Modeling and Computational Assessment of Face Emotion Tasks

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. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method including small business socioeconomic set aside possibilities and to determine the availability of qualified Small Business companies technically capable of meeting the Government's potential requirement. All Small Business companies with the capability and availability to perform the requirement under the applicable NAICS code is invited to submit a response to this notice. Background: The goal of the Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Unit (NNT) is to develop brain-based treatments for children with serious psychiatric disorders. The research conducted in NNT is part of NIMH's mission to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. Specifically, NNT integrates brain-based studies, scalable mobile technology, and clinical trials of novel interventions for pediatric psychiatric disorders. Given burdens of pharmacology, coupled with the pathophysiological malleability of children through learning and social contexts, NNT focuses on developing psychological interventions for pediatric phenotype. Specifically, we use face-emotion labeling tasks with feedback to probe and modify threat-based learning. As part of this mission, NNT requires a research authority who can assist us in developing novel computational and mathematical models to explain complex cognitive processes, specifically the relationship between learning and representation, and the encoding of information in the brain. NNT requires that the consultant has developed and evaluated innovative learning algorithms, including using incremental learning to analyze sequential effects, applying the temporal difference error of reinforcement learning to improve generalization, as well as current work looking at the kernel framework to explore human stimulus representation. Objective: The overall goal of collaboration with the contractor is to develop effective accurate models to probe learning and attention in the context of threat-based face emotion tasks. The contractor has a leading role in all projects including overseeing the technical work of research fellows, data analysis, and writing of scientific reports. The purpose of this acquisition is to acquire a contractor to oversee the methods and appropriate use of computational models. Capability Statement: Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this product or service. Failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk. Respondents must provide, as part of their response: (a) product, catalog, model, and/or part number(s); (b) product description; (c) best estimated delivery date after receipt of order; (d) all relevant information and documentation that the item(s) offered meets the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics as specified in this announcement. Respondents that believe that they are authorized resellers of the equipment described in this announcement may provide, in addition to the aforementioned information, as part of their response: quantity; estimated price or cost; shipping, handling, and/or installation charges. The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11point or 12point font, 8-1/2" x 11" paper size, with 1" top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. 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