SOLICITATION NOTICE
76 -- Consumer Health Encyclopedia
- Notice Date
- 1/13/2009
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 511120
— Periodical Publishers
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, 20894
- ZIP Code
- 20894
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-NLM-09-050-UHP
- Archive Date
- 2/11/2009
- Point of Contact
- Uyen H Phuong,, Phone: 301-496-6127
- E-Mail Address
-
phuongu@mail.nih.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information contained in this notice. The procurement is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13.5. This announcement constitutes the formal Request for Quotation (RFQ) and a written solicitation WILL NOT be issued. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through December 2008 Federal Acquisition Regulation revision, which includes the consolidation of all Federal Acquisition Circulars 2005-28. This acquisition is NOT a small business set-aside and the NAICS code is 511120. It is the intent of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to procure consumer health encyclopedic content for NLM's MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español consumer health web sites. NLM requires an authoritative, comprehensive medical information resource, written at a consumer level, for its MedlinePlus consumer health web site. The preferred reading level would be the 6th-8th grade level. This resource is used to supplement the health topic pages on MedlinePlus, which contain links to information from authoritative health web sites, especially those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). EVALUATION CRITERIA: The technical proposal will receive paramount consideration over price or cost factors. The evaluation will be based, in addition to price, on a written quotation detailing the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective vendor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the Statement of Work. Offerors must submit information sufficient to allow the NLM to evaluate the following criteria for award. Criterion A: Content (60 points) The proposal must provide detailed information on the offeror's ability to provide the content required as described in the statement of work, including: • Demonstrated experience creating consumer health information • Explanation of content creation process, including evidence-based approach and review process • Five sample consumer health topic monographs, each in English and Spanish • Credentials of medical information creators and reviewers, including medical illustrators • Explanation of Spanish translation process and translation quality assurance procedures The Contractor MUST submit five (5) mandatory samples on consumer health topic monographs, each in English and Spanish as demonstrated the offeror's capabilities specified above on or before January 27, 2009. Criterion B: Technical Approach (20 points) Offerors are required to submit a proposal outlining their understanding of the technical approach to the statement of work, including: • Familiarity with Web site technologies, software and hardware • Demonstrated knowledge and experience providing customized information solutions to licensees • One sample XML monograph file and illustration page file (if separate) and DTD The Contractor MUST submit one (1) mandatory sample on XML monograph file and illustration page file (if separate) and DTD as demonstrated the offeror's capabilities specified above on or before January 27, 2009. Criterion C: Past Performance (10 points) Offerors are required to demonstrate their ability to conform to project specifications, commitment to customer satisfaction and quality standards and adherence to delivery schedules. References, with names of persons with knowledge of offerors's past performance and their current telephone number, should be provided in support of the offeror's past performance. References may be asked about the prospective vendor's customer service. Criterion D: Corporate Experience (10 points) Evidence should be provided to support experience providing consumer health information to a high-volume, non-commercial consumer health Web Site. It is anticipated that ONE (1) AWARD will be made from this solicitation. This requirement is for a base year with options for four (4) successive one-year periods. The period of performance is on March 1, 2009. The quoter shall include all information which documents and/or supports the qualification criteria in one clearly marked section of its quotation. ** The Statement of Work (SOW) of this requirement is immediately followed below. ** All proposals received by January 27, 2009, 4:30 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time) will be considered by NLM. Responses must be in writing (email is acceptable), and must include pricing information and meet the criteria requirement. All responses from responsible sources will be considered. Inquires regarding this procurement may be made to the National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 105, Bethesda, Maryland 20894-5488 (20817 for courier services), Attention: Uyen H. Phuong, Contracting Officer, on (301) 496-6127. Please submit one signed original of the proposals and samples on or before 4:30 PM EST, January 27, 2009 to: Uyen H. Phuong Contracting Officer National Library of Medicine, NIH Office of Acquisitions 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105 MSC 5488 Bethesda, MD 20892-5488 (20817 for courier services) And three (3) copies of the proposals and samples on or before 4:30 PM EST, January 27, 2009 to: Paula Kitendaugh Head, Reference & Web Services National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Building 38, Bethesda, MD 20894 Send electronic copies of the proposals and samples on or before January 27, 2009 to Paula Kitendaugh: paula.kitendaugh@nih.gov; Uyen Phuong: phuongu@mail.nih.gov. The contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, executive orders, rules and regulations applicable to its performance under this order. Full text of clauses and provisions are available at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): http://www.arnet.gov/far/. The FAR provisions and clauses sited herein are incorporated by reference into this solicitation. Offerors are advised to propose in accordance with the provision of FAR 52.212 1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items (June 2008). Offerors are advised to provide with their offer a completed copy of the following provisions: FAR 52.212 3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (June 2008). The following FAR clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212 4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items (October 2008); FAR 52 212 5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive orders Commercial Items (December 2008). ** Statement of Work Consumer Health Encyclopedia 1. Background Information To assist consumers in obtaining the information they need to make informed decisions about health care, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has developed MedlinePlus (medlineplus.gov), an easily understandable Web resource for the public. MedlinePlus and provides accurate, authoritative and up-to-date information to the general public, allied health professionals and health information intermediaries such as librarians, nurses and health educators. The focus of this resource is its 750 (and growing) topic pages which contain links to quality government information, especially NLM and NIH resources as well as other high quality information providers. MedlinePlus is not an index of all consumer health information on the Web, rather it contains highly selective links representing the best information in terms of quality, literacy level, authority of authorship, uniqueness and appropriateness for MedlinePlus' users. MedlinePlus en español (medlineplus.gov/esp) is the Spanish version of MedlinePlus with equal content, purpose and selection procedures. 2. Purpose and Objectives of the Procurement The major objective is to procure consumer health encyclopedic content for NLM's MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español consumer health web sites. NLM requires an authoritative, comprehensive medical information resource, written at a consumer level, for its MedlinePlus consumer health web site. The preferred reading level would be the 6th-8th grade level. This resource is used to supplement the health topic pages on MedlinePlus, which contain links to information from authoritative health web sites, especially those from the National Institutes of Health. NLM will host the content on its own servers. Content would be displayed in MedlinePlus templates with attribution to the content provider. Outcome - If consumer health encyclopedic content is successfully acquired by NLM than the ultimate implications are better health consequences for MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en espanol users. 3. Mandatory Requirements • Minimum number of articles: 2,500 • Minimum number of illustrations: 2000 • Authoritative content: The content must be accurate and authoritative. The authorship of the content must be identified. The medical advisory board of the health content must be provided via the web. Authoritative authors and medical advisory board personnel include physicians, pharmacists and other medical professionals who are responsible for writing or reviewing the content. • Equivalent content in English and Spanish: The content of the encyclopedia must be equivalent in English and Spanish • Culturally neutral or Castilian Spanish: The Spanish must be culturally neutral and not written in the style or vocabulary of a particular Spanish nationality. • Regular updating of content: Content must be updated at least twice per year. • Emergency updating of content: There must be a provision for updating and/or replacement of inaccurate or outdated content outside the regular update schedule if requested by NLM or deemed necessary by changes in the health environment (e.g., withdrawal of Vioxx, availability of new HPV vaccine.) Depending on the severity of inaccuracy or change in protocol, NLM requires updated content within two weeks of notification for high priority information. • Currency of information: Information must be current. Last reviewed and/or updated dates must be provided on the content. Creation dates are desirable. • No commercial content: Information must be free of commercial endorsements or advertisements. References to treatments (drugs, procedures) should use generic as opposed to brand-name therapies when appropriate. • Unobtrusive co-branding: NLM will allow co-branding of licensed content on MedlinePlus pages. Typically this consists of a small logo provided by the content provider. However the logo must not be larger than 80 pixels in height or width. • Format of content: Content must be delivered to NLM via the web, in well-formed XML and accompanied by accurate Data Type Definitions (DTDs) or schemas. • No registration: Content must not require registration by users to view articles or illustrations. • Accessibility of content: Content must be accessible in accordance with Section 508 (29 U.S.C. 794d). Illustrations must implement alt tags that repeat all text included on each illustration. • The Contractor should provide creative and innovative formats including one or more of the following: o animation, o video, o health check tools, o calculators, o interactive quizzes, o a symptom checker, or o homunculus navigation. 4. Specific Requirements A ) Content 1. Content must be accurate, current and authoritative. 2. The content must consist of short, specific articles and must cover the complete range of issues relating to diseases, conditions and wellness that is of interest to health consumers. This content includes detailed descriptions of diseases, covering causes, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, therapy, and prognosis of conditions affecting all age groups, genders, and ethnicities. It also includes basic information on human anatomy and physiology, nutrition, poisoning and environmental concerns, pregnancy, normal human development, and aging. 3. Content must be accompanied by illustrations wherever appropriate. Illustrations may include drawings, diagrams, photographs, and flowcharts. 4. Content updates should be accompanied by detailed documentation of the changes that have been made to the content. Documentation should include a list of information that has been added, edited, or deleted. B) Technical 1. The Contractor must provide files that are customizable in order to be integrated into the MedlinePlus environment. 2. The Contractor must provide files with valid and well-formed XML (or equivalent) to facilitate optimal search engine retrieval and display. 3. The Contractor must provide a unique identifier or similar technical solution must exist that matches the English and Spanish equivalent content to each other, to enable "toggling" between the content in the two languages. Deliverables Content: First deliverable: Encyclopedia articles and illustrations, delivered with completely equivalent English and Spanish. Content must be accompanied by metadata. Delivery due date: within 30 days of award Second deliverable: Updates to articles and illustrations, minimum of two per year Format: XML, Section 508 compliant Delivery method: electronic delivery (FTP or similar) Reporting requirements: All reports can be delivered via email. 1. Documentation of the changes made to the content must be included with each update (two updates/year minimum). Documentation should include a list of information that has been added, edited, or deleted. 2. Response report to NLM spreadsheet of user comments, including priority assigned and proposed resolution steps. NLM supplies a monthly spreadsheet, contractor must provide quarterly response reports. 3. Response to requests for emergency updating of content, including priority assigned and proposed resolution steps. Response required within 5 business days of NLM request.
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