This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for market research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library of Medicine (NLM) is conducting a market survey to help determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses and/or HUBZone small businesses capable of serving the needs identified below. This is a Small Business Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service- disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Background Recognizing the untapped potential of libraries, librarians, and information services to aid in the nation's disaster management efforts, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Board of Regents' Long Range Plan (2006-2016) Subcommittee recommended that NLM create a "Disaster Information Management Research Center" (DIMRC) to support national emergency preparedness and response efforts. Since the Center opened in 2008, NLM has worked to train and support librarians to serve as Disaster Information Specialists to help meet their communities' information needs in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and public health emergencies. Several pilot projects were conducted by a variety of institutions including the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, New York University, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS, in conjunction with the NIH Library. In March 2011, DIMRC hosted a Disaster Information Outreach Symposium to explore various ways in which librarians can assist their institutions, organizations, and communities. DIMRC also develops disaster and emergency information resources for health professionals and the public. (http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov). These tools include access to the relevant biomedical literature via PubMed (http://pubmed.gov) and the non-commercial literature via the Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (http://disasterlit.nlm.nih.gov), as well as tools to assist in the response to hazmat and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events These tools include the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER; http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov) with information on over 400 chemical, biological, and radiological agents, Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM; http://remm.nlm.gov) and Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM; http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov). NLM, as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recognizes that it is critical to establish relationships with organizations that encourage and foster communication and information access. All those working in disaster medicine and public health need fast and easy access to the most up-to-date and accurate health information to effectively prepare for and respond to incidents. Evidence-based information from past events, incoming information from social media sources, and tools to aid in analysis are needed by health departments, hospitals, academic institutions, emergency management agencies, and non-governmental organizations to assist with disaster planning, as well as for response and recovery. Libraries and librarians are highly qualified to assist with these information needs. Based on our pilot disaster information studies at several institutions since 2008 and the Disaster Information Outreach Symposium in March 2011, NLM funded for the first time in 2011 the Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project for libraries and other organizations to work together to improve awareness of, access to, and use of disaster medicine and public health information by organizations, institutions, and agencies working in any phase of disaster/emergency management (all-hazards). (http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/2011disasteroutreachawards.html) NLM defines "disaster health information" broadly as clinical, public health, medical, and health information needed for preparedness, response and recovery from all-hazards disasters and emergencies, including public health emergencies. "All-hazards" includes natural events, terrorism, industrial accidents, transportation accidents, public health emergencies such as major disease outbreaks, chemical/biological/radiation/nuclear events with potential for causing mass casualties, and other incidents that require emergency response or have the potential to exceed local response resources. Objectives The purpose of the Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project is to design programs for improving disaster medicine and public health information access for health professionals, first responders and others (paid or volunteer) that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response and recovery. (See the section below on Target Audiences.) Emphasis is on providing information or access to health and medical information in a way useful to the target audiences, and increasing the awareness and utilization of high-quality, professional-level online medical and public health information resources on disaster, all-hazards, and emergency topics including resources from the National Library of Medicine listed in the Background Information above. The purpose is also to promote new and creative collaborations on disaster health information needs among and to the mutual benefit of librarians, information specialists, or informationists and the disaster workforce. Project Requirements Projects must involve one or more of the following information access categories: 1. Needs Assessment: To determine and evaluate disaster health information needs, available resources, training needs, preferred information access tools, gaps in types or content of materials, and other aspects of the provision of information services by and for librarians and the disaster workforce. 2. Roles in Providing Disaster Health Information: To develop new or expanded roles for librarians/informationists with organizations that have major disaster health-related responsibilities and/or to develop new or expanded roles for disaster workforce members' participation in development, evaluation, promotion and use of health information resources. To promote cross-training and mutual awareness of each organization's disaster roles and health information needs. 3. Practices and Methods in Information Sharing: To develop collaborative information practices, methods, and communication tools among information organizations (libraries or similar) and disaster organizations for sharing of health information to enhance disaster planning, situational awareness, response, and recovery. Practices and tools could address, for example, building community resilience, online mapping of post-disaster resources, use of social media in disasters, biosurveillance, and other means for enhancing communications. Projects may also support the health information needs of an institution developing continuity of operations plans or disaster response plans, but funds will not be provided for actually doing that planning. 4. Skills Development: Training to develop skills in accessing or using disaster health-related information including the use of online databases and general disaster information resources in order to improve services, benefits the community, and enhance understanding of the context for using disaster information. This may include training for the staff of an agency, development of training programs for clients and patrons, training programs for other agencies, etc. 5. Information Retrieval: To provide or improve access to electronic disaster medicine and public health information resources for organizations with disaster-related responsibilities or by the clients they serve and to implement access to state-of-the-art disaster health-related information tools via the Internet or mobile devices. This may require the purchase of hardware (computer equipment), software, or contractual relationships necessary to obtain a connection to the Internet for the benefit of organizations with disaster responsibilities and for the purpose of accessing and sharing disaster health-related information. 6. Document Access: Access to disaster health-related documents and other types of health information. This may include the enhancement of library collections, development of connections between disaster-related organizations and local health sciences or other libraries to obtain use of their collections, to procure interlibrary loan services, etc. Anticipated Period of Performance It is anticipated that the period of performance shall be for twelve (12) months from the date of award. Awards are anticipated to be made in September of 2012. Other Important Considerations The proposed acquisition will be procured in accordance with the policies and procedures under FAR 12 . All responsible sources may submit a capability statement which will be considered by the National Library of Medicine. This Sources Sought Notice is not a Request for Proposal (RFP), nor is an RFP available. Interested firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice must adhere to the following: (a) Provide a capability statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirements for the above. The capability statement should contain enough sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabilities; however, the statement should not exceed 10 pages. (b) The capability statement must identify the responder's: small business type and size; DUNS number; NAICS code; and technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. (c) All capability statements must be submitted electronically no later than 4:00pm eastern standard time on Friday, May 25, 2012 to Keturah Busey, at
[email protected]. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).