SMALL_BUSINESS_SOURCES_SOUGHT_75N94024Q00077_(NIAAA_ARCR_Services_)_SAM_gov_2.pdf

SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT 75N94024Q00077

“Managing, Editing, and Publication of Alcohol Research:

Current Reviews” (ARCR) Services

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 are the following NAICS code:

513120 – Periodical Publisher Services – o This industry comprises establishments known either as magazine publishers or periodical publishers. These establishments carry out the operations necessary for producing and distributing magazines and other periodicals, such as gathering, writing, and editing articles, and selling and preparing advertisements. These establishments may publish magazines and other periodicals in printing.

o The small business size standard in number of employees for this NAICS is 1000 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 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 513120, small business size standard in number of employees is 1000 employees) with experience and expertise scientific journal management, development, and online publication to manage, develop Alcohol Research – Current Reviews (ARCR) under the direction of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Task Leaders.

The mission of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is to generate and disseminate fundamental knowledge about the adverse effects of alcohol on health and well-being, and apply that knowledge to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorder, across the lifespan. In support of this mission, NIAAA publishes Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (ARCR), an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal that is composed of review and perspective articles on alcohol research topics. Areas of interest include the effects of alcohol across the lifespan on health, function, and well-being in addition to basic science, genetics, epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol-related conditions. Topics are approached from basic, translational, and clinical perspectives. Reviews are written in a style accessible to a broad audience of scientists and clinicians, including trainees, with varying specialties and degrees of expertise in the field.

ARCR has a continuous/rolling publication format and publishes approximately 16-24 articles online each year.

ARCR articles are currently accepted for inclusion based on invitation only and are peer-reviewed. The journal can be viewed at https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/.

The planned acquisition is a follow-on requirement to active contract 75N94020C00001, awarded to IQ Solutions, Inc. with a period of performance 03/10/2020 through 03/09/2025.

One contract is envisioned which will provide a wide spectrum of expertise in scientific journal management, development, and online publication of the ARCR.

Purpose and Objectives:

The scope of the contract includes the management, development, and publication of ARCR. This includes, but is not limited to, supporting a variety of efforts including project management, technical evaluation, writing and editorial functions, budgeting services, strategic meeting planning, administrative services, promotional and marketing activities, document repository administration, and web content updates.

Project requirements Include:

Provide support in a variety of efforts including project management, technical evaluation, writing and editorial functions, budgeting services, strategic meeting planning, administrative services, promotional and marketing activities, document repository administration, and web content update to assist with activities associated with the management, development, and publication of ARCR.

Anticipated contract type and period of performance:

A Cost-plus Fixed Fee type contract is being contemplated with a period of performance consisting of a twelve-month base contract period and four successive twelve-month term options, beginning March 10, 2025.

Information Requested:

Interested parties shall provide a principal point of contact to serve as the Managing Editor of the journal to coordinate all aspects of ARCR’s issue development, digital publication, and overall management. The Managing Editor is expected to coordinate all journal-related efforts with NIAAA personnel, such as ARCR’s Editor and Chief and two Associate Editors, as well as facilitate efficient and effective communications with authors, scientific reviewers, and ARCR’s Editorial Advisory Board as needed.

When responding to this notice, please describe your experience and knowledge of support services that would be relevant to journal management, issue development, and publication such as:

• Subject matter expertise in scientific journal management and publication • Workflow management systems for communicating with authors, reviewers, and editors (e.g., ScholarOne, Editorial Manager)

• Scientific and technical writing and editing tasks

• Online publication processes

• Advisory board management https://www.arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/

• Information systems, software, coordinate website strategies/activities with incumbent web services vendor, updating, vulnerability management, and quality control

• Graphic design services

• Budgeting services

• Administrative program support (e.g., calendar management, meeting planning, creation and maintenance of administrative reporting, data collection and tracking)

• Database administration

• Promotional and marketing activities

Capability Statements:

Capability Statements submitted as a result of this announcement should demonstrate the offerors’ qualifications, and experience, specifically providing evidence as to their capability to perform this requirement with particular attention to the areas below.

Information should be pertinent and specific in the technical area under consideration and will be assessed based on the following:

1. Personnel/Management: Adequacy, appropriateness and relevance of expertise, experience, qualifications, and availability of the key professional and technical staff with a project of similar size, scope, and complexity. The following should be addressed:

• Ability to provide staffing to include name and professional qualifications of the individual who will hold the Managing Editor role. Extensive expertise in the field of scientific journal management, issue development, and publication is required. This individual must have first-hand knowledge of the current standards and best practices in the field of scientific journal management and publication and be able to provide recommendations for improving the processes and overall quality of a journal.

• Ability to provide high-quality writing and copy-editing of scientific literature.

• Ability to perform all tasks related to the publication of ARCR, including, but not limited to creation of final article proofs for publication (e.g., HTML, XML and PDF formats), digital object identifier (DOI) assignment, PubMed Central (PMC) indexing, and uploading each article to the ARCR website as directed.

• Ability to perform data management and analyses, including, but not limited to: performing updates and quality control measures to websites in HTML and Drupal 8 (if needed), while coordinating all efforts with the incumbent contractor for all NIAAA web services (separate contract); conducting 508-compatiblity testing for all publications and ensuring compliance with all relevant Government regulations and policies; working with NIH staff as necessary to troubleshoot technical problems with server operations (if needed); and gathering and performing analyses on a variety of performance metrics for journal content to determine scholarly impact.

2. Past Performance Information: Past performance is considered essential. In addition to demonstrating that the above qualifications have been met, interested parties must provide an outline of previous projects, specific work previously performed or being performed relevant to journal management, editing, and publication. Documentation should include at least two (2) projects of similar size and complexity.

Documentation should include, but not be limited to, a minimum of two contracts performed, to include:

- duration period of contracts (e.g., base year plus option years)

- 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 areas discussed in the “Information Requested” section and subsections.

3. Other: Any other pertinent information, as pertains to this area of procurement, that would enhance the

Government’s assessment of the information submitted.

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 513120?

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 Quotes/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 75N94024Q00077. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. Electronically submitted capability statements are due no later than 12:00 PM (Eastern Time) on April 15, 2024. 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:

Edwin Osorio, Contract Specialist

NICHD Office of Acquisition, NIAAA Team

E-MAIL: Edwin.Osorio@nih.gov

Contracting Office Address NICHD Office of Acquisitions NIAAA Team 6700 Rockledge Drive

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 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 mailto:Edwin.Osorio@nih.gov

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).