SOLICITATION NOTICE
L -- Analytical work in Africa for the Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries
- Notice Date
- 8/14/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Nat'l Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, & Kidney Diseases, 2 Democracy Plaza, Suite 700W 6707 Democracy Blvd., MSC 5455, Bethesda, MD, 20892-5455
- ZIP Code
- 20892-5455
- Solicitation Number
- NIH-NIDDK-06-944
- Response Due
- 8/28/2006
- Archive Date
- 9/12/2006
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items 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 number is NIH-NIDDK-06-944 and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation/contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-27. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 541690 and the business size standard is 500 employees. This acquisition is being conducted using Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. However, this solicitation is not set aside for small business. It is the intent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fogarty International Center (FIC) to procure Analytical work in Africa for the Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (DCPP) from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Scope of Work In April 2006, DCP2 was launched at a conference in China, with launches later in 2006 in Africa. While the intervention messages of the book have wide salience, the health care delivery and health system messages need greater exploration in the context of specific country settings. There is currently a growing focus on health systems themselves as a constraint on improved health outcomes. The aim of this proposal is to build on specific areas of DCP2 chapters and messages, by examining systemic constraints to and opportunities for the implementation of DCPP strategies. Findings will inform and influence policies, programs, and resource allocation. To make this task manageable, the work will focus on one African country and on the systems strengthening required to deliver specific interventions effectively and to scale. In conjunction with local decision makers, specific tracer interventions will be identified to assess the ability of the health system to deliver. These will be diseases/conditions such as HIV/AIDs treatment and care, malaria treatment, and maternal health chosen because they are of very high priority within the region, and present a diversity of challenges to health systems. For example HIV/AIDS offers the chance to look at an intervention that is relatively well resourced, but which requires long term care. Malaria sets countries numerous challenges; not least how to switch to more effective drugs, but involves treatment of an acute episode. Maternal health is highly dependent on a functioning service infrastructure. Inclusion of diseases does not imply a disease- specific emphasis ? they will be used as tracers, to explore the nature of the health system strengthening required to scale-up interventions and services. The proposed location for the work is Malawi. The work will draw on the resources of the Consortium for Research on Equitable Health Systems (CREHS) and the Evidence for Action (EFA) Consortium which focuses on treatment and care delivery for HIV/AIDs. CREHS is led by HEFP at the LSHTM, and its African partners are in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. EfA is also led by LSHTM, and involves HEFP in supporting the health systems aspects of research. One of its partners is Lighthouse in Malawi. Other Malawian partners are being identified to provide additional research capacity. In planning and implementing the work, HEFP will also collaborate with one of the South African CREHS partners, the Centre for Health Policy (CHP), University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Staff of CHP have been closely involved in thinking about and investigating the practical needs and demands of scaling up access to ARVs, and are also expert in health systems and policy analysis. They participated in hosting several of the early DCPP workshops. Failures in intervention delivery often have their roots in multiple levels: for example, low take-up of malaria treatment at health centres may stem from lack of physical and financial accessibility to treatment; low perceived quality of care at health centres; unreliable drug supplies; and resource allocation systems which do not do well in transferring money to the local level. Similarly, poor quality of treatment given by health workers may have its origin in both the local context (eg lack of support from district supervisors), and in rigid human resource management systems higher up the hierarchy. DCP2 is able to make a series of important recommendations about the priorities that governments should in general be pursuing in health service delivery. However, it has not yet fully integrated these recommendations with how to address existing constraints to effective service delivery in specific settings. This work will examine the delivery of key services (eg HIV treatment and care, malaria treatment, and maternal health) at two levels of care ? primary care and district hospitals. It will focus on the recommendations of the DCP2, but aim to explore the constraints experienced at service delivery level to implementing these recommendations. Approaches to lessening these constraints will be explored. Care will be taken not to allow a focus on tracers to ignore system-wide implications of DCP2 taken more broadly. Such work will begin to illuminate vital implementation lessons and approaches to complement the recommendations of DCP2. Questions will be approached via 4 cross-cutting systems issues: Financing Human Resources Organizational structures and relationships Stewardship and regulation However, these frameworks will be used primarily to structure the study approach. Findings may emphasize different systems issues. The starting points will be: The DCP2 overview chapters 2 (on cost-effectiveness of interventions) and 3 (on strengthening health systems) The disease/condition specific chapters: eg on HIV, Malaria, and maternal health (depending on chosen tracers) The chapters on primary care, district hospitals, health workers, organization of clinical services, financing and Reaching the MDGs. PRB will be requested to provide 2-3 page summaries of these chapters, to make them readily usable at country level with local decision makers. In-country work will explore the implications of the recommendations of the disease/condition specific chapters to Malawi, given its existing health infrastructure, financing, human resources situation, etc. This will draw also on the constraints analysis undertaken by HEFP for the CMH Working Group 5, to explore what needs to change and at what levels if successful scaling up is to be achieved. Special attention will be paid to whether any of the chapter recommendations have been tried in Malawi, what constraints were encountered in design and implementation, and what change in performance resulted. Methods of data collection and analyses will involve: Interview with key individuals Review of published and grey literature Workshops with policy makers/managers, which discuss DCP2 recommendations, brainstorm key bottlenecks, rank them and discuss solutions Development and application of focused tools around each of the ?systems? issues ie. Financing, human resources, organizational structures and relationships, and stewardship/regulation, at a number of case study facilities chosen on the basis that they are thought to represent better and worse performance. An analysis of the functioning of these facilities will aim to triangulate views form interviews/workshops, and highlight how constraints at various levels of the system manifest at service delivery and are coped with. The work will be undertaken with local partners who are closely connected to government, in order that they analyses produced can respond to policy-makers needs. Results of the study will be made available to the ECSA Directors of Health meeting in July 2007, and their relevance more broadly to ECSA countries discussed. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations however, all responses received, within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition is based upon responses to this notice and is solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive acquisition. The offeror must include a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications ? Commercial Items with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions ? Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The addenda to the clause reads as follows: The offeror must include in their quotation, the unit price, the list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. The FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders ? Commercial Items ? Deviation for Simplified Acquisitions, applies to this acquisition. The clauses are available in full text at http://www.arnet.gov/far. Interested vendors capable of furnishing the government with the item specified in this synopsis should submit their quotation to the below address. Quotations will be due fifteen (15) calendar days from the publication date of this synopsis or August 28, 2006. The quotation must reference ?Solicitation number? NIH-NIDDK-06-944. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the agency. Quotations must be submitted in writing to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 6707 Democracy Blvd., Room 775, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, Attention: Patricia Haun. Faxed copies will not be accepted.
- Record
- SN01114115-W 20060816/060814220306 (fbodaily.com)
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