NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate a contract on a sole source basis with Nikon Instruments Inc., Melville, NY. The purpose of the contract is for the contractor to provide all labor, materials, and equipment needed for service maintenance of Nikon A1 NiE upright confocal microimaging system and its operating system NIS-Elements for the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).  The NIDCD currently conducts experiments at both the cellular and sub-cellular level, using the Nikon A1 NiE upright confocal microimaging system to visualize real-time activities in hair cells or hair cell organelles.  The ability to observe responses of hair cells or hair cell organelles to specific molecular or genetic manipulations will yield valuable data regarding both changes that lead to developmental defects, hair cell loss, and/or potential regenerative treatments. NIDCD’s goal and expectation for this work are to maintain the function and the high quality of images and data collected from this Nikon A1 NiE upright confocal microimaging system. Nikon Instruments would ensure that the imaging system is fully functional for ongoing experiments by the labs.  As the instrument’s manufacturer, Nikon Instruments Inc is the only company with the specialized knowledge, experience, and supplies necessary to properly perform the maintenance. Thus, contractor technicians should be equipped with the Nikon specialized knowledge, experience, and supplies necessary to properly perform the maintenance. They will also ensure that the microscope operates optimally during and after maintenance.

Responses

The proposed acquisition action is for items and services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1 (b). If you believe you can provide the items or services, please forward capability statements to [email protected] by 5pm (ET) on Monday, December 09, 2019 and reference solicitation number  NIHOLAO-OD3-NOI-5561960.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract acquisition based upon responses to the notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. 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. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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.

Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any nonproprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).