TRAVEL SERVICES FOR NON-FEDERAL PEER REVIEWERS

Introduction

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. The applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 561510 – Travel Agencies, with a small business size standard of $22.0M.

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of the world’s largest biomedical research organizations and is the focal point for funding medical research. The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is the portal for NIH grant applications and is the central receipt point for most Public Health Service applications. As such, CSR is responsible for assigning applications it receives to scientific review groups for scientific review to funding components for award considerations. CSR also carries out peer review for the majority of research and research training applications submitted to NIH.  

The Scientific Review Evaluation Activity (SREA) Management and Service Center (MSC) coordinates review activities for the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The SREA MSC is a key component of the NIH extramural biomedical research program, providing centralized administrative and operational support for the scientific peer review process. This support includes coordinating approximately 1,700 peer review meetings annually, supporting the review of approximately 92,000 grant applications each year, and providing administrative and travel support for approximately 28,000 domestic and foreign scientific non-federal reviewers annually. 

Because grant applications must be processed within very specific time frames, to avoid missed funding opportunities by researchers, flexibility in travel support services is essential. Travel tickets and travel support services must meet the NIH timeframes and coincide with the high demand of volume. 

Purpose and Objectives

The specific objective of this requirement is to provide a range of travel support services to the NIH Scientific Review Evaluation Activities Management and Service Center (SREA MSC), which supports the centralized NIH peer review process through the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). These services include, but are not limited to, issuing airline, bus, and train tickets and providing reporting, invoicing, and billing services in accordance with SREA and NIH requirements. 

Project requirements

The Government requires travel management support services for Non-Federal Peer Reviewers participating in NIH grant application review meetings, facilitated by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) and the Scientific Review and Evaluation Award (SREA) Meeting Support Contract (MSC).

The Contractor shall provide comprehensive transportation and ticketing support, including but not limited to the following capabilities:

Volume and Scope

• Process an estimated average of 4,240 travel transactions per month (based on peer review Council Round cycles), including airline, rail, and bus tickets.
• Arrange and issue coach-class, non-refundable, direct round-trip electronic tickets at the lowest available fare, in compliance with applicable NIH/SREA travel guidelines and the Fly America Act for international travel.

Financial Capacity

• Maintain a minimum line of credit of $12,000,000 with corporate banks to sustain travel costs without use of a government credit card, and to carry receivables beyond 90 days pending Government reimbursement.

Service Continuity

• Demonstrate the ability to provide uninterrupted, 24/7 continuity of service, including after-hours and emergency support (e.g., power outages, national emergencies, weather events), for travelers en route or within 12 hours of scheduled departure.

Roster Management and Data Security

• Securely receive and process daily authorization rosters transmitted via secure FTP from NIH's electronic Research Administration (eRA) system.
• Verify traveler authorization and associate reviewer, meeting, and transaction data for billing and reporting purposes.
• Protect the confidentiality of all personally identifiable information (PII) and comply with applicable Federal privacy and data security requirements.

Customer Service

• Respond to routine inquiries within 24 hours (sooner for urgent matters).
• Acknowledge and resolve complaints within established timeframes.
• Maintain trained staff knowledgeable in NIH travel policies.

Reporting and Booking System

• Provide a secure, authenticated reporting application, typically via Global Distribution System (GDS) integration, capable of supporting at least 500 registered users with up to 20 simultaneous users.
• Support data export in standard file formats (.csv, .xls, .xlsx) for financial reporting and reconciliation.

Anticipated period of performance

The Government anticipates awarding a single award IDIQ contract, featuring a one-year Base Period and four one-year Option periods, under which firm-fixed price task orders may be placed. The options periods may be unilaterally exercised by the Government. If the Government elects to exercise these options, the Contractor shall provide the resources as stated above.

Capability statement/information sought

Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to perform the required work should submit a comprehensive capability statement to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must address each project requirement individually and specifically demonstrate the organization’s ability to satisfy those requirements. At a minimum, the capability statement should include the following:

1. The Contractor must demonstrate the capability, competence, and experience necessary to provide high-volume travel support services for both domestic and international travel.
2. Total Number of Employees: Provide the total number of employees within the organization.
3. Personnel Qualifications: Describe the professional qualifications, experience, and expertise of key personnel as they relate directly to the requirements outlined in this notice.
4. Relevant Experience: Provide a description of the organization’s general and specific past performance and experience relevant to the anticipated requirements.
5. Similar Research and Projects: Identify previous research efforts, projects, or contracts that are similar in scope, scale, and complexity to the anticipated requirements and describe the role of the organization and proposed personnel in those efforts.
6. Confirm your firm's ability to support weekly billing reconciliation processes.
7. All electronic and information technology (EIT) used under this contract must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as implemented by the Access Board's accessibility regulations (36 CFR part 1194). More info: https://www.section508.gov/. Confirm your firm's ability to comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements for all electronic documents and IT systems delivered under this contract.

Page Limitations:

Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored Capability Statement not to exceed 5 pages, excluding resumes. Capability Statements must not include links to internet web site addresses (URLs) or otherwise direct readers to alternate sources of information. Font size must be 10 to 12 points. Spacing must be no more than 15 characters per inch. Within a vertical inch, there must be no more than six lines of text. Print margins must be at least one inch on each edge of the paper. Print setup should be single sided on standard letter size paper (8.5 x 11" in the U.S., A4 in Europe). All proprietary information should be marked as such.

Required Business Information:

• UEI Number
• Company Name
• Company Address
• Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address
• Current GSA Schedules are appropriate to this Sources Sought.
• Do you have a government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system.
• Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM) located at https://sam.gov/content/home. This indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your Capability Statement (preferable placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address).

Number of Copies:

Please submit one (1) electric copy of your response as follows:

All Capability Statements sent in response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Patricia DaSilva, Contract Specialist, at patricia.dasilva@nih.gov in MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The email subject line must specify 75N98026R00172. Facsimile responses will not be accepted.

Common Cut-off Date:

Electronically submitted tailored capability statements are due no later than 3:00PM (Eastern Prevailing Time) on 10/07/2026. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

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 to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. 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. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published at SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).