Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACQUISITION SERVICES GENERAL: It is the Virginia Contracting Activity’s (VaCA) policy to foster productive exchanges of information between the ... REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACQUISITION SERVICES GENERAL: It is the Virginia Contracting Activity’s (VaCA) policy to foster productive exchanges of information between the government and contractor before issuing requests for proposals (RFP). This is a Request for Information (RFI) only (as defined in FAR 15.201(e)). This is not a solicitation or RFP. This is not a request for Capability Statements. The Government will not award a contract based solely on this RFI, nor will the Government pay for any costs incurred in responding to this announcement. No RFP currently exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the RFP. This RFI is being issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 10, Market Research. It is for information, planning and market research purposes only and is not a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The Government anticipates publishing a DRAFT RFP in the near future. Due to the unclassified nature of the anticipated requirement, both the DRAFT and FINAL RFPs are planned for release through the beta.SAM database. The Government similarly anticipates that all vendor proposals will be unclassified. As part of its market research, VaCA is issuing this RFI to seek information from any small businesses that can perform the services found in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Given the complexity and technical nature of the agency’s programs, mission area knowledge is important to provide the most accurate and highest quality finance and acquisition support possible. Responses to this RFI will be evaluated solely for the purpose of ensuring this procurement can be accomplished on a competitive basis. The Government may use the responses to this RFI for information and planning purposes. The Government further reserves the right to terminate this request and change its requirements if needed. Responding to this RFI does not guarantee participation in future Government activities. Responses to this RFI are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. Please be advised that all submissions become property of the U.S. Government. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. PURPOSE: VaCA is conducting preliminary planning and market research to enable release of an RFP for Agency Financial Management and Acquisition Services (AFMAS). The purpose of this RFI is: 1) to understand industry capabilities related to acquisition and finance support, 2) to collect information to enable the development of potential future acquisition strategy (including socio-economic consideration and methods), and 3) to obtain industry comments on the draft Service Category Descriptions (SCD). Through this process, VaCA is requesting feedback on the attached Statement of Work (SOW) from small business contractors interested in providing these services for DIA. The Government requests that contractors respond to the specific questions provided in this request for information. This vehicle is currently envisioned as a long-term, multi-vendor vehicle, with limited awardees per Service Category. Services are anticipated both in CONUS and OCONUS. In some cases, OCONUS services will subject personnel to harsh and hostile conditions in environments designated by the U.S. Government as Imminent Danger and/or Hostile Fire Zones. SCOPE: Many of the acquisition and finance support requirements aggregated into this effort currently support VaCA. There is an intention for these support services to support Agency’s Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) requirements, incorporating Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) clauses as required. Subpart 9.505 of the FAR sets forth two underlying principles intended to guide the Government in avoiding OCIs. These are: (a) Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias a contractor‘s judgment, and (b) Preventing unfair competitive advantage. These said clauses are of primary consideration in this acquisition of services. The planned period of performance (PoP) for the anticipated contract will be a five (5) year base ordering period with its Option Periods to be determined at a later date. Subsequent task orders may have up to a one (1) year base period and up to four (4) option periods (no option period will exceed one (1) year in duration). A future AFMAS contract is anticipated to include ON-RAMP/OFF-RAMP provisions. The anticipated contract will require all supporting contractor personnel to be U.S. citizens who possess and maintain an active Top-Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access and successful screening by counter-intelligence polygraph. The prime and all subcontractors shall require a Top-Secret Facility Clearance. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this contract is planned to be 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Offerors submitting as a prime contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with NAICS Code 541990 designated at time of proposal submission. Failure to register through SAM and designate this NAICS Code at time of submission shall make the offeror ineligible for award. RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS Electronic responses to this RFI shall be submitted to the address below NLT 1500 Eastern, 10 June 2021. Interested parties may submit questions as part of their response. The Government will not entertain or respond to telephonic inquiries. The Government will take all properly submitted questions under consideration. Some, all, or none of the questions may be incorporated and published as an amendment to this RFI. RFI amendments will be published through Beta. Sam. VaCA will assemble a team of technical and contract management subject matter experts to review submissions with a goal of providing initial assessment response no later than 10 business days from responses 24 June 2021. The Government anticipates that questions as well as responses to this RFI will be UNCLASSIFIED. UNCLASSIFIED questions and responses to this RFI shall be submitted to: AFMAS@dodiis.mil. Sale brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials are not solicited and will not be reviewed. Any information received in response to this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be protected and handled accordingly. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. All responses/submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The VaCA will not pay for information received in response to this RFI. RESPONSE CONTENT The following items shall be addressed in vendor responses: Provide a brief corporate profile of your company to include the following: Company name, mailing address, phone number, and email of designated and alternate points of contact. Company website address. Duns Number and CAGE Code. Level of company facility clearance, both Government site and company storage authorization. Business size and type (large business, small business, SDB, WOSB, SDVOSB, or HUBZONE) based upon NAICS code 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Brief organization overview (to include U.S. based or international). Provide Statement of Work Feedback: Is the scope of the draft SOW clearly defined? Is the purpose of the draft SOW clearly defined? Are requirements as noted in the Task areas clearly defined? Is the award plan clearly defined? If not, what information needs to be added, changed, and/or reworded to clarify the Government’s requirements? Is there enough information in the SOW and attachments to propose on this effort? What performance incentives, both monetary and non-monetary, would you suggest for the type of work described in the draft SOW? After reading the Government’s Service Category Descriptions are there any recommended changes/additions/clarifications of service groups or activities within a service group (please note page and paragraph)? What resources (i.e., labor categories, skill sets) have you used in your relevant experiences to perform these types of services outlined in the draft SOW? Are the resources for performing the SOW tasks currently available? Describe the qualifications and certifications of the key personnel you have used/would use to fulfill the requirements of the type of work in the draft SOW. VaCA has included suggested labor categories in the draft SOW, what additional labor categories do you recommend for the attached work? What labor categories, if any, are unnecessary or redundant? Provide responses to the following specific topics/questions: What quality assurance standards/methods do you think are best for management and surveillance of services provided through this type of acquisition? How should the Government measure and assess success or failure indicators for performance in an RFP for this requirement? Provide feedback on proposed labor qualifications/experience levels. Briefly describe your experience in hiring and retaining acquisition and finance professionals for a long-term contract (i.e., a contract with a period of performance for greater than four years). What do you consider an acceptable turnover rate on a long-term contract such as an IDIQ or BPA? Briefly describe your Company’s recommendation for contractual ON-RAMP / OFF-RAMP procedures. SUMMARY THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to gather industry feedback on a draft SOW providing the aforementioned services. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The VaCA has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur costs for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. This Special Notice is for informational purposes only and IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). NO PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this notification or to otherwise pay for the submissions received in reply to this RFI. This RFI is for planning purposes and responses will be treated as ‘Information Only.’ It shall not be used as a proposal. This announcement is being issued for the sole purpose of gathering information. Please ensure all UNCLASSIFIED questions and responses to this RFI be submitted to: AFMAS@dodiis.mil. Any questions or responses sent to any other address will not be answered.