Basic Contract Acquisition Information
A contract is an acquisition mechanism to purchase items the government needs or perform research and development. NIAID uses a variety of contract mechanisms to accomplish our research goals, such as contracts for developing animal models, developing and testing vaccines, conducting clinical trials, and developing and maintaining reagent and specimen repositories for our investigators.
Potential contracts begin as new scientific concepts, which NIAID's main advisory Council reviews and approves at meetings held around January, May, and September. After Council clearance, OA works with NIAID program staff to create an RFP. RFPs are usually advertised in FedBizOpps and the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts. See NIAID's Requests for Proposals list.
At the heart of the RFP is the statement of work, which clearly defines government needs. RFPs also include standards for rating proposals, called evaluation criteria, as well as general information and instructions covering content, size, and submission date.
For each RFP, NIAID assembles a team of ad hoc reviewers with background and experience in the subject area, who have no conflict of interest with organizations submitting proposals. After the closing date and before the technical review meeting, reviewers read the submitted proposals electronically, view the comments of other reviewers, and leave their own comments.
During the technical review meeting, reviewers discuss each proposal and then score each one independently against the technical review criteria and any other criteria stated in the RFP, including cost and past performance. Proposals with higher scores fall in the competitive range for further negotiations. Those outside the competitive range are not considered further.
After Peer Review
Following technical review, the contracting
officer determines the competitive
range, a list of proposals that have a reasonable chance of being
selected for an award. OA notifies offerors who are eligible for award
and then conducts written and oral negotiations simultaneously
with all of them. During negotiations, offerors may provide written
responses or clarifications to
business and technical concerns from the review.
Before negotiations end, OA informs all offerors of the revised proposal due date, which marks the close of negotiations.
OA then holds a source selection meeting to review all revised proposals. OA issues an award based on the criteria stated in the RFP.
Your Proposal's Competitive Status and Other Information
We will not provide information on your proposal's competitive status until after review. At that time, we will notify you whether your proposal is in the competitive range.
Much of the information involved in reviewing contracts is confidential, including the identity of offerors. After the contract is awarded, we inform all offerors of the number of proposals submitted, contract number, name and address of the successful offeror, dollar value, and period of performance.
You can also request a debriefing on your proposals' strengths and weaknesses. Please make this request in writing.
More Information
See our mission statement, contact information, Contracts Standard Operating Procedures, and directions to OA.
Return to the main R&D Contracts Web page. |
