R -- DEVELOPMENT & EVALUATION OF STOCHASTIC HUMAN EXPOSURE AND DOSE SIMULATION (SHEDS) MODEL

Notice Date

June 26, 2001

Contracting Office

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Contracts Management Division (MD-33), Attn: ORDSC, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

ZIP Code

27711

Solicitation Number

EPAU2B098

Response Due

July 18, 2001

Point of Contact

Barbara Nelson, Contract Specialist; (919)541-4474; McDonald Morrison, Contracting Officer, (919)541-4364

E-Mail Address

Click on the above e-mail to contact the Contract (nelson.barbarar@epa.gov)

Description

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wishes to develop, evaluate, and refine a user-friendly module for the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation (SHEDS) model which incorporates appropriate statistical algorithms for fitting statistical distributions to model inputs for quantifying the associated variability and uncertainty. The solicitation number is EPAU2B098 and this solicitation is issued as a request for proposals (RFP). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-25. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541690 which has a size standard of 500 employees to qualify as a small business; however, it is anticipated that the contract will be awarded as a result of full and open competition. A firm, fixed-price purchase order is anticipated to result from the award of this solicitation. The contractor shall undertake efforts that include, but are not limited to: 1) Develop new software that will support users to input data in at least one commonly available format (e.g., Excel, delimited file); 2) Develop the technical capability to allow users to select from various reliable methods to fit distributions to input data, and generate necessary parameters characterizing variability and uncertainty; 3) Develop the capability to allow the user to select various validation methods and to test the goodness of fit of the distributions and parameters obtained; 4) Develop the code capability to allow exporting the input data and parameters of the fitted distributions into the correctly-formatted data and proper structure required as input to the SHEDS model; 5) Perform comprehensive evaluation and refinement of the new software by using simulated data generated from commonly used distributions (e.g., normal, lognormal, beta, gamma, Weibull) in order to test, challenge and quality assure the new software; and 6) Produce a detailed report describing the algorithm of the new code and the results from the evaluation and QA/QC tests. The full Statement of Work can be viewed at EPA's website at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd. The following evaluation criteria shall be used to determine successful offers: 1) Demonstrated Technical Experience. The proposal shall clearly demonstrate through recent and relevant publications, contracts, etc. that the offeror has conducted research to quantify the variability and uncertainty associated with computer-generated model inputs. In particular, the offeror shall have had experience developing computer software to fit statistical distributions (e.g., normal, log-normal, beta, gamma, Weibull, etc.) for input data to mathematical models employing a two-stage Monte Carlo simulation technique. The parameter estimation methods used for fitting distributions shall include, at a minimum, the Method of Matching Moment (MoMM) and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), as well as a Bootstrap simulation for representing uncertainty in such key statistics as the mean and standard deviation of computer-generated sampling distributions; 2) Computational Equipment and Resources. The proposal shall demonstrate that the offeror has adequate computational capacity to generate multiple simulations (i.e., repeated sampling) of distributions for a set of model input fields derived using a two-stage Monte Carlo generation technique. In addition, the proposal shall demonstrate that the offeror has access to all database management tools, algorithms, and underlying source codes required to generate the simulated distributions and to present the results in a user-friendly manner through use of an appropriate graphical user interface; 3) Technical Approach. Proposers shall present their approach so as to demonstrate a complete understanding of the technical requirements and the specific methods to be used in fulfilling the requirements, including considerations of procedures to be followed to assure quality throughout the process of developing and applying the statistical software product; 4) Personnel Qualifications. The proposal shall demonstrate that the offeror will employ skilled personnel with the necessary education, background, and experience in the disciplines required for the successful completion of this project. At a minimum, these disciplines include statistics, mathematical modeling, and computer science and applications; 5) Past Performance. The proposer shall provide references from three (3) customers for similar services that were performed within the past three years; and 6) Price. The price proposed by the offeror shall be reasonable and appropriate for the types and amounts of resources required to complete the project within the time period specified in the Statement of Work. Please note that technical factors will be significantly more important than price. Please submit one copy of the proposal to Barbara R. Nelson, Contract Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MD-33, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. Courier delivery address is U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Receptionist-Administration Building, ATTN: Barbara R. Nelson (MD-33), 79 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. All offers are due no later than 15 days after date of CBD announcement, 4:00 PM, EST. Facsimiles will be accepted at (919)541-4273. Please call Barbara Nelson, (919)541-4474 to confirm receipt of facsimiles.

Web Link

Click on the above web link to download a copy of the (http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010628/RSOL006.HTM (W-177 SN50Q0A5)