Inactive

THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Under the authority of FAR 13.106, the USDA ARS intends to negotiate a non-competitive award, on a sole source basis, a Firm Fixed Purchase Order (PO) to STEVE... THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Under the authority of FAR 13.106, the USDA ARS intends to negotiate a non-competitive award, on a sole source basis, a Firm Fixed Purchase Order (PO) to STEVE MICHEL, 1027 POMONA AVE, ALBANY, CA 94706. Due to the continuity of essential services, this order is to retain the current local Subject Matter Expert (SME - Contractor) Database Developer & System Administrator for the required database development & administration support services as describe herein to maintain continuity of the previous services performed by USDA USS and to support of the ongoing GrainGenes Database research at USDA ARS, WRRC, CIGRU, Albany, CA. The USDA ARS, Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Crop Improvement & Genetics Research Unit (CIGRU), Albany, CA requires a local Subject Matter Expert (SME - Contractor) Database Developer & System Administrator who will improve & enhance their GrainGenes Drupal-based web interfaces; develop & implement web applications that link various types of genetic data in the GrainGenes database; and ensure & maintain smooth, reliable, and secure operation of development & production servers through daily, on-site inspection of servers, and implementation of necessary physical equipment. - This SME will aid in providing the same or similar database development & administration support services of the GrainGenes Database that were previously the primary responsibility of one of the Unit's Service Scientists (URS) for approximately 20 years; he was a Category 4 SY. The URS was an expert in barley genetics and programming & database design; thus, the person was uniquely suited to translate the needs of the grains research community into a database that could house genetic research data in a user-friendly way. Over the course of 20 years, the URS designed & adapted the database to accommodate new types of genetic data, new client needs, new database content management systems and user interfaces, and new programming languages. Therefore, it is highly critical & essential for the continuity of these ongoing development & administration services to replace this functionality, because content management systems, software, genetic data and user needs are continuously evolving. - The SME would only perform the development & administration component of the GrainGenes Database Project; not the research because the other scientists of the GrainGenes Project will continue the research component. The associated salary & benefits for the development & administration support services will be comparable with the current Federal Salary (equivalent to GS-13/10) & with Robert Half Technology (RHT) salary guide for Technology Professionals in the Bay Area. - The SME is required to have at least four (5) years of experience in developing & adapting modules within a Drupal content management system; at least two (3) years of experience in migrating large data sets from older to newer version of a Drupal content management system: at least one (1) year of experience in leading Drupal development teams specifying features & schedules; at least one (1) year of experience in database query optimization; and at least one (1) year of experience in Linux server management; at least one (1) year of experience in working with genetic map visualization software such as CMAP; at least one (1) year of experience in working with biologists in curating their large genetic data sets into database and display them through a Drupal interface; and at least one (1) year of performing system administration for computer clusters for scientific computing. - The SME is required to work with a biologist for the curation of new small grains data into the database schema. - The SME will be required to perform on-site work 40 hours per week and to interact with other GrainGenes Project personnel to maintain continuity of the required support for the ongoing research at WRRC, CIGRU, Albany, CA. Since the summer of 2016, the WRRC, CIGRU have been searching for a Subject Matter Expert (SME - Contractor) Database Developer & System Administrator with similar knowledge, experience & skills as those of the USDA ARS, Unit Research Scientist, who primarily performed these required services & development of the GrainGenes Database. After the USS retired, this Federal scientist position was abolished, and as a result, a position that could cover the database development and administration functions the scientist had performed was advertised in many scientific communities & public places: • for students/new grads: https://www.zintellect.com/Posting/Details/3309 (DOE/ORISE site) (posted on 5/11/2017) • for professionals: the job ad was posted on craigslist (posted on 8/22/2017) on the GrainGenes job board (posted on 10/16/2017) • for Drupal developers: BADcamp workshop https://2017.badcamp.net/job-posting/usda/programmer-system-administrator (posted around 10/18/2017) Over this 18-month period, WRRC, CIGRU have received about 2 dozen resumes applying for this position and have interviewed 6 people. None except for the potential candidate, Steve Michel, possessed the extensive and combined experience in the Perl and PHP programming languages, and the Drupal content management system that are required to understand, adapt and modernize the scripts that underlie the GrainGenes database operations. Steve Michel possesses the needed unique experience in database modernization, being familiar with both PHP and Drupal. He has experience migrating older databases that are no longer supported by their vendors to various versions of Drupal and rewriting code from Perl into Python. In the past 20 years, he has designed numerous web applications for several different databases using the Drupal framework. As a result, his expertise & services were contracted on February 1, 2017, and he has been providing specialized services working with the GrainGenes database, interface, and computational infrastructure, and the GrainGenes team including curator biologists. The GrainGenes is a publicly accessible one-of-a-kind scientific database that houses genetic information about the small grains: barley, wheat, oat, and rye. Its back-end consists of a MySQL database in the LINUX operating system. The database has a Drupal user interface. The primary programming languages are Perl and PHP. A database developer is needed to adapt the older PHP interface to a modern Drupal content management system, to write scripts and design protocols that seamlessly link the different types of data to one another, and to integrate traditional genetic data with a new type of data, namely genomic DNA sequences. The database is publicly accessible 24/7, so any modifications that are made must be done in a duplicate offline database and then thoroughly tested before being incorporated in the accessible database. Due to the continuity of these essential services & required expertise, the period of performance must continue starting on May 8, 2019 to May 7, 2020; and 40 hours/week & on-site are required. Along with FAR Part 12 & FAR Subpart 13.106 procedures, pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETTIVE QUOTES; a determination, by the Government, not to compete this proposed order/contract based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested parties who believe they possess the capability to satisfy this requirement should submit documentation that clearly demonstrates their capability. The Government will consider all responses received by 10:30AM PST, APRIL 23, 2019. Information received will be considered solely for determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to the Primary Point of Contact: Washingtoni.NLN@ars.usda.gov. THE AWARD DATE WILL BE ON OR ABOUT APRIL 25, 2019, and again, this Notice of Intent is not considered as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) nor is it a Request for Proposals (RFP). No solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be honored.