National Assessment Governing Board Quarterly Board Meetings Support

UPDATE JUNE 21, 2024: The Department has updatged two files to assist with quote preparation: 1) a document with the Department's responses to questions from interested parties and 2) a diagram that was referenced in the RFQ. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

The solicitation for commercial services is being conducted in conjunction with FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation 91995924Q0001 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-05, which has an effective date of 05/22/2024.

The NAICS Code is 721110, Hotels (Not Casino) and Motels, and small business size standard is $40.0M. The National Assessment Governing Board (hereafter Governing Board, or NAGB) has a requirement to provide lodging and meeting services for its Quarterly Board meetings. The Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as “The Nation’s Report Card”.

The Governing Board convenes four times per year to carry out its legislatively mandated responsibilities. Information on the Board and its work can be found at www.nagb.gov. Detailed information on the quarterly meetings can be found at https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/quarterly-board-meetings.html. Meeting dates are posted on the Governing Board’s website at https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/quarterly-board-meetings.html.

Two meetings will be convened in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area and two meetings are tentatively set to take place outside the Washington DC area. Offerors shall submit proposals for three cities outside the Washington DC Metropolitan area - Oklahoma City, OK, Houston, TX, and Providence, RI. However, see Quote Instructions section – the Department is open to issuing multiple orders, purchasing various items or groups of items from different quoters. Governing Board meeting dates are as follows:

November 13, 14, and 15, 2024 (Washington DC Metropolitan area) March 6-7, 2025 (Washington DC Metropolitan area) May 15-16, 2025 (Washington, DC, Oklahoma City, OK, Houston, TX, Providence, RI) July 31 – August 1, 2025 (Washington DC Metropolitan area) It shall be noted that the meeting dates cannot be changed. The locations for March, May, and August 2025 shall be determined as soon as possible. November 2024 shall take place in the Washington, DC area.

The entity selected to receive an offer from ED is required to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and to maintain active registration during the life of the purchase order. SAM can be accessed at https://www.sam.gov. Quoters shall include their SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI) number in their quote. If the quoter does not have a UEI, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for UEI establishment directly to obtain one.

The quoter should indicate that it is an offeror for a government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the UEI. The quoter selected for an offer from the Department will need to provide Offeror Representations and Certifications prior to any award. All interested, responsible sources may submit a quote directly to the U.S. Department of Education.

Any quote from a source other than the hotel or lodging venue itself must include written evidence that the quoter is currently authorized to submit binding quotes on behalf of the venue whose accommodations and/or facility(s) are being offered. Evidence shall include a signed agreement between the vendor and the quoter. Quotes that fail to provide such evidence shall be deemed technically unacceptable and will not be considered for award. See additional subcontract-related requirements and instructions below.

CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Submit all clarification questions concerning this solicitation in writing via email only to Gary Weaver, Contracting Officer, at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov. The Governing Board will accept clarification questions until 10:00 am EST Thursday, June 20, 2024. After this date, the Governing Board shall not guarantee a response to questions. The Department does not guarantee that a response will be given to clarification questions submitted after the due date.

Offerors will not receive a response until all questions have been received by the due date. All questions received and responses to questions shall be provided as an amendment to the RFQ. Oral explanations or instructions given by the Government before the award of the contract shall not be binding.

QUOTE DUE DATE: Quotes are due via email only by 12:00 pm EST, Monday, July 1, 2024 to Gary Weaver, Contracting Officer, at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov. Offers must be signed and submitted by an official authorized to bind your organization and be valid for 120 days. The proposal shall list the name, email and telephone number of a designated individual authorized to conduct negotiations. The subject matter of email shall reference the RFQ number and the name of your organization.

For example, the email subject header shall read: RFQ 91995924Q0001- John Doe Company We will not consider any quote that we receive after the deadline unless we receive it before we issue a purchase order and considering it will not delay our purchase. In case of an emergency that delays our operations and makes submission or receipt of your quote impossible, we will extend the deadline by one working day.

PLEASE SEE THE FULL RFQ, INCLUDING ATTACHMENT A, UPLOADED AS SEPARATE FILES FOR THE COMPLETE REQUIREMENTS (ROOMS, FOOD & BEVERAGE, A/V, ETC.), THE BASIS FOR AWARD, AND THE COMPLETE QUOTE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS.