Frequently Asked Questions

No.

Proposing subcontractors to perform work at the task order level does not require NITAAC approval. Approval will reside with the OCO. Contractors that are awarded a contract based on a FAR 9.601(1) Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) are required to obtain NITAAC PCO approval prior to replacing, adding, or deleting team members. Reference Replacement of Team Members under a FAR 9.601(1) Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) in your contract.

Each contract holder contract activity metric is available on the e-GOS homepage. It is located at the top right corner of the page.

Contractor Personnel - Key Personnel in your contract. Contract holders shall use the NITAAC CIO-SP3 logo in advertising, placing these identifiers in printed and in on-line communications; displaying CIO-SP3 promotional placards; and disseminating NITAAC CIO-SP3 marketing materials. Please visit the NITAAC contract holder secure area to access the marketing material.

Appropriate use of the NITAAC CIO-SP3 logo in advertisements directed to Federal Government contract use is acceptable, provided that the advertisement does not state or imply that the product or service is endorsed or preferred by the government.

Reference Contractor Personnel - Key Personnel in your contract. Contract holders shall use the NITAAC CIO-SP3 logo in advertising, placing these identifiers in printed and in on-line communications; displaying CIO-SP3 promotional placards; and, disseminating NITAAC CIO-SP3 marketing materials. Please visit the NITAAC contract holder secure area to access the marketing material.

EVMS requirements are specified at the task order level by the OCO.

Yes. Reference Ramp-On Procedure and Ramp-Off Procedure in your contract.

Yes, if for unique professional skills. See Unique Professional Skills – Task Order Level in your contract. A new or different skill level category may be proposed at the task order level. You will need to provide detailed justification for the new/different skill level category. The OCO will determine whether circumstances warrant the use of unique professional skills.

Yes.

RFPs are released to qualified contract holders based on the grouping and Task Areas selected by the customer, unless an exception to Fair Opportunity applies. Reference Fair Opportunity in your contract.

RFPs are released to all contract holders under the CIO-SP3 GWAC as they qualified in all ten Task Areas, unless an exception to Fair Opportunity applies. Reference Fair Opportunity in your contract.

No.

Reference NIH Contract Access Fee and Fee Remittance in your contract.  Payments are due to NIH/NITAAC on or before the 10th calendar day of each month for all payments received from the government in the previous month.  Payments will only be accepted through the Department of Treasury’s secure government-wide collection portal Pay.gov at https://www.pay.gov/paygov/. Contact your financial institution/bank to establish an account authorizing Automated Clearing House (ACH) Direct Debit payments to Pay.gov.

Reference NIH Contract Access Fee and Fee Remittance in your contract.

The NCAF is invoiced based on the obligated amount on the funding document regardless of the awarded contract type.  The NCAF shall be invoiced on the 1st invoice after receipt of the funding document.  As such, NCAF may NOT be incrementally invoiced.  Customers shall contact NITAAC Customer Support with any questions.

CIO-SP3 – Example Rate .65% (.0065):  

$500,000 Total funding on Modification 0001

CH First Invoice Amount (after receipt of Mod 0001):  $100,000

NCAF for Mod 0001:  $3,229.01 (shall be listed as separate line item on the CH invoice)

$100,000+ $3,229.01 = $103,229.01  Total CH First Invoice Amount (this applies to each funding document received by the CH)

CIO-SP3-Small Business – Example Rate .55% (.0055):  

$500,000 Total funding on Modification 0001

CH First Invoice Amount (after receipt of Mod 0001):  $100,000

NCAF for Mod 0001:  $2,734.96 (shall be listed as separate line item on the CH invoice)

$100,000+ $2,734.96 = $102,734.96  Total CH First Invoice Amount (this applies to each funding document received by the CH)

CIO-CS Example Rate .35% (.0035):  

$500,000 Total funding on Modification 0001

CH First Invoice Amount (after receipt of Mod 0001):  $100,000

NCAF for Mod 0001:  $1,743.90 (shall be listed as separate line item on the CH invoice)

$100,000+ $1,743.90 = $101,743.90  Total CH First Invoice Amount (this applies to each funding document received by the CH)

The NCAF is extracted from the total funded amount listed on your funding modification.  The formula is:

NCAF = Total * .65% (.0065) for CIO-SP3

NCAF = Total * .55% (.0055) for CIO-SP3 Small Business

Example:  $500,000 Total funding

CIO-SP3:  $500,000.00 ($500,000.00 * .0065) =  $3,250.50  NCAF

CIO-SP3 Small Business:  $500,000.00 – ($500,000.00 * .0055) =  $2,750.00  NCAF

Reference NIH Contract Access Fee and Fee Remittance in your contract. 

(1) The fee percentage for CIO-SP3 is .65% (.0065) and for CIO-SP3 Small Business, it is 0.55% (.0055)

(2) This fee percentage is applied to ALL line items (total proposal amount).

(3) The formula is:  NCAF = Total Prop. Amount * Fee %. For example, if the total proposal amount is $500,000, the fee amount would be $3,250 for CIO-SP3 and $2,750 for CIO-SP3 Small Business. The Grand Total for the proposal would be $503,250 for CIO-SP3 and $502,750 for CIO-SP3 Small Business.

(4) The NCAF cap is at $150,000 for CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP3 Small business contracts with funding in excess of $23M and $27M (not including NCAF), respectively.  The cap kicks in for any task order base or option period for a single period (not to exceed 12 months).

Example (CIO-SP3): 

Example (CIO-SP3): 

• #1 exceeds $23M, so the cap is applied.
• #2 exceeds $23M, so the cap is applied.
• #3 is less than $23M, therefore the cap DOES NOT apply.
• #4 is less than $23M, therefore the cap DOES NOT apply.

NCAF is applied to all line items in the proposal whether they are for labor, ODCs, Direct Materials, Incentive Fee, Fixed Fee, Award Fee, or other (total proposal amount). Reference NIH Contract Access Fee and Fee Remittance in your contract. 

Per the contract, the contractor shall include the NCAF as a separate Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) in all contractor proposals to the government, regardless of pricing arrangements used.  

There is no limit on the number of files that can be attached; however, each file must be under 100MB and the email attachment size is 10MB. If your files individually exceed 100 MB, please contact the NITAAC Customer Support Center via email at NITAACsupport@nih.gov or call 1.888.773.6542.

Yes. You may change your "No Bid" decision by submitting a proposal (or vice versa) at any time prior to the proposal deadline

"No Bid" responses are required for RFPs only. Contract holders are required to submit no-bids in e-GOS for any RFP for which they are not going to submit a proposal. Reference Task Order Procedures in your contract.

Yes. NITAAC customers must use e-GOS for solicitations. Contract Holders who receive an RFP or RFI through any method other than e-GOS must notify NITAAC Support immediately.

Contract Holders must submit their responses in e-GOS. If the PCO asks offerors to submit proposals via email or hardcopy, offerors may do so, but offerors are also required to submit in e-GOS prior to the submission deadline. Reference Task Order Procedures in your contract.