Science Management and Research Administration

Amendment 01 to solicitation 75N95023R00025 has been posted. This amendment contains the following changes: Responses to questions are being attached and hereby incorporated into the solicitation as an attachment “D-Attachment-QUESTIONS”. Page limits for technical approach and past performance are now outlined in section xiv. Deadline to submit proposals has been extended from Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 at 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time to Friday, June 2, 2023 at 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time. (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; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation number is 75N95023R00025 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). 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 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 2023-01, with an effective date December 30, 2022. (iv) The associated NAICS code is 541611 and the small business size standard is $16.5 million. This requirement is set-aside for 8(a) businesses. (v) This requirement is a re-compete for the following service: Science Management and Research Administration Support Services. These services are currently being performed by Rose Li & Associates Inc. under IDIQ contract 75N95019D00041. Please see the attached Statement of Work (SOW) for detailed requirements. (vi) The Division of Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) has a requirement for high-quality Science Management and Research Administration Support Services, which may include support for: program development; program management; science management, research, evaluation and analysis activities; scientific writing, editing and document production; website management; information and data management; meeting planning, organization, and logistics; etc., in the furtherance of BSR’s scientific priority areas and in furtherance of trans-NIH and other initiatives, as assigned. (vii) The Government anticipates award of an IDIQ contract with firm fixed-price (FFP) and time and materials (T&M) task orders for this acquisition. The anticipated ordering period is 5 years. (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 Items (MAR 2023) FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items (DEC 2022) FAR 52.222-22 Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports (FEB 1999) 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 Items (DEC 2022). Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached. FAR 52.216-18, Ordering (Aug 2020). Fill Ins to be completed at award FAR 52.216-19, Order Limitations (Oct 1995). Fill ins to be completed at award 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 incorporated as an attachment. Offerors MUST complete the provisions at 52.204-24 and 52.204-26 and submit completed copies as separate documents with their proposal. 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (NOV 2021) 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (OCT 2020) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (MAR 2023) Information Security and/or Physical Access Security Language The following are also attached, however only one will be incorporated in the final award: Invoicing Instructions With IPP (ix) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (a) The Government will award a contract 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. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (i) technical capability of the service offered to meet the Government requirement; (ii) past performance [see FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)]; and (iii) price. Technical capability and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. (b) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (x) The Offerors to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (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) 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 technical approach page limit should be no longer than 15 pages, not including the cover page, or table of contents. There is no set limit to the amount of past performance examples to be provided, however this volume should not exceed 15 pages. 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 for 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 12:00 pm Eastern Time, on Thursday, May 18, 2023, and reference Solicitation Number 75N95023R00025. Questions may be submitted electronically to rashiid.cummins@nih.gov and karen.mahon@nih.gov. Answers to questions received will be posted as an amendment to this solicitation as soon as possible. All proposals must be received by Friday, June 2, 2023 at 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time and must reference solicitation number 75N95023R00025. Responses must be submitted electronically to Rashiid Cummins, Contract Specialist, at rashiid.cummins@nih.gov and Karen Mahon, Contracting Officer, at karen.mahon@nih.gov Fax responses will not be accepted.