SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- No Cost Blanket Purchase Agreement for NIST Conference Support Services
- Notice Date
- 5/9/2008
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- 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
- NB107000-8-7000mac
- Point of Contact
- Mario A. Checchia,, Phone: 301-975-8407, Lorena M Cruz,, Phone: 301-975-3696
- E-Mail Address
-
mario.checchia@nist.gov, lorena.cruz@nist.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE SUPPORT STATEMENT OF WORK The Contractor shall function as the Exhibition Manager and Conference Coordinator for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in accordance with the following provisions: 1.Background The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recognizes the value of scientific conferences (hereafter referred to as “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. The NIST Public and Business Affairs Office has a need to acquire formal and informal conference facilities and related services. 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. 2.Contract/Agreement type This is a no-cost Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). 3.Compensation and Consideration. The Contractor shall provide all services required by each Call 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 Call Order. The contractor is entitled to and shall retain all of the registration, exhibition, sponsorship, and/or other fees it collects in the performance of each Call Order. The contractor shall collect any fees associated with its performance directly from attendees, exhibitors, or sponsors. 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 Call Order. The contractor shall provide the Government with a detailed accounting of the collections and disbursements associated with the performance of each Call Order. 4.Call Orders No work may be undertaken by the Contractor without the receipt of a Call Order that has been approved by the Contracting Officer or authorized personnel. Each Call Order will be structured as appropriate depending on the nature of the services/deliverables required. a.An approved Call Order shall be the only basis for requesting and obtaining the services/deliverables under this BPA. b.The Contractor shall be responsible for performance in accordance with the terms and conditions of the BPA when a Call Order is placed by the Contracting Officer or authorized personnel. 5.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 Call Order issued under this BPA. 6.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 BPA 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. 7.Scope of Work The Contractor shall provide all necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities to perform exhibition management and conference coordination. A given Call Order under this BPA may include all or some of the tasks discussed below: a.Website. The Contractor shall create and maintain websites for conferences with content and links. The website must comply with NIST’s information technology security and Government standards to include 508 compliance. b.Publicity. The Contractor shall place advertisements as required for marketing purposes. c.Pre-Conference Mailing/Promotion*. The Contractor shall be responsible for mailing, or e-mailing conference materials to persons who call their office within two (2) working days of the call. Distribution of materials may be via facsimile, the Internet, or mail. The Contractor shall be responsible for developing promotional materials with COTR approval (to include flyers, brochures and registration forms). d.Database management. The Contractor shall develop an on-line registration system for the conference with the capability of information being downloaded on a monthly, weekly, or including the electronic accounting information for submission to NIST. e.Conference Registration and Event Fees. The Contractor shall manage the registration process, including electronic collection of, accounting for, and submission to NIST of registration fees. f.Attendance Records. The Contractor shall provide up-to-date attendance figures on a weekly basis (attendees, exhibitors, etc.) to the COTR. The Contractor shall provide a list in alphabetical order by company name, e-mail address, point(s) of contract, telephone number, business size (i.e., large, small, women owned, etc.) and description of companies business. g.Identification Badges. The Contractor shall design and develop badges for all attendees and participants. The Contractor shall develop a system, which shall ensure that duplicate badges are not developed for any conference participants. The Contractor shall ensure that badges and conference material are provided to each attendee during the registration period the day that the conference starts. Badges will be two distinct designs, one for attendees and one for vendors. The COTR will provide an invitee listing of conference participants and/or vendors to the Contractor during the solicitation of a given Call Order. h.Personnel identification. Each employee or representative of the Contractor shall have in his possession identification. In addition, each employee or representative of the Contractor shall wear a badge or button on the outside of his clothing with the following information: Name and name of his company. The Contractor shall furnish the badges or buttons at his own expense. i.Conference Administrative Responsibilities. The Contractor shall provide sufficient number of personnel to ensure an easy and fast distribution process. This means that registered attendees will be processed within ten (10) minutes of their arrival to the conference. j.Facilities. The Contractor shall provide a meeting room for the conference. The meeting shall be set up in a classroom style. The Contractor shall also have a registration area, trashcans for use by the conference attendees, a message board, a telephone for outside calls, and two easels to be set up throughout the meeting room. k.Food Service. The Contractor shall provide continuous coffee service for conference attendees during the day. Coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee and assorted breakfast breads will be available in the morning. The Contractor shall provide a buffet lunch for conference attendees. Soft drinks and cookies shall be available in the afternoon. The Contractor shall provide a buffet dinner for conference attendees. l.Sleeping Rooms. The Contractor shall coordinate sleeping rooms at the request of conference attendees. m.Audiovisual Equipment. The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining audiovisual equipment for conferences held off the NIST campus. For conferences held on the NIST campus, the Government will provide the audiovisual equipment. n.Conference Materials*. The Contractor shall provide brochures, speakers’ bios, conference pens, paper note pads and folders or binders with the conference logos and theme. NIST will provide the Contractor with the logos and theme during the issuance of a given Call Order. o.Conference signage*. The Contractor shall display the conference agenda, directional signage, and workshop titles throughout the conference area. p.Exhibitors. NIST considers the presence of industry exhibitions to be vital to the success of conferences. The Contractor shall recruit and obtain the participation of industry exhibitors. The minimum number of exhibitors will be specified in a given Call Order. 1)Booth Requirements. The Contractor shall provide signage to identify all exhibitors’ booths. NIST will not be responsible for preparing signage for exhibits. The Contractor shall be prepared to develop and place any directional and informational signage deemed necessary. 2)Booth size. The booth size will be specified in a given Call Order. q.Special Needs (Physical). The Contractor shall coordinate assistance, as necessary, for individuals with special needs. Such assistance may include a sign language interpreter, wheel chair access, etc. r.Conference Setup and Cleanup. The Contractor shall set up and break down all attendee’s displays. If subcontractors are used, the Contractor shall coordinate set up and break down activities with other contractors. The Contractor shall also clear the conference areas of all materials and dispose of them properly. The Contractor shall coordinate the return of materials, as agreed to with NIST. Signage shall be removed and packed carefully to allow for future use at conferences. s.Security. On-site security shall only be provided for conferences held at NIST. Security for off-site conferences (i.e., not held on the NIST campus) is the responsibility of the Contractor. t.Physical Security. NIST will not provide physical security for property left in place by vendors before, during or after a conference for both on-site and off-site conferences. u.Vehicle Registration. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable requirements of NIST for conferences held on the NIST campus. v.Conference Survey. The survey form will be provided by NIST during the issuance of a given Call Order. The survey forms will be distributed during the registration period of the conference and throughout the duration of the conference. The surveys will be collected by the Contractor during the conference. w.Reports. The Contractor shall submit to the COTR a written, running log reflecting registered firms. 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 five (5) working days after a given conference. *For 7c, n, and o- The publishing and printing elements of this SOW are subject to the policies and procedures set forth in the Department's Publishing and Printing Manual, which implements the regulations of the Joint Committee on Printing and Title 44 of the US Code entitled "Public Printing and Documents. 8.Period of performance The BPA has a five-year period of performance. 9.Place of Performance Onsite conferences will be held at NIST 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 and other sites specified in a given Call Order, which shall be within the continental United States. 10.Contracting Officer Authority The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this BPA and notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this BPA, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the BPA terms and conditions. 11.Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is to be determined - National Institute of Standards and Technology. 12.Basis for Award The Government will make award based on best value. 13.Evaluation Factors a. The Government will award a Blanket Purchase Agreement resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quotation conforms best with the solicitation. The following factors will be used for the evaluation. These best value evaluation factors while relatively equal are listed in order of importance : (1) Past Performance - Provide a list of contacts, including phone numbers, to allow NIST to evaluate a firm's past performance in successfully accomplishing activities for three related/similar activities to those identified in the Statement of Work (SOW); (2) Technical Capability - Provide sufficient information to demonstrate ability to meet Government's requirement. Address proposed management of program and plans to provide seamless support; and (3) Relational Price – The Contractor shall provide its price structure to be applied for this Blanket Purchase Agreement. This evaluation factor will allow NIST to evaluate the costs the contractor will impose on third parties, i.e., attendees, exhibitors. 14.Compliance with Laws 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. 15. 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 No Cost Blanket Purchase Agreement. 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; FAR 52,212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items. The Government shall award a Blanket Purchase Agreement 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. 16.Submittals Interested contractors are invited to review the above and provide an electronic response to be received no later than May 14, 2008 at 3:00 pm to: mario.checchia@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, shall be limited to fifteen(15) single sided pages.
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