SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Research Services Section Support
- Notice Date
- 5/25/2017
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4211, MSC 9559, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-9559, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892-9559
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NCATS-SBSS-17-002
- Archive Date
- 6/22/2017
- Point of Contact
- Stuart G. Kern, Phone: 301-402-3334, Jeffrey Schmidt, Phone: (301) 402-1488
- E-Mail Address
-
stuart.kern@nih.gov, schmidtjr@mail.nih.gov
(stuart.kern@nih.gov, schmidtjr@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. 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 small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Please note that to qualify as an eligible small business for purposes of a small business set-aside, at least 50% of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel must be expended for employees of the small business awardee (see FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting). Background & Purpose The mission of NCATS - the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing, and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. NCATS is at the forefront of automated biomedical experimentation, replacing hours of time-consuming basic laboratory work with systems and robots capable of conducting experiments with a fraction of the resources. This technology can both cut costs and increase productivity, which acts as a multiplier effect on research efficiency and raw output. Though automated systems reduce the need for human labor, the systems and labs are not entirely self-sufficient. This contract will augment the workforce responsible for the day-to-day operation of the NCATS Robotic Services Laboratories as well as support the systems and infrastructure necessary to achieve top quality results. The contractor will directly support the Research Services Section, Information Technology Resources Branch, NCATS. Project Requirements Written capability statements should demonstrate your organization's ability and related experience in the following eight areas: 1.Laboratory Management and Support NCATS requires support for scientific laboratory research and management across all NCATS laboratories. The contractor will assist studies across various scientific disciplines, perform a variety of complex procedures, calibrate laboratory equipment, provide laboratory management support and training, and ensure compliance with safety procedures. 2.Laboratory Automation and Equipment Support NCATS requires support for scientific laboratory automation and equipment, to include configuration, management, maintenance and support across all laboratories. 3.Automation Research Services To address the many scientific and operational opportunities for translational science, NCATS develops, demonstrates and disseminates tools and resources, and provides relevant expertise to the broader scientific community. One approach is through the continuous expansion of the Center's Research Services Section, which features compound management and automation that promote efficiencies in all translational research activities. NCATS' automation engineers are not only responsible for the maintenance, operation and continuous improvement of the Center's laboratory, but also for continuous innovation in laboratory systems automation. These staff members evaluate and implement novel technologies and methods that continually improve laboratory instrumentation, automation, and processes for high-throughput screening, assay development, and optimization. The staff members also develop custom solutions for hardware, software, and autonomy. Through this process, NCATS has undertaken many innovative initiatives like: •Automated tissue culture systems •3-D Bio-printing systems •Innovative expansion of compound libraries •Autonomous ground and Ariel based dispensing and delivery systems •Virtual, augmented and mixed reality based system level training and data visualization •Deep Learning Systems and building neural nets for image and other analysis Contractor support for these innovation efforts will include strategic planning, capability and performance management, strategic systems and project analysis, and logistical operations support. 4.Scientific Project and Program Management NCATS will require key personnel under the contract to include a Scientific Program Manager (SPM) and an Administrative Program Manager (APM). The SPM will be responsible for the overall implementation of the contract to include oversight of scientific, technical and financial aspects. The APM will be responsible for the daily operations of the contract to include management of personnel, recruiting and quality control. The Contractor will be expected to provide PMP-certified project management support for scientific and technical projects and initiatives currently underway at NCATS. Activities under this task range from building platforms, applications and pipelines, to infrastructure upgrades, to managing complex research projects. 5.Cheminformatics, Bioinformatics, Computational Chemistry and Biology NCATS requires specialized support in the areas of bioinformatics, high-throughput genomic sequencing, image analysis, computational and systems biology, and data analysis for both basic and clinical research projects. Tools include those used for biomedical research experimentation, data management, sharing and analysis, data extraction, and algorithm development. 6.Scientific Systems Programming and Research Data Management Scientific systems programming support will include platform, application, and pipeline development. The contractor will support the development of innovative applications and the maintenance of existing systems for biomedical research experimentation; data management, sharing, and analysis (including data extraction/processing and algorithm development); building analysis pipelines taking into consideration computational feasibility; and automating workflows for laboratory operations. Research data management support will include resource and data management including software for data record keeping, analysis, sharing, and streamlining processes and protocols. NCATS will require the contractor to plan, develop and support data management strategies that incorporate FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable ad Reusable) guidelines (FAIR guidelines promote descriptive metadata, structural metadata and administrative metadata of research data). The contractor shall customize, deploy, build or procure, and manage as appropriate software implementation for laboratory processes and data management. Specific systems will include biospecimen and other sample inventory and tracking systems, Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs), and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), in addition to other resource and data management tasks. The contractor will also design, evaluate, inventory, and test new informatics applications services. 7.Scientific Cloud Computing Services and Engineering Support The contractor will assist NCATS in providing cloud and high-performance computing services to NCATS researchers. The contractor will support NCATS on-premises private cloud services, and may be required to assist in securing public cloud services. The contractor will also support NCATS high-performance computing needs. Through these services, the contract will enable NCATS scientific development teams to gain a self-service capability. The contractor will support NCATS four-tiered service model: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Data as a Service, as well as Common Cloud Engineering Support Services. The contractor will provide cloud brokering services for various NCATS laboratories and researchers. The contractor will support NCATS cloud-based elastic high-performance computing service that can achieve petascale performance levels 8.Scientific Research Support Scientific research support services will include scientific and technical writing and editing, graphic design, grants management, and outreach activities. In addition, the contractor may be required to present findings at meetings both inside and outside of the government. Additional information In addition to responding to the eight task areas, your organization's capability statement should: (1)Identify which requirements would be performed in-house versus those that would be performed outside your organization; (2)Whether your organization anticipates using a Contractor Team Arrangement or subcontract; and (3)Describe your organization's ability to rapidly scale staff capacity up or down to support the anticipated workload. The Government estimates that the contract will require approximately 82,000 person-hours per year across 40-50 positions. The positions include various scientific and technical specialties such as scientists, scientific programmers, research associates, laboratory technicians, systems engineers and scientific systems engineers, bioinformaticists, and biomedical specialists. More detailed position requirements will be detailed in the future solicitation. (4)Be narrowly tailored to address the specific needs outlined in this notice. Anticipated Period of Performance The Government anticipates awarding a Labor Hours-type contract under a future solicitation. The planned contract will consist of one (1) base year with two (2) option years for a total of three (3) years. The Government anticipates awards will be made during FY2017. Other Important Considerations The contractor will be required to perform transition services as necessary to ensure an effective transition-in and transition-out of contractor support and continued operations, as well as an orderly transition period without any interruption or loss of proficiency of services. Individuals may be required to travel for specific task requirements. Required Information All capability statements must provide the following: (1) DUNS number; (2) organization name; (3) organization address; (4) point of contact; (5) point of contact title, address, telephone, and email address; and (6) size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant the applicable NAICS code. Submission Instructions and Due Date Written capability statements must be SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN Wednesday, June 7, 2017 to the contracting office listed below, Attn: Stuart Kern. Electronic capability statements will be accepted by the primary point of contact. 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 information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that 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). Contracting Office Address NINDS R&D Contracts Management Branch NCATS Section 6001 Executive Boulevard Suite 3287, MSC 9531 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9531* *Use Rockville, MD 20852 for Fed-Ex/USPS/Courier/Hand-Delivery Points of Contact Primary Point of Contact: Stuart Kern Contract Specialist stuart.kern@nih.gov Phone: (301) 402-3334 Secondary Point of Contact: Jeffrey Schmidt Contracting Officer schmidtjr@mail.nih.gov Phone: (301) 402-1488
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-01/HHS-NIH-NCATS-SBSS-17-002/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, Maryland, 20850, United States
- Zip Code: 20850
- Zip Code: 20850
- Record
- SN04523006-W 20170527/170526001443-be54940b9e10eba591e4808a556020b2 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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