1. RFP_75N95024R00004_Cover_Letter.pdf

Request for Proposal (RFP) Number: 75N95024R00004

Project Title: “NCATS Scientific and Technology Support Services (STSS)”

ISSUED BY:

Nick Niefeld Contract Specialist Office of Acquisition National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institutes of Health

Email: nick.niefeld@nih.gov Phone: (301) 827-2094

KJ Shaikh Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institutes of Health

E-mail: kj.shaikh@nih.gov Phone: (301) 435-1777

ISSUE DATE:

PROPOSAL DUE:

December 19, 2023

January 18, 2024, by 11:00 A.M (Eastern Standard Time)

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) invites you to submit a proposal in response to the requirements of this RFP Number 75N95024R00004 for “NCATS Scientific and Technology Support Services (STSS).”

There is no other laboratory like the NCATS laboratory within the entire NIH intramural community, so prior experience at other NIH laboratories is typically NOT APPLICABLE as the scope, volume, and scientific applications required at NCATS are far beyond the typical wet lab at NIH.

This Request for Proposal is prepared in accordance with the Uniform Contract Format prescribed for Government Wide application by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The Uniform Contract Format is both a Request for Proposal and a contract award document. The resulting contract will consist of Parts I, II, III of the Uniform Contract Format.

The Government expects to award a single award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for a one (1) year ordering period to issue on an as needed basis firm-fixed price, time and material and cost reimbursement type task orders. The initial performance period will start on or around February 1, 2024 (FY24). Responses must include technical and pricing proposals for the entire project and include separate pricing for the sample task order included in mailto:nick.niefeld@nih.gov mailto:kj.shaikh@nih.gov

Section J - Attachments.

This acquisition will not be set aside for small businesses. Because this acquisition will not be set aside, and because the maximum will exceed $750,000, the RFP will require non-small business Offerors to submit a small business subcontracting plan with their business proposal. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code applicable to this requirement is 541519.

Particularly direct your attention to Part IV, which contains instructions, provisions, and evaluation factors for the submission and review of proposals.

The balance of Parts I, II, and III contain provisions, clauses, and special requirements which will be made a part of any resultant award. Review these parts as to the effects on performance capability and technical and cost considerations in the development of your proposal. However, you do not fill in blanks or otherwise complete portions of Parts I, II, and III which otherwise appear to require the insertion of data. The Government will complete those Parts prior to contract award. NIDA OA tailors Parts I, II, and III to the final negotiation (if negotiations are conducted) and will modify, as necessary, for the type of contractor organization, cost and/or fee arrangement, and other elements as negotiated prior to award.

Officials authorized to bind your organization must digitally sign the technical and business proposals.

Section C of the RFP addresses the “Description/Specification/Work Statement.”

Section J of the RFP addresses the “List of Attachments.” This list identifies the attachments that need to be completed and submitted with your proposal, as well as attachments that are included for informational purposes only. Some of the attachments listed in Section J supplement the Instructions in Section L of the main RFP document, so it is important to refer to both Section L and the applicable attachments in Section J when preparing your proposal. The list of attachments in Section J also provides links to fillable forms for many of the attachments that need to be completed and submitted with your proposal.

Section L of the RFP addresses “Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors”

Section M of the RFP addresses “Evaluation Factors for Award.”

If you intend to submit a proposal in response to this solicitation, please send a “Proposal Intent Response Sheet,” RFP Section J, Attachment 2, to Nick Niefeld, Contract Specialist, nick.niefeld@nih.gov.

Furnish in writing (by email is acceptable) any areas of uncertainty, which, in your mailto:nick.niefeld@nih.gov opinion, require clarification or correction to the Contract Specialist. Questions concerning this RFP should be directed to Nick Niefeld, Contract Specialist, nick.niefeld@nih.gov. The e-mail subject line should read: “Offeror's Questions RFP No. 75N95024R00004.”

Question due date/time: December 28, 2023, by 9:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time. Responses to Offeror questions shall be provided via an amendment to the RFP on or around January 5, 2024.

It is your responsibility to monitor the web page at https://sam.gov for any amendments that might be issued under this RFP. A separate notice of RFP amendments, if any, to individual sources, will not be made.

Proposals are to be delivered electronically via the NIH electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) website at https://ecps.nih.gov. Please reference Attachment 1, listed in Section J, entitled “Packaging and Delivery of Proposals for Use with the NIH electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) Website” for instructions and further details.

Please note that you must create an account in the NIH electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) system/website in order to submit a proposal and it may take up to there (3) business days to establish a new account.

Please apply for a new account early to allow enough time for the registration process.

Please review Section L.1.a., “Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition,” subparagraph (c)(3), addressing late proposals, so that you will be fully aware of the time requirements for submitting your proposal. It is your responsibility to ensure that your proposal is delivered by the due date and time to the NIH electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) website as required in the RFP.

Your proposal must provide a contact name and telephone number, your organization name, and complete mailing address. Furthermore, FAR Provision 52.204-7, System for Award Management (SAM), which is applicable to this solicitation, requires that an Offeror be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation, and continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. In addition to providing your organization’s Tax Identification Number (TIN), you must include the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number for your organization in your offer.

This RFP does not commit the Government to pay the costs for the preparation and submission of a proposal. The Contracting Officer is the only individual who legally can commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this acquisition.

mailto:nick.niefeld@nih.gov https://sam.gov/ https://ecps.nih.gov/

No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

The RFP shall take precedence if any of the content in this letter is contradictory.

The NCATS appreciates your interest in this RFP and looks forward to receipt of your proposal. Requests for any information concerning this RFP should be directed to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. Discussions with any other individuals should not occur.

Regards, KJ Shaikh, Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH

Nick Niefeld, Contract Specialist NCATS Section, Contracts Branch Blue Office of Acquisition, NIDA, NIH