SOLICITATION NOTICE
T -- Partnerships and Grants Proposal Writing Services - Statement of Work
- Notice Date
- 7/11/2012
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, ARS NCRBSC APB MD, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20705
- Solicitation Number
- AG-32SB-S-12-TH004
- Archive Date
- 8/3/2012
- Point of Contact
- Travis Heller,
- E-Mail Address
-
travis.heller@ars.usda.gov
(travis.heller@ars.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Statement Of Work The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is requesting proposals from vendors for Partnerships and Grants Proposal Writing Services for the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) located in Beltsville, MD. It is the Government's intent to select a single vendor, which represents the best overall value based on the following evaluation criteria: · Factor 1. Documented successful experience in writing research grant proposals, especially as related to agricultural fields such as life sciences, engineering, and environmental science. · Factor 2. Documented experience providing consultation and facilitation for scientists preparing large, complex proposals. · Factor 3. Positive experiences from references provided by candidate. · Price. For evaluation purposes, the Government will evaluate offers for award by adding the total price for all Task Order (TO) templates, which is described in more detail below. Evaluation factor 1 is approximately equal in value and importance as the combination of factors 2 & 3. Evaluation factor 1 is weighted at 50%, while factor 2 is weighted at 20% and factor 3 is weighted at 30%. Evaluation factors 1, 2 & 3 when combined are significantly more important than price. Quotation Submission Instructions Only one (1) quotation will be accepted per vendor. No alternate quotations will be accepted. The work required to provide proposal writing services to ARS scientists is variable, depending on the size and complexity of the research agreement and the capabilities and needs of the ARS scientist. In addition, timelines are variable and sometimes short. Federal funding agencies often provide 60 days from the issuance of a Request for Applications (RFA) to the deadline for proposal submission. However, this interval can be as short as 30 days or considerably longer. Some funding organizations or programs allow the submission of unsolicited proposals and do not have firm deadline dates. Funding organizations include Federal granting, action, and regulatory agencies, foundations and other non-profit organizations, organizations representing producers of agricultural goods, and for-profit organizations of various sizes. Timelines must include sufficient time for review of the proposed work within ARS as well as final preparation and submission with reasonable allowances made to rectify errors. Because ARS has not previously made such a service available to its scientists, it is unknown how many ARS scientists will make use of this service. Part A of Quotation Past Performance This part of the quotation shall not include any pricing information. Section 1. Documented successful experience in writing research grant proposals, especially as related to agricultural fields such as life sciences, engineering, and environmental science. The vendor shall provide a narrative thoroughly describing its past interactions with writing research grant proposals, with emphasis to agricultural fields. This narrative should focus on any similar practices that are described to meet the Government's requirements as discussed in Attached A, Statement of Work. Section 2. Documented experience providing consultation and facilitation for scientists preparing large, complex proposals. The vendor shall provide a narrative thoroughly describing its past interactions with providing consultation and facilitation for large, complex proposals. This narrative should focus on any similar practices that are described to meet the Government's requirements as discussed in Attached A, Statement of Work. Section 3. Positive experiences from references provided by candidate. Quoters shall provide a list of five (5) projects describing their past performance in performing the same or similar work under contract vehicles similar (or larger) in size, scope and complexity to those requirements outlined in this RFP. For each project include: 1. Name of the project; 2. Description of the work; 3. Contract number, date and type; 4. Name and address of the acquiring Government agency or commercial customers; •5. Initial contract amount and final contract amount; •6. Any problems encountered in performance of the work and corrective actions(s) taken, and; •7. Name(s), telephone number(s) and email address of references from the acquiring agency or customer who may be contacted for further information. At least two of the references provided shall be based on the Contractor's past performance, and the others may be from teaming partners. PLEASE MAKE SURE THE POC INFORMATION IS CURRENT - FAILURE TO PROVIDE CURRENT INFORMATION MAY HAVE AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO EVALUATE YOUR QUOTE. All projects submitted shall have been performed within the last three (3) years. References other than those identified by the Quoter may be contacted by the Government, with the information received used in the evaluation of the Past Performance. The Government reserves the right to consider other information or sources at its disposal during the evaluation of the Past Performance factor. Part B of Quotation Price Quote. Because of the complex and variable situations described in the preceding paragraph, this contract shall be for services provided in Indefinite Delivery and Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ). A minimum of $15,000 is guaranteed and a maximum of $135,000 is permitted. The contract shall be for one year with options for a second and third year with the same minimum and maximums of $15,000 and $135,000 respectively. Bids on the Statement of Work must include a cost for each of the standard Task Orders. Work on the contract shall be done through the issuance of specific Task Orders. There are five standard Task Order templates that are part of this contract and detail specific requirements and deliverables. An ARS scientist may choose one of the five standard Task Order templates that is most appropriate for the proposal writing services required. Thus, any or all of the standard Task Order templates may be utilized multiple times as specific Task Orders during the life of the contract. Upon selection of a standard Task Order template for a specific Task Order, the Contractor and the Primary ARS Scientist shall negotiate and agree upon a timeline for the remaining deliverables. This timeline must ensure that the Contractor shall deliver the final deliverable to the Primary ARS Scientist no later than 10 business days prior to the deadline posted by the funding organization. This timeline must be transmitted by email to the ARS Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) and the ARS Contracting Officer (CO) in a manner that shows the agreement and commitment by both the Contractor and the ARS scientist with the timeline. Upon receipt and approval of the timeline by the COTR, the CO will execute the specific task order. The Contractor shall then deliver those services as specified in the identified specific Task Order. Evaluation & Award Technical Evaluation Quotes will be evaluated to ensure that it meets or exceeds the overall requirements of the RFP including but not limited to: the statement of work, technical requirements, and terms and conditions of the RFP. In addition, the quoter's approach to successfully meet the requirements of the RFP will be evaluated. Evaluation Quoters will be evaluated on performance under existing and prior contracts for similar products or services. The Government will focus on information that demonstrates quality of performance relative to the size and complexity to the procurement under consideration. Price Evaluation Quoters shall provide a price for each Task Order template listed in Attachment A, Statement of Work and a total price for the project. The Government will evaluate offers for award by adding the total price for all Task Order templates, using the prices shown in Attachment A, Statement of Work. In reviewing and verifying a Quoters total evaluated price, the Government may make adjustments to the pricing table for errors and omissions, or make other corrections as deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer. Award Please prepare a quote meeting all of the criteria listed in the attached Statement of Work. The quote should include a firm fixed price (FFP) quote for the requirement. Based on the evaluation factors described above, the Government will select the contractor determined to represent the overall best value to the Government. In making this best value determination, the Government will consider the extent to which the proposal exceeds the minimum technical requirements. All contractors will need to be an active vendor on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to be eligible to receive any government award. All questions/inquiries pertaining to this RFP including any clarification of the requirements or other information needed to prepare a quote shall be directed to Travis Heller, Contract Specialist, via e-mail: Travis.Heller@ars.usda.gov, no later than 12:00 PM (Eastern) Monday, July 16, 2012. The Government will provide pertinent information in this regard to other Quoters, as appropriate.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/0dc5dea9486a11c3ca62ead79c44a1db)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, United States
- Zip Code: 20705
- Zip Code: 20705
- Record
- SN02800172-W 20120713/120712000235-0dc5dea9486a11c3ca62ead79c44a1db (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |