Electronic Classified Scientific Journal

Request for Information: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Research and Development, Chemical and Biological Technologies, J9CB, is seeking information from respondents who possess the capability to provide a comprehensive system to publish an on-line refereed scientific journal up to the SECRET classification level within a Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) connection. The system shall be considered to include: 1) Editorial management tools that allow authors to submit original manuscripts and editors to manage the submission and assign reviewers; 2) A journal website that would electronically contain current peer-reviewed articles; 3) A searchable archive of journal articles as well as all prior editions. The editorial management tools must allow editors to quickly assign articles to reviewers and administrator(s), and allow authors and editors to track an article's progress through a submission cycle: review: re-review: publication: archiving system, etc. all at the SECRET-Level. Respondents must further address their capability to provide, subsequent to the well-defined manuscript submission and peer review process, technical assistance in transforming and preparing all the manuscripts into professional journal-quality documents, as well as aggregating individual articles into whole journal editions which would then be posted on this SIPRnet website. Respondents must also address their capability for managing editorial boards, to include facilitating authors and editors as they obtain and maintain access to the scientific journal website and document management tools, to include identifying appropriately cleared reviewers, holding and transmitting security clearances as necessary and facilitating access to SIPRnet sites. Editorial board positions are usually time-period dependent positions, so respondents will need to address their ability to continually and consistently out-process, in-process, and orient new editors and peer-reviewers, as well as their capability for managing all aspects of costs associated with reviewer activities for non-government editors and reviewers. Respondents shall further describe their capability for providing metrics on the system described above, such as website availability, periodic user satisfaction surveys, number of subscribers, number of archive searches, the average time it takes to get an article through each step of the submission cycle, etc. Respondents also shall include a description of their continuous operation capability, backup and restore capabilities, capabilities for keeping all data secure, and the labor categories possessing minimum SECRET-level security clearances available to support a program of this nature. Response Instructions: All submitted information shall be UNCLASSIFIED; do not submit any CLASSIFIED information in response to this notice. Respondents shall address the information described above (and any additional information the respondent should deem appropriate) via a Capabilities Statement (five-page limit) in Microsoft Word format and a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation (ten-slide limit). A rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate for the services outlined above over a five-year period also shall be provided. In addition, respondents shall include their name, address, CAGE code, and DUNS; provide the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that is most appropriate for these services and state why it is most appropriate; submit company size standard under the suggested NAICS code. The information shall be submitted via e-mail to morgan.minyard@dtra.mil with a cc: to brian.nuckols@dtra.mil. Hard copy submissions will not be accepted. Submissions shall be submitted by no later than 5:00 pm local Ft. Belvoir time on October 22, 2014. Disclaimer: This Sources Sought notice is solely for the purpose of gathering information and does not constitute a solicitation or the issuance thereof. All information received in response to this notice that is marked proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any information submitted will not be returned, and not payment will be made by the Government for such information. No formal RFPs or other solicitations regarding this announcement are available at this time. Information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for proposals or award contracts. It is the respondent's responsibility to monitor FedBizOpps at http://www.fbo.gov for the release of any subsequent information. DTRA is accepting questions regarding this notice but will not be providing responses. The questions will be used to develop more information and receive input from industry regarding this system. The notice is strictly a request for capability packages. If a formal RFP is issued as result of this notice, Q&A may be allowed at that time. Primary Point of Contact: Morgan Minyard, PhD Science and Technology Manager Chemical/Biological Technologies Department Defense Threat Reduction Agency Morgan.minyard@dtra.mil