The Request for Information will help Homeland Security's Science and Technology directorate identify the level of interest from for-profit and non-profit or not-for-profit M&O contractors; gather information on the capabilities available for the effective management of the NBACC facility; and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the base of prospective contractors and potential teaming arrangements.
The NBACC facility will function as part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick, Md. Other participants in the National Interagency Biodefense Campus include the Departments of Defense, Agriculture and Health and Human Services. The Request for Information will be published on the Web site of the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (www.usamraa.army.mil), under "News." USAMRAA currently oversees other acquisition activities at Fort Detrick.
The mandate of the NBACC facility is to provide the nation with essential biocontainment laboratory space for biological threat characterization and bioforensic research.
The goals of the programs conducted at NBACC are to expand the United States' biological threat knowledge base, reduce public health consequences of biological attacks, and strengthen U.S. biomedical defenses. TheNBACC provides knowledge of infectious properties of biological agents, effectiveness of countermeasures, decontamination procedures and forensics analyses to support policy makers and first responders in the development of policies, programs and technologies.