Quosa Information Manager & Virtual Library software subscription

INTRODUCTION This is a pre-solicitation / non-competitive (notice of intent) synopsis to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Office of Acquisitions (OA), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to Elsevier B.V., RADARWEG 29 AMSTERDAM, NOORD-HOLLAND, 1043 NX NETHERLANDS to provide institution wide access to QUOSA Information Manager: Platinum Version and QUOSA Virtual Library: Institutional Repository Edition to the NHLBI Information Technology and Assessment Center (ITAC). BACKGROUND The NHLBI Information Technology and Assessment Center (ITAC) has provided a NHLBI-wide subscription to QUOSA Information Manager and QUOSA Virtual Library to NHLBI Intramural and Extramural staff (both scientific and support staff) for several consecutive years. This subscription renewal will enable staff to continue to use QUOSA and maintain their personal document collections. PURPOSE The ITAC is requesting the purchase of a software subscription to QUOSA Information Manager and Virtual Library in order for the NHLBI scientists and support staff to retrieve and organize journal articles from on-line journals and scientific databases, such as PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and Ovid. QUOSA enables articles to be exported into bibliographic software programs named Endnote and Reference Manager, for which the NHLBI holds a site license. This simplifies the process of obtaining citations for manuscripts as well as allowing researchers to stay up-to-date on related research. The QUOSA Virtual Library allows a group of employees to share articles and internal documents in a common space, a specialized document repository, currently hosted by QUOSA, Inc. Those in the group can share, archive, and deliver documents to group members. PROCUREMENT The contractor shall provide institution wide access to QUOSA Information Manager: Platinum Version and QUOSA Virtual Library: Institutional Repository Edition. JUSTIFICATION NHLBI Intramural and Extramural staff, both scientific and support staff, use QUOSA to search for scientific articles pertinent to NHLBI research to keep up-to-date on related research topics. The renewal of the subscription for these licenses will allow staff to continue to keep their personal document collections as well as those collected in QUOSA Virtual Libraries. The subscription renewal incudes product updates, upgrades, support, as well as, maintenance of Virtual Libraries. The sole source determination is based on the fact that QUOSA can only be obtained directly from Elsevier (the manufacturer) and there are no authorized resellers for this software subscription. REGULATORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1(b) Soliciting from a single source (for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold) and only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 519130, Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals, and the Small Business Size Standard is 500. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures; therefore the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competitive Requirements, are not applicable (FAR Part 6.001). The resultant award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-78 (December 26, 2014). This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses must be received by March 5, 2015 at 11:00 a.m., EST and must reference synopsis number NHLBI-CSB-(HL)-2015-077-RMD. Responses shall be submitted to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Office of Acquisitions, COAC Services Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6144, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7902, Attention: Renee Dougherty. Responses may be submitted electronically to Dougherr@nih.gov. Faxes will not be accepted. Responses will only be accepted if dated and signed by an authorized company representative. "All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency."