Service Contract Renewal for Multiple Bruker Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems

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.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition, and availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.   It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.  Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes.  No award will be made as a result of this notice.  The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.  This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only.

Background 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency conducting and supporting medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. This project originates from the NIH Mouse Imaging Facility (MIF) in the intramural program of the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. The MIF began operation in 1999. MIF is a shared resource that provides state-of-the-art facilities for research in development and application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), X-Ray computed tomography, bioluminescence, ultrasound and other animal imaging techniques. The facility resources are accessible to all investigators at NIH. Further, MIF provides technical and material support for research activities conducted within the lnVivo NMR Research Center.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this potential procurement is to obtain a service contract for hardware and software maintenance on their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. These preclinical MRI systems are used for scanning laboratory animals to support ongoing experimental research studies. It is imperative that the scanners are functioning properly and consistently to ensure the validity of data. A service contract minimizes downtime so there is no disruption to ongoing studies.

Project requirements

Please see the Statement of Work (SOW) attached to this Notice.

Contract Type and Anticipated Period of Performance

The Governmentanticipates making one (1) firm, fixed-price award with a base period of performance of 12 months and four, 12-month option periods.

Required Information

Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to perform the required services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements. The capability statement must specifically address each of the 13 project requirements separately.  Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program.

Capability statements must also include:

(1) UEI (Unique Entity Identifier)  

(2) organization name

(3) organization address

(4) point of contact

(5) point of contact title, address, telephone, and email address

(6) size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant the applicable NAICS code

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the notice number.

Submission Instructions and Due Date

Responses must be submitted electronically to Kimberly Espinosa, Contracting Officer, at kimberly.espinosa@nih.gov no later than the date and time listed above.  

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 presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published. 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).