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THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR STANDARD FORM (SF) 330'S ARCHITECT-ENGINEER QUALIFICATION PACKAGES ONLY. ALL INFORMATION NEEDED TO SUBMIT SF 330 DOCUMENTS IS CONTAINED HEREIN. NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE, TECHNICAL INFORMATION, OR BIDDER/PLAN HOLDER LIST WILL BE ISSUED. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY, NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION:
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is seeking sources and intends to award a firm-fixed price design contract for Architect-Engineering (A-E) services for the development of complete construction documents, which include working drawings, specifications, reports and construction period services for Project # 405-22-700 EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades White River Junction, VT located at the White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center located at 163 Veterans Drive, White River Junction, VT 05009.

The A-E shall provide investigative and feasibility design services, schematic design drawings, design development drawings, construction documents, final bid documents, specifications, calculations, cost estimates, narratives, bidding support services, solicitation support services, and construction period services for all facets of work and disciplines/trades to facilitate a construction project.

The A-E Services contract that is anticipated to be awarded will be procured in accordance with the Selection of Architects and Engineers Statute [formerly known as the Brooks Architect Engineer Act], Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 36.6 Architectural and Engineering Services, VA Acquisition Regulation 836.6, and VA Acquisition Manual M836.6 Architect-Engineer Services. In accordance with FAR 36.209, Construction Contracts with Architect-Engineer Firms, no contract for the construction of a project shall be awarded to the firm that designed the project or its subsidiaries or affiliates, except with the approval of the head of the agency or authorized representative

2. PROJECT INFORMATION
This project is a 100% Set-Aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concerns. The NAICS Code for this procurement is 541330 Engineering Services and the annual small business size standard is $25.5M. The award is projected to be made in August 2023.
The anticipated period of performance for completion of design is 324 calendar days after notice of award. The VAAR magnitude of construction for this project is $10M - $20M.
3. A-E SELECTION PROCESS:
Firms submitting SF 330 s in response to this announcement, not later than the closing date and time specified herein and in accordance with submission requirements, will be considered for evaluation. The selection will be made as follows:
SF 330s will be evaluated in accordance with the primary selection criteria as stated in this presolicitation notice. These evaluations will determine the most highly qualified firms for this particular requirement. In accordance with FAR 36.602-3-(c), at least three (3) of the most highly qualified firms will then be notified of the Government s intent to hold discussions. All firms not invited to participate in discussions will be notified at this time.

Discussions will be held with the most highly qualified firms in the form determined to be most advantageous and economical by the contracting officer. This may include written responses or Microsoft Teams phone interview presentations. However, the form of discussions will be the same for all firms. The firms invited to participate in discussions will be notified by email and provided further instructions, to include any questions or topics to address. Following the completion of discussions, the firms will be evaluated and ranked for selection based on the primary and secondary selection criteria (if necessary), and the most highly qualified firm will be selected and subsequently sent the solicitation. The final evaluation and ranking will consider the SF330 submission for each firm, as well as additional information obtained via discussions.

A site visit will be authorized for the highest rated firm during the negotiation process. An award will be made as long as the negotiation of rates and hours leads to a fair and reasonable determination of the final contract price. If negotiations are not successful with the highest rated firm, the firm will be notified that negotiations have been terminated. Negotiations will then be initiated with the next highest rated firm, and so on until award can be made.
4. SELECTION CRITERIA:
Firms responding to this notice will be evaluated and ranked using the primary and secondary selection criteria listed below. The factors are listed in descending order of importance. The evaluation will consider how each factor is addressed and how it is formatted to coincide with the selection criteria. Upon award of the contract, all parties will be notified.
Primary Selection Criteria:

Specialized experience and technical competence (sections F, G, and H) in the design of network infrastructure installation, renovations, EHRM Infrastructure Upgrade related experience, and/or upgrades to information technology (IT) systems (either as solely IT projects or incorporated into new space/renovation projects).Work shall include Bonding, UPS, Building Management System interfaces, assess for new and upgrades to existing HVAC, reconfiguration, expansion and renovation of existing space (demo, new construction, finishes, cable), Upgrade existing data center (electrical distribution, cable management, cabinet realignment, demo, raised flooring, finishes, HVAC distribution), communication infrastructure (new Data outlets, patch panels, upgrade to Cat 6A cable) in buildings as necessary, physical security upgrades, assess and upgrade fiber infrastructure backbone campus wide within buildings and between buildings, hazardous material abatement. The evaluation may consider other elements such as project phasing to maintain hospital operations during construction, quality control procedures and familiarity with VA Design Guides/Manuals, Master Specifications and other applicable standards. These areas shall be addressed in section H of the SF 330. Additionally, prior experience of the prime and key subcontractors working together on relevant projects, as indicated in section G, will be considered in the evaluation.

Offeror shall provide a minimum of 2 (two) but no more than 4 (four) recent and relevant projects to demonstrate its specialized experience and technical competence. Relevant is defined as those task requirements identified in the RFQ s Scope of Work. Recent is define as services provided within the past 5 (five) years. Each project shall include the following:

Project title, location and detailed narrative describing the scope of services provided including the type of work performed by the offeror and its role in the project i.e. prime contract, Teaming Partner or subcontractor
Project Owner, owner s point of contact including telephone number and email address.
Services & Deliverables provided under the contract/task order
Period of Performance, including start and completion dates
Total dollar value of the project.

Professional qualifications (sections C through E) necessary for satisfactory performance of required service. The architects and engineers on the firm s staff representing the project or signing/stamping drawings in each discipline must possess a minimum of five (5) years of experience and are required to be licensed, registered or certified by a US state, the District of Columbia or a US territory. Provide professional license jurisdiction of issue and license numbers and/or proof of licensure.

At a minimum, the offeror shall describe the professional qualifications and not less than five (5) years of experience in the required disciplines. Disciplines required for this project include, but are not limited to: Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, IT Specialist/Telecommunication Specialist (RCDD or equivalent), Plumbing, Structural, Fire Protection, Hazardous Material Abatement/Industrial Hygiene, Physical Security (note must hold the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) or Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification issued by ASIS International), Commissioning Agent, Cost Estimation, and Project Management. An Individual may cover multiple disciplines, the individual must demonstrate in each discipline fulfillment of the requirements listed in Sections C through E (min. 5 years experience & professional licensure in that discipline). The evaluation will consider education, certifications, training, registration, overall and relevant experience and longevity with the firm.
Offer must include the following statement of SDVOSB compliance when submitting the personnel proposed to perform the work under this requirement:

I [signatory authority]______________________, [company] __________________ certify that the SDVOSB prime contractor will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to the prime for contract performance to firms that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs in compliance of VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.219-75. team proposed to perform under this requirements demonstrates the capability of 50% SDVOSB performance in compliance of 48 CFR 852.219-10.
The information provided in Sections C through E of the SF330 will be used to evaluate this evaluation factor. Do not include this information in Section H, unless it is pertinent to support the information listed in the other sections
Past performance (section H and additional pages not counted toward page limitation) on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules. CPARS data or PPQs (if no CPARS data is available) must be provided for projects submitted under Factor 1 (Specialized Experience). CPARS data and PPQs do not count toward the page limitation. Government Past Performance Information Systems may be accessed. Evaluating past performance and experience may include information provided by the firm, customer inquiries, Government databases, and publicly available sources. Failure to provide requested data, accessible points of contact or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being considered less qualified.

The following information is required for each project: contract/task order number, project title, prime firm name, start date, and completion date. Evaluations may also include additional performance related from the firm, customer inquiries, Government databases, publicly available sources, and additional projects in CPARS.
The Government reserves the right to also evaluate past performance on previously awarded federal task orders and any other information available. Additionally, the Government will review the firm s previous ability to meet the 50% SDVOSB performance requirement on other task orders.
If there is no CPARS data available, Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) will be accepted. Please utilize the attached PPQ document.
If CPARS or PPQs are not available for submission due to extenuating circumstances (such as the contract has not been closed out therefore CPARS have not been performed) the firm must state the CPARS/PPQs cannot be provided and why. This is to prevent a misinformation being counted as deficiency.
Note: We recommend you contact every reference listed and let them know we may contact them for information. Their timely replies would be appreciated.
Experience in construction period services (section H) for projects similar in scope to include professional field inspections during the construction period, commissioning, review of construction submittals, support in answering requests for information during the construction period, support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work, and cost estimates, attendance at weekly conference calls, providing minutes of meeting between the A-E, VA, and Contractors, pre-final inspection and site visits, generation of punch list reports ,and production of as-built documentation. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF330.

Knowledge of the locality (section H), to include specific knowledge of certain local conditions or project site features, such as geological features, climatic conditions, working with and local construction methods or local laws and regulations. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF330. Note that the intent of this factor is to showcase a firm s understanding of the site and locality, and not where the firm is located and how they would travel to the site. Information related to the firm s location, shall be provided in Section H, under Secondary Selection Criteria Factor B.

Capacity (section H) to accomplish work in the required time. The following information is required for this factor:
The Offeror shall provide the percentages of time key personnel referenced under professional qualifications are available and will be dedicated toward this project.
The Offeror shall provide the available capacity for personnel listed under professional qualifications as well provide the current project workload for each, inclusive of all projects awarded by the VA during the previous 12 months and the full potential value of any current indefinite delivery contracts the firm has. (sections C through E). Â
The offeror shall include a draft schedule outlining how they intend to meet the period of performance outlined in the SOW. Draft schedule will not be counted toward the page limitation.Â
The Offeror may include any additional resources that will be dedicated toward this project. Â

The evaluation will consider the firm s plan and ability to meet the schedule of the overall project, as well as the firm s approach to measuring and managing capacity both prior to and during contract performance to ensure qualified personnel are available to meet the contract requirements.
B. Secondary Selection Criterion*: Geographic location. Location of the firm, as measured by the driving distance (miles) between the Offeror s principal business location and the White River Junction VAMC. 163 Veterans Drive, White River Junction, VT 05009

Determination of the mileage will be based on Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/).
* The secondary selection criterion is used as a tiebreaker, if necessary, in ranking the most highly qualified firms following the completion of discussions. The secondary selection criterion will not be applied when determining a firm s SF 330 submission.

5. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
The below information contains the instructions and format that shall be followed for the submission of the SF 330, Statement of Qualifications:
Submission Contents
Firms are required to submit two documents:
One SF330, Architect/Engineer Qualifications, and any attachments as a PDF on the SF330 form (form is available on-line at http://www.cfm.va.gov/contract/ae.asp).

One separate document containing the following information:
Cage code;
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI);
Tax ID Number;
E-mail address(es) and Phone number(s) of the Primary Point(s) of Contact;
Address of firm for correspondence;
A copy of the firm s VetCert/Vendor Information Pages registration and verification

Format of Submissions
The page limitation of the SF330 PDF submission shall not exceed a total of 35 pages. This includes cover letters, title pages, section divider pages, table of contents, etc. Every page in the PDF will count toward this page limit except the CPARS reports/PPQs and Part II of the SF330. Each page shall be in in Times New Roman font, size 12, single spaced, on 8.5 x11 paper with 1 margins on all sides. Any pages more than the 35 pages that are not exempt will be removed and will not be evaluated.

Submit ONE (1) SF 330, Statement of Qualifications and any attachments, and ONE (1) accompanying document containing the above SDVOSB information, via email to both the Contract Specialist Caroline.Walker@va.gov and to the Contracting Officer Maria.Rodeffer@va.gov.

The subject line of the email shall read: SF 330 Submission; 36C77623R0094 - EHRM White River Junction, VT

The SF 330 PDF shall be submitted in one email and have a file size shall be no larger than 5 MB. No hard copies will be accepted. Firms not providing the required information may not be evaluated. All information must be included in the SF 330 submission package.

Technical Questions
All questions shall be submitted to Caroline.Walker@va.gov and Maria.Rodeffer@va.gov with the subject line SF330 Question 36C77623R0094- EHRM White River Junction, VT. The cutoff for question submission is 10:00 AM ET on April 20, 2023. Questions will be answered through modification to the Pre-Solicitation Notice posted to Contracting Opportunities at SAM.gov.

Submission Due Dates
All responses are due via email on or before May 8, 2023, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

NOTE: SF 330 submissions received after the date and time specified will not be considered. Late proposal rules per FAR 15.208 will be followed for late submittals. All emails must be received by the VA email server by 1:00 PM ET. The time will NOT be based on when firms hit Send . DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS. Errors in email address spelling or attempts at emailing timely will not recover a late submission.

Other Information
All prime firms must meet the NAICS code requirement specified in this notice. The Contracting Officer shall verify the NAICS code in VetCert through the Small Business Administration (SBA) and/or the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to meet the NAICS code requirement may result in the rejection of the SF330 submission.

Reminder: This procurement is a 100% set-aside for SDVOSB concerns. Offers received from other than SDVOSB concerns will not be considered. All SDVOSBs must be listed as verified by the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert). Offerors must be verified and visible in the SBA VetCert database (Veteran Small Business Certification (sba.gov)) at TIME OF SUBMISSION OF SF330 s, WRITTEN RESPONSES AND TIME OF AWARD. Failure to be BOTH visible and verified at the time of SF330s, Written Responses and time of award will result in the offeror being deemed unacceptable and ineligible for award.

NOTE: As of January 1, 2023, all SDVOSBs that were previously verified by the VA Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) are automatically granted certification by the SBA for the remainder of the firm s eligibility period. The SBA intends to grant a one-time, one-year extension of certification to current SDVOSBs verified by the VA as of the transfer date on January 1, 2023. This additional year will be added to the existing eligibility period of a current participant. New applicants certified by SBA after January 1, 2023, will receive the standard three-year certification period. The NDAA 2021 grants a one-year grace period for self-certified SDVOSBs until January 1, 2024. During the grace period, self-certified businesses have one year to file an application for SDVOSB certification and may continue to rely on their self-certification to compete for non-VA SDVOSB set-aside contracts. Self-certified SDVOSBs that apply before January 1, 2024, will maintain their eligibility through the expiration of the grace period until SBA issues a final eligibility decision.
All Joint Ventures must be SBA verified at time of submission and submit agreements that comply with 13CFR 125.15 prior to contract award.

It is the offeror s responsibility to check the Contract Opportunities website at: https://www.sam.gov/ for any revisions to this announcement prior to submission of SF 330s.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
AE Design Statement of Work (SOW)
SOW Attachment 01 VHA Required Div 01 Spec Sections
SOW Attachment 02 VA OEHRM Site Infrastructure Requirements 3.1
SOW Attachment 03 HEFP SEP Design Alerts 1-9
SOW Attachment 04 Sensitive Infrastructure Data Classification Memo
SOW Attachment 05 01 32 16 01 EHRM A-E CPM Schedules NOA
SOW Attachment 06 PG 18-15 AE Submission Vol C
SOW Attachment 07 Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines
SOW Attachment 08 VHA Directive 1061
SOW Attachment 09 WRJ VAMC Campus Map
SOW Attachment 10 EHRM Self-Assessment WRJ
SOW Attachment 11 VHA COVID-19 Supplemental Contract Requirements
SOW Attachment 12 Post award Specs Drawings Review Checklist

Attachments/Links