Description
The United States General Services Administration (GSA) issues this Sources Sought Synopsis for information only to locate sources that are capable of providing the services as described herein. The GSA is currently conducting market research to locate qualified, experienced, and interested potential sources. The information requested by this Sources Sought announcement will be used within the GSA to facilitate decision making and will not be disclosed outside the GSA. This Sources Sought announcement is an advance notice for information and planning purposes only. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be made as a result of this Sources Sought announcement. The GSA will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this Sources Sought announcement. Should any future requirement(s) evolve from this preliminary planning process, the base period of performance is anticipated to be 01 October 2019 through 30 September 2020 with four additional 12-month option periods. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT: The GSA requires cyclic maintenance, periodic cleaning and conservation of its Fine Art Collection. This collection encompasses nearly 23,000 fine works of art. This procurement will encompass works in the GSA Rocky Mountain Region only. There are approximately 46 works in the six states of Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The works include sculpture, architectural arts and paintings. This Statement of Work addresses GSA immediate requirement for cyclic maintenance, periodic cleaning of approximately 18 works in various media and potential conservation. The potential source must be an experienced conservation firm with each principle conservator having over ten years of experience. The contractor must demonstrate extensive experience working for major museum collections. In addition to a full-time staff, at least three principal staff members must have a Master’s degree in Art Conservation from an accredited institution. Contractor must be a professional member or fellow of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) and adhere to the AIC Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Work must be done by principals in the firm and similarly-experienced staff under their direct supervision. The conservator(s) should be familiar with current trends in conservation and with professional practices relating to multiple medias. Cyclic maintenance and conservation projects will be undertaken on site where the works are located. The conservator must be equipped to perform a wide range of conservation treatments on multiple media types. Activities will include, but not be limited to, on-going cyclic maintenance overseen by GSA. General requirements and activities are as follows: (a.) Cyclic Maintenance: The Contractor will perform cyclic maintenance as prescribed by GSA including: maintenance planning, cleaning, minor treatment, coating replenishment, monitoring past repairs, monitoring stability, assessing changing site conditions, ongoing object assessment and documentation. The Contactor will provide written report after work is complete a one page written report with supporting images is required. The report shall include a statement of exactly what work was completed. (b.) Methodology of Fine Art Maintenance and Conservation: All conservation treatments should adhere to the guidelines for the AIC Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. The Contractor will honor GSA’s commitment of preserving and protecting the integrity and completeness of artworks by using the non-intrusive, reversible conservation methods. Original elements should be preserved, where possible, with the artifact. (c.) Documentation of Conservation: In accordance with AIC Standards of Practice, the Contractor must provide detailed documentation of conservation treatments, which will be maintained in GSA archival records. The documentation will take the form of electronic reports with photographic illustrations of the object before, during, and after conservation. (d.) Location: To facilitate collaboration and cooperation between GSA and the Contractor’s professional staff, the conservation laboratory/studio/facility must be located within 20 miles of Denver, Colorado. (e.) Emergency Response: In cases of emergency, the Contractor must guarantee 24-hour, rapid response during an emergency situation, and agree to provide GSA with a recovery plan within 24 hours of first contact. Contractor must demonstrate experience working with collections that have experienced damage due to fire, water, and/or natural disaster. Prompt response time is required in case of emergency. (f.) Consultation: At the request of GSA, the Contractor will make recommendations for long-term collections care and maintenance. (g.) Technical analysis: The Contractor at the request of GSA may perform a technical evaluation during any cyclic maintenance or conservation. (h.) Subcontracting: If there is a need to subcontract special projects, or subcontract for specialized assistance on normally routine projects, the subcontractor must be pre-approved by the GSA. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) number is 711510 and the size standard is $5M. Interested parties may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform this effort in writing to the point of contact identified below not later than 4:00 pm local time on July 15, 2019. Such information will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to compete this procurement on a small business set-aside basis, provided 2 or more qualified small businesses respond to this sources sought synopsis with information sufficient to support a set-aside. Be advised that the U.S. Government 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. Oral communications are NOT acceptable for responding to this notice. Responding sources shall provide a detailed capabilities statement stating their experience in providing the same or similar services described in this notice, a point of contact with phone and e-mail information, business status (socio-economic qualifications such as 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOB, etc.), business size based on NAICS 711510 and a positive statement of interest to submit a proposal. This request for information is not a commercial solicitation and the Government will not pay for any information submitted, or for any cost associated with providing the information. Interest parties capable of performing the work described herein should send their response via e-mail to: Joan Amend before the required response date.