SOLICITATION NOTICE
70 -- Technical Research Support Services
- Notice Date
- 8/22/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Administration, 6011 Executive Blvd, Rm 538, Rockville, MD, 20892-7663
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7663
- Solicitation Number
- 263-2005-Q-(GI)-0037
- Response Due
- 9/6/2005
- Archive Date
- 9/21/2005
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is 263-2005-Q(GI)-0037 and is issued as a Request for Quote, RFQ. The solicitation includes all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through FAR FAC 05-04. This acquisition will be made pursuant to the authority in FAR 13.5 to use simplified procedures for commercial requirements This acquisition is set-aside exclusively for small business participation. The North American Industry Classification System, NAICS is 541511 and the business size standard is $21,000,000. Any responses to this combined synopsis/solicitation received after the stated due date and time shall not be considered by the National Institutes of Health. Prospective contractors must be registered with the Central Contractor's Registration, CCR at (www.ccr.gov), prior to award date of September 15, 2005 in order to receive an award. The NIH proposes to procure support staff to design, implement and maintain the infrastructure needed to conduct basic, applied and clinical research in accordance with the procedures for acquiring commercial items authorized in FAR Part 12. The NIH is soliciting offers to perform the statement of work below. Statement of Work: The National Institutes of Health consist of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) whose mission is to fund and conduct biomedical research. A cluster of these ICs are primarily interested in biomedical research involving the neurosciences. These ICs share a common need for research, development and research support services in order to support their neuroscience research mission. The objective of this contract is to help provide the additional staffing necessary to help these ICs fulfill their mission. The ICs that this contract is designed to support are The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the NIH Clinical Center (CC). The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supports and conducts biomedical and behavioral research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. NIAAA also provides leadership in the national effort to reduce the severe and often fatal consequences of these problems by: Conducting and supporting research directed at determining the causes of alcoholism, discovering how alcohol damages the organs of the body, and developing prevention and treatment strategies for application in the Nation's health care system; Supporting and conducting research across a wide range of scientific areas including genetics, neuroscience, medical consequences, medication development, prevention, and treatment through the award of grants and within the NIAAA's intramural research program; Conducting policy studies that have broad implications for alcohol problem prevention, treatment and rehabilitation activities; Conducting epidemiological studies such as national and community surveys to assess risks for and magnitude of alcohol-related problems among various population groups; Collaborating with other research institutes and Federal programs relevant to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and providing coordination for Federal alcohol abuse and alcoholism research activities; Maintaining continuing relationships with institutions and professional associations; with international, national, state and local officials; and voluntary agencies and organizations engaged in alcohol-related work; and Disseminating research findings to health care providers, researchers, policymakers, and the public. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is the nation's leading supporter of biomedical research on disorders of the brain and nervous system. NINDS needs to provide research services to support research at the NMR center. This will involve future development through gradual integration with existing systems as well as support for existing systems in continued optimized performance such that the progress of research is not impeded by various hardware/software problems and/or incompatibility with new application and systems for the NWR Center. The Clinical Center (CC) is home to the National Institutes of Health intramural clinical research program. Located on the NIH Bethesda, Maryland campus, the Clinical Center complex is where clinical biomedical research occurs. The Clinical Center needs research support services to help facilitate research conducted by the Laboratory of Diagnostic Radiology Research. They need services to support scientific application programming and interfacing laboratory equipment to computer systems. The purpose of this contract is to acquire the necessary research support services necessary to conduct basic and applied biomedical research in the areas image processing, neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and to help conduct clinical protocols. The contract is needed to acquire the additional support staff necessary to design, implement and maintain the infrastructure needed to conduct basic, applied and clinical research. The development and expansion of systems used in biomedical research require a highly specialized scientific and technical staff. To reach our research and clinical objectives, we need to be able to acquire data from various sources, process and correct this data, analyze, interpret and present the results. This developmental work needs to have minimum impact on current research projects. Because of FTE constraints, it is impossible to recruit a total Government employed technical staff capable of developing and expanding these research systems. The purpose of the requested contract is to obtain the scientific and technical support services needed to develop and expand systems used for medical image processing , neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and to help conduct clinical protocols. C.1 Scope of the Contract The contractor shall provide a multidiscipline staff who will work directly with Government personnel to complete defined tasks. The contract staff shall include scientist, engineers, system analysis, programmers, technicians and technical writers. The contractor shall provide personnel with a range of skill levels in the following areas: Project manager Senior level Scientist Senior level Engineer Senior level System Analyst and Programmer Junior level Programmer / Engineer Junior level Research Assistant Technical Writer Projects will be managed by issuing a series of task orders that will provide a detailed description of what work is necessary. Development task orders shall describe work to be done, including specifications, interface requirements, documentation requirements, prerequisites (such as hardware, software, and programming language), location as to where services are required, and deliverables. For other types of task orders, the individual orders shall describe the work to be done, the kind and extent of technical assistance to be provided, task prerequisites, location as to where services are required, and deliverable items. C.3 Task Areas The activities for which task orders shall be issued are, but not limited to the following: C.3.1. Basic, and applied research in image processing, neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and to help conduct clinical protocols. C.3.1.1 Perform research tasks. C.3.1.2 Develop algorithms and specifications for applications programs C.3.1.3 Prepare proposals needed to develop new systems or expand existing systems C.3.1.4 Assist in the planning and conduction of biomedical research projects. C.3.2. Algorithm Design C.3.2.1 Develop new algorithms needed for clinical and basic biomedical research C.3.2.2 Prepare specifications needed to incorporate new algorithms into application programs C.3.2.3 Prepare technical documentation discussing new algorithms C.3.3. Data Management and Analysis C.3.3.1 Develop data management and analysis systems C.3.3.2 Perform data analysis on research data C.3.3.3 Prepare technical documentation discussing results of data analysis C.3.3.4 Prepare technical and user documentation for data management and analysis system C.3.4. Application Programming C.3.4.1 Develop new biomedical application programs C.3.4.2 Integrate new algorithms into biomedical application programs C.3.4.3 Upgrade applications programs to work on new or updated systems C.3.4.4 Prepare technical and user documentation for biomedical application programs C.3.5. Engineer Design and Implementation C.3.5.1 Design and build new biomedical research instruments C.3.5.2 Interface new instruments to computer systems. C.3.5.3 Prepare technical and user documentation for engineering tasks C.3.6. Systems Programming C.3.6.1 Develop new utility programs C.3.6.2 Integrate new biomedical application programs into computer systems C.3.6.3 Upgrade operating systems and system programs on computer systems C.3.6.4 Prepare technical and user documentation for computer systems C.3.7. Technical Writing C.3.7.1 Develop both technical and end-user documentation C.3.7.2 Develop and maintain material for WEB sites. C.3.8. Project Management C.3.8.1 Develop project plans consisting of goals, sub-goals, tasks, methods and procedures for completing tasks, skill level for completing tasks, personnel assigned to the task, hours needed to complete the tasks, and schedule for completing the project. C.3.8.2 Manage the contract staff assigned to the projects. One or more deliverable items shall be required for each task order. For tasks involving computer programming, deliverables shall include test data, fully tested operational computer programs, test results, and documentation, all in accordance with task order specifications. Other kinds of task shall require various types of documentation, such as user manuals, training materials, and periodic and/or final reports describing items such as work completed, finding, conclusions, and recommendations, or other items to be specified in the task order. The tasks shall require the contractor to maintain activity logs and/or progress reports and submit them to the Government for review. The progress reports shall include project activity, status, plans, issues and costs. C.4 Specific Tasks The contractor is expected to immediately support the following tasks. Biomedical Image Processing ICs use a mix of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software developed in house and software acquired for other researchers to conduct biomedical image processing. The contractor is expected to provide staff who are familiar with neuroscience imaging techniques, software currently being used by ICs, and are able to develop image processing algorithms and convert them into computer programs. Development of tools for conducting neurophysiology experiments The conduction of experiments in neurophysiology requires tools (A/D and D/A signal processing interface boards and precisely written real time data collection software). Contractors are required to supply personnel trained in biomedical engineering and software engineering who are capable of developing and maintaining these tools. Support of systems used to conduct animal behavioral research Contractors must me familiar with a wide range of computer systems (Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX) in order to support primate and rodent behavioral studies. They need to be familiar with data collection apparatus used in these experiments. Support for laboratories conducting neuroscience and NMR research Research in the neurosciences involves experimental design, data collection and analysis in neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and biomedical informatics. The contractor must be able to recruit and manage staffs that have the necessary knowledge and skill to assist Government conducting research in these areas. Project Management The contractor shall provide the necessary administrative and management controls required to support this contract. Administrative and management controls can be, but not limited to, work breakdown structures, invoicing, status and progress reports, correspondence, problem resolution and staffing management. C.5 Staffing Requirements NIH requires Contractor personnel in the following labor categories, as defined in Section C.6: Project Manager Senior level scientist Senior level engineer Senior level system analyst and programmer Junior level programmer / engineer Junior level Research Assistant Technical Writer In addition to staff managed directly by the contractor, there are tasks or sub- tasks that are more effectively done by sub-contractors or consultants. The contractor is required to work with the requestor of the task and the project officer to select the most appropriate sub-contractor or consultant for a given task or sub-task. The contract will consist of a series of projects that are implemented by issuing task orders. The Government research staff will develop a preliminary project plan and determine what tasks are necessary to complete the project. Government and contract staff will work together to develop a detail project plan. Using the detailed project plan, will issue tasks. The contractor will develop a task management plan which outlines what will be done, how it will be done (methods and procedures), what skill set is need to complete the task, who will be assigned to the task, what resources are needed to complete the task (hardware, software, equipment, etc.), an estimate of the number of hours needed to complete the task and an a projected schedule for completing the task. Government and contract staff will meet to review and make necessary modifications to the task management plan. After a full agreement on the task management plan is reached; task will begin. For additional information on how task will be managed see section: C.7 Security Policy and Quality Assurance Provisions. C.6 Staff Personnel Qualifications Required Qualifications of Contractor staff personnel are as follows: Senior Level Scientist (MS or higher) This person should have a strong background in one or more of the following areas: medical physics, computer science, mathematics, biology, chemistry or biomedical informatics. They should be capable of working independently. When involved in tasks relating to research system development, they should be able to develop algorithms in their area of expertise with minimal supervision. Senior Level Engineer (BS or higher) This person should have a strong background in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering or system engineering. The person should be able to design the research instruments described in task and have them interface to specified computer systems. Senior Level System Analyst and Programmer (BS or higher) This person should have a strong background in system programming, application design and programming using the appropriate programming language or scripts (FORTRAN, Pascal, Visual Basic, C#, C, C++, Java, Pearl, assembly, etc.). This person should have a sufficiently extensive background in science in order that they can interpret and implement algorithm developed by senior level scientist. Junior Level Programmer / Engineer and Junior level Research Assistant (college level credits in computer science, engineering, mathematics, biology or chemistry) This person should be able to handle the common routine tasks evolved in science, engineering or computer systems. Technical Writer (college level credits in English, Journalism or Speech) This person should be able to write and edit both technical and end-user documentation. Knowledge of WEB site development may be necessary for some tasks. Project Manager (college level credits and experience in project management) This person should be able to oversee and mange personnel assigned to tasks and work with project and contract officers to appropriately manage the contract. Key Personnel - One (1) Project manager shall be explicitly designated as key personnel. The key personnel shall be designated by the Contractor as its primary point of contact regarding technical matters. C.7 Security Policy and Quality Assurance Provisions All contract staff working on tasks related to this contract shall follow all Government Security Policies 1. The contractor is require to acquire security clearance for all employees who are working on tasks that are determined to be confidential. All ?Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards,? will be followed by the contractor. NIH, HHS?s 508 guidelines will be followed. Government IT staff will oversee that these guidelines are followed 2. Before being any task the contractor shall submit (a) a detailed work outline for the project and (b) a plan of how each phase of the project will be implemented. This shall include level of effort needed for each task, the skill level need to accomplish each task, and a schedule for completing the project. The contractor shall give the Project Officer a brief written reports highlighting progress on the first of each month. The monthly status report shall include the following: - Problems encountered during the preceding month and steps take to address them. - A milestone chart showing work accomplished to date and work yet to be completed, with appropriate explanations of any variation from contract requirements. - A summary of significant tasks during the reporting period - A summary of funds spent to date and funds spent the preceding month The type and complexity of the tasks covered under this contract require that the contractor and Government personnel work as team. Both contract and Government personnel will follow agreed on procedures for defining/designing and implementing tasks during the full life cycle of each project. C.8 References 1. NIH Security Policies and Guidelines can be found at http://security.nih.gov/ 2. See FAR 39.2 and 36 CFR part 1194 for additional information.) Terms and Conditions: This shall be a fixed price contract for a period of one year and one option year. The following technical evaluation criteria will be used in evaluating offers: Evaluation Criteria: The technical portion will receive paramount consideration in selecting a vendor. Cost/price will be a significant factor if two or more vendors are determined to be equal following the evaluation of technical factors. Technical Offerors are advised that award will be made to that offeror whose proposal provides the combination of features that offers the best or greatest overall value to the Government. The Government is more concerned with obtaining performance capability superiority rather than lowest overall cost. However, the Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall cost to the Government to achieve only slightly superior performance. Overall cost to the Government may become the ultimate determining factor for award of a contract as proposals become more equal based on the other factors. TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA ARE AS FOLLOWS: The technical proposal will be evaluated on compliance with providing the specified items/services in Section B, and meeting the Statement of Work requirements specified in Section C and the Technical Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation criteria are used by the technical evaluation committee when reviewing the technical proposals. The criteria below are listed in the order of relative importance with weights assigned for evaluation purposes. 1. Understanding the Performance Requirements 30 points a) Provide a comprehensive statement of the scope and purpose of the project to demonstrate your complete understanding of the intent and requirements as outlined in Section C. This understanding indicates a clear comprehension and awareness of the contract objectives. Objectives: State the overall objectives and the specific accomplishments you hope to achieve. Indicate the rationale for your plan, and the relationship to comparable work in progress elsewhere. Approach: Use as many subparagraphs as needed to outline clearly the general plan of work that specifically addresses the services in Section C. Methods: Describe in detail the methodologies you will use for the project, indicating your level of experience with each and any areas of anticipated difficulties. Schedule: Describe your onsite staff scheduling approach to the requirements to be performed during the business hours. The contractor may propose alternate schedules such as staggering workday schedules to minimize overtime paid for weekend and holiday workers to develop more cost efficient methods for providing service. 2. Experience and Knowledge of Key Personnel 30 points a) Describe the technical capability and experience of all proposed key personnel. b) Provide resumes of the proposed key personnel. c) Identify the key personnel and the hours they are expected to charge to this contract. d) If a key person is currently not employed by the Offeror, his/her availability and commitment to this contract shall be documented in writing and signed by the proposed key person and an officer in the Offeror?s company. 3. Past Performance/Experience 20 points Evaluation of past performance/experience will be based on performance documentation or any other pertinent information available. It will not be based solely on information provided by the offeror. It will not be based on absolute standards of acceptable performance. NIH is seeking to determine whether an offeror has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to customer satisfaction and high performance of services. This is a matter of judgment. Failure to provide required information to assist in such evaluation in the proposal may result in disqualification. The government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror?s likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror?s record of past performance. 4. Ability to Deliver Timely Service 20 points a) Propose the method used to meet all time standards detailed in Section C, Statement of Work. b) Provide an emergency response plan for unexpected requirements that must be serviced in a short period of time. c) Contractors ability to recruit reliable, skilled and knowledgeable staff.
- Place of Performance
- Address: 5635 Fishers Lane, Room 3067, Bethesda, Maryland
- Zip Code: 20892
- Country: usa
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN00875920-W 20050824/050822211843 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |