Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) Research and Data Support

NOTICE TYPE: Sources Sought CENTER OFFICE: Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) REQUIREMENT: The Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) requires Research, Program Evaluation, and Data & Surveillance support services in supporting the mission and capability of the Department of Defense (DoD) to enhance its suicide prevention efforts. 1. The Defense Human Resources Activity is issuing this Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in, and the resources for, providing services in accordance with the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Government requires contractor services to support the Department's efforts in Research, Program Evaluation, and Data & Surveillance tasks, initiatives, and requirements related to suicide prevention. This notice shall not be construed as a formal solicitation or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. In addition, it does not guarantee that a subsequent solicitation will be issued. Submission of any information in response to this Sources Sought notice is voluntary and will assist in selecting the appropriate solicitation type/method. Costs associated with any submission shall not be reimbursed by the Government. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SEEKING PROPOSALS AND WILL NOT ACCEPT UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS. 2. The proposed NAICS for this effort is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (size standard 1,000 employees). Comments on this NAICS and suggestions for alternative codes must include supporting rationale. 3. The Government is specifically performing Market Research to see if there are potential vendors who can: Research: Develop research/pilot study proposals, according to Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness USD (P&R) Studies and Analysis Program Guidance, for annual call for study proposals; Create research translation smart sheets to summarize research findings of each DSPO study and plans for translation and dissemination; Translate suicide research findings into easily digestible research translation products such as white papers, infographics, and or slide decks for scientific and non-scientific audiences; Develop research findings publications such as conference abstracts, presentations, scholarly manuscripts, and white papers; Conduct literature reviews and provide one-page summaries/analyses of literature or draft responses to DoD leadership inquiries regarding new literature with succinct, understandable responses; Provide advice on the implementation of National Research Action Plan for Suicide Prevention in the DoD; Develop agenda, coordinate with partners, and provide minutes for forums, annual DSPO Research Roundtable, discussions, and meetings for various working groups. Program Evaluation: Obtain data from various inter- and intra-agency partners to populate a variety of logic, efficacy, and outcomes models; Run utilization and statistical analyses and provide scientific and non-scientific written summaries, depending on the target audience; Provide technical assistance to DSPO and partner offices as they implement evidence informed practices for suicide prevention; Evaluate the implementation of Service suicide prevention interventions; Evaluate DSPO-specific messaging campaigns to include but not limited to the joint DoD/VA messaging campaigns for outcomes and prepare annual report of findings and social media campaign metrics; Develop meeting agendas, coordinate with partners, and provide meetings minutes for an ongoing pilot of developing and standardizing a protocol for a Department-wide suicide death case review; Develop an algorithm to automate the media scoring process; Conduct site visits of military installations and evaluate the Services programs and measures of effectiveness in accordance with their Service policies and procedures. Data and Surveillance: Conduct statistical analyses (both descriptive and inferential that include methods such as Structural Equation Modeling, multilevel and longitudinal modeling, bivariate and multivariate analyses) on data sources; Clean and merge data from disparate sources to create and maintain large operational data sets for suicide deaths and attempts among Service members and suicide deaths among military dependents; Obtain, verify, and analyze military Service suicide event data for Service members and dependents; Create a data lexicon and refine data dictionaries; Calculate suicide rates, specifically for the U.S. military population and military dependents; Respond to inquiries from internal governmental and external stakeholders with appropriately written scientific and non-scientific responses, depending on the audience. SUBMISSION INFORMATION: A. COVER SHEET - 1 page 1. Vendor name, address, website, and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. 2. Point of contact to include e-mail address and telephone number. 3. Type of business, including socio-economic category (Large, Small, 8(a) Participant, Small Disadvantaged Business, HUBZone, Woman-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, or Non Profit) 4. If applicable, GSA contract number, schedule, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract information. B. CAPABILITIES STATEMENT & MARKET INFORMATION - no more than 10 pages 1. Please describe your organization's breadth of experience and expertise/competency to perform the services in the draft PWS. Critical functions to be provided include: Experience in prevention research/study design, development, and implementation, program evaluation development and implementation, and data/surveillance. Knowledge, expertise and experience conducting prevention literature reviews, research, and summarizing findings for a lay audience (e.g., white papers, briefs, response to leadership and congressional inquiries on impact of literature on current system practices). Experience evaluating prevention programs and implementing evidence informed practices (e.g., demonstrating impact, outcomes, efficacy, changes made to system because of data gained, building/restructuring programs based on outcome data). Experience conducting statistical analyses (both descriptive and inferential, for example comparing rates over time or between populations or providing standardized rates for populations) and providing response for a lay audience. Experience with drafting written materials such as read-aheads, briefs, presentations, white papers, info memos, and action memos and use of governmental templates for senior executive leaders and/or General/Flag Officers. History of providing similar services to DoD and the federal government. Experience with development of government procedural documents (e.g., clearance packages). 2. Industry feedback is requested on the PWS for this requirement. Please list any challenges or potential performance roadblocks related to fulfilling the PWS requirements and any suggestions for improving the PWS language. Additionally, the Government seeks answers to the following questions concerning this requirement. Please consider providing responses: How do you ensure that the products being developed meet the need and are in line with the goals of the requesting party (that you walk away from the initial meeting with a clear understanding of the product ask/requirement)? Much of what we do is translating very complex, scientific work into terms that those without specialty knowledge of suicide or data/science/research can digest in as few words as possible (Congressional staff only give us so many seconds to answer), how would you work to achieve this goal or how have you achieved this successfully in the past? What are some examples? Describe your personnel pipeline/ability to quickly hire qualified personnel and retain them. Do you have a - bench of ready and available staff to cover the needs of this PWS? C. BACKGROUND/PAST EXPERIENCE: Provide the following information on two (2) similar projects in an environment of similar scale completed within the last five (5) years for which the responder was a prime or Sub-Contractor. 1. The name and value of each project; 2. The name, address, telephone and email address for point of contact; 3. A description of each project, including challenges and successes; and 4. Your company's role and services provided for each project. All interested and capable contractors are encouraged to respond. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the sources sought evaluation. The results of this sources sought notice will assist the Contracting Officer in determining whether an 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Certified HUBZone Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Small Business set-aside, or full and open competition is an acceptable strategy for this procurement, and if any existing GSA or Indefinite Delivery vehicles are available for use for these services. Responses to this synopsis may be used to aid in establishing realistic, achievable small business participation goals. Interested contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to conduct business with the Government. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this Sources Sought; all costs associated with responding will be solely at the interested party's expense. All information received in response to this submission that is clearly marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made and submissions to this Sources Sought will not be returned. The information provided in this Sources Sought is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. RESPONSE DUE DATE: The Government requests that all responses be returned by 2:00 PM ET on 09/07/2022. All responses shall be submitted electronically to the DHRA Enterprise Acquisition Division point of contacts: melissa.s.tamayo.civ@mail.mil and lashondra.n.pelican.civ@mail.mil Interested vendors may additionally contact the DHRA, office of Small Business Programs, Point of Contact: Ms. Tammy Proffitt, Tammy.j.proffitt2.civ@mail.mil