SOURCES SOUGHT
J -- Oxford Nanopore GridION x5 Software License & Device Warranty - Sources Sought
- Notice Date
- 8/4/2021 12:10:00 PM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- USDA ARS MWA AAO ACQ/PER PROP PEORIA IL 61604 USA
- ZIP Code
- 61604
- Solicitation Number
- 12505B21Q0190SS
- Response Due
- 8/9/2021 3:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 08/24/2021
- Point of Contact
- Aaron Dimeo, Phone: 6088900067
- E-Mail Address
-
aaron.dimeo@usda.gov
(aaron.dimeo@usda.gov)
- Description
- A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors available for a proposed project who meet the specific criteria outlined below. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation Announcement or Request for Quote. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of Small Business and/or Large Business companies to provide the supplies/services described below. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. Department of Agriculture (ARS) requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these products and service. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition. The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 334516, with a Size Standard of 1,000 employees and the PSC Code is J066. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13. The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following services: 001) Oxford Nanopore GridION x5 Software License & Device Warranty Scope of Work: The USDA-ARS Cell Wall Biology and Utilization Research Unit�(CWBURU) in Madison, WI is seeking sources that can provide software updates and a machine warranty for a Oxford Nanopore GridION x5 sequencing instrument. Background: A warranty is required by the manufacturer to run the instrument. This instrument was purchased back in 2018 and has been used to provide supplementary sequence data for over 10 reference genome assembly projects that are relevant to agriculture. Current plans include the generation of highly accurate ultra-long read sequence data for metagenome and livestock genome assembly projects. This is the only manufactured DNA sequencing instrument that is capable of generating read lengths in excess of 100 kilobases � a known requirement for spanning centromeric and heterochromatin sequence. Technical Requirements: The supplier must provide guarantees of instrument capacity to sequence DNA of sufficient quality for genome assembly. Specifically, the instrument must be calibrated/maintained so that it can run five ONT flow cells simultaneously and perform live-base calling on all five. This may include technical support and live chat support to diagnose and fix issues that are encountered during routine use. Technical support is required within 24 hours for routine software issues and within 5 business days for mechanical problems with the machine. Technical support staff must be licensed by the supplier of the GridION x5 and must be able to resolve issues within a reasonable frame of time. Any service provided must not invalidate the terms and conditions for use of the instrument. Software updates must comply with Oxford Nanotech standards and must achieve parity (100% concordance) with officially supplied models for DNA base calling. Precision in base calling is an absolute requirement for any research project, so any deviation will invalidate research results or consist of a loss of valuable material by the government. Within 30 days of the release of a new model or base caller software suite to the public, the supplier must make this available for installation on the instrument. This must include all proprietary Oxford Nanotech models for base calling as these are comparable across research studies. The software must also be distributed through a Linux/Unix package manager to avoid damaging production environment software, and it must not invalidate the terms and conditions for use of the instrument. Government Furnished: The contractors must be able to access the US Dairy Forage Research Center (1925 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA). The government will provide internet service, computer monitors and computer accessories to enable interaction with the machine. Access to the machine will be limited on all US Federal Holidays as the building housing the unit will be closed. Restrictions on personal access may apply due to ongoing COVID Pandemic guideline updates. Travel: Due to the ad-hoc nature of this warranty, all travel will be at the expense of the vendor. Contractor�s Key Personnel: Contractors must be licensed by Oxford Nanopore to service this instrument due to the terms and conditions for use. No resumes are required. Security Requirements: No security clearance is required. Data Rights: All data produced on the instrument is owned by the US Federal Government, but will be released to the public via peer-reviewed publications or via uploads to public databases. Proprietary instrument information and logs are to be provided to Oxford Nanopore as part of the terms and conditions for use of the instrument. Section 508 � Electronic and Information Technology Standards: Software, firmware and data analysis models must be identical to the versions provided by the instrument manufacturer. Any software must not break production environments, and base calling standards must not deviate from publicly available test datasets. Key Deliverables: Maintenance Calibrations Technical support Live Chat Software Updates Delivery: Service coverage is to be 09/01/2021 � 08/31/2022. Maintenance, calibration, and support services will be performed on the piece of equipment located at 1925 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706. Services will be provided on an ad-hoc basis. Software updates to be current with public releases or to have updates provided within 30 days of their release by Oxford Nanopore. As stated above, technical support on software issues must be provided within 24 hours of a request for service. Any mechanical faults must be addressed within 5 days of their report. Location of the Government site is aboard USDA-ARS Madison, WI and will be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract. Capability Statement: Companies who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company�s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. Companies should also indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business. To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register in SAM. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS.�Vendor must include their DUNS# on their capability statements. To be eligible, all vendors must also be registered in SAM under the specific NAICS code listed as part of this sources sought. If a prospective vendor is not registered under the specified NAICS code and would qualify to be registered under it then they must update their SAM registration prior to providing a capabilities statement. Finally, to be eligible, all vendors must be NDAA 889 Certified. If they do not currently have a NDAA 889 Certification, then they must complete the attached NDAA 889 Certification form and submit it to aaron.dimeo@usda.gov so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors. Submitting a Capability Statements: Responses should be submitted via email to aaron.dimeo@usda.gov by Monday, August 9, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. CST. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Disclaimer: 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.�Respondents are also advised that under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback about any of the information received.� After review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential or classified information shall be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/814351c1c39547e8b5cfd351545bd3ec/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Zip Code: 53706
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 53706
- Record
- SN06085561-F 20210806/210804230132 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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