Amendment_1_RFP_NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072.pdf

AMENDMENT #1 RFP NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072 1

Amendment No. 1

NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072

“Nonhuman Primate Core Functional Genomics Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development”

Solicitation Number: NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072

Amendment Number: One (1)

Amendment Issue Date: April 6, 2017

Proposal Due Date/Time: Friday, May 19, 2017 at 3:00 PM, Local Time (Unchanged)

Issued By: Robert Corno

Contracting Officer

OA/DEA/NIAID/NIH/DHHS

5601 Fishers Lane, Room 3D10, MSC 9821 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9821

Points of Contact: PRIMARY cornorj@mail.nih.gov Robert Corno, Contracting Officer Phone: 240.669.5151

SECONDARY

manouelj@mail.nih.gov John Manouelian, Contracting Officer Phone: 240.669.5152

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 this amendment number and date of the amendment on each copy of any proposal submitted. 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 Amendment 1 is to provide responses to questions received from potential offerors regarding the solicitation, some of which include specific related revisions to the solicitation, where applicable, as described in the relevant response.

mailto:cornorj@mail.nih.gov mailto:manouelj@mail.nih.gov

AMENDMENT #1 RFP NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072 2

Question 1:

Can subcontracts be supported through Options 7-20?

Response to Question 1:

Subcontractors and/or consultants may be proposed under any portion of this requirement [i.e., the Base Period and any option (Options 1-20)]. However, please aware that any effort provided by subcontractors and/or any consultants will count towards meeting the total level of effort requirement (please also see the below revision to the Attachment 5, Additional Business Proposal Instructions and Uniform Cost Assumptions, under the solicitation, which provides clarification on how subcontractor and consultant effort are treated for Options 7-20). Offerors are reminded that they must propose the exact level of effort required for the Base Period and each option [please refer to item d., Level of Effort (on page 37 of the solicitation) and Attachment 5, Additional Business Proposal Instructions and Uniform Cost Assumptions, Section 3 – Uniform Cost Assumptions and Section 4 – Options, for a description of the specific level of effort requirements for the Base Period and Options 1-6, and Options 7-20].

In addition, by virtue of this amendment, Attachment 5, Additional Business Proposal Instructions and Uniform Cost Assumptions, Section 4 – Options, paragraph b., Options 7 through 20: Increase Level of Effort (on page 3 of the attachment) is revised to provide clarification on how subcontractor and consultant effort is treated in meeting the overall level of effort requirement for Options 7-20, and shall read as follows:

Assume 1.0 FTEs for each option exercised and the Government exercises these options two times within each performance year. The Government may unilaterally exercise Quantity Options for increased level of effort that may result from unanticipated increases in demand for the conduct of RNA microarray/transcriptomic assays and analyses. Should the Government elect to exercise this option, the Contractor shall provide resources for the unanticipated increase in work volume for up to 1.0 FTE for each option exercised. Please note that the number of FTEs is inclusive of subcontractor and consultant effort. The Government may exercise these options up to 2 times within each performance year.

Question 2:

Can we ask for required equipment, like freezers, servers, etc.?

Response to Question 2:

The Government does not routinely authorize purchase of equipment under contracts. As stated on page 2 of Attachment 3, Statement of Work, under paragraph 3) Technical Requirements, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary…materials, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government, as needed, to perform the Statement of Work… Further, pursuant to FAR 45.102(a), Contractors are ordinarily required to furnish all property necessary to perform Government contracts. In fact, Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources is one of the

AMENDMENT #1 RFP NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072 3

Technical Evaluation Criteria that offerors will be evaluated and scored on under the RFP for this requirement. Exceptions may be made in rare instances where the equipment is so unique/highly specialized that it is only useful to the work being performed under this specific requirement and has no practical use elsewhere in the Contractor’s line of work; however, even given the exception, the Contractor’s inability or unwillingness to supply its own resources is not sufficient reason for the furnishing or acquisition of property.

Question 3:

Do we need an IT Security Plan?

Response to Question 3:

An IT Security Plan is not required, since the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) does not apply to this requirement.

Question 4:

How many microbiome samples should we expect per year?

Response to Question 4:

The offeror shall make a determination as to what would be considered as a reasonable number of such samples, based on their own experience and expertise in doing NHP microbiome analyses.

Question 5:

Our vast experience tells us that RNA isolation is highly recommended to be done by the Contractor and not by the investigators, thus avoiding RNA quality control problems. We are currently operating in this mode. The solicitation states that RNA will be sent from the investigators to the Core lab. We would like to include RNA isolation in our proposal, in order to apply our standard methods and quality control to the RNA isolation and storage procedures. Is this allowed?

Response to Question 5:

Per Attachment 3, Statement of Work, paragraph 3) Technical Requirements, subparagraph B.

Quantitative Functional Genomics Assays, item 2. (on page 3 of the attachment), unless otherwise directed by the COR, RNA shall be isolated from tissue or cell specimens locally at the SVEU or NIAID-supported study PI site (i.e., where the study animals are located) so as to optimally preserve the RNA prior to shipping to the Contractor’s site. It is our expectation that RNA isolation will occur locally at the SVEU or NIAID-supported study PI site (i.e., where the study animals are located); therefore, offerors should not propose costs for RNA isolation at their own facility.

AMENDMENT #1 RFP NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2016072 4

Question 6:

Are unpaid consultants allowed to be part of the contracting team, and if so, is this is a scoreable item for reviewers?

Response to Question 6:

No, unpaid consultants cannot be proposed. Pursuant to 31 U.S. Code § 1342 - Limitation on Voluntary Service, an officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government may not accept voluntary services for either government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.