Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source SOLICITATION NUMBER: NIMH20002957 TITLE: Collaborative Research on Anxiety and Attention Bias CLASSIFICATION CODE: R -- Professional, administrative, and management sup... NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source SOLICITATION NUMBER: NIMH20002957 TITLE: Collaborative Research on Anxiety and Attention Bias CLASSIFICATION CODE: R -- Professional, administrative, and management support services NAICS CODE: 541720 – RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESPONSE DATE: April 17, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT: Thien Nguyen Thien.Nguyen2@nih.gov Phone: 301-827-0914 DESCRIPTION: INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate on a sole source bases with Dr Yair Bar-Haim, 325 Congressional Ln, Rockville, MD 20852-1505 NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541720 – Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities with a Small Business Size Standard of 20.5 million. REGULATORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization). The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 20019-01 dated December 1, 2018. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: The Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience (SDAN) is a laboratory designed to conduct brain imaging studies in children and adolescents. Such research requires diverse expertise in cognitive neuroscience techniques. SDAN requires collaborative efforts to enhance the impact of research performed on site at the NIMH. In the past, work with Dr. Yair Bar-Haim has facilitated the impact of research at SDAN by developing new ideas for novel treatments, by creating new techniques, and by implementing studies in unique contexts. For example, the contractor has worked extensively in settings where individuals are exposed to stress. In other ways, there are similarities between the two groups. In particular, both SDAN and Dr. Yair Bar-Haim are interested in clinically significant alterations in brain function in specific mood and anxiety disorders. SDAN requires a leading authority who can clarify how behavioral and electrophysiological correlate with cognitive biases in anxiety. SDAN requires that the consultant has developed well-validated procedures for evaluating processing biases in children and adolescents that are highly congruent with the research question and data acquired by Dr. Pine. These are questions that examine relationships between attention and anxiety. The overall goal of collaboration with the contractor is to delineate aspects of brain function that relate to both normal and pathological processing of emotionally salient stimuli. SDAN and the contractor’s group have used similar protocols in research with anxious and behaviorally inhibited children, in both brain imaging and behavioral studies. SDAN continues to seek a consultant to provide the following: (a) the development and wide-spread implementation of attention training protocols for anxious children to be incorporated in a study on efficacy of cognitive treatments; and (b) an implementation of a novel attention shifting tasks for fMRI research in anxious and non-anxious children and adolescents. The contractor has a leading role in all these projects including overseeing the technical work of research fellows, data analysis, and writing of scientific reports. The purpose of this acquisition is to acquire a contractor to oversee the dissemination of these methods to other collaborating laboratories. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below. The Contractor shall: a. Provide expertise in attention bias training; b. Provide expertise in psychological and behavioral experiments in research on pediatric mental illnesses. Specialized expertise in computer paradigms is required; c. Provide expertise in the use of cognitive training paradigms as clinical treatments; d. Provide expertise and prior work experience in a biomedical setting, with diverse types of scientists. The Contractor shall be familiar with multiple types of data and procedures for collecting such data. The results of the market research indicate the following: The Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience (SDAN) is a laboratory designed to conduct brain imaging studies in children and adolescents. Such research requires diverse expertise in cognitive neuroscience techniques. SDAN requires a leading authority who can clarify how behavioral and electrophysiological correlate to cognitive biases in anxiety. SDAN requires that the consultant continues its ongoing relationship that has developed well-validated procedures for evaluating processing biases in children and adolescents that are highly congruent with the research question and data acquired by Dr. Pine. SDAN seeks a consultant to provide the following: (a) the development and wide-spread implementation of attention training protocols for anxious children to be incorporated in a study on efficacy of cognitive treatments; and (b) an implementation of a novel attention shifting tasks for fMRI research in anxious and non-anxious children and adolescents. Dr. Bar-Haim fits these criteria and would continue to have a leading role in all these projects including overseeing the technical work of research fellows, data analysis, and writing of scientific reports. In the past, work with Dr. Bar-Haim has facilitated the impact of research at SDAN by developing new ideas for novel treatments, by creating new techniques, and by implementing studies in unique context. Moreover, his extensive experience of examining relationships between attention and anxiety in a neuroscientific research setting, exclusively qualifies him for this work. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Yair Bar-Haim is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the services required by NIMH. The intended source is: Yair Bar-Haim 325 Congressional Ln Rockville, MD 20852-1505 CLOSING STATEMENT THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, NIMH20002957. Responses must be submitted electronically to Thien Nguyen, Contract Specialist, at thien.nguyen2@nih.gov. and Valerie Whipple, Contracting Officer, at valerie.whipple@nih.gov. U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.