Amended RFQ_Public Health Content Development.pdf

AMENDED REQUEST FOR QUOTATION NO. IHS1524787 – PUBLIC HEALTH

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

(1) General Information

a. This solicitation is prepared as a combined synopsis/solicitation in accordance with FAR Part 12, as restructured and implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (effective 04/24/2026), and the corresponding HHSAR Part 312 deviation.

Additional details are included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Quotes are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

b. Solicitation Number: The solicitation number is IHS1524787. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ).

c. FAC Applicability: The solicitation document incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2026-01.

d. HHSAR Deviation: This acquisition is also subject to HHSAR Class Deviation 2026-03, Revolutionary FAR Overhaul deviation to HHSAR Part 312 (effective 03/26/2026), which supplements the FAR Part 12 deviation referenced above.

e. Set-Aside & NAICS: This requirement is a 100% set-aside for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs). This set-aside is conducted under the Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. 47). The NAICS code is 541613. The small business size standard is $24.5 Million.

(2) Requirement Description

a. Description of Services

The Indian Health Service (IHS) requires commercial consulting services. Please review the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS) for full details and requirements.

Performance Details: The period of performance will begin on Date of Award and end One Year Thereafter.

All work must be performed entirely off-site at the contractor's facility or at a contractor-designated workspace. All work performed must take place within the United States.

b. Contract Line Item Structure

The Government intends to award a single Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract.

(3) Instructions to Offerors

FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (RFO DEVIATION, effective 04/24/2026), applies to this acquisition.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1:

1. Quote Organization: Offerors shall submit their quote in two separate volumes:

Volume I (Technical Quote) and Volume II (Price Quote and Administrative Documents). Volume I shall not contain any pricing information.

2. Volume I (Technical Quote) Instructions: The Technical Quote shall not exceed 15 pages. It must address Factor 1 (Technical Approach), Factor 2 (Staffing/Management), and Factor 3 (Relevant Experience/Past Performance), as described in the Evaluation Method section.

For Factor 3, the quoter shall provide information for no more than three (3) recent and relevant contracts or projects for which performance occurred within the past three (3) years. For each contract or project, provide:

• Customer/agency or commercial client name;

• Contract or order number, if applicable;

• Project title;

• Period of performance;

• Total contract or project value;

• Brief description of the work performed and its relevance to this requirement;

and

• Customer point of contact, including name, title, telephone number, and email address.

Resumes and past performance information do not count toward the 15-page limitation for Volume I.

3. Volume II (Price) Instructions: Include a cover letter, FAR 52.212-3 (or active SAM.gov status verification), and provide the Total Firm-Fixed-Price for the full period of performance. Use the following pricing table:

CLIN Description Qty Total Firm-Fixed-Price 0001 Digital Content Contractor 1 $_____________

4. A signed copy of the IHS Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) Representation Form must be submitted as a separate document.

(4) Evaluation Method

FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (RFO DEVIATION, effective 04/24/2026), applies.

The Government intends to award a contract to the responsible quoter whose quotation conforms to the requirements of this RFQ and provides the best value to the Government, considering the following non-price factors and price:

Factor 1 – Technical Approach

The Government will evaluate the quoter’s technical understanding and approach for fulfilling the PWS requirements. The evaluation will consider:

1. The quoter’s understanding of the scope and requirements;

2. The extent to which the proposed technical approach addresses and complies with the

PWS requirements; and

3. The quoter’s approach to identifying and mitigating performance challenges, including ensuring Section 508 accessibility compliance for applicable deliverables.

Factor 2 – Staffing/Management

The Government will evaluate the quoter’s proposed staffing and management approach, including proposed labor categories, personnel qualifications, schedule management, and coordination with Government subject matter experts.

The quotation shall demonstrate that the individual proposed as the lead content creator/graphic designer meets or exceeds the minimum qualifications in PWS Section 7.0, including:

1. A minimum of five (5) years of experience in health communications; and

2. At least two (2) of those years demonstrating experience developing and designing culturally relevant materials for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

The Government will also evaluate the quoter’s approach to managing the deliverables and performance timeframes established in PWS Section 12.1, Deliverables Schedule.

Factor 3 – Relevant Experience/Past Performance

The Government will evaluate the quoter’s recent and relevant experience and past performance on contracts or projects similar in scope, size, and complexity to the requirements of this RFQ.

The Government may consider the past performance information provided by the quoter, information obtained from identified customer references, information available in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), and other past performance information available to the Government.

The Government may consider the relevance and quality of past performance information in assessing this factor.

Price

The Government will evaluate the quoter’s total Firm-Fixed-Price for reasonableness. The Government may use one or more price analysis techniques, including comparison of quotations received, comparison with the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), or comparison with historical prices paid for similar services.

Basis for Award

The Government will use a tradeoff process in evaluating quotations. Factor 1 – Technical Approach, Factor 2 – Staffing/Management, and Factor 3 – Relevant Experience/Past Performance are the non-price factors. When combined, the non-price factors are more important than price.

The Government reserves the right to award to a quoter other than the quoter submitting the lowest-priced quotation when the Government determines that the higher-rated quotation provides the best value.

Notice of Intent to Award Without Discussions

The Government intends to evaluate quotations and make award without conducting discussions. Quoters should therefore submit their best technical and price quotations in their initial submissions.

(5) Provisions, Clauses, and Deviations

FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (RFO DEVIATION, effective 04/24/2026), applies to this acquisition. The Offeror shall complete this provision in accordance with the RFO FAR Part 12 model deviation text, or reference its current annual representations and certifications in SAM.gov.

MANDATORY DEVIATION NOTICE: System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in agency solicitations. Examples include 52.222-25, Affirmative Action Compliance, and paragraph (d) of 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (RFO DEVIATION, effective 04/24/2026), applies to this acquisition.

FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as implemented by FAR Class Deviation 2025-09, Amendment 2 (RFO DEVIATION, effective 04/24/2026), applies to this acquisition. The applicable statutory/E.O. flow-down clauses will be included with the contract.

FAR 52.252-5, Authorized Deviations in Provisions, and FAR 52.252-6, Authorized Deviations in Clauses, apply to this acquisition. The following Department of Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) clauses apply to this acquisition:

a. HHSAR 352.232-71 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests, as implemented by HHSAR Class Deviation 2026-07 (effective 04/23/2026) (RFO DEVIATION)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Payment.request means a bill, voucher, invoice, or request for contract financing payment with associated supporting documentation. The payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), “Content of Invoices” and the applicable Payment clause included in this contract.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause, the Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Department of Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) or successor system. Information regarding IPP, including IPP Customer Support contact information, is available at www.ipp.gov or any successor site.

(c) The Contractor may submit payment requests using other than IPP only when the Contracting Officer authorizes alternate procedures in writing in accordance with HHS procedures.

(d) If alternate payment procedures are authorized, the Contractor shall include a copy of the Contracting Officer's written authorization with each payment request.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipp.gov

b. HHSAR 352.226-4 (Notice of ISBEE Set-Aside)

(a) Under the Buy Indian Act, 25 U.S.C. 47, offers are solicited only from Indian Economic Enterprises (IEEs) that are also small business concerns. Any acquisition resulting from this solicitation will be from such a concern. Offers received from enterprises that are not both IEEs and small business concerns will not be considered and will be rejected.

(b) Any award resulting from this solicitation will be made to an Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE), as defined in HHSAR 326.601.

c. HHSAR 352.226-6 (Indian Economic Enterprise Subcontracting Limitations)

(a) The contractor shall not subcontract to other than Indian Economic Enterprises (IEEs) more than the subcontracting limits described in this clause. For this contract, the applicable subcontracting limitation is:

[X] (1) For services (except construction), at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the IEE.

(b) The contractor shall maintain records demonstrating compliance with this subcontracting limitation. The Contracting Officer may require the contractor to submit these records for review.

d. HHSAR 352.226-7 (Indian Economic Enterprise Representation).

(a) The offeror represents as part of its offer that it [X] does meet the definition of an Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) as defined in HHSAR 326.601 and that it intends to meet the definition of an IEE throughout the performance of the contract.

(b) The offeror must maintain its IEE status throughout the life of the contract. Any false or misleading information submitted by an enterprise when submitting an offer in consideration for an award set aside under the Buy Indian Act is a violation of the law and punishable under 18 U.S.C. 1001. False claims submitted as part of contract performance are subject to the penalties enumerated in 31 U.S.C. 3729 to 3731 and 18 U.S.C. 287.

CRITICAL INSTRUCTION: Offerors MUST complete and submit the attached IHS Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) Representation Form as part of their response. Failure to provide this form will render the offeror ineligible for award.

e. DPAS Rating: The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) does not apply to this requirement.

(6) Submission Deadlines and Contact Information

Quotes are due by 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 2, 2026. All quotes must be submitted electronically to Marlene Milgram, Supervisory Contracting Officer, at marlene.milgram@hhs.gov and Andrei Howze, Contracting Officer, at andrei.howze@hhs.gov.

(7) List of Attachments

The following documents are attached to this solicitation and incorporated herein:

1. Attachment A: Performance Work Statement

2. Attachment B: IHS Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) Representation Form

3. Attachment C: Responses to Vendor Questions mailto:marlene.milgram@hhs.gov mailto:andrei.howze@hhs.gov