Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Solicitation Number: 75N95021R00024 Title: Automated Transport System for the NCATS ASPIRE Automated Laboratory Classification Code: N066 Installation of Equipment – Instruments ... SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Solicitation Number: 75N95021R00024 Title: Automated Transport System for the NCATS ASPIRE Automated Laboratory Classification Code: N066 Installation of Equipment – Instruments and Laboratory Equipment NAICS Code: 238210 Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Contractors, $16.5M Description: This is a Small Business 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 small business sources; (2) whether they are 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. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background: With the A Specialized Platform for Innovative Research Exploration (ASPIRE) initiative, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) seeks to accelerate preclinical drug discovery by integrating automated synthetic chemistry, high-throughput biology and information technologies to help scientists study unexplored biologically active chemical space. A full description of ASPIRE can be found at https://ncats.nih.gov/aspire. Purpose and Objectives: The overall goal of ASPIRE is to enable real-time translational science by combining expertise in chemistry, biology, pharmacology, automation, and artificial intelligence/machine learning to provide a rapid decision-making platform to advance lead molecules to the clinic. This overall platform will require a modular framework where different tasks are executed as part of an experiment. An example of this is small molecules could be synthesized at one module, and then brought to an analytical chemistry module for a quality control check, and then eventually brought to a module for storage and/or plating for use in a future experiment. That could then lead to an experiment where a high throughput biological assay is run using that molecule on a different module. Project requirements: This requirement is to design and install a reliable transport system that will provide transportation of samples between existing, planned, and foreseeable modules. Existing modules include cell counters, liquid chromatographs, mass spectrometers, cell incubators, and other sample preparation, processing, and data acquisition instruments. This Sources Sought Notice seeks responses from small businesses that can provide the transportation platform among these modules, to include design; provision of control systems and control panels; integration of systems, subsystems, and machine safety; and assembly and testing. Anticipated period of performance: Full installation of this system is expected within 12-18 weeks after receipt of order. Other important considerations: This platform is of critical importance because it underpins the success of the entire ASPIRE program. It has to perform millions of successful movements of labware per year while preserving the integrity of the scientific experimentation and ensuring the safety of the users Capability statement /information sought. The Government requests the following information: A capability statement, to include information regarding respondents’: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information; The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. The response must be submitted by e-mail to Stuart Kern, Contract Specialist, at stuart.kern@nih.gov. The response must be received on or before 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on March 19, 2021. Disclaimer and Important Notes: 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 presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Contract 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).