SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Regional and State Learning Laboratory to Support Nationwide Measurement, Transparency and Quality/Patient Safety
- Notice Date
- 4/18/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Contracts Management, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, Maryland, 20850
- ZIP Code
- 20850
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-AHRQ-SBSS-13-002
- Archive Date
- 5/18/2013
- Point of Contact
- Michelle D. Beatty, Phone: 3014271781, Jessica Alderton, Phone: 301 427-1783
- E-Mail Address
-
michelle.beatty@ahrq.hhs.gov, jessica.alderton@ahrq.hhs.gov
(michelle.beatty@ahrq.hhs.gov, jessica.alderton@ahrq.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Background The Regional and State Learning Laboratory to Support Nationwide Measurement, Transparency and Quality/Patient Safety is designed to advance regional and State vetting, testing and spread of best practices for three distinct but interrelated sets of regional and State activities essential to realizing large scale nationwide quality improvement: 1) measurement; 2) public reporting and consumer engagement; and 3) quality/patient safety improvement work. The motivation and focus of this virtual Learning Laboratory is derived from select provisions of the National Quality Strategy (NQS) and Affordability Care Act (ACA). This virtual Learning Laboratory is grounded in the reality that all health care is regional, and that transitions towards higher quality care can only happen one region at a time and with the full engagement of private and public sector leaders, and in particular those heading up public reporting efforts of States, including Health Insurance Exchanges (HIEs), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and regional quality collaboratives. These leaders comprise the target audience for - and participants in - the Learning Laboratory. The need for such a regional and State Learning Laboratory is essential to effective spread even in the case of programs launched by the Federal government or other national groups; a nationwide launch is only the beginning. Purpose and Objectives The objective of this requirement is to create a virtual Learning Laboratory of reporting leadership of State governments, ACOs and regional quality collaboratives. The purpose of the Learning Laboratory is to vet, test and spread three interrelated sets of regional and State activities essential to realizing quality improvements: 1) cost measurement and quality/patient safety measurement including structural, process, outcome, patient experience measures at the level of hospitals, physician groups, and physicians; 2) public reporting of and consumer engagement in quality/patient safety; and 3) coordinated local quality and patient safety improvement work, all of which dovetail with select provisions in the National Quality Strategy and ACA Reforms included in the table below: Current priorities of the Learning Laboratory include: 1) Measurement - Linked to NQS: Principle 4. Aligning the efforts of public and private sectors; and, Principle 6. Consistent national standards will be promoted, while maintaining support for local, community and State-level activities. - Linked to ACA: - Health Insurance Exchange (HIE) requirements to publicly report measures. - ACO requirements to publicly report measures. 2) Public reporting and consumer engagement - Linked to NQS: Principle 10. Providing patients, providers and payers with clear information they need to make choices. - Linked to ACA: -HIE requirements to publicly report measures. - ACO requirements to publicly report measures. - Provisions to facilitate consumer engagement and enable consumers to make high value care decisions. 3) Regional Quality and Patient Safety Improvement - Linked to NQS Principle 5. Quality improvement will be driven by...disseminating evidence about what works. - Linked to ACA: - HIE requirements to improve quality - ACO provisions related to improving quality Overview and Objectives The collective activities of the Learning Laboratory are intended to achieve the following objectives: 1. Develop and implement plan for identifying leadership to participate in the Learning Laboratory. 2. Develop, market and produce/host 12-15 technical ‘Implementation Curriculum' Webinars per year. 3. Develop a rigorous process for identifying when a particular practice is deemed a better or best practice. 4. Perform 2-3 quick turnaround evaluations of specific regional or State activities conducted by national researchers/experts who have a track record of related research and related peer review publications. 5. Produce 3 additional white papers - suitable for peer review publication and written by national researchers/experts who have a track record of related research and related peer review publications, which summarize existing evidence. 6. Develop and maintain a private "Spread' Website to house resources. Project Requirements Task 1: Develop and implement plan for identifying pool of 200 (estimate) reporting leadership of State, ACO and regional collaborative programs, which will comprise the Learning Laboratory. This leadership will comprise the participants of the Laboratory and will provide key input into the content foci of the Laboratory. Task 2: Develop, market and produce/host 12-15 ‘Implementation Curriculum' Webinars per year featuring technical content for up to 150 leaders participating in the Learning Laboratory, each up to 120 minutes in length, working with national experts and Learning Laboratory members. For each Webinar, have system for polling participants during the Webinar and posting Webinar audio with companion slide decks (live stream) on the Website (see task 6). Task 3: Develop a rigorous process for identifying when a particular practices is deemed a better or best practice and is primed for spread. Task 4: Perform 2-3 quick turnaround evaluations of specific regional or State activities conducted by national researchers/experts who have a track record of related research and related peer review publications. This task is directly linked to content of one or more ‘Implementation Curriculum' Webinars. For each, produce a companion scholarly white paper - suitable for peer review publication - that summarizes associated peer review literature, the methods, findings and in particular the implications. Example evaluation: To what extent is it feasible to link health plan level reports of cost/quality/patient safety (e.g., as produced by HIE) with collaborative or State reports of cost/quality/patient safety at the hospital-level or physician-level? Task 5: Produce three (3) additional scholarly white papers - suitable for peer review publication and written by national researchers/experts (approved by AHRQ) who have a track record of related research and related peer review publications, which summarize existing evidence. Example topic: What are the pros/cons and political considerations of various efforts to align methods and measures across regional, state and nationwide reports? Task 6: Develop, maintain and update a private "Spread' Website to house Implementation Curriculum resources and related evidence sponsored by AHRQ and other public and private funders. Identify how resources will be routinely identified for inclusion on private Website. It is anticipated that a pre-existing CVE Website, designed to be transferable, may provide a foundation for the Website for this new contract. Website features to include: calendar of upcoming Webinars, Webinar audio and slide archive, library of resources, Chat Forum for peer-to-peer exchange. All postings and slidedecks on the Website must be made 508-compliant by contractor. Identify analytics approach for monitoring Website traffic. Task 7: Administrative and planning activities, which will include weekly meetings with AHRQ staff. TEAM Team members should be comprised of a core staff of senior, seasoned professionals with a mix of technical skills in a range of technical areas and experience to perform this requirement, including: Team must have knowledge of technical issues associated with cost measurement and quality/patient safety measurement including structural, process, outcome, and patient experience measures at the level of hospitals, physician groups, and physicians - and related data source options and potential strategies to align methods and measures across regional, state and nationwide programs. Team must have expertise and related knowledge of the evidence base on the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-science of public reporting, including underlying methodological tensions and design best practices. Team must have an understanding and knowledge of future ACO and HIE measurement, reporting and quality strategy requirements. Team must have research expertise and experience necessary to develop and implement rigorous process for identifying those practices that are deemed ready for spread. Team must have research expertise and experience necessary to oversee rigorous evaluations in technical area and development of scholarly papers appropriate for peer review journal publication. Team must have demonstrable and strong experience in both building and managing a large technical assistance network of at least 200 members, each of who are leaders in their health care communities (e.g., executives, physicians), including but not limited to Webinar marketing, facilitating Webinars, maintaining a website, supporting spread and scale-up. PROJECT DIRECTOR/MANAGER The Project Director should be a highly qualified individual with significant leadership and communications skills and demonstrated experience in managing complex, highly technical, large-scale projects. It is required that the primary duty station of the Project Director/Manager will be at AHRQ in Rockville, MD. The Project Director should have expertise in convening consensus meetings of Nation's experts on highly technical, nuanced and sometimes politically sensitive topics related to measurement, public reporting and quality/safety improvement. The Project Manager should have extensive experience overseeing day-to-day operations of running a dynamic technical assistance learning network for a large number (at least 200) of participants -- each of who are leaders in their health care communities (e.g., executives, physicians) -- and responding to their needs. ORGANIZATION The organization should have established systems in place for overseeing quality control for work done under this contract, and addressing quality issues should they arise. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance is April 1, 2014 - March 31, 2015 with two (2), one (1) year option periods, from April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2017. Capability statement/Information Sought Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above and below, the latter of which identifies requirements of team, project director/manager, and organization. Statements should include information regarding respondents': (a) staff expertise, including their availability, technical experience relevant to the work, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. Capability statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement, as well as the eligible small business concern's name, point of contact, address and DUNS number. Information Submission Instructions All capability statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Michelle Beatty, Contract Specialist, at michelle.beatty@ahrq.hhs.gov in Microsoft Word (MS) or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by May 3, 2013, 10:00 AM EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. ANY RESPONSES RECEIVED AFTER THAT DATE AND TIME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. 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. 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).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/AHRQ/DCM/HHS-AHRQ-SBSS-13-002/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, Maryland, 20850, United States
- Zip Code: 20850
- Zip Code: 20850
- Record
- SN03040303-W 20130420/130418234655-c00a5410f7f8ddb0e1f734d5b6273813 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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