Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

COMPETITIVE COMBINED SYNOPSIS / SOLICITATION Reference AMENDMENT NO.: 00001 dated November 1, 2023 Title: National Institute of Mental Health Grant Writing Workshop (i) This is a combined synopsis/sol... COMPETITIVE COMBINED SYNOPSIS / SOLICITATION Reference AMENDMENT NO.: 00001 dated November 1, 2023 Title: National Institute of Mental Health Grant Writing Workshop (i) 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; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Government reserves the right to make one award, multiple awards, or no awards as a result of this solicitation. (ii) The solicitation number is 75N95024Q00018 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotations (RFQ). The POTS number is 24-000008. This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures; and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2023-06, with effective date October 5, 2023. (iv) The associated NAICS code 611430 and the small business size standard is $15M. This requirement is a total small business set-aside. (v) This requirement is for the following services: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Grant Writing Workshop (vi) The NIMH Office of Fellowship Training (OFT) is responsible for the oversight of research training and career/ professional development resources for approximately 250 trainees in the Intramural Research Program (IRP). OFT provides guidance to Principal Investigators and other staff in mentoring roles to ensure that there is consistency across labs with the overall fellowship experience. One of the fundamental objectives of the office is to develop training courses to help fellows advance to the next career stage. A ciritical training course that OFT must provide annually is Grant Writing and common areas that are addressed include critical elements of grants, funding institutions and writing tactics. To effectively cover all of the important grant topics, a multistep series approach is taken in the form of seminars and workshops to give fellows and instructors the opportunity to have both didactic and interactive sessions. To support the training of Postdoctoral fellows and Faculty/Senior Staff, the IRP is in need of a grant focused workshop that will provide an inclusive grants experience for junior and senior level individuals. These workshops will be geared toward learning about the critical elements of grants, the different grant types, understanding funding announcements and assembling grant applications for NIH and external sources. Grant types such as Public Health Service Grants, PHS 398, including Research Career Awards, Institutional National Research Service Awards, Foundation grants and international funding opportunities will be the focus. (vii) The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition, and the anticipated period of performance is Base Year: 1/8/2024 to 1/7/2025 Option Year 1: 1/8/2025 to 1/7/2026 Option Yer 2: 1/8/2026 to 1/7/2027 (viii) The provision at FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html (End of provision) The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018) FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020) FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Mar 2023) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Dec 2022) FAR 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options (Jul 1990) HHSAR 352.239-73, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice (December 18, 2015) The clause at FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html (End of clause) The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018) FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Dec 2022). Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached. HHSAR 352.222-70, Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items (Dec 2022). Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached. FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999). The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 60 days. FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000). 12 months, 10 days, The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 42 months. HHSAR 352.222-70, Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015) HHSAR 352.239-74, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (December 18, 2015) The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are attached in full text. For Attachment #7 - 52.204-24 Certification, Quoter is NOT required to complete this certification if it has previously represented that it “does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument” in paragraph (v) of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (accessible at https://sam.gov). FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items (Sep 2023) NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions Service Contract Labor Standards / Wage Rate Determination. Area: MD Counties of Montgomery; No. 2015-4269; Dated 06/23/2023; 14 pages. (ix) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items (Nov 2021), applies to this acquisition and is included as an attachment. 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). (x) The Offerors to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Dec 2022), with its offer. If the offeror has completed FAR clause 52.212-3 at www.sam.gov, then the offeror does not need to provide a completed copy with its offer. (xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (Dec 2022), applies to this acquisition. Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached. (xii) The following additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions as determined by the contracting officer are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition. (xiii) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. (xiv) Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria. The price proposal must include the labor categories, an estimate of the number of hours required for each labor category, fully loaded fixed hourly rate or each labor category, breakdown and rationale for other direct costs or materials, and the total amount. The Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All questions must be received by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight/Standard Time, on October 31, 2023, and reference 75N95024Q00018 and POTS 24-000008 in the subject line of the email. Questions may be submitted electronically to Michael Horn, Contracting Officer, at Michael.Horn@nih.gov Cc: Christine Frate, christine.frate@nih.gov All quotations must be received by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight/Standard Time, on November 8, 2023, and reference 75N95024Q00018 and POTS 24-000008 in the subject line of the email. Responses must be submitted electronically to Michael Horn, Contracting Officer, at Michael.Horn@nih.gov Cc: Christine Frate, christine.frate@nih.gov Fax responses will not be accepted.