Inactive

**The purpose of this amendment is to post Questions and Answers** This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented... **The purpose of this amendment is to post Questions and Answers** 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. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 12505B23Q0248 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 dated June 2, 2023. This solicitation will be Full and Open Competition. The associated NAICS code is 541714 (Research and Development in Biotechnology Except Nanobiotechnology), with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. This acquisition is for the following item as identified in the Line Items: 0001) Whole Genome Metagenomics deliverables: Quality report, FASTQ files, data QC, Azenta/GENEWIZ dynamic exploration of microbial taxonomy and abundance, cross-sample comparisons. Pan-metagenome data sanitation. Metagenomic assembly. BLAST assembled contigs for summary hits. NMDS,Krona, Abundance heatmap and Metastats. Description of Work: The USDA has a requirement to procure Whole Genome Metagenomics. Deliverables: Quality report, FASTQ files, data QC, Azenta/GENEWIZ dynamic exploration of microbial taxonomy and abundance, cross-sample comparisons. Pan-metagenome data sanitation. Metagenomic assembly. BLAST assembled contigs for summary hits. NMDS,Krona, Abundance heatmap and Metastats, located in Columbia, MO. The Contractor shall provide all items F.O.B. destination. The location of the Government site is 1053 S. Providence Rd, Columbia, MO 65203 and will also be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract. Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quote in accordance with FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services and include a copy of 52.212-3 Offeror Representations-Commercial Products and Commercial Services. Submission of quote shall include the following: (1) Technical and (2) Price. All responses shall be submitted electronically to joel.maas@usda.gov The basis for award is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). LPTA means the best value is expected to result from selection of the technically acceptable quote with the lowest evaluated price. Pursuant to FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, the criteria for evaluation are: (1) Technical and (2) Price and must also have satisfactory Past Performance. The lowest priced quote will first be evaluated for technical acceptability in accordance with the minimum specifications identified. If determined not technically acceptable, it will be removed from competition and the next lowest priced quote will be evaluated for technical acceptability. This will continue until the lowest price quote is determined technically acceptable. Once the lowest priced quote is determined technically acceptable, then a determination of responsibility will be completed. If found responsible, evaluations will be closed and award will be made. INSPECTON AND ACCEPTANCE TERMS: Services will be inspected by Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and accepted at destination. Delivery must be made by 60 days ARO. To be eligible for an award, all contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time the quote is submitted. A contractor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A SAM UEI number is required in order to register. All invoices shall be submitted electronically. Quotes must be received no later than 5:00 PM Eastern August 28, 2023. Questions in regard to this combined synopsis/solicitation are due no later than 2:00 PM Eastern on August 25, 2023. Answers to any questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to this combined synopsis/solicitation. DISCLAIMER: The official contract documents are located on the government webpage and the Government is not liable for information furnished by any other source. Amendments, if/when issued will be posted to Contract Opportunities for electronic downloading. This will normally be the only method of distributing amendments prior to closing; therefore, it is the offeror's responsibility to check the website periodically for any amendments to this solicitation. Websites are occasionally inaccessible, due to various reasons. The Government is not responsible for any loss of internet connectivity or for an offeror's inability to access the documents posted on the referenced web pages. The Government will not issue paper copies.

Inactive

A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) ... A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors available for a proposed project who meet the specific criteria outlined below. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation Announcement, Request for Quote, or Invitation for Bid. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of Small Business and/or Large Business companies to provide the supplies/services described below. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. Department of Agriculture requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these products and service. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition. The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 541714 (Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology), with a Size Standard of 1,000 Employees and the PSC Code is AA11. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13. This project is to conduct shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the microbiome associated with the pest insect Drosophila suzukii. In addition to the sequence information the servicer will provide bioinformatic analyses in which they create a pan-metagenome. They will remove reads from the reference genome of D. suzukii to separate, close the genomes of resident microbes and provide comprehensive metagenomic bioinformatic analyses. Location: Columbia, MO. Capability Statement: Companies who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company’s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. In addition to the Capabilities Statement, companies should complete the attached Sources Sought Response Form and indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business. To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A SAM UEI number is required in order to register in SAM. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. Vendor must include their UEI# on their capability statements. To be eligible, all vendors must also be registered in SAM under the specific NAICS code listed as part of this sources sought. If a prospective vendor is not registered under the specified NAICS code and would qualify to be registered under it then they must update their SAM registration prior to providing a capabilities statement. Finally, to be eligible, all vendors must be NDAA 889 Certified. If they do not currently have a NDAA 889 Certification, then they must complete the attached NDAA 889 Certification form and submit it to joel.maas@usda.gov so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors. Submitting a Capability Statements: Responses should be submitted via email by Tuesday July 31, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Questions should be directed to Joel Maas at joel.maas@usda.gov. Disclaimer: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Respondents are also advised that under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback about any of the information received. After review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential or classified information shall be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.