Notice_of_Intent_4535383.doc

General Information

Short Title: Educational support services Document Type:

Notice of Intent to sole source Solicitation Number:

N02CO72605-78

Posted Date: 7/7/2017 Response Date: 7/14/2016 11 AM ET Classification Code: R499

NAICS Code: 611710

Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E136, Rockville, MD 20850, UNITED STATES

Description

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Training (CCT), plans to procure on a sole source basis under the Women-Owned Small Business Program sole source awards, educational support services from Samantha Sutton, 4083 24th Street 460744, San Francisco, CA 94114-3715.

This acquisition will be processed in accordance with FAR 19.1506 (b), under the authority of paragraph (a)(3) of section 825 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, Pub. L. 113-291.

The North American Industry Classification System code is 611710 and the business size standard is $15 Million.

Only one award will be made as a result of this notice. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price order.

The period of performance is 1 year, from award date or September 19, 2017, with four one year options.

It has been determined there are no opportunities to acquire green products or services for this procurement.

Contractor Requirements are:

The “Career Building for Women in Science” course is a core element of the SRK program at the NCI. The course must be structured to provide individualized and long-term exposure to methodologies shown to improve management and relationship-building skills, to network with each other, and to enhance confidence through mentorship so as to remain in scientific research. The professional skills taught during the course should be specific to the career development needs of female postdoctoral trainees. Thus, the personalized life coaching experience offered by the contractor should be tailored to the women at the NCI. The course should teach and reinforce confidence-building tools and leadership skills necessary to compete in the scientific marketplace, to retain them in the scientific community, and to help transition them to independent research careers.

SCOPE

Prepare, edit, and revise course materials for the SRK program; conduct two one-day workshops and bi-weekly chats to reinforce the coursework; travel to site to conduct both workshops; and individualized emails and calls will be the cornerstone of the program. The course will take place at the NCI Bethesda and Shady Grove campuses.

TASK

Conduct two one-day workshops, 14 bi-weekly video chats with 10 participants, assign and assess course homework, share with program manager any concerns on attendees’ participation, adapt to group’s demands and needs, evaluate through the use of surveys and prepare reports on future needs. Cost should include development of all course materials, coaching hours, and travel expenses.

DELIVERY

Metrics will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the deliverables and will be based on participation, attendance, and leadership of the scheduled activities. The program manager will survey participants periodically to monitor satisfaction. Surveys will be developed, administered, analyzed by the contractor in collaboration with the program manager to use for better insights into the career development of women in science and to publicize and promote the program. A single report will be given to the program manager at the end of the “Career Building for Women in Science” course to evaluate the participants and the workshop in order to edit and revise for proposed subsequent year’s program.

The following tasks are for the Base Period, and if exercised, Option Period 1-4:

Deliverable Description

TRAVEL

Contractor shall travel to the NCI for workshops.

QUALIFICATIONS

Professional Experience: the contractor should have at least eight years experience in professional life coaching, which is distinct from lectures or other forms of instruction in that it leverages personalized, on-the-spot feedback.

The contractor should be able to offer a unique educational background in science and engineering by holding a Ph.D. in a science field. This would enable the contractor to understand scientists and deliver instruction that directly addresses needs unique to that community by personally relating to the program participants’ graduate and post-graduate training experiences by “speaking their language.”

Past Performance: In addition to coaching at the NCI, the contractor should have at least eight years experience coaching at other academic institutions so is able to share those experiences with the fellows and give them insights into their needs and expectations.

Approach: The contractor should offer a combination of different instruction formats that have been tailored to the women postdoctoral fellows at the NCI or a similar institution: workshops, personalized coaching, group support calls, structured assignments, and strong community-building through a social network to hold fellows accountable to themselves and to each other for completing all the assignments. Completion of tasks is ascertained by participants and program manager in attendance.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Workshop must be conducted onsite in the Bethesda, MD area.

This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party, EDWOSB or/and WOSB, believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a proposal or quote for the Government to consider. The response and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be received in the contracting office by 11 AM ET, on July 14, 2017. All responses and questions must be via email to Francisco Mendoza, Contracting Officer at francisco.mendoza@nih.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered and have valid certification www.sam.gov. In order to receive an award under the WOSB or EDWOSB set-aside/sole source program, the contractor must be registered on certify.sba.gov. Reference: N02CO72605-78 on all correspondence.