Access to chemical Abstracts Service Database through its Web-Based Interface SciFinder

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A SOLICITATIN FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. A SOLICITATIN DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research services (ORS), Division of Library Services intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Chemical Abstracts, 240 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH, 43210 to provide the NIH community with effective access to SciFinder, the gateway to search the proprietary and comprehensive databases of chemical information produced by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS). No solicitation exists for this requirement. The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. The period of performance shall be for one twelve (12) month period, with options to renew for up to two (2) successive twelve month periods. It is believed that American Chemical Society is the sole source for this requirement under the authority of U.S.C. 253 (c) (1) as set forth in the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1 (Only one responsible source and no other supplies and services will satisfy agency requirements) because of the following: Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, has the sole and exclusive right to sell or distribute content from their databases. Scifinder is the proprietary platform CAS provides for end-users (researchers/chemists) to search their proprietary databases. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability by responding to the requirement. This is NOT A SOLICITATION FOR COMPETITIVE PROPSOALS. However, if any other interested party believes that it can meet the requirements, it may submit a statement of capability. The capability statement and any other information furnished must be in writing, and must contain material sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements of the Statement of Work. Capability Statements and related materials must be received by the Contract Specialist, no later than April 30, 2013, at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time. Written responses received after this date and time will not be accepted. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based on the responses received is solely within the discretion of the government. The information received will be considered solely for the purpose of whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Address responses via email only to the attention of: Lorraine Geiser, The National Institutes of Health, OLAO, Office of Acquisitions, email address: geiserl@od.nih.gov. NOTE: This synopsis follows Sources Sought notice, NIHOD2013421 that was released on April 1, 2013. STATEMENT OF WORK PROJECT TITLE: Access to Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Databases through its web-based interface, SciFinder. PURPOSE The Office of Research Services (ORS) Division of Library Services (DLS) intends to re-compete its existing contract for discounted access to the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) product SciFinder, available to the entire NIH community as an umbrella, requirements-type for a base year with two option years. BACKGROUND INFORMATION SciFinder is a critical information source for NIH researchers. For more than eight years, the Division of Library Services (DLS) has facilitated access by NIH researchers to this resource through an umbrella contract that allowed interested groups throughout NIH to obtain discounted access to the resource for a flat annual Institute fee based on the previous year's number of institute staff accessing SciFinder. This provides staff across all participating institutes with unlimited access to the databases. SciFinder is a web-based interface that provides desk-top access to the proprietary chemical information contained in CAS databases. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society. CAS is recognized by academic and corporate researchers as the producer of the world's largest and most comprehensive chemical databases. As such they are indispensable to biomedical scientists and chemists engaged in new product and patent development as well as basic research. CAS indexes chemical articles from more than 10,000 journals; its database contains more than 30 million abstracts. The CAS Registry is the authoritative collection of disclosed chemical substance information with more than 71 million organic and inorganic substances and more than 64 million sequences. SciFinder as a research tool allows users to: a identify chemical substances by searching their chemical structure or sub- structure, o find data about chemical reactions, o search by Nucleotide or Protein sequence, and o link to relevant patents and articles that can be obtained through the NIH Library OBJECTIVES The specific objective of this requirement is to provide the NIH community with cost- . effective access to SciFinder, the gateway to search the proprietary and comprehensive databases of chemical information produced by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). This action provides a centralized license agreement that shall consolidate accounts from NIH institutes. As a result of the centralized licensing agreement, the NIH will receive a discount to the price charged for each registered user. This also will save the NIH groups who need the service the time and effort to prepare and negotiate separate contracts. Services to be Performed - A. General Requirements Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all necessary labor, materials, supplies, equipment, and services (except as otherwise specified herein) and perform the work set forth below. All work under this contract shall be monitored by the Contract Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) - B. Specific Requirements The Contractor shall provide web-based access to CAS databases through the SciFinder interface. This contract shall be open to the entire NIH community no matter the location. The Contractor shall provide NIH with a blanket site-wide agreement that will provide NIH researchers with personal accounts as required for the discounted price on any NIH campus. The Contractor shall manage individual SciFinder accounts of NIH staff remotely, allowing them to add or discontinue accounts as they find necessary to their work. Account holders must have an active nih.gov e-mail account to qualify for service. The Contractor shall provide access to SciFinder through a web interface. NIH account holders will be able to scan and search the database, and print or download the results of their searches for their personal and work-related use. These searches may either be repetitive scanning of all or portions of the database for current awareness (profiles), or they may be one-time, non-repetitive, interactive searches of all or part of the databases. Among the various search capabilities offered by the Contractor, structure and sub-structure searching are required. As part of the base price for the databases and the interface, the Contractor shall provide maintenance service in the form of periodic software updates and technical support. Technical support must be available Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern time. The contractor shall also provide NIH researchers with training upon request. Government Responsibilities The Government shall provide all computer hardware for authorized users to access the databases and interface on its secure network. Deliverables - Continuous access to th econtent via a robust web interface that allows for a variety of searching techniques, including text, structure and substructure searching. The ability to download content of value to developing new chemicals or otherwise advancing the science of NIH researchers.