Attachment 1 - Sources Sought Notice - NHLBI Innovation Commercialization Ecosystem.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

NHLBI INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION ECOSYSTEM:

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT AND PROGRAM EVALUATION

Agency/Institute:

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management (OALM)

Contracting Office Address:

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management (OALM), Research and Development and Professional Services – Division B, 6701 Rockledge Drive, RKL2, Bethesda, MD 20817

Introduction:

This Sources Sought Notice is for interested small businesses. This notice is NOT a request for proposals and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether small businesses are classified as HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses;

and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services with a Size Standard of $24.5M. An organization that is not considered a small business under NAICS Code 541611 should not submit a response to this notice.

The following draft Statement of Work is provided for market research purposes only and is subject to change prior to issuance of any solicitation.

Program Overview:

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Innovation and Commercialization Office (I&C) accelerates the translation of scientific discoveries into diagnostics, devices, and therapeutics by developing and managing innovative programs aligned with the NHLBI Strategic Vision. It focuses on advancing emerging technologies toward commercialization by supporting the small business innovation ecosystem—particularly through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs—while also providing funding, resources, and educational support to researchers and entrepreneurs. The I&C coordinates the small business program and provides free assistance throughout the award lifecycle and in building partnerships to enhance success and impact health. Through https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/divisions/division-extramural-research-activities/office-innovation-and-commercialization https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/strategic-vision collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and continuous program evaluation, I&C uses data-driven insights to guide decisions, strengthen translational research, and foster a diverse, skilled workforce to improve health outcomes.

Scope of Work:

The Contractor shall provide integrated, end-to-end support to advance NHLBI’s Innovation and Commercialization (I&C) ecosystem by delivering data-driven evaluation, partnership engagement strategies, program coordination support, and entrepreneurial education services.

This includes developing and implementing evaluation frameworks and analytics to inform program performance and compliance; maintaining and enhancing an AI-enabled partnering platform to facilitate connections among innovators, investors, and strategic partners; supporting operational and logistical coordination across programs and stakeholders; and designing and delivering training, mentorship, and commercialization support activities to strengthen the success of the NHLBI small businesses portfolio to advance the NHLBI mission to impact health.

It is anticipated that the effort will support NHLBI’s innovation and commercialization ecosystem activities that span several option periods.

The work to be performed under this contract shall be organized into the following task areas:

Task 1: Data and Evaluation Strategy

The Contractor shall refine, implement, and continuously monitor the requirements necessary to support comprehensive evaluation activities, enable data-driven decision-making, and optimize NHLBI Innovation and Commercialization Office (I&C) programs. This shall include the development and execution of data collection methodologies, performance metrics, and analytical frameworks to assess program effectiveness and outcomes.

The Contractor shall deploy and maintain modern tools and capabilities to support evaluation activities, including the design, implementation, and administration of evaluation instruments (e.g., surveys) and analytical systems. Responsibilities shall encompass evaluation across the NHLBI small business program portfolios, including SBIR/STTR and other NHLBI translational programs, supplemental initiatives, and office services.

Additionally, the Contractor shall design and implement a comprehensive evaluation strategy that is applicable to current and future NHLBI SBIR/STTR programs and I&C office initiatives.

This evaluation framework shall support ongoing activities, program management and operational improvements.

Task 2: Partner Engagement and Innovator Resources

The I&C is currently utilizing an AI-driven Partnering Platform, which is an accessible, public-facing system designed to help SBIR/STTR innovators connect with strategic partners, service providers, investors, and other sources of capital to support product development and commercialization goals. It also offers an intuitive interface that enables investors and strategic partners to identify and engage with small businesses developing technologies aligned with their interests. The Contractor shall provide a new platform with similar capabilities and support an AI-driven partnering platform that uses deep context-based AI/ML matchmaking algorithms and a data-science approach to connect innovators with innovation seekers based on technical capability descriptions and ideas. The platform shall integrate with existing NIH commercialization and partner engagement workflows while ensuring interoperability, continuity of operations, and related commercialization support capabilities.

The Contractor is responsible for maintaining, supporting, and hosting the platform’s informatics infrastructure, including daily operations and maintenance, and collection of metrics such as partnering outcomes and company success, participant progress, and return on investment. The Contractor will incorporate progress tracking features into the platform, such as tools that allow the I&C to track the development stage and progress of a particular government-funded innovation through commercialization. In addition, the Contractor will refine or develop AI-driven innovator resources, such as pitch deck generation and review, and commercialization reports, Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priority and other data reports to inform research/technology gaps and opportunities, or analyses to determine project or company progression.

Task 3: Program Coordination and Logistics

The Contractor will further manage and coordinate logistical activities that support the mission of the SBIR/STTR innovation and commercialization ecosystem including coordination with small businesses and translational programs, bi-weekly internal meetings, occasional external community/stakeholder meetings, webinar planning (minimum of 25) and logistical support. The Contractor will be responsible for creating meeting agendas and providing all meeting materials to the COR 48 hours in advance of the bi-weekly meeting. The Contractor will be responsible for suggested revisions to meeting materials and will provide meeting minutes within 48 hours post-meeting. The Contractor is expected to respond to all government and stakeholder email inquiries within one to two (1–2) business days of receipt.

Task 4: Innovator Support and Entrepreneurial Education

The Contractor shall design, implement, and manage entrepreneurship-focused support and programs tailored to both broad and specialized commercialization needs to strengthen commercialization readiness across the ecosystem. Activities include supporting a team of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) to offer one-on-one consultations and mentorship, provide pitch coaching and pitch review support, and serve as subject matter experts for application review, and relevant meeting panels and webinars. The I&C anticipates a team of 3-4 EIRs will be needed; one EIR with general expertise in the NHLBI space and across most areas listed below, and 2-3 EIRs with deep expertise in 1-2 specific areas, such as intellectual property, reimbursement health economics and fundraising. The level of effort for the EIR with general expertise (0.4FTE) is expected to approximately double that of the other EIRs (0.2FTE). EIRs may be authorized to attend up to one travel-related meeting annually to support the I&C and NHLBI innovators, at the discretion of the I&C. Additional limited travel may be required to support I&C and NHLBI innovation and commercialization activities, as authorized by the Government.

Through a competitive application process, part of NHLBI’s innovator support efforts includes supporting companies to attend partnering meetings to pitch their technology. The Contractor shall manage conference and showcase processes, including application submission, data-based review and evaluation. NHLBI anticipates leveraging the EIR Team as reviewers as needed for this process.

The Contractor is expected to develop 1-2 formal courses (e.g., implementation science, bootcamps, applicant assistance programming) and deliver 2 offerings of the course annually.

The Contractor will also develop, coordinate, and host 3-4 virtual webinars and 2-4 virtual innovation showcases per year to provide NHLBI innovators with the tools and resources necessary for technology development and commercialization. The Contractor is expected to support registration or virtual meeting platforms for webinars which are expected to garner approximately 30 attendees for focused topics and up to 250 attendees for broader topics.

The Contractor will manage any EIR conflicts of interest semi-annually throughout the period of performance. The signed semi-annual conflict of interest summary document is due to the COR on October 12th and April 12th. The Contractor shall work with the COR to ensure the format and quality of information is clear, concise, and easy to understand without further explanation.

• A potential or actual conflict of interest exists when commitments and obligations are likely to be compromised by the EIR’s other material interests, or relationships (especially economic), particularly if those interests or commitments are not disclosed.

• This Conflict-of-Interest Summary should indicate whether the EIR has an economic interest in or acts as a board member or a director of, any outside entity whose financial interests would reasonably appear to be affected by the participation in the NIH/NHLBI commercialization programs.

• The EIR should also disclose any personal, business, or volunteer affiliations that may give rise to a real or apparent conflict of interest.

• Relevant Federally and organizationally established regulations and guidelines in financial conflicts must be abided by.

• The EIR will be responsible for completing the I&C EIR Activity Form by the 2nd business day after activity conclusion.

At I&C’s discretion, EIR support levels may be increased or decreased in increments (or multiple increments) of 0.2 FTE.

The Government anticipates the requirement will include associated reporting, transition, and administrative support activities. Additional details will be provided in any future solicitation.

Period of Performance:

The anticipated period of performance is as follows:

Base Period: September 12, 2026 – September 11, 2027 Option Period 1: September 12, 2027 – September 11, 2028 Option Period 2: September 12, 2028 – September 11, 2029

The initial period of performance includes any transition period authorized under the contract.

Place of Performance:

The work shall be performed at the Contractor's site. Meetings and project planning activities shall be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.

In response to this solicitation, Offerors will be required to provide separate detailed budgets for each task area as part of the final solicitation submission requirements. The budgets should describe the key activities to be performed for each phase, for each labor category, consultant, and subcontractor throughout the planning and implementation. Offerors may elect to subcontract for any phase or subcomponent of this work, but NHLBI reserves the right of approval for any proposed subcontractor.

Capability Statements:

Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to perform this requirement should submit a capability statement demonstrating their experience and ability to support the activities described in the draft Statement of Work.

The capability statement should include:

1. Company name, UEI, business size, and socioeconomic status (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, SDB).

2. A brief description of the company's relevant capabilities and experience supporting innovation and commercialization programs, SBIR/STTR programs, entrepreneurial education and mentoring, program evaluation, stakeholder engagement, strategic partnerships, AI-enabled platforms, or similar activities.

3. A brief description of up to three recent projects of similar scope and complexity, including customer name, project description, period of performance, and the company's role.

4. A description of any anticipated teaming arrangements or subcontracting relationships, if applicable.

5. A description of the company's capabilities in supporting data collection, program evaluation, analytics, commercialization support, training and mentoring programs, and/or AI-enabled partner engagement platforms, as applicable.

6. Any comments, recommendations, or feedback regarding the draft requirement that may assist the Government in acquisition planning and market research.

Capability statements shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages and shall use a minimum 12-point font.

Interested small business organizations should identify their business size and socioeconomic status in accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations. The Government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in response to this notice.

However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone numbers of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Responses should provide sufficient information for the Government to assess the respondent's capability to perform the requirement and support acquisition planning. When submitting this information, please reference the Sources Sought Notice No. 75N98026R00085.

Point of Contact:

Acquisition Specialist:

Name: Donna Cornish National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director Research & Development and Professional Services Division B, Office of Acquisition & Logistics Management Bethesda, MD 20892-7902 E-mail address: donna.cornish@nih.gov

Contracting Officer:

Name: Jennifer Henselmann National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director Research & Development and Professional Services Division B, Office of Acquisition & Logistics Management Bethesda, MD 20892-7902 E-mail address: jennifer.henselmann@nih.gov

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability statements via electronic mail and must reference the Sources Sought Notice No. 75N98026R00085 in the subject line of the email submission.

The due date for receipt of capability statements is 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday, June 18, 2026. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

Capability statements must be submitted electronically to Jennifer Henselmann, Contracting Officer and Donna Cornish, Acquisition Specialist at the emails provided above.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices may be published in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) under Contract Opportunities. However, responses to this sources sought notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

mailto:donna.cornish@nih.gov mailto:jennifer.henselmann@nih.gov