RFQ 9531BM25Q0016 - Online Library Subscription.pdf

Section C – Statement of Work, Page 1 of 4

Attachment 1 - Section C STATEMENT OF WORK – Online Library Subscription

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.

Section C – Statement of Work, Page 2 of 4

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 one (1) 12-month base year with one (1) 12-month option years for a total of two (2) years.

Base Year: 9/20/2025 through 9/19/2026 Option Year: 9/20/2026 through 9/19/2027

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.

Section C – Statement of Work, Page 3 of 4

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.

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.

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.

Section C – Statement of Work, Page 4 of 4

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.

6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR):

Eric Emery

(202) 314-6175 Eric.emery@ntsb.gov

Contracting Officer:

Peter M. Hazlinsky

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

[END OF SECTION]

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, 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).

This Request for Quotations (RFQ) will result in the award of a purchase order using the procedures authorized by FAR 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Award will be made to the Quoter whose quote conforms to the RFQ and represents the best value quote based on an evaluation of price and non-price factors.

Solicitation Question and Answer Instructions Written questions concerning this solicitation must be submitted by 4:00pm Eastern time on Wednesday, August 25, 2025 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.

Quotes Quotes must be submitted and received via e-mail to matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov by the time and date specified in Block 8 of the SF1449. Close of business is considered 5pm Eastern Time.

Quotes shall be submitted in Adobe PDF format.

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

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 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. 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.

The maximum email file size that the NTSB e-mail server can accept, including attachments, is 35 megabytes (MB). Quoters may segregate offers and submit in separate e-mails if the combined file size of the offer will exceed 35MB.

mailto:matt.hazlinsky@ntsb.gov

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 2 of 6

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

In accordance with FAR 4.1102(a), quoters must have an active registration in the System for Award Management database (www.sam.gov) at the time a quotation is submitted.

Instructions for Preparation of Quotes

Quote Organization Quoters shall respond to all requirements of this solicitation. Offers submitted with inadequate information may be found unacceptable. For this solicitation, quoters 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 Quoter's name, address, phone number, e-mail, website address;

title of Quoter's quote, NTSB Solicitation Number; and quote Volume Number.

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

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

Technical Volume Content

The quoter 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

(2) Contract Number

(3) Contract Award Date and Completion Date

(4) Contract Type http://www.sam.gov/

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 3 of 6

(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 – License Agreement

If the Quoter requires Government acceptance and signature of its standard commercial license terms and conditions 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.

Volume II: Business Section

Evaluation Factor 4 – 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 5 – Price Quoters shall provide fixed prices per Ordering Period to satisfy the requirement detailed in Section C, Statement of Work of this RFQ.

For the Base Year Contract Line Item Number (CLIN), Quoters must provide:

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 4 of 6

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) Implementation costs, if any.

For each subsequent Option CLIN, Quoters must provide:

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

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

Quoters must provide pricing for each CLIN in the RFQ. Quoters that fail to price all other line items may be excluded from consideration for award. The NTSB will evaluate the total price including the base requirement (CLIN 0001) and all option CLINs but will also consider pricing of individual CLINs as the NTSB is not obligated to exercise any/all option CLINs.

Quoter Representations and Certifications Ensure your annual representations and certifications are complete and included in the System for Award Management (SAM).

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 5 of 6

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

Basis for Award The Government intends to award one (1) purchase order to the responsible Quoter whose quote conforms to the RFQ, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other non-price factors considered, such that it provides the best value to the Government. Best value is defined as the procurement process that results in the most advantageous acquisition decision for the Government that is performed through an integrated assessment and trade-off analysis between price and non-price factors.

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 Quoter’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 Quoter 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. Quoters are cautioned that they must submit a best offer with the initial quote. To receive an award, an Quoter must be determined to be responsible.

Responsibility Determination

In order to be eligible for award, the Contracting Officer must determine that the quoter 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 License Agreement II Business Quote 4 Past Performance 5 Price

The NTSB will evaluate the above factors for each quoter as well as conduct a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with FAR 13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers to determine the Quoter that represents the best value to the NTSB. Technical Factor 2, Library Subscription Service Capability is the most important factor, and Factors 1 and 3 are equally important. The Software License Agreement(s) will be reviewed to determine that it conforms with Federal Government terms. If revisions are required and the contractor is not willing to modify

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, Attachment 2, Sections L&M, Page 6 of 6 the terms to satisfy an agency of the Federal Government, it may be eliminated from consideration for award. 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.

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.

RFQ 9531BM25Q0016, 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: 9531BM25Q0016 – 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