SOURCES SOUGHT
Q -- Computer IT support,medical and staffing services
- Notice Date
- 7/7/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center/Office of Purchasing & Contracts, 6707 Democracy Blvd, Suite 106, MSC 5480, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-5480
- ZIP Code
- 20892-5480
- Solicitation Number
- NIHCL2010070
- Archive Date
- 7/31/2010
- Point of Contact
- Gail Akinbinu, Phone: 301-496-0692
- E-Mail Address
-
gakinbinu@cc.nih.gov
(gakinbinu@cc.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center is conducting a market survey/sources sought to help determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses and/or HUBZONE small business capable of serving the needs mentioned below. This market survey/sources sought announcement is not a Request for Proposals and the Government is not committed to award a contract pursuant to this announcement. The information from this market research is for planning purposes only and will assist the Government in planning its acquisition strategy. This is strictly market research and the Government will not entertain questions concerning this market research. The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of information for responding to this market survey. C.1Introduction The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the United States Government's primary agency for medical investigation. It is located on a 317-acre campus in Bethesda, MD, with additional components at the Geriatric Research Center in Baltimore, MD. The NIH is organized into multiple research institutes and centers, and the National Library of Medicine. Although a large portion of the NIH budget supports medical research at institutions throughout the country, extensive "intramural" research is also conducted on campus. At the NIH, intramural research is conducted in both the basic biomedical sciences and in clinical programs. The purpose of this contract is to acquire the necessary research support services in order to facilitate basic and applied biomedical research in the areas information technology, image processing, neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics, and to help conduct clinical protocols. The development and expansion of systems used in biomedical research require a highly specialized scientific and technical staff. To reach our research and clinical objectives, we need to be able to acquire data from various sources, process and correct this data, analyze, interpret and present the results. This developmental work needs to have minimum impact on current research projects. The purpose of the requested contract is to obtain the scientific, technical and administrative support services needed to develop and expand systems used for information technology, medical image processing, neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and to help conduct clinical research protocols. The contract is needed to acquire the additional support services necessary to design, implement, and maintain the infrastructure needed to conduct basic, applied, and clinical research for the Imaging Sciences Program of the Radiological and Imaging Sciences (Rad&IS) Program of the NIH Clinical Center (CC) to include, but not necessarily be limited to, animal care and technical laboratory support, image acquisition technical services, biological services, data analysis, image analysis, and technical writing. The contract is also needed to acquire additional IT Support Services for the Image Sciences Program (ISP) of Rad&IS/CC to include, but not necessarily be limited to, providing UNIX, MacOS X, and Windows servers/workstations, micro-computer, network, and peripheral support to facilitate the visualization and analysis of medical images and data. Such IT support services may, but not necessarily be limited to, installation, optimization, system security, and troubleshooting of various types of UNIX-based, MacOS X-based, and Windows-based servers and workstations. Support is also needed for the Research PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) of Rad&IS/CC. Lastly, additional support services are needed to provide administrative, scientific application programming, and interfacing laboratory equipment to computer systems on an as-needed basis. C.2 Scope of the Contract The contractor shall provide a multidisciplinary staff to complete defined tasks. The contract staff shall include scientists, engineers, system analysts, programmers, technicians, technical writers, and administrative personnel as required by the delivery orders (DOs). The contractor shall provide personnel with a range of skill levels in the following areas: Project Manager Scientists Engineers System Analysts Programmers Research Assistants Technical Writers Executive Assistants Administrative Assistants Projects will be managed by issuing a series of task orders that will provide a detailed description of what work is necessary. Development task orders shall describe work to be done, including specifications, interface requirements, documentation requirements, prerequisites (such as hardware, software, and programming language), location as to where services are required, and deliverables. For other types of task orders, the individual orders shall describe the work to be done, the kind and extent of technical assistance to be provided, task prerequisites, location as to where services are required, and deliverable items. C.3Task Areas The activities for which task orders shall be issued are, but not limited to the, following: C.3.1Biological laboratory support services C.3.1.1Animal care and technical laboratory support in an Animal Biosafety Level (ABSL) 1 and occasionally ABSL2 research environment. Animal care requirements include: Providing routine animal care such as feeding, watering, and cage changing Performing daily health observations and/or pain scoring on study animals Regularly communicating with facility staff about any husbandry issues, animal health status and study requirements Maintaining all appropriate health records on study animals as designated in the approved animal study proposals C.3.1.2Assisting or performing in the weighing and tattooing of primates and the humane handling and restraint of animals C.3.1.3Performing technical laboratory animal procedures including injections by various routes C.3.1.4MRI technical services including helping perform studies in brain and heart and other organs C.3.1.5Biological services including cell and tissue culture C.3.1.6Quantitative analysis using spectrophotometers, cell counter, flow cytometers, NMR relaxometers … C.3.1.7Image analysis using computer software C.3.1.8Data analysis using spreadsheet and/or statistical analysis software C.3.1.9Technical writing including preparation of MS Word manuscripts, MS Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, etc. C.3.2 IT support services C.3.2.1Application Programming Develop new biomedical application programs Integrate new algorithms into biomedical application programs Upgrade applications programs to work on new or updated systems C.3.2.2Engineer Design and Implementation Design and build new biomedical research instruments Interface new instruments to computer systems. Prepare technical and user documentation for engineering tasks C.3.2.3Systems Programming Develop new utility programs Integrate new biomedical application programs into computer systems Upgrade operating systems and system programs on computer systems Prepare technical and user documentation for computer systems C.3.2.4ResearchPACS Maintenance Maintain existing ResearchPACS computer system(s) including database and file systems Interact with TeraMedica, Inc. in maintenance of ReseachPACS software package(s) C.3.2.5 System Maintenance Maintain existing computer systems including peripherals, especially (a) workstations and (b) Apple-based Xsan and Active-Directory integrated file and backup servers Replace, if necessary, any computer systems and/or peripherals with updated components C.3.3Administrative support services Administrative support of biological laboratory and IT support personnel C.3.4Project Management C.3.3.1 Develop project plans consisting of goals, sub-goals, tasks, methods and procedures for completing tasks, skill level for completing tasks, personnel assigned to the task, hours needed to complete the tasks, and schedule for completing the project. C.3.3.2 Manage the contract staff assigned to the projects. C.3.5Hardware and software Vendor, on an as needed basis, should be able to provide any additional scientific and/or IT equipment plus any required software needed by support personnel acting under the auspices of this requirement. This shall include, if requested, maintenance of new and/or existing scientific and/or IT equipment plus any required software needed by support personnel acting under the auspices of this requirement in order to keep laboratories functioning at a state of art scientific level with minimum interruptions and down time. One or more deliverable items shall be required for each task order. For tasks involving computer programming, deliverables shall include test data, fully tested operational computer programs, test results, and documentation, all in accordance with task order specifications. Other kinds of task shall require various types of documentation, such as user manuals, training materials, and periodic and/or final reports describing items such as work completed, finding, conclusions, and recommendations, or other items to be specified in the task order. The tasks shall require the contractor to maintain activity logs and/or progress reports and submit them to the Government for review. The progress reports shall include project activity, status, plans, issues and costs. C.4 Specific Tasks The contractor is expected to support the following tasks. Biomedical Image Processing Rad&IS uses a mix of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software developed in house and software acquired for other researchers to conduct biomedical image processing. The contractor is expected to provide staff that are familiar with imaging techniques, software currently being used by Rad&IS, and are able to develop image processing algorithms and convert them into computer programs. Development of tools for conducting neurophysiology experiments The conduction of experiments in neurophysiology requires tools (A/D and D/A signal processing interface boards and precisely written real time data collection software). Contractors are required to supply personnel trained in biomedical engineering and software engineering who are capable of developing and maintaining these tools. Support of systems used to conduct animal behavioral research Contractors must me familiar with a wide range of computer systems (Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX) in order to support primate and rodent behavioral studies. They need to be familiar with data collection apparatus used in these experiments. Support for laboratories conducting cardiology, neuroscience, and NMR research Research in cardiology and the neurosciences involves experimental design, data collection and analysis in cardiology, neurophysiology, pharmacology, chemistry, genetics and biomedical informatics. The contractor must be able to recruit and manage staffs that have the necessary knowledge and skill to assist Government conducting research in these areas. Support for laboratories conducting interventional radiology Research in the field of interventional radiology involves experimental design, data collection and analysis in performing radiofrequency ablation therapy and other treatments for various diseases. The contractor must be able to recruit and manage staffs that have the necessary knowledge and skill to assist Government conducting research in these areas. Support for ResearchPACS, RADIS file servers and workstations Contractors must be familiar with a wide range of computer systems (Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX). Provide technical support services for UNIX, MacOS X, and Windows servers/workstations, micro-computer, network, and peripheral support to facilitate the visualization and analysis of medical images and data. Such IT support services may, but not necessarily be limited to, installation, optimization, system security, and troubleshooting of various types of UNIX-based, MacOS X-based, and Windows-based servers and workstations. Support is also needed for (a) the TeraMedica Research PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) of Rad&IS/CC and (b) the Apple Xsan-based file system and Xservers of Rad&IS/CC. Project Management The contractor shall provide the necessary administrative and management controls required to support this contract. Administrative and management controls can be, but not limited to, work breakdown structures, invoicing, status and progress reports, correspondence, problem resolution and staffing management. C.5Personnel Qualifications NIH requires Contractor personnel in the following labor categories, as defined in Section C.6 Project Manager Senior level scientist Junior level scientist Research assistant Engineer Senior system analyst Junior system analyst Senior level programmer Junior level programmer Senior level administrative assistant Junior level administrative assistant Technical writer C.6Staff Personnel Qualifications Required Qualifications of Contractor staff personnel are as follows: Project Manager (college level credits and experience in project management) This person should be able to oversee and mange personnel assigned to tasks and work with project and contracting officers to appropriately manage the contract. Senior Level Scientist (MS or higher) This person should have a strong background in one or more of the following areas: medical physics, computer science, mathematics, biology, chemistry or biomedical informatics. They should be capable of working independently. When involved in tasks relating to research system development, they should be able to develop algorithms in their area of expertise with minimal supervision. Junior Level Scientist (BS or higher) This person should have a background in one or more of the following areas: medical physics, computer science, mathematics, biology, chemistry or biomedical informatics. They should be capable of working semi-independently. Research Assistant (college level credits in computer science, engineering, mathematics, biology or chemistry) This person should be able to handle the common routine tasks evolved in science, engineering or computer systems. Engineer (BS or higher) This person should have a strong background in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering or system engineering. The person should be able to design the research instruments described in task and have them interface to specified computer systems. Senior System Analyst (BS or higher) This person should have a strong background in system programming, application design and programming using the appropriate programming language or scripts (FORTRAN, Pascal, Visual Basic, C#, C, C++, Java, Pearl, assembly, etc.). This person should have a sufficiently extensive background in science in order that they can interpret and implement algorithms developed by senior level scientists. Junior System Analyst (BS or higher) – This person should be able to handle the common routine tasks evolved in deploying and maintaining Unix workstations, Windows-based PCs, and MacOS X-based PCs used for scientific computing. This person should have a strong background in system programming, application design and programming using the appropriate programming language or scripts (FORTRAN, Pascal, Visual Basic, C#, C, C++, Java, Pearl, assembly, etc.). This person should have a sufficiently extensive background in science in order that they can interpret and implement algorithms developed by senior level scientists. Senior Level Programmer (BS or higher in computer science, engineering, mathematics, biology or chemistry) This person should be able to independently handle the common routine tasks evolved in science, engineering or computer systems. Junior Level Programmer (college level credits in computer science, engineering, mathematics, biology or chemistry) This person should be able to handle the common routine tasks evolved in the use and customization of applications used in scientific computing. Senior Level Administrative Assistant This person should have the experience needed to coordinate and improve the overall functioning of an office devoted to scientific research. This person should be familiar with and be able to implement current NIH regulations, policies, and procedures. They should be able to: assist in the planning and completion of various special projects, arrange conferences/ meetings, make travel arrangements, maintain schedules and calendars, update databases and spreadsheets, and create reports for management. They should have expertise with Microsoft Office, as well as experience in an office setting. Junior Level Administrative Assistant This person should be able to handle routine office tasks. They should have experience with Microsoft Office. Technical Writer (college level credits in English, Journalism or Speech) This person should be able to write and edit both technical and end-user documentation. Knowledge of WEB site development may be necessary for some tasks. Key Personnel - One (1) Project manager shall be explicitly designated as key personnel. The key personnel shall be designated by the Contractor as its primary point of contact regarding technical matters. C.7Terms and Conditions This shall be a fixed price contract for a period of one (1) year with four (4) option years. This requirement is for interested firms with the capability of providing the required services to submit a corporate capability statement to assist the Government in determining in accordance with Federal Acquisiton Regulation FAR 19.502-2(B) whether or not this procurement will be set-aside under North American Industrial Classification(541690 with a size standard of $7 million dollars and 541519 with a size standard of $25 million dollars. All respondents are requested to identify their firm's size and type of business. Interested firms responding to this sources sought should adhere to the following: a. Provide a capabilty statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirments as described above. The capability statement should contain sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabillities. b. The capability statement should include past performance references for the same or similar work within the last three years, descriptions of key personnel capabilities, sample resumes(one sample for each labor category limit 2-3 pages each), description of ability to obtain qualified staff in a timely manner to meet the Government's task order requirments and any other information deemed relevant which clearly demonstrates your ability to provide the services as described above. c. Any proprietary information should clearly be identified as such. d. Please limit total pages to no more than 20.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/CCOPC/NIHCL2010070/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN02198294-W 20100709/100707235024-5afdba0c3fa4520d8a8086dea778c57d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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