SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Future of Emergency Alerts and Warnings: Research Direction
- Notice Date
- 10/30/2015
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, 12501 Ardennes Avenue, Suite 400, Rockville, Maryland, 20857, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- 165619
- Archive Date
- 11/28/2015
- Point of Contact
- Mary Fouser, Phone: 3014432953, Ronald Robinson, Phone: 3014430706
- E-Mail Address
-
mary.fouser@psc.hhs.gov, ronald.robinson@psc.hhs.gov
(mary.fouser@psc.hhs.gov, ronald.robinson@psc.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1. Pursuant to FAR 13.106-1 (b) "Soliciting from a single source". The National Research Council of the National Academy of Science (NAS) derives its long-established status as a non-competitive source of scientific research and policy advice to the Government from its creation by Congress in 1863 (36 U.S.C. Sec. 253). This special status and relationship with the Government was reconfirmed by Executive Order (E.O.) 2859, May 11, 1918, as amended by E.O. 10668, May 10, 1956. The noncompetitive status of the Academy was most recently formally affirmed in E.O. 12832 on January 19, 1993. This order cites the special relationship of the Academy to the Government and its unique capacity to marshal scientific expertise of the highest caliber in order to provide independent and objective science policy advice. NAS is a unique national resource situated to harness the Nation's most eminent scholars and expertise from around the country without compensation on committees and boards and provide insight and advice on pressing science and technology policy questions. It brings together leaders from academe, industry, government, and other sectors to address critical national issues and provide cogent, unbiased advice to the government and citizens of the United States. The institution has developed an array of approaches for addressing the variety of problems and policy questions that come before it. The end products take many forms: among them, written reports reflecting the deliberations and conclusions of an expert study committee; symposia and other opportunities for decision-makers to discuss national issues; proceedings from conferences and workshops; and "white papers" on policy issues of special interest. Most projects are conducted or overseen by a committee with a diverse range of expertise covering all aspects of the subject. With unparalleled objectivity, NAS is uniquely qualified to provide the measure of Expertise, independence and audience acceptance necessary to meet the program requirements. NAS stands alone in its level of expertise and capacity required to complete the proposed study on the ethical and social policy issues raised by the recent development of novel methods to develop a collaborative, information technology laboratory capability that facilitates systems research, technology development, testing, and evaluation related to public alerts and warnings. Literature review and discussion with Government program officials and private industry consistently identify the NAS as uniquely capable of performing this requirement. 2. Determination and Period of Performance: Given the complexity of the issues from regulatory, scientific and financial perspectives, the NAS is the only organization that can access leading medical, scientific, bioethicist and regulatory expertise while maintaining objectivity and independence which is required for this effort. A time and materials order will be negotiated and awarded under the PSC ordering agreement with the National Academy of Sciences. The anticipated period of performance shall be for eighteen (18) months from date of award. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform this requirement. 3. Background, Strategy and Scope: DHS S&T established the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program within the First Responders Group Office for Interoperability and Compatibility, herein after referred to as FRG OIC, to develop a collaborative, information technology laboratory capability that facilitates systems research, technology development, testing, and evaluation related to public alerts and warnings. The WEA RDT&E Program faces the organizational challenge of aligning the efforts of a diverse research community in the public and private sectors with specific legislative mandates and national security goals. 3.1 Strategy for the Objective: The purpose of this sole source contract is to assemble a committee of approximately 12 experts across relevant disciplines, including technologists, social scientists, and emergency managers who would be appointed by the National Research Council to carry out this study. That committee would meet approximately 4-5 times over the course of 12 months to obtain briefings, deliberate, and prepare a consensus report. 3.2 Tactics to Achieve the Objective: The NAS has convened three workshops under DHS sponsorship, one focused on alerting on cell phones, one considering the use of social media, and one looking at geographical targeting of alerts and warnings. The proposed activity would draw, in part, on this earlier work and on results from DHS-sponsored research. 3.3 Scope: This effort is comprised of a review of current knowledge about how to effectively deploy and use emergency alerts and warnings and explore future research needs. A workshop and additional information-gathering meetings will be convened to capture results from recent research to include work sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate and to foster dialog among technologists, social science researchers, and emergency managers. The study committee's report would summarize results from the DHS research, provide an overview of current knowledge about emergency alerts and warnings, and set forth an interdisciplinary agenda for research that would highlight gaps and future needs. This effort cannot be obtained as conveniently or economically by contracting directly with the private sector because the work is better suited for the Federal Government and academia, which has, over the past number of years, been working with key researchers in this area. 4. Board Director: Must be a recognized industry expert possessing a doctor of medicine, doctor of philosophy or equivalent degree and possess extensive experience in conducting similar projects that establish an evidence base for sourcing an emergency alerts and warning platform. The candidate must have at least 15 years of experience in a medical/scientific discipline and must be generally known for his or her experience through published articles/scholarly works; oral presentations at seminars, conferences and peer groups; or through other widely known venues. 5. The Study Committee: The contractor will appoint a Steering Committee of between 11 and 13 experts across relevant disciplines, including technologists, social scientists, and emergency managers to include a chair or chairs. This committee will meet four to five times, either in person or by teleconference, over the course of 18 months to obtain briefings, deliberate, and prepare a consensus report. Committee reports will be created following each meeting. 5.1 Study Kickoff Meeting: DHS S&T's First Responders Group (FRG) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) will be invited to present and discuss its goals and expectations to the committee. An initial set of briefers will provide the study committee with background and context. The contractor will consult with FRG OIC regarding these briefings. The committee will begin planning for the workshop and subsequent activities. A Plan of Action and Milestones will be created. Regular meeting reports will be delivered. 5.2 Workgroup Meetings: The workshop will include several keynote speakers to provide an overall framing of issues and several panels to present and discuss current and potential technology solutions, research, and open questions. A closing session will include summary remarks by panel moderators and time for open discussion. The workshop will involve approximately 20 invited speakers and another 25 invited participants, and will be open to the public on a space-available basis. The contractor will consult with FRG OIC for its input on proposed speakers and panelists prior to inviting them to participate. Additionally, the contractor will keep FRG OIC apprised of speaker and panelist acceptances or denials and discuss any replacements that may be necessary. 5.3 The contractor will engage with speakers and panelists ahead of the workshop to ensure that presentations are aligned with the workshop goals and discussion topics. Speakers and panelists will be recognized experts in the fields of information and communications technologies, services, and applications; geographic information; public safety and homeland security. 5.4 Following the workshop, the contractor will make an unedited transcript of the workshop available to the public as well as provide a copy of the transcript to OIC within approximately 30 days of the event. 6. Prepare Final Report. As a check on the quality and objectivity of the study, all contractor reports would undergo a rigorous, independent external review by experts whose comments are provided anonymously to the committee members. The contractor recruits independent experts with a range of views and perspectives to review and comment on the draft report prepared by the committee. Once the final report experts complete that review process, it will be delivered to the DHS S&T Contracting Officer via email, transmitted to FRG OIC, and made available to the public shortly thereafter. 7. This is not a solicitation for competitive proposals. 8. All responsible sources that have the requisite qualifications to perform the work above may submit a statement of capabilities via e-mail to mary.fouser@psc.hhs.gov, which will be will be reviewed solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The e-mail subject line must reference: 16-PSC-165619 Capability Statement Submission. Responses must be double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides and use a standard font no smaller than 12 point. The statement of capabilities must include: 1.) Cover Letter/ Capabilities Statement illustrating organization's technical capabilities and expertise, as it relates to the requirements presented in this notice. 2.) A list of at least 3-5 Past Performance references to include: a.) Description of relevant work efforts within the prior 3 years; b.) Contract number; c.) Point of contact and phone/email. The response pages must be sequentially numbered, beginning on the first page after the table of contents. Responses are due by noon on November 13, 2015 Eastern Time. Responses received after the due date and time may not be considered. 9. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based upon responses to this Notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive requirement. Contracting Office Address: 12501 Ardennes Avenue Suite 400 Rockville, Maryland 20857 United States Place of Performance: District of Columbia United States Primary Point of Contact: Mary Fouser, Contract Specialist Email: MARY.FOUSER@PSC.HHS.GOV Phone: 301-443-2953
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/PSC/DAM/165619/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001-2721, United States
- Zip Code: 20001-2721
- Zip Code: 20001-2721
- Record
- SN03934643-W 20151101/151030234253-a968415da9aef7a185ff9dcf20085ee4 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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