SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study – Field Centers
- Notice Date
- 6/3/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD, Office of Acquisitions, 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7902
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7902
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NHLBI-SBSS-HV-17-03
- Archive Date
- 7/3/2015
- Point of Contact
- Tara C Knox, Phone: 301-402-0834, Scott A Bredow, Phone: (301) 435-0333
- E-Mail Address
-
knoxt@mail.nih.gov, bredows@mail.nih.gov
(knoxt@mail.nih.gov, bredows@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Introduction 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 NAICS code 541712 should not submit a response to this notice. Background The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is seeking small businesses with the ability to serve as a Field Center (FC) for a five-year renewal of the NHLBI Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. The ARIC Study is a study of the correlates, predictors, and progression of subclinical to clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a biracial population-based sample of men and women who were aged 45-64 years at inception of the study (https://www2.cscc.unc.edu/aric/ ). Fifteen thousand, seven hundred ninety-two (15,792) black and white participants were recruited from four (4) Field Centers during 1987-1989 (Forsyth County, NC; Jackson, MS; suburbs of Minneapolis, MN; and Washington County, MD). The goal of this acquisition is to enhance statistical power to perform analyses of predictors of clinical events, particularly in informative subgroups and study the progression of subclinical to clinical CVD, including identification of new risk factors or interactions among factors. The operational goals are to (1) support continued cohort follow-up and data collection on clinical events; (2) continue to foster scientific collaborations; and (3) conduct a limited clinical examination of the ARIC participants as a platform for ancillary study examination components. Project Requirements The important overall technical requirements associated with the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study - Field Centers include the following: • Provide appropriate senior personnel with expertise in cardiovascular disease epidemiology, clinical cardiovascular disease, longitudinal studies management, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and administrative management. • Conduct regular follow-up contacts of surviving ARIC Study participants within one (1) of the four (4) Field Centers or one (1) of the four (4) geographical areas (Forsyth County, NC; Jackson, MS; suburbs of Minneapolis, MN; and Washington County, MD). • Investigate ARIC Study participants' self-reported clinical events by collecting supporting medical records, death certificates, and other relevant materials; perform abstraction of data from such records required for events ascertainment; and conduct expert review and classification thereof. • Conduct a re-examination of surviving ARIC Study participants within one of the four (4) Field Centers or one of the four geographical areas (Forsyth County, NC; Jackson, MS; suburbs of Minneapolis, MN; and Washington County, MD). • Work cooperatively with other study centers, including other Field Centers, the Coordinating Center, and Laboratories, other subcontract centers, and the NHLBI Project Office in all relevant aspects of study development and execution. • Conscientiously participate in Steering Committee and appropriate subcommittee meetings to develop and implement a coordinated plan to achieve study objectives. The Principal Investigator shall serve on the ARIC Executive Committee and the Steering Committee. Participate collaboratively in study committees to provide a transparent committee process, open access to study documents, clear policies for access to data and materials, and an approval process for proposed manuscripts and ancillary studies that is fair and balanced. • Conduct statistical analyses and prepare scientific publications and presentations. • Perform activities related to study closeout as directed by the NHLBI Project Office. • Work cooperatively with all study investigators and staff, the NHLBI Project Office, and any subcontractors and consultants in all relevant aspects of the study. Anticipated Period of Performance November 15, 2016 - November 14, 2021 Capability Statement Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to undertake this work should submit complete documentation of their capabilities to the Contracting Officer. The capabilities statement must specifically address each project requirement separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of scientists, medical experts, and technical personnel as it relates to the above outlined requirements, 3) a description of general and specific facilities and equipment available, including computer equipment and software, 4) an outline of previous research projects that are similar to the project requirements in which the organization and proposed personnel have participated, and 5) any other information considered relevant to this program. The capability statement must not exceed 15 single sided or 7.5 double sided pages in length and using a 12-point font size minimum. Capability statements must provide evidence of ability to perform and experience in performing the tasks described above and will be reviewed based on the following: (1) the professional qualifications of scientific and technical personnel in accordance with the above requirements; (2) demonstrated capacity of individuals, administrative structure, and the institutional support to perform the functions of a collaborative epidemiology study, including high retention of study participants and regular follow-up contacts for clinical events identification and conduct of a multi-site clinic examination, and operational and scientific coordination; (3) facilities and equipment available to perform the required tasks; (4) evidence of ability to analyze data from longitudinal epidemiologic studies and publish results in peer reviewed journals, and a proven track record of collaboration with other research programs; (5) demonstrated ability to effectively manage both administrative and financial aspects of a contract to promote and support an integrated data collection effort; (6) the small business status of the firm under NAICS Code 541712. Evaluation of the capability statements shall be based on the technical capabilities listed above. Each technical point (criterion) will be weighted equally. Interested small business organizations are required to identify their size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone numbers of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number. All capability statements sent in response to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Tara Knox, Contracting Officer, (email: Tara.Knox@nih.gov) and Scott Bredow, Contracting Officer (email: Scott.Bredow@nih.gov) in either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by 04:00 pm EST on the fifteenth (15th) calendar day from the date of this announcement to the address shown above. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to 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 the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your 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 review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The solicitation release date is pending. The Government intends to negotiate up to four (4) cost-reimbursement Indefinite Quantity Indefinite Delivery (IDIQ) contracts, for a period of five years with an approximate award date of November 15, 2016. 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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