SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Science Writing, Editing, Reporting and Planning
- Notice Date
- 9/13/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Research Contracts Br., 6120 Executive Blvd. EPS Suite 600, Rockville, MD, 20852
- ZIP Code
- 20852
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-NCI-20161-NV
- Response Due
- 9/24/2002
- Archive Date
- 10/9/2002
- Point of Contact
- Deborah Moore, Purchasing Agent, Phone (301) 402-4509, Fax (301) 402-4513, - David Keefer, Contracting Officer, Phone (301) 435-3801, Fax (301) 480-0309,
- E-Mail Address
-
dm170b@nih.gov, dk63h@nih.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial service, prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation, No. RFQ-NCI-20161-NV includes all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through FAR FAC 2001-08. The acquisition is being made in accordance with the test program for using simplified procedures for certain commercial services authorized in FAR 13.6. The North American Industry Classification code is 541990, and the business size standard is 6M. This solicitation is set-aside for small business. Background: The National Cancer Institute?s (NCI) mission is to stimulate and support scientific discovery and its application to achieve a future when all cancers are uncommon and easily treated. The fact that the burden of cancer is borne unequally in our society is not only a challenge to science but a moral and ethical dilemma for our Nation. The overarching goal of the NCI articulated in its Strategic Plan to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities is to understand the causes of cancer health disparities and develop effective interventions to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate them. To direct the implementation and coordination of activities to achieve this goal, to support NCI health disparities research opportunities, and to provide an organizational locus for NCI in translating discovery into delivery, NCI established the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) in FY 2000. Through NCI-supported research and extramural programs, CRCHD?s activities are designed to develop a better understanding of the causes of disparities and to support the development of effective, evidence-based strategies to intervene where disparities exist. NCI also has established a variety of infrastructures and initiatives to improve understanding of disparities and develop strategies and interventions to overcome them. These activities provide a firm foundation from which to expand and intensify our efforts as the Institute moves forward to ?bridge the gap? between research discovery and service delivery. Through the leadership and support of CRCHD, NCI will invest in research to examine the inequalities in cancer and the social, cultural, environmental, biological, and behavioral determinants of cancer, the interactions among them, and the mechanisms by which they contribute to disparities in cancer care and prevention. CRCHD will support initiatives to develop sustainable interventions, and identify priority areas for future policy development that are based on scientific and expert evidence to ameliorate cancer health disparities. Purpose and Objectives for this procurement: NCI?s long-term investment in biological research and our more recent investments in behavioral research have helped us make enormous strides in understanding how biological and behavioral factors determine risks for developing or dying from cancer and how interventions can modify these risks. Much less is known, however, about the effect that factors such as social position, economic status, cultural beliefs and practices, and environmental exposures have on cancer risk. CRCHD will lead the Institute in examining the relative importance of social causes to their development and their relation to factors that result in unequal access to high quality cancer diagnosis and treatment. To do this, CRCHD will conduct and support fundamental research into the social causes of health disparities, the psychosocial factors that mediate them, and the biologic pathways that can explain their impact. CRCHD is developing and will pursue a research framework that builds upon the growing evidence that socioeconomic, cultural, health care provider, institutional, and environmental factors contribute substantially to cancer-related health disparities. The elements that influence health disparities are complex, and their interactions are largely unknown. While health disparities have been framed historically in the context of racial and ethnic disease differences, racial and ethnic classifications have always been socially and politically determined and have no legitimate place in biological science. There is broad agreement among experts that racism, borne of racial and ethnic classifications, is rooted in the erroneous concept of biological superiority and is a part of the cultural framework of societal, institutional, and civilizational values that continues to shape scientific thought. CRCHD has launched a series of workshops and seminars through which we can better address, using new frameworks, the fundamental aspects of population diversity and the development of diseases. The recommendations emerging from these meetings will form the foundation for NCI?s research and program development. The power of scientific discovery must be used to elucidate the meaning and effect of the human circumstances in which differential disease burdens occur. In summary, to reduce cancer-related health disparities in our society, we must understand where biological, behavioral, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors interface. We must separate myth from reality to determine what does and does not contribute to these disparities and use that insight to develop new interventions. And we must design new research investments to explain: 1) the relative importance of social, cultural, and environmental determinants of cancer; 2) how social, cultural, and environmental factors interact with biological and behavioral determinants; and 3) by what mechanisms social, cultural, and environmental determinants may increase cancer incidence and mortality and contribute to cancer-related health disparities Statement of Work: Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the below: CRCHD activities are wide-ranging and diverse. The contractor will provide CRCHD with planning, analysis, advice, and working papers to be used in the planning, development, and implementation of various meetings related to cancer health disparities issues, and scientific and technical writing for projects that emerge from these meetings. The contractor is required to attend and co-lead all planning meetings related to the planning and development of these meetings and projects, and is required to develop working papers that guide the discussion in each meeting. The contractor is also required to attend any related meetings that the Director, CRCHD deems necessary for the development of the project. CRCHD plans to conduct a total of seven (7) meetings throughout the year. These meetings will deal with emerging issues that relate to cancer health disparities and the unequal burden of disease. The topics of these meetings will vary based on research priorities of the National Cancer Institute?s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, and, at times, in partnership with the priorities of the scientific divisions of the National Cancer Institute with respect to emerging issues of concern related to cancer health disparities. CRCHD may convene up to four (4) planning and leadership meetings (with up to 25 participants), two (2) issues analysis forums (with up to 25 participants), and one (1) large think tank meeting (with up to 100 participants). The meetings will be by invitation only, and will include clinicians, researchers and nationally and internationally leading experts in a variety of disciplines, advocates, or other individuals. The contractor is required to attend all meetings, and to be an advisor throughout the meetings to the Director of CRCHD as he leads the proceedings. These meetings may take place in the Washington D.C. area or elsewhere in the United States, and will last from one (1) to three (3) days. The following is a description of each type of meeting: 1) Planning Meeting - No more than 25 experts will be invited to participate in a discussion to examine the scope and characteristics of a specific issue related to health disparities, and will outline a plan of action to address this issue. (One to two days in length); 2) Leadership meeting - No more than 25 experts, NCI and CRCHD staff will develop and lead the implementation of a plan of action to address a specific issue. Similar to planning meetings in format and length of meeting; 3) Issues Analysis forum - No more than 25 experts will be invited to evaluate and analyze the evidence compiled, including literature surveys, surveillance evidence reviews, etc., related to a specific issue. Similar to Planning and leadership meetings in format and length of meeting; and 4) Roundtable Meeting - No more than 100 persons will be invited to participate in a roundtable discussion to carefully examine the breadth of the issue, identify alternative evidence-based solutions and develop effective strategies to eliminate factors that contribute to cancer health disparities. The meeting will have an individualized format based on the scope of the issue. (One to three days in length). Delierables: Immediately upon award of the order, the contractor should schedule a meeting with the Program Officer to discuss upcoming meetings and pre-meeting deliverables: 1) Draft working papers for planning and development of initiatives on specific topic(s); 2) Agendas and discussion guide; 3) if needed, deliver meeting notes to CRCHD program officer within 2 days of the meeting; 4) analyses of the proceedings of all meetings; 5) participate, and at the discretion of the Director CRCHD, lead working group meetings to develop and implement think tanks on specific topics identified by the CRCHD Director; and 6) at the discretion of the Director CRCHD, write speeches on topics related to cancer health disparities that will be delivered to national and international audiences. All files should be produced and delivered in electronic version (email and disc). Electronic products and communication must be compatible with CRCHD software (WordPerfect 8, Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, Microsoft power point). Period of Performance: It is anticipated that award will be for a one year base period plus 2 one year option periods if exercised by the Government. FAR Clause 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (March 2000) shall apply to any award made from this solicitation. Contractor Requirements: The contractor will work closely with the Director, and Deputy Director, and senior staff of CRCHD to plan, analyse, research, advise, and develop reports, speeches, and other relevant written documents related to understanding cancer health disparities, and developing effective evidence-based interventions to reduce, and ultimately eliminate them. The contractor must demonstrate direct involvement with developing policy documents and other relevant material regarding cancer health disparities and must demonstrate a high level of involvement working with national leaders dealing with issues related to racial/ethnic issues, and analyzing cancer statistics and research pertinent to cancer health disparities. The contractor will be directly involved in the planning and development of programs to accomplish these objectives. Thus, it is mandatory that the contractor demonstrate a level of analysis, understanding and functional ability to examine and integrate ideas that span a broad range of disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy, and sociology, particularly with respect to racial and ethnic studies, cross-cultural analysis. The offeror must show a high degree of understanding of the health disparities issues outlined in the most recently published Institute of Medicine report published by the National Academy of Sciences Press, Unequal Treatment, Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, http://stills.nap.edu/books/030908265X/html and demonstrate a command of the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in health care, sources of disparities in cancer care and the barriers to care that exist for minority and underserved populations. Strong analytical skills are critical to the needs of CRCHD since the contractor is expected to participate in the planning, development of broad national policy issues and recommendations and formulation of reports on complex meta-analyses of the various issues that impact on cancer health disparities and that have broad-based implications for national policy development. Evaluation Criteria: Award will be based on an evaluation of proposals against three factors. The factors in order of importance are: technical: Demonstrated understanding of the issues described in the statement of work, including experience writing analyses of and issues related to health disparities, particularly in cancer and other chronic diseases, including the latest research and major barriers to cancer care; past performance: List of 5 references where similar or related work was performed: should include Agency, PO W/phone number; CO w/phone number; Title of Project; Period of Performance; total price; and cost. Although technical factors are of paramount consideration in the award of this order, both past performance and cost/price are also important to the overall contract award decision. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price alone. Offerors are advised that award will be made to that offeror whose proposal provides the best overall value to the Government, all of the above factors considered. Provisions and Clauses: This solicitation incorporates the provisions at FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, and at FAR 52.212-3, OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS. The latter provision includes the DUNS Number Addendum. The resulting contract will incorporate the requirements of the clause at FAR 52.212-4, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS, and the requirements contained in paragraphs (a) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.212-5, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS - DEVIATION FOR SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS. The contract will also incorporate the following FAR clauses cited in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the latter clause: FAR 52.222-26, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY; FAR 52.222-35, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR SPECIAL DISABLED AND VIETNAM ERA VETERANS; FAR 52.222-36, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR HANDICAPPED WORKERS; FAR 52.222.37, EMPLOYMENT REPORTS ON SPECIAL DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS OF VIETNAM ERA; and FAR 52.225-3, BUY AMERICAN ACT - SUPPLIES. Offers are due September 24, 2002 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Facsimile submission are not authorized. Offers must be in writing and should be submitted one original and two copies of the follows: (1) completed SF 1449, signed by an individual authorized to bind the organization; (2) a Schedule of Offered Supplies/Services containing pricing for the system being offered, published price lists (if applicable), and a delivery schedule; (3) completed Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, with DUNS Number addendum; (4) descriptive literature indicating that the offer meets the stated requirements; (5) acknowledgment of amendments, if any. The Representations and Certifications must be signed by an authorized representative of the offeror. Full text copies of the Representations and Certifications or other cited provisions and clauses may be obtained from Debbie Moore, Purchasing Agent, on (301) 402-4509 or by fax on (301) 402-4513. Offers and related materials must be submitted to Debbie Moore at the listed address. Offers that fail to furnish the required information or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. Please cite the solicitation number on your offer. Any questions must be submitted in writing and may be e-mailed to dm170b@nih.gov or faxed to 301-402-4513. It is the vendors responsibility to call 301-402-4509 to insure questions have been received. No collect call will be accepted.
- Web Link
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Link to FedBizOpps document.
(http://www.eps.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/RCB/RFQ-NCI-20161-NV/listing.html)
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- SN00165797-F 20020915/020913220504 (fbodaily.com)
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