Notice of Intent to Sole Source.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 6710-B Rockledge Drive Bethesda, Maryland 20892

August 25, 2024

Subject: Notice of Intent to Sole Source

NICHD intends to award a sole source contract to National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, Inc. (VentureWell) for the following requirement:

Description of Requirement:

The scope of this contract is to provide professional expertise and technical support in administering the I-Corps at NIH Program (Task 1) and administering the NIH Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Program (Task 2).

Task 1:

The contractor shall support the administration of the I-Corps at NIH Program through intensive training in business model development and customer validation to two cohorts of teams selected by NIH with a minimum of 19 teams and a maximum of 24 teams each cohort. Each cohort’s training will include a three day in-person kickoff workshop, six weeks of virtual training and coaching, and a two day in-person closing workshop. Each cohort will be guided by a team of six (6) expert I-Corps instructors, one teaching assistant, and several facilitators to assist virtual sessions. The cohorts shall be tentatively scheduled as follows (schedule and dates to be finalized between the Government and Contractor after award):

● I-Corps Cohort 1 Winter begins March 2025 and ends April 2025

● I-Corps Cohort 2 Spring begins May 2025 and ends June 2025

Task 2:

The contractor shall support the administration of the entirely virtual NIH Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Program through online instruction, lectures, discussions, and videos for two cycles of cohorts selected by NIH with a minimum of 80 teams and a maximum of 120 teams per cycle. Six to eight teams will be assigned to one instructor for the entire cohort. Each NIH Entrepreneurship Boot Camp will be guided by a team of up to 20 expert I-Corps instructors and several facilitators to assist all virtual sessions. Each cycle shall be scheduled as follows (schedule and dates to be finalized between the Government and Contractor after award):

● Bootcamp Cycle 1 Spring quarter from April through June 2025

● Bootcamp Cycle 2 Summer quarter from July through August 2025

MANAGEMENT

The contractor shall:

● Provide for the overall management, integration, and coordination of all contract activities, including the management and coordination of activities carried out under any subcontracts.

● Provide a technical and administrative infrastructure to ensure the efficient planning, initiation, implementation, and timely completion of all tasks carried out under this contract for in-person, virtual, or hybrid events and effective communications with the SEED Technical Monitor (TM), COR and CO.

● Provide a Senior-Level Project Manager, with responsibility for overall task management and communications, tracking, monitoring, and reporting on task status and progress, and recommending modifications to task requirements (as within scope) and timelines, including tasks undertaken by subcontractors

● Meet monthly with the COR and TM to discuss and review pilot planning, quality control issues, delivery schedules, and costs/budget matters as necessary. The contractor shall be responsible for documenting any action items. In addition, the contractor, in collaboration with the COR and SEED TM, shall determine any necessary changes to the frequency of these meetings throughout the life of this contract.

● Submit a bi-monthly Status Report – due every two months by the 15th business day of the month.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Independently and not as an agent of the government, the contractor shall be required to furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the government, as needed to perform this Statement of Work (SOW).

Task 1: I-Corps at NIH Cohort Technical Support The contractor shall coordinate and provide the overall support for the I-Corps at NIH Program in conducting the following activities as it relates to each cohort:

● Provide I-Corps instructors from life science business backgrounds who are educated in the content, methodology, and management tools of the I-Corps at NIH program. The collection of instructors shall be as diverse as possible, to enable instructors to build rapport with participants from diverse backgrounds.

● Provide a teaching assistant, and contractors to manage virtual sessions

● Secure a venue for space, including hotel rooms and audio-visual services.

Locations for the kick-off sessions are to be determined in consultation with the NIH program manager.

● Assist NIH in conducting phone interviews for team selection prior to each cohort.

● Provide logistical coordination and communications to the teams and consultants before, during and after each cohort.

● As applicable, provide all the required classroom materials to the teams including syllabus, access to online videos, access to online classrooms or lessons, and/or access to the course management software.

● Make the required arrangements for travel and accommodations for all consultants (faculty) for both the kickoff and closing workshops for each cohort.

● Ensure and coordinate so that an Event Manager and Program Officer will be on site for each cohort.

● Provide the platform for the 6-week online sessions along with two additional hosts (there are three sessions that run concurrently; one is managed by the TA, the other two by the other contractors).

● Conduct a pre-course intake survey, an evaluation of the kickoff workshop, and a final course evaluation. Upon completion of each survey and/or evaluation the contractor will provide NIH/OER/SEED with the results in a timely manner.

Contractor staff will consult with NIH/OER/SEED to review the survey results and assess the need, if any, to amend the survey instruments. These activities include but are not limited to the following:

▪ Roster prep/cleaning/searches for wrong or bounce back emails/new email searches (e.g., those who are with a new company), dealing with repeat participants.

▪ Administration of the survey, such as a 2-month fielding period, monitoring of response rates overall and by role and cohort, and one-on-one communications with participants. Make any needed edits of the survey instrument.

▪ Data outcomes report.

▪ Follow-up requests.

▪ Interviewing a select number of former participants and summary of results (includes communication, setup time, light transcription, analysis, and summary).

▪ Obtaining base-level data on businesses created by teams attending I- Corps @NIH workshops to include address, website, business status, and date of incorporation if applicable.

NIH/OER/SEED will provide a minimum of 19 teams, up to a maximum of 24 teams per cohort;

each team is responsible for payment to the contractor in the amount of $27,500 for participation in the training. In the event that NIH/OER/SEED is unable to provide 19 teams per cohort, the contractor will invoice NIH/OER/SEED $27,500 for each team short of the 19-team minimum.

Task 2: NIH Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Program Technical Support

The contractor shall coordinate and provide the overall support for the following recommended schedule and activities (to include but not limited to):

● Virtual Bootcamp Kick-Off Meeting and Introductions. Preferred to be no longer than 2hrs and to include all participants.

● Week 1-6 have a series of 2hr Pod Sessions (a Pod consists of an instructor and 6- 8 companies) & Office Hours (companies meet with their Pod instructors one-on-one).

▪ Week 1 Pod Session One

▪ Week 2 Office Hours

▪ Week 3 Pod Session Two

▪ Week 4 Office Hours

▪ Week 5 Pod Session Three

▪ Week 6 Office Hours

● Lessons Learned Presentation during which each company gives their presentation to assembled teams from several Pods (grouped by program director) and receives feedback from their instructors. Contractor shall develop an agenda and share with the SEED PM no later than 3 weeks in advance of each cohort.

● Bootcamp Curriculum that encompasses the following milestones and hands-on assignments (subject to change based on curriculum development and recommendations from contractor after award):

▪ Viewing of 10-minute video, “Conducting Customer Discovery Interviews.”

▪ Crafting a first draft of the team's Business Model Canvas.

▪ Attendance to a Kick-Off Webinar

▪ Preparation of an Interim Progress Report.

▪ Sharing the Interim Progress Report mid-way through the program.

▪ Interviewing a minimum of 30 prospective (not current) customers between the Kick-Off webinar and virtual Lessons Learned Presentations.

▪ Creation of the virtual Lessons Learned Presentation for presentation at the culminating virtual workshop.

Technical and Logistical Support I-Corps at NIH Cohort Task 1

The contractor shall provide support in planning and administering all the technical and logistical aspects of the I-Corps at NIH Program

● Coordinating, contacting, inviting, and making arrangements for instructors and/or consultants (faculty) for in-person events. Any travel shall be the responsibility of the contractor and shall not be covered by this contract.

● Determining the appropriate I-Corps at NIH event location and venue for any in-person events.

● The contractor shall ensure participation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science, as program instructors in accordance with the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD- 20-031).

● Determining and executing a virtual platform for virtual sessions to include technical assistance pre, during, and post event.

● Providing I-Corp at NIH materials that support participant learning during the event.

● Developing and administering an evaluation of participants assessment of the I-Corp at NIH cohort. Upon completion, the contractor shall provide all evaluation data, to include a summary with the positive and negative data and recommendations to mitigate the negatives based on the evaluation data to the government no later than 30 calendar days after the end of each cohort.

Technical and Logistical Support NIH Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Program Task 2

The contractor shall provide support in planning and administering all the technical and logistical aspects of the Bootcamp Program.

● Coordinating, contacting, inviting, and making arrangements for instructors and/or consultants (faculty) for virtual events.

● Determining and executing a virtual platform for virtual sessions to include technical assistance pre, during, and post event.

● Providing I-Corp at NIH materials that support participant learning during the event.

● Developing and administering an evaluation of participants assessment of the Boot Camp.

Upon completion, the contractor shall provide all evaluation data, to include a summary with the positive and negative data and recommendations to mitigate the negatives based on the evaluation data to the government no later than 30 calendar days after the end of each cohort.

Deliverables

The Contractor shall provide complete deliverables that are accurate, error-free, completed within budget, and submitted in accordance with the delivery schedule as specified. All deliverables shall be in acceptable electronic file format (pdf, Word, Excel) and submitted as attachments via email.

• Bi-monthly Status Report – due every two months by the 15th calendar day of the month.

Submit electronically a bi-monthly status report to OER/SEED and CO/COR. The Contractor shall work with OER/SEED to ensure the format and quality of information is clear, concise, and easy to understand without further explanation. The bi-monthly status report shall at a minimum include the following:

o Description of any problems that may have incurred during the analysis and report preparation process.

o Recommended solutions for resolving any issues that may have occurred during the reporting period.

o Any scheduling concerns or if the contractor anticipates any delays for anticipated delays shall be provided.

● Provide a management plan detailing the process for identifying, training, and implementing a diverse faculty pool for I-Corps at NIH and NIH Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, including an evaluation plan that includes relevant demographic analysis.

● Task 1 & Task 2 Cohort Schedules – date to be mutually agreed upon after award.

● Task 1 & Task 2 Cohort Agendas – due no later than 3 weeks in advance of each cohort.

● Task 1 & Task 2 Curriculum – date to be mutually agreed upon after award.

● Task 1 & Task 2 Participant Assessment Evaluation data, to include a summary with the positive and negative data and recommendations to mitigate the negatives based on the evaluation data – due within 30 calendar days of each cohort completion.

Justification for Sole Source:

This procurement is being conducted on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, which allows for other than full and open competition when the supplies or services required are available from only one responsible source. The justification for this determination is as follows:

A search was conducted on AbilityOne and Unicor, but neither can meet the essential need of this requirement.

Two (2) Sources Sought Notifications were posted onto GSA and SAM.gov, on different days and both targeted different sizes within the industry. The first posting sought capabilities from small businesses. The second posting sought capabilities from all sizes, including large businesses. The information received was reviewed by a technical expert.

Historical information was reviewed involving a similar requirement/program that was previously awarded.

To conclude, due to the high-risk nature of the requirement, a more stringent oversight is required. To continuously proceed seeking vendors that can fulfill the essential elements of the requirement will greatly increase administrative costs and the risk in the timeliness in the start of the program I-Corp program. As for experience, VentureWell has been the only vendor that demonstrated their capability, experience, and historical background in handling/managing the requirement. Based on findings, this would reduce administrative costs and reduce undue burden to taxpayers.

Contracting Officer Information:

For any questions or further information regarding this notice, please contact:

Daniel Johnson Contracting Officer Daniel.johnson5@nih.gov

Response Deadline:

Interested parties may submit their capabilities and qualifications to respond to this notice by 10:00 A.M. EST on September 9, 2024. Responses should be sent to the contracting officer listed above.

This notice is not a request for proposals and does not constitute a solicitation. The agency will consider all responses received by the deadline.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Daniel Johnson Contracting Officer