Operation, Management, and Expansion of the Mali Service Center

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 requirement is assigned a code of 541990 in the NAICS, and the small business size standard for such requirements is $15M in annual receipts per year. Background: The Office of Global Research (OGR) and the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) of the form two major components of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, with activities at the International Center for Excellence in Research (ICER) at the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB) in Mali, Africa. The purpose of the ICER is to conduct research on infectious diseases important to the people of Mali, the region, and to the NIAID. Various collaborations have been established with Malian scientists within the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Science and Technology, which are all components of USTTB. The Mali Service Center (MSC) is an NIAID-managed service center through which a Contractor provides guidance and oversight in the administration and disbursal of NIAID grant/contract funds and material and travel purchases in Mali. The Mali Service Center (MSC) was established by the government of Mali to operate as an independent service center for the management of research funding provided to USTTB or other entities within Mali. Purpose: The NIAID requires a Contractor to assume responsibility for managing the daily operations of the MSC in Mali, Africa in order to facilitate and support the research of the NIAID, as well as, ultimately expanding the infrastructure and core capacity of the Center Requirements: The contractor will be required to provide support for the operation of NIAID-funded activities in Mali through the Mali Service Center. Core functions include administrative oversight and management of the center itself; payroll; accounting; travel management; meeting and procurement support. Contractor will be required to maintain a system for keeping account of payroll for Malian staff at the USTTB, as well as disbursal of funds associated with expenses related to extramural NIAID Contract and Grants in the region. Procurements in support of administrative activities or field studies will be made in country with responsible local vendors or through international markets to include office, scientific, or medical equipment or supplies, establishing repair and warranty agreements; procuring medications and other clinical supplies or science laboratory reagents; and procurement of equipment, materials, or services related to operations and maintenance of motor pool vehicles, and administrative, core, guest house, and laboratory structural facilities. Bilingual contractor staff fluent in French and English are essential in communications with in-country officials and other locals as necessary to ensure effective translation or transmission of documents or other activities related to ICER activities. Administrative and accounting functions also include working with MSC directorate and third party entities related to the MSC to provide budgeting and audit activities, logistical support for shipping and receiving as well as setting up meetings; preparation of reports related to ICER activities; providing training on methods and SOPs: providing driver or transportation support; providing travel management for research scientists; payment of per diem, payment of trial participant compensations/allowances; payment for institutional review board (IRB) services; payment of study, medical, or travel insurance; and advanced payment for expenses related to field trips to ICER field study sites. The latter activity includes advanced payments for procuring provisions for field trips; hiring of local guides and assistants; fuel for vehicles; and other local expenses. Contract Type and Period of Performance: A Cost type contract is anticipated to be awarded in September/October 2016 for a base period of 12 months plus the option of four (4) additional 12-month periods. Capability Statements: Interested small business sources may submit their capability statements of no more than 10 numbered pages excluding resumes which demonstrate their understanding of the requirement, history of any current or previous contracts performed of similar nature and scope including the dollar value for each, relevant personnel, summary of partnerships and teaming agreements, or any other relevant information necessary to assist the NIAID with assessing the respondents capacity for performing the work as described. ALL questions and capability statements must be submitted in writing via email in either Word or PDF format and should be submitted to LaDonna Stewart at lstewart@niaid.nih.gov, no later than 3pm EST, April 14, 2016. Facsimile responses will not be accepted CAPABILITY STATEMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Capability statements should not include links to other sources and the e-mail subject line must specify the Sources Sought Reference Number: DHHS-NIH-NIAID(AO)-SBSS-2016-044. Respondents should be sure to include within the 1st page of their response: a Business Point of Contact, Phone Number, DUNS Number, and Small Business Classification (e.g. Small business; HUBZone; Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned; 8(a); Woman-Owned; or other small disadvantaged business) based on the average annual receipts of $15 million for the NAICS (541990) associated with this requirement. Information on small business size standards can found at the Small Business Administration at https://www.sba.gov/contracting/getting-started/size-standards Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the 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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. Responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any future 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)."