COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION
Bucket 2 Ecosystem Executive Coordinator
140R4024Q0068
This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
Solicitation number 140R4024Q0068 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2024-05 effective April 2024. This is a total small business set aside under NAICS 541620 with an associated small business size standard of $19 Million.
Statement of Work
Background:
On August 16, 2022, Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which became public law 117-169. Section 50233 of the IRA designated funds to be spent in the Reclamation states for the purpose of mitigating conditions caused by the drought. The Commissioner of Reclamation is responsible for distributing IRA funds by means of grants, contracts, or financial assistance agreements to or with public entities and Indian Tribes.
Of the IRA funds approximately $50M has been reserved to provide funding for ecosystem and habitat restoration projects that address issues directly caused by drought within the Upper Colorado Basin (UCB). The Upper Colorado Region of the Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for organizing the program to distribute of these funds. This funding program has been coined the ¿Bucket 2 Ecosystem¿ program or ¿B2E¿.
Description of services:
The Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region has a need to contract the services of an executive coordinator to organize and coordinate efforts to complete outreach, prepare letters, assist applicants, help with evaluation, and prepare reports for the B2E program. The services provided shall be done in consultation with and under the direction of Reclamation.
Methods, Protocols and/or Scientific Standards:
Executive Coordinator: The Offeror shall act as an Executive Coordinator to orchestrate completion of the tasks of this statement of work. The Offeror shall have the resources and capability to gather experts to complete tasks and provide deliverables on time. The executive coordinator shall be able to:
1) Plan and carry out multiple projects concurrently.
2) Demonstrate expertise in Ecosystems Management and Practices and in the development of and evaluation of project proposals in this area of expertise.
3) Demonstrate an understanding of Grant proposals and the use of evaluation criteria developed by Reclamation in evaluating proposals submitted to the government for these types of projects.
4) Provide information through a variety of mediums to potential offerors.
5) Create technically correct and high-quality professional products, communication materials, fact sheets, brochures, and other professional educational and support materials.
6) Disseminate timely information through multiple sources to public entities, Indian tribes, non-government organization and individuals who may have interest in the B2E program.
7) Synthesize methodologies and tools for evaluation of proposals. They must have the ability to prepare professional letters and reports that clearly communicate information in an organized well-constructed manner.
Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel: Working with the Reclamation COR, and any other B2E program specialists, the Offeror shall prepare a panel comprising of SMEs with disciplines adequate to review, analyze and score proposals against defined eligibility and evaluation factors of the B2E program. The panel will consist of no more than 15 SMEs, of which up to 5 will be provided by Reclamation, the remainder shall be provided by the Executive Coordinator. The offeror shall provide 5 required SMEs, and 5 optional SMEs. Reclamation will notify the vendor which of the 5 optional SMEs will be required to perform services on the task order so the vendor¿s total SME pool shall be between 5 and 10 personnel. All SMEs shall be selected based upon verified education or experience with consideration of time and achievements within their fields of expertise that demonstrate technical competency and ability to perform the work of the task order. SMEs selected by the Executive Coordinator shall be selected for their expertise and not as representatives of a particular agency, organization, or other stakeholder group. Review panel members shall be selected on the basis of their independence and demonstrated capability to work in an interdisciplinary environment. The Executive Coordinator and all panelists must not have any involvement in or conflict of interest with those submitting applications and shall be required to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) and a Non-conflict-of-interest (NCOIC) disclosure. SMEs must be familiar with the natural resources and environmental issues within the Colorado Plateau. Final panel members shall be approved by Reclamation B2E program specialists. Balance among expertise in the following areas shall be sought dependent upon specific requirements of the eligibility and evaluation criteria:
Archaeology/ Native American studies
Aquatic ecology/Fisheries
Limnology
Hydrology
Geology/Soils
Economics/Socioeconomics
Wildlife Biology
Botany
Ecology
The names and contact information of the Reclamation appointed members of the SME Panel will be provided to the Executive Coordinator in a timely manner. All SME panel members shall have opportunity to participate during all scheduled activities and meetings of the panel. Any wages, travel, or other expenses of the Reclamation appointed panel members will be the responsibility of Reclamation.
There shall be one virtual meeting conducted after the review committee has completed the review of proposals. The meeting shall be on a date and time agreed upon by both Reclamation and the Executive coordinator approximately 130 days after the contract is awarded. No in-person meetings are needed. All communication shall occur via telephone, email, and webinar.
Task Line-Item Numbers (TLINs):
TLIN 001: An outreach plan shall be prepared and submitted prior to award as part of the proposal. The goal of the outreach plan is to spark interest, inform, and educate and advise applicants to ensure a large pool of stakeholders have opportunity to submit a complete a proposal within the allotted time. Tasks of the outreach plan shall include activities such as webinars, social media announcements, emails, and so forth. The outreach program plan shall include tasks and due dates measured in days from contract award. Once the contract is awarded, the proposed plan shall be executed as an ongoing task from contract award to the contract closeout. The outreach plan shall include a structured plan to ensure all stakeholders are informed.
TLIN 002: The vendor shall prepare a letter to public entities, tribes, and Non-Government Organization (NGO) stakeholders to bring project ideas forward for consideration of federal funding through the Commissioner. This letter shall direct potential entities who would desire to submit proposals in response to the grant solicitation to obtain all relevant information related to preparing an ecosystem proposal. The letter shall describe in general the basic premise of the grant and emphasize the importance of the projects being related to ecosystems and habitat restoration projects that address issues directly caused by drought and describe in the information provided with the grant solicitation. The letter shall invite public entities and tribes to submit their own proposals, as well as proposals in partnership with NGOs and individuals. The letter shall be prepared in consultation with the Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado Region. The letter shall direct applicants where proposals are to be delivered and in what time frames they are to be delivered. This task must be completed within 25 days of contract award.
TLIN 003: Within 60 days of posting the funding opportunity, the Executive Coordinator shall, in consultation with Reclamation prepare forms and templates to assist in evaluation of incoming proposals. These shall include summary tables, evaluation tools, reporting templates and other products needed to complete summarization and reporting of the proposals based upon established evaluation criteria.
TLIN 004: SMEs shall be selected by the Executive Coordinator in agreement with methods outlined in section 3 (Methods, Protocols and/or Scientific Standards) of this Statement of Work. The SME panel must be selected within 75 days of contract award. The vendor shall ensure that no patent conflict of interest in the selection of the SME¿s who shall assist in the evaluation of proposals. The vendor is required to contract with non-Reclamation SME¿s separately and shall be responsible for paying these individuals as part of the contract cost. The vendor shall ensure that these SMEs are paid timely after performance of the required duties.
TLIN 005: The Executive Coordinator shall be responsible for organizing meetings and activities of the SME panel and gathering, compiling, and organizing data during review of proposals using prepared forms and templates. The review of proposals shall include preparing final reports and products. The Offeror shall deliver all compiled data and completed evaluation materials to Reclamation with final reports and products 120 days after contract award.
TLIN 006: A presentation shall be prepared and presented to Reclamations Upper Colorado Basin leadership by the Executive Coordinator. The presentation shall be organized and effectively communicate information to high level decision makers. The presentation must include methods regarding how proposals were evaluated and scored, and results based on the evaluations. The presentation shall also include other pertinent information as the Executive Coordinator sees fit. The presentation date shall be given approximately 130 days after contract award. The vendor will be notified as to the date and time of this presentation not later than 72 hours in advance of the presentation. The vendor shall submit any final materials that will assist in the presentation to individuals not less than 48 hours in advance of the presentation. The vendor shall present via teams meeting and the vendor will be notified in advance of the link for the virtual presentation not later than 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Schedule:
TASK/DELIVERABLE DUE DATES
TLIN 001 Begin Immediately
TLIN 002 25 Days after contract award
TLIN 003 60 Days after contract award
TLIN 004 75 Days after contract award
TLIN 005 120 Days after contract award
TLIN 006 130 Days after contract award
Deliverables:
As stated above.
Points of Contact:
Contracting Officer (CO): JoLyn M. Goss, jgoss@usbr.gov, 801-524-3697
Contracting Officer Representative (COR): David Baird, drbaird@usbr.gov, 385-831-8211
Project Leader: David Baird, dbaird@usbr.gov, 382-831-8211
Summary Pricing of line items from the attached Schedule B:
TASK/DELIVERABLE Pricing
TLIN 001
TLIN 002
TLIN 003
TLIN 004
TLIN 005
TLIN 006
TOTAL
All applicable Clauses and Provisions are outlined in the attached combined/synopsis solicitation which has been included for convenience outside of the FAR 52.2121-2 Evaluation Commercial Products and Commercial Services to ensure vendors understand what is required to be submitted. Clauses and Provisions:
The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Quoters-Commercial applies to this acquisition. Addendum to 52.212-1 substitutes the term quote where the term offer appears in the provision.
52.212-2- EVALUATION-COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2021)
(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes.
(b) The offer will be evaluated on a risk basis with low risk indicating a high success of accomplishing the work required, and high risk indicating a low success of accomplishing the work required.
(c) When combined all non -price factors are greater when compared with price and all non-price factors are approximately equal to each other.
The following is the submission requirements and how factors will be evaluated:
Factor 1 Technical Approach
Required submission:
Provide a complete outreach plan as described in the Statement of Work (SOW) TLIN 001.
Provide a draft timeline for the task line items of the SOW that breaks down effort and tasks into a detailed schedule (e.g. Gantt Chart) and included milestones, dependencies, and resources to accomplish each task on time.
Provide examples of past work that includes spreadsheets, tools, templates, letters, reports, and presentations that demonstrate the ability to compile, organize, and summarize large amounts of data.
Evaluation Criteria:
The outreach plan will be reviewed for completeness regarding a solid plan that would ensure stakeholders are informed and properly advised regarding the funding opportunity. A rating of low risk with high probability of successful performance will be achieved if the plan outlines clear objectives with supporting activities and materials to accomplish the goals to spark interest, inform, educate, and advise stakeholders.
The timelines submitted will be evaluated on length and/or duration of work and meeting the requirements of the solicitation. The better the schedule demonstrates logical relationships, an advantageous approach, or demonstrates a better understanding of the work the higher the rating the proposal may receive.
Submitted examples of past work will be evaluated for correctness, professionalism, and aesthetic quality. In addition, work that demonstrates the ability to compile, organize, summarize and present information in a well-constructed manner will achieve a lower risk with high success of probability rating.
Factor 2 Key Personnel
Required submission:
Provide a resume or curriculum vitae (c.v.) of the key personnel which shall serve as the Executive Coordinator for the project.
Provide a statement summarizing the selection process that will be followed to select team members for the SME panel in accord with the SOW section 3 (Methods, Protocols and/or Scientific Standards).
Evaluation Criteria:
The government will evaluate the quotation to determine if the offeror has provided the information required for Factor 2 and to determine if the offeror has key personnel with the requisite degree of experience necessary to successfully perform this Offer. Curriculum Vitae will be evaluated to determine if the offeror has experience with programs of similar size, scope, and nature. The narrative will be evaluated to determine if the offeror has demonstrated the requisite ability to obtain the necessary experts to provide the required reviews. The better the key personnel demonstrate requisite knowledge, skills, and expertise, providing an advantageous approach to the work and demonstrating a better understanding of the work the higher the rating the proposal may receive.
Factor 3 Experience
Required Submission:
Provide a summary of up to 3 past Executive Coordinator projects completed in the last 5 years by the Offeror that are similar in size, scope, and nature and include a description of experience and expertise that the Offeror demonstrated to complete tasks on time.
Provide as summary of an outreach project with a few materials or photos of outreach efforts that were completed by the Offeror in the last 5 years similar in size, scope, and nature to the outreach plan of this project.
Evaluation Criteria:
The government will evaluate the offerors demonstrated experience in performing under contracts of similar size, scope, and complexity.
Factor 4 Past Performance
Required Submission:
Past performance of the Offeror will be evaluated using summaries of past projects submitted under experience. The vendor shall submit the following for each project summarized under experience:
Name of project, location, telephone number and email address of clients or contacts for these projects. Please note if these projects are listed in the contractor performance and rating system (CPARs)
Evaluation Criteria:
The government will evaluate the offerors past experiences to determine how well projects of similar size, scope and complexity were performed. The government also reserves the right to evaluate past performance based on personal knowledge of the Offeror, reports shown of past performance at the Contractor Performance and Ratings System (CPARS) and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) website.
Factor 5 Cost/Price:
Offeror shall provide the attached schedule B (also included in excel for administrative convenience), in Volume II of their quotation.
Evaluation Criteria: Cost/Price
The offeror shall complete the price schedule as Attachment B providing a firm fixed price quotation for the requirements. Price will be evaluated for evidence of reasonableness and to ensure there is no evidence of unfair or unbalanced pricing.
Submission of Quotation:
The offeror quotation shall be submitted in two volumes.
Volume I Shall provide the information required under the technical, key personnel, experience, and past performance evaluation factors and shall contain no mention of price. Shall not exceed more than 30 pages in length. However, CVs, Resumes and sample documents may be provided as attachments and will not be counted towards the page length of the quotation.
Volume II Shall contain the pricing information required.
Quotation materials shall be submitted via email to JoLyn Goss at jgoss@usbr.gov. The quotation shall contain two volumes as indicated, both volumes shall be under 25MB in size, one shall be called Volume I Technical Volume and the other Volume II ¿ Pricing Volume.
(d) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).
(e) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer¿s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.
Written, signed Quotes on a company letterhead with contact information are due no later than August 13, 2024 at 5:00 PM MDT by email to jgoss@usbr.gov. These Quotes shall include the vendors submission of requirements for technical, past performance, and price (FAR 52.212-2 Please see highlighted in Green) as well as the attached spreadsheet for pricing convenience. A copy of Clause 52.204-24 (highlighted in Yellow) with the fill in completed and signed, as well as any other documentation the vendor determines would add value to the quotation and assist the government in determining a quotation is of the best value to the government. (a PDF of the full announcement will be attached to this announcement) and any other necessary documentation to the contracting officer listed above. Vendors should utilize the attached PDF for administrative purposes and for knowledge of all applicable clauses and provisions. For information or questions regarding this Request for Quotation, please contact the Contracting Officer at 801-524-3697 or jgoss@usbr.gov.
