Intent to Award Sole Source - Web of Science, Science Citation Index

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action Synopsis. There is no solicitation available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will receive no response. This Proposed Contract Action is published to notify potential sources that The Rocky Mountain Research Station intends to award a sole source firm-fixed price contract, on behalf of the USDA Forest Service, to Clarivate Analytics, LLC for the Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) subscription.

Subscription access to the data will be provided for all Forest Service employees via unlimited simultaneous internet access using IP authentication. 2020 Web of Science data integrated with previously purchased 1899-2020 data. This supports comprehensive and retrospective searching of the world’s key literature all the way back to 1899. Web of Science provides access to a broad range of international scientific, technical, and social sciences literature. Indexed content includes books, journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, patents, and web content. Functionality must include subject searching, keyword searching, cited reference searching, author searching, analysis of results, links to full text, alerting services, citation exporting, and ability to refine search results. Must be able to use the resource to prevent duplication of prior research, to identify the body of work on particular topics, and to track and assess the subsequent impact the Forest Service’s research has had on others by identifying who has cited our research. Must be able to use this dataset for performance metrics which will help to demonstrate the relevance, quality, performance, and efficiency of Forest Service Research & Development’s work. The metrics are a Corporate Citation Index which will estimate the scientific use of publications authored by FS R&D scientists and the Number of High Impact Papers which will be calculated from the Web of Science database at least annually. In addition, access to EndNote Web, a web based bibliographic management program, will be included for all agency personnel. Period of Performance: Actual dates to be determined at time of award.

The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals.  A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.  Date posted to FedBizOpps: January 27, 2020. Date posting will close: January 31, 2020. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 511140. The Size Standard is 1,250. The desired period of performance for the services described herein is anticipated to be from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.  The responses to this synopsis will be used to confirm that this is a sole source requirement. This notice is not a Request for Proposals (RFP); it is a market research tool being utilized to determine the availability and adequacy of potential sources prior to awarding the contract. Any information submitted by respondents to this synopsis is strictly voluntary. The Government will not pay for any information that is submitted by respondents to this notice of proposed contract action. Contractors who believe they possess the expertise and experience shall submit technical capabilities in writing to Anthony Salas electronically to: asalas@fs.fed.us.  Responses must be received no later than January 31, 2020 11:00 am MDT.  All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Firms responding must indicate the following information: Indicate the business size: small business or disadvantaged business, veteran owned small business or HUB Zone certified, indicate the appropriate NAICS code, and DUNS #. This synopsis neither constitutes a Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. This synopsis should not be construed as commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research.