This is a pre-solicitation non-competitive (notice of intent) synopsis to award a contract without providing for full or open competition (including brand-name). THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Consolidated Station Support and Simplified Acquisitions (CSS/SA) Branch intends to negotiate and award a purchase order to The University College London (UCL). The purpose of this purchase order will be to provide tuition payment for five (5) current students in the UCL.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 611310 with a Size Standard of $25.5M.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-76 dated July 15, 2014

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1 (b) (1), Soliciting from a single source and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The National Institute of Mental Health, (NIMH) Office of Fellowship Training, Division of Intramural Research (DIRP), is responsible for the administration of two graduate programs: Karolinska Institute (KI) and the University College London (UCL)- NIMH Joint Doctoral Program in Neuroscience. The office facilitates the process for eligible candidates to interview and gain acceptance into either of the two doctoral programs.

Additionally, the office oversees all of the administrative processes involved with bringing accepted candidates on as fellows using Non-FTE appointment mechanism. The KI and UCL-NIMH programs are designed such that students complete requirements for their Ph.D. degree in four years, spending half their time overseas at KI or UCL pursuing research and the remaining time in an NIMH lab continuing their thesis project. The degree is awarded by UCL or KI.

PURPOSE OF THE ACQUISITION

The tuition payment for five (5) current students in the
University College of London (UCL) doctoral program to cover the fiscal year 2015 expenses. As a provision of the MOU agreement between NIMH and UCL, NIMH must provide a scholarship for fee support at the permitted level for overseas study by the federal government.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, The University College London is the only vendor in the current market place that can provide the services required by the National Instute of Mental Health.

The intended source is:

University College London
Gower Street
London, WC1E6BT
United Kingdon

APPLICABLE CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS

The provision at FAR clause 52.213-4, Terms and Conditions - Simplified Acquisiton (Other Than Commercial Items).

The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement.

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number. Responses may be submitted electronically to Paul Marsalese, Contract Specialist, at [email protected]. US Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.