RFI 75N97022R00015-Continuous Innovation Final 9-6-2022 w-links.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

75N97022R00015

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), the center of biomedical informatics and data science research at the National Institutes of Health, and the world’s largest biomedical library, is positioning itself for the future by strengthening its organizational posture of continuous innovation. NLM is conducting market research to determine the sources capable of satisfying potential requirements and to seek industry input to enhance our understanding of the optimal approach for the following services: collaboration with the NLM leadership team in a nine (9) to twelve (12) month exercise to strengthen the NLM’s future characterized by innovation.

BACKGROUND / DESCRIPTION INFORMATION:

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the world’s largest biomedical library. Like other NIH Institutes and Centers, NLM supports and conducts research and research training relevant to its mission;

for NLM, this includes information science, informatics, data analytics, and data science to advance computational biology and computational health science. NLM conducts research through its Intramural Research Program, and applied research and development within the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC). NLM supports research extramurally through the Division of Extramural Programs.

As a national library, NLM is steward of a world-renowned collection of medical materials spanning ten centuries and originating from nearly every part of the globe, and it supports, promotes, and advances open science and scholarship through development and stewardship of integrated standards, tools, platforms, practices, policies, and resources that make biomedical information (including literature, research data, software tools, etc.) findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable to the world. Library functions are conducted by the Division of Library Operations, and are also integrated with the world-class digital platforms, resources, assets, and expertise of NCBI and LHNCBC.

The NLM has a rich history as a leader and innovator in the biomedical information and library sciences and is expected to continue to drive innovation into the future. The NLM is at the midpoint of implementing the NLM Strategic Plan for 2017 – 2027: A Platform for Biomedical Discovery and Data-Powered Health. The NLM has emerged as a technical and thought leader in data science and open science within the NIH and across the government and continues to provide literature and molecular resources to millions of people around the world every single day.

The NLM has enhanced its physical and technological infrastructure to support a future of work that is highly distributed and well-integrated into the NIH portfolio. If NLM does not establish new ways to remain innovative, agile and forward thinking, then its ability to fulfill the goals of the NLM Strategic Plan may be compromised. The NLM aims to capitalize on its strengths as an innovator and progress towards the goals of the strategic plan, recruitment of key leadership positions, and future of work opportunities to institutionalize a culture of innovation.

The NLM does not have a defined statement of work at this time. Market research is being conducted to gather information to assist the NLM in creating an appropriate strategy for a new https://www.nlm.nih.gov/ https://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/functstatement.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ https://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/ https://www.nlm.nih.gov/ep/index.html https://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/staff_directory.html https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/plan/lrp17/NLM_StrategicReport2017_2027.html initiative to establish a model of continuous innovation that will be applied collaboratively across the organizational structure and be sustained to ensure that NLM meets the rapidly changing needs of the biomedical community.

The NLM is recruiting key leadership positions. These positions, and other efforts, are expected to stimulate innovation and will help us build upon many successful innovative activities over the past five years, including launching the automated indexing initiative, expanding our intramural and extramural research & training programs, strengthening the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) and leveraging its assets in support of major NIH initiatives such as the All of Us program and the CEAL (Community Engagement Alliance) community engagement strategy. The consultation support will likely:

1. Assess the strengths and readiness of the NLM to adopt a posture of innovation as an enabler of its core mission

2. Establish budget planning policies to insure that appropriate funding is devoted to innovation and visionary deployment of technological solutions to the challenge of meeting its core mission

3. Establish a culture where innovation leverages cross-NLM assets and expertise to better meet our mission

4. Enhance NLM’s reputation as a powerhouse that can mobilize innovation in support of its mission

NLM’s actual requirements are to be determined, but below are some examples of what is being considered at this time:

1. Work plan identifying assets for innovation across the NLM (month 2)

2. Engagement strategies for all NLM leadership team members (month 3)

3. Enumeration of barriers to innovation efforts and risks related to lack of innovation (month 5)

4. Vetted prioritization of innovation goals 1, 3, and 5 years with implementation strategies and cost/benefits (month 7)

5. Document describing innovation assets and risks across the NLM (month 9)

REQUESTED INFORMATION:

This invitation requests that your organization provide comments on the previously discussed possible requirements. The information provided is for market research purposes pursuant to FAR Part 10 Market Research; information provided will be used at the government’s discretion to develop an acquisition strategy in fulfilling the need through a potential upcoming solicitation.

The comments will be evaluated and considered for inclusion into a requirement document, if determined to be in the best interest of the government. In addition to the comments, please provide information on any existing contracting vehicles that your organization may have in place, such as GSA (General Services Administration) Contract Schedules, NITAAC (NIH

Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center) or NASA SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement) V, etc.

In order for the comments to be considered, please provide a response no later than 2:00PM Eastern Standard Time on September 20, 2022. Your response should be provided via email to April Merriwether merriwetheran@mail.nih.gov and consist of no more than five (5) total pages (8.5 X 11), Single Sided.

RESPONSES:

Please provide the following in your response: Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED.

Your response shall include as a minimum the following criteria: (1) capability and experience in assessments and evaluations related to a biomedical research enterprise and innovation; (2) developing engagement strategies for organization leadership related to a biomedical research enterprise and innovation; and (3) a specific written acknowledgement of the Consultation Support listed in this RFI.

In addition, please provide:

1. Name of organization with address, point of contact, phone, email, and website address, if applicable;

2. CAGE Code and DUNS number;

3. Size of business and socioeconomic status (i.e., small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services;

4. Comments, concerns, and ways to improve the discussed requirements. Please share a list of any additional requirements or details that your organization would recommend for inclusion beyond the requirements currently outlined in this notice; and

5. Any other pertinent suggestions

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the NIH is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP. If a solicitation is released, it is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this system for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.