Food Distribution for Research Protocols at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-85. The solicitation number for this acquisition is 16-000005 and is being issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The NAICS Code for this solicitation is 424490. This will be awarded as Firm-Fixed Price with a base year and 4 one year options. The Nutrition Department is committed to providing the best possible patient care and research support for patients of the NIH Clinical Center. Registered Dietitians provide an array of patient-care services, including nutrition assessments, counseling services, and enteral and parenteral feeding recommendations. Research support services include protocol design, dietary intake assessment, body composition analysis, data analysis, and interpretation. In addition, pursue adjunct research interests related to protocols and may serve as principal investigators for research questions related to the practice of dietetics. Clinical Center patients, whether on an inpatient unit, a day hospital bed or in the outpatient clinics are offered meals and nourishments to meet individualized needs. A state-of-the-art integrated food management computer system allows the service of regular and therapeutic diets, as well as diets for research protocols. The food service section of the department is proud of its state-of-the-art food management computer system. This technology allows for the integration of varied Base Notice: Food Distribution Services for Patient-Related Meals clinical and research needs through over diet types, nutrition analysis of intakes, and the ability to easily change the menu to take advantage of seasonal foods and changing patient preferences. There are over 7,000 patients annually for the program. The vendor shall supply the Nutrition Department with the required food items necessary to provide care for the patients undergoing treatment at the NIH CC. To maintain conformity of the items used throughout the NIH CC all food changes must be evaluated and approved by the CC Nutrition Department. Therefore, the selected items must match at least a 90% of current products in order to promote patient safety and maintain the integrity of the clinical research. The following provisions and clauses apply: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items; FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items; FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items; FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Item; FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders--Commercial Items; FAR 52.217-5, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (APR 2010); FAR 52.222-3, Convict Labor (JUNE 2003); FAR 52.222-19, Child Labor--Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (APR 2012); FAR 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (FEB 1999); FAR 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (MAR 2007); FAR 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (SEP 2010); FAR 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (OCT 2010); FAR 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (JUL 2012); FAR 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (Apr 1984); FAR 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Dec 2014 FAR 52.212-2 is addended to add the following: Evaluation Criteria: Ability to Provide (90% match) of current supplies The Offeror shall demonstrate that they have the capability to deliver the required supplies (minimum 90%) as indicated in the market basket and as stated in the NIH Clinical Center's requirements. 40% In addition vendors will be rated on their ability to provide supplies within 3-4 days for standard deliveries and within 24 hours for emergency orders. Past Performance The Offeror shall provide a list of at least 3 references currently being serviced, including contact information. Scoring in this category will be dependent on the quality of services provided to other accounts of equal or greater size/complexity as the NIH Clinical Center. 25% Competitive Pricing The Offeror shall be rated by competitive pricing (competitive pricing to include lowest cost for items as well as no additional shipping charges). 35% The Government intends to make a single award but reserves the right to make no award as a result of this request for quotations. The Government reserves the right to award this contract based on initial quotations without holding discussions. Therefore, the initial quotation shall contain the offeror's best terms and conditions. Award will be made, if at all, to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the requirements of the solicitation is deemed the most highly rated and represents the best value to the Government considering the Government's evaluation of the following factors: (1) technical, (2) past performance/references, and (3) price. Relative weight of the evaluation factors - Technical is more important than past performance. Technical and past performances, when combined together, are significantly more important than price. The importance of price in the evaluation will increase with the degree of equality among quotations of the non-price factors. In addressing the evaluation factors below, the offeror shall demonstrate: TECHNICAL - 1 TECHNICAL APPROACH The Government will evaluate the offeror's ability to provide the required market basket as listed in the statement of work. PAST PERFORMANCE/REFERENCES - The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance information to determine its relevance to the current requirements and the extent to which it demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three years. In assessing the offeror's past performance, NIH will evaluate the quality, timeliness, and ability to control cost and schedule of the past work. The Government will assign a neutral rating to offerors with no relevant past performance. PRICE - The price evaluation will determine whether the proposed price is fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. The proposed price shall be entirely compatible with the technical quotation. Although price is the least important evaluation factor, it will not be ignored. The degree of importance of the proposed price will increase with the degree of equality of the quotations in relation to the other factors on which selection is to be based. QUOTATIONS ARE TO BE SENT ELECTRONICALLY TO DEBORAH CULPEPPER BY THE DUE DATE AND TIME.