Biocontainment Facility Operational Readiness and Commissioning

This is a Sources Sought Notice only. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) desires to procure a contract for Biocontainment Facility Operational Readiness and Commissioning (Cx) Specialist services support to provide Operational (BSL-3/4) and Commissioning (BSL-4) Project Management Office (PMO), BSL-4 Commissioning Support Team, Program Management, Full Mission Transfer and Full Operational Capability, Project and Construction Remediation Management, BSL-4 Commissioning Execution and Management, and ongoing Annual Performance Verification (APV) efforts.

Be advised that the USDA will not be able to set aside this requirement if 2 or more small businesses do not respond with information to support the set-aside. We encourage all small businesses, in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women- Owned Small Business concerns), to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement at a fair market price.

This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this sources sought notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Government wide Point of Entry. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Government wide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The anticipated NAICS code is 541618, with a size standard of $19.0 Million.

In response to this sources sought, please provide:

• Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, Unique Entity ID (UEI), a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code. 
• Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not. Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any.
• Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination.  The detail must include which facilities and their specific biosecurity levels.
• Information to help determine if the service requirement is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information (e.g., market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc.
• Identify how USDA can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns.
• Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition.