SOLICITATION NOTICE
76 -- Three Mile Island, A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective
- Notice Date
- 11/4/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Administration, Division of Contracts, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852-2738
- ZIP Code
- 20852-2738
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-SEC-03-201
- Archive Date
- 11/28/2002
- Point of Contact
- Anita Hughes, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 415-6526, Fax (301) 415-8157,
- E-Mail Address
-
amh2@nrc.gov
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written Request for Quotation (RFQ) will not be issued. The RFQ number is RFQ-SEC-03-201and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This solicitation document incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 02-09. This solicitation is a full and open competition. The applicable NAICS code is 511130 and the size standard is not more than 500 employees. FAR provisions 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, and 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, apply to this acquisition. Offers must submit a completed copy of FAR provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with their offers. FAR Clauses 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues and Executive Orders-Commercial Items, with the following additional clauses: 52.219-8, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, and 52.247-34, apply to this acquisition. Quotes are due on 11/12/02 by 3:00 PM at the USNRC, located at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738. OBJECTIVE The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) seeks a scholarly publisher to publish a work on the history of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979 and its aftermath (hereinafter referred to by the term "the book"). The title of the book is Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective. It is a volume in a series of scholarly histories produced by the NRC. The first three volumes, Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-1962 (1984), Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963-1971 (1992), and Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century (2000) were published by the University of California Press. BACKGROUND Author: The author of the book is J. Samuel Walker, historian of the NRC. He is the co-author of Controlling the Atom and author of Containing the Atom and Permissible Dose. He has also published many other scholarly works. A copy of his curriculum vita is included as Attachment 1. Book's Subject Matter: The book is the first comprehensive scholarly history of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. It provides an in-depth discussion of the historical context in which the accident occurred, including chapters on the sharply-contested national debate over nuclear power in the 1970s and on the efforts of the NRC and its predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, to protect the public from the hazards of the technology. The book offers a detailed account of the accident and the response of the NRC, the state of Pennsylvania, the White House, and others to its potential effects. It closely examines the technical failures and human errors that caused the accident, the uncertainties and confusion among authorities over the extent of the risk to public health and whether they should evacuate the population of the area, and the fears that gripped the people whose lives were touched directly by the accident. Finally, the book includes an epilog that describes the post-accident reforms of the NRC and the nuclear industry, the clean-up of the plant, the impact of the crisis on the public and on the nuclear power debate, and the epidemiological studies of the effects of the accident on public health. Further information on the book's content is provided in the Prospectus (See Attachment 2). Audience: The book is intended to reach as wide an audience as possible, not only specialists in fields relating to nuclear energy and radiation protection but also a wider audience that lived through or were otherwise affected by the Three Mile Island accident. After nearly 25 years, the accident still brings back vivid memories or impressions from the people of the area and from those more distant who heard about it in a barrage of media reports. The accident continues to attract a great deal of public attention; it has been the subject of two prime-time televison documentaries, one by the Public Broadcasting System and one by NRC "Dateline" over the past three years. The book seeks to correct myths that have grown up about the accident while at the same time to provide an accurate and authoritative narrative based heavily on exhaustive research in primary sources. Approach: The NRC placed no restrictions on the author in the book's approach, structure, content, or conclusions. The book builds on previous work by the author on reactor safety, radiation protection, and nuclear power that have appeared not only in the three books cited above but also in journals that include JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association (1989), Technology and Culture (1989, 2001), Pacific Historical Review (1990), Isis (1994), and Diplomatic History (2001). No Copyright: Since the text and the references in the book were prepared by an employee of the U.S. government as a part of his official duties, they are not copyrightable. SCOPE OF WORK The publisher (hereinafter "the contractor") shall perform services normally associated with the publication of a scholarly book, including review, editing, design, production, promotion, and warehousing, at no cost to the NRC or the U.S. government. The NRC will purchase 1,000 copies of the book once it is published. The contractor shall provide layout and typography design and materials that meet a standard of quality appropriate for a scholarly book of enduring value that also appeals to a wide reading audience. The following specifications shall apply to the book: Length: Approximately 300 pages (the double-spaced manuscript runs about 350 pages and 115,000 words, including notes). Jacket: Attractively-presented two-color cover with reverse-type white and shading as appropriate. Typography: Type style is left to the contractor's discretion but right margin must be justified. Illustrations: 24 halftones (NRC will provide glossy photographs), and 1 schematic diagram of the Three Mile Island plant at which the accident occurred. After receipt of NRC's final manuscript in hard copy and/or computer disk form, the contractor shall publish the book, deliver copies to the NRC, and send review copies to appropriate outlets at least three months before the 25th anniversary of the Three Mile Island accident, which occurred on March 28, 2004. DELIVERABLES The contractor shall deliver 1,000 copies of the hardback book once it is published to the addresses provided by the NRC. The NRC will purchase those copies at the standard author's discount and pay the shipping cost. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS The NRC will not receive royalties from the contractor for the book. The contractor shall: 1) keep the retail price of the book as low as possible to encourage the widest possible distribution to the public, and 2) make copies available for retail purchase through established book promotions. The NRC may purchase additional copies of the book at a future date. While not a part of this purchase agreement, the NRC reserves the right for future purchases of the book at the standard author's discounted price at the time of purchase. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall commence on the award date of the purchase agreement and expire December 28, 2003. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED MATERIALS The NRC will provide the manuscript to the publisher in hard copy and/or 3 ?" disks. The manuscript will be prepared on the WordPerfect for Windows 8.0 program. The NRC will also provide photographs, captions, and permission to use copyrighted photos along with 1 schematic diagram. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - PROPOSAL PRESENTATION (a) By use of numerical scoring techniques, proposals are evaluated against the evaluation factors specified below. (b) The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this request to the responsible Offeror who quotation represents the best value, as defined by FAR 2.101, after evaluation in accordance with the factor listed below. Offerors are advised that cost/price is equally important when compared to the evaluation criteria listed below. Further, to be selected for an award, the quoted cost/price must be realistic and reasonable. (C) The Government may: (1) Reject any or all quotations if the action is not in the Government's best interest; and (2) Waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received. 1. COST QUOTATION The Offeror shall provide a written cost quotation that shall provide the unit price for a hardback copy of the published book, "Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective." In addition, the Offeror shall provide supporting documentation to substantiate the unit price proposed for a copy of the hardback book as well the shipping amount. State if any discounts are provided. 2. AWARD AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS In accordance with FAR clause 52.212-2(a), the following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations: corporate experience, demonstrated evidence of satisfactory past performance on similar types of services provided and publisher's qualifications. The proposal must provide sufficient information about each criterion so that a complete evaluation can be accomplished. The evaluation criteria will be given an overall score of 100 points. Price will not be scored. Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal offers the best value to the NRC. Corporate Experience/Past Performance The Offeror shall demonstrate corporate experience for publishing books on topics similar to the history of the Three Mile Island incident. The Offeror shall demonstrate successful performance in publishing books on topics similar to the history of the Three Mile Island incident. This should include lists of books published on topics relating specifically to the history of radiation safety and nuclear energy and generally to the history of technology and the history of science. The Offeror shall provide the following information: Book Title Author Date Published In addition, provide a list of books/works published by your company that were written by historians of U.S. Government agencies. List any sample books, advertisements, reviews, and/or awards received, letters of commendation, etc. that will demonstrate the offeror's record of past performance. The offeror shall provide any other pertinent information that will aid in the evaluation of the offeror's performance records. Offerors shall list and discuss whether they have had prior contracts terminated for default, whether they have received any show cause letters, cure notices, or poor performance letters. The Offeror shall provide evidence of an outstanding reputation among scholarly publishers. This should include concrete evidence of the prestige that the publisher commands in the scholarly publishing world, such as newspaper or journal articles, reviews, and/or commendations within the past twenty years that cite its reputation and performance. Weighted Evaluation Criteria By the use of numerical scoring techniques, proposals will be evaluated against the following evaluation factor specified below. Corporate Experience/Past Performance (100 POINTS) Extent to which the offeror demonstrates successful performance in publishing books on topics similar to the history of the Three Mile Island incident.
- Record
- SN00199420-W 20021106/021104225702 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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