SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Administrative Support For Chernobyl Projects: Thyroid Screening Follow-up and Leukemia/Thyroid Cancer in Clean-up Workers in Ukraine
- Notice Date
- 8/5/2013
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E128, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20852
- Solicitation Number
- NCI-130098-63
- Archive Date
- 8/20/2013
- Point of Contact
- Seena Ninan, Phone: 240-276-5419
- E-Mail Address
-
ninans@mail.nih.gov
(ninans@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Institute of Cancer (NCI), Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG),Radiation Epidemiology Branch, is anticipating awarding a non-competitive contract to the Science and Technology Center (STCU) in Ukraine to obtain support services to provide technical and financial management oversight for three NCI supported projects in Ukraine: follow-up for thyroid cancer and related activities in individuals exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident; field work for the case-control study of thyroid cancer in Chernobyl clean-up workers; and data collection for the case-control study of leukemia. The STCU has provided support for the NCI projects since 1998. The staff has developed a working and trusting relationship with the organizations involved in the projects, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism (IEM) and the Research Center for Radiation Medicine (RCRM). They have the knowledge and familiarity of the projects to provide the administrative support needed for NCI. The facilities are in close proximity to IEM and RCRM in order to provide expedited support, if needed. The STCU has the necessary approval from the Ukrainian and US governments to provide services directly to the NCI. This acquisition will be made pursuant to the authority in FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) and 13.501-(a)(1) using simplified acquisition procedures for commercial acquisitions. The North American Industry Classification System code is 541611 and the business size standard is $14 Million. Only one (1) award will be made as a result of this solicitation. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price type contract. It has been determined that there is no opportunity to acquire green products or services under this procurement. Background The Chernobyl Research Unit (CRU), Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, sponsors joint U.S.-Ukraine studies of health effects of the Chernobyl Accident. Currently, there are two partnership agreements supporting three collaborative U.S.-Ukraine epidemiological projects in Ukraine. These projects are 1) "Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Diseases in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P004) undertaken at the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism (IEM), Kiev; 2) "Leukemia and Other Hematologic Diseases Among Clean-up Workers in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P003) at the Research Center for Radiation Medicine (RCRM), Kiev; and 3) "Thyroid Cancer among Chernobyl Cleanup Workers in Ukraine" (P003A) undertaken as a variation of the project name, "Leukemia and Other Hematologic Diseases Among Clean-up Workers in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (see below) also at RCRM. The partnership agreement for "Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Diseases in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P004) involves thyroid screening and other related tasks in a cohort of about 13,000 people who were exposed to post-Chernobyl radioactive fallout under age 20 years. The aim of this project is to assess early and late morphologic and functional changes in the thyroid glands of persons exposed at young ages to radiation from radioactive materials released as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The cohort members have been undergoing diagnostic thyroid examinations since 1998. Under a rigid protocol approved by NCI, IEM staff carries out the field work to maintain contact with the cohort members and invite them to diagnostic thyroid examinations, which may include palpation, ultrasound scanning, thyroid hormone and other laboratory tests. These examinations are done at IEM or by a mobile team. If deemed necessary by the protocol, cohort members are referred to an expert endocrinologist at IEM for a fine-needle aspiration biopsy for diagnostic confirmation. Interview information collected by IEM regarding residential, health, diet and lifestyle history has been used for estimating radiation doses by an international expert group involving NCI. Follow-up is also performed on all subjects for thyroid cancer morbidity and mortality through linkage with the national cancer registry in Ukraine. The IEM is responsible for the tracing of cohort subjects, recording medical and other data, data processing, and database management and organizing analytical data for NCI. Fresh or archived samples are collected by IEM for future study by NCI genetic and genomic investigations. The partnership project agreement for "Leukemia and Other Hematologic Diseases among Clean-up Workers in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P003) involves a case-control study of leukemia among clean-up workers carried out by RCRM staff. The objective of this study is to assess the risk of leukemia and other hematological cancers related to radiation exposure that the clean-up workers received during the recovery and clean-up operations after the accident. Data collection undertaken by RCRM is nearly completed, and major study results showing a significant risk of leukemia associated with radiation exposure have been published. The RCRM continues to provide additional data for analyses performed by NCI. Recently, an amendment has been made to the above agreement with RCRM to add a case-control study of thyroid cancer in the same clean-up worker population, "Thyroid Cancer among Chernobyl Cleanup Workers in Ukraine" (P003A). Under the protocol approved by NCI, RCRM staff conducts field work to identify cases with thyroid cancer and non-cancer controls, interview them for radiation exposure information, and collect saliva samples for future genetic studies. In addition, under the protocol approved by NCI, RCRM acquire archival thyroid tumor tissues from area hospitals and archive them at RCRM for future genetic research ("Tissue Archiving"). The RCRM also provides data management and quality control, services needed for radiation dose reconstruction to be undertaken by NCI and other dosimetry experts, and assist data analysis and manuscript preparations for NCI. In all three projects, NCI REB investigators are responsible for study design and methodologies while the contractor shall provide technical and financial management for the projects in Ukraine. Period of Performance: 1. Base: Services for all the three projects (P003, P003A and P004) during the period of September 15, 2013 through January 14, 2014. 2. Option 1: Services provided for "Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Diseases in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P004) during the period of January 15, 2014 through March 14, 2014. 3. Option 2: Services provided for the projects, "Leukemia and Other Hematologic Diseases Among Clean-up Workers in Ukraine Following the Chernobyl Accident" (P003) and "Thyroid Cancer among Chernobyl Cleanup Workers in Ukraine" (P003A), excluding Tissue Archiving in P003A, during the period of January 15, 2014 through March 14, 2014. 4. Option 3: Services provided for Tissue Archiving, for the project, "Thyroid Cancer among Chernobyl Cleanup Workers in Ukraine" (P003A) during the period of January 15, 2014 through March 14, 2014. Scope of Work The Contractor shall perform the following: 1. Work with Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism (IEM) and Research Center for Radiation Medicine (RCRM) to develop a draft agreement for each project (P003, P003A and P004) to become effective September 15, 2013 and ending either January 14, 2013, if none of the Options are exercised, or March 14, 2014, if any of the Options is exercised, describing the scope of the project that includes the project objectives, work plan, personnel plan, budget lines, and reports and deliverables (technical and financial) to be submitted to NCI. 2. Submit the draft agreement to NCI for approval; and after approval, formalize the agreement with IEM and RCRM. 3. Manage the project as described in the agreement, including evaluation and verification of the progress of project activities, equipment, information, data systems, materials, supplies, personnel and services, auditing the costs, if deemed necessary. 4. Report to NCI if there are any significant managerial issues or problems, and provide advice in resolving them. 5. Assist NCI, IEM and/or RCRM to formalize an amended agreement, if needed. 6. Provide customs clearance assistance in purchasing duty-free equipment and materials as approved by NCI. Qualifications The contractor shall: 1. Be capable of providing managerial oversight to the three ongoing NCI support post-Chernobyl projects, described above; 2. Have close knowledge and experience of all technical and financial aspects of the above three projects; 3. Have demonstrated experience in managing and administering projects funded by US government agencies; 4. Have multilingual staff who are capable of communicating in English, Ukrainian, and Russian; 5. Have demonstrated experience of successfully establishing research projects funded by US government agencies, as described in this procurement, negotiating with medical institutions, national and/or local governments in Ukraine; This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes. However, if any interested party, especially small businesses, believes they can meet the above requirement, they may submit a tailored statement of capabilities within 15 days of publication of this synopsis. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the above unique specifications described herein. Respondents must submit their capability statements via email at seena.ninan@nih.gov on or before 4:00 PM EST on August 19, 2013. All questions must be in writing and can be emailed. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must have valid registration and certification in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA) through SAM.gov. No collect calls or facsimile transmissions will be accepted. Please reference solicitation number NCI-130098-63on all correspondence.
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