DataAnalyticsBSSRtracking LSJ - Final - 9.26.2023.pdf

Limited Source Justification

“Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104”

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

a. Federal agency and contracting activity. HHS/NIH

b. Sponsoring organization. OD/DPCPSI/OBSSR

c. Project Officer information.

• Project Officer name. Alyssa Dolge

• Mailing address. 31 Center Dr., Building 31, Room B1C19, Bethesda, MD 20892

• E-mail address. dolgea@nih.gov

• Telephone number. 301-435-6780

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

a. Acquisition purpose and objectives. The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is responsible for coordinating the health-relevant behavioral and social sciences and identifying challenges and opportunities to advance these sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Two focus areas for OBSSR as stated in the strategic plan are to (Priority One), “Enhance and promote the research infrastructure, methods, and measures needed to support a more cumulative and integrated approach to behavioral and social sciences research” (Priority Two) and to “Coordinate behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) programs across the NIH and integrate BSSR within the larger NIH research enterprise” (Foundational Process).

b. Project background. This SOW tackles BSSR tracking and integration by advancing BSSR analytics. We are building a cumulative knowledge base across the behavioral and social sciences through multiple approaches. These include:

• Improving BSSR ontological tools and resources [Ontologies] by o Enhancing the representation of BSSR terms in the

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database.

• Tracking NIH BSSR grants and publications to identify trends, successes, and gaps [Tracking BSSR Portfolio].

o Understanding the representation and integration of BSSR in the NIH Portfolio by improving the coding and categorization of BSSR grant applications.

o Exploring methods to track and map BSSR publications along a translational research plane.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

a. Project title. Data Analytics and Resource Development to Enhance BSSR Tracking and Integration

b. Project description. See attached SOW

• Requirement type.

Support services (non-research & development) Supplies/equipment Information technology (IT) Other (specify): ____________________

• Type of action.

New requirement Follow-on Other (specify): ______________________

• Proposed contract/order type.

Firm-fixed-price Time and materials Indefinite delivery (specify whether indefinite quantity, definite quantity, or requirements): ___________ Other (specify): Labor hour

• Acquisition identification number. TBD

c. Total estimated dollar value and performance/delivery period.

The total cost of the procurement is $ $5,867,512.67. The period of performance will be for base year plus four option years.

• Base: September 9, 2023 – September 8, 2024

• Option 1: September 9, 2024 – September 8, 2025

• Option 2: September 9, 2025 – September 8, 2026

• Option 3: September 9, 2026 – September 8, 2027

• Option 4: September 9, 2027 – September 8, 2028

4. Identification of the justification rationale [see 8.405-6(a) and (b)] and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

a. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the

Multiple Award Schedule Program. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(a), consideration of schedule contractors will be restricted to fewer than the number required at FAR 8.405-1, 8.405-2, 8.405-3 (i.e., fewer than three FSS contractors). FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i), for a proposed order or BPA with an estimated value exceeding the micro-purchase threshold not placed or established in accordance with the procedures in 8.405-1, 8.405-2, or 8.405-3, the only circumstances that may justify the action are-

(A) An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays;

(B) Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized;

(C) In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original order or BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program. In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(b), consideration of schedule contractors will be restricted only to the item peculiar to one manufacturer. An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.

b. Demonstration of the proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

• Name and address of the proposed contractor(s).

Lexical Intelligence, 2001 Viers Mill Road, Suite 546, Rockville, MD 20851

• Nature of the acquisition and proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications.

The work in the SOW requires specialized expertise and a deep understanding of behavioral ontologies as well as intricate knowledge of underlying NIH grants data behind the NIH firewall.

Lexical Intelligence is uniquely positioned to fulfill the requirements in the SOW due to their unique expertise in both areas.

Lexical has developed a proprietary natural language processing (NLP) platform to identify novel behavioral concepts and link them to the established MeSH hierarchy. The NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis, a sister office to OBSSR at the NIH, currently has a license to utilize this proprietary platform. The NLP platform has a number of unique characteristics that are required for this project, including compatibility with existing data processing routines and data representations at NIH, such as iSearch.

Lexical Intelligence has used these unique capabilities in previous work with OBSSR to improve the indexing and representation of behavioral related terms within the National Library of Medicine’s MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to support OBSSR’s goal of behavioral ontology development and move the field toward formalized, shared, interoperable taxonomic systems which define the types of behavioral phenotypes and describe their interrelationships.

Additionally, Lexical Intelligence has unique access to and an understanding of the intricate and complex data underlying NIH grant applications which is critical for understanding the BSSR translation and integration components of the requirements.

Lexical has been instrumental in developing key NIH tools for analyzing the contents of funded and unfunded research. Their expertise and knowledge about the underlying details and technicalities of this project will be critical for ensuring its success.

Their data scientists and analysts have a unique understanding of project goals as they have previously worked with OBSSR to develop and characterize behavioral ontologies and elucidate complex grant funding data.

For the reasons stated above, Lexical Intelligence is ideally and uniquely poised to successfully carry out the requirements of this SOW. Entities without their specialized expertise would not be able to complete this work.

5. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d). The cost to the Government is expected to be fair and reasonable based on previous work done with Lexical Intelligence on previous contracts. Furthermore, GSA has already determined the prices of the services under the proposed contractors FSS contract, including fixed hourly rates for services, to be fair and reasonable.

Based on the aforementioned, there is no reason to believe that price will not be fair and reasonable to the Government. A final fair and reasonable price determination will be conducted prior to the award of this contract. In addition, theGovernment will inquire about a discount prior to placing an order in accordance with FAR 8.405-4.

6. Description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted. Based on previous research into other data analysis systems and in discussion with subject matter experts at NIH, it has been determined that there are no other systems in use that are compatible with existing NIH data sets used for in-depth analysis of NIH grants data and for categorizing behavioral ontologies. Any other potential systems would involve substantial licensing fees, customization, and specification to meet the requirements of this project, which would result in insurmountable delays and considerable risk to the success of this project.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification. The proposed contractor has been involved in previous activities related to this requirement and has unique knowledge and specialized expertise to continue the work as required in the SOW. Previous OBSSR contracts with Lexical Intelligence include 75N97020F00142 (Application of Computational Methods to Advanced Controlled Vocabularies and Ontology Development in the Behavioral and Social Sciences), 75N97021F00107 (Continued Application of Computational Methods to Advanced Controlled Vocabularies and Ontology Development in the Behavioral and Social Sciences), and 75N97022F00081 (Data Analytics and Resource Development to Enhance BSSR Integration).

8. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

a. Removal of barriers to competition. At this time there are no plans to acquire the same type of services in the future. In the event that similar services are needed in the future, OBSSR and the and Contracting Officer will conduct market research to determine if there are others sources available that can provide the services required. . An award will only be made if it is shown that the anticipated cost to the Government is fair and reasonable.

b. Listing of sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition. No other sources have expressed an interest in this acquisition.

9. Program office certification.

This is to certify that the portions of this justification that have been developed by the undersigned program office personnel, including supporting information and/or data verifying the Government’s minimum needs or requirements, or other rationale for limited sources, are accurate and complete.

Official Name & Title Signature Date

Project Officer Alyssa Dolge, Public Health Analyst, OBSSR

Project Officer’s

Immediate Supervisor

Rosalind King for --

Kathryn Morris, Supervisor, Policy, Planning, and Analysis, OBSSR

Head of the Sponsoring

Program Office

Jane Simoni, Director, OBSSR

10. Contracting Officer certification.

This is to certify that the justification for the proposed acquisition has been reviewed and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information and/or data provided to support the rationale and recommendation for approval is accurate and complete.

Official Name & Title Signature Date

Contracting Officer

Jolomi Omatete Contracting Officer, NLM