D -- ON-LINE LEGAL SEARCH CAPABILITY

Notice Date

January 19, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of the Air Force, Direct Reporting Units, 11th CONS, 110 Luke Avenue, Building 5681, Bolling AFB, DC, 20332-0305

ZIP Code

20332-0305

Solicitation Number

Reference-Number-F4010103540100

Response Due

February 2, 2001

Point of Contact

Charles Britt, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-767-7934, Fax 202-767-7814, Email charles.britt@bolling.af.mil -- Lynne Radtke, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-767-7935, Fax 202-767-7812, Email

E-Mail Address

Charles Britt (charles.britt@bolling.af.mil)

Description

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format specified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes as the solicitation for Full & Open Competition. Therefore, a written solicitation will not be issued. At this time, bids are being requested in response to this Purchase Request Titled _On-Line Legal Search Capability_. This solicitation incorporates those provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-20. The contractor is to provide a written Technical Proposal (Volume 1 -- Not to exceed 50 pages) clearly demonstrating the performance capabilities of their products/services. The contractor is to provide Past Performance (Volume 2 -- Not to exceed 15 pages) data to include names, contact points, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. for at least three (3) commercial or government customers currently using the same or similar products/services. The contractor must provide a Cost/Price Proposal (Volume 3 -- No page limit) with Firm Fixed Prices for CLIN 0001 _ (Base Period) On-Line Legal Search Capability Subscription Services; CLIN 0002 _ (Option Year 1) On-Line Legal Search Capability Subscription Services (if exercised); and CLIN 0003 _ (Option Year 2) On-Line Legal Search Capability Subscription Services (if exercised). The services required are to include (but not be limited to) an unlimited, on-line subscription to legal, news, financial, and public record databases for up to 250 concurrent users with unique user identifications/passwords and access via World Wide Web. The contractor shall furnish the offices of the Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) with the following functional requirements: (a). Provide secure user access to on-line subscription services, 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week; (b). Provide an on-line service for validating and updating case law (i.e. all U.S. Federal and State statutory, legislative, regulatory and administrative, including Executive Orders and internal federal agency documents); (c). Provide access to the full text of law reviews and similar reference and treaties material. (i.e. retrieve all legal materials via standard citations and produce separate reports according to issues of law, issues of fact, analysis, jurisdiction, head-note or date); (d). Provide access to current and archived major newspapers, journals, magazines, wire services, transcripts, and other periodicals with backdated materials from when they were electronically available. (i.e. intuitive graphical interface); (e). Provide ability for users to download, print, and e-mail documents retrieved (i.e., U.S. Patents, Trademark applications and registered trademarks); (f). Provide ability to provide citation references to subsections of statutes, regulations and law reviews (i.e., Full text searching of public record database); (g). Provide professional legal customer support services, 24 hours-per-day, 7 days-a-week via toll telephone access. (i.e., Technical assistance and answer questions concerning research strategies, database structures, software usage, and online services); (h). Provide access to people locator databases including all three major credit bureaus header information (i.e., current address and phone number, previous address, etc.) ; (I). Provide all Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) materials to the Air Force at a per search rate, which shall include access to the databases, searching, browsing, printing and downloading. (i.e., navigate easily between the assigned fixed rate Menu and the BNA databases); (j). Provide access to international law materials. (i.e., United Nations documents international treaties, NATO Standardization Agreements and European Union documents and publications). There is no Government Furnished Property, Training requirements, or Security Requirements. The contractor will be required to provide quarterly usage reports by user/user ID (contractor_s format acceptable upon preapproval). The period of performance will be from 1 March 2001 through 30 Sep 01, with two (1 Year) option periods (if exercised). The hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services will be performed within the National Capital Region (NCR). Special requirements are as follows: (a) A hands-on demonstration is required during the evaluation phase of this acquisition (prior to award). As part of the evaluation, the vendor must contact the Contract Specialist (see below) prior to the Synopsis Closing Date to arrange a live, hands-on demonstration for up to 20 SAF users. (b) The vendor is responsible for providing any required desktop software for accessibility of services no later than one week prior to the demonstration to allow for adequate preparation. Upon award, a list of authorized users will be provided to the contractor. The contractor will provide each user with a unique identification number that in conjunction with a password will allow the authorized user access to the database. Standard commercial warranties must apply. The provisions of FAR 52.212-1, _Instructions to Offerors _ Commercial Items_ and FAR 52.212-2, _Evaluation _ Commercial Items_ apply. This acquisition is being procured as a competitive Best Value award in accordance with Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS) 5315.3, _Source Selection_, considering reasonably provided information. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the most responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to this solicitation, proves to be the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government seeks to award to the offeror who gives the Air Force the greatest confidence that it will best meet or exceed the requirements affordably. This process permits tradeoffs among cost/price and non-cost factors, ultimately allowing the Government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal. The perceived benefits of the higher priced proposal shall merit the additional cost. Offerors will be evaluated using the following criteria, rated in order of importance (1 = highest; 3 = lowest): (1) Technical (Ratings: Failed to Meet, Met, Exceeded)= Each proposal will be compared to the above requirements for a determination of adherence to all requirements and understanding of the efforts required (including experience, proposal to meet daily operations, etc.). The proposal must not simply rephrase or restate the Government_s requirements, but rather provide convincing rationale to address how the product fulfills the Governments requirements. The proposal must clearly demonstrate the capabilities of the subscription service in regards to how it meets or exceeds the Governments needs. The proposal will be evaluated on how well the proposed product fulfills the Governments requirements based on Product Literature, On-Line Evaluation (user friendliness, processing time, technical features, etc.), and Warranty Provisions offered. (2) Past Performance (Ratings: In accordance with AFFARS 5315.305(A)(2)(S-92)) data will then be assessed to ensure that the contractor can fulfill all contractual requirements (recent = within 5 years & relevant = same or similar product) and is capable of exceeding many requirements to the Governments benefit. Offerors are required to explain what aspects of the contracts are deemed relevant to the proposed effort, and to what aspects of the proposed effort they relate. This may include a discussion of efforts accomplished by the offeror to resolve problems encountered on prior contracts. Merely having problems does not automatically equate to a little or no confidence rating, since the problems encountered may have been on a more complex program, or an offeror may have subsequently demonstrated the ability to overcome the problems encountered. The offeror is required to clearly demonstrate management actions employed in overcoming problems and the effects of those actions, in terms of improvements achieved or problems rectified. This may allow the offeror to be considered a higher confidence candidate. For example, submittal of quality performance indicators or other management indicators that clearly support that an offeror has overcome past problems is required. Offerors without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. As a result, a _Neutral/Unknown Confidence_ rating would be received. (3) Other (Cost) = Affordable, Realistic, & Reasonable. Unrealistically low or high proposed costs/prices may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from competition either on the basis that the offeror does not understand the requirement or has made an unrealistic proposal. In accordance with FAR 15.304(e), the evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. However, cost/price will contribute substantially to the selected decision. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, _Offeror Representations and Certifications _ Commercial Items_, with their offer. The provision at FAR 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_ (subparagraphs (b) (1), (12), (13), (14), (15), and (18)), apply and are hereby incorporated into to this acquisition. The clauses/provisions are available in full text at http://farsite.hill.af.mil. All offerors are required to submit one original and one copy of the Proposal. The _Original_ proposal shall be clearly identified. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror_s proposal. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal and will be returned to the offeror as soon as practicable. If both sides of a sheet display printed material, it shall be counted as two (2) pages. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches. The text size shall be no less than 12 point. For tables, charts, graphs, and figures, the text shall be no smaller than 16 point. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top/bottom and 34 inch side margins. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by section. Be sure to apply all appropriate markings including those prescribed in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(e), _Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data_, and FAR 3.104-5, _Disclosure, Protection, and Marking of Contractor Bid or Proposal Information & Source Selection Information_. All cost or pricing information shall be addressed ONLY in the Cost/Price Proposal. All information shall be unclassified. Any exceptions to these terms and conditions must be fully explained and justified. Non-conformance with the instructions provided may result in an unfavorable proposal evaluation. The Government may reject any proposal that is evaluated to be unrealistic in terms of program commitments, including contract terms and conditions, or unrealistically high/low in cost when compared to the Government Estimate, such that the proposal is deemed to reflect an inherent lack of competence or failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the program. The Government will consider, throughout the evaluation, the _correction potential_ of any deficiency or proposal inadequacy. This judgement is solely within the discretion of the Government. If considered _not correctable_, the offeror may be eliminated from the competitive range. The Government reserves the right to award this effort on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion. If, during the evaluation period, it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government to hold discussions, offeror responses to Evaluation Notices and the Final Proposal Revision will be considered in making the source selection. Offers are due to the 11th Contracting Squadron/LGCN, Attn: Charles Britt (202-767-7934), 110 Luke Avenue, Room 250, Bolling AFB DC 20332-0305 no later than 2:00 pm (eastern standard time) on 02 February 2001. Written requests for clarification may be sent to the Contract Specialist, Charles Britt, or Lynn Radthe, via Fax (202-767-7814). Telephonic responses will not be considered.

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010123/DSOL006.HTM (D-019 SN50B326)