Amendment Three.pdf

75N93024R00002 Page 1 of 3

AMENDMENT #3

75N93024R00002

“INTERVENTIONAL AGENTS CHEMISTRY SERVICES”

AMENDMENT No. 3

Amendment Number: Three (3)

Amendment Issue Date: March 12, 2024

Proposal Due Date: May 1, 2024, 3:00PM EST (UNCHANGED)

Issued By:

Miranda Adams Contracting Officer Office of Acquisitions, DEA National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institutes of Health 5601 Fishers Lane

MSC 9821

Rockville, Maryland 20852-9821

Point of Contact:

Miranda Adams, Contracting Officer Email: miranda.adams@nih.gov.

Offerors must acknowledge receipt of the final posting of Amendment #3, on each copy of the proposal submitted. Failure to receive your acknowledgment of this Amendment may result in the rejection of your proposal.

The hour and date specified for receipt of proposals HAS NOT been extended.

PURPOSE OF SOLICITATION AMENDMENT:

The purpose of this amendment is to address questions regarding 75N93024R00002.

Question 1: The SBCX help desk has told us that in order to submit our Small Business Subcontracting Plan that the Contracting Officer needs to submit an invitation to us.

Please confirm that you will provide us the needed invitation and when it will be provided.

Answer 1:

The offeror must submit their small business subcontracting plan to SBCX. Please search SBCX for 75N93024R00002 to submit your subcontracting plan.

Please see Section L – Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors C. Business Proposal Instructions 6. Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Full text below.

mailto:miranda.adams@nih.gov.

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“If the proposed contract exceeds a total estimated cost of $750,000 for the entire period of performance, the offeror shall be required to submit an acceptable subcontracting plan in accordance with the terms of the clause entitled "Small Business Subcontracting Plan," FAR Clause No. 52.219-9, incorporated herein by reference in the Solicitation. In accordance with FAR 19.704 and FAR Clause52.219-9, the submission of a subcontracting plan by other than small business offeror(s) is a requirement as a part of the proposal submission process and is to be submitted separately from the technical and cost proposals. An offeror's subcontracting plan must be determined to be acceptable, by the Contracting Officer, prior to the contract award.

1. An offeror is to submit their respective subcontracting plan electronically using the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Small Business Customer Experience (SBCX) system at https://osdbu.hhs.gov. The offeror must follow the instructions outlined in the SBCX Industry Guide instructions outlined in the SBCX Industry Guide at: https://oamp.od.nih.gov/nih-document-generation-system/dgs-workform-information/attachment-files-section-j to successfully submit their subcontracting plan by the proposal submission deadline.

2. The official point of receipt for determining timely submission of an offeror's subcontracting plan is the SBCX system and/or email notification. Once the subcontracting plan is successfully submitted in the SBCX system the offeror should receive an email notification and confirmation message of completion upon submission.

3. If an offeror's subcontracting plan is not confirmed as received within the SBCX system by the proposal submission date specified in the solicitation, it will be considered late in accordance with subparagraph (c)(3) of FAR Clause 52.215-1, Instructions to Offeror- Competition Acquisition. Disposition of late submittals of a subcontracting plan by an offeror via the SBCX system is at the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

4. Any technical questions regarding the use of the SBCX system may be submitted via email message to the SBCX help desk at client.support@apexlogic.com. The client support hours of operation are Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Note: helpdesk tickets can be submitted 24 hours a day / 7 days a week and a representative will respond within the presented client support hours of operation for assistance.”

Question 2: Regarding the Small Business Subcontracting Plan, at what level should we submit the plan – at the IDIQ Parent Contract level or at the Task Area/Task Order level?

Answer 2: The Small Business Subcontracting Plan will be submitted at the IDIQ Parent Contract level. Please submit only one plan per organization. Do not submit one plan per task area proposed.

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Question 3: Per the Technical Instructions, we understand that offerors choosing to propose to all three Task Areas are required to submit three separate proposals, one for each Task Area. Please provide clarification on the following points:

a. For Task Area A, which is primarily involves the kick-off meeting requirement, should we submit a standalone technical proposal strictly for this task area? If so, do you require the full technical response as noted in the additional technical proposal instructions to include areas such as scientific/technical personnel, facilities/equipment, project management, quality systems, etc.?

b. For Task Areas B and C, should each technical proposal focus solely on the specific technical requirements in the respective areas, along with the associated Sample Task Order for that area?

c. Additionally, is there a need or expectation for a comprehensive proposal at the Parent Contract level that integrates the strategic approach across Task Areas A, B, and C along with Task Order A-01, or are the proposals intended to be completely independent, with the integration of strategic approaches across task areas to be inferred by the evaluators from the separate submissions?

Answer 3:

a. For Task Area A, only a business proposal is required. The business proposal should include the individuals who will attend the kick-off meeting and associated costs. A technical proposal is not required since this Task Area will not be peer reviewed.

b. For Task Areas B and C, yes, each technical proposal should focus solely on the specific technical requirements in the respective areas, along with the associated Sample Task Order for that area.

c. Each Task Area proposal should stand alone as a complete proposal including all proposal elements required by the solicitation. The peer review will be conducted separately and independently for each peer reviewed Task Area (B and C).

End of Amendment 3