This includes 8a directs. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE to determine the availability and capability of qualified small businesses (including certified 8(a), Small Disadvantaged, HUBZone firms; Veteran and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Women-Owned Small Businesses and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). This work will seek architectural review services to assist in its investigations of fair housing and equal opportunity accessibility complaints including litigation support. The Contractor services may include surveying residential properties, reviewing architectural plans, and assessing physical accessibility compliance. When required, the contractor may provide litigation support that includes expert witness testimony. Place of Performance: The Contractor shall perform the services set forth in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) anywhere within the United States including the United States Territories. However, performance will require travel to and work at the residential and other properties at issue and may require travel to and work at the Governments facility for some tasks. Period of Performance: The Period of Performance shall be for one base period of 12-months and four 12-month option periods. Background: HUD investigates Fair Housing Act complaints to ensure everyone complies with the Fair Housing Act. The actions HUD takes includes conducting investigations, filing charges of discrimination, litigating matters before administrative law judges, and referring cases to the Department of Justice. Complaints may allege that developers, architects, engineers, and others involved in designing or constructing covered multifamily dwellings may violate the Fair Housing Act. In extreme cases, HUD refers matters to the Department of Justice for further proceedings. HUD also investigates complaints, conducts compliance reviews, and files enforcement actions or refers matters to the Department of Justice alleging that recipients of federal financial assistance and public entities involved in the design, construction, and alteration of housing and other facilities may have violated Section 504 and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Objectives: HUD seeks experts to assist the Agency’s investigators and attorneys during these investigations and in litigation. Specifically, the expertise required includes experience applying the Fair Housing Acts design and construction requirements, specified in the following: the Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(C)-(f)(7); HUDs regulations, 24 C.F.R. 100.201, 100.201a, 100.205; HUDs Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines, 56 Fed. Reg. 9472-9515 (Mar. 6, 1991) and the supplement thereto, 59 Fed. Reg. 33362-33368 (June 28, 1994); HUDs Fair Housing Act Design Manual; and the safe harbors specified at 24 C.F.R. 100.205(e)(1). In addition, or alternatively, the expertise required includes experience applying the physical accessibility requirements set forth in Section 504, 29 U.S.C. 794, and the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., their implementing regulations, 24 C.F.R. Part 8; 28 C.F.R. Parts 35 and 36, and applicable architectural standards, including the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), the 1991 ADA Standards, and the 2010 ADA Standards, as well as HUDs "Deeming Notice at 79 FR 29671 (May 23, 2014). Constraints: The services identified in the PWS will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following: 42 U.S.C. 3604 29 U.S.C. 794 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. 24 C.F.R. Part 8 28 C.F.R. Parts 35 and 36 24 C.F.R. 100.201 24 C.F.R. 100.201a 24 C.F.R. 100.205 56 Fed. Reg. 9472-9515 (March 6, 1991) 59 Fed. Reg. 33362-33368 (June 28, 1994) The Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) The 1991 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards The 2010 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design HUDs "Deeming Notice, 79 Fed. Reg. 29671 (May 23, 2014) HUDs Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines HUDs Fair Housing Act Design Manual Special Qualifications The contractor shall possess the following qualifications: Personnel performing work under this contract shall have at least a four-year degree in one of the following fields: Architecture, Architectural Technology, Civil Engineering, or a related field. Personnel performing work under this contract shall at least five years of work experience in the field of accessibility consulting. Personnel performing work shall have the ability to perform field work outside with or without accommodations. Specific Tasks Compliance Reviews The contractor shall perform compliance reviews to include the following tasks as assigned by the government by the government-specified deadline for each review: Conduct onsite surveys of facilities and sites assessing the level of compliance with the Fair Housing Acts design and construction requirements, the physical accessibility requirements of section 504, and the ADA as applicable. Conduct document reviews of design development and construction documents assessing the level of compliance with the Fair Housing Acts design and construction requirements, the physical accessibility requirements of section 504, and the ADA as applicable. Develop remediation recommendations for design and construction violations including related accommodations as requested by the government. Provide cost estimates for remediation recommendations as requested by the government. The Contractor shall prepare a compliance review onsite survey report for any onsite surveys conducted within 30 calendar days of the survey that contain the following information: Description of violations found with the appropriate legal or regulatory citation for the violations. Critical measurements demonstrating noncompliance (i.e. dimensions, slopes, etc.) through notes and photographs. Document violations with photographs and images as appropriate showing the violation and legible measurements Provide photographs of the general area, space, and overall condition of the site. The Contractor shall prepare a compliance review document review report for any document reviews conducted within 30 calendar days of the survey that contain the following information: Description of violations found with the appropriate legal or regulatory citation for the violations. Note the location(s), as appropriate, of non-compliance in the drawing, schedule, specifications, narratives, or other documents. Provide diagrams and marked up drawings with adequate description of the violation or concern. Provide photographs of the general area, space, and overall condition of the site. Technical Assistance and Monitoring The Contractor shall review documents received by the government and provide a report within 30 calendar days of receiving the document that contains the following information: Summary of the document(s) to include its contents Findings from the facts and figures from the document Statutes, regulations, standards, and policies supporting the findings Written interpretations as appropriate Recommendations for further actions The Contractor shall provide written interpretations and opinions on compliance matters within 30 calendar days of request by the government that includes supporting statutes, regulations, standards, and policies. The topics covered under this requirement include items such as determinations of technical infeasible alterations, structural impracticability, site impracticality, and similar matters. The Contractor shall provide remediation monitoring reports to verify completion of remedies correcting violations within 30 calendar days of the request. In this process, the Contractor may provide recommendations to ensure future compliance with applicable laws and regulations covered here. Additionally, the contractor may recommend specific parties develop procedures, to include forms and checklists, to prevent future issues and the Contractor help review draft forms in this process. Expert Witness Testimony and Litigation Support The Contractor shall prepare reports on investigation of construction defects, accidents/disputes, condition and performance assessment, evaluation of damage causation and engineering errors by the established deadline. The Contractor shall write expert reports of their findings and opinions prior to being permitted to testify at trial by the established deadline. The Contractor shall formulate, present, and justify sound, authoritative expert opinions on behalf of the Department in legal, administrative, and other formal proceedings involving the analysis of positions, including conflicting positions, from other national experts in the architectural, building, design, construction, and code-setting industries by the established deadline. The contractor shall prepare pre-trial/pre-engagement reports by the established deadline. The Contractor shall attend legal proceedings as required by the government. Performance Reporting The contractor shall provide monthly performance reports for each month of the contract period where a monthly invoice is submitted containing the following information: Status of projects report with a brief history of previous months project status reports. Number of hours expended Target completion date for unfinished work Information relevant to architectural support services, including expert witness support, related to assigned projects. The contractor shall provide a draft End of Project Report for government review and approval at the completion of the project within 10 business days of project completion providing the following information: A brief description of all activities taken during the project Summary of hours expended on the project Summary of deliverables The Contractor shall finalize and submit the final End of Project Report within 5 business days after receiving back the draft End of Project Report from the government. However, be advised that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective review of respondents’ response. It must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and/or ability to marshal resources to effectively and efficiently perform each of the tasks described above in sufficient level of detail to allow definitive numerical evaluation; and evidence that the contractor can satisfy the minimum requirements listed above in compliance with FAR 52.219-14 (“Limitations of Subcontracting”). Failure to definitively address the requirement will result in a finding that respondent lacks the capability of performing the work. Responses to this notice shall be limited to ten pages, and must include: Company name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and FAX numbers, website address (if available), and the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives. Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. Business size for NAICS 541611 (size standard $16.5 million or number of employees) and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages). DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Companies also must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1 to be considered as potential sources. Identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and contract number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement are also requested. If the company has a government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system. Please submit copies of any documentation such as letters or certificates to indicate the firm’s status (see item #3, above) Teaming arrangements are acceptable, and the information required above on the company responding to this announcement, should also be provided for each entity expected to be teammates of the respondent for performance of this work. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be properly protected from disclosure. This notice is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, a Request for Proposals, a Solicitation, and a Request for Quotes, or an indication the Government will contract for the items contained in this announcement. This request is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this announcement. Responses to this announcement will not be returned, nor there any ensuing discussions or debriefings of any responses. However, information obtained as a result of this announcement may be reflected in the subsequent solicitation, and HUD, OCPO may contact one or more respondents for clarifications and to enhance the Government’s understanding. This announcement is Government market research and may result in revisions in both its requirements and its acquisition strategy based on industry responses. RESPONDENTS MUST SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENT VIA E-MAIL to
[email protected] no later than April 29th, 2022, 2:00 PM Eastern Time for consideration.