Attachment_1_Instructions_to_Offerors.pdf

Attachment 1

RFQ 75N94024Q00094

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

To: All Offerors

From: NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA)

Subject: Request for Quotation (RFQ) #75N94024Q00094 for Metabolic Isotopes

The enclosed RFQ is to provide support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), Office of the Clinical Director.

The Government is issuing a competitive combined/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services to qualified Offerors for the purpose of issuing a single award, indefinite delivery /indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The Government will conduct this acquisition in accordance with FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13. Interested parties should submit their quote in accordance with the following instructions.

Offerors are required to submit both a written Technical volumes and Business volume to Government officials for the purposes of acquiring supplies and/or services from the Contractor(s) that is fully cognizant of the scope of this requirement and has the capability to complete all requirements described in the solicitation. Quotations which merely offer to conduct a program in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s scope of work will not be eligible for award.

FAR 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a single award IDIQ contract with multiple firm-fixed price, severable/nonseverable task and delivery orders resulting from this solicitation.

(end of provision)

The Government intends to evaluate quotations and award without discussions with Offerors.

However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The resulting award period of performance is a five (5) years from date of award.

SOLICITATION TECHNICAL INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS

Questions must be submitted, in writing to Trish Matthews, trish.matthews@nih.gov no later than Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 4:00PM EST. Questions are to be written in a manner that enables a clear understanding of the Offeror’s questions or concerns. Statements expressing opinions, sentiments or conjectures are not considered valid inquiries and will not receive a response. Further, Offerors are reminded that the Government will not address hypothetical questions aimed at receiving a potential “evaluation decision.”

Please be advised that the Government reserves the right to transmit those questions and answers of a common interest to all prospective Offerors.

mailto:trish.matthews@nih.gov

QUOTE SUBMISSION

Offerors must submit their technical approach (Volume 1) and business quote (Volume 2) in separate volumes. Quotations must be submitted electronically via email to Trish Matthews at trish.matthews@nih.gov on or before the RFQ closing date of Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 4:00 PM EST. The quotation must reference the RFQ No. 75N94024Q00094.

FORMATTING

Page size 8.5 by 11 inches with 1-inch margins. Paragraphs single spaced. Minimum font size/style 12-point Times New Roman font for Text, 11-point font in the Arial family for Tables, and 8 point font in the Arial family for Graphics. Tables and graphics may be landscape; all other text must be portrait. The technical approach must not exceed fifteen (15) pages in length and the pages must be sequentially numbered regardless of the section or part (e.g., 1 of 15, 2 of 15, 3 of 15, etc.,). Pages in excess of the specified page limit will not be considered or evaluated.

If the Offeror uses a different format (font size, margin, etc.), the Government reserves the right to adjust the quote to fit the parameters of the format as stated in the RFQ, and if this results in the quote exceeding the page limitations in any one area, the Government will not consider those excess pages.

Any quote, modification, or revision that is received at the designated Government office after the exact date and time specified for receipt of quotations is “late” and will not be considered.

Quotations received “late” will not be evaluated or considered for award and will be returned to the Offeror.

TRANSMITTAL AND COVER LETTER

The Offeror’s transmittal and cover letter for the quote must contain the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the person to be contacted concerning any matter related to the solicitation. The Contracting Officer may, for example, contact that individual to schedule and make arrangements for the Offeror’s discussion meetings, if necessary.

Include the following information in your quote:

1) RFQ Title and Number

2) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

3) Company Name mailing address, and website address;

4) Date submitted and quote expiration date;

5) All of the above-cited information for each entity on the proposed team, if a team is proposed;

6) Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must register in SAM located at http://www.sam.gov/;

7) Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address;

Technical Evaluation

Please refer to the Evaluation Criteria.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Volume 1, Section 1) The Offeror should provide an executive summary for the technical volume. In the executive summary, the Offeror should highlight the significant factors of its technical volume. The executive summary for the technical volume should be no more than one (1) page long.

mailto:trish.matthews@nih.gov http://www.sam.gov/%3B

If the Offeror is planning to propose a teaming, mentor/protégée, or a subcontracting relationship, narrative statements must also be included for the additional organizations, as well as a clear delineation of tasks that they will be expected to support.

Evidence of an executed teaming agreement must be included in the technical volume.

ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE (Volume 1, Section 2)

• The Offeror shall demonstrate extensive expertise and extensive experience in providing metabolic oral and intravenous isotopes.

• The Offeror shall demonstrate approval by NIH Office of Research Support and Compliance (ORSC) to provide metabolic isotopes to NIH. This documentation must be submitted with the Offeror’s technical volume.

TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH (Volume 1, Sections 3) At a minimum, the Offeror’s Technical volume must demonstrate the organizations’ ability to provide the necessary logistics in the production and delivery of metabolic oral and intravenous isotopes. The Offeror must define their Technical and Management approach that satisfies the requirements defined in the Parent IDIQ and TO1 Statement of Work.

PAST PERFORMANCE (Volume 1, Section 4) The Offeror shall identify three (3) contracts with the Federal Government and/or commercial customers that demonstrate recent and relevant past performance. Recent is defined as within the last three (3) years. Relevant is defined as work that meets identical requirements as described in the Statement of Work.

Include the following information:

• Project title

• Description of the project

• Contract number

• Government Agency/Organization

• COR’s name, address, and phone number

• Contracting Officer’s name, address, and phone number

• Current status, e.g., completed and/or if in progress, start and estimated completion dates

• Dollar value and type of contract

• Name of company being referenced

• SOW sections that the reference applies to

• A brief narrative of why you deem the reference to be relevant to this effort

The Government may also consider information obtained through other sources. Past performance information will be utilized to determine the quality of the Offeror’s past performance as it relates to the probability of success of the required effort.

BUSINESS PROPOSAL (Volume 2) The Offeror’s Business quote shall be a separate volume from the Technical quote. Pricing shall include all anticipated costs to fully perform all objectives as stated in the solicitation including the TO1. Minimum font size/style 12-point Times New Roman font for Text, 11 point font in the Arial family for Tables, and 8 point font in the Arial family for Graphics.

EVALUATION

Quotations will be reviewed and evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria identified in attachments “Evaluation Criteria” for the Parent IDIQ and TO1.

BUSINESS PROPOSAL (Volume 2) A. Price All evaluation factors, other than cost/price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost/price in the award of the contract. Selection of the Offeror to perform this requirement will be based on the Government’s assessment of the best overall value.

Offerors will be evaluated based upon price completeness and accuracy to determine the validity of the price, price realism, price reasonableness, and price risk. The factors below will be used to assess whether the Offerors' quote is complete, accurate, and realistic to minimize cost or performance risk.

Price Completeness and Accuracy: The Government will review the price schedules for completeness and accuracy. A determination will be made as to whether the Offeror has properly understood the business volume instructions and properly completed the price schedules. Changes to the evaluation quantities, blanks or zeros in the pricing columns, and/or mathematical mistakes are subject to clarification for confirmation of the Offeror’s intent. The Offeror's quote will be checked for mathematical correctness to include the following:

1. Checking arithmetic in all computations;

2. Making sure that all prices/costs are summarized correctly;

3. Comparing electronic submittals with hard copies; if applicable.

A determination will be made regarding whether the price appears unbalanced, either for the total price of the quote or separately priced line items. An analysis will be made by item, quantity, and year to identify any irregular or unusual pricing patterns. An unbalanced quote is one that incorporates prices that are less than cost for some items and/or prices that are overstated for other items.

Price Realism: The Offerors are placed on notice that any quotations that are unrealistic in terms of technical commitment or unrealistically low in price will be deemed reflective of an inherent lack of technical competence or indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity and risk of contract requirements and may be grounds for rejection of the quote.

Price Reasonableness: The Offerors are expected to establish a reasonable price relationship between all price elements. An evaluation of the Offerors’ price quotations will be made to determine if they are realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the Technical volume.

Reasonableness determinations will be made by determining if competition exists, by comparing proposed price with established commercial prices, other contract vehicles, and/or by comparing proposed price with the Independent Government Estimate (IGE). The IGE is not releasable to the public.

Price Risk: Risk refers to any aspect of the Offerors’ quotations that could have significant negative consequences for the Government. Quotations will be assessed to identify potential risks. Where price risk is assessed, it may be described in quantitative terms or used as a best-value discriminator.

CONTRACT AWARD

Contract award shall be made to the responsible Offeror whose offer, in conforming to this RFQ, provides an overall best value to the Government, technical evaluation factors, and cost considered. The Government's objective is to obtain the highest technical quality considered necessary to achieve the project objectives, with a realistic and reasonable cost. All evaluation factors, other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price in the award of the contract. In the event quotes are evaluated as technically equal in quality, price will become a major consideration in selecting the successful Offeror.