Inactive

Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to issue answers to anonymized questions. Revisions to the solicitation text are included shown in tracked changes in the revised "CSS NEHRP Management... Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to issue answers to anonymized questions. Revisions to the solicitation text are included shown in tracked changes in the revised "CSS NEHRP Management Plan Amend 1" document attached. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. The response deadline remains unchanged on March 21, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET. ______________ FAR 13 Request for Quotations Management Plan Development Support for National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program RFQ No. NIST-RFQ-24-7301051 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 2024-03 dated February 23, 2024. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 – Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services. The small business size standard is $19 Million. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Both large and small businesses are eligible to respond. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background Congress first authorized the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP, or Program) in 1977 in the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act (EHRA) (42 U.S.C. § 7702) to “reduce the risks of life and property from future earthquakes in the United States.” NEHRP was last reauthorized in December of 2018 by Public Law 115-307. NEHRP is a coordinating effort for earthquake monitoring, research, implementation, education, and outreach activities developed and conducted by four agencies. These agencies are: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); the National Science Foundation (NSF); and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NIST is the lead agency for NEHRP and as such is responsible for planning and coordinating the Program. To meet this statutory role, NIST houses the NEHRP Office. NEHRP is overseen by the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) on Earthquake Hazards Reduction, which is composed of the principals of the four NEHRP agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The ICC is responsible by the EHRA to periodically update the NEHRP Strategic Plan, which was recently updated for fiscal years (FY) 2022-2029 (reference a), and develop a NEHRP Management Plan, which outlines implementation of the Strategic Plan. Prior to the publication of the NEHRP Strategic Plan for FY2022-2029, there were two strategic plans published: FEMA 383: Expanding and Using Knowledge to Reduce Earthquake Losses: Strategic Plan for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, 2001-2005 (2003), reference b. Strategic Plan for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, FY2009-2013 (2008), reference c. To date, an explicit NEHRP Management Plan has not been developed. However, there are several publications, in addition to the previously listed strategic plans, that compositely could represent the concepts of a management plan, including aspirational concepts to strengthen and extend NEHRP. A few of these publications are as follows, but not limited to: National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Five Year Plan for 1989-1993; Strategy for National Earthquake Loss Reduction (April 1996); Earthquake Engineering Research Institute titled Securing Society Against Earthquake Losses—A Research and Outreach Plan in Earthquake Engineering (2003); The Plan to Coordinate NEHRP Post-Earthquake Investigations, USGS Circular 1242 (2003) and any future update; National Research Council (NRC) 2011 National Earthquake Resilience: Research, Implementation, and Outreach; Earthquakes: Additional Actions Needed to Identify and Mitigate Risks to Federal Buildings and Implement an Early Warning System, GAO-16-680 (2016); Earthquakes: Progress Made to Implement Early Warning System, but Actions Needed to Improve Program Management, GAO-21-129 (2021); and Earthquakes: Opportunities Exist to Further Assess Risk, Build Resilience, and Communicate Research, GAO-22-105016 (2022). Biennial ACEHR reports since 2015. Objectives NIST requires Contractor support to develop a comprehensive, concise draft NEHRP Management Plan that aligns with the newly published NEHRP Strategic Plan for FY2022-2029 (reference a). This requirement is divided into three phases, a base phase and two optional phases that can be funded at Government discretion if and when needed. Although fiscal years are identified in the Strategic Plan, the goal is that the strategy outlined will stay constant; the one component that is expected to change over time is the focus areas. This assumes that future reauthorizations will not significantly impact the programmatic scope outlined in the EHRA. As such, it is envisioned that this Management Plan will similarly be constant, and not require updating unless legislation changes. This Management Plan shall not be a roadmap of programmatic activities the Program agencies should conduct but of how the strategic goals and objectives are implemented to support the stated mission. In addition to implementing the Strategic Plan, this Management Plan shall address several other topics as follows: What is NEHRP in terms of its roles and responsibilities, as well as those of the principal agencies? How is the Program managed, the management structure, and what groups are involved. In describing the Program, what is the organization chart of the Program? What agency resources are currently available to support the strategic goals and objectives. Development of a systematic methodology that results in a comprehensive, conclusive summary of several programmatic efforts occurring within a given cycle that can be used to support the development of the next NEHRP Strategic Plan. This methodology could for example, happen over a ten-year cycle, and include the following: Biennial NEHRP reports to Congress Biennial ACEHR reports Inclusion of repeating existing or new programmatic activities, such as the FEMA annualized loss assessment reports and the development of national risk assessment; and key stakeholder input from focused workshops on seismic needs and city seismic assessments, while addressing coordination with federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and stakeholders. How does the Program define key demographics to support equity in its mission? Development of a methodology to track and monitor efforts to support program focus areas. Development of a communication strategy to address dissemination mechanisms to inform stakeholders of outcomes from NEHRP agency-funded activities. Development of a methodology and associated metrics to systematically track and monitor progress of the cumulative programmatic activities against these metrics. a continuous and repeatable methodology to systematically measure progress of the Program that includes gathering stakeholder input as to the impacts of such progress as well as research priorities that align with national needs. Develop a brief snapshot of what other federal earthquake programs currently exist, whether by legislation or agency mission. What synergies may be explored to support inter-programmatic coordination with NEHRP? What other agencies should be included as secondary coordinating agencies? Develop a conceptual framework for conducting a national risk assessment in response to GAO-22-105016 and previous ACEHR reports (since 2015). This can be included within Item 3 above. A cost estimate for conducting a national risk assessment shall be included by the Contractor. Scope of Work & Specific Tasks Please see the attached Statement of Work (SOW) details. A draft management plan outline is also included as an attachment to the SOW. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The base period of performance shall be seven months from date of award. The requirement also contains to Options for Increased Quantity. Optional Phases 2 and 3 may or may not be exercised at Government discretion in accordance with FAR 52.217-7: Option for Increased Quantity – Separately Priced Line Item. The optional phases may be exercised at any time throughout the Period of Performance. Depending on date(s) of option exercise, if exercised, Phase 2 may extend the award by up to 7 months and Phase 3 may extend the award by up to 12 months, each as according to the due date details in the deliverables table above. If all options are exercised, the total award period of performance may be as short as 18 months or up to 25 months. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The Place of Performance shall be at the Contractor’s work site/place of business. CONTRACT TYPE & PAYMENT TERMS A firm fixed price purchase order is anticipated. Payment will be made on a NET30 basis using milestone payments following inspection and acceptance of individual deliverables. 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 Wednesday, March 13, 2024 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 Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET. Note: Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of quote submission to be considered for award. Quoters must remain actively registered at time of any potential award in order to receive an award. INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1) The Quoter’s quotation shall be submitted electronically via email and shall consist of two volumes as detailed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Quoter’s name, UEI number, and point of contact information in a cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a purchase order without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government. Volume 1: Technical Response This volume shall contain the Quoter’s technical response. The technical response (not including table of contents, figures, schematics, key personnel resumes, certificates, cut sheets, or past performance information) shall not exceed fifteen (12) single-spaced, single-sided pages or twenty-four (24) double-spaced, single sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point font in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format. Text specifically associated with graphics may differ from this requirement and shall be no less than 9-point font. The technical response shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Quoter’s primary point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Quoter (if negotiations are determined to be necessary). The technical response shall include: A narrative of the Quoter’s relevant technical capabilities and the proposed approach to executing the SOW. If subcontractors will be used, the Quoter shall provide the names of the companies or organizations and their expected roles. The resume(s) of the proposed key personnel which demonstrate qualifications and expertise, including years of experience in each role and professional certifications. Quoters shall clearly identify the individual(s) being proposed as key personnel and the positions for which they are proposed. Quoters shall clearly map their proposed candidate(s) to each of the required key personnel position title(s) detailed in the “Key Personnel Requirements” section of the SOW. Corporate experience information to include information on at least three (3) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. Corporate experience information provided shall be for work completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Corporate experience shall include the following information: Name of the Organization Supported Contract Number Period of Performance Dollar Value of the Contract Narrative describing the services performed. The narrative should make clear similarities to the scope of work outlined in this solicitation. Completed provision responses, from the provisions attached to this solicitation. Provisions requiring response are highlighted in yellow. A list of assumptions and/or exceptions made in preparing the quotation. Volume 2: Price Quotation This volume shall contain the Quoter’s price quotation in Microsoft Excel format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth. Price Quotation: Price quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure provided in this solicitation. Quotations shall be valid for 60 days after solicitation close. To assist the Government in evaluating firm fixed price quotations, the Quoter shall provide a breakdown of the proposed labor per task identified in the Statement of Work. The proposed labor breakdown shall include proposed labor categories and estimated hours per labor category. Quoters shall also include a proposed fixed price payment schedule based on requirement milestones/deliverables in relation to the deliverables table in the SOW. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Please see the CLIN Structure in the attached PDF version of the solicitation. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD (Addendum to FAR 52.212-2) The Government intends 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. Therefore, the Government may award to other than the lowest priced quote or the highest technically rated quoter. 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. The Government may reject any or all quotations if the quotation fails to comply with the requirements of this solicitation. The factors identified below will be used to evaluate quotations. Factor A (Technical Factor): Technical Approach Factor B (Technical Factor): Key Personnel Factor C (Technical Factor): Corporate Experience Factor D (Non-Technical Factor): Price Technical / non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance. Technical / non-price factors, when combined, are more important than price. However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among technical non-price evaluations increases. A. Technical Approach The Government will evaluate the quoter’s technical approach and capabilities for performing each task in the SOW. The technical volume will be evaluated for the quoter’s overall understanding of and capability to complete the Government requirements, as well as the expected effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach. B. Key Personnel The Government will evaluate the extent to which the resume(s) submitted for the quoter’s proposed key personnel demonstrate that the proposed individual(s) meet the minimum qualifications detailed in the SOW, and have the appropriate education, qualifications, and experience to efficiently and effectively address requirements in accordance with the Performance Work Statement. C. Corporate Experience The Quoter’s corporate experience will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the quoter has corporate experience relevant to the work described in the SOW. Relevancy will be considered similarity to the current requirement in scope of work, period of performance, and total dollar value. The government will consider corporate experience on efforts completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. E. Price Quoted pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the quoted price is complete, fair, and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements.