FBO_4_Lexical_AI_Platform_FY23_SoleSource_1.docx

DESCRIPTION: The National Institutes of Health- OD, Office of Extramural Research (OER) electronic Research Administration (eRA) intends to procure the services of a contractor to provide Lexical Intelligence Software Licenses. This is a pre-solicitation and a notice of intent to award a sole-source, fixed price purchase order to Lexical Intelligence located in Veirs Mills Rd, Rockville , MD 20851, for commercial items prepared in accordance with FAR Parts 12 and 13.

It is the intent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)- OD under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 to procure this software and related licenses directly from the manufacturer.

It is anticipated that the resultant award will be for a base period of performance of twelve months from the date of award and the potential of up to two (3) successive twelve-month option periods.

This software is unique and proprietary to Lexical Intelligence. The eRA Program uses an Agile development methodology, which uses customized machine learning solutions. It is fairly unique among AI platforms in that it augments workflow and expedites projects using artificial intelligence in collecting, analyzing and organizing data.

The North American Industry Classification System Code is 541990. This is a small business set-aside. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice # NICHD-23-122, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Written responses to this synopsis shall contain sufficient documentation to establish a bona-fide capability to fulfill the requirement. This is not a Request for Quotation (RFQ); however, all responsive sources may submit a capability statement in a timely manner which will be considered by NICHD. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a future competitive procurement.

Lexical AI Platform licenses is a proprietary software and is only available from the company directly. To our best knowledge, no other vendors sell or distribute these Licenses. However, if there is a 3rd party distributor interested in submitting a quote, we will welcome and encourage their quotation, but reserve the right not to use it for this current order.

Period of Performance: 05/16/2023 through 05/15/2024

In order to comply with the requirements in this Special Notice, the responses should be based on our interpretation of the general requirements provided below.

· Four (4) user licenses and data hosting

· 12 month annual license per user

· Two (2) data loads 2 x $3,000 per refresh

· 3 FY of grant applications (up to 500,000 total)

· data fields limited to appl_id, title, abstract, specific aims, RCDC indices HOW TO RESPOND: In order to compete for this project, interested parties must be registered in the Central Contracting Registration/SAM and submit a price quotation by 12:00 pm, ET on May 8th, 2023. Offerors should submit one copy of the quote to MOE FILALI via email. Electronic transmissions to Moe.Filali@nih.gov are preferable but must be timely. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure the proposal is received by the date and time shown above.

This is a “special Notice”/pre-solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation, and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation number is NICHD-23-122-and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation/contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2019-05.

Additional Provisions:

At any time during the life of this contract, the Government may also request new or revised products and services under this contract. New or revised products may include, but are not limited to, existing products at a higher license count, new versions of existing products and/or additional products not currently included under this contract.

Quoted prices for new or revised products and services shall be constructed in accordance with the pricing structure guidelines established at the time of the original contract award. Discounts shall be at the same or greater discount level as the original contract award product prices.

The Government reserves the right to accept all, none, or some of the requested changes. Any requested changes shall become effective ONLY upon written acceptance by the Contracting Office.

52.239-1 Privacy or Security Safeguards (AUG 1996)

(a) The Contractor shall not publish or disclose in any manner, without the Contracting Officer’s written consent, the details of any safeguards either designed or developed by the Contractor under this contract or otherwise provided by the Government.

(b) To the extent required to carry out a program of inspection to safeguard against threats and hazards to the security, integrity, and confidentiality of Government data, the Contractor shall afford the Government access to the Contractor’s facilities, installations, technical capabilities, operations, documentation, records, and databases.

(c) If new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered by either the Government or the Contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately bring the situation to the attention of the other party.

352.224-71 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION (DEC 2015)

(a) Confidential Information, as used in this clause, means information or data of a personal nature about an individual, or proprietary information or data submitted by or pertaining to an institution or organization.

(b) Specific information or categories of information that the Government will furnish to the Contractor, or that the Contractor is expected to generate, which are confidential may be identified elsewhere in this contract. The Contracting Officer may modify this contract to identify Confidential Information from time to time during performance.

(c) Confidential Information or records shall not be disclosed by the Contractor until:

(1) Written advance notice of at least 45 days shall be provided to the Contracting Officer of the Contractor's intent to release findings of studies or research, to which an agency response may be appropriate to protect the public interest or that of the agency.

(2) For information provided by or on behalf of the government,

(i) The publication or dissemination of the following types of information are restricted under this contract: [INSERT RESTRICTED TYPES OF INFORMATION. IF NONE, SO STATE.]

(ii) The reason(s) for restricting the types of information identified in subparagraph (i) is/are: [STATE WHY THE PUBLIC OR GOVERNMENT INTEREST REQUIRES THE RESTRICTION OF EACH TYPE OF INFORMATION. ANY BASIS FOR NONDISCLOSURE WHICH WOULD BE VALID UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT IS SUFFICIENT UNDER THIS CLAUSE.]

(iii) Written advance notice of at least 45 days shall be provided to the Contracting Officer of the Contractor's intent to disseminate or publish information identified in subparagraph (2)(i). The contractor shall not disseminate or publish such information without the written consent of the Contracting Officer.

(d) Whenever the Contractor is uncertain with regard to the confidentiality of or a property interest in information under this contract, the Contractor should consult with the Contracting Officer prior to any release, disclosure, dissemination, or publication.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d) Software with Graphic User Interface (GUI) must comply with the Section 508. Please provide statement on quote that software is 508 compliant.

The Section 508 standards applicable to this contract/order are identified below:

links.

The contractor must provide a written Section 508 conformance certification due at the end of each order/contract exceeding $100,000 when the order/contract duration is one year or less. If it is determined by the Government that EIT products and services provided by the Contractor do not conform to the described accessibility in the Product Assessment Template, remediation of the products and/or services to the level of conformance specified in the vendor's Product Assessment Template will be the responsibility of the Contractor at its own expense.

In the event of a modification(s) to the contract/order, which adds new EIT products and services or revised the type of, or specifications for, products and services the Contractor is to provide, including EIT deliverables such as electronic documents and reports, the Contracting Officer may require that the contractor submit a completed HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template to assist the Government in determining that the EIT products and services support Section 508 accessibility requirements. Instructions for documenting accessibility via the HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template may be found at http://508.hhs.gov.

The offeror must include a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items; and FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items – Deviation for Simplified Acquisitions applies to this acquisition. FAR Clause 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunication and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; FAR Clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; FAR Clause 52.213-4 to reflect the changes in FAC 2019-05 and FAR Clause 52.244-6 to reflect the changes in FAC 2019-05. The offeror must include their Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. The clauses are available in full text at http://www.arnet.gov/far. Interested vendors capable of providing the Government with the equipment specified in this synopsis should submit their quotation to the below address. The quotation must reference “Solicitation number” NICHD-23-115. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the agency. Quotations must be submitted by email to Moe.filali@nih.gov. Faxed copies will not be accepted

The following Federal Acquisition Regulations clauses are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Mar 2005), 52.212-4 (Sept 2005), 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes of Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Aug 2006). (6)(i) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Apr 2002) (E.O. 11246). (18) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Dec 2001) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (19) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). (20) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Dec 2001) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (31) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

Primary Point of Contact:

MOE FILALI Contracting Office Address:

NIH/NICHD Office of Acquisitions 6710B Rockledge Drive, Room 1145D Bethesda, MD 20817

(w) 301.827 7737 Moe.filali@nih.gov

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