SUPPORT CONTRACT FOR THE NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGREM (NTP) INTERAGENCY CENTER FOR THE EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE TOXICOLOGICAL METHODS (NICEATM)

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. BACKGROUND: The mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) was organized to address increasing scientific, regulatory, and Congressional concerns about the human health effects of chemical agents in our environment. NICEATM contributes to the mission of NIEHS and the NTP by evaluating, developing, validating, and promoting the acceptance and utilization of improved safety assessment tools to protect, promote, and advance the health of people, animals, and the environment. The NICEATM Office is located at NIEHS [Research Triangle Park (RTP), NC] and consists of two Government Staff members augmented with appropriate contract support. In addition to supporting NIEHS and NTP, NICEATM is also responsible for ensuring compliance with duties and provisions of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Authorization Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 285l-3). The overall goal of ICCVAM is to promote the research, development, validation, evaluation, acceptance, and use of new and alternative testing methods and strategies that are more predictive of human health and ecological effects than currently available methods and strategies. ICCVAM is a statutorily mandated interagency committee established under NICEATM. NICEATM carries out its mission by performing independent Research and Development (R&D) activities, reviewing proposed test methods, organizing workshops, and facilitating peer reviews. Proposed test methods include those submitted to ICCVAM by developers that include a complete submission package as well as those nominated by the general public or the Member Agencies making up ICCVAM that require additional validation studies, also supported through this effort. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this effort is to provide scientific and administrative support for NICEATM. NICEATM research supports activities of the NTP's Biomolecular Screening Branch (BSB), the Tox21 consortium, and the ICCVAM. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: This effort requires that Contract Staff be physically located in close proximity (within 30 minute drive) to the NIEHS campus. The nature of the support role requires frequent, often impromptu, in-person meetings with NICEATM Government Staff members. Contract staff must be prepared to meet with NICEATM Government Staff daily (2-4 hours) and on short-notice (within two hours of request). In addition, a high degree of collaboration between staff, especially toxicologists, computational toxicologists, and bio/cheminformaticists is required. Therefore, all contract staff are required to be co-located (in the same physical location) in order to facilitate a collaborative environment with frequent interactions between staff. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Pre-Validation Screening - The Contractor shall acquire and apply new and existing scientific knowledge to develop, evaluate, and validate novel computational approaches that can be used for chemical prioritization, hazard identification and risk assessment with direct relevance to human health; Research, Development, and Validation of Alternative Test Methods - In order to promote the research, development, validation, acceptance, and use of new and alternative testing methods and strategies, ICCVAM coordinates the evaluation of submitted and nominated test methods; Test Method Pre-Screen Evaluations and Pre-Screen Evaluation Report - The Contractor will receive Test Method Submission/Nomination Packages for evaluation. The Contractor shall review the information provided in the Test Method Submissions/Nominations for completeness with regard to each of the ICCVAM validation and acceptance criteria; Coordination of Validation Studies -Occasionally, additional validation studies of Test Method Submissions/Nominations will be necessary. The Contractor shall support tasks involved with the coordination of validation study(ies); Test Method Background Review Documents (BRDs) - the Contractor shall develop Background Review Documents (BRDs), in Draft and Final Draft versions, organize the comprehensive BRDs, provide a compilation of reference lists of chemicals/substances recommended for use in validating test methods, structure each BRD in a monograph format, present the document in an electronic camera-ready format as appropriate for NIH publications, and coordinate the printing and distribution of those documents designated as NIH publications; Test Method Technical Review Document - the Contractor shall assemble a Test Method Technical Review Document. Each Test Method Technical Review Document shall include all available information submitted, obtained, and/or analyzed during the pre-screen process, including the Pre-Screen Evaluation Report and/or the Background Review Document; Test Method Evaluation Report (TMER) - the Contractor shall assemble a Test Method Evaluation Report (TMER) for all Test Method Submissions/Nominations progressing through peer reviews. General Meeting Support for NICEATM- and ICCVAM-related Meetings [including ICATM (International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods) and ICATM-Partner Agency Meetings] - The Contractor shall provide support for all meetings deemed necessary to carry out the goals and objectives of NICEATM and ICCVAM; The Contractor shall provide support to NICEATM in preparing updates to documents including but not restricted to the NTP Annual Report, the NICEATM/ICCVAM Five-Year Plan, General Strategic Plan, Standard Operating Procedures, and/or other planning and procedural documents within the scope of the Statement of Work. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The Government anticipates a one-year (12 Months) contract with four optional years (12 Months each). The anticipated award date is November 5, 2014. An additional option to extend services not to exceed 6 months shall be included in accordance with FAR Clause 52.217-8. If the Government exercises its option(s) the period of performance will be increased accordingly. OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS: The Contractor shall comply with Government Conflict of Interest requirements. The Contractor shall adhere to Government Information Technology (IT) requirements including but not limited to the submission of Section 508-compliant deliverables. The Government anticipates that key personnel shall, at a minimum, include the Principal Investigator and the Senior Toxicologist, and shall be employees of the Contract organization. The Principal Investigator shall have a Ph.D. or comparable doctoral degree in the Life Sciences or Chem/Bio-informatics with a strong background in toxicology. The Senior Toxicologist shall have a Ph.D. and relevant experience and expertise. Certification by the American Board of Toxicology is required. LEVEL OF EFFORT (LOE)- The Government's estimated base requirement for the work is 20,520 direct labor hours for the initial period of performance (12 months) and each additional optional period of performance, excluding vacation, holiday, and sick leave. In addition, it is anticipated that additional LOE may be required throughout the life of the contract. It is anticipated that Optional LOE shall not exceed 9,500 hours per year excluding vacation, holiday, and sick leave. This information is furnished for information only and is not to be considered restrictive. CONTRACTOR TRAVEL - It is anticipated that Contract Staff may need to travel (domestic and foreign) to support NICEATM/ICCVAM-related meetings and to present data at professional meetings. ADDITIONAL OPTIONS include but are not limited to: Workshop/Meeting Support, and Validation Study Support. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (GFP) - The Government does not anticipate supplying the Contractor with Government-furnished property, equipment, or facilities. CAPABILITY STATEMENT/INFORMAITON SOUGHT: Capability Statements should include information regarding respondents': (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information; respondents' 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. Capability Statements should be limited to 5 pages. The information should be provided in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, or Microsoft Power Point, or equivalent accessible format, in no less than a ten (10) pitch font. Information shall include respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Submit electronic responses to Juanita.Campbell@niehs.nih.gov . Telephone and facsimile responses will NOT be accepted. Responses must be received by the date and time identified herein. 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).