Pre-solicitation Notice with Intent to Sole Source R&D Technology Support Services for TRACTS High-Performing Computing Platform

Closed Special Notice Posted

Solicitation number
36C24E26Q0127
Agency
Responses due
Set-aside
No set-aside

Opportunity facts

Place of performance
Massachusetts 02301, United States

Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .

About this opportunity

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Research and Development, Regional Procurement Office East in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania issued a pre-solicitation notice of intent to sole source award a firm-fixed-price contract for one year to Ross Walker to provide continued development, enhancement, maintenance, and technical support for the TRACTS High-Performance Computing OnDemand platform, with responses due by September 18, 2026. The sole-source justification rests on Walker's role as the original architect, designer, and principal developer of the proprietary TRACTS platform, which incorporates custom-developed configurations, workflow automation, system integrations, and operational processes that are not commercially available or fully documented; Walker is identified as the only known source capable of delivering the required services. Work will support the VA Boston Healthcare System Medical Center Research Services and includes optimization of research workloads for parallel HPC execution through monthly researcher meetings, automation of imaging data processing with anonymization, quarterly training for VA support staff, development of an AI/ML implementation plan across three in-person visits to the Jamaica Plain campus, and delivery of a comprehensive quality control plan. The contractor must possess specialized expertise in GPU and parallel computing, HPC system architecture, workflow automation, artificial intelligence, and direct knowledge of the custom TRACTS infrastructure. The contractor will access sensitive data containing Protected Health Information and Personally Identifiable Information and must execute a Business Associate Agreement. NAICS code is 541511; PSC is DB01.

Notice text

Pre-Solicitation Notice for the notice of intent to award a sole source contract.

This is not a solicitation. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Research and Development (R&D), Regional Procurement Office (RPO) – East in Pittsburgh, PA intends to award on a sole source basis a Firm-Fixed-Price Contract for a one (1) year period to Ross Walker, 425 Freedom View Ln, Phoenixville, PA 19460, to provide services for the continued development, enhancement, maintenance, and technical support of the existing TRACTS High-Performance Computing (HPC) OnDemand platform.

Ross Walker is the only known source who can provide the services for the continued development, enhancement, maintenance, and technical support of the existing TRACTS High-Performance Computing (HPC) OnDemand platform required by the VA Boston Healthcare System Medical Center Research Services. This is a continuing need for the enhancement of the existing TRACTS platform, an existing proprietary implementation developed by Ross Walker for the Neuroimaging for Veterans Center. Ross Walker served as the principal architect, designer, and developer of the TRACTS platform, and the lead engineer for the current TRACTS infrastructure. The platform incorporates custom-developed configurations, workflow automation, system integrations, security configurations, deployment methodologies, and operational processes that are not commercially available or fully documented.

Since the intent is to procure this on a sole source basis, no solicitation will be posted to Contract Opportunities. The applicable NAICS code is 541511 with a $34.0 million size standard. The PSC is DB01. The authority for this action is RFO FAR 6.103-1 only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. Responsible sources may identify their interest by submitting capability information that clearly demonstrates the capability to perform the required work in accordance with the attached statement of work. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed requirement based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

The Government will not be responsible for any costs associated with the preparation of responses to this notification.

Capability information is required by Friday, September 18, 2026, 11:00 AM, ET, and must be sent by email to Shannon Hukriede at shannon.hukriede@va.gov. No telephone responses will be accepted.

Files

File Type Posted
SOW Walker_Special Notice.docx DOCX document

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