SPECIAL NOTICE
F -- Whale Hormone Analysis
- Notice Date
- 7/13/2023 11:00:10 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541715
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- DEPT OF COMMERCE NOAA SEATTLE WA 98115 USA
- ZIP Code
- 98115
- Solicitation Number
- NFFM7320-23-02582GLP
- Response Due
- 7/27/2023 9:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 07/29/2023
- Point of Contact
- Grace LaPierre, Phone: 2065264382
- E-Mail Address
-
grace.lapierre@noaa.gov
(grace.lapierre@noaa.gov)
- Description
- ***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-SEATTLE, NORTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (NEFSC) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH THE ANDERSON CABOT CENTER FOR OCEAN LIFE AT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM (NEAQ) OUT OF BOSTON, MA, TO PURCHASE NON-PERSONAL SERVICES FOR RIGHT WHALE HORMONE QUANTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS. ***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT THE ANDERSON CABOT CENTER FOR OCEAN LIFE AT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM (NEAQ) IS THE SOLE SOURCE THAT CAN PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SERVICES AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: THIS PARTICULAR SOURCE IS ESSENTIAL TO THE REQUIREMENT AND MARKET RESEARCH INDICATES SIMILAR PROVIDERS DO NOT MEET OR CANNOT MEET AGENCY NEEDS. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER PROVIDERS THAT PROVIDE SERVICES RELATED TO MARINE RESEARCH, HOWEVER, THERE IS NO PROVIDER THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO THE ANDERSON CABOT CENTER FOR OCEAN LIFE AT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM (NEAQ) AND WOULD FULLY MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF NEFSC�S RESEARCH. THE ANDERSON CABOT CENTER FOR OCEAN LIFE AT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO UNDERTAKE THIS WORK. THE NEAQ TEAM HAS DEVELOPED ANALYTICAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND VALIDATED THE METHODOLOGY FOR EXTRACTING AND RELIABLY MEASURING MULTIPLE HORMONE LEVELS FROM BALEEN OF NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS LABORATORY HOLDS AN ESTABLISHED REFERENCE DATABASE ON RIGHT WHALE HORMONES THAT INVOLVES HUNDREDS OF SAMPLES OF VARIOUS TYPES. THE ANDERSON CABOT CENTER FOR OCEAN LIFE AT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM (NEAQ) SPECIALIZES IN MEASURING HORMONES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND REPRODUCTIVE STATUS AND PREGNANCY, AS WELL AS NUTRITIONAL AND STRESS RESPONSES IN MARINE WILDLIFE. LEAD PIS ON THIS PROJECT, BURGESS AND LYSIAK HAVE EXPERTISE IN APPLYING ENDOCRINE TECHNIQUES TO NON-CONVENTIONAL (I.E., NON-BLOOD) SAMPLE TYPES FROM MARINE WILDLIFE (BURGESS ET AL., 2016, 2018); AND INTERPRETING PHYSIOLOGICAL RESULTS IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER MEASURES (I.E., STABLE ISOTOPES; LYSIAK ET AL., 2018; HUNT, LYSIAK ET AL., 2017, 2019). SPECIFIC TO THIS PROJECT, NEAQ HAS DEVELOPED ANALYTICAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND VALIDATED THE METHODOLOGY FOR EXTRACTING AND RELIABLY MEASURING CORTISOL, TRIIODOTHYRONINE, PROGESTERONE, AND TESTOSTERONE CONCENTRATIONS FROM BALEEN OF NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES. ADDITIONALLY, NEAQ HAS ESTABLISHED A REFERENCE DATABASE ON RIGHT WHALE HORMONES THAT INVOLVES MORE THAN 460 SAMPLES OF BALEEN, 100 SAMPLES OF BLOW AND 30 SAMPLES OF BLUBBER. MISSION IMPACT- IF NOAA DOES NOT PURCHASE THE MARINE ASSESSMENT SERVICES FROM THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, THE MISSION IMPACTS MAY INCLUDE: INABILITY TO COMPLETE OBJECTIVES: THE MISSION IMPACT OF NOT OBTAINING THE SOLICITED WHALE HORMONE QUANTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS SERVICES WOULD THAT THE PRIMARY TASK MAY NOT BE COMPLETED. THERE ARE FEW EXISTING LABORATORIES IN THE U.S. THAT CONDUCT MARINE MAMMAL ENDOCRINE RESEARCH. OF THOSE THAT ARE EXPERIENCED WITH MARINE MAMMAL ENDOCRINE ANALYSES, THE MAJORITY DO NOT WORK WITH THIS PARTICULAR SPECIES AND NONE WORK WITH THE FULL RANGE OF SAMPLE TYPES AND ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES INCLUDED IN THE STATEMENT OF WORK. NO OTHER LABORATORY HAS EXPERIENCE ANALYZING THE FULL RANGE OF SAMPLE TYPES; BALEEN IN PARTICULAR, WHICH REQUIRES HIGHLY SPECIALIZED PROCESSING CAPABILITIES AND EXPERIENCE. IN ADDITION, THE VENDOR IDENTIFIED FOR THIS WORK POSSESSES THE REQUIRED SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS. COMPATABILITY WITH EXISTING DATA: GIVEN THE PRECARIOUS STATUS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THEIR HEALTH PARAMETERS, IT IS CRITICAL TO THIS PROJECT THAT THE DATA FROM THE ALREADY PROCESSED SAMPLES BE COMPARABLE TO THE SAMPLES THAT WILL BE ANALYZED THROUGH THIS CONTRACT. GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPARISON ACROSS SAMPLE TYPES TO VALIDATE THE USE OF NOVEL METHODS IN THIS PROJECT, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS STUDY DOES NOT INTRODUCE INTER-LABORATORY VARIATION INTO THE STUDY DESIGN. THEREFORE, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE WORK BE CONDUCTED BY THE SAME LABORATORY USING IDENTICAL METHODOLOGIES. IN CONCLUSION, GIVEN THE UNIQUE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES OF THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, THEY ARE THE ONLY SOURCE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE REQUIRED SERVICES AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY. ENGAGING A DIFFERENT PROVIDER WOULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT MISSION IMPACTS, INCLUDING LACK OF COMPATIBILITY AND THE INABILITY TO CONDUCT MANY OF THE MISSION OBJECTIVES DUE TO LACK OF EXPERIENCE, LACK OF EXPERT KNOWLEDGE, AND VARIATION BETWEEN DATA. A COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SOURCES CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE SERVICE REQUIRED FOR THE NEFSC WHALE HORMONE QUANTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS. �THE GOAL WAS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PROVIDERS WHO MET SPECIFIC TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND HELD NECESSARY EXPERIENCE TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE STUDY. THIS RESEARCH INCLUDED REVIEWING INDUSTRY PUBLICATIONS, RELEVANT FORUMS, AND ONLINE DATABASES TO GATHER INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL VENDORS, THEIR CAPABILITIES, AND EXPERIENCE. BASED ON MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM IS THE ONLY SOURCE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE REQUIRED SERVICES AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY FOR THE STUDY. THE RESEARCH REVEALED THAT WHILE THERE ARE OTHER PROVIDERS IN THE MARKET OFFERING SERVICES RELATED TO MARINE MAMMALS, NO PROVIDERS OF SIMILAR QUALITY WERE FOUND. NONE POSSESS THE UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE NECESSARY FOR SUCH A SPECIFIC STUDY. AS A RESULT, THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM WAS DEEMED THE MOST SUITABLE PROVIDER FOR THIS PROJECT, AND ENGAGING A DIFFERENT SOURCE WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT MISSION IMPACTS. ***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/5846d8b96e01473da87ebd9f14c2b839/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USA
- Country: USA
- Country: USA
- Record
- SN06747029-F 20230715/230713230050 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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