ACAN - SHOTGUN METAGENOMIC SEQUENCING BIOINFORMATIC SERVICES

This Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) intends to award a service contract to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a Statement of Capabilities. If no supplier submits, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in this ACAN, the Contracting Officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

REQUIREMENT:
The contractor will provide bioinformatics services to AAFC for two on-going grazing microbiome research projects aimed at applying metagenomic tools to better understand how grazing management practices (grazed or not grazed, grazing intensity, grazing timing, stocking rate, etc.) impact the soil microbiome and specifically the carbon-cycling/sequestration capacity of soil, to aid in understanding the effects of grazing management on the soil microbiome and how this impacts forage production in Canada for the Agassiz Research and Development Centre, Agassiz, BC.

SCOPE OF WORK / DELIVERABLES:
The Contractor shall:
- process 32 samples from a rotation grazing trial and provide key files generated by the pipeline;
- process 48 samples from a long-term grazing experiment with an elevational gradient and provide key files generated by the pipeline;
- process 48 samples from a fire and grazing experiment and provide key files generated by the pipeline;
- process 80 samples from long-term grazing sites in central Alberta and provide key files generated by the pipeline;
- process 40 samples from a long-term grazing trial focused on soil depth and glycomics and provide key files generated by the pipeline;
- Process all samples through CAZy database.

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES:
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a Statement of Capabilities that they are a bioinformatic service provider and capable (i.e., expertise and computing capacity) of processing the above mentioned samples through the ShotgunMG bioinformatic pipeline (https://github.com/jtremblay/ShotgunMG).

CONTRACT PERIOD: From Contract Award to March 31, 2024, with a option to extend by three (3) x one (1) year periods.

ESTIMATED VALUE: $18,375.00 (including GST)

Optional Services, if required:
April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2027 - $55,125.00 (including GST)

PRE-IDENTIFIED CONTRACTOR:
Julien Tremblay
1580 Beaudet
St-Laurent, QC, H4L2K2

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION:
AAFC has conducted an extensive search (i.e., a search online for potential service providers in Canada) for bioinformatic service providers that can run our shotgun metagenomic pipeline). Through our search we found that most service providers only provide microbiome community profiling and some provide functional gene profiles, which is not sufficient for our needs (i.e., they do not utilize a co-assembly step which is critical for our analyses). Only the identified service provider is capable and willing to process our samples through the ShotgunMG pipeline which is required for our research projects.

Government Contracts Regulations Exception and Limited Tendering Reason:
Section 6 (d) has been invoked for this procurement as only one supplier (person/firm) is capable of performing the Contract.

Where, for works of art, or for reasons connected with the protection of patents, copyrights or other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where there is an absence of competition for technical reasons, the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.

ACAN NOTICE:
You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the Contracting Authority.

An ACAN allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than 15 calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a "Statement of Capabilities" that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the Contracting Authority may then proceed with the award. However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the Contracting Authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Submission of Statement of Capabilities:
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services described herein, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing, either via letter or email to the contact person identified in this notice, on or before the closing date of this notice. The Statement of Capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

The Solicitation Number, Name of Contracting Authority and closing date of the ACAN must appear within your Statement of Capabilities in block letters.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

CONTRACTING AUTHORITY:
Melissa Smith, Contracting Specialist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Western Service Centre
300 – 2010 12th Avenue
Regina, SK S4P 0M3
Phone: 306-515-4796
Email: melissa.smith3@agr.gc.ca