Inactive

Sources Sought Notice for Agricultural Research Data Catalog and Repository Service This is a Sources Sought Notice issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for informational and p... Sources Sought Notice for Agricultural Research Data Catalog and Repository Service This is a Sources Sought Notice issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for informational and planning purposes only. This is NOT a solicitation, nor is it an announcement for a forthcoming solicitation. Submission of any information in response to this notification is purely voluntary. The Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred in providing a response. This notice does not constitute a Request for Bid, Request for Quote or Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. Responses to this notification will help to determine the acquisition strategy for any future solicitation. The information from this notice will help the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA), National Agricultural Library (NAL) plan their acquisition strategy. NAL is seeking a contractor to perform the following: Background The Department of Agriculture was established by the Act of May 15, 1862, as amended (The Organic Act of 1862), which sets forth a mission, "to acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture, rural development, aquaculture and human nutrition in the most general and comprehensive sense of those terms" and places upon the Secretary the responsibility to "procure and preserve all information concerning agriculture rural development, aquaculture, and human nutrition." The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) carries out this mission by leading America towards a better future through agricultural research and information. ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination to: ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products assess the nutritional needs of Americans sustain a competitive agricultural economy enhance the natural resource base and the environment Purpose and Scope The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (ARS) National Agricultural Library (NAL) Knowledge Services Division (KSD) seeks to update technical platform for the Ag Data Commons, a public catalog and generalist repository service for scientific data assets produced as a result of USDA-supported research. The platform shall have out-of-box features of a data repository based on data management best practices and needed to meet the CoreTrustSeal certification requirements, as well as features of a data catalog, with manual and automated ingest capabilities. The provider shall have technical expertise, experience, and resources needed for customization and implementation of the platform for the National Agricultural Library. The platform must have features, supporting discoverability for open agricultural research data outputs and support the Ag Data Commons’ mission of making federally funded research data open, accessible, and machine-readable to support USDA’s research community meet both public access and open data requirements. The technical platform must provide capabilities enabling continuation of current services provided by the Ag Data Commons to its target audiences. It also must help resolve the problems of existing platform and infrastructure. The contractor shall provide technical, management, and support services for implementing and maintaining the platform. Technical and Specific Requirements See Attached Statement of Work SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested vendors are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notification no later than 4:00 p.m. on 28 July 2022, to the attention of Sarah E. Zhang, Contract Specialist, at sarah.zhang@usda.gov. The email subject line must specify “Sources Sought for Ag Data Catalog and Repository Service”. Responses should be no more than 10 pages and include the following information: Organization Name; Contact Name, e-mail address and phone number; Organizations UEI number; Any contract vehicles you participate in such as General Services Administration (GSA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC), or any other vehicle; Business size status for the applicable NAICS code; A statement of capability with appropriate detail how the vendor intends to fulfill the requirements listed within the statement of work. Interested vendors are instructed to provide only the data requested. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any nonproprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Any additional information will not be reviewed by the USDA. NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. DISCLAIMER: This Sources Sought Notice is not a RFQ and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as quotes, nor will any award be made as a result of this notice. All information contained in the Sources Sought Notice is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this Sources Sought Notice. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought Notice. This Sources Sought Notice will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this Sources Sought Notice that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed.