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Data Science Summer Fellows Program for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)


Maryland, United States
Government : Federal
RFP
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Sources Sought Number: HHS-NIH-OD-OLAO-SS-20-001

This is a SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. It is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts or quotations. The purpose of this notice is for market research purposes and will be used to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform the potential requirement described herein in the statement of work.

Project Title: Data Science Summer Fellows Program for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)


Description:


The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is conducting a market survey to determine the availability and potential technical capability of ALL small business concerns to provide services to the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) in its role as NIH's coordinator of data and computer science-related activities across all 27 NIH Institutes and Centers. NIH's mission is "to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability". In implementing that mission, NIH conducts research in its own laboratories, supports research of non-Federal scientists at universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout United States and overseas, helps train research investigators, and fosters communication of medical information.


As part of its central coordinating role, NIH ODSS is seeking capable student interns with expertise in computer and data science and related fields to join offices across NIH for the summer and contribute to the unique missions and data science needs of each interested NIH office.


Through an established fellowship program that strives to expose computational students to public service opportunities at many federal agencies across the Washington, DC area, ODSS seeks the expertise of an organization specializing in and partnering with other organizations that are experts in student summer programs to manage the recruitment, application, review, and selection processes, and to facilitate matching NIH offices with interns with skills in data research, data science, product management, and software design/engineering. Interns will provide customer/user-centered research, prototypes, and evidence-based recommendations for the analyses of datasets, design of new tools, and development of other products.


Objective of this Procurement:


Through an established fellowship program that strives to expose computational students to public service opportunities at many federal agencies across the Washington, DC area, ODSS seeks the expertise of an organization specializing in and partnering with other organizations that are experts in student summer programs to manage the recruitment, application, review, and selection processes, and to facilitate matching NIH offices with interns with skills in data research, data science, product management, and software design/engineering. Interns will provide customer/user-centered research, prototypes, and evidence-based recommendations for the analyses of datasets, design of new tools, and development of other products.


Responsibilities of the Contractor:


The contractor is responsible for recruiting and hiring up to 50 candidates, providing logistical support of travel to/from Bethesda, MD and short-term housing for student interns, managing and implementing payroll, mitigating any work-related issues with the student interns (together with NIH), and generally overseeing the student interns. The contractor is expected to manage intern/employer issues as they arise and work with the COR if staffing changes or early termination are needed. The selected student interns will serve as fellows for NIH for a 10-week duration with the expectation that they work primarily onsite in the Bethesda/Rockville vicinity. The student interns shall be able to work 40 hours per week for the duration of the 10-week program and at the time of applying to the fellowship (e.g., the winter prior) shall be currently enrolled in an accredited higher education institution. The contractor or its partners should also provide training opportunities and support for the fellows; for example, regular professional development opportunities and mentors not affiliated with the NIH office in which a fellow is placed. Mentors should be local to the area and have expertise in computational and data-related fields.


Responsibilities of the Government:


The Government will provide furnished office workspace, computers, printers, and other material items needed to perform the services required by the task orders each host office develops. The government will also coordinate an NIH orientation session for the selected student interns, schedule intermittent meetings to share information and discuss projects, and organize a forum at the end of the session for interns to present a final report (in the form of a PowerPoint or a poster). The government will also provide central mentorship, as well as mentorship at the level of each office.


Overview of Required Services:


1. Student Outreach and Recruitment


NIH is seeking student interns with skills in data research, data science, product management, software design and engineering, and/or database engineering. Interns will provide customer/user-centered research, prototypes, and evidence-based recommendations for the analyses of datasets, design of new tools, and development of other products. To recruit students with this expertise, the contractor is expected to work with partners as needed and have a vast and diverse network outside the biomedical research space. The contractor and/or partners must have mechanisms and a plan in place for reaching to and beyond that network to bring in the best diverse talent. An established, competitive program with track records for recruiting talented individuals is desired.


2. Application Receipt, Processing, and Evaluation System


The contractor shall have in place a process to solicit and receive applications safely and securely, process the applications to determine if students meet minimal requirements and possess several of the additional desired qualifications (both listed below), and evaluate the interns based on their qualifications and the needs of the agency. NIH expects that the contractor has a tested process in place to internally rank, select, match interns with skills and experience most appropriate for the task orders put forth by the NIH host offices, which will be communicated by the COR following award.


Required Staffing Qualifications:

The contractor must identify interns that meet the following minimum requirements:


• Are U.S. Citizens
• Are enrolled full-time in an accredited institution of higher learning, or graduate no earlier than Winter quarter/semester prior to the summer of matriculation at NIH
• Are able to start the fellowship in Bethesda/Rockville, MD at the start date agreed upon by contractor and NIH
• Have completed at least one technical internship, work experience, or project
• Have been previously involved in the "tech for good" space (e.g., leader of a campus club, volunteer in local communities, or contributor to open-source projects)


Anticipated Period of Performance:


The period of performance is expected to be for one twelve-month base period and four twelve-month option periods, anticipated to awarded by December 1st, 2019.


Other Important Considerations:

Respondents' capability statements should address the following:


1. Respondents should describe (if any) existing strategic sourcing affiliations such as Government Wide Acquisition Contracting (GWAC), GSA Schedule, or any other existing contract vehicle they may possess.


2. Respondents should demonstrate any affiliations with organizations (nonprofit, educational intuitions or other) where there is a related data community, as described above in the requirements. Please detail the inter-workings of the network in terms of recruiting expertise, their history of performing similar services, and how they intend to seek diverse applicants (in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and life experiences).

3. The capability statement must demonstrate experience in recruiting for this specialized expertise and history of performing similar services and recruitment resources with students of this expertise.


Submission of Capability Statements and Delivery Instructions:


In 7 pages or less any interested business organization should submit a capability statement of their organization which demonstrates their ability to supply the services described above. Respondents should also include any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisitions requirements. The NAICS Code for this requirement is 611710 with a business size of $16.5M.


Responses must reference the sources sought number HHS-NIH-OD-OLAO-SS-20-001 and include the following: (1) Name and Address of the organization (2) Indicate Business Size (i.e. 8(a), SDVOSB, Woman-Owned, etc.), pursuant to the applicable NAICS code 611710 (3) Point of Contact with name, title, phone, fax and email (4) DUNS number (5) Contractors capability statement should address the methodology for meeting the objectives referenced in the statement of work and the important consideration mentioned above (6) List of organizations to whom similar types of services have been previously provided to include contract number, dollar value, name and phone number of contracting officer.


ALL INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUCEMENT
MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE OF: NOVEMBER 1, 2019 AT 1 P.M. EST.


Emailed responses are authorized (either in Microsoft word or PDF), but it is up to the
vendor to ensure that the email is received by the government. Responses by Facsimile
(FAX) will not be accepted. All questions and/or comments must be in writing and may be emailed to O. Joy Ajao at ajaooj@mail.nih.gov.


Disclaimer and Important Notes:


This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response to this announcement. 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, government will determine the best acquisition strategy to pursue and 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).


 


Oghogho Joy Ajao, Contract Specialist, Phone 3014435655, Email ajaooj@mail.nih.gov

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