Self-Help Advisory Support Assistance (Non-Profit Organizations Only)   6

Source Sought Synopsis

Self-Help Advisory Support Assistance

Solicitation Number: 12RADA22R0003

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD) is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify potential sources that may possess the expertise, capabilities, and resources to support the requirement for providing Mutual Self-Help support services.

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE IS FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ONLY .

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS- USDA, RD has a requirement for the purchase of technical & management assistance services. Any contract awarded based on a future solicitation could be awarded as a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with cost reimbursement for travel.

A Contractor (Non-Profit Organization) shall provide technical and management assistance contract services for labor, management, supervision, quality control, materials, equipment, and local transportation necessary to provide training and technical assistance to grantee organizations (public or private nonprofit corporations, agencies, institutions, organizations and other associations, including Indian tribes, eligible to receive assistance under the Section 523 Mutual Self-Help Technical Assistance (TA) Grant Program in accordance with 7 CFR Part 1944 SUBPART I).

The Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant program funds nonprofit organizations more commonly referred to as "Grantee" organizations, which are willing to locate and work with low and very low-income rural Americans to finance and construct their own homes under the self-help construction method. The "Grantee" organization maintains a staff of administrative and technical professionals to provide day-to-day technical assistance to participants in the self-help program during the construction of their homes. Technical assistance provided includes recruiting participants for the program, assisting them in securing the necessary financing for the purchase of the land and building of their home. Typically, some 4-10 households work together under the guidance of the "Grantee" to construct their homes once each participant's loan has been closed. The "Grantee" organization also provides technical assistance by working with each household on purchasing construction material, teaching them construction skills to use in building of the home, the coordination of funds disbursement and the mutual effort of all participants to complete each home.

Program participants typically obtain financing for the construction of their homes through the Section 502 Direct Loan Program, administered by the Rural Development field offices of USDA. Homes can only be financed in eligible "rural areas" of the fifty (50) States including Puerto Rico, the Pacific territories, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. "Rural area" is defined as follows:

Open country or any town, village, city, or place, including the immediate adjacent densely settled area, which is not part of or associated with an urban area and which:

(1) Has a population not in excess of 2,500 inhabitants: or

(2) Has a population in excess of 2,500 but not in excess of 10,000 if it is rural in character; or

(3) Has a population in excess of 10,000 but not in excess of 20,000, and-

(i) Is not contained within a Metropolitan Statistical Area; and

(ii) Has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Any area classified as rural'' or a rural area'' prior to October 1, 1990, and determined not to be rural'' or a rural area'' as a result of data received from or after the 1990, 2000, or 2010 decennial census, and any area deemed to be a rural area'' at any time during the period beginning January 1, 2000, and ending December 31, 2010, shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2020, if such area has a population in excess of 10,000 but not in excess of 35,000, is rural in character, and has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families.

There are 47 State Offices nationwide in the Rural Development mission area. In addition, there are field offices below the State level that service local areas, which will vary from State to State and U. S. territories. While the Contractor is responsible for technical and management assistance such as training, monitoring and quality control of the Grantees from their region, State and field offices are responsible for the day-to-day oversight and operation of the Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant program.

The Contractor will provide continuous learning/training, monitoring, quality control and technical assistance to all funded self-help Grantees in their assigned region of the United States and its Territories. In addition, there may be a need to expand the participation of other outside "Grantee" organizations in the Mutual Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant program. RHS is desirous of contracting for the services of nonprofit entity/entities to provide training, technical assistance, and quality control to "Grantee" organizations to improve their performance and ensure their success in working with households in the construction of their homes.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) anticipates awarding four (4) separate contracts, to four (4) different contractors, one covering each of the four (4) regions of the United States and its territories. The number of states and/or territories and operating grantees serviced by each region (in parentheses respectively) and a listing of the serviced state abbreviations are as follows:

Region 1: (7 states/2 U.S. Territories/10 grantees) Southeast - AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, PR, and VI

Region 2: (11 states/15 grantees) South Central - AR, KS, LA, MO, NE, ND, NM, OK, SD, TX, and WY.

Region 3: (21 states/10 grantees) Northeast and Midwestern - CT, DE, IL, IA, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV, and WI.

Region 4: (11 states and Territories/47 grantees) Western - AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, and W. Pacific Territories.

The Contractor shall be held responsible for ensuring that the grantees in their region receive appropriate training and technical assistance to perform the duties specified in the grant agreement in accordance with Rural Development Instruction 1944-I. The Contractor will monitor the performance of their regional grantees and inform the RD State Office of any issues and/or deficiencies noted. The Contractor will work with RD to ensure the grantee completes a successful grant and that quality homes are constructed. The Contractor shall provide services for the following functions (7 CFR Part 1944 SUBPART I):

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Inquiries
• Technical Assistance (TA) Grant Application Processing
  • Schedule/Conduct TA Grant Application Development Meeting
  • TA to Prepare Application
  • Review/Recommend Application
  • Congratulations Package to TA Grant Awardee
• Monitoring/Quality Control
  • Financial Certification and Assessment of Grantee
  • Attend Quarterly Meetings and Site Visits with Grantees
  • High Risk Assessments and Remedies
  • Contacts
  • Problem Identification and Resolutions
  • Quality Control Assessment
  • Grant Closeout
• Training
  • SHARES Training and Technical Assistance
  • T&MA Annual Contractor Conference Call
  • Grantee Training Handbooks
  • Mutual Self-Help Housing Newsletter
  • Optional Regional Training Workshop
• Reports
  • Monthly Monitoring Report
• Travel

THIS NOTICE IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES- it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) / Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ/ RFP in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any services. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes or proposals at this time and will not assess unsolicited proposals in response to this source sought notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. No solicitation currently exists therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation.

Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in SAM. Gov (Contracting Opportunities). It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor SAM.Gov for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The anticipated NAICS code is 541611 with a small business size standard of $15M.

The anticipated period of performance is for one (1) Base Year of 12-months and four (4) 12-month option years.

RESPONDING TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE- In accordance with 42 U.S.C 1490C this contract can only be awarded to national or regional public or private nonprofit corporations, agencies, institutions, organizations, and other associations including Indian Tribes.

PART I BUSINESS INFORMATION- Interested firms responding to this source sought notification should adhere to the following:

1. Provide a capability statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills, and ability to fulfill the Government's requirements.
2. The statement should include any teaming arrangements needed to fulfill the requirements.
3. All interested contractors must be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for award of Government contracts. Please provide the following business information for your company and for any teaming partners
   1. Company Name
   2. Address
   3. Point of Contact
   4. Unique Entity ID
   5. Phone Number
   6. Email-Address
   7. Based on the North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and size standards in the chart below; state whether your company is:
      1. Small Business (Yes/No)
      2. For Profit (Yes/No)
      3. Non-profit (Yes/No)
      4. Women Owned Small Business (Yes/No)
      5. Small Disadvantage Business (Yes/No)
      6. 8(a) Certified (Yes/No)
      7. HUBZone Certified (Yes/No)
      8. Veteran Owned Small Business (Yes/No)
      9. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (Yes/No)
      10. System for Award Management (Yes/No)
   8. NAICS
   9. Description
   10. Size Standard in Dollars

PART II BUSINESS STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES- USDA, RD request information and comments on the following:

1. Is your company capable of performing the services outlined in 7 CFR Part 1944 SUBPART I?
2. The respondent shall provide a brief statement of experience providing the type of services, or similarly related services, as those outlined in 7 CFR Part 1944 SUBPART I.
3. Is your company likely to submit a proposal on a future solicitation of this type?
4. Which region as outlined in the requirements section does your organization operate in? If your organization can operate in multiple regions indicate such and preferences, if any.
5. If there are any other questions or comments, the respondent is encouraged to submit them along with your response to the Government?

If submitting company Proprietary Information, please make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED. All submissions will not be returned. All proprietary information will be segregated by the Government and protected. To aid the Government in protecting Proprietary Information, please segregate Proprietary Information to the maximum extent possible.

Responses to this source sought notice shall be submitted on or before 5:00pmET on 27 May 2022. All submissions shall be provided in Microsoft Office 2016 compatible format and emailed to the Contracting Officer, Elizabeth Nieves Torres at elizabeth.torres@usda.gov as well as Contract Specialist Andrew McSweeney at andrew.mcsweeny@usda.gov.

Questions regarding this source sought shall be submitted by email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist. The Government does not guarantee the questions received after 17 May 2022 will be answered. Please reference 12RADA22R0003 Self-Help Advisory Support Assistance in the subject line. Verbal questions will not be accepted.