Administrative, Logistical, Custodial and Facility Support Services for the VRC

Administrative, Logistical, Custodial and Facility Support Services for the VRC
75N93019R00026

Sources Sought Reference Number: 75N93019R00026

Type of Requirement
Follow-on (Contract No.:HHSN272201600041C)
Place of Performance
Place of performance is known. Address or general location: Gaithersburg area Maryland

Recompetition

Innovative Consulting & Management Services, LLC
7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 108A
College Park, MD 20740

Contracting Office Address

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Office of Acquisitions, 5601 Fishers Lane, MSC 9821, Bethesda, MD, 20892-9821

Sources Sought Notice Information

Introduction

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

Background

The primary objective of the VRC is to perform vaccine research that contributes to a basic understanding of protective immunity against HIV and other infectious diseases of global public health importance, and to facilitate the development of clinical vaccine and biologic products. Its immediate goals are to undertake:

• Scientific design and rational development of effective vaccine candidates.
• Evaluation and optimization of immune responses generated by candidate vaccines.
• Advancement of promising vaccine and biologic candidates into human trials.

To accomplish its objectives, the VRC pursues a broad range of strategies, including structure-based immunogen design, nanoparticle antigen display, adjuvant optimization, antibody discovery and isolation, vaccine platform development and clinical grade manufacturing, phase 1 testing and evaluation in human clinical trials, and novel methods of immune monitoring. These activities accelerate the science of vaccine development and provide the necessary scientific rationale for advanced clinical development of vaccine and antibody products, including the necessary incentive for commercial entities to partner with NIAID, with the ultimate goal of commercial licensure. By organizing the necessary resources and infrastructure within a single, integrated research center, the VRC is positioned to effectively advance and accelerate the science of vaccine development.

The Vaccine Production Program (VPP) efficiently translates candidate research vaccines/therapeutic molecules from discovery research laboratories within the VRC into FDA (and other international regulatory agency) approved cGMP materials for use in proof-of-concept clinical trials, and to enable advanced development and ultimate licensure by partners. The VPP develops processes and analytical methods for the cGMP manufacture of products, such as novel vaccine and therapeutic proteins, that are then vialed and distributed for further evaluation in clinical studies. The VPP oversees the government funded and led, and contractor leased and operated Vaccine Clinical Materials Program (Leidos).

The Vaccine Immunology Program (VIP), the newest program in the VRC, conducts basic research, translational assay development and rigorous assessment of vaccine products entering clinical trials, including those with VRC collaborators. The VIP-research group focuses on the analyses of influenza vaccine trials and investigates the complexities of associated B cell immunobiology, particularly directed towards the immune-subdominant influenza HA-stem region, a vital component for a potential universal influenza vaccine. The Vaccine Immunology Testing Laboratory (VITL) performs rigorously standardized routine high throughput end-point analyses of small- and large-scale clinical trials that are critical for eventual licensure of VRC/NIAID vaccines.

The VPP and VIP capabilities, therefore, are critically important components of the VRC's scientific mission objectives. The contractor shall support VRC immunology assay
and product development scientific activities by provision of administrative, logistical, and facility related technical support, including provision of all necessary services related to facility and core infrastructure support. This support is essential to allow the VRC to meet its core objectives and to rapidly shift to emerging health emergencies, such as the potential for infectious disease pandemic outbreak.

Purpose and Objectives

The Contractor shall provide administrative, logistical, custodial and facility support to help maintain the research laboratory and adjacent administrative space for combined use of VRC.

Project requirements

Note that this is a follow on contract requiring work that is specialized in nature and requires a skilled and experienced work force

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish the
necessary qualified personnel, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government
as needed to perform the work as stated herein. Specifically, the Contractor shall:

A. Provide facility manager and appropriate support personnel to maintain all
necessary components of the facility core infrastructure needed to support the day-to-day needs of staff housed at the facilities supporting the VRC.
B. The contractor shall maintain the leased space for the current facilities located at 9 West Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg MD for the life of the contract.
Assume:
1. The common area consisting of six (6) restrooms, one (1) shower facility, two (2) elevators, front lobby, front lobby vestibule entrance, drinking fountains, loading dock area, two (2) stairwells, 2nd floor interior glass walls.
2. Laboratory space on 1st and 2nd floors, as well as in basement.
3. Administrative space on 1st and 2nd floors.

Square footages:
1. 1st floor comprised of an estimated 33,963 square feet
2. 2nd floor comprised of an estimated 33,636 square feet
3. Basement comprised of an estimated 19,486 square feet

C. Contractor shall establish and maintain a Facilities Management and Oversight Plan. The plan shall provide for continuity of operations for the laboratory in case of unforeseen interruption of facility utilities and a facility infrastructure support plan. The contractor shall also address a plan for 24/7 oversight and support to assure facility related issues are addressed immediately in order not to impact the work within the facility. (i.e. plumbing or electrical repairs, parking lot maintenance during inclement weather, etc.).

D. The contractor shall provide a Quality Control Plan addressing their methods to ensure successful performance of the requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW). The QC plan shall address how the Facilities Manager will communicate with the COR, Staff and the Contracting Officer to ensure timely resolution of issues.

E. The contractor shall provide custodial services for all VRC leased areas, providing all management, tools, equipment and labor necessary to ensure that custodial services are performed in a manner that will maintain a satisfactory facility condition and present a clean, neat, and professional appearance. The custodial provider should have experience and knowledge with performing custodial services in GLP/GMP facilities.

F. The contractor shall lease, manage and maintain the bulk gas tanks these include a 1500 gallon liquid nitrogen tank, a 3000 gallon nitrogen tank and a 6 ton CO2 tank. Please note that the Government will be responsible for the purchase of gas.

G. The contractor shall provide security cameras at entrances, exits, loading docks and any other place, within the leased space, and agreed upon with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

H. The contractor shall provide a front desk at the entrance lobby, staffed by one full time employee that will check-in and checkout visitors during business hours and be the conduit to connect visitors to points of contact. In addition, they will manage all deliveries that arrive either through the main entrance or loading dock. They will utilize and maintain a tracking system to include daily log of receipts and deliveries, including a "signature sheet" for receiving supplies delivered to labs and offices within the building. They will be the point of contact when a delivery arrives, and they will assist and communicate with VRC personnel regarding packages and supplies that are received. An exception to this would be the delivery of a large piece of equipment in which case the facility manager would coordinate the delivery of that from the loading dock to its permanent location. Front desk staff shall monitor security cameras and manage recorded camera footage that will be held for a length of time agreed upon by the contractor and the COR..

I. The contractor shall provide suitable systems proposed for tracking project activities and monitoring progress, timelines and budgets.

Anticipated period of performance

The anticipated period of performance, inclusive of all options is July 27, 2020 - July 26, 2023.

Capability statement / information sought

Respondents shall submit a capability statement of their organization which clearly demonstrates their ability to supply the above Project Requirements.

Page Limitations:

Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored Capability Statement not to exceed 10 pages, excluding resumes. Capability Statements must not include links to internet web site addresses (URLs) or otherwise direct readers to alternate sources of information. Font size must be 10 to 12 points. Spacing must be no more than 15 characters per inch. Within a vertical inch, there must be no more than six lines of text. Print margins must be at least one-inch on each edge of the paper. Print setup should be single-sided on standard letter size paper (8.5 x 11" in the U.S., A4 in Europe). All proprietary information should be marked as such.

Required Business Information:

• DUNS.
• Company Name.
• Company Address.
• Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address
• Current GSA Schedules and/or Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) appropriate to this Sources Sought.
• Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system.
• Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://www.sam.gov/index.html/#1. This indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your Capability Statement (preferable placed under the eligible small business concern's name and address).

Number of Copies:

Please submit one (1) electric copy of your response as follows:

All Capability Statements sent in response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Kate Stotish, Contract Specialist, at kate.stotish@nih.gov in MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The e-mail subject line must specify [Sources Sought Reference Number 75N93019R00026]. Facsimile responses will not be accepted.

Common Cut-off Date:

Electronically submitted tailored capability statements are due no later than 3:00 PM EST on 10/7/2019. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s)."

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