SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- National Children’s Study Coordinating Center
- Notice Date
- 2/3/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Contracts Management Branch, 6100 Executive Blvd., Suite 7A07, MSC7510, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7510
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7510
- Solicitation Number
- NIH-NICHD-SS-10-10
- Archive Date
- 2/16/2010
- Point of Contact
- Seena Mathews, Phone: 301-435-8867, Lisa L Coleman, Phone: 301-435-6963
- E-Mail Address
-
mathewss@mail.nih.gov, lc304t@nih.gov
(mathewss@mail.nih.gov, lc304t@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is anticipating releasing a new solicitation for multiple awards to continue the National Children's Study (NCS or Study) Coordinating Center (CC) and provide services necessary to assist the NCS Program Office (PO) in the ongoing planning, development, and implementation of the Study. This announcement is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. No solicitation is available at this time. The purpose of this small business sources sought is to identify small business organizations with requisite qualifications to provide the services stated herein. Based on capability statements received in response to this Sources Sought Announcement this acquisition may be solicited as a 100% small business set-aside. All small business organizations (SB, 8(a), SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, and SDVOSB) are encouraged to respond to this notice. This requirement is assigned a code of 541990 in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and the size standard for such requirements is $7 million. The NCS is a longitudinal cohort study that will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of approximately 100,000 children enrolled from 105 distinct geographic areas across the country to form a nationally representative sample. Environment is broadly defined to include biological, physical, chemical, and social/cultural influences on children’s health and development. Priority outcomes include obesity, diabetes, and physical development; injuries; asthma; pregnancy-related outcomes; child development and mental health; and identifying beneficial health effects. Children will be followed from before birth until the age of 21 years, via distributed data collection of a common core protocol. The NCS Vanguard Study, a platform for feasibility testing of methods for possible inclusion in the overall study, began in 2009 at seven locations. The CC is intended to support and assist in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of all Study components. All offerors must demonstrate the capability to perform a set of core requirements stated in Task 1. Offerors must also provide evidence of expertise in at least one of the four optional task areas (Tasks 2-5). To be deemed capable of providing the current need for the study the offeror must submit a written capability statement that clearly demonstrates capacity in the following areas: 1. Experience: The offeror shall demonstrate previous successful experience based on studies of the relevant size and breadth, providing specific detail related to each appropriate task. 2. Personnel: The offeror shall provide the name of the principal investigator, his/her professional qualifications and specific experience as a key investigator in large studies of the current study. The offeror shall demonstrate that the proposed investigation team and staff have previous experience in carrying out such a prospective study. 3. Facilities: The offeror shall have the necessary dedicated office space and accommodations. Space should be available, as necessary, for other activities such as testing, training, collaborative planning, meetings, etc. Capacity for primary data collection activities shall also be described (as appropriate for specific tasks). 4. Task Areas: Offerors must demonstrate the ability to complete Task 1 and at least one of the four optional tasks (Tasks 2-5). Task 1 – Core Coordinating Center Functions (Required) • Develop and maintain a project management plan, describing staffing plans, organizational structure, and administrative oversight; • Demonstrate capability to transition management of large-scale research studies from other contractors; • Assist in the development of data collection instruments and procedures; • Develop detailed documentation for the training and execution of data collection procedures, including all instruments, forms, supplies, training exercises and certifications; • Develop and maintain a comprehensive database of all data collection instruments, forms, supplies, equipment and materials associated with data collection events that can be used to manage all facets of the preparatory process, such as development, translation, IRB submission, reproduction, distribution, etc.; and • Demonstrate the ability to work closely with a range of Study stakeholders, including other contractors. Task 2 – Participant Recruitment, Tracking and Retention (Optional): • Conduct scientific assessments and analyses to determine best practices for participant recruitment and long-term retention; • Develop effective procedures for identification, recruitment and retention of study participants in longitudinal studies; • Develop or enhance best practices to gaining access to hard-to-reach populations, handling various types of gatekeepers, refusal conversion, and maintaining privacy and confidentiality of participants; • Develop strategies and procedures for facilitating recruitment through health care providers; and • Develop strategies and procedures for long-term tracking of mobile populations. Task 3 – Visit/Event Flow and Choreography (Optional) • Assist in developing data collection events, minimizing burden on participants and data collectors; • Develop and execute timing tests of data collection events, and additional dress rehearsals to meet quality assurance goals; and • Demonstrate expertise in questionnaire design and interview development. Task 4 – Field Support (Optional) • Develop and execute training programs for household and clinic-based data collection, and otherwise assist in Study Center preparation; • Provide support to users of study technologies via a telephone-based help-desk infrastructure; • Provide field support to Study Centers by tracking and triaging issues, and events; • Monitor and manage multi-modal data collection efforts, including developing reports, conducting analyses, and auditing data collection on-site at Study Centers; and • Assist in transitioning Study participants to alternative Study Centers, as appropriate. Task 5 – Primary Data Collection (Optional) • Collect data via Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) with previously screened women to assess pregnancy status; • Conduct large-scale, primary data collection tasks (household listing and screening, field, telephone, mail, web, medical records abstraction, etc.); • Collect biological and environmental samples; and • Administer neurodevelopment and psychological batteries to adults and children. If any responsible source believes it can perform the requirements they may submit three (3) hard copies of their capability statements (20 Page Limit, these pages exclude resumes) for consideration by NICHD to Seena Mathews, Contracting Officer, at the mailing and e-mail address provided by the response date. Overnight deliveries should be mailed to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Contracts Management Branch, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Suite 7A07, Rockville, Maryland 20852. No collect calls or facsimile transmissions will be accepted. Respondents may submit their capability statements via email (PDF format) in addition to 3 hard copies. Respondents must include 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. 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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s). 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.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NICHD/NIH-NICHD-SS-10-10/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02057385-W 20100205/100203235917-10afdf5e458c33e302f537a980e297b5 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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