R416--Pre-Solicitation Notice with Intent to Sole Source for Academic Research Core Services

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Research and Development, Regional Procurement Office East in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has issued a pre-solicitation notice announcing its intent to award a five-year indefinite delivery contract on a sole source basis. The intended recipient is the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF SUNY), which will provide academic research core services to support ongoing research studies at VA Western New York Healthcare System Research Services. The VHA identified RF SUNY as the only known vendor capable of delivering the specialized services required, particularly as an accredited academic animal core facility positioned near VA WNY facilities. The contracting authority for this sole source procurement is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.103-1, which applies when only one responsible source exists and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This notice is not a competitive solicitation but rather an announcement of the government's intent to proceed with a non-competitive award.

The primary objective of this contract is to secure specialized academic research core services necessary for VA researchers to comply with applicable regulations and laws governing their ongoing studies. Any responsible source believing it can provide equivalent services with the features described in the notice may submit a detailed capability statement to Contracting Officer Shannon Hukriede at shannon.hukriede@va.gov no later than Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time; telephone responses will not be accepted. Contractors must specifically detail in their capability statements how their proposed services meet the stated requirements to be considered. The applicable NAICS code is 541940 (Veterinary Services) with a $10 million size standard, and the Product Service Code is R416 (Support-Professional: Veterinary/Animal Care). The government reserves sole discretion to determine whether to compete the requirement based on the capability statements received in response to this notice.