Skills Monitoring and Training for Staff in the Delivery of Evidence-based Modular Psychological Interventions for Adolescent Psychopathology

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source SOLICITATION NUMBER: NIH-NIMH-21000214 TITLE: Skills Monitoring and Training for Staff in the Delivery of Evidence-based Modular Psychological Interventions for Adolescent Psychopathology CLASSIFICATION CODE: R -- Professional, administrative, and management support services NAICS CODE: 541720 - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESPONSE DATE: November 27, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT: Thien Nguyen contact@example.gov Phone: +1 (555) 000-0000 DESCRIPTION: INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate on a sole source bases with Dr Ana M Ugueto, 7422 Jackwood St, Houston, TX 77074-4422 NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541720 - Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities with a Small Business Size Standard of 20.5 million. REGULATORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6'Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization). The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 20019-01 dated December 1, 2018. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: The Section on Clinical and Computational Psychiatry (Comp-Psi), as part of the Emotion and Development Branch (EDB) studies the pathophysiology, development, and treatment of adolescent mood disorders, primarily depression. The Section examines development by acquiring clinical data over time. While we possess expertise on tools for psychological intervention, we require an expert to provide training on the latest techniques of evidence-based modular psychological interventions for adolescent psychopathology. The overall goal of collaboration with the contractor is to consolidate and extend training on state-of-the-art, evidence-based modular psychological treatment to youth recruited to our studies. To date, our clinical staff has received their initial training with the latest in techniques for the delivery of this form of treatment. The contractor will now sustain that training and those skills by ongoing consultation, monitoring and providing additional training, as needed, to facilitate the implementation of these techniques. This is necessary for us to confirm that our practice retains fidelity to the most up-to-date methods of this manualized treatment; this is standard for clinical research studies. Our Section recruits young people with depression and other psychiatric disorders to support our studies on mechanisms of mood disorders. Our ability to conduct cutting-edge research depends upon the capacity of our staff to deliver a top-quality evidence-based intervention to patients. Our staff must maintain the necessary expertise to deliver such interventions and ensure their skills are up to date as they implement the treatment. This is an iterative process that is honed over time and is the standard for training therapists in evidence-based techniques. This iterative process is achieved by having a highly proficient and skilled senior expert in the treatment technique review (with the treating clinician) each individual clinical case session, weekly, as treatment unfolds. The review appraises treatment progress, examines the decisions as to which new skills/cognitions to offer the patient, addresses barriers to treatment success, and facilitates the introduction and demonstrations of skills by the treating clinician. For patient safety and to support the highest standards of care at the Clinical Center, our staff, having received their initial training, but ongoing updating to the method in a systematic, rigorous manner is needed. Our objectives are to offer treatments that are beneficial to the children, establish our reputation in the community as reliable providers of evidence-based treatments and sustain our ability to recruit young people and conduct our research. It is, therefore, key that our staff are gaining in their proficiency and continually applying the most up-to-date, evidence-based, high-quality psychological interventions properly. This collaboration is designed to achieve this objective. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The contractor will offer training and instruction in the application of an evidence-based, modular treatment for child psychiatric disorders. The contractor will offer up to eight hours per month of face-to-face communication-linked remote training to the Section's clinical staff. The contractor will review material (e.g. film clips, notes, and clinical scores) from our Section's work and offer recommendations and technical advice. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Dr. Ana M Ugueto is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the services required by NIMH. The intended source is: Ana M Ugueto PhD 7575 Kirby Dr #2311 Houston, TX 77030 CLOSING STATEMENT THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, NIH-NIMH-21000214. Responses must be submitted electronically to Thien Nguyen, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. and Valerie Whipple, Contracting Officer, at contact@example.gov. U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.