36C77626Q0129.docx

SUBJECT*

American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Health (MH) Database Subscription

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Program Contracting Activity Central

6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence OH 44131

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Andrew Allen Andrew.Allen6@va.gov 216-447-8321

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

DESCRIPTION

Sources Sought Notice

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is in the process of planning a requirement in which a contractor will be required to provide American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Health (MH) Database Subscription. Please see Statement of Work document.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes” This Sources Sought/Request for Information (SS/RFI) is for information and planning purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Although the terms "proposal" and/or "Offeror" may be used in this SS/RFI, any response will be treated as information only.

Complete responses to this notice will assist the VA in determining any potential set-aside for the requirement. Not providing all information requested in response to this notice may result in the VA being unable to determine a vendor potentially capable of satisfying the requirement and, subsequently, if the “rule of two” criteria is not met, a specific set-aside category may not be decided by the Contracting Officer. To qualify as a small business under a small business set-aside contract, the offeror must be considered a small business under the NAICS code assigned to the procurement.

Requirements:

See attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW) and list of journals requesting.

The Government anticipates soliciting a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), single award, contract with a base period of performance of 12 months and four (4) twelve (12) months option periods.

Submittal Information:

Contractors having ability to provide the listed titles in its entirety, shall provide the following:

· Company Name and Address:

· Point of Contact (POC)

· Name:

· Email Address:

· Phone Number:

· UEI Number:

Mark if your firm is eligible for participation in one of the following small business programs. If so, please indicate the program:

[ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business (SB) [ ] yes [ ] no - HUBZone [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business 8(a) [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Women-Owned (WO) Small Business [ ] yes [ ] no - Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Large Business [ ] yes [ ] no - Other (please specify)

Please answer the following questions:

· Are you an authorized reseller of American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Health (MH) Database Subscription?

· If yes, you must provide signed documentation supporting your authorization such as a notice from American Psychological Association (APA) stating your company is an authorized reseller. The documentation shall be no more than two years old.

· Does your company offer this service via a General Service Administration (GSA) contract?

· If yes, provide the contract number or attach the contract to the response.

· Is your company able to comply with Limitation on Subcontracting requirements, such as VAAR 852.219-75 for an SDVOSB set aside or FAR 52.219-14 for small business set aside? Please explain.

Note: Do not include Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in responses.

In addition to providing the information requested above, responding companies are encouraged to include any relevant information to confirm the company’s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.

It is requested that the above information be provided no later than Thursday, March 19, 2026, 11:00AM EST. Responses should be emailed to Andrew Allen at Andrew.Allen6@va.gov

All Email Correspondence for this project must reference the Sources Sought Number, Project Identifier and Project Title in the subject line of the email.

Example: Sources Sought Notice: 36C776-23-AP-2477 Various eJournals . No phone calls will be accepted.

RESULTS INFORMATION: Sources Sought responses will not be returned, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. 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 under this Sources Sought.

DISCLAIMER:

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought Notice.

Sources Sought Notice: 36C776-26-AP-1114

American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Health (MH) Database Subscription

Page 1 of Statement of Work Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration

American Psychological Association (APA) Mental Healthcare Databases Subscription

December 2025

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires an existing, commercial, off-the-shelf, web-based electronic subscription to three (3) APA Mental Healthcare databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and PsycBOOKS, which will be made available throughout the VHA healthcare system.

2.0 Background:

PsycINFO is an expansive abstracting and indexing database with more than 3 million records devoted to peer-reviewed literature in the behavioral sciences and mental health, making it an ideal discovery and linking tool for scholarly research in a host of disciplines. Coverage list: http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycinfo/coverage.aspx.

PsycARTICLES is a database offering complete access to the full text of more than 80 landmark journals in behavioral science and related fields ranging from education, to nursing, to business, to neuroscience. Coverage list: http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycarticles/coverage-list.aspx.

PsycBOOKS is a full-text database that provides electronic access to thousands of scholarly and professional titles published by APA, including recent titles in psychological and behavioral science, plus a substantial back file of classic and historic works. Coverage list: http://covlist.apa.org/psycbooks.

These databases include sources such as electronic textbooks, online full text journals, abstract and indexing information, and other formats.

VHA’s goal is to assure uniform availability of high quality, mental healthcare knowledge-based resources across the VHA system to improve clinical decision making.

3.0 Scope of Work:

a. The contractor shall provide all sites on the VHA network with access to a single online, web-based subscription to the APA Mental Healthcare databases. Authentication shall be through IP address validation on an enterprise basis, referrer URL, or federated access, thus eliminating the need for users to enter identification, username and/or password.

b. The contractor shall provide an unrestricted number of simultaneous with immediate access from any web-enabled computer within VHA. It is required that all authorized remote users with VPN access have access to the product.

c. The contractor shall allow authentication via LibLynx for remote users across the VHA.

d. The contractor shall assure the requirements listed in paragraphs 6, Information Scope, 7, Information Quality, 8, Usability, 9, Currency, and 10, Access, Content, Support, are addressed.

5.0 Performance Period: One (1) year from date of award.

6.0 Information Scope:

The contractor shall assure the product includes:

a. Knowledge based information covering mental Healthcare, psychology and behavioral subjects in healthcare, for use by psychiatrists, psychologists, attending level psychiatrists, students, social workers and other point of care health providers.

b. Information that reflects current practice issues and supports clinical decision making.

c. Comprehensive information in a single product available for stand-alone purchase or license, independent of complementary or companion products offered by the vendor.

d. Related patient education material.

7.0 Information Quality:

The contractor shall assure:

a. Information is accurate, authoritative, and relevant.

b. Authors and sources are well recognized subject experts in their fields.

c. “Best practice,” evidence-based information, or treatment practice guideline information is included.

d. Policies for determining validity and standards for inclusion of material are well described.

8.0 Usability:

The contractor shall assure:

a. Navigation within the system is logical and is easy to use.

b. The product has “user friendly” help and direction aids.

9.0 Currency:

The contractor shall assure:

a. Books are maintained with the most current edition available.

b. Journals are maintained with the most current issues available with no embargo period.

10.0 Access, Content, Support:

The contractor shall assure:

a. Product is 508 compliant (http://www.section508.gov/). If product is not 508 compliant, the contractor shall describe measures being taken to bring product into compliance and date, within 12 months of contract award, that product will be 508 compliant. Or, if product is not 508 compliant, the contractor shall describe why no work is being done to make it 508 compliant.

b. The product is compatible with most other standard web browsers, which have cookies enabled. To ensure privacy, the product uses session cookies rather than persistent cookies.

c. The product is compatible with the Windows environment.

d. All site content and support of the web site is the responsibility of the contractor. This includes tech support to VHA users nationwide.

e. The system shall be accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

f. System downtime is minimal and VA project manager is notified when such occurs.

g. Information is easily printed.

h. The system provides the ability to create personal accounts.

i. The product’s licensing agreement permits free use for educational purposes of all pictures and graphics.

j. A single point of contact for customer service issues is assigned to VA.

k. Questions are responded to within two business day.

l. Usage statistics are available to the system administrator on an enterprise level.

m. The product is accessible via a variety of personal mobile devices including Apple and Android devices.

n. Graphics, pictures, and/or images that are searchable are highly desirable.

o. Training services are offered. On an as requested basis, training sessions (web-based or live) shall be set up to train VHA staff on use of the product. Specialized training sessions may be requested for VA library staff.

p. Usage statistics at an IP level are available.

The system shall provide the ability for authorized users to share provided content including clinical and business reference library content with other authorized VA users, including emailing among VA colleagues.

End of Document