SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- TOXLEARN
- Notice Date
- 8/24/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 511210
— Software Publishers
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105, Bethesda, Maryland, 20894, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20894
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NLM-11-161-KDP
- Archive Date
- 9/15/2011
- Point of Contact
- Kimberly Pringle, Phone: 301-496-6546, Robin Hope, Phone: 301-496-6546
- E-Mail Address
-
kp271m@nih.gov, Robin.Hope@nih.gov
(kp271m@nih.gov, Robin.Hope@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- 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 National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library of Medicine (NLM) is conducting a market survey only to help determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses of various types such as veteran-owned small businesses and/or HUBZone small businesses. Interested small business must be capable of serving the needs identified below and must the necessary skills as identified. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 511210 with a small business size standard of $25.0 million. This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for market research. 1.0 Background The Specialized Information Services (SIS) Division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), via its Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP), is responsible for building, coordinating, linking to, and making publicly available online a variety of information resources related to subjects such as toxicology, environmental health, chemical safety, and occupational medicine. Included within this effort are initiatives in education and outreach. An online tutorial known as ToxTutor (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/ToxTutor.html), developed over ten years ago, has proved to be a successful tool to educate users of TEHIP's TOXNET databases in the basics of toxicology. To keep pace with significant changes in the subject matter of toxicology and instructional Web technology, it is now time to review, update, and expand these tutorials. NLM has entered into a collaborative engagement with the U.S. Society of Toxicology (SOT) to accomplish this. Through a Steering Team consisting of NLM and SOT staff, and SOT members, a revised outline of 11 modules has been developed for the series, re-named ToxLearn. The Steering Team will be identifying appropriate authors to initially draft content for the modules and work closely with a multi-media production company to iteratively create Web-based products utilizing current Web technologies, including animations, links and audio. Module 1 is already complete and publicly accessible online (see http://toxlearn.nlm.nih.gov). The present procurement is for Modules 2 to 11, into the same Flash-based multi-media package, accessible on the Web. 2.0 Objective To continue to work with the authors, the Steering Team (discussed in 1.0 above) and NLM to produce, iteratively refine, and fine-tune tutorials 2-11 to achieve a solid marriage between text and images. The base year plus four option years should take the project through module 11 and its completion. Modules 2-5 will cover the following subject areas: 2. Cells and Tissues/Injury and Repair, 3. Modes of Toxicity, 4. Toxicity to Organ Systems, and 5. Cancer. Modules 6- 11 will be selected from topics such as factors influencing toxicity, toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics, toxicity assessment - human, animal, toxicity assessment - ecological and applied toxicology - risk assessment, in silico methods in toxicology, etc. The contractor will perform the following tasks: 2.1 Split the text into pages of approximately 100 words each to allow transparent streaming of data over the Internet (i.e. the next page is preloaded as the current page is read). Although the contractor will not change any content, per se, recommendations may be made to alter or re-structure text to optimize the visual presentation. 2.2 Graphic artists will suggest a combination of ready made graphic libraries and tailor made graphics to fit the content. The contractor's development staff will proceed to assemble the program with text, graphics, and animations. The multimedia tutorial will be uploaded to the contractor's server for NLM to review. 2.3 NLM staff and the Steering Team will review the tutorial online. Changes in graphics, as well as minor editorial changes can be requested at this point. NLM will provide the text of the Credits page, which can include a module update date. 2.4 The contractor implements the changes and uploads the newest version of the tutorial online, then e-mails NLM for final approval of text and graphics. 2.5 NLM will approve the text and graphics of the tutorial. 2.6 Optional audio may be added, with the contractor narrating and synchronizing it with the text. NLM reviews the audio and suggests changes, which the contractor then implements. NLM approves the entire package. 2.7 The contractor will provide a Section 508-compliant PDF summary including all the text of the tutorial without questions. Selected colored illustrations will be included in the Summary PDF file. 2.8 The contractor will deliver the packaged module, including the tutorial and PDF, to NLM, with installation instructions. Project Requirements The contractor will implement specific tasks as defined in section 2.0 during the period of performance. The contractor shall implement these tasks with minimal direction, but in close collaboration with the government.   Anticipated Period of Performance The anticipated award date is on or about September 30, 2011. Other Important Considerations The proposed acquisition will be procured in accordance with the policies and procedures under FAR 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement which will be considered by the National Library of Medicine. This Sources Sought Notice is not a Request for Quotes (RFQ), nor is an RFQ available. Interested firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice must adhere to the following: (a) Provide a capability statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirement. The capability statement should contain sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding capabilities; however, the statement should not exceed 10 pages. As the skills necessary to perform this requirement, SIS believes the contractor should demonstrate the following skills: • Wide knowledge of and working background in creating specifically toxicology and environmental health, but also related multi-modular health education software. • Specialists in multimedia software and theories of education to transmit technical information clearly and free of jargon for more general user audiences. • Experience in working with the professional toxicology community in converting raw narrative and pictorial instructional material into interactive tutorials teaching basic principles, particularly through use of Flash-based technology. Ability to interact with subject matter experts in toxicology in providing guidance on the presentation of instructional products, and to work through product iterations to reach a finalized stage. • Possesses skills to stream products satisfactorily over low bandwidth and preload pages as the user starts the tutorial. • Ability to create alternate HTML version of Flash-based tutorials and section 508 compliant PDF summaries. • Web editorial skills enabling proper organization, positioning, sizing, and animation of text and graphics to enhance the student's learning experience, and to achieve optimum display and streaming over the Internet. Additional ability to develop, as needed, line graphs, diagrams, and illustrations in vector graphics to support visual materials. • Skill in overlaying, and revising, as necessary, narration on educational tutorials. (b) The capability statement must identify the responder's: small business type and size; DUNS number; NAICS code; and technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. (c) All capability statements must be submitted electronically no later than 12:00pm local prevailing time on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 to Kimberly Pringle, pringlek@mail.nih.gov. 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 in Federal Business Opportunities. 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).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/OAM/HHS-NIH-NLM-11-161-KDP/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: contractor site, United States
- Record
- SN02547155-W 20110826/110824235548-1179a4ad074de65299feed61f68d1a1f (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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