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You are invited to review and comment on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center’s (LaRC’s) RECOM VI Draft solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide high quality modeling in order to meet the mission objectives of NASA. Models consist of both mechanical and electrical/electronic hardware elements. Models may incorporate the use of new technologies such as smart materials, or new processes such as stereolithography and rapid prototyping using various materials from plastics, polymers, and metals.

Potential offerors are encouraged to comment on all aspects of the draft solicitation, including the requirements, Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure, schedules, proposal instructions, and evaluation approaches, any perceived safety, occupational health, security (including information technology security), environmental, and/or other programmatic risk issues associated with performance of the work.

This competitive acquisition will result in a multiple-award, Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract consisting of Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) CLINs. The contract will have a 5-year period of performance. This acquisition is a total small business set-aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541715 and the small business size standard is 1,500.

Potential offerors should ensure its company is listed in the online database(s) for the following:

1. System for award management: https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

2. U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, VETS-4212 Reports: https://vets4212.dol.gov/vets4212/

The successful offeror must pass an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) clearance before contract award (See FAR 22.805).

The current planned release date for the Final Request for Proposal (RFP) is on or around April 28, 2023, with an anticipated offer due date of on or about June 12, 2023 (approximately 45 calendar days after Final RFP).

The anticipated contract award date is October 6, 2023, with a November 1, 2023, contract effective date. Majority of the work will be performed offsite at the Contractor’s facilities with limited work performed onsite at NASA LaRC. Place of Performance will be determined at the Delivery Order level.

The following additional information is provided to assist in understanding this acquisition:

1. A phase-in period is not anticipated.

2. On-Site Visits/Conferences are not anticipated.

3. NASA anticipates this acquisition may give rise to a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI). Offerors should refer to NFS clause 1852.209-71 Limitation of Future Contracting and LaRC clause 52.227-96 Organizational Conflicts of Interest, for a description of the potential conflict(s) and any restrictions on future contracting. The offeror’s current and potential OCIs and OCI plan will be assessed as part of each offeror’s responsibility determination. (See DRFP L.16(e)(1)).

4. Please note the following items are required for this acquisition and will be assessed as part of each offeror’s responsibility determination pursuant to FAR Part 9, Contractor Qualifications (see DRFP L.16(d) and L.16(e)):

a.) OCI – see paragraph 3 above.

b.) Quality Plan and Proof of ISO 9001 and/or AS9100 Compliance: At minimum, the offeror’s quality system shall be compliant with the requirements of the current International Standard ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems Requirements, upon IDIQ contract proposal receipt. If required at the Delivery Order level, the Contractor shall utilize a quality assurance program that is compliant with the requirements of the current AS9100 standard, Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Organizations. Proof of compliance for AS9100 will be required at time of DO proposal.

c.) Secret Facilities Clearance: Required for classified Delivery Orders in accordance with the DD Form 254, Contract Security Classification Specification included in the DRFP. If an Offeror does not have this required clearance at the time of proposal submittal, it may submit documentation demonstrating its approach for obtaining this clearance prior to being awarded any classified Delivery Orders.

d.) Accounting System: Prior to the award of a cost-reimbursement Delivery Order, the contractor’s system shall meet the requirements set forth on the reverse side of the Standard Form 1408 (see Attachment 6), be in compliance with FAR 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, and be capable of accurately collecting, segregating and recording costs by contract and by individual order. A contractor may still be eligible for IDIQ contract award if it does not have evidence of an adequate accounting system; however, will be ineligible to receive a cost-reimbursable Delivery Order under the contract until the requirements of an adequate accounting system are met.

5. Areas of emphasis NASA LaRC is seeking feedback on include:

a.) Technical Considerations: The clarity and content of the Technical Considerations requirements (reference section L.16(a) and M.4.), particularly:

i. Facility and Equipment

ii. Staffing Capability

b.) Past Performance Criteria: The clarity and content of the Past Performance Evaluation Criteria (reference section L.16(b) and M.5(a)), particularly:

i. Proposal Content (L.16(b(4)):

1. Number of references

2. Clarity of what’s expected for “Content”

c.) Cost Proposal Volume: Clarity of what is required in L.16(c) and Attachment 1 – Cost Forms

6. Other items of emphasis:

a.) Note L.10(c): “Information required by the solicitation to be included in a designated volume that is not found in that volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the designated volume and will not be evaluated.”

b.) Attachment 1, Cost Forms – Form 1 – CLINs 001 & 002, provides estimated labor hours that will be used for proposal and evaluation purposes only – reference Section L.16(c)(2)(b).

7. When the solicitation is issued, proposals will be required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Submission of Proposals - Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.

Documents related to this acquisition, including this letter, the solicitation, attachments, exhibits, and any amendments will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry website at www.SAM.gov. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor the websites for updates.

NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.215-84, OMBUDSMAN, is applicable. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is David F. Young at 757-864-5740 or david.f.young@nasa.gov.

This DRFP is not a solicitation and NASA is not requesting proposals. This DRFP does not commit NASA LaRC to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA LaRC to procure or contract for this requirement. This request is not an authorization to proceed and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

Comments regarding the DRFP should be submitted electronically in writing, to Sheryl Kopczynski, Contract Specialist, at LARC-RECOM6@mail.nasa.gov by 2:00 PM EDT, April 7, 2023. If a respondent believes their comments contain confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive, or business information, those questions/comments shall be marked appropriately. However, questions that are marked as containing confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive or business information will not be provided a Government response. The Government will consider all comments received in preparation of the Final RFP. To the extent a comment leads the Government to revise the acquisition approach or requirements, the change will be reflected in the Final RFP. Some DRFP questions and comments may receive a posted response to the GPE if the Contracting Officer determines that a response would facilitate additional understanding of the solicitation. The Government may also respond via the GPE to comments and/or questions received following the issuance of the Final Request for Proposal (RFP).

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