SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Data Visualization Tools.
- Notice Date
- 2/6/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Acquisitions and Grants Services, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 2129, Rockville, Maryland, 20857-0001
- ZIP Code
- 20857-0001
- Solicitation Number
- 1098771
- Point of Contact
- Gregory A. Green, Phone: 3018277154
- E-Mail Address
-
Gregory.Green@fda.hhs.gov
(Gregory.Green@fda.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Data Visualization Tools This Request for Source Sought / Information (RFI) is being issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 10, Market Research. It is for information, planning and market research purposes only and shall not be construed as either a solicitation or obligation on the part of the Food and Drug Administration or its Centers. The purpose of this RFI is to help the FDA understand the industry best practices, technical solutions, and sources capable of meeting the FDA's requirements. FDA welcomes responses from all interested parties, but does not intend to make a selection decision or award a contract on the basis of response nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted or FDA's use of such information. Respondents will not be notified of the outcome of the FDA's review of the information received. Additionally, the FDA does not intend to hold discussions concerning this RFI with any interested parties, but reserves the right to contact vendors if additional information is required for clarifications as it pertains to the RFI. Specifically, the Government seeks to verify that its Data Visualization Tools requirement is commercially available; if there are any questions/comments about the FDA's requirements and clarify gathered information about sources available to meet the FDA's requirements. SOURCES SOUGHT: Determine the availability and capability of qualified small businesses (including Small Business Administration Certified 8(a) Companies; firms in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone); Veteran and Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses; Small Disadvantaged; and Women-owned small businesses) to provide commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software that can be utilized by reviewers during review of product submission for the purpose of data visualization to explore study data. FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Division reviewers conduct product reviews, during which, frequent exploratory questions arise. Attempts to answer such questions typically require analysis and exploration of study data collected during the conduct of studies as submitted to CDER with applications for approval. Currently, exploration of this data is limited by lack of access to a review tools providing robust, modern data visualization tools. This RFI is to identify data visualization tools which can potentially be used in the review environment to aid in typical review activities involving data exploration and analysis. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the outcome of the FDA's review of the information received. Additionally, the FDA does not intend to hold discussions concerning this RFI with any interested parties. This request is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this announcement. However, FDA reserves the right to contact one or more of the respondents if additional information is required or to request demonstrations of available systems. Responses to this announcement will not be returned, nor there any ensuing discussions or debriefings of any responses. However, information obtained as a result of this announcement may be reflected in the subsequent solicitation if issued. This announcement is Government market research, and may result in revisions in both its requirements and its acquisition strategy based on industry responses. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing to Gregory Green at Gregory.Green@fda.hhs.gov. RESPONDENTS MUST SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENT VIA E-MAIL to Gregory Green at Gregory.Green@fda.hhs.gov no later than February 13, 2012, 12:00 PM Eastern Time for consideration. Requirements: (Functional) The Government requires commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software Data Visualization Tools. • Data visualization tools shall be able to create graphical representations of study data, with the goal of providing the viewer with a qualitative understanding of the information contents. • Study data includes data that is typically submitted to CDER in support of application approval. Includes human clinical trial and animal toxicology study data existing in the SAS transport (.XPT) file format. • Solutions shall be 508 compliant and in addition describe the following capabilities: a. Ability to leverage study data standards (i.e., CDISC specified study data standards) that CDER is currently encouraging for data submission (See the FDA study data standards catalog for details found on page: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/DataStandards/StudyStandards/default.htm. b. Ability to search and identify data points for visualization/exploration. c. Ability to manipulate study data (study data, analysis data, and associated metadata), graphical entities (points, lines, shapes, images, text) and attributes (color, size, position, shape, characteristic) to allow for interactive data exploration. d. Availability of templates and/or for user-creation of templates that can easily be used for generation of graphical representations. e. Drag and drop capabilities for data and graphical entities that aid in the creation of graphical representations. f. Ability to generate reports that can be easily imported into a MS Word document or PowerPoint presentation. g. Traceability support allowing users to easily understand and access the origins and derivations of data elements as they are described in the define.xml file. h. Describe any additional unique features of your suggested product. Technical Information Provide information that shall allow us to understand the technical requirements for installation of your product. This shall include a description of the existing installation options (server-based, workstation, desktop, etc.) as well as the system requirements for each of these options. Provide additional information about the licensing options, such as site licensing, virtual-server licensing, user licensing. Instructions: Interested parties shall submit the following information along with other documentation that shall help the FDA better understand the functional capabilities of available solutions. 1. Provide a suggested available COTS solution and/or solutions that may meet the FDA's objectives as listed above and general rationale for suggested solutions(s). 2. Please advise what FDA requirements listed above can be developed out of the box, with configuration or as a customization. 3. Please note whether your COTS software tool is a perpetual or a term license. 4. Provide a written explanation for points that standard marketing or technical reference materials do not explain about your suggested solution (s). 5. Generally, are the solutions purchased directly from the manufacturer or are they available through licensed resellers? 6. If the products are only offered by the manufacturer, are there licensed small businesses, 8a, women-owned, veteran-owned, HUB Zone vendors, etc. that are available to provide training and customizations? 7. Would it be beneficial for the Government to issue two (2) contracts (one for the purchase of license / maintenance; and the other for configuration, training, customization) to promote competition and fair opportunity? 8. What acquisition vehicles are available to purchase proposed software tools and services that would make the acquisition process more efficient? (GSA, GWACs, NASA SEWP, etc.) 9. Please provide any additional input on how the FDA can best procure the software licenses. 10. Generally, what tasks are associated with implementing your suggested solution(s)? 11. What information would be helpful in determining the level-of-effort for implementation of the software tool? 12. What standardized support is provided by the manufacturer with purchase of the selected COTS tool? 13. Do you suggest the FDA purchase customized support in addition to the standardized support? If so, what type of customized support is offered for suggested solutions? 14. What information would be helpful in determining the level-of-effort for customized support of the software? 15. Do most companies that sell Data Visualization Tools offer standardized training at a fixed price? If so, is it possible to customize the standardize training to meet the FDA's needs? 16. Explain the standardized training and/or online help that shall be available to the end users with your product/solution. 17. Provide publicly available pricing information, price lists, pricing strategies, discount strategies, etc. Provide and explain pricing model(s) (Le., license-based, user based, number of documents, peak queries per second (qps), average qps, size of all documents/files/text within documents, size of index file(s), other. Include annual maintenance model. Provide the pricing model for training offered. Provide the pricing model for your professional services offering. 18. Please identify product modules that are included in your pricing estimate. 19. Disclose whether your business is in the manufacturing of the product/solution or if your business is a reseller or third party. 20. Explain whether or not your product adheres to Section 508 Accessibility Requirements which requires Federal agencies to ensure that individuals with disabilities who are members of the public or Federal employees have access to and use of electronic and information technology (EIT) that is comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities. See http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm for more information. 21. Explain how the suggested solutions are compatible with FDA's Technical Environment identified in section 2.0 or can be configured to be compatible. Identify risks that shall be associated with configuring the software to be compatible with the FDA environment. 22. List of where product/solution is currently in use. Provide point of contact, telephone number, contract number, period of performance, organization supported, indication of whether a prime or subcontractor, contract value, and a brief description of how the contract referenced relates to the technical services described herein. 23. Skills and Certifications: Provide unique technical skills and relevant certifications your staff and company possesses, which demonstrates capability to perform the tasks. Responses: Responses to this notice shall be limited to ten pages (excluding marketing literature and/or technical data sheets), and must include: • Company name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and FAX numbers, website address (if available), and the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives. • Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. • Original Equipment Manufacturer's marketing literature and/or technical data sheets. • Customary practices regarding customizing, modifying or tailoring of items to meet customer needs and associated costs. The flexibility of the COTS software to allow for data visualization to explore study data. Additionally, the possible scalability of available systems. • Commercial pricing list or other pricing information. • Customary practices, including warranty, discounts, contract type under which commercial sales of the products or services are made. • Any questions concerning the FDA's requirements for the Data Visualization Tools. Omissions from the requirements information that are needed to meet the Government's need; such as what services may be required in subsequent years for hosting, operations, maintenance, and training. • In order to ascertain if the system is commercially available, deployed and proven; a listing of other organizations that have implemented the Interested Party's system. • Business size and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages). • DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Companies also must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR, at www.ccr.gov) to be considered as potential sources. • Identification of the available contract vehicles; such as: GSA Federal Supply Schedules (schedule/contract number and appropriate Special Item Numbers) or other GWAC vehicles by Agency and contract number.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/FDA/DCASC/1098771/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: RFI / Soures Sought Only, United States
- Record
- SN02668741-W 20120208/120206234924-76242dfd18ca46e748e96da79005c199 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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