Request for Quote No. 75N96021Q00009 NextGen Sequencing Services.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUOTE No. 75N96021Q00009

NEXTGEN SEQUENCING SERVICES

NAICS CODE: 541380; $15.0 Million Size Standard

Date: February 9, 2021

Type: Combined Synopsis and Solicitation

Solicitation #: 75N96021Q00009

Title: NEXTGEN SEQUENCING SERVICES

Classification Code: B504 - SPECIAL STUDIES/ANALYSIS- CHEMICAL/BIOLOGICAL

NAICS Code: 541380 – “Testing Laboratories”

Recovery Act: NO

Response Date & Time: March 8, 2021 10:00 a.m. EDT

Primary Point of Contact: Ejinwaemeonu Okeagu, Contract Specialist, 984-287-3001

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 in conjunction with FAR 13.5, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. All items within the Request for Quote (RFQ) must be fully completed and returned by the due date and time indicated above.

(1) This solicitation document, 75N96021Q00009, is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) to study the effects of chemically-induced toxicity in support of the high throughput screening and toxicity testing programs at the

National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

(2) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR); HHS Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR); Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) FAC

2021-4.

(3) This solicitation is unrestricted: NAICS code 541380; “Testing Laboratories” and has a size standard of $15.0

Million.

(4) Description of Requirements for the Items to be Acquired:

Line Item Description Total Quantity Unit Price Total Price

Illumina NextSeq 500/550 (flow cell) 3

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S1 (flow cell)

5 $____________

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S2 (flow cell)

6 $____________

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S4 (flow cell)

2 $____________

Reagents (quality control, library construction, indexing, target enrichment)

250 Samples

Total Price $ ____________

Section I. Statement of Work

NEXTGEN SEQUENCING SERVICES

NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC

1. Background. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is an interagency program whose mission is to evaluate agents of public health concern by developing and applying tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology. The program maintains an objective, science-based approach in dealing with critical issues in toxicology and is committed to using the best science available to prioritize, design, conduct, and interpret its studies. To that end, NTP is continually evolving to remain at the cutting edge of scientific research and to develop, validate and apply new technologies.

The NTP has a service requirement for NextGen sequencing technologies to study the effects of chemically-induced toxicity in support of the high throughput screening and toxicity testing programs. A major premise of this project is that gene alterations underlie organ toxicity and the development of chemically-induced pathology and tumors. Activation of critical genes and other regulatory pathways enhance or repress pathways leading to toxicity or cancer susceptibility. Gene alterations can be interpreted as molecular biomarkers which can precede or inform histopathology and other measures of toxicity.

The Contractor selected for this requirement shall provide knowledge and expertise in NextGen genomic, transcriptomic and DNA methylation sequencing by proposed technology platforms from tissues, cell culture systems (2D and 3D) and liquid biopsies.

2. Scope. The NextGen Sequencing contract shall provide for sequencing that includes: sample quality control metrics, sequence library construction; NextGen DNA or RNA sequencing services. The scope of sample analysis is anticipated to be wide-ranging and may involve 2D and/or 3D cell culture systems, tissues, or liquid biopsies (e.g. serum, plasma or urine). Analysis of sample species may include but is not limited to rodents and humans.

3. Technical Requirements.

3.1 NextGen Sequencing – NIEHS anticipates 250 samples per year shall be processed, prepared and indexed for DNA or RNA sequencing on an lllumina sequencing instrument (e.g. NextSeq 500/550 series or NovaSeq 6000). The contractor will deliver a FASTQ sequence file for each sample. Samples are loaded onto a flow cell that provide a specific number of reads based on a particular Illumina sequencing platform (see below). The number of samples loaded onto a flow cell and the desired number of sample reads will be determined by NIEHS in consultation with the contractor. NIEHS may order one sequencing flow cell or multiple flow cells for a project. NIEHS anticipates that, during the five (5) year ordering period, up to a maximum of 16 flow cells and 250 samples per year will be needed. NIEHS will provide purified nucleic acids (e.g. DNA, RNA, circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA)) to the contractor. Sample preparation by the contractor for DNA or RNA will include reagents for quality control, library construction, indexing and target enrichment (e.g. exome capture) for NextGen sequence analysis. The following set of general procedures for sequencing shall occur with appropriate direction from NIEHS.

3.1.1. Preparation of nucleic acid samples for library

construction and sequencing: The Contractor shall prepare libraries with nucleic acid samples identified by a unique index. NIEHS shall provide as needed for certain sample types (e.g. ccfDNA), indexed library samples for sequencing.

3.1.2. NIEHS shall specify prior to sequencing (e.g. 1

week), the sequencing read length (e.g. 2 x 100 bp) and shall specify the number of reads needed per sample.

3.2 Flow Cells. Each sequencing instrument platform contains one or multiple flow cells where sequencing of samples takes place. The number of sequenced reads (e.g. # base pairs for each DNA fragment) produced for each sample delivered in a flow cell depends upon the type of Illumina sequencing instrument. The

NIEHS requires the need for 16 flow cells per year as apportioned among the various Illumina sequencing platforms, described in the following text: 3 flow cells on the NextSeq 500/550/2000 platform;

5 of the S1 module flow cells on the NovaSeq 6000 platform; 6 of the S2 module flow cells on the NovaSeq 6000 platform; and 2 of the S4 module flow cells on the NovaSeq platform.

4. Key Personnel. Certain skilled experienced technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. At a minimum, the following personnel have been defined as key for this contract:

• Principal Investigator (Pl) - The Pl shall oversee the conduct of NextGen sequencing using lllumina sequencing instrumentation including production of NextGen data, data analysis, packaging and transmission, and coordination of personnel that staff the genomics facility.

The Pl shall have an MS., Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent in the biological sciences, chemistry, and/or medical sciences.

• Genomic Facility Leader - The Genomics Leader shall manage and conduct the dayto-day operations of a NextGen sequencing facility. This person shall have experience constructing RNA and DNA sequencing libraries, QA/QC procedures in production of NextGen data, data packaging and transmission, and coordination of genomics facility staff. The leader shall coordinate with bioinformatic staff preparation of NextGen data for export to NIEHS. The Genomics leader shall be capable of molecular skills for sequence validation derived from NextGen data. The Genomics Facility Leader shall have demonstrated skills in molecular biology, biochemistry, and accompanying instrumentation. The Genomics leader shall have a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent in the biological sciences, chemistry, and/or medical sciences.

• Project Manager: The Project Manager shall coordinate communications (e.g. virtual conferences, sample delivery, data exchange) between NIEHS and the Contractor. The program manager should have a basic knowledge of NextGen sequencing and have at least a B.S. or equivalent in biology or chemistry.

4.1. If any key personnel changes become necessary (substitutions or additions), the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing, accompanied by the resume of the proposed replacement personnel who shall be of equal ability and qualifications as the individuals currently approved for that position. The Contracting Officer shall approve all changes in key personnel.

4.2. No substitution or replacement of key personnel shall be approved within the first ninety (90) days after contract award, unless unavailability of the key personnel is due to serious illness of the key personnel, death of the key personnel, or resignation of the key personnel from the Contractor's firm.

5.0. Data Rights. The government maintains sole ownership of the data produced under this contract and any anticipated or unanticipated copyrights or patents.

6.0 Place of Performance. The opportunities for sample degradation and compromising the quality of data are greater with the continued movement of samples to various sites for analysis, therefore; analysis shall take place in a single facility or facilities within close proximity (i.e. university campus) located within the contiguous United States

(CONUS).

7.0 Contractor Facilities/Equipment. The Contractor shall provide a list of equipment to be provided and a layout of the work areas for conducting NextGen operations.

8.0. Meetings/Teleconferences. WebEx or other available virtual methods for tasking updates between the Contractor and Contracting Officer Representative

(COR), shall be conducted on an as needed basis. An annual report shall be filed by the Contractor summarizing individual projects and completion dates over the preceding year.

9.0. Government Furnished Equipment/Materials.

9.1. NIEHS shall furnish biological samples for analysis. NIEHS shall notify the Contractor, via email, approximately 15 days prior to furnishing biological samples for analysis.

10.0. Shipping and Packaging. NIEHS shall ship biological materials in bar-coded cryovials supplied by the Contractor to NIEHS with the Contractor’s provided shipping manifest via a commercial carrier on dry ice in a suitable and protective container. The Contractor shall notify NIEHS the same day as receipt.

11.0. Items & Deliverables: The Contractor shall provide the following in support of the contract:

11.1. In accordance with (IAW) section 3.1 of the SOW, the Contractor shall deliver lllumina FASTQ files via a Government/NIEHS managed file transfer system which uses the Internet to the COR. File submissions shall be submitted no later than 30 days after task completion.

11.2. IAW section 2 of the SOW, sequencing confirmation files shall be sent via a Government/NIEHS managed file transfer system which uses the

Internet to the COR.

Yearly Delivery Report: The Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer (CO) and

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) with a detailed report of all items, quantities and yearly total value of each item provided during the previous contract year. The report shall be due within 30 days of the end of each contract year and shall be delivered via e-mail using Microsoft Word and Excel. The report shall include any problems encountered during the contract period, and the following information.

Line Item Description Total Quantity Unit Price Total Price

Illumina NextSeq 500/550 (flow cell)

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S1(flow cell)

5 $____________

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S2 (flow cell)

6 $____________

Illumina NovaSeq 6000 S4 (flow cell)

2 $____________

Reagents (quality control, library construction, indexing, target enrichment)

250 Samples

Total Price $ ____________

12.0. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND

SERVICES: This section identifies those items such as property, information and/or services that will be provided for the Contractor’s use (without cost to the Contractor) to allow the Contractor to provide the required services, such as materials, facilities, training, etc. as follows: N/A

13.0. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The

Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, and services required to deliver items under this contract that are not listed under section 3 of this SOW.

14.0. COMPLIANCE: The Contractor shall comply with NIEHS guidelines for websites and other communications materials (see Attachments). See Section 508 accessibility guidelines as defined by the federal government. Please see the following URLs for details:

• Section 508 Information: http://www.section508.gov/

• Guide to the Section 508 Standards: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards

• Making Files Accessible: http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/index.html

NOTE: If the deliverable includes features and functions in addition to those identified as requirements, these features and functions also need to conform to relevant Section

508 technical provisions, functional performance criteria, and information, documentation and support.

15.0. QUALITY CONTROL: The Government is committed to a highly interactive relationship between quality control by the Contractor and quality assurance by the government. This relationship shall be achieved through an effective prevention-based quality control program dedicated to ensuring the best possible products and services to end users. As part of quality control, the Contractor shall submit a Quality Control Plan

(QCP) which at a minimum shall include a self-inspection plan, an internal staffing plan, and an outline of the procedures that the Contractor shall use to maintain quality, timeliness, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and any other requirements set forth in this SOW. The QCP shall be updated five (5) days after contract award. The QCP shall document how the Contractor intends on meeting and complying with the quality standards established in this SOW. The Contractor’s QCP shall be maintained throughout the life of the contract and shall include the Contractor’s procedures to routinely evaluate the effectiveness of the plan to ensure the Contractor is meeting the performance standards and requirements of the contract. An updated copy shall be provided to the

COR no later than five (5) days after any updates.

16.0. SAFETY AND HEALTH: If located within North Carolina, the Contractor shall comply with all Federal, North Carolina State, Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) standards and local laws and regulations concerning the environmental, occupational safety and health, and hazardous material. The Contractor shall ensure employees have all required training and certifications related to OSHA requirements. The documentation shall be readily available for the Contracting Officer to review at any time during the life of the contract.

17.0. HOURS OF OPERATION: Normal NIEHS business hours are Monday-Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Core hours at NIEHS typically fall between: 8:00 am – 5:00

pm. However, scheduled deliveries shall be made to the Government under this contract during the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

Government Holidays.

17.1. The National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences observes the following holidays:

New Year’s Day Labor Day

Martin Luther King’s Birthday Columbus Day

Presidents Day Veteran’s Day

Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day

Independence Day Christmas Day http://www.section508.gov/ https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/index.html http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/index.html

18.0. ORDERING PERIOD: The requirement has a five (5) year ordering period.

Individual delivery orders issued cannot exceed a 12-month period.

19.0. DELIVERY LOCATION: Each delivery order will specify the specific delivery location.

Section II. Technical Evaluation Criteria

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Mandatory Qualification Criteria Listed below are mandatory qualification criteria. The offeror shall include all information which documents and/or supports the qualification criteria in one clearly marked section of its quotation.

The qualification criteria establish conditions that must be met at the time of receipt of quotation by the Contracting Officer in order for your quotation to be considered any further for award.

• The laboratory facility must be in compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s

(FDA) Good Laboratory Practice Regulations (GLP) as published in the December 22, 1978

Federal Register (Volume 43, No. 247, pp. 59986-60025). GLP Regulations are available on the

World Wide Web at www.fda.gov/ora/complinace_ref/bimo/glp/87finalrule.htm and GLP

Regulations Questions and Answers are available at www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/old004fn.pdf. A copy of the most recent FDA GLP inspection report must be included in the quotation.

• The Contractor must use Illumina instrumentation in performing sequencing services described in the RFQ.

• Geographical proximity to NIEHS for timely response to submissions and availability for consultation.

The criteria below are listed in the relative order of importance:

Relative Order of Importance Factor

1. Factor 1: Technical Capabilities and Approach

2. Factor 2: Management Capabilities and Approach

3. Factor 3: Past Performance

Factor 1: Technical Capabilities and Approach

1. Demonstrate state-of-the-art quality, soundness, feasibility, and reliability of the offeror’s experimental methods for preparation of sequencing libraries and performing Next Generation

Sequencing (NGS) from tissue, 2D/3D cell culture system products and liquid biopsy (serum, plasma, urine) human and rodent samples.

• Demonstrated successful track record in providing NGS services required for human tissue

(intact, long base pair RNA and DNA) and liquid biopsy samples (circulating nucleic acids).

• Demonstrated successful track record in providing NGS services required for mouse and rat samples.

• Evidence of inclusion data related to required services in successful NGS projects.

http://www.fda.gov/ora/complinace_ref/bimo/glp/87finalrule.htm http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/old004fn.pdf

• Evidence of inclusion data related to required services in successful NGS projects with challenging samples (circulating cell-free DNA - ccfDNA).

• Adequacy of the proposed technical approach to the program as a whole and to each study, drawing upon recent experience in the conduct of NGS studies including discussions on analytical procedures and quality assurance. Adequacy of plans to meet the testing and reporting requirements of the work scope.

• Demonstrate expertise, experience and confidence that offeror complies with current GLP regulations for nonclinical laboratory practices under this contract.

• Demonstrated understanding of the requirements of the Statement of Work. Understanding of the problems likely to be encountered in the NGS laboratory work as demonstrated by first-hand experience with diverse types of samples and adequacy of suggested solutions to those problems.

2. The ability to perform the sequencing services, the contractor shall demonstrate the following:

• Documentation to support knowledge, expertise and success in NextGen sequencing of genomic, transcriptomic and DNA methylation samples by proposed technology platforms from tissues, cell culture systems (2D and 3D) and liquid biopsies. This documentation can be in the format of the Offeror’s choosing, (e.g. letters of recommendation or publications).

• Narrative discussion of expertise and experience with NGS studies to include sample types listed in the SOW.

• Data on the type and number of NGS studies performed in the last year.

3. Data Management and Security

• Quality control procedures to ensure data reliability and reproducibility

• Appropriateness of plans for data management, including plans to set up and maintain a secure archive of data and samples to assure and protect the intellectual property and confidentiality of the data.

• Available systems for data transfer. Data transfer compatibility with Illumina sequencing data formats.

4. Evaluation of Data Sharing Plan

The offeror’s plan for the sharing of final research data shall be assessed for appropriateness and adequacy.

If the plan does not include a plan or if the plan in the quotation is considered “unacceptable,” and the Government includes your quotation in the completive range (for competitive quotation), or it the Government holds discussions with the selected source (for sole source acquisitions), the offeror will be afforded the opportunity to further discuss, clarify or modify the data sharing plan during discussion’s and in your Final Quotation Revision (FQR). If the data sharing plan is still considered “unacceptable,” by the Government after discussions, the quotation may not be considered further for award.

5. Quality Assurance Program

Adequacy of the proposed quality assurance program for the services to be conducted in the

Statement of Work. Demonstrated conformity with the Good Laboratory Practices.

Factor 2: Management Capabilities and Approach

1. Quality of Personnel, Staffing Management, Plan and Timelines

a. Project Director/Principal Investigation

• Availability and qualification of a Program Director (Principal Investigator) as described in the Statement of Work with at least 5 years of relevant experience in managing NGS investigations.

• Suitability and adequacy of the PI’s recent accomplishments to this project as evidenced by bibliography and resume (including a list of study reports and publications).

• Documented availability for proposed project in relation to other commitments.

• Documented experience with managing similar complex projects

b. Other Key Personnel:

• Availability of Work Assignment Project Leader (Genomic Facility Leader) with leadership experience in coordinating and performing team-oriented studies of similar nature to that to be performed under this contract. Suitability and adequacy of recent scientific accomplishments to this project as evidenced by bibliography and resume

(including study report, published and accepted manuscripts).

• Expertise, experience and demonstrated Genomic Facility leader to manage and conduct operations as listed in the Statement of Work. The Genomics leader shall have a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent in the biological sciences, chemistry, and/or medical sciences.

• Suitability and adequacy of the training, experience and qualification of other personnel in library construction, knowledge and capable of performing NGS studies on Illumina instrumentation.

c. Staffing Plan, Organizational Support, Logistics and Timelines:

Efficient administration and staffing of the project, organization support for the studies and coordination of the resources to ensure time commitments for deliverables are met.

• Appropriateness and efficiency of the staffing plan to accomplish the work:

organization chart delineating lines of authority, areas of management for specific tasks, reporting responsibilities, coordination with NIH, and quality control procedures.

• Evidence of organizational support for proposed work. Extent of organizational ability to provide appropriate manpower and resources for required services in the Statement of Work.

• Ability to meet the maximum workload requirements.

• Adequacy of the safety and security procedures of the proposed work

• Adequacy of timelines for initiation and completion of studies commensurate with ~8 weeks following receipt and discussion of the sequencing project.

2. Facilities and Equipment

Documented capacity, availability and appropriateness of the facilities (office, computer, laboratory space), equipment and resources necessary to meet the requirements specified in the Statement of Work.

• Documented capacity, availability and accessibility of suitable laboratory space needed to conduct the studies in this Statement of Work in a timely and efficient manner.

• Accessibility and adequacy of major equipment as described in the Statement of Work needed for the proposed work including analytical and computer equipment.

Factor 3: Past Performance

a. The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken.

b. Offeror shall submit the following information:

i. The offeror’s quotation shall include a list of three (3) references with whom like or similar services have been provided within the past three (3) years.

The past performance references must include contract number, dollar value, specific points of contact, phone number and e-mail address.

ii. Contracts listed may include those entered into by the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial concerns. Offerors may also submit past performance information regarding predecessor companies, personnel who have relevant experience or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the instant acquisition. For the purposes of this solicitation, a "major subcontract" is defined as supplier, distributor, vendor, or firm that furnishes supplies or services to or for a prime contractor.

iii. Include the following information for each contract or subcontract listed:

1. Name of Contracting Organization

2. Contract Number (for subcontracts, provide the prime contract number and the subcontract number

3. Contract Type

4. Total Contract Value

5. Description of Requirement

6. Contracting Officer's Name, Telephone Number, and email address

7. Program Manager's Name, Telephone Number, and email address

8. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code

iv. The offeror should provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the offeror's corrective actions.

v. The Government is not required to contact all references provided by the offeror. Also, references other than those identified by the offeror may be contacted by the Government to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation of the offeror's past performance.

Price – (submit pricing for the five-year ordering period using Attachment 1)

Quoters are strongly encouraged to propose more favorable terms such as discounts. Each Quoter shall supply quotes based upon its current contract listing and the discount offered.

Price s will be reviewed to determine the following:

(a) Price Reasonableness: To the extent practicable, price reasonableness may be established by the existence of adequate price competition and by comparing price quotations among each other, comparison with the independent government cost estimate, comparison to or pricing methods allowable under

FAR Part 13;

(b) Realism: The intent of the price realism review is to determine whether the quoted price reflects a clear understanding of the requirements and is consistent with the approach described by the Quoter in its technical quotation. If a Quoter's price quote appears to be too low or too high in relation to the approach proposed in their SOW, the NIEHS may ask the Quoter to clarify aspects of their pricing quote.

(c) Evaluation: In the event that an extension is needed, in accordance with

52.217-8, the contract may be extended up to an additional six months. The six months will be evaluated utilizing a monthly average of the proposed base and option period pricing.

10. Adjectival Ratings

ADJECTIVAL RATINGS

The following adjectives will be used as general guidance in assessing the best value criteria and the technical quotation as a whole:

Ratings Description

Outstanding

An “Outstanding” rating indicates that the Offeror has very significantly exceeded most or all solicitation requirements. Response exceeds a “Better” rating.

QUOTATION meets requirements and indicates an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths far outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.

Better

A “Better” rating indicates that the Offeror has fully met all solicitation requirements and significantly exceeds many of the solicitation requirements.

Response exceeds an "Acceptable" rating. QUOTATION meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements.

QUOTATION contains strengths which outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

The Government will evaluate the Past Performance Factor using the following adjectival ratings

Ratings Description

No Rating

A “No Rating” rating indicates the Offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information of past performance is not available; the Offeror will not be evaluated either favorably or unfavorably.

Outstanding

An “Outstanding” rating indicates that no risk is anticipated with delivery of quality product, on time, or of any degradation of performance or lack of customer satisfaction

(or cost growth if applicable) based upon Offeror’s past performance.

Better

A “Better” rating indicates the quotation meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements. Quotation contains strengths which outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low based upon Offeror’s past performance.

Acceptable

An “Acceptable” rating indicates that there is some potential risk anticipated with delivery of quality product, on time, and of degradation or lack of customer satisfaction (or cost growth if applicable) based upon Offeror’s past performance.

Marginal

A “Marginal” rating indicates that there is significant potential risk anticipated with delivery of quality product, on time, and of degradation of performance based on the Offeror’s past performance. (A rating of marginal does not by itself make the quotation ineligible for award).

Unacceptable

An “Unacceptable” rating indicates that serious doubt exists based on the Offeror’s performance record that the vendor can perform the contract.

Acceptable

An “Acceptable” rating indicates that the Offeror meets all solicitation requirements.

QUOTATION meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths and weaknesses are offsetting or will have little or no impact on contract performance. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low. Performance is no worse than moderate.

Marginal

A “Marginal” rating indicates that the Offeror’s response minimally meets many of the solicitation requirements. QUOTATION does not clearly meet requirements and has not demonstrated an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. The QUOTATION has one or more weaknesses which are not offset by strengths. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.

Unacceptable

An “Unacceptable” rating indicates that the evaluation solution quotation has one or more deficiencies and/or gross omissions: QUOTATION does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. QUOTATION is unawardable.

Section III. Contract Provisions

FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items (October 2018). PDF

FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items (October 2014) See RFQ Page 8.

FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items (October

2018) - with Addenda [Representation By Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent tax

Liability or a Felony Conviction Under Any Federal Law and FAR 52.204-6, Unique Entity

Identifier (October 2016)] PDF

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (October 2018) - With

Addenda [Stop Work Order, FAR 52.242-15 (August 1989). PDF

FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or

Executive Orders - Commercial Items (July 2020). PDF

Section IV. Invoice and Payment Provisions

ELECTRONIC INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS FOR NIH CONTRACTORS/VENDORS

• Electronic Invoicing Instructions Notification to NIH Contractors/Vendors

• Electronic Invoicing Step-by-Step Instructions for NIH Contractors/Vendors

Invoice Instructions PDF

Section V. Due Date

1. Question Due Date: The Quoter shall submit written questions to the following e-mail address: Contract Specialist (CS) at ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov at or before Monday

February 22, 2021 at 12:00 noon EST.

2. Quotation Due Date: The Quoter shall submit dated quote to the following e-mail address:

Contract Specialist (CS) at ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov at or before Monday March 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM EST.

3. The point of contact (POC) for this acquisition is the CS, Ejinwaemeonu Ndidi Okeagu at (984)

287-3001/ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov.

4. The secondary point of contact (POC) for this acquisition is the CO, Beth Kuhaneck at (984) 287-

3082/beth.kuhaneck@nih.gov.

https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/contracting-forms/52_212_1-October%202018.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/contracting-forms/52_212_3-October%202018.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/contracting-forms/52_212_4-OCT%202018_508.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/contracting-forms/52.212-5%20Contract%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20Required%20to%20Implement%20Statutes%20or%20Executive%20Orders-Commercial%20Items.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/dgs/Communication%20to%20Vendors%20on%20Deadline%20to%20Stop%20Accepting%20Mailed%20Invoice_%20Final%2011-4-20-508.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/dgs/contracting-forms/Invoice%20Instructions.pdf https://oamp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/DGS/contracting-forms/Invoice%20Instructions.pdf mailto:ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov mailto:ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov mailto:287-3001/ejinwaemeonu.okeagu@nih.gov mailto:287-3082/beth.kuhaneck@nih.gov mailto:287-3082/beth.kuhaneck@nih.gov