2-Synopsis-Intent to sole source for EHP Manuscript Submission and Tracking System FINAL.pdf

Synopsis No. 75N96024Q00115

NIEHS, Office of Acquisitions

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION AND TRACKING SYSTEM

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES (EHP)

NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Synopsis

SYNOPSIS

General Information

Document Type: Synopsis

Synopsis Number: 75N96024Q00115

Posted Date: September 16, 2024

Original Response Date: September 19, 2024

Current Response Date: September 19, 2024

Set Aside: N/A

NAICS Code: 561410 Document Preparation Services

Contracting Office Address

NIEHS

530 Davis Drive Durham, NC 27709

Description

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Knowledgeworks Global, Ltd (KGL)., 410 Highway 25 S., Brainerd, Minnesota, 56401, UEI: JHJCY1JNQMZ1

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 1901 – Simplified acquisition procedures, as implemented by FAR section 13.501, in accordance with (IAW) FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

This purchase is for: MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION AND TRACKING SYSTEM EHP, NIEHS

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) supports the publication of a scholarly journals program, currently consisting of the flagship journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and its sister publication, the Journal of Health and Pollution (JHP). These publications, under the program banner of EHP Publishing, are scholarly, online-only journals posted in a continuous publication format. Since publication is supported by the Federal government, content published in EHP and JHP is completely open access, and is free of any author publication charges or page/graphics fees. Thanks to its worldwide distribution and solid reputation, EHP Publishing disseminates cutting-edge research throughout the scientific community. The name EHP Publishing is synonymous with quality due to years of hard work from its dedicated team.

EHP and JHP are diamond open-access (OA) journals that charge no author fees or page charges, and yet still produce and distribute high quality, composed, peer reviewed, and edited content. The EHP Publishing family of journals is also an online-only journal program; this distribution model keeps all our content accessible to all authors and readers, and keeps the journals at the forefront of the publishing landscape. The program is made available for free online at https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov. Environmental Health Perspectives currently publishes 12 issues per year, in a monthly format, and Journal of Health and Pollution will publish on a quarterly basis (4 issues per year). Both journals deposit content into a number of third-party repositories (PubMed, PubMed Central, Crossref).

Currently, EHP receives about 2,000 Research and Editorial papers submitted by authors per year. Approximately 80% percent of these are rejected by the Editor in Chief (EIC) and Science Editors without further review. About another 6% are rejected during the peer review process, with most of these being rejected after the first review. Total acceptance rate is approximately 14%. Projected growth is approximately 5% per year.

Current Processes and Specifications: Submissions, peer-review tracking, and post-acceptance manuscript handling for EHP Research content is currently handled by Editorial Manager (EM) and ProduXion Manager (PM), from Aries Systems. News articles are also currently assigned and tracked in EM and PM. The journal JHP, which began accepting submissions in late 2023, also uses the EM/PM systems for its submission, review, and manuscript tracking needs.

The flow of new manuscripts is vital to the life of a journals publishing program. Without content, a publication cannot succeed. The manuscript submission and tracking system is the first interface that an author is presented with once they have decided to submit to the journal, so it is critical that they have a positive user experience. Likewise, the journal staff and its contractors must interface with this system on a daily basis to keep work moving between the editorial office, the Deputy Editors, the Associate Editors, Reviewers, and the authors themselves. Any breakdowns or inefficiencies will be felt by a vast number of parties and could delay the sensitive metric of time to publication.

The need for this requirement is significant, as the program cannot ingest content submitted by authors or traffic these articles through the peer review process without a manuscript submission and tracking system. The importance of maintaining this capability with no disruption for the EHP Publishing program is paramount. Awarding to another vendor would result in unacceptable delays in being able to fulfill the requirement. Neither a custom-built system nor the customization of any other existing system is feasible or justifiable in the present circumstances. A custom solution would require an untenable resource of time, staff, and budget to design, build, test, and implement; and none of the other existing submission systems are able to meet all the technical requirements which are in the PWS.

A procurement of a KGL-supported system would preclude both these concerns. Their manuscript submission and tracking system uses the same underlying software stack as our current contract provider, meaning the transition would be rather seamless in terms of time to complete, minimal extraneous cost, and should not disrupt any in-progress papers.

KGL is the only vendor that has demonstrated past performance in providing a scholarly manuscript submission/tracking system, and the capability to perform a transition with no disruption to current processes. Their experience and understanding of the needs of the peer review tracking system in the life of a scholarly or scientific journal is imperative to the successful contract performance.

Period of Performance/Delivery: Base plus 4 option periods o/a 30 October 2024-29 October 2025 plus 4 one-year option periods

This notice of intent is not a solicitation or request for quotes. Notwithstanding, any responsible source that believes it is capable of meeting NIEHS requirement, may submit capability statement. Responses to this posting must be submitted via email to Chantal.cornelius@nih.gov, by September 19, 2024, at 2:00PM EST.

A determination by the Government not to compete this contract action based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government. Information received will only be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

There is no solicitation package available. For any questions regarding this announcement, please contact Mrs. Chantal Rosales Cornelius at the above email address.