OSA Mentorship Communication Support Services

 (i)        This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

(ii)        The solicitation number is 75N95024Q00544 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ).

This acquisition is for a commercial product or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition, and the anticipated award date is September 20, 2024.

THIS IS A NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (including brand-name) to National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, Inc. (d.b.a. Venturewell), 100 Venture Way, Hadley, MA 01035-9462, for mentorship communication support services for the NCATS Office of Strategic Alliance (OSA).

This acquisition is conducted as non-competitive for a commercial product or service and is conducted pursuant to FAR 13.106-1(b)(1). The rationale for this sole single-source justification is the Contractor has a deep subject matter expertise and extensive experience with the I-Corps at NIH program, delivers intensive training in business model development and customer validation patterned after the NSF I-Corps program, and is the only Contractor with access to a network of certified iCorps Trainers.

(iii)       The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2024-05 dated May 22, 2024.

(iv)       This acquisition has no set-aside restrictions. The associated NAICS code is 611430 and the small business size standard is $15 million.  

DESCRIPTION

(v)        This acquisition of services is for the following list of contract line item numbers (CLINs) including options:

CLIN 01:          Base Period OSA Mentorship Communication Support Services.

POP: 09/20/2024 – 09/19/2025

CLIN 02:          Option Period One (1) OSA Mentorship Communication Support

Services. POP: 09/20/2025 – 09/19/2026

CLIN 03:          Option Period Two (2) OSA Mentorship Communication Support

Services. POP: 09/20/2026 – 09/19/2027

(vi)       The statement of work with a description of the services to be performed is included as Attachment 1 to this Solicitation.

(vii)      The period of performance will be as follows:

Base Period:                           09/20/2024 - 09/19/2025

Option Period One (1):           09/20/2025 - 09/19/2026

Option Period Two (2):           09/20/2026 - 09/19/2027

PROVISIONS, CLAUSES, AND OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
 

(viii)     The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Tailored), applies to this acquisition and is attached in full text.

(ix)       The Government will evaluate quotations or offers in accordance with FAR 13.106-2 and award a purchase order from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes:

a. Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement;

b. Price; and

c. Past performance as defined under FAR 13.106-2(b)(3).
 

The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

 

(x)        Quoters must include completed copies of the following provisions with their quotes.

Important: If the quoter has completed these at www.sam.gov, then the quoter does not need to provide completed copies of these with their quote:
 

FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services;

FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation; and; if applicable,

FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(xi)       The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition.

            The following FAR and HHSAR provisions and clauses are accessible electronically at https://www.acquisition.gov/, apply to this acquisition, and are incorporated by reference:

FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018)

FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018)

FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020)

FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020)

FAR 52.204-21, Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (Nov 20)

FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021)

FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020)

FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General (May 2014). Pursuant to paragraph (d), the Contractor may not assert copyright, make use of, release to others, reproduce, distribute, or publish any data first produced or specifically used by the Contractor in the performance of this contract without prior approval of the contracting officer.

HHSAR 352.222-70, Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015)

The clause at FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000) applies to this acquisition and is incorporated in full:

OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT

      (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within the period of performance; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least thirty (30) days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

      (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

      (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed three (3) years.

(End of clause)

The following apply to this acquisition and are incorporated in full text as attachments:

NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions (Vendor has Transitioned to IPP) (3/21/2023)

(xii)      The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition and is attached in full text.

(xiii)     The following additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions as determined by the contracting officer are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition.

(xiv)     The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

(xv)      This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. The response shall contain a quotation that includes the total price, as well as: the unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, prompt payment discount terms, product or catalog number(s), product description, and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision. Such factors may include: past performance; special features required for effective program performance; trade-in considerations; probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item; warranty considerations; maintenance availability; and environmental and energy efficiency considerations. A determination by the Government whether to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered to determine whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis as indicated above, or to conduct a competitive procurement.
 

The Unique Entity ID (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.
           

All responses must be received by 10:59 AM EDT on August 29, 2024, and reference Solicitation Number 75N95024Q00544.Responses must be submitted by email to the Contracting Officer at mark.mcnally@nih.gov.

(xvi)     The name and telephone number of the individual to contact for information regarding the solicitation:

Mark McNally, Contracting Officer, 301-827-5869, mark.mcnally@nih.gov.