The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) invites your organization to submit a written Cost Type proposal in conformance with the instructions contained in this letter and its enclosures, which comprise the RFP for JPL’s acquisition of the subject effort. This is a Small Business Set Aside per Attachment A-6. This RFP does not commit JPL or the Government of the United States to pay any costs incurred in submitting your proposal. Proposers participate in this RFP process solely at their own risk and expense. JPL reserves the right to cancel this RFP and to reject any or all proposals. For small businesses participating in this RFP, the APEX Accelerators can provide guidance to small businesses in Government Contracting and other free services such as counseling, training, workshops, etc. APEX website: www.apexaccelerators.us An additional resource for small businesses is the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC program is the SBA’s largest small business development program and offer free services as well. SBDC Website: https://pcrsbdc.org/ Please refer to RFP Attachment A-6 Notice of Small Business Set-Aside . The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and description for this acquisition is 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), Exception 3: Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles, Their Propulsion Units and Propulsion Parts. The size standard for this NAICS code is 1,300 employees. Additional information can be found here: https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards. JPL has not yet received funding to support this acquisition and anticipates, but cannot guarantee, that funding will be forthcoming. This RFP is being issued at this time in order to maintain project schedule and to allow for timely award of a subcontract if the anticipated funding arrives in a timely fashion. Submit your proposal by email to the undersigned. In compliance with RFP Attachment A-17 Proposer Accounting System and Cost Accounting Standards Coverage & Disclosure Statement Information and A-20 Evidence of Adequacy of Accounting System, the proposer shall provide one or more of the following documents: A Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) accounting system certification. A third-party accounting system certification (e.g., another government agency or prime contractor). A letter from the proposer’s accounting firm stating that the firm approves of the adequacy of the proposer’s accounting system for accumulating costs under a cost reimbursement subcontract. Please note that your proposal is due at JPL no later than April 23rd, 2025, 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). Attachment A-14 Past Performance is due as soon as possible, preferably by April 12th, 2025, by 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). At the time you respond to Attachment A-14, please state in an email if your company has a facility clearance, for information purposes only. This information will not be considered in the evaluation and selection process. All questions made to JPL after the official RFP release date must be received via email. The questions and answers will be posted on the RFP website: https://acquisition.jpl.nasa.gov/opportunities/. The questioner will remain anonymous. This website will contain the RFP and a continually updated set of all questions and answers pertaining to the RFP, in the form of an addendum. Note: JPL intends to award multiple Cost Reimbursable Type Subcontracts in this initial study phase, see General Instructions 3.2 below. Failure to provide any of the data requested in this RFP may render the proposal nonresponsive. By no later than April 12th, 2025, as a convenience to JPL, provide to the undersigned, an email statement that you do or do not intend to submit a proposal. Should you have any questions, please address them to the undersigned by email. Sincerely, Megan E. Lagace Subcontracts Manager Phone No.: (626) 213-1113 E-mail:
[email protected] Attachments : RFP consisting of: • Cover Sheet and Table of Contents • General Instructions • Technical/Management Instructions • Cost/Price Instructions • RFP Attachments Standard Subcontract consisting of: • Standard Subcontract • Referenced Exhibits • Referenced GPs & AGPs • Subcontract Form Set GENERAL INFORMATION Note to all Proposers: Under the JPL/NASA Prime Contract the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) operates the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). JPL is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) funded by NASA that conducts research and development in space science and other science areas specified or approved by NASA. See FAR 35.017 for description of FFRDC. JPL is also the name of an unincorporated subdivision of Caltech a private non-profit educational institution chartered under the laws of the State of California. JPL is not an agent of the Government. In connection with research performed under JPL/NASA Prime Contract, JPL is frequently called upon to obtain and evaluate cost or pricing data submitted by subcontractors as required by FAR 15.402, 15.403-4(b) and 15.404-2(a). JPL is authorized to obtain proposal evaluations and rates and factors from either the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) or the appropriate contract administrative/audit activities as necessary to evaluate a prospective subcontractor’s proposal. Addendum No. 1 (April 23, 2025 ) This addendum is provided to all proposers for clarification of the subject RFP. The above entitled RFP states in the cover letter that “All questions made to JPL after the official RFP release date must be received via email. The questions and answers will be posted on the RFP website: https://acquisition.jpl.nasa.gov/opportunities/.” Currently, there is a delay in posting to this site. As such, addenda will be emailed to known prospective proposers. Is JPL able to provide a copy of the cybersecurity template entitled ““JPL_AGP_Cyber_Review_Template_Rev_41.xlsx” as referenced in the standard subcontract under Special Provision 4.0 “Security Requirements For Registering Subcontractor’s Information Technology Devices?” Yes, a copy of this template will be uploaded to Sam.gov and sent to known prospective proposers via email. Should it be assumed that this subcontract will be more than $2 million, and if so, are proposers required to fill out attachment B-10 and Section 3 Attachment A-17? The B-10 needs to be completed only when there is scope negotiated that exceeds the $2M for actual scope to be performed, not RWOs. CAS does not apply to Small Businesses. Please check the box for that exemption. Would the current status of key personnel who are not yet U.S. citizens pose any issue regarding participation? A significant part of the technical information JPL intends to exchange with subcontractors would be considered export controlled. Time is of the essence for future work under this subcontract, therefore it is essential that JPL have a subcontract that does not require LRS (Limited Release System) or URS (Unlimited Release System) reviews in order to exchange information. Having non-U.S. citizen key personnel will eventually pose an issue when it’s required the subcontractor work with export-controlled information. If your company plans on making key personnel U.S. persons, it is encouraged that the timeline be included in the proposal response. Will JPL require a sealed package or detailed pricing data from the proposer's subcontractors? JPL will not require a sealed package. JPL will require detailed pricing data from any lower-tier subcontractors, which should be transposed via the A-15, Tab 4-3. Are proposers expected to submit three separate basis of estimate documents for each RWO? Only FY 25 rates should be used on the RWOs. Proposers should submit a total of three RWO proposals based off of the three RWOs that are attached to this solicitation. Regarding the proposal due date of April 23, would JPL be willing to provide an extension to May 14? This addendum officially changes the RFP due date to May 14, 2025, 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). On page 6 of the JPL RFP, the table cites a 100-page page limit for the technical/management volume. Would JPL consider increasing this page limit to 150 pages? This addendum officially changes the page limit to 150 pages. On page 7 of the JPL RFP, items 1.1.1.1 and 1.1.1.3 refer to “other customers.” Does this mean non-JPL customers? Yes, this refers to non-JPL customers. The Preliminary Information section includes a choice between “Task or Support Type.” Will JPL please provide a definition of each so that proposers can know exactly what is being requested? Task type work provides specific tasks for the subcontractor to complete. This work type for this subcontract effort will be task type. Support Type work does not have defined tasks and the subcontractor would be given daily direction from JPL. The RFP due date is changed by this addendum. As required by the RFP’s General Instructions, indicate receipt of this and any other addendums relative to the subject RFP. Addendum No. 2 (May 1, 2025) This addendum is provided to all proposers for clarification of the subject RFP. The above entitled RFP states in the cover letter that “All questions made to JPL after the official RFP release date must be received via email. The questions and answers will be posted on the RFP website: https://acquisition.jpl.nasa.gov/opportunities/.” Currently, there is a delay in posting to this site. As such, addenda will be emailed to known prospective proposers. Is Attachment B-21 provided strictly for reference, or does the government require that this attachment be completed and submitted with the proposal? Attachment B-21 Business Reporting Funding Detail has been provided for information purposes so the proposer is aware that if the negotiated price of a single SWO is $500K or more, then Attachment B-21 shall be required for that specific SWO. JPL has requested recent examples of work products in several sections of the proposal criteria. As an example, section 2.1.1 asks proposers to provide a recent “work product” in the form of an analysis report, design review package, and/or peer reviewed paper. The solicitation does not provide any guidance in how to include these work product examples. Does JPL want us to embed these work products in the document itself, or does JPL want us to provide these work products as an un-page counted attachment? If JPL prefers an un-page counted attachment, should that attachment be: 1. A duplicate copy of the work product as a stand-alone attachment or 2. The work product as a computer file attachment (i.e. PowerPoint slides). This addendum officially excludes work product examples from the page count. For each work product example, the page count is limited to 50 pages. See page limit attachment for reference. JPL will accept PDF documents for work product examples. Please do not provide duplicate copies of work product. Most of the requirements for the (11) work product examples are required to be within the last three (3) years. Would JPL be willing change the requirement to accommodate work products from more than (3) years ago? JPL will keep the requirement at (3) years. JPL would like recent examples providing evidence that proposers are actively working in this field. Would JPL consider increasing the page count for the Management/Technical response to each RWO to 6-10 pages (excluding cost information). The RWO response is part of the total 150 page limit for the Technical/Management submittal but is not subject to a specific 6 –10 page limit per RWO. The corresponding cost information included on Attachment A-15 is not included in the 150 page limit. As stated in the RFP 2.0 Technical/Management Criteria and Factors, section 6.4.1, the RWO proposals will be evaluated against Criterion 5: M1, Factor 4, while the cost estimates will be evaluated against Volume III: Pricing and Supplemental Business/Cost Information. Volume II, requirement 2.0 states: “All RWOs shall be written to include multiple technical disciplines.” This appears to be an extraneous requirement. The RWOs in this contract are written for Thermal/Fluids personnel to fulfill and other technical discipline involvement would only be superficial. Proposers shall include multiple disciplines when appropriate , understanding underlying technical requirements when appropriate for the scope of work. Will JPL allow RWO responses to be included in a separate Volume II (with no page limit) and not in Volume I subsection 5.4. In addition, would JPL clarify the weighting for Volumes II and III? The requirements for RWOs will remain the same. Please refer to section 3.1 of the RFP, which states that price is a substantial factor and of equal importance to technical weighting. RFP Criterion 5.5.1 lists Key Personnel in the title: “Availability of Facilities, Equipment, Software, and Key Personnel”. JPL does not request any detail specifically on Key Personnel designations or definitions. Could JPL please clarify what they would like to learn relative to Key Personnel. 5.1.5 requests resumes of key personnel. The purpose of this requirement is to highlight staff who are especially proficient and possess the experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to allow the proposer to respond to JPL work orders. How many BOEs is JPL asking proposers to submit? Does a single BOE consisting of pricing information for all (3) RWOs? Or, three separate BOEs - one for each RWO? Proposers may submit (3) Basis of Estimates (BOE), one for each of the (3) RWOs. If the BOE supporting the RWO cost proposal data is consistent across all three RWOs, the proposer may submit one BOE addressing all three RWOs as part of the cost proposal submittal. This does not apply to the Technical/Management RWO submittals. Where does JPL want the BOE Cost Element Support Data to be submitted? Please confirm that the BOE Cost Element Support Data is to be submitted as part of Volume III, thus being exempt from page-count. Cost Element data is to be included as a part of the A-15 response, which is not included within the page count. Under the current pricing submission, are offerors strictly bound by the ceiling rates submitted by the contractor or will there be an opportunity to propose revised rates at the time of individual task order pricing requests? For the fee calculation of each SWO the proposer shall be strictly bound to the negotiated rates as stated within in Article 2, Payment Provisions, section 1.1.1, and Exhibit II of the Standard Subcontract. Under the subject cost plus fixed fee Subcontract the negotiated cost of each SWO shall be based on rates that are current, accurate, and complete at the time the SWO proposal is submitted. Reference RFP Volume III Cost/Price Instructions, 2.0 Proposal Pricing, Tab 3 SWO Fee Calculation for additional information. The RFP due date is not changed by this addendum. As required by the RFP’s General Instructions, indicate receipt of this and any other addendums relative to the subject RFP.