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Updated 12/15/2022. The purpose of this amendment is to provide the questions and answers. FHFA received one (1) question.

Question #1: We would be interested in placing a bid but, see, this request includes staff. Would your team be willing to hire their own staff? Our products are ready to eat and would just have to be plated if chosen.

Answer #1: FHFA will not be modifying its requirement to remove labor.

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Request for Quote FHF-23-Q-0010 for Catering Services

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation and request for quotes (RFQ) for commercial products or commercial services in accordance with the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR part 13 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures, with FAR part 12 taking precedence per FAR 13.500(b)’s reference to FAR 12.102(c). This announcement constitutes the only solicitation with quotes requested.

This requirement is considered unrestricted under NAICS code 722320 Caterers, with no size standard; therefore, any qualified, responsible vendor may submit a quote.

One or more of the items under this acquisition is subject to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Questions, Suggested Alternate Terms, and Answers

Quoters are invited to submit any questions or suggested alternate terms (including changes to the solicitation, contract clauses, statement of assumptions, or other terms). FHFA will consider all input and attempt to balance the needs of all parties.

Questions or other suggested changes must be submitted by 12:00 PM Eastern on December 14, 2022, by email to Laura Baker at Laura.Baker@fhfa.gov. Questions, any written responses, or amendments will be posted at the Contract Opportunities webpage (please see https://sam.gov/content/opportunities for more information).

FAR References

Any FAR clauses or provisions referenced may be obtained at www.acquisition.gov/far. Also, any reference to offeror or offer has the same meaning as quoter or quote for this solicitation. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2022-08, October 28, 2022.

Submission Instructions

Quoters shall be registered in the System for Award Management as stated in FAR 52.204-7(b)(1).

Therefore, FAR 52.204-7 and FAR 52.204-16 are hereby incorporated by reference into the solicitation.

A Quoter that is not actively registered in the System for Award Management at the time of quote submission will not have its quote considered and will not be eligible for award.

This RFQ is divided into multiple phases. Quoters shall only respond to one phase at a time. The quoter's initial submission, as detailed under Phase I below, shall consist of a cover letter, five (5) page corporate experience submission, and responses to the provisions. In Phase II, Quoters will provide an oral presentation with menu tasting and submit their written technical approach, past performance, and price quote. Failure to participate in Phase I of the procurement precludes further consideration of a Quoter. Phase II submissions will not be accepted from Quoters who have not submitted Phase I quotes by the due date and time stated in this RFQ.

PHASE I

Each Quoter shall submit an electronic quotation for Phase I (Volume I: Corporate Experience and Volume II: Representations and Certifications) to the Contracting Officer at Laura.Baker@fhfa.gov.

The electronic quotation shall include any scanned copies of signatures associated with the quotation. Spreadsheets shall be submitted in Excel format.

Each email quotation including attachments cannot exceed 50 MB because it may be rejected by FHFA’s server. If your entire quotation exceeds 50MB in size, please divide your quotation into appropriate smaller emails.

If a Quoter chooses to submit a quotation, the quote must remain valid for a minimum of 120 calendar days.

Quotes for Phase I are due no later than the date and time listed in Contract Opportunities. Late submissions, modifications, and revisions will be managed in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f).

FHFA’s Contracting Officer reserves the right to reject the quotation as non-compliant if the quotation takes exception to any of the terms of the RFQ, includes assumptions, or does not conform to the RFQ’s submission instructions.

All quotations must include a cover page addressing the following information:

1. RFQ Number


2. Quoter’s Name


3. Subcontractor Name(s), If Applicable


4. Quoter Tax Identification Number (TIN)


5. Quoter System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)


6. Contact Name


7. Contact Email address


8. Contact telephone number


9. Complete business mailing address


10. The following statement “The Quoter takes no exception and completely accepts all the terms and conditions in the RFQ and subsequent amendments.”

Phase I, Volume I: Corporate Experience

Corporate Experience.

Quoters shall provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the Quoter to perform the requirements of the PWS. Quoters shall demonstrate their technical capability through their corporate experience. Quoters shall provide two (2) to three (3) recent (performed within the past three (3) years) examples of experience that demonstrate experience providing similar services in regard to scope, complexity, and magnitude, to federal agencies or non-government corporations as described in the PWS. Describe the work performed with emphasis on the levels of service (reference Section 3.4 of the PWS) and personnel similar to the Catering Coordinator and Banquet Captain and how it relates to your ability to provide the services in the PWS to FHFA. Failure to articulate how the experience examples correlate to the work to be performed in the PWS may result in an unfavorable evaluation. A Quoter may submit examples for itself and for any subcontractors. However, Quoters must include at least one example for any subcontractor that will perform a large portion of the work.

ONLY CORPORATE EXPERIENCE SHALL BE DISCUSSED IN THIS SUBMISSION. Information regarding other factors will make it difficult for the Government to evaluate its confidence in your corporate experience. The Government will not use information regarding other factors to supplement your corporate experience.

Each example shall include the following:

1. Customer Name and Address


2. Contract Number/Contract Title/Contract Type


3. Delivery Schedule/Period of Performance


4. Contract Value


5. Customer Point of Contact (name, telephone number, and email) for Business Manager and/or Technical Manager


6. Contracting Officer’s (or Private Sector Equivalent) name, telephone number, and email.


7. Current status, e.g., completed and/or in progress, start and estimated completion dates.


8. Description of the work performed and how it demonstrates experience providing similar services in regard to scope, complexity, and magnitude to the PWS.

Page Limitation. Excluding the cover page and table of contents, Corporate Experience is limited to 5 pages. The font and format should be of readable quality. Excessively small font may be rejected or not evaluated at the Contracting Officer’s discretion. Quoters shall not include any price information in Phase I, Volume I. For the overall technical quotation, a recitation or paraphrasing of the requirements already identified in the work requirements will not improve the quotation.

Phase I, Volume II: Representations and Certifications

Quoters shall ensure their responses to the following provisions are submitted as a part of Phase I:

1. 
   
   
   
   1. Completed FAR 52.204-24. NOTE: "[t]he Offeror shall not complete the representation at paragraph (d)(1) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument" in paragraph (c)(1) in the provision at 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services—Representation, or in paragraph (v)(2)(i) of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products or Commercial Services. The Offeror shall not complete the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services" in paragraph (c)(2) of the provision at 52.204-26, or in paragraph (v)(2)(ii) of the provision at 52.212-3."
   
   
   2. Completed FAR 52.209-7.
   
   
   3. Completed FAR 52.212-3. NOTE: Quoters shall complete only paragraph (b)(2) of the provision if the Quoter has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website.
   
   
   
   

Page Limitation. There is no page limitation on the representations and certifications submission.

After the Government completes evaluation of Phase I, Quoters will receive an advisory notification. Quoters who are rated most highly for Corporate Experience (Factor 1) will be advised to proceed to Phase II. While we are unsure how many oral presentations with menu tasting will be conducted, we anticipate no more than three (3) firms will be advised to proceed to Phase II. Quoters who were not among the most highly rated will be advised that they are unlikely to be viable competitors, along with the general basis for that opinion. The intent of this advice is to minimize quote development costs for those Quoters with little chance of receiving an award. However, the Government’s advice will be a recommendation only, and those Quoters may elect to continue their participation in the acquisition. The Government does not intend to provide debriefings after the completion of Phase I.

The advisory down-select notifications will include further information, but the Government intends to allow Quoters one (1) business day to decide whether it wishes to proceed with a Phase II submission. The Government recommends Quoters to begin preparation of Phase II quotes only after receipt of the Phase I advisory down-select notice.

PHASE II

Upon the timely notification of the Quoter's intent to participate in Phase II, the Contracting Officer will provide the following:

1. An assigned date and time of Oral Presentations and Menu Tasting. FHFA anticipates that the presentations will be held at the Quoter's site if within a twenty (20) mile radius of Constitution Center. However, FHFA reserves the right to request presentations at Constitution Center located at 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The oral presentation and menu tasting will be evaluated as part of the technical quotation. During any oral presentation sessions, neither FHFA nor the Quoter will use the oral presentation session to discuss or negotiate changes to the initial written quotation, terms and conditions of the RFQ, or prices. The Contracting Officer will provide as much notice as practical to schedule the oral presentation and menu tasting and provide relevant details regarding the format, including specific instructions for a demonstration or other presentation details. FHFA anticipates the menu tasting consisting of foods FHFA customarily orders (i.e., sandwiches and hot food items). FHFA will assess taste, quality, and presentation. Quoters are prohibited from subcontracting the menu tasting unless FHFA requests specialty food items. Quoters shall identify any food items subcontracted out. It is at the Contracting Officer’s option to reschedule presentations if requested by the Quoter, but FHFA is under no obligation to permit alternate times, if the Quoter is unable to attend at the scheduled time.


2. A set of questions the Quoter shall address during their oral presentations.


3. A due date for the written Technical Approach, Past Performance, and Price Proposal.

Phase II, Volume I: Technical Approach & Past Performance

Technical Approach. The Quoter shall describe and demonstrate the soundness of their approach, methodology, techniques, or plan to accomplish each task/requirement identified in PWS Sections 3.0, 4.0 and 6.0 (see Attachment A). The Quoter must separately address each task/requirement in Sections 3.0 and 4.0 and describe how it can complete and meet those tasks/requirements; the Quoter must not simply restate the requirements as written in the PWS.

The Quoter must format its submission such that it corresponds with the order of tasks/requirements delineated in Attachment A and makes reference to a specific section within Attachment A (e.g., Response to Section 3.1, Response to Section 3.2, etc.). In addressing Section 3.1.3, the Quoter shall provide their minimum headcount for catering orders, cancellation policy and procedures, and a list of typical lead times for all types of catered events based on type and size of the event. The Government is seeking to determine if the Quoter can satisfy the Government’s requirements and how the vendor intends to satisfy those requirements.

Past Performance. The Government will evaluate recent and relevant past performance of each Quoter. General information including contact information for each past performance reference is requested as a part of Corporate Experience under Phase I. A separate submission is not required for past performance. FHFA may use any other available information in the evaluation of past performance.

Page Limitation. Excluding the cover page and table of contents, Technical Approach is limited to 10 pages. The font and format should be of readable quality. Excessively small font may be rejected or not evaluated at the Contracting Officer’s discretion. Quoters shall not include any price information in Phase II, Volume I. For the overall technical quotation, a recitation or paraphrasing of the requirements already identified in the work requirements will not improve the quotation.

Phase II, Volume II: Price Quotation

Each Quoter shall submit a price quotation separate from the technical quotation (Phase II, Volume I).

1. Completion of Attachment D, including any stated options. The total evaluated price will be calculated based on the total price of Tab B of Attachment D. Pricing elements in Tabs A will be evaluated for reasonableness. The labor categories and number of hours are solely for evaluation purposes and should neither be considered a minimum nor an expectation of actual requirements. The labor rate must include all costs associated with performance including all overhead, overtime, local travel, and any other costs not expressly identified as an Other Direct Cost (ODC). Quoters shall include a detailed itemization of materials and ODCs (i.e., description and unit price). See Attachment D for additional instructions.


2. Completion of the fill-ins under FAR 52.212-4 with Alternate I.
   
   
   
   1. Completion of fill-in under FAR 52.212-4(a)(4) in Attachment B
   
   
   2. Completion of fill-in under FAR 52.212-4(e)(1)(iii)(D) in Attachment B
   
   
   3. Completion of fill-in under FAR 52.212-4(i)(1)(ii)(D)(2) in Attachment B
   
   
   
   

Page Limitation. There is no page limitation on the price quote submission.

Small Business Subcontracting Plan

If an apparent successful awardee is designated as a large business, the Quoter shall provide a subcontracting plan as required by FAR Subpart 19.7 and FAR 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan with Alternate III. See Attachment E for a template of a Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

Page Limitation. There is no page limitation on the small business subcontracting plan submission.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Since this award is made under the policies of FAR part 12 in conjunction with FAR part 13 procedures, the evaluation process is streamlined, and FHFA has considerable flexibility in its award decision. FHFA will evaluate the quotation considering positive attributes, negative attributes, and potential risk of the overall quotation.

During the evaluation process, FHFA may or may not conduct exchanges. If FHFA conducts exchanges, such exchanges may be with one, several, or all Quoters. Exchanges may vary based on FHFA’s need to understand or give Quoters an opportunity to improve their quotations, but all exchanges will be fair and equitable.

Only Quoters whose quotes receive an overall technical rating of Some Confidence or higher will be considered for award.. Following an evaluation and, if necessary, tradeoff analysis, FHFA may make one award based on the quote that is evaluated to be the best value and determined responsible.

FHFA reserves the right to make an award based on other than the lowest quoted price.

Technical including oral presentations is more important than price; however, the importance of price as a factor could become greater if competing quotations are evaluated as technically equal.

Contractor Support Notification

Contractors are advised that employees of the firm identified below may assist the Contracting Officer and technical evaluators during the acquisition process. These employees will not participate as voting members of the evaluation team (FAR 7.503(c)(12)). Further, these employees shall not rank or recommend one quote over another or otherwise act in a decision-making capacity. This firm is expressly prohibited from competing for the award(s).

ASI GOVERNMENT

1655 North Fort Myer Drive | Suite 1000

Arlington, Virginia 22209

703.253.6300

In accomplishing their duties related to the acquisition process, employees of the above firm may require access to proprietary information contained in the quotes. Such employees are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement mandating compliance with strict confidentiality restrictions.

If a quote is submitted in response to this RFQ, FHFA will consider the submission as consent that the quote may be reviewed by employees of the above firm who have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

List of Attachments

Attachment A Performance Work Statement

Appendix 1 Plaza Level Conference Center Equipment List

Appendix 2 Director Suite Pantry Kitchen Equipment List

Attachment B Clauses & Provisions

Attachment C Wage Determination

Attachment D Price Quotation Worksheet

Attachment E Small Business Subcontracting Plan

Attachments/Links