Sources_Sought_Synopsis.pdf

Technical Support for Peer Review and Risk Assessment Guidelines

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS FOR WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSALS AND NO

CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is performing a "market search" for large and small businesses in preparation for a future procurement. Information submitted in response to this notice is merely used for internal market research purposes and no feedback will be offered to the interested parties that submit capability statements.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), has a need for a contractor or contractors to provide external peer review services of EPA work products. External peer review ensures: (1) the conceptual soundness of scientific and technical approaches; (2) appropriate implementation of scientific and technical methods; and (3) the validity of results in the Agency’s products. As such, the EPA has a need for assistance in meeting its responsibility for providing scientifically and technically sound assessments and work products to the Agency’s Science Advisory Board, Program Offices, and external customers. The scope of this work is intended to be broad-based, encompassing the full array of peer review services and scientific workshops, as well as planning, arranging, administering, and conducting workshops and meetings in support of the peer review process. This requirement is a follow-on re-compete to the currently ongoing EPA peer review contracts, which are scheduled to expire on July 31, 2017.

Specific areas to be addressed in capability packages are as follows:

1. Demonstrated ability to provide peer review support services, including scientific and technical peer reviews, as well as editorial peer reviews of scientific and technical articles

2. Demonstrated ability to provide workshop and meeting support in association with the peer review process, including scientific workshops and meetings specific to peer review activities

3. Demonstrated ability to develop documents and complete papers pursuant to Agency-related issues

4. Demonstrated ability to prepare instructional materials to communicate the purpose and scope of the Agency’s guidelines

5. Demonstrated ability to provide literature searches in support of the Agency’s mission

The successful contractor or contractors shall provide all necessary labor and services in support of the efforts delineated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and described above. A draft PWS is posted at the OAM Forecast Database site as follows:

https://yosemite.epa.gov/oarm/oam/forecastdatabase.nsf/Web%20Page%20Current!OpenForm, current opportunity record # FY13-628. It is anticipated that the contract will be an Indefinite

Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) base contract, with individual task orders anticipated to be issued on Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or Time and Materials (T&M) bases. An IDIQ contract ceiling will be established. The starting date for this requirement is July 1, 2017, with a single five (5) year ordering period for services. The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541990, “All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services,” with a size standard of $15,000,000.

Any interested firms should submit a capability statement which demonstrates the firm's ability to perform the key requirements described above. Standard company brochures will not be considered a sufficient response to this Sources Sought Synopsis. In the capabilities statements, contractors should provide their size status for the above referenced NAICS code (i.e. large, small), and whether or not they are a certified HUBZone, 8(a), women owned, small disadvantaged, and/or disabled veteran owned concern.

As a reminder, small businesses are required to perform at least 50 percent of the costs of the contract performance with their own personnel (FAR 52.219-14). The EPA reserves the right to set this action aside for small businesses.

Responses to the above should be submitted to Matthew Growney, US EPA, 26 West Martin

Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268, or growney.matthew@epa.gov no later than 15 calendar days from the date of this posting. A courtesy copy should be sent to Keith Pfeffer, US EPA, 26

West Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268, or pfeffer.keith@epa.gov.

A separate pre-solicitation synopsis will be issued for the Request for Proposal (RFP) that results from this Sources Sought Synopsis.

https://yosemite.epa.gov/oarm/oam/forecastdatabase.nsf/Web%20Page%20Current!OpenForm mailto:growney.matthew@epa.gov mailto:pfeffer.keith@epa.gov