Pandemic Plan Preparedness Evaluation Services

The Indian Health Service seeks independent evaluation of its 2025 Pandemic Preparedness Plan through stress-testing exercises and an after-action report, with quotations due August 26, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This procurement is a 100% set-aside for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) under the Buy Indian Act; only entities meeting the IEE definition and maintaining IEE status throughout contract performance are eligible. Offerors must submit a completed IHS Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form as a separate document; failure to provide this form renders the offeror ineligible for award.

Place of performance is Rockville, VA 23146, with all work performed entirely off-site within the United States, conducted virtually. The NAICS code is 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services; the PSC is R410, Support–Professional: Program Evaluation/Review/Development. The small business size standard is $24.5 million.

The contract period runs September 4, 2026 through July 31, 2027, with firm-fixed-price award. The contractor must assign a Project Manager with at least five years of experience managing professional services, public health, or comparable projects, and a Lead Evaluator/Senior Analyst with at least seven years of relevant experience in preparedness, emergency management, or program evaluation, including demonstrated experience leading or materially supporting at least two discussion-based exercises. The contractor shall conduct discovery with 8–12 IHS subject-matter experts, execute two web-based tabletop exercises with 15–25 participants each, and deliver a comprehensive after-action report with findings and prioritized recommendations. All deliverables must comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements.

Evaluation uses a best-value tradeoff approach with three equally weighted non-price factors—Technical Approach, Staffing and Management Approach, and Relevant Experience/Past Performance—collectively significantly more important than price. The Government intends to award without discussions. ISBEEs may subcontract to non-IEE small businesses provided no more than 50 percent of total government payments go to subcontractors that are not similarly situated. The contractor must maintain IEE status throughout performance and expend at least 50 percent of personnel costs for IEE employees.

Amendment 0005 (issued August 24) provided a corrected version of Attachment C, the 2025 IHS Pandemic Preparedness Plan Table of Contents. The quotation due date was extended to August 26 via Amendment 0004.