The Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch (APSB), Division of Simplified Acquisition Policy and Services offers their services to any NIH ordering official/activity through a multifaceted approach that includes every acquisition phase from the planning stage through the source/contractor selection phase. Our office will assist program officials in establishing the most effective and expedient acquisition plans that will meet their mission objectives and their day-to-day operational needs. Your planning request may be as simple as the need for assistance in completing the acquisition request documents. No request is too small – we are here to serve you! By getting this office involved during the planning stage, the specifications/ statement of work or the JOFOC can be developed before the requirement goes to the proper purchasing/ contracting function. This will save valuable acquisition processing time and create a healthy rapport between the program official and the acquisition personnel. By contacting the Branch Chief, 301-435-3916, an Equipment Specialist will be assigned to work with you. For further information, contact William Brown, Chief, APSB, 301-435-3916.

Helpline (301) 496-5212

• NIH-Wide BPA List, May 2012 (PDF require Acrobat Reader. Click here to download).
• BPA Commodity List, May 2012 (PDF require Acrobat Reader. Click here to download).
• Strategic Sourcing Preferred Listing, May 2012 (PDF require Acrobat Reader. Click here to download).

Helpline (301) 496-0400

• Delegated Acquisition Reference Guide, September 2008 (draft) (PDF require Acrobat Reader. Click here to download).
• Delegated Authority for Approvers and Purchase Card Request Procedures above $3,000
• Acquisition Websites List, September 2008
• Simplified Acquisition Guide Regulatory and Procedural Checklist

NOTE: GSA announced that they would be making some changes to the Exchange Sale Regulation. The change is supposed to take place in the near future. We will update our information as soon as the change takes place.

The regulations containing policy relating to trade-ins or exchanges are contained in the Personal Property Management Guide that was revised 4/30/97, the DHHS Logistics Management Manual, and the Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR). If another Federal Government entity, including another NIH entity, can use the item being screened, they must reimburse the reporting IC the trade in value. Note that exchanges are not automatically approved and, in fact, Federal Agencies are prohibited by the FPMR from exchanging some types of property. For example, furniture, and office supplies may not be traded.

In general - Some companies selling scientific and office equipment to NIH will accept used equipment, regardless of condition, for trade-in against the purchase of new equipment. Trade-ins can only be made for items of a similar nature. Items are considered similar when both fall within a single Federal Supply Classification Group. Therefore, property in FSC Group 66 (scientific equipment) may apply towards the acquisition of other property in FSC Group 66. In order to trade in old equipment for new equipment, the following conditions must be met:

1. To repair the item would exceed 65 percent of the original acquisition cost to put it back in service; or
2. The item is obsolete and/or the repair parts are no longer available.

Other factors to consider include age, repair history (expense and frequency), and the trade-in amount being offered by the Vendor. Requisitions must also contain adequate justification that the items meet one of the above conditions.

Shared Resources Database

The NIH maintains a database with scientific instruments no longer used in NIH laboratories. This database may contain instruments that are newer than those currently being used by individual laboratories. Laboratories can benefit when claiming a new instrument for use over an older existing instrument in several ways. In most cases newer instruments have more capabilities, take less space, and cost less to maintain than the older ones. To help stretch laboratory budgets, those instruments listed on the data base are also available for trade-in purposes when buying new instruments both on the open market as well as on the GSA contract. NIH can now trade-in any type of laboratory instrument on another. The Shared Resources Database is available on the Internet at http://dirs.info.nih.gov/resource.htm.

Requesting Office Responsibilities -

1. NIH Personal Property Branch should be contacted to see if surplus items are available for trade in by calling 301-496-4247. Office machines and scientific equipment that do not meet the trade-in requirements and are in excess to your needs should be transferred to the Personal Property Branch using Form NIH-649. For accountable property, the Property Custodial Officer transmits the NIH-649 on-line through the Property Management Information System (PMIS).
2. NIH Form 1872 (Rev. 1/96), Request for Trade-in or Exchange of Government-owned Property, must be completed and approved by the Director, Personal Property Branch, prior to award of any procurement involving the trade-in of Government Equipment. You can find this form at the internet address http://forms.cit.nih.gov/propertypdf.html. NIH Form 1872 must be submitted to the Property Management Division, Building 6011, Room 637. Status of these requests can be obtained by calling your IC Property Management Liaison on 301-496-5711.

The requesting office must then submit the approved form along with the RQM to the appropriate purchasing office responsible for processing the requisition. Whenever possible, these requests should be submitted 28 work days prior to the award. This will allow for other NIH and HHS activities to request the item in lieu of a new procurement. Should a requirement surface, the activities may work with each other to agree on compensation. Instruments and other equipment may be used while the trade-in documentation works through the approval cycle.

1. Leased Equipment - Ordering offices may not offer a vendor NIH-owned equipment as a trade-in to reduce the cost of a leasing arrangement. Only Government-owned property can be traded in on the purchase of a similar item; leases must stand by themselves. Property regulations allow offices to borrow equipment from a vendor for trial periods before entering into a lease or purchase agreement. For details contact the Personal Property Branch, 301-496-5711.

The Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch will discuss the advantage of trade-ins of equipment and will assist you in finding NIH-owned equipment for a trade-in when purchasing new equipment. Call Jeff Klein, 301-402-5262. Questions regarding trade-ins can be addressed to:

Jeff Klein
Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch
e-mail: KleinJ@od.nih.gov
FAX (301) 480-4163

The Equipment Specialists in the Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch (APSB) assists program offices/personnel with all phases of the acquisition process. Please call (301) 496-4814 with questions.

• Requirement Development
• Assist with Commercial Market Survey
• Perform analysis for appropriate sources
• Develop minimum specifications and/or work statements
• Develop measures, standards, and objectives for performance based contracts
• Assemble and refine acquisition documents
• Team with Program Officials for JOFOC preparation, as necessary
• Provide any and all support to program officials during the solicitation phase
• Provide evaluations of bids/proposals
• Assist with best value determinations
• Offer Project Officer services for interested Program Offices, monitor progress of the requirement fulfillment
• Technical Project Officer Support for various NIH-wide and GWAC contracts. The services provided via these contracts include equipment/system delivery orders, maintenance, and repair. A broad range of capabilities is available. For further information and contacts please see NIH-wide and GWAC contracts.

The entire Federal Government is implementing a Performance Based Contracting initiative. The Acquisition Planning & Specifications Branch, Division of Simplified Acquisition Policy & Services assists in converting and creating Statements of Work into Performance Based Contracting format. For further information, call 301-496-4814.

The Acquisition Planning & Specifications Branch (APSB), Division of Simplified Acquisition Policy & Services (DSAPS) will work with the research community in preparing specifications designed to meet the scientific community's minimum needs. Great care must be taken to be non-restrictive, thus inviting protests from unsuccessful bidders.

APSB will evaluate the bids on specifications written by APSB to look for technical non-compliance. For further information, contact William Brown, Chief, APSB, 301-435-3916.

Helpline (301) 435-6606

Institutes/Centers Purchase Card Coordinators - 5/5/2010

The Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch (APSB), Division of Simplified Acquisition Policy & Services (DSAPS) assists all owners/users of scientific equipment in solving quality related performance and service problems with equipment contractors. The APSB can provide assistance in motivating the contractor to support/maintain the instrument. If for some reason an alternate source for maintenance is required, APSB can provide other sources.

For assistance call (301) 496-4814.

Reverse auctions are secure, web-based, “downward price” auctions during which pre/post-qualified suppliers lower their prices real-time for Government products. Vendors are allowed to bid as often as they wish during the auctioning period. There should be three or more vendors participating in a reverse auction. Reverse auctions are relatively new to the Federal Government. This procurement, bidding, and e-Gov tool appears best suited to buying a large volume of simple, well-defined, or standardized commodities. However, reverse auctions are consistent and compatible in making “best value” awards. During an auction, bidders are aware of when the prices change, however, they do not know the names of their competitors. The dynamic competition inherent in reverse auctions has resulted in pricing that is closer to that of the true market. On average, reverse auctions result in a 10% to 24% price reduction over that of traditional pricing methods.

It is important to remember that a reverse auction is only a pricing tool . It does not preclude any other aspect of the acquisition process. It is simply a technique to capture the best pricing available at auction time.

The Office of Acquisition Management & Policy (OAMP) has the expertise in assisting or performing all aspects of the reverse auction process for your organization. The expertise is available to your organization and can be used in full or to supplement your existing staff and resources. For further information about the reverse auction process, please contact William Brown, Chief, Acquisition Planning and Specifications Branch, Division of Simplified Acquisition Policy & Services, (301) 435-3916.

Equipment Specialists in APSB are Technical Project Officers for one or more NIH wide and GWAC Contracts. Below is a list showing the Contract Number, Company, and the Equipment Specialist. Please call 301-496-4814 for any questions on the following contracts.