Inactive

INTRODUCTION: PURSUANT TO FAR Subpart 5.2—Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions, THIS IS A NOTICE OF A PROPOSED CONTRACT ACTION. THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SIXTY-THREE (63) DAY SOLE SOURCE ... INTRODUCTION: PURSUANT TO FAR Subpart 5.2—Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions, THIS IS A NOTICE OF A PROPOSED CONTRACT ACTION. THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SIXTY-THREE (63) DAY SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT TO KELLY SERVICES, INC., under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements." The National Instiute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Acquisition (OA) on behalf of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to award a sole source contract for a period of sixty-three (63) days (July 14, 2021 – September 15, 2021) to cover critical services during the transition from the single award Scientific, Technical, and Other Professional Services (STOPS) contract (HHSN271201800012I) to the multiple award Scientific, Operations and Administrative Resources (SOAR) contract (HHS-NIH-NIDA-SOL-2021-001). This transition contract is needed to continue services and preserve integrity of the ongoing research programs. With the volume of orders and contractors performing critical services to NIH, an extended transition is critical to avoiding lapses in essential services and support. Considering these constraints, the current contractor is the only contractor that can successfully fill NIH's broad range of needs or do so with minimal loss of staff and disruption to critical research programs. If NIDA was to award a contract to any other contractor for this short period of time it would be inefficient and create mass disruption of services and impact millions of dollars of completed and ongoing research. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people’s health, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease, as well as the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases. Composed of the Office of the Director and 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs), the NIH provides leadership and financial support to researchers across the United States and throughout the world. For over a century, the National Institutes of Health has played an important role in improving the health of the nation The NIH requires qualified and experienced Contractor support on a full-range of activities, including in-progress research projects, program deployment and implementation, and other activities necessary to conduct the business and fulfill the mission of NIH’s biomedical research program. The current contract to Kelly Services, Inc., (Contract Number HHSN271201800012I) was made via competitive award on July 14, 2018. This contract is a three (3) year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with fixed price task orders and a contract ceiling of $747,519,575. The period of performance is from July 14, 2018 through July 13, 2021. NIDA is in the process of awarding the follow-on competitive SOAR requirement. The current contract provides approximately 2,250 contractors to the NIH. These contracted services cover a broad range of unique needs. The Government still plans to award the follow on contract(s) under solicitation number HHS-NIH-NIDA-SOL-2021-001, entitled “Scientific, Operations and Administrative Resources (SOAR) contract (HHS-NIH-NIDA-SOL-2021-001” in FY2021. As the Government moves closer to awards under the SOAR solicitation, NIDA needs to make certain that critical services do not lapse during the transition and competition of task orders. This sole source transition contract will provide the minimal amount of time needed. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance is anticipated to be July 14, 2021 to September 15, 2021. CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement in response to this notice. Any capability statements received by the closing date will be considered by the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This determination will be based upon the responses to this notice and is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any potential offeror must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. In addition, the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All responses must be received by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, April 2, 2021. Responses must be submitted electronically to Brian O’Laughlin at olaughlinb@nida.nih.gov and cc: Christine Frate at Christine.Frate@nih.gov. Fax responses will not be accepted. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency.