INSTRUCTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS ARE PROVIDED BELOW: Proposals shall be submitted electronically using the Department of Defense (DoD) Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE) service at https://safe.apps.mil, via the “Drop-off” feature. DoD SAFE is the only electronic commerce method authorized for the submission of Phase One proposals in response to this solicitation. Submissions outside of DoD SAFE will not be considered. Offerors are instructed to electronically submit their complete proposal in one (1) file, formatted in Portable Document Format (PDF) with a .pdf file extension as follows: File #1: Factor 1, Technical Approach Factor 2, Experience Factor 3, Past Performance Factor 4, Safety Instructions for submission of Phase One proposals using the DoD SAFE “Drop-off” feature are provided below: 1. There are no user accounts for DoD SAFE. In order to submit a proposal in response to this solicitation, Offerors shall submit their point of contact (POC) name and email address via email to both the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer identified below to obtain a “Request Code” for DoD SAFE “Drop-off” of the Phase One proposal. Contract Specialist: Vincent Nazzal Email: vincent.p.nazzal.civ@us.navy.mil Contracting Officer: Eley DeCuba Email: eley.a.decuba.civ@us.navy.mil Note: The Government does not intend to respond to emails for drop-off request codes submitted less than 10 calendar days before the proposal due date of 12 October 2022 shown in the solicitation. 2. No later than 4 calendar days prior to the proposal due date, the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer will send a “Request Code” to the Offeror’s specified POC via the email address provided. Only the Offeror’s identified POC will be able to drop off the proposal or proposal revisions in DoD SAFE. Failure to provide accurate POC information will preclude the Offeror from using DoD SAFE. 3. To submit the proposal, the Offeror will go to the DoD SAFE website at https://safe.apps.mil, accept the user agreement, click “Drop-off,” and enter the 12-digit “Request Code” that was provided by the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer. The system will allow for inclusion of a short note to the Government recipient. The Offeror will then click to add their proposal file, or drag and drop the file. Click “Drop-off Files” to send the file to the Government recipient. Confirm that the file does not contain classified information and click “OK.” Once the file is uploaded, an email will be sent to the Government recipient notifying them of the “drop-off.” [Additional details can be viewed in the DoD SAFE User Guide available at https://safe.apps.mil/about.php]. The DoD SAFE system will record the date and time of proposal submission. The date and time of proposal submission recorded in DoD SAFE shall govern the timeliness of any proposal submission ***LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. *** It is an Offeror’s responsibility, when transmitting its proposal electronically, to ensure the proposal’s timely delivery by transmitting the proposal sufficiently in advance of the time set for receipt of proposals to allow for timely receipt by the Government no later than the date and time stated in Block 13 of the SF1442. Offerors shall allow adequate time to upload files, which may be slower for non-DoD users, and to avoid other technical difficulties that may be encountered. An Offeror risks the late receipt and rejection of a proposal where it delays transmitting its proposal until the last few minutes before the time set for receipt of proposals. Proposals that are received after the stated date and time in Block 13 of the SF1442 will not be considered. Offerors are responsible for submitting their proposal in the format specified, consistent with requirements stated elsewhere in this solicitation. Offerors are asked to submit only the information/exhibits required. Page limits, if stipulated, must be adhered to. Files that cannot be opened, or are otherwise missing the required content are the responsibility of the Offeror. No Assumptions: This is a firm fixed price contract, and any assumptions made by the offeror in its proposal will not be binding on the Government. The offeror will not be entitled to any equitable adjustments based on assumptions made by the offeror in its proposal. If the Scope of Work is not clear, submit your request for clarification as a RFI.