SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Services to pick up and delivery passport and visa applications and process
- Notice Date
- 2/12/2009
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 492110
— Couriers and Express Delivery Services
- Contracting Office
- National Institutes of HealthNational Institute of Child Health6100 Executive Blvd.Room 5Z00RockvilleMD20852
- ZIP Code
- 20852
- Solicitation Number
- NICHD2009027
- Response Due
- 2/27/2009
- Archive Date
- 3/29/2009
- Point of Contact
- HAUN, PATRICIA M +1 301 594 8855, haunp@mail.nih.gov<br />
- 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 and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation number is NICHD2009027 and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation /contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-29, Amendment 1. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 492110 with a size standard of 1500 employees. This is set-aside for Small Businesses. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fogarty International Center (FIC) has a requirement for a Contractor to provide services to pick up and deliver passport and visa applications and process them through the appropriate embassies or Department of State and various foreign embassies. It is the intent of the Institute to award a contract for Base Year (12 months) plus Four (4) Option Years. STATEMENT OF WORK The John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC) promotes and supports scientific research and training internationally to reduce disparities in global health. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, it has been the international training and research arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 40 years. As a part of carrying out its mission, FIC also supports the NIH by providing sole responsibility for the processing of official government passports, diplomatic passports, as well as visas obtained through local embassies. The Fogarty International Center supports all NIH employees, including the NIH Director, who travel on official business to foreign countries by providing official passports and obtaining visas for foreign country travel. The contractor shall provide services to pick up and deliver passport and visa applications and process them through the appropriate embassies or Department of State and various foreign embassies. An important element in providing this service is obtaining passports and visas on short notice. It is also important that the FIC staff who manage the visa/passport function be able to reach the contractor by telephone between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays to obtain immediate information, advice, and updates on pending applications. The daily pick up and delivery of passport and visas and/or applications for the morning schedule shall be between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The afternoon schedule shall be between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. All deliveries to the FIC must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. Daily pick-up and delivery (morning and afternoon) of passport and visa applications from: John E. Fogarty International CenterNational Institutes of Health31 Center Drive MSC 2220Building 31, Room B2C05Bethesda, MD 20892 Daily delivery of processed passports and visas to the above address. At the discretion of the FIC, the on-site daily pick up and delivery may be cancelled if there are no passports or visas available for processing and pickup. FIC may also determine that on-site service may not be in our best interest depending on the passports or visas needed and may opt to change the on-site service to a secure express delivery service such as Federal Express. Notification will be provided to the contractor in either of these events. Task One - Execution of Passports and Visas During pick up and delivery of passport and visa applications, the contractor shall be responsible to review the documents at the FIC site to ensure accuracy and completeness. This requires up-to-date knowledge of the Department of State (DOS) requirements and regulations and requirements specific to each foreign country embassy for passports and visas related to official travel. Passport applications must be processed through the Special Issuance Agency, Department of State and visa applications must be processed through the appropriate foreign embassy. FIC will require emergency passport processing which shall include:- 24-48 hour passport processing and- same day processing and pick up and delivery for either passports or visas. It will be necessary for the contractor to provide visa applications (obtained from foreign embassies) as required. It will be required that the contractor provide secure handling of all documents to prevent loss and ensure privacy of information contained in documents. It will also be required that the contractor provide tracking information of all documents. The contractor must be familiar with the location, hours, and requirements of each of the foreign embassies. In the event of emergency passport and/or visa processing, it is especially helpful that the contractor staff have a good working relationship with embassy contacts. The contractor must be able to accept credit card or check payment from travelers for additional services, such as emergency processing fees, not covered by the FIC and be able to provide a receipt to the traveler. It is required that the contractor must provide detailed information of all processing fees as part of the invoicing process. Provide services to foreign visitors invited by National Institutes of Health for assistance in handling foreign passports and visas. Task Two Communicating with FIC and Embassies It will be essential that the contractor have the ability to readily communicate with FIC and embassies to ensure responsiveness on any changes to pick up and delivery schedules, or any emergencies that may arise. It will be required that the contractor provide daily reports of pick up for passports and visas which can be done electronically, via hard copy (delivered or faxed), or secure delivery service such as Federal Express. It will be required that the contractor must be able to provide expert advice to FIC regarding: Issues pertaining to foreign NIH staff in the United States on various visas who will travel to other locations outside the United States for official NIH business; and On requirements for obtaining visas for all countries included in travel by any HHS employees. Task Three Quality Control and Quality Assurance It is a requirement that the contractor must provide verification of background investigations with clear results for contractor staff handling passports and visas. The contractor assures that passports with appropriate visas are returned to FIC one week prior to travelers scheduled departure date. Emergency processing of passports and visas does not apply to this one week timeframe. It is crucial that the contractor assure that passports with appropriate visas are returned to the FIC prior to travelers scheduled departure date. The contractor will also be responsible to review all visa and passport applications for accuracy and completeness. And if possible, correct errors, if not, return application expeditiously to the FIC. It will be the contractors responsibility to provide and continuously update foreign embassy visa requirements (in a printed or electronic format). TECHNICAL EVALUATION General The Government intends to evaluate the offerors proposal and award a contract without discussions. Therefore, the offeror(s) initial proposal should contain the offerors best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. If the Contracting Officer determines the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.The technical portion of the proposal will be the most important single consideration in the award of the contract, and should be as complete and specific as possible. The evaluation of the proposals will be based on the administrative capabilities of the offeror to the needs of the project and realism of the level of effort in relation to the work done. Specific evaluation factors are shown below. The Government reserves the right to make an award(s) to that offeror(s) whose proposal provides the overall best value to the Government. Technical Evaluation Criteria A) The technical proposal will receive paramount consideration in the decision to award a contract for this acquisition, but not to the exclusion of cost/price. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined are significantly more important than cost or price. The technical evaluation of the proposal, in accordance with the technical evaluation criteria specified below, will be based on the technical capabilities of the offeror in relation to the requirements of the project, as stated in the Statement of Work, and the realism of the proposed level of effort and direct costs. B) The technical evaluation criteria for the review of each proposal are specified below, together with their relative weights of importance EVALUATION CRITERIA A. Knowledge and Understanding the Statement of Work (30 points) Contractor provides a comprehensive statement of the need, scope, and purpose of the work to demonstrate complete understanding of the intent and requirements of the work. This understanding indicates a clear awareness of the objectives of this requirement. B. Management Plan and Procedures (40 points) Contractor demonstrates plan for: (i) Execution of passports and visas; Contractor demonstrates that staff is familiar with the location, hours, and requirements of each of the foreign embassies; The contractor will be able to accept credit card or check payment from travelers for additional services, such as emergency processing fees, not covered by the FIC and be able to provide a receipt to the traveler. The contractor provides detailed information of all processing fees as part of the invoicing process. (ii) Communicating with FIC and Embassies.Contractor demonstrates that its staff has the ability to provide expert advice to FIC for foreign NIH staff in the United States on various visas and traveling to other locations outside the United States for official NIH business. Contractor demonstrates the ability to provide emergency passport processing. Contractor demonstrates that its staff has the ability to provide daily reports of pick up for passports and visas which can be done electronically, hard copy (delivered or faxed), or secure delivery service such as Federal Express. (iii) Quality control and quality assurance.Contractor demonstrates experience, training of proposed staff Contractor provides verification background investigation with clear results of contractor staff handling passports and visas; Contractor demonstrates that its staff will assure accuracy, i.e. passports, with appropriate visas, are returned to FIC Contractor demonstrates timeliness, i.e. that passports and visas are returned one week prior to travelers scheduled departure date (with exception of emergency processing). C. Past Performance (30 points) Contractor demonstrates previous passport and visa processing experience with the Federal Government. A minimum of 5 years is preferred. Contractor provides description and number of years working with any of the foreign embassies in the Washington DC area. A minimum of 5 years is preferred. The Contractor provides a description and number of years of relevant experience with organizations outside the Federal Government. The offeror must include a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items; and FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items Deviation for Simplified Acquisitions applies to this acquisition. The offeror must include in their Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. The clauses are available in full text at http://www.arnet.gov/far. Interested vendors capable of providing the Government with the service specified in this synopsis should submit their quotation to the below address. Quotations will be due fifteen (15) calendar days from the publication date of this synopsis or February 27, 2009. The quotation must reference Solicitation number NICHD2009027. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the agency. Quotations must be submitted in writing to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 6100 Executive Blvd, Room 5Z00, Rockville, MD 20852 Attention: Patricia Haun. Faxed copies will not be accepted PLEASE NOTE: In order to receive an award, contractor must be registered and have valid certification in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) http://www.ccr.gov
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