NASA Post Doctoral Program
Synopsis – Mar 05, 2014
General Information
Solicitation Number: NNHPOSTDOCTORAL
Posted Date: Mar 05, 2014
FedBizOpps Posted Date: Mar 05, 2014
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No
Original Response Date: Mar 19, 2014
Current Response Date: Mar 19, 2014
Classification Code: R — Professional, administrative, and mgmt support services
NAICS Code: 541612
Contracting Office Address
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
Description
Sources Sought Synopsis for NASA Post-Doctoral Program
Office Address NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Description The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including Small, Small Disadvantaged (SDB), 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Veteran Owned (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SD-VOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP). The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses hereto. Information obtained will be used to assist NASA Headquarters in determining what sources are available that have the required capabilities to support this program and are interested. Background Information The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) consists of the NASA Postdoctoral Research Program (NPRP) and the NASA Postdoctoral Management Program (NPMP). The NPP offers unique research opportunities to highly talented individuals who serve as guests at a NASA Center, Headquarters, and other NASA facilities. Fellows selected as part of the Astrobiology program can also reside at the universities that employ researchers through the NASA Astrobiology Program. Another component of the NPP is the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI; http://sservi.nasa.gov ) The NPP offers one to three year appointments. These are competitive and designed to advance NASA’s Strategic Objectives for Space Science and Exploration. Content for the NPP is derived from NASA’s four Mission Directorates. The object of this program is to provide scientists and engineers of unusual promise and abilities the opportunities for professional experiences that are also compatible with the research interests of the sponsoring NASA centers. Requirements NASA Headquarters requirements include, but are not limited to, the following: The contractor shall support the NPP through recruiting, screening, evaluating, and placing of the fellows at a NASA center, and the payment of stipends and associated costs.
Function 1 – Coordination Provide and maintain a web site for the purpose of describing the NPP, covering both the NPRP and the NPMP, including outreach for the programs, frequently asked questions, application forms, and other information beneficial to the programs. The web site will be one of the primary, but not exclusive, means for announcing the solicitation cycles. The web site may be used for other purposes, such as electronic processing of applications, reporting, and other management and administrative functions, if beneficial to the Government. Duties include:
* Coordinate research opportunities between Mission Directorates and Centers, with ultimate approval and recommendations for opportunities from the Mission Directorates to be determined by the Mission Directorates.
* Make the lists of research opportunities and Advisors available at the web site. These lists may be updated at any time during the year, often within 24 hours.
* Present on the web site the NASA provided standards for Advisors, so potential candidates understand the competences of the Advisors with whom they would work.
* Announce the solicitation cycles for research opportunities from the Centers and Mission Directorates.
* Prepare and distribute informational material through the web site, various other media, and participation at select major science meetings such as the American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Astronomical Society (AAS), etc., to announce the NPP to the widest possible research community to attract a diverse representation of prospective participants.
* knowledgeable of relevant immigration and naturalization laws (for foreign nationals) and have the ability to facilitate processing of visas in a timely manner and to assist applicants from the international research community, for which they will be responsible as sponsor. NOTE: Special efforts to recruit scientists and engineers who are U.S. citizens shall be undertaken. Under the current NPRP program, the application deadlines are March 1, July 1, and November 1.
Function 2 – Recruitment Initiate recruitment and outreach activities for the NPP to attract available earth and space science, human space exploration, space operations technologies, aerospace, and aeronautics from the U.S. and international communities, making sure that maximum outreach is extended to U.S. citizens. Special efforts should be made to recruit participants from women and underrepresented U.S. populations to encourage program diversity.
* Establish the contractor/team organization, staffing, equipment, information systems, and procedures for managing and administering the NPP and Phase-in activities;
* Provide orientation and training of contractor/team staff.
Function 3 – Evaluations Assemble Peer Review Panels of national and international prominence in NASA-related research and development in Earth and space science, human space exploration, space operations technologies, aerospace, and aeronautics. Identify qualified and experienced members of the above communities to serve as reviewers on the NPP Review Panels, The Peer Review Panels shall evaluate the competency of the applicants and proposed research based on the NASA standards:
* Scientific and technical merit,
* Relevance to NASA objectives,
* Capabilities of the offeror Rank applications for consideration by NASA for selection. Review panels will meet to review and rank candidates on a schedule that is phased to follow the submission dates of March 1, July 1, and November 1. Notify Centers, in a timely manner, of the rated applicants for their consideration. Center representative or Advisor will notify the contractor of their decisions and which candidates the contractor should make offers to. For Foreign Nationals, the contractor must be knowledgeable of relevant immigration and naturalization laws and have the ability to facilitate processing of visas in a timely manner and to assist applicants from the international research community, for which they will be responsible. Department of State approves all sponsors of an exchange visitor program prior to contract award.
Function 4 – Administration Each postdoctoral fellow must have a Sponsor, who is a Research Adviser at the participating NASA Center. NASA standards are used for selecting Center Research Advisors. Procedures include:
* Developing the logistics for announcing the need for new Advisors who can support a research topic and review the proposal from the prospective Associate. * Posting the NASA provided standard criteria for Advisors issuing, reviewing, and processing the paperwork, and posting/publishing the Advisor’s contact information along with information about his/her research. Make arrangements necessary for the assignment of NPRP participants at the Centers and NPMP participants at NASA Headquarters. NASA will process badging in a timely manner upon the arrival of the Fellow at the Center and will provide work areas, available facilities, equipment, and other resources for the participants for conducting their assignments while at NASA facilities. Provide monthly cost reports, an annual program report presenting statistics on the program (e.g., numbers of applications, offers made, declined, accepted, by nationality, gender etc.) and, from time to time, ad hoc reports to NASA upon request. Schedule and attend annual meetings of the Center NPP representatives, advisors, and fellows at each Centers to discuss the Program and to visit with the fellows in their laboratories to discuss their research investigations. Attend annual meeting of Directorate and Center representatives for a review of the program and to discuss any necessary changes which may be required to program policies or procedures.
Function 5 – Payment
Provide a payroll system to process funding for all fellow categories, including monthly stipends; travel according to Federal travel regulations (relocation, professional, programmatic,); and the NASA required level of health and workman’s compensation insurance. Payroll system must accommodate the following policy:
* Fellows are not employees of the contractor or of the Government and they receive awards, not wages. Federal and state income taxes and Social Security tax are not withheld for U.S. citizens. It is the responsibility of the Fellow to contact a tax accountant or other tax professional regarding these requirements. Withholdings for foreign nationals are based upon the existing treaties between the Fellow’s country of citizenship and the U.S. to determine Federal income tax withholdings. The contractor does not withhold state taxes for foreign nationals. The contractor must provide the fellows with health insurance upon request.
General Interested offerors having the required specialized capabilities, expertise, and experience to meet all the above requirements should submit a capability statement to include the following: a. List of relevant Government and/or private sector contracts and subcontracts it has performed, or is performing within the past three years, including point of contact information – name, phone, and e-mail address. Relevant is defined as the same or similar to the proposed effort in scope and complexity. b. Discuss the offeror’s experience and why the offeror deems the experience to be relevant and of value to this requirement. c. Discuss specific lessons learned or best practices developed that are relevant to this requirement. d. Identify innovations and/or new technology that were implemented and are relevant to this effort. Also provide projected cost savings to the Government. The contractor shall identify any award or accomplishment within the last three years that relates to the aforementioned contract areas; provide name, date, type of award; and provide point of contact information for likely verification of stated capability. e. Identify any active GSA schedule contract(s) that they currently have that this requirement can be performed under. In addition, respondents shall provide a one-page summary with their capability statement with the business information: a. Company name and address b. DUNS Number c. Socio-economic classification of company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, service disabled veteran owned, HUBZone, large business, etc.). d. Size (average annual revenue for past 3 years and number of employees) e. Number of years in business f. Company point of contact – name, phone, and e-mail address Capability statement shall not exceed 15 pages, including the one-page summary. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541612 with a size standard of $14M. The estimated timeframe for release of the Draft Request for Proposal (DRFP) is July – August 2014. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. No solicitation exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released using other than FAR Part 8.4 – Federal Supply Schedules, it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS). It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. All responses shall be submitted in writing to Ms. Tiffany Neal no later than March 19, 2014 via e-mail to: Tiffany.Neal@nasa.gov. Please reference NASA Postdoctoral Program. Point of Contact (POC) Name: Tiffany Neal Title: Contract Specialist Phone: 301-286-4754 Fax: 301-286-0356 E-mail: Tiffany.Neal@nasa.gov
Point of Contact
Name:Tiffany Nichole Neal
Title:Contract Specialist
Phone:301-286-4754
Fax:301-286-0356
Email:tiffany.neal@nasa.gov
