Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to extend the solicitation response deadline to September 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET. All other terms of the solicitation remain unchanged. _____________ O... Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to extend the solicitation response deadline to September 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET. All other terms of the solicitation remain unchanged. _____________ Original Solicitation: This is a Combined Synopsis / Solicitation for Commercial Items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 – Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation of Commercial Items – as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The solicitation is issued using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 13. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (i.e. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-06. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334515 – Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals. The small business size standard is 750 employees. This solicitation is being competed on a total small business set-aside basis. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Purpose & Objectives The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) is in the process of expanding its applied cybersecurity research efforts related to 5G cybersecurity. This work spans a broad area covering topics associated with both traditional information technology cybersecurity as well as cybersecurity for mobile networks requiring radio frequency (RF) isolation. This environment ensures that its interior volume is shielded from signals radiated from outside the chamber. Such a shielded research facility can come in the form of either an anechoic chamber or a reverberation chamber. In an anechoic chamber, the walls and ceiling inside the chamber are equipped with absorbing material such that signals radiated from within the chamber are absorbed and do not scatter (ideally). In a reverberation chamber, the opposite is true. The walls and ceiling in a reverberation chamber are designed to be reflective (metallic) at radio frequencies of interest. Most anechoic and reverberation chambers are designed, built, and used for testing pursuant to specific electromagnetic capability (EMC) standards (e.g., IEC 61000-4-3). As this chamber will be used for wireless communications research, it is neither feasible nor reasonable to specify the exact application and/or measurements that will take place within the chamber. The purpose of this requirement is to obtain design, development, and installation of a RF Shielded Chamber for research purposes. Installation shall take place at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence facility in Rockville, MD. This is a firm fixed price requirement. Description of Requirements Please see the attached Statement of Work. DELIVERY & INSTALLATION Please see the attached Statement of Work. CONTRACT TYPE A firm fixed price contract type is anticipated. PAYMENT TERMS Payment shall be made NET 30 after inspection and acceptance. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES Please see the attached document for applicable provisions and clauses. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD CAR 1352.215-73 INQUIRIES (APR 2010): Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at lauren.roller@nist.gov. Questions must be received by or before September 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM ET. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision). DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations must be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. Submission must be received not later than September 21, 2021 at 5:00 M ET. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Approach: Quoters shall submit a Technical Approach Narrative which may include charts, graphs, tables and drawings. The Technical Approach is defined as the Quoter’s proposed solution(s) to successfully meet the requirements of the contract. The technical approach narrative should clearly describe, in sufficient detail for understanding, the contractor’s technical approach to successfully fulfilling the technical requirements identified in this RFQ. At a minimum, the technical approach narrative shall address: Technical Design: This shall include a description of the proposed technical design quoted and should demonstrate an understanding of the Government’s requirements as well as a creative approach to addressing them. Project Management: This shall include identification of key project tasks, their expected duration, portions of the project that will be subcontracted, and coordination plans for working with the Government Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and any other Government personnel. This should also include the resources required to design, install, and verify the chambers will be managed effectively. Quality Management: This shall include the Contractor’s approach to ensuring quality in all aspects of work throughout performance including work completed by subcontractors. The approach should discuss how quality control and non-compliance issues will be mitigated, identified and resolved through corrective action and follow-up. For the purpose of evaluation of Experience: Quoters shall describe their previous experience in providing services/products similar in scope to this requirement. To the maximum extent practicable, the quoters should provide experience information for at least three (3) and up to a maximum of five (5) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter provided services/products similar to the scope of this requirement. Experience information provided shall be for work performed within the past five (5) years. Experience shall include the following information: Name of the Organization Supported Contract Number, if applicable Period of Performance Dollar Value of the Contract Narrative describing the services performed or products provided. The narrative should make clear similarities to the scope of work outlined in this solicitation. For the purpose of evaluation of Price: A firm-fixed price quotation for the line items identified in the “Contract Line Item Structure” section below. Quoters shall provide a breakdown of the proposed pricing sufficient to demonstrate how the total proposed firm fixed price was derived. The breakdown shall include materials costs, fabrication costs, installation costs, and training costs, as well as any other relevant information associated with the pricing. Quoters shall propose a firm fixed price payment schedule, inclusive of proposed payment amounts, for the requirement that is tied to completion of identified deliverables. 1. Completed Provisions Quoters shall submit a completed copy of the provisions in the attached Provisions and Clauses document. Provisions requiring completion have highlighted fields for completion. Contractor DUNS DUNS shall be used to verify the quoter’s active System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to be considered for award. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Please see the line item structure in the attached "CSS Solicitation RF Shield Final" document. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD In accordance with FAR 52.212-2: Evaluation – Commercial Items as included in the attached Applicable Provisions and Clauses document, the Government plans to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible contractor whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous and represents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. Best value shall be determined using the trade-off evaluation method. The Government will use the simplified acquisition procedures of FAR Part 13. The Government will evaluate quotations utilizing the procedures of FAR 13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers. The Government will consider price and other technical non-price factors described in this solicitation and will conduct a comparative evaluation of the benefits between price and the other technical non-price factors of each quotation as well as a comparative evaluation between quotations in order to determine the quotation that is most advantageous and represents the best value. Therefore, the Government may award to other than the lowest priced quoter or the highest technically rated quoter. Per the provision FAR 52.212-1 (g) Contract award contained within this solicitation, the Government intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotations received. Therefore, the quoter’s initial quotation should contain the quoter’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to request revised quotations from, or negotiate final purchase order terms with, one or more, but not all, quoters if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. However, the Contracting Officer will not establish a competitive range, conduct discussions, or otherwise use the formal source selection procedures described in FAR part 15. The Government may reject any or all quotations if such action is in the public interest; and issue a purchase order to other than the quoter with the lowest priced quotation. Technical / non-price factors, when combined, are more important when compared to price. However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among technical non-price evaluations increases. The factors identified below shall be used to evaluate offers. Factor 1 (Technical Factor): Technical Approach Factor 2 (Technical Factor): Experience Factor 3 (Non-Technical Factor): Price Technical Approach: The Government will evaluate the contractor’s understanding and approach to meeting the specification requirements. The Government will evaluate the technical approach narrative to determine the extent to which the technical approach demonstrates a clear understanding of the performance specifications; the degree to which the technical approach is complete, realistic and technically sound; the risk associated with the technical approach; and the degree to which the technical approach meets the requirements of the Statement of Work. The technical specifications of the chamber design quoted will be evaluated to determine exterior size, interior working volume, and overall chamber performance. Also, the approach will be evaluated to determine the degree to which the contractor’s approach to quality identifies processes and procedures which support effective communication, efficient completion, and mitigate risks associated with the project. The Government will evaluate for the appropriateness of plans for receiving concurrence from the relevant authorities having jurisdiction, for acquiring any applicable permits, and for compliance with relevant building codes. Experience: The Government will evaluate the quoter’s experience to determine the extent to which the quoter has prior experience relevant to the work described in the Statement of Work. Relevancy shall be considered similarity to the current requirement in scope of work, period of performance, and total dollar value. The government will consider experience on efforts completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Price: Pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements and the current marketplace.