SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- IRP Core Lab and External Vendor Catalog Platform - Sources Sought Notice
- Notice Date
- 12/10/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 518210
— Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Administration, 6011 Executive Blvd, 5th Floor, Rockville, Maryland, 20852-3804, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20852-3804
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-OLAO-CMSSDA-SSN-2016-01
- Archive Date
- 1/19/2016
- Point of Contact
- Eric Steinberg, Phone: 3014023349
- E-Mail Address
-
eric.steinberg@nih.gov
(eric.steinberg@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Sources Sought Notice This is a combined Sources Sought (SSN) and Small Businesses Sources Sought notice (SBSSN). 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 business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; women-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged business; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your response to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. The NAICS code for this project is 518210. The small business size standard is $32.5M. Background: The Intramural Research Program (IRP) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) consists of over 1,200 Principal Investigators and more than 4,000 Postdoctoral Fellows conducting basic, translational, and clinical research. The scientific staff is part of over 20 Institutes and Centers (I/C), spread over multiple buildings and several NIH campus locations. A majority of the I/Cs have Core facilities that are supported by Staff Scientists and Clinicians. These Core Labs are available as shared resources for investigators affiliated with the I/C, but have limited visibility and availability for investigators from other I/Cs. The IRP would like to develop a dedicated, searchable, web-based marketplace for research resources and services available through IRP's Core Facilities and through a majority of external research vendors, including academic Core Labs. The platform should enable IRP investigators to query capabilities of multiple IRP Core Labs and external vendors through a secure communication channel to enable the best source selection in terms of technology, price and availability. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of NIH. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this support is to develop a web-based software platform to enable the 23 Institutes and Centers (I/C) of NIH Intramural Research Program to enhance both the visibility and sharing of research resources, technologies and expertise available through >100 centralized Core Labs. The platform should also include research services available through a majority of external vendors. The ability to simultaneously query capabilities of internal and external vendors will allow IRP investigators to make side-by-side comparisons for the best source selection. Direct comparisons with external vendors will also enable IRP Administrators and Core Labs to focus on providing new and emerging technologies rather than services available at a comparable or lower cost through external vendors. The appropriate annotation of external vendors for certifications, accreditations and existing NIH contract or procurement vehicles, can also increase compliance with NIH and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and streamline the procurement process for IRP investigators at the same time enabling the IRP to negotiate better pricing. NIH is seeking capability statements from all eligible businesses concerns in performing the tasks/duties herein. Based on the responses received from this notice, the proposed project may be solicited as a Small Business Set-Aside. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NIH shall arise as a result of a response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice or the NIH's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. Project Requirements: The project requires the contractor to manage the following scope of work in support of an NIH IRP Research Marketplace: • Develop a web-based software that constitutes a Research Resources Marketplace, accessible only to NIH IRP researchers. • The Marketplace will include a searchable database of research technologies and services available through NIH IRP Core Labs and a majority of external research vendors, including Commercial Research Organizations (CROs) and academic Core Labs. It will also include a parallel web-interface that enables IRP Core Managers to easily update information on their lab's capabilities and respond to requests. • Platform should enable secure communication with multiple internal and external vendors simultaneously, including exchange of data files and price quotes. • Provide trained FTEs for coordinating requests from NIH investigators searching for specific services, and help NIH Core Managers update content as needed. Specific tasks to be performed by the Contractor include the following: 1.Development of a web database cataloging research services and technologies available through NIH IRP Core Labs and External Vendors. The database should be routinely updated to include the most innovative research services and capabilities available to biomedical researchers. 2. Database vendors should be annotated for their affiliation (NIH I/C) and specific certifications and accreditation (CLIA, PHS, etc.) to enhance compliance with NIH IRP regulations. The database should also have the capability to annotate external vendors and services with information useful for sourcing of federal procurements (GSA, BPA, Small Business badging etc.). 3.Capabilities of NIH IRP Core Labs and external vendors should be affiliated with relevant services and keywords in the platform, enabling users to easily identify multiple internal and external sources for the specific research service(s). The list of vendors for each service should be customizable to ensure IRP Core labs and vendors with preferred status (e.g. small and minority owned-business) or with existing NIH contract vehicles are included. 4.System should include a secure communication channel that allows users to query capabilities of multiple internal and external vendors simultaneously, discuss project details, exchange files and obtain detailed quotes to enable a side-by-side comparison. Users should be able to maintain all communications with vendors within the marketplace through a request management system, and receive email notifications only when the status of their request changes. 5.Platform should allow investigators to Rate and Review vendor's performance, to enable the NIH IRP to benefit from their collective sourcing experiences. 6.Platform should have the capability to route user requests to designated NIH I/C-affiliated gatekeepers/approvers. The I/C-affiliated gatekeepers and experts will ensure that I/C-preferred internal and external sources are included in requests initiated by their users. The request routing workflow may be different across I/Cs and would need to be customized for the needs of each I/C. 7.Platform should have a streamlined workflow or an easy to use web-interface that enables Managers to easily update information on existing Core Labs' capabilities and allows for addition of a new Core Lab. 8.The web-platform should be a dedicated, "private" platform, accessible only to NIH IRP-affiliated investigators using the NIH Single Sign On (SSO) credentials. 9.Web platform should have an Application Programming Interface (API) that can be used to link the Research Marketplace to desired NIH I/C systems (procurement system, Core Services Accessioning System, etc.). 10.Provide trained FTEs to direct IRP users to the appropriate internal and external vendors. In addition, trained Site Director(s) will support NIH IRP administrators and Core Managers to keep the content updated, and train investigators to use the platform. 11.Track and collect data and provide on-demand reports on key marketplace events and platform adoption. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance, inclusive of options, for this proposed acquisition is March 25, 2016 - March 26, 2021. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Businesses possessing experience and demonstrated capability to accomplish the aforementioned requirements and level of effort are to supply pertinent information in sufficient detail to demonstrate their ability to perform the required services. Information furnished must not exceed 20 pages (12-point font minimum), including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.; and should include an outline of previous or similar projects performed. All responses must include an indication of current certified small business status, and clearly marked on the first page of the capability statement, as well as the eligible small business concern's name, point of contact, address, and DUNS number. Information Submission Instructions: All capability statements sent in response to this notice must be sent electronically (via email) to Eric Steinberg, Contracting Officer, at eric.steinberg@nih.gov in either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) by January 4th, 2016, 3:00 PM, ET. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to 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 the information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised 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/OoA/HHS-NIH-OLAO-CMSSDA-SSN-2016-01/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN03966802-W 20151212/151210234816-04a9ea6154b6079e34497727048b20a1 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |