SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR BIOINFORMATICS SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES (NIEHS) IN THE DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH (DIR) and THE NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM (NTP)

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 business; 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. The NAICS code for this project is 541990. BACKGROUND The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/index.cfm), is one of 27 research institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (http://www.nih.gov/). The mission of the NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and disability by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease. In-house research at NIEHS is conducted by investigators in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) and the Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP). A goal of this research is to provide experimental and large-scale biological data that includes biological and technological advances in molecular and computational biology. The Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP) http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/dntp/index.cfm) and the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/dir/index.cfm. at NIEHS require bioinformatic analysis support. The bioinformatics contract will provide support for the magnitude and range of data and bioinformatics analysis for the studies conducted at NIEHS. The fields of study are diverse and include, but are not limited to, toxicology, genomics, structural chemistry, high throughput screening, data and text mining, high content image analysis, and downloading and use of large public data sources. NIEHS researchers conduct studies that produce large amounts of data, varying in size and complexity. The ability to download, mine and compare data from diverse database sources is an active area of investigation. Further, the use of new analysis tools using a range of coding languages represents a growing area in computational biology for NIEHS. For bioinformatics needs, the Government wants to ensure: 1) delivery of consistent and reproducible bioinformatic data analysis, 2) delivery of software/program tools that meet study/government performance requirements, and 3) the Government rights to modify, distribute and publish source code, data products, methods, and supporting documentation developed and/or used under this contract. The Government is seeking information relative to the ability of small businesses to provide bioinformatics analysis support for the studies conducted at NIEHS. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS A copy of the Draft Statement of Work (SOW) is attached to this notice for review. The draft SOW describes the project requirements of the prospective contract. Interested organizations are to use the draft SOW to prepare capability statements in response to this notice. Outline of Draft SOW Contents BackgroundPage 1 General Project Requirements.. Page 1 Specific Technical Requirements.. Page 4 Reporting Requirements/Deliverables.....Page 7 Other Considerations.Page 9 OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS Mandatory Criteria - Response Time Normal business hours of operation are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, Monday - Friday, excluding Federal holidays. In order to meet agency needs, frequent (near daily) personal interaction and discussion between the contractor and NIEHS researchers (including the COR) will be necessary. The Government will require that the successful offeror be able to demonstrate the ability to meet this need by providing a response time of one hour within normal business hours of operation. Organizations submitting proposals will be required to document the ability to meet the response time by demonstrating that contractor staff will be available during business hours; will have access to adequate internet services to allow for appropriate data processing speeds and full face-to-face participation in virtual meetings; will have appropriate cellular connectivity when required; and will have the ability to obtain NIEHS badges in order to access government data via the internet. Contract Type and Contractor's Accounting System It is anticipated that the resultant contract will be a cost reimbursement type contract. Therefore, to be considered for an award under the resultant solicitation, the offeror's accounting system and practices must be adequate and suitable for accumulating costs under government contracts. The offeror must further certify that the accounting system is currently in full operation at the time of award. Section 508 Conformance Requirements for accessibility based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) will apply to this procurement. Products, platforms and services delivered as part of this work statement that are identified as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), or contain ICT, must conform to the Revised 508 Standards, which are located at 36 C.F.R. - 1194.1 & Apps. A, C & D, and available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and- standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards- and-guidelines Anticipated Period of Performance It is anticipated that the proposed acquisition will consist of a base period of one (1) year with six (6) additional option years for a total of seven (7) years. CAPABILITY STATEMENT / INFORMATION SOUGHT / SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS If your organization has the capability to perform these contract services, please provide tailored capability statements with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability to perform the project requirements outlined in the draft SOW, including information regarding prior completed projects of similar nature. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. Each response should also include the following business information: DUNS number Organization Name Company Address Point of Contact (including name, title, addresses, telephone number, fax number and Email address) Current GSA Schedules and/or Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) appropriate to this Sources Sought. If your organization has a Government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system. Business size pursuant to the applicable NAICS code(s) corresponding to your primary business activities Socio-economic status pursuant to the applicable NAICS code(s) corresponding to your primary business activities (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, WOSB, or SDB) Partnering or Teaming Agreements (if applicable) Capability statements should be submitted electronically to: hollida1@niehs.nih.gov. Responses are requested on or before 4:30 p.m. EST, November 9, 2021. Responses received after the due date may not be included in the development of the acquisition strategy. Responses should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced submitted in Adobe PDF format and shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages. Standard product brochures will NOT be considered a sufficient response to this sources sought synopsis. Based on the responses to this sources sought notice, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition. TELEPHONE AND FACSIMILE RESPONSES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Submit all questions in writing, via email to: hollida1@niehs.nih.gov. All questions must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. EST, October 29, 2021. Telephone inquiries will NOT be accepted. Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).