Management Support Services

The National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) intends to negotiate on a non-competitive basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with L. Eugene Arnold, M.D., M.Ed., Galena Road, Sunbury, OH 43074. for professional service to provide management support to the Multimodal Study of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA). The North American Industry Classification System Code is 541990 and the business size standard is $7.0 million. The Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research (DESPR) is managing the long-term follow-up study for the Multimodal Study of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA). This multi-site study follows adolescents and young adults with ADHD, who, between the ages of 7 to 9 years, were randomized into an intensive, 14-month clinical trial. The follow-up study is collecting assessments on the original subjects for the 16-year (since initial randomization) outcomes. The vendor will provide the following services: - Convene bi-weekly conference calls, coordinate the decision-making of the MTA study group, and keep accurate records of steering committee decisions, analytic decisions, and operations decisions; - Chair biweekly meetings (with the possibility of ad hoc meetings, as needed) of MTA Investigators to review study conduct, progress, and resolve outstanding issues; - Develop, coordinate and distribute all documentation related to that process; - Participate in biweekly meetings of the MTA site coordinators and data management team; - Work with NIDA and NIMH staff to ensure smooth operation of the follow-up study; - Work with MTA Investigators to identify potential publications and match topics to appropriate author groups; - Mediate any conflict due to duplicative or conflicting publications, or authorship questions; - Maintain up-to-date records on pending and published MTA manuscripts. Dr. Arnold was one of the original study developers and has been involved with the MTA clinical trial and follow-up study since 1993, first as one of the study's original developers, then as Steering Committee Chair, developer of the follow-up study design, and Executive Secretary since the inception of the follow-up study. He has been the primary person responsible for coordinating with the Data Center and works well with the other MTA investigators and study coordinators, and he has been trusted by them for the entire breadth of the study. Dr. Arnold is a child psychiatrist, educator, and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Ohio State University. A clinician scientist who has specialized in ADHD for over 35 years, Dr. Arnold is a nationally recognized expert in the complexities of ADHD diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. He has researched and published on various ADHD medications and behavioral treatments. He received his M.D. cum Laude from the College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH and did his Psychiatric Residency at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is a recipient of the NIH Director's Award for work on NIMH Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. Dr. Arnold has performed similar functions, including all oversight of the publication tracking process, as well as development and maintenance of the long-running Operations Manual for this large, complex long-running longitudinal study with multiple investigators and sites located across the country. He has been with the project since its inception and has the experience and knowledge that are considered vital to achieving the scientific aims of the project. Currently there is no overall follow-up study coordinating center, the project relies on the expertise and long-standing excellent working relationships among the seven sites, and NIDA oversight. Dr. Eugene Arnold has been acting as an Executive Secretary for the MTA study group. Due to the length and nature of this study, Dr. Arnold deems to be the sole repository of historical institutional information, cross-site relationships and project understanding and is the person through whom the investigators will relay proprietary analytic information. Based on Dr. Arnold's unique experience with the project and with the institute's policy and protocols, the DESPR has determined Dr. Arnold is the only known source qualified to provide the services. No other source will satisfy the Government's requirement. The period of performance of this acquisition is for twelve (12) months from the date of award, on or around April 1, 2011, plus two (2) one-year optional periods. Place of performance is in Bethesda, Maryland. No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, interested party believes it can meet the above requirement may submit a statement of capabilities on or before 2:00 PM local time Saturday, March 26, 2011 to Liem T Nguyen at lnguyen@mail.nih.gov. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the government to determine if the party can perform the requirement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered in and have valid certifications in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), www.ccr.gov and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) www.orca.bpn.gov. Please reference announcement number NOI-1985617 on all correspondence.