Expert Studies Regarding Biomed Science and Tech Issues for NIH Programs/Staff

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR A PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Science Policy (OSP), intends to solicit, negotiate, and award a contract on a non-competitive, sole source basis to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), 500 Fifth St., NW, Washington, DC 20001 for the purpose of performing in-depth studies which may focus on either issues of topical interest or long-range concerns of the biomedical research community and will result in specific findings and recommendations to the NIH, Congressionally mandated studies or reviews, policy reviews, evaluation studies and program assessments, surveys on topics of specific interest to the NIH, and conferences, symposia, seminars, or workshops on either general areas of interest or specific issues of concern to the NIH. The NIH OSP intends to award an NIH-wide IDIQ Cost Reimbursement Task Order contract for a five (5) year period. NAS is the sole source for this requirement under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 (Only One Responsible Source) because of the below: The previous task order contract (N01-OD-4-2139, September 1994 with a series of renewals through February 2012) and the current task order contract (HHSN263201200074I, August 2012 through August 2017) were issued under Other than Full and Open Competition to NAS. Long-standing and well-established Forums, Roundtables, Boards, and core support essential to the NIH mission continue to operate under NAS' leadership and guidance. The Director of the NIH and/or its various Institutes and Centers often have a need for the expertise of NAS, utilizing its six major program units for study of biomedical issues within a timeframe specified in each task order. Occasionally, Congress mandates that NIH contract with NAS to conduct a particular study. As an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, NAS is able to bring the highest caliber scientists and leaders in related fields together to discuss and evaluate issues and programs that NIH requires. NAS' independence and objectivity are essential to providing unbiased study findings and recommendations that have a high likelihood of being accepted by the public and the scientific community. NAS has proven to be capable of handling NIH's high volume of work. NAS was established by an Act of Congress signed by President Lincoln in March 1863 which calls upon the NAS to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the Government. It has special standing per FAR 6.302-5. A standing contract with NAS helps NIH to address congressional mandates quickly. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all capability statements received within 15 days after date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. If mailed, Responders should provide three (3) copies of their capability statement to Susan Apter (Ref. NIHOD2017138), National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions, 6011 Executive Blvd., Room 537C (MSC 7663) Bethesda, MD 20892-7663. When hand delivering, or using a courier service, Federal Express or UPS the city, state, and zip code should read Rockville, MD 20852). Otherwise please Email virus free capability statements in PDF format to Susan Apter apters@od.nih.gov. ALL INFORMATION MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. THE CLOSING DATE FOR RESPONSES IS Wednesday, March 22 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. Facsimile copies will not be accepted. Note: This synopsis follows Sources Sought Notice, HHS-NIH-OD-OLAO-SS-17-019 that was released on January 19, 2017. Contracting Office Address: 6011 Executive Boulevard, Room 537F, MSC-7663 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7663 Primary Point of Contact: Susan Apter, Contract Specialist apters@od.nih.gov Phone: 301-402-9671