This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RFP-75N95019R00032 and the solicitation is issued as a request for proposals (RFP). This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures; FAR Subpart 13.5-Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items; and FAR Part 12-Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2019-01, dated January 2019. The associated NAICS code for this requirement is 541380 with a small business size standard of $15 million. THIS REQUIREMENT IS BEING SOLICITED AS A SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE. Background: Microbiota constitutes approximately 90% of the total cells in the human body while human cells account for the other 10%. Recent development in sequencing technology has begun to reveal the importance of microbial communities for health trajectories in humans. While several studies have explored the relationship between bacterial communities and aging, changes in the microbiome community with age has yet to be fully explored. The aim of this proposal is to conduct a pilot study to identify microbiome communities (bacteria, archaea, eukaryote and virus) in the gut (fecal) and examine their association with age and describe any differences in changes of microbiome communities over time and how these changes related to age-related phenotypes, primarily cognitive function. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this requirement is to perform whole genome shallow shotgun sequencing on fecal samples collected from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) to examine the microbiome changes that occur with age and explore whether these changes in the microbiota can explain occurrence of age-related pathologies such as cognitive impairment. Project Requirements: The Contractor shall perform whole genome shallow shotgun sequencing on 683 human fecal samples from the BLSA cohort and perform taxonomical and functional profiling of the microbiome species (bacteria, archaea, eukaryote and virus) identified in the gut. This includes, DNA extraction, cDNA preparation, sequencing, quality control, sequence alignments and generation of microbiome species level taxonomical and functional counts. Level of Effort: # of Units Service to be Performed 683 - Extraction 683 - Whole Genome Shallow Shotgun Sequencing Key Personnel: The key personnel requirements for the individual(s) performing the whole genome shallow shotgun sequencing are as follows: - A Masters or PhD in a laboratory science field - Extensive experience in high throughput lab methods Deliverables: The contractor shall provide an electronic copy of spreadsheet or database files including raw sequence data and quantitative measurements of all microbiome species taxonomy and function. The contractor shall also provide written documentation to describe any quality control and process of the data generated along with the codes that were used to conduct each of the QC and processing procedures. Reporting Requirements: The contractor shall submit via e-mail as PDF or a MS Word document a progress report every month during the contract period. The progress report shall include tasks completed since submission of the last progress report and a list of tasks to be completed, inclusive of timeframe. This report shall also describe any problems that arose and state the resolution or provide an explanation if a solution was not identified. Data Rights: FAR clause 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General applies to this order. The National Institute on Aging shall have unlimited rights to and ownership of all deliverables provided under this contract including reports, recommendations, briefings, work plans and all other deliverables. This includes the deliverables provided under the basic contract and any optional task deliverables exercised by the contracting officer. In addition, it includes any additional deliverables required by contract change. Period of Performance: The period of performance for this contract will be 12 months. Place of Contract Performance: 3001 S. Hanover Street Baltimore, Maryland 21225 Government Responsibilities: The Government shall provide adequate quantities of archived fecal samples to the contractor to enable performance of the shotgun sequencing detailed in the project requirements section of this solicitation. The following FAR provisions shall apply to this solicitation: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors--Commercial Items, 52.212-2, Evaluation--Commercial Items. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Evaluation factors that will be used to evaluate the offer, price and other factors considered, include ability to meet the technical requirements stated in this CSS and on basis of best value to the government. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, with their offer. The Clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and the Clause at 52.212- 5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. The price proposal must include the labor categories, an estimate of the number of hours required for each labor category, fully loaded fixed hourly rate for each labor category, breakdown and rationale for other direct costs or materials, and the total amount. In addition, the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov." All responses must be received by April 22, 2019 at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) and must reference solicitation number HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RFP-75N95019R00032. Responses may be submitted electronically to Eric McKay,
contact@example.gov. Fax responses will not be accepted.
