Product for online literature searching capability

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited
to bid
Attachment: None
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
Dialog LLC
2250 Perimeter Park
Suite 300
Morrisville North Carolina
United States
27560
Nature of Requirements: 
BACKGROUND
Defence R&D Canada (DRDC) is an agency of the Canadian
Department of National Defence responding to the scientific and
technological needs of the Canadian Forces. 
The mission of DRDC is to ensure that the Canadian Forces remain
scientifically and operationally relevant. The agency is made up
of eight research centres located across Canada with a corporate
office in Ottawa. With a broad scientific program, DRDC actively
collaborates with industry, international allies, academia,
other government departments and the national security
community. 
OBJECTIVE
The DRDC library system supports the information needs of the
agency's scientific, technical, and corporate personnel. The
provision of library services includes performing literature
searches for clients (DRDC staff). The objective of this
contract is to provide DRDC with a product for online literature
searching capability in support of DRDC programs and activities.
 
Literature searches provide researchers with vital knowledge
related to their fields of study, both of what has already been
published on their topics of interest and also, by inference, of
topics that have not been previously studied by others.  
DESCRIPTION 
The product for online literature searching capability must
provide access to multiple databases. Search results from the
product must be of a scholarly level and contain, at a minimum,
full bibliographic citations and also abstracts for the vast
majority of citations.  Whenever possible, the citations should
include the full text of the articles.
The product must be multi-disciplinary and contain within it
access to databases that cover fields of study such as medicine,
biosciences, psychology, engineering, sociology, military
studies, transportation, aerospace, computers, electronics,
education, history, language and linguistics, business and
industrial relations, mathematics, pharmacology, physics,
textiles, and toxicology.  In addition, it must provide access
to information about patents, trademarks, dissertations,
translations, newspapers and conference papers and also provide
directories to periodicals, books and companies.
ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN)
The purpose of this ACAN is to signal the government's intention
to award a contract for these goods to Dialog LLC, Morrisville,
North Carolina. Before awarding a contract, however, the
government provides other suppliers with the opportunity to
demonstrate that they are capable of satisfying the requirements
set out in this Notice, by submitting a statement of
capabilities during the fifteen calendar day posting period.
If other potential suppliers submit statements of capabilities
during the fifteen calendar day posting period that meet the
requirements set out in the ACAN, the government will proceed to
a full tendering process on either the government's electronic
tendering service or through traditional means, in order to
award the contract.
If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a
statement of capabilities meeting the requirements set out in
the ACAN, a contract will be awarded to the pre-selected
supplier.
REQUIREMENT
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf
of its Client, Defence R&D Canada, intends to enter into a sole
source contract with Dialog LLC, for the supply of an online
literature searching capability product. 
Deliverables
1) Provide 7 logins (or sub-accounts) for the DRDC account.
Optional Requirement:
The contract will also include irrevocable options to exercise,
at the sole discretion of the Crown, two (2) additional periods
of one (1) year each to renew the subscription.
MANDATORY FEATURES / REQUIREMENTS
The required functionality of the product:
(1)	Ability to search in all parts of the product at one time
(for example, search in several databases at once) and then
combine all of the results into one set and remove any
duplicates;
(2)	Ability to search for cited references, i.e., a researcher
already has an article and wants to find out who else has cited
this article;
(3)	Ability to confine search terms to certain fields, i.e. look
only for authors, title words, descriptors, etc.
(4)	Each article must be assigned descriptors, i.e. key words
that descriptively index the article;
(5)	Ability to email neat, easily readable search results to the
researchers;
(6)	The data must be updated on a regular, frequent basis,
preferably daily, weekly or monthly;
(7)	Ability to construct complex search strategies, i.e. perform
smaller searches and then combine their results into more
complex searches - Boolean logic is mandatory;
(8)	 Ability to save search strategies for future use;
(9)	Capability for selective dissemination of information.
Librarians must be able to set up a search strategy and then
save it and have it run periodically, searching for new
citations that meet their search criteria. 
(10)	 Access to such databases (or databases equivalent to, or
data equivalent to the data contained in such databases) as
Medline, EI Compendex, Inspec, NTIS, ERIC, PsycINFO, SciSearch,
Social SciSearch, ABI/Inform, Dissertation Abstracts Online,
Transportation Research Information Services, Inside
Conferences, World Textiles, EMBASE, Wilson Applied Science and
Technology Abstracts, PASCAL, MathSci, World Translations Index,
Derwent World Patents Index, Wilson Humanities Abstracts,
McGraw-Hill Companies Publications Online, and Jane's Defence
and Aerospace News/Analysis.
The contractor must be able to: 
(11)	 Invoice DRDC on a monthly basis for the actual use of the
product (that is to say pay-as-you-go) up to and not exceeding
the maximum value of the contract.  DRDC does not want a deposit
account. 
(12)	Charge for individual citations on a gradual scale of
costs.  That is to say that DRDC pays little or nothing for the
titles of citations and then more if the full bibliographic
citation and the abstract for selected items are chosen.  
(13)	Provide DRDC with documentation and/or an itemized invoice
to track the cost of the searches in the product on a monthly
basis. This documentation should be sent via mail or email to
the DRDC Technical Authority, or be available online.  
(14)	 Provide each DRDC centre with a separate log-in so that
DRDC research labs can track the usage of the product per
centre.  The contractor should provide 7 logins (or
sub-accounts) for the DRDC account.
(15)	The product must be available via password login on the
internet through the DRDC network and remotely for library
personnel that telecommute.  This means username/password access
as per #14.   
(16)	Product training and technical support on an as needed
basis; for example, ensuring access via password, database
searching instructions and/or guides.
Dialog LLC is the only known online literature searching
capability product that can meet all of the above mandatory
requirements.  Section 6 of the Government Contract Regulations
is being invoked in this procurement as only one person or firm
is capable of performing the contract.

Annex 502.3(E)(1)(c) of AIT is applicable on the basis of
limited tendering due to reasons when, contracts with the only
supplier able to meet the bid requirements, including contracts
to ensure compatibility with existing products, to recognize
exclusive rights, such as exclusive licences, copyright and
patent rights, or to maintain specialized products that must be
maintained by the manufacturer or its representative.

The conditions of the developer's shrink-wrap license are not
acceptable to the Crown.  the proposed Contractor must have the
authority to negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract
and the related licensing terms including, but not limited to;
limitation of liability, indemnification, transferability of
license, termination/refund to the Crown.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available
to meet the specified requirements may submit a statement of
capabilities in writing to the Contracting Authority 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 closing date and time for accepting statements of
capabilities is 3 July 2012 @ 5:00pm Eastern Time.



Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Rob Picco, Supply Team Leader
Commercial Acquisition and Supply Management Sector (CASMS)
 
Place du Portage III, 6B3 - 30
11 Laurier Street,
Gatineau, Quebec  K1A 0S5
 
Tel: 819-956-9564
Fax: 819-956-8799
Email: robert.picco@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

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
officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and
agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (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.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available
to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a
statement of capabilities in writing 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 PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the
closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the
envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile
transmission, on the covering page.

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

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.