The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy TechnologyLaboratory (NETL), is conducting a Market Survey to identify 8(a) certified businesses capable of providing administrative support services for NETL. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and NO CONTRACT will be awarded from this announcement. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. The information gathered from this sources sought notice will be utilized in the Government's determination on contract and business type utilized in the solicitation. The magnitude of this effort is expected to be $4,000,000 or more per year. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is 561110 with a small business size standard of $7M. The NAICS is provided for use by businesses in determining their appropriate business size in response to this sources sought notice. For further information on business size definitions please refer to the Small Business Administration's web site at http://www.sba.gov/services/contractingopportunities/sizestandardstopics/indexgu ide/index.html. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is the U.S. Department of Energy's only government-owned, government-operated national laboratory. NETL's research efforts are focused on America's economic prosperity, which requires secure, reliable energy supplies at sustainable prices. NETL is a research and technology hub where solutions for these energy challenges emerge. NETL implements a broad spectrum of energy and environmental research and development programs that will return benefits for generations to come. NETL is a single organization supported by facilities in Albany, OR; Fairbanks, AK; Morgantown, WV; Pittsburgh, PA; and Tulsa, OK. The laboratory's activities are primarily funded through DOE's Office of Fossil Energy, but NETL also conducts work for other DOE offices and federal agencies. To accomplish the laboratorys mission, NETL draws on 1,200 federal and support-contractor employees to implement and manage a broad spectrum of research programs; approximately half are Federal employees and half are site support contractors. NETL conducts more than 1,300 onsite and contracted activities in the United States and in more than 40 foreign countries. Additional information about NETL can be attained at our website www.netl.doe.gov. The primary functions performed under this service contract will include support to five main service areas: Management Systems Support, Office Management Support, Information Management Support, Conference Management Support, and Directives Management Support. Anticipated work assignments for this service contract would support activities primarily at the Morgantown, Pittsburgh, and Albany sites, with limited support at Tulsa and Fairbanks, requiring on-site presence primarily at the Morgantown and Pittsburgh sites with a minor presence at the Albany site and potential travel to other locations. The Management Systems area provides support to the Acquisition and Assistance Division (AAD), the Financial Management Division (FMD), and Project Management Center (PMC) for information and operation systems. The type of services required for this support will include, but not be limited to, administrative support for system operation, maintenance, and reporting; data collection and entry; documentation and records maintenance; travel management support; and general administrative support. The Office Management Support area provides crosscutting services throughout the NETL organization. The type of services required for this support will include, but not be limited to, clerical support, receptionist support, word processing, forms management support, conference room support, data entry, supply management, and property management support. The Information Management area provides crosscutting services throughout the NETL organization. The type of services required for this support will include, but not be limited to, records management (both electronic and paper), library support (including maintaining a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement [CRADA] repository), and copy center and facsimile support. The Conference Management Support area provides crosscutting services throughout the NETL organization. The type of services required for this support will include, but not be limited to, facility determination and facility contract negotiation, event planning and support, and event accounting. The Directives Management area provides crosscutting support services throughout the NETL organization. The type of services required for this support will include, but not be limited to, data collection, data entry, data management, records management, and clerical support. With specific emphasis placed on the five areas delineated above, interested 8(a) or HUB Zone business concerns should provide a capability statement including a concise description of the following information: 1. Demonstrated past experiences supporting complex organizations by providing high-level administrative support and expert support for specific areas such as conference management and records management. 2. Organizations current project management practices and resource base, and how that established practice will be implemented in a geographically dispersed environment with crosscutting areas of emphasis and programs. 3. The basis for your organization's ability to assume the financial responsibilities associated with receiving a contract of this projected dollar amount. Specifically discuss the assurance that resources are available to meet payroll, subcontracting, and material obligations at this magnitude. Please do not provide financial statements as part of your response; it should be limited to a discussion of the rationale. 4. Current or planned management and administrative resources, including a summary of credentials of current key personnel (with all applicable certifications, licenses, and degrees) to effectively meet diverse customer needs for a broad range of administrative support. 5. If subcontracting is anticipated, demonstrated experience in successfully managing subcontracts and a detailed description of how the Contractor guarantees the performance and participation of the potential subcontractor, including the documentation for proposed subcontractors. 6. Include your business size as it relates to the above stated NAICS code and size standard information listed. Please note that this is a set-aside action for 8(a) or HUB Zone entities and your business size is required to fit one of these categories. In addition, please indicate any subset that your company may also qualify under, such as: small disadvantaged business, woman owned, veteran owned, disabled veteran owned, Native American or Alaska Native. (Note: If a teaming arrangement is proposed, your business size should be considered large unless you have obtained written SBA approval for your team to be considered as a qualified 8(a) or HUB Zone entity. Mentor/Protg ventures must also have SBA approval for proposing on a set-aside action.) It is recommended that submittals be limited to no more than five pages. All interested parties responding to this market survey must submit their responses via the Department of Energy Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on October 15, 2008. Questions relating to this sources sought notice are required to be submitted electronically through the question submittal option of the IIPS program. All responses to solicitation questions will be released on the IIPS Internet page. The IIPS page is located at http://e-center.doe.gov. At this Internet site you will be able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit your response. Your response should be submitted using the Create Proposal function in IIPS under opportunity number DE-SO26-08000754. The respondent must then complete the required fields and attach their response to the link identified as Volume I/Offer or Other Documents (This is pre-set title in IIPS; for the purposes of this announcement, your response is considered Other Documents). For consistency, the respondent is instructed to submit their response in either MS Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format (version 2003 or earlier). If you need technical assistance in registering or for any other IIPS function, call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 683-0751 or email the Help Desk personnel at
[email protected]. As indicated previously, this is NOT a solicitation, therefore, no cost or pricing information should be provided. This is a market survey to identify potential sources capable of performing the effort required. Responses should be limited to the Contractors expression of interest, identification of business size, and demonstration of capabilities/experience based on the list provided. It is not mandatory for an offeror to respond to this sources sought notice in order to be eligible for proposing on a subsequent solicitation when issued.