R605--American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Health (MH) Database Subscription PO 776-C60038 POP 06/01/2026-05/31/2027 CO: Andrew Schoenecker

The Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding a firm-fixed-price contract for the APA Mental Health Database Subscription, covering access to PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and PsycBOOKS through a single, integrated web-based platform. The base period runs from June 1, 2026, to May 31, 2027, with four one-year option years extending through May 31, 2031, subject to government discretion. The contract is procured under a solicitation number 36C77626Q0187 with award issued on May 27, 2026. The acquisition follows a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation methodology, where proposals must first meet all mandatory technical requirements to be considered for award, regardless of price. Technical acceptability is judged against six subfactors including comprehensive and current database coverage, secure authentication via IP validation and SAML/OpenAthens, full Section 508 compliance with a required VPAT or remediation plan, intuitive user interface and help functionality, nationwide technical support with a single point of contact responding within two business days, and detailed enterprise-level usage statistics. Proposals must be submitted electronically in two volumes—Price and Technical—with the Technical volume not exceeding 20 pages in 12-point Arial font, excluding supporting documents like licenses or user guides. A cover letter must be no longer than two pages. The government reserves the right to inspect and accept services at its discretion based on performance against these criteria. Payment is mandated via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) using the VA’s e-Invoice Portal, and all invoices must comply with X12 EDI standards. The contract includes provisions for extending services up to six months under option clauses and mandates strict adherence to cybersecurity prohibitions under FAR 52.240-91, excluding covered telecommunications equipment from sanctioned entities. The contractor must retain records for audit and comply with whistleblower protections, prohibitions on confidentiality agreements restricting employee disclosures, and restrictions on indemnification clauses that could violate the Anti-Deficiency Act. Performance occurs at the government’s location; delivery is FOB destination with risk of loss transferring to the government upon receipt. Contract oversight is managed by the Program Contracting Activity Central in Independence, Ohio, with Andrew Schoenecker and Andrew Allen listed as primary contracting officials. No fixed contract value is disclosed since pricing is to be proposed by the offeror, though the total awarded amount is confirmed