SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Technical and Logistical Support for Cancer Surveillance
- Notice Date
- 4/10/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541512
— Computer Systems Design Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bldg 1050, Frederick, Maryland, 21702, United States
- ZIP Code
- 21702
- Solicitation Number
- N02PC25010-N3
- Point of Contact
- Johnny Mack, Phone: 301-435-3780, Virginia DeSeau, Phone: 301-435-3978
- E-Mail Address
-
mackj@mail.nih.gov, vd9t@nih.gov
(mackj@mail.nih.gov, vd9t@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). THERE IS NOT A SOLICITATION AVAILABLE. THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH. The purpose of this SBSS is to IDENTIFY QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Women-owned Small Business (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), 8(a) Small Business, and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. Small Businesses whose size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code #541512 may consider responding to this Notice. 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 NCI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for preparation of any information submitted. Technical and Logistical Support for cancer Surveillance, a project within The NCI, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Surveillance Research Program DCCPS/SRP is seeking capability statement from all eligible Small Businesses as stated above, under NAICS Code #541512 (Computer Systems Design Services) with a size standard of $25,500,000. The NCI, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences is seeking Contractors who demonstrate the ability in Technical and Logistical Support and Cancer Surveillance. The NCI, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Surveillance Research Program DCCPS/SRP is seeking technical and logistical support to facilitate collaborative efforts in cancer surveillance, including managing web-based knowledge management systems with adaptable data structures, tracking of manuscripts, managing shared files including access controls, facilitating the maintenance and development of templated documentation of projects, providing an online searchable registry of projects, and developing web-based interactive public interfaces for specified projects. To perform the requirements of the project, the Contractor must possess sufficient Information Technology (IT) knowledge and facilities to assume the source code and content from the current Contractor, provide enhancements to the existing system (as described below), and provide ongoing support to facilitate collaborations in cancer surveillance. In addition, the Contractor must possess sufficient knowledge in population-based cancer simulation modeling used to support decision-making in health policy and surveillance within an existing consortium: the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network "CISNET" ( http://cisnet.cancer.gov/). More specifically, the Contractor must be knowledgeable in the type of cancer simulation modeling which utilizes a multi-cohort approach, develops flexible broad-based natural history models of cancer, and where a comparative modeling approach is a key element of the process. The Contractor must have sufficient subject matter expertise to guide and edit the entry of information to make it compatible across projects as the need arises. In managing shared input and output files for multi-group collaborations, the Contractor must understand the scientific details of the project in order to structure and handle the data appropriately. For logistical support of meetings and conference calls, the Contractor needs to infer tasks to performed based on the scientific context of the conversation. Summary of Project : The purpose of the anticipated requirement is to manage web-based knowledge management systems to facilitate collaborative efforts in cancer surveillance. The Contractor must be able to complete tasks in the following areas: 1. Support, Maintain and Adapt an Existing Web-Based Knowledge Management System. The Contractor shall be provided the content and source code of the current knowledge management system developed by the previous Contractor (HHSN261200800002C; Cornerstone Systems Northwest, Inc.) and shall assume support and maintenance of the system. This system includes the ability to create and maintain email lists and contact information; posting and tracking manuscripts, posting data resources; manage shared files, specifications, and template output spreadsheets; facilitate the changing affiliations of collaborators, and the addition of new collaborators. The system has an adaptable spectrum of data structures from free-form topics transitioning to forms with additional structure as common patterns are identified, to support functions such as manuscript workflow, meeting logistics, presentation storage, citation storage, etc. The system supports access controls by groups to allow ad-hoc subgroups to share documents securely in cases where results are under strict embargo. Finally the system supports manuscript controls including stamping and locking PDFs to the specific user that downloads them. The Contractor shall provide basic support for the existing knowledge management system for projects in cancer surveillance supported by NCI, including providing content maintenance (as described above and below); archiving or removing outdated materials; maintaining linkages between documents; and adapting the page layouts to meet the needs of collaborators. The Contractor, in consultation with the Government, shall provide appropriate links and materials for posting to Government public web sites. The Contractor, in consultation with the Government, shall provide system enhancements, including such features necessary for enhanced file management; email and conference call planning and organization tools; searchable listserv communications; and listserv archiving services. 2. Support, Maintain and Update the Project Profiler - The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content for the existing Project Profiler, a portion of the web-based knowledge management system developed by the prior Contractor for templated project documentation, and shall assume support and maintenance. The existing Project Profiler web application includes a robust versioning system to allow older versions of the project profiles to be available; and informing readers that newer versions are available and guiding them to updated materials as appropriate. The Contractor shall provide training for new users, and moderate incoming content to make it consistent with other similar projects. The Contractor shall guide users as profiles are "uploaded" from their own private sites where they have first developed their project profiles, to a group collaborative site (i.e. a site open to selected NCI staff and all appropriate users), and finally to public websites (either maintained by others or the Contractor). The Contractor shall adapt the existing Project Profiler in consultation with the Government. 3. Support, Maintain and Update the Project Registration and Discovery System - The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content of an existing Project Registration and Discovery system. The Contractor shall maintain this public-facing system that is a searchable registry of projects in which users briefly describe their projects using a number of generalized project attributes, as well as, brief free-form descriptions of the projects' purpose, relevant domain and development team specifics. The system will provide a high level view of projects and will be searchable across projects. 4. Support and Development of Project Model Interface Systems - The Contractor shall, at the discretion of the Government, provide support for assisting in the development of web-based interactive public interfaces for specific projects. These interfaces will help put a "public face" on a project and will allow users to explore the responses to inputs. The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content of existing interface systems, and be responsible for enhancing existing systems and develop new working interface systems. 5. Hardware and Software Support - The Contractor shall have sufficient knowledge and experience to assume support of the existing source code and content. This includes Visual FoxPro, Prince XML, Open Office, Windows 8 for the existing web-based knowledge management system and Project Profiler; Python and Django for the existing Project Registration and Discovery System; Python, Django, Jenkins, RabbitMW for the existing Project Interface Systems; and Merak/Ice Warp for mail list software. All systems use github for source control. The Contractor shall provide all hosting and technical support. This will include internet connection, hardware, software licenses, security certificates, security patches, backups, new user accounts, monitoring, etc. All web-hosting infrastructure must be implemented using a fully patched, Windows 2008 Server or newer. The web-server environment must include an active hardware-based firewall, a passive hardware-based intrusion detection system, and warm backup server. To support the knowledge management system and Project Profiler the Contractor must deploy and maintain at least 5 servers: Development, Staging, Production, and PDF and Document processing servers (these latter two are used to support the PDF generation and the processing of uploaded files). The Project Interface Systems shall be provided via a cluster of servers running both Windows and Posix-based operating systems to support the various modeling approaches and resource-levels required by the models. Primary components include a web-server, api server, task scheduling server, and multiple independent computation nodes, which execute the simulation software in secure, resource-controlled environments. The Contractor shall purchase necessary Secure Socket Layer SSL certificates to ensure secure https communications. The Contractor shall have the proper certifications to host Government web sites, and be able to meet all existing data security requirements of the Government. DURATION: It is anticipated that the project will be awarded for one year followed by six option years. CAPABILITY CRITERIA: Capabilities will be judged based on the following criteria: 1. Background Knowledge and Experience: Background knowledge and experience in population-based cancer simulation modeling used to support decision-making in health policy and surveillance is a critical capability for the successful execution of this contract. Demonstration of knowledge and background in cancer simulation modeling, which utilizes a multi-cohort approach, develops flexible broad-based natural history models of cancer, and an approach using comparative modeling is necessary. In addition, capability shall demonstrate the use of software and hardware necessary to support a web-based knowledge management system, Project Profiler, Project Registration and Discovery system, and Project Interface systems (as described above). Finally, capability shall be demonstrated in meeting the data security requirements of the Government. 2. Technical Approach: A capability statement shall include a broad description of technical approaches that the Contractor is capable of undertaking to assume the source code and content and make it operational with minimal disruption to the users, maintain the systems, adapt the systems to the ongoing needs of the users, and facilitating consistent entry of user content by acting as moderator. 3. Personnel: The Contractor shall provide the necessary staff to carry out all aspects of the work described above. The Project Director and Senior Level Analysts should have advanced education with experience in population-based cancer simulation modeling, web-based knowledge management, and providing services to facilitate collaborations including moderating data entry of model documentation. Developers shall demonstrate experience in adapting existing systems and to accommodating ongoing needs of outside users. IT administrators shall demonstrate the capability to maintain the hardware and software environments, including all necessary security measures. 4. Corporate Experience and Resources: In addition to individual personnel experience, the Contractor shall have corporate knowledge and experience in: a) population-based cancer simulation modeling; b) web-based knowledge management, project profiles, project registration, and project interfaces; c) the software and hardware environments that the prior systems were developed in (see above); d) Government security regulations for data and requirements for hosting Government websites; and, e) providing IT services adaptable for use by various researchers/collaborators. Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a capability statement, not to exceed 15 total single-spaced pages using a 12 point font size at a minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform and that addresses the specific requirements described above. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern's name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. 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 responses. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). All capability statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Johnny Mack, Contract Specialist at mackj@mail.nih.gov either in MS Word, Wordperfect or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) not later than Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 3:00PM EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. ANY RESPONSES RECEIVED AFTER THAT DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
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