Inactive

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the avai... This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. For equipment/supply requirements, small business responses must include: (1) the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture), as well as (2) the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule). Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background: The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) was established to transform the translational process so that new treatments and cures for disease can be delivered to patients faster. The development and implementation of clinical interventions is a complex, iterative, and time-consuming process that takes years before discoveries in biomedical research result in health benefits for patients and communities.? NCATS conducts and supports research in the science of translation to discover the operational principles of the intervention development and dissemination processes, thereby providing the scientific foundation for improvements in translational efficiency that will accelerate the realization of interventions that improve human health. The NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program is one component of the NCATS Strategic Plan to advance clinical and translational science (CTS); it is designed to develop and implement innovative solutions that will improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of the process for turning observations in the laboratory, clinic, and community into interventions that improve individual and public health. The CTSA Program is a national consortium of medical research institutions, called ‘hubs’, that collaborate locally and regionally to catalyze innovation in training, research tools and processes to improve the translational research process; it includes other CTSA Program initiatives as well. As one of the largest NIH clinical and translational science programs and an exemplar for team science, NCATS envisions the CTSA Program progressing towards a standards-based, interoperable network in a cloud environment. From 2011 to 2017, support for the coordinating activities of the national collaborative consortium that comprises the CTSA Program was provided by the CTSA Consortium Coordinating Center (C4) under a grant to Vanderbilt University (U54 TR000123). In 2017, the CTSA Program Center for Leading Innovation & Collaboration (CLIC - https://clic-ctsa.org/about/clic) continued the coordinating activities under a grant to the University of Rochester (U24TR002260). CLIC support includes coordination of consortium activities; data coordination services to collect, analyze and transform CTSA Program data into actionable insights that accelerate patient impact; provision of a dynamic ecosystem that supports collaboration and team science across the consortium, including innovative collaboration tools; transparent communication; and dissemination of information to make the progress and impact of translational science visible to internal and external stakeholders. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this potential requirement is to provide the NCATS with coordination, communication and operations support to create and promote effective collaboration among CTSA Consortium participants. Anticipated activities may include implementing innovative approaches to the collection, analysis, use and dissemination of various types of data to assess the impact of the CTSA Program; fostering effective communication to support CTSA Program activities; and strengthening collaboration and team science among the participants and stakeholders. The contractor shall work closely with the CTSA Program hubs, centers, external partners, stakeholders, and NIH staff in order to accomplish these goals. Project requirements: The potential requirements include the following: The Contractor shall provide coordination and operations support to the CTSA Program through: 1. Collection, analysis, and management of data to assess the impact of the CTSA Program hubs and the CTSA Program Consortium, including: Provide appropriate expertise and leadership for collecting, analyzing, and displaying data related to the strategic management of the CTSA Program. Develop a transparent system to collect, curate, analyze, visualize and archive data from CTSA Program hubs and publicly available resources. Provide a secure method for transmitting raw data files to and from the CTSA Program hubs. Mine publicly available resources for data relevant to CTSA Program participants. Store all data in NCATS cloud environment. Design, implement, analyze, and archive surveys and interviews of CTSA Program participants with the guidance of NCATS Subject Matter Experts. Train and provide technical assistance to personnel at the CTSA Program hubs to ensure accurate reporting and quality control of the data. Provide scientific programmatic analyses and reports required for oversight and strategic coordination of the CTSA Program, including stories of CTSA investments and impact for dissemination. 2. Foster effective communication to support internal CTSA Program activities and engage key external stakeholders, including: Establish and make available a web portal using the established NCATS web environment, for shared communication and dissemination of information which includes both public and restricted access sections. Provide links to other public databases and resources hosting relevant information. Examples of items for posting on the web portal may include: News, events, publications and statistics about the CTSA Program; Activities and information of general interest to all CTSA Program participants and NCATS staff; Tools, methods, training modules, and best practices for clinical and translational science; Results of surveys, as directed by NCATS; Available resources (e.g., the NCATS Streamlined, Multisite, Accelerated Resources for Trials (SMART), such as the IRB Reliance Platform tools); CTSA Program innovations (e.g., https://clic-ctsa.org/ctsa-program-projects-initiatives) to promote translational science; Standard operating procedures, policies and resources developed by other members of the CTSA Program. Ensure information on web portal is accurate, timely, and updated. Organize and conduct formal and informal meetings (in-person and/or virtual) of the members of the CTSA Program Consortium and external stakeholders, as appropriate. Responsibilities include operational and logistics support for meetings of steering committees, CTSA Program participants, discussion forums, work groups, consortium groups, task forces and other ad hoc events such as periodic elections. Collect information from various stakeholders within the CTSA Program and create, review, and disseminate the CTSA Program Newsletter; content will be pre-approved by NCATS prior to publication. Coordinate and manage all aspects of periodic solicitations such as white papers, consensus documents, announcements, reviews, votes and notifications, for CTSA Program participants. Provide virtual workspace on the established NCATS web environment for CTSA Program discussion forums. Create and disseminate information via social media platforms, including video-based media. Facilitate communication with other key stakeholders that may include, but are not limited to: other NIH institutes, government agencies (e.g., Food and Drug Administration), research organizations (e.g., PCORI), research and disease foundations, the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, the research community, patients and families, and patient advocacy groups. Place all relevant activity and project materials into the public domain concordant with governance policies and protocols. Coordinate development of manuscripts describing results, interpretations, and conclusions of CTSA Program activities. 3. Strengthen collaboration and team science, including: Support collaboration efforts to advance the strategic goals of the CTSA Program. Identify translational science research gaps and disseminate information on translational science successes. Disseminate education and training resources and materials, including workshops, externship offerings, conferences and courses, and provide education and training on their use and application. 4. Final Transition The Contractor shall design and implement an approved Final Transition Plan prior to the expiration of the contract. The Final Transition Plan shall provide for the efficient, orderly and safe transition of contract activities, data systems, documents and other information to the successor contractor or to the Government, without loss of time or interruption to the conduct of ongoing CTSA Program activities. Anticipated period of performance: It is anticipated that an award may be made in Fiscal Year 2022. Should this potential requirement be solicited, the anticipated period of performance shall include one 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods to extend the term of the contract. Capability statement /information sought. Clearly indicate whether respondents must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement, “white paper,” answers to questions/issues, etc. This may include requests for: respondents’ opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition, possible solutions and approaches that may currently exist in the marketplace, and information regarding innovative ideas or concepts; information regarding respondents’: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information; general information regarding the respondent’s estimate or rough order of magnitude of the effort or time that may be required for completion of the work. (NOTE: This type of information may only be requested as part of an RFI. However, care must be exercised in requesting such information. Information requested must be: (a) necessary; (b) broad in scope; and (c) used for planning purposes only. Detailed estimates must not be requested.); The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The information submitted must be must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. The response must be submitted to Rieka Plugge, Contracting Officer, at rieka.plugge@nih.gov. The response must be received on or before September 10, 2021, 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time. “Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in betaSAM. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).”