***Amendment 001***
The purpose of this amendment is to post a response to questions received in response to the solicitation.
Vendor Questions and Government Responses:
Below you will find a list of questions submitted by vendors along with the Government’s response:
1. Vendor Question: Is there any incumbent on this project or this is a brand-new project. If yes, could you please provide us with the previous award number, or if these services have been purchased in past.
Government Response: This is a follow-on requirement to 1333ND-19-PNB-640372. The incumbent Contractor is James Little, DBA MS Interpretation Services.
***End of Amendment 1.***
THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PARTS 12 AND 13.
This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) FAC 2024-05, effective May 22, 2024.
The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 - Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services with a small business size standard of $19M. This acquisition is being procured as a 100% small business set-aside.
Quoters must possess an ACTIVE registration in the System for Award Management system, www.SAM.gov, when submitting a quotation and shall continue to be registered until the time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. Upon receipt of the quotation, the Contracting Officer will confirm that quoters have an “active” registration at the www.sam.gov website. If the SAM.Gov registration is inactive, the quotation will not be considered for award.
The objective of this solicitation is to establish a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order for Quality Control of the NIST Mass Spectral Library services as described in the attached Statement of Work (SOW).
PAYMENT SCHEDULE:
The Government will negotiate a payment schedule with the successful quoter. Partial payments will be authorized. However, the Government will not make equal monthly payments or pay more than 15% “up front.” Payments will be tied to required deliverables, and a larger amount will be held until the submission of final deliverables.
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
The Government intends to award a single purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, will provide the best value to the Government, price, and other factors considered.
In addition to price, the following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations:
1. Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications
2. Technical Approach
3. Past Performance
Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications will be a Go/NoGo Factor.
1. Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications: NIST will evaluate the resumes/or curriculum vitae (CV) submitted for the quoter’s proposed personnel. The evaluation will determine whether or not the proposed personnel possess the minimum requirements described in the SOW: 1. At least a M.S. degree in Chemistry and 2. A minimum of 3 years of experience in the evaluation of Electron Ionization (EI) mass spectra for inclusion in a reference library.
2. Technical Approach: NIST will evaluate the step-by-step plan of the technical approach (from the point of receiving spectra to evaluate to returning evaluated spectra) for evaluating the 12,000 spectra and associated compound identification information. The evaluation of the technical approach will determine if the quoter demonstrates an understanding of the requirements and the complexities involved in quality control of mass spectra and creating spectral libraries through the steps listed, as well as the software packages and online data resources that are proposed to be used. Quality control of mass spectra involves assessing whether the acquired spectrum is plausible given the structure of the compound, ensuring accuracy and consistency of compound identification information that is attached to the mass spectral data, and ensuring structures are of publication quality as found in the current release of the Library (NIST23).
3. Past Performance: Evaluation of Past Performance shall be based on the references provided and/or the quoter’s recent and relevant procurement history with federal, state, or local governments and international and commercial customers. Past performance evaluation shall determine the overall quality of the service. Quoters with no relevant past performance shall receive a neutral rating.
PRICE
The price shall be evaluated for all quotes that are determined technically acceptable. Price will be evaluated to determine that the total price is consistent with the technical portion of the quotation and is a fair and reasonable overall price to the Government.
The Government will evaluate quotations for the award, including the prices quoted for all optional line items. If the option prices are significantly unbalanced, the Government may determine that a quotation is unacceptable. Evaluation of options does not obligate the Government to exercise the options.
NIST intends to evaluate quotes and issue a contract based on the initial quotes received. Therefore, the Contractor’s initial quote should contain the Contractor’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. NIST reserves the right to request revised quotes from or negotiate final contract terms with one or more, but not all, Contractors if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.
Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation;
CONTRACTOR INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF QUOTATIONS:
Quotations shall include the following required submissions:
1. Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications: Documentation which clearly and explicitly documents that the quoted personnel possess the minimum requirements identified in the statement of work. Documentation shall include items such as resumes, curriculum vitae (CV), and/or official college transcripts, etc. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that the documentation is clear and specific when addressing the minimum requirements.
If subcontractors or consultants have been quoted, the Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications: quotation must include letters of commitment and/or business agreements that clearly specify that the subcontractor has agreed to work with the prime contractor for the work for which they are proposed.
Contractor’s Minimum Qualifications will be evaluated exclusive of the technical quotation. Each quoter is responsible for ensuring that the Personnel, Qualifications, and Experience quotation is complete and addresses all minimum requirements.
2. Technical Approach. The Technical Approach quotation, limited to 25 pages, must include a step-by-step plan of the technical approach from the point of receiving spectra to evaluate to returning evaluated spectra, including the steps involved in evaluating the associated compound identification information.
The step-by-step plan must include any packages and online data resources proposed to be used. In addition, the Technical Approach quotation must also discuss any complexities associated with quality control of mass spectra for creating spectral libraries and how the contractor will address such complexities.
3. Past Performance. The Contractor shall provide past performance information regarding up to five relevant contracts for the past three years with federal, state, or local governments and international and commercial customers. The information shall describe contracts of a similar type and scope as the current requirement. If the contractor intends to use another firm for a substantial portion of this requirement (i.e., >20% of the total effort), that firm’s past performance information must also be provided. If the Contractor has no relevant past performance, a statement must be included to that effect.
The description of each contract described in this section shall provide the following information, as applicable:
• Contract Number
• Description of work performed and relevance to solicitation requirements
• Period of Performance
• Point of Contact Information (name, email, phone number) for the client reference
5. Price
The quotation shall include a firm fixed price for the base period and each one-year option period, in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW).
The Government anticipates competition under this solicitation. However, to determine whether the prices are fair and reasonable, the Government reserves the right to request that the quoter provide a further cost breakdown to support the prices.
BASELINE ITEMS:
- Line Item 0001: (Quantity 1 Each) MS Library Quality Control Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.
OPTIONAL LINE ITEMS:
- Line Item 0002: (Quantity 1 Each) OY1 - MS Library Quality Control Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.
- Line Item 0003: (Quantity 1 Each) OY2 - MS Library Quality Control Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.
- Line Item 0004: (Quantity 1 Each) OY3 - MS Library Quality Control Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.
- Line Item 0005: (Quantity 1 Each) OY4 - MS Library Quality Control Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.
6. Terms and Conditions
Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: “The Government’s terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government’s and contractor’s terms and conditions, the Government’s terms and conditions take precedence.” If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the Contractor shall state, “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:” [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the Contractor's sole responsibility to identify any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation in their quote. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order as prevailing.
7. Quotations must clearly document compliance with FAR 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting.
8. Required Provisions
A completed version of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document).
9. Contractor Identifying Information
The Government Unique Identifier number for the Contractor’s active System for Award Management (SAM) registration.
10. Socioeconomic Status Representation
If the Contractor’s representations and certifications in SAM.gov do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, the Contractor must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation.
11. If subcontractors or consultants have been quoted, the technical quotation must include letters of commitment and/or business agreements that clearly specify that the subcontractor has agreed to work with the prime contractor for the work for which they are proposed.
DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS
All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Rudolph Spencer, Contract Specialist, at rudolph.spencer@nist.gov with a carbon copy to Donald Graham, Contracting Officer, at donald.graham@nist.gov. Submissions must be received no later than 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on August 27, 2024. FAX quotations will not be accepted. Quoters must reference the RFQ number in the subject line of the e-mail submission. Quotes shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation has entered the e-mail inbox of the individual(s) set forth above.
Questions: All questions regarding this notice must be submitted via e-mail to rudolph.spencer@nist.gov with a carbon copy to Donald Graham, Contracting Officer, at donald.graham@nist.gov, no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 20, 2024.
PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES
The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Provisions and Clauses. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov/far.
ATTACHMENTS:
The following attachments apply to this solicitation:
1. The Statement of Work
2. “The Critical Evaluation of a Comprehensive Mass Spectral Library”
3. “Mass Spectral Library Quality Assurance by Inter-Library Comparison”
4. Applicable Clauses and Provisions
