SMALL_BUSINESS_SOURCES_SOUGHT_75N94022R00011_1.pdf

SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT 75N94022R00011

“NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System”

Description:

This notice is issued by the NICHD Office of Acquisitions on behalf of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. There is no solicitation available at this time.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of all qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification according to the North American Industry Classification System, (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

The NAICS Code applicable to this announcement is 519130 – Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals. The small business size standard for this NAICS is 1,000 employees.

Per FAR 19.001, a small business concern means any business entity organized for profit (even if its ownership is in the hands of a nonprofit entity) with a place of business in the United States or its outlying areas and that makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes and/or use of American products, material and/or labor, etc.

Please note that to qualify as an eligible small business concern for purposes of a small business set-aside (where large businesses, universities and non-profits would be excluded from competing for part of or the entire requirement), at least 50% of the direct labor cost must be “in-house”. Specifically, FAR 52.219-14, “Limitations on Subcontracting” states that “at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern”. To be eligible for a small business set-aside, the small business will need to demonstrate the ability to perform the project requirements “in house” or coordinate/subcontract with other small business sources [only] to meet the “at least 50% of personnel costs performed by small business” requirement.

Background:

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is seeking capability statements from small business organizations (NAICS 519130; small business size standard is 1000 employees) with experience in publishing reliable information on a publicly accessible web-site about public policies relating to alcohol and consumption and related behaviors, specifically laws and regulations addressing various aspects of alcohol beverage production, packaging, transportation, marketing, taxations, sales, and consumption. Many of these policies are established by governments at all levels (Federal, State, County, and Municipal).

The planned acquisition is a follow-on requirement to active contract HHSN275201800002C, awarded to The CDM Group Inc. with a period of performance 01/01/2018 through 12/31/2022.

One contract is envisioned which will provide the continued operation of the Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS). The APIS web site http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov is an online resource that provides public access to detailed information on a wide variety of alcohol and cannabis public policies adopted by governments at the State and Federal levels in the United States. This procurement will also provide for technical assistance and related support activities.

Intended primarily as a tool for researchers, APIS features compilations and tabulations of alcohol and cannabis statutes and regulations. APIS is designed to simplify the process of ascertaining the status of the law for researchers who wish to study the effects and effectiveness of alcohol and cannabis policies. APIS inaugurated its public web site in June 2003. Since that time, it has been updated on a continuous basis to add new policy topics, update information on policy topics previously covered, add new features and capabilities, and clarify or correct previously published information.

APIS contributes to the mission of the NIAAA by publishing data on-line that supports research to (1) assess the effects of alcohol-related policies, both individually and in combination, on a wide variety of important health, social, and economic outcomes (2) and assess the effect of cannabis use policies on alcohol use and problems;

and (3) identify and evaluate factors that enhance or inhibit the effectiveness of these polices.

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of the APIS project is to operate, maintain, and further develop the Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), including the APIS web site and associated data structures and repositories, to provide detailed, reliable, and timely information on alcohol and cannabis policies adopted by governments in the United States, primarily at the State and Federal levels. The address of the APIS web site is http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov.

This procurement will also provide for technical assistance and related support activities.

Project requirements Include:

1. Identifying and acquiring accurate and detailed information on alcohol and cannabis policies adopted at the Federal and State levels through appropriate electronic resources;

2. Describing alcohol and cannabis policies at several levels of detail, including descriptive overviews and detailed characterizations of specific policy provisions, (including the specific dates on which such provisions became or ceased to be effective), such that the information provided is useful for rigorous scientific research;

3. Storing the policy information, including all related descriptions, keywords, indicators, and variables in an electronic system that permits on-line search and retrieval of policy information by a variety of flexible criteria;

4. Operating, maintaining, and revising the APIS web site such that it (1) conforms to all relevant Federal, DHHS, and NIH regulations and requirements, including those pertaining to accessibility, privacy, application security, and the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA); (2) provides introductory information about alcohol and cannabis policy and about APIS; (3) provides user-friendly access to summary information about specific policies covered in APIS; (4) permits users to search APIS for detailed policy information according to various criteria; (5) generates search results in suitable display formats (e.g., tables, graphs, maps, etc.); (6) provides users with the ability to download policy information in formats conducive to use in quantitative and statistical analysis; and (7) provides access to other policy-related information generated or maintained by APIS;

5. Using best practices for website and database security at all stages, including maintaining continuous awareness of all software security vulnerabilities for all components of the websites for which the contractor is responsible, and providing remediation for any web site vulnerabilities identified by the contractor, by NIH, or through any other source;

http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/

6. Procuring and maintaining FedRAMP authorized cloud infrastructure for hosting the system on which the APIS web site and underlying information systems and repositories reside; and

7. Implementing and employing rigorous quality assurance procedures to ensure the accuracy, utility, reliability and integrity of the system and its various components.

Anticipated contract type and period of performance: A term, level-of-effort cost plus fixed fee type contract is being contemplated for these services with a period of performance consisting of a 12-month base contract period plus four successive 12-month term options, beginning January 1, 2023.

Information Requested: Information submitted should be relevant and specifically addressed to each of the following qualifications:

1. Experience: An outline of previous work specific to the requirements and tasks listed above;

2. Personnel: Name, professional qualifications and specific experience of scientist and/or technical personnel who may be assigned as principal investigator and other key positions; and

3. Facilities: Availability and description of facilities and equipment required to conduct the analyses.

4. Other: Any other specific and relevant information that would improve the Government's consideration and evaluation of the information presented is desirable.

The Capability Statements must demonstrate the ability to:

1. Locate all relevant State laws and regulations bearing on any of the existing APIS and cannabis policy topics and to correctly classify the principal features of these laws and policies, which will vary across time.

2. Understand public health research on the effects of alcohol and cannabis policies on public health outcomes.

This includes the ability to recognize which policy measures are likely to have a measurable impact on alcohol and cannabis related harms, to identify policy areas where further study has the potential to advance existing public health knowledge, and to understand how policy information is used in research on the effects and effectiveness of policies on health-related behaviors and outcomes.

3. Annually review the laws and regulations in all fifty States to identify any changes that may have occurred in the past year with regard to any of the existing APIS policy topics. Ability to interpret, categorize, and code such changes in a way that is consistent across States and over time.

4. Evaluate proposed new policy topics for inclusion in the APIS system based on public health significance, on-going legislative activity, availability of policy outcome data, and feasibility and manageability of the legal research required.

5. Document coding decisions and rules to ensure reliable coding among legal researchers and consistent coding across States and across years.

6. Establish a quality control process that minimizes and immediately corrects any errors in the legal information portrayed on a legal information website.

7. Administer and coordinate interrelated tasks in an effective and timely manner.

Past Performance Information: Documentation should include, but not be limited to, a minimum of two contracts (performed for both Government and commercial organizations) references which shall include for each contract: names, titles, contract number, price or cost, description of work performed, telephone numbers of Project and Contracting Officers, and any other information serving to document the organization's capability to perform the five project requirements.

Information submission instructions: Responses shall be submitted in electronic format only and include the organization's name, address, point of contact, size of business pursuant according to the North American

Industrial Classification Code (NAICS) and must address all the technical information requested. Generic marketing brochures or generally worded capability statements that do not address the specific project requirements are unlikely to receive a favorable evaluation.

The page limit is 15 pages using a font size 10 or larger. Responses will assist the Government in selecting the appropriate acquisition mechanism.

Additionally, the response must provide answers to the following questions:

1. Is your organization a small business under NAICS code 519130?

2. Does your firm qualify as a small disadvantaged business?

3. If disadvantaged, is your firm certified under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act?

4. Are you a certified HUB Zone firm?

5. Are you a woman-owned or operated business?

6. Are you a certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned or Veteran Owned business?

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. This is not a Request for Proposals. The Government DOES NOT intend to award a contract based on responses under this announcement. Interested parties shall not be reimbursed for costs associated with preparation of their responses. Any proprietary information should be so marked. Interested organizations presenting a Capability Statement in response to this Small Business Sources Sought Synopsis must identify their size status.

All capability statements sent in response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to the Point of Contact below in MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

The subject line must specify Small Business Sources Sought 75N94022R00011. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. Electronically submitted capability statements are due no later than 3:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on April 5, 2022. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE AND TIME

WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Please send responses to the Small Business Sources Sought announcement via e-mail to:

Jason Williams, Contracting Officer

NICHD Office of Acquisition, NIAAA Team

E-MAIL: Jason.Williams2@nih.gov

Contracting Office address: Primary Point of Contact: Secondary Point of Contact:

NICHD Office of Acquisitions Jason Williams Edwin Osorio

NIAAA Team Contracting Officer Contract Specialist

6700B Rockledge Drive Jason.Williams2@nih.gov Edwin.Osorio@nih.gov

Bethesda, MD 20892 PH: 301-443-3877 PH: 301-594-1017

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use mailto:Jason.Williams2@nih.gov mailto:Jason.Williams2@nih.gov mailto:Edwin.Osorio@nih.gov information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).