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Contract Opportunity

This Sources Sought Notice is being issued for informational purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A Source Sought Notice for information regarding a potential procurement with National Institute of Food and Agriculture, (NIFA), USDA is being conducted. NIFA has the need for a requirement to conduct annual crosscut risk analysis to determine the amount of funds that are expended by NIFA on biotechnology research. The requirement will be a firm fixed price contract, base year with two one-year option years.

This is not a solicitation announcement or request for proposal. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this project is 541990 with a Size Standard of $15 million.

Responses to this notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. The USDA will not award a contract based on responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice.

After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit small business competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition.

Background

The purpose of this contract is to conduct an annual crosscut analysis to determine the amount of funds that are expended by the National Institute of Food Agriculture (NIFA) on biotechnology research. This crosscut analysis involves Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who read and evaluate more than 1,000 reports of NIFA-funded research projects to determine the percentage of biotechnology in each project. The process of the annual biotechnology crosscut analysis requires Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who read and classify each report according to prescribed criteria. For example, the Subject Matter Expert (SME) evaluates and classifies each research project’s report into specific categories, provided by NIFA, and the percentage of biotechnology involved in each of these projects. The completed evaluation of these reports is then summarized into a report for NIFA’s budget office to report annually on biotechnology expenditures. In addition, this biotechnology crosscut report contributes to generating a program budget for USDA’s Biotechnology Risk assessment Grants (BRAG) program. Historically, this work has been done using project reports from NIFA’s Current Research Information System (CRIS) (http://cris.nifa.usda.gov/). With the future phase out of the CRIS system, the contractor will be required to adapt to project reports sourced from an alternative NIFA system. An example of how the biotechnology crosscut is used to determine a BRAG program budget: in FY2021, the biotechnology crosscut analyzes research projects from CRIS reports initiated in FY2020 to determine a FY2022 BRAG program budget.

Objectives

NIFA will search for NIFA-funded research projects using keywords that broadly encompasses biotechnology. This strategy retrieves all projects that reference terms such as: genetic engineering, biotechnology, DNA, RNAi, genes, transgenics, molecular and cellular genetics, and related areas. A range of process dates is given to limit the retrieval to new and revised projects that have entered NIFA’s system since the previous update of the last crosscut analyses (usually one year). The saved search is kept broad to pick up as many relevant projects as possible but limited to only NIFA and state partner sponsored projects. The results are then separated into the specified categories using subject of investigation classification codes. This list of retrieved projects will then be delivered to the Contractor for further biotechnology percentage crosscut analyses.

The contractor shall conduct a crosscut analysis using the retrieved projects and Crosscut Spreadsheet provided by NIFA staff. The end result will be spreadsheets outlining the percentage of projects pertaining to a specific component (listed below in deliverables). The sum of the percentages must equal the overall percentage of relevance to biotechnology. Once the analysis is completed, the Crosscut Spreadsheet is returned to the NIFA’s Planning, Accountability, and Reporting Staff (PARS) Office.

The goals of the biotechnology crosscut analysis process are to:

1. Determine total and categorized expenditure of biotechnology projects across NIFA funded projects;


2. Use the expenditures of biotechnology research to determine BRAG program budget for the next fiscal year.

Scope

The Contractor shall receive the projects file, Crosscut Spreadsheet, and general guidance document for conducting cross-cut analyses. Upon determining the percentage of biotechnology within the projects based on the guidance provided, the Contractor shall record this data on the Crosscut Spreadsheet provided to return to NIFA.

Tasks or Requirements

1. Develop a report detailing the process of the biotechnology crosscut analyses – a data management plan outlining a tentative schedule to ensure the deliverables will be submitted on time.


2. Determine major changes in crosscut categories in comparison to previous years crosscuts.


3. Create at least three electronic spreadsheets outlining the percentage of projects with the specified components described in the SOW.


4. The contractor shall provide a yearly annual report that summarizes the activities conducted for the year. The report should include a description of the significant outcomes and successes over the past year, as well as a summary of barriers and issues encountered during the contract period as it relates to the crosscut analyses process and NIFA’s oversight of the contract, if applicable. In addition, the report should contain detailed listing of activities for each subcontractor involved in the analyses and updated contact information of each participant involved.


5. The monthly progress report will summarize the activities of the preceding month. Each progress report will identify events and fully describe any significant outcomes. The monthly progress report shall identify any issues or concerns to NIFA staff.

Government-Furnished Equipment and Government-Furnished Information

The Government will provide a file of the retrieved projects (search result using a predetermined criteria by NIFA staff) and the Crosscut Spreadsheet for the analyses to be recorded on.

Place of Performance

The Contractor is responsible for his/her own workspace, computer, email, and telephone access to perform the duties specified.

Period of Performance

The period of performance is as follows:

Base Year: 03.27.2024 – 03.26.2025

Option Year I: 03.27.2025 – 03.26.2026

Option Year II: 03.27.2026 – 03.26.2027

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. NO SOLICITATION EXISTS. THIS REQUEST IS INTENDED ONLY TO IDENTIFY SOURCES.

Government point of contact for this notice is Marian Dyson at Marian.Dyson@usda.gov.

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