Notice of Intent_Sequestered Examiner_FINAL.pdf

FEDBIZOPPS.GOV ANNOUNCEMENT: Special Notice

CLASSIFICATION CODE: B - Special Studies/Analysis, Not Research and Development

SUBJECT: Sequestered Examiner Palm Quality Assessment, Feature Extraction, and Correspondence Support Services

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 1333ND24QNB770420

CONTACT POINTS: Cowins, Robert Contract Specialist (301) 975-8335

Wong, Hing Pan, Contracting Officer (301) 975-8239

DESCRIPTION: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division (AMD) intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR Part 13.106-1(b) with Schwarz Forensic Enterprises, for the acquisition of Sequestered Examiner Palm Quality Assessment, Feature Extraction, and Correspondence Support Services. The services will be utilized by the NIST Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), in Gaithersburg, MD.

***** Sole source determination is based on the need to acquire support service to analyze select images along with extracted features to help measure accuracy and performance of automated friction ridge identification algorithms as part of Evaluation of Latent Friction Ridge Technology (ELFT), and other internal U.S. Government use. NIST will also release a subset of non-sequestered subject imagery to the research community as a new non-distal supplement of NIST SD 302.

NIST was a co-investigator in the IARPA Nail to Nail (N2N) Challenge. The N2N Challenge was overseen by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) because it involved human subjects. The IRB for this Challenge approved the N2N Challenge with Schwarz Forensic Enterprises, Inc. (SFE) as the source of the latent biometric data. SFE was the only approved source of biometric data listed in the IRB research protocol for the N2N Challenge. SFE is the only source of the required data and the only source with IRB approval for the N2N Challenge. SFE is the only entity with access to the physical items that were the source of the digitized latent fingerprints to be analyzed for this requirement. These items are the property of SFE. Physical access allows SFE to re-inspect and re-image physical objects as necessary to ensure that proper correspondence is recorded, leaving little question when determining source finger positions as requested in the statement of work. No other source has access to these materials.

Based on the above, only SFE is capable of meeting the Government’s needs of this requirement.

***** The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, with a small business size standard of $19.5 million in annual revenue.

****** A determination by the Government whether to compete the proposed acquisition 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 competitive procurement.

*****No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for quotations.

Interested parties that believe they can satisfy the requirements listed above must identify their capability in writing before the response date of this notice. Only responses received by 07/26/2024, 12:00 p.m., EST will be considered by the government. Responses shall be submitted via email to robert.cowins@nist.gov.

Contracting Office Address:

100 Bureau Drive Bldg. 301, Mail Stop 1640 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-0001 mailto:robert.cowins@nist.gov