Inactive

Contract action was not awarded competitively. See attached LSJ.

Inactive SBA Certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program Sole Source (FAR 19.15)

This is a presolicitation/notice of intent to sole source for services prepared in accordance with FAR Part 8. It is the intent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Behavioral and Soc... This is a presolicitation/notice of intent to sole source for services prepared in accordance with FAR Part 8. It is the intent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) to procure professional services on a sole source basis from Lexical Intelligence, LLC, 13013 Arctic Avenue, Rockville, MD 20853 to provide data analytics for two focus areas for OBSSR as stated in the strategic plan are to “Enhance and promote the research infrastructure, methods, and measures needed to support a more cumulative and integrated approach to behavioral and social sciences research” (Priority Two) and to “Coordinate behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) programs across the NIH and integrate BSSR within the larger NIH research enterprise” (Foundational Process). The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) 541511- Custom Computer Programming Services. Background: This SOW tackles BSSR tracking and integration by advancing BSSR analytics. We are building a cumulative knowledge base across the behavioral and social sciences through multiple approaches. These include: I. Improving BSSR ontological tools and resources [Ontologies] by a. Enhancing the representation of BSSR terms in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database. II. Tracking NIH BSSR grants and publications to identify trends, successes, and gaps [Tracking BSSR Portfolio]. a. Understanding the representation and integration of BSSR in the NIH Portfolio by improving the coding and categorization of BSSR grant applications. b. Exploring methods to track and map BSSR publications along a translational research plane. Ontologies An ontology is “… a systematic method for articulating a ‘‘controlled vocabulary’’ of agreed-upon terms and their inter-relationships. To move BSSR fields forward and ensure that the behavioral and social sciences are more fully integrated into the larger biomedical enterprise, we must have terminology that is more explicit, sharable, and interoperable within and outside of BSSR. OBSSR has pursued several activities for ontology development, including using natural language processing (NLP) to build taxonomies, integrating calls for ontology development into NOFOs, and commissioning a National Academies of Sciences consensus report on this topic. Within the ontologies space, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is used for indexing articles in PubMed and is an important area of focus for OBSSR to assure better representation of behavioral related terms (e.g. adding new terms, descriptors, and synonyms). OBSSR has already worked to enhance the representation of BSSR terms and synonyms in MeSH, particularly in the areas of attention and learning; race and ethnicity, social determinants of health; and Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains. Furthermore, an evaluation method to prioritize MESH terms was developed, which was used to submit a prioritized list of to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). We have also been working on approaches to evaluate the effect of these terminology additions on the quality and quantity of literature retrieval. A manuscript of methods and results will be developed and published on this previous work. In the current SOW, we build on this existing body of work in the ontologies space to develop a comprehensive resource of behavioral and social science-controlled vocabularies, taxonomies and ontologies. Additionally, we will continue to evaluate the impact of adding new terms to MeSH and disseminate these findings. Purpose/Objectives: This contract requires two separate task areas as outlined below. Various NIH personnel will work on the individual task but one OBSSR point of contact will oversee all projects and coordinate across them. For all tasks, the contractor shall convene a kick-off meeting within two weeks of contract award to discuss details and timelines for each task area. Additionally, the contractor shall regularly consult and collaborate with the NIH COR, project team, and other subject matter experts to review progress and provide input. The contractor will submit monthly progress reports to summarize methods and results to date, completed activities, upcoming activities, and unanticipated issues. The contractor will also submit a final report summarizing methods and findings across both task areas. Contractor Requirements, Tasks and Deliverables: All written draft and final deliverable products shall be submitted in electronic copy for review and comment. All deliverables shall be sent electronically in Microsoft Word or Excel format per the following deliverable schedule: See Statement of Work Period of Performance: September 9, 2023 – September 8, 2024 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under the resultant contract shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility. Sole Source Justification: The work in the SOW requires specialized expertise and a deep understanding of behavioral ontologies as well as intricate knowledge of underlying NIH grants data behind the NIH firewall. Lexical Intelligence is uniquely positioned to fulfill the requirements in the SOW due to their unique expertise in both areas. Lexical has developed a proprietary natural language processing (NLP) platform to identify novel behavioral concepts and link them to the established MeSH hierarchy. The NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis, a sister office to OBSSR at the NIH, currently has a license to utilize this proprietary platform. The NLP platform has a number of unique characteristics that are required for this project, including compatibility with existing data processing routines and data representations at NIH, such as iSearch. Lexical Intelligence has used these unique capabilities in previous work with OBSSR to improve the indexing and representation of behavioral related terms within the National Library of Medicine’s MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to support OBSSR’s goal of behavioral ontology development and move the field toward formalized, shared, interoperable taxonomic systems which define the types of behavioral phenotypes and describe their interrelationships. Moreover, as a General Services Administration (GSA) vendor, Lexical Intelligence offers discounted rates that make this work much more cost effective given the complex skillset that is required. Taking advantage of these capabilities will enable efficient completion of the requirements. Additionally, Lexical Intelligence has unique access to and an understanding of the intricate and complex data underlying NIH grant applications. They have been instrumental in developing key NIH tools for analyzing the contents of funded and unfunded research. Lexical Intelligence’s expertise and knowledge about the underlying details and technicalities of this project will be critical for ensuring its success. Their data scientists and analysts have a unique understanding of project goals as they have previously worked with OBSSR to develop and characterize behavioral ontologies and elucidate complex grant funding data. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), nor is a RFQ available; however, all responsive sources may submit a proposal in a timely manner which will be considered by NIH. Firms interested in responding to this notice must be able to provide the required services, property, facilities and funding specified in the SOW and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies. 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. Responses shall be in writing and shall be electronically transmitted to briscoee@mail.nih.gov by 2:00 PM EST on Monday, August 14, 2023. Responses shall include pricing information and shall reference Presolictation/Intent to Sole Source Notice No. 75N97023Q00066.