SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Mentoring Program for American Indian/Alaskan Native scholars
- Notice Date
- 7/21/2017
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 3165, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-PSOL-2017-597
- Archive Date
- 8/20/2017
- Point of Contact
- Hunter A. Tjugum, Phone: 3018275304
- E-Mail Address
-
hunter.tjugum@nih.gov
(hunter.tjugum@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- INTRODUCTION PURSUANT TO FAR Subpart 5.2-Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions, THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF A PROPOSED CONTRACT TO ACTION. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Station Support Contracts and Simplified Acquisitions Branch (SS/SA) on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) intends to negotiate and award a contract for a Mentoring Program for Career and Research Development of American Indian/Alaskan Native Scholars Conducting Research with Tribal Communities. The Government anticipates making two (2) awards from this solicitation, with anticipated Periods of Performance of one base year including an option year period of performance for a total of two (2) years if the option is exercised. EXTENT OF COMPETITION This acquisition is full and open with no set-aside restrictions. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541990 -- All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services with associated business size standard $15,000,000. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-94,2005-95 / 01-19-2017. This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not expected to exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold inclusive of options. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT Background The Office of Diversity and Health Disparities (ODHD) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a potential requirement for institutions or organizations to support the development of a mentoring program, which will support the career and research development of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) scholars dedicated to pursuing substance abuse and addiction research within AI/AN communities. To address the overall underrepresentation of racial/ethnic populations in the sciences, the ODHD's mission is to strengthen the NIDA extramural research portfolio through a more diverse and robust workforce, attracting and retaining talented individuals from all populations in order to fulfill the mission of the NIH and NIDA. The ODHD's goals are to (1) increase the number of underrepresented scholars and researchers actively participating in and independently funded to conduct substance abuser research and (2) to ensure that minority and health disparity issues in drug abuse research are adequately represented in the NIDA's extramural research portfolio. Underrepresented minority researchers face a number of challenges that influence their success in obtaining sponsored support from NIDA/NIH and other federal funding agencies. Some of these challenges include limited/poor mentoring, lack of knowledge of funding opportunities and requirements, and limited resources. Additional barriers for AI/AN populations include the low number of AI/AN students in the research pipeline, the scarcity of AI/AN research scientists who can serve as mentors, and skepticism held by the community towards research and government sponsored programs. Collectively, these factors impact NIDA' s efforts to recruit and retain AI/AN investigators conducting substance abuse and addiction research and further develop the research infrastructure within this community. As scientific mentoring is a valuable method that serves to promote interest in research as well as retain scientists already in the research pipeline, a dedicated mentoring program is necessary. Purpose and Objectives General Requirements:Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below: The contractor shall improve AI/AN health and eliminate substance abuse-related health disparities by performing the following tasks: 1.Facilitating interaction and exchange of information among scholars/trainees studying child development in Native communities, focusing on research on the effects of contextual substance use on children's own substance abuse problems. Established investigators/mentors are expected to have documented experience conducting substance use-related research with AI/AN populations and have grant support equivalent to the NIH R01 in the area of substance abuse research, experience in training/mentoring early-stage investigators, and peer-reviewed publications in substance abuse. Provide mentors for each scholar/trainee, include scholars/trainees in the Native Children's Reach Exchange network, and develop a dialogue between established investigators and scholars/trainees studying child development in Native communities, focusing on research on the effects of contextual substance use on children's own substance abuse problems; 2.Providing support, guidance, and direction to scholars/trainees for the submission of NIH grant applications and peer review papers. Create tailored, individualized short and long-term individual development plans for each scholar/trainee, identifying activities to address the career development needs of each scholar/trainee; 3.Fostering collaborative relationships with Indian communities to advance the understanding of substance use and Native Children's development. The scholars/trainees will have access to the NCRE network which consists of 136 members affiliated with over 40 AI tribes and representing 48 university and 15 other tribal, federal, foundation, and social servie groups across the U.S. and Canada. The scholars/trainees can connect directly with the NCRE members at the annual conference as well as through email and teleconference calls. In addition, the Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Health has 7 faculty with expertise in AI/AN research that the scholars/trainees will be able to work with locally; 4.Participating in annual scientific meetings convened by groups with a mission and interest similar to the goals of the mentoring program for the purpose of recruiting students/faculty, encouraging interest in addiction research, educating attendees about drug abuse and addiction in AI/AN communities, e.g., the Association of American Indian Physicians, Indian Health Service, the Office for Minority Health, American Indian Research Network American Psychiatric Association, Society for Neuroscience, and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence; and 5.Ensuring, developing and documenting strong communication and mentoring experiences between mentors and scholars/trainees. DELIVERY OR DELIVERABLES a)Conduct a structured and managed mentoring program to train and support the research and career development of AI/AN scholars/trainees interested in pursuing research careers in substance abuse and addiction in AI/AN communities. Create tailored, individualized short and long-term mentoring plans for each scholar/trainee, and identifying either didactic training or research experiences to help scholars/trainees transition to independent scientists. b)Participate in an annual scientific meetings convened by groups with a mission and interest similar to the goals of the mentoring program for the purpose of recruiting students/faculty, encouraging interest in substance abuse research, educating attendees about drug abuse and addiction in Al/AN communities, e.g., the NIDA, Office of Diversity and Health Disparities, Association of American Indian Physicians, Indian Health Service, the Office for Minority Health, American Indian Research Network and American Psychiatric Association. c)Conduct training opportunities for scholars/trainees as part of their research training experiences which should include the following topics: publishing and scientific writing, research proposal development for NIH grant applications, understanding the NIH application, submission, and review process, information on funding opportunities, research-related topics, and exposure/access to networks of AI/AN investigators. These research training experiences should serve as a critical component of the program and enable a face-to-face meeting between mentors and scholars/trainees to discuss career, research plans, and training opportunities. This information should be included in the semi-annual and annual report. d)Within one year of support from this contract, scholars/trainees at the post-doctoral or faculty level should submit an NIH grant application; e) Provide documented communication and mentoring experiences between mentors and scholars/trainees by scheduling monthly calls and routine electronic communication. f)Create, maintain, and provide in the annual report a comprehensive participant database, which includes detailed information on all scholars/trainees including name, career level, affiliation, number of published papers, all program activities/support, degrees earned, grant applications submitted, grant applications funded, future career positions of past scholars/trainees, mentor's name while in the program, other accomplishments and relevant information. g)Provide support to scholars/trainees to attend meetings and workshops related to their research interests, career goals and technical assistance in order to network with other researchers. Provide travel awards and other professional support to encourage meeting attendance. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The contractor will update NIDA ODHD every other month, for the life of this contract, through email, telephone conferencing, and/or face to face meetings. They will also distribute outlines and drafts for tentative and planned activities to the NIDA COR before proceeding to conduct any activity (e.g., training, meetings, staff assignments and their salary, honoraria disbursements) which will utilize the contract funds. The contractor shall provide a semi-annual report, which includes an overview of established mentoring plans, a description of major program activities, agendas, participant information, meeting outcomes (group scientific meeting attendance, annual mentoring program meeting). Semi-annual reports must also document mentor-scholars/trainees communication, scholar/trainee progress, scholar/trainee publications, grant submissions and grant awards, core courses, program activities/support, degrees, new positions, and other accomplishments. Annual comprehensive report that describes the program's activities, accomplishments, products, outcomes, lessons learned, major barriers, major achievements and recommendations. The annual report must also include an update on the mentoring plans, mentor- scholar/trainee communication, scholar/trainee progress, scholar/trainee publications, grant submissions and grant awards, core courses, program activities/support, degrees, new positions, and other scholar/trainee accomplishments, workshop outcomes (group scientific meeting attendance, annual mentoring program meeting). The progress report shall cover all work completed during the specified period and shall present the work to be accomplished during the subsequent period. This report shall also identify any problems that arose and a statement explaining how the problem was resolved. This report shall also identify any problems that have arisen but have not been completely resolved and provide an explanation. Annual evaluation assessments or reports from program participants regarding their activities, expectations, benefits, and continuing needs as they relate to the mentoring program. This assessment should involve NIDA's input before distribution. Annual evaluation assessments or reports from mentors describing scholar/trainee performance should also be included. Period of Performance The anticipated period of performance for this requirement will be effective on or around September 30, 2017 through September 29, 2018 with one subsequent option year period of performance from September 30, 2018 through September 29, 2019. The Government contemplates multiple awards will be made as Fixed-Price type of Purchase Order contracts for non-commercial items. CLOSING STATEMENT The solicitation will be issued on or around August 7, 2017 and bids or proposals will be tentatively due about 10 days after the solicitation release date. Potential offerors may request a copy of the solicitation from the Contract Specialist, Hunter Tjugum, electronically at hunter.tjugum@nih.gov and must reference the solicitation number HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-PSOL-2017-597 on your electronic request. FAX requests are not accepted.
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