SOLICITATION NOTICE
u -- PREVENTING PLAGIARISM IN SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS
- Notice Date
- 12/2/2014
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 611430
— Professional and Management Development Training
- Contracting Office
- HPODUS Environmental Protection AgencyWilliam Jefferson Clinton Building1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.Mail Code: 3803RWashingtonDC20460USA
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-DC-15-00056
- Response Due
- 12/12/2014
- Archive Date
- 3/2/2014
- Point of Contact
- Bradley Austin
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is RFQ-DC-15-00056 and is being issued as a Request for Quotations (RFQ) in conjunction with FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions are those in effect through FAC 2005-78. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 611430. The Small Business Size Standard is $11 million. This requirement is a total set aside for small business. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting for contractors to provide training to National Center for Environmental Assessment scientific and managerial staff within the Office of Research and Development. The objective of this training will be to define plagiarism and the steps to prevent plagiarism in the Federal setting. Notices of any modifications to this Federal Business Opportunities procurement announcement, including amendments, will be posted using the FedConnect web portal. FedConnect can be accessed at https://www.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. Questions regarding the content of the subject announcement must be submitted through the FedConnect portal. You must register with FedConnect as an interested party to submit questions and to view responses. FedConnect is a web portal that connects agencies and vendors to streamline the process of doing business with the federal government. Through FedConnect contractors will be able to receive, review and respond to contract pre- and post-award actions and documents such as correspondence, request for quotations, tasking instruments and contract modifications. The use of FedConnect also furthers the EPA?s commitment to moving towards a paperless acquisition environment by reducing its carbon footprint and conducting its business in an ecologically friendly manner. There is no charge to use FedConnect. Vendors can register with FedConnect at www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect technical questions please call the FedConnect Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net. In addition, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), as this facilitates registration for FedConnect. Please note that vendors MUST have their SAM profile set to ?public,? otherwise FedConnect will not be able to access the SAM information required to validate vendor credentials. Registration may be completed and information regarding the registration process may be obtained at http://www.sam.gov. There is no charge for registration in SAM. Questions regarding this requirement may be sent to Bradley Austin, Contracting Officer, via FedConnect and at austin.bradley@epa.gov no later than December 8, 2014, at 2 pm EST. Proposals shall be submitted via FedConnect only no later than December 12, 2014, at 2 pm EST. Technical proposals shall be limited to 15 pages. Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word is the preferred format. For price proposals, please include all applicable proposed costs and any relevant assumptions used in development of the overall price. Price proposals shall also be divided into tasks. The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors?Commercial Items; FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications?Commercial Items; 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions?Commercial Items. The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders?Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation. Specifically, the following clauses cited are applicable to this solicitation: FAR 52.222-3, FAR 52.222-19, FAR 52.222-21, FAR 52.222-26, FAR 52.222-35, FAR 52.222-36, FAR 52.222-37 and FAR 52.232-33. The following clauses will be applicable to this requirement and are hereby included as part of this Request for Quote and provided in full text below: EPAAR 1552.217-77 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract?Fixed Price (OCT 2000) The Government has the option to extend the term of this contract for one (1) additional period(s). If more than 30 days remain in the contract period of performance, the Government, without prior written notification, may exercise this option by issuing a contract modification. To exercise this option within the last 30 days of the period of performance, the Government must provide to the Contractor written notification prior to that last 30-day period. This preliminary notification does not commit the Government to exercising the option. Use of an option will result in the following contract modifications: (a) The Period of Performance will be amended to cover the following option period: Option Period 1: September 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016 (b) During Option Period 1, the Contractor shall provide the services as described in task 2 of the Statement of Work. (End of clause) EPAAR 1552.237-71 Technical Direction (APR 1984) (a) The Project Officer will provide technical direction on contract performance. Technical direction includes: (1) Direction to the Contractor which assists him in accomplishing the Statement of Work. (2) Comments on and approval of reports or other deliverables. (b) Technical direction must be within the contract Statement of Work. The Project Officer does not have the authority to issue technical direction which (1) institutes additional work outside the scope of the contract; (2) constitutes a change as defined in the ?Changes? clause; (3) causes an increase or decrease in the estimated cost of the contract; (4) alters the period of performance; or (5) changes any of the other express terms or conditions of the contract. (c) Technical direction will be issued in writing by the Project Officer or confirmed by him in writing within five (5) calendar days after verbal issuance. (End of clause) STATEMENT OF WORK PREVENTING PLAGIARISM IN SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS Period of Performance: Date of Award ? October 31, 2016 (including Optional Task 2 if exercised) I. Background and Objectives In scientific writing, perhaps the most widely recognized unethical lapse is plagiarism. Plagiarism can occur in many forms and some of the more subtle instances, while arguably unethical in nature, may not be classified as scientific misconduct by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) is responsible for preparing many of the highly influential documents produced by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA?s) Office of Research and Development (ORD). Some of these include the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) toxicological reviews and the Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Value (PPRTV) documents. NCEA products serve as the basis for science policy decisions made across EPA regulatory programs and have a significant impact on environmental regulation in the United States and in many other countries. These documents are prepared by several scientists who contribute various sections. Some of these collaborators are from various organizations outside EPA. Given the importance and high visibility of these documents, it is imperative that they not only be scientifically and technically accurate and clearly written, they must also be free of plagiarism. All EPA staff are expected to operate at the highest levels of scientific integrity and, therefore, must avoid all forms of writing that could be conceptualized as plagiarism. The U.S. Government defines plagiarism as ?the appropriation of another person?s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit? [65 FR 76262. I]. The following two tasks will provide training to NCEA scientific and managerial staff. The objective of this training will be defining plagiarism and the steps to prevent plagiarism. Task 1 In consultation with the EPA Project Officer, the vendor shall: ?Conduct three (3) 3-day training workshops on defining plagiarisms and how to avoid it in the federal government setting. Workshops for 12-15 individuals will be held at three locations (Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Cincinnati, OH) during the period from date of award to August 31, 2015. The exact location and dates of the workshops will be determined by ORD and provided to the vendor at least 30 days prior to the proposed workshops. ?Provide a draft agenda and workshop materials at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the first workshop. II. Vendor Requirements The workshops shall consist of both group lecture time and small group (one to two individuals at a time) mentoring. The focus of the workshops shall be on presenting material clearly and prevention of plagiarism in written scientific products. The workshops shall include the following modules, however, the training will not be limited to these topics. Trainers with experience in these areas are encouraged to suggest more modules that would strengthen the training. ?Understanding plagiarism ?Taking advantage of the available scientific information ?The challenge of original work ?Acknowledging the sources ?Procedures for citing sources ?Dealing with non-print and electronic sources ?Dealing with non-published data ?Examples of plagiarism ?Misrepresenting original work ?Collaboration and methods to prevent plagiarism ?Working habits that help prevent plagiarism ?Practical samples of citation styles III. Location and Date As indicated above, the vendor shall conduct three (3) 3-day workshops, in-person, at an ORD facility in Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Cincinnati, OH (the exact location and dates for the workshops will be determined by ORD). The vendor shall be responsible for all travel-related costs. IV. Deliverables As indicated above, in consultation with the EPA Project Officer, the vendor shall: 1. Conduct three (3) 3-day workshops, in-person, at an ORD facility in Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Cincinnati, OH (the exact location and date will be determined by ORD). 2. Provide draft agenda at least 30 days before the scheduled workshop. 3. Provide workshop materials. At least 30 days prior to the first workshop, the vendor shall electronically deliver to the EPA Project Officer an agenda and a complete draft set of all presentation and handout materials for review and approval. The EPA Project Officer will provide approval or comments for revisions, if any, within five (5) business days. OPTION TASK 2 Two additional workshops for 12-15 individuals to be held shortly after the first workshop series. Each optional workshop will be scheduled within 6 weeks of exercising this option. The additional workshops will be held in Washington, DC, RTP and/or Cincinnati, OH. (The location of these additional workshops will be determined based interest at the three locations.). The scope and content of these two additional workshops will be the same as Task 1 above. ESTIMATED DELIVERY AND TASK COMPLETION SCHEDULE The Contractor shall be responsible for delivering all written materials and professional services in accordance with the following proposed time schedule. Deliverables/Meetings Anticipated Completion Dates Task 1. Conduct three 3-day training workshops on defining plagiarisms and how to avoid it in the federal government setting. Workshops for 12-15 individuals will be held at three locations* (Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Cincinnati, OH) August 2015 Optional Task 2. Conduct two additional 3-day training workshops on defining plagiarisms and how to avoid it in the federal government setting. Workshops for 12-15 individuals will be held at three locations* (Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC, and Cincinnati, OH) October 2016 *Specific dates for participation in these key events will be provided to the Contractor by a letter from the EPA PO 30 days in advance of the event, as specified in the statement of work. MANAGEMENT CONTROL PROCEDURES The EPA has determined that activities related to this contract come under the definition of advisory and assistance services and, as such, additional management controls have been added. The PO is responsible for assuring compliance. a.All clarification and technical discussion between the EPA PO and the Vendor will be documented with email correspondence. b.Vendor deliverables will be subjected to NCEA and ORD clearance and peer-review procedures, as required. All documents will be filed in accordance with the EPA National Records Management Program. The vendor is required to report on prior contracts and current work that may present a conflict of interest. The above control measures will ensure that no activity is performed or products released without prior review and approval by the EPA PO. TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA The Government will evaluate and make award based on best value as defined in FAR 2.101. Proposals will be evaluated on the criteria listed below: 1.Technical Approach: Vendors shall submit a proposed agenda for the workshop and sample reference and/or related materials. The agenda should reflect the vendor?s approach in satisfying the requirements of the SOW within the 3 day time frame allotted for each workshop. The sample materials may consist of excerpts, web links to electronic documents or summaries of complete documents to comply with page restrictions on the technical quote. 2.Past Performance: Vendors shall describe activities and work within the last three (3) years in preventing plagiarism in scientific products or currently performed that is relevant and related to the work as described in the SOW. If no such experience exists, vendors shall so indicate. The description shall include the contract number, title of the project, the start and end dates, the dollar value of the work performed, the customer (i.e., Agency, company), a point-of-contact (i.e., name, title, phone, email) for the customer, and a description of work performed as it relates to the SOW for this procurement. 3.Personnel Qualifications: Vendors shall demonstrate their proposed Key Personnel?s qualifications to perform the requirements of the SOW. Vendors shall indicate the name, title, qualifications, and experience of the key personnel assigned to the tasks described in the SOW. Additionally, vendors shall describe the proposed key personnels? expertise in preventing plagiarism in scientific products. Resumes, not-to-exceed 2 pages of text, may be included to supplement the information provided in this section for proposed key personnel.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/EPA/OAM/HQ/RFQ-DC-15-00056/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03585302-W 20141204/141202235034-de27cdc7b906811718af63f552ce5878 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |