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This pre-solicitation Sources Sought notice is issued by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS) for informational and planning purposes only. This market survey is being conducted to help determine if there is an adequate number of qualified Small Businesses, Disadvantaged Small Businesses, SBA-certified 8(a) Program Participants, SBA-certified HUB Zone Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), and/or Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB) 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 Small Business and Large Business vendors to provide the product described in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Responses to this Sources Sought notice will be used by the Government to help determine the appropriate acquisition strategy decision for any future solicitation(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 responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for the product.

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 business vendors), OR proceed with making a sole source award to a single vendor.

Scope of Work:

The USDA-ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) located at 1815 North University, Peoria, IL 61604 has a requirement for a Refrigerated Cooling System (RCS) in accordance with the attached Specifications. As such, the USDA-ARS Midwest Area (MWA) Administrative Office's Acquisition and Personal Property/Fleet is seeking capability statements from vendors capable of providing this product.

The associated NAICS is 334516 (“Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing”) with a small business size standard of under 1,000 employees. The applicable PSC is 6640 (“Laboratory Equipment and Supplies”).

Any subsequent procurement that might be made will 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.

Capability Statements & Qualifications:

Vendors who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with the USDA-ARS that can provide a technically acceptable product should submit a Capabilities Statement. For this notice a Capabilities Statement is NOT to be a quote, 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 Large Business.

To be considered eligible, all vendors who respond to this notice must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration at the time of their submission. A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number is required in order to register in SAM. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220. NO EXCEPTIONS. Vendor must include their UEI# on their submission. Vendors should also include their SAM status as well as the business size and socio-economic status(es) for the applicable NAICS.

Submission Instructions:

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 a product capable of meeting the technical requirements identified in the SOW. 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.

Questions in regards to this Sources Sought notice must be submitted in writing by email to Aaron Dimeo at aaron.dimeo@usda.gov by no later than 11:59 PM CT on Sunday, March 10, 2024. No phone calls with inquires/questions will be accepted. The answers to any questions received before the deadline will be posted as an amendment to the Sources Sought. No questions received after the deadline will be answered unless it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government.

Only electronic submissions made via email will be accepted. No verbal responses, information provided by phone, or responses submitted by USPS mail will be accepted. Please email all responses in writing with a capability statement AND sources sought response form to Aaron Dimeo at aaron.dimeo@usda.gov by or before 11:59 PM CT on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The e-mail subject line, body, or attachments MUST include the notice title (“Refrigerated Cooling System – Sources Sought”) and/or notice ID number (“12505B24Q0089SS”). Failure to do so may result in your response not being put into consideration.

Disclaimers:

This notice 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. Respondents 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. NO proprietary, sensitive, confidential, and/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.

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