SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- SPONSORED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES
- Notice Date
- 3/4/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 561110
— Office Administrative Services
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- 4200275931
- Response Due
- 3/25/2009
- Archive Date
- 3/4/2010
- Point of Contact
- Michael Levy, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-286-4170, Fax 301-286-0356, />
- E-Mail Address
-
michael.w.levy@nasa.gov<br
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NASA Headquarters is hereby soliciting information from potential sources (8(a)sources in particular) to support processing of research proposals submitted in responseto Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) issued by NASA Science Mission Directorate, Officeof Education, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Exploration Systems MissionDirectorate and other HQ offices/Centers as needed. Interested businesses, certified 8(a) small businesses and non-8(a) small businesseswhich meet the size standard provided below, are requested to provide their name,location, size, and detailed information demonstrating their technical understanding ofthe work requirements identified below, as well as their qualifications, capabilities,experience, and past performance history for such work. Respondents will not be notifiedof the results of the evaluation. It is anticipated that a Cost type contract will be issued with a base plus option yearsnot to exceed a total of five years. The NAICS code for this action is 561110 and thesize standard is $7 million. The contractor will manage and support specified aspects of soliciting and receiving,processing, and evaluating responses to solicitations (e.g., proposals). The contractormay also be required to take part in informing Offerors of the status of their proposals,and preparing documentation that must be done to permit the disbursement of funds. Thecontractor may also be called on to organize and support meetings. Other contractor support includes operating, maintaining and continuing to improve aGovernment-owned electronic system for submission and review of proposals, announcementsof awards, and conveying technical requirements packages and other materials toprocurement officers (e.g., the NSPIRES system, see http://nspires.nasaprs.com ). A significant component of the above function is peer review of research proposals bypanels of specialists and experts. NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement1835.016 and 1872.403 dictate that peer review be the method used to evaluate and selectresearch for funding. NASA funds intramural and extramural research primarily throughsolicited proposals that may result in grants, cooperative agreements, contracts andarrangements with other agencies, non-profit organizations, industry and academia. Solicitation mechanisms primarily used are NASA Research Announcements (NRAs),Announcements of Opportunity (AOs), and Cooperative Agreement Notices (CANs) though a fewunsolicited proposals are also received. For more information on solicitation mechanismssee Chapter 3 of Requirements for the Conduct of NASA Research and Technology(R&T) (NPR)1080.1A "3.1.2 Solicitation Mechanisms". NPR 1080.1A and other NASA procedural documentscan be accessed online at http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/main_lib.html by searching on "NPR1080A." Peer reviews are an important component of the proposal evaluation function. Peerreviews evaluate relevance to NASA's objectives, intrinsic merit (which includesscientific or technical merit), the researcher's capabilities and qualifications, andcost. Specific peer review methods differ among NASA program offices, and even amongdisciplines within a given program office, depending on, for example, cost, resourcesbrought to bear, experience, or the number and type of proposals received. Some officesuse standing review committees, some ad hoc committees, and some a combination of thesefor individual announcements. However, the involvement of discipline experts to evaluateand document findings of proposal reviews is universal across NASA. Peer reviewersinclude scientists, engineers, educators and other discipline related experts, or otherappropriate personnel from public and private academic institutions, industry, Governmentlaboratories and agencies, and foreign countries. The criteria for selecting a peer reviewer include the research they have conducted,publications, knowledge and experience, and ability to conduct an impartial review. NASAand the contractor supporting research proposal processing maintain databases ofdiscipline experts to identify appropriate reviewers. Acknowledged experts in adiscipline and proposal authors themselves may also suggest other qualified reviewers. Use of external peers ensures fresh viewpoints, alternative perspectives, andunderstanding of the state of the art. In practice, reviews are conducted by panelmeetings (either in person or via video or telecom) and or using written evaluations(e.g., provided via the NSPIRES web interface), depending on the logistics specific tothe review. These panels consist typically of 7 to 10 members, although sometimes largerpanels of as many as 40 may be employed. It is possible that several sub-panels may beutilized. Panel members and written evaluations are solicited by phone, email etc., atthe behest of NASA. All proceedings must be conducted in a confidential manner; theauthors of a proposal are never involved in its review or that of directly competingproposals, and all reviewers are screened to ensure that they have no conflict ofinterest with the proposals they review. The contractor will cover all of the arrangements associated with the invitations,physical and electronic input, and panel meeting support for these reviews, includingpreparing travel reservations for panel meetings. Reviews are conducted by mail,electronically via NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and EvaluationSystem(NSPIRES)/or by panel meetings, depending on the logistics specific to the review. Mail reviews may be conducted to allow for the use of reviewers with very specializedexpertise on technical and scientific issues. The peer review contractor must be capableof maintaining a highly dependable World Wide Web (WWW) site(NSPIRES) for electronicreceipt of Notices of Intent to propose and receipt of the actual proposals. NSPIRESalso includes a review and selection module. The number of such electronic submissionsranges from a few dozens to several hundred, depending on the scope of the solicitation. The contractor is expected to produce logs sorted by a wide variety of data fields basedon these electronic submissions and supply them to NASA within a few days of thesubmission deadline. The contractor will assist NASA in screening each incoming proposalto determine compliance with eligibility criteria and consistency with general programsolicitation requirements. The contractor will be responsible for the electronic receiptand secure storage of proposals received (as many as 500 at a time in order toaccommodate the submissions of multiple solicitations) and will also be responsible foraccurately assembling packages of proposals to be sent to the designated mail reviewers,in advance of the peer review activity itself.A majority of reviews are performed electronically via NSPIRES. Some NASA officesrequire the contractor to determine the identity of these reviewers; in other cases, NASApersonnel will identify them. Each panel typically consists of 7 to 10 members, and itis common to have as many as six panels meeting simultaneously to review all theproposals submitted in response to a single solicitation (as many as 150). Panelstypically meet for three days, requiring the panel members to be resident for up to fournights. The solicitation of panel members may be done by phone, letter, or email, whichmay be the responsibility of the support contractor. The contractor makes transportationand lodging arrangements for the panelists and ensures that panel members areappropriately and promptly reimbursed for their travel costs to attend panel meetings,based on travel reimbursement guidelines established by NASA. As necessary, thecontractor arranges for securing space for the panel review at commercial or NASAfacilities. The contractor will also support activities ancillary to soliciting researchproposals, such as workshops convened to formulate long-range science researchobjectives, and education/outreach initiatives that provide opportunities forparticipating in NASAs research programs to Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges. In order to demonstrate the capability of responding to NASAs requirement for processingresearch proposals and managing peer reviews, potential sources should provide detailedinformation to show evidence of possessing the following attributes and characteristicsnecessary for providing the required support: (1) the ability to work with a variety ofgroups, which includes the ability to manage teams of peer review personnel and multiple,simultaneous review panels; (2) availability of key personnel with project managementexperience for activities with multiple sub projects/tasks; (3) the ability to manage andcoordinate the associated proposal receipt and storage, meeting logistics support,travel, scheduling, etc. that are diverse and frequently simultaneous; (4) experience indatabase management, modification, and maintenance, in a secure network environment; (5)an acceptable or approved accounting system for Government cost-reimbursable contracts;(6) availability of financial resources to provide the required support; and (7)satisfactory work performance as evidenced by providing the names, addresses, and phonenumbers of three references for whom the potential Offeror has provided peer review orsimilar type services during the past three years. Responses must be in writing and maybe submitted electronically. All responses must include: name and address of firm, size of business; average annualrevenue for past three years and number of employees; ownership; whether they are large,small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, and/or woman-owned; number of years inbusiness; affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potentialteaming partners, prime contractor (if potential sub) or subcontractors (if potentialprime); list of customers covering the past three years (highlight relevant workperformed, contract numbers, contract type, dollar value of each procurement; and pointof contact - address and phone number). The Government reserves the right to consider a small business or 8(a) set-aside based onresponses hereto. All responses shall be submitted by the response date listed above, nolater than 1:00 p.m. local time to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.H, Attn:Michael Levy, Greenbelt MD 20771 or by email Michael.W.Levy@nasa.gov. Please referenceSources Sought Number 4200275931 in any response. Questions about this Request forInformation may be sent by email. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If asolicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA AcquisitionInternet Service. It is the potential Offerors responsibility to monitor these sites forthe release of any solicitation or synopsis. The expected release time frame for any RFP is the third quarter of Fiscal 2009. This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes and is not to beconstrued as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for informationsolicited. Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=32e5f2d9f1499dcdc6438abd53265122&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Record
- SN01761534-W 20090306/090304220008-32e5f2d9f1499dcdc6438abd53265122 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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