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(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial service in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 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.

(ii) The solicitation number is 75N95023Q00552 and the solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ).

This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures; and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and is not expected to exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT). A fixed-price type of purchase order is contemplated for this requirement.

(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2023-05, dated August 8, 2023.

(iv) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 – Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services, and the small business size standard is $16,500,000 in revenue or less. This requirement shall be solicited using full and open competitive procedures.

(v) DESCRIPTION

The government requires the following commercial service – Technical Consulting Services and Data Analysis of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues as a novel pharmacotherapeutic approach for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This commercial service shall include at a minimum the following General Requirements:

1. Extract pharmacy records to identify patients who did and did not receive the FDA-approved medications (identified above) at VA pharmacies.’


2. Apply propensity score approaches (e.g., matching, weighting) in consultation with the NIDA research team to balance the distribution of all potential confounders across treatment groups. Variables included in the propensity score model shall be guided by previous work in this field and using the same database.


3. Model the probability (i.e., propensity) of receiving the medication as a function of measured covariates associated with the exposure and outcome using a multivariable logistic regression model. These covariates must be already created and ready for analysis.


4. Covariates shall be summarized, using descriptive statistics and shall be stratified by treatment group.


5. Absolute standardized mean differences (SMD) shall be calculated and interpreted in consultation with the research team.


6. Due to timeline restrictions and the importance of research integrity/replication, it is required that the contractor possess full access to the Veteran Aging Cohort Study (VACS) data and other sources needed for these analyses, as well as an already built data analysis pipeline.


7. The contractor will be responsible for pulling, organizing, and cleaning the data needed for this project.


8. Formulating a data analysis plan in consultation with the NIH research team


9. Running analyses and reviewing aggregate results with the NIH research team


10. Drafting the methods used and detailing the results.


11. Organize data management and analysis to support CPN with their study.


12. Meet regularly with the NIDA IRP research team to brainstorm about and outline the specifics of the project.


13. Prepare and deliver a final report of the methods used and aggregated data results.

(vi) Please refer to Attachment 1 – Statement of Work for details and information describing the specific requirements.

(vii) The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition, and the contractor shall provide the technical consulting service and data analysis for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of award

Four (4) one-year option periods shall also be provided.

(viii) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation.

(ix) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (NOV 2021) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation. 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.

Each quote will be evaluated in strict conformity with the evaluation factors. The evaluation will be based upon the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Contractor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the solicitation.

The quote will also be evaluated taking into consideration any price reductions for the requirement being ordered. A price reasonableness determination will be made and a best value analysis will be performed. The best value analysis will take into consideration the results of the technical evaluation, price evaluation, and the ability to complete the work within the Government's required schedule. The analysis will document that the award represents the best value to the Government (considering technical evaluation factors, past performance, and price) to meet the Government’s needs. The Government reserves the right to issue an order to the best advantage of the Government, technical merit, price, and other factors considered.

All aspects of a quote are subject to discussion, including price, technical approach and terms and conditions. At the completion of discussions, the Contractor will ensure the technical and price quote reflects the mutual understandings of the requirement and if requested, submit a revised technical and price quote to the Contracting Officer.

The Government may request clarifying information from the Contractor, as it relates to its quote.

If an award will be made without conducting discussions, Contractors may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their quote (e.g., the relevance of the contract, the Contractor's past performance information, and adverse past performance information to which the Contractor has not previously had an opportunity to respond) or to resolve minor or clerical errors. Discussions will not be held with any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable.

The Government reserves the right to make a single award, multiple awards, or no award at all as a result of the solicitation. In addition, the solicitation may be amended or canceled as necessary to meet the Government’s requirements.

A tradeoff process shall be used for this acquisition because it has been determined to be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced Offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are more important than cost or price. For this acquisition, the following considerations will be part of the trade-off process: Technical Evaluation Factors including Past Performance, and Price.

The evaluation factors are used by the technical evaluation committee when reviewing the technical quotes. The factors below are listed in order of its relative importance for evaluation purposes.

1. Technical Approach

We will evaluate a vendor’s technical approach for soundness, practicality, and feasibility to accomplish the tasks and requirements in all Performance Areas of the Statement of Work. We will evaluate the vendor’s technical approach for their ability to meet performance/delivery schedules under the required tasks. Also, we will evaluate their technical proposal on how well it shows a comprehensive understanding of the project’s goals, objectives, and tasks as called for in the Statement of Work (SOW). We will evaluate their understanding of the tasks to be performed, their interrelation and complexity. We will evaluate the vendor’s discussion of anticipated problems and constraints likely to be encountered in performing the work, and their plans, solutions, and approaches to resolving them.

2. Contract Management and Customer Support

NIDA shall evaluate the offeror’s ability to provide a high level of customer service, particularly in the area of initial responsiveness and resolution of problems. Specifically, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s capability to effectively conduct, manage and coordinate the resources to ensure successful performance of the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work.

3. Speed of Service

NIDA shall evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for completeness, feasibility, soundness and practicality of the proposed approach and work plan for accomplishing the requirements of the Statement of Work.

PAST PERFORMANCE

The Offeror should provide past performance information. Past performance information should cover a minimum of one (1) year in relevant services and deliveries of comparable systems. The Offeror should provide at least one reference for any project identified under the experience factor that has a performance period within the past three (3) years. For each reference, the offeror should provide the following: (1) Organization or contracting partner's name; (2) Point of contact's (POCs) name and contact information (i.e., current phone numbers and valid email addresses); and (3) a description that precisely explains the general scope and specific requirements of the contract.

Offerors will be evaluated based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken. Furthermore, the Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror's record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be the product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers all available and relevant information.

PRICE EVALUATION

Offerors price quote will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through cost and price analysis techniques. Price evaluation will not be conducted on any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable.

EVALUATION OF OPTIONS

It is anticipated that any contract(s) awarded from this solicitation will contain option provision(s) and period(s). In accordance with FAR Clause 52.217-5, Evaluation of Options, (July 1990), the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement, except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government's best interests. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(x) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation.

(xi) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 2.

(xii) The provision of FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (JUN 2023), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 3.

(xiii) There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition.

(xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is not applicable to this requirement.

(xv) Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the Offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the government requirements stated in this solicitation.

Basic cost and price information in the Offeror’s proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the reasonableness of the Offeror to supply the required goods/services. Any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision may include such factors as: past performance; special features required for effective service coverage; and prompt payment discount terms.

The Contractor shall submit its quote electronically.

Offerors MUST verify the valid certifications, registrations, and Representation and Certifications from the System of Award Management (SAM) applications at www.SAM.gov, which may be indicated on the Offeror’s cover sheet.

In addition the vendor Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) 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 no later than August 23, 2023, 11:00 AM EST. Late responses may not be accepted. All responses must reference solicitation number 75N95023Q00552. Responses must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Rob Bailey, at rob.bailey@nih.gov with a copy also to the Contracting Officer, Josh Lazarus, at josh.lazarus@nih.gov. For information regarding this solicitation, please contact Rob Bailey by email at rob.bailey@nih.gov or by phone at 301-451-7586.

(xvi) DATE QUESTIONS DUE: Questions and requests for clarification must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Rob Bailey, at rob.bailey@nih.gov on or before 11:00 AM EST, August 21, 2023. Fax responses will NOT be accepted.

ATTACHMENTS

• Attachment 1 – Statement of Work (SOW)


• Attachment 2 - FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022)


• Attachment 3 - FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (JUN 2023)


• Attachment 4 – Invoice and Payment Instructions

Attachments/Links