AMENDMENT ONE_.pdf

AMENDMENT ONE (1)

Solicitation Number: BAA-75N93026R00004

Amendment Number: One (1)

Amendment Issue Date: 3/12/2026

Proposal Due Date/Time: May 4, 2026, at 3:00 PM, Local Time (Unchanged)

Issued By: Lisa Anglin

Contract Specialist

OA, OD, OALM

E-mail: lisa.anglin@nih.gov

Point of Contact: PRIMARY

Lisa Anglin

Contract Specialist

E-mail: lisa.anglin@nih.gov

SECONDARY

Robert Corno

Contracting Officer

E-mail: robert.corno@nih.gov

Please note that we do NOT intend to extend the due date for submission of proposals as a result of this amendment. The date specified for receipt of proposals remains unchanged.

Offerors must acknowledge receipt of this Amendment by identifying the amendment number and the date of the amendment on each copy of the submitted proposal. Failure to receive your acknowledgement may result in the rejection of your proposal. Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

The purpose of this Amendment is to: (1) provide new versions of Attachment 6: Reporting

Requirements and Deliverables, Attachment 7: Additional Technical Proposal Instructions, and Attachment 8: Additional Business Instructions; and (2) provide responses to questions from potential offerors, regarding the solicitation.

mailto:lisa.anglin@nih.gov mailto:lisa.anglin@nih.gov mailto:robert.corno@nih.gov

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS FROM POTENTIAL OFFERORS:

1. Foreign eligibility

1.a. Are foreign organizations eligible to apply as the Offeror/prime recipient?

Answer: The BAA is a FAR-based contract solicitation and does not explicitly prohibit foreign entities from serving as prime contractors. Prime contractor eligibility would be determined by applicable FAR requirements (including responsibility determinations) and required registrations

(e.g., SAM).

1.b. Are foreign organizations eligible to participate as subrecipients?

Answer: The solicitation contemplates use of subcontracts and does not prohibit foreign entities from participation as subcontractors. Any subcontracting must comply with applicable flow-down clauses in the resultant contract.

2. Intellectual property

Question: Does the solicitation refer to the Bayh–Dole Act and/or other federal statutes governing patent rights and U.S. Government license rights? If additional laws apply, please specify.

Answer: Yes. The solicitation incorporates federal patent and data rights provisions and refers to federal statutory authorities governing subject inventions. The document references patent rights and invention reporting requirements consistent with the Bayh–Dole framework (e.g., 35 U.S.C.

provisions) and cites FAR patent/data clauses. Applicable authorities include the Bayh–Dole Act

(35 U.S.C. §§200–212), FAR Part 27, and the standard FAR patent and data clauses (e.g., FAR

52.227 series). Offerors should be prepared to comply with the applicable FAR patent and data clauses that will be included in the resultant contract.

3. Type of award instrument

Question: What type of award/agreement does NIAID intend to use for this solicitation?

Answer: The solicitation anticipates a FAR-based multiple-year Cost-Reimbursement completion contract with a base period of one year and two option periods. The BAA does not indicate intent to award financial assistance (grants/cooperative agreements) or Other

Transaction Authority (OTA) instruments for this acquisition.

3.a. Is a financial assistance mechanism (grant or cooperative agreement) possible?

Answer: No. The solicitation is for a contract under FAR authority and does not indicate award of grants or cooperative agreements.

3.b. Is an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) possible?

Answer: No. The BAA indicates a FAR-based contract is expected; OTAs are not referenced.

4. Indirect cost rates for foreign organizations

Question: What indirect cost rate should a foreign organization apply? (a. 8%; b. a negotiated

F&A rate; c. other)

Answer: The solicitation does not impose an 8% de facto cap for contractor indirect costs.

Indirect costs for contractors are governed by FAR cost principles and the contracting officer’s negotiated F&A (indirect) rate determination. Therefore foreign organizations should expect to propose a negotiated F&A rate (or seek negotiation with the Government if no pre-existing negotiated rate exists).

5. Resulting contract

Question: Could NIAID provide a full copy of the proposed resulting contract?

Answer: The BAA provides the anticipated contract structure, clauses, and schedule references.

A final, fully executed contract cannot be provided prior to award. The model/anticipated contract clauses and structure are included in the solicitation and will be finalized at award.

6. Applicable FARs

Question: Could NIAID provide the full text of the applicable FAR sections referenced or expected to apply?

Answer: The solicitation incorporates standard FAR clauses by reference and lists specific FAR clauses in Section I. The full regulatory text for FAR clauses is available at acquisition.gov.

7. System guidance (creating a new profile / submission platform)

Question: Please provide resources or guidance to assist in creating a new profile and understanding the submission and approval process within the Electronic Contract Proposal

Submission Platform.

Answer: Attachment 1 – Packaging and Delivery of Proposals, provides directions on creating an account and how to submit a proposal. Any additional question please contact the eCPS admin link on the eCPS webpage.

8. Subcontracting

8.a. Question: Is our understanding correct that Subcontracting Reports must be submitted to the

SBCX system in addition to being included in the Offeror’s proposal submission (per Section H, Article 25(b), Special Contract Requirements)?

Answer: The solicitation requires the subcontracting plan to be submitted via the SBCX system at proposal submission. However, an offeror will only submit a subcontracting plan via SBCX providing an invitation is received during negotiations. Therefore, please include a copy of the subcontracting plan with the Business Proposal and not submit via SBCX.

8.b. Question: Alternatively, does Section H, Article 25(b) apply only after an Offeror’s proposal is selected?

Answer: See response to 8.a.

9. Options structure — relationship among Base/Option Periods, BAA (page 63) indicates:

• “It is anticipated that the award from this solicitation will be a multiple-year Cost

Reimbursement type Completion contract with a Base of 1 year and two (2) option periods.”

BAA Attachment 3 (pdf page 133) “Broad Agency Announcement Information” indicates:

• “NIAID estimates that the average annual total cost (direct and indirect costs combined) for a nonseverable base period and each subsequent, non-severable option period will average $2 million, for a total award of $6 million over three years per each successful offeror”; and

• “The period of performance proposed by an Offeror should not exceed 3 years.”

BAA Attachment 7 (pdf page 156) “Section 7: Options” indicates:

• All offerors must provide a technical response to the options specified below:

o “Options 1-6 Extend the Term of the Contract” and o B. “Options 7-41 Increase Level of Effort”

Can you please clarify Options 1-6 and Options 7-41, and their structure relative to the 3-year

Period of Performance (Base + Option 1 + Option 2)?

Questions Specifically:

• Are Options 1-6 separate “extend term” option actions that may be exercised independently of Option Period 1 and Option Period 2?

o What is the Period of Performance for Options 1-6?

• The BAA says that Options 7-41 can only be exercised 5 times, but there are 34 options.

Can you please clarify this discrepancy?

• For Options 7-41 (Increase LOE), may these be exercised during any contract year

(including the base year), or only during the options periods?

• Should offerors provide discrete pricing for (a) the Base Period, (b) Option Period 1, (c)

Option Period 2, and separately price Options 1-41 as standalone option actions?

Answer: Attachment 7 has been revised to remove in its entirety the language previously included under “Section 7: Options,” including references to “Options 1–6 Extend the Term of the Contract” and “Options 7–41 Increase Level of Effort.”

Please be advised that the contract structure and applicable Period of Performance are governed solely by Sections B and F of the BAA. As stated therein, the anticipated award is a Cost-

Reimbursement, Completion-type contract consisting of a one (1) year Base Period and two (2) one-year Option Periods, for a total Period of Performance not to exceed three (3) years (Base plus Option 1 plus Option 2). There are no separate term-extension options beyond the two identified option periods and no standalone level-of-effort options under this solicitation.

Accordingly, offerors shall provide pricing only for the Base Period, Option Period 1, and

Option Period 2, as set forth in Sections B and F.

14. Facilities Capital Cost of Money (FCCM)

Question: BAA page 117, Section 7.f, references FAR 52.215-16 and includes the sentence

“This is applicable if you are a commercial organization.” Please confirm whether non-commercial organizations may apply FCCM per FAR 52.215-16 and FAR cost principles.

Answer: FAR 52.215-16 (Facilities Capital Cost of Money) is an allowable cost under FAR cost principles when properly proposed and supported. Non-commercial organizations may apply

Facilities Capital Cost of Money (FCCM) in accordance with FAR 52.215-16 and the applicable

FAR Part 31. FCCM must be specifically proposed, properly supported (including submission of the Cost Accounting Standards Board/Cost of Money Factors. CASB-CMF), and calculated in accordance with regulatory requirements to be considered allowable.

15–16. Budget parameters and Period of Performance (POP)

15. Question: The budget limits are currently listed “TBD.” Will NIAID release budget parameters or a budget cap?

Answer: Please refer to Attachment 3: Broad Agency Announcement Description. Paragraph 4 provides an estimate of the average total annual cost.

16. Question: The Period of Performance is listed as “TBD.” Should applicants expect updated project dates, or should we estimate a POP for planning?

Answer: Attachment 3 and solicitation language cap a proposed period of performance at three years (base + two options). Offerors should propose a POP not to exceed three years unless the

Government provides updated dates.

17–18. Duration of Base and Option Periods

17. Question: Is the Base Period required to be limited to one year, or may it extend beyond one year?

Answer: The BAA anticipates a base of one year.

18. Question: For Option Periods 1 and 2, is each option restricted to one year, or can these periods exceed one year?

Answer: The solicitation anticipates two option periods following the one-year base; each option restricted to one year provided the total period of performance does not exceed three years.

19. Proposal page limits

Question: Several documents include specific page limits while others do not. For documents without stated limits, should offerors follow standard NIH page limit guidance or ensure the full proposal remains within a 200-page overall maximum?

Answer: Section L and the attachments define page limits where applicable. The technical proposal shall not exceed 200 pages (Attachment 1 – Packaging and Delivery of Proposals). The

Business Proposal does not have a page limitation.