B_24_003946_NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source.pdf

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: NIMH24003946

2. TITLE: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Support Services

3. CLASSIFICATION CODE:R499 -Support – Professional: Other

NAICS CODE: 541690 – Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

4. RESPONSE DATE: April 30, 2024, at 4:00 PM EST

5. PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:

Joe Kennedy joseph.kennedy@nih.gov

6. DESCRIPTION:

INTRODUCTION

This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation.

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT)

SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR

OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Richard Kerr, for a 12-month base contract, with two additional options years for the purpose to satisfy the PHS Animal Welfare Policy by acquiring a consultant to serve as a non-affiliated member for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE

and SET ASIDE STATUS The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541690 – Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

This intended procurement will be a small business set-aside requirement.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization).

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2024-03, dated February

23. 2024.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

Purchase Description This requirement is to satisfy the PHS Animal Welfare Policy by acquiring a consultant to serve as a non-affiliated member for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

(IACUC).

Specific Requirements

• Contactor shall provide technical expertise to IACUC members on federal, state and biomedical research animal care and usage laws, policies and regulations for

NIMH Division of Intramural Programs protocol submissions, amendments, and renewals applications.

• Contactor shall identify and provide recommendations on areas of non-compliance with federal, state and biomedical research animal care and usage laws, policies and regulations for NIMH protocol submissions, amendments, and renewals applications monthly.

• Contractor shall attend monthly meetings to provide technical expertise to IACUC members on new animal study protocols, amendments, and renewals applications.

IACUC meeting occurs on the second Tuesday of each month or on an alternate day as determined by the IACUC committee members. Meeting materials shall be provided to Contractor for review by Government prior to each meeting and include meeting date, time and location.

• Contractor shall attend semi-annual inspections of the NIMH animal facilities and procedural space where animals are housed and used in accordance with all approved animal study proposals. Advance notification shall be provided by the

Government to the Contractor of scheduled inspections to facilitate scheduling and attendance.

• Contactor shall, at the Government’s request, attend additional meetings to provide technical expertise for the American Association for Accreditation of

Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) site visit preparations as well as other accreditation meetings/site visits.

Delivery Date

Contractor shall submit a report, at a minimum, that includes the Contractor’s summary of meeting materials and recommendations made to IACUC Members on NIMH protocol submissions, amendments, and renewals applications for compliance or non-compliance with federal, state and biomedical research animal care and usage laws, policies and regulations. The report shall be provided to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) within 3-business days after each IACUC meeting. Government reserves the right to require the Contractor to submit additional reports on as needed basis.

Period of Performance The proposed period of performance shall be for one year, with two one-year option years.

Base: 5/15/2024 – 5/14/2025 Option Year One: 5/15/2025 – 5/14/2026 Option Year 2: 5/15/2026 – 5/14/2027

Level of Effort

The Contractor shall be paid an Honorarium Per Meeting for daily cost of providing meeting support, to consist of meeting preparation, travel per diem, and other direct costs as applicable.

Government Responsibilities

Government shall provide Contractor meeting materials and on-site meeting space.

Meeting materials shall be provided prior to each meeting by either United States Postal mail, secure e-mail or fax. All data (inclusive of meeting materials) provided to the Contractor must be treated as confidential and not be disclosed to any third party.

National Institute of Mental Health will provide data as needed to the Contractor each time it requests service. Data may only be stored on Government issued computer.

Reporting Requirements

Contractor shall submit a report, at a minimum, that includes the Contractor’s summary of meeting materials and recommendations made to IACUC Members on NIMH protocol submissions, amendments, and renewals applications for compliance or non-compliance with federal, state and biomedical research animal care and usage laws, policies and regulations. The report shall be provided to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) within 3-business days after each IACUC meeting. Government reserves the right to require the Contractor to submit additional reports on as needed basis.

OTHER CONSIDERARTIONS:

Travel

Travel as authorized will be reimbursed with prior approval.

Information System Security Plan Information system security plan is not needed.

Data Rights No data rights are required for this acquisition

Section 508—Electronic and Information Technology Standards Contractor is not required to develop electronic and information technology standards.

Publications and Publicity:

The contractor is not required to write publications and conduct publicity.

Confidentiality of Information:

The contractor will not be given access to confidential information or the exchange thereof.

(INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Richard Kerr, is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the services required by National Institute of Mental Health.

The intended source is:

Richard Kerr 9221 Shelton St.

Bethesda, MD 20817

The key personnel specified in this contract are considered to be essential to work performance. At least 30 days prior to the contractor voluntarily diverting any of the specified individuals to other programs or contracts the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer and shall submit a justification for the diversion or replacement and a request to replace the individual. The request must identify the proposed replacement and provide an explanation of how the replacement's skills, experience, and credentials meet or exceed the requirements of the contract. If the employee of the contractor is terminated for cause or separates from the contractor voluntarily with less than thirty days’ notice, the Contractor shall provide the maximum notice practicable under the circumstances. The Contractor shall not divert, replace, or announce any such change to key personnel without the written consent of the Contracting Officer. The contract will be modified to add or delete key personnel as necessary to reflect the agreement of the parties.

The following individual(s) is essential to the work being performed here under:

Name Title

To be determined in the contract award

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Consultant

It is required that all Contractors involved with the National Institute of Mental Health community to work collaboratively with federal staff and other contractors towards the National Institute of Mental Health’s mission and other affected organizations and follow the direction of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and/or the designated Federal Project Manager(s)/Lead(s). This collaboration includes day-to-day activities, support, development, knowledge transfer and creating and sharing documentation when required.

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity ID UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size.

Responses must include the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture). All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, NIMH24003946.

Responses must be submitted electronically to Joe Kennedy, Contract Specialist, at joseph.kennedy@nih.gov, and Robin Knightly, Contracting Officer, at robin.knightly@nih.gov.

U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.

mailto:joseph.kennedy@nih.gov