SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Broad Agency Announcement – Capacity Building and Ground Control Research for the Mining Industry
- Notice Date
- 2/12/2016
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch (Pittsburgh), Post Office Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15236-0070
- ZIP Code
- 15236-0070
- Solicitation Number
- 2016-N-17733
- Archive Date
- 4/12/2016
- Point of Contact
- John J Carolan, Phone: 412-386-6430, Larry Guess, Phone: 412-386-6828
- E-Mail Address
-
JCarolan@cdc.gov, lguess@cdc.gov
(JCarolan@cdc.gov, lguess@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NIOSH BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT Request for Proposal No. 2016-N-17733 INTRODUCTION: This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2). A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued. This announcement will remain open until March 28, 2016. Full proposals must be submitted by March 28, 2016 for funding consideration during fiscal year 2016. NIOSH will not issue paper copies of this announcement and reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals in response to this announcement and further reserves the right to fund all, some or none of the proposals received under this BAA. NIOSH provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NIOSH to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Awards under this BAA will consist of firm-fixed-price contracts. Therefore, proposals submitted as a result of this announcement will fall under the purview of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Agency Name - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety and Health Research 626 Cochrans Mill Road Pittsburgh PA 15236-3611 B. Research Opportunity Title - Capacity Building and Ground Control Research for the Mining Industry C. Program Name - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research Research Opportunity Number - Request for Proposal (RFP) 2016-N-17733 D. Response Date - This announcement will remain open until 04:00 pm Eastern time on March 28, 2016, with full proposals being received prior to this end date/time. E. Research Opportunity Description - The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications and to ensure adequate capacity in important research areas. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to improve mine safety and health in general, and specifically to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and to award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for ground control research and capacity building. Background and Need: Stable mine openings and highwalls are fundamental to ensuring the safety of miners and providing a zero-harm work environment. Underground mining has one of the highest fatal injury rates of any U.S. industry, more than five times the national average for worker fatalities, and ground failures are the single largest source of those fatalities. During the past decade, approximately 40% of underground mining fatalities were caused by roof falls, rib collapses, or bumps/bursts. In addition, approximately 600 miners are non-fatally injured every year by rock falls in coal mines, and these injuries tend to be severe. Yet, the number of mining professionals with expertise in mine ground control engineering has declined significantly over the past few decades because of retirements, a declining number of graduates, and a lack of research funds to support training of professionals in this critical area. The underground coal mine disasters of this decade involving roof collapses have brought this deficiency of talent to the forefront. In 2007 six coal miners and three rescue workers perished in two coal bumps at Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine and a roof collapse also help trigger a methane explosion in Alabama at the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 Mine in 2001, which claimed 13 lives. NIOSH is committed to rebuilding capacity in the area of mine ground control. This announcement is directly related to the NIOSH OMSHR strategic goal to: • Eliminate ground failure fatalities and injuries in the mining industry. Objective: The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, NIOSH, is soliciting proposals from universities or colleges specifically focused on ground control to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new innovations and technologies to improve mine health and/or safety. The objective of this BAA is to address important mine ground control safety issues and to develop a new cohort of mine ground control experts through graduate education. Applicants are given significant flexibility in defining proposed research areas. As such, all basic or applied mine ground control research topics that have an impact on safety will be considered. Topics can be applicable to all types of surface or underground mining or can be pertinent to only a specific mining method or mineral commodity. Sample research areas include but are not limited to: 1. Identification of conditions and mechanisms that lead to mine instability; 2. Controlling ground failures in underground mines; 3. Controlling highwall collapses in surface mines; 4. Improved rock support, including roof bolting technology and supplemental support; 5. Mine design guidelines; 6. Advances in geotechnical numerical analysis; 7. Improved backfilling technology; 8. Innovative mine stability monitoring; and, 9. Advanced in situ rock mass characterization. A parallel intent is to provide an adequate supply of qualified geotechnical engineers and professors specializing in mine stability to ensure the future health and safety of our nation's mine workers. Contract awardees are expected to produce graduates with doctoral and/or master's degrees in mining engineering or a related field in an engineering discipline with a specialization in mine ground control. F. Additional Information - Information and specific questions of a technical nature or of a business nature only will be accepted via e-mail sent to John J. Carolan, Contract Specialist, at the following email address: JCarolan@cdc.gov. G. Include your name and email address on the message. Responses to the email questions will be handled on a first-come basis and generally will be answered within 10 business days. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AND ALL COMMUNICATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS WILL BE HANDLED ONLY BY EMAIL. Additional information is also available online at the following address: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/researchprogram/fundingops.html H. Instrument Type(s) - It is anticipated that awards will take the form of contracts. I. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers - N/A J. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Titles - N/A K. Other Information - N/A II. AWARD INFORMATION NIOSH plans to make awards that represent the best value to the Government in accordance with the evaluation criteria. NIOSH is seeking participants for this program that are capable of performing mine ground control safety research and producing masters and doctoral graduates in mining engineering or a related field in an engineering discipline with a specialization in mine ground control. 1. Total Amount of Funding the Program Office expects to Award through the Announcement Up to $5,000,000 over 5 years 2. Anticipated Number and Estimated Amount of Awards Contracts will be limited to a base year and up to four option year periods. Each contract is limited to a maximum of $250,000 per year for a maximum of five (5) years. Total value of each contract may be up to $1,250,000. NIOSH anticipates funding up to four (4) contracts. 3. Anticipated Award Types The contracts will be Firm Fixed Price. NIOSH will not issue grants, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements under this BAA. 4. Funding Restrictions Funding may be used for the following: • Graduate-student tuition and stipends • Two (2) months of summer salary (maximum) for the PI • Ten percent (10%) academic year salary (maximum) for the PI • One (1) month of summer salary (maximum) for a Co-PI, if applicable • Five percent (5%) academic year salary (maximum) for a Co-PI, if applicable • Equipment necessary for the proposed research • Equipment for building rock mechanics laboratory infrastructure, if a $1-for-$1 match is obtained from the academic institution • Domestic travel required for conducting research • Domestic travel for students and PI to a national conference, annually, if a paper is presented on research results and, • Domestic travel required to attend NIOSH contract review for the PI and students supported by this funding. The location and dates of the meeting will be determined by NIOSH. • Special supplies that are not normally considered as part of overhead NIOSH will review contracts annually prior to the continuation of funding for the following year. The PI and at least two of the students supported by this funding must be present. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION • The Principal Investigator (PI) must hold a full-time academic position at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher at an academic institution within the U.S. • The PI must be employed by an academic department that offers an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree in mining or minerals engineering. In addition, the department must offer graduate degrees (doctoral and/or masters) in mining or mineral engineering; • The PI must have taught an undergraduate or graduate course in mine ground control or conducted mine ground control research; • The participation of a Co-PI with related expertise outside of mining engineering is permitted and even encouraged; and, • Funded graduate students must possess an undergraduate degree in mining engineering or a related engineering/sciences field. IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION A. Application and Submission Process Offerors must submit a full proposal that provides detailed technical and cost information as outlined herein to support the scope of the proposed effort. Full proposals will be evaluated and a determination made for contract awards. B. Content and Format of Proposals - The proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207, applicable law, and regulations. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information. Proposal Format: Volume 1 - Technical and Volume 2 - Cost Proposal • Paper Size - 8.5 x 11 inch paper • Margins - 1 inch, all • Spacing - single • Font - Times New Roman, 12 point • Number of Pages - Volume 1 and Volume 2 are both unlimited as to the number of pages. Limitations within sections of the proposal are indicated in the individual descriptions shown below. Proposals exceeding the page limit may not be evaluated. • Copies - one (1) original, two (2) additional hard copies Proposal Content: Volume 1: Technical Proposal Each section of the Technical Proposal must start on a new page. • Cover Page: This must include the words "TECHNICAL PROPOSAL" and the following: • BAA number; • Title of Proposal; • Identity of Offeror; • Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address); • Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address), and; • Duration of research tasks. • Table of Contents • Statement of Work: (8 pages maximum) A Statement of Work (SOW) clearly detailing the scope and objectives of the effort and the technical approach. Include a detailed listing of the technical tasks/subtasks organized by year. • Project Schedule and Milestones: (2 pages max) A graphical summary of the work schedule of tasks/subtasks and milestones. • Assertion of Data Rights: N/A • Deliverables: • A detailed quarterly and annual Contract Status Reports for each year of the project. These reports must include the names of any students supported with funding during that year of the contract and what degree (M.S. or PhD) each student is pursuing. Additionally, the contractor must document any students who were partially or fully funded by this contract and graduated during the contract year. • Make an annual research status presentation at the International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (locations near or at the venues for these presentations will be determined by NIOSH). Presentations will be as follows: 10-minute overview presentation by the sponsoring professor, followed by a 15-minute technical presentation by at least two of the students involved in the contracted effort. • A detailed final report that summarizes the work and results for the entire project. This report must include the names of any students supported with funding during the duration of the contract and what degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) each student pursued. Additionally, the contractor must document any students who were partially or fully funded by this contract and graduated from the university indicating if an M.S. or Ph.D was the degree obtained. Note: Specific deliverables (which may include software and hardware deliverables) may be proposed by each offeror and finalized during negotiations. • Qualifications: (2 pages maximum) A discussion of previous accomplishments and work in this, or closely related areas, and the qualifications of the investigator(s). Key personnel résumés shall be attached to the proposal and will not count toward the 2-page limitation. • Management Approach: N/A Volume 2: Cost Proposal The Cost Proposal shall consist of a cover page and two parts. Part 1 will provide a detailed cost breakdown of all costs by cost category and cost for base and each option period, and Part 2 will provide a cost breakdown by task/subtask using the same task numbers in the Statement of Work. Cover Page: The use of the SF 1411 is optional. The words "Cost Proposal" should appear on the cover page in addition to the following information: • BAA number; • Title of Proposal; • Identity of prime Offeror; • Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, and electronic mail address); • Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, and electronic mail address); • Duration of research and demonstration tasks, and; • Summary statement of proposed costs. Part 1: For proposal pricing purposes, Offerors should assume a contract start date of 09/01/2016. Detailed breakdown of all costs by cost category and cost for base and each option period: • Direct Labor - Individual labor category or person, with associated labor hours or percentage of time and unburdened direct labor rates; • Indirect Costs - Fringe Benefits, Overhead (must show base amount and rate); • Proposed contractor acquired equipment for proposed research projects should be specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs. An explanation of any estimating factors, including their derivation and application, shall be provided. • Travel - Number of trips, number of days per trip, departure and arrival destinations, number of people, etc. Include costs associated with attending the annual NIOSH contract review; • Materials should be specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs. An explanation of any estimating factors, including their derivation and application, shall be provided. Please include a brief description of the Offeror's procurement method to be used; • Other Directs Costs Part 2: Cost breakdown by task/subtask using the same task numbers in the Statement of Work. C. Significant Dates and Times - This announcement will remain open until March 28, 2016. Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modification, or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. 1. Submission of Proposals: Full proposals must be received prior to 4:00 pm Eastern time on March 28, 2016. 2. Method of Submission: Full proposals can be submitted electronically via email or by the regular mail (see item D. below for the addresses). Proposals sent via email must be time stamped by the time indicated above (Note: the email date and time becomes the official "time stamp" for electronic submissions.). 3. Submission of Late Proposals - Any proposal, modification, or revision received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered unless there is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers, or it was the only proposal received. 4. Information for Electronic Mail (Email) Proposals a. Definition. "email proposal," as used in this provision, means a proposal, revision or modification of a proposal, or withdrawal of a proposal that is transmitted to and received by the Government via computers utilizing electronic mail. This does not include facsimile concept papers or proposals which are prohibited for this solicitation. b. Offerors may submit email proposals as responses to this solicitation. Email proposals are subject to the same rules as paper proposals. c. If any portion of an email proposal received by the Contracting Officer is unreadable to the degree that conformance to the essential requirements of the solicitation cannot be ascertained from the document- i. The Contracting Officer immediately shall notify the offeror and permit the offeror to resubmit the proposal; ii. The method and time for resubmission shall be prescribed by the Contracting Officer after consultation with the offeror; and iii. The resubmission shall be considered as if it were received at the date and time of the original unreadable submission for the purpose of determining timeliness, provided the offeror complies with the time and format requirements for resubmission prescribed by the Contracting Officer. d. The Government reserves the right to make award solely on the email proposal. However, if requested to do so by the Contracting Officer, the apparently successful offeror promptly shall submit the complete original signed proposal. D. Address for the Submission of Proposals - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Acquisition Services - Branch 4 Attention: RFP 2016-N-17733 626 Cochrans Mill Road - Building 140 / Second Floor Pittsburgh PA 15236-3611 Email: JCarolan@cdc.gov Phone: 412-386-6430 V. EVALUATION INFORMATION 1. Evaluation Criteria - Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: • Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal and effectiveness in training graduate students in the field of mine ground control engineering; (45 points) • The qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator and Co- Principal Investigator, if applicable, based on the criteria specified in the QUALIFICATIONS portion of this solicitation-special consideration will be given to Principal Investigators that are in tenure track faculty positions in the area of ground control engineering for mining; (25 points) • Number of proposed graduate students with respect to requested funding; (20 points) • The proposed budgetary costs to complete all elements of the proposed work are realistic. (10 points) Past Performance - As required by FAR 15.305, past performance will be evaluated as part of the contract award process. The Government intends to perform a past performance evaluation only on those Offerors who have been recommended for award. This evaluation may require some additional relevant performance information from the Offeror if it is not readily available from prior submissions. 2. Evaluation Panel - Technical and cost proposals submitted under this BAA will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 3.104-5 and 15.207. The program officer and other Government scientific experts will perform the evaluation of technical proposals. Government business professionals will evaluate cost proposals. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more support contractors may be utilized as subject-matter-expert technical consultants. Similarly, support contractors may be utilized to evaluate cost proposals. However, proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. Each support contractor's employee having access to technical and cost proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be required to sign a non-disclosure statement prior to receipt of any proposal submissions. VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 1. Reporting - • A detailed quarterly and annual Contract Status Report for each year of the project. • Make an annual research status presentation at the International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (locations near or at the venues for these presentations will be determined by NIOSH). Note presentations will be as follows: 10-minute overview presentation by the sponsoring professor, followed by a 15-minute technical presentation by one or more of the students involved in the contracted effort. • A detailed final report that summarizes the work and results for the entire project. However, please note that specific additional deliverables (which may include software and hardware deliverables) may be proposed by each offeror and finalized during negotiations. 2. Continuation of Funding - NIOSH will review contract performance at the end of the base year and at the end of subsequent option periods to determine the continuation of funding for the following year. VII. OTHER INFORMATION 1. Government Property/Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Facilities Each proposer must provide a very specific description of any equipment/hardware that it needs to acquire to perform the work. This description should indicate whether or not each particular piece of equipment/hardware will be included as part of a deliverable item under the resulting award. Also, this description should identify the component, nomenclature, and configuration of the equipment/hardware that it proposes to purchase for this effort. It is the government's desire to have the contractor purchase the equipment/hardware for deliverable items under their contract. The purchase on a direct reimbursement basis of special test equipment or other equipment that is not included in a deliverable item will be evaluated for allowability on a case-by-case basis. Government research facilities may be available and could potentially be considered government furnished equipment/facilities. These facilities and resources are of high value and some are in constant demand by multiple programs. The use of these facilities and resources will be negotiated as the program unfolds. Offerors should not assume that government owned facilities, including the Safety Research Coal Mine, or the Experimental Mine, are available for research ideas submitted under this announcement. If these facilities are essential to the research proposal, the Offeror needs to clearly identify the reasons for using these facilities. If the facilities are not available during the proposed time frame for the research described in the Proposal and there are no other field site options listed, the Proposal will be rejected.
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