SOURCES SOUGHT
U -- Expanding Diversity in Engineering and the Physical Sciences
- Notice Date
- 6/6/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 611710
— Educational Support Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD, Office of Acquisitions, 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7902
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7902
- Solicitation Number
- NHLBI-CSB-(EB)-2012-3-RNP
- Archive Date
- 7/5/2011
- Point of Contact
- Rieka Plugge, Phone: (301) 435-0376, Kristiane E Cooper, Phone: 301-435-6674
- E-Mail Address
-
rieka.plugge@nih.gov, cooperke@nhlbi.nih.gov
(rieka.plugge@nih.gov, cooperke@nhlbi.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Description: This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSSN) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on behalf of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The purpose of this SBSSN is to identify qualified small business concerns [including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB)] that are interested in and capable of providing the services described below. The NHLBI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this SBSSN, the NHLBI may issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). The NHLBI is seeking capability statements from all eligible small business concerns [particularly Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB)] under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 611710 with a business size standard of $7.0 Million. Based on the responses received from this Sources Sought Notice, the proposed acquisition may be solicited as a Total Small Business Set-Aside. All eligible small business concerns responding to this Sources Sought Notice must have the capabilities to provide the services described below. INTRODUCTION Background: The lack of diversity in the science and engineering workforce stems from an underproduction of underrepresented students in science and engineering at every level of postsecondary education, with a progressive loss of representation as we proceed up the academic ladder. The potential science and engineering workforce is drawn primarily from among our nation's undergraduates who complete at least a bachelor's degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The primary problem in increasing diversity representation in these fields is the limited size of this pool of potential talent. Unfortunately, most NIH training programs are focused largely, if not exclusively, on an academic career and directed at later stages of the academic pipeline, supporting graduate and postgraduate diversity candidates, rather than enlarging the pool of potential diversity scientists and engineers by identifying and preparing promising undergraduate diversity candidates for graduate and postgraduate study. Objectives: The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to improve human health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical imaging and bioengineering technologies. The institute is also committed, as detailed in its strategic plan, to using research training programs and program initiatives to attract and increase the participation of under-represented populations in science and engineering. The NIBIB expects that the project supported by the planned contract award will test the effectiveness of faculty, student, and peer-to-peer mentoring; professional development; social networking; and exposure to academic and industrial research experiences in increasing the number of underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. We also expect that the outcome and ‘best practices' gained from this project will help design future programs designed to increase the undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) diversity pipeline and to direct students in this pipeline to productive biomedical research careers. Scope of Work: Offerors must propose an integrated set of integrated academic, financial, mentoring, professional development, and social networking program activities that address the objectives of the solicitation. The proposed activities should take place largely, if not exclusively, during the academic year at the offeror's institution and recruit and support a small (12 or more) group of underrepresented undergraduates in one or more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. All trainees recruited into the program will be expected to fully commit to all program activities, including one or two summer research internships, occurring between their sophomore and junior years and, if in a four-year setting, between their junior and senior years. Program participants, once selected, should not be dismissed from the program by the offeror's institution. Offerors should, however, have defined procedures for recapturing stipends and replacing students who voluntarily choose to leave the offeror's program or institution before program completion. NIBIB expects that the offeror's institution will develop new or adapt existing courses on Time Management, Professional Development, Research Preparation, and Career Counseling and will require program participants to enroll and actively participate in these courses in addition to their other required coursework. The institution should also have procedures in place to ensure that program participants who have not had adequate exposure to STEM-related coursework receive more preparatory assistance and encouragement to succeed academically in these courses. This assistance may also include program tutoring or remedial courses in mathematics and other important STEM prerequisites. NIBIB expects that strong and effective mentoring from administrative staff, advisory staff, and research faculty will be a key component of the proposed program. The offeror's institution should make all program staff, advisory staff, and research faculty aware of the aims and goals of the program. Where possible, student entering should be provided by gender- and diversity-appropriate mentors with strong backgrounds in mentoring underrepresented undergraduates. Where this is not available, the offeror's institution should provide additional training to program mentors to make them aware of the challenges faced by underrepresented undergraduates and more effective at helping program participants meet and overcome these challenges. All program participants should also have at least one program-assigned faculty advisor who can direct them to appropriate help with academic, professional, or social problems. In addition to the above mentoring, the offeror's institution should make every effort to institute a corp d'esprit among program participants and help facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring, both among program participants and between program participants and other underrepresented students at their institution. NIBIB expects that the offeror's institution will create a social network of family, faculty mentors, and peer-peer mentors that will link program participants into a 'virtual community' dedicated to helping these students to succeed. The offeror's institution will also be expected to continue to offer mentoring support and career guidance to program participants as they transition to four-year colleges and universities, graduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs, or research positions in the industrial sector. NIBIB expects that the offeror's institution will attempt to provide both research preparation and, if possible, hands-on academic-year or summer research experiences for program participations. The offeror's institutions should also give program participants the opportunity to travel to appropriate national meetings and workshops to introduce them to potential future mentors, colleagues, and the general biomedical research community. NIBIB also expects that program activities at the offeror's institution will be supplemented by off-site summer research internships in both the academic and industrial environment. These off-site summer research experiences, carried out in partnership with the NIH intramural program and NIBIB-identified biomedical imaging and biomedical device companies, will provide additional scientific and professional development to program participants and expose them to biomedical research in both the academic and industrial environments. The NIH intramural research program supports many summer enrichment programs that provide training opportunities for underrepresented undergraduate students. These include the Community College Student Enrichment Program (CCSEP), the NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP), the NIBIB Bioengineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP), the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), and the NIH Academy. These programs, by supporting full-time summer research experiences in NIH intramural laboratories and enhancing analytical, communication, and presentation skills, will better prepare participants to enter graduate STEM programs and undertake careers in biomedical research. Similar research experiences, undertaken in the industrial environment, will help program participants to appreciate the similarities and differences of the academic and industrial research environments. For both on-site and off-site research experiences, program participants should be required to present their research results to program mentors and other program participants. To be deemed capable, your organization must submit a written capability statement. Organizations that submit capability statements in response to this notice will be evaluated against the following technical areas: Technical evaluation criteria: (1) Understanding of the problem and appropriateness of the proposed approach (2) Appropriateness and innovativeness of the proposed program activities (3) Institutional environment, including programs, facilities, and personnel, devoted to undergraduate diversity (4) Institutional commitment, including past training record, to undergraduate diversity (5) Appropriateness of program tracking and evaluation plans (6) Demonstate that the offeror has performed similar work in the past. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance for this award is December 1, 2011 through November 30, 2015. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Small businesses that believe that they have the ability to satisfy all of the above stated Project Requirements, and who meet the stated size standard, are encouraged to submit a capability statement. On the first page of the capability statement, clearly state the small business concern's size status and type(s), name, address, point of contact, and DUNS number. The remainder of the capability statement should be tailored to the project requirements stated above. Information Submission Instructions: All capability statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Rieka Plugge, Contract Specialist, at rieka.plugge@nih.gov and Kristiane E. Cooper, Contracting Officer, at cooperke@mail.nih.gov, in either MS Word, WordPerfect or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by 4:30pm Eastern time on June 20, 2011. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. ANY RESPONSES RECEIVED AFTER THE SPECIFIED DATA AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Capability statements should not exceed fifteen (10), single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.), presented in single-spaced, 12-point font size minimum. Disclaimer: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract 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. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NHLBI/NHLBI-CSB-(EB)-2012-3-RNP/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN02465377-W 20110608/110606235027-3f0b15e824fff080a6f4030ee271c994 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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