A -- NSRP ASE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY WEB SITE

Notice Date

November 29, 2000

Contracting Office

ATI, 5300 International Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418

ZIP Code

29418

Solicitation Number

NSRP ASE 01-01

Response Due

January 31, 2001

Point of Contact

Technical -- Scott Poelker (843)-760-3255 or poelker@aticorp.org; Contracting/Cost -- Andrea Caraway (843)-760-3339 or caraway@aticorp.org

E-Mail Address

click here to contact the technical point of contact (poelker@aticorp.org)

Description

INTRODUCTION This is a summary of the complete Request for Proposals which may be found on the NSRP web site at www.nsrp.org. Background The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) seeks proposals (technical and cost) for the implementation and operation of an Internet-based Shipbuilding Industry Web Site to support the needs and activities of the U.S. shipbuilding industry. The NSRP began in the early 1970s as a government/industry research program dedicated to bringing about improvements in the U.S. shipbuilding industry. In 1998, hundreds of representatives from the U.S. shipbuilding industry joined forces to identify challenges facing the industry and to propose a new joint strategy. This effort resulted in an industry Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) and a reorganization of NSRP. Proposers are strongly encouraged to visit the NSRP's Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program web site at http://www.nsrp.org to gain a greater understanding of NSRP's programs and goals. The planned Shipbuilding Industry Web Site will enable visitors to share project documents and studies, remain current with shipbuilding and ship repair news and programs, and communicate across the industry. The industry currently derives support for some of its needs and activities from a web site located at http://www.nsnet.com, which may be superseded by the contract awarded as a result of this solicitation. Proposal Preparation & Submittal Proposers should obtain a copy of the latest NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for Request for Proposals (PPK for RFPs) (currently version 1.0 -- available from the NSRP Web site at www.nsrp.org). Do not confuse this PPK with the one issued in November, 1999 (version 4.1) for use with the Research Announcement issued at that time. This guide is specifically designed to assist proposers in understanding the RFP proposal process. The proposal format provided in the PPK for RFPs is mandatory. NSRP will host a proposer's teleconference on 12 December 2000 from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM Eastern Time to provide an overview of the proposal request, explain the process, and answer general questions. To participate, potential proposers should contact the technical point of contact listed at the end of this document. Full Proposals in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be submitted by 31 January 2001, 3:00 PM Eastern Time, addressed to NSRP Program Administrator, Advanced Technology Institute, 5300 International Blvd, North Charleston, SC 29418 Attn: Ms. Andrea Caraway, ATI Contracts Department. Proposals received after the time and date specified will be returned to the proposer and will not be evaluated. Acknowledgement of receipt of proposals will be made after the due date. REQUIREMENTS Technical Description This announcement is issued to solicit proposals for the implementation and operation of an Internet-based web site for the U.S. shipbuilding industry. The target audience for the web site includes employees of U.S. shipyards, U.S. shipbuilding suppliers and business partners, U.S. shipbuilding commercial and Navy customers, and industry education partners. Initial usage estimates for the site are maximum 30,000 requests per month with anticipated small to moderate growth. Visitors to the site are assumed to have 4.0-plus browsing software. The use of dynamic HTML features, multimedia, streaming media, etc. in the web site is encouraged, but to be minimized in presentation of essential content. The proposer will be expected to work in conjunction with an industry advisory board that will oversee both web site operation through quarterly reviews and planning for future web site activities and services. The proposer will manage and administer the day-to-day operations of the web site, and will be afforded a high degree of autonomy in dealing with the operation of the site. The scope of work under the contract will include: (a) development of eight web site services and associated homepage(s); (b) implementation of a self-sustaining funding model for the web site; and (c) web site operation. Additional services may be added to the web site in the future at a mutually agreed upon price. Proposers are not required to propose tasking or costs in conjunction with potential additional services in response to this solicitation. Additional information about the services to be provided in the scope of work under this contract may be found in the complete Request for Proposals on the NSRP web site at www.nsrp.org. Deliverable Items The following items shall be delivered under the contract: (a) Eight web site services, and (b) Quarterly Report. Proposers may propose additional deliverables if needed to meet the technical requirements identified in this solicitation. Security Requirements Classified material is not expected to be used on this effort. Other Special Requirements Some of the research findings and technology developments that will be published on the Web site developed in response to this solicitation may constitute a significant enhancement to the national defense, the economic vitality of the United States, or the commercial competitiveness of those companies performing the research. Accordingly, access to documents published under this effort must be carefully controlled. Procedures must be implemented to provide for this control. All project reports will be clearly marked with a distribution statement. Electronic access to these documents must be controlled according to the distribution statement. Examples of the distribution statements may be found in the full Request for Proposals on the NSRP web site at www.nsrp.org. These controls are in addition to, and are not intended to change or supersede, the provisions of various laws or regulations that may be in effect. The successful proposer shall support distribution controls noted by data owners, and if developing data for the site, shall comply in the creation of any web site data with the Export Administration Regulation (15 CFR 730-774) (the EAR) or the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 CFR 120-130) (the ITAR), and the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (DOD 5220.22M) (the NIPSOM), insofar as the EAR, the ITAR, and the NIPSOM apply to various activities performed in the execution of agreements reached in response to this solicitation. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Anticipated Period of Performance: The period of performance is expected to be for one year with options for two one year extensions up to a total of three years. There will be a maximum three-month phase during which site development and transition to the industry web site will take place. Any extension of the initial performance period requires the NSRP Program Administrator's written approval. The NSRP Program Administrator also retains the right to choose not to exercise one or more of the option years, based on the Contractor's overall performance or other program requirements. A factor to be considered in exercising the options will be successful execution of the self-sustaining funding model. Funding Level The funding level is expected to not exceed $300,000 -- $400,000 for the entire three year potential period of performance. Type of Funding Instrument The contractual vehicle used to fund the awards will be a Time and Materials contract. A copy of this agreement may be found at www.nsrp.org. Award All proposers will be expected to sign the final agreement within 30 days of selection. The NSRP Program reserves the right to terminate awards if the proposer is not able to conclude a formal, signed contract within 30 calendar days of selection notification. Program Furnished Property Content material will be provided for past NSRP project reports for the Documentation Center service, for the mailing lists, and for past NSRP panel information. This material will remain the property of the Navy or NSRP. All new project reports, mailing lists, and panel information provided during this contract will remain the property of the Navy or NSRP and must be available for transfer at the end of this contract. Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Foreign contractors are excluded from responding to this announcement. Teaming Teaming arrangements are acceptable but not required. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS General Instructions Proposers should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for RFPs (available at www.nsrp.org) to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed (E-mail is preferred) to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Proposers should follow instructions contained in the NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for RFPs. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and shall be valid for 180 days. The proposal format provided in the program Proposal Preparation Kit is mandatory. Proposals shall reference the RFP number (NSRP ASE 00-01). An original, hard copy (unbound) of the proposal and four copies (bound) must be received by the time and date listed earlier. Proposers are also required to submit one copy of the cost and technical proposals via electronic means (using Microsoft software -- Windows 95 or later versions) on computer disk or CD-ROM. The disks shall be 3.5 inch high density disks, MS-DOS formatted, and virus free. It is acceptable to provide graphics/exhibits in a separate hard copy or as part of the electronic file. Proposers are advised that only NSRP Program Office contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the program. Cost Proposal The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be supplied together with supporting schedules, and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task. Copies of the above-referenced forms may be obtained by accessing the NSRP Web site. Refer to the NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for RFPs for additional details. Technical Proposal Proposers must use the NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for RFPs available on the Web (www.nsrp.org). Proposal formats as specified in the NSRP Proposal Preparation Kit for RFPs are mandatory. If the PPK requires a particular section, and the proposer determines that the section is not applicable to their proposal, the section shall be included and annotated as not applicable with a brief explanation as to why it is not applicable. In accordance with the PPK, the technical proposal shall include a technical discussion of the technical approach. As a minimum, the following must be addressed: 1. Web site services 2. Funding model 3. Development and transition plan 4. Web site management plan The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) suitable for contract incorporation as an attachment detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort. Any questions concerning the technical proposal shall be referred to the Technical Point of Contact cited in this announcement. The SOW shall include as a minimum the following: 1. Development and transition tasks 2. Web site operation tasks 3. Funding model implementation tasks 4. Project management tasks Page Limitations The technical proposal shall be limited to no more than 25 pages (fixed pitch font of 12 or fewer characters per inch or proportional font point size 10 or larger), single-spaced, single-sided, 21.6 x 27.9 cm (8.5 by 11 inches). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables, but must be clearly legible. Margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) should be at least 2.5 cm (1 inch). The page limitation includes all information, except the Cover Page, Table of Contents, List of Figures and Tables, Cross Reference to Evaluation Criteria, Resumes, Statement of Work, and if relevant, Letters of Commitment and Teaming Agreement/Memorandum of Agreement. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered. Proposers are advised that the number of pages should be commensurate with the degree of complexity of the proposed effort. Cost proposals have no page limitations, however, proposers are requested to keep cost proposals to less than 15 pages as a goal. Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the program to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered a direct charge to any resulting award or any other contract. BASIS FOR AWARD The selection of a proposal for award will be based on a best value evaluation of a proposer's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical and cost evaluation criteria to be used are as follows: Technical Evaluation Factors The technical aspect of the proposal shall be evaluated based on the following criteria. All technical evaluation factors are of equal importance to each other. 1. Proposer's expertise Proposer's expertise will be evaluated based on previous experience, past performance on similar endeavors, expertise of personnel to be assigned to the accomplishment of this proposal. 2. Technical approach to the web site services The technical approach to the web site services will be evaluated for: a. System functions -- how well the proposal addresses implementation of the required functions. b. Likelihood of accomplishment. c. Innovation as compared with current industry practice (state-of-the-art). d. Look and feel of the web site. 3. Web site management plan The web site management plan will be evaluated for: a. How well the proposal addresses all aspects of web site operation. b. Dependability, reliability, availability, and speed of web site for a variety of user configurations. c. Marketing plans. d. Potential for site growth. e. Organizational and management plan. f. Organizational structure. g. Commitment of key personnel. h. Interaction with the industry oversight group. i. Partnership relationships (if any). 3. Development and transition plan Proposer's development and transition plan and schedule will be evaluated based on completeness and feasibility. 4. Funding model The proposer's plan for reducing required program funding over the three-year period of this contract (including options) will be evaluated based on its degree of self-sustainment, innovation, realism, and likelihood of success. Cost Evaluation Factors The objective of this area of evaluation is to assess the ability of the proposer to execute the proposed program with the financial resources proposed and to achieve the program objectives. The NSRP Program Administrator will assess the reasonableness and completeness of estimates provided. The Program Administrator will provide summary cost data to technical reviewers to support their assessment of cost realism. 1. Completeness The following will be evaluated: a. The degree to which the proposers have provided all cost information requested in the solicitation, including rate and pricing information. b. How well the cost data is reconcilable. c. Substantiation of cost (i.e., supporting data and estimating rationale) for all elements. d. Evidence of proposer's financial viability. 2. Reasonableness A cost estimate will be considered "reasonable" based upon subjective judgements. To be considered reasonable, the proposer's cost estimate should be developed from applicable historic cost data, and be fully supportable with assumptions, learning curves, equations, estimating relationships, etc., clearly stated, valid and suitable. The proposer should show that sound, rational judgement was used in deriving and applying cost methodologies. Appropriate narrative explanation and justification should be provided for critical cost elements. The overall estimate should be presented in a coherent, organized and systematic manner. 3. Realism Estimates are "realistic" when they are neither excessive nor insufficient for the effort to be accomplished. Estimates must also be realistic for each phase of the proposed project when compared to the total proposed cost. Determination will be made by directly comparing proposed costs with cost estimating relationships, comparable current and historic data, evaluator experience, available estimates, etc. Proposed estimates will be compared with the corresponding technical proposals for consistency. Other Factors Cost Share: Cost share is not required for this effort, but may be allowed if proposed. POINTS OF CONTACT Technical Point of Contact: Mr. Scott Poelker, Advanced Technology Institute, 5300 International Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418. Phone (843) 760-3255, E-mail poelker@aticorp.org Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Questions related to the contract/cost issues should be directed to the NSRP Program Office, Advanced Technology Institute, Andrea Caraway, North Charleston, SC 29418, (843) 760-3339, E-mail caraway@aticorp.org.

Web Link

click here to access the NSRP ASE website (http://www.nsrp.org)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001201/ASOL003.HTM (W-334 SN507683)