SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Professional Education Consulting Services for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) eRate Program
- Notice Date
- 11/26/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Albuquerque Acquisitions Office, 1001 Indian School Road NW; ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87104
- ZIP Code
- 87104
- Solicitation Number
- RABQ2080002
- Response Due
- 11/29/2007
- Archive Date
- 11/30/2007
- Point of Contact
- DIANNE GUTIERREZ (505) 563-3007
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation, RABQ2080002, is issued as a Request for Quotes (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition 2001-03. The North American Industry classification (NAICS) code is 611710 and the business size maximum is $6.5 Million. The proposed contract is a Total Small Business Set-Aside. All small business shall provide a breakdown of their costs to demonstrate that at least 51% of the cost of contract performance incurred for travel, supplies, training materials, etc. shall be performed and incurred by the small business (prime). All small businesses shall comply with FAR 52.229-14 Limitations on Subcontracting. All responsible small business sources may submit a quote, which will be considered by the Government. This office is requesting quotes on the following item: 0001 Base Year: Provide all travel, supplies, materials and personnel to provide Professional Education Consulting Services for the BIE eRate Program. All work shall be performed in accordance with the Scope of Work. The Quantity is One and the Unit is Day. 0002 Option Year One: Provide all travel, supplies, materials and personnel to provide Professional Education Consulting Services for the BIE eRate Program. All work shall be performed in accordance with the Scope of Work. The Quantity is One and the Unit is Day. Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts shall be awarded which identify a fixed daily rate (daily for all costs, with exception of travel) for the base and option year; therefore, provide only the daily rate to provide services in accordance with the SOW. The Governments intends to award IDIQ contracts for a basic year and one option year. The period of performance (POP) for the base year is from December 1, 2007 through November 30, 2008; and, the POP for Option Year One is from December 1, 2008 to November 30, 2009. Multiple awards shall be made. Awards shall be made to companies to provide one or more objectives delineated under Phase 1 and Phase 2, which are shown under the Objectives section of the SOW. The Government shall issue task orders against the IDIQ contracts for the items delineated under the Objectives section of the Sow when a need arises. Task orders shall be issued on a fixed price basis utilizing the fixed price daily rate awarded in each IDIQ contract x the number of days to complete the task plus travel costs, which shall be paid in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations. The minimum value of each contract shall be one task order per POP for a minimum value of not less than $500.00. The maximum value of each IDIQ contract shall be twenty task orders per POP for a maximum value of not more than $500,000.00. The Government shall place task orders based upon the following factors: In order to afford fair opportunity to contractors, task orders shall be issued against IDIQ contracts only to contractors that have received the award for the particular objective. The task order ombudsman shall be: Name: Dianne Gutierrez, Contracting Officer (CO), Address: 1001 Indian School Road, Albuquerque, NM 87104; Telephone: 505-563-3007; Fax: 505-563-3019. SCOPE OF WORK (SOW): The SOW is as follows: Scope of Work. Background: The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) serves as a state education agency (SEA) for 184 elementary and secondary schools and dormitories serving approximately 48,000 students located in 23 states on 63 American Indian reservations. This scope of work calls for professional education consulting services to assist the BIE in implementing the eRate Program for the BIE Schools. The Contractor will provide professional consulting services and deliverables for the scope of the work outlined below. All eRate processes performed by the consultant on behalf of the schools must be completed in compliance with the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) requirements as posted at http://www.universalservice.org Services shall include, but are not limited to the following: Phase 1: Preparation of Technology Plan and Form 470 (December 3-14, 2008). Objective 1: The consultant will complete all necessary Letters of Agency (LOA) as required by the SLD before any work begins with any individual school. Objective 2: Assist the school in filing for an FCC registration number. This includes the school providing the tax-payer identification number and then helping the school follow the procedure at the FCC website: www.fcc.gov<http://www.fcc.gov/>. Deliverable: School FCC Registration Number. Objective 3: Contractor shall assist an individual school with preparation and development of a technology plan to meet the requirements of the BIE. The plan must achieve signature approval of the appropriate Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) certified technology plan approver for purposes of eRate. (BIE is the approver for BIE-operated schools, the SLD certified approver can be the State certified approver for BIE-Grant/Contract schools). The plan must assess a schools present telecommunications infrastructure, hardware, software, telephone, cabling and electrical components and plan for future needs; aligning with the curriculum for the students of the school. The plan must support the current eRate funding request. The following criteria have been adopted by the SLD for approval of technology plans: (1) The plan must establish clear goals and a realistic strategy for using telecommunications and information technology to improve education or library services; (2) The plan must have a professional development strategy to ensure that staff know how to use these new technologies to improve education or library services; (3) The plan must include an assessment of the telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services that will be needed to improve education or library services; (4) The plan must provide for a sufficient budget to acquire and maintain the hardware, software, professional development, and other services that will be needed to implement the strategy; and (5) The plan must include an evaluation process that enables the school or library to monitor progress toward the specified goals and make mid-course corrections in response to new developments and opportunities as they arise. In order for the contractor to assist a school in preparing the technology plan the school must provide data pertinent to each of the five items listed above. Deliverable: Individual School Technology Plan. The Government has furnished a template for the Individual School Technology Plan. The plan is available at http://enan.bia.edu. Objective 4: Contractor shall assist an individual school with validation/review and completing appropriate modifications to existing technology plan. (Review of plan to occur annually, or when any significant change occurs with the schools future technology plans. Changes will include technology refresh, budget, etc. The plan must be reviewed to ensure that it supports the current full eRate funding request). Deliverable: Updated and current Individual School Technology Plan. Objective 5: Contractor shall assist the school in developing and documenting a budget to support development and long-term growth of an information technology budget. A budget includes income and expenses (Refer to individual school Financial Program Plan for BIE-operated schools). In order to provide this assistance the school must provide documentation showing the amount of funding they have received and the source of the funding that is available to commit to the purchase and maintenance of the information technology to ensure eligibility for the eRate program. Deliverable: A budget with sufficient detail to obtain approved by the Principal, School board and ELO to support the eRate request. Objective 6: Contractor shall assist the school in analyzing and reviewing the student free and reduced lunch counts to maximize funding level potential: and, helping the school optimize participation in the eRate program which may include use of alternative discount mechanisms as defined by the SLD. BIE operates in 23 different States. Each of the States process the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) counts differently. In order for the contractor to assist a school the school must provide the lunch counts numbers and the total student counts. The schools must also have access to the documentation that supports the lunch count numbers. Deliverable: Student lunch count data used to determine discount. Objective 7: Contractor shall assist in the school's preparation and submission of the Form 470, Description of Services Requested. Ensure Form 470 is properly submitted within filing window and certified. The school must bring the electronic personal identification number (PIN) to certify the Form 470 or be prepared to sign and express mail the completed document to the SLD. Deliverable: Completed, certified Form 470's as appropriate (may be more than one per school). Phase 2: Receipt of Bids (December 14 through February 7, 2008). Objective 8: Contractor shall coordinate and assist with the school point of contact and the BIA Contracting Office (Bureau operated schools only) on the collection and evaluation of bids from service providers. Contractor shall provide the school with government furnished evaluation matrix used in the decision making process. Contractor shall assist the school in preparing the appropriate documentation to support the evaluation decision for future validation of practices and procedures. Documentation includes: Evaluation Report, Scoring and Ranking Matrix, (this documentation must be provided regardless of the number of bidders--1 bidder or multiple bidders). Deliverable: Bid evaluation scoring and documentation, including description of process. Objective 9: Contractor shall assist the school with preparation and submission of the schools Form 471 Services Ordered. Ensure Form 471 is properly submitted within filing window and certified. For BIE-operated schools prior to the submission of the 471 a copy of the 471 shall be submitted and approved by the BIA Contracting Officer. Additionally, these schools shall submit a Purchase Request for the school's portion of any goods or services to be obtained from the eRate process. Deliverable: Assist the school/government in selecting the provider, file Form 471, select invoice method. Objective 10: Contractor shall assist the schools with contract (SLD portion of funds) completion process and signature. Deliverable: Completion of contract document executed between school and the selected vendors. All eRate eligible and ineligible components will be properly documented, segregated and cost-allocated accordingly. Objective 11: Contractor shall assist the schools with the review of the school Receipt Acknowledgement Letter. Deliverable: Ensure accuracy and submission of any necessary corrections to SLD as needed. Required Qualifications of Expert Provider. Knowledge, skills and abilities required of expert provider: 1. Technical Qualifications. 1a. Contractor shall have a experience in all phases of the SLD eRate process from the creation of the technology plan (the foundation planning document) through creation and submission of the form 470, 471 until money is dispersed by the SLD. 1b. Contractor shall have experience building infrastructure for schools that takes advantage of the items that are included in the FCC's eligible list for the school year 2008-2009. 1c. Contractor's work will demonstrate that infrastructure design is appropriate for the learning environment/educational requirements of a particular school. 1d. Contractor shall have knowledge of various methodologies of maintaining records created during the course of the application process. The records must be accessible and maintained by the school for a minimum of 6 years. 1e. Contractor shall be able to show examples of successful defense of eRate work performed in the selective review, cost-effectiveness, or appeals processes. 1f. Contractor shall demonstrate a familiarity with the BIE and its role in the education of Native American children. Please include your TAX ID Number, CAGE Number (obtain at www.ccr.gov), and DUNS Number when submitting your quote. The Offeror shall provide the lump sum cost for the base and two option year periods with a breakdown of their cost to provide this service and provide a copy of their credentials, including but not limited the college diploma. The offeror shall have a favorable screening (applicant and suitability) determination must be made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), Personnel Security and Suitability Program in accordance with the Background Investigations Clause. Please contact the Security Office at (505) 563-5287 to begin process. The Offeror shall provide the lump sum cost with a breakdown of their cost to provide this service and respond to the Evaluation Factors delineated at the end of this synopsis. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given if full text. Upon request, the CO will make their full text available. The provisions at FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations of Certifications apply to this acquisition. Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certification/Commercial Items with their quote. If the offeror does not have a copy of this provision, you may obtain a copy at www.arnet.gov or contact the CO to receive a copy. Provision FAR 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by reference. . Clauses Incorporated by Reference, FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (SPR 1998). FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items, FAR 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (JUL 1995); FAR 52.219-4, Limitations on Subcontracting (DEC 1996); FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor, FAR 52.233-3 Protest after Award, FAR 222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies, FAR 52.225-16, Sanctioned European Union Country Services (FEB 2000); FAR 52.232-36 Payment by Third Party, FAR 52.239-1 Privacy or Security Safeguards, FAR 52.214-64 Preference for Privately owned U.S. Flag Commercial Vessels, FAR 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, FAR 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity, FAR 52.222-35 Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans of the Vietnam Era, FAR 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities, FAR 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era, FAR 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Central Contractor Registration, FAR 52.243-1 Changes Fixed Price (Alt I), FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items, FAR 52.222-41 Service Contract Act of 1965 (as amended), FAR 52.242-15 Stop Work Order, FAR 52,242-17 Government Delay of Work, Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR) 1452.226-70 Indian Preference, DIAR 1452.226-71 Indian Preference Program, DIAR 1452.204-70 Release of Claims; Background Investigations Clause; Travel Costs Clause; FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (para 1, 15 days); FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the contract (para (a) 15 days, 15 days; para (c) 2 years); 52.217-3 FAR 52.216-8 Ordering (para a, Date of Award through September 30, 2007 with one option year); FAR 52.216-19, Order Limitations(para a, $100.00; Para b (1) $500,000.00, Para (b)(2) $500,000.00, Para 3, 30 days); FAR 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity (Para d, September 10, 2007 with one option year); FAR 52.216-18 (para 1, Date of Award through September 10, 2007 with one option year); FAR 52.216-27, Single or Multiple Awards; Evaluation Exclusive of Options; and, FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation. The Evaluation Factors are in descending order of importance. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined are significantly more important than cost or price. The Evaluation Factors are: 1) Technical Capability 1a: Technical Excellence: Describe ability to meet REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS OF EXPERT PROVIDER section of SOW 1b. Technical Approach: Describe your technical approach to accomplish each of the objectives and/or tasks delineated in the Scope of Work. 1c. Past Experience: List contracts that are of comparable size, complexity and similar; and, provide references demonstrating previous experience for the eRate process. This experience shall show that experience building infrastructure systems for schools from the eligible list were defendable through the PIA, selective review process, and cost-effectiveness audits performed by the SLD. 2) Price 3) Past Performance: Provide recent & relevant contracts for the same or similar items, contract numbers, points of contacts with telephone numbers and other relevant information. Award will be based on the Best Value to the Government, overall acceptable quote, as submitted by a responsible offeror & ability to provide the above requirements. Quotes will be submitted in writing and signed by an individual with the authority to bind their respective company; electronic submissions via fax are acceptable. The due date for receipt of quotes is November 29, 2007; 9:00am Local Time. You may mail your quote to BIA, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, or you can fax your quotes to (505) 563-3019.
- Record
- SN01458010-W 20071128/071126223609 (fbodaily.com)
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