FILE | R | NIST Conference Support - Previous NIST Conferences

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 06, 2008 FBO #2445
DOCUMENT

R -- NIST Conference Support - Previous NIST Conferences

Notice Date: 8/4/2008
Notice Type: Previous NIST Conferences
NAICS: 541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
Contracting Office: Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
ZIP Code: 20899-1640
Solicitation Number: NB107000-8-00107
Archive Date: 8/28/2008
Point of Contact: Mario A. Checchia,, Phone: 301-975-8407, Lorena Cruz,, Phone: 301-975-3696
E-Mail Address: mario.checchia@nist.gov, lorena.cruz@nist.gov
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Description: The NIST Public and Business Affairs Office has a need to acquire conference support services to help run NIST conferences in accordance with this Statement of Work (SOW). 1.Background The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recognizes the value of scientific conferences that are relevant to its mission and to the public interests. Conferences permit individuals and organizations to engage in a variety of activities that are critical to the development and implementation of NIST programs and play an important role in fulfilling NIST’s mission, in particular its technology transfer function. These conferences are an effective way to bring together various groups of people to share information, educate the scientific community, the public, work with state and local government partners, and/or learn from non-governmental stakeholders. Conference planning at NIST has been centralized in the Conference Program, part of the NIST Public & Business Affairs Office, over the past twenty years. The majority of meetings are held at the NIST site; however, some meetings are held offsite. In FY’05, 58 meetings took place with an attendance of 5,853 and total expenses of $1,271,447.58. All but nine meetings were held at NIST. In FY’06, there were 69 meetings held with an attendance of 7,854 and total expenses of $2,520,960.99. Eleven meetings were held offsite. And, in FY’07, there were 49 meetings held with an attendance of 5,653 and total expenses of $1,822,883.98. Eleven meetings were held offsite. (See attached spreadsheet for more detailed data.) NIST conferences are funded in a variety of ways. Funding for a particular conference may come from co-sponsors, NIST appropriated funds, fees collected from attendees, fees collected from exhibitors, or a combination thereof. Over the past three years, 75% of the conferences were funded by attendee registration fees, 20% of the conferences had registration fees reduced by some expenses being covered by co-sponsors and 5% of the conferences had registration fees reduced by some expenses being covered by NIST appropriated funds. 2. Scope of Work For most of the conferences, the NIST Conference Program staff will handle the logistics and interface with the attendees for all conferences. The staff will coordinate support services, such as audiovisuals, room setups, food functions and transportation. NIST staff will also prepare and distribute badges, participant lists, handouts, and staff the registration desks. However, for the few large conferences that will be held offsite, the Contractor may be asked to help with some of these tasks. For each task order, NIST will provide a description of the requirements for the conference, NIST’s projected costs, the expected number of attendees, and the sources of funding. The Contractor shall also manage the registration process for all conferences. For each task order for which all or part of the funding will be from collected fees, the contractor will be required to assess, electronically collect, and account for registration fees from conference attendees and exhibitors, and submit conference revenue to NIST, as appropriate. The fees the contractor collects should be designed to cover NIST’s expenses associated with the conference, the contractor’s expenses associated with the conference, and the contractor’s profit. NIST appropriated funds may not be applied toward the purchase of food. Accordingly, food-related expenses must be factored into the fees charged to conference attendees. The Contractor shall develop and/or provide an on-line registration system for all conferences. The system must be capable of downloading information, including the electronic accounting information, on a monthly and/or weekly basis for submission to NIST. In addition, for all conferences, the Contractor shall provide up-to-date attendance figures for attendees and exhibitors and other groups as specified in the task order to the COTR on a weekly basis and provide a list in alphabetical order by company name, mail address, point of contact, telephone number, business size, and description of business. In addition to the services described above, a task order may require the contractor to perform the following types of work: a.Website. Create and maintain websites for conferences with content and links that comply with NIST’s information technology security requirements and other Government standards, including 508 compliance. b.Publicity. Place advertisements for marketing purposes. c.Pre-Conference Mailing/Promotion. Mailing, faxing or e-mailing conference materials; developing promotional materials including flyers, brochures and registration forms. d.Database management. Develop and/or provide an on-line registration system for the conference capable of downloading information, including the electronic accounting information, on a monthly and/or weekly basis for submission to NIST. e.Conference Registration and Event Fees. Manage the registration process, electronically collect, account for, and submit fees to NIST. f.Attendance Records. Provide up-to-date attendance figures for attendees and exhibitors and other groups as specified in the task order to the COTR on a weekly basis. Provide a list in alphabetical order by company name-mail address, point(s) of contact, telephone number, business size (i.e., large, small, women owned, etc.) and description of business. g.Identification Badges. Design and develop badges for all attendees and participants. Develop and/or implement a system, which shall ensure that duplicate badges are not developed for any conference participants. h.Conference Administrative Responsibilities. Provide sufficient number of personnel to ensure that registered attendees will be processed within ten (10) minutes of their arrival to the conference. i.Facilities. Provide meeting room(s) and a registration area for the conference. j.Food Service. Provide coffee service, lunch, receptions and dinners for conference attendees. k.Sleeping Rooms. Coordinate sleeping rooms at the request of conference attendees. l.Audiovisual Equipment. Obtain audiovisual equipment for conferences held off the NIST campus. For conferences held on the NIST campus, the Government will provide the audiovisual equipment. m.Special Needs (Physical). Coordinate assistance, as necessary, for individuals with special needs. Such assistance may include a sign language interpreter and wheel chair access. n.Conference Setup and Cleanup. Set up and break down all attendees’ displays. Clear the conference areas of all materials and dispose of them properly. Coordinate the return of materials, as agreed to with NIST. Signage shall be removed and packed carefully to allow for future use at conferences. o.Security. Provide security for off-site conferences. p.Physical Security. Provide physical security for property left in place by vendors before, during or after a conference for both on-site and off-site conferences. q.Reports. The Contractor shall submit to the COTR a written, running log reflecting registered attendees. Verbal reports shall be provided to the COTR upon request. No duplicate entries shall be shown in the report. A final accounting of all conference participants, including those who register on-site, shall be provided to the COTR within two (2) weeks after completion of the conference. The report should include information on all paid, new, and to-be-billed attendees. When the purchasing process for a conference is complete and invoices are paid, the Contractor shall provide a final financial report to NIST. 3. Evaluation Factors with Sample Task The Government intends to award a contract resulting from this solicitation on a best value basis. The following factors will be used for the evaluation1) Past Performance, 2) Technical Approach, 3) Experience and 4) Revenue Distribution. The relative importance of the evaluation factors is as follows: past performance is more important then technical approach which is more important then experience, which is more important than revenue distribution. (1) Past Performance – NIST will evaluate past performance of contracts of a similar nature and scope. The Contractor shall provide a list of contacts, including phone numbers, to allow NIST to evaluate a firm's past performance in successfully accomplishing three related/similar contracts within the last three years; (2) Technical Approach - Provide sufficient information to demonstrate ability to meet the Government's requirement and to address proposed management of the conference/programs and plans to provide seamless support, which should include identification and qualifications of relevant personnel. Contractors should describe the manner in which they will set fees in their proposals. (3) Experience – The offeror’s experience will be evaluated to determine that nature and extent of successful completion of similar conference work. NIST will consider the extent to which any awards or certifications, letters of appreciation, commendations, or industry recognitions of excellence indicate that the offeror has successfully completed similar contracts (4) Revenue Distribution – The Contractor shall provide a price structure process to be applied for this contract which will allow NIST to evaluate the costs the contractor will impose on third parties, i.e., attendees, exhibitors. The Contractor shall describe how they will distribute conference revenue to reimburse NIST’s expenses associated with the conference, its own expenses and its profit in accordance with the SOW. The quote shall indicate the priority in which the revenue distributions will be made. The revenue distribution schemes will be evaluated to determine which is the most advantageous to the Government Sample Task : For evaluation purposes, the prospective Contractors, shall submit quotes based upon the following sample task: Statement of Work - The Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities to perform the following statement of work: Title: THE SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP, MARCH 27-29, 2009 Facility : The Contractor shall provide a meeting room in the Gaithersburg area (not on the NIST campus) from 8:00am to 5:00 pm on March 27-29, 2009. The room shall be set in classroom style for approximately 80 attendees. There shall be a registration area set, trashcans, a message board, a telephone for outside calls and easels to be set up throughout the meeting. The following shall be provided : Audiovisual equipment, a data projector, screen, flip chart and podium & microphone, in the meeting room, food services, the necessary sleeping rooms, and must comply with all US Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and laws such as the Federal Fire Safety Act. Below is a sample of estimated costs for the ACME meeting. Source of Funding: Registration Fees Estimated Number of Attendees: 80 Sample Project line items to be provided by the NIST Public & Business Affairs Division for the Scientific Workshop Abstract Books Loose leaf binders Printing & Duplicating NIST Conference Programs Fee (per person) NIST Admin Fee (per person) **END SAMPLE TASK** The Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws and rules and regulations having the force of law which deal with or relate to performance hereunder or the employment by the Contractor of the employees. Applicable Clauses The provisions and clauses may be downloaded at http://www.acqnet.gov.far. The following provisions and clauses shall apply to this solicitation. These provisions and clauses will be appropriately modified for this contract. For example, any reference to payments made by the Government will be deleted. The clauses are: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; 52,212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items. The Government intends to 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 factors defined above in number 13 shall be used to evaluate offers; FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition; FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel; and other appropriate clauses as needed. All interested contractors must be actively registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at the CCR website www.ccr.gov and must provide a completed copy of the Offeror Representations and Certifications. Submittals : Interested contractors are invited to review the above and provide an electronic response to be received no later than August 13, 2008 at 3:00 pm to: mario.checchia@nist.gov and lorena.cruz@nist.gov. Contractors must submit a complete response. Responses that are not substantially complete will be returned. Quotes of partial performance shall be rejected. An electronic version shall be either in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat. The electronic version shall be in the form of an email with attachments. A one page letter shall transmit the quotation signed by an individual authorized to commit the organization. Each response shall be on 8 1/2-inch x 11-inch paper, in a commercially standard font, not smaller than a size 12 font. Each page in the response shall be separately numbered. A page of paper printed on both sides is considered two pages. The quote shall include the letter of transmittal and shall be limited to fifteen(15) single sided pages. Other terms and conditions: 1. Contract type: A no-cost indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, contract with task orders is planned. 2. Compensation and Consideration. The Contractor shall provide all services required by each task order at no cost to the Government. The agency has no financial liability to the contractor for those services and the contractor has no expectation of payment from the government for those services. The contractor is liable for all costs incurred related to the performance of each task order. The contractor shall have the capabilities to receive electronic payments. The Government does not guarantee a minimum amount of fees or a minimum number of attendees. All fees must be clearly defined and approved by NIST prior to the award of each task order. The contractor shall provide the Government with a detailed accounting of the collections and disbursements associated with the performance of each task order. 3. Task orders- No work may be undertaken by the Contractor without the receipt of a task order that has been approved by the Contracting Officer. Each task order will be structured as appropriate depending on the nature of the services/deliverables required. a. An approved task order shall be the only basis for requesting and obtaining the services/deliverables under this contract. b. The Contractor shall be responsible for performance in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract when a task order is placed by the Contracting Officer. 4. Contracting and Subcontracting. NIST will not be liable to the Contractor or its contracting party as a result of any contracting and/or subcontracting agreement between the Contractor and any subcontractors. The Contractor further agrees to hold NIST harmless should any conference be cancelled by NIST for any reason and at any time. The Contractor hereby waives its rights to all claims against NIST associated with the performance of any task order issued under this contract. 5. Claims and Liability The Contractor agrees to save the Government harmless from any and all claims, demands, actions, debts, liabilities, judgments, costs, and attorney’s fees arising out of, claimed on account of, or in any manner predicated upon loss of, or damage to, property of or injuries to, or the death of, any or all persons whatsoever, in any manner, caused or contributed to by the Contractor, his agents, servants, or employees, while in, upon, or about a given conference location on which the work upon this contract is to be done, or while going to or departing from the same, and to save the Government harmless from and on the account of damage of any kind which the Government may suffer as a result of any of the Contractor, his agents, servants, or employees in and about the said conference location.
Web Link: FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=7dd674e7c376d82e1757437a04075507&tab=core&_cview=1)
Document(s): Previous NIST Conferences; File Name: Previous NIST Conferences (Conference-Data-'05-'06-'07.xls); Link: https://www.fbo.gov//utils/view?id=9eacf095096758728c4be166cf1b775c; Bytes: 70.00 Kb; Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
Place of Performance: Address: NIST Gaithersburg and other defines sites tbd, United States
Record: SN01630140-W 20080806/080804221404-7dd674e7c376d82e1757437a04075507 (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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R -- NIST Conference Support - Previous NIST Conferences