Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

OVERVIEW: 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. Thi... OVERVIEW: 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; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is RFQ-NIAID-2103664 and it is issued as a Request for Quotes (RFQ). This acquisition will be awarded under FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). The solicitation documents and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) FAC 2022-04 and effective 01-30-2022. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services, with a small business size standard of $16,500,000. This requirement IS SET-ASIDE for small business. STATEMENT OF NEED: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) intends to enhance the program support and increase success for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) (collectively “Program”) programs applicants. NIAID Small Business Program proposes to establish an SBIR/STTR applicant training and advising services – specifically an applicant assistance program (AAP). These services would include resources and training content creation, customized one on one applicant assessment, training, advising, and post submission support. This program would also provide relevant programmatic support and staff training to enhance NIAID SBIR/STTR program support for applicants and awardees. Finally, this program will have an emphasis on engaging and assisting groups underrepresented in extramural biomedical small business programs. Type of Contract: Firm-Fixed-Price Primary Place of Performance: Rockville, MD 20852 Period of Performance: One base year and option periods totaling four additional years See attached Statement of Work (SOW) for details. All responsible and eligible sources may submit a quotation, which will be considered by the agency. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it must be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities. Vendors must identify whether a quoted Information and Communication Technology (ICT) product or service is compliant with the Section 508 accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194. The quote must also identify where full details of compliance can be found (e.g., vendor's website or other exact location.) For more information on Section 508 standards visit https://www.section508.gov/. INSTRUCTIONS: All quotes must include a point of contact (name, phone number & email) and company information (DUNS # and Cage Code). Each response must also include two volumes: a price quote and a separate technical quote that clearly indicates the capability of the vendor to meet all specifications and requirements. The Government may evaluate only those quotes that fully meet the requirements as outlined and respond to the solicitation instructions and requirements. Failure to furnish a full and complete quote as instructed may result in the Vendor being considered non-responsive and eliminated from further consideration and award. By submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation (www.sam.gov). [Note: Lack of registration in the SAM will make a vendor ineligible for award]. Submission must be received not later than March 22, 2022 @ 4 PM EST. EDIT: The submission deadline has been extended by one (1) day to March 23, 2022 @ 4 PM EST. Quote must be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Lu Chang at lu-chang.lu@nih.gov. Late submissions will be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f) (Nov 2021). All or part of the successful vendor’s quote may be incorporated in any contract resulting from this solicitation. The successful vendor’s quote may be incorporated by reference. Reference Solicitation ID: RFQ-NIAID-2103664 on your quote. QUOTATION FORMAT: The total page limit of your technical quotation, exclusive of CVs/Resumes and other attachments, is 30 pages. The total page limit of your submission (including technical quote, Cover Letter, price quote, and CVs/Resumes or other attachments) is 50 pages. The vendor must provide one quote with pricing only and one technical quote. The technical quote must not contain any pricing information. Price Quote: The price quote must be a separate volume from the technical quote. This will be a firm-fixed price award. The quote must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform an evaluation of the quoted price. Any and all available discounts are requested. Technical Quote: The technical quote must: • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of and ability to efficiently accomplish the service areas, objectives, and requirements outlined in this SOW. • Provide a detailed explanation of the technical approach, methods, and procedures that will be used to meet the requirements. • Discuss potential problems to be encountered and proposed solutions and/or risk mitigation strategies. • Demonstrate at least five (5) years of experience in assisting applicants to prepare SBIR/STTR grant proposals. This experience must show a high degree of familiarity with SBIR/STTR program policies and application process. Experience working with federal agencies, especially ones with a biomedical and clinical research mandate comparable to NIH, and work on similar tasks of a similar scale are preferred. • Include a project management plan that demonstrates the ability to meet or exceed the requirements and timeframes, to manage costs and stay within budget, and to be highly organized and proficient in project management for programs of this scale. • Include a detailed quality assurance plan that demonstrates its ability to ensure the results will meet the objectives of this SOW. This includes end of cycle participants survey results analysis to ensure assistance provided is helpful for NIAID SBIR/STTR applicants. • Include a detailed human resources plan that demonstrates thoroughness of the staff selection process and the background and expertise of the selected staff. Selected staff must demonstrate expertise and past experience in assisting applicants to prepare SBIR/STTR grant proposals. EVALUATION: The Government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order 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. Offerors must provide sufficient information for the Government to determine its level of confidence in the ability of the Offeror to perform the requirements. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers: technical approach, prior experience, and price. Quotes that do not meet the material terms of this solicitation will not be evaluated. 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 will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). The Government anticipates selecting the offer that represents the best value to the government without engaging in clarifications with quoters but reserves the right should it be deemed in the Government’s best interest. Quoters are strongly encouraged to submit their best technical solutions and price in response to this RFQ. To facilitate the award process all quotes should include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" (Quoter must list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s).) QUESTIONS: If you have questions regarding this requirement, please submit inquires immediately, but no later than March 11, 2022 @ 4 PM EST, via email to the Contract Specialist, Lu Chang at lu-chang.lu@nih.gov. The Government will issue an amendment to the RFQ responding to questions, if needed. SPECIAL NOTICE TO VENDORS: Vendors are advised that the Government may share your information with non-government personnel who are assisting with the evaluation of quotes. The exclusive responsibility for source selection will reside with the Government. By submitting your quote, you will be consenting to disclosure of your quote to non-government personnel for purposes of evaluation. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within fourteen (14) days of expiration. (End of clause) 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within seven (7) days of expiration; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least fourteen (14) days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed Five (5) years. (End of clause) 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference. (Feb 1998) 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 this/these address(es): https://www.acquisition.gov/ 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018) 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020) 52.229-11, Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements—Notice and Representation (Jun 2020) (End of provision) 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference. (Feb 1998) 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 this/these address(es): https://www.acquisition.gov/ 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018) 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020) 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Nov 2021) (End of clause) Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulations (HHSAR) The following additional Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulations (HHSAR) clauses are applicable to this requirement, copies are available from http://www.hhs.gov/policies/hhsar/: Provisions 352.239-73 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice (December 18, 2015) Clauses 352.203-70 Anti-Lobbying (December 18, 2015) 352.208-70 Printing and Duplication (December 18, 2015) 352.222-70 Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015) 352.239-74 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (December 18, 2015) The following additional provisions and clauses are applicable to this requirement and provided in full text as Attachments: FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) FAR 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020) FAR 52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Oct 2018) FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) (Tailored) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Jan 2022) LIST OF ATTACHMENTS Work Statement Invoice Instructions FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) FAR 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020) FAR 52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Oct 2018) FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) (Tailored) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Jan 2022) EDIT v.3.18.22: The Responses to the Questions and a Blank Cost Template have been uploaded as attachments. The questions and answers have also been added below: 1. Regarding Service Area 1: AAP Website (pg. 2 of SOW)? Will it be expected that the Contractor create a new website domain, or can the webpages and content be hosted on the Contractor’s website? Is the Government looking for a standalone NIAID AAP website on a custom domain? Or is the website just a landing page as the incumbent seems to be utilizing? The government is currently not planning to host the NIAID AAP website on the official NIAID website. A standalone NIAID website is preferred if there are no additional costs incurred and no delay to the program launch. If additional costs and time are needed for a standalone website, a landing page such as the previous AAP program is acceptable. The webinars, online resources, and templates can be hosted on the Contractor’s website using a password protected link. This link must be shared with all eligible AAP participants, including eligible NIAID applicants on the AAP waitlist, while the AAP program is active. 2. Will the vendor utilize the existing NIAID GovDelivery platform for sending list email? The program announcement and informational webinar promotion emails will be distributed through NIAID GovDelivery by NIAID. Additionally, eligible NIAID applicants and awardees will be notified through email by NIAID’s Small Business Program staff through official nih.gov email addresses. The Contractor will be responsible for finalizing the content of these announcement/promotion emails. 3. Will NIAID be doing all of the promotion to fill the pipeline or will the vendor be responsible for that outreach? If the vendor is responsible, will NIAD provide access to your successful and unsuccessful Phase I applicants’ contact information, and your promotional email list to the vendor? Will NIAID be conducting marketing/outreach efforts to promote AAP awareness? How many people are currently on the waiting list? NIAID will be sending announcement/promotion emails to NIAID’s relevant list servs and applicants/awardees email address listed in government databases. NIAID will not share the successful and unsuccessful Phase I applicants’ contact information with the Contractor. NIAID staff and the Contractor will present a joint informational webinar approximately 2 weeks prior the launch of each AAP cycle to promote the program and increase applicant participation. There is current no waiting list for the AAP program. 4. In what format does NIAID prefer to receive AAP applications for review and approval (csv, pdf, other?) A master CSV file with all the applicants/participants information is required. Individual AAP applications including project abstracts as PDF or Word files are required for review, approval, and NIAID program record keeping. 5. Section 14 specifies ownership. Do tools and materials (vs webinars) developed by the vendor remain property of the vendor, or do they become property of NIAID as well? The tools and materials developed by the vendor will remain property of the Contractor. However, it must be available for all NIAID AAP participants (including eligible AAP applicants that are placed on waitlist) to use while the contract is active. 6. What type of information and reports from the legacy program will be available to the vendor? (i.e. metrics, lessons learned, and other data collected). The participants metrics from previous AAP program in the form of written report and presentation, lessons learned in the form of presentation slides, participants survey results from all 3 previous cycles, program announcement draft, application form draft, eligibility criteria draft, informational webinar draft, and other relevant documents will be available to the Contractor. 7. Will AAP acceptance preference be given to individuals in underserved populations if capacities are reached in a cycle (i.e. they receive first priority)? If not, by what means do you envision providing "..emphasis on engaging and assisting groups underrepresented in extramural biomedical small business programs"? Will NIAID provide contact information for outreach to these groups? No preference will be given to underserved populations for this program. The NIAID AAP program enrollment is on first come first served basis. To enhance engagement for underserved populations, the Contractor is required to add language in program announcement and informational webinars to encourage the participation of these specific groups of applicants. 8. Please explain the rationale for the dates on the base year and options. (i.e. Base year concludes March 31, 2023, but there is an SBIR deadline for NIH April 5, July 31 is too early for September, November 30 is too early for January, etc.) The AAP cycle end dates are not SBIR/STTR grant submission deadlines. For each AAP cycle, the ideal end date is approximately 2 weeks before the NIH SBIR/STTR grant submission deadlines to leave adequate time for applicants to incorporate all consultants’ comments/revisions in their application and complete the online submission process. The start date for the award can be delayed by 1-2 weeks if requested by the Contractor to align better with NIH SBIR/STTR grant submission deadlines. However, the assistance period should end 1-2 weeks prior to the submission deadline to leave some time for applicants to finalize their application package. 9. What are the criteria for NIAID to exercise options? Options are exercised solely at the discretion of the Government and are not based on any pre-specified criteria. There are many factors that determine whether an option will be exercised, including availability of funding, continuing need for services, and performance concerns but these are not the only reasons. Sufficient notice will be given ahead of time but there is no guarantee than any option will be exercised. The standard advanced notice is between thirty (30) to sixty (60) days before the end of the active period of performance. If Contractors have a need for a specific amount of advanced notice, please include that information in your response to the solicitation. 10. Will potential contracting delays with NIH cause gaps between the option periods? Option periods will need to be executed successively. If an option is not exercised before the active performance period ends, then the contract will end and no further options will be exercised. 11. What are the ramifications if accepted applicants do not use their allocated time in the cycle in which they are accepted? Can they “roll over” to get assistance for the next cycle or must they reapply to the AAP program? The accepted applicants must reapply to the next cycle of the program to be enrolled again. Roll over of the allocated time will not be allowed. The vendor must work with the applicants to make plans to utilize the allocated consulting hours efficiently to maximize the benefits for the participants. 12. Based on experience, Direct to Phase II, FastTrack and Phase II applications will require significantly more 1:1 time than Phase I applications. Are Phase I applicants required to receive 25 hours of 1:1 assistance as well as Phase IIs? The total assistance hour is fixed for the base year and for each option cycle. The 25 estimated labor hours for each applicant is an estimate based on the previous experience. The vendor can propose slight adjustments for Phase I and Phase II applications assistance hours based on the vendor’s experience. NIAID may allow reasonable slight adjustments for allocated hours for Phase I and Phase II applications after the federal COR reviews the Contractor’s Project Work Plan post award. This award is a Firm Fixed Price award, and the vendor is expected to balance the budget and time for the life of the project instead of relying on adjustments every cycle. 13. In Service Area 4, part d. it states “Self?reporting of grants review results will be required for all AAP participants and the Contractor must contact the applicants to collect grants review results once available….The applicants’ grant review outcome metrics are required within 30 days of the release of the review results as a secondary measurement for AAP program performance.” How will NIAID and the vendor be able to enforce this reporting requirement when applicants do not comply with requests for information? Is a written acknowledgement of applicant responsibilities for the program required as a condition for acceptance? A written acknowledgement of applicant responsibilities for the program as a condition for acceptance is acceptable. 14. Are full CVs required to be included or are staff biographies sufficient? Staff biographies highlighting relevant past experiences are sufficient. 15. Is there a preferred format for the Price Quote? Please details such as price breakdown and categories (labor hrs, deliverables, etc). The price should include numbers for the base year, option periods, total potential price (if all options are exercised). An important aspect is to provide the total cost for the base + each option term and enough details that we can make a fair and reasonable determination on the costs. See attached cost template as an example. 16. Concerning Notice ID# 2103664, for the primary place of employment, is the expectation to be in Maryland full?time? No. This contract will be conducted virtually. Primary place of employment will only need to be an US based Small Business. 17. How many submissions does NIAID review annually? How many proposals does NIAID award annually? For fiscal year 2021, NIAID received approximately 1300 SBIR/STTR grant applications and made approximately 270 awards. 18. What is the process of the AAP waiting list? Is there an existing NIAID AAP? The enrollment of the program is first come first served. Additional eligible applicants will be placed on waiting list. If there is a drop out, applicants on top of the waiting list will be enrolled in the program. The previous NIAID AAP program was active from October 2020 to September 2021 with 3 AAP cycles. 19. Is this a new or existing opportunity? If yes and there is an incumbent, what is the contract number and value? The current incumbent is Foresight Science and Technology. The contract number is 75N93020P01416. You can find more details on FPDS.gov. However, please note that the currently required scope of work has expanded compared to this pre-existing work. EDIT v. 3.2.1.2022 The submission deadline has been extended by one (1) day to March 23, 2022 @ 4 PM EST.