications to CAS) which hereafter become applicable to a contract or subcontract of the Contractor. Such compliance shall be required prospectively from the date of applicability to such contract or subcontract. (4)(i) Agree to an equitable adjustment as provided in the Changes clause of this contract if the contract cost is affected by a change which, pursuant to subparagraph (a)(3) of this clause, the Contractor is required to make to the Contractor's established cost accounting practices. (ii) Negotiate with the Contracting Officer to determine the terms and conditions under which a change may be made to a cost accounting practice, other than a change made under other provisions of subparagraph (a)(4) of this clause; provided that no agreement may be made under this provision that will increase costs paid by the United States. (iii) When the parties agree to a change to a cost accounting practice, other than a change under subdivision (a)(4)(i) of this clause, negotiate an equitable adjustment as provided in the Changes clause of this contract. (5) Agree to an adjustment of the contract price or cost allowance, as appropriate, if the Contractor or a subcontractor fails to comply with an applicable Cost Accounting Standard, or to follow any cost accounting practice consistently and such failure results in any increased costs paid by the United States. Such adjustment shall provide for recovery of the increased costs to the United States, together with interest thereon computed at the annual rate established under section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6621) for such period, from the time the payment by the United States was made to the time the adjustment is effected. In no case shall the Government recover costs greater than the increased cost to the Government, in the aggregate, on the relevant contracts subject to the price adjustment, unless the Contractor made a change in its cost accounting practices of which it was aware or should have been aware at the time of price negotiations and which it failed to disclose to the Government. (b) If the parties fail to agree whether the Contractor or a subcontractor has complied with an applicable CAS in 48 CFR 9904 or a CAS rule or regulation in 48 CFR 9903 and as to any cost adjustment demanded by the United States, such failure to agree will constitute a dispute under the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. Page 11 of 96 RFP 97-020 601). (c) The Contractor shall permit any authorized representatives of the Government to examine and make copies of any documents, papers, or records relating to compliance with the requirements of this clause. (d) The Contractor shall include in all negotiated subcontracts which the Contractor enters into, the substance of this clause, except paragraph (b), and shall require such inclusion in all other subcontracts, of any tier, including the obligation to comply with all CAS in effect on the subcontractor's award date or if the subcontractor has submitted cost or pricing data, on the date of final agreement on price as shown on the subcontractor's signed Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data. This requirement shall apply only to negotiated subcontracts in excess of $500,000 where the price negotiated is not based on-- (1) Established catalog or market prices of commercial items sold in substantial quantities to the general public; or (2) Prices set by law or regulation, and except that the requirement shall not apply to negotiated subcontracts otherwise exempt from the requirement to include a CAS clause as specified in 48 CFR 9903.201-1. (End of clause) H.4 DISCLOSURE AND CONSISTENCY OF COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICES (FAR 52.230-3) (APR 1996) (a) The Contractor, in connection with this contract, shall- (1) Comply with the requirements of 48 CFR, Subpart 9904.401, Consistency in Estimating, Accumulating, and Reporting Costs, and 48 CFR, Subpart 9904.402, Consistency in Allocating Costs Incurred for the Same Purpose; 48CFR subpart 9904.405, Accounting for Unallowable Costs; and 48 CFR subpart 9904.406, Cost Accounting Standard-Cost Accounting Period, in effect on the date of award of this contract as indicated in 48 CFR part 9904. (2) (CAS-covered Contracts Only) If it is a business unit of a company required to submit a Disclosure Statement, disclose in writing its cost accounting practices as required by 48 CFR, Subparts 9903.202-1 through 9903.202-5. If the Contractor has notified the Contracting Officer that the Disclosure Statement contains trade secrets and commercial or financial information which is privileged and confidential, the Disclosure Statement shall be protected and shall not be released outside of the Government. (3)(i) Follow consistently the Contractor's cost accounting practices. A change to such practices may be proposed, however, by either the Government or the Contractor, and the Contractor agrees to negotiate with the Contracting Officer the Page 12 of 96 RFP 97-020 terms and conditions under which a change may be made. After the terms and conditions under which the change is to be made have been agreed to, the change must be applied prospectively to this contract, and the Disclosure Statement, if affected, must be amended accordingly. (ii) The Contractor shall, when the parties agree to a change to a cost accounting practice and the Contracting Officer has made the finding required in 48 CFR, Subpart 9903.201-6(b), that the change is desirable and not detrimental to the interests of the Government, negotiate an equitable adjustment as provided in the Changes clause of this contract. In the absence of the required finding, no agreement may be made under this contract clause that will increase costs paid by the United States. (4) Agree to an adjustment of the contract price or cost allowance, as appropriate, if the Contractor or a subcontractor fails to comply with the applicable CAS or to follow any cost accounting practice, and such failure results in any increased costs paid by the United States. Such adjustment shall provide for recovery of the increased costs to the United States together with interest thereon computed at the annual rate of interest established under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6621), from the time the payment by the United States was made to the time the adjustment is effected. (b) If the parties fail to agree whether the Contractor has complied with an applicable CAS, rule, or regulation as specified in 48 CFR, parts 9903 and 9904 and as to any cost adjustment demanded by the United States, such failure to agree will constitute a dispute under the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. 601). (c) The Contractor shall permit any authorized representatives of the Government to examine and make copies of any documents, papers, and records relating to compliance with the requirements of this clause. (d) The Contractor shall include in all negotiated subcontracts, which the Contractor enters into, the substance of this clause, except paragraph (b), and shall require such inclusion in all other subcontracts of any tier, except that- (1) If the subcontract is awarded to a business unit which pursuant to 48 CFR, Subpart 9903.201 is required to follow all CAS, the clause entitled "Cost Accounting Standards" set forth in FAR 52.230-2, shall be inserted in lieu of this clause; or (2) This requirement shall apply only to negotiated subcontracts in excess of $500,000 where the price negotiated is not based on- (i) Established catalog or market prices of commercial items sold in substantial quantities to the general public; or (ii) Price set by law or regulation; or Page 13 of 96 RFP 97-020 (3) The requirement shall not apply to negotiated subcontracts otherwise exempt from the requirement to include a CAS clause as specified in 48 CFR, Subpart 9903.201-1. (End of clause) H.5 ADMINISTRATION OF COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (FAR 52.230-6) (APR 1996) For the purpose of administering the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) requirements under this contract, the Contractor shall take the steps outlined in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this clause: (a) Submit to the Contracting Officer a description of any cost accounting practice change, the total potential impact of the change on contracts containing a CAS clause, and a general dollar magnitude of the change which identifies the potential shift of costs between CAS-covered contracts by contract type (i.e., firm fixed-price, incentive, cost-plus- fixed fee, etc.) and other contractor business activity. As related to CAS-covered contracts, the analysis should identify the potential impact on funds of the various Agencies/Departments (i.e., Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Army, Navy, Air Force, other Department of Defense, other Government) as follows: (1) For any change in cost accounting practices required to comply with a new or modified CAS in accordance with subparagraph (a)(3) and subdivision (a)(4)(i) of the clause at FAR 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards, within 60 days (or such other date as may be mutually agreed to) after award of a contract requiring this change. (2) For any change in cost accounting practices proposed in accordance with subdivision (a)(4)(ii) or (iii) of the clause at FAR 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards, or with subparagraph (a)(3) of the clause at FAR 52.230-3, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices, not less than 60 days (or such other date as may be mutually agreed to) before the effective date of the proposed change. (3) For any failure to comply with an applicable CAS or to follow a disclosed practice (as contemplated by subparagraph (a)(5) at FAR 52.230- 2, Cost Accounting Standards, or by subparagraph (a)(4) at FAR 52.230-3, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practice): (i) Within 60 days (or such other date as may be mutually agreed to) after the date of agreement with the initial finding of noncompliance, or (ii) In the event of Contractor disagreement with the initial finding of noncompliance, within 60 days of the date the Contractor is notified by the Contracting Officer of the determination of noncompliance. Page 14 of 96 RFP 97-020 (b) After an ACO determination of materiality, submit a cost impact proposal in the form and manner specified by the Contracting Officer within 60 days (or such other date as may be mutually agreed to) after the date of determination of the adequacy and compliance of a change submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this clause. The cost impact proposal shall be in sufficient detail to permit evaluation, determination, and negotiation of the cost impact upon each separate CAS-covered contract and subcontract. (1) Cost impact proposals submitted for changes in cost accounting practices required to comply with a new CAS in accordance with subparagraph (a)(3) and subdivision (a)(4)(i) of the clause at FAR 52.230- 2, Cost Accounting Standards, shall identify the applicable standard and all contracts and subcontracts containing the clause in this contract entitled Cost Accounting Standards, which have an award date before the effective date of that standard. (2) Cost impact proposals submitted for any change in cost accounting practices proposed in accordance with subdivisions (a)(4)(ii) or (iii) of the clause at 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards, or with subparagraph (a)(3) of the clause at FAR 52.230-3, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices, shall identify all contracts and subcontracts containing the clause at FAR 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards, and FAR 52.2303, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices. (3) Cost impact proposals submitted for failure to comply with an applicable CAS or to follow a disclosed practice as contemplated by subparagraph (a)(5) of the clause at FAR 52.230-2, Cost Accounting Standards, or by subparagraph (a)(4) of the clause at FAR 52.230-3, Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices, shall identify the cost impact on each separate CAS covered contract from the date of failure to comply until the noncompliance is corrected. (c) If the submissions required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this clause are not submitted within the specified time, or any extension granted by the Contracting Officer, an amount not to exceed 10 percent of each subsequent amount determined payable related to the Contractor's CAS- covered prime contracts, up to the estimated general dollar magnitude of the cost impact, may be withheld until such time as the required submission has been provided in the form and manner specified by the Contracting Officer. (d) Agree to appropriate contract and subcontract amendments to reflect adjustments established in accordance with subparagraphs (a)(4) and (a)(5) of the CAS clause at FAR 52.230-2 or with subparagraphs (a)(3) or (a)(4) of the Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices clause at FAR 52.230-3. (e) For all subcontracts subject either to the CAS clause or to the Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices clause- (1) So state in the body of the subcontract, in the letter of award, or in both (self-deleting clauses shall not be used); and Page 15 of 96 RFP 97-020 (2) Include the substance of this clause in all negotiated subcontracts. In addition, within 30 days after award of the subcontract, submit the following information to the Contractor's cognizant contract administration office for transmittal to the contract administrative office cognizant of the subcontractor's facility: (i) Subcontractor's name and subcontract number. (ii) Dollar amount and date of award. (iii) Name of Contractor making the award. (iv) Any changes the subcontractor has made or proposes to make to cost accounting practices that affect prime contracts or subcontracts containing the CAS clause or Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices clause, unless these changes have already been reported. If award of the subcontract results in making one or more CAS effective for the first time, this fact shall also be reported. (f) Notify the Contracting Officer in writing of any adjustments required to subcontracts under this contract and agree to an adjustment, based on them, to this contract price or estimated cost and fee. This notice is due within 30 days after proposed subcontract adjustments are received and shall include a proposal for adjusting the higher tier subcontract or the prime contract appropriately. (g) For subcontracts containing the CAS clause, require the subcontractor to comply with all Standards in effect on the date of award or of final agreement on price, as shown on the subcontractor's signed Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data, whichever is earlier. (End of clause) H.6 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE (SOLICITATION) (ED 307-1) (NOVEMBER 1986) Any inconsistency in this solicitation shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order: (a) the Schedule (excluding the work statement or specification), (b) representations and other instructions, (c) contract clauses (Section I) (d) any incorporated documents, exhibits, or attachments, excluding the work statement or specifications, and (e) work statement or specifications. Page 16 of 96 RFP 97-020 H.7 DUAL COMPENSATION (ED 307-3) (MAR 1985) If a project staff member, subcontractor, or consultant is involved in two or more projects, at least one of which is supported by Federal funds, he/she may not be compensated for more than 100 percent of his/her time during any part of the period of dual involvement. That is, an individual is prohibited from receiving double payment for any given period of work. H.8 PAYMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES AND FEES FOR ED EMPLOYEES (ED 307-5) (MAR 1985) The Contractor shall not use any contract funds, or funds from other sources, to pay the travel expenses of, or a fee to, ED employees for lectures, attending program functions, or any other activities in connection with this contract. H.9 PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES (ED 301-20) (FEB 1995) The contractor shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 including Section 302, which provides that: "No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation." Failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, shall be considered a failure to comply with the terms of this contract. H.10 REQUIRED SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION FOR PAYMENT BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (ED 307-30) (SEP 1996) A. FAR clause 52.232-33, Mandatory Information of Electronic Funds Transfer Payments, requires that contractors submit to the payment office information needed for payment by EFT. 1. If the contractor is already enrolled in the Vendor Express program and is receiving payments from ED through EFT, the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of its Vendor Express number and enter it on all invoices submitted for payment under this contract. 2. If the contractor is already enrolled in the Vendor Express program and receiving payments through EFT but not from ED, Page 17 of 96 RFP 97-020 the contractor shall send a copy of its original Vendor Express enrollment Proof Letter to: Bernice Byrd U.S. Department of Education Program Management & Reporting Unit 600 Independence Ave., SW, Room 3365 Washington, D.C. 20202 Or fax to: (202) 40l-l624 (For confirmation of receipt call: (202) 40l-0995.) The contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer that one copy of its Proof Letter has been sent to the address above. 3. If the contractor is not currently enrolled in Vendor Express, the contractor shall call the National Finance Center (NFC) Inquiry line at l-800-42l-0323, Miscellaneous Payments Section, or Lea Lang at 504-255-3327, to request a Vendor Express application package including enrollment form SF 388l with an assigned Vendor Express number indicated in block 8, Additional Information. The contractor must follow the NFC enrollment instructions and send the completed form back to: USDA/NFC P.O. Box 60,000 Tano Building New Orleans, LA 70l60 NFC will send a Prenotifiction Letter of enrollment to the contractor's financial institution indicated in the financial institution information blocks of the SF 388l. NFC will also send a "test" entry of payment for zero dollars to the financial institution requesting verification of the contractor's account information. The financial institution must return the completed Prenotification Letter with verification of the successful "test" entry to NFC within three work days. The contractor will receive a Proof Letter from NFC indicating that the account is now active and that NFC is now able to implement payments using Vendor Express. The contractor shall promptly send a copy of its Proof Letter to the address in paragraph 2 above and notify the Contracting Officer. B. Contractors can call NFC Inquiry at the 800 number in A.3. to confirm that their account has been properly activated to receive payments through EFT. Contractors who have already submitted the required SF 388l Enrollment form to NFC and have NOT received a Proof Letter, must call NFC Inquiry line to follow up on their enrollment status. Page 18 of 96 RFP 97-020 H.11 MANDATORY INFORMATION FOR ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER PAYMENT (FAR 52.232-33) (AUG 1996) (a) Method of payment. Payments by the Government under this contract, including invoice and contract financing payments, may be made by check or electronic funds transfer (EFT) at the option of the Government. If payment is made by EFT, the Government may, at its option, also forward the associated payment information by electronic transfer. As used in this clause, the term "EFT" refers to the funds transfer and may also include the information transfer. (b) Mandatory submission of Contractor's EFT information. (l) The Contractor is required, as a condition to any payment under this contract, to provide the Government with the information required to make payment by EFT as described in paragraph (d) of this clause, unless the payment office determines that submission of the information is not required. However, until January l, 1999, in the event the Contractor certifies in writing to the payment office that the Contractor does not have an account with a financial institution or an authorized payment agent, payment shall be made by other than EFT. For any payments to be made after January l, 1999, the Contractor shall provide EFT information as described in paragraph (d) of this clause. (2) If the Contractor provides EFT information, applicable to multiple contracts, the Contractor shall specifically state the applicability of this EFT information in terms acceptable to the payment office. (c) Contractor's EFT information. Prior to submission of the first request for payment (whether for invoice or contract financing payment) under this contract, the Contractor shall provide the information required to make contract payment by EFT, as described in paragraph (d) of this clause, directly to the Government payment office named in this contract. If more than one payment office is named for the contract, the Contractor shall provide a separate notice to each office. In the event that the EFT information changes, the Contractor shall be responsible for providing the changed information to the designated payment office(s). (d) Required EFT information. The Government may make payment by EFT through either an Automated Clearing House (ACH) subject to the banking laws of the United States or the Federal Reserve Wire Transfer System at the Government's option. The Contractor shall provide the following information for both methods in a form acceptable to the designated payment office. The Contractor may supply this data for this or multiple contracts (see paragraph (b) of this clause). (l) The contract number to which this notice applies. (2) The Contractor's name and remittance address, as stated in the contract, and the contract number at the Contractor's financial agent. Page 19 of 96 RFP 97-020 (3) The signature (manual or electronic, as appropriate), title, and telephone number of the Contractor official authorized to provide this information. (4) For ACH payments only: (i) Name, address, and 9-digit Routing Transit Number of the Contractor's financial agent. (ii) Contractor's account number and the type of account (checking, saving, or lockbox). (5) For Federal Reserve Wire Transfer System payments only: (i) Name, address, telegraphic abbreviation, and the 9-digit Routing Transit Number for the Contractor's financial agent. (ii) If the Contractor's financial agent is not directly on-line to the Federal Reserve Wire Transfer System and, therefore, not the receiver of the wire transfer payment, the Contractor shall also provide the name, address, and 9-digit Routing Transit Number of the correspondent financial institution receiving the wire transfer payment. (e) Suspension of payment. (l) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other clause of this contract, the Government is not required to make any payment under this contract until after receipt, by the designated payment office, of the correct EFT payment information from the Contractor or a certificate submitted in accordance with paragraph (b) of this clause. Until receipt of the correct EFT information, any invoice or contract shall be deemed not to be a valid invoice or contract financing request as defined in the Prompt Payment clause of this contract. (2) If the EFT information changes after submission of correct EFT information, the Government shall begin using the changed EFT information no later than the 30th day after its receipt to the extent payment is made by EFT. However, the Contractor may request that no further payments be made until the changed EFT information is implemented by the payment office. If such suspension would result in a late payment under the Prompt Payment clause of this contract, the Contractor's request for suspension shall extend the due date for payment by the number of days of the suspension. (f) Contractor EFT arrangements. The Contractor shall designate a single financial agent capable of receiving and processing the electronic funds transfer using the EFT methods described in paragraph (d) of this clause. The Contractor shall pay all fees and charges for receipt and processing of transfers. (g) Liability for uncompleted or erroneous transfers. (l) If an uncompleted or erroneous transfer occurs because the Government failed to use the Contractor-provided EFT information in the correct manner, the Government remains responsible for (i) making a correct payment, (ii) paying any prompt payment penalty due, and (iii) Page 20 of 96 RFP 97-020 recovering any erroneously directed funds. (2) If an uncompleted or erroneous transfer occurs because Government-provided EFT information was incorrect at the time of Government release of the EFT payment transaction instruction to the Federal Reserve System, and -- (i) If the funds are no longer under the control of the payment office, the Government is deemed to have made payment and the Contractor is responsible for recovery of any erroneously directed funds; or (ii) If the funds remain under the control of the payment office, the Government retains the right to either make payment by mail or suspend the payment in accordance with paragraph (e) of this clause. (h) EFT and prompt payment. (l) A payment shall be deemed to have been made in a timely manner in accordance with the Prompt Payment clause of this contract if, in the EFT payment transaction instruction given to the Federal Reserve System, the date specified for settlement of the payment is on or before the prompt payment due date, provided the specified payment date is a valid date under the rules of the Federal Reserve System. (2) When payment cannot be made by EFT because of incorrect EFT information provided by the Contractor, no interest penalty is due after the date of the uncompleted or erroneous payment transaction, provided that notice of the defective EFT information is issued to the Contractor within 7 days after the Government is notified of the defective EFT information. (i) EFT and assignment of claims. If the Contractor assigns the proceeds of this contract as provided for in the Assignment of Claims clause of this contract, the assignee shall provide the assignee EFT information required by paragraph (d) of this clause. In all respects, the requirements of this clause shall apply to the assignee as if it were the Contractor. EFT information which shows the ultimate recipient of the transfer to be other than the Contractor, in the absence of a proper assignment of claims acceptable to the Government, is incorrect EFT information within the meaning of paragraph (e) of this clause. (j) Payment office discretion. If the Contractor does not wish to receive payment by EFT methods for one or more payments, the Contractor may submit a request to the designated payment office to refrain from requiring EFT information or using the EFT payment method. The decision to grant the request is solely that of the Government. (k) Change of EFT information by financial agent. The Contractor agrees that the Contractor's financial agent may notify the Government of a change to the routing transit number, Contractor account number, or account type. The Government shall use the changed data in accordance with paragraph (e)(2) of this clause. The Contractor agrees that the information provided by the agent is Page 21 of 96 RFP 97-020 deemed to be correct information as if it were provided by the Contractor. The Contractor agrees that the agent's notice of changed EFT data is deemed to be a request by the Contractor in accordance with paragraph (e)(2) that no further payments be made until the changed EFT information is implemented by the payment office. (End of Clause) H.12 ACCESSIBILITY OF SOFTWARE ED 316-1 (APR 1997) The Department of Education (ED) considers universal acces- sibility to information a priority for all its employees and external customers, including individuals with disabilities. Under Sections 504 and 508 ofthe Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. subsections 794 and 794d, as amended, ED must ensure the accessibility of its programs and activities, specifically including electronic and information technology. ED maintains the manual, "Requirements for Accessible Software Design," to convey the accessibility needs of the Department to the developers and suppliers of computer applications. To comply with the provisions of this clause, the contractor may use the edition of the ED manual "Requirements for Accessible Software Design" in effect at the date of award of this contract or any more recent edition. A copy of the most recent edition of the manual may be found at ocfo.ed.gov/coninfo/clibrary/software.htm. (a) Software developed for ED--The contractor shall ensure that any software developed under this contract for use by ED's employees or external customers is accessible to individuals with disabilities. At a minimum, such software must meet all the requirements the ED manual "Requirements for Accessible Software Design." However, in accordance with paragraph (d) of this clause, the contracting officer may waive a requirement in writing. (b) Software enhanced or modified for ED--Any enhancements and other modifications, made under this contract to software for use by ED's employees or external customers, are subject to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this clause, regardless of where or how the software was first developed. Except as otherwise specified elsewhere in the contract schedule, the contractor is only required to ensure that the enhancements or modifications (not other features or parts of the software) comply with the requirements of paragraph (a). However, the contractor is encouraged to point out deficiencies in the accessibility of the software and to suggest solutions to ensure the software fully complies with the accessibility requirements of paragraph (a). (c) Other software delivered under this contract--Unless otherwise specified elsewhere in the contract schedule, the contractor is not required to ensure that software not developed under this contract meets the accessibility requirements of Page 22 of 96 RFP 97-020 paragraph (a). However-- (1) The contractor shall consider accessibility to individuals with disabilities as a significant factor when selecting or purchasing any software that will be delivered under this contract for use by ED's employees or external customers. (2) At least ten calendar days prior to final selection of any software with a total estimated cost or price over $5,000 that does not meet all the requirements of the ED manual "Requirements for Accessible Software Design," the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) in writing. Such notice shall list the specific acces- sibility features that are lacking and explain the trade-offs or other reasons for recommending selection of the software. (3) Within ten calendar days of the COTR's receipt of a notice under subparagraph (c)(2), if selection of the software may significantly impair ED's ability to ensure accessibility of its programs and activities to all its employees and external customers, including individuals with disabilities, the contracting officer may reject selection of the software by written notice to the contractor. (d) Waiver of requirements--It is recognized that new technologies may provide solutions that are not envisioned in or consistent with the provisions of the manual "Requirements for Accessible Software Design." Or, certain requirements of the manual may be unreasonable or ineffective in certain situations. Accordingly, the contractor may request and the contracting officer may grant a waiver, in writing, to any requirement of the manual or of this clause. H.13 PUBLICATION AND AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCTION (ED 307-7) (MAY 1997) A. Except as provided below, neither the development or production of any publication or audiovisual product is authorized. In the event that development or production of any publication or audiovisual product subsequently becomes a contract requirement (expressed or implied), the contractor shall obtain approval in writing from the Contracting Officer. Until the contractor obtains such Contracting Officer approval, no costs for develop- ment or production of the publication or audiovisual product shall be allowable. The following items are excepted from PRB approval: 1. Up to 50 copies of progress and final reports. B. The Contractor shall ensure that any publication or audiovisual product developed or produced under this contract is compatible with the Department of Education's responsibilities under the Sections Page 23 of 96 RFP 97-020 404 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of l973, 29 U.S.C. 794 and 794d, as amended, to ensure the accessibility of its programs and activities to idividuals with disabilities. C. The contractor shall not distribute or release to the public any publication or audiovisual product developed or produced under this contract without written authorization of the Contracting Officer. To obtain this authorization, the contractor shall submit 2 copies of the publication or audiovisual product to the Contracting Officer. Sice the Contracting Officer must obtain internal public affairs or other clearances, the Contractor should plan at least 45 days to obtain authorization from the Contracting Officer. Except as may be provided elsewhere, contractor may develop and produce at its own expense, results of work under this contract (see Publication and Publicity). H.14 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (ED 307-17) (APR 1984) (A) The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information. (B) The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is discovered after award, the Contractor will make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict. (C) Remedies - The Government may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an organizational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. (D) The Contractor further agrees to insert in any subcontract or consultant agreement hereunder, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph (D). Page 24 of 96 RFP 97-020 H.15 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (FAR 52.217-8) (AUG 1989) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extention of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within the period specified in the Schedule. (Note: Notice shall be given within 60 days before contract completion.) H.16 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT - SERVICES (FAR 52.217-9) (March 1989) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days before contract expiration; provided that the Government shall give the Contractor preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 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 provision. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause shall not exceed 60 months. H.17 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES OPTIONS (ED 307-19) (May 1990) (a) The option periods will be exercised as follows: Period Start Date End Date Option Period I September 30, 1998 September 29, 1999 Option Period II September 30, 1999 September 29, 2000 Option Period III September 30, 2000 September 29, 2001 Option Period IV September 30, 2001 September 29, 2002 H.18 KEY PERSONNEL (EDAR 3452.243-70) (AUG 1987) In accordance with the contract clause entitled "Key Personnel", the following key personnel are considered to be essential to the work being performed: NAME TELEPHONE TITLE NAME TELEPHONE Page 25 of 96 RFP 97-020 TITLE NAME TELEPHONE TITLE In addition, replacement personnel shall possess the same qualifications as shown by EXHIBIT B, Section J. H.19 STANDARDSS FOR MEETING DISABLED CUSTOMER NEEDS FOR OSERS-SPONSORED INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MEETINGS The contractor shall comply with the provisions listed in Attachment D, Standards for Meeting Disabled Customer Needs for OSERS-Sponsored Internal and External Meetings. Page 26 of 96 RFP 97-020 PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES I.1 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE-ALTERNATE I (FAR 52.252-2) (JUN 1988) 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. I.2 CLAUSES FOR A COST-PLUS-FIXED-FEE CONTRACT (MATRIX-A) (FEB 1997) I.2.1 FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 1) CLAUSES FAR Clause No. Title and Date (The following clauses shall apply to all contracts except Research and Development.) 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (JUL 1995) 52.203-7 Anti-Kickback Procedures (JUL 1995) 52.203-10 Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity (SEPT 1990) (The following clauses shall apply to all contracts in excess of $100,000.) 52.203-3 Gratuities (APR 1984) 52.203-5 Covenant Against Contingent Fees (APR 1984) 52.204-4 Printing/Copying Double-Sided on Recycled (JUN 1996) 52.203-10 Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity (JAN 1997) 52.203-12 Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions (JAN 1990) 52.207-3 Right of First Refusal of Employment (NOV 1991) 52.209-6 Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (JUL 1995) 52.215-2 Audit and Records--Negotiation (AUG 1996) 52.242-15 Stop-Work Order - Alternate I (APR 1984) 52.247-63 Preference for U.S. Flag Air Carriers (JAN 1997) Page 27 of 96 RFP 97-020 (The following clauses shall apply when Cost or Pricing Data is required or if the total life amount of the contract is greater than $500,000.) 52.215-22 Price Reduction for Defective Cost or Pricing Data (OCT 1995) 52.215-24 Subcontractor Cost or Pricing Data (OCT 1995) (The following clauses shall apply to contracts exceeding $3,000,000 when cost and pricing data is required for the procurement.) 52.215-23 Price Reduction for Defective Cost or Pricing Data - Modifications (OCT 1995) 52.215-25 Subcontractor Cost or Pricing Data - Modifications (OCT l995) (The following clause shall apply when prescribed under FAR subpart 15.812-2(a). The alternate provision shall additionally apply when prescribed under 15.812-2(b). 52.215-26 Integrity of Unit Prices (FEB 1997) (The following clause shall apply if prescribed in FAR 15.804-8(e).) 52.215-27 Termination of Defined Benefit Pension Plans (SEPT 1989) (The following clause shall apply if the contractor did not propose facilities capital cost of money in its offer.) 52.215-31 Waiver of Facilities Capital Cost of Money (SEPT 1987) (The following clauses shall apply to Contracts when Cost and Pricing Data is required or to which cost determinations will be subject to FAR subpart 31.2, Commerical Organizations. 52.215-39 Reversion of Adjustment of Plans for Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions (PRB) (FEB 1995) 52.215-40 Notification of Ownership Changes (FEB 1995) 52.216-7 Allowable Cost and Payment (FEB 1997) 52.216-8 Fixed Fee (FEB 1997) 52.219-8 Utilization of Small, Small Disadvantaged & Women-Owned Small Business Concerns (FEB 1997) (The following clauses shall apply as prescribed under FAR subparts 19.508(e) and 19.708(b).) 52.219-9 Small, Small Disadvantaged & Women-Owned Small Business Subcontracting Plan (AUG 1996) 52.219-13 Utilization of Women-Owned Small Page 28 of 96 RFP 97-020 Businesses (AUG 1986) 52.219-14 Limitation on Subcontracting (DEC 1996) (The following clauses shall apply to all contracts which include the clause FAR 52.219-9, Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business Subcontracting Plan.) 52.219-16 Liquidated Damages-Subcontracting Plan (OCT 1995) 52.220-3 Utilization of Labor Surplus Area Concerns (APR 1984) (The following clause shall apply to all cost reimbursement contracts in excess of $100,000.) 52.222-2 Payment of Overtime Premiums (JUL 1990) (The following clause shall be exempted from application under FAR provisions 52.222-3(a) through (c).) 52.222-3 Convict Labor (AUG 1996) (The following clause shall apply when prescribed under FAR subpart 22.305.) 52.222-4 Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act-- Overtime Compensation (JUL 1995) (The following clauses shall apply when prescribed under FAR subpart 22.6.) 52.222-20 Walsh-Healy Public Contracts Act (DEC 1996) 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (APR 1984) (The following clauses shall apply to all RFPs and Contracts with a life aggregate amount over $1,000,000.) 52.222-28 Equal Opportunity Pre-Award Clearance of Subcontract (APR 1984) 52.222-35 Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans (APR 1984) 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers (APR 1984) (Note: The reports required by the following clause shall be submitted to OASVET (VETS-100); U.S. Department of Labor; 200 Constitution Avenue, NW; Washington D.C. 20210.) 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era (JAN 1988) (The two following clauses shall only apply to contracts to which the Service Contract Act is applicable.) 52.222-41 Service Contract Act of 1965, as Amended (MAY 1989) Page 29 of 96 RFP 97-020 52.222-42 Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (MAY 1989) (Note: List of equivalent rates, if applicable, will be given in attachment.) 52.223-2 Clean Air and Water (Over $100,000) (APR 1984) (The following clauses shall apply to (a) any contract awarded to an individual -- ie., a contractor having no more than one employee including the contractor -- or (b) any contract of $25,000 or more, unless excepted under the provisions of FAR 23.505 (b) (1) (3).) 52.223-6 Drug Free Workplace (JUL 1990) 52.223-14 Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (OCT 1995) 52.225-3 Buy American Act - Supplies (JAN 1989) 52.225-11 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (MAY 1992) (The following clause shall apply to all but specified research and development contracts.) 52.227-1 Authorization and Consent (JUL 1995) (The following clauses shall apply to only specified research and development contracts.) 52.227-1 Authorization and Consent - Alternate I (APR 1984) 52.227-2 Notice and Assistance Regarding Patent and Copyright Infringement (AUG 1996) 52.227-14 Rights in Data -- General (June 1987) Alternate I (June 1987) Alternate II (June 1987) Alternate III (June 1987) Alternate IV (June 1987) Alternate V (June 1987) (Alternate IV shall only apply to contracts for basic or applied research -- other than those for management or operation of Government facilities or where international agreements require otherwise -- to be performed soley by universities and colleges.) 52.227-16 Additional Data Requirements (JUNE 1987) (The following clause applies except for construction and architect-engineer services or unless otherwise formally waived by the federal contract office.) 52.228-7 Insurance-Liability to Third Persons (APR 1984) 52.232-9 Limitation on Withholding of Payments (APR 1984) 52.232-17 Interest (JUN 1996) Page 30 of 96 RFP 97-020 52.232-20 Limitation of Cost (APR 1984) (Applicable if contract is fully funded.) 52.232-22 Limitation of Funds (APR 1984) (Applicable if contract is incrementally funded.) 52.232-23 Assignment of Claims (JAN 1986) 52.233-1 Disputes (OCT 1995) 52.233-3 Protest After Award (OCT 1995) 52.242-1 Notice of Intent to Disallow Costs (AUG 1987) 52.242-13 Bankruptcy (JUL 1995) 52.243-2 Changes - Cost-Reimbursement (AUG 1987) Alternate V (APR 1984) 52.244-2 Subcontracts Under Cost-Reimbursement and Letter Contracts (FEB 1997) 52.244-5 Competition in Subcontracting (DEC 1996) 52.245-5 Government Property (Cost-Reimbursement, Time-and-Material, or Labor-Hour Contract) (DEC 1992) (The following clause shall apply to contracts for services.) 52.246-5 Inspection of Services - Cost Reimbursement (APR 1984) 52.246-25 Limitation of Liability - Services (FEB 1997) (The following clause shall apply to Research and Development contracts.) 52.246-8 Inspection of Research and Development - Cost Reimbursement (APR 1984) 52.246-23 Limitation of Liabilities for Supplies (FEB 1997) (The following clause shall apply if designated.) 52.247-29 F.O.B. Origin (JUN 1988) (The following clause shall apply if designated.) 52.247-34 F.O.B. Destination (APR 1984) 52.249-6 Termination (Cost-Reimbursement) (SEP 1996) 52.249-14 Excusable Delays (APR 1984) 52.253-1 Computer Generated Forms (JAN 1991) 52.232-25 Prompt Payment (MAR 1994) 52.248-1 Value Engineering (MARCH 1989) Alternate III (APRIL 1984) Page 31 of 96 RFP 97-020 I.2.2 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACQUISTION REGULATION (EDAR) (48 CFR CHAPTER 34) CLAUSES EDAR Clause No. Title and Date 3452.202-1 Definitions (AUGUST 1987) 3452.208-70 Printing (AUGUST 1987) 3452.227-70 Publication and Publicity (AUGUST 1987) 3452.227-71 Paperwork Reduction Act (AUGUST 1987) 3452.227-72 Advertising of Awards (AUGUST 1987) 3452.228-70 Required Insurance (AUGUST 1987) 3452.237-71 Services of Consultants (AUGUST 1987) 3452.242-70 Litigation and Claims (AUGUST 1987) 3452.242-71 Notice to the Government of Delays (AUGUST 1987) 3452.242-72 Withholding of Contract Payments (AUGUST 1987) 3452.242-73 Accessibility of Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars to Persons with Disabilities (AUGUST 1987) 3452.243-70 Key Personnel (AUGUST 1987) 3452.247-70 Foreign Travel (AUGUST 1987) I.2.3 ADDITIONAL CLAUSES CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FAR 52.252-2) (APRIL 1984) 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. (a) FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CLAUSES APPLICABLE TO TIME AND MATERIALS TYPE CONTRACTS: FAR CLAUSE NO. TITLE AND DATE 52.232-7 Payments Under Time and Materials and Labor Hour Type Contracts (February 1997) 52.243-3 Changes-Time and Materials or Labor Hour Type Contracts (August 1987) 52.244-3 Subcontracts Under Time and Materials and Labor Hour Contracts (April 1985) 52.245-5 Government Property (Cost Reimbursement, Time and Materials, and Labor Hour Contracts (JAN 1986) 52.246-6 Inspection - Time and Materials and Labor Hour (January 1986) Page 32 of 96 RFP 97-020 52.249.6 Termination (Cost Reimbursement) Alternate IV (SEP 1996) Page 33 of 96 RFP 97-020 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS SECTION J -- LIST OF ATTACHMENTS J.1 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS (ED 309-1) (MARCH 1985) Item No. List of Deliverables Page No. In Attachment EXHIBIT A 5 X EXHIBIT B 2 X A Managing & Performing the Delivery of TA to Public Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies 15 X B Contractor Performance Information 4 X C Contract Pricing Proposal Cover Sheet 4 X D Standards for Meeting Disabled Customer Needs for OSERS- Sponsored Internal and External Meetings 6 X Page 34 of 96 RFP 97-020 PART IV, SECTION K REPRESENTATIONS,CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF THE OFFEROR K.1 REPRESENTATION AUTHORITY (ED 310-1) (MARCH 1985) The offeror makes the following Representations and Certifications as part of its proposal (check or complete all appropriate boxes or blanks on the following pages). _________________________________ ____________________ (Name of Offeror) (RFP No.) _________________________________ ____________________ (Signature of (Date) Authorized Individual) ____________________________________________________________________ (TYPED NAME OF AUTHORIZED INDIVIDUAL) Note: The penalty for making false statements in offers is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001. The Representations and Certifications must be executed by an individual authorized to bind the offeror. K.2 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS (FAR 52.204-5) (DEC 1996) As prescribed in 4.603(b), insert the following provision: (a) Representation. The offeror represents that it [] is [] is not a women-owned business concern. (b) Definition. "Women-owned business concern," as used in this provision, means a concern which is at least 5l percent owned by one or more women; or in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 5l percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more women; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women. (End of provision) Page 35 of 96 RFP 97-020 K.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE (FAR 52.215-20) (APRIL 1984) (A) The offeror or quoter, in the performance of any contract resulting from this solicitation, [_] intends [_] does not intend (check applicable block) to use one or more plants or facilities located at a different address from the address of the offeror or quoter as indicated in this proposal or quotation. (B) If the offeror or quoter checks "intends" in paragraph (A) above, it shall insert in the spaces provided below the required information: Name and Address of Owner Place of Performance and Operator of the Plant or (Street Address, City, Facility if Other than Offeror County, State, Zip Code) or Quoter __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ K.4 CERTIFICATION OF NONSEGREGATED FACILITIES (FAR 52.222-21) (APRIL 1984) (A) "Segregated facilities," as used in this provision, means any waiting rooms, work areas, rest rooms and wash rooms, restraurants and other eating areas, time clocks, locker rooms and other storage or dressing areas, parking lots, drinking fountains, recreation or entertainment areas, transportation, and housing facilities provided for employees, that are segregated on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin because of habit, local custom, or otherwise. (B) By the submission of this offer, the offeror certifies that it does not and will not maintain or provide for its establishments, and that it does not and will not permit its employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained. The offeror agrees that a breach of this certification is a violation of the Equal Opportunity clause in the contract. (C) The offeror further agrees that (except where it has obtained identical certifications from proposed subcontractors for specific time periods) it will-- (1) Obtain identical certifications from proposed Page 36 of 96 RFP 97-020 subcontractors before the award of the subcontracts under which the subcontractor will be subject to the Equal Opportunity clause; (2) Retain the certifications in the files; and (3) Forward the following notice to the proposed subcontractors (except if the proposed subcontractors have submitted identical certifications for specific time periods): NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE SUBCONTRACTORS OF REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATIONS OR NONSEGREGATED FACILITIES A Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities must be submitted before the award of a subcontract under which the subcontractor will be subject to the Equal Opportunity clause. The certification may be submitted either for each subcontract or for all subcontracts during a period (i.e., quarterly, semiannually). NOTE: The penalty for making false statements in offers is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001. K.5 DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FAR 52.223-6) (JAN 1997) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause-- "Controlled substance" means a controlled substance in schedules I through V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and as further defined in regulation at 21 CFR 1308.11 - 1308.15. "Conviction" means a finding of guilt (including a plea of nolo contendere) or imposition of sentence, or both, by any judicial body charged with the responsibility to determine violations of the Federal or State criminal drug statutes. "Criminal drug statute" means a Federal or non-Federal criminal statute involving the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of any controlled substance. "Drug-free workplace" means the site(s) for the performance of work done by the Contractor in connection with a specific contract at which employees of the Contractor are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance. "Employee" means an employee of a Contractor directly engaged in the performance of work under a Government contract. "Directly engaged" is defined to include all direct cost employees and any other Contractor employee who has other than a minimal impact or involvement in contract performance. "Individual" means an offeror/contractor that has no more than one employee including the offeror/contractor. Page 37 of 96 RFP 97-020 (b) The Contractor, if other than an individual, shall-- within 30 days after award (unless a longer period is agreed to in writing for contracts of 30 days or more performance duration), or as soon as possible for contracts of less than 30 days performance duration-- (1) Publish a statement notifying its employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in the Contractor's workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of such prohibition; (2) Establish an ongoing drug-free awareness program to inform such employees about-- (i) The dangers of drug abuse in the workplace; (ii) The Contractor's policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace; (iii) Any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs; and (iv) The penalties that may be imposed upon employees for drug abuse violations occurring in the workplace; (3) Provide all employees engaged in performance of the contract with a copy of the statement required by subparagraph (b)(1) of this clause; (4) Notify such employees in writing in the statement required by subparagraph (b)(1) of this clause that, as a condition of continued employment on this contract, the employee will-- (i) Abide by the terms of the statement; and (ii) Notify the employer in writing of the employee's conviction under a criminal drug statute for a violation occurring in the workplace no later than 5 days after such conviction; (5) Notify the Contracting Officer in writing within 10 days after receiving notice under subdivision (b)(4)(ii) of this clause, from an employee or otherwise receiving actual notice of such conviction. The notice shall include the position title of the employee; (6) Within 30 days after receiving notice under subdivision (b)(4)(ii) of this clause of a conviction, take one of the following actions with respect to any employee who is convicted of a drug abuse violation occurring in the workplace: (i) Taking appropriate personnel action against such employee, up to and including termination; or Page 38 of 96 RFP 97-020 (ii) Require such employee to satisfactorily participate in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program approved for such purposes by a Federal, State, or local health, law enforcement, or other appropriate agency; and (7) Make a good faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace through implementation of subparagraphs (b)(1) though (b)(6) of this clause. (c) The Contractor, if an individual, agrees by award of the contract or acceptance of a purchase order, not to engage in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance while performing this contract. (d) In addition to other remedies available to the Government, the Contractor's failure to comply with the requirements of (b) or (c) of this clause may, pursuant to FAR 23.506, render the Contractor subject to suspension of contract payments, termination of the contract or default, and suspension or debarment. (End of clause) K.6 CERTIFICATE OF CURRENT COST OR PRICING DATA (ED 310-5) (MARCH 1985) (When a certificate of cost or pricing data is required to be submitted in accordance with Federal Acquistion Regulation (FAR) 15.804-2, the Contracting Officer will request that the Offeror complete, execute, and submit to the Contracting Officer a certification in the format shown in the following Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data. The certification shall be submitted only at the time negotiations are completed. Offerors should complete the certificate set forth below and return it when requested by the Contracting Officer.) This is to certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the cost or pricing data (as defined in Section 15.801 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and required under FAR subsection 15.804-2) submitted, either actually or by specific identification in writing, to the Contracting Officer or to the Contracting Officer's Representative in support of _________________* are accurate, complete, and current as of _________________**. This certification includes the cost or pricing data supporting any advance agreements and forward pricing rate agreements between the offeror and the Government that are part of the proposal. Firm _______________________________________________________________ Name _______________________________________________________________ Title ______________________________________________________________ Date of execution*** _______________________________________________ *Identify the proposal, quotation, request for price adjustment, or other submission involved, giving the appropriate identifying number (e.g., RFP No.). Page 39 of 96 RFP 97-020 **Insert the day, month, and year when price negotiations were concluded and price agreement was reached. ***Insert the day, month, and year of signing, which should be as close as practicable to the date when the price negotiations were concluded and the contract price was agreed to. K.7 DUPLICATION OF COST (ED 310-6) (MARCH 1985) The offeror represents and certifies that any charges contemplated and included in its estimate of cost for performance are not duplicative of any charges against any other Government contract, subcontract, or other Government source. K.8 EMPLOYER'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (ED 310-7) (MARCH 1985) The offeror's Internal Revenue Service "Employer's Identification Number" is _______________________________. K.9 CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATION NUMBER - DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBER (FAR 52.204-6) (DEC 1996) (a) Contractor Identification Number, as used in this provision, means "Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number," which is a nine-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services. (b) Contractor identification is essential for complying with statutory contract reporting requirements. Therefore, the offeror is requested to enter, in the block with its name and address on the Standard Form 33 or similar document, the annotation "DUNS" followed by the DUNS number which identifies the offeror's name and address exactly as stated in the offer. (c) If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one. A DUNS number will be provided immediately by telephone at no charge to the offeror. For information on obtaining a DUNS number, the offeror should call Dun and Bradstreet at l-800-333-0505. The offeror should be prepared to provide the following information: (l) Company name. (2) Company address. (3) Company telephone number. (4) Line of business. (5) Chief executive officer/key manager. (6) Date the company was started. (7) Number of people employed by the company. Page 40 of 96 RFP 97-020 (8) Company affiliation. (d) Offerors located outside the United States may obtain the location and phone number of the local Dun and Bradstreet Information Services office from the Internet Home Page at http://www.dbisna.com/dbis/customer/custlist.htm. If an offeror is unable to locate a local service center, it may send an e-mail to Dun and Bradstreet at globalinfo@dbisma.com. (End of provision) K.10 TYPE OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION (FAR 52.215-6) (JULY 1987) The offeror or quoter, by checking the applicable box, represents that: (a) It operates as [_] a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of _____________________, [_] an individual, [_] a partnership, [_] a nonprofit organization, or [_] a joint venture. (b) If the offeror or quoter is a foreign entity, it operates as [_] an individual, [_] a partnership, [_] a nonprofit organization, [_] a joint venture, or [_] a corporation registered for business in ______________________ (country). K.11 AUTHORIZED NEGOTIATORS (FAR 52.215-11) (APRIL 1984) The offeror or quoter represents that the following persons are authorized to negotiate on its behalf with the Government in connection with this request for proposals or quotations: TELEPHONE NUMBER NAMES TITLE (INCLUDING AREA CODE) ______________________ __________________ ____________________ ______________________ __________________ ____________________ ______________________ __________________ ____________________ K.12 APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (ED 310-9) (MARCH 1985) The offeror [_] does, [_] does not, have an approved accounting system for purposes of cost reimbursement under this requirement. If so, specify the approving government audit agency or office and the date of approval. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Page 41 of 96 RFP 97-020 ____________________________________________________________________ Date: ______________________________________________________________ K.13 CERTIFICATION FOR INTENDED COMPLIANCE WITH "LIMITATION OF COST" CLAUSE (ED 310-15) (APRIL 1984) The offeror certifies by submission of offer hereunder for understanding of and full intent to comply with the clause titled "Limitation of Cost", or "Limitation of Funds" clause in the case of incremental funding. K.14 GENERAL FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION (ED 310-10) (APRIL 1984) Offerors or quoters are requested to provide information regarding the following items in sufficient detail to allow a full and complete business evaluation. If the question indicated is not applicable or the answer is none, it should be annotated. If the offeror has previously submitted the information, it should certify the validity of that data currently on file at ED or update all outdated information on file. (A) Contractor's Name: _________________________________________ (B) Address (If financial records are maintained at some other location, show the address of the place where the records are kept): ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (C) Telephone Number: __________________________________________ (D) Individual(s) to contact re this proposal: _________________ ____________________________________________________________ (E) Cognizant Government: Audit Agency: ______________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________ Auditor: ___________________________________________________ (F) (1) Work Distribution for the Last Completed Fiscal Accounting Period: Sales: Government cost-reimbursement type prime contracts and subcontracts: $_________ Government fixed-price prime contracts Page 42 of 96 RFP 97-020 and subcontracts: $_________ Commercial Sales: $_________ Total Sales: $_________ (2) Total Sales for first and second fiscal years immediately preceding last completed fiscal year. Total Sales for First Preceding Fiscal Year $_________ Total Sales for Second Preceding Fiscal Year $_________ (G) Is company an ED rate entity or division? ___________________________________________________________ If a division or subsidiary corporation, name parent company: ___________________________________________________________ (H) Date Company Organized: ___________________________________ (I) Manpower: Total Employees: __________________________________________ Direct: ___________________________________________________ Indirect: _________________________________________________ Standard Work Week (Hours): _______________________________ (J) Commercial Products: ______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ (K) Attach a current organizational chart of the company. (L) Description of Contractor's system of estimating and accumulating costs under Government contracts. (Check appropriate blocks.) Estimated/ Standard Actual Cost Cost Estimating System Job Order ___________ ________ Process ___________ ________ Accumulating System Job Order ___________ ________ Page 43 of 96 RFP 97-020 Process ___________ ________ Has your cost estimating system been approved by any Government agency? Yes __________ No __________ If yes, give name and location of agency: ________________ ____________________________________________________________ Has your cost accumulation system been approved by any Government agency? Yes __________ No __________ If yes, give name and address of agency: __________________ ____________________________________________________________ (M) What is your fiscal year period? (Give month-to-month dates): ____________________________________________________________ What were the indirect cost rates for your last completed fiscal year? Fiscal Year Fringe Benefits _________ __________ Overhead _________ __________ G&A Expense _________ __________ Other _________ __________ (N) Have the proposed indirect cost rate(s) been evaluated and accepted by any Government agency? Yes _______ No_______ If yes, name and location of the Government agency: ______________________________________________________________ Date of last pre-award audit review by a Government agency: ________ (If the answer is no, data supporting the proposed rates must accompany the cost or price proposal. A breakdown of the items comprising overhead and G&A must be furnished.) (O) Cost estimating is performed by: Accounting Department: _________________________________ Contracting Department: _________________________________ Other (describe) ________________________________________ (P) Has system of control of Government property been approved by a Government agency? Yes __________ No __________ Page 44 of 96 RFP 97-020 If yes, name and location of the Government agency: ___________________________________________________________ (Q) Purchasing Procedures: Are purchasing procedures written? Yes _______ No_______ Has your purchasing system been approved by a Government agency? Yes __________ No __________ If yes, name and location of the Government agency: ___________________________________________________________ (R) Does your firm have an established written incentive compensation or bonus plan? Yes __________ No __________ K.15 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REPRESENTATIONS (FAR 52.219-1) (JAN 1997) (a)(1) The standard industrial classification (SIC) code for this acquisition is 8742. (2) The small business size standard is 5.0. (3) Ths small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, other than on a construction or service contract, but which proposes to furnish a product which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees. (b) Representation. (1) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it [_] is, [_] is not a small business concern. (2) (Complete only if offeror represented itself as a small business concern in block (b)(1) of this section.) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it [_] is, [_] is not a small disadvantaged business concern. (3) (Complete only if offeror represented itslef as a small business concern in block (b)(1) of this section.) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it [_] is, [_] is not a women- owned small business concern. (c) Definitions. "Joint venture," for purposes of a small disadvantaged business (SDB) set-aside or price evaluation preference (as pescribed at l3 CFR l24.32), is a concern that is owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals entering into a joint venture agreement with one or more business concerns and is considered to be affiliated for size purposes with such other concern(s). The combined annual receipts or employees of the concerns entering into the joint venture must meet the applicable size standard corresponding to the SIC code designated for the contract. The majority of the venture's earnings must accrue Page 45 of 96 RFP 97-020 directly to the socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in the SDB concern(s) in the joint venture. The percentage of the ownership involvement in a joint venture by disadvantaged individuals must be at least 5l percent. "Small business concern," as used in this provision, means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria in 13 CFR Part 121 and size standard above. "Small disadvantaged business concern", as used in this provision, means a small business concern that (1) is at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged, or a publicly owned business having at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and (2) has its management and daily business controlled by one or more such individuals. This term also means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization, or a publicly owned business having at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more of these entities, which has its management and daily business controlled by members of an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization, and which meets the requirements of 13 CFR Part 124. "Women-owned small business concern", as used in this provision, means a small business concern----- (a) Which is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more women; and (b) Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women. (d) Notice. (1) If this solicitation is for supplies and has been set aside, in whole or in part, for small business concerns, then the clause in this solicitation providing notice of the set-aside contains restrictions on the source of the end items to be furnished. (2) Notice. Under 15 U.S.C. 645(d), any person who misrep- resents a firm's status as a small or small disadvantaged business concern in order to obtain a contract to be awarded under the preference programs established pursuant to sections 8(a), 8(d), 9, or 15 of the Small Business Act or any other provision of Federal law that specifically references section 8(d) for a definition of program eligibility, shall - (i) Be punished by imposition of a fine, imprisonment, or both; (ii) Be subject to administrative remedies, including Page 46 of 96 RFP 97-020 suspension and debarment; and (iii) Be ineligible for participation in programs conducted under the authority of the Act. K.16 PREVIOUS CONTRACTS AND COMPLIANCE REPORTS (FAR 52.222-22) (APRIL 1984) The offeror represents that-- (A) It [_] has, [_] has not participated in a previous contract or subcontract subject either to the Equal Opportunity clause of this solicitation, the clause originally contained in Section 310 of Executive Order No. 10925, or the clause contained in Section 201 of Executive Order No. 11114; (B) It [_] has, [_] has not filed all required compliance reports; and (C) Representations indicating submission of required compliance reports, signed by proposed subcontractors, will be obtained before subcontract awards. K.17 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE (FAR 52.222-25) (APRIL 1984) The offeror represents that (a) it [_] has developed and has on file, [_] has not developed and does not have on file, at each establishment, affirmative action programs required by the rules and regulations of the Secretary of Labor (41 CFR 60-1 and 60-2), or (b) it [_] has not previously had contracts subject to the written affirmative action programs requirement of the rules and regulations of the Secretary of Labor. K.18 CERTIFICATION OF TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASE REPORTING (FAR 52.223-13) (OCT 1996) (a) Submission of the certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this contract imposed by Executive Order 12969, August 8, 1996. (b) By signing this offer, the offeror certifies that - |_| (1) As the owner or operator of facilities that will be used in the performance of this contract that are subject to the filing and reporting requirements described in section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA)(42 U.S.C. 11023) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA) (42 U.S.C. 13106), the offeror will file and continue to file for such facilities for the life of the contract the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Form (FR) as described in sections 313(a)(g) of EPCRA and section 6607 of PPA; or Page 47 of 96 RFP 97-020 (2) None of its owned or operated facilities to be used in the performance of this contract is subject to the FR filing and reporting requirements because each such facility is exempt for at least one of the following reasons: (check each block that is applicable) |_| (i) The facility does not manufacture, process, or otherwise use any toxic chemicals listed under section 313(c) of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11023(c); |_| (ii) The facility does not have ten or more full-time employees as specified in section 313(b)(1)(A) of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11023(b)(1)(A); |_| (iii) The facility does not meet the reporting thresholds of toxic chemicals established under section 313(f) of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11023(f) (including the alternate thresholds at 40 CRF 372.27, provided an appropriate certificate form has been filed with EPA); |_| (iv) The facility does not fall within Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC) designations 20 through 39 as set forth in Section 19.102 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; |_| (v) The facility is not located within any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Somoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other terrotories or possession over which the United States has jurisdiction. (End of Provision) K.19 POST EMPLOYMENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST (ED 310-16) (MARCH 1985) The contractor certifies that in developing a proposal in response to the solicitation for this contract, it has not utilized the services of any former Education Department (ED) employee who, while working for the Government, participated personally and substantially in, or was officially responsible for, the development or drafting of the solicitation for this contract. The contractor further certifies that it did not utilize the services of such an ED employee in assisting or representing the offeror at negotiations for this contract. K.20 CERTIFICATION REGARDING DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, PROPOSED DEBARMENT, AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS. (FAR 52.209-5) (MAY 1989) (a)(1) The Offeror certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that -- (i) The Offeror and/or any of its Principals -- (A) Are ( ) are not ( ) presently debarred, suspended, proposed Page 48 of 96 RFP 97-020 for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any Federal agency; (B) Have ( ) have not ( ), within a 3-year period preceding this offer, been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for: commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, state, or local) contract or subcontract; violation of Federal or state antitrust statutes relating to the submission of offers; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property; and (C) Are ( ) are not ( ) presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with, commission of any of the offenses enumerated in subdivision (a)(1)(i)(B) of this provision. (ii) The Offeror has ( ) has not ( ), within a 3-year period preceding this offer, had one or more contracts terminated for default by any Federal agency. (2) "Principals," for the purposes of this certification, means officers; directors; owners; partners; and, persons having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager, plant manager, head of a subsidiary, division, or business segment, and similar positions). This certification concerns a matter within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States and the making of a false, fictitious, or fraudulent certification may render the maker subject to prosecution under section 1001, title 18, United States Code. (b) The Offeror shall provide immediate written notice to the Contracting Officer if, at any time prior to contract award, the Offeror learns that its certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances. (c) A certification that any of the items in paragraph (a) of this provision exists will not necessarily result in withholding of an award under this solicitation. However, the certification will be considered in connection with a determination of the Offeror's responsibility. Failure of the Offeror to furnish a certification or provide such additional information as requested by the Contracting Officer may render the Offeror nonresponsible. (d) Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render, in good faith, the certification required by paragraph (a) of this provision. The knowledge and information of an Offeror is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings. (e) The certification in paragraph (a) of this provision is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed Page 49 of 96 RFP 97-020 when making award. If it is later determined that the Offeror knowingly rendered an erroneous certification, in addition to other remedies available to the Government, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract resulting from this solicitation for default. K.21 TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION (FAR 52.204-3) (SEPTEMBER 1989) (a) Definitions. "Common parent," as used in this solicitation provision, means that corporate entity that owns or controls an affiliated group of corporations that files its Federal income tax returns on a consolidated basis, and of which the offeror is a member. "Corporate status," as used in this solicitation provision, means a designation as to whether the offeror is a corporate entity, an unincorporated entity (e.g., sole proprietorship or partnership), or a corporation providing medical and health care services. "Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)," as used in this solicitation provision, means the number required by the IRS to be used by the offeror in reporting income tax and other returns. (b) The offeror is required to submit the information required in paragraphs (c) through (e) of this solicitation provision in order to comply with reporting requirements of 26 U.S.C. 6041, 6041A, and 6050M and implementing regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If the resulting contract is subject to reporting requirements described in 4.902(a), the failure or refusal by the offeror to furnish the information may result in a 20 percent reduction of payments otherwise due under the contract. (c) "Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). ( ) TIN: _______________. ( ) TIN has been applied for. ( ) TIN is not required because: ( ) Offeror is a nonresident alien, foreign corporation, or foreign partnership that does not have income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the U.S. and does not have an office or place of business or a fiscal paying agent in the U.S.; ( ) Offeror is an agency or instrumentality of a foreign government; ( ) Offeror is an agency or instrumentality of a Federal, state, or local government; ( ) Other. State basis. __________. (d) "Corporate Status". ( ) Corporation providing medical and health care services, or engaged in the billing and collecting of payments for such services; Page 50 of 96 RFP 97-020 ( ) Other corporate entity; ( ) Not a corporate entity; ( ) Sole proprietorship ( ) Partnership ( ) Hospital or extended care facility described in 26 CFR 501(c)(3) that is exempt from taxation under 26 CFR 501(a). (e) "Common Parent". ( ) Offeror is not owned or controlled by a common parent as defined in paragraph (a) of this clause. ( ) Name and TIN of common parent: Name _________________________ TIN _________________________ K.22 CERTIFICATION AND DISCLOSURE REGARDING PAYMENTS TO INFLUENCE CERTAIN FEDERAL TRANSACTIONS (FAR 52.203-11) (APRIL 1991) (Note: This certification is only applicable to proposals or pending contract awards exceeding $100,000 in value and shall only cover activities occurring from December 23, 1989 on.) (a) The definitions and prohibitions contained in the clause, at FAR 52.203-12, Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions, included in this solicitation; are hereby incorporated by reference in paragraph (b) of this certification. (b) The offeror, by signing its offer, hereby certifies to the best of his or her knowledge and belief on or after December 23, 1989, (1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress on his or her behalf in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement; (2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds (including profit or fee received under a covered Federal transaction) have been paid, or will be paid, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress on his or her behalf in connection with this solicitation, the offeror shall complete and submit, with its offer, OMB standard form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, to the Contracting Officer; and (3) He or she will include the language of this certification in all subcontract awards at any tier and require that all recipients of subcontract awards in excess of $100,000 shall certify and disclose Page 51 of 96 RFP 97-020 accordingly. (c) Submission of this certification and disclosure is a prerequisite for making or entering into this contract imposed by section 1352, title 31, United States Code. Any person who makes an expenditure prohibited under this provision or who fails to file or amend the disclosure form to be filed or amended by this provision, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000, and not more than $100,000, for each such failure. K.23 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST CERTIFICATE -- MARKETING CONSULTANTS (FAR 52.209-7) (OCTOBER 1995) (A) Definitions. (1) Marketing consultant means any independent contractor who furnishes advice, information, direction, or assistance to an offeror or any other contractor in support of the preparation or submission of an offer for a government contract by that offeror. An independent Contractor is not a marketing consultant when rendering -- (i) Services excluded in subpart 37.2; (ii) Routine engineering and technical services (such as installation, operation, or maintenance of systems, equipment, software, components, or facilities); (iii) Routine legal, actuarial, auditing,and accounting services; or (iv) Training services. (2) Organizational conflict of interest means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person's objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage. (B) An individual or firm that employs, retains, or engages contractually one or more marketing consultants in connection with a contract, shall submit to the contracting officer, with respect to each marketing consultant, the certificates described below, if the individual or firm is notified that it is the apparent successful offeror. (C) The certificate must contain the following: (1) The name of the agency and the number of the solicitation in question. (2) The name, address, telephone number, and federal taxpayer Page 52 of 96 RFP 97-020 identification number of the marketing consultant. (3) The name, address and telephone number of a responsible officer or employee of the marketing consultant who has personal knowledge of the marketing consultants involvement in the contract. (4) A description of the nature of the services rendered by or to be rendered by the marketing consultant. (5) The name, address, and telephone number of a responsible officer or employee of the marketing consultant who is knowledgeable about the services provided to such client(s), and a description of the nature of the services rendered to such client(s), if based on information provided to the Contractor by the marketing consultant, any marketing consultant rendering or, in the 12 months preceding the date of the certificate, has rendered services respecting the same subject matter of the instant solicitation, or directly relating to such subject matter, to the Government or any other client (including any foreign government or person). (6) A statement that the person who signs the certificate for the prime Contractor has informed the marketing consultant of the existence of subpart 9.5 and Office of Federal Procurement Policy Letter 89-1. (7) The signature, name, title, employer's name, address, and telephone number of the persons who signed the certificates for both the apparent successful offeror and the marketing consultant. (D) In addition, the apparent successful offeror shall forward to the Contracting Officer a certificate signed by the marketing consultant that the marketing consultant has been told of the existence of subpart 9.5 and Office of Federal Procurement Policy Letter 89-1, and the marketing consultant has made inquiry, and to the best of the consultant's knowledge and belief, the consultant has provided no unfair competitive advantage to the prime Contractor with respect to the services rendered or to be rendered in connection with the solicitation, or that any unfair competitive advantage that, to the best of the consultant's knowledge and belief, does or may exist, has been disclosed to the offeror. (E) Failure of the offeror to provide the required certifications may result in the offeror being determined ineligible for award. Misrepresentation of any fact may result in the assessment of penalties associated with false certifications or such other provisions provided for by law or regulation. K.24 CANCELLATION, RESCISSION, AND RECOVERY OF FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL OR IMPROPER ACTIVITY (FAR 52.203-8) (JAN 1997) (a) If the Government receives information that a contractor or a person has engaged in conduct constituting a violation of subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) of Section 27 Page 53 of 96 RFP 97-020 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (4l U.S.C. 423) (the Act), as amended by section 4304 of the l996 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year l996 (Pub. L. l04-l06), the Government may - (l) Cancel the solicitation, if the contract has not yet been awarded or issued; or (2) Rescind the contract with respect to which - (i) The Contractor or someone acting for the Contractor has been convicted for an offense where the conduct constitutes a violation of subsection 27 (a) or (b) of the Act for the purpose of either - (A) Exchanging the inforamtion covered by such subsections for anything of value; or (B) Obtaining or giving anyone a competitive advantage in the award of a Federal agency procurement contract; or (ii) The head of the contracting activity has determined, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the Contractor or someone acting for the Contractor has engaged in conduct constituting an offense punishable under subsections 27(e)(l) of the Act. (b) If the Government rescinds the contract under paragraph (a) of this clause, the Government is entitled to recover, in addition to any penalty prescribed by law, the amount expended under the contract. (c) The rights and remedies of the Government specified herein are not exclusive, and are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law, regulation, or under this contract. (End of clause) K.25 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (EDAR 3452.209-70) (AUG 1987) The offeror certifies that it [__] is [__] is not aware of any potential organization conflict of interest that it may have under this procurement. If the offeror is aware of any potential conflict of interest, the offeror shall submit a disclosure statement fully describing the situation. An organizational conflict of interest is as defined and illustrated in FAR 9.5. K.26 REPRESENTATION OF LIMITED RIGHTS DATA AND RESTRICTED COMPUTER SOFTWARE (FAR 52.227-15) (JUNE 1987) (a) This solicitation sets forth the work to be performed if a Page 54 of 96 RFP 97-020 contract award results, and the Government's known delivery requirements for data (as defined in FAR 27.401). Any resulting contract may also provide the government the option to order additional data under the Additional Data Requirements clause at 52.227-16 of the FAR, if included in the contract. Any data delivered under the resulting contract will be subject to the Rights in Data -- General clause at 52.227-14 that is to be included in this contract. Under the latter clause, a Contractor may withhold from delivery data that qualify as limited rights data or restricted computer software, and deliver form, fit, and function data in lieu thereof. The latter clause also may be used with its Alternates II and/or III to obtain delivery of limited rights data or restricted computer software, marked with limited rights or restricted rights notices, as appropriate. In addition, use of Alternate V with this latter clause provides the Government the right to inspect such data at the Contractor's facility. (b) As an aid in determining the Government's need to include any of the aforementioned Alternates in the clause at 52.227-14, Rights in Data -- General, the offeror's response to this solicitation shall, to the extent feasible, complete the representation in paragraph (b) of this clause to either state that none of the data qualify as limited rights data or restricted computer software, or identify which of the data qualifies as limited rights data or restricted computer software. Any identification of limited rights data or restricted computer software in the offeror's response in not determinative of the status of such data should a contract be awarded to the offeror. REPRESENTATION CONCERNING DATA RIGHTS Offeror has reviewed the requirements for the delivery of data or software an states (offeror check appropriate block)-- [ ] None of the data proposed for fulfilling such requirements qualifies as limited rights data or restricted computer software. [ ] Data proposed for fulfilling such requirements qualify as limited rights data or restricted computer software and are identified as follows: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ NOTE: "Limited rights data" and "Restricted computer software" are defined in the contract clause entitled "Rights In Data -- General". Page 55 of 96 RFP 97-020 K.27 CLEAN AIR AND WATER CERTIFICATION (FAR 52.223-1) (APRIL 1984) The Offeror certifies that-- (A) Any facility to be used in the performance of this proposed contract is [_], is not [_] listed on the Environmental Protection Agency List of Violating Facilities; (B) The Offeror will immediately notify the Contracting Officer, before award, of the receipt of any communication from the Administrator, or a designee, of the Environmental Protection Agency, indicating that any facility that the Offeror proposes to use for the performance of the contract is under consideration to be listed on the EPA List of Violating Facilities; and (C) The Offeror will include a certification substantially the same as this certification, including this paragraph (c), in every nonexempt subcontract. K.28 COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS NOTICES AND CERTIFICATION (52.230-1) (APR 1996) NOTE: This notice does not apply to small businesses or foreign governments. This notice is in three parts, identified by Roman numerals I through III. Offerors shall examine each part and provide the requested information in order to determine Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) requirements applicable to any resultant contract. If the offeror is an educational institution, Part II does not apply unless the contemplated contract will be subject to full or modified CAS coverage pursuant to 48 CFR 9903.201-2(c)(5) or 9903.201-2(c)(6), respectively. I. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT-COST ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND CERTIFICATION (a) Any contract in excess of $500,000 resulting from this solicitation, except contracts in which the price negotiated is based on (1) established catalog or market prices of commercial items sold in substantial quantities to the general public, or (2) prices set by law or regulation, will be subject to the requirements of the Cost Accounting Standard Board 48 CFR, Chapter 99, except for those contracts which are exempt as specified in 48 CFR 9903.201-1. (b) Any offeror submitting a proposal which, if accepted, will result in a contract subject to the requirements of 48 CFR, Chapter 99, as a condition of contracting, submit a Disclosure Statement as required by 48 CFR 9903.202. When required, the Disclosure Statement must be submitted as a part of the offeror's proposal under this solicitation unless the offeror has already submitted a Disclosure Statement disclosing the practices used in connection with the pricing of this proposal. If an applicable Disclosure Statement has already been submitted, the offeror may satisfy the Page 56 of 96 RFP 97-020 requirement for submission by providing the information requested in paragraph (c) of Part I of this provision. CAUTION: In the absence of specific regulations or agreement, a practice disclosed in a Disclosure Statement shall not, by virtue of such disclosure, be deemed to be a proper, approved, or agreed-to practice for pricing proposals or accumulating and reporting contract performance cost data. (c) Check the appropriate box below: ___(1) Certificate of Concurrent Submission of Disclosure Statement. The offeror hereby certifies that, as a part of the offer, copies of the Disclosure Statement have been submitted as follows: (i) original and one copy to the cognizant Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), or cognizant Federal agency official authorized to act in that capacity (Federal official), as applicable, and (ii) one copy to the cognizant Federal auditor. (Disclosure must be on Form No. CASB DS-1 or CASB DS-2, as applicable. Forms may be obtained from the cognizant ACO or Federal official and/or from the loose-leaf version of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.) Date of Disclosure Statement: _______________________________ Name and Address of Cognizant ACO or Federal Official Where Filed: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ The offeror further certifies that practices used in estimating costs in pricing this proposal are consistent with the cost accounting practices disclosed in the Disclosure Statement. ___(2) Certificate of Previously Submitted Disclosure Statement. The offeror hereby certifies that Disclosure Statement was filed as follows: Date of Disclosure Statement: _______________________________ Name and Address of Cognizant ACO or Federal Official Where Filed: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Page 57 of 96 RFP 97-020 ____________________________________________ The offeror further certifies that the practices used in estimating costs in pricing this proposal are consistent with the cost accounting practices disclosed in the applicable Disclosure Statement. ___(3) Certificate of Monetary Exemption. The offeror hereby certifies that the offeror, together with all divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates under common control, did not receive net awards of negotiated prime contracts and subcontracts subject to CAS totaling more than $25 million (of which at least one award exceeded $1 million) in the cost accounting period immediately preceding the period in which this proposal was submitted. The offeror further certifies that if such status changes before an award resulting from this proposal, the offeror will advise the Contracting Officer immediately. ___(4) Certificate of Interim Exemption. The offeror hereby certifies that (i) the offeror first exceeded the monetary exemption for disclosure, as defined in (3) of this subsection, in the cost accounting period immediately preceding the period in which this offer was submitted and (ii) in accordance with 48 CFR 9903.202-1, the offeror is not yet required to submit a Disclosure Statement. The offeror further certifies that if an award resulting from this proposal has not been made within 90 days after the end of that period, the offeror will immediately submit a revised certificate to the Contracting Officer, in the form specified under subparagraph (c)(1) or (c)(2) of Part I of this provision, as appropriate, to verify submission of a completed Disclosure Statement. CAUTION: Offerors currently required to disclose because they were awarded a CAS-covered prime contract or subcontract of $25 million or more in the current cost accounting period may not claim this exemption (4). Further, the exemption applies only in connection with proposals submitted before expiration of the 90-day period following the cost accounting period in which the monetary exemption was exceeded. II. COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS-ELIGIBILITY FOR MODIFIED CONTRACT COVERAGE If the offeror is eligible to use the modified provisions of 48 CFR, Subpart 9903.201-2(b) and elects to do so, the offeror shall indicate by checking the box below. Checking the box below shall mean that the resultant contract is subject to the Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices clause in lieu of the Cost Accounting Standards clause. ___ The offeror hereby claims an exemption from the Cost Accounting Standards clause under the provisions of 48 CFR Page 58 of 96 RFP 97-020 9903.201-2(b) and certifies that the offeror is eligible for use of the Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices clause because (i) during the cost accounting period immediately preceding the period in which this proposal was submitted, the offeror received less than $25 million in awards of CAS-covered prime contracts and subcontracts, or the offeror did not receive a single CAS-covered award exceeding $1 million. The offeror further certifies that if such status changes before an award resulting from this proposal, the offeror will advise the Contracting Officer immediately. CAUTION: An offeror may not claim the above eligibility for modified contract coverage if this proposal is expected to result in the award of a CAS-covered contract of $25 million or more or if, during its current cost accounting period, the offeror has been awarded a single CAS-covered prime contract or subcontract of $25 million or more. III. ADDITIONAL COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO EXISTING CONTRACTS The offeror shall indicate below whether award of the contemplated contract would, in accordance with subparagraph (a)(3) of the Cost Accounting Standards clause, require a change in established cost accounting practices affecting existing contracts and subcontracts. ___ YES ___ NO (End of Provision) ALTERNATE I (APR 1996). As prescribed in 30.201-3(b), add the following subparagraph (c)(5) to Part I of the basic provision: [__] (5) Certificate of Disclosure Statement Due Date by Educational Institution. If the offeror is an educational institution that, under the transition provisions of 48 CFR 9903.202-1(f), is or will be required to submit a Disclosure Statement after receipt of this award, the offeror hereby certifies that (check one and complete): [__] (i) A Disclosure Statement Filing Due Date of ____________________ has been established with the cognizant Federal agency. [__] (ii) The Disclosure Statement will be submitted within the 6-month period ending ____________ months after receipt of this award. Name and Address of Cognizant ACO or Federal Official Where Disclosure Statement is to be Filed: __________________________________________________ Page 59 of 96 RFP 97-020 __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Page 60 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS L.1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (ED 311-1) (MARCH 1986) The Government contemplates award of a Cost Plus Fixed Fee type contract from this solicitation. L.2 INCREMENTAL FUNDING (EDAR 3452.232-71) (AUG 1987) (A) Sufficient funds are not presently available to cover the total cost of the complete project described in this solicitation. However, it is the Government's intention to negotiate and award a contract using the incremental funding concepts described in the clause entitled "Limitation of Funds" in FAR 52.232-22. Under that clause, which will be included in the resultant contract, initial funds will be obligated under the contract to cover an estimated base performance period. Additional funds are intended to be allotted to the contract by contract modification, up to and including the full estimated cost of the entire period of performance. This intent notwithstanding, the Government will not be obligated to reimburse the contractor for costs incurred in excess of the periodic allotments, nor will the contractor be obligated to perform in excess of the amount allotted. (B) The Limitation of Cost clause in FAR 52.232-20 shall supersede the Limitation of Funds clause in the event the contract becomes fully funded. L.3 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS (ED 311-2) (FEB 1996) The following instructions establish the acceptable minimum requirements for the format and content of proposals: Your special attention is directed to the requirements for technical and business proposals and past performance report to be submitted in accordance with these instructions. Any resultant contract shall include the general provisions applicable to the selected offeror's organization and type of contract awarded. Copies of general provisions may be obtained by contacting the Contracting Officer. Any additional clauses required by public law, executive order, or acquisition regulations, in effect at the time of execution of the proposed contract, will be included. The proposal must be prepared in three parts: A "Technical Proposal," "Business Proposal," and a "Past Performance Report." Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of evaluation of the other. The technical proposal must not contain reference to cost; however, Page 61 of 96 RFP 97-020 resource information, such as data concerning labor hours and categories, materials, subcontracts, etc., must be contained in the technical proposal so that your understanding of the scope of the work may be evaluated. It must disclose your technical approach in sufficient detail to provide a clear and concise presentation that includes, but is not limited to, the requirements of the technical proposal instructions. The proposal must be signed by an official authorized to bind your organization. You must submit an original and 8 copies of your technical proposal and an original and 4 copies of your business proposal and an original and one copy of your past performance report to: U. S. Department of Education Application Control Center GSA Building, Room 3633 (Mail Stop 4725) 7th & D Streets, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20202 Hand-carried proposals must be delivered by entering through the 'D' Street entrance of the building and stopping at the Guard's Desk. Offerors are directed to call the Application Control Center (ACC) at 708-8493. Offerors should indicate for which RFP number they are submitting a proposal and should have proper identification. Offerors will be required to sign in and be escorted to ACC where the proposal will be officially received. Offerors should consider this delay in meeting the time specified for proposal receipt. You may, at your discretion, submit alternate proposals, or proposals which deviate from the requirements; PROVIDED, that you also submit a proposal for performance of the work, as specified in the statement of work. These proposals may be considered if overall performance would be improved or not compromised and if they are in the best interest of the Government. Alternate proposals, or deviations from any requirements of this RFP, must be clearly identified. The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in Section M of this request for proposals. Offerors are encouraged to submit proposals on recycled paper with a high post-consumer waste content. It is understood that your proposal will become part of the official contract file. The RFP does not commit the Government to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a proposal. In addition, the Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this proposed acquisition. To assist you in the preparation of your proposal, the Government estimates the effort to perform this contract to be as stated below. These numbers are furnished for the offeror's information only and are not considered restrictive for proposal purposes. Labor Category Staff Hours Page 62 of 96 RFP 97-020 1. Project Director 4,720 2. Operation Analyst 3,480 L.4 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS (ED 311-3) (MARCH 1986) Proposals which merely offer to conduct a program in accordance with the requirements of the Government's scope of work will not be eligible for award. You must submit an explanation of the proposed technical approach in conjunction with the tasks to be performed in achieving the project objectives. A detailed work plan must be submitted indicating how each aspect of the statement of work is to be accomplished. Your technical approach should be in as much detail as you consider necessary to fully explain your proposed technical approach or method. The technical proposal should reflect a clear understanding of the nature of the work being undertaken. The technical proposal must include information on how the project is to be organized, staffed, and managed. Information should be provided which will demonstrate your understanding and management of important events or tasks. You must explain how the management and coordination of consultant and/or subcontractor efforts will be accomplished. The technical proposal must include a list of names and proposed duties of the professional personnel, consultants, and key subcontractor employees assigned to the project. Their resumes should be included and should contain information on education, background, recent experience, and specific requirement related or technical accomplishments. The approximate percentage of time each individual will be available for this project must be included. The proposed staff hours for each of the above individuals should be allocated against each task or subtask for the project. The technical proposal must provide the general background, experience, and qualifications of the organization. Similar or related contracts, subcontracts, or grants should be included and contain the name of the customer, contract or grant number, dollar amount, time of performance, and the names and telephone numbers of the contracting officer's technical representative or project officer and contracting/grants officer. The technical proposal must contain a discussion of present or proposed facilities and equipment which will be used in the performance of the contract. The technical proposal must be prepared and submitted in the following format: Page 63 of 96 RFP 97-020 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS Any offeror's technical proposal must include the sections and content set forth hereafter, in the order specified. A) Table of Contents This section should provide the reader with a means of easily identifying major points of discussion. It should include references to all sections of the text, as well as to any diagrams, illustration, flow charts, or tables which relate to the offeror's concept about the intended approach, specific tasks, or expected outcomes. For each section of the technical proposal, the offeror must identify all authors, editors, or contributors. For each person so identified, the offeror must indicate whether that person is full or part-time employee, a consultant, or an employee of a contractor to the offeror. If that person is an employee of the offeror, the offeror must indicate whether that person is a member of the unit of the organization that will be responsible for performance of this contract. B) Executive Summary This section should serve as an introduction, and present major highlights of the proposed technical approach in a concise form. C) Corporate Capabilities The offeror must briefly describe its organization, and must provide an organizational chart that includes all elements within the organization, and that indicates the number of personnel by labor category for each element. The offeror must convey the length of time the organization has been in business, and must describe in depth the areas in which the organization has primarily directed its efforts. The description of the organization must include information covering the corporate support capabilities available in-house, as well as the identities and areas of expertise of intended subcontractors, to the extent they are know at the time of proposal preparation, and a description of its policies and procedures related to subcontracting and overseeing subcontractors' performance. In particular, the offeror must describe in detail the unit of the organization that would service this contract. For this unit, the offeror must convey the number of personnel by labor category and the average years of work experience in each of those categories (i.e., the total years of work experience in that labor category divided by the number of personnel in that labor category). The offeror must specify the length of time this particular unit, as opposed to the entire organization, has been in business. The offeror must indicate the extent to which this unit has previously functioned successfully as a team. The offeror must identify the most senior official in this unit assigned to take charge of performance under this contract, as well as the identity and position of the next higher ranking official in the offeror's supervisory hierarchy to whom that official directly reports. The offeror must describe the capability and experience of the Page 64 of 96 RFP 97-020 corporate management personnel so identified in providing for the kinds of corporate support which may be necessary in completing the tasks of a contract of this type. Since a quick start-up capability is among the most important considerations of ED in awarding this contract the offeror must show the capability to achieve performance readiness without prolonged occupation with any single step in the process of establishing a working facility and a coordinated team of professionals. This section must convey information covering what the offeror plans to do, or may have already done, to establish a facility and staffing expertise with sufficient capability to successfully perform all tasks under this contract. The offeror must specifically identify the location and size of the space proposed for carrying out the tasks of this contract, the facilities relevant to task completion available at that location, and the equipment proposed to be provided for exclusive use, or to be shared with an other project or staff. In the event, or to the extent, that the offeror does not have in place, at the time of submitting its proposal, any or all such provisions needed to establish an operational capability, this section must include descriptions, as well as an activity schedule, covering any actions undertaken or intended to identify those unfulfilled provisions, and to satisfy the relevant needs. The offeror shall convey descriptions of those provisions that the offeror intends to make to allow sufficient space in which activities under this contract are to occur, to allow unhampered communication with outside locations, and to allow routine labor, as necessitated by the requirements, to proceed in an orderly, accountable, and appropriate environment. D) Understanding the Statement of Work The offeror must provide a statement showing its understanding of the basic problem which ED intends this procurement to address, its manner of addressing the different kinds of technical assistance which may be demanded, the essential considerations that must guide its efforts in defining, managing, an performing those projects, which ED may undertake through this contract, and the methods which the offeror intends to apply in pursuing those efforts. In presenting its concept of what needs to be done and how it intends to approach this, the offeror must show how it perceives its dual primary responsibilities: determining the nature and dimensions of technical assistance needs, and then determining the methods and the outcomes that will satisfy them. The offeror should frame its discussion of managing and performing the delivery of technical assistance in the context of its expertise and resources, and how it intends to make available supplemental support to bolster capabilities that may be lacking, with respect to any specific area, where technical assistance may be sought. The offeror must demonstrate the degree of its understanding of the environment in which it is to perform, in the context of the role of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in supporting Page 65 of 96 RFP 97-020 employment programs for individuals with disabilities carried out through public vocational rehabilitation agencies. The offeror must demonstrate how its perception of the requirements of this procurement has influenced its understanding that a critical concern here is to establish confidence among these agencies not only in the technical capabilities of the entity providing the technical assistance, but also in the efficient working of the concept and process underlying delivery. The offeror must demonstrate its understanding that as the contractor it will be acting as an extension of RSA, and that because of this it bears great responsibility for assuring the continued cooperative relationships between the agencies served and the Federal government. The offeror must demonstrate the extent to which it recognizes the activities under this procurement need to occur with the utmost sensitivity towards the expectations and demands of the various public vocational rehabilitation agencies receiving technical assistance services. The offeror must show the degree to which it understands and accepts the need to be especially sensitive to differences in degree of technical sophistication, in work processes, or in work environment and culture found at these agencies. The offeror must assure flexibility in accommodating unusual or unique preferences, and in the ability to function effectively in a variety of situations, either as working independently or in conjunction with other entities on projects of varying scale. The offeror must show how it intends to act both as a facilitator and as an information resource. Since this procurement contemplates a number of technical assistance projects in progress simultaneously, but potentially funded from separate accounts for different Federal fiscal years, the offeror must demonstrates its insights and ability regrading maintaining financial accountability, properly segregating expenditures, and tracking funding allocations to specific projects. E) Management Approach The offeror's management approach must include provisions for maximizing the efficient application of available human and automated resources. Therefore, the offeror must demonstrate flexibility in the management of task assignments and project scheduling that assures maximum efficiency in the allocation of human resources. The management approach must allow for expansion or contraction of the work force assigned as, over the entire period of performance, changes in the number, complexity, or magnitude of the technical assistance projects undertaken by ED occur. The offeror must show how its planning takes into account such allowances as may be necessary so that, depending on the amount and kinds of work at hand: o any single individual may perform more than a single task in relation to any particular technical assistance project; o any single individual may perform the same task on any number Page 66 of 96 RFP 97-020 of different technical assistance projects simultaneously, consecutively, or intermittently, no matter how dissimilar the overall nature of the technical performance to be provided might be, from one project to another; o any single individual may perform any number of different tasks on any number of different technical assistance projects simultaneously, consecutively, or intermittently. The offeror must explicitly put forward the following assurances, and must describe how its methods will prevent any deviation from them: 1) at all times during the period of performance the offeror will refrain from retaining or assigning any person who fails or has failed to demonstrate the requisite competency, efficiency, or capability; 2) at all times during the period of performance the offeror will refrain from allowing a situation, whereby the number or nature of the technical assistance projects being handled fails to justify the amount or the expertise of the staffing assigned. The management approach must include provisions describing the manner in which the offeror utilizes staff, of differing skill types and levels of experience, to most effectively meet the needs of the kinds of technical assistance projects intended here. If the offeror intends to rely solely or partially on in-house staffing or expertise to perform the actual delivery of technical assistance services, the offeror must convey how it will determine which staff receive which assignments, the number of in-house staff in relevant labor categories and the average levels of experience in those fields, as well as how it intends to assure their availability if their services are needed only intermittently, or for short periods full-time, or for extended periods but less than full-time. If the offeror intends to rely primarily or partially on subcontractors to perform the delivery of technical assistance services, the offeror must describe how it intends to arrange such engagements, as well as the considerations it believes most important in selecting a specific firm to provide technical assistance services. In particular, the offeror must describe the means by which it intends to identify potential subcontractors to perform technical assistance delivery, the means by which the offeror intends to ascertain their qualifications, and the means by which the offeror intends to determine the sufficiency of those qualifications relative to the tasks constituting any given technical assistance project. Because the successful offeror will be responsible for handling any performance contingencies or deficiencies arising from the non-feasance or malfeasance of any subcontractor, the management approach must also include the explicit assurances that, in any instance of default by any subcontractor, the offeror will complete any technical assistance project already in progress, and to the fullest practical extent, will do so within the maximum total cost originally approved by ED. Since completing the approved technical assistance projects within the budget adopted by ED is among the most important objectives of the Page 67 of 96 RFP 97-020 successful offeror, the management approach must specifically address those measures that the offeror intends to undertake to assure that efforts on each technical assistance project remain within any cost constraints. The offeror must describe its corporate commitment to the highest quality performance. The offeror must describe the corporate policies and the management processes, that it will commit to employ, to assure that the products and services supplied under this procurement reach or exceed its own corporate quality expectations and stands, as well as those of ED. F) Technical Approach The description of the offeror's technical approach msut be in as much detail as the offeror believes necessary to explain fully how it will go about accomplishing the objectives of this procurement. The offeror should particularly point out any significant or innovative techniques that it intents to employ to promote efficiency, reduce costs, or increase quality. This section must convey information covering all of the following areas of concern: a. principles and methods for managing, arranging, or overseeing multiple technical assistance projects of varying number, magnitude, and complexity, simultaneously, sequentially, or intermittenly, that shall allow the efforts regarding any one in particular to proceed without any interference with those concerning any other; b. criteria for prioritizing unrelated tasks on different technical assistance projectss, such as negotiation, engagement, or payment, that may need completion by competing deadlines; c. ideas, approaches, or methods for minimizing Federal costs associated with any aspect of required performance or performance oversight, i.e., substituting teleconferencnig for travel, cross training staff in multiple areas of expertise to avoid over staffing, or sharing facilities or equipment when less than full dedication is sufficient; d. models showing the nature and significance of the principles and concepts most essential in structuring any "Letter Of Agreement"; e. procedures governing the cursory review of preliminary project proposals and determining their fitness for transmission to ED; f. procedures and approaches in developing cost estimates for techncial assistance projects; g. intended strategies for negotiating a "Letter Of Agreement" with any public VR agency; Page 68 of 96 RFP 97-020 h. criteria for reporting problems to ED depending on the severity, breadth, duration, or implications of the problem; i. procedures and reporting formats for handling all interactions and communications with ED; j. procedures for assuring performance measurement and for assuring the efficacy of any remedy to shortcomings in performance. The offeror should develop and present this information from the perspective that the degree of precision and completeness in any explanation is an indication of the depth and breadth of the offeror's understanding of how each task should be done. The offeror must provide a convincing argument that its technical approach is practical, efficient, reliable, and adaptable. G) Personnel Resources The personnel proposed by the offeror must be explicitly committed and available to this project in the event of being awarded this contract. If any proposed personnel are not current employees of the offeror, for each such person the offeror must include in its proposal a signed "Letter Of Commitment" with specific reference as to availability for this project in the event of a contract award. Since the Government acknowledges a substantial degree of uncertainty about the number, complexity, and duration of the efforts connected with any task to take place under this contract, there is no requirement for the successful offeror to make available a minimum number of full-time dedicated staff to perform work under this contract. Instead, the successful offeror has the obligation to provide staff capable of accomplishing duties related to the areas of expertise hereafter identified as needed, as well as the obligation to provide staff capable of delivering the technical assistance itself. The offeror may propose no more than a single nominee for "Needed Area Of Expertise #1". The offeror may propose up to three (3) nominees for "Needed Area Of Expertise #2, and up to three (3) nominees for "Needed Area Of Expertise #3". The offeror may also propose the same individual to serve in more than a single "Needed Area Of Expertise", provided that the individual so nominated also possesses suitable employment credentials to qualify as acceptable for that other "Needed Area Of Expertise". If the offeror proposes more than a single individual to fulfill the responsibilities associated with a particular "Needed Area Of Expertise", the offeror must describe how the duties or responsibilities are to be divided or shared, and each individual's degree of dedication to working under this contract, in terms of labor-hours. If the offeror proposes more than a single individual to fulfill the responsibilities associated with a particular "Needed Area Of Expertise", the rating for that "Needed Area Of Expertise" Page 69 of 96 RFP 97-020 represents a combined assessment of the acceptability of each individual nominee in proportion to the extent of dedication of that nominee to occupying that "Needed Area Of Expertise". The overall rating for this evaluation criterion is the sum of the scores given for each "Needed Area Of Expertise". For maximum consideration, the offeror should go beyond simply submitting resumes of candidates. The offeror must show how the employment credentials of each person nominated to serve in a particular "Needed Area Of Expertise" demonstrate ability and experience with respect to each of the listed factors defining the extent of responsibilities for that position. NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #1: Project Management and Direction Any individual nominated by the offeror to fulfill the sorts of responsibilities, duties, and performance requirements relevant to this area of expertise, must have employment credentials demonstrating ability and experience with respect to each of the following factors: o formulating, disseminating, implementing, and enforcing project management and quality control standards; o developing procedures and policies related to the overall management of labor and resources in accomplishing complex, overlapping, and widely varying tasks; o developing requirements and making written recommendations for solving problems involving project design, cost determination, and activity coordination; o determining the feasibility of proposed solutions, and recommending economical and efficient problem resolution alternatives, in terms easily understood by non-technical individuals; o establishing and exercising control techniques to assure that activities and deliverables are properly scheduled and completed within time and cost constraints, and meet intended functional requirements; o initiating appropriate remedial action when performance fails to meet acceptable levels; o conducting life-cycle costing or cost/benefit analyses and assessing the validity of their conclusions; o monitoring and evaluating all areas and phases of project performance; o interacting with agencies of State governments; o conceptualizing complex project outcomes in a manner that allows their division into more manageable sub-tasks, that clearly establishes the order and priority of activities, and that highlights the potentially hidden or troublesome implications of seemingly simple Page 70 of 96 RFP 97-020 or limited tasks; o preparing oral and written communications, and conducting presentations to small groups, regarding project planning, arrangement, management, or oversight activities. NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #2: Operations Analysis Any individual nominated by the offeror to fulfill the sorts of responsibilities, duties, and performance requirements relevant to this area of expertise, must have employment credentials demonstrating ability and experience with respect to each of the following factors: o conducting detailed analyses of complex management or labor functions and work proceses as may be related to the types of projects to be managed under this o developing work plans, determining material requirements, and establishing schedules for production management; o making recommendations for improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of work operations, or determining the feasibility of proposed solutions; o developing, analyzing, and monitoring quality measures, performance methods, organizational structures, and management processes; o advising project management on: methods or procedures to assure accountability, information surveys, performance reporting, control techniques, task planning, or labor allocations; o developing specifications to define product requirements; o knowing qualitative and quantitative techniques for measuring effeciveness, efficiency, and productivity; o planning and administering industrial quality control and inspection systems and programs; o applying rigorous analytical and evaluative methods in developing new procedures and approaches to identify and resolve significant issues and problems of a unique nature; o communicating effectively to others, either as individuals or in groups; o preparing and interpreting numerical tables, diagrams, logic flow charts, Pert and Gantt charts, Page 71 of 96 RFP 97-020 critical pathway layouts, or other graphic presentations that may assist in scheduling and prioritizing tasks and deliverables, or in otherwise identifying potential oversight or delivery problems and their solutions; o devising qualitative and quantitative methods, measures, standards, or algorithms for projecting resource demands relative to project dimensions and performance constraints, for potential multi-year phasing of acquisitions or expenditures, and for supporting the timely and acceptable accomplishment of technical assistance project milestones. NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #3: Cost Analysis Any individual nominated by the offeror to fulfill the sorts of responsibilities, duties, and performance requirements relevant to this area of expertise, must have employment credentials demonstrating ability and experience with respect to each of the following factors: o knowing fundamental principles of financial analysis and applying them in developing or interpreting documentation related to costs or estimates of costs; o analyzing the validity of proposed labor rates and fringe benefit costs for a variety of professional positions, relative to current or localized labor markets and the compelexity and dimensions of varying scale projects under contract; o preparing, interpreting, and evaluating budget estimates for short term projects as may be of the types to be managed under this procurement; o assuring cost estimates comply with commonly accepted standards for accuracy, when considerations involving actual amounts to be used may be unmeasurable, unquantifiable, or highly varying; o analyzing historical or statistical data to determine feasibility of estimated project costs; o establishing audit trails to monitor fund distribution and proper accounting for contract payments. L.5 PAST PERFORMANCE REPORT (ED 314-1) (MAR 1996) Each offeror shall submit the following information as a separately bound part of its proposal for both the offeror and proposed major subcontractors. Major, as defined here and in the remainder of sections L and M regarding past performance, is any subcontractor that is subcontracted for a minimum of 25% of the total contract amount. If the offeror has no relevant corporate or organizational Page 72 of 96 RFP 97-020 past performance, the offeror may substitute past performance of its management or proposed key personnel. Subcontractors who submit the past performances form must have the prime contractors', for whom they are subcontracting with in this procurement, name on the form also. A. Each offeror shall submit information about its most recent four contracts, completed in the last three years or currently in process, which are of similar size, scope, complexity or, in any way, are relevant to the effort required by this solicitation. If the offeror's last four similar contracts are all currently in process, submit the last three similar contracts currently in process, and the most recent similar contract completed within the last three years. Contracts listed may include those entered into by the Federal Government, agencies of State and local governments and commercial customers. Contracts with the parent or an affiliate of the offeror may not be used. Include the following information for each contract and subcontract: 1. Identification a. Name of the contracting activity b. Program title or product name c. Contract number d. Contract type e. Period of performance, including all option periods f. Contract Value: (1) Initial projected total contract amount including all option periods (2) Final or current projected total contract amount including all option periods g. Points of Contact (1) Contracting officer and telephone and fax number and e-mail address (if known) (2) Administrative contracting officer, if different from above, and telephone and fax number and e-mail address (if known) (3) Program manager, COTR or technical officer and telephone and fax number and e-mail address (if known) 2. Work performed and relevance a. Brief synopsis of work performed b. Brief discussion of how the work performed is relevant to the statement of work in this solicitation c. Brief, specific examples of the offeror's high quality performance 3. If any of the listed contracts are award-fee or incentive contracts, include a table showing fees awarded and the minimum and maximum available fee for each period. 4. Paragraph E. below requires you to send a copy of the "Contractor Information Form" to each of your references. In your past performance report, include: Page 73 of 96 RFP 97-020 a. The date you sent the "Contractor Information Form" to each reference. b. How you sent it (e.g., fax, mail, express delivery service, courier, e-mail, etc.). c. To whom you sent it including telephone and fax number and e-mail address (if known). B. The offeror may provide information on problems encountered on the contracts and subcontracts identified in A above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems. Other than the information requested in A above, offerors should not provide general information on their performance on the identified contracts. General performance information will be obtained from the references. C. Offerors should understand the difference between experience and past performance. Experience reflects the offeror's capability of performing a requirement. Past performance reflects how well it has performed similar requirements. In assessing past performance, the quality of the offeror's past performance is of primary significance, not the quantity of previous contracts performed. An offeror's experience will be evaluated in the technical proposal. For further guidance on including information on experience or how experience will be evaluated refer to the technical proposal instructions and evaluation criteria. D. The offeror may describe any quality awards or certifications that indicate the offeror possesses a high-quality process for developing and producing the product or service required. Such awards or certifications include, for example, the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, other government quality awards, and private sector awards or certifications (e.g., the automobile industry's QS 9000, Sematech's SSQA, or ANSI/EIA-599). Identify which segment of the company (one division or the entire company) received the award or certification. Describe when the award or certification was bestowed. If the award or certification is over three years old, present evidence that the qualifications still apply. Information about awards will be considered in evaluation of each of the past performance subfactors described in Section M. The offeror may describe how the award relates to one or more of the subfactors. E. No later than the date proposals are due under this solicitation (see Block 9 of Standard Form 33), send a copy to each of your four references of the "Contractor Performance Information" form attached to this solicitation. Ask each reference to complete the form and return it to the contracting officer as prescribed on the form. Completed forms from references are due l0 calendar days after the date proposals are due under this solicitation. Request that Page 74 of 96 RFP 97-020 the reference please return the completed form to the contracting officer by this date. Do not ask the reference to give you a copy of the completed form or any information therefrom. F. Each offeror will be evaluated on its performance under existing and prior contracts for similar products or services. Performance information will be used for both responsibility determinations and as an evaluation factor against which offerors' relative rankings will be compared to assure best value to the government. The government will focus on information that demonstrates quality of performance relative to the size and complexity of the procurement under consideration. The "Contractor Performance Information" form identified in Section J will be used to collect this information. References other than those identified by the offeror may be contacted by the Government with the information received used in the evaluation of the offeror's past performance. L.6 BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS (ED 311-4) (JUL 1996) The offeror(s) business proposal must contain the following information. This RFP may contain additional RFP-specific business proposal instructions elsewhere in Section L or in Section J. A. Standard Form 33, "Solicitation, Offer and Award", the Special Provision article entitled "Contract Administrator," and "Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors or Quoters of Section K" must be properly filled out and signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror. Your proposal must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP. B. A detailed task-by-task cost proposal - The cost proposal must be fully supported by cost and pricing data adequate to establish the reasonableness of the proposed amount and to otherwise meet, if necessary, the requirements for certified cost or pricing data under FAR 15.804. The attached Standard Form 1411 must be used in preparing the proposal. All elements contributing to cost, including categories and amounts of labor, materials, indirect costs or overheads, travel, computer time, etc., shall be treated thereunder in accordance with the instructions contained in Table 15-2 of FAR 15.804-6 and supportive data for those also attached as required. The Standard Form 1411 shall be signed by an authorized official. Other cost proposal considerations: (1) The cost for individual elements, such as analytical studies, reports, etc., shall be itemized by tasks. (2) The estimated costs of each period or phase shall be itemized. Within each period of phase, the estimated costs for each task of the statement of work shall be itemized. Page 75 of 96 RFP 97-020 (3) In addition to the required hard copy, offerors are encouraged to submit cost and pricing data in Lotus 1-2-3 readable spreadsheet format. This will facilitate the Government's analysis and evaluation of your cost proposal. C. Property and equipment - It is ED policy that contractors provide all equipment and facilities necessary for performance of contracts; however, in some instances, an exception may be granted to furnish Government-owned property or to authorize purchase with contract funds. If additional equipment must be acquired, you must include in your proposal the description and estimated cost of each item, and whether you propose to acquire the item with your own funds. The description shall include the following elements for individual items which will exceed $1,000 in cost: (1) A brief statement of function; (2) manufacturer and manufacturer's brand name, model or part number; and (3) vendor and its proposed price. You must identify all Government-owned property in your possession and all property acquired from Federal funds, to which you have title, that is proposed to be used in the performance of the prospective contract. D. Other Administrative Details: (1) The proposal shall list the names and telephone numbers of persons authorized to conduct negotiations. (2) Block 12 of Standard Form 33 must contain a Statement to the effect that your offer is firm for a period of at least 60 calendar days from the date of receipt of offers specified by the Government. E. Responsibility of Prospective Contractor - In order for an offeror to receive a contract, the contracting officer must first make an affirmative determination that the prospective contractor is responsible in accordance with the provisions of FAR 9.104. To assist the contracting officer in this regard, the offeror shall supply sufficient categorical descriptions and statements to establish the following: (1) The offeror's financial capability; including detail for the accounting system and controls employed by the offeror; (2) the offeror's capability to meet delivery or performance schedules; (3) the offeror's record of business integrity; (4) the offeror's possession of necessary Page 76 of 96 RFP 97-020 organizational experience, technical skills or the ability to obtain them; (5) the offeror's possession of necessary facilities; or the ability to obtain them; and (6) the offeror's compliance with subcontract requirements; and (7) any other special considerations involved in the acquisition. F. The attached vendor payment Enrollment Form is not required to be submitted with your proposal. However, be aware, that should you be awarded this contract, a properly completed Enrollment Form must be submitted to the contracting officer within 5 days of contract award. Please ensure that you have available the financial information required on the form, as payment on this contract will be accomplished through EFT. NOTE: THESE DESCRIPTIONS AND STATEMENTS SHOULD ALSO BE INCORPORATED IN THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, AS CONDUCIVE OF SEPARATE EXAMINATION BY THE TECHNICAL EVALUATORS DURING THE PROCESS OF TECHNICAL EVALUATION. L.7 ADDITIONAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS In addition to the requirements of Sectin L.6., offerors must submit estimates of cost for the base contract period and each optional contract period in the format shown by EXHIBIT A, Section J. The Government will evaluate costs and pricing from the amounts provided by any offeror by adding the "Grand Total Costs" for the base period and each option period. All offerors must provide cost plus fixed fee for the portions of the Statement of Work described under Tasks 1-5. All offerors must provide fully-loaded rates for time and materials portions as described in Task 4. The offeror will only be paid one fixed rate regardless of which labor type within the mixed category it supplies. Each estimate should represent the aggregate of the amounts of time spent on any task during the entire contract period, by all persons serving on the contract. L.8 REQUIREMENTS FOR COST OR PRICING DATA OR INFORMATION OTHER THAN COST OR PRICING DATA (FAR 52.215-41) (OCT 1995) (a) Exceptions from cost or pricing data. (l) In lieu of submitting cost or pricing data, offerors may submit a written request for exception by submitting the information described in the following subparagraphs. The contracting officer may require additional supporting information, but only to the extent necessary to determine whether an exception should be granted, Page 77 of 96 RFP 97-020 and whether the price is fair and reasonable. (i) Information relative to an exception granted for prior or repetitive acquisitions. (ii) Catalog price information as follows: (A) Attach a copy of or identify the catalog and its date, or the appropriate pages for the offered items, or a statement that the catalog is on file in the buying office to which this proposal is being made. (B) Provide a copy or describe current discount policies and price lists (published or unpublished), e.g., wholesale, original equipment manufacturer, and reseller. (C) Additionally, for each catalog item that exceeds $2,500 (extended value not unit price), provide evidence of substantial sales to the general public. This may include sales order, contact, shipment, invoice, actual recorded sales or other records that are verifiable. In addition, if the basis of the price proposal is sales of essentially the same commercial item by affiliates, other manufacturers or vendors, those sales may be included. The offeror shall explain the basis of each offered price and its relationship to the established catalog price. When substantial general public sales have also been made at prices other than catalog or price list prices, the offeror shall indicate how the proposed price relates to the price of such recent sales in quantities similar to the proposed quantities. (iii) Market price information. Include the source and date or period of the market quotation or other basis or market price, the base amount, and applicable discounts. The nature of the market should be described. The supply or service being purchased should be the same as or similar to the market price supply or service. Data supporting substantial sales to the general public is also required. (iv) Identification of the law or regulation establishing the price offered. If the price is controlled under law by periodic rulings, reviews, or similar actions of a governmental body, attach a copy of the controlling document, unless it was previously submitted to the contracting office. (v) For a commercial item exception, information on prices at which the same item or similar items have been sold in the commercial market. (2) The offeror grants the contracting officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before award, books, records, documents, or other directly pertinent records to verify any request for an exception under this provision, and the reasonableness of price. Access Page 78 of 96 RFP 97-020 does not extend to cost or profit information or other data relevant solely to the offeror's determination of the prices to be offered in the catalog or marketplace. (b) Requirements for cost or pricing data. If the offeror is not granted an exception from the requirement to submit cost or pricing data, the following applies: (1) The offeror shall submit cost or pricing data on Standard Form (SF) l4ll, Contract Pricing Proposal Cover Sheet (Cost or Pricing Data Required), with supporting attachments prepared in accordance with Table l5-2 of FAR l5.804-6(b)(2). (2) As soon as practicable after agreement on price, but before contract award (except for unpriced actions such as letter contracts), the offeror shall submit a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data, as prescribed by FAR l5.804-4. (c) By submitting information to qualify for an exception, an offeror is not representing that this is the only exception that may apply. (End of provision) L.9 SMALL, SMALL DISADVANTAGED AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN (FAR 52.219-9) (OCT 1995) (a) This clause does not apply to small business concerns. (b) "COMMERCIAL PRODUCT," as used in this clause, means a product in regular production that is sold in substantial quantities to the general public and/or industry at established catalog or market prices. It also means a product which, in the opinion of the Contracting Officer, differs only insignifi- cantly from the contractor's commercial product. "SUBCONTRACT," as used in this clause, means any agreement (other than one involving an employer-employee relationship) entered into by a Federal Government prime Contractor or subcontractor calling for supplies or services required for performance of the contract or subcontract. (c) The offeror, upon request by the Contracting Officer, shall submit and negotiate a subcontracting plan, where applicable, which separately addresses subcontracting with small business concerns, with small disadvantaged business concerns and with women-owned small business concerns. If the offeror is submit- ting an individual contract plan, the plan must separately address subcontracting with small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns with a separate part for the basic contract and separate parts for each option (if any). The plan shall Page 79 of 96 RFP 97-020 be included in and made a part of the resultant contract. The subcontracting plan shall be negotiated within the time specified by the Contracting Officer. Failure to submit and negotiate the subcontracting plan shall make the offeror ineligible for award of a contract. (d) The offeror's subcontracting plan shall include the following: (1) Goals, expressed in terms of percentages of total planned subcontracting dollars, for the use of small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns and women- owned small business concerns as subcontractors. The offeror shall include all subcontracts that contribute to contract performance, and may include a proportionate share of products and services that are normally allocated as indirect costs. (2) A statement of: (i) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted; (ii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small business concerns; (iii) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to small disadvantaged business concerns; and (iv) Total dollars planned to be subcontracted to women-owned small business concerns. (3) A description of the principal types of supplies and services to be subcontracted, and an identification of the types planned for subcontracting to: (i) small business concerns; (ii) small disadvantaged business concerns; and (iii) women-owned small business concerns. (4) A description of the method used to develop the subcontracting goals in paragraph (d)(1) of this clause. (5) A description of the method used to identify potential sources for solicitation purposes (e.g., existing company source lists, the Procurement Automated Source System (PASS) of the Small Business Administration, the National Minority Purchasing Council Vendor Information Service, the Research and Information Division of the Minority Business Development Agency in the Department of Commerce, or small, small disadvantaged business concerns and women-owned small business concerns trade associations). A firm may rely on PASS as its small business source list. Use of the PASS as its source list does not relieve a firm of its responsibilities (i.e., outreach, assistance, counseling, pubicizing subcontracting opportunities) in this clause. (6) A statement as to whether or not the offeror included indirect costs in establishing subcontracting goals, and Page 80 of 96 RFP 97-020 a description of the method used to determine the proportinate share of indirect costs to be incurred with (i) small business concerns; (ii) small disadvantaged business concerns; and (iii) small women-owned business concerns. (7) The name of individual employed by the offeror who will administer the offeror's subcontracting program, and a description of the duties of the individual. (8) A description of the efforts the offeror will make to assure that small, small disadvantaged and women-owned smaall business concerns have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts. (9) Assurances that the offeror will include the clause on this contract entitled "Utilization of Small, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Business Concerns" in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities, and that the offeror will require all subcontractors (except small business concerns) who receive subcontracts in excess of $500,000 ($1,000,000 for construction of any public facility), to adopt a plan similar to the plan agreed to be the offeror. (10) Assurances that the offeror will: (i) cooperate in any studies or surveys as may be required, (ii) submit periodic reports in order to allow the Government to determine the extent of compliance by the offeror with the subcontracting plan, (iii) submit Standard Form (SF) 294, Subcontracting Report for Individual Contracts, and/or SF 295, Summary Subcontract Report, in accordance with the instructions on the forms, and (iv) ensure that its subcontractors agree to submit Standard Form 294 and 295. (11) A recitation of the types of records the offeror will maintain to demonstrate procedures that have been adopted to comply with the requirements and goals in the plan, including establishing source lists; and a description of its efforts to locate small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small business concerns and award subcontracts to them. The records shall include at least the following (on a plant-wide or company-wide basis, unless otherwise indicated): (i) Source lists (e.g., PASS), guides, and other data that identify small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small business concerns. (ii) Organizations contacted in an attempt to locate sources that are small, small disadvantaged and Page 81 of 96 RFP 97-020 women-owned small business concerns. (iii) Records on each subcontract solicitation resulting in an award of more than $100,000, indicating: (a) whether small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not, (b) whether small disadvantaged business concerns were solicited and if not, why not, (c) whether women-owned small business concerns were solicited and if not, why not, and (d) if applicable, the reason award was not made to a small business concern. (iv) Records of any outreach efforts to contact: (a) trade associations, (b) business development organizations, and (c) conferences and trade fairs to locate to locate small, small disadvantaged and women- owned small business sources. (v) Records of internal guidance and encouragement provided to buyers through: (a) workshops, seminars, training, etc., and (b) monitoring performance to evaluate compliance with the program's requirements. (vi) On a contract-by-contract basis, records to support award data submitted by the offeror to the Government, including the name, address, and business size of each subcontractor. Contractors having company or division-wide annual plans need not comply with this requirement. (e) In order to effectively implement this plan to the extent consistent with efficient contract performance, the Contractor shall perform the following functions: (1) Assist small, small disadvantaged and women-owned small businessconcerns by arranging solicitations, time for the preparation of bids, quantities, specifications, and delivery schedules so as to facilitate the participation by such concerns. Where the Contractor's lists of potential small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small business subcontractors are excessively long, reasonable effort shall be made to give all such small business concerns an opportunity to compete over a period of time. (2) Provide adequate and timely consideration of the potentialities of small, small disadvantaged and women- Page 82 of 96 RFP 97-020 owned small business concerns in all "make-or-buy" decisions. (3) Counsel and discuss subcontracting opportunities with representatives of small, small disadvantaged and women- owned small business firms. (4) Provide notice to subcontractors concerning penalties and remedies for misrepresentations of business status as small, small disadvantaged or women-owned small business for the purpose of obtaining a subcontract that is to be included a part or all of a goal contained in the Contractor's subcontracting plan. (f) A master subcontracting plan on a plant or division-wide basis which contains all the elements required by (d) above, except goals, may be incorporated by reference as a part of the subcontracting plan required of the offeror by this clause; provided, (1) the master plan has been approved, (2) the offeror provides copies of the approved master plan and evidence of its approval to the Contracting Officer, and (3) goals and any deviations from the master plan deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer to satisfy the requirements of this contract are set forth in the individual subcontracting plan. (g) (1) If a commercial product is offered, the subcontracting plan required by this clause may relate to the offeror's production generally, for both commercial and noncommercial products, rather than solely to the Government contract. In these cases, the offeror shall, with the concurrence of the Contracting Officer, submit one company-wide or division-wide annual plan. (2) The annual plan shall be reviewed for approval by the agency awarding the offeror its first prime contract requiring a subcontracting plan during the fiscal year, or by an agency satisfactory to the Contracting Officer. (3) The approved plan shall remain in effect during the offeror's fiscal year for all of the offeror's commercial products. (h) Prior compliance of the offeror with other such subcontracting plans under previous contracts will be considered by the Contracting Officer in determining the responsibility of the offeror for award of the contract. (i) The failure of the Contractor or subcontractor to comply in good faith with: Page 83 of 96 RFP 97-020 (1) the clause of this contract entitled "Utilization of Small, Small Disadvantaged Business and Women-Owned Small Business Concerns," or (2) an approved plan required by this clause, shall be a material breach of the contract. L.10 PREAWARD ON-SITE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE REVIEW (FAR 52.222-24) (APRIL 1984) An award in the amount of $1 million or more will not be made under this solicitation unless the offeror and each of its known first-tier subcontractors (to whom it intends to award a subcontract of $1 million or more) are found, on the basis of a compliance review, to be able to comply with the provisions of the Equal Opportunity clause of this solicitation. L.11 EXPLANATION TO PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS (FAR 52.215-14) (APRIL 1984) Any prospective offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specification, etc., must request it in writing soon enough to allow a reply to reach all prospective offerors before the submission of their offers. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of the contract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective offerors as an amendment of the solicitation, if that information is necessary in submitting offers or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective offerors. L.12 LATE SUBMISSIONS, MODIFICATIONS, AND WITHDRAWALS OF PROPOSALS (FAR 52.215-10) (MAY 1997) (a) Any proposal received at the office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers will not be cconsidered unless it is received before award is made and - (1) It was sent by registered or certified mail not later than the fifth calendar day before the date specified for receive of offers (e.g., an offer submitted in response to a solicitation requiring receipt of offers by the 20th of the month must have been mailed by the l5th); (2) It was sent by mail (or telegram or facsimile, if authorized) or hand-carried (including delivery by a commercial carrier) if it is determined by the Government that the late receipt was due primarily to Government mishandling after receipt at the Government installation; Page 84 of 96 RFP 97-020 (3) It was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5:00 p.m. at the place of mailing two working days prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals. The term "working days" excludes weekends and U.S. Federal holidays. (4) It was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation and was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; (5) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the activity designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers, and the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the procurement; or (6) It is the only proposal received. (b) Any modification of a proposal or quotation, including a modification resulting from the Contracting Officer's request for "best and final" offer, is subject to the same conditions as in subparagraphs (a)(1) through (1)(5) of this provision. (c) The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a late proposal or modification sent either by U.S. Postal Service registered or certified mail is the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service postmark both on the envelope or wrapper and on the original receipt from the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service. Both postmarks must show a legible date or the proposal, quotation, or modification shall be processed as if mailed late. "Postmark" means a printed, stamped, or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable without further action as having been supplied and affixed by employees of the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service on the date of mailing. Therefore, offerors or quoters should request the postal clerks to place a legible hand cancellation bull's-eye postmark on both the receipt and the envelope or wrapper. (d) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the proposal wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel. (e) The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a late offer, modification, or withdrawal sent by Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to Addressee is the date entered by the post office receiving clerk on the "Express Mail Next Day Service - Post Office to Addressee" label and the postmark on both Page 85 of 96 RFP 97-020 the envelope or wrapper and on the original receipt from the U.S. Postal Service, "Postmark" has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (d) of this provision, excluding postmarks of the Canadian Postal Service. Therefore, offers or quoters should request the postal clerk to place a legible hand cancellation bull's-eye postmark on both the receipt and the envelope or wrapper. (f) Notwithstanding paragraph (A) above, a late modification of an otherwise successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted. (g) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice or telegram (including mailgram) received at any time before award. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile proposals, proposals may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before award, subject to conditions specified in the provision entitled "Facsimile Proposals." Proposals may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or an authorized representative, if the representative's identity is made known and the representative signs a receipt for the proposal before award. L.13 FAILURE TO SUBMIT OFFER (FAR 52.215-15) (MAY 1997) Recipients of this solicitation not responding with an offer should not return this solicitation, unless it specifies otherwise. Instead, for paper transactions, they should advise the issuing office by letter, postcard, or established electronic commerce methods, whether they want to receive future solicitations for similar requirements. Electronic solicitations do not require notification of desire to receive future solicitations, since these solicitations will be openly available to any interested party. If a recipient does not submit an offer and does not notify the issuing office that future solicitations are desired, the recipient's name may be removed from the applicable mailing list. (End of Provision) L.14 CONTRACT AWARD (FAR 52.215-16) (OCT 1995) (A) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, cost or price and other factors, specified elsewhere in this solicitation, considered. (B) The Government may (1) reject any or all offers, (2) accept other than the lowest offer, and (3) waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. Page 86 of 96 RFP 97-020 (C) The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract after conducting written or oral discussions with all responsible offerors whose proposals have been determined to be within the competitive range. However, each initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. (D) The Government may accept any item or combination of items, unless doing so is precluded by a restrictive limitation in the solicitation or the offer. (E) A written award or acceptance of offer mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer, as provided in paragraph (D) above), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. Negotiations conducted after receipt of an offer do not constitute a rejection or counter offer by the Government. (F) Neither financial data submitted with an offer, nor representations concerning facilities or financing, will form a part of the resulting contract. However, if the resulting contract contains a clause providing for price reduction for defective cost or pricing data, the contract price will be subject to reduction if cost or pricing data furnished is incomplete, inaccurate, or not current. (G) The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the prices proposed are materially unbalanced between line items or subline items. An offer is materially unbalanced when it is based on prices significantly less than cost for some work and prices which are significantly overstated in relation to cost for other work, and if there is a reasonable doubt that the offer will result in the lowest overall cost to the Government, even though it may be the low evaluated offer, or it is so unbalanced as to be tantamount to allowing as advance payment. (H) The Government may disclose the following information in post- award debriefings to other offerors: (1) the overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful offeror; (2) the overall ranking of all the offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection; (3) a summary of the rationale for award; and (4) for acquisitions of commercial end items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror. (End of provision). L.15 PROVISION FOR EVALUATION FACTOR AMENDMENTS (ED 311-7) (MARCH 1986) It is hereby provided that the evaluation factors for award under Section M herein shall not be modified except by a formal amendment to this solicitation and that no factors other than those set in that section shall be used in the evaluation of the technical proposals. Page 87 of 96 RFP 97-020 L.16 FORMS CLEARANCE PROCESS (ED 311-5) (MARCH 1986) Reference is made to the General Provision entitled "Paperwork Reduction Act." If the contractor has proposed the use of any plan, questionnaire, interview guide or other similar device which calls either for answers to identical questions from ten or more persons other than Federal employees or information from Federal employees which is outside the scope of their employment, any of which is to be used by the Federal Government or disclosed to third parties, clearances from the Deputy Under Secretary for Management or his/her delegate within the Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget shall first be obtained. Those should be expected to take at least 120 days together. Offerors' proposals shall accordingly reflect that 120 day period in proposal timelines if the Paperwork Reduction Act is applicable. L.17 SERVICE OF PROTESTS (FAR 52.233-2) (AUG 1996) ^ (A) Protests, as defined in Section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the General Accounting Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from the Contracting Officer specified in block l0 of SF-33. (B) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with GAO. (End of Provision) L.18 FACILITIES CAPITAL COST OF MONEY (FAR 52.215-30) (SEPT 1987) (Note: This provision only applies to commercial organizations that are subject to the cost principles in FAR Subpart 31.2.) (a) Facilities capital cost of money will be an allowable cost under the contemplated contract if the criteria for allowability in subparagraph 31.205-10(a)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation are met. One of the allowability criteria requires the prospective contractor to propose facilities capital cost of money in its offer. (b) If the prospective Contractor does not propose this cost, the resulting contract will include the clause Waiver of Facilities Capital Cost of Money. Page 88 of 96 RFP 97-020 SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD M.1 EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD (ALTERNATE I) (ED 312-2) (FEB 1996) (A) The Government will make award to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the Government, cost or price and other factors considered. For this solicitation, price will be a substantial factor in source selection, however quality factors (including technical merit and past performance), considered together, are significantly more important than cost or price. The contracting officer will determine whether the difference in quality is worth the difference in cost or price. (B) Past Performance 1. Each offeror's past performance will be evaluated based on the subfactors below. The past performance rating will be combined with the technical rating at a ratio of 36% past performance to technical to produce a combined quality rating. The relative importance of combined quality factors to cost or price is described in paragraph M.1(A). 2. Past performance subfactors: a. Quality of Product or Service - compliance with contract requirements - accuracy of reports - appropriateness of personnel - technical excellence. b. Problem Resolution - anticipates and avoids or mitigates problems - satisfactorily overcomes or resolves problems - prompt notification of problems - pro-active - effective contractor-recommended solutions. c. Cost Control - within budget - current, accurate and complete billings - costs properly allocated - unallowable costs not billed - relationship of negotiated costs to actual - cost efficiencies. d. Timeliness of Performance - meets interim milestones - reliable - stays on schedule despite problems - responsive to technical direction - completes on time, including wrap-up and contract administration - no liquidated damages assessed. e. Business Relations - effective management - use of performance-based management techniques - business-like concern for the customer's interests - effective management and selection of subcontractors - effective small/small disadvantaged business subcontracting program - reasonable/cooperative behavior - effective use of technology in management and communication - flexible - minimal staff turnover - maintains high Page 89 of 96 RFP 97-020 employee morale - resolves disagreements without being unnecessarily litigious. f. Customer Service - understands and embraces service and program goals - team approach with the customer - satisfaction of end users with the contractor's service - positive customer feedback - prompt responses - courteous interactions - effective escalations and referrals - initiative and proactive improvements - creative service strategies. Bonus Rating--Where the offeror has demonstrated an exceptional performance level in any of the above six subfactors, the contracting officer may give additional consideration for that factor. It is expected that this rating will be used in those rare circumstances when contractor performance clearly exceeds the performance level of "excellent." 3. Past performance evaluation will be based on information obtained from the awards and references listed in the offeror's proposal, other customers known to the Government, consumer protection organizations, and others who may have useful and relevant information. Information will also be considered regarding any major subcontractors, and key personnel records. The contracting officer will give greater consideration to information about an offeror's past performance that the contracting officer considers either more reliable or more relevant to the effort required by this solicitation. 4. Evaluation of past performance may be quite subjective, based on consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances. It will include consideration of the offeror's commitment to customer satisfaction and will include conclusions of informed judgement. 5. Award may be made from the initial offers without discussions. However, if discussions are held, offerors will be given an opportunity to discuss unfavorable past performance information obtained from references, if the offeror has not had a previous opportunity to comment on the information. The contracting officer may review recent contracts to ensure that corrective measures raised in discussions have been implemented. Prompt corrective action in an isolated instance might not outweigh an overall negative trend. 6. If an offeror, or the management or proposed key personnel for the offeror, does not have a past performance history relating to this solicitation, the offeror will receive a neutral evaluation for past performance. (C) Technical Evaluation Criteria: TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA EVALUATION CRITERIA POINTS Page 90 of 96 RFP 97-020 1. Corporate Capabilities 10 The extent to which the offeror provides a thorough and complete description of: a) its overall organizational capabilities and structure as it related to the offeror's ability to supplement the resources of the organizational unit that would serve this contract; b) the length of time in business and depth of staff experience both overall and for the organizational unit that would service this contract; c) the corporate support capabilities available in-house; d) the qualifications and relevant experience of the corporate management personnel who are to provide for the direct corporate support to this contract, and the extent to which this information justified confidence in their judgments about the nature and timing of support efforts; e) its ability to achieve performance readiness without prolonged delays; f) the facilities planned or in-place for housing and supporting the efforts needed to successfully complete all project management tasks; g) the major considerations upon which the offeror has made plans for the provision of space an any other services needed; h) the activity schedule that is to govern start-up efforts; i) the degree of specialized experience or expertise that the unit servicing this contract has in diagnosing and determining the dimensions of problems in the areas appropriate for the kinds of technical assistance intended here. 2. Understanding The Statement of Work 15 The extent to which the offeror: a) provides a thorough, accurate, and complete description of the objectives, scope, and methods of this contract; b) demonstrates complete and accurate understanding of the nature, intent, and requirements of all tasks; c) conveys a well-informed view of the role and responsibilities of public VR agencies and the environment in which it is to perform; d) demonstrates a well ingrained commitment to developing accurate estimates of duration, resources, complexity, and costs Page 91 of 96 RFP 97-020 associated with technical assistance projects; e) confirms its capability and commitment to perform technical assistance projects within the constraints of maximum cost estimates accepted by ED; f) recognizes that required activities must occur with the utmost sensitivity towards the demands and expectations of the public VR agencies receiving the technical assistance; g) assures flexibility in its approach to act both as a facilitator and an information resource; h) demonstrates its insights and ability to maintain financial accountability, properly segregate expenditures, and track funding allocations to specific projects; i) demonstrates that it can function effectively either working independently or in conjunction with other entities serving public VR agencies. 3. Management Approach 30 The extent to which the offeror: a) describes how the work under this contract will be organized an managed, and how each of the tasks will be conducted; b) provides effective procedures for performance planning and management; c) includes a customized and sufficiently detailed overall management plan suitable for immediate post-award use; d) relies on experience-tested techniques in dealing with management issues; e) puts forward a strategy for the effective functioning of management and staff to assure the delivery of high quality products within the required time-frames; f) makes provisions for high quality and performance oriented measure and standards for subcontracted activities; g) provides a practical and effective mechanism for identifying potentially competent subcontractors an ascertaining the sufficiency of this qualifications; h) describes proposed procedures, checks, and controls to assure accountability from subcontractors, and commits to putting them into practice under this contract; i) specifically addresses those methods intended to assure that costs remain within any constraints; j) provides firm assurances of overall corporate support when Page 92 of 96 RFP 97-020 dealing with problems or unexpected demands of contingencies; k) puts forward and commits to apply comprehensive and effective quality control and quality assurance methods. 4. Technical Approach 25 The extent to which the offeror: a) puts forward a workable concept for an overall performance capability that is consistent with the goals of this procurement, in full compliance with task requirements, and practical in terms of achieving a readily reiterative process for dealing with requests for technical assistance services; b) focuses on concepts, methods, and procedures required to complete each task, and addresses specific narrative coverage to each task that is clear, comprehensive, and technically accurate; c) accurately and appropriately relates the various task, requirements, and products to the larger outcomes and objectives of this procurement; d) provides specific coverage addressing each of the areas of concern listed in the "Technical Proposal Instructions". 5. Personnel Resources 20 The extent to which the persons nominated by the offeror for each "Needed Area Of Expertise" have employment credentials that demonstrate ability and experience with respect to all of the factors listed in the "Technical Proposal Instructions", as related to its duties, responsibilities, and performance requirements. Each individual nominee in each "Needed Area Of Expertise" counts in the rating for that "Needed Area Of Expertise" in proportion to the extent of dedication of that nominee to occupying that "Needed Area Of Expertise". The overall rating for this evaluation criteria is the sum of the scores given for each "Needed Area Of Expertise". NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #1: Project Management and Direction The extent to which the individual nominated by the offeror to this area of expertise, possesses employment credentials demonstrating his/her degree of ability and experience with respect to each of the following factors: a) formulating, disseminating, implementing, and enforcing project management and quality control standards; b) developing procedures and policies related to the overall management of labor and resources in accomplishing complex, overlapping, and widely varying tasks; Page 93 of 96 RFP 97-020 c) developing requirements an making written recommendations for solving problems involving project design, cost determination, and activity coordination; d) determining the feasibility of proposed solutions, and recommending economical and efficient problem resolution alternatives, in terms easily understood by non-technical individuals; e) establishing and exercising control techniques to assure that activities and deliverable are properly scheduled and completed within time and cost constraints, and meet intended functional requirements; f) initiating appropriate remedial action when performance fails to meet acceptable levels; g) conducting life-cycle costing or cost/benefit analyses and assessing the validity of their conclusions; h) monitoring and evaluating all areas and phases of project performance; i) interacting with agencies of State governments; j) conceptualizing complex project outcomes in a manner that allows their division to more manageable sub-tasks that clearly establishes the order and priority of activities, and that highlights the potentially hidden or troublesome implications of seemingly simple or limited tasks; k) preparing oral and written communications, and conducting presentations to small groups, regarding project planning, arrangement, management, or oversight activities. NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #2: Operational Analysis The extent to which any individual nominated by the offeror to this expertise possesses employment credentials demonstrating his/her ability and experience with respect to each of the following a) conducting detailed analyses of complex management or labor functions and work processes as may be related to the types of projects to be managed under this procurement; b) developing work plans, determining material requirements, and establishing schedules for production management; c) making recommendations for improvement in the effectiveness an efficiency of work operations, or determining the feasibility of proposed solutions; d) developing, analyzing, and monitoring quality measures, performance methods, organizational structures, and management Page 94 of 96 RFP 97-020 processes; e) advising project management on: methods or procedures to assure accountability, information surveys, performance reporting, control techniques, task planning, or labor allocation; f) developing specifications to define product requirements; g) knowing qualitative and quantitative techniques for measuring effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity; h) planning and administering industrial quality control and inspection system and programs; i) applying rigorous analytical and evaluative methods in developing new procedures and approaches to identify and resolve significant issue and problems of a unique nature; j) communicating effectively to other, either as individuals or groups; k) preparing and interpreting numerical tables, diagrams, logic flow charts, Pert and Gantt charts, critical pathway layouts, or other graphic presentations that may assist in scheduling and prioritizing task and deliverables, or in otherwise identifying potential oversight or delivery problems and their solutions; i) devising qualitative and quantitative methods, measure, standards, or algorithms for projecting resource demands relative to project dimensions an performance constraints, for potential multi-year phasing of acquisitions or expenditures, and for supporting the timely and acceptable accomplishment of technical assistance project milestones. NEEDED AREA OF EXPERTISE #3: Cost Analysis The extent to which any individual nominated by the offeror to this expertise, possesses employment credentials demonstrating his/her ability and experience with respect to each of the following a) knowing fundamental principles of financial analysis and applying them in developing or interpreting documentation related to costs or estimates of costs; b) analyzing the validity of proposed labor rates and fringe benefit costs for a variety of professional positions, relative to current or localized labor markets and the complexity and dimensions of varying scale projects under contract; c) preparing, interpreting, and evaluating budget estimates for short term projects as may be of the types to be managed under this procurement; d) assuring cost estimates comply with commonly accepted standards for accuracy, when considerations involving actual amounts to be used may be unmeasurable, unquantifiable, or highly varying; Page 95 of 96 RFP 97-020 e) analyzing historical or statistical data to determine feasibility of estimated project costs; f) establishing audit trails to monitor fund distribution and proper accounting for contract payments. M.2 EVALUATION OF OPTIONS (FAR 52.217-5) (JULY 1990) Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government's best interests, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. Evaluation options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). M.3 PRICE EVALUATION For evaluation purposes, the total evaluated price will be the total cost from the "Cost and Pricing Schedule". Page 96 of 96