Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION Amplicon Library Prep and Sequencing (I) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as sup... COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION Amplicon Library Prep and Sequencing (I) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice and in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized in FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (II) This solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). Submit written quotes on RFQ Number NRMAH0002300888VES. (III) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 (Jun 2023) (Deviation 2023-03) (Dec 2022). (IV) This solicitation is being issued as a total Small Business Set-Aside. The associated NAICS code is 541690. The small business size standard $15 Million. (V) This combined solicitation/synopsis is for purchase of the following commercial services: Line Item 0001 - Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for Amplicon Library Preparation and Sequencing of seawater eDNA samples for PMEL Omics (VI) Description of requirements is as follows: See attached Statement of Work which applies to this acquisition. Scope of work: The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Ocean Environment Research Division (OERD) core mission objectives include the assessment of marine biodiversity and ecosystem function. A key tool in meeting mission requirements is the genetic analysis of environmental DNA (“eDNA”) samples generating millions of DNA sequences from amplicon sequencing of filtered sea water. Such analysis is performed on a periodic basis to generate a time series by which ecosystem changes can be monitored. Therefore, procurement of sequencing services that meet the specific requirements for that particular time series generation are needed. In this case, the service requested is for massively high-throughput sequencing of eDNA to serve the time series generated from samples collected from the West Coast Ocean Acidification, Ecosystem & Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations, and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary cruises. The PMEL Omics group is looking to secure a contract for amplicon library preparation and sequencing of PCR products derived from seawater environmental DNA (eDNA) samples. This includes library preparation (indexing/barcoding, normalization and general quality control) for up to 1,000 samples and for 5 distinct metabarcoding loci (5,000 total libraries). The samples will be pooled, sequenced and checked for coverage/depth after each run on a NovaSeq lane by the contractor. Samples will arrive in multiple batches depending on availability and international shipping. Requirements: To compare to existing data, the new data must be generated with the same platform and sequencing chemistry, as outlined below. Data delivery must be conducive to our bioinformatic workflow to ensure rapid and error-free processing, including demultiplexing of individual samples into fastq formatted files. The vendor must have a proven track record of success sequencing eDNA from filtered marine waters as well as a track record of working with amplicon sequencing and microbiome sequencing. The contractor must have capabilities to handle varying quality of input DNA to perform successful amplicon sequencing and the ability to adjust the sequencing scheme (e.g., adjust relative quantities to ensure equal molar pooling and normalized sequencing depth, the ability to troubleshoot or remove problematic samples) based on the data output and standard sequencing quality scores after each run. The facility needs to maintain molecular biology best practices and ensure a sterile environment to prevent cross contamination of samples with other projects. They must communicate with the PMEL Omic group throughout the project to ensure high quality data is produced. Complete library preparation for eDNA amplicon sequencing: ? Sample multiplexing with up to 384 samples per run ? Conduct a two step library preparation protocol that leverages unique dual indexing (i5 and i7 primers are unique to each library and not shared across samples on the same sequencing run) including clean-up, quality checking, equimolar sample pooling, and library preparation using 2 x 250 bp paired-end Illumina chemistry. ? Quality checking must confirm appropriate indexed amplicon library size and concentration prior to sequencing. Appropriate size selection steps will be implemented if primer-dimer or other off target DNA fragments are observed. ? Coordinate adapter use (preferred Illumina NexteraXT adapters) so that delivered round 1 PCR product from NOAA PMEL is compatible with contractor library preparation schema. ? Must be able to produce 100,000 reads per library (i.e., per barcode per sample). ? Data delivered directly to the PMEL technical POCs via external servers and data availability for up to 3 months following completion of sequencing Deliverables: ? Amplicon sequencing at least 100K read depth coverage of 5,000 unique eDNA libraries. ? Data to be delivered within 90 days of receipt of the samples. ? Data will be demultiplexed by library prior to returning the data. Quality scores of sequences will be evaluated between each lane of sequencing to determine the best course of action. Data delivered directly to the PMEL technical POCs via external servers and data availability for up to 3 months following completion of sequencing. ? Samples to be submitted on an ongoing periodic basis beginning August 31st, 2023 through August 30th, 2024 Evaluation Factors (all of equal value): Technical – The offerors capabilities and proposed approach will be evaluated under this factor. The proposed equipment and protocols to be used will be reviewed. Contamination avoidance protocols will also be reviewed here. Experience – The offerors must provide detail of their experience working with amplicon sequencing. Relevant previous projects and references are highly encouraged. (VII) Period of Performance: 08/31/2023 – 08/30/2024 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: VENDOR'S LOCATION CLIENT LOCATION: PACIFIC MARINE ENVIRO LAB 7600 SAND POINT WAY NE /R/PMEL SEATTLE WA 98115-6349 (VIII) FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (MAR 2023), applies to this acquisition. NOTICE TO OFFERORS: Instructions for submitting quotations under this request for quote must be followed. Failure to provide all information to aid in the evaluation may be considered non-responsive. Offers that are non-responsive may be excluded from further evaluation and rejected without further notification to the offeror. 1. Submit PDF or Microsoft Word format quotations to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the time specified in the solicitation. Email quotes are required and can be sent to veronica.stroud@noaa.gov. 2. Offeror shall have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM found at https://sam.gov/content/home) in order to provide a quote and be eligible for award. Must provide their UEID/CAGE CODE with their quote. 3. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of them or their capability. 4. Offerors must provide all items requested in FAR 52.212-2. Offerors who do not provide all evaluation criteria will not be accepted. Technical Approach and Capability. The Offeror’s overall technical approach will be evaluated to assess the Government's level of confidence in the Offeror’s understanding of, approach to, and ability to successfully perform the requirements as described in the Statement of Work. Provide a detailed description of the company’s experience performing similar services. A detailed technical approach write-up describing how the Offeror will perform this service is required to be submitted with the quote regardless of whether a site visit was made or not. The technical approach write-up must not be a reiteration of the Statement of Work but how your company plans on performing the tasks listed in the attached Statement of Work. (i.e. performance checklists, anticipated number of janitors, anticipated hours at the facility and/or confirmation of supplies being provided, etc.) Past Performance. The Offeror's past performance on related contracts will be evaluated to determine, as appropriate, successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, cost management, communications between contracting parties, proactive management and customer satisfaction. The Government will use its discretion to determine the sources of past performance information used in the evaluation, and the information may be obtained from references provided by the Offeror, the agency’s knowledge of Offeror performance, other government agencies or commercial entities, or past performance databases, and will be based on responsiveness, quality, and customer services. Quote shall include at least two references for similar and relevant services including the phone number, full address, and e-mail address. Offerors lacking relevant past performance history, or for whom past performance information is either not available or has not been submitted to the Government, will receive a neutral rating for past performance. Price. The Government will evaluate the price quote for completeness and reasonableness in relation to the RFQ requirements. Quoted prices must be entirely compatible with the Non-Price Technical Solution. (IX) FAR 52.212-2, EVALUATION- COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (Nov 2021), applies to this acquisition. Offers will be evaluated based on price and the factors set forth in paragraph (a). The evaluation will consider the Non-Price Technical Solution (Technical Approach and Past Performance) to be significantly more important than price. However, as quotes are determined to be more equal in the non-price evaluation factor, price becomes more important and may become the determining factor for award. If, at any stage of the evaluation, all Offerors are determined to have submitted equal, or virtually equal, Non-Price Technical Solutions, price could become the factor in determining which Offeror will receive the award. The Government intends to evaluate the quotes and award a purchase order based on the Offeror’s initial quote; therefore, the Offeror’s initial quote should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a Non-Price Technical Solution and price standpoint. The Government reserves the right not to award a purchase order depending on the quality of the quote(s) submitted and the availability of funds. Furthermore, the Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities or omissions in quotes received. The Government may make award to other than the lowest-priced Offeror or the Offeror with the highest technical rating if the Contracting Officer determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government. The Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve only slightly superior performance capability. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Approach and Capability. The Offeror’s overall technical approach will be evaluated to assess the Government's level of confidence in the Offeror’s understanding of, approach to, and ability to successfully perform the requirements as described in the Statement of Work. Provide a detailed description of the company’s experience performing similar services. A detailed technical approach write-up describing how the Offeror will perform this service is required to be submitted with the quote regardless of whether a site visit was made or not. The technical approach write-up must not be a reiteration of the Statement of Work but how your company plans on performing the tasks listed in the attached Statement of Work. (i.e. performance checklists, anticipated number of janitors, anticipated hours at the facility and/or confirmation of supplies being provided, etc.) Past Performance. The Offeror's past performance on related contracts will be evaluated to determine, as appropriate, successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, cost management, communications between contracting parties, proactive management and customer satisfaction. The Government will use its discretion to determine the sources of past performance information used in the evaluation, and the information may be obtained from references provided by the Offeror, the agency’s knowledge of Offeror performance, other government agencies or commercial entities, or past performance databases, and will be based on responsiveness, quality, and customer services. Quote shall include at least two references for similar and relevant services including the phone number, full address, and e-mail address. Offerors lacking relevant past performance history, or for whom past performance information is either not available or has not been submitted to the Government, will receive a neutral rating for past performance. Price. The Government will evaluate the price quote for completeness and reasonableness in relation to the RFQ requirements. Quoted prices must be entirely compatible with the Non-Price Technical Solution. The Government intends to award a trade-off, a single firm fixed-price purchase order on an all or none with payment terms of Net 30. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (End of provision) "THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR NON-RECEIPT OF QUOTES. IT IS THE OFFEROR'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST AND RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION OF THE QUOTE RECEIPT". CAM 1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010) OFFERORS MUST SUBMIT ALL QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS SOLICITATION IN WRITING VIA EMAIL TO VERONICA.STROUD@NOAA.GOV. QUESTIONS SHOULD BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 7/18/2023 AT 12 NOON MDT. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of clause) CLAUSES CONTINUED IN ATTACHMENTS