Lentil Genome Sequencing

This pre-solicitation Sources Sought notice is issued by the United States Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Services (USDA-ARS) for information and planning purposes only. This market survey is being conducted to help determine if there is an adequate number of qualified Large Businesses, Small Businesses, Disadvantaged Small Businesses, SBA-certified 8(a) Program Participants, SBA-Certified HUB Zone Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), and/or Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB) vendors available that would be interested in a proposed acquisition who meet the specific criteria outlined below to justify a set-aside.

This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is NOT a Solicitation Announcement, Request for Quote (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), or Invitation for  Bid (IFB) nor is it an announcement for a forthcoming solicitation announcement, RFQ, RFP, or IFB. It does NOT constitute any commitment by the Government. The Government will NOT make an award on the basis of this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of Small Business and Large Business vendors to provide the product described in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Responses to this Sources Sought notice will be used by the Government to help determine the appropriate acquisition strategy decision for any future solicitation(s). Responses to this sources sought announcement will also assist the Government in determining whether or not any future requirement similar to this one should be set aside for small business concerns, be issued as unrestricted, or be procured through sole-source acquisition procedures. The USDA-ARS requests responses from Small and Large Business and ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for the product. 

The Government assumes NO financial responsibility for any costs incurred in providing a response to this notice. The Government will provide NO reimbursement for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of any information that is received in response to this notice. The USDA-ARS will NOT make an award on the basis of any responses received to this notice. Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to only qualified Small Businesses, Disadvantaged, 8{a), HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, or other small business vendors OR to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, issue a "full and open" solicitation (which would include large business vendors), OR proceed with making a sole source award to a single vendor.

Scope of Work:

The USDA has a requirement for services to sequence several Lens culinaris cultivar genomes in preparation for a variety of lentil studies in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW). The Government is seeking capability statements from vendors capable of providing these services.

The associated NAICS is 541714 (Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) with a small business size standard of under 1,000 employees. The applicable PSC is B529 (Special Studies/Analysis- Scientific Data). 

Any subsequent procurement that might be made will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and under Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) in accordance with FAR Part 13. 

Capability Statements & Qualifications:

Vendors who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with the USDA-ARS that can provide technically acceptable services should submit a Capabilities Statement. For this notice a Capabilities Statement is NOT to be a quote, proposal, or bid, but rather short statements regarding the vendor's ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. 

In addition to the Capabilities Statement, vendors should complete the "Sources Sought Response Form" included in the attachments section of this notice and indicate whether they are a Small Business, Disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, or Large Business. 

Submission Instructions:

Submission of any information in response to this notice is purely voluntary. Interested vendors are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought notice. Any vender responding to this notice must ensure that its response is complete and furnishes sufficiently detailed technical information to allow the Government to conclusively determine that the vendor qualifies and is capable of providing a service capable of meeting the technical requirements identified in the SOW. The Government is not responsible for locating or securing any information, not identified in the response. Interested vendors are instructed to only provide the information requested. Any additional information will not be reviewed.

Questions in regards to this Sources Sought notice must be submitted in writing by email to Jeffery Kathman at jeffery.kathman@usda.gov not later than 4:00 PM CDT on August 22, 2024. No phone calls with inquires/questions will be accepted. Answers to questions cannot be provided as a vendor asks them to insure no vendor is given an unfair advantage. The answers to any questions received before the deadline will be posted as an amendment to the Sources Sought. No questions received after the deadline will be answered unless it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government. 

Only electronic submissions made via email will be accepted. No verbal responses, information provided by phone, or responses submitted by USPS mail will be accepted. Please email all responses in writing with a capability statement AND sources sought response form to Jeffery Kathman at jeffery.kathman@usda.gov by or before 2:00 PM CDT on August 23, 2024.

The e-mail subject line, body, or attachments MUST include the notice ID number ("12505B240338SS").

Disclaimers:

This notice does NOT obligate the Government to make an award 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. Respondents are also advised that the Government is under NO obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback to the respondents about any of the information received. NO proprietary, sensitive, confidential, and/or classified information should be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation, combined synopsis/solicitation, solicitation, or notice of intent to sole source. After a review of the responses received, the Government MAY issue a pre-solicitation synopsis followed by a solicitation, a combined synopsis/solicitation, a solicitation, or a notice of intent to sole source.