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Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Request for Information (RFI) Integrated Healthcare Transformation 2.0 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.... Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Request for Information (RFI) Integrated Healthcare Transformation 2.0 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.201(e)), this is not a solicitation. Solicitations are not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted, or respond to any questions or comments that may be submitted in response to this RFI. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The agency does not intend to award a contract but rather gather capabilities and market information pertinent to acquisition planning. The responses to this RFI will be captured as market research and may contribute to the development of an acquisition strategy. Information provided may be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. PURPOSE This Request for Information (RFI) is for Market Research Only. The purpose of this RFI is to understand industry capabilities related to healthcare transformation and to collect information to enable the development of a future acquisition strategy (include socio-economic consideration and methods). Background The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) recognizes the problems facing Veterans today. VHA healthcare is a complex, integrated system that must transform in response to both the changing needs of the Veteran population and shifts in the healthcare industry. These shifts create challenges and require collaboration (internal and external partnerships) as well as new and innovative approaches to healthcare and healthcare delivery to provide seamless, high-quality, integrated, coordinated healthcare, anytime and anywhere. Emerging initiatives and legislation often require organizational improvements, healthcare transformation, cultural and organizational change. The work is complex and agile and is often best supported using expert contractors who provide critical market-based healthcare industry skills that augment the internal activities of the VHA program offices. Critical aspects include, but are not limited to: Streamlined access to a cadre of professional resources that understand the highly unique needs of healthcare services.  Targeted healthcare industry subject matter expertise for substantive and successful implementation of change and improvement (e.g., Medical Subject Matter Experts in the areas of precision oncology/mental health and suicide prevention/military sexual trauma/geriatrics/research/academia); value-based healthcare modeling; healthcare economics; healthcare population models; patient flow (inpatient/outpatient); health informatics; and healthcare systems redesign.  The ability to support integrated, complex task orders with a wide array of capability areas; access to pre-formed, fully mission capable teams; access to healthcare expertise, and appropriate healthcare labor categories that other vehicles cannot provide; and  Access to large commercial healthcare consulting firms in subcontractor capacity all with streamlined procedures and timelines. Four years ago, when facing these challenges where national reach, breadth and depth of capability and experience, and integration of diverse skillsets were necessary, VA has successfully deployed an innovative, large-scale Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract solution that included contract awards to multiple teams comprised of prime contractor (experienced SDVOSB integrator) and dozens of subcontractors (individual firms). Led by an SDVOSB prime contractor that coordinated with dozens of formal teaming partners (SDVOSBs, VOSBs, small businesses, large business partners, universities, and non-profit organizations), each team combined their reach and collective capabilities to tackle some of VHA s largest professional service requirements. Figure 1 below depicts a representative team built using these principles. Figure 1: Representative Veteran Integrated Team The original Integrated Healthcare Transformation (IHT) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract has met and exceeded the vision for the original vehicle, and the Government anticipates that a next generation vehicle will build upon the successes of the IHT IDIQ, following a similar team-based model, led by mature SDVOSB primes, and broad capabilities crossing multiple service areas. Instructions for Responding to this RFI Through this process, VHA is requesting the capabilities and experience of large and small business contractors interested in providing these services for VHA. Interested small business contractors including Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, are encouraged to respond. The Government requests that contractors respond to the specific questions provided in this request for information. Responses should demonstrate capability, not just confirm corporate capabilities. 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). Response Format/Page Limitations The overall total page limit for responses to this RFI is fifteen (15) pages. Response submissions must be submitted in Microsoft Word format with Times New Roman font, 12 pt. or greater font size utilizing the attached response template (see attachment: 36C10X23R0032 RFI Response Form). Interested parties should limit marketing material to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government. In all correspondence relevant to this RFI please identify it as a response to the VHA Integrated Healthcare Transformation 2.0 RFI 36C10X23R0032 - . (Subject Line of email). Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are requested to limit responses to the information, and in the format provided below. General Information (Cover Sheet and Index, 2 pages) Organization name, address, and web site. (include any previous names used) Company Ownership (public, private, joint venture) Point of contact to include e-mail address and telephone number. Business size (large or small). If small, please provide type of small business/socio economic status. Capability and Market Information Questions Related to Contract and Task Order Administration The IHT Teaming Model relies on industry partners with national reach, breadth and depth of capability and experience in large-scale Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract solutions. Teams, led by an SDVOSB prime contractor coordinating with dozens of teaming partners (SDVOSBs, VOSBs, small businesses, large business partners, universities, and non-profit organizations) are tasked with tackling some of VHA s largest professional service requirement challenges. Under a total SDVOSB set-aside, the Prime contractor cannot pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities (also SDVOSB). In the original IHT contracts, VA enforced and measured subcontract limitations at the order level. Since FAR 19.505(b)(2) gives Contracting Officers latitude in establishing the compliance period through selection within FAR Clause 52.219-14, VA is exploring whether monitoring at the IDIQ contract level will provide overall benefit. Questions: Based on experience supporting large-scale IDIQ contracts in the past, what is your perspective on the methods to track subcontracting limitations (at the contract level versus task order level)? Were there any lessons learned? VA is currently establishing its timelines for a future acquisition and understands that some legwork must done to locate value added partners and establish agreements when building integrated teams meeting the IHT Capability Area requirements. Question: In responding to an RFP for an IDIQ in similar size and scope to VHA IHT, what is a reasonable timeline for proposal submissions? Questions Related to Challenge Areas Through the previous contract, VHA identified the several challenges and areas for opportunities as provided in the table below. VHA Programs have identified the following need areas that may have not been included in the original IHT contracts or where challenges existed (pain points). Specialized Healthcare Operations Health Informatics Electronic Health Record Human Factors/Systems Engineering Business Architecture Legislation and Policy Organizational Structure and Culture Change Implementation Data and Analysis Big data VA data sources, applications, reporting Public sector health data sources Questions: As a participant in this procurement, how would you address the areas of need identified above in the context of an Integrated Teaming model? Which of these are readily available through SDVOSBs and which require substantial contributions from large business partners for broad deployment within these areas? How you would obtain these resources and to what degree they would be provided under the model (assume multiple task orders requiring substantial resources in these areas). In addition to areas under the previous IHT contract, VHA is considering including other capability areas along with associated labor categories (LCATS) below. Labor Categories Under Consideration Clinical Informaticist Engineering Architecture Analyst Standards Development (SDO) Liaison/Knowledge Management Subject Matter Expert (SME) Biomedical Engineering Subject Matter Expert (SME) Facility Planning, Management and Environment of Care Safety Subject Matter Expert (SME) Questions: Is your company able to provide these labor categories under consideration? If not, how would you source these and provide under the Integrated Teaming Model? During the past three years, VHA has faced challenges involving the need to rapidly provide resources within 1-3 days, including senior level and subject matter expert resources. Questions: Is a rapid response (staffing) of 3-5 days or less realistic (what is your standard)? If not, what solutions can be proposed to shorten the timeframe when responding to a rapid response request? In responding, please define the start-stop points of the standard (i.e. days to initiate work, days to staff). If possible, provide an example of how you have responded to such a request in the past and the scope, size, and timeline of the response. Please identify any perceived barriers. A small subset of VHA requirements (often representing the most impactful initiatives) require simultaneous deployment of Contractor personnel with broad capabilities and skillsets to locations geographically located across the United States. Questions: How would your company prepare to support an enterprise-wide initiative that requires at least 30 FTEE of various labor categories to include senior-level project managers and subject matter experts specializing in healthcare readiness and implementation at multiple locations throughout the United States and its territories, simultaneously? If possible, provide an example from the past five (5) years that demonstrates your company s capability (healthcare and VHA examples preferred). If an example cannot be provided, please describe the approach you would use if faced with such a request. What constraints or limiting factors hinder your company s ability to fully support such a request? The original IHT procurement included numerous innovative and leading practices during solicitation and award and through task order competitions. VA is interested in applying other meaningful innovations to the process(es) for the next generation. Questions: Do you have experience using a self-scoring RFP response to the solicitation in the past? If so, what program/agency was this for? What benefits and challenges did you identify? Are there best practices in RFP process you would like to share? What were the benefits/lessons learned? Opportunities for Enhancement / Improvement C1. Please use this space to provide the Government with a description of potential enhancements or improvements that could be made based on you experience with or knowledge of the current IHT IDIQ vehicle. ***************************************************************************** Submission and What s Next Submission: Responses to this RFI shall be submitted to the following points of contact: Allen.Smith3@va.gov, Lashawn.Knight@va.gov, Christine.Corum@va.gov, and David.Oliver4@va.gov, respectively, no later than at 10:00AM ET on Monday, May 15, 2023.   Questions: No questions are being accepted at this time.  RFI Expansion: Depending upon the responses received, VA may request additional information, may conduct future question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or industry engagement sessions. Future Events: Special notices will be posted to SAM.gov for the upcoming National Veteran Small Business Coalition s VETS23 Conference May 22-25, and other upcoming events related to IHT 2.0. 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)  (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.   (b) Although proposal and offeror are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.   (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: Information.  (End of provision) ***************************END OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION***************************