SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program Scientific Resource Center III
- Notice Date
- 11/10/2016
- 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-17-10002
- Archive Date
- 12/13/2016
- Point of Contact
- Sarah Chace, Phone: 3014271010, Erin B. Mills, Phone: 3014271169
- E-Mail Address
-
sarah.chace@ahrq.hhs.gov, Erin.Mills@ahrq.hhs.gov
(sarah.chace@ahrq.hhs.gov, Erin.Mills@ahrq.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). 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 business; 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 Agency for Healthcare Research Quality's (AHRQ) mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. To achieve this mission, AHRQ conducts and supports a broad base of scientific research and promotion of improvements in clinical and health systems practices, including the prevention of diseases and other health conditions. AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that develops and presents evidence-based information on healthcare outcomes, quality, patient safety, cost, use and access. Included in AHRQ's mandate is support of synthesis and dissemination of available scientific evidence, including dissemination research and analytic methods or systems for rating the strength of scientific evidence. The Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program was created in 1997 to synthesize existing scientific literature about important health care topics and promote evidence-based practice and decision-making. These reviews use the research methodology of systematic review to systematically and critically appraise existing research and synthesize knowledge on a particular topic. The ultimate goal of EPC work is to present the "state of the science" on a given topic in a manner that can be directly applied to decisions made by users of health care information. These users include clinicians, patients, policy-makers, and payers, and may be individuals or their related organizations. The John M. Eisenberg Clinical Decisions and Communications Science Center, also referred to as the Eisenberg Center (EC), takes a systematic approach to translate scientific knowledge into understandable, actionable language for all decision-makers. As scientific evidence about effectiveness is synthesized by the EPC program, the Eisenberg Center then translates the scientific knowledge into targeted products for stakeholders - including patients, providers, and policy-makers. As a part of the Eisenberg Center's role in interfacing with external stakeholders, they manage the Effective Health Care public-facing website (http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/). The Effective Health Care website is a public repository for EPC products, including systematic reviews, technical briefs, methods papers and methods guidance, and translation products based on EPC products; and houses the portal for nominations from the public for proposed systematic review topics and the public comment portals for EPC reports. Additional information on the Effective Health Care program in general, resources it provides, and descriptions of processes can be found at: http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/what-is-the-effective-health-care-program1/. Examples of products produced by the EPC Program may be found at: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/. The Scientific Resource Center (SRC) was conceived in 2007 to promote efficiency, rigor, consistency, and quality across the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs). The SRC supports the EPC Program through organizing and handling peer review of EPC reports; through organization and development of methodological papers, tools, and materials to promote consistency across EPCs; through development and maintenance of tools and opportunities to promote coordination, collaboration, and sharing of information; and through tracking and development of topics for review and update by the EPCs. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of the proposed acquisition is to establish a Scientific Resource Center (SRC) to support the Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program, an integral component of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program. The ultimate goal of SRC work is to support the EPC Program and its aim to present the "state of the science" on a given topic in a manner that can be directly applied to decisions made by users of health care information. The objectives of this proposed acquisition are: 1.Coordinate methodological work to maintain utility, scientific rigor, and consistency of EPC products. 2.Provide scientific and technical support to protect scientific credibility and independence of EPC Program Products 3.Manage topic nomination development and selection processes (or "topic development"), and surveillance process. 4.Maintain and update EPC program resources, including methods library, software such as ScholarOne, procedure documents and guidance tools, and mechanisms for collaboration and mutual learning. Project Requirements: The SRC will implement activities to meet the following requirements: 1. Coordinate methodological work to maintain utility, scientific rigor and consistency of EPC products. •Engage EPC input on methodological priorities through assembly of and communication with an EPC Methods Steering Group to identify areas of methodological priorities for EPC workgroup projects in light of current EPC resources and needs, external methodological efforts, and prioritize EPC methodological efforts to improve quality and consistency of EPC products. •Organize and provide logistics for methods work addressing areas as determined by engagement with the EPC Methods Steering group. •Convene two in-person 2 day meetings yearly to discuss coordination and consistency of EPC products and methodological approaches. These meetings will be held in the Washington DC or Rockville, MD areas. 2. Provide scientific and technical support to protect scientific credibility and independence of EPC Program Products. •Manage and coordinate the independent scientific review of EPC products through coordination, and training of associate editors (AE) for EPC products; and quarterly calls with associate editors to improve consistency and efficiency in AE review as well as identify areas for quality improvement within the program. •Manage Peer review using appropriate software, such as ScholarOne software. The SRC shall maintain and refine peer review processes to enhance efficient review of each EPC report. •Provide data on timeliness of EPC product milestones for informational and Program quality improvement purposes. •Request information from stakeholders, including Supplemental Evidence and Data for Systematic Reviews (SEADS) for EPC reports. •Ensure appropriate statistical review upon request of AHRQ contracting officer representative in areas such as meta-analysis, network meta-analysis, or other statistical methods such as qualitative comparative analysis. •Provide methodological support to EPC authors such as searches of the FDA site, clinicaltrials.gov site, or relevant registries or other data sources. 3. Manage topic nomination development and selection processes (or "topic development"), and surveillance process. •Manage EPC Program Topic Selection process, from receipt of nominations from the EPC Program website. This includes engaging stakeholders, including those representing health systems in the nomination process; clarifying nominations with stakeholders as needed; assessing each topic nomination against prespecified selection criteria; soliciting input from a topic selection group; managing the prioritization process of topic nomination and sharing results on the EPC program Secure Site; finalizing documents that describe the disposition and rationale ("topic briefs"); and providing feedback to the nominator and public through email and public posting of the topic briefs on the EHC Web Site. •Select no more than 5 high-impact reports for surveillance and develop assessments about the currency of those reports ("surveillance reports") annually to be posted on the EHC Web Site. •Provide transparency about the topic selection process through feedback to nominators, posting of topic briefs on the EHC Website, and posting of surveillance reports on the EHC Website. 4. Maintain and update EPC program resources and promote program collaboration and communication. •Maintain a continuously updated library of methods articles relevant to the conduct of systematic reviews and make the library available and accessible to EPC investigators. •Develop and maintain documents for EPC program including templates for the Topic Briefs and Surveillance Reports, and templates and instructions for use of peer review software such as Scholar One, SEAD and AE processes. •Maintain databases for EPC program topics, peer reviewers, and stakeholders. These searchable databases will be used for tracking and reporting. •Support of EPC mutual learning through bi-monthly webinars focused on topics related to EPC methods projects, methods guidance, or other topics. •Maintain and keep up-to-date a secure EPC website for coordination of EPC Program activities among the SRC, AHRQ, EPCs and the EC. This includes technical support, maintenance and support for user login and passwords, ensuring compliance with AHRQ and DHHS requirements for security and privacy, and near full-time availability of the website. •Document work by the SRC, including instruction and procedure documents for tasks such as peer review, SEAD and other processes. 5. Conflicts of interest Reliability and use of EPC review products may only be established if both the processes and individuals conducting the research maintain no conflicts of interest. The AHRQ EPC program separately provides guidance and oversight on the processes and individuals conducting EPC reviews. The SRC will also identify and manage conflicts of interest for SRC staff conducting work for AHRQ. The SRC shall also establish a formal conflict of interest mitigation plan for identifying, disclosing, and managing institutional conflicts of interest for all SRC staff, and implement this plan when the need arises. 6. Other Related SRC Activities The SRC shall support other EPC program activities such as: •Provide technical assistance to organizations that seek to use EPC reports as a basis for decision-making; for example, producing tools to enhance the quality and effectiveness of patient care, etc. •Provide assistance to evaluate the use and impact of EPC evidence reports. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance for this proposed acquisition will be from approximately August 15, 2017, through August 14, 2022, for a base period of one year and 4, one-year option periods. Other Important Considerations: Sources are expected to have personnel, corporate history, and facilities adequate for promoting scientific rigor through methodological work for systematic reviews and evidence synthesis, promoting transparency and trust through managing topic selection and review processes, and promoting consistency across EPCs through collaborative efforts and mutual learning using in person and virtual convening methods and tools such as databases and shared resources. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement. The cover page must include the following: •DUNS number •Organization name •Organization address •Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) pursuant to NAICS code 541990 •Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses •Administrative point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses The tailored response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should describe the requested information below. Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, information concerning a)staff expertise and conflicts of interest, including their availability, experience, and training in scientific methods of evidence synthesis, evidence-based practice, outcomes research, technology assessment, epidemiologic and behavioral research, qualitative research and review methods, systems science, quality improvement and implementation science; and managerial leadership; 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 Contractors must describe both their capabilities for performing the work as well as their capacity and experience working in all the areas described above. All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Sarah Chace, Contract Specialist, at sarah.chace@ahrq.hhs.gov in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 1:00 PM EST on November 28, 2016. Responses should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (including the cover page, 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. 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 will 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).
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- Record
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