9531BM24Q0018 - Library Subscription Service.pdf

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 1, Section C – Statement of Work, Page 1 of 5

Attachment 1 - Section C

STATEMENT OF WORK

1.0 BACKGROUND

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress to investigate every civil aviation accident in the United States, most public-use aircraft, and significant accidents in other modes of transportation - railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline

- and to issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for airmen, mechanics, or mariners whenever the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or United States Coast Guard (USCG) takes a certificate action.

In support of this mission, the NTSB has a requirement for an online provider of scientific papers and standards in full text format that are not available for free on the internet. Likely, between 150 and 200 NTSB employees would need access to this tool. The NTSB has more than 400 employees.

2.0 REQUIRED INFORMATION

The online service provider will be able to identify and produce full text copies of requested scientific papers and standards in the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, human factors, injury care, injury prevention, engineering (to include aerospace engineering, civil engineering, electric engineering), materials science, and transportation at a minimum.

3.0 REQUIRED FEATURES AND SERVICES

The online service provider shall present full text scientific papers and standards including data necessary for scientific citations. The online service provider shall ensure lowest cost option for each paper or standard, ensure copyright permissions are appropriately obtained and maintained, ensure attempts to re-purchase papers are evaluated for need and the ability to share information (no duplicate purchasing). When documents are requested that may require additional time to acquire (such as those not available electronically) the provider shall notify the requestor of the anticipated delay to ensure the item is still desired. The expected transaction time for the service provider from initial request to the NTSB acquiring the item shall be less than 24 hours at least 85% of the time.

The system must provide online access from anywhere at any time to support the needs of NTSB investigators and researchers that work at the agency’s headquarters, in satellite offices, or at transportation accident scenes.

The system must enable the NTSB to set limits by the user and the price of the requested item.

The online service provider must offer additional services including: 1) building/maintaining a digital-based shared library of documents purchased by NTSB; 2) integration of its services with existing online search engines; 3) adding existing documents already owned by NTSB, verifying copyright status, and integrating them into the digital-based library (to include copies of publicly available reports published by the NTSB); 4) enabling easy citation of all library documents within NTSB documents using NTSB’s chosen style format and writing software and 5) providing 24/7 customer service.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 1, Section C – Statement of Work, Page 2 of 5

In addition to invoicing, the online service provider shall provide NTSB admin access to electronic use information including (at a minimum) the user, item purchased, and price in a searchable/viewable fashion for various periods of time.

4.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The anticipated period of performance of this contract is 12 months from 9/20/2024 through 9/19/2025

5.0 SECTION 508 ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it shall be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities.

Item that contains ICT: Online Library of Scientific Papers and Standards

Online Library of Scientific Papers and Standards

E201 Application

E201.1 Scope ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E205 Electronic Content

E205.1 General Electronic content shall comply with E205.

E205.2 Public Facing Electronic content that is public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4.

E205.3 Agency Official Communication Electronic content that is not public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4 when such content constitutes official business and is communicated by an agency through one or more of the following:

• A. An emergency notification;

• B. An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding;

• C. An internal or external program or policy announcement;

• D. A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action;

• E. A formal acknowledgement of receipt;

• F. A survey questionnaire;

• G. A template or form;

• H. Educational or training materials; or

• I. Intranet content designed as a Web page.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 1, Section C – Statement of Work, Page 3 of 5

E205.4 Accessibility Standard (WCAG 2.0) - Electronic content shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (Incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

E206 Hardware

E206.1 General. Where components of ICT are hardware and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 4.

E207 Software

E207.1 General Where components of ICT are software and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to E207 and the requirements in Chapter 5

Exception from E207.1 General: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5.

E207.2 WCAG Conformance User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

Exceptions from E207.2 WCAG Conformance:

• Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to E207.2.

• Non-web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation;

and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

• Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0.

E207.3 Complete Process for Non-Web Software Where non-Web software requires multiple steps to accomplish an activity, all software related to the activity to be accomplished shall conform to WCAG 2.0 as specified in E207.2.

E208 Support Documentation and Services

E208.1 General Where an agency provides support documentation or services for ICT, such documentation and services shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 6.

E301 General

E301.1 Scope. The requirements of Chapter 3 shall apply to ICT where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 1, Section C – Statement of Work, Page 4 of 5

E302 Functional Performance Criteria

302.1 Without Vision. Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user vision.

302.2 With Limited Vision. Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited vision.

302.3 Without Perception of Color. Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one visual mode of operation that does not require user perception of color.

302.4 Without Hearing. Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user hearing.

302.5 With Limited Hearing. Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited hearing.

302.6 Without Speech. Where speech is used for input, control, or operation, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user speech.

302.7 With Limited Manipulation. Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous manual operations.

302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength. Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that is operable with limited reach and limited strength.

302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities. ICT shall provide features making its use by individuals with limited cognitive, language, and learning abilities simpler and easier.

503 Applications

503.1 General Applications shall conform to 503.

503.2 User Preferences Applications shall permit user preferences from platform settings for color, contrast, font type, font size, and focus cursor.

Exception from E503.2 User Preferences: Applications that are designed to be isolated from their underlying platform software, including Web applications, shall not be required to conform to 503.2.

503.3 Alternative User Interfaces. Where an application provides an alternative user interface that functions as assistive technology, the application shall use platform and other industry standard accessibility services.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 1, Section C – Statement of Work, Page 5 of 5

503.4 User Controls for Captions and Audio Description Where ICT displays video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions conforming to 503.4.

503.4.1 Caption Controls Where user controls are provided for volume adjustment, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of captions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

503.4.2 Audio Description Controls. Where user controls are provided for program selection, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of audio descriptions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR):

TBD

Contracting Officer:

P. Matt Hazlinsky

(202) 314-5209 Matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov

[END OF SECTION]

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 1 of 6

Attachment 2 – Sections L & M

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) solicits your quote for a subscription-based online service of scientific papers and standards in full text format that are not available for free on the internet in accordance with Section C – Statement of Work of the Request for Quote (RFQ).

The NTSB anticipates awarding at least one fixed-price task order off a vendor’s FEDLINK electronic resources IDIQ contract. Only quoters with FEDLINK contracts will be considered for award. The NTSB reserves the right to make multiple awards if it is determined to be in the Government’s best interest.

Solicitation Question and Answer Instructions Written questions concerning this solicitation must be submitted by 4:00pm Eastern time on Thursday, August 29, 2024 via e-mail to P. Matt Hazlinsky, Contracting Officer, at matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov. Answers to all questions will be provided through an amendment to the RFQ.

Electronic Dissemination of Documents Access to this RFQ and amendments will be posted to the Contract Opportunities page at sam.gov. All quoters are cautioned that it is your responsibility to frequently check back to the website to ensure that you have received all issued amendments.

Submission of Quotes Quotes must be submitted and received via e-mail to matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov by the time and date specified in Block 10 of the SF18. Close of business is considered 5pm Eastern Time.

Quotes shall be submitted in Adobe PDF format.

LATE QUOTES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Quotes submitted with inadequate information may be found unacceptable.

The maximum email file size that the NTSB e-mail server can accept, including attachments, is 35 megabytes (MB). Offerors may segregate offers and submit in separate e-mails if the combined file size of the offer will exceed 35MB. Offerors are encouraged to remove excess graphics from their offers to ensure offers remain under the file size limit.

As a reminder, it is the quoter’s responsibility to confirm the Government has received their offer prior to the offer submission deadline.

The successful Offeror must be registered in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) at the time of award.

Contractors are required to meet all the requirements of the RFQ, including but not limited to instructions, conditions/notices, and requirements in the SOW. Quotations should address each factor(s) and sub-factor(s) as described below. Quotations that fail to address the essential requirements of this RFQ or are unrealistic in terms of technical content, schedule commitment, or price will be deemed to have an inherent lack of technical competence or indicative of a failure mailto:matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov http://www.sam.gov/

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 2 of 6 to comprehend the requirements, or the complexity and risks associated with the requirements.

Stating that your company meets the requirements of the solicitation is not sufficient. Quoters must not assume that evaluators are familiar with its service and should comprehensively address each factor. The Government may reject any quotation that is so lacking in competence or in understanding the requirements that without a major reformation of the quotation it is not adequate for evaluation purposes. Alternate/conditional quotations may result in a quotation being rejected as non-responsive.

Instructions for Preparation of Quotes

Quote Organization Offerors shall respond to all requirements of this solicitation. Offers submitted with inadequate information may be found unacceptable. For this solicitation, offerors shall submit quotes in two

(2) separate volumes as follows:

(1) Volume I -Technical Section: Include all information requested under paragraph “Volume

I: Technical Section.” Exclude any references to price in the Technical Section.

(2) Volume II - Business Section: Include all information requested under paragraph “Volume II: Business Section”.

Requirements for Quote Content Include the following for both Volumes:

(1) Cover sheet containing the offeror's name, address, phone number, FEDLINK contract number, e-mail, website address, title of offeror's quote, Solicitation Number, and quote Volume Number.

(2) "Table of Contents" which provides enough detail to quickly locate key elements of the offer.

Volume I: Technical Section Include all information required for evaluation. Exclude references to price. The offeror is responsible for including details to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of the quote strictly from a technical standpoint.

Technical Volume Content

The offeror shall provide the following information in response to the solicitation in the format specified below:

Evaluation Factor 1 – Corporate Experience

Quoters shall submit at least two (2) examples of recent and relevant experience implementing the proposed library subscription service in response to this solicitation. For each experience reference listed, provide a brief description of the contract, total contract value, contracting organization, contract number, contractual and technical point of contact, phone number, and e-mail. Contracts listed may include those entered into with the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial customers.

Include the following information for each contract:

(1) Customer Name and Address

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 3 of 6

(2) Contract Number

(3) Contract Award Date and Completion Date

(4) Contract Type

(5) Total Contract Period of Performance and Dollar Value

(6) Contracting Office Points of Contact (name and telephone number)

(7) Technical Office Points of Contact (name and telephone numbers)

(8) Brief Description of Services

Evaluation Factor 2 – Library Subscription Service Capability The Quoter shall submit a listing of product features and specifications for its proposed library subscription service. Quoters shall, at minimum, address in detail the ability of its proposed service to meet the requirements set forth in paragraph 3.0 Required Features and Services and provide any supplemental documentation necessary to fully describe the capabilities of its library subscription service. Documentation shall be comprehensive to allow the NTSB to make a determination as to the capability of the proposed subscription service to meet the NTSB’s requirement as well as identify features beneficial to the NTSB.

Based on the capability information provided and all other information contained in the quote, the NTSB reserves the right to request a demonstration from the quoter for evaluation purposes. The demonstration shall be performed remotely via video teleconference. Quoters are not entitled to a software demonstration.

Evaluation Factor 3 – Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility

Provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for each commercially available ICT item offered. Create the ACR using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template Version 2.4 or later, located at https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat. Complete each ACR in accordance with the instructions provided in the VPAT template. Each ACR must address the applicable requirements referenced in the Work Statement regarding Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 508”). Each ACR shall state exactly how the ICT meets the applicable standards in the remarks/explanations column, or through additional narrative. All "Not Applicable" (N/A) responses must be explained in the remarks/explanations column or through additional narrative. Address each standard individually and with specificity and clarify whether conformance is achieved throughout the entire ICT Item (for example - user functionality, administrator functionality, and reporting), or only in limited areas of the ICT Item. Provide a description of the evaluation methods used to support Section 508 conformance claims. The agency reserves the right, prior to making an award decision, to perform testing on some or all of the Contractor’s proposed ICT items to validate Section 508 conformance claims made in the

ACR.

Describe your approach to incorporating universal design principles to ensure ICT products or services are designed to support disabled users.

Describe plans for features that do not fully conform to the Section 508 Standards.

Describe "typical" user scenarios and tasks, including individuals with disabilities, to ensure fair and accurate accessibility testing of the ICT product or service being offered.

https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 4 of 6

Volume II: Business Section

Evaluation Factor 4 – License Agreement

If the Quoter requires Government acceptance and signature of its standard commercial lease, license, or purchase agreement, the Quoter shall submit the terms with its quote. The NTSB will evaluate the Quoters’ terms to determine the terms appropriate for Government contracts and to ensure there are no inconsistencies or conflicts with Government terms and conditions. Quoters that are unwilling to revise its commercial terms and conditions to satisfy a federal government customer, or to accept the government terms and conditions contained in this RFQ as taking precedence over its commercial terms may be excluded from consideration for award.

Evaluation Factor 5 – Past Performance Quoters shall ask their reference(s) provided under Factor 1, Corporate Experience, to complete the past performance questionnaire (Attachment 3) and submit it directly to P. Matt Hazlinsky at matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov. It is the Quoter’s responsibility to ensure that Past Performance Questionnaires are completed and timely submitted by customer references, and that correct names, addresses and phone numbers are provided in the responses for each reference. A Quoter will not be penalized in the evaluation with an unfavorable rating for the failure of its Corporate Experience references to complete and submit the Past Performance Questionnaires.

The Government may contact Quoters’ customer references or use other references/information to verify past performance.

Evaluation Factor 6 – Price Quoters shall provide fixed prices based on their FEDLINK IDIQ pricing (discounts encouraged) to satisfy the requirement detailed in Section C, Statement of Work of this RFQ.

Quoters must provide:

1) A breakout of all annual licenses/subscriptions required to satisfy the NTSB’s requirement.

2) The Retrieval and Delivery Fee/Transaction Fee that will be billed per each article ordered.

3) Any implementation costs, if applicable.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 5 of 6

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

Basis for Award The NTSB will use comparative evaluation to compare offers to each other to select the contractor or contractors that is best suited and provides the best value, considering the evaluation factors in the solicitation. When using comparative evaluation, ratings are not assigned; rather, the evaluators document the observations of each Offeror’s technical quote for each evaluation factor.

The Government reserves the right to reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public interest.

Under a best value procurement, the NTSB may reasonably determine that the superior technical capability merits a higher price and, therefore, represents the best value to the Government or the NTSB may reasonably determine that the Offeror with other than the highest rating in non-price/cost factors is the best value. The Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities in quotes. The Government reserves the right to award without discussions. Offerors are cautioned that they must submit a best offer with the initial quote. To receive an award, an Offeror must be determined to be responsible.

Responsibility Determination

In order to be eligible for award, the Contracting Officer must determine that the offeror is responsible according to the standards of FAR 9.1, "Responsible Prospective Contractors".

Evaluation Process

The following factors will be evaluated by the Government:

QUOTE PART # FACTORS and

SUBFACTORS

TITLE

I Technical Quote 1 Corporate Experience 2 Library Subscription Service Capability 3 Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) Accessibility II Business Quote 4 License Agreement 5 Past Performance 6 Price

The non-price factors in Part I will be evaluated to determine strengths and weaknesses.

Technical Factor 2, Library Subscription Service Capability is the most important factor, and Factors 1 and 3 are equally important. When combined, the technical factors are more important than price. However, as quotes become more equal in non-price factors, price becomes more important. The Government reserves the right to reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public interest.

The NTSB will evaluate the Quoters’ terms to determine the terms appropriate for Government contracts and to ensure there are no inconsistencies or conflicts with Government terms and conditions. Quoters that are unwilling to revise its commercial terms and conditions to satisfy a federal government customer, or to accept the government terms and conditions contained in this

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018 Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 6 of 6

RFQ as taking precedence over its commercial terms may be excluded from consideration for award.

Past Performance will be evaluated and will be rated Acceptable or Unacceptable. The Government will assess the relevance, breadth and quality of the Contractor’s recent past performance with clients who have purchased similar services and evaluate the quality of the Contractor’s past performance based on the past performance references submitted on behalf of the Contractor and/or other information obtained from references provided by the Contractor, as well as other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government. A Contractor without a record of past performance or for whom information on relevant past performance is not available will be evaluated as neutral for past performance.

Contractors are cautioned that despite the relative weight of the non-price factors, proposals that receive an unacceptable in Part II may be deemed ineligible for award.

Price is not rated adjectively. Price will be evaluated but not scored. Pricing will be evaluated to determine whether the proposed pricing is realistic for the subscription service being purchased, that it reflects a clear understanding of the requirements, and is consistent with the approach described in the Contractor’s technical quote.

As part of its price evaluation, the Government reserves the right to evaluate the risk associated with any pricing schemes. Price quotes will be evaluated to determine the reasonableness of a Contractor’s quote. Evaluation may include analysis to determine a Contractor’s comprehension of the solicitation requirements, as well as the validity of a Contractor’s approach. The Government anticipates price competition in response to the RFQ.

A price that is found to be unreasonably high or unrealistically low in relation to the proposed upgrade requirement may result in the quote receiving a lower rating or a Contractor’s quote may be rejected if the pricing poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

RFQ 9531BM24Q0018, Attachment 3, Past Performance Questionnaire, Page 1 of 1

Attachment 3 - National Transportation Safety Board

Past Performance Questionnaire

Upon completion, please return a copy of the questionnaire to Matt Hazlinsky, Contracting Officer, at matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov. Thank you.

Quoter’s Name: _____________________________.

Solicitation: 9531BM24Q0018 – Library Subscription Service

Person/Point of Contact: ____________________________ Telephone: ________________

E-Mail: ______________________________

Title and Organization: ________________________________________________________

1. Type of Work. What type of work did the contractor perform for your agency/company?

2. Quality of Performance. Did the contractor perform in a manner that conformed to contract requirements and demonstrated standards of good workmanship? Please explain.

3. Timeliness of Performance. Did the contractor adhere to the contract schedule?

4. Customer Satisfaction. Did the contractor demonstrate reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction? Did the contractor display a business-like concern for the interest of the customer? Was the customer ultimately satisfied?

5. Based on the contractor’s overall performance, would you award them another contract?

[ ] YES [ ] NO Please explain.

Attch 3 - Past Performance Questionnaire.pdf