ATTACHMENT_D.pdf

ATTACHMENT D

Quick Start Guide for Entities Interested in Being Eligible for Government

Contracts

Interested in working with NOAA Fisheries?

Here’s how to get started-

Get Registered! In most circumstances, you must have an active System for Award Management (SAM.gov) registration with up-to-date certifications in order to submit an offer. So be ready to go by setting up your business early. SAM.gov is also where you will find contract opportunities.

Step one: Obtain Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number. This is a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business.

Where to start, includes checklists: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration

Step two: Determine your NAICS code(s) and small business status. The North American Industry Classification System is used to classify businesses based on the products and services they provide. You can register for multiple codes

Find all NAICS codes here: https://www.census.gov/naics/

Common NAICS codes for NMFS actions: 483112 Deep Sea Passenger Transportation

483114 Coastal and Great Lakes Passenger Transportation

114111 Finfish Fishing

114119 Other Marine Fishing

541715 Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

541990 All other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Determine size status here: https://www.sba.gov/size-standards

Certify size status with SBA: https://certify.sba.gov/

Local small business support: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance

Step three: Complete SAM registration and representations and certifications. This database is used by Federal agencies to do market research about available vendors and to determine eligibility. Important planning note: Entity registration typically takes up to 7-10 business days to process.

Register here: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration

Additional info: https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp

Small Business? Step Four: Register with NOAA’s Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) Small Business Profile Registration System and check out other small business resources here: https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisitiongrants/small-business-vendor-resources

Questions? Please contact the AGO Policy and Oversight Division, at NOAASB@noaa.gov for small business/registration questions or Sarah Waugh, Western Acquisition Division, at sarah.waugh@noaa.gov for contracting questions

Additional resource: Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) provides free registration support!

https://www.aptac-us.org/sam-registration/

Interested in working with NOAA Fisheries?

Here’s how to find and submit offers for opportunities!

STEP 1: BE REGISTERED! In most circumstances, you must have an active System for Award Management (SAM.gov) registration with up-to-date certifications in order to submit an offer. So be ready to go by setting up your business early. It may take up to a month to set up your business. Need assistance?

Ask for a copy of our Registering for NOAA Opportunities guidance, or

Contact the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers for FREE registration support:

Website: https://www.aptac-us.org/sam-registration/

Select your state from "Find your PTAC" and contact your closest state or local office

STEP 2: SEARCH IN SAM! SAM.gov is used to conduct market research as well as post solicitations. NOAA often conducts advance planning and market research before issuing formal solicitations. Industry engagement and input is a vital part of putting together a solicitation. NOAA takes industry input seriously and comments or questions about the specifications, qualifications, and other information is extremely helpful. See below for how to find and submit questions or comments on upcoming opportunities:

1. Select Domain: “Contract Opportunities”

2. Keyword Search: Stay broad-“Any Words” and fishing, survey, charter, or related words

3. Federal Organization: “1330-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”

4. Notice Type: “Special Notice,” “Presolicitation,” or “Sources Sought” are all used for market research purposes. These notices are often seeking input from industry to determine how many vendors can do the work and solicit feedback on contract requirements.

Each notice will include information about the requirement and instructions for submitting information to the Contracting Officer. The responses are used by the Government to determine whether to expect multiple offers and whether to set aside for small business entities. If there are issues with the work statement, send in questions or concerns! Each posting on SAM.gov includes a primary and secondary contact. Generally, email is the best form of communication.

STEP 3: STAY IN THE LOOP: If the opportunity looks like something your business may be able to perform, click the “Follow” button so you can easily find it again and receive updates if it is issued as a formal request for offers:

STEP 4: FIND ACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES: Not all solicitations will be tied to a notice that you can follow. So make sure to search specifically for new opportunities as well. Log in and search by keyword, agency, and other details. Best practicestay broad to start before narrowing down so you don’t miss anything!

Contract opportunities are posted for a minimum of 15 days, up to 30. If additional time is needed, please notify the Contracting Officer named in the listing as soon as possible, with an explanation if possible. NOAA strives to achieve maximum participation and competition and may extend the solicitation due date.

1. Refine previous search with: Notice Type: “Solicitation” or “Combined Synopsis/Solicitation”

Narrowing down the search: You can filter by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code with more details if there are too many results. The NAICS code is based on the primary contract activity and will be used to set the small business size standard for each procurement:

NAICS Code: Common codes:

contracts and has a size standard of 1000 employees-any company with over 1000 employees will not be considered small.

483112 Deep Sea Passenger Transportation

483114 Coastal and Great Lakes Passenger Transportation

114111 Finfish Fishing

114119 Other Marine Fishing

541715 Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences **This is commonly used for Study Fleet

541990 All other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

STEP 5: PREPARE TO PROPOSE! Once you’ve found a solicitation that you are interested in, download the attachments.

Review the solicitation, with an emphasis on the Statement of Work/Performance Work Statement-This will include the scope of work, qualification requirements, deliverables, and other important information about what the Government wants to see in your quote and what you will be expected to do under contract. The following images are from the 2021 Study Fleet solicitation:

STEP 5: UNDERSTAND YOUR OBLIGATIONS: Review Contract Terms and Conditions-the contract will include clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR), and NOAA Acquisition Manual (NAM).

All terms and conditions must be followed during contract performance: See www.acquisition.gov for full language and prescriptions. Reach out to the point of contact if you have any questions.

STEP 6: PREPARE YOUR OFFER: Review the solicitation provisions (see example below “Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 and 52.212-2”), which include instructions to offerors and an explanation of how the Government will make its award decisions. Make sure your quote includes all the requested information and is consistent with the scope of work and all terms and conditions:

ATTACHMENT D