Inactive Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)

Synopsis THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A PRESOLICITATION. NOTICE FOR ARCHITECT/ENGINEERING (A/E) DESIGN SERVICES; NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE WILL BE ISSUED UNTIL AFTER AN EVALU... Synopsis THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A PRESOLICITATION. NOTICE FOR ARCHITECT/ENGINEERING (A/E) DESIGN SERVICES; NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE WILL BE ISSUED UNTIL AFTER AN EVALUATION HAS BEEN MADE ON THE PROVIDED SF-330. ONLY THE A/E FIRMS RESPONDING TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BY SUBMITTING AN SF-330 PACKAGE ON TIME WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR INITIAL EVALUATION. NAICS: The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code/Size Standard for this procurement is 541330, Engineering Services. The Small Business Size Standard is $25.5 Million in annual receipts. The FSC/PSC is C1DA, ARCHITECT AND ENGINEERING- CONSTRUCTION: HOSPITALS AND INFIRMARIES. SET-ASIDE: Notice of 100% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-aside. This is a 100% set-aside for SDVOSB firms only. The firms registered and visible in the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov when SF330 s are submitted. Failure of a prospective SDVOSB to be verified by the SBA VetCert at the time the SF 330 is submitted shall result in elimination from consideration. All Joint Ventures must be verified at time of submission and submit agreements that comply with 13 CFR 125.15 prior to contract award. Prospective Contractors are cautioned that proposal submitted in response to this solicitation must meet the criteria identified by 38CFR, Part 74. The SDVOSB concern agrees that in the performance of the contract, the concern will comply with the limitation on subcontracting requirements in accordance with VAAR Clause 852-219-73, VA Notice of Total Set Aside for Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: The deadline for all Request for Information (RFI) is 4:00 PM CT on March 06, 2024. All RFIs must be submitted in writing via email to Jennifer Johnson, Contracting Officer, at jen.johnson@va.gov and Eric Reis, Contract Specialist, at eric.reis@va.gov. An amendment to the RFQ will be issued to all prospective firms via SAM.gov and will include the RFI and the corresponding Government response. Unless formally amended in writing, all terms and conditions of the RFQ will remain unchanged. SF 330 DATE OF RECEIPT/DUE DATE: Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit one (1) electronic SF 330 and attachments (if any) no later than (NLT) 10:00 AM (CT) April 02, 2024. FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES: All offerors are required to have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM / www.sam.gov) at the time of offer submission. Firms will be evaluated by the A/E Evaluation Board. The most qualified firms will be invited to interview with the selection board. The number of firms selected to interview will be dependent on the number of firms that submit SF-330s. Up to twenty-five will interview with the selection board. Responses should be submitted on an SF330. The SF-330 can be downloaded through the GSA Forms Library at: https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/architect-engineer-qualifications Prospective firms shall address all selection criteria factors within their submitted SF330 packages. Submission of information incorporated by reference is not allowed. Interested firms shall submit SF 330 via electronic transmission via email to Jennifer Johnson, Contracting Officer, at jen.johnson@va.gov with a copy to Eric Reis, Contract Specialist, at eric.reis@va.gov by the designated date/time specified. Please provide Pre-Solicitation Number, NCO 23 AE-IDIQ, and Firm Name in Subject Line of email. When submitting SF330s, if more than one email is sent, please number emails in Subjects as 1 of n . Submittals received after the date and time identified on page one (1) will not be considered. Ensure file size under 7 MB. No SF 330 hard copies will be accepted. Failure to comply with this requirement may jeopardize the possibility of receiving an award for the contract due to noncompliance with the terms of the solicitation. Submitted SF330s will include the following elements: 1. Standard Form 330 (Rev. 07/2021) Architect-Engineer Qualifications 2. SF330, Section H: Additional Information Firms submitted SF330s will be evaluated by an A/E evaluation board. The following evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate SF 330 technical proposals: GENERAL SOLICITATION AND CONTRACT INFORMATION: Network Contracting Office (NCO) 23 has an ongoing requirement to provide Architect and Engineering (A/E) Services for Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 23. The entirety of VISN 23 serves North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska; as well as some clinical leased locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This procurement will be procured pursuant to the Selection of Architects and Engineers (formerly known as The Brooks Act) Public Law 92-582, and as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 36.6 and VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) and VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM) Part 836 and M836 respectively. Approximately twenty (20) Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) IDIQ contracts will result from this solicitation, to include negotiated profit, overhead and hourly rates for anticipated disciplines and for use in negotiating FFP task orders. When pricing design for task orders over the life of the contract, the Government will require fully documented compliance with the mandates prescribed in FAR 15.404-4(c) (4)(i)(B) regarding the 6% design fee limitation. Pricing on task orders for the production and delivery of designs, plans, drawings, and specifications shall not exceed 6% of the estimated cost of construction, excluding fees. It is NCO23 s intent to solicit for a period of performance of five years with a five-year ordering period. There will be a Minimum Order Guarantee of $2,000.00 for each contract awarded. Each contract will also have a Maximum Order Limitation of $15,000,000.00 per contract for life of the contract. If the minimum guarantee is not met during the base year, the Government reserves the right to unilaterally issue a task order to satisfy this guarantee. If the contractor does not accept this task order, all claims to the minimum guarantee will be waived by the contractor. There is no yearly maximum. The sum of all task orders issued against the contract cannot exceed the maximum contract value of $15,000,000.00. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES REQUIRED: NCO 23 is seeking firms with qualifications and experience in A-E Services for the NCO 23 geographical area as these contracts will cover the geographical area of NCO 23 specifically. A regional map will be provided as an attachment. The scope of work may include, but is not limited to, Site Investigations, Site Surveys, Feasibility Studies, Project Development Studies, Building Evaluation Reports, Master Plans, Engineering Studies, Concept Designs, Construction Documents, Design-Build Bridging, Design-Build Scope Preparation, Estimating Services, Procurement Support, Record Drawings, Constructability Reviews, Technical Design Reviews, Construction Administration Services, Shop Drawing Review and Approval, Construction Site Inspections, Post-Construction Services, and other A-E Services, to include incidental related work in support of Government administered construction contracts, facility investigations and research, and planning studies. SELECTION PROCESS: This notice is a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) of A-E firms/lead designers interested in contracting for this work. The A-E firm as used in this RFQ means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture or engineering that will have contractual responsibility for the project design. This procurement consists of a two (2) stage evaluation process. Stage One (1) will consist of the evaluation of the technical submission package. All responsive submissions will be evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Board (TEB). The firms will be ranked. After the evaluation of the submissions, at least twenty-five (25) of the most highly rated firms will be invited for interviews and further evaluated in Stage Two (2). Award of the A-E IDIQ contract(s) will be made to approximately twenty (20) most highly qualified firms listed in order of preference by the TEB. The firms must ensure the Standard Form (SF) 330 Architect Engineer Qualifications Parts I and II reflect the entire design team. Rate/price proposal(s) will be requested following the selection of the most technically qualified firm(s). The current threshold for the requirement of certified cost or pricing data is $2,000,000; therefore, submission of such will be required for each contract. In accordance with FAR 15.403-4, cost or pricing data will be required of each awardee and its consultants in order to determine a fair and reasonable price prior to contract award. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR STAGE ONE (1): Submissions of completed Standard Form 330 (SF 330) received in response to this notice will be evaluated by a government evaluation board in accordance with The Selection of Architect and Engineering statute, 40 U.S.C. Ch11, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 36, to determine the most highly qualified firms. Evaluation of past performance and experience may include information provided by the offeror, customer inquiries, government databases, and publicly available sources. Offerors are responsible for collecting and submitting past performance questionnaires with their final packages to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Network Contracting Office (NCO) 23 Contracting Officer before the closing date of this synopsis. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Each firm must demonstrate their qualifications with respect to the selection criteria listed below. Evaluation criteria (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) are of equal importance; criterion (F) is of lesser importance than criteria (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E); and criterion (G) is of least importance and will be used as a tiebreaker among technically equal firms. SF-330s will be evaluated to determine the most highly qualified firm/team based on submitted SF-330 responses. Failure to provide requested data or comply with the instructions in this synopsis and SF-330 instructions could result in a firm considered being less qualified or eliminated from consideration. Specific evaluation criteria include: A. Professional qualifications: SF-330, Part I, Block E. NCO 23 will consider any information, which may be pertinent to this criterion, including the following: proposed key personnel (reference primary discipline list below), professional registration, and competence, related experiences to accomplish this work, education, and years with the company. Key personnel shall be permanent employees of the prime firm/team rather than temporary contract hire employee arrangements. Failure to provide a balanced workforce in the disciplines listed could result in the firm being considered not qualified. The combination of criteria below will be used to determine the ability of the staff to contribute to the successful completion of project task orders. Firms with greater breadth of in-house expertise will be rated higher than those needing to hire sub-consultants. The offeror s team shall include staff members licensed in the States covering Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISN) 23 (Pool 01) found in the statement of work (SOW) in the following disciplines: Architectural Design Civil Engineer Structural Engineer** Engineering I.T. Infrastructure Mechanical Engineer Fire Protection Engineer* Electrical Engineer Landscape Design Geotechnical Engineer Cost Estimator Commissioning Agent Fire/Life Safety Surveyor *For the Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) - licensed professional for purposes of this evaluation factor shall mean a registered professional engineer (P.E.) who has passed the fire protection engineering written examination administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveys (NCEES). Proof of passing the examination and (4 years) required experience shall be submitted with the proposal or it will be assumed the FPE does not meet these qualifications. **For the Structural Engineer - licensed professional for purposes of this evaluation factor shall mean a registered professional engineer (P.E.) who has passed the 16-hour P.E. structural written examination administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveys (NCEES). Proof of passing the examination and (4 years) required experience shall be submitted with the proposal or it will be assumed the Structural Engineer does not meet these qualifications. In addition, the offeror s team shall include staff members in the following disciplines and shall demonstrate their qualification: Project/Program Manager Environmental Engineer Construction Management Quality Control Manager Security Specialist/Engineer Interior Designer B. Specialized experience and technical competence: SF-330, Part I, Section F. Region 3 NCO 23 will consider any information which may be pertinent to this criterion, including the following: specialized experience and technical competence in the performance of services similar to those anticipated under this contract in terms of recent and relevant experience with regard to the project examples described below, as well as demonstrated experience with VA facility design. The evaluation board will be placing emphasis on the following items when evaluating this factor: experience with designing building renovations (more specifically for hospitals and office spaces) including building envelope, architectural, structural, civil, mechanical (HVAC and plumbing), electrical, life safety upgrades, fire suppression systems and associated alarms systems and utility systems; I.T. Infrastructure; LEED or High Performance and Sustainable Building Requirements experience; experience in surveying existing facilities and sites for hazardous materials and contamination, and design including remediation of such hazards as necessary to complete the work of the project. Experience in design of projects that include the above elements and whose design fees were $180,000 or higher will be considered very advantageous. Example Projects: Submit example design projects in narrative format that highlight the experience factors listed above. Design project examples should not exceed two pages each. All experience factors do not have to be included in a single project. The offeror may submit multiple projects to demonstrate experience in all relevant types of work, however, do not submit more than five projects total. For submittal purposes, if a completed ID/IQ task order is submitted, the completed task order would be considered a project . Do not list an ID/IQ contract as an example of a completed project . Instead, list the relevant completed task order(s) or single/stand-alone contract. a) The narratives of example projects should show contract number, issuing agency, project name, a current point of contact including telephone and email information, project scope, size, location, design fees, the total number of modifications / change orders issued during performance of project, date of project completion, estimate of construction cost, principal design elements and features, complexity of the job, challenges faced, actions taken, and the resolution and results of any challenges faced. In addition, and if known, list the construction contract award price, and the total number of construction contract modifications/change orders and their total value. b) Submissions shall include details on items including but not limited to: (1) Experience with design of similar types/sizes of facilities; (2) Experience with multi-phased hospital design and construction programs; (3) Experience with construction and renovation phasing in hospitals and other VA facilities; (4) Experience with Patient Aligned Care Team clinic planning and design; (5) Experience planning, programming, design, and construction of campus infrastructure to include boilers, chillers, electrical distribution, water and wastewater distribution, parking garages, grounds, and roads/sidewalks; (6) Experience with infection control during construction; (7) Experience with commissioning; (8) Experience in providing post construction award services (shop drawing review, as-built drawing and Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) preparation, construction inspection services, and Operating and Maintenance Manuals). (9) Experience in performing Quality Control processes that result in high-quality, coordinated, and complete documents in accordance with PG-18-15 A/E Submission Instructions for Minor and NRM Construction Program c) Example projects may be from the private or public sector; however; VA projects may be rated higher. Projects completed more recently will be evaluated more advantageously. The design of all example projects must have been completed within the past four (4) years (prior to the SF-330 due date for this solicitation). The evaluation will consider the relevancy (design and construction scope, size and location) of projects identified. For the purposes of this evaluation the A-E may submit no more than two example projects which were investigations or studies only. The investigation(s) or study(ies) must have been completed within the past four (4) years (prior to the SF-330 due date for this solicitation) as well. d) Examples of work submitted that do not meet the requirements specified here will not be evaluated. Failure to provide requested data, accessible points of contact or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being considered less qualified and eliminated from further consideration. Identify any key personnel in SF-330, Part I, Section G that worked on the projects and their role. Specialized experience and technical competency will be evaluated for ability to support the range of work required for this contract, as demonstrated by firm s submitted projects. C. Capacity: SF-330, Part I, Block H. Demonstrate how the firm(s) will manage, coordinate, and administer the work within the prime and among any teaming partners. Teaming partners to be included by the prime firm in their response should be clearly identified as such for evaluation purposes and will later be agreed to during negotiations of any resultant contract. SF-330, Part II, Block 11 will also be evaluated to assist in determining this factor. SF-330 Part I Blocks C, D, F and SF-330, Part II will also be evaluated to support this criterion. NCO 23 will consider any information which may be pertinent to this criterion, including the following: Capacity to perform work in-house and with teaming members. Demonstrate active on-going Federal and Non-Federal work (Address current dollar value of work, number of current projects, management approach to your on-going work, and how the team will support the work requirements outlined in this synopsis in addition to current work). Quantify the A-E teams reserve capacity (percent of available capacity or man hours available or number of man hours available). Greater weight will be given to offerors who provide quantitative data to support an assertion of sufficient work-load capacity. D. Experience in construction period services: SF-330, Part I, Block H. In a two-page narrative, provide supporting information on the firms experience in construction period services to include professional field inspections during the construction period, review of construction submittals, support in answering requests for information during the construction period, and support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work, and cost estimates. Demonstrate how the firm(s) will manage, coordinate, and administer these services. Provide information on technology to be used during field inspections. Provide any additional pertinent information relevant to these criteria. Greater weight will be given to offerors who provide examples of completed projects where they ve successfully completed these services in the past 18-months. E. Past performance: SF-330, Block H. For the example projects provided under Specialized Experience and Technical Competence, in a single page narrative form provide past performance in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules for each example project submitted under Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. In addition to past performance information provided, the evaluation will include information available within the VA, Federal, state, private industry or other sources. In addition to the narrative described above, forward the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) of this synopsis, to each project point of contact. Completed PPQ forms shall be submitted as part of the firms proposal package. Firms may include any ratings, letters of appreciation or performance, awards etc., for relevant experience; however, Federal database content and PPQs will be evaluated more advantageously. Reponses will be evaluated to determine firms ability to maintain cost, schedule, quality, and customer satisfaction. If the offeror is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before the response date set forth in this notice, offerors should complete and submit with their responses the first page of the PPQ (Attachment), which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s). Offerors may submit a PPQ previously submitted under a different Notice/RFP (legible copies are acceptable) as long as it is on the same form as posted with this Synopsis. Offerors should follow up with clients/references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. If requested by the client, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Government's point of contact, Network Contracting Office 23, Attn: Eric Reis via email at Eric.Reis@va.gov prior to the response date. F. Geographic proximity to the general area of the requiring activity as well as knowledge of the VISN 23 area. SF-330, Part I, Block H. In four page or less narrative form demonstrate firm’s familiarity with local conditions to include knowledge of, and experience dealing with, the regulatory agencies, geological features, logistics, costs, climatic conditions and local design and construction methods. Narrative shall include team location, including main offices, branch offices, and any subconsultant offices. The narrative shall demonstrate how inclusion in the pool will be advantageous to the Government. Offerors must affirm they are able to practice at all stations listed for this contract. G. Subcontracting Efforts: Commitment to VHA shall be detailed in SF-330, Part I, Block H. Offerors shall identify and commit to the use of service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, Veteran-owned small businesses, and other types of small businesses as subcontractors. STAGE TWO (2): After receipt and review of the qualifications, NCO 23 will hold interviews based on the results of the evaluations (Stage One (1)). At least twenty-five (25) highest technically rated firms shall be short-listed and move to Stage Two (2) interviews. Award of the A-E IDIQ contract(s) will be made to approximately twenty (20) most highly qualified firms listed in order of preference by the TEB. Post-award debriefs will be conducted. Debriefings of successful and unsuccessful firms will be held after final selection has taken place and will be conducted, to the extent practicable, in accordance with FAR 15.503, 15.506(b) through (f), and 15.507(c). Note that 15.506(d)(2) through (d)(5) does not apply to A-E contracts. JOINT VENTURES: All qualifications packages submitted by joint ventures must include a copy of an executed joint venture agreement (with original signatures) which fully discloses the legal identity of each member of the joint venture, the relationship between the members, the form of ownership of each member, and any limitations on liability or authority for each member. An authorized representative of each member of the joint venture must sign the contract accompanying an offer regardless of any agency relationship established between the members. In the case of corporations that are joint venture members, the corporation secretary must certify that the corporation is authorized to participate in the joint venture, either by certifying in the joint venture agreement, or by submitting a separate certification to the Government. The joint venture must also provide a certificate that identifies a principal representative of the joint venture with full authority to bind the joint venture. Representations, certifications, and financial information must be submitted for each member of the joint venture. ATTACHMENTS:

Inactive

Publication of approved consolidation memorandum to the public.