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PRESOLICITATION NOTICE PROCUREMENT TITLE: NINDS Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. A REQUEST FOR PRO... PRESOLICITATION NOTICE PROCUREMENT TITLE: NINDS Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) NO. NIH-NINDS-003225, ENTITLED: " NINDS Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course " WILL BE ISSUED VIA CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES WWW.SAM.GOV ON OR ABOUT April 20, 2022. The purpose of the Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course is to prepare students from populations traditionally underrepresented in science, such as the American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN), to be competitive applicants for the NIH Summer Intern Program (SIP). NIH seeks colleges, universities and medical schools uniquely situated near AIAN communities and suited to provide a scholarly scientific curriculum and administer the AIAN SIP Prep Program. The Traditional Knowledge component of course cannot be presented by anyone outside the Native community. Brief History: The 2022 Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course is a two-year program to prepare students from traditionally underserved populations to be competitive applicants for the NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP). As recent NIH policy dictates that students under 18 years old are no longer eligible for the program unless accompanied by a legal guardian, many students, especially those from underserved areas, are no longer able to make arrangements to attend the program. NINDS is taking this opportunity to approach this very important part of the NIH mission from a different tact. NINDS in collaboration with the NIH Tribal Health Research Office, will provide a program that will not only continue to provide an opportunity for underserved students to have a science research experience, but will prepare theses students so that once able to attend the students will be competitive with their peers. Moreover, the mission of the NIH is to develop, maintain, and renew scientific human resources that will ensure the Nation's capability to prevent disease. Therefore, encouraging enrollment of new trainees in NIH Program would be in line with the mission. Objective of this program is to expose diverse students to basic laboratory procedures, including planning experiments, evaluating data, keeping a laboratory notebook, reading and evaluating journal articles, and understanding basic laboratory techniques. Each program will also include a medical or clinical component exposing the students to opportunities and research in the medical field as well as a Traditional Knowledge component and internship and college application preparation. The objective of this contract is to provide comprehensive summer training to AIAN students in support and preparation of attending the NIH in the next few years. This is to include strategic planning and program development to support Scientific Research Preparatory Summer Course. The scope of the contract requirement includes: The contractor will be expected to conduct a seven (7) to eight (8) week summer internship program. The base period summer program will be based on the attached curriculum and schedule. The internship participants will number between 10-15 rising junior AIAN high school students for an introductory to research session (base period summer program) and a one day fall activity that will build off of the summer program for the students. Option Period One will have a one-day spring of 2023 activity building off of the prior summer curriculum and fall activity for the same group of students. The contractor is expected to develop their own curriculum for option period one summer program which is more advanced and builds off of the lessons learned in the base period summer program. In Option Period One, the contractor will utilize best efforts to retain the same group of students who participated in the Base Period. In the event a student who participated in the base period summer program elects to not participate in the option period one summer program, the contractor shall recruit and replace the departing student with a rising senior student capable of meeting the requirements of the more advanced curriculum in the option period summer program. This requirement is specific to AIAN students, therefore any recruitment of students who are not specifically AIAN are subject to approval from the Contracting Officer's Representative. The Contractor shall furnish services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government under the terms of this contract. The Contractor must have demonstrated extensive experience providing program support services, working with underserved populations, specifically AIAN populations, and coordinating programs to increase scientific experience. The contractor must have evidence of an ongoing relationship with the tribal community for whom they will provide training. The contractor shall oversee a developing summer science curriculum for underrepresented individuals living on an AIAN reservation or living near the tribal community. The base period summer curriculum is provided by NINDS and is attached. The contractor will develop their own option period one summer program curriculum. Government Responsibilities Review individual’s credentials before the final selections are made for all levels of the required personnel. No access to government facilities required. Government will not provide any space or equipment to contract personnel. Delivery or Deliverable Task 1: Identify qualified key personnel for the program; travel personnel as needed. Coordinate with universities, colleges, local tribal colleges, medical schools in the region to help locate qualified personnel. Task 2: Coordinate with local universities to provide oversight for a Traditional Knowledge activity. Task 3: Define and identify the supplies (both administrative and scientific) as well as all curriculum needs for the entire program. Task 4: Coordinate with local universities and/or medical schools in region to provide a laboratory environment to host the summer program. Task 5: Coordinate local travel for students to summer program, if needed. Task 6: Coordinate with local high schools and selected personnel to recruit and identify 10-15 rising high school junior AIAN students capable of participating in the base period summer program and fall activity. Students recruited shall be capable of returning for the Option Period 1 spring activity and summer program. Suppose a student participant from the base period does not return for the summer program in Option Period 1. In that case, the contractor shall coordinate with local high schools on a rising senior student capable of meeting the more advanced summer curriculum of Option Period 1. Option Period 1 is a government option and is not guaranteed. Task 7: Develop and oversee an eight-week summer curriculum and schedule with selected personnel, including a list of seminar and workshop titles and speakers for Option Period 1 that is more advanced and builds off of the seven (7) or eight (8) week base period curriculum and contract activities. The contractor will utilize best efforts to maximize retention of student participation. Task 8: Coordinate with selected personnel to provide a list of the activity for the spring and fall semesters. The one-day fall activity in the base period should develop from the student lessons learned in the base period summer curriculum. The one-day spring activity within option period 1 should be built from the student lessons learned in the base period summer curriculum and fall activity. The contractor shall coordinate with students’ participants for scheduling that works best to maximize participation for the fall and spring activities. Task 9: Provide an agenda for both the summer welcome and farewell ceremonies to the COR. Task 10: Provide certificates for students for closeout ceremony. Task 11: Create weekly and/or final evaluations for the summer program for participant feedback, collecting data on the effectiveness and areas of improvement of the program, student learning outcomes, the satisfaction of training activities offered (both scientific and professional development), the quality of teaching/classroom environment, administrative processes, student demographics, etc. Also, students are expected to record their weekly thoughts of the program; what information was valuable for them both personally and professionally. It should be submitted to the COR at the end of the summer program. Task 12: Track all participants’ academic progression and successes for at least 3-5 years after completing the program. This could include if the student consistently had a strong GPA throughout high school and college academic years (3.0 or above). Also, if the student enrolled and pursued a science major after graduating from High School and/or participated in the NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP) or an equivalent summer research training program after leaving the program. The estimated period of performance is on or about: Base Period: 5/15/2022– 1/18/2023 Option Period 1: 1/19/2023 – 9/16/2023 The Base Period includes a seven (7) or eight (8) week summer program provided with the attached schedule and curriculum. The base period will also include a one-day activity to be held during Fall of 2022 for the same students who participated in the summer program. The Option Period 1 will include a one-day activity to be held during the Spring of 2023 and a seven (7) or eight (8) week summer program. The NINDS anticipates awarding one or more fixed-price contracts from the solicitation with a base period and one option period. There is no obligation for the NINDS to exercise any Option Period; NINDS may end the contract after the Base Period. It is also anticipated that the award(s) will be made in May of 2022. Offerors are required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) when submitting an offer or quotation, and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from a solicitation. Processing time should be taken into consideration when registering. Offerors who are not registered in SAM should consider applying for registration immediately upon receipt of this pre-solicitation. See FAR 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2018) and https://www.sam.gov for information on registration. This is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP). Request for Proposals (RFP) No. NIH-NINDS-22-003225 will be available electronically and may be accessed through the Contract Opportunities on sam.gov 15 or more calendar days after the issuance of this synopsis. THIS SOLICITATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY ONLY. OFFERORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ROUTINELY CHECKING THE WEBSITE FOR ANY POSSIBLE SOLICITATION AMENDMENTS THAT MAY BE ISSUED. NO INDIVIDUAL NOTIFICATION OF ANY AMENDMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED. All responsible sources 0may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the agency.