Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Office of Acquisitions, 6120 Executive Boulevard, Suite 600, Room 6004, Bethesda, MD 20892-7195.

Note:This synopsis follows a Sources Sought notice that was released on April 10, 2012 under number N02PC25010-N3.

Description

The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is planning to award a contract for Technical and Logistical Support for Cancer Surveillance. The purpose of the anticipated requirement is to provide technical and logistical support to facilitate collaborative efforts in cancer surveillance, including cancer simulation modeling using a multi-cohort approach, flexible broad-based natural history models of cancer, and comparative modeling managed through a web-based knowledge management system with adaptable data structures. The Contractor should be able to complete tasks in the following areas:

• Support, Maintain and Adapt an Existing Web-Based Knowledge Management System- The Contractor shall be provided the content and source code of the current knowledge management system developed by the previous Contractor (HHSN261200800002C; Cornerstone Systems Northwest, Inc.) and shall assume support and maintenance of the system. This system includes the ability to create and maintain email lists and contact information; posting and tracking manuscripts, posting data resources; manage shared files, specifications, and template output spreadsheets; facilitate the changing affiliations of collaborators, and the addition of new collaborators. The Contractor shall support a variety of data structures that are easily adapted to the needs of different types of projects in cancer surveillance. These data structures can include both free-form topics in which notes and various ad-hoc artifacts are stored. As common patterns are identified, the Contractor shall add structure to support functions such as manuscript workflow, meeting logistics, presentation storage, citation storage, etc. The system supports access controls by groups to allow ad-hoc subgroups to share documents securely in cases where results are  confidential. Finally the system supports manuscript controls including stamping and locking PDFs to the specific user that downloads them.

The Contractor shall provide basic support for the existing knowledge management system for projects in cancer surveillance supported by NCI, including providing content maintenance (as described above and below); archiving or removing outdated materials; maintaining linkages between documents; and adapting the page layouts to meet the needs of collaborators. The Contractor, in consultation with the Government, shall provide appropriate links and materials for posting to Government public web sites. The Contractor shall provide system enhancements, including such features necessary for enhanced file management; email and conference call planning and organization tools; searchable listserv communications; and listserv archiving services.

• Support, Maintain and Update the Project Profiler - The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content for the existing Project Profiler, a portion of the web-based knowledge management system developed by the prior Contractor for templated project documentation, and shall assume support and maintenance. The existing Project Profiler web application includes a flexible versioning system which allows older versions of the project profiles to be available; and informing readers that newer versions are available and guiding them to updated materials as appropriate. The Contractor shall provide training for new users, and moderate incoming content to make it consistent with other similar projects. The Contractor shall guide users as profiles are uploaded from their own private sites where they have first developed their project profiles, to a group collaborative site (i.e. a site open to selected NCI staff and all appropriate users), and finally to public websites (either maintained by others or the Contractor). The Contractor shall adapt the existing Project Profiler.

• Support, Maintain and Update the Project Registration and Discovery System - The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content of an existing Project Registration and Discovery system. The Contractor shall maintain this public-facing system that is a searchable registry of projects in which users briefly describe their projects using a number of generalized project attributes, as well as, brief free-form descriptions of the projects' purpose, relevant domain and development team specifics. The system will provide a high level view of projects and will be searchable across projects.

• Support and Development of Project Model Interface Systems - The Contractor shall provide support for assisting in the development of web-based interactive public interfaces for specific projects. These interfaces will help the general research community to better understand a project and allow users to explore the responses to inputs. The Contractor shall be provided with the source code and content of existing interface systems, and be responsible for enhancing existing systems and develop new working interface systems.

• Hardware and Software Support -

The Contractor should have a proposed available system that will be compatible with entry into the current system:

1. Implemented as an IIS-based ISAPI extension running under Windows 2008 Server built with MS Visual Studio tools.

2. Application's run-time data is stored in .dbf files accessed via a COM middle-tier component written in Visual Foxpro 9.0.The content storage format is XML, to be transformed server-side to HTML for cross-browser display.

3. Gecko, Trident and Webkit browser rendering engines to support Mozilla V6 and higher, MS Internet Explorer V8 and higher, Chrome VII and higher, and Safari V5 and higher.

4. The content stored in the Collaborative Knowledge Database and the Model Profiler shall be retrievable in at least three different formats: HTML, XML, and PDF.

• The Contractor shall provide all hosting and technical support. This will include internet connection, hardware, software licenses, security certificates, security patches, backups, new user accounts, monitoring, etc. The web-server environment shall include an active hardware-based firewall, a passive hardware-based intrusion detection system, and warm backup server.

It is anticipated that the project will be awarded for four years followed by three (3) one-year options, with the period of performance beginning on or about January 1, 2013. Request for Proposal Number N02PC25010-N3 will be available on or about August 20, 2012, and may be accessed through the FedBizOpps website and the National Cancer Institute home page at http://rcb.cancer.gov/rcb-internet/index.jsp The NAICS Code is 541512. All responsible sources may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted.

POTENTIAL OFFERORS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNLOADING THEIR OWN COPY OF THE SOLICITATION AND ANY POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS. ALL INQUIRIES SHALL BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO THE CONTRACT SPECIALIST LISTED AS THE POINT OF CONTRACT HEREIN.

Point of Contact
Johnny Mack, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-435-3780, Fax 301-402-8579, Email mackj@mail.nih.gov

Alternate Point of Contact
Jill Johnson, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-496-8612, FAX 301-402-8579, Email jill.johnson2@nih.gov