SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Specialized Technical Services in the area of Minority Health
- Notice Date
- 1/26/2017
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Acquisition Management Services, 7700 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, Maryland, 20857, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- 17-233-SOL-00135
- Archive Date
- 2/25/2017
- Point of Contact
- Ashley Megan Brickey, Phone: 3014925399
- E-Mail Address
-
megan.brickey@psc.hhs.gov
(megan.brickey@psc.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 US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) was established to be the focal point for implementing the 1985 findings and recommendations of the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health, which documented the extent of health disparities suffered by racial and ethnic minority populations in the US, as measured by "excess deaths" and other available indicators. The mission of the Office of Minority Health today is to improve and protect the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs. OMH intends to utilize indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts to enable staff to continue their work to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through development of health policies and programs that help to eliminate health disparities; advise the Secretary on health policies and programs that impact the health of racial and ethnic minorities and address health disparities; and serve as the HHS focal point for leadership, policy exchange, and coalition and partnership-building. OMH supports disparity reduction through the implementation of the HHS Disparities Action Plan. The HHS Disparities Action Plan promotes health equity. In support of the HHS Disparities Action Plan, OMH supports direct technical assistance, health campaign outreach, health materials development and multiple methods of information dissemination to health professionals, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, national organizations, academic institutions, State Offices of Minority Health, students, consumers and business groups. The goals of the HHS Disparities Action Plan, include: I. Transform health care; II. Strengthen the nation's Health and Human Services infrastructure and workforce; III. Advance the health, safety, and well-being of the American people; IV. Advance scientific knowledge and innovation; and V. Increase the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of HHS programs. Another important leadership effort for OMH has been the development and implementation of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). The NPA was established to mobilize a nationwide, comprehensive, community-driven, and sustained approach to combating health disparities and to move the nation toward achieving health equity, using social determinants of health framework. A key product of the NPA, the National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity (NSS) outlines five key goals: I. Increase awareness of the significance of health disparities, their impact on the nation, and the actions necessary to improve health outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations; II. Strengthen and broaden leadership for addressing health disparities at all levels; III. Improve health and health care outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations; IV. Improve cultural and linguistic competency and the diversity of the health-related workforce; and V. Improve data availability and the coordination, utilization, and diffusion of research and evaluation outcomes. It is expected that priority issues and messages will change in the coming years but OMH's expertise in reaching minority communities will enable it to tell the HHS story, promote increased access to care, and recruit individuals and organizations to the National Stakeholders Strategy to connect the public with HHS resources and services. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of these indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts is to provide services that ensure the successful continuation of important activities as indicated within this notice, as well as coordination with other HHS initiatives (i.e., Healthy People 2020, National Prevention Strategy, HHS Environmental Justice Strategy, etc.). These IDIQ contracts will require technical expertise in the following areas: 1. Social determinants of health, health disparities and health equity, racial and ethnic minority populations, and underrepresented communities Provide expertise in the social determinants of health and health equity, education, and health disparities and provide expert advice on national program strategies affecting American Indian/Alaska Native and other racial and ethnic minority populations. 2. Partnership building and Stakeholder engagement  Provide expertise in working with minority-serving organizations and populations in order to effectively collaborate and negotiate with these organizations and populations on issues designed to improve the effectiveness and coverage of American Indian/Alaska Native and other racial and ethnic minority health programs at the community level. 3. Coordination, development, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of project management tools and web-based communication and collaboration tools.  Provide expertise in applying a wide range of project management research tools and web-based and collaboration communication tools used to implement, direct, and evaluate policy-oriented research projects as well as prepare and communicate of current and prospective developments and findings from research that may have an impact on minority behavioral health services, public health, resources, policy, and legislation. 4. Coordination, development, implementation, and evaluation of short-term public health and health policy special projects  Provide expertise in the principles, practices, and procedures of minority health research in order to identify the need for and direct special public health and policy-oriented research projects focused on the needs of racial and ethnic populations and to develop national program strategies, goals, objectives, and guidelines for improving the health of American Indian/Alaska Native and other racial and ethnic populations. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS The Contractor personnel must have work experience in the area of health disparities/equity research, have experience in working with minority and underrepresented communities, and must have a minimum of 5 years' experience in working on activities equal to those described in the service areas below. Preferably Contractor personnel will have graduate level degrees in related areas such as public health, social work, or health communications. Task orders may be placed against the five (5) service areas and the subservice areas that are outlined as follows: Service Area 1: Partnership Building and Stakeholder Engagement The activities of the OMH rely extensively on partnership building and stakeholder engagement. OMH frequently has the need to provide technical assistance to community level committees and groups in crafting culturally appropriate messaging and information to racial and ethnic minority communities. To that end, the delivery of targeted communications technical support, trainings, and assistance will be vital to the success of these entities' efforts. The Contractor shall be expected to provide high quality and in‐depth communications support as technical assistance is needed in the form of:  Analyzing data on policies, programs and strategies related to health disparities and health equity; Conducting literature reviews and summarizing key information; Identifying potential areas for federal and community collaboration; Policy Development and Analysis; Identifying potential areas for federal and community collaboration Service Area 2: Online Collaboration and Communication Tools In order to support the efforts to engage national constituents, the Contractor may implement, maintain, and customize online collaboration project management tools and web portals, so that these geographically disparate entities will be able to coordinate, communicate, and act concertedly on all efforts throughout the project year as follows: Identify, coordinate, and implement methods and/or tools for federal and community collaboration and communication; Information dissemination activities Service Area 3: Special Projects The Office of Minority Health works with a wide-range of partners, focuses on diverse populations of interest, and often is working on multidisciplinary projects. To increase impact, OMH may seek support from the Contractor on a variety of special projects, similar to the following: Policy Research, Health Services Research, and Planning, Development, and Analysis; Conducting in-depth background research; Environmental scans; Assisting with the preparation of data presentations and materials to ensure consistent and accurate messaging; Assisting with the development and drafting of reporting publications that include key project information and outcomes; Demonstration and Evaluation Design; Program Assessment and Evaluation The following tasks represent special projects that have been implemented by Contractor support in the past. All tasks have associated products for which the Contractor must provide personnel that have a minimum of five (5) years of experience with assisting in development and publication/deployment: Regional Blueprint design support and copying; Assist OMH staff with American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and other racial and ethnic population focused special projects; Technical writing support in the areas of minority health and/or health disparities; Technical support for AI/AN and other racial and ethnic population work plan development Service Area 4: Resource Production to Supplement Communications Support The Contractor may be expected to provide comprehensive communications technical assistance and support, as detailed above in Service Area 5. The following subtasks represent products the Contractor may be expected to develop and deploy, which will supplement current activities and afford NPA partners a robust library of resources from which they will be able to build their own PR and communications efforts into professional‐quality productions. Tutorial library Digital resources library Analytical reports on keyword/key phrase searches Media outlet list; Potential partner identification; Infographic development; Development of decision support matrices Service Area 5: Community Level Technical Assistance and Support for Special Studies OMH is one of the leaders in supporting community-level projects where partnerships and collaborations are fostered. Particularly, OMH has organized a series of activities to support CBOs and communities to access, collect, analyze, and utilize national, state, and local data in an effort build community coalition to end health disparities. Periodically, OMH has the need of a Contractor to provide technical assistance to these communities in support of special projects and studies as follows: Data Infrastructure Development and Modeling; Pilot Program Demonstration, Implementation, and Evaluation; Program Implementation, Management, and Evaluation Services to be Provided In conjunction with these services, the Contractor shall provide organizational, administrative and logistical support for meetings, and other events to assist in the development and dissemination of the deliverables produced under this technical area. Meetings can range in size and scope from small committee meetings of 15 participants to larger 2,000 person events focused on bringing community groups together to discuss OMH priorities such at the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). In addition to several face‐to‐face events throughout the program year, the Contractor may provide virtual event solutions to the anticipated projects and events detailed in this Statement of Work. These meetings and events visibly emphasize OMH's commitment to the NPA (https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/npa/) and HHS Disparities Action Plan (https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlid=10). Outcomes of the events can include strategic planning documents; analyses of activities vs. goals/objectives; collation of partnerships and outreach efforts to minority communities. The Contractor is expected to provide onsite support and may be required to provide audiovisual (A/V) and travel support, virtual real-time support, and post-training session reporting. An individual delivery order may require expertise in only one area of expertise or a combination of areas. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance is five years. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Respondents must provide, as part of their response, a capability statement, which addresses the following: 1. Describe the size, scope and complexity of your company's experience providing technical assistance and training related to health disparities and health equity in terms of: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, 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. 2. Respondents must include their 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. Include technical and administrative points of contact, including names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses. 3. Respondents should indicate the applicable Service Area (e.g., 1, 2, or multiple areas) of capability. Submissions should be sent electronically to Megan Brickey, Contract Specialist, at Megan.Brickey@psc.hhs.gov. Responses are due February 10, 2017 by 3:00 pm ET. Responses will not be accepted after the due date. 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).
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