Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

DESCRIPTION The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking Capability Statements from Small Business organizations with the demonstrated capability of p... DESCRIPTION The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking Capability Statements from Small Business organizations with the demonstrated capability of providing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) services related to the NIDA work culture and climate survey. This is a Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified business sources; (2) the availability of capable Small Businesses; HUBZone Small Businesses; Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses; 8(a) Small Businesses; Veteran-Owned Small Businesses; Woman-Owned Small Businesses; or Small Disadvantaged Businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. The established NAICS code is 541611, Administrative Management and General Consulting Services. The U.S. Small Business Administration establishes a size standard for 541611 as annual revenues of $16,500,000 or less. BACKGROUND: The NIDA mission is to advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual and public health. NIDA is a federal scientific research institute under the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA is the largest supporter of the world's research on drug use and addiction. NIDA- funded scientific research addresses the most fundamental and essential questions about drug use, including tracking emerging drug use trends, understanding how drugs work in the brain and body, developing and testing new drug treatment and prevention approaches, and disseminating findings to the general public, researchers, policymakers, and others. NIDA is responsible for administering a wide range of grant, contract, and fellowship activities designed to provide support for both research and research training. GENERAL REQUIREMENT: The Government is conducting market research to identify Vendor capable of providing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) services in two Phases. Phase 1 will require the Vendor to propose a plan to evaluate the results from recent NIDA work culture and climate surveys, provide an evaluation of those results based on preliminary feedback from NIDA, and prepare a written report summarizing those findings. Phase 2 will require the Vendor to develop a strategy to conduct a new organizational and cultural assessment to evaluate NIDA’s EDI workforce and work culture, conduct a comprehensive assessment of NIDA’s organizational culture and climate, and develop a comprehensive science and evidence-based action plan to address these new evaluation findings. A capable Vendor must successfully demonstrate its experience and ability to perform the following key requirements: Develop a data analytic strategy to evaluate Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Survey results with respect to variables such as race, ethnicity, sex, gender, and occupational level (e.g., supervisor, trainee, staff member, contractor, etc.). The description and experience should demonstrate the capability for, quantitative data collection; critical analysis to determine assess survey limitations imposed by the contracting companies that manage the surveys; the development of a strategical plan for implementation based on initial analysis. Conduct data analyses, based on the agreed upon strategy, of the organizational culture and climate within the context of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. The description and experience should demonstrate the capability for; data security; implementation of statistical data analysis techniques assess multiple surveys. Prepare an evaluation report which summarizes all quantitative findings from multiple surveys with illustrative information represented in an easily understandable graphic format. Conduct presentations and briefings for staff on the survey results and future survey strategy. Develop and conduct organizational and cultural assessments to evaluate the workforce and work culture with respect to educational background, occupation, race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and veteran status. The description should demonstrate experience with testing on bias, disparities, and equity, as well as manage survey instruments and qualitative collection protocols which are based on organizational/behavioral/sociological or other relevant scientific field. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of NIDA’s organizational culture and climate. identifying and proposing strategies for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion efforts over the entire employee life cycle (recruitment, onboarding, development, engagement, performance management, recognition, retention, offboarding) Provide recommendations for implementations and at each level of management and organization. Assess and proposes strategies to combat harassment, bias, racism, discrimination, and incivility experienced by all NIDA staff members, including federal employees, trainees, contractors, volunteers, and detailees. Promote organizational equity and fairness across NIDA-wide systems and processes. Capable vendors should describe their experience in applying EDI principles with internal stakeholders and with external stakeholders. Facilitate focus groups to obtain qualitative data with various stakeholders throughout the process. Develop a comprehensive science and evidence-based action plan, to address evaluation findings at all levels of the organization. Capable vendors should describe their experience in identifying processes and systems that must be maintained, enhanced, improved, or created in order to achieve a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce and work culture and climate to promote equity and avoid racial bias. Include a potential course of action to make the recommended enhancements, improvements, or development of processes and systems in the near, medium, and long-term. INSTRUCTIONS: Capable Vendors shall demonstrate and document in the submitted Capability Statement its experience in the technical areas, requirements, and personnel listed above. Furthermore, Vendors should include relevant and specific information on each of the following qualifications: 1) Approach: Vendors should prepare a narrative describing the methodologies, approach, and techniques utilized on similar relevant project to achieve the requirements listed above. 2) Experience: Provide an outline describing experiences on previous similar projects, specifically the techniques employed, the challenges encountered, and the lessons learned in the areas described above. Additionally, provide the name and the point of contact for any recent Organizations, Institutions, or Agencies where services were provided with a similar scope of work. 3) Personnel: Provide the names, professional qualifications of personnel with specific experience in the work requested and knowledge of, and experience to successfully complete the requirements describe above. The Government will assess the appropriateness of the demonstrated approach, experience, personnel, and compliance with the requirements. The Government will consider any other specific and relevant information about this announcement that would improve our assessment of respondents. Organizations should demonstrate capability to administer and coordinate interrelated tasks in an effective and timely manner. Documentation may include, but is not limited to, contracts in which the organization performed equivalent tasks (Government and commercial); references, i.e., names, titles, telephone numbers and any other information serving to document the organizations capability; and awards or commendations. All capability statements must also include the following: 1) company name and address; 2) point of contact; 3) phone/fax/email; 4) NAICS Code(s); 5) business size and status; 6) capability information in response to the requirement and qualifications identified in this notice; and 7) type of small business your organization classifies itself as (i.e.: Women-Owned, HUBZone, etc.). Any business concerns that believe they possess the capability necessary to successfully undertake the work described above must SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENTS ELECTRONICALLY to the Contract Specialist, Shaun Rostad at Shaun.Rostad@nih.gov, NO LATER THAN 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, July 9, 2021. The Subject line for the submission should include this Sources Sought Number. NIDA will not accept paper or faxed capability statements. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. 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. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. CONFIDENTIALITY. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).