Amendment 005.pdf

Amendment Number 005 RFP Number 75N98026R00042

Title: NIH PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES (PSTSS)

Amendment Issue Date: Friday, April 27, 2026

Issued By: Kishan Patel

Contracting Officer

OLAO/OALM/NIH

6701B Rockledge Drive

Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Points of Contact: Matt Lear, Contracting Officer

Email Address: matt.lear@nih.gov

Kishan Patel, Contracting Officer

Email Address: kishan.patel@nih.gov

Proposal Due Date/Time: Friday, May 8, 2026, at 3:00 PM ET (Changed).

The purpose of this amendment is to correct the Proposal Due Date/Time and to address remaining questions pertaining to RFP #75N98026R00042. Proposal submission due date is FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2026.

Please note that some questions are still under review, and corresponding responses will be provided and posted by the Government as soon as practicable. The Government will not be accepting any additional questions.

Offerors must acknowledge receipt of this amendment by identifying this amendment number and date of the amendment on each copy of the proposal submitted. Failure to receive your acknowledgement may result in the rejection of your proposal. Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

Question Answer The RFP caps profit on ODC at 10%. (a) Does this cap apply to all categories of ODC’ including materials, equipment, travel, consultants, and subcontractor costs, or only to certain cost types? (b) For cost-reimbursement task orders, how must the profits on ODCs be proposed and tracked, as a separate line item or embedded in the task order price? (c) Does the 10% cap apply to T&M/LH task orders as well as cost-type task orders? The 10% profit cap applies to all ODC categories unless otherwise specified in the RFP.

The Objectives section on page 103 instructs Offerors to "State the overall objectives and the specific accomplishments you hope to achieve. Indicate the rationale for your plan, and relation to comparable work in progress elsewhere. Review pertinent work already published which is relevant to this project and your proposed approach. This should support the scope of the project as you perceive it." Can the Government please clarify what it means by "review pertinent work alreaady published?"

Offerors should describe relevant factors that support their overall approach, capabilities, and understanding of how they would execute potential future requirements under the contract.

This sections instructs Offerors to "Use as many subparagraphs, appropriately titled, as needed to clearly outline the general plan of work. Discuss phasing of research and, if appropriate, include experimental design and possible or probable outcome of approaches proposed." Since Offerors won't be phasing any research unless asked to on task orders, Can the Government please clarify what it means by "phasing of research" and "experimental design"?

Offerors should describe relevant factors that support their overall approach, capabilities, and understanding of how they would execute potential future requirements under the contract.

On page 105, instructions say to include "Other factors you feel are important and support your proposed research." Since Offerors are not completing research for this submission, can the Government please clarify what it means by "your proposed research?"

Offerors should describe relevant factors that support their overall approach, capabilities, and understanding of how they would execute potential future requirements under the contract.

SOW references labor categories not mentioned in Attachment 10. Should Attachment 10 be completed as is, or adding the additional labor categories?

Yes, please add the labor categories from the Statement of Work and the revised Attachment 10.

Please confirm if a Cover Letter, list of current contracts, and 5 past performances, resumes, etc. are outside the 50-page technical volume limit? Confirmed but please check page 83 of the RFP Could the Government clarify the methodology that will be used to evaluate past performance and how those results will be used in determining the competitive range? That information will not be provided Can NIH clarify if the Key Personnel roles are to be distinct or if a single person may fulfill multiple roles when qualified and how will NIH evaluate role overlap?

NIH does not require Key Personnel roles to be strictly distinct; a single individual may fulfill multiple roles when appropriately qualified

The RFP on page 111, the RFP states: 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. Please confirm offerors are not required to submit the plan as an appendix to their business proposal.

Please provide Attachment 9 with your Business Proposal. Submission through SBCX will be required at a later time. Additional details will be provided at that time.

On page 111 of the RFP, please confirm offerors are to submit Attachment 9 and a separate small business plan written by the offeror is not required.

Please provide Attachment 9 with your Business Proposal. Submission through SBCX will be required at a later time. Additional details will be provided at that time.

Are offerors required to propose a single fully loaded labor rate per category covering all geographic locations including Washington DC Metro, Hamilton Montana, remote, and international, or may offerors propose location-differentiated rates?

Per the RFP on page 147, "The labor rates must be fully loaded (any possible locations as described in the Statement of Work), as in each per hour rate must include applicable costs for fringe benefits, overhead, General and Administrative (G&A), profit, etc. The offeror must provide the schedule of prices in their proposal."

Will credentialing packages be required for clinical staff? If so, can the Government confirm the process that will be used?

Per the RFP on page 136, "Vendors shall ensure that the candidate’s academic credentials are verified prior to being submitted for consideration. Vendors must ensure that their candidates are properly screened before submitting and that they follow up and are timely in their interactions with e-Qip and DPSAC."

Are there any mandatory subcontracting requirements? No mandatory subcontracting requirements.

Because this information would include price data, should these instructions apply to the business proposal or pricing?

Usually, this information is required as part of the Technical Proposal. For the purposes of this RFP, you may include cost information in the Business Proposal only.

The RFP on page 111, the RFP states: 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. Please confirm offerors are not required to submit the plan as an appendix to their business proposal.

Please provide Attachment 9 with your Business Proposal. Submission through SBCX will be required at a later time. Additional details will be provided at that time.

To aid the Government in evaluating pricing Excel spreadsheets in the same format, we recommend that the Government provide an Excel spreadsheet for offerors to use.

The Government will not be providing an Excel sheet as a template. Offerors should create an Excel workbook containing all of the requested information.

Far 52.215-20 Alternate IV is incorporated, meaning certified cost or pricing data is NOT required. However, the RFP requests supporting data. (a) What specific supporting documentation must the offerors provide for proposal labor rates e.g. company payroll records, published salary surveys (BLS, ERI, etc), or a narrative justification? (b) Will the government conduct a formal cost realism analysis on proposed rates? If so, what benchmark or independent government estimate will be used as the basis for comparison? (c) if the Government determines a proposed rate is unrealistically low during evaluation, will the offeror be given the opportunity to clarify before an adjustment is made? Please see Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award, beginning on Page 126 of the RFP.

Can the NIH clarify and advise if there are specific forms or a desired format required for responding to this requirement? Will the most recent fiscal year annual audit report suffice? Please see Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award, beginning on Page 126 of the RFP Given that the IDIQ requires submission of fixed hourly labor rates across contract years, but task orders will be competed independently, can NIH clarify whether:

a. Offerors will be restricted to the awarded IDIQ labor categories and ceiling rates at the task order level; or This should be determined at the task order level.

b. Permitted to propose task-order-specific labor categories, labor mixes, or rate adjustments (e.g., discounts, blended rates) depending on technical requirements? This should be determined at the task order level.

Section L – Instructions to Offerors, 1. NAICS Code and Size Standard, p. 76: The solicitation states that "THIS REQUIREMENT IS NOT A SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESS." How many small business awards have been reserved under FAR 52.219-31?

33.25% is the minimum goal for small business per the HHS Subcontracting Plan Template (Attachment 9)

Can NIH clarify the division of responsibilities between contractor and Government for achieving ATO within required timelines?

Please refer to page 10 of the RFP, ""A valid authority to operate (ATO) certifies that the Contractor's information system meets the contract's requirements to protect the agency data. If the system under this contract does not have a valid ATO, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must work with the agency and supply the deliverables required to complete the ATO within the specified timeline(s) within three (3) months after contract award. The Contractor must conduct the A&A requirements in accordance with HHS IS2P, NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (latest revision).

For an existing ATO, Contracting Officer Representative must make a determination if the existing ATO provides appropriate safeguards or if an additional ATO is required for the performance of the contract and state as such.

NIH acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor's responsibility to ensure the system security and privacy controls are implemented and operating effectively."

Will existing contractor ATOs be accepted, or will systems require reauthorization under this contract?

Please refer to page 10 of the RFP, ""A valid authority to operate (ATO) certifies that the Contractor's information system meets the contract's requirements to protect the agency data. If the system under this contract does not have a valid ATO, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must work with the agency and supply the deliverables required to complete the ATO within the specified timeline(s) within three (3) months after contract award. The Contractor must conduct the A&A requirements in accordance with HHS IS2P, NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (latest revision).

For an existing ATO, Contracting Officer Representative must make a determination if the existing ATO provides appropriate safeguards or if an additional ATO is required for the performance of the contract and state as such.

NIH acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor's responsibility to ensure the system security and privacy controls are implemented and operating effectively."

Do all task orders require Authority to Operate (ATO) compliance, or only those involving IT systems?

Please refer to page 10 of the RFP, ""A valid authority to operate (ATO) certifies that the Contractor's information system meets the contract's requirements to protect the agency data. If the system under this contract does not have a valid ATO, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must work with the agency and supply the deliverables required to complete the ATO within the specified timeline(s) within three (3) months after contract award. The Contractor must conduct the A&A requirements in accordance with HHS IS2P, NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (latest revision).

For an existing ATO, Contracting Officer Representative must make a determination if the existing ATO provides appropriate safeguards or if an additional ATO is required for the performance of the contract and state as such.

NIH acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor's responsibility to ensure the system security and privacy controls are implemented and operating effectively."

Will transition-in requirements or phase-in periods be required at the task order level? This should be determined at the task order level.

Are there prescribed assumptions or limitations regarding labor rate escalation?

The Government is only requiring fully loaded labor rates for the proposal submission (Attachment 10). Any other costs would be addressed at the Task Order level.

Because this information would include price data, should these instructions apply to the business proposal or pricing?

Please refer to Attachment 4: Additional Technical Proposal Instructions and Attachment 5: Additional Business Proposal Instructions

What is the minimum response window NIH will provide for TORFPs, and does NIH intend to establish a standard response window by dollar threshold or complexity tier? This information is not available.

Is this solicitation a recompete of an existing NIH staffing vehicle? If so, what is the name and contract number of the predecessor contract, and what was the approximate annual spend volume under that vehicle? It is a recompete of a NIAID staffing vehicle.

What is NIH's projected annual task order spend across the IDIQ portfolio, and does NIH have a target or historical average spend per awardee? Does NIH anticipate distributing work broadly across all awardees or concentrating volume among a smaller subset of highly performing contractors? This information is not available.

What is NIH's projected annual task order spend across the IDIQ portfolio, and does NIH have a target or historical average spend per awardee? Does NIH anticipate distributing work broadly across all awardees or concentrating volume among a smaller subset of highly performing contractors? This information is not available.

On page 105, instructions say to include "Other factors you feel are important and support your proposed research." Since Offerors are not completing research for this submission, can the Government please clarify what it means by "your proposed research?"

Offerors should describe relevant factors that support their overall approach, capabilities, and understanding of how they would execute potential future requirements under the contract.

The RFP requires offerors to propose a single escalation factor applied uniformly across all labor categories and all options years. (a) is the factor applied as a simple annual percentage added to the prior year’s rate (compounding), or as a flat percentage of the base Year 1 rate applied each year? 9b) must the same escalation apply for all labor categories without exception – including highly specialized Ph.D.-level categories and entry-level categories? (c) May the prime contractor apply a different escalation factor for its subcontractors if their compensation structure escalates at different rate?

The Government does not need a separate cost proposal from the subcontractor. During negotiations, if additional information is needed, subcontractors may send proprietary information directly to the Government. A copy of the proposed subcontractor agreement with the prime is required at the time of proposal.

1. Question 7 states: “Some labor categories provided are not listed in Attachment 10, should these be added?”

The Government’s response was: “Yes, please include all labor categories listed in Attachment 3 - Statement of Work.” Given that the labor categories within Attachment 10 already have quantity hours assigned to them, would the Government please advise what the quantity of hours should be for these additional SOW labor category positions?

Please refer to previous Amendments, the Government has revised Attachment 10 to ensure alignment and to reflect all labor categories and associated labor category levels.

1. HHS Security and Privacy Language for Information and IT Procurements is included and contains language with A&A packages, SSP, POA&M, and other requirements due after contract award. Please clarify if this is only applicable for awarded Task Orders that would require ATOs and not at the IDIQ level.

Please refer to page 10 of the RFP, ""A valid authority to operate (ATO) certifies that the Contractor's information system meets the contract's requirements to protect the agency data. If the system under this contract does not have a valid ATO, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must work with the agency and supply the deliverables required to complete the ATO within the specified timeline(s) within three (3) months after contract award. The Contractor must conduct the A&A requirements in accordance with HHS IS2P, NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (latest revision).

For an existing ATO, Contracting Officer Representative must make a determination if the existing ATO provides appropriate safeguards or if an additional ATO is required for the performance of the contract and state as such.

NIH acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor's responsibility to ensure the system security and privacy controls are implemented and operating effectively."

Attachment 10, the pricing model, does not have 27 of the labor categories included in Attachment 18. Please clarify if Attachment 18 contains LCATs we are not expected to price in Attachment 10 or if Attachment 10 will be updated.

Please refer to previous Amendments, the Government has revised Attachment 10 to ensure alignment and to reflect all labor categories and associated labor category levels.

Since Nurse (Licensed Practical Nurse) was not included in Attachment 10, what levels of this LCAT should offeror's price out (e.g., Nurse (Licensed Practical Nurse) I, Nurse (Licensed Practical Nurse) II, etc.)?

Please refer to previous Amendments, the Government has revised Attachment 10 to ensure alignment and to reflect all labor categories and associated labor category levels.

Are there prescribed assumptions or limitations regarding labor rate escalation?

The Government is only requiring fully loaded labor rates for the proposal submission (Attachment 10). Any other costs would be addressed at the Task Order level.

Are there security, hazard pay, or hardship differentials expected for travel to higher-risk regions? This should be determined at the task order level.

Which labor categories are likely to travel outside of the United States? This should be determined at the task order level.

Can the government provide an estimated frequency and duration for each destination? This should be determined at the task order level.

The latest round of Q/A gave conflicting information on the submission of the SB Subcontracting plan. One answer indicated to submit with the business volume, not through SBCX, and another answer said to upload into SBCX.

Can you please clarify?

Please provide Attachment 9 with your Business Proposal. Submission through SBCX will be required at a later time. Additional details will be provided at that time.

Also, to confirm the submission due date is Friday, May 8, 2026 (Monday indicated which would be the 11th). Proposal submission due date is FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2026.

We respectfully request confirmation that a company may only participate on one team for PSTSS, whether as a prime, subcontractor, or JV partner, consistent with Amendment #3.

Please follow FAR 52.207-6 guidance, which permits joint ventures and multiple teaming arrangements.

When calculating the Total Price for Evaluation Purposes, are Offerors to include the pricing for the potential 52.217-8 6-month extension? Yes, please provide pricing for a potential 6-month extension.

At this IDIQ level solicitation, There are no materials, raw materials, purchased parts, special equipment etc. We request government to clarify if these components are to be submitted in the business proposal. These elements are not applicable to this requirement

Please clarify if subcontractors are required to submit a separate cost proposal.

The Government confirms that only the prime contractor is required to submit a complete cost proposal. Subcontractors are not required to submit a complete cost proposal directly to the Government. However, the prime contractor is responsible for ensuring that all subcontractor cost information is included, supported, and sufficiently detailed within its overall cost proposal to allow for a comprehensive evaluation.

Please clarify if we are are to only submit Attachment 10 in the business proposal or are we also asked to provide the full build up in excel format to show how we arrived at the rates proposed in Attachment 10 Offerors should provide supporting cost buildup.

Does NIH have a preference in regards to how rights to publications and patents developed via the contract are handled? If this is required, it will be determined at the task order level.

To enable comparison of pricing across offers, should offeror’s delete LCATs and their respective hours in Attachment 10 that are not included in Attachment 3 - Statement of Work? For example, while Att 10 and Att 3 both have the LCAT Chemist, only Att 10 has the LCAT Chemist, Senior. To align with Att 3, should we remove Chemist, Senior and other LCATs not explicitly named in Att 3?

Please refer to previous Amendments, the Government has revised Attachment 10 to ensure alignment and to reflect all labor categories and associated labor category levels.

Will reporting requirements (e.g., technical progress reports) be standardized across all task orders, or defined individually per TORFP?

Reporting requirements will include standardized elements defined at the IDIQ level.

Additional reporting requirements may be specified at the task order level in each TORFP