Access to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Database for EIU Publications

Added: Jul 23, 2015 11:09 am The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Agricultural Library (NAL) intends to award a sole source Option Year contract , Base period and four (4) one year Option Periods, to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to provide electronic access via the internet for all USDA users to the following EIU publications: Country Reports, ViewsWire, World Commodity Forecasts, and Economist.com. These accesses required by NAL are proprietary to EIU.

NAL is mandated by 7 U.S.C. 3125a to serve as the primary agricultural information resource of the United States. One of its functions is the comprehensive acquisition of material that contains reports of original research, new scientific findings, information of potential historical value, and information that would support USDA's research. In order to meet its mission, NAL must obtain immediate access to information only published by EIU.

The government is not proposing to purchase a particular article, periodical, etc. Instead, NAL requires a contractor with ownership of and access to certain articles, periodicals, etc. Not all articles, periodicals, etc. are available from all publishers in the format required by the NAL. Since economics is a constantly changing and expanding field, there is no way to identify exactly what articles, periodicals, etc. that NAL must acquire in order to support its mission and its customers. However NAL must have the access without embargo periods or restrictions on content or usage.

Scientists and researchers at large decide where to publish their findings based on the impact factors of specific journals. Moreover, many journals contain articles that chronicle the specific method and results of scientific research and each article becomes part of the permanent scientific record. Once the findings are published as a journal article, the content becomes the property of the publisher and can only be obtained from the sole published source. Subscriptions to some EIU publications may be available from vendor sources other than EIU. However, to sell EIU online publications, other vendors must have EIU's approval. Only EIU, as the copyright holder of the journals, can and will provide un-embargoed access rights to its full content.

EIU publications available online are of highest importance to agricultural research. EIU's research publications are heavily used by USDA staff. Access to material only available from this publisher is essential to fulfilling the Agency's mission.

The anticipated Period of Performance is:

Base Year: 9/28/2015 - 9/27/2016

If exercised:

Option I: 9/28/2016 - 9/27/2017
Option II: 9/28/2017 - 9/27/2018
Option III: 9/28/2018 - 9/27/2019
Option IV: 9/28/2019 - 9/27/2020

THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Vendors that believe they can provide the services listed above are invited to submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government to compete this proposed contract based on responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the Government.