WEB AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT

This SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE is to determine the availability of potential small businesses (e.g., service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone Small Business, 8 (a) small disadvantaged business, veteran owned small business, and women-owned small business) that can provide web and communications support services to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) at HHS. The primary objective of the requirement is to provide services and deliverables in support of: - Communications and content development for ODPHP initiatives; - Web site development and management for three major sites; - Outreach for and marketing of the three major sites and other selected activities; and - Information and referral services, including mail, e-mail, and telephone response The majority of the requirements are for long-term activities that will support communication and outreach-related functions for the office. The information from this market research will help ODPHP, plan their acquisition strategy. The Government anticipates a contract award for this project on or before August 30, 2013. The appropriate NAICS code is 519130 (Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals. THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH. ODPHP WILL NOT ENTERTAIN QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS MARKET RESEARCH. Background: The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, established by the National Consumer Health Information and Health Promotion Act of 1976 (Section 1706 of the PHS Act as amended) and continued under the "Omnibus Health Act of 1988," was mandated a number of responsibilities, including participation in policy development; oversight and coordination of HHS activities in disease prevention and health promotion; identification of unmet needs related to health information and disease prevention and development of resources to meet such needs; and dissemination of health information. Among its other charges, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion was specifically directed to: "...establish a national information clearinghouse to facilitate the exchange of information concerning matters relating to health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care, to facilitate access to such information, and to assist in the analysis of issues and problems relating to such matters." The National Health Information Clearinghouse was established in 1979 to address the issues listed above and has operated continuously since then. It is now called the National Health Information Center (NHIC). In addition to NHIC, ODPHP also has responsibility for managing the development and implementation of national objectives for health promotion and disease prevention. ODPHP currently manages the Healthy People 2020 initiative, with specific oversight of the Health Communication/Health Information Technology Topic Area; Dietary Guidelines for Americans; Physical Activity Guidelines; healthfinder.gov; and health communication/health literacy and plain language projects; developing Action Plans to reduce avoidable patient harms; and other ODPHP programs. Purpose and Objectives: The services to be acquired are to support the continuing operation of National Health Information Center (NHIC) as well as communications and outreach for all of the ODPHP initiatives. This includes maintenance, updating, evaluation, and promotion of its information and referral services, web site development and management, communications and content development (with a specific focus on health literacy and plain language) and outreach and marketing (with a specific focus on social media). Project requirements: The Contractor shall provide support services to accomplish tasks as specified under task orders issued under the contract, including: - Web site development and maintenance for key web sites: o www.healthfinder.gov, consumer health information website o www.healthypeople.gov, national health objectives website o www.health.gov, includes several ODPHP-sponsored initiatives, Dietary Guidelines, Physical Activity Guidelines, and health literacy o odphp.hhs.gov, ODPHP's own organizational web site, featuring important publications, activities, and announcements - A toll-free telephone service with an automated answering system that provides a menu of choices and an inquiry and referral service staffed by information specialists that refers callers to the most appropriate resource and a supporting reference database to track resources. - Development and maintenance of content in databases that support the healthfinder web site and other key sites as well as an internal NHIC application that supports the information specialists answering the toll-free telephone line. - The development, management, and maintenance of healthypeople.gov, its content, databases, and its interactive features. - Outreach and marketing communications activities for healthfinder, DGA, PAG, and healthypeople.gov and other key activities and web sites, including media campaigns and e- marketing. - Formative and evaluative research, including focus groups, surveys, usability testing and other qualitative research methods In addition, the current contractor provides support for the development and distribution of publications and related activities in support of Healthy People 2020, health communication/health literacy projects, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Physical Activity Guidelines, healthfinder.gov, National Action Plans to reduce avoidable patient harms, and other ODPHP programs. Services currently provided include: - electronic publication development including translation of select publications. - graphic design and layout support for electronic publications; - publication order fulfillment (for existing print publication stock). Anticipated period of performance: The anticipated base period of performance is twelve (12) months from date of award with 4 option periods. Other considerations: The majority of all tasks will be performed in the Rockville, Maryland and Washington, DC areas. However, services may also be needed at locations throughout the United States. The tasks require a broad skill range across the entire spectrum of employment categories. The division of skill categories is subject to change but currently follows the approximate breakdown below: Writing/Communications 35% Web/Information Technology 35% Marketing and Outreach 20% Project Management 10% It is envisioned that the contract will be awarded as a time and materials fixed contract with a not-to-exceed amount. RESPONSE INFORMATION Capability statement /information sought In order to respond to this notice, contractors must be able to clearly convey its experience and/or ability to perform the following tasks identified: The Contractor must demonstrate experience, expertise, and understanding of activities, issues, and trends related to Internet health information and communication technology as they affect the information and communication activities of ODPHP and NHIC. The contractor must have knowledge and expertise sufficient to translate and communicate information pertaining to Healthy People 2020, health communication/health literacy, healthfinder.gov, Physical Activity Guidelines, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, other ODPHP programs, and technical information on health promotion and disease prevention, to diversified professional audiences. The contractor must have experience and knowledge regarding health literacy, cultural relevance, and plain language principles in developing audience appropriate communications. The Contractor must have knowledge and expertise to evaluate and select resources on health promotion, disease prevention, and other consumer health issues for diversified lay and professional audiences. The Contractor must have knowledge and expertise to develop, manage, evaluate, and continually enhance all ODPHP databases and web sites, including but not limited to database management, dynamic web site development, web site usage analysis, Internet indexing and search tools, streaming video and audio production, live Internet - chat', Internet conferencing, listserv, and alternative access methods such as Internet appliances, handheld devices, wireless devices, Internet-capable cellular telephones, and emerging Internet technologies. The Contractor must have knowledge and expertise Government policies and procedures including the laws and regulations governing accessibility of Federal information to those persons who require assistive technology (the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act) and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requirements for environments (servers, network) as well as applications (operating system, CMS, program, data, databases). The Contractor must have knowledge and expertise in communications, including communications research and evaluation, media relations, markets, and public education to promote use of NHIC products and services to target audiences. Information submission instructions Each response should include the following business information: a. Company Name. b. Company Address. c. Current GSA Schedules appropriate to this Sources Sought. d. Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) e. Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address Responses must be submitted electronically no later than 1:00 PM ET on February 25, 2013. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is 15 pages, 12 pt font. Information should be sent to: Raleigh Tanner, Contracting Officer Division Acquisition Management Program Support Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 12501 Ardennes Avenue, Suite 400 Rockville, Maryland 20857 Phone: (301) 443-1857 Facsimile: (301) 443-3849 raleigh.tanner@psc.hhs.gov GENERAL INFORMATION 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)