Inactive 8(a) Set-Aside (FAR 19.8)

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is responsible for the development, supervision, coordination, and implementation of international narcotics control assistance ... The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is responsible for the development, supervision, coordination, and implementation of international narcotics control assistance activities, international criminal justice issues, and foreign assistance for the United States Department of State. As such, INL draws its legislative authority from the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. The fundamental mission of INL is to design and execute programs bilaterally, regionally, and globally to develop the law enforcement and judicial capabilities of foreign governments, regional, and internationals organizations to combat the spread and influence of transnational organized crime. To implement these programs, the U.S. Congress appropriates International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE). INL requires a wide range of criminal justice subject-matter expertise in support of INL’s bilateral and regional programs, therefore the Office of Knowledge Management (KM) seeks to augment its advisory services, external training, and knowledge management products when the expertise may not reside in KM or when the KM staff workload inhibits employing its in-house subject-matter experts (SMEs) for specific INL country, regional, or global program requirements. Period of Performance The period of performance will be five (5) years from date of award, with one base year and four (4) one (1) year options. Base = 12 months from date of award OY 1 = 12 months OY 2 = 12 months OY 3 = 12 months OY 4 = 12 months Place of Performance The place of performance for this contract will be worldwide. Specific work requests will be provided in individual orders that request services for a particular country and duration. Work may also be requested to be conducted virtually and in-person at the Department of State main building in Washington, DC or other State Annexes in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Scope of Work The Criminal Justice Expertise Program (CJEP), as a technical advisory and program development resource, will support INL’s mission to develop the capabilities of foreign criminal justice and law enforcement institutions along internationally recognized evidence-based best practices and standards. CJEP will also enable INL to codify best practices in the criminal justice sector into standardized project packages for use globally. CJEP may also augment short-term technical staffing gaps in support of INL activities and programs. The Contractor will identify, recruit, screen, staff, and deploy, overseas and domestically when requested by INL, current and former experts with specific, contemporary, and relevant experience and training to mentor, advise, train, and deliver technical assistance to foreign criminal justice, law enforcement, and other governmental agencies and organizations. Additionally, the Contractor will provide administrative, program design, and monitoring and evaluation expertise needed to meet INL’s management goal to become a data driven, learning organization. The desired expertise will assist and advise INL domestic and overseas personnel on program development, delivery, measures of effectiveness, best practices in international criminal justice reform and other areas specified by INL. The Contractor’s work will generally fall under two primary lines of effort: 1) technical expertise and assistance to overseas INL sections and their foreign partner agencies; and 2) domestic program design, administration, coordination, and advisory support to INL in Washington. A primary activity under CJEP is developing and maintaining a “bullpen” of subject-matter experts, both practitioners and academics, who are available, individually or in purpose-driven teams, for short-term assignments, in most cases for overseas deployments to meet requirements addressed in individual task orders requested under the CJEP contract. These experts do not need to be under the active employment of the contractor and INL will not pay experts when not assigned on a specific task order. Instead, they should be considered as experts “in waiting” who are qualified, willing, and available to meet services requested in individual task orders on an as-needed basis. The Contractor will administer the base contract requirements and be responsible for evaluating and responding to orders issued under this contract. The Contractor shall be responsible for establishing an infrastructure to recruit, screen, hire, manage, task, pay, and, if necessary, terminate contracted employees. The contractor shall be responsible for furnishing all equipment and personnel needed to fulfil the requirements under the scope of work of the award. The contractor shall also be responsible for quality control of expert produced, to include written, visual, or analytical products of any form. In this contract, quality control is defined as the following. “All products furnished to INL by the contractor, produced by experts managed by the contractor, shall be proof-read for grammar, checked for citations and references, and fact-checked to the extent possible by the contractor. The contractor is responsible for the quality of produced products and any that do not meet INL’s requirements are the responsibility of the contractor to rectify at cost to the contractor. All products furnished to INL by the contractor shall become the property on the U.S. government. In training subject-matter experts prior to a domestic or international deployment, the Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that the staff is familiarized with INL’s processes, project packages, and Foundations of Criminal Justice. Within 60 days of the Notice to Proceed (NTP), the contractor will have a database of experts “in waiting” of at least 100 persons; be capable of deploying/supporting at least three task orders (of one assignment each) each six months; and executing at least five project packages each year throughout the period of performance. Requirements The Contractor shall manage all activities and services provided under this SOW and the accompanying BPA Call orders for SME Database and Project Packages. The Contractor shall: Assemble and maintain a database of SMEs of practitioners and academics, and be able to hire and deploy advisors, SMEs and other staff to meet individual task order requirements as required. Technical assistance and expertise under this contract are grouped into the following sectors: law enforcement; criminal justice; corrections; specialized areas of expertise (i.e. maritime, gender, diversity and inclusion in criminal justice, counternarcotics, forensics, and other areas identified by INL as needed), program design and implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Administrative and program management activities include, but are not limited to: technical advisory support, training, assessments, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), administration, program design, quality control review, conferences, study visits, workshops, and program and logistics support. INL will specify the number, types of advisors, position descriptions, specific qualifications, and deployment location and duration required for each task order to address specific requirements. Contractor shall be responsible for quality control of expert produced products, to include written, visual, or analytical products of any form. All products furnished to INL by the contractor, produced by experts managed by the contractor, shall be proof-read for grammar, checked for citations and references, and fact-checked to the extent possible by the contractor. In addition, the contractor shall have the experience and capability to review products from the perspective of what will be useful to the U.S. government, based on the task as noted by INL in any individual request. Products that do not meet INL’s requirements shall be deemed the responsibility of the contractor to rectify at cost to the contractor. All product deliverables, including but not limited to manuals, curriculum, and SOPs, become the property of the U.S. government. Evaluate SMEs (those mentioned immediately above) for deployment overseas for assignments from several weeks to nine months, including travel to dangerous and harsh environments. As specified in individual task orders, SMEs may need to have foreign language fluency, security clearances, specified years of qualifying expertise, and country or regional experience. Assignments may also require virtual work with no domestic or international travel necessary. Coordinate and manage logistics and travel requirements for deployments and be able to sustain overseas deployments from one (1) week to nine (9) months in duration. This includes all travel arrangements, including medical requirements and insurance and catastrophic event evacuation insurance, collecting receipts for reimbursement, and, as appropriate, facilitating the payment of honoraria and/or per diem. The Contractor must follow up with selected candidates during travel and troubleshoot and resolve any logistical or performance issues. Research, plan, draft, and edit “project package” elements detailed by INL. Project packages are INL guidance documents that combine research, best practices, INL experience, and SME expertise in clear topic-specific reference guides to facilitate efficient and effective project design, monitoring, and implementation in line with stringent INL standards. The Contractor will use on-call SMEs to inform multiple concurrent project package drafting projects, interacting with INL staff, SMEs, and implementing partners in Washington and overseas (always via INL/KM coordination and facilitation). The Contractor will leverage highly skilled technical drafters, and editing, quality assurance, Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DME), and graphic design and data visualization expertise to produce polished products under INL/KM guidance. The Contractor shall provide all facilities, labor, services, tools, materials, equipment, transportation, supervision, insurance, and all requirements necessary to accomplish the efforts described in this document. The Contractor shall be responsible for the accuracy, timeliness, and completion of all efforts under this contract. Conduct investigations into matters concerning security, safety, property accountability, misconduct, employee injuries, automobile accidents or other events involving contract personnel; identify and initiate corrective action(s) as needed documented with date stamped photos or video. Ensure timely and thorough report delivery to the COR with copies to Program Officers per the deliverable requirements, recordkeeping, administrative support, and internal administrative requirements. Provide administrative, procurement and logistics support to the employees. Participation by the Contractor in any situation where it might be assumed that they are agency employee or representatives is a risk to the government. In order to reduce the risk to the U.S. Government: strict limitations must be applied to the contractor in order to reduce the risk to the U.S. Government. Limitations include the following: The Contractor(s) must clearly identify themselves as Contractors in all communications to include email, teleconferences, and meetings. Additionally, INL will strictly adhere to the following regarding contracts, letters of agreement, and grants to mitigate risks associated with functions either inherently governmental or closely associated as inherently governmental. The US Government will retain all decision-making authority. This includes, but is not limited to the following: Contract and grant award recommendations Approval or amendments to contracts or grants Approval or amendments to contract costs or grant budgets Approval or amendments to statements of work Approval or amendments to terms and conditions Approval of invoices Approval of disposition of property Making decisions based solely on contactor/grantee reporting Inspection and acceptance of Contract work At a minimum, the Contractor shall maintain routine liaison with INL program and contract management staff on a bi-weekly basis. SME Areas of Assistance and Technical Expertise To meet INL mission areas, the contractor will provide expertise and assistance in the following sectors, to include but not limited to: Law enforcement: Law enforcement operations and training (i.e., patrol, crime prevention, crime analysis, investigations, special weapons and tactics/, special units (e.g. K-9, etc.), use of force, internal affairs, maritime interdictions, curriculum development, academy and field training, etc.); Law enforcement administration (i.e., finance, personnel, procurement, logistics, case management, etc.); Law Enforcement leadership (i.e., management, supervision, accountability, community relations, diversity and inclusion, human resources, budgeting and organizational development, including strategic planning, etc.); and Policy drafting. Criminal Justice: Comparative legal systems and institutions; Legislative drafting; Legal education; Access to justice and legal awareness; Victim and witness services; Human rights and anticorruption monitoring; Criminal defense, legal aid, and public defender; Operations of prosecutorial organizations (i.e., institutional procedures and processes, case management, training and professional development, international legal cooperation, and specialized prosecutorial units, etc.); Operations of judicial organizations (i.e., institutional procedures and processes, training and professional development, court facilities management, case management and administration, jury administration, specialized courts, etc.); Ethical codes and disciplinary systems; Probation, parole, and pre-trial services; and Alternative dispute resolution. Corrections: Probation, parole, and pre-trial services; Corrections administration (i.e., case management, classification of prisoners, offender security and supervision, accountability and oversight, training, construction and facilities management, administrative and support services); Special corrections units (i.e., prison intelligence, emergency response, prisoner transportation); Educational and health services in correctional environments; Special populations in correctional environments (women, juveniles, minorities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and persons with disabilities); and Accreditation. Cross-cutting issues: Technology in law enforcement (i.e. forensics, biometrics, communications, information management, etc.); Countering gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse; Combating transnational organized crime; Combating illicit drugs and precursor chemicals;, including the bilateral agreements and diplomatic processes that enable operations at sea; Human trafficking and smuggling; Border security – air, land, and maritime; Complex cases especially cybercrime, financial crimes, asset forfeiture and recovery, corruption, intellectual property rights, and environmental crimes. Reducing recidivism, including prisoner education, community-based programs, and reintegration, discharge, and social work; Criminology; Conflict prevention and stabilization; Countering biases including gender bias (that affect women and LGBTQI+ persons) in law enforcement and criminal justice institutions; and Embedding equity including through diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies. Foreign assistance program design and implementation: Project design; Monitoring and evaluation; Data management and visualization; Graphic design; Adult education and instructional system design; External outreach and engagements; and Foreign language skills. SME Database The Contractor will maintain this network of qualified SMEs and share this with INL in a searchable, simple, and low-cost database (Excel, searchable PDF or similar document with INL approval) with INL on a quarterly basis. The first iteration of the database will be provided to INL within 60 calendar days of award and quarterly thereafter. Further details of this requirement are contained in the SME Database Statement of Work. The database will include the SMEs’: Type of SME (practitioner or academic (or both)) Name; Physical location; Primary area of expertise; Other areas of expertise; Synopsis of experience; Foreign language capabilities; Country(ies)/area(s) of expertise; Biographical details; SME shall already possess an active security clearance (MRPT up to the Secret level). [Note: by exception, INL may consider candidates who do not possess an active clearance depending upon the individual Task Order.] Education level; Force protection and/or high threat personal security training (if taken) (see section 4.12) Prior or current qualifying employment; Deployment availability (yes/no); and Length of deployment availability (if they can deploy). Project Packages Requirements The contractor shall complete a minimum of five (5) “project package” drafts (based on a per-hour staffing construct) across rule of law sectors, to include law enforcement, justice, and corrections in the base year with the potential for an additional 20 project packages across the four Option Years, pending approval by the Contracting Officer. Project packages combine relevant research, current best practices, and a distillation of INL’s forty+ years of program experience into reference guides that give broad information on a topic, detail specific activities toward a measurable outcome, and provide tool kits to help design, implement, and monitor a successful intervention. Each project package is structured to reinforce INL design, monitoring, and evaluation requirements, and use of the INL Elements of a Project Package and INL Foundations of Criminal Justice (FOCJ) organizing framework. INL seeks criminal justice sector SMEs; design, monitoring, and evaluation (DME) experts; and technical writing and graphic design assistance to help compile the elements of these packages delineated in the deliverables section that follows. Further details on Project Package Requirements and Deliverables are contained in the BPA Project Package Call Order SOW. The contractor will provide an appropriate number of staff to fully execute the structural planning, information collection, drafting, and editing of each project package. Each project package product (multiple may be developed currently) will require one (1) Lead Drafter with on-call access to one (1) to three (3) SMEs with the required experience in the topic addressed by each project package draft. The work of these topic-specific drafting teams will be augmented by additional staff providing support across all project package drafting teams. These staff will include one (1) DME Specialist, and one (1) Graphic Design and Data Visualization Specialist, as well as one (1) Executive Editor responsible for quality assurance of all products and product elements provided to INL/KM. INL/KM will provide the contractor with one or multiple specific project package topics at least 60 days prior to the commencement of each drafting effort to allow for hiring of required staff. INL/KM will also provide examples and templates of project package elements for the contractor’s reference. The contractor shall not share these products outside the CJEP team. While the relative complexity and/or scope of each topic will require a variance in production time and SME support, in most cases the project package elements assigned to the contractor should be completed within four (4) months. Please see the attached Statement of Work for the INL Criminal Justice Expertise Program BPA and the SOW-RFP for the Subject Matter Expert (SME) Database, and the SOW-RFP for the Project Packages BPA Calls for additional details, information, requirements and deliverables. Instructions to Offerors General Content Requirements: It is requested that all interested parties submit their proposals via e-mail to Michele Coccovizzo at coccovizzoml@state.gov and Jamie Goewey at Goeweyja@state.gov by 5:00 pm EST, September 8, 2022. Extended to 5:00 PM EST September 13, 2022. The proposal (Volumes I and II) shall include a signed and dated cover letter. The cover letter shall include the following: The Request For Proposal (RFP)/Solicitation reference number; date the RFP was issued; the DoS issuing office, location, and contact person; the closing date and time of the RFP (for submission of quotes); and the name, address (street, city, state, zip) of the contractor submitting the quote. However, the cover letter(s) shall contain no pricing or technical information. Any such information provided in the cover letter will not be evaluated. The cover letter shall also acknowledge amendments, as applicable, to the RFP. Please note: The Department of State Seal is intended for use on official government documents only. Each page within each volume and section shall be numbered using a consistent numbering scheme. This scheme shall also be used for all supporting documentation, such as charts, figures, diagrams, etc. that are included in each volume. Page numbering schemes that are difficult to track are not acceptable. The page limitations by volume are described below. A Technical and Cost proposal that does not include a base BPA section, and the 2 additional Call Technical and Price Proposals will be deemed non-responsive and will not be evaluated. CJEP Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Volume I – Technical Proposal There is a thirty (30) page limit imposed on Volume I. This is not inclusive of tables, Project Management Plan, sample outreach materials and executive summaries/capabilities statements. Should the Contractor submit more than 30 pages, the CO can deem anything over 30 pages not be considered for evaluation Volume II – Cost/Price Proposal There is no page limit on Volume II, Cost/Price. Exclusions from the Page Limitations Following are the exclusions from the page limitations: Volume I – Technical Proposal Cover Letter Table of Contents Resumes Factor 4 - Ability to Distill Technical Information into Useful Guidance Key Personnel Information on Past Performance Contractors shall ensure that the technical Proposal, including the cover letter, does not include any information that should be contained in Volume II, Cost/Price Proposal. Any cost/price information placed in Volume I will not be passed on to the Cost/Price Team and such will not be evaluated at all. Volume II – Cost/Price Proposal: There is no page limit on the submission requirements for Volume II. However, contractors shall ensure that the cost/price proposal, including the cover letter, does not include any information that should be contained in Volume I, Technical Proposal. Any technical information placed in Volume II will not be passed on to the Technical Evaluation Team and such technical information will not be evaluated at all. A Pricing Table in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet has been provided which is to be completed as part of the Cost/Price Proposal. This will contain both the base hourly salary rate and the fixed fully burden hourly rate, as well as indirect rates and profit/fee rates. This pricing will be incorporated into the Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and be applicable to all orders placed against this BPA. General Format Following is the specified format for Volume I, Technical Proposal: 12-point size type shall be used. The font shall be Times New Roman or Arial. The font size for tables and figures, and any other type of inserts can be no smaller than 8 point; The font size for any graphics as it appears on the printed page can be no smaller than 8 point; margins shall be one-inch at top/bottom and left/right of the page and pages may not be reduced form. Headers and footers are allowed in the margins and their font size can be no smaller than 10 point. Following is the specified format for Volume II, Cost/Price Proposal: 12-point size type shall be used. The font shall be Times New Roman or Arial. The font size for tables and figures, and any other type of inserts can be no smaller than 8 point; The font size for any graphics as it appears on the printed page can be no smaller than 8 point; and margins shall be one-inch at top/bottom and left/right of the page and pages may not be reduced form. Headers and footers are allowed in the margins and their font size can be no smaller than 10 point. Formulas shall be included for evaluation purposes. Caution: Proposals submitted that do not conform as enumerated above may not be evaluated. Text and graphics with font size smaller than the minimum specified may be excluded from award and found as non-compliant with the RFP instructions. The page limitations apply to the initial offer, revisions and final quote submission (if applicable). Each volume shall contain the following additional items: Cover: The cover shall indicate the following: Title of the Acquisition Proposal Category (Technical, or Cost/Price) Volume Number RFP/Solicitation Number Name and Address of the Contractor Original or Copy Number Table of Contents: Each volume shall contain a Table of Contents, which shall provide sufficient detail in order that all the important elements are easily located. The use of tables and dividers is encouraged. No content within these pages will be considered for evaluation. Contractors shall ensure these document pages are used solely for organization of the Proposal. Requirements for Style: Each contractor shall submit a proposal that clearly and concisely describes and defines the contractor’s response to the requirements contained in the RFP. Use of general or vague statements such as “standard procedures will be used” or “good engineering practices” will not satisfy this requirement. Simply repeating or paraphrasing the RFP requirements without substantive, meaningful discussion will not be acceptable. Unnecessary elaboration or presentation beyond that which is sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal is not desired and may be construed as an indication of the contractor’s lack of understanding of the requirements or cost consciousness. Elaborate artwork or visual or other presentation aids is neither necessary nor desired. The desire is for clear succinct pictorials, graphs, etc. The Offeror shall provide a technical proposal that explains how INL’s objectives will be accomplished during the period of performance. There are seven Evaluation Factors under this RFP. (1) Work Plan, (2) Overseas Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Experience, (3) Subject Matter Expertise Services Experience, (4) Ability to Distill technical Information into Useful Guidance, (5) Price (Volume II - Cost/Price Proposal), (6) Past Performance, and (7) Key Personnel and Staffing Plan. The Government contemplates awarding a contract using commercial item procedures under FAR Part 12 and 13.5. The Government will award a contract to the responsible contractor whose offer conforms to the requirements of the solicitation and is evaluated as being the most advantageous to the Government, cost or price and other factors considered. For this RFP, technical merit is significantly more important than cost or price. Award will not be automatically determined by numerical calculation or formula relationship between cost or price and technical merit. As technical merit of the contractor’s proposal becomes more equal, the evaluated cost or price may become the determining factor. The Contracting Officer shall determine what trade-off between technical merit and cost or price promises the greatest value to the Government, cost or price and other factors considered. Award will be made based upon the best value to the Government. In addition to the BPA, the vendor shall also provide a technical and cost proposal for two (2) sample BPA Calls. Included with this solicitation as an attachment is the Statement of Work for the Subject Matter Expert (SME) Database, and the Statement of Work for a Project Packages sample order. In addition to assisting in the technical evaluation, the call order cost/price proposal will assist in the price evaluation as it exhibits actual application of pricing in accordance with the proposed BPA schedule. A. Subject Matter Expert (SME) Database BPA Call (Time and Materials) Vendors’ technical proposal / price proposal shall: • Be viewable in either: Microsoft Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Adobe Reader XI, or Adobe Acrobat Pro X (as applicable and appropriate). • Limit the number of pages to no more than thirty (30), 12 Point Font, Times New Roman (TNR) or Arial; 8 pt. for tables/graphics/ inserts; 10 pt. for headers/footers. Vendor shall be limited to no more than five (5) separate digital files for a proposal package. Formatting Requirements: Volume I – Technical Proposal Volume II – Cost/Price Proposal • Cost Breakdown for all labor and other direct cost. This will include a breakout of the pricing for the base year, and four (4) potential option years At a Minimum, a Proposal Package must include: • A fully supported Technical Proposal describing the methods and techniques for the start-up and development of the platform, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, and maintaining the Subject Matter Expert Database to meet this requirement in accordance with Section 3.9 of the CJEP BPA Statement of Work and this Request for Proposal. • Pricing of efforts that support and are in line with the methodologies and rationale contained within the technical proposal. Price: Production hours are to be proposed against labor rates in accordance with the fixed fullyloaded hourly rates as priced under the Criminal Justice Enterprise Program (CJEB) BPA Solicitation Pricing Tables. Indirect billing rates and any profit/fee shall also be in accordance with said tables. Include any additional ODCs and/or travel costs in accordance with the CJEP BPA Statement of Work Section 1.7 Travel. B. Project Packages BPA Call (Firm-Fixed Price) File Format Requirements Vendors’ technical proposals / price proposal shall: • Be viewable in either: Microsoft Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Adobe Reader XI, or Adobe Acrobat Pro X (as applicable and appropriate). • Limit the number of pages to no more than thirty (30), 12 Point Font, Times New Roman (TNR) or Arial; 8 pt. for tables/graphics/ inserts; 10 pt. for headers/footers. Formatting Requirements: Volume I – Technical Proposal Volume II – Cost/Price Proposal • Cost Breakdown for all labor and other direct cost. Price proposal shall show a breakout of labor hours for each labor category needed to complete the work indicated, and all other direct costs, broken out by project plan as listed in Section 2 Scope of Work of the SOW-RFP Project Package BPA Call. At a MINIMUM, proposal package must include: • A fully supported Technical Proposal describing the contractors process to fully execute the structural planning, information collection, drafting, and editing of each project package identified in Section 2 Scope of Work in accordance with the Project Package Deliverables as described in Sections 3.1.2 of the SOW-RFP Project Package BPA Call. • Pricing of efforts that support and are in line with the processes and rationale contained within the technical proposal. Price: Production hours are to be proposed against labor rates in accordance with the fixed fullyloaded hourly rates as priced under the Criminal Justice Enterprise Program (CJEB) BPA Solicitation Pricing Tables. Indirect billing rates and any profit/fee shall also be in accordance with said tables. Include any additional ODCs and/or travel costs in accordance with the CJEP BPA Statement of Work Section 1.7 Travel. Point of Contact Exchanges of source selection information between Government and Offerors will be controlled by the Contracting Officer (C...