80GRC024R0001_TFOME III Sources Sought_Final.pdf

Test Facility Operations, Maintenance and Engineering III (TFOME III)

Sources Sought

80GRC024R0001

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for the Test Facility Operations, Maintenance and Engineering III (TFOME III) acquisition.

The TFOME III acquisition’s purpose is to provide and manage the engineering and technician support, manufacturing and development support, and the operations, maintenance, inspection and certification support services needed to conduct aeronautics and space related testing in GRC test facilities and laboratories. The success of research and development activities at GRC depends on the safe, timely, efficient and quality completion of the work described herein. Please see Attachment 1 – DRAFT TFOME III Statement of Work for additional detail. Please note, this is a DRAFT statement of work and the Government reserves the right to make any changes to the requirements leading up to a final request for proposal.

NASA GRC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), and members of the underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity And Support For Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for TFOME III. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.

NASA is seeking information in three (3) areas:

1. Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than five (5) pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort.

• Capability statements should include identifying information about the interested firm including but not limited to: CAGE code, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, small business status, registered/related NAICS codes, mailing address, and name, email, and phone number of point of contact.

• Capability statements should also include a description of the interested parties’ approach to completing the statement of work, any qualifications the interested party may have, and any unique aspects the interested party would deem pertinent to the TFOME III acquisition.

• Capability statements should include relevant experience/past performance of the interested firm relating to the draft TFOME III statement of work.

2. Additionally, in support of the Executive Order (EO) 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, NASA is seeking to advance equity or remove barriers for members of underserved communities related to this requirement. As defined in the EO, Underserved Communities refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of "equity." Equity means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

NASA seeks input in the following areas:

a) To support the requirements identified in this request for information (RFI)/sources sought notification, what barriers or opportunities exist to engage subject matter experts from industry and academia and how can those barriers be overcome? How can underserved communities be leveraged?

b) To support the requirements identified in this RFI, what barriers or opportunities exist to partner with subcontractors that employ members of underserved communities, as defined above?

c) What other recommendations would you make to enhance diversity and inclusion?

d) What should be considered to encourage full participation and contribution of organizations and individuals (e.g., outreach efforts and innovative partnerships) in performance of this requirement?

3. NASA GRC is requesting information from industry regarding potential organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) arising from TFOME III.

The nature of the work anticipated under the TFOME III contract may create the potential for OCI(s) as currently described in FAR Subpart 9.5. Each interested party should review FAR Subpart 9.5 in light of NASA’s anticipation of OCI issues and consider carefully the extent to which an OCI may arise before making the decision to compete for the TFOME III contract.

a) What type(s) of OCI issues would your company or potential team identify, if any, should you choose to propose on the TFOME III contract?

b) What strategies would you anticipate proposing to mitigate the OCI issues that you identified (if any)? Please provide strategy details, previous examples/experience with other contracts with NASA or other agencies, etc.

c) Are there any other types of potential OCI issues with the proposed TFOME III contract that were not identified in this RFI (assuming any were identified)?

d) Does your company foresee any OCI issues associated with the TFOME III acquisition that would cause you to decide not to propose on the potential

TFOME III RFP?

NASA will review any responses received regarding potential OCI and each offeror’s proposed OCI mitigation strategy.

The documents on SAM.gov are for informational and planning purposes, to allow industry the opportunity to comment, and to promote competition only. NASA will not affirmatively release any information received in response to this RFI to the public but may use information received in developing the best approach for a contract strategy, and therefore such information may be recognizable to the interested party who submitted it. Any information submitted in response to this RFI that is marked as “Confidential Commercial or Financial Information” will be considered as voluntarily submitted in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

All questions should be directed to the point of contact identified below. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by NASA to form a binding contract. NASA is under no obligation to issue a solicitation or to award any contract on the basis of this RFI. NASA will not pay for any information solicited under this RFI.

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any subsequent solicitation or synopsis.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Rita K. Dickens, Contracting Officer at rita.k.dickens@nasa.gov no later than 5:00pm Eastern Time (ET), January 9, 2024. Please reference 80GRC024R0001 – TFOME III in any response.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited.

Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents in order to facilitate teaming arrangements. Should your firm desire not to be included in this listing, clearly indicate this desire in your response.

Thank you for your time and interest in the TFOME III acquisition.