Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE) Operations and Maintenance Support

Under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contemplates entering into a negotiated, Cost reimbursement type contract with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), of Laure, MD Solicitation procedures will be IAW/FAR Part 15 with applicable subpart 16.3. Under this contract JHU/APL will provide enhancements, operations and update training courses and update end-user documentation tools for ESSENCE to ensure that jurisdictions can use ESSENCE effectively. ESSENCE is a web-based syndromic surveillance system designed for the early detection of disease outbreaks, suspicious patterns of illness, and public health emergencies. ESSENCE collects, processes, and analyzes non-traditional data sources (i.e. chief complaints from hospital emergency departments, poison control center calls, over-the-counter pharmaceutical sales, etc.) to identify anomalous disease activity in a community. The data can be queried, analyzed, and visualized both temporally and spatially by the end user. To the best of our knowledge JHU/APL is the sole developer of the ESSENCE software and is the only one who can provide operational maintenance, support, and enhancements to the ESSENCE system per their license agreement. However, any responsible source who wishes to be considered may submit a quote addressing the requirements of the request for quotes (RFQ) when issued. The RFQ and any amendments to the it will be posted on https://beta.sam.gov/ . No hard copies of the solicitation and amendments will be mailed. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing ONLY to Berta Alldredge at [email protected].