R605--Special Notice: Intent to Sole Source | Posted: 11/XX/2024

This intent to sole source announcement is posted in accordance with FAR 5.2Â - Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions.

Background -

The mission of the Department of Veterans Administration (VA) is to honor America s Veterans by providing exceptional care that improves their health and well-being. The VA will continue to be the benchmark of excellence and value in health care and benefits by providing exemplary services that are both patient-centered and evidence-based. The VA's Office of Patient Care Services, Health Outcomes Military Exposures (HOME) requires a subscription to Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) which will be made available to all HOME staff (librarians, researchers, epidemiologists, toxicologists, clinicians, health science specialists, administrators, etc.)

The Health Outcomes Military Exposures (HOME) Program Office is a division within the Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration (VHA). HOME governs congressionally mandated programs related to environmental, occupational, and garrison exposures that may have affected U.S. Veterans and some family members during military service.

HOME conducts surveillance and studies Veterans health and health care outcomes. Findings from these research studies inform clinical care provided by health professionals and provide sound science for decisions from policymakers, including VA and Congress. This research improves health care best practices and policy decisions regarding Veterans benefits. HOME subject matter experts continuously review current scientific literature and provide data to develop policy recommendations for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (SECVA).

Subscription to Agricultural & Environmental Science Database is essential to complete this mission. The HOME Librarians search the scientific literature to include, but not limited to human, toxicological, animal, and methodological studies, etc., for Presumptive Decision Process (PDP) Scientific Reviews and Literature Search Requests. Section 202, in P.L. 117-168, Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, created new provisions in regarding determinations related to presumptions of service connection based on toxic exposure. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is required to improve the presumptive decision process to assess the available scientific data in as timely a fashion as possible and enhance the transparency of the process.

Objective

The Contractor shall provide the resources necessary to accomplish the tasks as described in the Statement of Work (SOW) (See attached copy of SOW).

Unique Qualifications

Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) is a cross-disciplinary resource of full-text content along with expert indexing of global literature across agricultural, environmental, and related disciplines. It features peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, magazines, grey literature, working papers, conference papers and proceedings. It also includes Environmental Impact Statements & Digests in full text and AGRICOLA, the world s leading bibliographic database of agricultural science literature.

Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) will allow all HOME staff to access in-depth research and literature reviews covering agricultural research, environmental research, and allied disciplines. Subject offerings include the following: agricultural economics, animal and veterinary sciences, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, food and human nutrition, forestry, and plant sciences.

CLARIVATE s ProQuest proprietary database, Agricultural & Environmental Science contain resources and offer support beyond that of any alternative. The services provide a resource that can improve conducting research regarding the health effects related to a case of toxic exposure and evaluate evidence regarding the periods and locations of exposure covered by an existing presumption of service connection.

Agricultural & Environmental Science Database (ProQuest) capabilities include:

Comprehensive user search interface (basic search, advanced search, publications search, etc.)

Comprehensive scope of coverage; journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, and more.

Abstracting and indexing of all relevant literature

Immediate access to thousands of full-text titles and key content sources.

Award information -

Solicitation No. 36C24525Q0105 will be presented to the contractor in accordance with the sole source authority at FAR 6.302-1 as a firm fixed-price contract. The Government anticipates the solicitation response and Independent Cost Estimate to be comparable with similar database access contracts, Contract No. 36C77623P0129 and Contract No. 36C77622C0021 to justify fair and reasonable pricing. The period of performance shall be for one base year period and three, one-year optional periods. Option ordering periods are exercised as required and are not guaranteed. The anticipated Period of Performance reads as follows:

Base Period (Est. Award date): 12/01/2024 11/30/2025

Est. Option Period 1: 12/01/2025 11/30/2026

Est. Option Period 2: 12/01/2026 11/30/2027

Est. Option Period 3: 12/01/2027 11/30/2028

If anyone requests additional information please contact: Ethan Mauzy Ethan.Mauzy@va.gov.