Draft_RFI.docx

Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice Description:

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is hereby soliciting information about potential sources for the Carbon/Phenolic Blended Yarn Fiber Procurement for Mars Sample Return (MSR). This potential procurement is to pursue highly reliable sample return missions that require an Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) that will use robotic systems and a Mars ascent rocket to collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils, and atmosphere to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis. The EEV will use robust thermal protection system materials with substantial ground and flight test heritage in order to preserve the integrity of the returned samples.

I. PURPOSE OF THIS SYNOPISIS/REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

This notice has two purposes:

1) To request information on capabilities of potential Offerors to provide the services described in the attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW) in order to determine if this will be a small business set-aside. Information received as a result of this notice will be considered by the Government and used for acquisition planning purposes only. An interested parties list will be posted.

2) To request information from interested parties regarding their preferred contracting approach to provide the services described in the attached Draft SOW.

II. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED WORK

The Contractor shall provide research and development in the following products in support of the MSR EEV mission:

1. Fabrication of 10,000 kg of blended carbon/phenolic yarn that meets NASA specification MSR EEV TPS-5001.

2. Certified AS9100/ISO9001

III. RESPONSES REGARDING POTENTIAL SOURCES – STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES

Interested Offerors having the required specialized capabilities/qualifications to support all of the work described in the Draft SOW are asked to submit a capability/qualification statement of 10 pages or less. There is no required font size and/or type designated for this Capability/Qualification Statement. Figures, exhibits, and diagrams should be readable. Submit your response electronically in PDF format. The Government requests separate files for the Statement of Capabilities response and the Contracting Approach response. The response must include the following:

1) Company name, address, CAGE code, DUNS number, and point of contact including phone, e-mail, and website (if applicable).

2) Whether your company is Large Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, 8(a)set-aside Small Business, HUBZone Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, HBCU/MI, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business for NAICS code 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), size standard 1,000 employees.

3) Whether your company plans to participate in this procurement as a Prime or a Sub-offeror.

4) Your company's capability in each of the technical domains. For each technical domain, indicate what percentage of the technical domain you would perform.

5) A list of relevant work performed in the past three (3) years, including contract type, contract number, technical description, dollar amount, period of performance, and a customer reference name and telephone number.

The Government reserves the right to consider a small business or 8(a) set-aside based on responses. A multiple award or single award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract may also be considered.

IV. RESPONSES REGARDING THE CONTRACTING APPROACH

The Government is soliciting contracting approaches for a MSR EEV TPS procurement that will enhance competition and provide business opportunities. Therefore, the Government is requesting feedback in the following areas for consideration during acquisition planning:

1) Socio-economic considerations: ARC is interested in your comments on establishing subcontracting goals for Small Business, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Small-Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI), and Historically Underutilized Zone (HUBZone) Business, such as:

• Are you contemplating proposing as a prime contractor or subcontractor? Why?

• What SOW areas are you capable of performing?

• Recommendation for other applicable NAICS codes. The NAICS code for the proposed acquisition is 541715.

2) Incentives: In an attempt to determine the appropriate contract type (contract types for consideration, alone or in a hybrid combination, including Fixed-Price or Cost-Reimbursement contracts, such as FFP, FPI, FPAF, CPFF, and CPIF) for this particular procurement:

• Which contract type or combination of contract types might be more appropriate (benefits and impediments),

• How would that proposed contract type would affect costs and proposal development,

• What types of fee, options, and/or other incentives would be appropriate for this requirement, and

• How could those incentives be measured/assessed and what data would be needed?

3) Contract Period of Performance: Service contracts are typically limited to a maximum duration of five years unless a deviation is approved.

• Are five years the appropriate duration or would it be in ARC's best interest to seek a deviation for a contract period longer than five years? Why or why not?

• Do you have any suggestions or recommendations regarding contract length, inclusive of all options, that would increase small business participation, improve contract performance efficiency, or result in better value to the Government?

• Do you have any suggestions for the length of a base period and potential option periods, respectively?

4) Performance measurement: In a mixed-team (Government/Contractor) environment, how could the Government measure factors such as:

• technical/cost/schedule performance,

• identifying opportunities for technical and administrative improvement, or cost

• risks and risk mitigation,

• employee and asset safety and security,

• innovative best practices,

• quality of service to users, or

• responsiveness to changing requirements and budget?

5) Contract Content/Structure:

• Do you have any suggestions or examples of restructuring, simplifications, and clarity in the description of the technical areas of the Draft SOW?

• What other information that would improve understanding or clarity of requirements and terms and conditions?

6) Technical Information:

What type of technical information along with the SOW would you like to see with a potential solicitation (e.g., sample tasks)?

There is no limit on the page length to your response to this part.

V. YOUR RESPONSE TO THE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

All responses to the 1) Statement of Capabilities and 2) Contracting Approach shall be received no later than TBD at 4:00 PM PST. Please respond via electronic mail (e-mail) to Veronica Gutierrez, Contracting Officer at veronica.l.gutierrez@nasa.gov and Jeanne Chun, Contract Specialist at jeanne.s.chun@nasa.gov. Written questions should also be directed to the Contracting Officer. In all responses, please reference "TSP MRS RFI." Verbal questions will not be accepted. This Request for Information is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized on FBO. It is the potential Offeror's responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html.

The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/ARC Business Opportunities home page is https://procure.arc.nasa.gov.

It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any.

Interested Parties may add themselves to the interested vendors list through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. This information will be visible to all vendors who have added themselves to the list.