Industry Day Conference - EHP Journal Web Hosting Support

1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUEST {THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL OR COST PROPOSALS}: The National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) is holding an industry day conference as part of its market research and is seeking information from the commercial industry to assist in planning for the services listed herein. This does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Request for Quotation (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ/RFQ in the future, nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. The Industry Day Meeting is an opportunity for the NIEHS to present the plans for this procurement to representatives from industry, expresses its goals, schedule, and to solicit feedback about this procurement. This event provides a good method to try and shape the future RFQ towards this unique offering, and provides an opportunity for industry to sit down with Contracting and Program Office personnel to allow industry to obtain a good understanding of what the Government needs. The Government anticipates holding the Industry Day on August 1, 2017 beginning at 8:00 AM EST at NIEHS Keystone Building, 530 Davis Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, in room 1003AB. All interested firms may attend with a limit of three (3) attendees per firm. Please confirm participation in the Industry Day and submit on company letterhead full name and job title of the attendees to the Contracting Officer at uche.washington@nih.gov no later than July 21, 2017, 11:59 PM EST. Attendees should submit all questions regarding the requirement via e-mail no later than the deadline stated above.

2. BACKGROUND: The NIEHS located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is one (1) of 27 research institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The mission of the NIEHS is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. The NIEHS as a primary function conducts, fosters and coordinates research on the biological effects of chemical substances and physical factors present in the environment, utilizing (1) its own laboratories and personnel; (2) contracts; and (3) grant-in-aid to universities for research projects, training, fellowships and environmental health centers. The NIEHS seeks by these means to develop understanding of the mechanisms of action of environmental substances, to provide the scientific basis for evaluating their extent and severity on a national scale, and to define and develop methods for diagnosis and treatment of environmentally induced illness. The NIEHS publishes the monthly scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). EHP is a world-renowned journal that helps the NIEHS to implement its strategic plan of advancing science and improving health. Thanks to its worldwide distribution and solid reputation, EHP disseminates cutting-edge research throughout the scientific community. The name EHP is synonymous with quality due to years of hard work from its dedicated team. The basic service objective is to provide journal web hosting for a new website on an established third-party, separately hosted journals-publishing platform. The platform must be able to ingest EHP production content without specific manual conversions, and must offer uninterrupted access to users worldwide. The platform must be versatile enough to handle our multiple types of content (Research, News, Abstracts, Collections, Podcasts) and our international/translated content, and must be robust enough to serve our users throughout the world. Being a fully open-access journal, the site must offer unfettered access to all readers in all countries.

3. REQUESTED INFORMATION: Interested companies shall be prepared to present the information depicting their respective ability to provide the services necessary to meet the needs of NIEHS. Some general guidelines for the Industry Day:

• Each company should offer a presentation on their capabilities and the services they can provide to EHP.
• The presentations must be tailored to the needs specified in EHP's web hosting RFI - presentations containing only general marketing content should be avoided.
• Each presenter must offer a live demo of their web technology. This can be a test site built specifically for the presentation, or a live site (used by another customer), but the site must illustrate some of the technologies requested in the EHP web hosting RFI.
• Presenters should address their ability to meet the security requirements posted along with the RFI as part of their presentation. Again, general marketing materials should be avoided in favor of solutions that are specific to the needs of EHP.

4. RESPONSES: Interested parties are requested to email their administrative information to the Contracting Officer no later than July 21, 2017, 11:59 PM EST. Information shall include the following:

Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, e-mail of designated point of contact, and business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUEST {THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY}: The National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) is conducting market research and is seeking information from the commercial industry to assist in requirements planning for the services listed herein. The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified potential Quoters who are able to meet the Government's needs. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes within the NIEHS to facilitate the decision-making process - it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Request for Quotation (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ/RFQ in the future, nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach.

This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any equipment, commodities, and services whatsoever. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. There is no required format for RFIs. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process. In addition to this, the NIEHS is not at this time seeking quotes and will not accept unsolicited quotes.

Interested parties are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ issued.

If a solicitation is released, it may be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website or GSA eBuy electronic system. It is the sole responsibility of potential Quoters to monitor the site for additional information pertaining to this or future requirements.

The tasks within this requirement are for journal web hosting for a new website on an established third-party, separately hosted journals-publishing platform. See Attachment I, Performance Work Statement (PWS) for detailed information on the tasks and Attachment II.

2. BACKGROUND: The NIEHS located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is one (1) of 27 research institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The mission of the NIEHS is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. The NIEHS as a primary function conducts, fosters and coordinates research on the biological effects of chemical substances and physical factors present in the environment, utilizing (1) its own laboratories and personnel; (2) contracts; and (3) grant-in-aid to universities for research projects, training, fellowships and environmental health centers. The NIEHS seeks by these means to develop understanding of the mechanisms of action of environmental substances, to provide the scientific basis for evaluating their extent and severity on a national scale, and to define and develop methods for diagnosis and treatment of environmentally induced illness. The NIEHS publishes the monthly scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). EHP is a world-renowned journal that helps the NIEHS to implement its strategic plan of advancing science and improving health. Thanks to its worldwide distribution and solid reputation, EHP disseminates cutting-edge research throughout the scientific community. The name EHP is synonymous with quality due to years of hard work from its dedicated team.

3. REQUESTED INFORMATION: As this is an RFI only, it is requested that companies provide indication of their respective ability to provide the services necessary to meet the needs of NIEHS. Information submitted shall address the following:

Provide detailed information on specific examples of sites interested parties have hosted before and whether you can meet the security requisrements listed in Attachment II. Responses to this RFI should include comments on the capabilities you as a contractor can and cannot meet; why certain capabilities could not be provided; associated services that are provided to other customers with similar requirements; and details about any other information you would require from EHP in order to quote on these services.

4. RESPONSES: Interested parties are requested to provide responses to this RFI by 2:00 PM Eastern Time on June 19, 2017. Responses shall be limited to ten (10) pages in total (pages shall be standard size 8.5 x 11 inches) and shall provide administrative information to include the following as a minimum:

Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, e-mail of designated point of contact, and business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

Responses shall be submitted via e-mail only to Onyenauche Washington, Contracting Officer, NIEHS, Office of Acquisitions. Email: uche.washington@nih.gov. Proprietary information, if any, shall be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

5. SUMMARY: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to assist in market research for the requirements described herein. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. NIEHS has not made a commitment to procure any of the equipment, commodities, and services listed herein, and release of this RFI shall not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.