Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center Interim Contract

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Notice of Intent to Issue a Sole Source Contract: On behalf of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), located at 7700 Arlington Blvd, Suite 5101, Box #22 (Silver Spring Office), Falls Church, VA 22041, the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Contracting Office-National Capital Region (CO-NCR) intends to solicit and negotiate a contract solely with General Dynamics Information Technology, located at 3211 Jermantown Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030. This requirement is for The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), a congressionally mandated organization within the Research and Development Directorate (J-9) at the Defense Health Agency. DVBIC promotes access to state-of-the-science-care for service members, veterans and their families, to prevent and mitigate the consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In 1991, Congress created DVBIC through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In 2007, the NDAA authorized DVBIC's 15 year research study, which is still in progress. The study examines the long term effects of Traumatic Brain Injury sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on service members, veterans and their caregivers. In 2012, VA, DOD and HHS jointly developed the National Research Action Plan (NRAP) as a blueprint for enhancing the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of PTSD, TBI and suicide. In 2014, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs named DVBIC as the manager of the TBI Pathway of Care for clinical, research education and training activities. DVBIC was founded in 1992, largely in response to the first Persian Gulf War, under the name Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program. At the time, its goal was to integrate specialized TBI care, research and education across military and veteran medical care systems. DVBIC now supports a network of 23 sites, operating out of 18 military treatment facilities and 5 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. Specific activities vary at each site and can include conducting clinical research, providing clinical support and care to service members, assisting service members and veterans, and their families, locating support services, conducting education and outreach activities and assessing TBI injury data, while command and control exist with the DVBIC Headquarters (HQ) for continuity of services. DVBIC's four divisions reflect its mission essential components; research, clinical affairs, education, and mission support. DVBIC works with the TBI Advisory Committee to define and disseminate proven practices, and to develop translation strategy and implementation guidelines. DVBIC HQ has visibility of all TBI clinical and translational research within, or funded by, the Military Health System. Under the current program, the National Capital Region Contracting Office contracts for administrative/clerical occupations, certified labor categories as well as specialized/technical positions. These include (but are not limited to): PRODUCT SERVICE CODES: Q401, Nursing Services Q510, Medical Services/ Neurology Q527, Nuclear Medicine Q701, Specialized Medical Support Q702, Technical Medical Support R408, Program Management/Support Services R410, Support- Professional; Program evaluation/review/development R426, Communication Services Scope of Work: The Contractor shall: Directly support DVBIC goals and objectives by providing health care providers, clinical care coordinators, clinical investigators, educators and others to assist and facilitate the execution of the DVBIC missions and tasks to achieve program objectives and goals, consistent with description of work and the position descriptions (see Attachment 1 to the PWS). The Contractor shall proactively perform all required tasks efficiently and collaboratively in a timely fashion; Assist with development or continue to deploy high-performing management, medical HCPs, clinical care coordinators, educators, scientific, and administrative personnel to provide state-of-the-art treatment and performance at all required DVBIC operation sites; Conduct, coordinate, and assist with development clinical investigations, education and training, conferences, meetings, and workshops, care coordination, and surveillance duties; Enhance the capabilities of the DVBIC operational elements and other Federal, State, and local agencies in TBI science and patient care to fulfill the DVBIC related missions; Assist with development or continue methods and capabilities to manage and assess patient conditions and outcomes and anticipate emerging issues, such as: Assist with development and expand TBI education programs directed toward providers, patients and family members; Expand on-going TBI surveillance of military personnel returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and other populations as identified; Investigate the efficacy of a variety of methods such as medications and rehabilitation strategies in treating/eliminating and/or preventing the effects of TBI; Conduct pilot and large-scale evaluation studies and surveys to assist with decisions such as patient care, quality of life, return to work, training development and options, battlefield operations, and monitoring the incidence and type of brain injuries experienced in war and peacetime operations; Continue database development of past, current, and future studies to facilitate analyses; Assist with development TBI-specific educational tools, materials, and programs for DoD and VA; Collaborate with DoD, VA, and other subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop and update clinical standards and guidelines for care and education of TBI health care providers; Maintain a network of Recovery Support Specialists who interface with case managers, caregivers, and eligible beneficiaries and their families; Maintain a network of education coordinators in support of furthering TBI education; Support and assist the DVBIC in Congressionally and DoD assigned missions such as the Family Caregiver Program, the Congressionally-mandated 15 Year Longitudinal Study of TBI in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Service Members, the study of cognitive rehabilitation effectiveness for TBI , and any future projects to be named by Congress, DoD/HA; Continue to assist with the development and maintenance of the DVBIC HQ clinical investigations and other site data capture systems and tools. The contract type contemplated is Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF). The applicable NAICS Code is 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services), with a small business size standard of $15.0 million. The estimated dates of this requirement are from 26 March 2019 - 25 March 2020. The proposed action consists of an interim contract for continued provisions of the services described above while the requirement is being re-competed. Refer to https://www.fbo.gov/notices/d8b8cb82558cf6f3ee9334d58e8bcbd7 for details related to the re-competing effort. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B). This is applicable when services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of services will satisfy agency requirements. Then full and open competition need not be provided for, and services may be deemed to be available from only the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services. This is applicable when it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. General Dynamics Information Technology is the proposed source for this requirement because, as the current contractor, they are currently providing the services and are the only readily available, responsible source capable of providing all the services by the required start date of 26 March 2019. The current contract was awarded to General Dynamics Information Technology as a full and open competition contract, number W91YTZ-13-C-0015. The re-competing effort was initially publicized for market research purposes on 28 August 2018, and is currently being readied for solicitation. The current contract expires 25 March 2019 with no extensions remaining. A contract is required to continue services until the re-competing effort is awarded, and until operations can start under the new contract. Based on contract history and market research, potential contractors cannot meet the lead-time requirements necessary to provide all services by the contract start date. DVBIC's services and mission are mandated by Congress, and cannot lapse due to the consequences a lack of services would have on service members, veterans and their families. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability by responding to this notice. THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. In doing so, interested sources must submit technical capabilities, pricing, and other information that demonstrates their ability to meet DVBIC's needs. If your firm is capable of providing this service during the dates mentioned, please respond to this notice with detailed technical information by 21 November 2018 at 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time. Interested firms may identify their interest via email to the Government point of contact. Telephone or facsimile inquiries are not acceptable in response to this notice. The points of contact for this action are: Alice P. Martinez, Contracting Officer, alice.p.martinez.civ@mail.mil, and John A. Cowgill, Senior Contract Analyst, john.a.cowgill4.ctr@mail.mil . Responses should include: (1) Business Name (2) GSA or other contract number (if applicable) (3) DUNS (4) Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and E-mail Address (5) Business Size SMALL or LARGE (6) Type of Business SERVICE DISABLED VETERAN OWNED, VETERAN OWNED, 8(A), HUBZone, WOMEN-OWNED etc. Notice: The DHA may have non-Government employees (i.e., contractor employees) assisting with market research and/or analysis. These non-Government employees have all signed non-disclosure agreements and may have access to industry responses. Their companies are contractually bound not to compete for these requirements should it result in contract award(s).