Description
This pre-solicitation Sources Sought notice is issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Midwest Area (MWA) Administrative Office’s Acquisitions & Personal Property/Fleet Team for informational and planning purposes only. This market survey is being conducted to help determine if there is an adequate number of qualified SAM.gov registered Small Businesses Concern, Disadvantaged Small Businesses Concerns, SBA-certified 8(a) Program Participant Concern, SBA-certified HUB Zone Businesses Concern, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) Concern, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) Concern, Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) Concern, or Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB) Concern vendors available that would be interest in a proposed acquisition who meet the specific criteria outlined below to justify a set-aside. This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is not a Solicitation Announcement, Request for Quote (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), or Invitation for Bid (IFB) nor is it an announcement for a forthcoming solicitation announcement, RFQ, RFP, or IFB. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. The Government will not make an award on the basis of this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of vendors to provide the services described in the attached requirements document. Responses to this Sources Sought notice will be used by the Government to help determine the appropriate acquisition strategy decision for any future requirement(s). Responses to this sources sought announcement will also assist the Government in determining whether or not any future requirement similar to this one should be set aside for small business concerns, be issued as unrestricted, be issued as “full and open”, or be procured through sole-source acquisition procedures. The USDA-ARS requests and will accept responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for the services. The Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred in providing a response to this notice. The Government will provide no reimbursement for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of any information that is received in response to this notice. The USDA-ARS will not make an award on the basis of any responses received to this notice. 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 competition to only qualified Small Businesses, Disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, or other small business vendors or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, issue a “full and open” solicitation (which would include large businesses and foreign vendors), or proceed with making a sole source award to a single vendor. The associated NAICS is 111110 (“ Soybean Farming” ) with a small business size standard of under $2.25 Million . The applicable PSC is F009 ( “Natural Resources/Conservation- Seed Collection/Production” ). The USDA-ARS National Soybean Research Center (NSRC) has a requirement for Seed Increase for Tropical Soybean Germplasm Accessions in accordance with the attached requirements document. The Government is seeking capability statements from vendors capable of providing these services. For additional information related to the solicitation please see the requirements document and documents in the attachments. Vendors who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with the USDA-ARS that can provide technically acceptable services should submit a Capabilities Statement. For this notice a Capabilities Statement is NOT to be a quote, offer, proposal, or bid, but rather short statements regarding the vendor's ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. In addition to the Capabilities Statement, vendors should complete the “Sources Sought Response Form” included in the attachments section of this notice and indicate whether they are a Small Business, Disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, or Other Than Small Business. Inquiries concerning this notice are to be submitted in writing via email only to the point of contact listed in the “Primary Point of Contact” field. All inquiries regarding notice requirements or clarifications will be allowed up to 48-hours prior to the close date/time/time zone listed in the “Date Offers Due” field. No phone inquiries or requests for return phone calls will be accepted. No questions will be accepted or answered after this deadline unless determined to be in the best interest of the Government. Any inquiry responses or clarifications not already documented in the notice posting information will be added as an amendment for all vendors to access. This information will be noted in the “Description” field of the public posting at least 24 hours prior to the “Date Offers Due.” Responses to this notice shall include a completed copy of the “Sources Sought Response Form” provided in the attachments and a technical/capabilities statements. Responses must be submitted in writing via email to the point of contact listed in the “Primary Point of Contact” field and be received by or before the close date/time/time zone stated in the “Date Offers Due” field section relative to this notice with ALL of the requested and required documentation. Only electronic submissions made via email will be accepted. Verbal responses made by phone call , submissions by USPS mail , submissions in the body of an email , OR submissions only on company letterhead without a completed copy of the response form may not be accepted. Failure to submit all of the required information/documentation on time (defined as past the “Response Date and Time” stated in this notice) or meet all of the submission requirements may result in a capabilities statement being deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration as a potential source. All correspondence concerning this solicitation shall be submitted via email only to the point of contact listed in the “Primary Point of Contact” field. No phone inquiries or requests for return phone calls will be accepted. No other contacts are listed that can officially represent this solicitation. Please note the time zone designation in the "General Information" section above. Other time zones are as designated in the solicitation attachments. The subject line of all emails related to this notice shall include the ID number. The notice ID number corresponds to the “Notice ID” field. It is recommended that the subject include the notice title as well. Failure to do so may result in any capabilities statement submitted being deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration as a potential source. Be sure to read and review all of the attachments and to complete any and all additional documentation required as part of your capabilities statement submission. Of critical importance is to review the requirements document as it contains the technical specifications, features, and capabilities of the needed services. Submission of any information in response to this notice is purely voluntary. Interested vendors are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought notice. Any vender responding to this notice must ensure that its response is complete and furnishes sufficiently detailed technical information to allow the Government to conclusively determine that the vendor qualifies and is capable of providing services capable of meeting the technical specifications, features, and capabilities identified in the requirements document. The Government is not responsible for locating or securing any information, not identified in the response. Interested vendors are instructed to only provide the information requested. Any additional information will not be reviewed. To be eligible, all vendors who respond to this notice must have a current and active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). NO EXCEPTIONS . Vendors who are not currently registered in SAM or whose SAM registration is inactive may be deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration as a potential source. If you are NOT currently registered in SAM or your account has become inactive, you must register or reactivate your account and verify that it has become active prior to submitting a capabilities statement. Failure to do so may result in a capabilities statement being deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration as a potential source. Use of the Data Universal Numbering System (or DUNS) number as a vendor’s entity identifier ended on April 4, 2022 . A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number is now required in order to register in SAM. The UEI# will be used as the primary vendor’s evaluation reference. Vendors must include their UEI# on ALL capabilities statements submitted in response to this notice. Vendors should also include their SAM status as well as the business size and socio-economic status(es) for the applicable NAICS on their capabilities statement. Failure to do so may result in a capabilities statement being deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration as a potential source. If you experience any problems with the SAM.gov website or your SAM registration and will require assistance you will need to call the SAM Helpdesk at 866-606-8220. If you have any questions related to the SAM.gov website or your SAM registration you will need to call the SAM Helpdesk as well. The POC(s) for the notice cannot assist you with this Government website. Failure to demonstrate compliance with all instructions and to provide the required information in the requested format may constitute sufficient cause for a capabilities statement to be deemed nonresponsive and disqualified from being put into consideration f as a potential source. All responsible sources may submit a capabilities statement which if received by the date and time noted in the “Date Offers Due” field will be put into considered as a potential source. The Government reserves the right to cancel this notice, either before or after the closing date. This notice does not constitute any commitment by the Government. It does not obligate the Government to make an award or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Vendors are also advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback to the respondents about any of the information received. In order to protect the integrity of any future procurement that may arise from this announcement, information regarding the technical point of contact will not be given and no appointments for presentations will be made. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential, or classified information should be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation, combined synopsis/solicitation, solicitation, or notice of intent to sole source. After a review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis followed by a solicitation, a combined synopsis/solicitation, a solicitation, or a notice of intent to sole source on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities. Any subsequent procurement that might be made is expected to be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and under Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) in accordance with FAR Part 13.