Health Communications Support

SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Notice Number: HHS-NIH-NCI-SBSS-TSB-17024-04 Title: Health Communications Support Contract 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. This project is for the renewal of a one-year (September 29, 2010 - September 28, 2011) contract (HHSN2612010100157U) that was awarded to Graves Fowler Creative utilizing the GSA schedule. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the current award with Graves Fowler Creative should be directed to Suzanne Milliard at milliars@mail.nih.gov. This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or the National Cancer Institute. A determination by the Government not to complete this requirement as a set-aside based upon responses to this Notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested parties are expected to review this Notice, draft Statement of Work and the draft Technical Evaluation Criteria to familiarize themselves with the requirements of this project; failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk. Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) consists of medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered part of conventional medicine. Public interest in, and use of CAM are widespread. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, 38 percent of Americans used some form of CAM during the preceding year, and $33.9 billion is spent each year on CAM practices. Evidence-based research is beginning to offer answers into which modalities work or don't work, whether they are safe, and how they work. However, many forms of CAM have not been sufficiently studied to answer these important questions. The mission of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health and health care. In 2010, NCCAM marked its tenth anniversary with a renewed focus on symptom management, enhancing health and well being, and advancing the science of natural products and mind and body therapies. Effective health communications play a vital role in furthering each aspect of NCCAM's mission. NCCAM meets this challenge primarily through its Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL). OCPL's primary goals are to raise the public's awareness of issues unique to CAM and to raise the awareness of NCCAM as the central source for credible and authoritative CAM-related information. The OCPL does this by delivering proactive, creative, health communication products and services; providing clear, accurate, science-based information; and increasing awareness of NCCAM's efforts to improve public health. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this Small Business Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 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 that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this SBSS Notice, the NCI may issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Small Business Sources Sought Notice or the NCI's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. The purpose of this project is to provide a range of health communications activities that include: strategic health communications program planning; formative communications research and program evaluation; promotion of NCCAM and its programs to the public, "conventional" and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health care practitioners, and researchers; media relations; materials development; stakeholder outreach; partnership development; event planning; and rapid response communications. Project Requirements: The contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment and facilities as need to perform all activities identified in the draft Statement of Work. Specific tasks to be performed under this project as defined under Roman Numerical IV (Specific Activities) of the attached draft Statement of Work are: 1. Strategic health communications program planning 2. Formative communications research and program evaluation 3. Promotion of NCCAM and its programs 4. Media relations 5. Message development 6. Product development 7. Stakeholder outreach and partnership development 8. Event and meeting planning 9. Rapid response communications 10. Project management and administration 11. Transition Plan Anticipated Period of Performance: The period of performance for this requirement will be a six-month base period with four (4) successive one-year options and one six-month option, for a total of five years if all options are exercised. The anticipated start date is on/or about September 29, 2011. Other Important Considerations: Draft Statement of Work: A copy of the draft Statement of Work (SOW), which is subject to revisions, may be accessed on the NCI Office of Acquisitions Website at URL: http://rcb.nci.nih.gov/ . Once there, click on Current Requests for Proposals. NAICS Code and Size Standard: In the event an RFP is issued, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541613 with a size standard of $7.0 million is being considered. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Sources are expected to have the expertise and personnel to meet the requirements of the draft Statement of Work (SOW). Tailored Capability Statements shall demonstrate a clear understanding of all tasks specified in the draft SOW. Tailored Capability Statements for this requirement shall address the following areas: 1. Demonstrate understanding of the statement of work, approach and methodologies for accomplishing the objectives, management structure, organization, appropriateness of personnel. 2. Document experience in health communications and public relations. - Documented expertise of a Project Director with a Bachelor's degree in a field related to the duties required and a minimum ten (10) years' experience in health communications and public relations experience and experience managing a staff comparable to the size proposed under this project. - Documented expertise of Project Manager with a Bachelor's degree in a field related to the duties required and a minimum of five (5) years' experience in health communications. - Documented suitability of proposed professional staff in the technical aspects of management as described in the Statement of Work. - Documented ability of Project Director and Project Manager to commit appropriate time to project activities and to the supervision of staff under this project. 3. Documented capabilities and resources of the company. - Document experience of the organization with similar projects of this size and magnitude. - Document availability of additional staff with the appropriate experience to support heavy workload periods and backup for proposed personnel - Demonstrate availability, suitability and accessibility of overall facilities and equipment. - Demonstrate ability to respond to Government's needs within two (2) hours' notification. - Demonstrate ability to meet/confer with Government on short notice (less than 1-day). Information Submission Instructions: 1. Page Limitations: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement not to exceed twenty-five (25) single-sided pages including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc. (single spaced, 12 point font minimum) that clearly details the firm's ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above and in the draft SOW. Tailored capability statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern's name and address), as well as the eligible small business concern's name, point of contact, address and DUNS number. 2. Number of Copies: All capability statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Kimberly Goetz, Contract Specialist, at goetzkm@mail.nih.gov and C. Timothy Crilley, Contracting Officer, at tcrilley@mail.nih.gov in MS Word, WordPerfect or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The e-mail subject line must specify HHS-NIH-NCI-SBSS-TSB-17024-04. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. 3. Common Cut-off Date: Electronically submitted tailored capability statements are due no later than 3:00 PM (Eastern Prevailing Time) on April 29, 2011. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE AND TIME WILL NOT 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 this 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 is 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).